Chapter 1
Autumns Morning
A few weeks ago I had my friend Nick over to my house to play a little Halo and torture my little brothers. Nick is the leader of our Halo team, The Word of Chaos, and his name is, obviously, Chaos. My name is Tactic, and I'm our tactician and strategist. He got to my house at about 5 in the evening. It was an evening I would never, ever forget.
"Hey, 'sup Tactic!" Nick shouted at me as his car rolled into our driveway.
"Hey." I said happily, but in the back of my mind I was hoping he wasn't thinking about beating any levels on Legendary today. I hate Legendary. It whoops my butt every time I try to beat it. I could walk into a room full of covenant, feeling confident because I've got a full compliment of grenades and a shotgun. Then I see Hunters and get blown to pieces before I even have time to draw breath. Very discouraging.
"How bout we start on POA and go from there?" Nick said seeing the look on my face.
"Oh, come on man. You know I hate Legendary." I pleaded. But it was no use. He dragged me upstairs to the Xbox.
"Oh! I almost forgot." Nick said as I was booting up the machine. He pulled out 2 pairs of 3D glasses, but instead of one lens being red and the other blue, they were both clear, and light seemed to disappear into them.
"What the hell are those?" I said, eyeing them cautiously.
"Gamestop was giving them out," he started, "They're glasses that are designed to work only with Halo. Add that to you're surround sound system, and it's like we'll actually be in the game!"
"Whoa." I said, feeling happy for the first time that day. I finished booting up the Xbox and put on my glasses. They worked wonderfully. I could see every speck of plasma fly past me. I could see snowfall gently on the vehicles. I could see every detail of the Elites before Nick beat them to death. Of course, this was on AOTCR, and easy, as a warm-up. Then Nick quit that and started up POA on Legendary. We sat in awe as we watched the opening cinematic. The glasses worked even better on this level! It was so cool, I even forgot I hated Legendary.
"Cool, huh?" Nick said after a few minutes.
"Yeah, awesome" I said. "Oh, hey could you pause it? I have to go to the bathroom.
"Sure." He said pausing the game and lying down on the sofa.
I was washing my hands in the bathroom downstairs, when I noticed something strange. Nothing was moving. There was complete and utter silence. I could hear the light bulb buzzing on the ceiling. I could hear the ant on the floor scuttling across to a hole in the wall.
"The glasses must be getting to me." I thought. I headed back upstairs. The game was still running, but the pause screen was gone. Nick wasn't on the sofa.
"Alright Nick, where are you?" I shouted. I looked everywhere, but couldn't find him. I looked back at the TV, and what I saw made me jump back in shock. The image on the TV screen had taken up the entire wall. As a matter of fact, the TV wasn't there anymore, neither was the wall. It was like.a gateway into the game. I threw off the 3D glasses, but the effect was still there, but more pronounced.
"What the hell is going on here?" I whispered. I slowly walked up the wall. I put my hand through where the TV would have been. No shock, no pain. It was like my wall wasn't there anymore. I slowly stepped into the game. It felt perfectly natural. I was standing in a hallway of the Pillar of Autumn. I walked a little further. This was completely weird. I turned back to the screen.
".The hell?" I said. The doorway was gone! I was trapped in some spaceship orbiting a planet I had never heard of! It took a few minutes for me to realize that Nick must be here too. That would explain the sudden disappearance. I walked a little further and turned a corner, thinking all the while. If I was in the game, then all the events going on around me must follow the plot. Then I realized something that made my blood run cold. Nick had left the game on Legendary. That meant I was sure to die. I looked out a window. Streaks of stars flew past the glass.
