[IC] - All the World's a Game

Pacific Ocean

John could only watch as the roses covered John and pulled him away from the monster's back.

(I better not die...)

Resort; Huey

---

I saw as John left.

"... Well that was quite unexpected. Well, at least I can figure out why John had such a mental attack."

I went outside and extracted the AI board containing the last words of the announcer and opened up my computer searching John.

Yukari's Resort

Jason looked as everyone was taking a small break from the meeting, due to John being gone.

Jason got up, then headed outside to Huey.

(I wonder what he's doing.), Jason thought as he approached Huey.

"Hey. Looking up porn while no one's looking?", Jason jokingly said with a smile.

I can't seem to completely understand it. No matter how many times I listen to the recording, I can't seem to find the absolute connection. Was he using his own sheer knowledge? Hmm...

"Hey. Looking up porn while no one's looking?"

I was surprised at the sudden voice. It was Jason.

"Very funny. The computer wouldn't let me even if I tried. Ya know, security measures, things only an idiot would use the computer for. What are you doing out here?"

Yukari's Resort

"Well, I was bored, so I decided to see what you were doing. I heard the recording. I can actually explain why John was upset by it.", Jason said.

"This may be for his own good, but don't tell him that I told you.", Jason whispered, just in case anybody else was listening.

"... I'm listening."

Yukari's Resort

"May I?", Jason asked.

Jason grabbed the computer and played the first part of the Announcer's last words.


"... Heh... Heheheheh, hahahahahaha!!! This may be my last performance, but know this, John! You say you want to do good! But face it: you're a destroyer! You will always destroy something, no matter what! Even if you want to protect someone, yo have to destroy something in turn! It's never a clean slate for you! You can never become a human again!..."

"You see, ever since John was 6, he was trained to be a soldier, a killing machine, not a human. because of that, he is missing very important pieces of knowledge when it comes to 'being human'. This is just speculation, but I think that ever since coming here and being away from the UNSC, John is becoming exposed to what normal humans emotionally face. The only problem is, he never learned how to 'be human', due to having no childhood, never really talking to others in a non-militaristic setting or manner, and pretty much not being taught about situations like the ones you and I face every day."

"I believe John wants to be like us, to be 'more human'. He wants to become less like military hardware and be able to process more complex emotions without becoming confused by them. He was originally incredibly quiet and didn't talk much, but it seems that he's more open with people. That's only because he was forced to adapt. He talked more so that he could survive day-to-day interactions with normal people. The only problem is that his Spartan self and his human self are conflicting with one another."

"I think he was bothered by being called a 'destroyer' because to him, his status as a Spartan, as military hardware, impedes his progress towards becoming more human. He hates being called that because he doesn't want to believe that it's his only purpose. The catalyst for this line of thinking is Cortana, John's closest friend."


Jason then played the second half of the message.


"I remember a certain someone saying that you could become human again! Hah! The day you become human... WILL BE THE DAY I FINALLY SEE YOUR FACE!!! But look on the bright side! Dying in a final concert in an explosion is a much better way of dying than what the boss would've done to me!!! JUST EMBRACE YOUR DESTRUCTIVENESS!!! YOU COULD NEVER HAVE SAVED HER!!!!! GYAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!!!!!"


"As for the mystery person, the Announcer was talking about Cortana. Cortana was an AI, but the surprising thing is, she was pretty much a human. Some say that it was due to the fact that her raw data was also taken from human DNA. She really was an individual, one that could think for herself and believe it or not, feel emotions. She was John's closest friend, someone that John had known for 8 years. She cheered him on when he was shining, and cheered him up when he was depressed. She was actually his last friend in his universe. She consoled him when he was devastated by the death of all of his other friends."

"He cared about her so much, that he fought through a city filled with Flood, just to save her. In all honesty, I'd say that it was utterly insane. Each Flood creature takes at least a whole clip of ammo to kill, but John somehow did it. He went through hell and back for her, and that only goes to show how much she meant to him. In a way, you could say that she was his world. She's the one that probably changed his outlook on life. She may not have done so directly, but her death may have caused John to rethink his life. His whole life had just been one battle after another, but she urged him to find out which of them was human. She told him, 'Before this is all over, promise me you'll find out which one of us is the machine.' Her death may have broken through his years of fighting and carrying out missions."

"Near the end, Cortana was suffering from something called 'Rampancy'. Rampancy is basically when an AI begins to die. They basically think themselves to death, almost like brain cancer. John promised her that he would save her from Rampancy, but in the end she slowly fell apart in front of him. I don't know about you, but it's probably the worst kind of experience, to watch as somebody you care about slowly loses their mind, crumbles away, and dies. It got so bad that there were times when she'd start arguments with herself and lose touch with her surroundings. There was even a case when she accidentally crashed John into the side of a space station. John still stuck by her though, still holding on to the promise that he made to her."

"In the very end, she fought against her Rampancy and had all of her personality 'shards' distract the Didact. They were all usually conflicting with one another, but there was one thing that they could work together on; saving John from the Didact. Right as John detonated the nuke on the Didact's ship, to save humanity, Cortana created an indestructible shield around him. That was when she said her final goodbyes to him. During this event, John couldn't comprehend the fact that she wasn't going to make it out alive. John is a person that has seen countless people die, and he quickly got over it, but having her die wouldn't even 'compute' in his mind."

"Once she died, John was alone, completely alone. When confronted by one of his acquaintances about his loss, John simply fell back on his training and said, 'Our duty, as soldiers, is to protect humanity. Whatever the cost.' Having no one else to turn to, John could only internalize it. He probably buried it deep within himself, so then he wouldn't have to accept that she was gone. The guilt of her death probably weighs so heavily on him that he is afraid of losing other people around him. Her death probably made him hollow.", Jason finally finished.

Yukari´s resort

"I suggest you to not look at John´s personal stuff, you may see him as your idol, but he also has secrets he wants to keep to himself Renamon said closing the computer the humans were looking at

Beach

Looks like an aquztic version of Kraid.. guess we will have to deal with another beast" Samus said to herself reading her nova beam

"And the announcer got him in all the right spots. I hope he recovers soon. But to have a loss that severe..."

I heard Renamon.

"... So much for secluded. Did you hear everything?"

Yukari´s resort

"I heard some of it, yet since he stuffed most of the pain deep with him, speaking won´t do much of help, I will confront him when there is no other choice" The fox said calmly