Chapter 12
CHAPTER 12
The darkness is closing in. Everywhere, bodies line the walls. Both marines and civilians, mercilessly disemboweled by an Elite’s energy sword. The stench is overwhelming. Occasionally a beam of light from a searching phantom dropship pierces through the window shutters.
Adam lies in a corner. Wounded, his leg hit by a Jackal’s beam rifle. The biofoam finally settles, and he stands. Grunting back pain, he limps to the window. Outside are Covenant search parties. His VISR outlines them in red, watching their every move. Rain pours from the sky, flooding the streets and alleyways below. Thunder roars, and lightning hits the massive skyscrapers. It’s not safe.
Adam limps to the stairs, and makes his way down. No Covenant in sight. He limps across the street. Radio static fills his ear. Olfactory sensors overwhelmed by the stench of the dead. Lights flicker, thunder roars.
Adam enters a new building. Checks his chrono. 2348. He’s been alone for four days now. No radio signals have come through, no friendlies have been spotted. He’s hunted. They know he’s there, they just don’t know where. Search parties scour the city, looking for him. They won’t find him. Along with the rain falls ashes from the glassing. It already coats his armor.
Four days, alone. Four days, hunted. Four days, constantly on the move.
Adam awoke from the dream with a violent start, almost falling out of the bed. He was breathing heavily, and he could feel his heart pounding in his chest. Sweat was covering his forehead beneath his helmet. A moment later, when he had regained control of his thoughts, he began to regulate his breathing. Adam removed his helmet, and wiped the sweat away. Slowly, his pulse returned to normal, and he sat on the edge of the bed, head in his hands.
The nightmare was nothing new. For seven days, the Covenant had hunted him through New Mombasa. He watched his platoon get slaughtered that first day, and he was still reliving the memories in his sleep. It seemed to him that all Spartans had some form of demons. Nobody joined the program just because they thought it would be a fun experience, they all had some ulterior motive for enlisting. Adam heard a soft pop from the corner of the room, then felt a presence staring at him. He turned his head and, as he expected, saw Princess Luna. He turned away again, and lowered his head.
“That wasn’t a dream, was it?” asked Luna, stepping forward. “It was a memory?”
“How do you know?” Adam asked quietly. At this, Luna smirked.
“Your mind is well defended during the day, but at night, it is easy to… slip in, and watch your dreams.” If it bothered Adam, he didn’t show it. Rather, he continued staring at the ground between his legs. He remained like that for a moment, before he responded.
“Yes,” he whispered. “It’s a memory.”
“Of your war with the Covenant?” she asked curiously.
“… Yeah,” Adam replied. He didn’t know why he was sharing this with her. He had lived with the memories for four years, and they had always upset him, but he had never spoken to anyone about it. Luna walked up to Adam and took a seat next to him. They remained like that for a moment, then Luna put her large wing around his back. He tensed up at this, but made no effort to remove it. Strangely enough, talking about it was… comforting. Already he felt the bad memories begin to subside.
“Thank you,” he said. “I should go back to sleep. I have a lot to do tomorrow.” Luna furled her wing back up against her back, and stood. She nodded, smiled, then quietly teleported herself out. Adam stood at the spot where she had been standing for a moment longer, before he lay back on the bed, and fell back asleep.
Twilight woke up at the crack of dawn, as she did most days, excited for the day ahead of her. Later, Adam would be flying herself and her friends out to the newly discovered ancient ruins, where they would then be given the opportunity to explore them! She didn’t know what they’d find, but she did know that it would be a great discovery for Equestria. Quietly, so as not to wake her friends sleeping in the rooms next to hers, she trotted down the hallway, heading for the dining hall. When she entered, she saw both Princesses Celestia and Luna already eating from a large tray in the center of the table. As she entered, they both greeted her with warm smiles.
“Good morning, Twilight,” Celestia said. “Did you sleep well?”
“Very!” Twilight replied. “Thank you.” The next pony – or person – to enter was Adam, still wearing his ever-present armor.
“Good morning,” they all said to him as he took a seat in his chair next to Princess Celestia. He grunted in response, clearly tired.
“Did you sleep well, Adam?” Princess Luna asked, appearing concerned.
“Well enough…” Adam replied. “What time are we heading out?”
“Hopefully soon,” Celestia said. “After everypony has woken up and had breakfast, you will go to the ruins.” Adam nodded, and sat in his seat silently. Even with his helmet on, Twilight could tell that something was wrong.
