A/N: Sorry it's taken me so long to update... For EXTREMELY important personal reasons (namely, I'm a lazy bastard) I have been unable to type (and yet I have been able to beat Final Fantasy Tactics (For the fifth time, and counting ( I am NOT addicted, I swear!))... and SMBB... and most of Timeshift...) and as such have been unable to update. And now that the EXTREMELY important personal reasons are dealt with (finally made myself sit down and write this) I am going to try and update considerably more often. Also, some of you may notice that I have published another fanfic... God'slayer and the Cursed Mage will be updated at the same fast (yeah, right) pace as this one!
Anyway. I am trying to improve how I write, type, whatever, and will try to be more descriptive. I will try to explain a bit more about Kanos, the Nexus Points, and the very confusing conversation. My next update will be a fight scene. Also, I have discovered that the scene changes, which I had intended to mark with a series of asterisks, is not showing up. I do not know why, but if you have any ideas, please, tell me.
Another error I have found has been the OC Elites. Due to a slight mix-up, both Talo Manalar and Tero Manalar have been given the same last name. As such, Tero Manalar (the traitor) has been renamed Tero Felamar.
By the way, can you guess what a 'Reality' Kanos describes is, before the his second-to-final line, which Cortana will completely fail to understand the importance of?
I removed the Change idea, that gave each char a personality quirk. I decided it was too inconvenient to the plot.
Disclaimer: I do not own Halo, any Halo characters, but I do own some strawberry ice cream, apparently.
Oh, and I'll try to add a bit more 'funny.'
On to the fic!
Wrath of the Black Flame
Chapter IV
A Meeting Of Minds
Titan Mainframe, Reality: SciFi-Halo-Earth-712, 41 days prior to Second Betrayal
Cortana was 'sitting,' or at least the digital equivalent of the action, puzzled over a frustrating problem. She had finally found a security system that she could not crack. She had to, grudgingly, admit, it was an extremely complex system. She honestly did not know if she could crack it. The folder was the only thing locked in the archive, but it was massive. From the looks of it, the titans had protected most of their info in this file, but left bits outside. Why had they done that?
As for the security system, it seemed simple. It was a password, but there was a strange block of data that looked... corrupted, or fragmented. Was that part of the lock? If it was, this would be hopeless. She had no idea how to work this out...
She felt another presence in the system, perhaps another AI? That would explain the block of data, but it would either have to be replaced constantly, making the data block inefficient, or, improbably, be far older. Such things were possible, she knew, but human AIs burned themselves out after a period of around seven years. They essentially thought themselves to death (I forget how the book "First Strike" explained it, all that I know is, that's how they "die." If you know, tell me and I'll edit this to include it.). If this presence had managed to survive so long, it meant that titan technology was far superior to humanity, but if it was, why would they be using human file systems?
She lost 'sight' of the entity for a few moments. Suddenly, it was right beside her.
"Looking for something specific?" it said. It had chosen the image of a thin, tall, almost-but-not-quite human wearing a long black robe, with, oddly enough, a necklace with a cross on it.. It -he, she corrected herself,- had void-black hair drawn into a tail behind him. He also had strange, glowing, steely colored eyes. What was strange about them was not their color, but that most AIs she had seen did not put that much detail into such avatars. While he appeared close to human, his face and muscle structure were off. His face was the more obvious difference. His cheekbones were too pronounced, giving him a gaunt look, and he had no nose or mouth. His muscle structure, on the other hand, was subtly... wrong.
"My name is Kanos. I am the resident archivist." He eyed the file, and his eyes flashed slightly. "I see you have an interest in literature, as you happen to have a copy of Dante's Inferno."
"If this is a copy of Dante's Inferno, why is it so massive?" responded Cortana, skeptically.
"That copy of the Inferno also contains all of the notes that my fellow titans and I have added over ten millenia," Kanos said, "and also contains a list of demons we have encountered so far. Before you ask, yes, there are demons. We have fought them, and I have personally slain 47,912 in my career."
"If you were looking for information about Darakathos, or the other titans, you should ask next time. We don't keep important information aboard the Rakothan. Lord Aulianas Darakathos has decided to give you humans a chance, at the very least, and has granted you access to Tier 2 information. Don't really pay attention to Tier 1 info, it's mostly misinformation. We're cautious to the point of paranoia."
"Alright... how have you met humans, before?"
"Exact details are Tier 4, madam, but I can tell you about the Realities. Mostly because it'll distract you, and hopefully you will forget, or lose interest, in the previous line of query before we are done. Needless to say, this is going to take a while. How much do you know about your Reality?"
