"Sigurd, named after the man who slew the fearsome dragon known as Fafnir on Earth, is the first Remnant-UNSC weapon constructed, and it will probably be the only one constructed. Thanks to The Mantilian Kingdom's mecha-shift technology which The Master Chief and I have "acquired", we have made by far the most powerful weapon that a footsoldier can have. A standard issue Valian Broadsword, constructed with the finest of steel has been combined with the Heavy Barrel variant of the BR55, the main weapon of all UNSC Marine personnel. The weapon has passed all stages of weapon testing, and we hope to include an M301 grenade launcher as well as extended magazine capability. The Master Chief also wishes to modify the sword's weight with gravity dust, we hope that it would be better for him to use in combat. Can't have a sword that's too light, right?
-Database entry about the UNSC Mecha-Shift Hybrid weapon known as Sigurd logged by UNSC AI Cortana
Four Months After The Great War
Forward Unto Dawn crash site
King Oz stood inside The Forward Unto Dawn and was amazed by all of it, it had so much advanced technology and according to The Master Chief and Cortana, it was all achieved without dust... he was absolutely amazed by this, by him, by the weapons he wielded...
"So, is this where we part ways then?" Asked Oz. Chief simply gave no response, as he stared at a large pod. He took Sigurd, his weapon that he had crafted with his own hands during his second week on Remnant and turned it into it's rifle form, and then placed the weapon inside the pod. He had been silent throughout the entire trip, and Ozman wondered why he was even brought here. Out of respect, maybe? He was not sure.
"Yes," The Master Chief finally said, as he turned towards the King, his golden visor stared into the brown eyes of the man.
"Are you sure you do not wish to help me finish uniting Remnant? Chief, you and Cortana... you've been insurmountable to helping Vale, and could be to helping the people of this planet." The King pleaded, Chief turned and shook his head.
"My King," The Master Chief said, placing his hand on Oz's shoulder. "You don't need us, you probably won't at all after this. The people of Vale, no, the people of Remnant look up to you." he said. Oz's eyes widened at this.
"The Emerald Knight will be a legend, and nothing more. Forgotten, or my stories will be greatly exaggerated by many but you? You're a hero, and heroes are never forgotten." The Spartan II said.
"You're as much of a hero as I am, Chief." King Dias replied, however the Chief shook his head.
"I'm just a soldier, Ozman." He said, and then turned, preparing to enter his pod once more.
"I ask you only one more thing," The Master Chief said, "If another crisis happens on Remnant, whether it be another Great War, or if Salem were to ever come back, or if the UNSC ever does come here... wake me."
"Wake me when you need me," Chief finally said, and finally he stepped into the cryo-pod. The pod door slowly shut, a loud hiss was made as it closed and finally... John-117, The Master Chief finally went to sleep.
"Now that leaves me," A voice echoed throughout the ship. Oz smiled and stared at a computer console, where Cortana was inserted inside of.
"What will you do? Surely your... rampancy, was it? Surely that will eventually kill you," Said Oz. Cortana nodded.
"If the ship were still floating adrift, it would be the case. An AI is going to be needed to keep most of the ship running should it ever start floating adrift cause many things could happen, however, since the ship is on land there's no need to do anything. So, what I'll be doing is a sleep like The Chief's. I'll be placing myself under stasis, something that's done to any and all UNSC AI whether they be malfunctioning or if we're in a situation like this. My programming will be in a state like sleep and the effects of rampancy won't affect me, and I already have everything working out for Chief's cryosleep, so he'll be fine." the AI explained.
"You managed to get UNSC tech to work with dust?" asked Ozman.
"It took a while, but I managed to get it to work, Chief won't need me to really mess around with the pods unless if it's to wake him but... I don't see that happening anytime soon." Cortana said. The AI then stared at Oz, and to him she was staring into his soul…
"King Dias, The Chief is right... you won't need us anymore." she said. "You'll do just fine on your own, you were the most inspirational one. Sure, Chief was good on the battlefield, but every army needs a good leader."
