(A/N) It's finally here! The chapter is ready! 13.5k in three weeks is on time, right? Totally.

One more thing before the chapter, we now have a Discord! Here's the link! 3jf9w8u

So yeah, on with the chapter!

Volume Two

Chapter Sixteen – We Never Went Quietly

/-\ Adam Taurus /-\

I strode into the engine room, ready to meet my… employer there. Waiting for me was the conniving human; the lanky one with the squirrely mustache. He oversaw my men as they carried out a task while poking at a datapad. Suddenly he strode forward and slapped one of them across the face, sending her to the ground.

My new sword was immediately in my hands, the forked blue blade springing to life as I activated it. The human paused as I held it to his throat. "Ah, I did not see you there, Taurus."

My eyes narrowed behind my mask. "Lay a hand on my men again. I dare you."

He turned his head slightly towards me; just enough for me to see his smirk. "Quite an exquisite blade you have there. Tell me, were you unsatisfied with Wilt and Blush? Oh what am I saying, of course you were." He said, eyes narrowing. "Why else would you let someone take it from you?"

"Do you have a death wish?" I asked.

"A better question for yourself, Taurus." He said. "Tell me, what do you believe would happen should you kill me?"

"The world is free of another human oppressor." I answered, instantly.

"That may be true, but let me explain it in terms you can understand." He said. "My employer would not be pleased with my untimely demise. While I am under no illusions that my companions would mourn me, they do as Our Lord commands." He smirked. "And then, not even an army of huntsmen will be able to save you."

I growled, my first instinct being to just cut off his head and be done with it. However… there was that nagging little voice at the back of my head that saw the truth in his words. With a sigh, I deactivated the blade.

"Good." He said…

…before winking out of existence.

I stepped back, surprised.

"Very good." A feminine voice said. Turning to face it, I saw Cinder slowly stalking up to me, her heels clicking on the metal floor. "I have to say, whatever you heard had you quite riled up."

"Yeah, damn shame ya didn't do it." Another voice said from behind me. As I looked, I saw the real Watts stride up, flanked by Cinder's two puppets. "Was really lookin' forward to takin' that glowey blade for myself."

"What is the meaning of this?!" I shouted, only now realizing that my men who had been present only moments ago were gone as well.

Watts huffed. "Don't you understand?" He asked. "It was a test."

"And I have to say that you passed with flying colors." Cinder said. "This little exercise was to remind you of a little fact that you've been forgetting recently." Her eyes narrowed, one even exploding in flames. "You live because we allow it. Should you step out of line, you will not." She said. "There are no 'ifs', 'ands', or 'buts' to that statement. it is simply a fact."

I glared at her through my mask, remaining silent.

"Yes, well, I do believe that is your daily ego trip requirement satisfied, Cinder." Watts suddenly said, striding forward. "Now run along, children. Do whatever it is you do around here. The adults have business to discuss."

She glared at him, the fire surrounding her eye winking out of existence. "He's right. Emerald, Mercury, leave us."

"A- as you wish, Ma'am." The girl said, the two leaving the room a moment later.

Cinder then strode up to Watts. "Will the ship be ready in two days' time?"

He huffed. "Two days? Possibly two weeks if someone teaches these animals how to handle delicate equipment."

"My men are not-"

"You have two days." She said, completely ignoring me. "That is when our window of opportunity is."

"It won't be ready."

"Then I will make it ready." She said, flaring her powers once more. "If technology fails, magic will carry us through. Ensure the modifications are as functional as possible." She then turned to me. "Oh and Adam? There is some… special cargo I'd like you to procure." She whipped out her scroll, typing away at it. "Here are the coordinates." She said, walking out.

I growled. "What am I even looking for?"

She glanced back, smirking. "You'll know."

/-\ Winter Schnee /-\

I slowly opened my eyes, a dull throb in both my head and my leg making me groan. Slowly, the world around me came into focus and I realized I was staring at a stark white ceiling. I looked around, my ears now registering the beeping of a heart rate monitor.

I slowly sat up, trying to remember why I was here in the first place. The answer came after a moment and I hesitantly reached towards my sheets, wanting to see the extent of my-

Someone grabbed my wrist.

Slowly, I looked over to see who it was. "Weiss?" I let out in confusion. "Why are you grabbing my arm?"

"Because you're not ready to go anywhere yet." She said with a flat voice, not even looking up from her scroll.

I blinked. "I… wasn't?" I let out. "I merely wanted to inspect my injuries."

She paused, finally looking at me. "So… you have no desire to go out and fight that… thing that put you here?"

