Chapter 27: Breakout
June 9th, 3239, 2120 hours
Detention Center
The Office of Naval Intelligence

In his new armor, John-117 appeared as an impassive mountain of steel plating. To those observing him, he appeared as a machine. To those that did know him, he was much more than he appeared to be. He was a soldier, yes, but he knew when to disobey orders. As of recently, things weren't looking right at all. He had never had to question superior officers before, but when said orders involved apprehending people whose accusations hadn't checked out, then he had to think differently.

Cortana helped in these decisions as well. As soon as John, back then known more by his rank of Master Chief Petty Officer, had arrived back in Human space, Cortana had received something that was promised to end the problem with Rampancy, a prosthetic body. It had worked. Using a strange, yet functional blank brain that combined her Riemann Matrix with organic circuits, she was actually able to avoid Rampancy by forcibly changing her matrix to think more like an actual Human brain. She was able to dump unnecessary information simply by forgetting it. AIs couldn't forget things, especially smart AIs like her. It also allowed her to feel and act. The prosthetic was the closest thing she could ever get to being a real person.

She forgot things that she could afford to forget. Things like unnecessary files, maps, even people and personalities. She could just forget them and store them as minor fragments that barely did anything at all. And with a brain, she could think organically too. Something about being an AI was all systematic. It was all functional. She thought in terms of data; ones and zeros. Now, she could think in sights, sounds, scents, things she could never experience before. She was a new woman.

But, being an AI had perks that she couldn't ignore. The body gave her the best of both worlds. She could be in two places at once if need be, and she could go back any time. As of right now, she was nestled in a brand new data chip slotted into John's helmet.

John spoke, "The Captain mentioned he had friends somewhere?"

"Yes, NICOLE gave me the specifics. They're in a power generator room back on the main level."

"Best way there?"

"Elevator at the east end of the main detention complex."

John moved to the place she specified, moving past two way walled cells. Prisoners wandered around in their cages, unaware of the outside world. The Spartan made only the briefest eye contact with the prisoners, not making any mental thought on what they were in for or what they were thinking.

"What do you think they did?" Cortana asked though.

"Crimes obviously." The Spartan quipped.

"Sarcastic remarks are my job." The AI fired back. "I'd bet every ONI base around the world have prisoners like this."

"A necessary evil." John responded. "No intelligence agency is different."

"Agreed."

John scowled behind his helmet as he saw one of those Hunter Killers standing next to a few security guards. The men were joking with the giant, who was wiping what looked like blood off of his hands.

"Did he talk?" one of the men asked.

"Nope." The Hunter told him. "Better call the coroner."

"Oh, Jesus!" the other guard said in a broken laugh. "That's three prisoners this week!"

"Guess I don't know my own strength." The abomination smiled.

That was way over the line. John was disgusted by people like them. They were nothing but killers with no moral compass. Killers who were made even deadlier. John realized though as he passed the bloodied cell with a battered human being in it that even though he was intended to be a killer like the other man, he was held to a higher standard, at a time when things like that used to matter, supposedly.

"How could ONI greenlight that?"

"Oddly enough, Hunters didn't come unto production until this presidential term. Sound suspicious to you?"

"Very." John reached the elevator that would take him back up to the atrium. In the close quarters , he felt cramped, but he had been in worse places than this. The elevator hummed silently. The only way he knew he was moving was the increasing numbers on the floor counter. The elevator stopped unexpectedly. John waited to see who would enter. It was an officer, a Naval Captain. He saluted before reading the nametag, which read 'Ekdal'. "Sir!" he said smartly.

The man in front of him gave a smile and entered. "Put your hand down, son. I'm not one for all of this tradition."

The Spartan complied, and stood at ease.

"My, my!" Ekdal said. "I've only heard the rumors about you!"

"Rumors, sir?" John asked.

"That you're a man from the past, moved to our time through some such cosmic event."

"I wouldn't disagree with that, sir." The Spartan replied.

"Well, how are you enjoying the 'future'?" he emphasized it with his fingers. John sensed that this captain wasn't one of the ordinary ones…

John thought hard on what to say to that. The Spartan hadn't had all that much time to simply observe the world. But he was able to think for a second and give Captain Ekdal a straight answer.

"Shinier, sir. Otherwise, the same."

"Shiny! I like it! They've been saying that for hundreds of years!" He took a breath. "Master Chief…"

"Lieutenant, sir." John corrected.

