Chapter 2, Hogwarts
Hogwarts, Earth.
John, walks up to the gates set in the massive wall surrounding the forest area. He looks beyond the wall, and sees a path leading up to the monolith of a castle. "This is it?" he asks Austin.
"Yep, Hogwarts. One of the finest schools of magic in the world. The headmaster, Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore, is easily the most famous wizard alive. He agreed to talk to you and explain what magic is, he made references to perhaps having you help with the Triwizard Tournament, once I told him how capable of a soldier you are."
"I would be happy to help, as long as he can help me," John replies. He looks down the drive and sees a lantern bobbing towards them.
"I can take them from here, Swift," a hook-nosed, dark-haired man says as he walks up to the gates.
"Right you are, Severus," Austin replies with a bit of a bite to his voice. The gates open and John and Taylor walk into the drive. As they walk, John pulls out his Battle Rifle and keeps his head on the swivel, also activating his VISR Enhanced Vision for extra visibility. He sees things moving in the trees, hears howls of creatures unseen.
"I argued very strongly against your visit," Snape says quietly.
"Yeah? Why's that?" John challenges.
"Ah, that is for me to know, and you to wonder," Snape replies with a sneer.
"Tell me. I swear, I have no objection to shooting you right here and now," John snarls as he gets in Snape's greasy face. This sudden outburst of aggression startles Snape, who steps back a few paces.
"No, I do not think I will," Snape says, regaining his composure at the speed of light.
"John, please don't threaten anyone else," Taylor tells him as they continue on. "We really don't want trouble before we get a chance to talk to Dumbledore."
"Sorry, must have been the Spartan coming out of me," John replies apologetically. They round a bend and see Hogwarts properly. John immediately starts to look over the castle, searching for advantageous positions where he could snipe and see incredibly far. Taylor and John walk up to the castle and through the massive front doors. In all his years of service, nothing, not even the things on Installation-04 and Installation-05 could top the magnificence of the castle. He takes in everything, still looking for vantage points and vulnerable flanks. Snape silently leads them into a massive hall where hundreds of students, all ranging from eleven to seventeen sit, eating dinner.
"Stay here, the Headmaster will speak with you after the feast," Snape says as he walks into the hall. John gives a jerk of his head to signify he understands, then looks around the place. Suits of medieval armor line the walls, people in paintings stare at him.
"This is SPARTAN-117, can anyone hear me?" John radios, trying to reach any UNSC in the area. "SPARTAN-117, this is UNSC Pelican-015, I can hear you. What division are you with, where are you located?" John finally gets a reply.
"No division, located at Hogwarts, no need for rendezvous. I will be in touch and will explain later," John turns off COMS.
"Well? Did someone reply?" Taylor asks.
"Yes, finally. The UNSC acknowledges that I'm here, but they will be trying to take me in for questioning."
"Will you go?" Taylor asks, unsure of what would happen if the UNSC picked John up and left her.
"Yes, and you will too," comes John's unexpected reply.
"What do you mean, 'I will too.'" She asks.
"You are an internationally famous singer. If I hadn't intervened, you would've been shot. I'll train you and you will become a Spartan, like myself." It comes out not as a question, but as an order almost.
"Me? Become a Spartan super-soldier like you?" she asks incredulously. "Are you crazy?"
"No. In the current state of what this universe looks like, you're gonna need it. The UNSC appears to reign supreme, the Covenant and Insurrectionists are locked in war with the UNSC, magic exists, and who knows what. Based of the files I've seen on you and your family, it wouldn't be a surprise. An Auror for a brother, your dad is an astrophysist, so you as a Spartan wouldn't be that major. And I think you might actually be a huge help for me, having someone famous who can infiltrate crowds with ease, radio information, then we take down our guy, if we have one," John explains patiently. "Master Chief, Ms. Swift, the headmaster will be taking you up to his office to speak with you." Snape comes back, looking a bit apprehensive at being alone with John again.
Just as Snape finishes, Dumbledore walks into the hall. "Ah, Severus, thank you for telling them. Master Chief, what an honor to meet you. Ms. Swift, I think you have some fans at this school," he says with a twinkle in his bright blue eyes. He beckons them to follow and they do. Up winding stairs, through walls that are actually doors, and past an ugly gargoyle statue. "Toffee eclairs," Dumbledore said the statue, which to John's utter disbelief, jumped aside. John takes his helmet off and sets it down on his lap. "What do you want to know?" Dumbledore asks serenely.
"Tell me what the established history of this universe is," John almost demands.