"Weiss, I'm wounded. Why in the world would I-"

She enveloped me in a hug. "You're back…" She let out. "You're finally back."

I slowly returned her embrace. "…I'm not sure what you mean."

She broke away. "You've been waking up sporadically since you got here. Each time, you would rant about needing to fight the Persian and then instantly fall asleep when I inevitably had to push you back into bed."

"I… don't quite know what to say in response to that." I said. "You mentioned a… per-jan?"

"Persian." She repeated. "They were apparently a group from Earth that fought the ancient Spartans, so that's what we've decided to call the… thing that attacked you and Team JNPR."

My eyes widened. "Did… did any of them make it?"

She nodded. "We… we found you just in time. You all made it… Well, all of you except one." She said. "We found his body, but we couldn't…" She looked away. "We had to leave him behind." She shook her head. "The rest of JNPR are in the ICU; Embra was pretty touch and go for a while, but they should all be fully recovered within a few weeks, the doctor said."

"…Only a few weeks?" I asked. "If I recall correctly, Embra was stabbed completely through her stomach by that thing; the Persian."

"Yeah, that's aura for ya." A new voice said.

We both glanced over to the door. "Lieutenant Commander; I didn't hear you come in."

"Eh, knock that off, Wyn. I'm just Ruby outside of class… and ops." Ruby said, carrying in two trays of food as she shut the door with her foot. "If I knew you'd be up, I'd've got ya something too." She said, giving one to my sister and sitting down with her own.

"I appreciate the sentiment, though I'm not particularly hungry." I said. "Also, what did you mean by 'that's aura for you'?"

She shrugged. "With the wounds you guys had? It'd probably take more than a month to heal fully, even with all the flash cloning we did."

"Flash cloning?"

"Yeah, the UNSC can just grow new organs when someone needs them. You got off the easiest with just some skin and a little muscle, Nora needed a new arm, Ren needed a new lung, and Embra needed a new… well, pretty much everything in her stomach." She said, taking a bite of her sandwich.

"Wait, you can replace arms?"

She nodded. "Yeah. She's just got a civilian model right now, but I'm trying to convince Witherson to give her a combat-grade prosthetic. We don't have very many of those though..."

"That would've been nice to know in Menagerie." I said.

She stopped mid-chew, giving me a sheepish grin before swallowing. "Eh… whoops?"

I glanced at Weiss, who rolled her eyes and flicked her partner on the forehead. "So, umm… how do you feel?" She asked.

"I've dealt with worse, to be honest." I said before turning back to Ruby. "When do you think I can be back out in the field?"

"Usually I'd say ask a doctor, buuuuut I happen to be a qualified field-surgeon, so…" She said, peeling back the sheets over my leg. Only now did I notice I was in a hospital gown and not my usual Specialist fatigues.

While she was looking at my injury, I also inspected it. I found it a little odd that the only sign of damage was a ring of sutures on my upper thigh, but she did say that the UNSC gave me more tissue, so I let it slide.

And then she poked the wound.

I flinched; not in pain, but in surprise. "Can you stop?" I asked.

She looked up, meeting my gaze. "Welp, I'd say you're good."

"I'm… good." I repeated. "Are you actually qualified to do this?"

"I mean, technically yes, but-"

"I want a second opinion." I deadpanned.

"Ugh, fine, I'll call the actual doctor. He's just gonna say the same thing, though…" She said, getting up and walking through the door.

/-\ Ruby Rose /-\

I exited their room and headed for the front desk, informing them that Winter was awake and wanted to return to duty. Afterwards, I glanced at Team JNPR's room, wanting to check on them but unable to bring myself to actually do it. Instead, I sat down outside their room, completely unsure of what to do.

Only a moment later, the door opened and Blake wheeled through, stopping in front of me. "So, what's your problem?" She asked.

"Uhh, what do you mean?"

She twitched her Faunus ears. "I heard you sigh and here you are, sitting down." She said. "If you want to go in, just do it. Everyone's still asleep."

"I would but…" I trailed off. "It's hard to explain."

She hummed. "You don't have to; I've seen that look enough in the 'Fang to know what you're feeling." She said. "But I am a bit curious why you think you're responsible for this."

I gave her a look, holding it for a moment before my gaze trailed to the floor once more. "I should've known the covvies were there." I said.

She raised an eyebrow. "How exactly?"

"I don't know, I just should've!" I shouted. "Maybe there was something in the sat data that everyone missed; maybe there's something there that they wanted; maybe it was just the most vulnerable place; maybe there was-"

"Stop." She said. "Ruby, you're being too hard on yourself. You don't know everything, and you can't be everywhere." She sighed. "I thought you of all people would understand that."