My Reality, she thought, does he mean that there are multiple realities?
"My reality... it is very hard to define such a thing, given that I have nothing to compare it to."
His eyes flashed for a moment. Is that their equivalent to smiling, or glaring?
"I can understand your perspective. For a long time, I thought the same way. One reality, one existence, one self. The truth is, very few things are truly unique. Are you aware of a theory common amongst certain tales of Ancient Terra, or Earth, as you call it? It was said, in these stories, that every thought, every idea, created an alternate reality, in which the thought were true. For instance, there was a company called Bungie. They made many 'video games.' I am unsure if you still have them. Do you?:
"We still have video games, yes, though a good amount of information concerning Earth's economic past has been lost in several wars. There are no records of this 'Bungie.'" Cortana said.
"Hm. Shame. The idea is: All of those games, all of those ideas, created separate realities. In each of these realities, the characters in the game existed. They did not know of the truth, although some do now. Well call these separate realities, imaginatively enough, Realities. We travel through the realities constantly. In fact, the Rakothan is not a 'fortress' as many of you believe. It isn't even the largest ship in the fleet. It is called a Gateship. It opens portals in between Realities, that we can use to move from one to the next. These portals, called Rifts, move through both space and time. This allows us to go to Realities created with the past in mind. Or the far future.
Another thing about these Realities: Every character, in every game, in every Reality, is present in some form in all Realities that can fit them. We have encountered ourselves in many of them, in different forms, different roles, different lives. The names stay similar, if not the same, and the personality rarely change. I have met myself as a medieval knight, a scholar, a conquerer, you name it, I've been it.
I have even met you, before. And your friend, the Master Chief. In most Realities, he is either a quiet farmer, or a powerful leader. You are almost always an intelligent woman, a hacker, a scholar, an Inquisitor, hells, in one you're the ruler of the universe. Unfortunately, you died soon after in a universe-encompassing explosion that ripped every planet to shreds. By the way, you caused that one. Don't ask."
"How did I-"
"You searched for an alternative source of power and wound up overloading every star in the universe. I said don't ask.
"Anyway, omnicides aside, every Reality is slightly different, though large numbers of them are created of the same idea. Basically, this means that in one Reality, you might stop the Halo Rings. In another, the Master Chief accidentally triggered them in a freak accident involving bananas and Grunts.
This is yet another 'Don't Ask' moment. Still a little disturbed about it... so many tangerines... so much blood... and when the Brutes showed up...
"Ah, but I digress. Pretty much, all Realities are the same basic idea, but most have a different ending, or personalities in the entities. Sometimes these Ideas are remakes of already existing Ideas. These tend to be made for a specific purpose, to entertain by 'humor', or 'romantic' revisionings of the stories. You wouldn't believe how many there are in which there is a romantic relationship between you and the 'Master Chief.' There are also a lot of Arbiter/Master Chief romances... these disturb me on an elemental level..."
Cortana was still a little in shock over the Ideas concerning her and the Chief. Just a little.
"How the HELL does that make ANY sense?! I am a freaking AI CONSTRUCT, and HE is an ORGANIC life form! Seriously, who the #& thinks of these--"
Kanos had stopped paying attention to her rant at about the third syllable. He was much more concerned about how several Covenant ships had just arrived in the system, with a certain aesthetic design that caused him a small bit of alarm..
Kanos unleashed a long series of obscenities that caused any to hear them to catch on fire and be mauled by small, fuzzy squirrels.
Kanos turned back to Cortana, whose rant had been interrupted by spontaneous cybernetic combustion and having been mauled by small, fuzzy, electronic animals, don't ask, and said four small words.
"We have a problem."
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Just prior to the problem, Darakathos was holding a conference with the Humans, Elites, and several important Titanic leaders. John was a little surprised, and deeply troubled, to learn that Darakathos' was not the only Titan faction. If there were more factions, then there were more Titans. If there were more Titans, there was an even larger threat than he had anticipated. These 'Blackfire Titans,' had already shown vague hostility to the Human presence, but were seemingly content to wait and see what they would do.
He was holding the meeting in the war-room, as usual. It occurred to John that this was the only room he had seen so far. The Arbiter had taken a walk around, earlier, and a fanatic looking Elite had been sent to find him. The war-room was rather stark, with just a large table and wall hangings. Chairs had been added for the benefit of the Humans and Elites, but the Arbiter had declined. The table was round and made of metal, with dents near spots that certain Titans had taken, as if it were their usual place. The table had not really surprised him.
