A/N: Here's the next chapter! I got a few reviews not liking how I portrayed Halsey…please remember this is a fan fiction which means I'm going to twist the hell out of some characters to make them into what I need for the story. In this Halsey is going to be a bitch, I'll just throw that out there. A cold and uncaring bitch.

Disclaimer: I do not own Halo or any of its characters. I just screw them up for the purpose of entertaining fans.

Forty Thousand Reasons

…

.

…

Chapter Two

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Sunlight filtered through the leaves and branches of the tree as she squinted up through the colors—flames of orange, red and yellow—then grinned. Reaching out, her small hand tried to grasp each as if trying to catch a falling star and each time she managed to clutch one a giggle bubbled out of her.

"Make a wish." The words were whispered to her, around her and the young girl of seven nodded enthusiastically.

"I wish…!" Sticking her tongue out of the side of her mouth her brows furrowed down in thought, the leaves forgotten as they fell around her like snowflakes.

"Make it an important wish." The voice of the woman spoke to her, and the little girl with the short, light brown hair closed her blue eyes, bringing her hands up to her chest, fists closed around a crumpled red leaf.

"I wish…," she concentrated.

"I need you." The woman's voice spoke again around the child and the sunlight dimmed out, trapped behind a dark cloud.

Opening her eyes quickly the girl looked around. "Me?"

"Wake up…" The voice distorted. "…I need you." The clear Fall day distorted just like the voice, lines running through it like it was projected on a screen and the leaf turned brown in the little girl's grip, crumbling to dust.

"W-wait! I haven't made my wish yet!" Looking up at the tree she stumbled backward as those leaves too turned brown and were blown away in the wind. "Wait!" Reaching out towards them her hand was caught by another hand, slightly wrinkled with age.

"They aren't for you, those wishes were never yours to have. They belonged to another girl, you're not even real." Cold blue eyes didn't match the compassion in the voice as another hand reached out, stroking the little girl's hair gently.

"I'm…I'm real." She tried to insist though she felt as if the earth shifted under her.

"You're just a shadow, of me." Taking the child's chin in her hand the silver-haired woman smiled. "An echo of memories, a poorly written copy and you're completely defective." Her thumb coming up, she wiped away a tear that rolled down the silent girl's cheek. "You've never felt the texture of a leaf in your life, or tasted the cool air of Fall." A smile was given, cold like the older woman's eyes but the voice continued to hold compassion, or was it mockery?

The little girl was too young to know the difference.

"You've never felt the warmth of the sun on your skin." Another tear was brushed away. "And you never will."

The lines grew thicker, distorting more as the light of the sun faded completely and everything took on a blue hue.

"Please, why was I made?" Her small hand came up, little fingers closing around the wrist of the older woman as she watched her in desperation and only a smile was given for an answer.

"I need you…" The young woman's voice echoed around them.

…

"Master Chief!" His name was called and his eyes opened slowly behind his orange visor and was met once again with that grated steel floor. "Master Chief unlock your armor!" The words were coming in, through static as he noticed the bright glow coming from his arm and fist, which was planted firmly on that floor.

"Spartan 117, unlock your armor, that is an order!" He recognized the voice of Sarah Palmer and gritted his teeth as he tried to get the suit to respond.

"I…can't…" The answer came from him in a growl. Was it malfunctioning? What happened?

He had been walking towards one of the docks to have his armor removed and then his visor had gone on the fritz and in the next moment…

"I need you." Blue lines danced across the screen in front of his eyes, and his eyes widened.

"Cortana?" His voice rumbled out softly, eyes searching the visor screen as the lines disappeared and the soft voice faded.

"Master Chief." Palmer moved closer to him, hand reaching out to touch his shoulder as his armor unlocked. She leaped back as her shields were momentarily disabled, letting out a curse she watched him stand, holding up a hand to the soldiers around them, Battle Rifles in hand, ordering them to stand down.

Glancing around he looked down to his hand then towards Palmer.

"Chief, are you alright?"

"It was a malfunction." Inclining his head towards her then straightened his shoulders. What had happened to him? "Where is Captain Lasky?"

Her lips parted as her brows furrowed down in confusion. "The Captain returned to Earth this morning, the first shuttle out for shore leave."