"Alas, the first thing you ask, I cannot answer!" Dumbledore replies, shaking his head. "I would suggest talking to the wizard known as Stephen Strange, he may have answers."
"Alright, I'll do that. Next, what is magic and how do I use it?" John asks.
"Magic is a rare gift, we do not know its origins, only its powers. As far as that goes, I will not say more, I do not want to risk divulging Wizarding secrets in the event you are not a wizard. But, you must have some magic in you, if you are sitting in front of me," Dumbledore ponders this for a second. "I will meet with the Minister of Magic and tell you what he says. For now, I suggest returning to New York, then you may come back after I tell Austin what the Ministry says."
"Thank you, we will meet each other again," John says as he stands and shakes Dumbledore's hand. "That went not as well I as I had planned," John remarks.
"I figured Dumbledore wouldn't be too keen to give out magical secrets that easily," Taylor replies as they walk out to the place where Austin agreed to meet them. They see Austin waiting and they Apparate back to the airport, board the jet and fly back to New York.
The next day, John wakes up, the bright sunlight piercing his eyes. He stretches and stands and walks to his armor and puts it on. His shields whirr as they charge, his HUD comes online and he grabs his weapons. He walks into the hall, scans for any uninvited guests, and goes to breakfast. He eats quickly, planning to walk around the city and see signs of UNSC. "I'm going for a walk," he tells Taylor after finishing up the cleaning.
"I'll go too, I wanted to give you a tour of, for us modern-day, for you, ancient, New York," she replies brightly. "Give me a few minutes to get ready, then we'll go."
Ten minutes later, John stands on a busy side, people pointing and whispering at him. "Where we going?" John asks.
"I don't know, where do you want to go?" Taylor asks back.
John ponders this for a second then answers, "Somewhere where there are lots people shopping, I wanna see how things work around here."
"Mall of America is where you're gonna want to go, in that case. There will be hundreds of people." Just as they start to walk towards an SUV, Austin appears right in front of them.
"Albus wants you guys back, ASAP. I went to meet with the UNSC representative in MACUSA and he agreed to have a Pelican take us there," Austin says hurriedly.
"Acknowledged, Taylor, let's get out of here," John replies.
An hour later, John, Austin, and Taylor sit in a UNSC Pelican en route to Hogwarts. They set down right outside the gates, the Pelican being able to fly higher than regulated by commercial airlines, thus allowing it to fly far faster than even the most advanced jets. "We're landing, Chief," the Pelican pilot calls out.
"Look sharp," John orders to Taylor, who had been nervously looking around the bay of the Pelican. It lands with a bump and the bay door opens. The trio disembarks and walks out towards the gates. Instead of Snape (whom John heartily disliked), a giant of a man approaches, clearly at ease. "Austin, there yeh are. Dumbledore told me you were gonna be here, also bringing yer sister and a friend," the giant says when he sees them. "Rubeus Hagrid, Keep of Keys and Grounds."
"John-117, UNSC, SPARTAN-II," John replies as he holds out his hand. Hagrid takes it and shakes it.
"Well, c'mon then. I'll be taking yeh to see Dumbledore straight away," Hagrid says happily. As they walk, John looks over Hagrid's massive profile, wondering what species he is; surely not human.
"Rubeus, what species are you? No species I've ever seen, in all my years of work, resemble you," John asks.
"Me dad was human, me mum was giant, so I'm half giant," Hagrid replies with a bit of a bit to his voice.
"So... half-giant?" John concludes.
"Yes," Hagrid replies.
They get back to the castle and up into Dumbledore's office once again, the sounds of voices clearly heard. "Acid Pops," Hagrid says to the gargoyle, which jumps out of the way.
He knocks on the door and Dumbledore says, "Enter." John opens the door and walks into the circular office. He walks in and sees another man, which he scans and identifies as Stephen Strange. "Ah, John, Taylor. Welcome back to Hogwarts," he says with a smile on his wise old face. "This is Doctor Stephen Strange. He is a wizard, but not like me or Lord Voldemort or anyone else for that matter." "Master of the Mystic Arts, Keeper of the Time Infinity Stone," Strange says as he holds his hand for John to shake.
"John-117, Master Chief Petty Officer, UNSC," John introduces himself as he shakes Strange's hand.
Strange nods towards Taylor, "Hello Taylor. I assume you're doing alright?" he asks. "Been an odd couple of weeks, but never better," she replies.
"John, Albus here told me you want to know the established history of this universe?" Strange inquires.
"Yes," is all John replies.
