Hello! It's me!
And contrary to some gossip, I am not dead nor have I abandoned this story!
Now, before we begin, I would like to dedicate this chapter to pleasing the goddess Artemis. Please, pretty please, oh great goddess of the hunt and moon, please let the Artemis I mission finally launch the rocket without any problems, and please let this mission be successful.
Now, let's begin
Out of Reach
Chapter 12
Hestia's plead
"And now I am more than certain that you are the wolf from the prophecy."
Those were the words that kept appearing inside Noble Six's head. Those few words contained so many contradictions to everything that was known to him that it almost seemed impossible. Almost, sadly.
And the fact that he knew what the person who told him that wasn't too assuring was, In all fairness, impossible. A so-called goddess from a long-dead civilization said to him that he was someone important from a prophecy. If only his brothers and sisters could hear this ridiculous statement. Signs, gods, mythologies, and other fairy tales.
He was now trapped in a time when no one needed him, way before humanity could reach and claim the stars, hunted by monsters from fairy tales, all the while being chased by another self-proclaimed greek goddess of the hunt and moon. The pure absurdity of this situation was almost impossible to describe.
In his time, humans long ago had already abandoned such superstition. Instead, the pedestal and epitome of human belief were placed in science, in destiny to claim other stars. With that, humanity overcame countless obstacles, claiming and reshaping worlds to fit the Earth's image.
Meanwhile, here, or rather now, he met creatures that openly admitted their wishes to hold humanity, to control and own them, and that was something that enraged the Spartan. He was created to protect humanity from everything that could threaten it, both from the outside and inside. And now he had just learned that an unknown group of human-like beings was threatening his civilization's future.
And yet, there were many unknowns. The decision of what he should do now. Should he fight this self-proclaimed pantheon of what could possibly be gods? Could someone in ONI in his times be somehow aware of those beings? Should they even be considered humans?
Even the UN Colonial Mortal Dictata wasn't too helpful.
1A/3a: A human being shall be defined as a person recognized and accepted by a reasonable layperson as being human based on form, behavior, or external appearance, and no authority shall be permitted to use any element of a genetic profile to exclude a person from that definition.
One of the most important rules of the UN Colonial Mortal Dictata – stated that any form of resemblance in anyone towards what was primarily known as humanity would render someone a human. But were gods humans? As of now, Six could tell that some of them indeed behave like humans – often toxic and greedy, but still human. On the other hand, how could he know if their human form is their original one?
On the other hand, gods would often break many laws written within the UN Colonial Mortal Dictata code.
1A/3b: A human being shall not be restricted, selected, or subjected to discrimination based on their genome or genetic profile, whether altered or unaltered.
Just how many times would gods try to destroy someone's life just because they happened to be born to someone gods didn't like? How many innocent people were killed to give their parents the last sting?
1A/3c: A human being shall not be brought into existence with the intent of providing biological material or research data for the use, treatment, or benefit of another.
Mythology mentions many demigods who were born only because an oracle happened to give a prophecy about a child. Could it be that an oracle used the fragile minds of the ancient people just to create hybrids of both races?
1A/3d: A human being shall not be subject to any commercial claim, patent, or restriction based on any part of the genome or genetic profile, whether altered or unaltered.
Gods demanded unquestioned obedience from all their hybrids, claiming that all half-bloods belonged to them. In reality, the gods claimed to create a human race. Thus they believed all humanity should obey them unquestionably, just on the pure basis of unproved genesis – something that Six found awfully disgusting to him.
1A/3e: A human being, regardless of any engineering of their genome or introduction of non-human or artificial DNA, shall not cease to be classed as a human under any circumstances.
In mythology, many humans were turned into monsters or animals based on the gods' whim. They were denied their human rights and were often hunted down by gods or their hybrid spawns just because of what was done to them by the gods. Even ONI would see this as a complete disregard for any human life.
1A/3f: No human being shall be subjected to genetic alteration except with their express and informed consent, or, in the case of a person under 18, with the consent of their legal guardian for the sole purpose of correcting a health defect in that child.
The same thing often happens with their children. It would seem that gods did not respect the human body and mind. Even their children were often victims of their parent's twisted minds. They would alter their children's bodies for their own goals and for the child's benefit.
1A/3g: A human being or part of thereof may not be owned by any individual or organization.
If anything Six saw on the Camp, and if anything he remembered from mythology was correct, the gods sometimes treated their own children as their own property. Claiming them, putting them through endless trials, and manipulating their lives so their children can live to serve their parents' goals.
It would seem that the gods exhibited the worst traits of human civilization. And while some of them could behave like normal decent humans, many of their kind were the combinations of psychotic behavior with too much power in their hands – a combination that Six knew was more than deadly.
And yet, the consensus was not something he could reach within his mind. He was a soldier, created to obey orders, to protect humanity from everything that could threaten its existence. He was made to fight and die, not to solve philosophical problems like those.
Meanwhile, somewhere in his mind, Auntie Dot could feel the conflict within her partner. His flow of thoughts was something she was already accustomed to seeing. Ideas, organized in the military mindset, were like an open library to her. And yet, there was sadness ever-growing. Noble Six's mind was unlike anything she expected from a human mind. She knew why his mind was molded like this, for what purpose it was done… And yet, she could not help but contain the growing feeling of sadness for her partner.
Most likely, for the first time in his life, Noble Six had the opportunity to witness how ordinary people live their life – without the warfare, without the fear of impending doom. And while Dot knew those hybrids' demigods weren't the best example, their life was still the closest thing to a normal childhood compared to her Spartan's life.
But as of now, She and Six had different problems to face.
The so-called Goddess they have met. Hestia, the same Hestia from ancient Greek mythology. And Auntie Dot was not exactly sure what to think about her. From one perspective, she seemed nice and enjoyable – your typical favorite aunt. On the other hand, the fact she tried to probe her partner's mind was something she could not digest. And while she apologized for her intrusion, Dot still could not fully trust Hestia.
That, and Auntie Dot knew that Hestia was hiding something.
She called her partner "wolf," claiming that her Spartan was part of some sort of prophecy. Once again, she wanted to scuff such a ridiculous idea. And yet, somehow, Goddess knew way too much more than she should. She often returned to the conversation between the Goddess and her Spartan in those moments.
A conversation that only seemed to muddle their minds…
" And now I am more than certain that you are the wolf from the prophecy."
Spartan gazed at the self-proclaimed Goddess for a few seconds. Calmly, without even a single flinch of a single muscle. And Hestia could not help but feel a little bit uncomfortable under the gaze of the large behemoth. Everything about the boy sitting in front of her just made something inside her scream. The young demigod before her was like a walking anomaly. And now, the young child was gazing at her as if she had just said the most ridiculous thing before her.
"Forgive my Spartan." Instead of the deep voice of the demigod before her, a soft voice of a lady came out of what seemed to be the boy's helmet. Even after a few minutes, the Goddess of hearth just could not exactly wrap her head around the idea that within one body of a demigod, two souls were occupying one mind. She wasn't even sure how those two operated without constantly trying to fight over dominance. It was surreal. Everything about this young wolf was surreal. "He has a strange habit of uncomfortably gazing at people."
Hestia just politely smiled. While she initially expected any other reaction, she could not blame the child before her. Every human was processing new shocking information differently. This child's reaction was far too different from what she could expect.
Then again, the young half-blood before was unlike anything of his kin. Silent, organized, and patient. Truly, an enigma before her.
