Chapter 9: Competition
I Don't Own Halo or Red Vs. Blue. All rights go to Bungie, 343 Industries and Rooster Teeth.
The Chief waited in the docking bay for the Falcon dropship to dock with the UNSC Infinity. After radioing to Blood Gulch, the UNSC sent a dropship out there to collect the Reds and Blues. "So, your friends are Spartans like you?" He heard someone to his left ask him a question. "Oh, it's you," he said, turning to greet Cassie. "No, they're not like me. They're some random, very weird soldiers that I encountered, after the Cortana 'died'." She looked at him. "What did your AI look like?" she asked. The Chief thought for a moment. He remembered everything about her. Every curve, he even remembered her voice.
"She was "blue-skinned"," he said. "She had black hair, like yours, only shorter. She's hard to desribe. She never wore clothes, there were black or purple stripes that ran over her, ahem, intimate parts. Why do you ask?" She just looked at him for a minute. "I was just curious." she said. Her tone sounded, suspicious, like she was hiding something. The ship finally docked, and the Chief walked towards the ship. The dropship opened up, and Simmons was the first one who walked out. "Well, time to welcome the party." Church said. They walked over to greet the group. "Simmons." The maroon-colored Spartan nodded to him.
Lopez, the Red Team's robot was next. "Buenas dias." he said, casually. The Chief nodded politely to the Spanish robot. Tucker was next down the ramp. "Hey, Tucker." Church greeted his teammate. Tucker nodded to Church, took out his combat knife and stabbed him in the knee. "Ow!" Church said. "What the hell was that for, you asshole?!" Tucker pulled the knife out and sheathed it. "Stick around for episode two of 'knife buddies'!" he said. "Bastard." Church grumbled, as Tucker walked towards Cassie. "Helloooooo," he said. "where has a pretty babe like yourself been all my life?" Cassie smiled a sweet smile, and gently smacked his helmet
"What the hell?" Tucker said, rubbing his helmet. "Why would you do that?" Cassie just laughed and walked away, muttering the word "pervert." The Chief walked over to Tucker. "Don't try that." Tucker asked. "Try what?" John asked. "Asking a really, really hot chick out." Tucker said. "I'll keep that in mind." he said. He walked back to the dropship, where the last of the crew were getting off: Caboose and Carolina. The dropship lifted off, and took off through the hanger. "So, why do they call you Carolina again?" Caboose asked the light blue female. "Because," Carolina said. "That's the state I'm from you idiot! Why do they call you Caboose?"
Michael ignored the question. "Which Carolina?" he asked. Carolina turned to the Chief, and pointed to Caboose. "I swear to God," she said. "I'm going to kill this kid!" The Chief shook his head. "No you won't," he said. "Calm down." He had been on the Infinity for a week now, and they had moved the Chief and his troops out of the medical bay's rooms, and into the vacant marine quarters they had to spare. "Why do they call you Caboose?" Carolina asked him again. "That's just his last name, Carolina." he said. "It's still the dumbest last name I've ever heard." Tucker ran over to the three. "I agree," he said. "Someone naming their kid "Caboose" is pretty sad."
NS
The light brown Spartan walked into a Flood infested corridor. He walked past the Flood Comabt Forms, and when he did, they threatened to attack. He turned to them, and raised his hand at them. They gurgled at him, as if they were offended by his actions and they backed away. He walked down the rest of the corridor, and walked into a dome-shaped room that featured a gigantic mass of fleshy goo. The mass of flesh came to life, and looked his way. "You have failed us, NS." The Spartan got down on one knee, and kneeled. "Forgive me, Gra-" The mass of flesh interrupted him. "You haven't earned my race's honor, you abomination of nature! You call me master!"