"First off, there are infinite universes that exist in what is called a multiverse. Now, the multiverse is something we know almost nothing about. What we do know, is there are other singular universes that exist on their own. Wormholes connect them to this multiverse and when someone or something goes through, that universe and its occupants and history immediately exist within our own. How, I cannot explain. I assume that what happened is when you went through your own worm hole, your history, people and planets started existing in our own. The change, however, was so fast it went unnoticed. We just assumed things were normal, that nothing had changed," Strange explains.
John just sits, dumbfounded. Of all things he expected, this wasn't one of them. "So, this is another universe, and I brought my whole universe in?" he asks, looking for confirmation. Strange nods and looks at Dumbledore, as if waiting for him to speak.
"Thank you very much, Doctor. John, I will be in touch soon with the prospect of your help with the Triwizard Tournament," Dumbledore addresses the Master Chief. John reaches across the desk, shakes Dumbledore's hand and shakes Strange's hand. John, Taylor, and Hagrid walk out of the office and out the doors, heading back to the Pelican. John and Taylor board and see Austin passed out on the bench seats, wrapped up in a cargo net.
John jostles him and he shoots up. "Sorry, didn't expect you back for an hour or two, then it was freezing cold and I was tired so I took a nap," Austin says as he waves his wand and folds up the net. "Where to, Chief?" the pilot calls from the cockpit.
John looks expectantly at Taylor who shrugs as if to say, your call. "New York is alright with me," she says.
"New York," John calls back.
Several hours later, the Pelican lands on a UNSC airstrip. John steps out and looks around, strangely not feeling at home. He watches several Warthogs roll past, a tall combat mech he's never seen before stomp past, turn back and look at him. He even sees a blue and brown painted M808 Scorpion Tank rumble across the tarmac. "Impressive, isn't it?" Commander Thomas Lasky says as he walks up. "Good to see you, Chief. We thought we'd lost you, I'll explain once we get inside." They walk into the base and into Lasky's office. Lasky motions towards three chairs and he sits behind his desk. Without waiting, Lasky immediately starts explaining. "We knew something was off. We very briefly found your IFF tag adrift deep in space. We were setting a course for your coordinates then the IFF disappeared. First thing we thought of, was your armor failed, thus killing your tracker. Then, maybe thirty seconds later, things went black. Something clearly went wrong, although we weren't sure what. Keep in mind, this was five years ago, but-
"Five years ago?!" John shouts. "I appeared three weeks ago!"
"Wait. Really?" Lasky asks incredulosly. "As soon as we showed up, we had Covenant crusiers bearing down on us. They seemed to be waiting for us to show up, then ambush us. Wait... the Covenant has been here longer, in that case. Surely, they hadn't been here that long, or else Earth would've been glassed. This is so confusing," Lasky rubs his temple. "Where do you want to be transferred to, Chief?" he asks.
"Nowhere. I'm taking a break from UNSC work. I'm going to train Taylor myself, get her into the Spartan program and then, I'm not sure what." Lasky nods and dismisses them; John could tell he didn't like John saying he didn't want to be transferred somewhere. They walk out of the base and back towards the city. "Where to?" John asks.
"My house. The place we were at was an apartment I have in case I have work across New York," Taylor replies. "It's an hour from the apartment. I think you'll like it."
An hour and a half later, the SUV stops and John climbs out of the backseat. He walks up to the quaint house, checking the area. Taylor walks up, takes out a key and unlocks the door. John walks in, and he stops. It seemed to him as if he'd walked into a grandmother's house, not an internationally famous singer's house. "What do you think?" she asks.
"This is incredible. I've never seen anything like this before." John walks into the living room, past the stairs and into the kitchen. An island with a gold sink sits in the center, a counter top with three different coffee machines is off to the side. He opens the fridge, looks inside, and pulls out a chicken leg. John takes off his helmet, and tears into the chicken. He tries to say "Sorry, I'm hungry," but all that comes out is, "Sorfy, mm humfry," as his mouth is stuffed tight.
Taylor laughs, "It's alright. I don't know when I was going to eat that, but I guess you answered that for me."
John chews and swallows. He finishes the chicken and looks out the floor-to-ceiling windows out to the small backyard. Taylor sits at the bar, watching him. John just stands, taking everything in. "I don't regret going into that wormhole," he mutters to himself.
"I imagine not. I know I don't regret helping you, either. Just try not to break stuff, and please don't terrorize my cats." Just as she says that, a gray cat leaps up into her arms, clearly happy to see her. "This is Olivia Benson," Taylor says as she nuzzles her cat.