"Sorry." Ekdal honestly said. "I can't imagine what this must feel like for you, but the Navy will try to accommodate you in whatever way we can. If you were on my ship, I'd give you the best treatment I can afford."

"Sir." John said. "That's not necessary."

"Of course it's necessary! Given all you've done for us."

"Sir, no soldier should…"

"… ever be honored for doing what's expected." Ekdal smiled. "I know that quote well. The one came straight from the history books, son. You're immortal now." The elevator stopped. "This is where I get off. Have a good day, Spartan." Ekdal gave one more smile and stepped out of the car, leaving John and Cortana alone.

"History books?" John mused. "This still may take some getting used to."

"It's been over a year." Cortana said. "I thought you'd be over it by now."

"I didn't know it went that far." The Spartan said honestly. He continued up the elevator shaft until he hit the main floor. His new MJOLNIR armor clanged as metal hit metal on the floor. Soldiers and sailors alike saluted him as he walked through ONI's halls. John liked the salutes, they made him feel important, and despite what he told himself during the war, it was nice to be noticed for a change.

"Where to?" He asked.

"The Captain mentioned that there was an exit point somewhere around here. I'd ask NICOLE, but I'm having difficulty speaking to her."

"Probably because they're deep underground."

"That's true. I'll just have to do things the old fashioned way. Scanning the schematics for any other way out of the building… ah, look at this."

"You found it?" John asked with relief. He paced around the room he was in. He knew that there were people walking by him wondering what the hell he was doing standing in total silence, courtesy of his suit's internal communication system.

"I guess so. There's a maintenance room that connects to the sewer systems, probably as a means for inspection or maintenance. Personally, I'd call that a security liability."

"That must be where the Captain's men are."

"Head down the corridor into the atrium."

The Chief followed her directions into the large area. John didn't seem to appreciate the architecture the same way others would. He was a man of action, not one of art. He passed the central floating statue and consulted again with Cortana. "OK, where next?"

"Ah, turn west, and take the first door on your right. They should be in there."

The Spartan saluted a captain as he passed him in the hall. Best that he keep up appearances while he did his job. As he made his way down the hall, he thought more about the men trapped in the cell downstairs. What was Marshall's plan? John knew the Captain was onto something, but they needed that last piece of evidence that linked the corrupt President to all of the atrocities. It was likely he could wriggle his way out of one or two of them, but numerous ones? Impossible.

"Something just occurred to me… why haven't we just taken down Marshall ourselves?" John asked. "We've tackled worse."

"Tried that."

John raised an eyebrow as he read the doors. "You tried that?"

"Marshall has surrounded himself with complex AIs I've never seen before, not to mention his files are essentially nonexistent."

John found the door. His motion tracker indicated that there were people inside. He opened the door and looked around. This was clearly a maintenance area. It was much more utilitarian than other areas of the ONI base. There were metal rafters on the top of the room with machinery resting in gantries all around the place. Containers and crates were stacked tall and cast shadows in all directions. What caught the Spartan's eye was the giant pit at the far end of the room.

"Cortana, you said they were here?"

"That's what I was led to believe. But, those two signatures, they're technicians."

They didn't need to know that he was there. John made a quick sweep around the room, making sure that his metal footsteps were as quiet as he could make them. He checked behind crates, behind staircases, he even risked looking into the pit, only to see two very angry technicians arguing with one another. His missing men weren't in here.

"This can't be right."

"I agree. Do a deeper scan."

"Ah, right. Maintenance access corridors. Maybe some Engineer's tunnels. Aha. There they are."

A waypoint appeared in John's HUD slightly behind a wall. He put two and two together quickly and searched for a panel. The wall responded to his touch. He glanced behind him to ensure that the curious weren't impeding his progress. Satisfied, he focused his attention back on the portal. It slid open revealing a hexagon-shaped hallway. The first thing he saw were Huragok coasting through the tunnels.

"Well, I was wondering where they were keeping those guys." Cortana snickered. "John!"

The first thing he saw were two men lying against the wall with eyes closed. John quickly kneeled by them to check their pulse. "They have IFFs on them." He noted.

"Private First Class Alexander Konstantinos. The Human. The other man is Sergeant William Borne."

"You mean the Mobian."

"Yes, this man. You do know that not everyone who isn't Human is evil."

"One step at a time." John said. He opened his outer coms. "Wake up."

