Regret (Halo 2 level)

Regret is the ninth campaign level of Halo 2. Starting from the end of the previous level Delta Halo, the player travels on floating gondolas, in underwater elevators, and through various temple corridors to reach the temple holding the Prophet of Regret.

Transcript
{Cutscene} Cutscene}'

Master Chief starts to walk past a hologram of Prophet of Regret chanting a sermon.


 * Cortana: "Wait, go back."

Master Chief puts Cortana in the holo-projector, her avatar appears.


 * Cortana: "That's what I thought he said. The Prophet of Regret is planning to activate Halo!"


 * John-117: "Are you sure?"

Cortana snaps her fingers, and the hologram starts speaking in English.


 * Prophet of Regret (hologram): "I shall light this holy ring, release its cleansing flame, and burn a path into the divine beyond!"

Cortana snaps her fingers again, and the hologram freezes.


 * Cortana: (smugly) "Pretty much."
 * John-117: "Commander, we've got a problem."


 * Commander Keyes (COM): "So I hear."

The view changes into In Amber Clad's bridge, where Keyes studies a hologram of the Index.


 * Commander Keyes: "But from what I understand, the Prophet will need an object, the Index, to activate the ring."

Commander Keyes changes the hologram to the Library.


 * Commander Keyes: "I've located a Library similar to the one you found on the first Halo. If the rings work the same way, the Index should be inside."


 * Sergeant Johnson (Video COM): "I'll bet the Covenant are thinkin' the exact same thing."


 * Commander Keyes: "Then, we'd better beat them to it, Sergeant. Extract your men, and meet me at the Library."


 * Sergeant Johnson (COM): "Yes, ma'am."

The view changes back to the Chief and Cortana.


 * Commander Keyes (COM): "I'll secure the Index, Chief."

Master Chief puts Cortana back in his armor.


 * Commander Keyes (COM): "You take out the Prophet. He's given us all the intel we need."

{Gameplay}

Testament
''A swarm of Yanme'e descend upon the Chief, shortly followed by a pair of Sangheili. After defeating them, he and two Marines proceed outside, where the ruins are infested with Covenant forces.''


 * Cortana: "You know, I think the Forerunners built these new structures around the old, to protect them, to honor them. Pure speculation, mind you. I'd need to make a thorough survey to be sure."

The Chief and his team engage the Covenant forces, which include a significant number of Kig-Yar Snipers.

If the player lingers:


 * Cortana: "There's some sort of transport system on the far side of that center platform. Let's check it out."

Eventually they are able to proceed to a large platform, just in time to see an anti-gravity gondola being activated and speeds away.


 * Cortana: "I wish I had more time to decipher these inscriptions. The Forerunners revere this place, that much is clear. But was it a temple, or a university... I can't say."

''A group of Kig-Yar Snipers and Sangheili defend the platform. After a while, the Chief and his Marine companions clear the platform. An enemy Phantom appears and drops off a Mgalekgolo pair. After a struggle, the Chief is able to bring the behemoths down.''


 * Commander Keyes (COM): "Cortana, the Covenant are getting nosy. I don't want to give away my position, so I'm rerouting a few stragglers back to you. I apologize; these Pelicans are all the support you're gonna get."


 * Cortana: "Understood, ma'am."

''A Pelican dropship swoops down and releases several Ordnance pods for the team, as well as replacement Marines if the Chief happened to lose any.


 * Cortana: "A gondola's launching from the far towers. Big surprise, it's full of Covenant reinforcements."

''The gondola docks with the platform, and its Covenant passengers, led by a pair of Sangheili attack the team. After all hostiles are eliminated by the Chief:''


 * Cortana: "Well, they were nice enough to bring us a ride."

If either Private Chips Dubbo and/or Sergeant Stacker are with the Chief.


 * Private Chips Dubbo: "Alright, everyone aboard."


 * Sergeant Stacker: "I'll drive."


 * Pvt. Chips Dubbo: "What's to drive? It comes here, it goes there."

