Chapter 25: The End Is Nigh

Disclaimer: I Don't Own Halo, Red Vs Blue or Any of their Respective Characters

A/N: Hello and welcome to the second to last chapter! This chapter is going to "tie up some loose ends" for the story. Those things being: Did Tucker survive? What happens next for the crew? What his Church (Epsilon) up to? Well, most questions will be answered in this chapter. I will hopefully start writing the sequel tomorrow and it will be posted later on this month or in early April. I haven't really decided yet. Well, I hope you enjoy this chapter, and that being said, let's get on with it!

John-117

Blood Gulch

Several Days Later

"I'm sorry." John said. "I should never have let my guard down after the battle of Blood Gulch. I should be dead right now. These men, they need a proper leader. And I can't fill that role. You were the only one that could have been their captain. But if you were still here, could you have trusted me to be their captain? Could you have trusted me to take that final step, to do what was absolutely necessary?" John stared at Mendez's makeshift gravestone. He sighed. "I don't know how I'm going to be able to lead them. Thank you for your time, sir." John said. "Mendez is dead. So why do you try to have a conversation with him, when he's not even here anymore?" John heard someone speak from behind him, sounding as if they were demonic. He turned around, to see Cortana standing there. He turned back around to look at the gravestone and then turned back to look at Cortana, being very confused. "What?" he asked. "I said, 'You must miss him so much'." she said.

He raised an eyebrow. He felt skeptical, about that being what she had really said. He nodded. "Yes, I do." he said. "Well, he is dead now. So, maybe that's a plus." Cortana said. "What?" John asked, as he looked at her. "I said 'He's dead now. And you have to take the responsibility of being their captain'." she said. "I know." John said. "Well, Doctor Halsey wanted me to come get you. To tell you that Tucker died this morning." John looked at her with a look of complete shock. "What?" he asked. Cortana let out a sigh. "I said that 'Doctor Halsey wanted me to come get you. To tell you that Tucker woke up ten minutes ago." John let out a sigh of frusteration as he turned to look at Cortana. "No. That is not what you said. I swear, I just heard you say that Tucker died this morning!" he said. Cortana shook her head. "I didn't say that John." she said. "Are you feeling okay?" John nodded. "I feel fine, Cortana. I think the question is "Are you feeling okay?" Cortana nodded. "I feel fine." she said. John grabbed her forearm and touched her forehead with the back of his hand. She wasn't running a fever. He brought his hand away and let go of her forearm.

"I feel fine." she repeated. John narrowed his eyes. Cortana met his eyes. It was as if they were having a staring contest. "Cortana." he said, through gritted teeth. "Okay, okay." she said as she sighed. "I have been feeling... different. And for the last couple days, people have constantly been asking me to repeat myself." John crossed his arms, knowing he had won. "See? Was that really too hard? Now go sit in the corner!" he said, as he walked towards the entrance to Blue Base. "Where are you going?" Cortana called. John emerged a few seconds later, with a small box in his hand, from the UNSC themselves. "I need to go have a chat with Tucker. You stay in that spot and try to think about what is happening to you." John walked off towards the Infirmary and got there in a matter of minutes. He walked in and stopped at Doctor Halsey's desk. "John." she greeted, looking up at him. "Tucker is awake." He nodded. "I know." John said. "But before I talk to him, I need to talk to you. Doctor, have you noticed anything weird about Cortana lately?"

Doctor Halsey looked at him. "No, I haven't. And you haven't noticed anything? I find that highly unbelievable, as you two are 'infatuated'." she said. "Well, infatuated is a word. But no. I haven't noticed anything." John said. "Well, what have you noticed then, John?" Doctor Halsey asked. "She came to me today and told me that you wanted to see me, that Tucker was awake. But, that's not what I heard her say the first time. I could have sworn that she said that Tucker died this morning." John said. "How very interesting. Obviously Tucker is alive. But, why do you think she said that?" Doctor Halsey asked. "I don't know. Do you know anything about it?" John asked. Doctor Halsey shook her head. "No. But I'll have Cortana come in later today and I'll give her a routine check up, it's what we do to make sure she is okay both physically and mentally." John nodded. "Thank you Doctor." he said. "I'm going to go talk with Tucker now." Doctor Halsey nodded. "Go right ahead, John." she said. John walked over to the cot that Tucker had been sleeping on since his surgery. He walked past the curtain that had been set up, for Tucker's privacy. He saw Carolina sitting beside Tucker's cot. As surprising as it was, she hadn't left that spot since they got back from the High Charity, at least he didn't think she had left.