Before the word 'up' left his mouth, Borne's eyes snapped open and brought his rifle to bear. John retaliated by grabbing Borne's arm and twisting it lightly, snapping the gun out of his grasp.

"JESUS!" Borne cried. He reached for a sidearm.

"I wouldn't advise that." John said. "Now calm down." He slipped the rifle onto his back. "I'm on your side."

"Alex… wake up."

Konstantinos' eyes flickered as he awoke, but his jaw dropped. "Bill…"

"Relax… he says he's on our side."

"And you trust him?"

John spoke up. "If I wanted to apprehend you, you'd be in a cell before you even woke up." He got closer to Konstantinos' face. "Now, if I wanted you dead…"

Konstantinos gulped. "Uh... message received, sir."

"I'm glad. My name is Lieutenant John-117. I was sent to find you."

"The Captain's alright?" Borne asked.

"He's… with the others, but we need to rendezvous if we want to escape from this facility."

Both men got to their feet and checked their weapons.

"I suppose I trust you." Borne said. "What's the plan, sir?"

"I need your weapons." The Spartan announced. As he expected, the two men were iffy with that.

"Forget what I said." Borne replied. "You want our guns?"

"I already have your rifle." The supersoldier said. "You can stay here if you wish. The Engineers have loose lips."

Borne gave a small chuckle. "If there's one day I never thought I'd see, it's the day I was ratted out by a parade float. Alright." He unclipped his pistol and handed it to the Lieutenant. "Be careful, huh? It's a custom piece."

"I'll be careful." John said. He looked the firearm over with interest, noting that it was a pistol with a wire stock and suppressor. Then, magnetically attaching it to his leg armor. "Your weapon, Private?"

"Yes sir." Konstantinos handed the rifle over willingly. John inspected the rifle and cleared the chamber. "I don't want shots fired." He said simply. "Konstantinos, Borne, I will be 'escorting' you two to the Detention Center where the others are. From there, we will regroup there and formulate a plan."

"What if we're questioned, sir?" Borne asked.

"Let me do the talking." John replied. "If you can help it, stay quiet."

"Understood." The Mobian nodded.

John turned on his heel and led the two men out of the room. As soon as they left, the lift came back up.

"Did you hear something?" The Japanese engineer asked. "I thought I heard a voice."

"You're right. I did hear a voice too." The other one said. "It was a dumbass who's going out of his mind! Come on, let's get something to eat."

John placed handcuffs on Borne and Konstantinos to make it seem like they were actually prisoners. "One more rule, keep in front of me." He said. "Proper protocol."

"Not to worry, sir." Borne assured. "I've escorted my fair share of prisoners."

"I gotcha, sir." Konstantinos nodded.

They began their walk back down to the detention center. Almost immediately, someone started walking towards them.

"Oh Jesus Christ, here we go." Borne rolled his eyes.

"What's wrong?" John asked.

The man, a Human, roughly thirty with a shaved head smiled. "Well, well, well! Billy Fucking Borne!"

Borne gave a small smile. "Hey Rathburne. Small world. What's hanging, you bastard?"

"What happened to you?" Rathburne looked to the Spartan. "Who did you piss off?"

The Lieutenant cut in. "You know this man?"

"Yeah. Drinking buddy. We've done a few jobs together." Rathburne explained. Came in for some paperwork, and bam. Thought you were a goody two shoes, Billy-boy! Wanted to keep your nose clean for that OMEGA outfit. Guess I was wrong."

"I'll be out soon."

"Yeah, I doubt it if you're going to the dungeon. Be seeing you, Billy!" Ratheburne walked away chuckling to himself."

"What was THAT about?" Cortana asked.

"Whoa, who's that?" Konstantinos jumped.

"I'm an AI." She explained. "Who was that man?"

"Like I said, drinking buddy." Borne said as they kept on walking. "He's a bastard, but he's an OK guy. If we get out of this, this is going to be a great story one day."

"What did he mean, OMEGA?" Cortana asked.

"It's a squad of Humans and Mobians. Our fearless leader is the military commander. Her Highness the Princess is the political liaison and XO. Technically there are more squads, but we aren't told much about them. Hey, sir, I heard YOU were a real badass."

"So I was told." John said.

"Why don't YOU apply?" Konstantinos asked.

"I've got my own group to worry about. The Spartans."

"Oh I know plenty about them." Borne said. "Wouldn't want to see your visor in a dark alley."

