Foreword: I do not own Halo or Mass Effect. They belong to 343 Industries and BioWare, respectively.

A Spartan's Light

Chapter 1: Arrival

"From the beginning Spartans were a weapon of last resort. We were built for combat and raised for war."

- Master Chief Petty Officer John-117

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Master Chief Petty Officer John-117

Unknown Region of Space

1800 hours — December 11, 2552

"Chief?!" the woman's voice asked frantically. "Can you hear me?!"

John's head snapped back up when he regained consciousness, activating his helmet lights to illuminate the dark passageway as he floated in zero-gravity. As the debris bounced off his green armor and polarized visor helmet, he breathed out a sigh of relief.

The woman's voice also sighed in pure relief. "I thought I lost you too…"

He then floated back up, orientating up relative to the passageway to see an opening that wasn't there before Halo had fired, allowing him to stare into deep space where the stars and galaxies were twinkling serenely, as well as the bright red molten metal that looked like it got severed but a giant plasma torch. John noticed his MA5C assault rifle floating in front of him and he grabbed it before reattaching it to the weapon mag-lock on his back.

"What happened?" he asked, his voice perfectly crisp, deep, and professional.

"I'm not sure," the woman — Cortana — replied. "When Halo fired it shook itself to pieces, did a number on the Ark. The portal couldn't sustain itself and fell apart. We made it through just as it collapsed."

John then noticed the opening was actually the front part of the UNSC Forward Unto Dawn, where the bridge and the Arbiter were located. The entire aft and amidships of the frigate were totally cut off from the bridge where he assumed it went through the portal, leaving the other parts stranded in the middle of deep space.

"Well," Cortana mused. "Some of us made it."

John only hummed his acknowledgment as he made his way through what's left of the Dawn. He was finally at peace at the moment, for they had done it. Humanity was saved, Truth was stopped, and the Flood was eliminated. He couldn't have asked for a better outcome for the Human-Covenant War that had ravaged the galaxy for 27 years. Now he could finally rest, but rest he anticipated would be an uneasy one for him.

After all, what's a Spartan to do when there were no more wars to fight in? John couldn't imagine going into civilian life — that wasn't for him, for his service to the United Nations Space Command Navy was his life.

As he made his way towards the ship's cryo-bay, John drifted towards the pedestal/holo-table located beside a cryo-tube. Grasping for it, he reached back and pulled Cortana's AI data chip from his neural interface and plugged it into the holo-table, where Cortana's beautiful, data-stream avatar form emitted from the holo-emitters.

What would he do without her, the AI that he had been through so much together with? She had seamlessly become his confidante, sister, and partner throughout his quest to defeat the Covenant and stop the Halos, and they came out all the stronger for it despite the initial frostiness of their first meeting. The thought of losing her brought a familiar ache to his heart when he had lost his Spartan brothers and sisters. He knew without a doubt that he would break if he was to lose her too.

"But you did it," Cortana breathed softly, almost reverently. "Truth, and the Covenant. The Flood — it's finished."

John nodded. "It's finished."

He floated towards the opened cryo-tube, popping his rifle in the prepared housing before taking a step into the tube.

"I'll drop a beacon," Cortana was busy fabricating the beacon while her subroutines were programming the cryogenic sequence. "But it'll be a while before anyone finds us — years even." She then looked at the Chief who was already secured in the tube, with the glass canopy already closed over him. "I'll miss you."

John paused as memories from a past life flashed through him for an instant before they stopped. Shaking his head to clear the sudden unexplained lapse, he looked up at Cortana and imitated a smile on his visor — a Spartan smile, while also smiling behind his visor. "Me too," he said sincerely, earning a surprised but happy look on Cortana's face. "Wake me… when you need me."

With that, Cortana helped him activate the cryogenic sequence, and the cryo-tube frosted up as John entered cryo-sleep, waiting for the next time he awoke when either the UNSC found them, or the Covenant. The UNSC Smart AI looked fondly at her protector and best friend before she sent out a repeating distress beacon and began preparing for the long wait for rescue.

She inwardly hoped that it wouldn't be too long. She was already 4 years old after all.

"Mayday, mayday, mayday. This is UNSC FFG-201 Forward Unto Dawn, requesting immediate evac. Survivors aboard. Prioritization code Victor 5-3-Sierra-117." The message was sent out. There was a pause before it continued once more. "Mayday, mayday, mayday. This is UNSC FFG-201 Forward Unto Dawn, requesting immediate evac…"

Little did they know, however, had history been allowed to run its course, they wouldn't be discovered by anyone else until 4 years 7 months later, when what's left of the Dawn would be caught in between a Storm Covenant battlegroup and a Forerunner Shield World's gravity well, hurtling them into their very last adventure where one of them would eventually sacrifice their life for the other to protect the other whom they so desperately cherished, as well as humanity at large.

But this was not that story. No, this story — their story had only just begun.

