second chapter of Part two. Enjoy! Popping skulls and purple balls. Part two. The robed man's observatory was massive. Stairs lead up to his desk, with many,strange and intriguing items that appeared to be very ancient. In the center of the room there was what appeared to be a hologram of the solar system, showing earth and its neighboring planets. "Where is cortana?" Chief asked the robed man. "Oh, your ghost? She's in the right hands" "Ghost?" It's what we call our artificial intelligence. Every guardian has one. "Where is she." "As I said, she's in the right hands... Oh, here she comes now" Chief turned to see not cortana, but another man in extravagant robes. And in his hand was cortana's chip. "Thpeaker thir, I've brougth the ghoth" The man had a lisp, and a rather, childlike voice. He clutched cortana in his hands, squeezing the chip like it was his life essence. Chief found himself bothered by the way he held her. He would make sure to retrieve Her as quickly as possible. "Ith thith the one the thraveler Thpoke of?" The man asked "the speaker" "The traveler?" Chief asked the speaker "Yes, the one who brought you here. Have a seat please" The chief continued to stand. "Very well, now let me tell you the legacy, of the traveler..." Chief stood there, watching the man continue hold cortana with a death grip. His hand began to sweat around the silver chip. "The traveler came to us in a time when humanity's eyes had just set upon the stars. It came to us, gave us the power to colonize new worlds. Lead us to greater technology, increased our lifespans, and made us stronger. But where ever the traveler went, the darkness followed" "Darkness?" "Yes, the consumer of all living things. It took the light given to us by the traveler and snuffed it out.. One by one, we lost our worlds. Until we were driven back here, to earth.... In the end, the traveler gave the last of its power to protect us from the darkness. Now all we have left is this city, the last city. Where we, the guardians take refuge to continue fighting the darkness." Chief was still trying to comprehend what he was hearing. This was not the history of earth that he knew. Something was wrong. He was not home at all, this was a different earth. How long were they gone for? The highly advanced tech, the... "intelligent" Ai's everywhere. The traveler, which has been revealed to not be forerunner. Has he been gone long enough to awaken to a future where the UNSC has been disbanded? Where humanity's colonies have all been destroyed by an unknown force, this "darkness". Has the flood returned? Chief needed answers, and he needed them now. " I'm going to need that chip" chief said to the other robed man. "I have thpecific orderth from the thp-" "Do as he says." The speaker interrupted. The man looked down, disappointed. And handed chief the chip. Chief placed Cortana back in his helmet "Are you alright?" Chief asked her. "Yes john, I'm fine. I thought I lost you" "I've been hit harder." "Did you.... Just make an attempt at humor? Wow, how hard did you hit your head?" "Cortana, any idea on where this is? This isn't home" "That brings me to inform you of your importance..." The speaker uttered, rather quickly, as if he was nervous about saying it. "I am the speaker of the traveler, I spread the word of its power and spread the word of the traveler itself.... Before your arrival, I received a prophecy from the traveler. That a sage knight would come to us in our time of need, and he would be the one to enter the traveler and bring back its power, ending the darkness, and saving the light.... And here you are, brought to us by the traveler.. To save us" Chief stood there, silent, thinking about the task that has just been placed on his shoulders. Should he help them? But the real question was [i]could[/i] he help them. "Chief?" Cortana spoke, she knew how drastic his decision would be Chief stood silently. Thinking...he had just ended a war. And now he's about to go back to the one thing he'd known his whole life, war.... "I need a weapon." Chief said to the speaker. "Chief, we're going to-" "It could be our only way home." "Then you will help us, very well... But first, I must send you on a task to test your abilities. Warlock jarick here will accompany you to the armory." The speaker, very pleased with chief's decision, gestured to the man revealed to be jarick. The chief left the observatory, with jarick in tow. "Cortana, you never told me how long we were gone" "Four years" a tone of disbelief was in her voice. "But.. I don't think this is [i]our[/i] earth, it could be possible that this, "traveler" opened an inter-dimensional space rift to bring us here. If we get to it. It could possibly send us back. "Then that's what we do. Find the traveler, get home." The chief entered the armory, witnessing the vast selection of weapons that he's never seen before. Far beyond any tech he UNSC could produce. "Well, pick your poison" Cortana joked. And chief cracked a small smile beneath his helmet. "Ho-lee thit" jarick commented as if he had never used any of the armaments. Chief would surely never admit it, but a small part of him was going to enjoy using these... Part 3 coming soon.. EDIT: Read all parts here! https://www.bungie.net/en/Forum/Post/140164991/0/0/1 EDIT 2: Part 3 is up! Head to the link up there! ^