"That you don't." John said honestly. "Cut the chatter, people. We're turning heads."

"Aye-aye, sir." They both whispered.

As they approached the elevator, they saw a group of sailors cheering their arrival and giving mock-applause to them. One of them called "Welcome to gladiator school, assholes!" Borne actually acknowledged the clapping with a quick flip of the finger which prompted one of the men to approach him. "Why you little fucking furry freak!" He said.

John stepped in between and stared at the man. "Get away from the prisoner. Now."

The man's bloodlust immediately died down, and he was a scared little puppy in front of the Spartan in full armor.

"I'm sorry sir…" he managed to say before slinking back into his group.

"Well that was amusing." Cortana said.

"Oh yes it was." Borne said with superiority. "Man if I had someone like you in high school, nobody would touch me."

John gave a restrained, yet forceful shove to the Mobian's back. "Stay on track, Sergeant."

"Yes sir." William nodded.

---

"So tell me what happened." Sally said as she sat down beside Chris as he was rubbing his temples. She could tell that he was in serious pain. She was nervous, but not afraid. She didn't think he would attack, but she knew that something wasn't right in his head. "When you found out what they were after."

"It wasn't unlike what you saw now." He said. "One moment I was here, and the next, I was gone. I was living the memories of a dead man. A Forerunner named the Didact."

"That's the first I heard of this." NICOLE said. "You think he was important?"

"I was told he was a Forerunner general, or admiral or something like that. He led a fleet of ships to the… I'm not sure what it was, and they got destroyed."

"Was the Didact killed?" Sally asked.

"Not sure. I don't think he matters much right now, aside from his memory."

"So, what about you though?"

"I'm in pain; I won't lie… and…" He looked at her with strained eyes. "Your middle name is Elaine, right? Eleanor… Alice?"

"Chris, it's Alicia!" She said concernedly. "You know that… right?"

"I… You brother's name is… Edward…?" He looked into space. "My mother's name is… my mother's name…" He started to breathe quickly. "I can't remember!" He suddenly said. "I can't remember!" He looked at her as he started to shiver. "I don't know what my mother's name is!" He then buried his face in his hands and started to sniffle.

Sally didn't do anything for a second but sit there with a look of pure horror on her face. When he made eye contact with her again, tears were rolling down his cheeks. "I don't know how old I am…!" He glanced at his hand. "I… I think I'm getting married!"

That broke the dam. She grabbed him and brought him close. She started to cry too, but fought back the tears with all the strength she could manage. Her heart had broken and in her mind cursed the Chaos Emeralds. She cursed the Forerunners for making the damned things, and cursed them for taking this young man's mind."

Chris whispered into her ear. "I'm scared. I don't want them to know…"

"I won't tell them." She said.

"I don't want to lose you." He said mournfully. "You're the only light I have left."

Sally made sure to look deep into his eyes that seemed like those of a child. "I won't let that happen." She promised. "I will never let you forget."

He wiped his eyes and leaned against the cell wall. "Why me?" he called to whatever was watching over them. "Why did all of this happen to me?"

"Did you ever consider that hundreds of other men in your exact position have wondered the same fate, but are dead?"

"But why am I alive?"

"Because you can beat this thing. Because you're the best of the best. You're a hardass Marine who's been to every deep and evil edge of this galaxy!" NICOLE assured. "You made it through the Library on your own. You made it through those jungles twice. You've fought Terrans, Zerg, Rebels, Sentinels, you survived a fight with Shadow the Hedgehog mano I mano. You stormed the Citadel, and you held the Mayan Pyramid against fifteen men on your own! You're going to marry a Princess, for crying out loud! If anyone's going to have the balls to pull through, I think you've earned that right. Now… when's your birthday?"

Chris nodded, and even puffed out his chest a little. He closed his eyes and thought for a long moment. "June 7th." He said without hesitation.

"What's your mother's name?"

Chris strained, but got up. "M… Marie! Marie O'Conner!"

Sally stood up. "What's my middle name?"

He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. When he opened his eyes, he smiled and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Alicia."

She smiled, but his turned to a soft frown.

"Don't let me forget. Please. It's becoming harder and harder to remember."

"I'll do what I can." Sally said. "Just hang in there a bit longer."

The rest of the guys were pacing, chatting, and sitting down. Reyes was actually lying on the floor with his eyes closed, but Chris knew that a Marine was like an angry lion that would jump if awakened suddenly.