He looked at Tucker on the cot, seeing him still with his armor on, at least on his lower body, down until his knees. It's as if he was wearing shorts. His entire abdomen had been bandaged and his lower left leg had been bandaged as well. The blanket that had been put on him was at his ankles, covering his feet. "Hello, Private Tucker. You look like hammered shit." John said. Tucker coughed a little, before looking up at John. "Very funny." he said. "How do you feel?" John asked. "Like hammered shit." Tucker said, repeating the Chief's line. "Do you remember anything?" John asked. "Anything at all?" Tucker just laid there. "Um, I remember a grenade and my sword exploded in my hand. That's all. I can't remember anything else." Tucker finally said. John nodded. "That doesn't surprise me." John said. "Do you want to hear the good news or the bad news?" Tucker said nothing. John thought that he was going to have to repeat himself. "There is good news?" Tucker finally asked. "Yes. There is. You survived a being fragged. And an explosion in your hand." John said. "There was a combined total of twelve pieces of shrapnel in you. Four pieces in your lower leg. And there were eight pieces in your abdomen. And Doctor Halsey got all of it out. Thank her later." Tucker said nothing. "And the bad news?" he asked.

John frowned. "Well, take a look at your right hand." he said. Tucker lifted up his left hand and looked at it. "What about it?" he asked, as he looked back at John. John rolled his eyes. "Your other right hand." He and Carolina said, in unison. Tucker lowered his left hand and then lifted up his right hand. He saw that it was all bandaged up. "Fuck!" Tucker said. "What happened?!" John sighed. "Your energy sword sort of exploded in your hand. The heat generated by said 'explosion' burned your hand, even through your armor. Halsey said if it weren't for your armored glove, that your right hand would have been amputated." he said. "I mean, just look at your bedside table." Tucker looked over to where his glove was sitting on the table. "You see, it's completely charred. It's black." John said. "There's no trace of the teal color it once was." Tucker didn't speak after looking back at John. "Tucker?" John asked. Tucker looked at him with an angry look on his face. "It's aqua-marine, dipshit." he said, sounding angry. "Actually, it's aqua blue." Carolina replied, speaking for the first time. "What the fuck ever." Tucker responded. "Well, anyway," John said, presenting the box to Tucker. "I did come here for two reasons. One, to present you with this-" John opened the box, showing off the purple medal inside.

"What's that?" Tucker asked. "Private Tucker, you were wounded in combat. And, since you survived, you are eligable to be presented with this Purple Heart medal, courtesy of the United Nations Space Command." he said. Tucker spoke. "I could have sworn I would be K.I.A." he said. "You were. For about ten seconds, your heart stopped beating." Carolina said. "Bet you were happy about that." Tucker said. "What does that mean?" John said. "Nothing. What's the other thing you came here for?" Tucker asked, as he took the medal and placed it on the bedside table. John stuck out his hand. Tucker looked at him confused, before taking his hand with his left and shook. "Congratulations, Lance Corporal Tucker." John said. Tucker looked at him, still confused. "Lance Corporal Tucker? What the fuck is that supposed to mean?" he asked. "The UNSC gave me permission to promote you. Didn't you get the memo?" John said. "By the way, a few days ago, I read your file. It says you were once a Captain, along with Grif, Simmons and Caboose. What happened to that?" Tucker just sat there for a moment. "Back on Chorus, we were all promoted to Captains, to train a new group of soldiers. Palomo, Bitters, Jensen, Cunningham, Rogers and others I can't even remember." he said. "Once the war on Chorus was over and Felix was dead, we all came back here. And we were all stripped of our ranks. A sort of 'fresh start'. Even Sarge had gone back to Sergeant, after being promoted to Colonel."

"I should probably leave you to rest now, Tucker. Congratulations on your promotion." John got up from his seat and left the room. Ever since the destruction of High Charity (again), the UNSC had taken notice of this and they put Project Freelancer back into commision. Well, kind of. Admiral Hood himself had talked with John and told him that in Mendez's place, he would be their captain and he would continue training them, along with new recruits over time. It wouldn't be the same Project Freelancer that the late Doctor Leonard Church had created. They'd be their own special branch and military organization of the UNSC. The UNSC would be delivering food, ammo, actual clothing so the crew wouldn't have to wear armor 24/7 and supplies to build homes in the gulch. They'd be delivered on a monthly basis. John could already see it. No more living in the bases. There would be actual beds to lay in, actual roofs to sleep under, actual food to eat. An actual safe haven.