Or, alternatively:


 * Stacker: "Alright, into the vehicle. Let's go!"


 * Dubbo: "I'll drive!"

If the player waits around the Gondola.


 * Cortana: "This gondola won't get us all the way to the main temple, but it'll get us close. Let's get on board."

If the player continues to wait:


 * Cortana: "If you hit the activation switch, it should drive itself."

The Chief activates the Gondola.

One-Way Ticket
''The Chief and the two Marines are attacked by a swarm of Yanme'e as they cross the lake. The trio eliminates them.''


 * Cortana: "This lake couldn't have been created by volcanic action, which means it was either built this way on purpose, or was created by some other cataclysmic event... Sorry, were you trying to kill something?"

''Another gondola stops beside the UNSC teams one, sent from the far structure. A pair of Sangheili open fire on the humans while a small group of Yanme'e attempt to board. The Chief kills all Covenant present and the gondola moves on. The UNSC gondola reaches the far structure and the team are forced to deal with several Kig-Yar Snipers and Shade turrets. Moving inside, the team eliminate a large group of Kig-Yar and Yanme'e surrounding an elevator shaft.''


 * Cortana: "Ah, now I see. There's a submerged section that connects these towers to the outlying structures. Looks like we're going down. Unless you'd... prefer to swim."


 * Pvt. Chips Dubbo: "Full car, comin' up!"

''The underwater elevator comes up, ferrying a trio of Kig-Yar. The UNSC take advantage of the closed-in nature of the elevator and kill the Covenant troops.''

If the player waits around for too long:


 * Cortana: "All right, let's see where this elevator goes."

As the Chief and the Marines journey underwater in the elevator, and peer around the murky depths.


 * Cortana: "I've intercepted a secure transmission from Regret's Carrier to something called High Charity. It seems to be a formal apology to the Prophets of Truth and Mercy. Apparently, Regret jumped the gun when he attacked Earth. He's asking the other Prophets to 'forgive his premature arrival', arguing that 'no human presence was foretold.' That explains why there were so few ships in his fleet. But it's odd that a Prophet would have such bad intel about his enemy's homeworld."

''The team enter another structure, clearing out a group of Unggoy in a submerged corridor before entering a large chamber. A protracted battle ensues, in which the team face Sangheili Honor Guardsmen, Kig-Yar Snipers, Yanme'e and a Mgalekgolo pair. Upon successfully clearing the chamber, the Chief and any surviving Marines gaze upon a massive hologram of the Prophet of Regret.''


 * Cortana: "And people say I've got a big head."

If the player stares at Regret's hologram for long enough:


 * Prophet of Regret (hologram): "Most of those we encountered in our search were compelled to join our Union. To take part in moment of promise, Freedom for Allegiance, Salvation for Service! But some, like the Humans, chose to impede our progress. Block our access to sacred sites, damage Holy Relics! For their transgressions, the Humans shall be hunted until none remain alive!"


 * Pvt. Chips Dubbo: "Oh man, he's so dead."

If the player stalls:


 * Cortana: "Keep moving. Let's find our way back to the surface."

''The team leave the chamber and pass through another submerged corridor, eliminating several cloaked Sangheili and Unggoy. The Chief and surviving Marines reach another elevator and go underwater again.''


 * Cortana: "Regret's carrier just received a response from High Charity. A very well encrypted message from the Prophet of Truth. Listen to this: 'Your haste has jeopardized the fulfillment of our Covenant, threatened our grand design. That you shall be spared a public display of our contempt is thanks only to Mercy and his wise counsel.' Truth, Mercy, Regret. Three Prophet Hierarchs. Killing Regret should shake up the Covenant leadership. But frankly, it sounds like you might be doing Truth a favor."

After emerging from the elevator and killing a pair of Sangheili Honor Guardsmen and several dozing Unggoy, the team find another hologram of the Prophet of Regret spouting religious rhetoric.