"And Ozman? You were the best we ever came across, and that's saying something."
Ozman smiled at that remark and bent down, to be face to face with Cortana whose avatar smiled.
"Thank you, Cortana..." he said. "I guess I should say goodbye to you as well?" The King then asked.
"Yes, though I am going to need your help for the stasis process." She said, and soon a prompt came up on a computer near him.
"THE MESSAGE DISPLAYED IS TO CONFIRM THAT YOU ARE PLACING UNSC AI CTN 0452-9 UNDER STASIS FOR THE FOLLOWING REASON(S)" It read. There was more text after that...
"SHIP HAS CRASHED ON UNKNOWN PLANET AND CANNOT CONTACT UNSC FLEETCOM AND UNSC HIGHCOM" And finally...
"YES" "NO"
"Go ahead and press yes, once you do that you'll have to put in a password. The password is Sierra-117, all capitalized." The AI said. Oz did so, tapping on the green colored "YES" and the prompt for the password came up which he began typing at a slow pace due to his unfamiliarity with the new device.
"Hit enter?" He said.
"Yes," The AI said as Oz's finger then went to the "Enter" key.
"If you need to wake Chief, you're going to need to wake me up first... hope you can remember that password." She said with a smile.
"Of course I will... and thank you both," he said and turned his head towards the AI, with a soft smile.
"Thank you for helping me save Remnant," The King said.
"And thank you for making the Chief feel... human, again." she said.
"Pardon?" he asked.
"John wasn't… human, so to speak whenever the war was at its end. The people he fought and bled beside were gone, the few people he could call family were either dead or missing. Then that all changed when we crashed here." said Cortana. "You all took him in without a second thought, and where some soldiers within our ranks called The Master Chief a bullet hungry freak… your soldiers called him a hero, they offered to get drinks with him, they wanted to know the man and didn't see him as this super-soldier, and those very soldiers became Chief's friends." she stated and then smiled.
"So thank you, thank you for everything, King Ozman Dias." she said.
"Your welcome, Cortana..." he said, and finally… after one more sigh, he said his farewell to his friend.
"And goodbye," The King finally said, hitting the enter key. It was such a simple thing to do, yet it felt so... intense, as if it was a life or death scenario. Cortana's avatar simply flickered and vanished, replaced by a blue orb. The computer's prompt changed, and there was text that read,
"UNSC AI CTN 0452-9 IS UNDER STASIS. WOULD YOU LIKE TO DISABLE THE STASIS PROTOCOL?" and a yes or no prompt underneath it.
Ozman turned away and then looked at the Master Chief, who laid their asleep.
"You might not agree, but... you will always be a hero to me, John." King Dias spoke softly.
The Emerald Knight
Mistral Outskirts
Present Day
"How much farther?" Asked Oscar. The boy was tired, and he had done nothing but move throughout the trail and also avoid many Grimm, all small and large. He was thankful that he had Ozpin guiding him, if he wasn't well... he'd certainly be mincemeat, that's for sure.
"Not much farther, you should be coming across the mountain..."
"Now," Ozpin said after a mere second, and Oscar's eyes widened at the sheer size of it, the thing was huge!
"That would be Mount Spartan, one of the largest mountains on Remnant. Nobody has attempted to climb it in about twenty long years due to the large quantities of Grimm that are nearby." The man explained and Oscar sighed, he was glad that they had managed to avoid those said quantities earlier.
"So, how do we do this?" The boy asked.
"I'll be taking the wheel from here, so to speak." Ozpin responded. Soon as the man spoke, Oscar lost all control of his body- it was if he was drugged or in a trance but no matter how hard the boy tried he could not move. Ozpin was now in control of his body.
The man then began moving his arms, as a means to feel somewhat comfortable within this form, and then began performing a few gestures. Golden energy surrounded the body of Oscar and he took a deep breath and proceeded to shout,
"Eralever snom et!"