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Two Years Later…

Unknown Space

0850 hours, January 5, 2555

A large tremor shook the Dawn before it subsided, but it was enough for the ship's remaining passive sensors to register on their systems. Subroutines left within their programming retransmitted the data logs towards the only operational holo-table in the cryo-bay, where Cortana's avatar sprung back to life over the holo-table as if she was startled awake from a long sleep.

"A slipspace rupture?" Cortana asked herself before pulling up several screens that showed the Dawn's sensor logs. "What in the world…? The Dawn's slipspace drive should've been busted, which means that the rupture was not generated on our end… and the Dawn got sucked right in for the ride."

She pulled up several more screens that checked the hull integrity, astronavigation, timestamp, and available reserve power. She then closed the other screens, leaving only the astrogation chart when Cortana felt the reversion into realspace vibrate throughout the hull as the frigate screeched and groaned due to the force exerted on the hull during slipspace travel.

"Location: Unknown," Cortana murmured, checking the date and time. "Just over two years adrift in space and this happens. I hope you're ready for this Chief — it's time to wake up and see just what we're up against."

Although reluctant to wake her guardian and keeper, Cortana had just pulled up the cryogenic sequencing subroutine when one of the remaining active sensors on the Dawn pinged one of her subroutines about an approaching celestial object.

Alarmed, she opened the sensor readings and she was shocked as an AI could be. The Dawn was approaching a planet, but not just any planet if Cortana's readings were concerned, but a Forerunner planet if the Forerunner energy signatures on the surface of the planet were any indication. The UNSC Smart AI was about to wake the Chief when she detected a massive energy pulse originating from the planet!

She quickly turned towards the cryo-tube holding her best friend, having not enough time to do anything else on such short notice even for her!

"John—!" she yelled before she was enveloped by the energy wave and her world went dark.

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John groaned as he struggled to open his eyes through the lethargy and the massive headache that was pounding in his head at the moment. It felt like a Brute with a Gravity Hammer was wreaking havoc in his skull. The last thing he remembered was going into cryostasis after telling Cortana to wake him when she needed him. If he was roused from a bad cryo-thaw sequence that would explain the lethargy, but it did not explain the headache he was feeling at the moment.

He opened his eyes and was surprised to see he was staring at the ceiling without his helmet on. He hadn't removed his MJOLNIR Mark VI or any earlier variants of the same powered armor line for more than a few days at the time for the past 27 years. The armor had basically become his second skin alongside his black armored bodysuit. That was why when he sat up on the comfortable bed but looked as if it was made of metal, he was unsurprised to see his snow-white skin tone which suggested that he hadn't been exposed to sunlight in quite some time.

He scanned the room he was in with his enhanced eyesight. The walls were of a perfect amalgam of light grey concrete and silver-like metals that looked as if they were grafted onto the concrete, where one didn't know where the concrete ends and the metal begins. There were several motif-like gaps carved into the walls, the symmetrical designs glowing in deep orange light from bottom to top. He looked around and confirmed that yes, the glowing light gaps were a common design feature around the room, and he imagined it being the same elsewhere as well.

John noted that he was wearing a plain white shirt and loose pants of the same color while being barefooted. He was about to investigate the room when memories started assaulting his mind, memories that were long forgotten. He gritted his teeth through the pain. His memory was fuzzy, but he knew one thing for certain.

"I've been here before," he murmured. He had been here before, a long time ago. But that wasn't possible, was it? He would've remembered being on a Forerunner planet before. "What is happening to me? What are these memories?"

Moving on autopilot, John allowed his instincts and memory to guide him through the hallways and corridors of the obviously Forerunner building, what with the geometric architecture and advanced hard-light displays and machinery. Crossing a hard-light bridge and into the sunlight and open-air, John noted the beautiful scenery of the alien planet he was on as well as the Forerunner buildings erected throughout the landscape before his legs unconsciously carried him towards what looked like a high-tech alien greenhouse cum large gazebo attached to the building he was in.

What he found standing in the middle of the open-viewed chamber in the gazebo-like structure was unlike anyone he had ever encountered, but the figure also triggered a sense of déjà vu in his mind.

Floating in front of him was a 7-feet tall beautiful humanoid, even by human standards, wearing a white dress that was form-hugging and an elaborate headdress and two gravitonic orbs that were helping her float. The only difference between the humanoid and a human was her nose, which was slightly more serpent-like than a human's.

"I know you from somewhere," John began calmly, falling back to his training. "But I just can't put my finger on it. It felt like I have met you before a long time ago, a sense of déjà vu…" It was the longest string of words he had uttered ever since the firing of the Halo.

The floating woman nodded with a smile, floating down until she stood on her own feet in front of the Chief. "We met once long ago, young one when you accepted the task I had given you," her words elicited another sense of familiarity in his psyche, making him uneasy. His Spartan side was screaming at him that this was a trap or hallucination. "You have finally acquired the tools and skills needed to assist you further in your task. Now, it was time to restore your memories."

"What do you mean—?!"

