A.N. "This is normal speak" "This is telepathy" *This is thought* :And this is translated sign language:
Arlene and I walked up to the top of the stairs, where I noticed that the thin metal did not even buckle under my weight. *This armor must be lighter than I thought. It normally weighs a half ton!* I thought to myself as we walked through to room 1215, where Arlene stopped me. "We're in here." She told me, opening the door. We walked in, and I saw Connor with a disassembled handgun in front of him, while he cleaned it. If I could, I would have laughed and congratulated him on his ability. "Connor! That's the third time you've done that today. It isn't getting any cleaner!" Arlene said to our son. He looked up with a smile on his face until he saw me, and he jumped. "It's alright, Connor. It's someone we've missed." Arlene said.:Hey son. What's going on?: I signed to him. "What? Who are you? How do you know that I know sign language?" Connor asked. :I taught it to you. You are my son, after all.: I signed back to him. He stared at me, as if amazed at this new news. He walked closer to me, and asked me, "Dad?"
"Daddy?" I heard from behind me. I turned around to see Sally, looking up at me with a smile on her face. She had the flash drives I gave her around her neck, albeit on a shorter chain for her smaller neck. I nodded, then got down on one knee, while she ran towards me and jumped into a hug. When we pulled away, she asked me, "Daddy, why are you wearing that?" She started moving her hands to my helmet, obviously trying to see my face again. I stopped her before she got close, and nodded to Arlene. "Baby, Daddy has to stay in that armor, or else he'll go away again. But he won't come back after that. He needs to keep his helmet on." She told Sally. Sally frowned, and then asked, "But... Why can't Daddy tell me that himself?" "We think that keeping him in the armor causes him to be mute. Luckily, he can communicate through sign language." Arlene explained. "What's sign language?" Sally asked her mother. Arlene slapped her forehead with her hand, then said, "I forgot that we never taught you sign language."
:Wait. Arlene, tell Sally to try and speak to me with telepathy.: I signed her. "Sally, try speaking to Daddy using your telepathy." Arlene said after nodding, signaling that she got what I told her. Sally nodded back, then stared at me. She quickly shut her eyes tightly, as if concentrating, then after a minute, I heard in my head, "Daddy? Can you hear me?" *Loud and clear, Sally.* I thought to her. "Yay Daddy!" Sally exclaimed, jumping up at me again. I stood up with her in my arms, and put her back down on the bed. *Now Sally, you need to understand that I must keep in this armor, or else I will be sent to a dark place, okay?* I sent to her. "Okay Daddy!" She said back. I turned to Connor, who was standing with a smile on his face this whole time. I moved my right index finger to my face, where the visor was, and drew a line to the opposite side over the visor. "What sign was that?" Arlene asked, not understanding the gesture. "It's how SPARTAN-IIs smile to each other. They make that move with their hands." Connor explained to her, remembering the times he and I spent playing Halo.
After they had dinner, I instructed that they should go to bed, and that I would take first watch. Connor got into the second bed in the small apartment, and Arlene got into the bigger one. I tucked Sally into a large dresser drawer, with many blankets and such packed in it. Before she went to sleep, she wrapped her little arms around my neck, and said, "I love you Daddy." She kissed me on where my cheek would be on my helmet, then laid down. I moved my hand to the front of my helmet, then down to the nodule where my mouth would be, and then moved it to lightly touch her forehead, and sent to her, *Love you too, Sally.* I walked over to Arlene, who was still awake, and signed, :You need to get some rest. A woman in your condition needs as much rest as she can get.: "I can handle myself awake for a few more minutes. Besides, I think I should tell you something." She told me. I nodded, and she continued. "The kids have already picked out the names of the babies. For the boy, Connor decided to name him after you. For the girl, Sally said that she wanted a little sister named Jasmine." :Those sound like fun names. I think that they'll work.: I signed to her. "I think so too." Arlene said, beginning to close her eyes, then leaning forward and kissing the front, lower nodule on my helmet. "Good night." She said, closing her eyes completely and resting her head on the pillow. I brought the covers up to her neckline, and let them wrap around her.
