A/N: For those of you curious, Callixtus's armor consists of everything Crota's End gear sans Helm of Saint-14, emblem is Blessing of the Speaker.
And is that a quote from the Stranger I see in the reviews? Amazing.
For the next several chapters, it'll just be going through the campaign. I don't want to jump ahead because it'll seem really sloppy and overall confusing. We should reach a change in plot around the Floodgate mission, maybe even earlier, depending on what happens. I'm currently replaying the Halo 3 campaign myself.
I'll try to squeeze in what I can so we can get through this quickly.
Enjoy.
EDIT (4/21/15): Edits ahoy if you have not noticed yet.
"Looks like our friend has an AI for himself," Cortana had commented.
"Kind of an unusual little guy though. Strange algorithms. Look vaguely...alien, not Covenant alien but so basic it's actually complex." She had gone silent for a moment as John studied the other soldier; he wasn't a Spartan, his armour was too elegant yet mismatched as if he scrounged them all together from scraps. The shotgun wasn't of any model the Spartan had seen either, elaborate and glowing orange and fired on an automatic setting with fiery shells. He'd never seen any kind of modifications that allowed the shells to ignite into literal flaming rounds. The insignia engraved on either side of the barrel threw him into a loop as well and didn't do any clearing up.
Shortly after his speculation, the Spartan heard the AI speaking once more, her voice carrying a large amount of curiosity and glee,
"This AI was a kind little fella. Says his name is Ghost and that the guy carrying him around is his Guardian. Human. Not much of a talker, told me that much, let me tell him my name and then left.
I think 'disappeared' is a better word though, I can't find him anymore." John had frowned, turning his head to indicate that, yes, the soldier - Guardian - had still been walking next to him so that meant that Cortana could easily detect the other AI.
"I'll do what I can before you guys leave. It's kind of hard though, the second I crack into one of his equations, a new one pops up, more strange and foreign. Whoever made him knows what's up. I love a good challenge." She had been gone for only a few minutes, long enough for John and the Guardian to get engaged in a small bit of combat with two Brutes; as soon as John had crushed his opponent's windpipe, a small whir filled his helmet which turned into a chirp. It had taken John several moments to realize that it wasn't in his helmet but rather in his mind.
Get out. A low voice had growled, it sounded slightly synthesized although it was clearly male, and was interrupted by bouts of chirps and beeps.
"Upset that I cracked your code?" Cortana had asked smugly, clearly proud of herself.
Not really. I don't want to go through a whole mind-melding ordeal. Last time that happened, both participants died. Get out.
"You're in his mind?"
Well, aren't you in his? Shouldn't seem all that surprising.
A small chirp had sounded as the voice, Ghost, John identified it as now, muttered to itself before turning its attention back to the pair.
You're curious, I get that, but there's a time and place for everything and right now...it's neither of those. We don't have time for this so if we could get back to the part where we're escaping, my Guardian and I would be extremely grateful!
"Damn, I lost it again! He's a sneaky, tiny thing. He's right though, we do need to get out of here, that dreadnought could launch at any moment and the Flood's spreading a whole lot faster than I'd like.
Well, there's this interesting tidbit of information though, it seems whoever this Guardian and Ghost are, wherever they're from, they've achieved some kind of form of telepathy. It's all so interesting, I wish I could explore further into this! There's an area in this Guardian's brain that's dedicated entirely to housing his AI and other data packets related to it! And- Chief? You still with me? The Spartan had made a grunt of acknowledgement as he bashed in the skulls of several Grunts.
"When you get out of here, could you try interacting with that soldier? Guardian? There's something interesting, curious, about him that we should probably look into and seeing how he's a brute-force, 'I-can-kick-everyone's-skull-in' kinda guy, I think you two would hit it off perfectly. 'sides, I don't think he's a local.
When Ghost came around, I did some poking around and I had the opportunity to sort of..peek into his head for a few seconds.
Here, I'll upload what I could capture into the data chip since I don't need it for now. View it whenever possible, this guy's kind of off."