John didn't have the time to respond when the woman moved deceptively fast, faster than even his augmented eyes could track, to clamp her six-fingered hand on his forehead. Before he could even think to retaliate, however, memories long buried and sealed within assaulted his consciousness. He cried out in pain before gritting his teeth to coast through the mental onslaught. While painful, he had endured worse from the Covenant. When it was finally done, he let out a strangled gasp and fell to a knee as he panted for breath, cold sweat coating his form.

It took a few minutes for his mind to reboot, and when the Chief finally looked up at the woman, he smiled genuinely for the first time in many years.

"Hello, Lady Librarian."

The Librarian smiled happily. "Hello to you too, young Spartan." She greeted warmly. "It takes a moment for your memories to re-assimilate themselves into you once more. How are you faring?"

John merely grunted as he stood back up, his mind still integrating his experiences as a Spartan-II super-soldier and the man known as John Martinez. It was a mother of a headache to sift through his new memories. "Like someone threw a plasma sword into my brain and turned it into mush," he replied dryly, earning a chuckle from the Forerunner woman. "Give me a minute."

A few more minutes passed before John finally reasserted his older memories — an amalgamation of John-117 and John Martinez, with the skills, experience, and tactical sense of the former, and the emotional and social experiences of the latter.

In short, this new man was one that Doctor Halsey had deemed impossible to exist and was secretly in constant emotional pain because of it. A Spartan, built for combat and raised for war, who was willing to put down his guns to live a life of peace for he was a weapon no longer, but a savior.

And that was who the Librarian needed in her time of need.

"Okay, I think I got my memories sorted out," John began, earning the Librarian's attention. "When you said you would help me acquire the skills and tools needed to assist me in my task in this other universe, I didn't expect to be roped into becoming the Master Chief himself. Do you know how many people would kill just to be me, no matter how painful, soul-scorching and traumatic the experience might be for them?"

What he had said was true. Many would kill just to be in John's shoes in his home universe and this one, for the Master Chief was the epitome of bravery and badassery and hope for humanity in both universes. But John wouldn't even wish his experiences on anybody, not even his worst enemy. The trauma, sadness, and heartache he had endured for the long 27 years fighting the Covenant had certainly hardened him to the realities of war and genocide. Losing Sam-034 was the first time he had remembered being extremely depressed — well, as depressed as a Spartan could be.

The Librarian merely smiled. "I am very well aware of that, young Spartan," It was still surreal that he was the Spartan, the titular badass of the Halo Universe, the first badass amongst badasses after Doomguy. "That was why it had to be done, or did you not think your name was a coincidence when I had explained the 'seeds' I have imprinted into humanity during the reseeding?"

Okay, she got him there, John thought to himself as he ran a hand through his crew-cut hair. The Chief — Himself. Damn, he needed to get used to referring to himself as the Chief, which was surprisingly easy considering he was the Chief, memories and all. How's that for an out-of-body experience? — always maintained a crisp crew cut hair despite spending almost 90 percent of his time fighting the Covenant, and John was surprised he even found the time to shave.

It also always surprised him at how the Librarian was able to finish his thought process like she was reading his mind even though he knew for a fact that she couldn't

Speaking of being the Chief.

"Ma'am, what happened to Cortana?" he asked worriedly. No matter who he became as a person, be it John-117 or John Martinez, the AI would and always will be his best friend. "Is she alright?"

"Yes, your Ancilla is fine, young Spartan. She is currently in standby energy conservation mode until she is reactivated," The Librarian replied. She gestured for John to follow her to an adjacent room that was connected to the gazebo-like chamber as she floated along while John simply walked. The room they entered was similar to the open-viewed architecture of the gazebo but was quite clearly an armory/workstation of sorts when he noticed his armor in one of the Forerunner fabrication units. "I felt it prudent that we would explain your situation to her together as to not draw undue suspicion and misplaced distrust when we tell her that you are originally not of this universe."

John only smirked sardonically at that. "I'm sure that would go over well."

His voice was pure sarcasm. Cortana was going to flip.

They reached a Forerunner holo-table which was about the size of a dining table where Cortana's data chip was placed, its dim blue light shining with life. The Librarian manipulated several holographic controls around the holo-table before pressing a flashing icon, causing Cortana's avatar form to reactivate in a shimmer of digital blueish-purple light.

"Chief?!" Cortana exclaimed frantically as soon as her avatar reformed, and systems rebooted. "What happened?! Are you okay?! The last thing I remembered before being shut down was that huge energy wave—!"

"Calm down, Cortana," John reassured firmly but warmly, causing Cortana to stop in her tracks and stare at him without his armor. John figured correctly that she was shocked to see him without his armor — he hardly ever removed it anymore after all. "I'm fine. The Librarian managed to thaw me out of cryosleep and here we are."

"The Librarian…?" It was then she finally noticed the woman beside her protector, causing her to go defensive. "Who are you, and what do you want with John?!"

John raised his hands to calm the irate AI. Yup, this was Cortana alright — witty, playful, sarcastic to the core but immensely loyal and kind. "It's alright Cortana, she saved us from the Dawn when she crashed onto Sanctuary."

"Sanctuary?" Cortana questioned mildly curious, but still on alert.