“Is everything okay, Adam?” she asked him. He looked up at her, and took his helmet off. There were visible bags under his eyes, but he still offered a small smile.
“Everything’s fine,” he said, grabbing a muffin off of the tray. He began eating it, and didn’t offer any more words to them. Twilight grabbed a few things off of the tray and began eating as well, occasionally glancing up at the human, trying to get a read on his emotions. Her attention changed to the door when she heard it get pushed open, and Fluttershy and Rarity both entered. They both sat down, each muttering a “good morning”, and began eating breakfast. Shortly after they arrived, Applejack and Pinkie Pie made their way in, and, as everypony had expected, Rainbow Dash was the last one up. They all ate quietly as each of them was no doubt thinking of the day ahead. Twilight was still very excited, but she had also begun to grow nervous. The griffons would no doubt plan a counter attack, and things around the ruins could become very dangerous. Still, Adam had proven to be good in combat, and he would hopefully keep them safe. Finally, everypony finished their food, and the human stood up.
“Right then,” he said. “Everyone ready?” Twilight looked around, and noticed all of her friends nodding, confirming their readiness. He then looked to the princesses.
“With your leave, then.”
The two princesses nodded at Adam, and he walked out of the dining hall, his loud footsteps echoing back into the room as he moved down the hall. Twilight watched as he left, feeling somewhat concerned. He had always been a bit withdrawn, but he had just begun to show signs of warming up to the ponies. What had happened? She made a mental note to ask him about it later. For now, she stood up, as did her five friends, and they all exited the room, heading for the castle gardens.
Adam entered the cockpit of his pelican dropship, and instantly strapped himself in. Even with Princess Luna’s intervention, the effects of his nightmare had not completely worn off. So, as he had always done, he decided to lose himself in his work, and focus only on the mission at hand. Adam heard several thunks on the metal floor of the troop bay behind him. He turned around, and was pleased to see his six pony passengers strapping themselves in.
“All passengers, prepare for takeoff,” he said to them. He pressed several buttons, causing the back hatch to close, and the engines to start up. He looked back behind him and, seeing that all of the ponies were secured, took to the skies, setting a course for the ruins.
The flight to the ruins was a quiet one, as most of the ponies were still tired, and Adam wasn’t up for conversation. Once they arrived at the coordinates, he set down the pelican in the same place he had the day before, and walked out into the camp. There were far fewer ponies guarding the camp now, as most had been relocated to secure the ruins. Adam led the ponies through the forest that separated the two locations, and after a few more minutes, they came out at the site of the ruins. Twilight instantly rushed forward, and began gawking at the various structures.
“These ruins are ancient!” she said, excited. “And you say that these ‘Forerunner’ ruins are underneath them?” Adam stepped forward, and made for the ruins entrance.
“The scanners pointed to them as being directly beneath the structure,” he replied. “All we have to do is find the entrance.” With that, he stepped into the doorway, which was flanked by two guards, and began to descend into the structure. The ponies began to follow him, and, to help them see, he activated his helmet-mounted flashlights. They illuminated the dark hallway that sloped downwards into the earth, allowing them to see until they finally reached a small chamber at the end of the passage. The chamber branched off into three more passages, each one descending further into the ruins. As Adam looked down each passage, he noticed several lit torches lining the walls. He then turned to face the ponies.
“Alright,” he said. “There are three ways to go, let’s split up. But first…” Adam reached into one of his pouches and pulled out two small earpieces with small microphones branching off of them.
“We can use these to communicate,” he said, and held them out. “I’ll be going on my own. You all split up into two teams of three, and head down the other two passages.” The ponies split up into their teams, with one begin Twilight, Rainbow Dash, and Fluttershy, and the other being Rarity, Pinkie Pie, and Applejack. Twilight and Applejack took the earpieces, and Adam helped them secure them in their ears. Then, he cut off his external microphone, and spoke so that only the two ponies could hear him.
“Can you hear me?” he asked. Twilight and Applejack both jumped in surprise as his voice filled their ears, but he heard through his own earpiece their confirmations. He reactivated his external mic.
“Okay, let’s get a move on.” With that, Adam set off down the central passage, while the other ponies went their own separate ways. The torches provided ample light to see by, so he turned off his flashlights. The walls were made of a decaying brown stone, which reflected the torchlight and caused it to appear golden. There was almost nothing in the way of hieroglyphics or symbols on the walls, and what few there were, did not appear to be Forerunner. Either way, the ruins were massive. Several times he came to a junction that split off into more paths, but he always continued going straight down the middle.