"Wait a second. The Autumn was already under attack when we were playing. Does this mean I've gone back in time too?" I thought. Then we were safe for the moment. No Covenant. Then it hit me. I could warn Captain Keyes not to decelerate the ship when we reached Halo! I started running for the bridge. Then I stopped. Where was the bridge? I looked around till I saw a map, marking the bridge with a red dot. I was close. Very close. I had a chance of making it! Then there was a jolt. The ship was coming out of hyperspace! I was too late. Now we were all going to die. I began to think quickly. When the game starts, the Covenant ships reach the Autumn in about 2 minutes. That meant I had to reach a lifeboat, fast. I looked back at the map. I wasn't as close to the life pods as I was to the bridge. Then I saw I was close to the armory. If I could arm myself, I would have a better chance. I started running. I reached the armory with a minute to spare. I quickly grabbed a pistol and ammo from the rack. I loaded it up, hid it in my pocket, and started running again. Then the ship lurched, and I was knocked off my feet. That must be the first Covenant ship! I ran faster, streaking past surprised crewmembers. I turned a corner and saw Covenant spilling into the ship. I turned another way, ducked under a destroyed blast door, and continued on, only stopping to pick up ammunition and grenades from a fallen Marine. I caught a glimpse of another map. I was very close to the life pods. But I had to hurry. The explosions were getting more frequent. I knew that Keyes wouldn't try to crash land the Autumn until Cortana and the Master Chief were off the ship. I was probably closer to the life pods then them anyway. I could still make it. I ran around a corner into a group of grunts. They squealed in surprise. I ducked behind a partition, then popped up and shot a couple. I saw that they also had an Elite with them. I threw one of my grenades at the group, but it did almost nothing. I was loading up another one, when I heard human gunfire. I popped my head up and saw a group of marines firing at the Covenant. When they were all dead, I ran towards them. "Wow. Thanks" I said to them. "And.who are you?" An Aussie asked me. "No one!" I shouted as I ran past him. He stood there scratching his head. I ran past another group of Marines, turned a corner, and saw the life pods. I could have screamed in relief. I ran toward the last one that was already launching. "Wait!" I shouted. The pilot looked at me strangely, but waited till I was aboard till closing the doors. I strapped myself into a seat, looked around. And who to be in the same pod was Nick! "Hey man!" Nick said. "I thought you were dead!" "Same here" I said. I saw that Nick was holding a medpack over a wound on his leg. "You ok?" I asked him. "What's it look like, dip head?!" He yelled. Then we were both pushed back in our seats as the life pod launched. I saw through the life pod's windows as the Autumn got hit with round after round of Covenant plasma. I looked through the front windows and saw Halo in the distance. It looked even more beautiful like this. Then our pod lurched as plasma hit us. A Covenant ship was trailing us, firing its cannons. "Oh shit." Nick and I said in unison. Then out of nowhere a Longsword fighter blasted it off our 6. I looked back through the front windows with relief and saw we were closer to Halo then I expected. It's atmosphere was already pulling us in. I saw Nick clench his teeth and close his eyes. I did the same.
"I really want to go home." I thought.
"So do I." Nick said strangely enough.
Autumns Morning
A few weeks ago I had my friend Nick over to my house to play a little Halo and torture my little brothers. Nick is the leader of our Halo team, The Word of Chaos, and his name is, obviously, Chaos. My name is Tactic, and I'm our tactician and strategist. He got to my house at about 5 in the evening. It was an evening I would never, ever forget.
"Hey, 'sup Tactic!" Nick shouted at me as his car rolled into our driveway.
"Hey." I said happily, but in the back of my mind I was hoping he wasn't thinking about beating any levels on Legendary today. I hate Legendary. It whoops my butt every time I try to beat it. I could walk into a room full of covenant, feeling confident because I've got a full compliment of grenades and a shotgun. Then I see Hunters and get blown to pieces before I even have time to draw breath. Very discouraging.
"How bout we start on POA and go from there?" Nick said seeing the look on my face.
"Oh, come on man. You know I hate Legendary." I pleaded. But it was no use. He dragged me upstairs to the Xbox.
"Oh! I almost forgot." Nick said as I was booting up the machine. He pulled out 2 pairs of 3D glasses, but instead of one lens being red and the other blue, they were both clear, and light seemed to disappear into them.
"What the hell are those?" I said, eyeing them cautiously.
"Gamestop was giving them out," he started, "They're glasses that are designed to work only with Halo. Add that to you're surround sound system, and it's like we'll actually be in the game!"
"Whoa." I said, feeling happy for the first time that day. I finished booting up the Xbox and put on my glasses. They worked wonderfully. I could see every speck of plasma fly past me. I could see snowfall gently on the vehicles. I could see every detail of the Elites before Nick beat them to death. Of course, this was on AOTCR, and easy, as a warm-up. Then Nick quit that and started up POA on Legendary. We sat in awe as we watched the opening cinematic. The glasses worked even better on this level! It was so cool, I even forgot I hated Legendary.
"Cool, huh?" Nick said after a few minutes.
"Yeah, awesome" I said. "Oh, hey could you pause it? I have to go to the bathroom.
"Sure." He said pausing the game and lying down on the sofa.
I was washing my hands in the bathroom downstairs, when I noticed something strange. Nothing was moving. There was complete and utter silence. I could hear the light bulb buzzing on the ceiling. I could hear the ant on the floor scuttling across to a hole in the wall.