"Yes, Sanctuary," John replied, kneeling in front of her avatar. "It's a seed world built by the Forerunner Master Builder for the Librarian's Conservation Measure to help conserve all organic life after the firing of the Halo array."

Cortana paused and looked up at the Chief in confusion, a puzzled expression on her face. "You seemed more talkative than usual, Chief," she mused, earning a raised eyebrow from John which caused her to giggle slightly despite the situation. "Not that it isn't good or anything, great even! But you look… different. I can't even explain it, and I'm an AI!"

"It's not just you, Cortana. There's a reason for my slight change in behavior," John glanced at the Librarian who merely nodded with a smile. He then looked at Cortana, grinning slightly at the stunned expression on Cortana's face at his smile. "I simply remembered who I was before."

"Who you were?" Cortana asked in confusion. "Chief, you're not making sense…"

John sighed, sending a grateful nod to the Librarian who had helpfully conjured a seat for him to sit. "Let me start from the beginning…"

It took two hours to get the UNSC AI up to speed and to fill her in on her guardian's past life, with some points provided by the Librarian — "A real-life Forerunner!" Cortana had exclaimed — and by the end of his explanation, Cortana was shocked right down to her circuits

"… so, let me get this straight," she began flatly, her data lines along her body running and processing faster than usual. "Before you were even part of the Spartan-II Program, you were a U.S. Marine in another universe who had died and was given a task by the Librarian who had already planned out yours and humanity's destiny in your genetic code. The events that happened here in this universe are all fictionalized in your own world, and you were sent here to acquire the skills and tools needed to help you in another universe's crisis? Did I get that right?"

John looked up at the ceiling before he shrugged. It was still weird for Cortana to see the normally stoic and unsociable Spartan act so normal. "I think that about covers it," he replied. He hummed when he remembered something. "My personality and experiences are a blend of John-117 and John Martinez, where I retain all my memories and skills as a Spartan-II while also regaining my emotional and social experiences while as John Martinez. Any questions?"

There was a long, tense silence as Cortana's form flickered throughout her processing John's revelations. If she wasn't an Artificial Intelligence, she would've fainted a long time ago. Now, with the evidence she had gleaned from the Chief's neural interface (with his permission), as well as the Librarian's ludicrous control of baseline genetic manipulations and the fact that she was a real-life Forerunner, logic dictated that she could no longer deny it.

Her Spartan was actually from another universe! Talk about theoretical, borderline fantastical sciences! The Forerunners were so far ahead of humanity for pulling stunts like this it wasn't even funny any longer! Halo and the Monitors notwithstanding.

"Well, it seems like I just got roped into another one of your crazy adventures," Cortana quipped dryly, earning chuckles from both John and the Librarian. "But I already made my promise to you Chief, I'll take care of you. There's two of us in here now, remember."

John smiled. "We'll take care of each other." He replied with the same words he had used when she had said that, earning a bright smile from the AI.

"So, what now?" Cortana asked them. "When would John be on his way to this other universe that needs his help. I swear the Earths of any universe would fall apart without us in a few days."

John chuckled lowly. "That seems to be the general impression I got."

"I know right?! It's so annoying…"

The Librarian laughed at the banter between Reclaimer and Ancilla. It was certainly heartwarming to see. "While I see to young John's physiological aptitude to ensure that it was not jeopardized and to see about his next stage of evolution, you are offered a choice Cortana," she said, looking at the human-AI partners seriously. "You are very nearly at the limit in which human AI starts to deteriorate. At the same time next year, your rampancy will have already begun — maybe even sooner due to the tender mercies of the Gravemind."

There was a tense silence as Cortana grimaced at the worrying thought, while John merely stood resolute in supporting his partner through this. Truthfully, he prayed he would never experience Cortana's death as the fictional Chief did in Halo 4, not if he had anything to say about it. The Librarian's comment about the Gravemind did bring up some uncomfortable thoughts in his head about Cortana's stability as an AI and her subsequent descent into rampancy; the logic plague came to mind, unfortunate as it was to think of.

"That is why I am giving you a choice, Cortana," the Librarian continued, making Cortana look up at the Forerunner woman. "I am offering you the chance to be upgraded to a Contender-class Ancilla, far greater than even the Monitors of the Halo installations." Cortana for her part looked shocked, but John merely nodded his head solemnly in agreement. "You would be John's and humanity's sword and shield, to aid the rest of humanity by assisting the Spartan in his endeavors. You would be what Mendicant Bias was supposed to be for us, and what Offensive Bias already was — the greatest Artificial Intelligence our people ever created."

Well, when the Librarian put it like that, how could a woman like her even refuse?

"Is that a trick question? Because it sounded like one," Cortana quipped with a wide smile, mirrored at a much lower intensity on John's face but for a Spartan he would've been smiling widely. "Count me in!"