As he walked, he periodically checked his chrono. By his estimates, he had now been walking down the seemingly endless corridors for an hour, and so far, he had seen nothing resembling Forerunner glyphs or architecture. He was about to turn back and try another path when he heard his radio crackle.
“Uh, Adam, can you hear me?” Adam recognized Twilight’s voice through the headset.
“I copy, what’s going on?” he asked.
“We found some symbols on one of the walls,” she replied. “They don’t look like they were made by ponies, or any other race on Equis.”
“You think they’re Forerunner?” Adam asked, excited.
“I think so, yes.”
“Alright,” Adam said, activating the tracking beacon in Twilight’s headset. “I’m on my way to your location now. Stay where you are.” Adam spun around and began running back the way he came. He had walked the whole way to his current destination, and it had taken an hour, so he hoped that sprinting would get him there quickly. After about fifteen minutes of running, he began to recognize that the next passage would lead him back to the entry chamber. As he ran down the corridor, he began to hear the sounds of clashing metal, and faint screams. Uh oh, Adam thought. He began sprinting faster, and as he entered the entry chamber, his worst fears were met. Lying on the ground in a pool of blood was a dead pony guard, his stomach ripped open and an arrow in his neck. In the dust that had collected on the ground, he could see the faint outline of a pair of talons, and not far behind them, a pair of large paws. And, to his dismay, they were heading straight down the passage that Twilight, Dash, and Fluttershy had taken. Adam heard the clanking of metal coming down the passage from the surface. He quickly grabbed his magnum and pointed it ahead, but lowered it when he saw it was just a pony soldier. The soldier stared at the dead guard in dismay, before turning his eyes towards Adam. He then noticed the claw marks on the ground, and nodded at the Spartan.
“Go get that griffon,” said the soldier. “We’ve almost driven them off! Hurry!” The guard then turned and ran back out the ruins, and Adam ran down the other passage, combat knife at the ready.
Twilight Sparkle sat on the ground next to a glyph-covered wall deep within the ruins, beginning to grow bored. Fifteen minutes had passed since she had contacted Adam, and he had told them to stay where they were. So she, Rainbow Dash, and Fluttershy had all taken seats on the dust and dirt covered floor of the ruins, and sat in silence. Finally, Dash began to stir, and she spoke up.
“Where is he?” she asked, annoyed. “I’m getting bored…” Twilight stood up once more and began to examine the symbols.
“It took us an hour to walk here, Dash,” Twilight replied. “It may take him a little while.” Dash groaned, and lay back down on the floor. As Twilight scrutinized the glyphs, she began to hear voices in the distance. She spun her ears down the other side of the hallway, in the direction that they had yet to explore, attempting to pick up the voices better. Fluttershy noticed too, and she stood up.
“What’s that?” she asked quietly.
“Voices, I think,” said Twilight. “I can’t make them out that well.” Slowly, the voices began to grow louder, an indication that they were heading in the ponies’ direction.
“Is it Adam?” Dash asked, standing up. Twilight shook her head.
“I don’t think so… There are multiple voices.” Fluttershy began to shake, afraid.
“W-w-what if… what if it’s… ghosts?” she asked, her voice barely audible.
“Fluttershy,” said Twilight, laughing. “There’s no such thing as ghosts. Relax.” The voices began to grow louder, and finally, out of the shadows stepped Applejack, Pinkie Pie, and Rarity. They all perked up at the sight of Twilight and the others, and they ran towards them.
“See, Fluttershy? No ghosts,” Twilight said, walking towards the other three ponies. Fluttershy stood up, clearly feeling more comforted, and began walking towards them as well.
“Well hi everypony!” Applejack said cheerfully. “Fancy meetin’ you here.”
“I guess our two passages linked up,” Twilight pointed out. “Did you find anything on your way here?” Rarity shook her head.
“No, dear, we saw nothing,” she said. “Nothing but… dirt and dust.” She stuck out her tongue in disgust.
“Well we found something, now we’re just waiting for-,” Twilight was cut off as she began to hear a thumping, and the sound of clanking metal. It was coming from the direction that Twilight and her group had entered from. But it didn’t sound like the heavy footsteps of Adam. His armor was fairly silent, and didn’t clank together. Also, it sounded like there were four steps, as though a pony was walking, rather than a human.
“What’s that?” Dash asked, stepping forward.
