Two Betrayls

Haha yay another update finally! Sorry I was busy with exams so it took me awhile for this, some of the parts were slow to write. Please enjoy and leave me a review if you can, I love reading them!

The stench of the Flood could be described as a sort of sickening rotting flesh smell, like tons of dead bodies were smashed into one. If not for his helmet blocking out nearly all of it he may have gagged, but walking through the halls one by one, fighting wave after wave of them...you got used to it. Nothing had seemed so grotesque to him up until he encountered this new enemy. They fed off of the bodies of the fallen and mutated them, transformed them into things that would come out of nightmares. As he continued to follow the glowing orb that had brought him here he realized that its been almost two days since he had entered this place. Sure he rested for an hour or two sometimes but for this place to take so long to get through...it must be enormous in size.

"Please wait here, I shall open the door from another area."

It's robotic voice hit his ears with a twinge of annoyance before it floated up and through one of the open vents.

"Maybe we should comm Rikki, see how she's doing."

"Why."

He sounded indifferent when he answered her but Cortana knew that if she pressed hard enough an answer would come out, the one she was looking for.

"Maybe she was more hurt than she let on, don't you want to know."

"It's none of my business."

"Oh stop being so hard headed Chief!"

"Cortana..."

There was warning in his voice, something that she had heard him use a few times but never towards herself. What's the worst he could do?

"Just listen. I'm not saying that you have to confess your love for her but maybe she would like to hear from you, after all she did want to go with you."

He hated it when she made sense...which was all the time. Yes if he had to be honest with himself than he would like to hear her voice if only for a moment, but was it appropriate? No. He was a spartan and she was a top ranking agent, to even think of acting on a mere feeling that he wasn't even a hundred percent on was foolish and unprofessional. He was created to fight, not to live out a whimsical life like civilians. He didn't know what it was like to be sad or happy, to feel the tug of the urges of love or the unbridled feeling of jealousy that he had heard of. These were all foreign to him and was proof that it wasn't meant to be a part of his life. But something tugged still, persistent and unrelenting in its quest to worm its way into his mind, filling his thoughts with different images of her in battle. How her hair shimmered in the light or how her eyes lit up at the talk of battle, always so determined and willing to do whatever it took...what was this?

Whilst he had been struggling to understand the conflicting emotions inside of him Cortana smirked, materializing in the control room she had been left in. Now she had him thinking. There was so much information to sift through in this place, but for a highly advanced AI it wasn't a problem-wait. Oh no. This ring...it wasn't meant for what the sputtering light had said, she had to warn him! She tried to reconnect with John's suit but all the communications had been blocked much to her displeasure. Oh that hunk of metal was going to pay for this.

"Proceed with caution. We are close to the location of the index."

The monotone voice shook him out of his trance. Foolish. He could have been ambushed or attacked and would never have seen it coming, but for some reason it didn't bother him. Following the monitor the spartan let himself be led further down into the instillation, making sure his focus was sharp and his gun was ready.

"Ha! I win!"

"You cheater!"

"Having skill isn't cheating!"

The two people jumped at one another in a tangle of limbs, one trying to pin the other to the ground with difficulty. Rikki and Richard had been sparring for the past hour and a half but neither was able to pin the other, that was until Rikki used her new heightened abilities to get the upper hand and slip under his defenses. She was able to hook her foot around his ankle and trip him before pinning him for 5 seconds. Now as they tumbled around laughing it was clear that nothing seemed wrong with the day, no attacks and progress was being made. Unfortunately though the Master Chief has not called in to report, nor has the captain and his team been found...it felt wrong to be happy now. Rikki stopped laughing and let Richard pin her without resistance, not wanting to spar anymore.

"That all you got cheater?"

"...yeah."

He immediately noticed her shift in mood and let a frown pull his mouth downwards. There went their fun afternoon. He stood and pulled her up with him, holding her close to his side and moving to a tree that was providing some shade from the sun. As they sat down he sighed and ran a hand through his short chestnut colored hair before meeting her downcast stare with his piercing gray one.

"Rikki...what the hell is wrong with you? Whenever this spartan is brought up or you think about him you get weird and turn into some drudging husk. Don't worry about what he's doing, worry about yourself first. You've been through some hell these past few weeks, hell, this past month. The least you could do is relax for a day."