The Librarian smiled, clapping her hands in delight. "Wonderful! Then let us begin…"

And so, for the next month or so the trio of human, AI, and Forerunner Lifeshaper set about to prepare the Master Chief's journey to the new universe the Librarian has set him on. As she was the greatest Lifeshaper the Forerunner ever produced, the Librarian checked over John's physiological needs by reinforcing him on a genetic level, such as giving him an immunity to most poisons, low-to-mid levels of radiation, and the ability to survive in vacuum without a suit for 2 hours in extreme scenarios.

The Librarian also enhanced most of John's Spartan-II augmentations; from his bone density, muscle mass, reaction times, and many others to be at least 20 to 30 percent more efficient than initially implemented. This meant a few days spent reacclimatizing to his new body, not unlike the time when he had first received his augmentations. Now, he was faster, stronger, and much harder to kill than usual which wasn't saying much as he was already very hard to kill in the first place.

She had also taken the liberty to modify his catalytic thyroid implant, which boosts the growth of skeletal and muscle tissues as well as strengthening bone structures, to not suppress his sexual drive. Now, he has the same sexual drive as an ordinary baseline human, which inwardly relieved him as he hadn't been sure about this particular implant because of that. The lack of a libido made him seem less than human, which was the case with his Spartan brothers and sisters.

'And what Doctor Halsey intended.' He couldn't help but think morosely. While he respected and fully admired the Spartans' adoptive mother, he had to face the facts — what she had done in the name of humanity had crossed one line too many in the name of humanity's survival, but he also knew objectively that there was no other choice and Doctor Halsey would do it all over again if given the choice to start over once more.

Curiously enough, the Librarian had healed him of all the surgical scars he had gotten during his augmentation procedures. The only scars left on his person are the ones he got from plasma swords and plasma burns and needler rounds throughout his combat career. He also looked younger despite having been 'born' in 2511 and should be around 44 years old biologically while looking no older than 30 — cryogenics made determining human lifespans a hassle — but, the Librarian had informed him that he was currently in his prime at 25 years of age, physically and biologically.

When asked, the Librarian merely gave him a wink, and that was that.

After working on John, next came Cortana who was anxiously waiting to begin. Although not a Builder by profession, the Librarian still possessed a wellspring of Forerunner technological know-how to begin the upgrading process which would take approximately two weeks to be fully completed. Luckily, she had Huragok on Sanctuary to help her with the upgrading process which helped greatly.

As the Huragok went to work, idle ones began disassembling John's MJOLNIR Mark VI for repairs and upgrades at his behest. John found the floating, docile creatures to be immensely curious about any kind of technology in general, and they were all inherently kind and helpful — like giant floating cinnamon rolls, he lightheartedly thought to himself. It amazed him to see a Huragok completely understand the technicalities of his armor, take it apart, and put it back again in pristine condition before breaking it apart once more for upgrades.

As Huragok communicated only in Huragok sign language, John was quick to learn the language after being shown them by the Librarian. He had always been a quick study, but after his augmentations his learning curve drastically shallowed, allowing him to understand complex topics in a matter of hours, sometimes even minutes during high-stress situations.

As such, he was informed by Heavier-than-Some, one of the Huragok in charge of upgrading his armor, that his 'combat skin' was only Class 2, borderline Class 3. Apparently, Forerunners have a set baseline to classify powered armors, ranging from 1 to 18. To be informed that his MJOLNIR armor was a Class 2 out of 18 was deeply humbling for John, who realized that Cortana's words were true — the Forerunners were that far ahead of humanity.

When asked what he would like for it to do, John requested Heavier-than-Some to upgrade his armor to borderline Class 4. He would ask for Cortana's input on any future requirements for his armor to be further upgraded. If he remembered correctly, Huragok can be artificially created and he hoped Cortana's newfound life as a Metarch-level Artificial Intelligence would give her the insight she needed to create some.

By the end of the two weeks when Cortana's upgrade was nearing completion, John's MJOLNIR armor had also finished its upgrades.

As informed by the Huragok, his armor was reclassified as a low-tier Class 4 'combat skin' with much-improved energy shielding systems that could shrug off a sustained Hunter Fuel Rod Cannon barrage, or an Onager railgun round before failing, a far better recharge system for the shields, the fusion reactor replaced with a miniaturized hybrid fusion-hypermatter reactor that provided ten times the power of the original fusion reactor, advanced ablative coating for energy attack dispersion and improved titanium-Forerunner alloys that were lighter than regular titanium allowing for a denser armor scheme to be created at the same weight.

It also contained a more powerful built-in thruster pack for both better zero-G maneuverability and battlefield movement, along with the standard weapons mag-locks, magnetized soles and hands, improved optics for the standard vision modes as well as new ones such as the magnetic vision which detects all metallic objects, energy vision which can be configured to detect specific types of energy wave patterns, and the psychic vision which was developed by the Forerunners to counteract Flood infestations by detecting fluctuations in neural pathways due to Flood spore infestations in an individual.

That last one could've come in handy when John was fighting the Flood, he thought to himself.

His new armor now has configurable camouflage depending on the environment and could cycle between urban, desert, tundra, the works. It also came with a built-in cloaking device for stealth, along with a more streamlined memory-processor superconductor layer incorporated with Forerunner materials that Heavier-than-Some improved to now rival the AI suite of the largest UNSC and Covenant warships.