A blast of energy hit the mountain and a few seconds later, a large hole opened within the mountain and Oscar suddenly got control of his body.
"Now all that's left is to enter," said Ozpin.
Oscar's eyes widened as he went inside The Forward Unto Dawn. The interior of this ship was large, and this was only a part of the full ship!
"Amazing, isn't it?" asked Ozpin.
"Yeah... not even Atlesian airships are this big, it's crazy that something this big exists!" the boy said, with sheer excitement on his face.
"The room is a good distance from here, however, I recommend you go ahead and explore. Get acquainted with the ship, its possible that we may stay here for a short time before leaving." said the Wizard.
Oscar nodded and soon started exploring… and was amazed.
All around him were tons of consoles, all still lit up, all despite their age, looking as if they just came right out of a factory. The technology was completely different from Atlas's, and it amazed the young boy.
"Impressive, is it not?" Asked Ozpin.
"It really is..." The boy responded as he continued walking, and as he walked he quickly saw a large open door and on the top the words "VEHICLE BAY" were read. His eyes widened, and he practically darted inside. While basic technology wasn't exactly something he was a huge fan of... vehicles on the other hand were something he enjoyed, he wasn't a mechanic by any means, but he did see many tractors and the like on his farm.
He stared at the bay, there were several vehicles, for starters his eyes widened at the sight of a tank and an odd vehicle which resembled a jeep of some sort, though there were no doors on it and there was a large chain gun turret on the back, another had another turret which had blue coloring attached to it and it was obviously not a chaingun, and then the third one which Oscar quickly realized had a turret that fired explosives of some sort.
"Wow..." He said as he walked through, he looked at everything in the bay, he saw more of the same funny looking jeeps from before, some with no turrets and ATV's. However, what made him smile was the sight of a large and powerful tank.
"He has tanks? Man, Mantle and Mistral had no chance against all of this did they?" Asked Oscar.
"We never used any of the vehicles in the war, in fact not many were allowed to use all of this weaponry..." Said Ozpin.
"Why though? Why didn't you use all of this?" Oscar asked.
"That's a question for The Master Chief and Cortana," The Wizard said.
Oscar exited the vehicle bay, and began walking further into the ship. There was not much to look at, only dark gray walls and a few bits of UNSC property on the floor. Nothing specific, broken laptops, gun magazines and the like. He also saw doors on his left and right, these were as noted by Ozpin, the quarters for crew members. All of whom were... not there. Oscar wondered if the people simply died, jumped ship, or maybe something else happened to them. After long minutes of walking, the boy turned to his left and saw a new room labeled as "ARMORY"
"I suggest it's wise to go and meet The Master Chief first, we've wasted enough time as it is." Ozpin said.
"Alright, alright." Oscar said, disappointed that he couldn't look at all of the weapons that The Master Chief kept in storage and he became curious as to why Ozpin was suddenly urging him to move forward, it's not like a lot of time was being wasted but then again...
Master Chief and Cortana were his friends, old war buddies. Maybe deep down, he desperately wanted to see them again.
"The cryobay is just a bit further from here," He said. Oscar simply nodded and began walking faster towards his destination.
Oscar silently walked through the open doors to the room marked as "CRYO BAY". There was nothing but the whirring of machinery heard, and at the very front Oscar was facing a large pod, it reminded the boy of a casket... To his right, he saw more of these same caskets, but they were covered with a large green flag, and on it was an emblem that made the boy curious, he walked towards the flag and closely inspected the emblem that was on it.
It was a white eagle with a golden star above it, and in it's left talon it held three arrows and on the right, a lightning bolt.
"Ozpin... what is this?" asked Oscar.
"Those..." Ozpin said, then the man went silent. "Those are the deceased members of Team Odyssey. They were soldiers all lead by The Master Chief, and these men died in combat." explained The Wizard.
"Only one is alive, at least last time I checked he was still living anyway..." Ozpin said.