Tucker

"I'm scarred for life. You do know that right?" Tucker asked. "These burn scars and the scars from the shrapnel surgery!" Carolina shrugged. "I don't know." she said. "I think they'll be seen as being sexy one day." Tucker scoffed. "They're not 'sexy'. They're hideous! And don't even get me started on the promotion!" Carolina cleared her throat. "You didn't sound very grateful for your promotion." Carolina agreed. "You don't say." Tucker said. "Maybe it's because I'm not grateful at all." Carolina stared at him. "What? Why?" she asked. "Because I should be dead right now." Tucker asked. "Do you want to be dead?" Carolina asked. "Do you want the truth?" Tucker asked. She nodded. "Yes, I wanted to be fucking dead!" he said. "But why?" Carolina asked. "Because no one here likes me. And let's be honest. Even you hate me, Carolina." Carolina was silent. "Tucker, I don't hate you. And I don't want to fight with you again." she said. "I don't fucking care! Carolina, if I had died, I would have finally been able to rest. I was fucked monumentally!" Tucker said.

There was silence. "Um, aren't you going to say your catch phrase?" Carolina asked. "Fuck. No." Tucker said. "Why?" she asked. "Hmm. That's a hard one. Let's see, how about this: Lavernius Tucker is fucking dead, Carolina!" Carolina looked at him. "Is that the truth?" Carolina asked. "It fucking is. Sure, Lavernius Tucker is sitting right here in front of you, but he's not the same. I'm not the same fun-loving, pervy Private First Class I once was. And that's probably for the better." Tucker asked. "I'm a Lance Corporal now. And I should act like a soldier, not a five-fucking-year-old boy!" Tucker pulled the blanket up to his lower torso and laid back down. "Is that it?" Carolina asked. "It is." Tucker said, as he closed his eyes. "Do you want me to leave?" Carolina asked. "You can. But you don't have to. If you want to leave, than go. But if you want to stay, go ahead. No one is going to stop you." he said. "Okay then." Carolina said, as he heard her get up.

Doctor Halsey

Two Hours Later...

"How do my tests look, Doctor?" Cortana asked. "Hold on, I'm processing through the all of the information." Doctor Halsey replied, as she looked over piece of information after piece of information. That's when a chill went down her spine. She saw the information that informed her that Cortana was slowly going insane. "What is it, Doctor?" Cortana asked. "Cortana, come over here." Doctor Halsey said, with a little bit of fear in her voice. Cortana walked over to Halsey and looked at the information. "Wait, you mean to tell me that I'm slowly going insane?" Cortana said. Halsey nodded. "So it appears. It's a byproduct of merging the other half of your AI with the younger flash clone of myself." she said. "That's the bad news." Cortana sighed. "What's the good news?" she asked. "I can fix you, Cortana. By therapy, among other things. You can be normal again, it's as if you are entering rampancy, but as a human." Doctor Halsey said. "But the downside is, is that we have to leave Blood Gulch and get to a proper medical facility. Just let me pack up, call command and we'll be on our way." Cortana sighed. "We can't stay here?" she asked. "Absolutely not! You can say good-bye to everyone, but then we have to go!" Cortana let out another sigh, as Doctor Halsey got to work with packing up.

A/N: I would like to apologize if this chapter was lacking in anyway. So yeah, Cortana is going to be temparily leaving, but she will return in the sequel! Tucker has been promoted and he has gotten a Purple Heart medal! For any of you that are curious, Tucker would have been in a coma for at least four or five days. The UNSC have decided to provide funding to John to continue training the Reds, Blues and Freelancers. And as it was stated in the story, they will be getting new recruits! The first recruit will appear in the sequel, which I hope will come very, very soon! Also, the next chapter will be the last! At least for this story. So, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Even though we basically have reached the end of this story's life cycle, please, please, please do not hesitate to favorite and follow this story. It is not too late! It is also not too late to review! So, with that being said, the last chapter will be posted tonight as well, so until then, have a good night!