 * Prophet of Regret (hologram): "Every member of the Covenant shall walk the path. None will be left behind when our Great Journey begins! That is the Prophets' age-old promise. And it shall be fulfilled!"


 * Cortana: "'Great Journey'? Doesn't he know what these rings do?"

The Chief and his team exit the structure, engaging a mixed array of Sangheili, Kig-Yar and Yanme'e. Eventually the UNSC forces clear the area and secure a landing zone.


 * Pelican Pilot (COM): "This is my last run, Chief! I'm nearly out of fuel. We've secured the first tower cluster, so I'll set down there. Call when you're ready for evac."

The Pelican drops off more weapon pods and some Marines.

''The Chief and the Marines clear the next nearby outdoor structure area of Covenant, along with another Phantom's troop complement. Eventually they encounter another gondola which is lightly guarded.''

Note: Only two Marines will follow the Chief.


 * Cortana: "There, another gondola. Looks like it leads straight to the main temple. Not much further now."

Note: Only this dialogue will occur if Chips Dubbo and a male Marine that is not Stacker/Banks are present.


 * Pvt. Chips Dubbo: "Oh, great! We're gonna ride another one of these death-traps!"


 * Marine: "If you forget about the Covenant and the fact we're stuck on some freaky alien world, it's actually kinda fun."

''The Chief starts the gondola. Two Banshees emerge from the mountain behind them.''


 * Commander Keyes (COM): "How's it going, you two?"


 * Cortana: "So far, so good. We're approaching the main temple now."


 * Commander Keyes (COM): "Roger that. I'm as close to the Library as I can get. There's some sort of ... barrier. We're trying to find a way around it. I'll keep you posted."

''The Chief fights off the Banshees, as well as another gondola containing several Sangheili Rangers and high-ranking Unggoy wielding fuel rod guns (only on higher difficulties). As the gondola nears Regret's temple, a mass of Unggoy and Kig-Yar rush to defensive positions, manning several nearby Shade turrets. The team manages to eliminate all Covenant forces as the gondola docks with the temple.''

{Cutscene} Cutscene}'

''The Master Chief walks off the gondola and looks around, then up. There are an uncountable number of Slipspace ruptures, and hundreds of Covenant ships come out of Slipspace, followed by High Charity''.


 * Cortana: "That's the largest Covenant fleet I've ever seen... the largest anyone's ever seen."


 * Cortana: "Get inside the temple and kill Regret, before it can stop us!"

{Gameplay}

Sorry, Were You in the Middle of Something?

 * Pvt. Chips Dubbo: (gazing at High Charity) "Man! Look at the size of that thing!"

If the player stalls:


 * Cortana: "There's no time, Chief. Get inside and take care of the Prophet."

The Chief enters the temple, engaging several Covenant troops.


 * Cortana: "The Covenant fleet has launched multiple waves of Phantoms. Too many for me to track... we don't have much time."


 * Cortana: "There are Honor Guards all over this place! Watch your back."

''The Chief enters the main room. The Prophet of Regret sits on his Gravity throne at the far end of the room.''


 * Cortana: "There's the target, take him out!"

After sighting the Chief, the Prophet talks to him.

Prophet of Regret:

Randomly distributed:


 * "Your very existence offends me, Demon!"


 * "The Great Journey will not be postponed!"


 * "Guards! Remove this vermin from my sight!"


 * "Human filth, you befoul this holy place!"


 * "You dare to interrupt my sermon?!"


 * "Incompetents! I'll kill it myself!"


 * "Are my guards too much for you, Demon? (laughs)"


 * "Warriors! Attack! The Demon must die."


 * "Surely, you can do better than that?"


 * "You shall not hide from me, Demon!"


 * "Why anyone would fear this Demon is beyond me!"


 * "Perhaps you underestimated me, no?"


 * "This is the humans' greatest warrior? (laughs)"


 * "Here I am, human. Slay me if you can!"

If Regret kills the player:


 * Prophet of Regret: "The Demon is no more!  Ha ha ha ha!"

