Chapter Twenty Four

There was a low beat mumbling through my lips. Almost words, but not quite. It was a complex piece from an old opera my mom and I used to listen to.

I was sitting at the desk, sketching in my notebook.

It was a Sangheili, his jaws spread wide with a silent, animalistic roar. His clawed hands were held out on either side, prepared to rip apart his enemies.

Jul 'Mdamaee was still in the stockade. It had been two days since I saw him.

I couldn't help but want some closure. Maybe...I could show him I wasn't as weak as I'd been. Let him see that he hadn't broken me. Because he certainly hadn't.

Had he?

No. I was not broken. Not by him.

I'd been thinking about it for a few days. Since I saw him, really.

It had been the shock of it all that made me react so strongly. I was sure of it.

Now that I knew it was him, I'd be okay. Probably.

No, definitely.

I turned to John. "I want to talk to him."

John was on the bed, polishing his helmet. When I spoke he paused. "Is that a good idea?"

"I..." I looked down at my hands, "I don't know. But I'm going to anyways."

"I'm going with you."

I didn't protest. I'd actually been hoping he would come with me.

My legs felt wobbly as I pushed myself up. I had to do this. I could find out their plans, whether the Sangheili let me or not.

John took my hand in his as we walked out into the hallway. I was focusing on my breath. In and out, in and out.

And the anger in my heart. It was red and thick, like the heart of a fire.

If I could coax it into something bigger, into a true rage, hopefully M'damaee wouldn't stand a chance.

When we walked into the stockade I felt my stomach drop.

I shoved it down and walked up to a soldier. "I'm here to talk to the Sangheili."

I must have been given clearance, because she nodded. "Right this way, ma'am."

I followed her into the bowels of the stockade. My breath tried to speed up as we grew closer to his cell.

I closed my eyes, steadying myself. I would be fine; he couldn't hurt me from inside a prison cell.

How poetic that now he was the prisoner on my home turf.

My breath shook as I walked up to the cell.

Jul looked down at me with a predatory gaze. "You have returned to me."

I struggled to keep my face still. It fought to curl my lip in rage, or crumple into a cowering sob.

I met his eyes evenly. "Don't play tough. You're the prisoner now."

He shifted, pacing along the bars to get closer to me. "You speak Sangheili."

His shock gave me strength. He was a living, breathing, feeling being just like any other.

"What does the Covenant want on Earth?" I asked.

"As if I would expose our plans that easily." He turned his nose up at the mere thought.

"No one said you had to cooperate."

He cocked his head. "So you plan to use your powers. After so long, you finally reveal your strength."

A twisted grin tugged at my lips as I felt his fear. "And you reveal your cowardice. I didn't think the powerful Shipmaster would be afraid of a little girl."

Before he could respond I shoved myself into his mind. It was rough, jarring, and overwhelming for him. The last independant thing he felt was terror, before his mind completely halted.

I was in charge.

He was at my mercy now. Helpless. I could do with him whatever I wanted. Just like he'd done to me.

I could make him hurt. I could make him scared.

I didn't like feeling like this. Dark, and hateful.

It was wrong. It was how he undoubtedly had thought when he tortured me.

So I didn't torture him.

I forced myself to focus on what was important; their plans for Earth.

They were searching for a Forerunner artifact with coordinates to the Ark. They wanted to activate all of the Halo rings at once. They knew the artifact was somewhere in Africa.

I returned to my own mind, ignoring the Sangheili as he staggered back, and turned to John. "They're trying to find the Ark."

"How?"

I turned to glare at Jul. "They think there's a Forerunner artifact that can tell them where it is."

"We have to find it."

I nodded. "Let's go."

The Shipmaster snarled as we walked away.

When we were out of the stockade, walking through the sun, I sagged into John. "That was terrifying."

"He can't hurt you."

"I-I know. That's...that's not what scared me."

He glanced down at me. In his armor, every move was intentional, and that one was imploring me to continue.

"I...I wanted to hurt him."

"He tortured you."

"But, John, bad things happen when I get mad. I destroyed an entire ring world!"

He wrapped an arm around my shoulder. "It got rid of the Flood."

"I didn't mean to destroy the ring world." I fought to help him understand. "I wanted to take the Index back. I'm not scared of my own judgement, John, I'm scared that I'll lose control again. I destroyed Installation 04 on accident."

He didn't say anything. His hold on my shoulder became fractionally tighter.

I bit my lip. "I don't want this."

"You don't have a choice."

That sent a flurry of dread through my body. My heart skipped a few beats.

I shoved my fear down. He was right, I didn't have a choice. These powers seemed to be permanent.

I would have to curb my temper.

My eyes closed as I took a breath. "Yeah, I don't. But I can help stop the Covenant. The Domain, it can show us where the artifact is."

He paused as we reached another building. "You go. I'll report to the Colonel."

I caught his hand as he moved to walk away. "John, I might need your help."

"I'll join you when I'm done."

"Got it." I nodded.

I turned back to the barracks with a heavy sigh, setting my shoulders.