"Now, could you elaborate more on what you mean by my Spartan being the "wolf from the prophecy?" Once again, the boy's spirit companion asked through the machine. Hestia still wasn't exactly sure why the spirit kept referring to the boy per Spartan. But that was a question for later.
"As I mentioned, my nephew invoked a prophecy – something unusual for him. Apollo usually speaks his prophecies only through his oracles, never directly. Similarly, I had my own glance into fate. And I can somehow feel that you, young one, are connected to Apollo's prophecy."
And as always, the boy didn't even flinch. Whenever he took the message well, Hestia just could not tell. Not through the armor and not through how defensive his mind was. The boy was a mystery indeed. Nevertheless, she continued.
"I am not completely sure how to explain this. I can feel that you are the one. And yet you are unlike any demigod I have ever seen. If anything, I am not surprised that most gods would not even recognize it. But I can feel it. Somewhere, deep within your soul, there is a connection to us. It is tarnished, almost obliterated, barely existing. But it is there."
"I am not a demigod. I am a Spartan."
Again, the demigod surprised her with the deepness and strength of his voice. It was as if she was talking to a giant. Or to a veteran of countless battles. Nevertheless, she had to admit, the boy's response was very Spartan-like.
"And how does that define you, young one? What do you understand under this title, Spartan?"
Once again, Hestia was met with an unflinching gaze. Hestia could not help but imagine that somehow, through this boy, an endless void is gazing at her. Hestia just could not understand how one gaze could hold completely Apathy. It wasn't just the fact that the boy's eyes were covered by his helmet. His body language was completely silent. It was as if the boy was trained to never give off any emotions, to quite literally behaving like a machine.
Something that Hestia would find extremely repulsing. Humans were created to show and express emotions. Emotions were – and always will be part and parcel of humanity. To force humans to defy such a basic nature of emotions was… appalling.
"Unimportant."
Hestia could expect many answers. Hundreds, if not thousands. But never in her immortal life could she expect to hear such a shocking answer. Humans either take pride in who they are or spend their life trying to answer that question themselves. And yet, to regard someone's life as unimportant…
"It is important. It's what you believe you are."
"I do not believe. I was created and shaped to be a Spartan."
Hestia flinched. The more she listened to the young one sitting opposite her, the more sadness would flow into her own heart. It was almost as if someone or something had shaped him into a machine. She could see it. The more she talked to him, the more it was obvious to her that talking to him about emotions or his own humanity was… almost pointless. Almost as if he could not comprehend what she was trying to ask him.
It was so sad that she could cry over the fate of this young boy.
"Created? Shaped? No, that cannot be… Both me and Apollo… The prophecy… Fate has brought you home, where you were always meant to be! I do not know why or what happened to you, but you must understand, but… You are her child. I do not know how she did it, but I can feel it. The connection your soul has to my niece. You are a demigod, a child of Artemis."
In her entire immortal life, there weren't many moments when Hestia would get so emotional. Her mind was running frantic, trying to understand the being before her. A child of Artemis – a male child of Artemis, appearing out of nowhere. Appearing to fulfill the prophecy. And yet, whenever she looked at the child, something inside her was screaming. Something was utterly wrong with him as if someone damaged the very core of his being.
"It still does not make sense. If anything you say is true, then why would Artemis try to hunt down my Spartan?!"
Hestia wished she had an answer. But even to her, everything was going a bit too fast. Her niece, Artemis, had a child that she abandoned, according to the prophecy. A child whose soul looks so broken. Like the AI companion, a child that came out of space above the skies with things Hestia could not understand. There were just too many things that Hestia did not know to answer.
"It is Irrelevant."
Hestia looked at the young demigod. She just could exactly understand his behavior. Even after she told him what he was, there was no change. No spark of hope, not a hint of anger. There was nothing. As if the entire information was truly irrelevant to him.
"Six?"
But the demigod did not answer. He just picked himself up and turned around from the Goddess. And for some reason, Hestia did not wish him to go. There were just too many questions for the young child, and – at least she believed so – the child had many questions for her. But the armored demigod was already slowly walking away.
"Wait! Where are you going?" Hestia asked loudly, hoping that the demigod, the so-called Spartan, would stop. But the child continued to walk. "Can you at least tell me your name?"
Spartan slowly turned around, gazing at the Goddess through the glass of his helmet. He looked at her for a few moments, contemplating if giving a name to a goddess was a good idea. And then, he uttered a few words that would continue to hunt Hestia for many days.
"Lieutenant Spartan Beta 312, current call sign: Noble Six."
And then, he turned away from the last time, slowly vanishing from anyone's eyes, leaving an incredulous goddess with hundreds of questions behind him.
And thus, Noble Six continued to walk through the maze.
As he thought over his talk with Hestia, he noticed he could not understand her. It felt to him as if he and Hestia were participating in two completely different conversations. He wanted to know why he was hunted by a member of Hestia's race, while she wanted to convince him he was a demigod. A concept he just could not understand.
She was an anomaly to him. First, she invaded his mind as if it was her divine right to do so and then tried to persuade him into believing a foreign concept. The so-called gods of these lands were truly weird.
But Six knew he could not be a half-blood. Demigods were subjects of legends, heroes who committed deeds so great that they earned their right to become an important footprint in history. If anything, his predecessors, members of the Spartan-II generation, were the ones who had the right to be mistaken for demigods.
He, on the other hand? He was a cheap copy. He was replaceable. His life was created to exchange for more innocent human lives. He was never meant to last, to be remembered. Especially when he failed at his primal objective. He could not fight for and die for humanity when it needed him the most. Instead, he was stuck in a word that almost seemed like a bad parody.
Gods, monsters, hybrid children, all those ridiculous things you would only find in books for children, are now suddenly real. One expendable Spartan with an AI against the entire world straight from a fantasy book. It almost made him wish he was back on Reach.
Almost. He was a soldier. And good soldiers follow orders. And what is the primary objective for all soldiers lost in the unknown? Survive and return to the nearest friendly unit. No despair. No weeping. No second thoughts. Stray from the objective, and you will die. Obey the objective, and you might return home. He was a Spartan. It was his duty to return to the UNSC.
All the while, Six was finding his new determination to fight back. Another persona in his mind was having a moment of doubt. Auntie Dot was resting in the safe space of her partner's mind. Whenever she wanted to see her partner's memories or read his current mod, she tried to be as delicate as possible. And for some reason, diving into her partners' memories calmed her.
Futuristic cities, giant spaceships, fleets, armies marching, planets, and moons with unparallel beauty. The universe was holding some of its gems away from the human touch. And, of course, there was the insurrection and the Covenant as well.
She would dive into those memories due to her own nostalgia and curiosity. Previously she just knew about all the wonders created by humanity through the data banks. Now, she wanted to at least feel the glimpse of discovering those wonders herself.
Of course, whenever she watched those memories, it was impossible to see things most were not allowed to see. Private memories of her Spartan. All the things he witnessed, all the things he was forced to do and go through. And as much as she wanted to just block those things, not every time it was possible for her. It was almost as if she felt the need to see it.
As of right now, her partner was preoccupied. The conversation they both had with Hestia was clouding Six's mind. He has recalled it repeatedly, trying to analyze everything the Goddess told him and did. Her every move, every word, every expression, every change in her tone. He was searching for any hidden motive Hestia would try to use to manipulate him.