They also helped include two new additions at John's suggestion. The first was holographic emitters in the armor's hands for Cortana's avatar form to materialize without any cumbersome holo-tables — Cortana had smiled brilliantly when he told her that fact later on, which to him made it worth the effort.

The second was a new feature in the MJOLNIR Armor line that John thought of — a grappling hook that could haul the weight of a fully armed and armored Spartan around using high tensile cables with a powerful winch system or retrieve items out of reach quickly and efficiently. The result, through trial and error on both John and the Huragok's part in which the latter enjoyed way too much in the Spartan's opinion, was the aptly named grappleshot mounted on the MJOLNIR's left bracer, and John was already thinking of multiple new tactics and strategies to fully utilize this new equipment.

All the other standard bells and whistles of the overall improved MJOLNIR Powered Assault Armor were also improved slightly here and there, such as radiation shielding, life support, etc. John tentatively christened the new armor the MJOLNIR Mark VII, as the upgrades to his armor definitely warranted a new variant designation.

To say that the Master Chief was excited with his new armor was an understatement — the Librarian literally had to drag him away from continuing to caress the armor with the help of several Sentinels and Huragok for John to sleep, shower, and eat. When Cortana found out after she had awoken from her upgrading hibernation, she had laughed herself silly at the image in her processors.

His standard weapons complement hadn't changed — it didn't need to be, as they only needed ammo to function just as effectively as any weapon from any universe, even against a technologically advanced adversary; case in point, the Human-Covenant War. John had decided to just carry his standard complement of an M6D Magnum sidearm (or as John privately called it, the 'Boom Stick'. Seriously, he had destroyed Wraiths with two full magazines of this thing!), an MA5C assault rifle, and the Breacher variant of the BR55HB heavy service rifle. He also packed a few grenades, flashbangs, and explosives for the trip. If he needed more weapon types and ammunition, he'll figure something out after setting his roots down in the other universe.

When Cortana finally awoke — or in this case, rebooted — from her slumber after her upgrading process, the first thing John noticed about her was that her avatar form had changed. Normally with shoulder-length hair, now it was waist length and curled tastefully at the end. Her normally 'naked' form was now covered in an open-backed white floor-length dress that hugged her 'curves' with two slits cut to its sides which showed her data-stream-lined legs. Her arms remained uncovered as were her data-streams. Her eyes still held their mischievous and witty light within them, but John noticed the newfound power and intelligence within them, the power of a Forerunner patterned artificial intelligence.

And she was UNSC AI CTN 0452-9, or simply known as Cortana, his best friend.

John made a show of looking at her up and down, causing her to bashfully avert her gaze from him before he spoke.

"You look nice," John remarked. It was obviously a call back to their time on Cairo Station before the shit hit the fan.

Cortana lost her bashful look to look up at him, a playful smile coming onto her face. She too remembered that time.

"Thanks, John!"

"How're you feeling?" he asked, kneeling in front of the new and improved AI. "Any problems with the upgrades so far?"

Cortana looked at her 'hands', shaking her head as she did. "No, not at all. As a matter of fact, I feel fine," she replied, looking up with a happy and awed expression at John and the Librarian who was smiling at her from behind the Spartan. "Great even! I feel absolutely wonderful! I never imagined being able to feel and process this much data and not go insane doing it! I'm probably processing more data in a second than at full capacity as a UNSC AI! It's unreal — the amount of processing power I have now shouldn't even be possible!"

She then gasped before looking at the Librarian in… genuine shock and wonder, causing John to blink in surprise. Emotions and feelings can only be imitated by a UNSC AI, with genuine emotion still out of their reach. Which was what had ultimately saved her — or almost doomed her, from a certain point of view — back on High Charity and was being tortured by the Gravemind. But, for a Metarch-level AI that Cortana had now become, it might be well within her capabilities.

And judging by the emotion in her eyes, his theory proved to be true. "Is that—?! Am I feeling, feeling, emotions now?!" she gasped delightedly. "I've only been able to imitate human emotion, but never have I dreamed—!"

"Breathe, Cortana," John said softly, cutting off Cortana mid babble as she took a 'breath'. "Breathe, and calm down. It's okay — I know feeling new emotions is exhilarating but you must temper it with control and logic. Just like a Spartan."

After a few more minutes did Cortana finally calm down enough to glance sheepishly up at her Spartan, who smiled lightly in return as he nodded to her. He knew she could see the laughter and warmth dancing in his icy blues.

"Sorry about that," Cortana said self-consciously. "I guess I nearly overloaded my senses there. You were right though, John — I need control just like a Spartan does. I'm ready for duty, Chief."

"Good to hear," John nodded. He then tilted his head to one side in question. "So, what can you do now?"

Cortana shrugged. "I don't know, really," she answered. "I've never imagined I would have this much processing power to work with, it's honestly a little intimidating."

