Interlude 2: The Firelord/ A Spartans dilemma.
A door slammed shut, and a young fire bender, groaning in frustration, walked over to a plush chair, sitting down with obvious annoyance.
Sitting nearby reading a paper was a young woman with black hair, dressed nicely, "Guess things didn't go well?" Asami asked barely looking up at Mako.
"No they didn't…. The Firelord's asking to meet in private with that Garrus guy." Mako sighed leaning back in his chair.
"And why exactly is that bad?" The wound woman said raising an eyebrow.
The fire bender sighed again and closed his eyes, knowing the girl would lecture him for his answer, "Because Beifong wanted me to make sure none of these…. people… were ever alone with him. She doesn't trust them and quite frankly neither do I…."
"Are you kidding me?" Asami asks, her voice rising as she puts the paper down once and for all, "Mako they saved our lives. The least we could do is trust them!"
"They saved our lives…" Mako started looking up at her, "Unalaq did the same remember? And he almost destroyed the world, almost killed Korra, almost destroyed Republic city and almost plunged the world into eternal darkness."
Asami opened her mouth to say something, but nothing came to her. She shook her head and went back to reading her paper.
She hated to admit it, but the boy had a point.
Trust was hard to come by.
Garrus let out a slow breath as the firebender guards let him through after, what he guessed was twenty minutes of making sure he wasn't armed.
He walked slowly, his boots echoing though the elaborate hallway, two firebenders on either side of him.
Truthfully, he was impressed by how seriously they took security here. Sure he could've slipped by unnoticed, but he wasn't here to snoop. At least, not entirely. He would keep his ears and eyes open for anything, but so far, nothing had come up.
So as he turned the corner, glancing briefly at the portraits of fire lords form history, he let his mind relax if only the slightest.
He sensed no ill will in these people, but he could be wrong.
He had been before.
As the battle hardened Turian made his way down the halls, to where he could see open doors and a lone firebender standing outside staring over the city below, he wondered why the Firelord would call him so late at night.
It was strange to him.
Minutes passed, and he moved past the large double doors that led to a balcony overlooking the Fire Nation capital, the lights from the city shining in the night.
The guards accompanying him stood behind at the doors, leaving him alone to approach the Firelord at the end of the balcony.
"Firelord." The Turian greeted as he takes a place a few feet behind the human bender. When he had met him earlier to discuss the news of being forced to evacuate the city, the Firelord had been very cooperative, kind, and understanding.
Still he had a few conditions, such as wanting to contact the Avatar before the ships arrived, and wanting to see the ships and go to this new universe to make sure it was safe for his people.
"Have you ever wondered what it would be like to ride a dragon?" The Firelord asked, only sparing a glance back at the Turian.
Garrus squinted in suspicion, "No not really. Why do you ask?" He asked cautiously.
"There is something I need to show you. Up at the North Pole." The Firelord stated, his voice beaming soft and dark. He turned to face Garrus, his gray hair and long beard giving him the look of an experienced and wise leader.
"Thanks for the invite but…"
A hand cut of the soldier, "Garrus," The Turian was surprised he had remembered his name, "This isn't a matter of obeying your commanding officer. There is something you need to see, and that you must report back to her."
Garrus blinked a few times, "Why can't Shepard…."
"Because its something you have to see in person. It would take to long for me to travel to Ba Sing Se then to the North from here. It's something you need to see now. I fear your Commanders in danger." His eyes became dark and the Firelord turned away.
With seemingly timed precision, a dragon roared in the sky, and dove to a stop before Zuko, flapping its wings and staring down the Turian soldier.
Zuko stepped up to where he was hanging off his dragons side from the saddle and looked back at Garrus.
"We have little time. If you don't see this… I fear the Commander and Avatar may have more to worry about then your Flood or Reapers." Zukos voice was dark and firebending.
Garrus looked back at the guards.
They were gone.
He looked back at the Firelord.
What was so important that he needed to leave now?
Reluctantly he followed suit and moved to mount the dragon, but not without typing in his omni tool a message.
A message to Shepard.
He wasn't going anywhere without her knowing, and he for some reason, felt he needed to warn her.
Warn her about what?
He had no idea.
A sound.
Soft at first.
But slowly, it grew.
High pitched.
A color followed it.
Red.
It took a minute, but finally, John was able to fully wake up, his head spinning and the alarm in his helmet blaring.
He looked around his visor, and was slightly relieved when the alarm stopped, telling him his armor was no longer in lock down.
He didn't even remember why it had locked down.
The last thing he remembered was looking up at two women, and now he was here.
With curious, yet calculating, eyes, the Spartan looked around. It was dark, with only faint light coming from below him.
The automatic flashlight on his visor powered up, letting him see further and clearer, and he wasn't surprised to see he was in a metal prison with nothing inside it but himself.
"Finally awake…" A voice from his left.
The Spartan looked at whoever had spoke, realizing he had made a mistake in thinking he was alone, but to his surprise it wasn't his captor.
It was a girl.
She was chained up, her hands tied together and shackled, chains holding her to the roof, her legs tied in a similar way, with chains reaching out in every direction to make sure she couldn't escape.
Her hair was red, eyes green, a torn tunic that only covered her upper chest and hung off her back like a short cape, and skin tight green jumpsuit with golden lines forming V's on her lower chest, a weapon holster on her left leg, shoulder and knees pads, and boots wrapped in torn cloth.