As Dot ventured deeper into her Spartan's mind, she noticed that he wasn't exactly buying Hestia's every word. He suspected that she simply tried to deny everything she said to her. Even for a moment, he didn't believe anything she said regarding him being a demigod. He was Spartan and nothing else.
"Six… Are you okay?" She wasn't exactly sure what pushed her to ask that. A part of her started to worry about her partner. She could feel the ever-growing tension inside Six. He was alone in a world that did not make any sense to him, and yet tried to constantly persuade him and force him into believing things that should be unreal.
"I am." She wasn't reassured. It wasn't him speaking. It was his Spartan training speaking through him. He tried to concentrate on whatever was waiting for him, on whatever new objective he could receive.
But what could be their new objective, besides the primary one, that forced them both to survive?
And thus, they continued their walk through the endless corridors of the Daedalus Maze. From time to time, a monster would try to attack them, but Noble Six would never let any of those abominations hurt him. It was not like they could even harm him in any way. He was a product of humanity that reached the stars and forged its first empire. Nothing coming from the ancient fairy tales could hurt him.
Just as he walked, he recalled the so-called prophecy the skeleton spoke. He couldn't help but feel that it was somehow connected to him. It almost sounds to him like a quest announcement. And if so, perhaps he should wait, hide in the forest, and just follow all the mission members? He could gather Intel, thanks to that. Yes, that was exactly what his gut was telling him.
And as his mentors often say – good Spartans always listen to their guts.
Perhaps he should return. Go back to the ridiculous Camp half-blood and observe what was happening again. No, that would be a bad idea. Six already knew how time worked in the maze. His return to the Camp would only put him behind. But there was always another way. What was that old fool Daedalus saying about the maze? If you concentrate on your destination, will the maze take you there?
Sounded as ridiculous as everything else said by the followers of myths. But Six knew he had no choice. He could only now push forward.
"Dot. Remind me later to visit Daedalus." As he spoke to his AI partner, he started to run. His mind concentrated on one sentence heard in the Camp. One shall be lost in the land without rain – meaning that whoever those fools will send on a mission, the team will lose one member in a desert area or in a place with a dry climate. And that would make his search much easier.
"You want to know about the progress of the chip you have ordered?"
Six only nodded. Now, he was sprinting faster than any human in this century. Before his eyes, the maze started to shift in ridiculous ways. It was almost as if trying to accommodate the Spartan's speed and to his will. From time to time, a monster or a few would come his way. Still, they would soon get obliterated by the sudden stab into the neck, done by none other than the hyper-lethal vector.
Soon, after traveling for what seemed to be endless kilometers of the maze and mauling an endless wave of monsters, Noble Six saw the light through his visors. Another exit from the maze was right before him. And so, without hesitation, he stepped right into the light.
The scenery before him changed completely. Six was no longer in the maze. He found himself in a junkyard full of things that no one would put into any open area. He saw countless swords, shields, golden and silver plates, and greek chariots next to mundane things such as washing machines, computers, and cars. It almost looked as if someone had just thrown away anything that would not fit into a mortal or fantasy world.
"Six… This is so unreal…." At the same time, his AI companion was flabbergasted. She as well had problems comprehending the ridiculousness of this place. "While the mundane things look normal, all the ancient-looking things are made mostly from the same metal as the one used by those kids in the camp – I thought you would like to know."
Spartan only nodded his head. Dot was still in awe, most likely wondering how she would analyze all the things and what she could do with them. It would seem that he and Dot would have a place to experiment. Or at least they would if Noble Six didn't feel a tug in his guts. His instincts were telling him that something was very wrong with this place.
Suddenly, on Spartan's HUD, a few dots appeared, informing them that a few people he put a tracker on were close to him.
"It seems you were right again. They have indeed sent a mission. And as we speak, they are behind that pile of golden garbage… Hm? What was that?" As soon as Auntie Dot asked, Noble Six felt as if a small earthquake had just suddenly happened in the area of the entire junkyard. "Six… We have something very big on the radar. Very close to where those demigods were supposed to be."
Noble Six already know – something went wrong. Judging from all that Auntie Dot told him, he deducted that the mission sent by the Camp went horribly wrong. Something caught them off guard, and now they were most likely in a trap.
Six didn't wait even a second. He sprinted with Spartan speed, avoiding anything that had fallen off the piles of junk. All his instincts were screaming to him to not touch anything left there. And thus, from a simple run, he was doing something similar to what many new Spartan recruits were going through in the camp Currahee – an obstacle course.
Just as he was about to reach the end of the giant pile of garbage, he saw it – an enormous, almost golden-like metal giant, reaching over sixty meters high. Currently, the metal giant was too busy dealing with the kids to realize that a far stronger and superior enemy had just appeared behind him. And Six wasn't about to waste his advantage.
Noble Six took his time to observe the giant. He was looking for any signs of weakness or possible design flaws that would help him bring the colossus down.
"Six, look! On his left foot, there is a small opening!" Just as Auntie Dot displayed the fatal opening on his new opponent's foot on his HUD, he noticed that one of the kids fighting the giant was about to enter the hole. She was very young, most likely twelve years old. She wore a silver ski jacket armed with a dagger and a bow. Within a second, both Six and Dot recognized the kid. "I believe that Bianca di Angelo is trying to use it."
Noble Six started to analyze the situation once again. He looked around, trying to create a plausible scenario of what would happen to the person inside this giant once it fell down. He quickly noticed the power lines. And at that moment, his gut was once again screaming. Spartan already knew where the giant would fall – straight to the power lines. And whoever would still be inside the giant would be electrocuted.
In other words – Bianca di Angelo was just about to die. One was about to be lost in the land without rain.
"Dot, can you see any weaknesses in that giant?"
He waited a few seconds, but finally, his AI companion answered.
"Since the giant was crafted to resemble a human-like shape, we can assume that he has the same weak points as a human body – although, unlike human ones, they are reinforced with metal." As Auntie Dot was talking, a full holographic picture of the giant appeared on Noble Six's HUD. "Aim at the joints. Then the construction should fall down."
Noble Six didn't waste any second – he entered the Spartan mode. At that moment, he ran faster than any mortal or demigod on the planet. Within seconds he was next to the colossus, who seemed to be more interested in the demigods. But then, something unexpected happened – the colossus started to malfunction.
Spartan knew that he did not have much time. He took out a Sangheili plasma sword – the one he took from one of the countless elites from Reach – and – while trusting his gut feeling – aimed right at the automaton's right patella would be.
The metal from which the colossus was created tried to resist the heat but ultimately gave up and started to melt due to the energy from the plasma sword. At that point, Noble Six started to cut down through the metal leg, trying to create an opening wide enough for him to enter. All the while, his metal opponent struggled, even more, to properly walk.
Just as he finished his last cut, Noble Six noticed that the colossus started falling right onto the power lines. And Six knew that whoever was inside would not survive the electric shock. Noble Six had no choice – he pushed his Spartan time to the limit. He finished his cut and grabbed the metal piece. Then, he threw it out to fully create his opening.
Inside, he saw the same girl from the Westover hall, the one who joined the hunters of Artemis. But there was no time to exchange any words. The colossus has already fallen onto the electric wires. Now, the young huntress had, at best, one second to get out from the fallen colossus before she would be electrocuted.
And faster than any human could notice, Noble Six reached out to the huntress and grabbed her by her silver hood. The metal started vibrating, and the electricity was already reaching the young huntress and Spartan. And as soon as the young huntress was near the exit, her hand touched the metal for a brief moment.