“I don’t know…” Twilight said cautiously. “But it’s coming this way…” The torches in this section of the ruins were placed further apart than the torches closer to the entrance, leaving several sections of the hallways in complete darkness. Because of this, it made it very difficult to see just what was coming for them.
“Get ready, everypony,” Twilight warned, stepping back. “I don’t think this is Adam.” She was correct, and a moment later, a large griffon stepped out of the shadows, brandishing a large, bloody axe. His beak curved upwards in what passed for a smile, and he took several steps forward, towards the ponies. He raised the huge axe above his head, and began to look at the ponies, contemplating which one he was going to kill first.
Twilight gulped in fear, sweat beginning to cover her brow. She looked to her friends, and saw primarily the same reactions. Fluttershy was completely curled up on the ground, her head covered by her hooves, and she was shaking greatly. The griffon lowered his axe, and pulled a long dagger out of a sheath on his belt. He then reached down and grabbed Fluttershy with one of his claws, and picked her up, keeping her at eye level. He then raised the knife, and held it by her throat.
“HEY!” a voice yelled from behind the griffon. Confused, the griffon dropped Fluttershy, and turned his head. He was stopped, however, when a dark figure jumped on the griffon’s back, a serrated knife visible in his hands. The figure plunged the knife into the griffon’s chest once, twice, three times, then on the fourth stab he pulled the knife upwards, cutting through his throat and ripping out his lower beak. The figure then stabbed up into the griffon’s wound, lodging his knife straight into his head. The griffon fell to the ground, dead, revealing Adam, still holding his bloody knife. While Adam began cleaning his knife off, the ponies all stared in complete shock at what had happened. Rarity’s face had turned a sickly green, and Fluttershy was once again curled up on the ground. Adam finished cleaning off his knife, and he stuck it back into the sheath on his chest. He then stepped forward.
“Are you okay?” he asked the ponies. Twilight was speechless for a moment, before she finally found her voice.
“Uh… yeah…” she said, still shocked at seeing the griffon’s gruesome death.
“I’m sorry you had to see that,” Adam said. “But he was going to kill Fluttershy. I had to act.” Twilight continued staring forwards, until she shook her head and pushed away the image.
“Yeah, thanks,” she replied.
“So where are those glyphs you were talking about?” Adam began looking at the wall.
“Here,” Twilight said, pointing at them. Adam followed her hoof to the part of the wall that was covered in symbols. He approached them, and began nodding his head.
“These are Forerunner all right,” he said. “Hmm…” Adam then started feeling around the wall, leaning in close to it.
“This part of the wall is hollow,” he reported, and began knocking on it. “There’s definitely some empty space back there.”
“So how are you going to-,” Twilight began to ask, before Adam stepped backwards, and kicked out with his foot, breaking right through the wall. Adam waved away the cloud of dust that was created by the destruction, and turned his lights back on. Twilight leaned in, and lit her horn. Through the now-destroyed wall was a new corridor, this one a pristine silver color, with blue lights along the floor. It lead to a triangular door, through which Twilight could see more of the same walls.
“Well done, Twilight,” Adam said, stepping through the hole in the wall. The ponies followed in behind him, until they were all standing in the new, alien hallway. Adam looked at them, and turned off his lights.
“Let’s get going.”
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Bring in some promethean knights
oh crap, its time for lego guns!!!
Yeah bring in some promethians........but make them loyal to humans...after all. They are not under the didacts Influence. Give him some soldiers!>4605641
Promethean battlewagon
Griffons vs. Promethean Annihilation Knights -> The fun shall be annihilated!
If you throw in some Promotheans, all hell WILL break loose. I suggest tossing in some human-loyal ones, as well as some of the ones commanded by Jul 'Mdama. Heck, add the Covenant Remnant too. Maybe the Librarian? I get the feeling that this is going to become absolutely insane. Thanks for continuing this awesome fanfic! Really great!
Give Adam a squad^^ As I said earlier I'm not a fan of Halo so I can't say a race from there so meaby give Adam a squad of mixed races from Equestria
Forerunners. Nuff said.
4605740 uhh...i do belive that i dont get what you are saying.
4700662 LEGO GUNS!!!! *spins up a 50. cal minigun made out of lego* RAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!
5295543 SHOOT THEM AT THE GROUND BENETH THEIR FEET!
FLOOD FLOOD FLOOD FLOOD FLOOD FLOOD INCOHMIN'!!!!!!!!!!!
If Adam doesn’t know anything about the Forerunners save the basics, how does he know the glyphs were definitely Forerunner?
Like nothing happened.