"Understood," the Spartan eventually muttered.
John's wakening was sudden and he found himself staring at a canopy of trees, the sun filtering between the space between the leaves. His eyes flicked over to his right when he registered the out-of-place white armour, identifying the Guardian laying next to him, probably still unconscious; the white-armoured soldier was slumped in a position similar to John except one arm was crossed over his sternum as another lay next to him, limp. He stared at the Guardian, gathering himself for the moment when Johnson's voice broker his reverie,
"We're not leaving him here." The Spartan's eyes flicked over to the Marine's outstretched hand, recognizing Cortana's chip; reaching up, he grabbed the man's wrist and hauled himself to his feet all the while saying,
"Yeah, you're not." Johnson looked stunned for a moment, almost surprised that he was alive, before he frowned up at the taller man.
"Crazy fool," he scolded, punching the Spartan lightly on the chest, "why do you always jump? Some day, you're gonna land on somethin' as stubborn as you are an' I don't do bits an' pieces." There was a moment's pause when Johnson looked over at the Guardian. "Looks like someone already followed you home. Out like a light but he'll live."
John stared at the shorter man momentarily before looking down at his hand which still held the other man's wrist; gently, he pried Cortana's chip from Johnson's grip, studying it momentarily.
"Where is she, Chief?" Johnson asked softly. "Where's Cortana?"
It glowed eerily with that familiar navy-and-cerulean colour and, for a brief moment, the AI flashed across his vision, her voice echoing in his mind,
"Don't make a girl a promise if you know you can't keep it." Inserting the chip in the port at the back of his helmet, he looked back at Johnson and answered simply,
"She stayed behind." Johnson looked at him skeptically for a moment before looking at the Marine next to him, gesturing at the Spartan with his cigar, ordering,
"Corporal? Make it quick." The Marine jumped down from John's miniature crater, standing next to the other with a datapad in his hands, tapping into it furiously, saying apologetically,
"Sorry, sir. Your armour's still in partial lockdown; I'll need you to do some simple exercises for me." Standing back from the Spartan, the Marine led him through several looking exercises before tapping more data into his pad before looking at Johnson, clearing him and unlocking the rest of the equipment.
"Alright, kick off the training wheels, corporal, he's ready to go," Johnson said approvingly, puffing out several clouds of smoke. John waited patiently as the Marines discussed quietly, finishing off the reports and planning their next course of action. He twitched, however, when he saw the air shimmer behind the squad, and got ready to lunge at the blurry form when, out of the corner of his eye, the Guardian suddenly darted up from his slumped position, bringing his arm up where a strange relic sat upon it, charging with tremendous, nearly blinding Light.
Johnson threw himself between the Guardian and the invisible Elite that appeared, barking out, "Stop! The Arbiter's with us!" It took several moments to register but the device's glow died out and the Guardian stared uncertainly at the man in front of him as if unsure whether to continue with his attack or not.
"C'mon now," Johnson growled out, "we don't need a wrench thrown into this. Like it or not, we're workin' with the Elites now. Tell your friend to stand down, Chief!"
Another moment's pause occurred between the trio of super-soldiers until John gruffly ground out, "Stand down, Guardian."
With a growl, the Guardian lowered his arm, directing a feral snarl at the Arbiter, who returned one of his own before reporting,
"We must go, the Brutes have our scent." Johnson strode forward as the Elite marched away, giving the Guardian a wide berth. The Marine eyed the strange soldier for a moment before grabbing an Assault Rifle from one of his men, saying as he held it out to John,
"Then they must love the smell of badass." He looked over at the Guardian, who already had his mysterious shotgun out, and asked as Johnson organized his squads,
"How'd you survive?" This was met with a mere shrug; if John was anyone else, he'd assume the Guardian was brushing the conversation aside, but as he wasn't 'anyone else' he read it as, I wasn't supposed to but I did.
"First squad, you're my scouts. Move out! Nice and quiet," Johnson ordered.