Noble Six had no choice. He quickly changed his position and took out the huntress while his armor fully touched the conductive metal. It was one of those many moments in his life in which he was grateful for his Mjolnir armor. Without it, he would most likely be killed by the electricity flowing through the metal walls.
The colossus fully fell, bringing with him every electric power line in the area. Countless wires started to fly around the colossus, being forcefully pulled away from their rods. And between then, right in the center of the storm of electric wires, there was a lonely Spartan, falling down with a small huntress in his arms. His mind worked as fast as possible, trying to detect any rouge wire that would come too close to him.
As soon as he landed, B312 started to run towards the maze entry, the same one he used to travel to this place. He did not waste any second, even as the rogue wires finished their deadly electric dance and started to fall down to indulge in electrocuting, the rest of the objects lying on the ground.
"We can keep searching! It's light now! We will find her!" As he was about to enter the maze, a sound of emotional conversation, followed by weeping and cries, stopped Noble Six. It would seem that the party of demigods has just realized that they have lost someone.
"No, we won't. It happened just as it was supposed to. "
"What are you talking about?!"
"The prophecy. One shall be lost in the land without rain."
"…Why hadn't I seen it? Why had I let her go instead of me?"
As Noble Six continued to eavesdrop, he realized something beneficial. It would seem that all those demigods rely on the so-called prophecies given to them by the oracles. And judging from what one of the search party members said, they believed everything that the oracle said must come true.
It was pretty crucial information. Noble Six just realized that he has been given a wide window of opportunity to manipulate every single mission sent by the Camp half-blood. He could now make them believe whatever they wanted, manipulating their missions from the shadows and ensuring they were all doing what he wanted them to.
"You realize that ancient Greeks were always warned to never try to mess with fate?" As always, through reading his thoughts, Auntie Dot appeared as the voice inside his head. "Most of the ancient works of literature's message is to never try to tempt fate. In other words, I believe we should try to be more careful."
As always, Six knew Auntie Dot was right. All those missions were under heavy surveillance of the entities that called themselves gods. If he wanted to mess with their plans, he would have to create and test countless plans. And that would take weeks, maybe months. But he was a Spartan. Patience was one of those basic things that every one of his brothers and sisters had been taught since their enlistment.
As soon as Noble Six heard the demigod party leaving the area, he looked down. In his arms, a small huntress was still unconscious. And as he looked closer, he realized that he knew this person – the same girl who left her own brother to join the hunters of Artemis. And here, Noble Six realized that something was very off.
From what he knew, Bianca di Angelo wasn't aware of being a demigod, at least before the search party from the Camp half-blood came to take her and her brother. And even with all the time, Six spent inside the maze between Bianca's arrival at the Camp and his appearance there… It seemed just unreal. It was impossible to train and prepare someone in such a short time.
In his eyes, it was a complete waste of resources. To send someone so young and so unprepared. And now, he was holding the consequences of that decision in his arms. A young child almost died because someone thought it was a good idea to send an unprepared recruit on what seemed to be a suicide mission.
As someone who spent his life in the military, Noble Six couldn't comprehend who made that decision. Even the worst scumbags in UNSC and ONI, for whom Spartans were nothing more than tools of war, were created to prolong human civilization and to fight and die against the countless waves of the Covenant… Even they were not as stupid as to send unprepared recruits into any mission.
His brothers and sisters… When taken by the ONI, they were molded into perfect tools of war. They were shaped into perfect machines of destruction, capable of holding the entire armageddon off from human civilization. And even if they were expendable, even if they were cheap copies of the original Spartans… They were trained. They were prepared.
And what he held in his arms was just a waste of resources.
"Noble Six… What are we going to do with her?"
Spartan didn't answer verbally. Instead, he just moved towards the entrance to the maze and walked through it.
The young huntress in his arms, Bianca Di Angelo… He could not understand her motivation. What she did to her own younger brother was abhorring. She left her little brother to join a group she barely knew anything about. She had a duty and just ran off as soon as possible. Everything she did was against everything Spartans were taught.
You leave no one behind. You don't leave your soldiers to be taken by the enemy. You don't leave your family to just die. You leave no one behind.
As anger and abhor started to rise in Six, he could not help but recall the night fate decided he would become Spartan. A night that forced him to become what the Covenant would later call a demon.
He didn't remember much. Most of his old memories were washed away by the training regime. By his newfound duty. By the desire for revenge. Up till this day, he could not remember their faces or names.
He could barely remember his mother. The only thing he could recall was her smile and her soft laughter. Similar to his father. All he had was just a vague echo of his father's laughter. And his sister… He had an older sister. And that was all he could say about her. And no matter how he would fight, how he would concentrate, there was nothing else. No faces, no names, nothing.
Nothing except for that one night in hell.
The screams of terror woke him up. The sky was illuminated in the hundreds of colors of fire. The sounds of gunfire and moving transporters. His mom shook him up to quickly wake him up. More screams, more fire. Unknown unhuman voices. He recalled. His mother tells him to hide in the hidden small safe room in the basement.
More screams. Those he can recognize. His father yelled in pain and then suddenly stopped. His mother's screams of terror. And then, the most disgusting sound of something tearing into flesh. His mother's screams turned into a gurgle. He can no longer hear his parents. Only the disgusting grunts of all the monsters that came for them.
He didn't know how long he had spent in that room. He could remember the sounds of bombardment. And then, he was found by what back then he could describe as giants, green angels. One of them looked directly at him with its golden visor.
He couldn't remember the words. All he could recall was a fellow Spartan picking him up and taking him away from his destroyed home. Ruins and two bloody corpses that resembled nothing of the people they used to be were left behind.
And then, somehow, life simply continued for most. On the other hand, he was taken off-world, then molded into what he was today for years.
"Noble Six?"
You leave no one behind. It was one of the first rules he was taught ruthlessly. You never leave anyone behind if you can help it.
"Noble Six?"
So how can someone just leave someone behind? How can someone just completely leave behind someone so close to them? How can a human abandon another human being without a second thought?
"Noble Six?!"
Suddenly, and without warning, Noble Six's thoughts returned to the present day. He wasn't exactly sure what happened or why he suddenly ventured into the past. All he knew was that he lost himself for a second, which was unforgivable for any Spartan. He had to remain focused. There was no time for childhood flashbacks.
"I apologize, Dot." As he answered his AI companion, he entered the maze. After a few seconds of silence, he felt his companion's presence in his mind. It was as if she wasn't satisfied with his answer. "It won't happen again, Dot."
"Are you sure you are alright? We can talk if you want."
Auntie Dot's tone was unexpected, at least for Noble Six. The sudden worry in her tone was something he could not explain. While he knew that after the upgrade, she received the ability to feel emotions just like any Smart AI, the constant worry about his well-being was unexpected for him. He was a Spartan – all he needed to be was operational.
"I am fine." That was the only thing he said as he ventured further into the world of darkness and endless mazes.
He wasn't fine. Auntie Dot instantly recognized the old and well-taught answer that the Spartans used. He was anything but fine. On the other hand, from Auntie Dot's experience, the same could be said about any other Spartan.
Her partner will never admit it. Because Noble Six wasn't supposed to admit it. He was conditioned to push forward, never ask personal questions, and never question his well-being. All he was supposed to do was to be operational for the next task. That was all that mattered to the people that created him.
That is why they have selected him.
Children with shelf shock. Kids who were the first witnesses of the genocidal war against humanity. Little survivors, who, against all odds, survived the massacres of entire worlds and who witnessed the ultimate loss.