John stared at her, not sure what to think. She was a prisoner, so obviously she wasn't a friend of his captors, unless they were trying to play a mind game on him. It was a possibility.
"Stare all you want. Its not getting either of us out of here anytime soon." She stated with a sigh, turning her head to look at the Spartan.
He could tell she was at least a foot and a half shorter than him, probably five' six'' in total height he estimated.
Ignoring the girl for now, he returned his attention to whatever was holding him.
A metal box, looking like a coffin that was held by chains to the roof.
It was odd, because judging by the dimensions, John figured he should've been able to move his arms and legs, yet he couldn't.
He struggled to move, but whatever held him, held him so tightly that he had zero leverage to move his arms at all, and whatever it was, it was strong enough to keep his brute strength at bay.
"You're not getting out of that. Filled it with concrete, then closed that steel cage over it. Not to mention the fact your hanging over lava," The girl informed him.
The Spartan looked over at her, silently thanking her, and satisfied to know what was holding him and what the dim light in their prison was.
"So what they get you for? Walking around in the wrong place at the wrong time too? Cause from the looks of it, they'd need a army to take you down." The girl stated, looking at him curiously.
Chief saw no malice, or ill will in her eyes. Still, he had to be careful.
He nodded to her and she got the answer.
A sigh and she spoke again, "Me too. Been moving a lot now and just when I happen to find a decent place, with actual living people in it, I get caught and tied up by these freaks."
"Living People?" John asked. The words had been odd for her too use, and considering the way she was dressed… Well he had a guess to what her story was.
"Yeah…" She stated warily looking away from John.
The Spartan continued to watch her for any sign of fault, anything that would hint yo him that she was just playing him for information, yet he found none.
Her eyes were sad, her face fallen, her entire body in fact showing her utter defeat and desperation.
"You said living people." The Chief urged on, curious to what she was going to say.
The girl looked up at him, a small smile coming to her face as she reminisced, "Yeah. Been to a lot of… Well… dead places…." She was uneasy, confused he could tell, but not a liar.
Maybe he would indulge her in her story, let her play things out.
"Dead?" He asked questioningly.
She again raise an eyebrow at him, "You're not form here are you."
He didn't reply.
She shrugs and looks away, her look hardening.
"Neither am I…"
The girl waits for an answer, but when she gets only silence, she sighs and continues, "I've been hopping Universe for at least two months already."
"Universe's?" The Spartan asked, slightly trying to play the dumb card.
She looked at him as if she knew he was playing dumb, "Yeah," she sighed, "My Universe… It's gone… Everyone I knew…." She shrugged to finish her little speech.
"What about you?" again she looks at him.
John contemplates answering, but there something in her eyes. She's sad, but not an emery. He can see that now.
"It's there." He replied shortly, implying his universe was still alive, which in some way it was. Just not the way he once knew it.
"Lucky…" She says with pursed lips.
"Maybe." John responded looking away.
"They'll come once mornings here to feed us, though with your helmet that might be a problem."
"Is there anyone else?" The Spartan then asked.
Another shrug, "Don't think so. Only us for now. Maybe they know more about the whole, reality in danger thing than we think." Her voice becomes colder, a sudden change form her normal tone, or at least what Chief figured was her normal tone.
"Excuse me?"
"Oh come on. You're like a giant space robot. Im a girl with guns which have yet to be invented here. You think they captured us by accident?"
Silence.
"A guy in my Universe, before it was… well yeah, anyway, he had a theory that the Flood was attacking other universe's not just ours. I didn't think he was right till I jumped to a new universe. Sucks to say I found out he was right."
"How many did they destroy?" John asked.
"I think I went through ten that they left in ruins... Two more were still infected, which I barely made it out of by the way, and the others were just lifeless universe's entirely."
"You can jump through on your own?"
"I wish. Maybe if I had the Phoenix still, but no I can't on my own. One of my really smart friends, well maybe more like a leader, or a boss, anyway, Stark made me a little device that could jump me through different realities. Said I was the last hope before they all died..."
"Phoenix?"
"Its a long story."
John nodded in understanding. He had plenty of long stories.
"So, besides my depressing past, whats your story?"
"Chief."
"What?"
"Call me Chief."
"All right? I'm Hope."
John looked at her, the girl smiling softly and friendly.
"Hope Summers."
A/N So here Interlude 2.
To clear up any confusion, this interlude takes place between Day 6 and Day 7 of the main chapters. The 'Days' Chapter start at around 8 am and go to about 8 or 10pm. This takes place between Day 6 at 10pm and Day 7 at 8pm.
Heres Hope Summers! Whoo!
Also two more game characters will appear before this Arc and Part I are finished, but they will be more minor characters unlike our big four for now.
Now something completely unrelated to the story... Ok so I have finished my first Novel, unedited still, but I need reviews and critics so I can see what needs to be changed etc... You a beta reader type thing. Anyway, if you my gracious awesome followers could read it and leave even a two word review that would be great, and I could possibly create a OC character in this story or my Novel as a little token of gratitude. The link is on my profile page (Fanfiction wouldn't let me put the link here) so please go there if you can read it!
Anyway please and thanks again!
Thanks for reading. Reivew. God bless you guys!