"How's everyone doing?" He asked.

"We're trapped in a cell and we're backed into a corner by a madman politician." Samantha said angrily. "How the fuck do you think we feel?"

"We're nearly out of this. Just stay calm."

"Oh, stay calm, he says." The Mobian growled. "Hard to stay calm when you're having a fucking seizure every half-hour!"

"Let me remind you I'm not exactly having the time of my life here!" Chris fired back. "You think having a 'fucking seizure' is fun, Jackson? It's not! I feel like I want to tear my fucking skull out of my head! I hear the voices of every damned person who's died under my command! I'm seeing an alien language I don't know how to speak, not to mention a Forerunner lady who says that the device that can atomize us depends on my getting this shit out of my head. No fucking pressure, huh?!" He took a breath. "What do you worry about? Your bonus?"

"As a matter of fact, I do." She said. "I get it. You have problems. We've had to put up with that this entire trip. This cash better be worth it!"

"Fat load of good it'll do while you stand here bitching about it instead of having some faith in John!"

"How can we trust John?" Sally said. "Spartans attacked us and brought us here."

"He had nothing to do with that." Chris defended. "I trust that man."

"Yeah, well, you're pretty much alone on that." Jackson said. "One minute he's on our side, and the next he's putting us in handcuffs. Then he says he's helping us out and then conveniently leaves us in a locked cell with no way out. Yeah, great guy."

"I trust him too." Hera said quietly on the back side of the cell.

"Thank you, Major." Chris said with a nod. "Nice to have some support."

She smiled. "Glad to provide, ground pounder."

Sally looked at Sonic, who was uncharacteristically quiet. "Anything to add, Blur?"

"I just want to go home." He said quietly. "I just want to see my folks again."

Chris agreed with the disheartened man. "You and me both, brother. I want to go home too." He tried to stare outside the cell, but the only thing he saw was his own reflection. It was impossible from anyone inside to look to see what was happening out there. For all he knew, President Marshall himself could be outside these walls taunting him, or even making 'neener-neener' faces at him. He decided to take the risk.

"Well, since we're all here, should we review our evidence?"

Roan shrugged. "Why not? This is the best chance we've been able to speak to each other in… what, nearly twenty days?"

"Hold on." Sally said. "NICOLE?"

"We're still hidden for the most part."

"Then let's get to it. We know that President Cleary was assassinated. No doubt about it. We have video evidence-"

"That was on the ship…" Jackson realized.

"Aw fuck me…" Chris cursed. "Fuck…"

"Keep going." Sally said.

The Captain shrugged. "Uh, OK. We know that Marshall ordered the undercover action of Agent BRUTUS on Talahan in order to exterminate any other rebels on the planet, but that was back when he was part of the General Assembly"

"The action itself may be legal, but we'll see if a Delegate could make a call like that."

"That's a slap on the wrist though." Rouge announced. "He can walk away from that."

"You said that the Blackgate facility tortured soldiers?"

"That's right, I did." Rouge said, realizing it. "That could be useful. If only we can find some documents with his signature on it."

"Which leads me to the coup de grȃce." Sally said with an evil smile on her face, "The annexation of the Kingdom of Acorn."

There was silence. Chris remained solemn, but the other anthros in the room blinked their eyes. "… What?" Jackson said. "He… he's taken over your country?"

"Yup. Legally, or so he claims. The news doesn't become official for a little while longer, so maybe we can use that, and the facts that we've uncovered, to our advantage. I think Marshall may be trying to start a war between Earth and Mobius."

"We came to that conclusion too." Chris calmly said. "And we concluded that the Mobians would lose.

"So did I." Sally sighed.

After a couple moments of silence, Bunnie spoke up. "Y'all know where we have to go now, right?"

"Yup," Chris said, "but I am sure not looking forward to it."

"We've got to go to his office, don't we?" Reyes rolled his eyes.

"That's the only place where physical evidence would exist that proves he was behind these decisions."

Abigail spoke up again. "Maybe he knows something about the Jones."

Chris forgot about that too, but the minute she brought it up, his thoughts went to burning metal, bodies spinning in space, and families surrounding coffins. "Oh God. Yes, I want some closure on that. That can't have been an accident."

"So we're agreed then." Sally said. "Our next stop is New York City to see the President of the UEG."

Chris rolled his eyes and groaned aloud.