Those were Spartans of the third generation.
This fact alone was slowly overwhelming Dot. For years she served as the military adviser for Spartan teams. For years, she watched and listened to countless last moments of those brave children. For years she could not do anything about it. And now, with her own emotions connected to a Spartan mind, she felt like she was drowning.
And that only turned on her cravings for answers. She wanted to know how people were dealing with emotions. She wished to know how to use emotions to serve her Spartan better. But of course, her partner's mind was not the best place to find the answers. Not with his mindset, that is.
The only thing she could do in his mind to come close to her answers was to dive into his past. Most of the time, his past was just full of memories of missions and assignments. Elimination of very important targets, fighting insurrection and Covenant. Fighting, obeying, and following orders. But she could somehow feel it. There was something inside her Spartan, something buried deep inside, something that she doubted even B312 was aware of.
And as she delved further into Noble Six's past, she began to notice more things. She noticed the reason for the fight in the memories of his time with other Spartans as a recruit. She noticed the hate, the anger… Even the disgust over the feeling of hopelessness. They all hated what the Covenant did to them and their families, and the UNSC only made their hate burn brighter. Their hate was given purpose. No matter the cost.
But there was something even deeper. Something that was almost completely hidden from the B312's mind. The earliest and happiest memories. Memories of her Spartan family. They were almost blurred. B312 could not recall their faces or their names. He could barely recall any moment with them. All the except for one.
The moment of their tragic death.
It was the only thing clear in his mind. The only thing accessible to him. The screams, the terror, the inhumane look of their dead bodies. That was something that would often resurface in the Spartan's psyche. That was their reason to push beyond human capabilities. Their reason was to fight against all odds, even when everything was already lost.
And she knew exactly why. The ONI's conditioning was doing its wonders.
They were supposed to hate Covenant with everything they had. Hating them for taking away everything from them, even the happy memories. ONI knew how to use PTSD and adequate conditioning to create a perfect soldier who would fight for eternity.
Or at least as long as they would be necessary.
She did not want to think about it. Thinking about the Spartan III program was always something that would lead her to morbid thoughts. Instead, she decided to dive into her partner's memories again, to the last days of his innocence and happiness.
There was not much of it. Much was forgotten by him by trauma, conditioning, and the constant war. She pledged to herself that she would do whatever was possible for her to bring back B312's stolen memories. That she will bring those faces and moments back to him. But for now, she decided to grab one specific memory. A single moment from the past. She wasn't sure if Noble Six was even aware of that moment, but she decided to try.
It was a single moment when his mother called his name.
It was not any specific moment. It was not even particularly important. It was just her partner's name. Something that here only she will know. And something to share with her Spartan.
As she returned to the real world, she noticed that her Spartan had already returned to the endless maze. The claustrophobic walls and roofs welcomed them with their coldness and madness. Her Spartan was still holding the young huntress with one arm and a Spartan knife with the other. He was currently preoccupied with fighting against a massive – almost too massive – black dog. Through his eyes, she also noticed that more of those mutants – no, those monsters – were coming in their way. It was almost as if something drove them into a frenzied state.
Perhaps it was the young demigoddess in Noble Six's arms.
But her Spartan didn't seem to mind. All the monsters that were stupid enough to even come close to him were quickly slashed and decapitated by the swing of his Sangheili plasma sword. He wasted no time in obliterating anything that came too close to him. And by no means was it a beautiful show of Six's swordsmanship. No, it was almost pure savagery – at least to her. Six cared little for the form and art of the sword and only used his weapon in a savage but brutally precise way.
As he elbowed through the dark waves of frenzied monsters, Auntie Dot could not contain her curiosity and asked.
"What will you do with that girl? She isn't exactly the best source of information since she learned about her heritage… a few days ago at best?"
For a while, her Spartan remained silent, only accelerating his walk through the maze. In all honesty, Auntie Dot already knew the answer – both from knowing his files and due to her personal connection between hers and his mind. And yet she wanted to hear him saying it. And after a minute or so, he finally indulged her wish.
"You leave no one behind, not if you can help it."
Yes. That is exactly what she expected to hear from him.
No matter how much ONI would want them to become emotionless machines, some people decided against it. They made sure that all Spartan III companies would receive one of the most necessary lessons in their human lives. A lesson that would connect Spartans to people they were supposed to protect and avenge.
A lesson that, in a way, helped to shape the societies of the past and future.
"So, I assume we will visit Camp Half-Blood one more time?" Auntie Dot only smiled as she asked. Now she realized she had experienced something new, beautiful, warm, and powerful. She saw that deep inside her, Spartan was a human. And somehow, that made her beyond happy.
And thus, with B312's silent nod, they have ventured into darkness again…
Phoebe was not in the best mood.
First – the Manticore they were trying to hunt down just escaped them with a hostage. Then, she was forced to go with her sisters to the stupid Camp Half-Blood, full of idiotic male demigods. On top of that, their Goddess was abducted. She could not go on the quest to save her Lady because two moronic demigods of Hermes decided to give her a t-shirt with a centaur's blood poured over it.
In other words, her blood was boiling.
A few days have passed since the incident. Her sisters and even Chiron gave her the best possible treatment she could get – aside from her father, Apollo. And thus, a few days later, she could at least walk alone.
She knew it would take time before she would fully recover. As a daughter of Apollo, she could even pinpoint a date when she would be able to join her sisters in all activities. But it could not change the fact that she hated being immobilized, unable to run or train. She was wasting her time here.
At least she wasn't slowing down her sisters – which was the only good thing about being in Camp Half-Blood.
She slowly walked out of Artemis's cabin. She first noticed the cloudless sky, full of stars and constellations. That was another one of those "only good things" of being in the Camp – the night sky was always clear, and star constellations were always visible. Outside those borders, the night sky was usually polluted by the lights of many cities or by toxic air.
She hated what the world had become. She hated what mortals did to the world. In her eyes, all the mortals have done was utter destruction. The sky was polluted, and the animals were going extinct. Not to mention that wild nature was slowly vanishing, replaced with a controlled environment, zoos, and other gods-forbidden things. Sometimes she really wanted to return to ancient times. Where nature and gods were still truly ruling over the world.
Sometimes she wished gods would again take the matter into their own hands and do something with the chaotic world of mortals and simply make things right.
As she slowly walked out of her mistress's cabin, she could not help but fearfully wonder what had happened to her patron. What caused her to be caught? Was it that ancient beast she was tracking? Could it somehow trick and defeat Artemis? Or perhaps someone tricked her while she was hunting?
Her mind ventured into very dark regions. In all the millennia she has spent with Artemis, only one being could force her to surrender. And that name could make any huntress's blood boil from pure rage.
Orion. The hunter in the sky. Son of Gaia and Tartarus, created to defeat and usurper her mistress and Apollo.
Could it be that Orion has somehow managed to return once again? Phoebe shivered in fear at that possibility. Orion, every time upon he returned from his father's realm, would come back more and more insane. No one could say what his twisted mind would force upon Artemis this time.
And then Phoebe recalled one more threat. The rogue automaton.
Phoebe, her sisters, and her patron would often come across the rogue automaton. First encountered by their long-time friend and sister, Britomartis. She encountered the machine while fighting the cursed king Lycaon. She described the machine's brutality and cunning tactics. And while Phoebe could not help but grin, knowing how badly wounded that dirty dog ended up, she also wondered why the machine decided to take that damn dog with him.