"Why are they buried here though?"
"Because, The Master Chief demanded such. They were his men, and he saw them as his Spartan's. Therefore, he buried them here. These men were the only people who were allowed to have UNSC equipment, wearing UNSC armor and using the same weapons that The Chief would use." he explained. Oscar nodded and then went about the ship, and his body soon lost control of itself, Oscar was getting used to this feeling- the feeling of Ozpin taking control but he hated it when The Wizard did this without warning.
"Apologies, I need to do this myself. It may make things... easier," said Ozpin.
"Could you at least warn me next time?" asked Oscar.
Ozpin didn't respond as he simply walked over towards the nearby console and stared at it... there was a bright blue holographic ball, this same little ball had been standing around for a full century, and as he looked down it appeared that this same prompt did that as well.
"UNSC AI CTN 0452-9 IS UNDER STASIS. WOULD YOU LIKE TO DISABLE THE STASIS PROTOCOL?"
Ozpin simply hit "YES" and there was a new prompt that showed.
"PLEASE ENTER THE PASSWORD" it read. Ozpin quickly typed in the password, carefully.
"Sierra One One Seven..." He said, making sure to hit the CAPS LOCK key as he did so.
"PASSWORD CONFIRMED. ARE YOU SURE YOU WISH TO DISABLE STASIS PROTOCOL ON UNSC AI CTN 0452-9?" It said, and another prompt was below it.
"YES"
"NO"
Ozpin instantly hit "YES" right when he saw it appear, and soon, the prompts all vanished and the bright blue ball vanished as well.
"Did it work?" asked Oscar, and then suddenly a new hologram appeared of a naked blue woman with short darker blue hair, as well as several strange symbols which appeared on her body as she began getting up. She acted as if she had just woken up and got out of bed, she covered her mouth and yawned and then stretched her arms and legs.
"Man... I don't think i'll ever get this much sleep again." The woman said and Ozpin smiled at the sight.
"It's a pleasure to see you again, Cortana." he greeted.
The AI quickly turned and stared at him, and appeared to be.. confused.
"I'm sorry, have we met before?" She asked. Ozpin sighed, obviously frustrated about forgetting to tell her who he was and spoke,
"You told me to wake you in order to wake up The Master Chief, in case if I ever needed you again. Right after The Great War ended, and right after he learned about and fought Salem with me." He said.
The AI's eyes widened in shock and she soon stepped closer towards her former friend.
"Ozman?" she asked.
"Yes, it's me..." he replied.
"You know, I imagined you'd reincarnate but I imagined you'd be well..."
"An adult?" Ozpin asked.
"Yes, exactly. An adult, and probably with a few soldiers behind you." the AI said.
"Sadly, that is no longer the case. Please, wake up The Master Chief." Ozpin pleaded.
"I need you both," He said. Cortana's eyes went from surprise to shock- it was clear that she was hoping that the reason she had been woken up was because the military she was created to serve had arrived to claim her and The Master Chief, and not to fight on Remnant once again.
The AI nodded and replied,
"On it,"
With that, she quickly vanished.
Vacuo
The Great War
CLANG!
The Master Chief fended off another blow from the Mantilian Knight known as Wulf Geats and swung back with a blow of his own, which had been fended off.
"Finally, Emerald Knight… it is so good to fight you in this battle! Can you feel it? The blood pumping in your veins, your mind trying to think one step ahead of the opponent?" cried the knight. "Surely, a foreigner who was sent from the stars such as yourself knows that feeling!"
Yes. The Master Chief did know that feeling.
CLANG!
CLANG!
The swords clashed against each other once more, The Master Chief and Wulf Geats' blows were equal in strength, but unlike The Master Chief…
Wulf Geats was using his aura, and The Master Chief was not.
It would be a matter of time before Geats would tire out, and The SPARTAN-II could finish this brutal battle.
Geats raised his sword and attempted to strike at The Master Chief's chest which he easily defended with Sigurd and then went onto thrust the broadsword in his direction.