"Sorry, you little shit." he grumbled silently. "Anyway," the Master said. "I sent you, and some of my finest troops to that horrid UNSC vessel, and you failed to capture the target." The Spartan looked up. "The Demon in green armor got away." he grumbled. "I promise you, it won't happen again." The Master gurgled. "I hope it shouldn't," it said. "For it it shall happen again, I will send you back to your grave. Do you want that?" The Spartan grumbled. "You should have left me dead, Master." The Master "stared" at him. "Do you want to be dead?" it asked him. "No, Master." The Master gurgled again.
"Very well," it said. "Take four of my finest legions, and find the one in green." The Spartan rose, and walked out of the dome. Nothing needed to be said, he just needed the to leave with the four handpicked legions at the Master supplied him with. He once again walked the shortest walk down the longest hall. He walked outside into the freezing temperature of the ice planet, Sidewinder. "Do you think the Master's plan will work?" one of the Infected Elites asked the Spartan. He turned to his troops. "Of course it will," he said. "Once the green one is killed, and infected, the galaxy will belong to the Flood!"
John-117
"Grifball!" the announcer shouted, beginning the first round. The Chief, the Reds and Blues were doing a combat simulation, kind of like old school soccer, called Grifball. The Chief was playing on the Blue Team, although that meant the Blues had one player more than the Reds. The Chief ran in the Reds direction, hell bent on getting the ball. The group was training in old Mark V MJOLNIR Armor, that would convert to orange upon collecting the ball. Something about the "humiliation" of being Grif. The weapons that they used where the Covenant Gravity Hammer and Energy Sword, but the UNSC reverse engineered the weapons for safety purposes, and now they were just stun weapons.
For the first time in a couple weeks, the Chief was actually having fun. He was usually in a saddened tone, relating to Cortana's destruction. But somehow, the Reds and Blues had unlocked his rare display of happiness. The Chief hadn't known what happiness was in at least twenty or thirty years. Simmons pushed in front of Sarge, and grabbed the ball, instantly turning orange. The Reds started to protect Simmons as he raced for the Blue "flag" stand. The Chief switched to the Energy Sword, and he waited. He watched as his teammates charged forward, being struck down by the enemy's Gravity Hammers. The Chief waited, and finally saw his chance. He lunged forward, and brought his Energy Sword forward, hitting Grif.
The strike sent an electronic pulse through Grif's armor, temporarily shutting his armor down, which the Gravity Hammer did the same to the armor. "Oh, you little bitch!" he yelled at the Chief. "It's a legitimate strategy!" he said, running off towards the seperated Red team. Simmons jumped up and attempted to reach the goal. The Chief jumped up, and grabbed the back of his armor. "Oh, fuck." Simmons said, as the Chief brought him down face-first. Simmons groaned in pain on the impact. "Thanks," John said, grabbing the "Grifball" out of his hand. "For this." The Chief's armor turned orange, and he ran towards the Red team's goal, just as his team got up. "I'm comin' for you!" the Chief heard Sarge's voice, and needed no help to tell that he was right on his tail.
He ran for a couple seconds more, and just as he felt Sarge's fingertips brush up against the back of his armor, he flipped over backwards. He let his foot touch the back of Sarge's helmet, causing Sarge to fall onto the gymnasium floor, and the Chief used Sarge's body to "surf" across the floor. The Chief jumped off of Sarge's head, and scored the first point. The ball disappeared from his hand, and his armor returned to the ceramic green color. "Ow," Sarge said, getting up, rubbing the back of his head. "Talk about a killer migraine." The Chief turned around to face Sarge. "Oh, look at you," he said, slugging him in the arm. "You're an augmented human, a Spartan. A normal human would have been killed by that. Quit your crying, Barbie."