Not to mention how it completely ignored Britomartis's orders.
Initially, Phoebe wasn't exactly sure what to think about the automaton. Like all her sisters, the thought of someone creating a machine capable of defeating the king werewolf as if he was nothing more than a nuisance and then completely ignoring direct commands from a goddess… She wondered what kind of mad demigod would create such an abomination – and Phoebe would love to have a one-on-one talk with such a mad moron.
The worst part of it: Phoebe was forced to admit that the machine was damn good. It barely left any traces behind, even if it killed monsters permanently. There were moments were a massive group of monsters would just disappear. The hunt had problems finding any traces of the machine.
The machine was heavy, so it should by every logic leave massive footprints – and yet none were found. Suppose the machine was capable of killing monsters permanently. In that case, it should leave countless bodies on its path – yet barely the hunt could find any of them. Smell, leftovers from weapons – nothing of such sort was found.
It was frustrating for every huntress – even Lady Artemis – to admit how good that machine was.
And then, they finally encountered it. At first, all huntresses were excited. Their long-hunted prey was finally in their hands, ready to be destroyed. All girls expected an easy victory – especially after the machine obliterated another monster den.
But no one could prepare any of Artemis's girls for what they had witnessed. Six feet and nine inches of monstrosity covered in black and silver bulky metal, with one bronze eye on its head – or perhaps its helmet. Its movement was completely inhuman, without mercy, with emotionless precision, and impossible to achieve for any human. And then there was its voice. Male, and yet inhuman just as its precise movements.
After destroying yet another den, it was finally approached by Lady Artemis. And yet, the machine ignored even her and continued its diabolical work on a completely defenseless monster. Not only did the machine disregard any orders from her Goddess, but it also dared to take a shot at one of the huntresses!
Phoebe wasn't exactly sure what was more terrifying – witnessing the diabolical precision of the machine, its lack of any emotions, the fact that it was capable of detecting monsters hidden even from the hunt, the fact that none of the monsters that machine killed would ever return or… what happened after Artemis tried to force it to surrender.
The machines just vanished into the air. It disappeared, leaving nothing but dumbfounded members of the hunt – Artemis included.
If previously no one had a reason to fear the metal abomination, now anyone had more than enough.
And thus, for a few incoming nights, many sisters of the hunt were scared that the machine of death could pop out from the darkness. Artemis had to reschedule the Nightwatch guards so that the oldest and most experienced hunters could protect the young ones. No one was willing to take the chance of the machine leaving hunters alone, especially knowing how they tried to hunt it down.
Then, the hunt for Manticore came.
Many sisters of the hunt became paranoid. The machine seemed adamant about finding the Manticore, and thus every hunter was preparing for the inevitable. But the machine never came. It never appeared. Even when barely alive, Manticore escaped with the young demigoddess of Athena. Many hopefully assumed that perhaps the machine just gave up or malfunctioned.
But not Phoebe. Many would call her paranoid, but somehow she could feel that machine was still out there, observing their every move. Waiting patiently for the perfect opportunity.
First time in many years, many hunters were hopeful to go to the Camp half-blood. The magic barrier protecting the Camp would not allow anyone who is not a demigod to enter the Camp. And thus, the deadly automaton would not be able to find them there.
And yet somehow Phoebe had doubts. In her long life both as a demigod and a hunter of Artemis, she knew that hopeful expectations are usually obliterated by fate. Something inside her was telling her that the Camp wasn't as safe from the automaton as her sisters believed.
When they reached the Camp – after a very deadly and terrifying flight with a daughter of Zeus as a driver – they quickly remembered why they hated this place so much. Overly flirtatious satyrs, nymphs with their heads in clouds, and most of all – stupid male demigods who caused almost every hunter to have a massive headache.
Aside from that, their time in Camp went peacefully. They even played a "friendly" match of capturing the flag against the demigods. And as always, they have completely decimated those boys and girls.
All went well until the moment the skeleton of the oracle of Delphi decided to appear between hunters and demigods. At that moment, the hearts of every hunter became broken. Their Lady was captured by the titans' forces, and she was kept as a prisoner. Every sister of the hunt was ready to go west and avenge their Goddess.
And that was the moment when things went wrong. As the dead oracle was about to give the last line of the prophecy, something snapped inside her. It was as if she had completely lost control over her own vision. The picture of Artemis in chains quickly into something almost impossible.
At first, she saw a massive wolf standing opposite the burning city. Phoebe was no daughter of Athena, but even she had to admit that the city would look magnificent without the flames. She could not recognize it anywhere, but she knew the city was real.
And then the visions started to change rapidly. From her perspective, it looked as if the entire world was set ablaze. Great cities she could not recognize, beautiful forests she had never visited – all of it was being eaten away by the fires unlike Phoebe had ever witnessed. She saw how the ground beneath her changed into a glass, how weird objects – similar to spaceships made by mortals - flying through the skies were obliterated into dust.
Phoebe had never seen so much death and destruction before in her immortal life. It was almost as if the entire world had been set ablaze and utterly destroyed. Her mind at first was trying to connect it somehow to rising titans, but it did not make any sense to her.
Then, to her complete horror, she saw the automaton through the shared vision in a few flashes. But not just one. Countless automatons, marching, fighting, and dying against the endless waves of what Phoebe could only describe as monsters. And through many forms of automatons – she witnessed the one that the hunt was targeting.
She looked at the automaton, and it looked at her. All the while, the oracle of Delphi regained her voice and, for the first time in history, started to speak in anything but rhymes. Her words were barely coherent, but the image was changing with every word. At first, the automaton changed into a massive wolf, then into a Thanatos-like-looking reaper, only to reappear in its original form again.
The scenery changed as well. No longer could Phoebe see a world of fire and utter destruction. The image now went outside the atmosphere. She witnessed countless stars and constellations she could not recognize. It was almost as if she venturing further into the unknown. She would be fascinated with the image if not for the rising volume of screams coming from every other star. As the vision finally stopped, the last thing she saw was the automaton and her Goddess, Artemis, standing opposite each other, with their eyes intertwined.
As the vision ended and the skeleton of the oracle had to be taken away again, she looked at her sisters. All of them were either confused or scared. None of them knew how they should react to this vision. What they have all seen should be impossible.
What they heard from the oracle would hunt them for many days.
The lone wolf is coming. The grim reaper. A Spartan. Reclaimer. He is coming to reclaim what is rightfully his. The empire in the stars, burning in hate and grief. The child that was cast away by a goddess… Reclaimer, the hunter's heir!
She didn't know what to think about it. Her sisters were confused as well. Even Zoe Nightshade was lost in the prophecy, even if she did her best to hide it. None of what they witnessed made sense. The automaton is the so-called heir to their Lady's hunt. It was too much to take for one night. And they still had a war council to go through.
The rest of the day went pretty fast. While waiting for Zoe to return, the hunt tried to make sense of the prophecy. After all, what started as helpful advice from the oracle turned into gibberish nonsense about one of their targets.
But that one verse was on everyone's mind.
The child that was cast away by a goddess. Reclaimer. The hunter's heir.
Could it be? Could it be possible that Lady Artemis had a child? And they were all trying to hunt down her kid? But how was it even possible? How could Lady Artemis have a child? She was never pregnant, and Phoebe was already with her for a few thousand years.
And then a few days passed. Zoe planned to take Phoebe with her on a quest, but she made the stupid mistake of taking a gift from the children of Hermes. She should have known better than to take anything from those tricksters. And thus, instead of going on a quest, she had to stay at the Camp's clinic.