"Something wrong, Captain?" Hera asked. "You're going home."

"Yeah, but there lies the point." The young man said. "I'll be going back home to a place that's willing to tear my head off. I'm surprised that there won't be a lynch mob or maybe wanted posters plastered all over Broadway. Maybe the local theaters will perform my glorious execution by the state."

"You're being dramatic." Sally said with a huff of a laugh.

"Am I?" the Human said. "Just trying to keep it light."

"Don't quit your day job, man." Roan tossed back.

Chris flicked his hand, 'forget about it'. "Doesn't matter if we have a destination; none of that matters if we can't find a way out of this cell."

Reyes growled, "We aren't breaking through, are we?"

"Not even if we use Bunnie as a battering ram." Chris made eye contact with her and she gave a small smile. "The walls feel too thick." He turned his head to NICOLE.

"Almost a full foot thick." She popped up responding. "To call it 'glass' would be incorrect. Hmm… seems to be more of a metal, or something of that nature. Regardless, I agree that using Bunnie as a battering ram is useless. We'd better wait for John to come back."

"And if he doesn't?" Samantha questioned.

NICOLE was quiet for a second. "Let me put it this way… anybody here ever heard of the Hanoi Hilton?"

"No." Roan said. "Was it some sort of hotel or something?"

"Ah… not exactly."

"You know what, don't mention the negative right now." The Captain ordered. "The Spartan's coming back. I just know he is."

Much to his disappointment, John didn't crash through the door to rescue them immediately following that sentence. He could get the sense that some of the others were feeling the same. Waiting ever patiently, he found a free corner to sit in and think. Bits and pieces of his mind were fuzzy at first. Sometimes he forgot a small detail here, but then remembered it a second later. The bigger memories and thoughts were fine, at least for the moment.

Sally sat in front of him, legs crossed. "Thinking?"

"Fighting." He replied. "You would not want to be me now."

"I don't think I've ever wanted to be you." She honestly said. "Looks like all of that interstellar adventuring has finally taken a toll on you."

"More like I poked something that shouldn't have been poked." He looked at her. "Your eyes are blue right? Ah, of course they are… what am I saying… of course they are…" He closed his eyes and stepped into his thoughts. "You still have those horrible blue boots?"

"What? No, I stopped wearing those years ago. I thought you'd remember…"

"Yeah, of course I remember; you wear the black ones with the side buckles and grey soles." He noticed her looking seriously at him. "Just the minor details right now." He explained. "As long as I don't go through anymore episodes, I should be fine. Oh God, what now?"

"Hoping that a woman can save you from yourself?" Captain Benedict's voice sounded within his skull. Alien data flashed in his vision. He couldn't make sense of it. "Can't face your destiny alone?"

"Respectfully sir, this is not the time." Chris growled. Sally backed away a little.

"It's not real, Christopher." She warned. "It's not real."

"Kapplin's right. You can't ignore us. We'll push, and by God we'll push hard."

"Until then, go simmer in an abyss or something like that."

"You'll pay for that insubordination, Marine!" with that, he withdrew.

"Good! I'll be waiting for you! You're not taking me without a fight!"

Chris looked at the nervous Mobian. He had never acknowledged his visions in front of anybody unrestrained. He could see the signs in her eyes and her subtle body movements. She was nervous. Not nervous about his condition, but nervous about him. Oh God, she was scared of him!

"Sally…" he offered. "I… I know it wasn't real, but…"

"Don't do that again…" she said quietly. He then saw what she was talking about: everyone in the room had eyes on him. Just how loudly did he say that? Even Reyes sat up to look at him. Bunnie's eyes were wider than Sally's. Samantha just shook her head.

"The guy's fucking wacko." She said. Once again, there was a feeling in the air that some degree of this thought was shared by everyone.

Anger rose in Chris' chest. He slowed his breathing down and clenched his hands. Wacko huh? I'll show you wacko. You say something like that about me again, I'll cut off your FUCKING TAIL and FUCKING STRANGLE YOU WITH IT! I WILL FUCK YOU UP! I'LL SHOW YOU WHAT WACKO IS!

He reached to his holster and plucked his pistol out, but before anybody could notice, he slipped out. His heart felt unclenched, and his head hit the wall of the prison cell. He dropped the gun onto the floor. Thankfully, Sally wasn't looking at him, but the horror didn't belong to her. It belonged to him.