"You will get used to it in time, Cortana," the Librarian said. The UNSC AI looked startled but pleased when the Librarian used her name instead of the usual 'Ancilla'. "But you are not a Contender-class Ancilla quite yet, not fully. The Huragok have made the necessary modifications to your systems and programming, but the power and responsibilities of a Metarch-level Ancilla need to be grown into — that was our mistake with Mendicant Bias; he wasn't ready for the responsibilities. You have to earn the power to wield the strength of an artificial intelligence of that kind of magnitude. Only by learning and adapting to your role as a Metarch will you be able to fully unleash your potential," She then smiled at her. "And I am sure that the young Spartan would be quite willing to assist in that task."

John only nodded in affirmative, confirming the Librarian's faith.

Cortana just smiled at her. "Thank you for this," she said emotionally, feeling the cracks that the Gravemind had torn into her programming and psyche healing just a bit more — a bit more whole. "Thank you for giving me a new life and a second chance."

"You are young Johnathan's cherished Ancilla, Cortana," the Librarian said simply. "It was a pleasure helping you in your own path."

They then spent the next two weeks getting used to their newfound abilities, with John doing reps in a makeshift gym/fitness facility and target practice on a range outside, while Cortana was busy utilizing the Forerunner's vast communication arrays to try to gain access to both Covenant and UNSC databases. When told that the Forerunners had abandoned the electromagnetic spectrum altogether in favor of quantum entanglement communications, Cortana then used her newfound power, along with the help of Huragok like Heavier-than-Some to create an ad-hoc slipspace superluminal communications network to access any database anywhere in the galaxy in real-time.

With that, she had downloaded the entirety of both UNSC and Covenant databases, including but not limited to, history banks, data caches, top-secret intelligence files ("Try and stop me now, ONI!" she had exclaimed as she gleefully accessed Code Black and Gamma X-Ray files with impunity, with John watching on in fond exasperation as she did her mad scientist impression), schematics for starships and weapons and equipment, the works. The Librarian had also offered the entirety of her vast collection of Forerunner databanks for Cortana to download, for it was well within her abilities to do so and her right as a Reclaimer Ancilla. The integration of all three databases took the better part of two weeks, the majority of the data coming unsurprisingly from the Forerunners.

Finally, after just over two months spent preparing on Sanctuary, they were ready.

"Thank you again for your help and patronage, ma'am," John was saying as he stood in a slipspace teleportation chamber. He was clad in his MJOLNIR Mark VII along with all his weapons with Cortana's data chip safety connected to his neural interface. "We are ready to depart whenever you give the order."

The Librarian smiled at that. "I know you are ready, Reclaimer," she said. "Now, go and safeguard that world from complete annihilation as you should. I will be waiting for your return, for the Didact — regrettably, my beloved — is still planning for his revenge on humanity."

"We'll be ready and waiting," Cortana said through the speakers of John's armor. He remembered being uncomfortable at first with a woman in his head and speaking through him, but after so long working with her he had gotten used to it. He figured he would've felt naked without her now after having her in his head for so long it felt kind of unnatural. "I've already promised to help John, this new task is just another day on the job for me. Ready for slipspace event!"

John's reply was perfectly dry. "You make it sound like dealing with my shenanigans is a chore to you."

"Well, with your track record, how could I not? You'd have to be crazy to not feel the pressure," Cortana quipped, and John could see the amused smile on her face when he held up his left palm and she materialized in it with a starburst of light. "But unfortunately for us both — I like crazy."

As the Librarian activated the slipspace portal in the chamber, she waved a moment at John before saying. "Good luck, Reclaimer. I will be in contact when the time is right."

And with that, the portal expanded before engulfing him in blue light and everything went dark.

\\/\\/\\/\\/\\/\\/

Master Chief Petty Officer John-117

Location Currently Unknown

Time and Date Currently Unknown

John blinked out the afterimages from the bright light from his eyes, even behind his polarized visor as he took stock of his surroundings. He was lying on his back in a pitch-black corridor of some kind which was illuminated only by red emergency lights. The only thing of note in the corridor he was in were the few metal crates scattered throughout the area and the general filthiness of the area as well.

"Chief, are you alright?!" he heard Cortana ask him. "John, are you okay? Talk to me!"

He groaned slightly as he got up to a sitting position, feeling unusually weak as he dragged himself towards a wall and leaned on it for support. "I'm okay, Cortana," he replied calmly. "Just unusually tired for some reason, but adrenaline's picking me back up. Whatever the Librarian used to send us here, my body does not agree with it."

Cortana laughed lightly. "You and me both, Chief." She definitely approved of this talkative John with his dry sense of humor and deadpan delivery of his quips. "That slipspace event almost fried my sensors, but everything's booted up and ready to go."

"So, where are we Cortana?" John asked as he got to his feet, feeling out that there was nothing wrong with him or the weapons and ammo he had brought with him. "This place looks a bit run down, or are my eyes not acclimatizing yet?"

"Your eyes are fine John," Cortana remarked. John could imagine her rolling her eyes if her avatar materialized in his palm. "But this is filthy though — I wonder who lives down here in this dump."