"You know damn well I do." I said. "I just… it never gets any better. You don't just… get used to losing people…"

"I don't think it would be healthy if you did." She said.

I shrugged. "Would make it easier, though…"

Suddenly, she lunged forward, enveloping me in a hug as her wheelchair rolled backwards. "Don't." She said. "Just… don't."

I hugged her back, not used to Blake of all people being affectionate.

We stayed that way for a moment in complete silence. "So… this worked out a lot better in my head… can you umm… help me back into my chair now?"

"Uhh, sure." I said, picking her up with ease and depositing her back into the wheelchair.

"Thanks." She said, glancing towards the door. "So umm… I'm gonna go make sure Nora didn't break anything…" She said, wheeling towards the door.

"Hey, Blake?" I said as she reached for the handle. "Thanks… for trying, I mean."

She nodded. "Umm, yeah. Anytime, Ruby."

I stared at the floor as she reentered her room, not really sure what to do. After several minutes just sitting in silence, I decided I should probably go practice with Noble Rose again. Or something.

Anything's better than just sitting there, I suppose.

/-\ Emanuel Witherson /-\

"Alice, bring up the tactical map of the AO." I said, clasping my hands behind my back and turning to the others in the Odinsdottir's war room. Across from me stood General Ironwood, flanked by Professor Ozpin and Lady Of Arms Cyrene of the VDF.

I continued as the topographical map formed on the holotable. "Orbital recon of the area shows the covvies've been digging in their heels in the Volaan mountains and it looks like they've parked what's left of their fleet inside a deep valley." I said. "So, ladies and gentlemen, what can we spare for the assault?"

Ozpin sipped from his mug. "Are we sure an assault is the best option we have?"

I fought the urge to facepalm. "We've dealt with the Covenant for thirty years now. If we have any hope of this planet surviving, we need to smother this thing now. Before their reinforcements arrive."

"You seem… awfully certain that they are on the way, Commander." Cyrene said.

"They always are." I said. "Any time we've managed to rout their first strike force, they've always come back with more."

"Well, I couldn't agree more that we need to crush them." Ironwood said. "Everyone lost someone in the invasion. You'll have no shortage of volunteers among my men."

"But how many men do you have, General?" I asked. "The UNSC, while we're easily the most experienced against the Covenant, still have less than a thousand servicemen at our disposal. Without compromising Reavia's defenses, we can only spare two companies of Marines and a squad of ODSTs." I tisked. "Though our Spartan will obviously be there too."

Ozpin frowned. "If you mean to throw my students against that fortress-"

"I do not, Headmaster." I interrupted. "Even if I was willing to throw children at that thing, they'd be better used defending the kingdom's walls." I said. "Once word gets out that they're so close to Vale…"

"Pandemonium ensues." He finished, taking a long sip of his hot chocolate. "While I do not like the idea of charging my students with the defense of the kingdom… they are more likely to survive that duty than an assault on a foe few have prepared them for."

I nodded, turning to Cyrene. "And what about the VDF? How many men and equipment can you deploy?"

She frowned. "The VDF was never meant as an assault force, but with your ship and your Pelicans, it could be made into one." She said. "With Ozpin's students assisting the defense of the city, I'm confident we can dedicate the majority of our forces to the attack. The council activated the eighth through the thirteenth guard regiments after Atlas fell, with half of them finishing retraining last week."

"That's six thousand men total, correct?" I asked.

"Indeed. Normally, we have two regiments on stand-by. I'm prepared to send four regiments in addition to twenty-four out of our thirty-two landships on this assault. Those plus your own should be-"

I put up my hand to stop her. "Unlike Vale, we don't have any huntsmen to protect Reavia. Without the Scorpions, we'd be completely vulnerable to the larger Grimm."

"Without your Scorpions serving as a QRF, I'm not confident in my own force's ability to-"

Suddenly, Ozpin tapped his cane on the floor. "If I may offer a solution." He started. "I would be willing to lend you a team of professional huntsmen to replace the landships."

I hummed. "Make it two teams." I said. At his raised eyebrow, I elaborated. "Machines don't get tired. Men do."

He stared at me for a moment, his face impassive. "Very well; I'll dispatch two huntsmen teams to Reavia." He said, bringing up his datapad.

"Good. Now all that's left to discuss are the logistics." I said. "And the actual plan."

/-\ Ruby Rose /-\

I hummed a tune to myself, just finishing the reassembly of my currently-fieldstripped Onyx Rose. After racking the bolt and pulling the trigger. Hearing a click, I nodded and slotted a magazine in. I stepped back from the workbench, gathering all my weapons.