As several Marines ran ahead, Johnson jogged past, eyeing the Guardian warily, giving him the classic I'm watching you sign before John moved ahead, nudging the Guardian along. He wouldn't admit it but he didn't exactly trust the soldier yet and what Cortana said about him was unnerving as was the brief conversation with the 'Ghost'; it'd be better if the Guardian was in front of him rather than behind.
It was bad enough that he was forced into a sudden truce with the Elites.
As they moved through the foliage, following a small river, John heard the distant whir of an approaching Phantom; he heard his comm. crackle and a scout pointed out with a hiss,
"Sergeant Major, Phantom inbound!" Almost immediately, everyone stopped, hiding behind bushes and rocks.
The Arbiter used his camo module and the Guardian disappeared God-knows-where. They watched as it passed overhead before it disappeared behind the tall trees and they all left their places; the Arbiter reappeared and continued walking, his long strides easily matching the running limbs of the Marines and the Guardian seemingly melted into existence from his place in front of the rocks. Probably some camouflage module he had on his person somewhere, nothing particularly unusual.
The Spartan, Arbiter, and Guardian climbed a small plateau as Johnson and his squad proceeded to climb a miniature waterfall.
Looking at the open clearing in front of them, John noted the excessive amount of Jackals and Grunts running about as well as how it was a Brute Captain leading them instead. It looked like they established the new leadership a whole lot more quickly than the others anticipated, then again, the Grunts and Jackals simply needed leaders and didn't give two shits as to who they followed so long as it involved shooting things that moved and eating said shot things and a majority (if not, all) of the Elites had fled with the Arbiter and his fleets.
Pulling out his magnum, John decided that taking out the Brute was a priority, reminiscing the fact that they tended to get pissed off pretty quickly. He looked over at the squad assembled, noting that they were all waiting for his move. Turning back, he fired a full mag in quick succession, pleased to see that the Brute's helmet popped off rather quickly. It, however, reacted rather quickly, removing the Brute Shot from its back and jumping down from the rock with a roar as the Grunts and Jackals turned, firing in their general direction.
A loud crack filled the air and the Brute exploded into a ball of fire that washed over several Grunts and Jackals, drawing squeals from the smaller creatures as they were burned. Looking over his shoulder in surprise, the Spartan saw the Guardian wielding a long, steel-and-dark red sniper rifle, the barrel smoking; the Guardian stared at him momentarily before taking out his shotgun once more and jumping down into the chaos. A Marine whistled in appreciation as John jumped after him, remarking,
"Daamn, I'd kill anything for a piece like that." And it continued like that. They'd clear the area and a Phantom would occasionally drop by to give reinforcements for the already dead squad and the Brute would almost always explode from the power of the Guardian's rifle. He didn't use it often but when he did, it almost always surprised John as he watched his enemy disappear into a violent explosion of fire.
It was shortly after they rescued a Marine that she appeared again. They had entered a miniature cave system leading to a river that the Arbiter insisted they get to quickly. It was sudden and he blinked, her face momentarily blinding him, and he heard her voice again, echoing inside his mind, and he slowed down to a walk, unsure of what to do.
"Could you sacrifice me to complete your mission? Could you watch me die?"
No, he thought immediately. Never.
"Sir, are you okay?" The Marine asked, looking up at him with a tinge of concern. The Guardian and Arbiter seemed to be watching him carefully as well and he straightened up, the grip on his Battle Rifle tightening, as he replied firmly,
"I'm fine." And he marched ahead, knowing that they weren't, in the slightest bit, even convinced but they followed nonetheless.
"Chief," Johnson's voice crackled over the comm., "Pelicans are at the river. Hustle up!" As they engaged the Covenant forces attacking the Pelicans, the pilot joined in, explaining,
"Hold on, got a contact." She was silent for a moment before she bellowed, "Banshees! Fast an' low!"
As soon as she said this, the accursed vehicles flew through, their attached Fuel Rods exploding along the engines. "I'm hit! Shit!"
"Get a hold of her!" Johnson ordered harshly.