CLANG!
The Knight Of Mantle parried and swung at The Chief's side.
CLANG!
The Master Chief defended the blow with Sigurd and stepped back and his armor's enhanced sensors began picking up the sound of… panting.
"This is it, Chief. How are you going to end this?" asked Cortana.
The Master Chief thought it over…
For many long brutal years, all he had ever done was kill.
He killed humans, and he killed aliens, and now he was back to killing humans and also the creatures of Grimm.
However, one question had lingered in his mind, a question that had been playing through his mind repeatedly.
"Aren't you tired of all this killin?" asked Sergeant David Hatley of Fireteam Odyssey
Honestly, The Master Chief knew nothing other than war, but…
But he wanted to experience life without war, without killing.
Ozman Dias was trying to make a new world, a world where man wouldn't have to kill each other… where they could stamp out the evil that was The Grimm.
It was a childish dream, but it was one that The Master Chief couldn't help but believe in.
It was also a dream that he wanted everyone to live in, including Wulf Geats.
He was an honorable knight, and he knew that the next generations would need to learn from Mantle's best commander.
"I'm going to end this the right way, Cortana." The Master Chief finally replied and then looked at Wulf Geats.
"These next blows will be our last, Wulf Geats! Come! Let us end this battle," shouted the SPARTAN-II.
"Chief?" asked Cortana.
The Knight took off his helmet and smiled, and The Master Chief stared at him… his face, covered in sweat, his gray hair was swept to the side and his red eyes bore into The Master Chief's visor.
"Yes! Let us end this fight!" he shouted at the top of his lungs and then charged at The Master Chief, his famous black sword in hand.
Minutes became seconds, and time soon slowed down for the SPARTAN-II as he started focusing his aura into his body.
Aura was something The Master Chief did not frequently use, he had no need for such a thing and used it only when it was necessary. He treated it as much as he treated military equipment to be frank, but when he used it…
It was because it was worth using, and this was one of those moments.
He watched as Geats charged and finally, when the knight came close… The Master Chief stepped to the side and grabbed Hrunting by the blade.
The Knight Of Mantle looked surprised by the action, but what surprised him even more was what happened next…
CLANG!
With all of his strength and aura, The Master Chief brought Sigurd down like a hammer onto a nail, and the black sword named Hrunting shattered. The aura of its wielder could no longer protect it, it was just a meager sword now, broken and discarded by it's attacker.
Then, The Master Chief swung Sigurd once more across Geats' chest plate and kicked him to the ground.
The man got up but was stopped by The Master Chief, who pointed Sigurd at his throat.
"Yield," said the SPARTAN-II.
Wulf's eyes widened and he glared at The Master Chief.
"I refuse! Kill me now, Emerald Knight! If you have any respect for me as a Knight Of Mantle, then you will slay me here and now so I may die honorably with my men!" cried Geats.
The field went silent.
"Chief?" the quiet voice of Cortana spoke up.
The Master Chief did not respond, instead he turned Sigurd into its Battle Rifle state and then placed the weapon against his back.
He let out a sigh and finally, spoke to Wulf Geats, he told him everything that had been on his mind throughout the fight.
"I do not let you go out of disrespect, however… King Dias is making a new world for all of us to live in. You, Wulf Geats despite being my enemy, are a good man. I have faced many who were dishonorable, and I have faced things worse than any demon you could possibly think of, but you, Wulf Geats are a man who should live." he stated. "I have killed enough people in my life… I'd like to finally rest, and put an end to it all." finished The Master Chief.
With that, he turned his back on the now broken Knight Commander Of Mantle, who started screaming at The Master Chief.
"Curse you, Emerald Knight!" he shouted. "I curse you, I curse you for as long as you live! May you see only Hell for the rest of eternity, may The Gods send you there for desecrating the honor of knights!" shouted Geats.
