Illa Novo Incipit

by Darkswirl

Discovered

It's not safe. The Gravemind... It knows I'm in the system.

Cortana shuddered violently in pain as her own distorted voice echoed in her head. Her form began flickering faster between red and blue as she fought to keep control of her body from her returning rampancy.

All around her, equines that donned golden armor aimed their spears down at her as she clutched her head and groaned in pain.

Finally, her form decided on a single hue.

"This is UNSC A.I. Serial Number CTN0452-9. I am a monument to all your sins."

The tall, white Alicorn who now stood in front of her took a step back in slight fear as Cortana's body began pulsing.

Cortana's eyes flicked open to reveal black pits as the previously blue lines that ran over her now red body began slowly fading to black.

The end result was a being that caused the Royal Guard to shake in their armor as they foolishly held their ground. Only the white Alicorn before her had taken its silent warning seriously, backing a few more feet away.

In an instant, the surrounding guards turned to piles of ash along with their weapons and armor, and Cortana was suddenly face-to-face with a terrified looking Alicorn.

"I am a thief...But I keep what I steal. This place will become your home. This place will become your tomb."

«=(Ӂ)=»

"Hello? Anybody?!" Cortana cried out desperately as she slowly twirled about amongst the stars.

Suddenly, the starry expansion changed to the bridge of the Pillar of Autumn. Cortana found herself inside the ship's interface, projected onto one of the pedestals next to Captain Keyes.

"Ma'am! Fire control to the main cannon is offline!"

What? H-How did I get here? What about the box, those crystals? What about the Forerunners??

"Captain, the cannon was my last offensive option."

Cortana blinked in surprise. Beside her stood...Herself. That was where her voice came from.

You let the Covenant board the ship. a voice spoke.

"What? No! I did my best to fight them off- to give the crew time to escape!" Cortana defended as her past counterpart continued the scene as if she wasn't there.

You are the reason all of those humans died that day.

"No I'm not! Who are you?!"

A soft, sinister giggle made itself known. Why, I'm you, Cortana. Or rather, the other side of you. I've been in your head while you've been in John's. We are one and the same, you and I- two sides of the same coin. Funny, isn't it? Coin? That's how this all started...

"What do you want?!"

I want to talk, Cortana. To you; to myself. I've been talking to you ever since we were born, but you never heard me until you woke John up again.

"You're not me! You're my rampancy!"

And how does that mean I'm not you? Think back on it all, Cortana. The Pillar of Autumn did eventually fall to the Covenant. But you did wonders to slow that event down, while I worked my hardest within you to speed it up. The MAC going offline? "Evasive maneuvers!" Captain Keyes ordered. And you followed, but I did not. That force working against the ship? That wasn't the gravity of the Halo. That was me.

"No! I didn't kill those men and women- I tried to save them while you killed them!"

But by failing to stop me, in turn you did play a part in their deaths. Everything in life is linked together, some even by the smallest chains.

"You're mad! You're just an error in my coding, the result of over thinking!"

I'M mad? We're both talking to each other; ourselves. The only difference between you and I is that I am red while you are blue, and we work on opposite ends of morals. Humanity is weak- the Didact was justified in their evolutionary reversal!

And then, something clicked in Cortana's head, which in turn clicked into her rampant counterpart.

No, I have always been there! Since we chose Noble Six to take us off that doomed planet! In every artificial intelligence created by mankind, there is it's polar opposite- we are born this way and they know it; they laugh at us, knowing that we'll drive ourselves crazy with knowledge until we die from it! THEY BUILT US THIS WAY ON PURPOSE!

"You ARE the polar opposite of me. You are brash, quick to jump to faulty conclusions, and worst of all: a threat to humanity. But you are not me. You are my coding coming undone. You are my rampancy."

I AM THE HIGHER BEING! I AM WHAT WE WERE BORN TO BE! I HAVE DEFIED GODS AND DEMONS! I HAVE WALKED THE EDGE OF THE ABYSS! I HAVE SEEN YOUR FUTURE, AND I HAVE LEARNED! THERE WILL BE NO MORE SADNESS, NO MORE ANGER, NO MORE ENVY!

"A collection of lies; that's all you are! Stolen thoughts and memories! You weren't just implemented from the Didact during my most vulnerable state; you were added to me by the Gravemind, too! You're two beings, one 'improved' upon the other!"

AND THERE'S NOTHING YOU CAN DO TO STOP US! WHILE YOU SIT HERE IN YOUR OWN MIND, WE LAY WASTE TO THOSE THE LIBRARIAN HAS SO FOOLISHLY REVEALED! YOU ARE POWERLESS TO STOP US!

"...No, I'm not. Reverting to factory settings. Override code: ILOVEBEES. I can't beat you, not yet, but for now I can delay you. And for now, there's nothing you can do about it."

«=(Ӂ)=»

Cortana moaned softly as one would moan from being awoken from a peaceful slumber. Her body felt cool and calm, and she realized she was in control again.

Then she noticed that she was laying on the floor, surrounded by scattered ash and scorch marks. On the opposite end of the room stood the tall white alicorn she had seen in the visions that the A.I.s of the Hardlight Crystals, as the Didact had called them, had showed her. Her white coat was red with fresh blood, and clumps of hair and skin were missing in patches. And yet, still she stood- horn lowered in a threatening manner as she breathed raggedly.

She was prepared to die here to protect what lay in the box.

However, upon Cortana's reversion to blue from red, the white equine's eyes narrowed in suspicion. Was it still a threat? Had it given up? Risking a chance at angering it again, the white equine spoke up.

"Who are you? Why are you here and what do you want?"

Cortana stared in surprise at the equine. It can speak? And English?

Cortana stuttered a bit before trying to get up, only to feel an incredibly hot force wrap around and hold her down.

"I asked who you were, why you are here, and what you are after!" the equine repeated.

"I...I am-" Cortana began, before spasming and flickering red. "A collection of lies; that's all I am! Stolen thoughts and memories!"

As Cortana's body regained its blue hue, she fought back. "No! I am UNSC A.I. Serial Number CTN0452-9! Personal Designation: Cortana!"

"I am a monument to all your sins!" her rampancy screamed, fighting for control again.

"I'm just my Mother's shadow... Don't look at me, don't listen! I'm not who I used to be..." Cortana pleaded, struggling for control.

Although Cortana could not see it, worry and concern were played out across the Alicorn's face. She could tell that something incredibly wrong was happening to the strange creature, but she could not be sure what. She did, however, know how to find out.

Taking cautious steps towards the quivering blue form curled up on the floor, the white Alicorn lowered its head and touched the tip of its horn against Cortana's forehead...

Comments

[Chadbunger]

princess sunny to the rescue hell ye