"Negative, we're going down!" John watched as the Pelican attempted to fly over the outcropping of rocks, instead, crashing into it and flipping head over tail into a different area, the explosion resounding throughout the entire jungle. After several moments of silence and getting around the abandoned building and heading towards a different end of the jungle, Johnson eventually came through on the comms.,
"Chief, can you read? My bird's down, half a klick-" The rest fizzed out into white noise before clicking off entirely. Entering the jungle once more, the Spartan, Guardian, and Arbiter readily engaged with Jackal Carbine snipers, the rounds merely flicking off of their shields as they gunned them down with ease, the lights on the bird-like creatures' heads marking them rather easily. As they came upon a rock outing, they saw Johnson and the remnants of his squad running across a miniature bridge, followed by several Brutes. The Sergeant Major turned and called out as he primed a grenade,
"C'mon, you dumb apes! You want breakfast? You gotta catch it!" John watched with slight amusement as the grenade managed to kill several of the Brutes and Grunts that attempted to chase after them.
Running around the rocky area to catch up, John realized with irritation that the majority of the Covenant here were Grunts and Jackals attempting to stall them. As they neared the area where Johnson disappeared, a new squad of Covenant appeared led by a Brute Captain. The fight didn't last long, however, as the squad was bombarded with the combining fire of Battle Rifle rounds, Carbine rounds, and fiery shotgun shells.
They arrived at the dam just in time to see a Brute Chieftain kick around Johnson with the Arbiter pointing in that direction as he explained,
"See how they bait their trap? I will help you spring it." John pulled out the Brute Shot he picked up earlier as the Arbiter readied his Energy Sword.
"Let's go beat 'em up!" A new voice chirped and the two soldiers turned to see the Guardian smacking a heavy-looking machine gun which elicited a loud 'Ow!' from it.
"You have an AI in your weapon?" John deadpanned, receiving a shrug that read, It's not mine, I just found it.
Shaking his head as the Arbiter actually chuckled, the three readied themselves momentarily before jumping as one into the fray below, the Guardian's machine gun shrieking in enjoyment as the Guardian himself activated some kind of controlling jetpack to soften his landing, firing the trilling gun at the Brutes that roared at them incessantly. This seemed to piss them off as the Brute Chieftain hefted its hammer and ran off towards the dam.
Using his jetpack once more, the Guardian effortlessly jumped over the gap in the dam where a bridge once stood and caved in a Brute Captain's chest with his boot, standing on its corpse as he fired his screaming gun once more. As the Guardian flanked them, the Spartan and the Arbiter went through the dam, clearing the area of squealing Grunts and more pissed off Brutes. Just as they cleared the area, they heard a roar and a loud explosion as the Brute Chieftain came into view, clearly even more pissed off than its brethren and wholly intent on crushing both soldiers with its hammer. It was comparably larger than the other Brutes, towering over even the Arbiter, and caused the both of them to continuously backpedal while throwing everything they had on their person at it without getting close it. One hit from that hammer, Spartan or not, they'd be nothing but a blood splatter on the ground.
Loud crackling filled the air, followed by the smell of ozone and the Chieftain stopped in it's charging to turn and watched as the Guardian, swirling with electricity and dark blue energy, jumped several yards into the air before flying down at an angle right onto the Chieftain, the electricity and energy engulfing it with a large explosion.
The energy washed over the Master Chief and he felt himself feeling oddly...rejuvenated as his shields flickered underneath the earth-shattering power. It was raw energy, the purest it would get, and it was like nothing John had ever felt before. For just a brief moment, he actually felt unstoppable, overflowed with purity and power and sheer strength but just as soon as it entered him, it left in a flurry.
The dam grew quiet as the last of the Covenant squads died and they were left with the Guardian getting up from his low crouch, unholstering his weapon, and casually pointing in the direction that would lead to Johnson.
"What is that Human?" The Arbiter queried suddenly as they walked to the small building Johnson and several other Marines were being kept in. "He has the scent of your species yet it mingles with another. It is pure and holy."