John walks up and stretches out his hand. Olivia the cat sniffs it, then rubs his gauntleted hand. He rubs Olivia's furry head, the rubs her chin. "At least I have a few friends," he says with a grin. He walks over to the back door, opens it and steps outside. The backyard is strangely quiet, despite still being in the city. John walks the backyard, securing it and adding the place to his database. His armor's NAV system stores the coordinates of the place so he can set a waypoint if need be. He goes to the patio and sees several chairs, a grill and firepit.
Taylor comes out holding a glass. "Would you care for a delicacy we call wine?" she asks.
"Sorry, that's gonna be a negative. SPARTAN protocol dictates no alcohol," John replies.
The next morning, John climbs out of the king-size bed, puts his armor on and goes downstairs. He walks to the kitchen and looks out the windows. He sees Taylor sitting on the patio, a cup of coffee in her hands. John turns around, sees a mug out and tries to make his own coffee. A SPARTAN-II making a cup of coffee. This is outrageous, in a good way, John muses. "Good morning, soldier," Cortana comes online.
"Where've you been?" John asks.
"Talking with the rest of the UNSC. You have no idea how shocked they were when you turned up. I just came to check in on you, I have to get back," Cortana replies.
John nods and she blinks offline. He finishes making his coffee and goes outside. He takes his helmet off and takes a sip. He almost gags, clearly, he doesn't know how to make coffee. "That bad?" Taylor asks with a grin.
"Guess I can't make coffee," John replies. "What's on the agenda for today?"
"I figure we do something productive," she replies.
After that morning, the next few months were a roller coaster, both for John and Taylor. They spend most of the weeks in the gym, in Central Park or at UNSC shooting ranges. One evening as they go inside the house, John comments on her progress. "You've advanced faster than I imagined you would. I figure soon we can look into getting you fit for armor."
"I really hope we can, and soon."
That next week, John and Taylor are walking to the nearest SPARTAN augmentation facility. "Not sure what kind of technology they have for the procedures, but if it's anything like mine was, it will be excruciatingly painful."
"Great! Thanks for telling me that just as I'm about to go into augmentation!" Taylor exclaims sarcastically.
A few hours later, John sees Taylor limping towards him. He had been in the armory looking at all the different kinds of weapons available. "Well? Did they finish?" he inquires.
"Yeah, no sedation or anything, no anesthesia or anything. It felt like my bones were being removed. But I do feel much stronger and faster than I used to. They fit me for the armor, got my measurements, and said it would be a week or two before my armor is ready. They also assigned my SPARTAN tag. I am now officially known as Taylor-013, SPARTAN-III, Recruit. They did put me under you though, so you can promote or demote me if you need to."
"Sounds good. Let's get home, maybe celebrate the big day."
A week later, John and Taylor walk back onto the base to get her armor. "013, I'll be taking you to get your armor. Chief, we have a job for you two. You'll be debriefed by Commander Lasky, who's on his way," A Spartan with the insignia of Sergeant says to them.
"Chief! Here's what's up. As you can tell, it's spring. That's not terribly groundbreaking here, but in Texas through Nebraska that's major. Anyway, UNSC Weather Services has been monitoring storm systems, and they're saying there's a massive system moving into Texas. They're expecting major tornados, catastrophic to apocalyptic damage, and mass casualties, if there's no adequate warnings or evacuation efforts."
"Seems a bit dramatic," John replies airily.
"You wanna see the latest radar images?" Lasky asks as he pulls out a datapad. He shows John what was predicted to slam into Dallas.
"Holy cow, that looks crazy. That's going to hit Dallas?" John asks.
"Yep, and we have unconfirmed reports of an SCP taking civilians. EAS warnings are being put out as we speak, both for the storms and the SCP. We're deploying you and 013 to Texas for assistance with the storm situation. After Texas, you two are being shipped out to investigate the SCP," Lasky tells John.
"How do we know what this SCP thing is?" John asks.
"That's the tricky part, we don't know what it is. There are hundreds of, if not thousands of, documented cases of SCP sightings and reports, all of them being wildly different from one another. The SCP we think that's been sighted, is SCP-3008, the Infinite IKEA."
"Oh boy, I heard about IKEA being super confusing to begin with. An infinite IKEA? Borderline impossible to escape," John muses.
"Yes, we'll have debriefing with Director Clark, director of the SCP Foundation," Lasky replies.
AN: Not quite as long as I had hoped, but I had no ideas for a bit, then I sped up the chapter because I suddenly got a really solid setup for chapter 3. ETA for that, I'm not sure, but it will be more action packed, and based off something I recently discovered...
EDIT: Chapter 3 is currently about 25% complete, and is going very well. I hope to have it done in the next week or so.