"Yeah!" Church yelled. The group all looked at the cobalt Spartan. "Who's up for round two?!" They all just looked at him. "Are you sure?" Sarge asked. "We'll kick your asses!" Church just laughed. "Oh, listen to you!" he said. "The Chief just kicked your asses!" Sarge just looked at Church. "Fuck you." he said. "Fuck me?"Church asked. "Fuck you!" The Chief just stood there, shaking his head. "Are we playing again?" he asked, annoyed. Simmons turned to him. "I don't know," he said. "You want to get your ass kicked, old man?" The Chief looked at the Spartan. "I'm old?" he asked. "I'm only 46!" The Spartan just laughed. "By my terms, that's old!" he said. "Hey, don't talk to the Chief like that!" Church said. "Thank you!" the Chief said.
"John?" he heard someone call his name from behind. He turned around, to see Dr. Halsey standing by the stands. "I'll be right back." he said, taking off his helmet, and walking over to the stands to meet Dr. Halsey. "What do you need?" he asked, upon reaching her. "CPO Mendez is awake," she said. "He would like you to come see him when you get the chance." He nodded. "Ok," he said. "I'll go now." She nodded, and he walked back down to the group. "Listen," he said. "Continue this without me. Mendez is awake, and he wants to speak to me." They nodded, and he walks back to Halsey. "I'll take you to him." she said. He nods, and follows her out of the Gymnasium.
NS
The light brown Spartan walked towards the landing pad, where a UNSC Pelican was landing. You know what to do, the Master's voice gurgled in his head. The Spartan nodded, and concentrated for a few seconds. After a deep thought of humanity, his body structure reformed to match the body structure of a regular Spartan-III, so his Flood infection hints spread all over his body and armor disappeared. He walked over to the vessel, and waited for the dropship to open. The commander of the ship walked off the lift, and approached the infected Spartan. "We recieved a distress siganl coming from this outpost," the man said. "Is everything ok here?"
The Spartan nodded. "Everything is fine here," he said. "You may be on your way." The commander looked at him, and signaled his men to come off the ship. "Spartan," he addressed him. "You're acting suspicious. Who are you?" The Spartan stepped up to the commander. "That's none of your concern," he growled. "Leave. Now." The commander looked at him, and shook his head. "No, sir." he said. The Spartan signaled for his infected troops to reveal themselves. An infected trooper appeared behind each man, and killed them instantly. "What the h-" the commander said, reaching for his Assault Rifle. The Spartan was faster, taking out his Pistol, and shooting his hand.
The man screamed out in pain, falling down, as the Spartan's troops drew their Covenant Carbines on him. The Spartan signaled them to hold their fire, and they obeyed. The commander looked up at the Spartan, in agony. "What the hell, Spartan?" he asked. "You're supposed to be on our side!" The Spartan put his Pistol away, and reached up to remove his helmet. "Think again, Commander," he said, removing his helmet. His infection began to reveal itself to the horrified commander. The mandibles on his face clicked, features that had appeared thanks to his infection. The Spartan had pale gray skin, mixed with touches of brown and green. "I'm on no one's side." He took out his Pistol, and shot the commander until he died, and he signaled for an Infection Form.
John-117
The Master Chief walked into Mendez's hospital room. The CPO looked over at him as he entered. "Chief," he said in a hoarse voice. "Permission to speak, Sir?" he asked. He nodded, not wanting to speak. "I'd like to apologize, for almost killing you." he said. Mendez nodded at him, looking up at him. "What are you waiting for?" he asked the Spartan. "Chinese New Year? Take a seat, boy!" The Spartan cracked a light smile, and sat down by the side of the bed. "Did we defeat the Flood?" Mendez asked him. "No sir," he responded. "We were overrun, and we had to evacuate." The CPO nodded. "Well, at least no one died." he said. "That is good." the Chief said.
"Are the rest of your troops here?" Mendez asked him. "Yes sir," John said. "They arrived this morning. Or afternoon. Or evening. Hell, I don't know." The CPO cracked a weak chuckle, and coughed hoarsly. "That's ok son," he said. "I don't need to know what time they got here, I just need to know if they are here." The Chief nodded. "Well sir," he said. "In that case, they're here." The CPO nodded. "Good," he said. "Chief, when and what is your next mission?" The Chief dreaded this question. "Dr. Halsey, her "daughter" Cassie, Tucker, Church and I," he said. "Are breaking into the Arctic facility to find Cortana's data chip." The CPO nearly bolted upright.