"I need to speak with him."

"We can do that, there's a coms system on the way to the dock." Gesturing her hand the way they had been headed Chief was shaking his head.

"In person."

The technician he had been following then spoke up, computer pad in hand as she cleared her throat rather nervously. She had heard of the armor's capabilities, had seen video of it in and out of combat but this was the first time she had seen a live demonstration of it. It had been amazing, and frightening all at once. "Sir, you're not clear to return to Earth without evaluation first, and no Spartan armor is allowed on the surface. No weapons of any kind except for the Peacekeepers."

"Peacekeepers?" It was strange of him, to ask a question to something he didn't know and not get a response from the female voice who kept him very well informed of everything that went on.

"They are-…" Her voice faded out almost as soon as she started talking and Chief shook his head slightly, hand coming up to tap against the side of his helmet.

"I have defied Gods and Demons…"

He felt strange as his chest seemed to tighten, blue eyes staring at the lines that waved across the inside of his visor, ears straining to hear the words.

"I am your shield…I am your sword."

"Cortana, where are you? Can you hear me?"

"This is UNSC A.I. Serial Number CTN0452-9." The voice of Cortana announced over the main communication systems in the ship, an eerie echo following it as silence fell over each and every crew member and soldier aboard. "...and I am a monument to all your sins." Master Chief looked up as the lights turned off, flooding the ship with endless darkness. Reaching up he flickered on his backup lights and turned his attention to the strained voice of the woman next to him.

"What in the…hell." Palmer hissed as the mechanical sounds of the ship stopped, leaving a deafening silence in its wake before the ship exploded with noise as people started to scramble around to see what happened.

"I need you…"

"I need to speak to Captain Lasky." Master Chief's deep voice rumbling out at her firmly this time.

"R-right." The soldier nodded to him and turned to the technician. "Get a Pelican prepped for travel, we're going to Earth."

"But-…"

"That is an order." Palmer snapped as she turned to one of the teams. "And figure out what in the hell happened to the power."

"Sir." Turning on their heels, the others moved off quickly, small beams of lights flickering on from the suits and visors of the crew around and Sarah turned her eyes to Master Chief, regarding him silently as she stared at her own reflection in his orange visor.

…

Halsey stumbled from her quarters as the emergency lights flickered on. Datapad in her hand.

"Report." She snapped as she moved down the hallway quickly, shrugging on a coat, her silver hair wild from sleep.

"Primary systems offline, secondary systems offline. Backup systems running primary resources only. Artificial gravity, oxygen systems, emergency lights, stabilizers."

"Communication systems?" Moving onto the main deck she slid her fingers over the data pad, working quickly.

"Offline." The man's voice spoke over the main communication system in the ship.

"What happened?" Halsey turned her cold blue eyes to the crew as they worked to restore power.

"Doctor Halsey, it appears to have been some sort of electrical disturbance that came from the inside of the ship."

Her blood ran cold as her fingers stopped moving against the backlit screen to her datapad.

"Point of origin?"

"Research lab Alpha." The A.I. hadn't even finished speaking as she was turning on her heel and running from the main control room.

"Move." She snapped at crew members in her way. "Get out of the way." Snarling a bit she shoved a tall man to the side and stopped outside of the sealed room, pressing her palm to the access plate. "Open the door." She commanded the A.I.

"Working on getting the secondary power up and running."

"I said you open this door now." Halsey flicked her eyes to the camera on her face.

"Rerouting power now."

…

"Can I go outside and play?" She watched out of the window, staring at the green grass as she stuck her chin in her hand. They had been studying for hours, and it was boring.

"No, we're going to finish this equation." The woman in front of her instructed and the young girl of twelve heaved a sigh, refocusing her eyes to lock onto her reflection.

"I'd rather know something else." Turning her gaze from the glass she looked at the silver-haired woman, watching her with cold blue eyes.

"What's that?"

"Why was I created?"

A/N: I'm so making this shit up as I go. I had this idea in my head and the more I write the more it changes. It's confusing, right? Wow. So sorry about that. I can't wait to see where this goes because I really have no idea myself. Review and tell me what you think!

…Nuclotei