It was dim in John's room. It usually was, since neither of us cared to turn the lights on.

I settled onto the bed, laying down and closing my eyes. Reaching out. Feeling the familiar buzz grow stronger and louder until it engulfed me.

The Domain was as beautiful as always. Ornate beams, towering roofs, ethereal lighting.

I glanced around for a moment. "Warden?"

He was behind me.

"Hey, I'm looking for a Forerunner artifact that has the coordinates of the Ark."

"The information is within this room," he gestured to the room on the right, "But the Domain has not decided to show you."

"I need to know where it is. If not, the Covenant could find it. If they fire the Halo Array again, it will destroy the Domain."

He tilted his head in thought. "Perhaps the Domain can be persuaded."

I stepped towards the room. "I hope so."

It was foggy in the room. I knew what to do from my experience on Installation 05.

The fog was difficult to push with my mind, but I managed. It wouldn't show me what was inside unless I could corral all of the fog into a tight ball.

Which was harder than it sounded. Wisps of smoke slid through my control, spreading back out over the room.

I reined a few tendrils in, only to feel several more escape.

My mind was trying to keep track of everything, my brow furrowed in frustrated concentration. I growled, shoving uselessly at the fog.

Someone was behind me, pushing on the fog. It couldn't escape our combined strength.

I turned my head and saw John, his own arms extended.

We gathered all of the smoke into the center of the room, where it began to change. It dispersed over the whole room, forming into a detailed topographical map. I could see New Mombasa, at the edge of the map.

There, outside the city. I couldn't see anything, but something told me the artifact was there. The location burned itself into my memory.

I looked up at John. "Do you feel it?"

He nodded.

"We should go talk to the Colonel."

"Let's go."

My eyes opened. I was on John's lap. He was sitting up against the wall, his arms around me.

I stood up as he came back into his body. "I-I can't believe it's right out of the city. How did they miss it the first time they were here?"

"I don't know. I'm just glad they did."

"Me too." I took his hand as we walked out into the hall. "And they haven't been looking around here yet. After we have the artifact, we can focus on taking them out instead of keeping them contained."

He nodded.

It was busy in the building we walked into. It served mainly as an office of sorts, with the officers performing their more official duties in here.

We walked into the Colonel's office. Well, we walked up to it. I pressed the intercom.

"Who is it?" he asked.

"It's Tawny and John," I explained.

"Come in."

The door opened.

He looked up at us from his desk. "That was quick. Have you found the artifact, Ms. Clark?"

I nodded. "It's actually just outside the city."

John stepped forward and provided the coordinates.

The Colonel drummed his fingers on the desk. "Got it. Thank you, Chief. Ms. Clark."

"Of course." I nodded.

"Dismissed."

John saluted. His sharp movements contrasted with mine as I walked out of the room.

The door closed behind us.

"That's it, I guess." I tucked my hands into the pockets of my dress.

John nodded.

"So, should we go tell the others? We're probably going to be sent out, you know."

He didn't say anything for a minute. Then, "They're on the track."

"Got it." I followed John out to the practice fields.

We walked past several soldiers, all sweaty and tired to some degree. It was full-blown summer in Kenya, and you could tell.

That was why clothes on Eridanus II were always light and breezy. It saw its fair share of humid summers, and the people who didn't spend most of their time indoors had to adapt.

John and I turned heads, as usual. In his armor especially, we looked like polar opposites. He was tall and battle-scarred and imposing. I was small and soft and looked about as threatening as a bunny rabbit. He had thick armor that could withstand unbelievable strain, and I was in a yellow and white dress that billowed around my knees in the wind.

But most of the soldiers had heard about me, and they knew I was just as lethal as John.

I released his hand, pulling my hair into a ponytail at the base of my neck. It had grown out to several inches below my shoulder now, and I wanted to get it cut soon, but that could wait. Securing the Forerunner artifact was much more important.

The SPARTANs were all on the track, running in circles. I was blown away by their speed, Kelly's especially. She was so fast she was actually behind the others, having completed an extra lap.

They all slowed to a halt at around the same time, so John must have commed them.

We met each other beside the track.

Kelly pulled off her helmet. "What is it, Chief?"

John pulled his helmet off, too. "We know what the Covenant wants, and we know where it is."

"What do they want?" Linda was all business.

I looked up, glancing between them. "They're trying to find the Ark so they can activate the entire Halo Array. A-and the artifact with the coordinates to the Ark is right outside New Mombasa."

"You're kidding." Fred shifted his helmet from one arm to the other. "That's too easy."

"I thought so, too. But it's there, and we need to get it before the Covenant does." John's voice held yet untapped reserves of determination.

They all straightened up. Kelly offered John a fond smile. "Just give us the word, Chief."

oOOOo

Author's Note: Holy CRAP guys, next chapter is the last one! I'M SO EXCITED. I'll be posting the official timeline after the next chapter.

Then I'm taking a few weeks' break from the Chipped series. I was thinking of posting a Q&A? Is that a good idea or no?

Anywho, I love you guys. Thanks for sticking around! :)

(Edited 1/1/2020)