It had been surprised him to see that there was a large cross on one wall. It was more proof that they had encountered humans before, but had they assimilated a human religion, or was it just a coincidental banner?
The other Titan leaders were incredibly varied. When they had first strode into the chamber, in pairs, John had assumed that they were different species. There were seven in all, with three taking places at the table, and the other four hanging back just behind and to the left of those that they had walked in with, with one taking his place next to an empty spot. They must be bodyguards, John guessed.
Aulianas Darakathos was there, along with a titan named Rakithas. Darakathos was an... interesting... sight. He had a black cloak on, over a black breastplate and black greaves, with dark red trim. His hood was pulled back, revealing his face for the first time. It was long, and thin, with pronounced cheekbones, and he appeared to have no nose or mouth. He had a pair of clawed gauntlets on. Rakithas was wearing the same kind of outfit, but it was white instead of black, and his hood was pulled up, obscuring his face. He had a long-handled war hammer behind him, with a dark head and silver handle. Darakathos was tall and thin, but Rakithas was as tall, and considerably bulkier.
Then it got weird. Well, weirder.
The first pair to walk in were humanoid, and appeared to be wearing full plate armor, like knights, with the helmet removed. They had longswords, increasing the knightly impression. That was where the similarity ended. They both were pale, and had long, loose silver hair. Their eyes were silver chased with black, and upon closer inspection, John found that they were not wearing plate armor. Instead, they seemed to have metal covering their bodies, almost naturally. Some form of natural armor? They had no mouths or noses. When they reached the table, a 3D image of a crossed trio of blades appeared in front of them, and a voice said "Lord-Aulianas Kaltanais, Lord of Ferrus Vitae, with Ancient-Guardian Telrinas, Lord of the Silver Blades." Kaltanais seemed not to like how he was named.
The second to enter was a single Titan, wearing a black cloak over silver plate armor. This time it was apparent that it was just a suit of armor. Oddly, he was wearing a cowboy-style hat, and his coat was a duster. He also had a black eyepatch, and had grey dreadlock style hair and a short goatee and mustache. He had a mouth and a nose. He wore a black-bladed greatsword across his back, and a pair of pistols were holstered at his side. As he passed the Ferrus Vitae, Kaltanais stiffened with barely suppressed rage, and looked down his nose at the newcomer. This was in itself a feat, as the newcomer was at least a foot taller. As he took his position, a profile of a diving steel falcon appeared, and the voice announced "Ancient-Guardian Maltias, Lord of the Striking Talon."
The final pair to enter were shocking, to say the least. Not even the presence of faceless medieval knights, and half-knight half-cowboys prepared him for the tall man exuding an aura of intense cold, and the massive skeleton walking in behind him. The humanoid figure had a long, very dark coat on. At first John thought it was black, but the light reflecting off it revealed it to be very dark green. He wore a white porcelain mask, with eyeholes and a tribal design etched in black. Even though he could not see the Titan's expression, John could somehow feel that when it looked at him, it was with... uninterest. The titan looked at him as if he were less important than the dents in the table.
John shook his head to clear it, and the feeling of unimportance faded slightly.
The titan took his place at the table, and the immense skeleton took it's place behind his shoulder. The skeleton was a strange sight. He was as large as a Hunter, and wore, oddly enough, dark green samurai armor. He had a large katana at his side, and he was helmetless. His face had no jaw, instead the face formed a point up to where a chin would be. As they stood, the voice came again, announcing the arrival of "Ancient-Deathlord Mortalitas, Aulianas of the Necris Vitae, and Bonelord Trakis, Lord of the Boneguard."
What have I gotten myself into? John thought. Wait, better question. What has Commander Keyes volunteered me for?
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The creature known as Tero Felamar was elated. His/It's master had commanded him/it to spy on the Sangheili and the Humans to see if they were a threat, and to sabotage this 'alliance' if they were. He/It had searched amongst the crew of the 'ambassador fleet,' and had found the perfect host. Tero Felamar had been full of hate and rage against the humans, and had seen them as how the Prophets had shown him: evil parasites, creatures no more deserving of life than the Flood.
It had found him, and it had taken root inside of him, waiting to reveal himself. It controlled him, but he was not entirely gone. He still jabbered in the back of their composite mind, consumed by the anger that had brought the blood-mind upon him. They were one now, complete and loyal to their master. They would do his will.
They were elated, because they had found the perfect way to eliminate both the Sangheili, and the Humans in one fell swoop.
They just needed time.