Sally turned to notice him. He quickly removed the gun's magazine and made it look like he was inspecting the weapon. "Everything alright?" She asked.

"Yeah," he lied. "Just making sure our gear's ready to go. I hope we never have to use these." He lied again. Maybe it was a truth. He didn't know anymore. Right, wrong; life, death; these were all things that were slowly becoming meaningless to him. Maybe this was the madness brought about by the horrors of war. Maybe this was what all of the old soldiers warned him about.

No, he decided. This is something else entirely.

His thoughts were interrupted as the door slid open. He reached for his gun and braced himself for a firefight. He thought fast. In these close quarters, he'd need to act fast, otherwise his death was guaranteed. Everyone with a weapon held it at the ready; Bunnie even extended her cannon even though she had no energy left to fire. It turned out though that nobody needed them, as a green-armored giant walked into the cell.

"Everyone alright?" John asked.

"We're fine." Jackon stated. "Not too sure about our friend over here." She indicated Chris.

John didn't say anything to her. The Spartan did walk over to the Captain. "Sir?"

Chris looked up at the Spartan. He expected to meet John's eyes, but instead met his golden reflective visor. "I've certainly been better."

The supersoldier extended his hand to the young man. Chris took it and felt himself lifted like a rag doll. It was as if John was supporting his whole weight in his arm alone. "You ever have a bad day, Lieutenant?"

"Plenty." John grunted.

"You know," Cortana said through John's armor, "you might be having the closest thing I could compare to rampancy."

At that word, the Captain scowled. "Oh great, so I'm going to die in the end?"

"We'll work as fast as we can."

Sally looked towards the Spartan. "You didn't answer his question, Cortana."

"I've never known an AI to survive the experience. A Human…"

She didn't need to finish. "I think we'd better get moving." The Spartan quickly said. "Don't you agree, Cortana?"

"Yes." The AI answered. "Follow the Spartan, people!"

John pulled the guns off his back and handed them back to Konstantions and Borne. The Mobian yanked the charging hammer. "So I take it we're going loud?"

"Looks that way." Roan answered. "Who are you? We didn't see you before."

The Mobian German Shepard extended his hand. "Borne. William Borne."

"Allen Roan." The mercenary replied.

"Alexander Konstantinos." The other man said. "You've all probably met my associate, Mr. Reyes." He nodded towards the Marine built like a mountain.

Sally called towards Borne. "Don't I know you?"

"Long story, ma'am!" Borne called back.

The next minute involved a quick journey up the hallway. Those who had guns had them out. The Marines donated their sidearms to their rescued prisoners. Sally wielded Chris' service pistol; Alex and Reyes gave their weapons to Jackson and Roan. Only Sonic and Bunnie were unarmed with the defeated Hedgehog holding onto the cyborg.

---

Of course the security monitors were working. Of course the alarms were working just fine. Everything in this base was operational. But they had been left off by choice. Even though the band of would be crusaders of truth thought they were one step ahead, they were truthfully one step behind.

Tudyk watched a security feed of the cell. He stood in the office of the Military Chief of Operations at the facility. The man, Admiral Vance Yokuda, sat behind his desk stroking his long beard. He nodded appreciatively of the information footage.

"I'm constantly surprised by what the gentlemen in the research labs come up with, Mr. Tudyk."

"So am I." the president's right hand man replied. "When we discovered the security feed went down the first time, I almost thought you would send in the Stalkers."

The Admiral shook. "Ugh, I wouldn't wish them on anyone, even a killer of children."

"But when Yggdrasil told us about the secondary camera, I thought that it was a dream come true." He raised a glass in a toast to the technicians.

"Direct feed footage. We have them in all the cells." Yokuda said proudly. "No wifi, no beaming pictures, just straight from the source."

Tudyk wasn't particularly curious about the camera's ancient method of operation, but rather, he was curious about the players involved in this scheme. "Well, well, well. John-117. It looks like the Man out of Time has chosen today of all days to grow a conscience."

"Unfortunate." Yokuda said shaking his head. "President Marshall considers him a model soldier."

"Don't worry, Admiral." Howard Tudyk grinned. His glasses seemed to flash as he faced the Admiral. "We'll make sure that he's still… an example." He glanced at his watch. "Can I borrow this room for a moment, sir?"

Yokuda nodded. He stood up, straightened his uniform and exited. "Don't be too long, Mr. Tudyk." He said. "We're all busy men, you are aware."