"I just can't Richard! There's something about it...whenever I don't know what's happening with him I feel this weird tug in my heart, like it wants me to find him. I barely know the man but at the same time it's like I do know him. I can't explain it."

Confusion raged through her body at the thought of the spartan and she couldn't help but feel like she should try and contact him, but then at the same time she knew that it wouldn't alleviate the pain. Richard watched her closely as it seemed like different emotions flickered across her face. Anger, confusion, hurt...sadness. He knew that she didn't want to talk about it anymore , knew that it hurt her, but it hurt him to see her pine for someone when she didn't even understand why.

"Rikki."

Her frantic movements stopped and she turned to look at him with sadness.

"Yeah?"

"Remember when my mom used to send me those care packages? The ones with the cookies and sweets and my favorite foods? She always asked about you and would pack extra snacks just for you. She would say 'Fate led an angel to your doorstep, you two need each other.' And she was right. You've saved my life and I've saved yours."

He sounded so sure and so steady as he talked, it made her heart swell with happiness and momentarily took her mind off of what had been troubling her. It was like her brother was sitting beside her once more.

"What I'm saying is...I believe in everything happens for a reason. Maybe your fate is intertwined with his in a way that we couldn't possibly ever understand, but you'll just have to trust it. And I'll be here for you whenever you need me. So if you feel like you have to find him then go, find that spartan and show him what your made of."

Tears welled up in her eyes, taking Rikki everything she had not too loose it at his words. This man, her brother, he would go to the ends of the earth if it meant she could be happy...and she trusted him with her life. This was the right thing too do and she knew it, but what she couldn't wrap her mind around was why. Why did she feel so compelled for this man, this spartan, when she knew it was slim too none that he even recognized her as more than a soldier? The craving for his approval was borderline neurotic but she didn't care. Rikki knew that she was going to find him, and she was going to bring him back in one piece. But first she needed Cortana.

"Richard, you can fly a pelican right?"

"Uh yeah. Why?"

"I need too get back to Cortana, but I'm gonna need a little airlift too do that. Up for a little rule breaking?"

At first she doubted that she could even bring him into this, but when the toothy grin lit up his face she knew he wanted too go. Being trouble was in their blood, and nothing was ever going to stop them from causing it.

There it was. The index. After battling wave after wave of the flood he had finally made it to the center of this infested building to his goal, of course with the help of the floating noise machine. He swore that it only knew how to annoy him when he least needed it. Being a spartan didn't mean you had all the patience in the world. His footsteps were heavy as he walked down the path that had risen to give him a straight shot to the index, the noise machine following him the whole way.

"Ah yes finally. Please take firm hold of the index reclaimer, don't want to have an accident."

Nothing was said when he reached the end. The metal covering of the index shifted away to reveal the green glowing object that was so sought after. In his mind something told him that this was off, a sort of intuition, telling him that this wasn't right. But ignoring it the spartan took a hold of the key and pulled it from the sheath. He wanted too take a moment to inspect the object but it was suddenly taken from his grasp by the orb that called itself 343 guilty spark, seemingly all too quickly in his opinion. Why wasn't this thing telling him more about the index? Instinctively he reached for his assault rifle, holding with a firm grip just in case.

"Now we shall head to the control room. Please refrain from moving while I transport us."

The spartan merely stood still, choosing not to respond, as it engulfed them in a golden vortex. It always made his insides squirm when he was being transported. Something about having no control just made him uncomfortable. He didn't even try to relax until his feet were on the solid floor once more, an internal sigh escaping his control.

"Fantastic! Now we just have to insert the index and I can initiate the sequence."

He held out his hand as the orb handed him back the green key. Without hesitation he walked forwards and placed it in the odd looking control panel before him, noting how it disappeared when it touched the slot.

"Very good. Now just allow me to-"

Crash!

As soon as 343 guilty spark tried to move near the console it sent out a shock wave that sent it flying backwards and crashing to the floor. This was followed by an all too familiar voice sounding out in anger.

"Like hell you will!"

"Cortana."

"What the hell do you think you're doing with that thing John, I've been sitting here helpless while you've been helping it bring us closer to our own demise!"

"He's a friend. We came to activate Halo's defenses and destroy the flood."