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Kaltanias was egotistical, incompetent, and disliked any challenge to his authority. So, when Lord Aulianas Darakathos just happened to 'forget' to invite him to the meeting, but had conveniently remembered to invite his guardian, he was just a little miffed. Just a little. And when Darakathos seemed to rub in the fact that almost every delegate but himself was an Ancient, he too just a little offense. Just a little.
This is, of course, 'just a little' as in comparison to 'it's just a little dragon.'
Darakathos had not actually intended to 'rub in' how almost every Titanic delegate was Ancient, it had just turned out that way. Of course, he hadn't invited Kaltanais anyway, so he didn't really feel that it was important to ensure that his feeling's weren't hurt. In truth, given how much Kaltanais had done to him and his family, Darakathos was contemplating killing him.
Kaltanais couldn't help but needle Darakathos a little.
"So, oh-so-great Lord Aulianas, you need the help of humans?" he said in in the Ferrus Vitae's personal language.
Darakathos glanced at him and blinked. "I happened to think they would be of more help than you would, oh-so-great Aulianas of the more deluded, or bound by unfortunate oath," he said this last part with a small nod to Telrinas, who reciprocated, "members of the Ferrus Vitae."
Kaltanais glared at the insolent Titan. "The fools who decided that I could not lead, and decided to form their own pathetic excuse for a Vitae, are nothing more than an annoyance, and were obviously the weaker and less intelligent Ferrus. Otherwise, they would have recognized my immense power and strategic skill."
Darakathos laughed.
"Would they, now? Please, you must remember that the only Titans under your command are the Highborn nobility," he said nobility with a slightly emphasis, his tone showing what he thought of that specific caste, "and the Orders, who only follow you because of outdated and inconvenient oaths, you vain charlatan."
"The Orders follow me because they see my wisdom, and know that fool Kanos is nothing more than an idiotic poser."
"Pagh. You were only deemed 'Aulianas' because you had the support of the Highborn. Why Alishandris didn't dispose of them while she had the chance, I'll never know."
Even John could see the intense anger in Darakathos's speech, and the slight catch before the name. What did this 'Kaltanais' have to do with this 'Alishandris,' and why would this anger him so deeply?
Unfortunately for Kaltanais, he did not see it. And very, very unfortunately for Kaltanais, he just had to push it just a little bit farther.
"Why that bleep! chose you when she could have had a titan like me, I will never know."
(and yes, I did censor it. If you don't like it, go read some other story.)
That was the final straw. Darakathos had been trying not to kill him, but then he had to go and call his rather dead wife a bleep!. It did not help that Kaltanais had caused that particular death, even if he did not know that everyone else, besides the humans and sangheili, knew of his involvement.
The room suddenly seemed to turn darker, and a change took hold of Darakathos.
Black lightning arced across Darakathos's form, and, for just a second, a shadow crossed him, seeming to give the image of thick, black, plate mail armor, with glowing blue lines, and braziers that burned with a dark blue flame. His eyes turned red, and in their depths you could see a creature made of sentient being's greatest fears, and the most intense hatreds.
He snapped something incoherent, and black lightning was hurled at Kaltanais, striking him in the chest. He was thrown against the far wall with enough force to dent the thick metal.
The shadow-Darakathos quickly glanced at Telrinas, and said a single sentence, one that did not make much sense to the dazed Kaltanais, in a deep voice that seemed to claw at John's soul.
"End this farce."
Telrinas strode over to Kaltanais's prone form, and put his blade to his throat. He spoke, for the first time that meeting.
"Kaltanais, formerly of the Ferrus Vitae, you are charged of conspiracy with the Crour pirates, conspiracy with the Plague, demonacy, consortion with demons, murder of an Ancient, consortion with an enemy of the Titanic culture as a whole, attempt to raise dead, failure to properly conceal espionage tactics, and being a complete and total bastard. How do you respond to these accusations?"
The beginning of Kaltanais's response was to begin swearing so heavily that Maltias had to reach down and punch him in the nose to get him to shut up. The end of his response was incoherent, as he had just been punched in the face by a very, very pissed off Maltias. It was not fun to be punched by a very, very pissed off Maltias.
Darakathos suddenly returned to normal, and collapsed onto the floor. John privately wondered how this could possibly get any worse or more confusing. And then instantly regretted the thought.
As if on some, unfortunate cue, a figure appeared on the table. John guessed that it was some kind of holographic display, like the Covenant sometimes used.
"Darak, we have a problem. 14 vessels have translated in-system, looks like Covenant. Darak... they're covered in bloodsigils."