Arbiter remembered, he would always remember.
After Johnson's death and Guilty Spark's destruction there was little time for celebration. John remained motionless for several seconds, mourning the loss of his closest friend and conveniently the one person who saw his face in twenty years.
"I've been a solider for too long" John exclaimed as he heard the sound of the Flood approaching, "Maybe it's time I just...give up."
Arbiter shook his head, refusing to allow John the luxury.
"He was a good man" the Elite began as he nervously made his way towards the door, "His memory will live on through our actions. We must live for the sake of our fallen friends."
John sighed, it was deep. Cortana cut in; trying to get him out of the hole he had dug himself into.
"Chief" Cortana said slowly, "What do you want to do?"
"What?" Arbiter continued, "What's to decide! The Flood is on the move, we have to go now!"
Cortana ignored him and went back to John.
"You can sit here and die like a sad dog or you can stand and fight or die trying" Cortana declared, "Now which is it going to be?"
John looked back at Johnson; he recovered the dog tags and placed them around his neck. At the same time he thought about carrying the body, but knew that it would only slow him down and so left it where it was.
The Flood appeared at the door, Arbiter fired his gun until it overheated. He immediately switched to his offhand weapon, a Grunt plasma pistol, making sure to hit his targets in the head and the legs. John, finally composing himself, finished off the legless, headless creatures and worked his way around the hallway until it was clear. John moved forward, it was then that Arbiter stopped.
Looking down Arbiter picked up one of the dog tags from an infected Brute, he recognized the number.
"That's all of them" Arbiter said to himself, "So long Daren...you were a good friend."
John rolled his eyes and pushed forward, fully intent on leaving Arbiter to whatever fate would he had. Almost immediately the Elite made his way down the hallway, firing off a three rapid shots in the air for no reason whatsoever.
When they reached the Warthog, Arbiter, being a former pilot, took the wheel. John climbed on top of the gun and readied himself for the attack.
"What was all that about?" John asked curiously, hoping to get some information.
"We all have people fighting with us John" Arbiter answered, "My crew, former members of the Truth and Reconciliation, before it was destroyed by McKay in Installation 04. There were ten of us, I can still see their faces, hear their voices...haunting me."
Cortana, for some reason, developed an interest in the Elite, for they haven't had much chance to speak on previous occasions.
"How long have you been doing this?" Cortana piped in as John began firing in all sorts of directions and the road to the Dawn became less and less clear.
"Now is not the time for personal questions!" Arbiter screamed as he drove, weaving through debris as large pieces of metal came flying up, seemingly from nowhere. Explosion after explosion, it was like driving through a minefield.
"You're the one who brought it up" Cortana pointed out, "It would be nice to give me an answer."
"Both of you shut up and get us out of here" John replied, "I do not want to die on this godforsaken ring!"
Arbiter huffed annoyingly for he was tired of John always having to have the last word and bark orders as if he were a drill sergeant. As a consequence, Arbiter stopped driving just before they hit a ramp that at top speed would have sent them to a straight away ending at another ramp that lead to the safety of the Dawn.
"Are you insane?" John screamed, "We are going to die!"
Arbiter nodded, "Yes we are Chief" he answered, "And do you know why?"
John stopped and got out of the Warthog, he had no interest in dying, at least not today.
"And they call you Spartans?" Arbiter continued, "How sad. We should have crushed you when we had the chance. The universe would have been better off."
John laughed as he reached the top of the ramp, for some reason he thought he could make the jump, one look told him otherwise.
"We have to back up" John exclaimed, "We won't have enough momentum to get us over the jump to the other side."
Ironically at that same moment the ground they had behind them exploded, disappearing up and then down, falling to the groundless earth never to be seen again.
"Great" John continued sarcastically, "Now we're really going to die."
Arbiter shook his head and pulled out his plasma pistol, handing it to John. John, thinking that Arbiter was talking about suicide pointed the gun towards his head, no sooner had he done this did John's hand begin to shake.
"John" Arbiter replied, "Shoot the Warthog."
John stopped and looked confusingly at the Elite. Then he realized what he was holding.
"Who knew that a plasma pistol could be useful?" the Spartan thought to himself, "The things you learn in times of need."
John primed the pistol, a large green ball emitted from it, John fired on the Warthog, causing it to lift up in the air, it wasn't enough to get over the ramp but the idea became clear. Moving to the back of the vehicle, John repeated the process, hitting the ground just below the Warthog, causing it to move forward and make its way over the jump.
Arbiter pulled out a grappling hook and fired it at John, once this was done Arbiter floored the gas, sending John smashing against the hard platforms that made up the ground. Arbiter picked up as much speed as he could, unintentionally sending John into the air, at the moment he was hang gliding, minus the hang glider.
"What the hell are you doing?" John asked as he dodged a pillar as he fell to the ground, his landing more than hard.
"You're the one who wanted to live" Arbiter declared, giving him an answer, "So we're living."
John rolled his eyes; he was beginning to hate the Elite for this was not the first time that he been humiliated.
"When we get out of this Thel, remind me to kill you!" John screamed, his voice didn't even so much as move a decibel from his previous statement, for he was too mad and too busy trying to stay alive to be civil.
Arbiter laughed, for he did not recall giving John his name, his first thought came to Cortana. This thought was both uncomfortable and warming at the same time, in that John took the time to look into who he was fighting with.
"So I take it you about the Prophet of Unity then?" Arbiter asked, making sure to play his cards carefully, lest he upset John more than usual.
Instead of John it was Cortana who reacted, it was less than favorable.
"There's another Prophet?" Cortana replied coldly, "And when were you going to tell about that little detail?"
Arbiter shrugged and gave the honest answer, "I wasn't. It is best for her survival that she remains a secret between us."
"She?" John and Cortana exclaimed in unison, causing Arbiter to nod in agreement.
"Are you married John?" Arbiter continued, "Ever felt feelings for someone else? Not like for Johnson or the Keyes', but for someone real, someone who was always there?"
John shook his head no, Cortana remained silent, hiding her emotions and letting Arbiter continue as if he wasn't looking for an answer.
"I see" Arbiter began again as he dodged an exploding pillar, the Dawn was now clearly in view. "It is something that I am still trying to understand to tell you the truth."
John nodded, remembering his brief conversation with Arbiter at the beginning of this adventure.
"There is no room for love in this world" John said, repeating his statement from that conversation, "There is only room for hate...hate and stupidity."
"Ignorance is bliss" Arbiter exclaimed, repeating his reply in turn, "But bliss is nothing but an illusion, a lie that clever spiders weave, entrapping us like flies in the web that is the universe. Shall we be devoured? Or will we find a way to break free? Time will only tell."
They picked up speed and made the jump into the Dawn. Arbiter turned to John as quickly as he could and smiled.
"Remember me John" Arbiter said sadly, "When you get back to Earth, when you look at the stars, think of me and remember, do for me what I do every day for those I care about and I will consider it a personal favor."
John said nothing, in his heart he knew that he would keep that promise, even if it meant being stuck on a ring.