"The glasses must be getting to me." I thought. I headed back upstairs. The game was still running, but the pause screen was gone. Nick wasn't on the sofa.
"Alright Nick, where are you?" I shouted. I looked everywhere, but couldn't find him. I looked back at the TV, and what I saw made me jump back in shock. The image on the TV screen had taken up the entire wall. As a matter of fact, the TV wasn't there anymore, neither was the wall. It was like.a gateway into the game. I threw off the 3D glasses, but the effect was still there, but more pronounced.
"What the hell is going on here?" I whispered. I slowly walked up the wall. I put my hand through where the TV would have been. No shock, no pain. It was like my wall wasn't there anymore. I slowly stepped into the game. It felt perfectly natural. I was standing in a hallway of the Pillar of Autumn. I walked a little further. This was completely weird. I turned back to the screen.
".The hell?" I said. The doorway was gone! I was trapped in some spaceship orbiting a planet I had never heard of! It took a few minutes for me to realize that Nick must be here too. That would explain the sudden disappearance. I walked a little further and turned a corner, thinking all the while. If I was in the game, then all the events going on around me must follow the plot. Then I realized something that made my blood run cold. Nick had left the game on Legendary. That meant I was sure to die. I looked out a window. Streaks of stars flew past the glass.
"Wait a second. The Autumn was already under attack when we were playing. Does this mean I've gone back in time too?" I thought. Then we were safe for the moment. No Covenant. Then it hit me. I could warn Captain Keyes not to decelerate the ship when we reached Halo! I started running for the bridge. Then I stopped. Where was the bridge? I looked around till I saw a map, marking the bridge with a red dot. I was close. Very close. I had a chance of making it! Then there was a jolt. The ship was coming out of hyperspace! I was too late. Now we were all going to die. I began to think quickly. When the game starts, the Covenant ships reach the Autumn in about 2 minutes. That meant I had to reach a lifeboat, fast. I looked back at the map. I wasn't as close to the life pods as I was to the bridge. Then I saw I was close to the armory. If I could arm myself, I would have a better chance. I started running. I reached the armory with a minute to spare. I quickly grabbed a pistol and ammo from the rack. I loaded it up, hid it in my pocket, and started running again. Then the ship lurched, and I was knocked off my feet. That must be the first Covenant ship! I ran faster, streaking past surprised crewmembers. I turned a corner and saw Covenant spilling into the ship. I turned another way, ducked under a destroyed blast door, and continued on, only stopping to pick up ammunition and grenades from a fallen Marine. I caught a glimpse of another map. I was very close to the life pods. But I had to hurry. The explosions were getting more frequent. I knew that Keyes wouldn't try to crash land the Autumn until Cortana and the Master Chief were off the ship. I was probably closer to the life pods then them anyway. I could still make it. I ran around a corner into a group of grunts. They squealed in surprise. I ducked behind a partition, then popped up and shot a couple. I saw that they also had an Elite with them. I threw one of my grenades at the group, but it did almost nothing. I was loading up another one, when I heard human gunfire. I popped my head up and saw a group of marines firing at the Covenant. When they were all dead, I ran towards them. "Wow. Thanks" I said to them. "And.who are you?" An Aussie asked me. "No one!" I shouted as I ran past him. He stood there scratching his head. I ran past another group of Marines, turned a corner, and saw the life pods. I could have screamed in relief. I ran toward the last one that was already launching. "Wait!" I shouted. The pilot looked at me strangely, but waited till I was aboard till closing the doors. I strapped myself into a seat, looked around. And who to be in the same pod was Nick! "Hey man!" Nick said. "I thought you were dead!" "Same here" I said. I saw that Nick was holding a medpack over a wound on his leg. "You ok?" I asked him. "What's it look like, dip head?!" He yelled. Then we were both pushed back in our seats as the life pod launched. I saw through the life pod's windows as the Autumn got hit with round after round of Covenant plasma. I looked through the front windows and saw Halo in the distance. It looked even more beautiful like this. Then our pod lurched as plasma hit us. A Covenant ship was trailing us, firing its cannons. "Oh shit." Nick and I said in unison. Then out of nowhere a Longsword fighter blasted it off our 6. I looked back through the front windows with relief and saw we were closer to Halo then I expected. It's atmosphere was already pulling us in. I saw Nick clench his teeth and close his eyes. I did the same.
"I really want to go home." I thought.
"So do I." Nick said strangely enough.