"Or maybe it's all the blood from those bastards he just killed," Johnson retorted snarkily as he got to his feet, waiting patiently for John to deactivate the plasma field. "This isn't as fun as it looks, Chief, cut the power!" As he ran out, he grabbed a Needler, adding, "We're even, as long as we're only counting today."
Hearing the familiar whirs of Phantom dropships, the trio, now a quad, exited the building just in time to see a pair of said dropships letting out several more Covenant squads.
"Kilo-23, what's your ETA?" Johnson demanded, not at all pleased with what he was seeing.
"Imminent, Sergeant," Kilo replied after a moment's pause. With that settled, the squad ran around the dam once more, making what they could of the weapons surrounding them. At one point, Johnson got the brilliant idea of throwing grenades to destroy a particular Phantom which resulted in the discovery that six plasma grenades and whatever the hell the Guardian threw could actually take down a Phantom if stuck in the right places.
Shortly after their little discovery, the Pelican eventually arrived, taking down two other Phantoms with a barrage of ANVIL-II missiles before settling in front of them to allow them to board. Wordlessly, they all climbed into it, the Pelican dipping momentarily at the new found weight before taking off. The door closed as it flew over the outcropping, head towards an unknown location. From the cockpit, they heard someone say,
"What's the word, Kilo-23?"
"Sierra-117 onboard!" Hocus replied proudly. "Request priority clearance, over?"
"Deck's yours. Come on down. Sorry for the tight squeeze." The Pelican shuddered momentarily, a familiar feeling as it set down on firm ground, before the hatch opened once more and the four soldiers climbed out, the base filled with murmurs and whispers of awe and appreciation.
Johnson and John strode forward as Commander Miranda Keyes descended the stairs, saluting them as she smiled, returning the salute, and asked teasingly,
"Where did you find him?"
"Napping, out back," Johnson replied, his voice filled with a hint of mirth.
"I'll bet." She stepped forward, holding out a hand towards the Spartan. "It's good to see you, Chief."
"Likewise, ma'am," John returned, giving her a firm grip although being careful not to break her hand. She looked as if she were going to say something else but her gaze got caught on the white form of the Guardian, who was standing quietly behind John, looking around the area cautiously.
"Who's that?" The Commander asked, her voice causing the Guardian to snap his head forward, gazing at her intently. The helmet was all angles and sharpness, interrupted by a small circular visor in the center of it that glowed eerily in the center which reflected on her face faintly, making it as if an android were staring at her rather than a man.
"He's with me," John answered firmly. "The Guardian." A small 'hm' met them as Miranda studied the Guardian for several more moments, clearly unsure whether to trust him or not before looking back at the Spartan and then turning away.
"Let's get you up to speed," was all she said, leading them away from the landing pad.
"The Prophet of Truth's ships breached the lunar perimeter - smashed what was left of the home fleet." As they walked down the hall, they were met by two Marines that stepped to the side, saluting them, only to break their bearing and gawk at the Arbiter and Guardian who trailed behind. John made sure they stayed in his peripheral, in case they decided to amount to some kind of attack on them, not wholly trusting of their two new allies just yet.
"Terrestrial casualties from the subsequent bombardment were...extreme." They jumped to the side as two medics rushed through the hall with a groaning Marine on it, the Guardian's gaze lingering for just a bit longer than necessary, as if he were wishing to help before he fell back into step.
"Truth could've landed anywhere, but he committed all his forces here: East Africa - the ruins of New Mombasa. Then they started digging."
"What about Halo?" John eventually asked as they entered a command room of sorts. At the mention of Halo, the Guardian paused momentarily, almost faltering in his steps, as if he knew what they were talking about, just a little more intrigued on what they were talking about, listening carefully, cautiously.
"We stopped it but only momentarily. Now the Prophet of Truth is looking for something called 'the Ark' where he'll be able to fire all the Halo rings." She paused momentarily, turning to face the Spartan. "If he succeeds...Humanity, the Covenant - all the sentient beings in the galaxy -" she trailed off, not wanting to finish it.
"The rings will kill us all," John finished gruffly.