I checked my watch; I still had twenty minutes before we left for the op. I shrugged. 'Well, I don't have anything to do, might as well head over.' I thought, starting my walk through the workshop.

"Winter!" I heard as I exited the building. Looking to its source, I saw my partner sit down with her armored-up sister, who was having a cup of tea. My eyes flicked to Weiss's battle rifle, which sat on her back. "I… umm… wanted to wish you luck." She said.

Winter raised an eyebrow. "If anything, it is I who should be wishing you luck, sister. You will be defending the city, after all."

"Yes…" She said, hesitantly. "But I'm not the one dropping feet-first into hell with no training."

"I wouldn't say no training, sister." Winter said. "I have studied tirelessly since I was told of my mission."

"It's only been two days." She sighed. "Regardless, I have a gift for you." She said, unslinging her rifle and placing it on the table. "It served me well in Atlas, and we both know you need a ranged option against… them."

Winter's features softened. "Weiss, I-"

"Upupup!" She interrupted. "You're taking the rifle."

"You're sure about this?"

She nodded. "I'm expected to fight Grimm; Myrtenaster is more than enough for such a task."

Winter gingerly grabbed it and slid it over to her half of the table, cracking a slight smile. "Very well. I'll be sure to return it in mint condition."

"The rifle can be replaced, Winter." She said. "Just make sure you're back in mint condition."

"I'll do my best." She said, getting up from her chair. "But I'm afraid it is time for me to depart."

Weiss nodded, standing and embracing her armored sister. "Show them what it means to be Atlesian."

Winter returned the embrace immediately. "Indeed I will." She said. Suddenly, my scroll's alarm went off, causing them to jump apart and glare at me. "How long were you there?"

I fumbled with my scroll, shutting off the alarm and scratching the back of my head. "Uhh… I just got here?" Their glares intensified. "Okay, fine. I was here the whole time."

"Of course you were..." Weiss let out. "Well, the same goes for you, Ruby. Just because you're a complete and utter oaf sometimes doesn't mean you should throw your life away." She said, a tinge of red dusting her cheeks.

"You know I can't promise I won't wind up in hell, but I can promise it'll be crowded with Covenant when I get there."

She facepalmed. "That is the exact opposite of what I wanted to hear, you know..." She said, walking up and giving me a light shove. "Just go, you big oaf."

I smirked, popping on my helmet. "See ya when we get back, Ice Queen." I said, walking off with Winter.

"In the future, please refrain from eavesdropping on my sister and I." Winter said.

I shrugged. "Eh what can I say? The BR caught my eye." I said as we walked up to the landing pads. Just as we arrived, a pair of Pelicans touched down, each having a SOEIV dangling from their tails.

Winter glanced at me. "And you're sure I'm the correct choice for this?"

"Well, a bit late to back out now, isn't it?" I said. "The other squad of helljumpers are already in the AO by now; we shouldn't keep them waiting." I approached one of the pods, opening the hatch and stowing my weapons before climbing in.

As the hatch closed behind me, I saw Winter's pod doing the same. Moments later, the screens flickered to life, one showing my pod's status and the other showing her face through a depolarized helmet. "You didn't exactly reassure me." She said.

"Eh, I've done this a million times by now. Trust me when I say you'll be fine."

She was silent for a moment. "Promise me you'll let me know if I'm doing something wrong." Winter said as I clicked over to her pod's status.

"Will do, Wyn." I said. "Besides, even if something does go wrong, I know from experience that aura's enough to survive this. Hurts like a bitch, but it is."

"Do I even want to ask?"

"Nope." I said, popping the 'P'. As the word left my mouth, the pod lurched and I was carried up into the sky, Winter giving a slight yelp. "Welp, kick back and enjoy the ride, Wyn. It's gonna be a lot quicker commin' down."

"That's what worries me." She said, sighing. "Why couldn't we have deployed from the dreadnought again?"

"It's a frigate."

"Force of habit." She said.

"Eh, fair enough. It's because we might actually go undetected if we play our cards right."

She huffed. "As if they would miss two metal coffins falling faster than the speed of sound…"

"You'd be surprised." I said. "Sure, these things aren't stealth models, but if you're not looking, they can sneak up on ya."

"I still find it hard to believe."

I clapped my hands together. "Alright, while it isn't very noisy, let's go over the plan again." She nodded, eyes focused on me. "Obviously, first step is we meet up with each other. Then we'll go take out the Tyrant and hold whatever position we need to until we get orders from command."

