Chapter 6
Master Chief looked around as the staircase moved to the left.
"I don't detect any mechanics, so that's not what is powering the stairs. What are we looking for, exactly?" Cortana asked as Master Chief walked onto the next flight of stairs and started walking up.
"We're doing recon." Master Chief said as the staircase he was on started moving. This time, he wasn't standing still.
"John, what are you doing?" Cortana asked as another staircase passed over him.
"We don't have time to wait for these things to connect. We make our own paths." Master Chief said as he socked his gun. Then, he leaped and grabbed the banister of the staircase above him. He pulled himself up and over the edge, landing feet first.
"Really? You can't wait for the stairs to change?" Cortana groaned as the stairs Master Chief were on started moving.
"If you're going to do this, I'll activate the jetpack. Then, you'll be able to fly to each flight of stairs.
"It's done." Cortana said. Then, Master Chief leaped as the stairs passed over him. He felt the jet pack turn on, sending the Spartan flying over the stairs. Then, the jetpack turned off, causing the Spartan to neatly land on the center of the stairs.
"Let's get off here, John." Cortana said as the stairs stopped in front of a hallway. Master Chief stepped off the stairs and walked through the hallway, which seemed deserted except for a few torches and paintings on the wall.
"We're lost, aren't we?" Cortana asked as Master Chief walked around another corner.
"No, we're investigating this facility and collecting research. We still don't know what this is yet, or if these humans are hostile." Master Chief said. Meow!
Master Chief whirled with his gun pointed out, but frowned when he didn't see anyone.
"Chief, look down." Master Chief looked down to see a cat with brown and gray fur and red eyes.
"Chief, it's just a cat." Cortana said.
"There's something about that feline that I don't like. Reminds me of a sentinel." Master Chief said as he stared down the cat.
"Chief, I'm picking up a signature, coming around the corner. Want me to activate your camouflage?" Cortana asked.
"Do it." Then, Master Chief vanished, just as a man walked around the corner.
"Huh. That guy might be a guard of some kind, and that cat scouts for him, like how the Sentinels answer to the Moniter." Cortana said. Master Chief growled silently. The memory of the Forerunner AI that had tried to get him to activate Halo, and then tried to kill him when he refused to give Cortana and the Index to the Moniter, who then helped him at the Ark and claimed to be his friend, before he double-crossed the Spartan again and killed Sergeant Johnson, and then tried to kill him when they tried to activate Installation 04B. "What is it, my dear? Any naughty students wandering the corridors that we can take to Ms. Umbridge?" the man said in a baby voice to the cat, which purred and rubbed itself against the man's legs.
"Chief, I don't know if this camouflage works against animals." Cortana said nervously as the cat sniffed the air. For a minute, the man stared directly at where Master Chief was. Then, he sighed.
"Come along, dear." The man said as he turned and walked around the corner, with the cat right behind him.
"That was too close." Cortana said.
"Let's keep moving." Master Chief said as the invisibility camouflage faded and he began moving.
"John, when was the last time you ate or drank something? Did you get any medical attention for your battles on the Ark?" Cortana asked as Master Chief walked through a hallway lit up with light from the outside.
"I'm fine, Cortana." Master Chief said as he looked around.
"Really, John, you need to get some food soon." Cortana said.
"My my, you're not from around here, are you?" A voice laughed. Master Chief whirled and pointed his gun. When he saw who was talking, he was shocked "What... is that?" Cortana asked with surprise. Master Chief didn't have an answer. In front of him was what looked like a human, only it was float ground, and was pale and transparent. He was dressed in what appeared to be old robes.
"Hello! I am Sir Nicholas de Mimsy-Porpington! Welcome to Hogwarts, good sir! Who might you be?" Sir Nicholas asked as he bowed. "Should we talk to this thing? Can we trust it?" Master Chief asked Cortana.
"Well, we really don't have much of a choice. I say, let's talk to him. By this point, this place keeps popping out more surprises." Cortana said. "Alright." Master Chief said. Then, he looked up at the ghost.
"I'm Spartan One-One-Seven, and my companion is Cortana, an Artificial Intelligence Unit." Master Chief said.
"Look, my friend's not in the best physical health. Could you tell us where he could find something to eat? We won't stay long." Cortana said. "The kitchens are on the floor beneath the Great Hall." The ghost said.
"I guess that that must be the room where we saw everyone eating." Cortana said.
"Thanks. We'll be on our way." Master Chief said as he turned and walked through the ghost. Master Chief felt an ice-cold chill go through him. His armor seemed to have no effect. "Hang on Chief, I want to ask him something." Cortana said. Master Chief turned to look at the ghost.
"Hang on. My friend wants to ask you something." Master Chief said as he pulled out his computer chip and held it out in front of him. Then, a small image of Cortana sprang out of the chip.
"My lord! What are you?" Sir Nick asked with shock as he floated in front of the AI.
"I'm Cortana. I was wondering if you knew anything about Weasleys or Harry Potter." She spoke. The ghost instantly got a look of surprise.
"Of course, I do. Everyone knows who Harry Potter is! He's the boy who lived and saved us all from the terror of the Dark Lord fourteen years ago. The way that that woman treats him is sickening." The ghost said.