"Ma'am?" A Marine called, breaking the somber mood, "I have Lord Hood."
"Patch him through," Keyes ordered. Looking up at the screen above them, the familiar form of the Admiral appearing as he placed his hat on his head, arms crossing behind his back.
"Good news, Commander Keyes?" He asked, looking at the soldiers gathered, his eyes lingering slightly longer than necessary on the Arbiter and the Guardian before settling on the Spartan, evidently pleased to see him there.
"Good as it gets, sir," Keyes replied with a tinge of hope in her voice, looking over the Master Chief.
"So I see. What's your status, son?"
"Green. Sir," John answered quickly.
"Glad to hear it. Commander's come up with a good plan. But without you, I wasn't sure we could pull it off."
"Truth's ships are clustered above the excavation site," Keyes explained as she keyed something on the data pad, activating a map on one of the smaller screens, "and his infantry has deployed anit-aircraft batteries around the perimeter, but if we neutralize one of the batteries - punch a hole through Truth's defenses -"
"I'll initiate a low-level strike. Hit him right where it hurts," Hood supplied before adding, "I only have a handful of ships, Master Chief. It's a big risk but I'm confident-" The Admiral was cut off as the power shut down, the entire place going dark.
The only thing really penetrating the darkness was the glow of the Guardian's helmet and shotgun and the falu emergency lights which bathed the immediate area in a dim, eerie glow. As soon as it went dark, however, something appeared over the Guardian's shoulder, giving light. It was similar to describing a three-dimensional diamond that encased an orb. It was steel and dark blue and occasionally chirped, twirling the triangular pieces that gave it shape.
"Hell, not again!" The Marine grumbled just as Keyes demanded,
"Emergency generators, now!"
"Shielding failed, they're down and charging!"
"As soon as they're up, reestablish contact with Lord Hood. Let him know-" This time Keyes was cut off as the screens suddenly came to life, the Prophet of Truth's face filling the screen.
"You are, all of you, vermin," he began. "Cowering in the dirt, thinking what, I wonder? That you might escape the coming fire? No. Your world will burn until its surface is but glass. And not even your demon will live to creep - blackened - from its hole to mar the reflection of our passage. The culmination of our journey. For your destruction is the will of the gods: it is known and set for they sent Him as a sign; the Conflux of Time Himself has graced us with His presence and you have wrongfully stolen Him from us, will twist Him against us. But it will not happen, He will prevail and all will bow before Him and His Great Journey for us. Our last breath will be our first in the new life, in the journey, a gift from Him to us. As for I, you may wonder? I am His instrument!" With that as the conclusion of his speech, the screens shut off as the power returned.
Johnson simply shook his head, cigar having been relit as he grumbled, "Cocky bastard. Just loves to run his mouth."
"Does he usually mention me." John deadpanned, Keyes smirked for a split second before quickly retaining her bearing, looking at the Marine closest to her.
"Give the order, we're closing shop," she ordered.
"Ma'am?" He asked in confusion.
"We're about to get hit. The wounded, we're getting all of them out," she said as she looked at the Chief, heading towards the stairs. She stopped in front of the Guardian, staring at him up and down and then at the little device hovering over his shoulder,
"If you're going to betray us, might as well do it now."
The device and the Guardian looked at each other before the Guardian shrugged, shaking his head as if he didn't know what the hell she was talking about which only elicited a scowl and narrowed eyes from the Commander before she continued walking up the stairs.
"Ma'am, the squad leaders are requesting a rally point - where should they go?" Keyes turned back while readying her magnum, saying simply,
"To war."
A/N: And there's that. We'll be heading into Crow's Nest soon after; I might combine Tsavo's Highway with it as well considering how short I can make them.
I have one question, however: would you prefer that I write in Callixtus's POV or the Chief's? Or switch back and forth every so chapters? Please tell me so I can make the proper adjustments, this chapter was, more or less, a test to see how things would turn out.
As always, please review if you have any questions, comments, or critiques. All are welcome.
Thanks for reading.