It took her a while to get back to normal health. But she swore revenge on those stupid male brats. Gave her a shirt spiked with a blood of a centaur – one day, she swore she would have her retribution. And they will regret their stupid action.
As she continued her stargazing, she suddenly heard a few screams. It was long past the nighttime activities for campers, so the only people left in the forest could be her sisters. Phoebe gathered her strength and pushed through the pain of her still-recovering body to run as fast as she could toward the source of the screams. Soon, several of her sisters joined her as well.
Not even a minute later, Phoebe and her sisters reached the source of the screams. One of her younger sisters was now trying to aim with her shaking hands at what was standing a few steps ahead of her.
Phoebe momentarily froze. She instantly recognized what they were facing. The silver-black armor. The brown visor. The massive and bulky posture. The automaton has found them here.
At first, Phoebe could not even understand how that thing got inside the Camp Half-Blood borders. The entire area was protected, and no one should be able to enter unless…
At that moment, Phoebe's mind recalled the prophecy again. Now it was obvious how that thing was able to get inside. That thing wasn't an automaton – he was a demigod. And if what the oracle had told was true, then he was a very special demigod.
"What have you done to her?!"
As one of her sisters screamed, Phoebe realized that the silver-black abomination was holding something, no, holding someone. It was a small girl, most likely twelve years old. And she was wearing the same hunter's attire as all of her sisters. It took Phoebe a second, but she finally recognized whom the armored being was holding – one of their newest sister, Bianca di Angelo.
She was unconscious. But she was breathing and had no injuries – at least as far as Phoebe could tell from a certain distance. But Phoebe had to assume the worst. She was not convinced to trust the weird being just because the oracle said it could be related to her mistress.
All her sisters summoned their bows and aimed at the armored being. They were ready to fire at any moment. And yet something in Phoebe was telling her to wait. She could not tell from that feeling came, but somehow it was overwhelming her.
And thus, as one of the oldest on the hunt, she gave a command against all her reasoning.
"Wait."
All her sisters looked at her with uneasy emotions in their eyes. While they were shooting, they were still aiming at the metal behemoth. The aforementioned behemoth stood exactly where he stopped without flinching for a second. No, there was a difference, a big one. Phoebe just hasn't noticed earlier. The gaze of the metal monstrosity was fully set on her. It was as if the other huntress didn't matter – it was just him and her.
"What have you done to our sister?" Phoebe asked after gathering her courage for what seemed to her to be an eternity.
The behemoth just continued its gaze on her. Unyielding and ever-predatory gaze. It was almost as if between every sentence, entire eternity could pass. And yet, somehow, Phoebe could feel that the behemoth was waiting for something.
"Bianca!"
Or for someone.
A young boy, with a very similar appearance to Bianca, has suddenly appeared between the hunters. It took Phoebe a while, but she could recall the boy's name – Nico di Angelo. And it seems the sisters of the hunt were not too pleased with Bianca's brother's sudden appearance.
"Get out of here, boy! This is a matter of our hunt!" One of the bravest sisters yelled at the young boy, but he did not notice her. He just ran between them and stopped right next to the armored behemoth. Was it bravery or pure stupidity? Phoebe could not tell. But the armored being seemed to focus on the young boy as well.
"What did you do to Bianca?!"
His voice was full of anger and resentment. Phoebe could feel how the young boy started to release the power that should have been impossible for someone so young to possess. And while all the hunt sisters slowly backed away from the boy, aiming now at both him and behemoth, the metal seemed unfazed as always.
The metal behemoth only focused on the boy and spoke in a deep voice.
"Your sister has suffered an electric injury to her arm. High voltage. Brief contact. Her current state is stable. Possibly short-term rehabilitation is necessary."
"So, you have electrocuted her?!" One of the huntresses could no longer contain her anger and lashed out verbally.
"Negative. She was trapped inside a metal colossus during her mission. I have extracted her and evac her right back here. The rest of your extraction team is not aware of her current condition. They believe she is currently KIA."
It took a while for Phoebe to fully decode and understand what the armored one was trying to say. He was using military jargon, a very modern one. But over the many years of serving under Lady Artemis, Phoebe learned many things. The understanding of military language was, thankfully, one of them.
"Why haven't you helped her earlier? Or why haven't you notified Zoe that Bianca is alive?"
The armored one focused one more time on Phoebe. And she liked it less and less with every second. Because every time the armored one gazed upon her, she felt like she was prey instead of a hunter. Nevertheless, the armored one answered her.
"It was not my priority."
"Explain."
"Helping your extraction team is not my priority. Me saving Bianca di Angelo was a coincidence. Since your extraction team is under the superstitious belief that one of them was supposed to be left MIA or KIA in a desert, I simply took her back to your HQ."
Despite being a bit flabbergasted by the fact that someone would call a prophecy from Delphi's oracle "a superstitious belief," Phoebe could not detect any lies in his words. But there was something that wasn't exactly right. Time. There was no way that this thing would be able to return to Camp in such a short time. At least not without help from another god.
Meanwhile, the armored being just slowly lay down the unconscious hunter on the ground and then started to back away. And Phoebe couldn't let him do that – not without getting the answers she desperately needed.
"Wait!" Her plea for the armored being to stop was heard in the entire forest, but it would seem that the only person it was addressed to it didn't reach. The armored one simply didn't care. "Hey, stop, you moron! What is your connection to our Lady?!"
Just as the armored one was about to enter the deep forest, he suddenly stopped. Phoebe's question hit the mark – or she believed it did. The armored one slowly turned away, once again shiftings its full attention onto her. And then, it answered, once again, with the same emotionless voice.
"None."
Phoebe could feel her heart beating both in danger and in anger. She was terrified of the unknown being before her. Still, she could not forgive it for avoiding the questions regarding Lady Artemis. And her anger was slowly overtaking the fear.
"That is not true! You're lying! Otherwise, our Lady wouldn't spend so much time looking for you! We have seen the oracle's prophecy! You are somehow connected to her! What have you done to her?!"
"Your Lady's obsessions are not my interest. Similarly to how your superstitious beliefs are none of my concern."
And Pheobe could feel how pure rage has overtaken her heart, similarly to her sisters. She had had enough of the armored one's half-answers and obvious lies. She only wished she had recovered enough to have a chance at striking the armored monster. She wished for nothing more than to obliterate the pathetic armor and gut whoever was inside.
It would seem that one of her hunt sisters – Naomi – had exactly the same idea. She rushed at the armored being with a dagger in her hand, with pure killing intentions. But the armored being didn't seem to even look at her. Phoebe could feel that the armored one was still looking at her.
Meanwhile, Naomi attacked with all her ferocity. At first, she just tried to slash any available place, but the heavy armor of the thing before her was not getting any damage. Her dagger was bouncing off with a metallic sound, without getting even a scratch on the armor. As soon as she realized that, she quickly changed her tactic. Instead of mindlessly trying to slash the armor, she aimed at what she believed were the weak points of the armor – joints, neck area, and abdomen. But to her own horror, the effect was the same.
She tried to slash the armored being with her dagger one more time. Still, to everyone's surprise, the armored one just casually caught her dagger, holding the entire blade with his armored left arm. Naomi tried to pull out her dagger, but the armored one was far stronger. Soon, all the hunt sisters could hear the almost unnatural sound, similar to the one made by shattering glass.