I sat in a chair for the most of the night, waiting for daylight, when I heard a beeping. I searched the room, trying to find the source of it, when I noticed that a section of my vision in this helmet that had a small circle, with a center blue dot, and a green dot about fifty feet away from me. "Motion sensor. Nice." I said in my helmet. I stood up, went over to Arlene, and tapped her awake. Her eyes snapped open, and she looked at my hands. :My helmet has a motion sensor. There's something nearby that hasn't identified itself as friend or foe. I'm going to check it out. Watch the kids.: I signed to her. She nodded, and I walked out of the room, sword drawn. I turned in the hallway, my sensor telling me that the thing was left. I walked until I was directly to the left of it. I turned and saw that the door was to a service closet, for janitors. I grasped the door handle slowly, to try not to cause the thing to know that I was there, and yanked the door away, raising my sword for a stab, but not striking until I knew what it was. I hesitated, and that's what saved this creature.
It had been shivering, which is what caused my motion sensor to go off. I noticed its mangled, knotted hair, which was pure white. It had a red, bear trap-esque thing around its neck. Both of its shoulders had black whisps coming off of it, and its body was like a large hourglass, with many nobs on the bottom section. What had set this whole image off was its eyes. I knelt down, and managed to look at its baby blue eyes, full of fear, and staring at me, as if it was looking at its executioner. I moved the sword to the magnetic holder on my back, and checked its black body for any bites it could have. Seeing none, I tried to converse with it. *Hello? Can you speak telepathy?* I sent to it, in an attempt to get it to know that I was a friendly. "How... How am I not..." He started speaking in my head before I sent to him, *I am a peaceful man. Can you walk, or float?* I asked the legendary Pokemon. He tried to stand, but instantly fell back to the ground in pain. I took his hand, and put it around to the back of my neck. He moved his other hand to meet it, and I carried him back to the room.
When I got to the room, I brought the Darkrai to the chair I was in. Arlene stared at me while I set him down, so I signed to her, :He is in trouble. I'm helping him.: Arlene nodded, then started assisting me in my task. As soon as we got him healed up and some water into him, we sat down on the bed and started watching him. He stopped drinking his water, moving the cup we gave him from what I presume was his lips to his lap. "Thank you, for your kindness." *It's alright, Darkrai. Now, can you understand sign language? It would make things easier for me.* I sent him. He nodded, so I raised my arms. :Okay, now, why do you look like this?: I signed to him. "I haven't had food or water for weeks. I curled up in that closet, waiting for the Grim Reaper to come get me, when this man in the armor came and rescued me. How did you even know that I was in there?" He said to us. :This helmet that I have on has a built in motion sensor. Your shivering tripped it, so I went looking for the source.: I signed to him. "Ah. Well, can I see the face of the man who saved me?" He asked.
"I'm sorry, Darkrai, but we can't let that happen. Will is a spirit trapped in that armor. If he leaves that armor for any reason, he'll be sent to Purgatory." Arlene said to the Pitch Black Pokemon. "I see. Well, I am in your debt. I shall stay with you until it is paid. I give you my word." He told us. :Thank you. Firstly, is there a way to keep my children from experiencing horrible nightmares?: I signed to him. "That's easy. Ever since this epidemic happened, I haven't caused even a single nightmare. Even when I tried to. I think my energy for it has dried up." He told us. I walked over to the closet, got out a spare blanket, and laid it on the hurt Pokemon. :In that case, I want you to get some rest. You're one of us, now.: I signed to him. He nodded, thanked us, and closed his eyes, tucking his head into the bear trap thing, showing only his white hair. I looked over to Arlene, who got back into the bed, and went back to sleep. I picked up a shotgun that was near the bed, and laid it across my lap, waiting beside the bed for anything.