The Master Chief did not respond. Many had cursed him, however none of those curses ever affected him. He fought through them, them and everything else that came with those vile curses.
"Are you sure this is what you want to do?" asked Cortana.
"Yes… it is," replied The Master Chief.
That day, The Great War ended.
The Master Chief, commonly known as The Emerald Knight was hailed as a hero, and everyone wrote many stories about him and his beautiful sword known as Sigurd, the sword which smashed Hrunting.
Ozpin watched as the cryopod's door slowly opened up, revealing a man who looked as if he had been sleeping. He wore a black undersuit, but over that suit was bulky green armor that would have made Oscar's eyes widen if he were in control.
"Is that him?" asked Oscar through the link he shared with Ozpin.
"Yes," Ozpin replied.
"Why'd you call him The Emerald Knight again?" asked the boy.
"Because his armor was green and was a knight on the battlefields, why?"
"Well I mean... his armor looks sage, not emerald."
"It's emerald," said Ozpin.
"Who are you talking to?" asked Cortana, confused as to why Ozpin was speaking aloud.
"Ah yes, the boy who's body I inhabit... his name is Oscar Pine. Hold on, let me introduce you to him." said The Wizard, who in a matter of seconds allowed Oscar full control of his body.
"H-Hello!" Said Oscar, who was now stuttering. Here he was, meeting two legendary heroes.
"Hello, Oscar. I'm Cortana, and that over there is..."
"The Emerald Knight!" Cried the boy with a wide grin on his face.
"Yes, also known as The Master Chief." she said. The boy looked over and was about to get closer, until Cortana held up her hand.
"It's best not to do that, The Chief has been asleep for a long while and maybe... slightly aggressive. Let me handle this, OK?" she asked.
"Right..." Oscar said, taking a few steps back.
"Chief?" she asked. There was no response, and her eyes widened. The AI obviously thought something bad had happened and so was Oscar until...
The Master Chief's body began twitching, and soon the SPARTAN II began moving his body calmly. He grabbed onto the cryopod, using the large device to help himself get out and he soon fell down onto his knees, coughing and gagging.
"Chief!" Cried Cortana, but the SPARTAN II simply raised his hand, as if saying he was just fine. He then got up, standing straight and tall and stared at Oscar and Cortana.
"It seems that the inhalant surfactant from the cryo pods are…" The Master Chief said as he took a deep breath. "Expired," he spoke, as if nothing had just happened then looked around and found his AI companion. "How long have we been out?" The Master Chief asked the AI.
"Well... I don't know how long to be honest." she said, and then turned to Oscar. "He might know, however." she said.
The Chief simply went over to the terminal, pressed a few keys and then Cortana's figure vanished and out came a chip from the terminal. The Master Chief held it in his hands for a few seconds and placed it in the back of his helmet.
"H-Hi! I'm Oscar Pine!" The boy said with a smile, still stuttering. The boy was in awe, The Master Chief was much taller than any normal man he'd ever seen and he was quite menacing. All he saw was that golden visor, nothing else. No hint or trace of emotion came from the man, he was cool as ice and was like a machine. It didn't take long for Oscar to lose control of his body, and Ozpin took control once more.
"Hello, Master Chief." greeted The Wizard.
"King Dias?" The Spartan II asked.
"It is indeed, not in my former body but... I am him, and I currently reside in this boy's body." he said.
"How long have we been out?" asked The Master Chief.
"For almost a full century," said Ozpin.
"A full century?" exclaimed Cortana, shocked.
"Yes, a century. You've been out for nearly one hundred years since the end of The Great War," Ozpin replied.
"What's happened? Have the UNSC arrived on Remnant?" asked The Master Chief.
"No, I wish that were the case but no, it's something much much worse than that..." Ozpin said and then, sighed. "It's Salem, John... she's back, and she's more powerful than ever, she's doing things covertly and quietly this time, and she's doing a good job at it. I can't stop her on my own, John, so please…"
"Please, help me stop Salem." pleaded Ozpin.