"Odd. I wonder who this Harry Potter is?" Master Chief thought.
"He sounds like an amazing person. What does he look like?" Cortana asked. The ghost seemed surprised.
"You really aren't from around here if you don't know what the boy-who-lived looks like! He has dark hair, round glasses, and his mother's emerald eyes. But the lightning scar on his forehead is what makes him truly unique. He's almost never seen without his friends Ronald Weasley and Hermione Granger." The ghost said.
"Wait... that boy from earlier, the one who was looking at us... you've got to be kidding me." Master Chief groaned mentally
"Ummmm... thanks. We'll be on our way." Cortana said. Then, the ghost showed shock when Master Chief pushed the chip with Cortana into the back of his head. "Farewell." Master Chief said as he headed back to the staircase.
"Chief... are you thinking what I'm thinking?" Cortana asked.
"Yeah. That kid from earlier is the guy that he was talking about. I didn't get that kind of vibe from him. Hard to believe that he's so impressed about some kid." Master Chief said as he came to the doorway that he had walked through earlier. Now, the stairway was facing in another direction.
"Guess we'll have to wait for the stairs to show up." Cortana said.
"No, we don't. I think that it's about time we made introductions." Master Chief said as he looked down.
"Chief, no. Don't you even think about itttttttt!" Cortana screamed as Master Chief leaped over the edge of the staircase and shot down like a rocket feet-first through the gap at the center of the staircase.
"Are you nuts?" Cortana screamed as Master Chief continued to plummet.
"I... well..." Cortana stammered nervously.
"Get ready for a hard landing." Master Chief said.
The Great Hall...
"I don't know, Ron, things seem to get crazier each day." Hermione sighed as she looked at Harry, who was staring at Cho Chang.
"Sheesh Hermione, you're being paranoid. What else could possibly happen?" Ron grinned.
BOOM! The sound of a gigantic crash made everyone stop talking and look towards the front of the Great Hall.
"That came from outside!" Hermione gasped as everyone stood up and rushed out. Dumbledore rose and raised his hands, but no one seemed to pay attention. The first people to run out of the Great Hall gasped. Harry, Ron, and Hermione pushed past Fred and George and gaped. In front of the stairs, was a figure in a green outfit, crouched down with his fist in the ground, which was ripped up around him.
"Bloody hell. What is that?" Ron gaped. Then, to everyone's shock, the green figure stood up and pulled out something that he had cocked in his hands. Now, Harry could see that the figure looked human-like, but was wearing a helmet that concealed his face
"That's a muggle gun!" Hermione gasped, making several students grab their wands.
"Well... you certainly got their attention." Cortana said nervously as they looked at the crowd of children in front of them.
"That's an understatement." Master Chief said. Then, he glanced at the crowd and saw the boy from earlier staring at him. "And there he is. Harry Potter. John don't do something stupid. We have no idea what these kids can do." Cortana said.
"Affirmative." Master Chief said. Then, he took a step forward, making several more people gasp. At that moment, Dumbledore, McGonagall, and Snape pushed through the students, and stopped being cold when they saw the Spartan.
"Well... I guess we should make introductions." Cortana said nervously.
"Greetings. Might I inquire who you are, and how you came to be here?" Dumbledore asked as he extended his arm. Master Chief's finger tightened on the trigger as he stepped forward. Then, Snape fired a disarming charm, causing the assault rifle to fall out of the Spartan's hands and clatter on the floor. Master Chief instantly dropped down, tackled the professor, and pulled out his magnum, causing the crowd of students to gasp as he put the gun to the professor's head.
"There is no need for violence! Severus, that was quite rude of you. I apologize for my professor's actions. May we continue this elsewhere?" Dumbledore asked calmly. "John, listen to him." Cortana said.
"Fine." Master Chief said as he let Snape go, causing the professor to crash onto the ground.
"He talked!" Hermione gasped.
"I care more about how he just kicked Snape's ass." Ron grinned as the Spartan picked up the assault rifle.
"May we finish this conversation in my office?" Dumbledore asked.
"Albus, I don't think!" McGonagall began to say.
"Relax, Minerva. This man poses no threat to me, the students, or the rest of the staff. If he wished to cause us harm, he would have done so already." Dumbledore said calmly as Snape stood up.
"I take it that you're the head of this facility?" Master Chief asked.
"That's one way to say it." Dumbledore chuckled.
"Chief, follow him. I'll introduce myself once we're alone." Cortana said.
"Fine. Since you're the superior of this facility, UNSC regulations dictate that I report to you." Master Chief said as he followed Dumbledore up the stairs. The second they were gone, everyone burst into whispers.
"UNSC? What the bloody hell is that?" Ron frowned.
"Well... he spoke like a military officer, so the UNSC must be some kind of military organization. But I've never seen a weapon like that before, and his outfit's not part of anything that I've ever seen before." Hermione frowned.
"Guys... do you think that he's... you know... from what we saw earlier?" Harry whispered as they walked away from the crowd of students.
"Wait... you think that he's an alien? He looked human, and he spoke English." Hermione frowned.
"Makes sense, if you ask me. He shows up a day after that thing crashes." Ron frowned.
"Let's go ask him. Come on!" Harry said as he began to run down a hallway. Looking at each other, Ron and Hermione ran after him.