Second, later, the armored one loosened his hand, but instead of a dagger, pieces of what was once Naomi's dagger fell from his hand.
Meanwhile, Naomi fell down, her fear overwhelming her. She was shaking, terrified for her own life. At that moment, the rest of the hunt sisters joined the battle. They all summoned their bows and fired arrows at the armored one. And Phoebe could only watch in horror as all the arrows bounced off the armor without even slightly harming their opponent. The armored one continued to stand, completely unfazed by the fury of the hunt.
And just as she thought it could not get worse, the armored one moved towards the crawling huntress. His pace was slow as if the fact that he was under the heavy rain of arrows wasn't even an obstacle for him. Then, he slowly took out one of his daggers, a combat knife. And just as the armored one was about to attack, another voice stopped the entire situation within a moment.
"STOP!"
The voice was delicate and warm and, at the same time, commanding. Suddenly, every huntress dropped her weapons, everyone except for the armored one. He was keeping his combat knife firm.
As Phoebe turned around, she instantly recognized to whom this voice belonged. Right between all hunters, there was now a small girl wearing a brown robe. It was Hestia, Goddess of the hearth. Phoebe recognized a few contradicting emotions from the look on her face as if the Goddess wasn't sure how to react to the armored person.
"What are you doing?"
Her voice was no longer commanding. Now she was softly asking, almost addressing the armored one like a child.
"I have returned unconscious huntress back to her kin. A few of the huntresses demanded I answer some ridiculous questions. Then they opened fire."
Phoebe was struck again with how little to no emotions the armored one had. Once again, she had to convince herself that underneath the armor was a human. But from his answer, she could guess that her sisters' attack was nothing more than an inconvenience to him. Something that she just could not help but get angry about.
"Forgive them. Their Lady is missing, and they are lost. But I am grateful that you have returned their sister nevertheless."
Phoebe could not tell how the armored one reacted because of that damned visor on his helmet. But at least he drew back his combat knife. And then, he simply turned around and started to walk toward the forest.
"Wait! You still haven't answered our question!" Phoebe yelled from the top of her lungs. And as she was about to use all her recovered strength to go after the armored one, she felt a hand on her shoulder. It was the Goddess, now holding her firmly.
"Let him go. For now. Believe me, huntress, you all will get your answers in time." And then she spoke to the silver-black armored being. "I would want to ask you… No, I beg of you – please, save my niece. Without Artemis, my brother will never even try to consider the possibility of the crooked one rising from Tartarus. You wanted to know why Artemis was trying to hunt you down. I know why. You might not believe it or deny it, but you are her son. And I believe this is why fate has brought you here. So, please, save her. If my father wins, the future you know will be obliterated. He will force humans to return to caves. Just like the Spartans of old have protected Greece from Xerxes, you, Spartan, must now protect the flame of western civilization. I beg of you, Spartan B312!"
Phoebe couldn't even utter a word. Words of the first Olympian have struck her to the core. Her worst thoughts were confirmed, the ones she tried to keep buried deep inside her mind. The oracle's prophecy was true. The armored being, the thing that Hestia just called Spartan…
Was Lady Artemis's son.
A million thoughts and questions flooded her mind. She wanted to scream and deny, yell and demand an answer. She wanted anything. And as she looked over at the Spartan, she noticed a small movement. With just his head.
He gave a small nod to Hestia, agreeing to her plea. Hestia, in return, offered him a sad smile.
Perhaps not all was lost. Perhaps there was still hope for Lady Artemis.
And as Phoebe had found enough courage to utter her first question, the armored Spartan just turned around. It disappeared in the air as if vanishing from reality.
And then it would seem that all her strength has left her, as all she could see a minute later was nothing more than pure darkness…
I hope you have enjoyed the chapter!
Now for Q&A!
Please forgive me that I have not answered each and every one of your comments, but it would definitely take too much space and time.
Janny092 – Well, I'd also wish to write the future chapters sooner, but, life is life. But I appreciate the worry.
HyperUnity – I am glad that you have liked it. As for the oracle, well, it will be explained in the later chapters.
Killjack43 – It's not something from PJO, it's an organization from Halo-verse. But I am not allowed to say more, I apologize (spoilers).
Darth Ralan – Who is Six's real father (and thus how he came to life) will be explained in the future chapters, and thus I apologize, but I won't spoil the surprise.
Guest (1) – to be honest, we can't really blame Hestia here. Even if she is a nice and cool aunty, she is still a greek goddess, and while she knew it was rude, the old family habits took over - greek gods aren't exactly accustomed to someone resisting them in any way.
Guest (2) – You honestly hate how I have portrayed Dot… Well, there's nothing I can do about it. But, from your comment I can tell that you have never read the first chapters of this story, nor have you ever played Halo… But since you are not here anymore, I guess explaining anything is not even worth it…
Guest (3) – Well, he will (much later in the story) essentially learn about the end of the war.
Brave2000 – He is just a Spartan. I know that after this chapter what I said might be confusing but I will explain everything in the future.
WhatDidIDoToGetHere – Well, here is the problem with Chiron and the entire camp. While it is sad that he trained the best heroes, you just cannot see it in the books. And while I think it would be awesome to have a more militarized Camp Half-blood (like Camp Jupiter I guess), it would simply be very conflicting with the lore of PJO. As for Six being too dependent on Auntie Dot… Well, we must remember that as of now, Six found himself in an unfamiliar scenario – the one in which his AI has more information.
STARKILLE10R – I don't think the future Artemis left anything. As for Artemis learning anything about the future – spoilers…
Flash – Thank you! That is what I exactly had in mind with Six being a bit more dependent on Dot!
HaloZealotDemoniu – I was so touched by this comment. Thank you!
Guest (4) – Thanks! As for the Hestia... Well, yes, she is far from perfect and she knows it – in a way she is aware of her own hypocrisy. Then again, many people in history also turned into hypocrisy when the things they love got involved, so I guess this only makes Hestia even more human-like.
Austin – First, let's not make Bianca into second Calisto. As for Hestia, well, I have already said I think in the previous comment. And sadly, no, I don't plan any other crossover to create. I don't think I have the time to make more stories (and I don't think any readers would like to wait even more time for Out of Reach updates). I apologize, but it is what it is. Oh and thank you for informing me about what happened to abysswalker stories.
Guest (5) – Well, "mate", the thing is – they kinda are close-minded people. Auntie Dot was not too long ago just a dumb AI, while Six is a biological weapon with trauma. They live in a world where none of the mythological stuff exists, and as far as they knew it never did. And adaptiveness does not always come in pair with being open-minded.
ParadoxTheory374 – "Insert angry Hestia enjoyer noises".
Trninjakiller – All my writing schedules – as well as the current progress for my every work - are regularly updated on my discord server.
FriggleBerry – Well, aside from the oldest chapters, Out of Reach chapters usually get around 10k+ words – not counting me answering any comments or my author's notes. Which means around 90 percent of every update is a pure chapter. I don't need to fluff any of my chapters. Besides, PMing people with answers? Really? So that I would receive 100+ PMs with further questions? While I don't mind PMs from fans, answering every comment via PMs would bring chaos.
PaladinSans – No, Spartans are purely humans. And let's leave it like that.
As for the rest - thank you all for your positive comments and opinions about this story. I am always touched by your positivity and I am glad you're enjoying it so far. And thus, once again - thank you very much.
And that is it for now! Visit my discord - discord . gg/ pghekDe - and see ya in the next chapter!