How could he have been so blind?

"I am the overseer of this construct and I demand that you hand over the index at once!"

The AI smirked at his annoyingly high pitched tone and held up the index for a moment, just to tease him and show that she was in control now.

"Oh this? Fat chance. Now that I have the index all you can do is float and sputter!"

"Why I never! You will relinquish it at once or-"

"Or what?!"

Alright that was enough. He needed to put a stop to this before one of them tried to delete the other or something.

"Enough!"

Both stopped their hostile words and looked to him as he stepped in between them. His words were level and concise.

"Cortana, we need to get rid of the flood so it doesn't spread. That's why we need to activate its defenses."

"Is that what you think it does? This floating nitwit has been lying to you the whole time John; Halo doesn't kill the flood it kills their food! Human, Covenant whatever. We're all equally edible!"

"What?"

Now it was his turn to look at the floating orb, noting how it hadn't said anything to defend what Cortana had spoken of. So it was true.

"Is this true?"

"Well yes. We did not want to deceive the reclaimer but it was clear that if you knew the truth, you would not have complied."

"Chief, I'm picking up multiple hostile signatures approaching us. We need to leave now."

"I am afraid that is not going to happen. You are a threat to my ring and as such will not be allowed to live. Unfortunate."

The spartan narrowed his eyes from inside his helmet as sentinels began to appear one by one, their eyes now red instead of blue.

"Me, in your head. Now."

Without another word he quickly grabbed Cortana's chip and placed it in his helmet before rolling to the side to avoid being hit by their lasers, a large pane of glass making an effective shield. How the hell were they going to get rid of the flood now?

"Would this be a bad time to say I told you so?"

"Cortana..."

"Right. Later then."

"His signal is right up ahead Richard, get ready to drop me off."

"Drop you off? No way I'm-"

"Going to stay close in case we need immediate extraction."

She knew that he wanted to go with her but it was true that they may need a quick pick up, though Rikki did appreciate her friends support.

"...Fine. But if you get into something you can't handle give me a call immediately ok?"

"Yes mom, thank you."

Richard rolled his eyes at her response but couldn't help but smile as he continued to easily maneuver the pelican through the mountainous region. The snowfall here was relentless and never really seemed to stop, only lighten in intervals like it was programmed in. There was another thing he had noticed when they arrived; There had been absolutely no resistance whatsoever, and he couldn't see any enemies on the radar either. Something wasn't right here.

"Right over there should be good. Just bring it low enough for me to drop out okay?"

"Got it. Be careful Rikki."

She looked at him for a moment and felt like he was holding something back. Maybe it was the way her was staring at her like she was the most interesting thing in the world, but then again he always was over protective so it was probably just her. With a nod and a string of unspoken words passing between them she sealed on her helmet and moved towards the back of the pelican where the ramp was opening up. The snowy landscape below seemed almost peaceful, the way the wind blew it into a small flurry and created a magical scene before her eyes. Soon the building that housed the control room came into view and a small smile came across her face at the thought of who she would see there. But the smile turned into a look of anger as she could spot a group of covenant stationed outside the main doors, already waiting to ambush whoever exited or tried to enter the building.

"Shit! Covenant beat us here."

"What should we do now? Obviously I can't drop you off that close, they'll see us easily."

He was right. How was she going to get close enough but not make themselves known? Plans began to bounce around in her brain as Richard slowed their speed and eventually just set the pelican to a hover, no point in getting closer until they knew what to do.

"Dammit dammit dammit! These assholes always have to ruin everything!"

"I know I know, just calm down ok? Where's somewhere that I drop you off that they won't notice right away?"

"That's the problem Richard, I don't know. Maybe if we- Wait! Up there, the platform above us."

"You don't think they're up there?"

"Not yet. Get me up there."

Without hesitating he pulled the ship upwards and quickly made it to the platform, letting out a sigh of relief as there were no covenant to be seen. Rikki hopped off the pelican and onto the metal surface, pistol at the ready, and turned back to her friend to give him instructions.

"I'll radio you when it's safe to get over to the control room ok? Until then just...fly around or something."

"Fly around, right. Have fun."

Even though he couldn't see it she had a smirk on her face and a wicked glint in her eyes.

"Always."