If the player waits around:


 * Cortana: "His throne is shielded! It's deflecting everything you throw at it. Get in close and do whatever you can!"

If the player continues to wait:


 * Cortana: "You've got to get him out of that throne."


 * Cortana: "Quick, board his throne!"

''Despite Regret and his Honor Guards' best efforts to stop the Chief, the Spartan manages to defeat the Prophet by jumping onto his throne and repeatedly punching him in the head, killing him. The Prophet loses control of his throne which crashes, overloads and explodes. Any remaining Covenant in the area start to flee.''


 * Cortana: "Bad news, the Phantoms are turning around. The fleet is preparing to fire on our position. We need to get out of here."

{Cutscene} Cutscene}'

The Master Chief is standing outside the temple (running outside in the Anniversary'' version at a distant rumbling sound). A Covenant ship is directly overhead. An energy projector from a nearby Covenant ship hits the temple and begins destroying it The Chief turns, runs around a corner, and jumps a ledge, landing about several feet below where he was. He runs the entire length of the temple, as the temple starts exploding. He barely makes it off, and is flung into the water, where he slowly begins to sink with other bits of stone from the temple.''

''As the Chief continues to sink, a pair of tentacles (in the Anniversary version just one tentacle) come/comes up from the bottom. A deep, disembodied voice speaks out.''


 * Gravemind: "This is not your grave..."

The tentacle(s) wrap(s) around the Master Chief, dragging him down.


 * Gravemind: "But you are welcome in it."

Level ends.

Glitches

 * Because Regret is the second part of a two-part level, the player's weapons will carry over from Delta Halo, unless one of the weapons is a Rocket Launcher. If the player finishes Delta Halo with a Rocket Launcher, they will start Regret with a Beam Rifle and an SMG. Sometimes the Rocket Launcher the player received in the beginning of Delta Halo will be carried over.
 * Occasionally a graphics glitch will cause the fish to swim through the underwater elevator and its occupants (Marines and Spartans) while the player is traveling between towers.
 * When in the room that leads to the first underwater elevator, if the player has a sniper weapon, they can see the trio of Jackals spawning abruptly in the elevator after the Marine alerts the team of the Jackals' presence.
 * The Regret vacation glitch can be done on this level. It is used to reach many unintended locations throughout the level with multiple methods, like using the Sputnik skull and/or Feather Skull (one of the new skulls from Halo: Master Chief Collection). For example, if player equips Sputnik and Feather, avoids kill barriers, and goes under the lake, it is possible to reach Regret's Shrine, albeit, with a much lower polygonal count and with severely less detail in the original Halo 2 graphics. It is also possible to reach the start of Delta Halo, with the same effects previously mentioned, except drastically less detailed than the former.

Mistakes

 * When the Covenant Fleet jumps in, the noises the jumps make travel at many times the speed of sound. There should be a delay.

Easter eggs

 * The Assassins Skull can be found on this level. Even though it can be found on lower difficulties, its effect will not activate or unlock an achievement.
 * The chant Regret sings throughout the level is a variation of the Gregorian chant from the Halo Theme, though deeper.
 * The HI BEN easter egg can be found on the ceiling in one of the towers before boarding the first gondola.
 * The seventh terminal is a Forerunner terminal in the large submerged room with Kig-Yar Snipers, Yanme'e, Sangheili Honor Guardsmen, and a pair of Mgalekgolo. The terminal is on the upper level, on the pillar behind Prophet of Regret's hologram.

Miscellaneous

 * When on the Gondola to the Main Temple, two Banshees will attack; however, it is impossible to pilot them. Even if the player does manage to kill the pilot and have it land on the Gondola in one piece, the player still wouldn't be able to commandeer them.
 * The Sentinel Wall can be seen in the distance, implying that the area is close to the Library.
 * In the room with the first elevator, a sleeping Grunt and a Fuel Rod Gun beside him can be seen on the top floor.