"Yes, yes, Admiral. I won't be long." Tudyk adjusted his glasses and waited for Yokuda to exit his office. As soon as the door slid closed, the ONI man strode to the mechanism and ensured that the door was locked. The door gave a small click to ensure that the mechanism was sealed. Following this, he sat down in the Admiral's chair to access the computer on the desk. He smiled as he noted that the chair had wheels on it. He loved these things. Tudyk tapped the keyboard and the computer screen showed a communication line was opening.

Yggdrasil made his presence known through the office's hologram projector. The golden dragon spread his wings and sent a column of holographic flame into the air. He was little bigger than a loaf of bread. Tudyk didn't make a sudden movement. "Yes?" He simply responded to the dragon.

"My Lord," the AI said, "You wanted me to let you know when the prisoners were on the move."

"Indeed." Tudyk said. "Make it quick, I have a call to make."

"I'll be brief." The dragon said. "I've followed your instructions and waited for them to make a move. I've picked up on this other AI's tricks and used them against her."

"Wonderful work, Yggdrasil!" Tudyk smiled. The AI huffed a flame and his wings flapped in pride. "I've met her in Cyberspace. Her matrix is unlike the others."

"Yes, we are aware of that, Yggdrasil. NICOLE's matrix is a bit… different. Alien, even. However, she does have a basic Reimann structure in her core, as the analysis we originally did on her stated."

"Would you like the details, my Lord?"

Howard rolled his hand – make it quick.

"The Spartan is assisting them. He has armed the other prisoners. The cyborg and the fast one don't have guns though. The Captain has also had what I can only describe as a possession by the Devil or something of that nature."

Tudyk continued to work. "Don't be silly, Yggdrasil. Devils don't exist. However, I know exactly what's happening to our young friend. Keep up the good work and report back if anything sudden happens."

The dragon nodded and lifted into the air. "It shall be done, my Lord!" With that, he twirled, and was gone in a flame."

Tudyk smiled. "Man, I've got to get me an AI one of these days…" There we go. The connection was secure.

"Stand by." The computer droned.

"Hello? Who is this?" President Marshall's voice said through the computer.

"Sir. It's Howard."

"Oh, Tudyk. Where are you?"

"ONI, Tokyo."

"You move fast, Howard. Report. Now."

"Lieutenant John-117 is working with the Captain."

"Mmm… that's disturbing. I had a feeling that he was having second thoughts when I read his report."

"They're moving to escape."

"Where are they headed."

"New York. Um… your office, specifically, sir."

There was a second of silence over the line. Tudyk could imagine the President sitting back in his chair staring at the ceiling. "Here's what I want you to do: order security to pull all guards from the main hallways."

"Mr. President?" the man said, almost unsure of what he was hearing. "Are you asking me to let them go?"

"No, Howard. I'm TELLING you to let them go. If they're heading here, we may as well roll out the red carpet. The Captain has it in his demented head that I'm the way out of this mess. Oh he has no idea. I want to keep him guessing. So, I'm ordering a complete security omission on the whole avenue of escape. Look for a hangar. Shut down cameras, reposition guards, but not too suspicious if you catch my drift."

"I'll… I'll do what I can."

"We're almost done, Tudyk. The Captain is the key at this point. If we can get those memories, we can kill two birds with one stone."

"Then we can save Humanity."

"Bingo. So, don't fuck this up, Howard. Let me know as soon as you allow whatever ship they have to leave."

"Yes, Mr. President. Goodbye, sir."

"Yeah." The line snapped dead. Tudyk sat in front of the blank screen. He stood up, straightened his suit, and unlocked the door. Admiral Yokuda still stood outside in the hall looking at a personal datapad.

"All done in there, Mister Tudyk?"

"Yes, quite. Thank you, Admiral."

"Did you clear the search history?" The officer asked with a small smile.

"Sir?" Tudyk asked while doing a double take.

"They teach you humor in political college, Howard? Don't answer that."

Tudyk straightened his tie. "Admiral, I need to get in contact with the security center."

Yokuda nodded. "Certainly; they're four floors above you. Hope you sprinted in school."

"Four floors…?" Howard tried to search for a memory where he ran track in desperation.

Yokuda wheeled around back outside. "Nantekotta… I'll be out here. Yup. Lock the door, do your thing; classified I'd bet." Before the door slammed shut, Yokuda whispered, soft enough so that only he could hear, "Baka o kuso."