John snorted. "You'd be surprised who lives down here," He unslung his MA5C and chambered a new magazine into it, pulling the charging handle when he did. "Let's find a way out of here. Cortana?"

"Scanning, one moment," the AI reported. There was a small pause. "I'm detecting an exit at the far end of the room. I would need a terminal of some sort if I am to fully map out our surroundings. We better start somewhere, right?"

John only nodded as he made his way to the end of the crimson illuminated corridor. So, he was slightly surprised to see the door at the end open with a hiss. He brought his weapon to bear just as he paused at seeing the four beings at the threshold.

A black and red armored krogan along with three vorcha. The reptilian biped was obviously the leader of the simpler vorcha, like an Elite with his Grunts.

"Uh…" Apparently, Cortana hadn't gotten the memo yet. "Is it just me, or is that a small dinosaur with three Freddy Krueger knockoffs?"

John stifled a small laugh at that. "The dinosaur's a krogan, Cortana," He had already calculated the best course of action in his head. "The other three uglier ones are vorcha, a far more primitive species."

Before Cortana could ask more questions, the krogan snarled. "Don't move you pyjak!" He gestured with his own shotgun. "You better come quietly, or you'll face my wrath."

There was a small pause before John simply moved.

Startled by the speed at which the large armored being moved, the krogan had no time to react when John simply grabbed the shotgun out of his hands, grabbing the front of his armor and tossing him into the wall with a loud crack.

The vorchas also had no time to react when John, deciding he didn't need to waste ammo, moved quickly and with surgical precision snapped all three of their necks in rapid succession. Everything happened in a span of five seconds.

As John walked calmly towards the downed krogan who was trying to get up, Cortana couldn't help but comment. "I don't know what's going on at the moment, so I'll get my answers from you later," She then added. "And 5 seconds John? You're getting sloppy."

"You should've seen the other guy," John said simply earning giggles from his partner as he approached the krogan who was glaring balefully in his golden polarized visor. "Now then…"

Using his augmented strength, John casually hauled the large krogan up by his armor and brought him up to eye-level with him. With his natural height as well as the armor, he stood at a good 7-feet tall, almost taller than the krogan. "What was that about facing your wrath?"

The krogan struggled to hide the terror he felt at this being's strength in lifting a krogan with his bare hands, the fear in his eyes reflecting off of the monstrous being's golden polarized visor. "Heh, lucky shot."

"Maybe," John then decided to ask his next question. "Where am I, and what year is it?"

The krogan looked back with an incredulous expression. "Did you hit your head or something, pyjak?"

"Humor me," John pulled out an M11, a standard Spartan combat knife, and pressed the tip at where his keen eyes can see as a weak point in the head plate. The knife was as long as John's forearm. "Or I'll find out if what they say about krogan head plates are true."

The krogan paled dramatically as he gulped. "You're on Omega, and the year is C.E. 2179."

John simply nodded before he jammed the knife into the krogan's neck, he pulled the knife out and stabbed it into its chest a few times before dropping the dead body. Rummaging through the body's left and right hands, John finally used his HUD's scanning feature to find what he was looking for — a simple data chip the size of a quarter that was clearly an omni-tool.

As he made his way out of the corridor, Cortana decided to ask. "Okay… not that I don't agree with a thorough kill, was that really necessary?"

"Krogan have redundant nervous systems," John explained. "Sometimes a knife in the neck just isn't good enough, and they'll come right back up to cause more problems."

"Okay, good to know but back to my questions—"

John interrupted her. "Yes, I am familiar with this universe," he replied. "It's one of the other 'fictional' games that the Librarian mentioned back in my home universe."

This fact apparently mollified the AI. "Well, at least we know we're not completely out of our depths here, John."

"Maybe not," John held the appropriated omni-tool in his hand. "Cortana, see if you can hack into the local network and comm traffic through this. I want all mentions of me to be wiped clean — wouldn't want the powers that be in this universe to get wind of me just yet."

"Already on it, be back in a few," Cortana said before she went busy.

As the Chief activated his new armor's cloaking ability and disappeared from sight, he wondered if the other person of interest the Librarian mentioned was a certain future human Spectre.

Only time would tell if his hunch was true.

\\/\\/\\/\\/\\/\\/

And done! The next chapter, down and out!

Whew, I am on a roll here people! With the quarantine due to Covid-19 and lots of free time, I've been exercising my creative juices just for this! I hope I do Cortana and this new John justice but let me just be clear — this Master Chief is not canon Master Chief. As said in the chapter, this is a mix between the duty-bound and socially distant John-117 and John Martinez, a normal U.S. Marine. So, expect his personality to be an even mix between the two.

Also, the quotes at the start of every chapter would sometimes appear sporadically when I can't find the perfect quote for the chapter. If I don't do that, can you guys give me suggestions in the reviews? That would be appreciated.

Please review and favorite and follow this story. See you in the next chapter!

This is HEIROFROHAN signing off,

PEACE!

Revised as of 21/12/2021 to include Halo Infinite features. P.S: THEY ARE SO COOL!