"Are you serious?" he asked. "You're thinking about penetrating a heavily guarded UNSC facility!" He heard someone say, "Bow-Chicka-Bow-Wow!" The Chief looked up. "I didn't need your input, Private Tucker," he said. "Why do we need to got to Antarctica so bad?" Tucker asked, as he walked in. "It's fucking freezing out there." The Chief looked over to Tucker. "I need to get my AI chip back." was all he said. "Why?" he asked. "What's it to you?" the Chief asked. Tucker backed away. "Ok," he said. "Never mind." He turned back to Mendez. "Get some rest Sir," told the CPO. "I'm going to need you for Operation Frostbite." The CPO cracked a laugh. "Is that what you're calling it?" he asked. "Ok, ok. I'll try to get some rest." The Chief walked out of the room, and decided that he was going to sleep for a while, too. So, that's what he was going to go do.
Some time later...
Most of the time, when he slept like normal, John would sleep with a knife underneath his pillow. First, he sensed someone was in the room with him. He opened his eyes, and stirred a bit. He opened his eyes all the way, and lightly gripped the Combat Knife concealed underneath his pillow. He snuck a glance over at to his left, and saw a shadow, someone standing over his bed. He immediately lunged, and knifed at the figure. They backed up just in time. "Cool it, John! It's just me!" John recognized Cassie's voice, and calmed down only a little bit. "Cassie?" he asked. "What the hell are you doing? Don't do that!" He reached up, turned on the light, and placed the knife back under his pillow.
She looked at him. "What is it Cassie?" he asked. "I was trying to sleep." She sat down on the bed, and looked at him. "Have you ever felt, um, weird feelings for someone?" she asked. Oh, he thought. She's in love with someone, this is what this is about. "I guess," he asked. I felt that way towards the children I grew up with. Like Kelly, and Linda. Why do you ask?" She started playing with her hair. "I just started to get these weird feelings for a guy," she said. "Who?" He asked. "A guy." she replied. "Oh, you don't want to share the thought. I'm cool with that." She looked at him. "Anyway," she said. "I feel like I shouldn't have feelings for him." The Chief cocked his head at her.
"Why is that?" he asked. "I don't know, John!" she said, almost crying. "I feel like we've known each other for a long time, but we haven't. We've only known each other for a week." He sniffed. "I know how you feel." he said in a sad tone. "How do you know how being in love feels?!" she almost screamed at him. "I was in love at one point in time." he said. "But she was taken away from me. Gone. Gone forever." She looked at him, a hint of sarrow on her face. "What was she like?" she asked. "Young, I think," he said. "She was extremely beautiful. She started to get edgy. And she decided to pull the plug." She stared at him. "She opted out?" she asked. "Killed herself?" he asked. "In a way, yes."
"You poor, poor man." she said. "Don't feel sorry for me." he said. "No one else does." She stared at him. "You don't know what having amnesia is like, do you?" she asked. He shook his head. "No," he said. "How long have you had amnesia?" She looked up at him. "Twelve years." she said. Twelve? Something about that number feels familiar... "You just don't understand," she said. "What it's like to wake up one morning, and not remember who you are, or who you were." He raised an eyebrow. "Were?" he asked. "Yes," she said. "Were. Well, I'm sorry for disturbing you. Good night." She got up, and left his room, and the door closed behind her. "Yeah, good night." he said, turning the lights out.
A/N: So, I think that chapter was longer. Just a heads up, in a few chapters, you (the readers) will learn who Cassie is, and where she came from. When John was referring to the one he was in "love" with, he was referring to Cortana. Also, very, very soon you (the readers) will learn who the mysterious light brown Spartan was and how he got infected. So, you should really stay tuned for that!