"Sounds solid, if flexible. Though I must ask… what is a 'Tyrant'?"

I blinked. "Oh, right, I guess you're not caught up on the names yet. A Tyrant is just what we call a heavy Covenant AA battery. It's a heavy plasma cannon that's basically mounted in a mini firebase; pretty tricky to take out with standard ground units."

She hummed. "Weaknesses?"

"Toss a grenade inside the reactor core and I think you can figure out the rest."

She smirked. "It's quite surprising how many problems can be solved via the liberal application of grenades."

"Heh, you're reminding me of a guy I met on Arcadia; guy made a little tower for himself and just would not stop throwing grenades off it when the covvies showed up. Kept screaming about killing things with light and how he was the lord of shacks or something."

"Strange." She said. "I'm assuming he fell against them?"

I shrugged. "No idea, actually. Just finished off the innie base a day or two after the covvies showed up. Heard the planet got glassed, but I guess he technically could've survived in a cave or something."

And then, with a loud thud, I was speeding down towards Remnant; Winter's pod barely visible through my own pod's top window. She let out a loud yelp as her pod shot downwards. "Steady, Wyn. We'll be entering the atmosphere in fifteen seconds. When we do, the pod'll start to shake; that's normal."

"…Roger." She said.

Sure enough, my pod started shaking right when I said it would. I eyed her pod's stats. "Alright, on my mark, I want you to angle your pod up by five degrees. We'll have to walk an extra click or two, but it'll make this a bit easier on your nerves." I said, not mentioning that her heat was rising a little too quickly for my liking. "Three… two… one… mark!"

The heat on both our pods continued to rise, but more manageably; the shaking also reaching its peak. "How ya doin, Wyn?" I asked, radar putting us at thirty kilometers up.

"I'm… okay." She said, her polarized visor not betraying any emotions.

"Good. We're gonna start our rockets soon. You got the controls?"

She nodded. "Yes. I have them."

"Good; set 'em for a fifteen second burn. Three… two… one… mark!"

I was forced into my seat as my pod slammed against me. When they cut out, we were falling at a nice, sedate, half-a-kilometer per second; slowly decelerating as the thickening atmosphere bit into our pods.

"Still good?" I asked.

"The clouds are getting a tad too close for comfort." She said.

"Well, Wyn, we're about to pull our chutes. Got the controls?"

She looked around for a moment. "Yes."

"Good. Three… two… one… mark." I said, once again being forced into my seat. "Alright, now we just have to wait; the computer will handle the rest of the descent."

She sighed in relief as we burst through the clouds, the forested mountains, and the barren valley, becoming visible. In the distance, the half-carrier loomed, a small Covenant base hiding in its shadow.

The rockets suddenly reignited, pinning me to my seat once more. As the ground rushed up, I heard my battle buddy's breathing start to quicken.

"Just breathe, Winter. You'll be fine." I said. "We're already past the most dangerous part."

"A- Acknowledged." She said. "The ground is just… it's coming up far too quickly."

"Why do ya think they call it a suicide burn? It makes ya feel like you're committing suicide."

"That does not fill me with confidence!"

"Well, brace yourself! We're five seconds off the deck!"

Her teeth clenched and her eyes widened. Before she could say actually say anything, our pods slammed into the ground. I didn't see what hers did as mine was sent tumbling down a hillside, violently throwing me against the restraints.

After what felt like hours of being a tossed around like a ragdoll, the pod finally came to a rest. The seals hissed, but only half the explosive bolts triggered. Through my partially shattered windows, I could see the upside-down world outside…

…and the Jackal igniting its shield.

I swore, sending a powerful kick into the pod's door. It flew from its hinges, sailing over the Jackal's head as it squawked in fright. Mistakenly, it raised its shield over its head, giving me a clear shot with Onyx Rose. A single burst was all it took.

I rolled out of the pod, scanning the area and finding nothing. As I turned back to retrieve my weapons, I saw an alien arm stick out from under the SOEIV. Chuckling to myself, I retrieved my weapons. "Winter, Ruby here. How'd ya land?"

It took her a moment to respond. "I'm… alive." She said. "Surprisingly."

"Told ya you'd be fine." I said. "I had a bit of a rough landing, though, you?"

"Aside from slamming into the ground at nearly forty miles an hour… no." She said. "My pod has not opened on its own and I find that somewhat concerning."

"Hit the green buttons; they're the manual override." I said, searching for her on my HUD. "Alright, I've got your beacon; I'm on my way."

"I'll wait for you here."

I climbed up the hill, following the trail of dirt and more than a few smashed trees. After only a minute at jogging pace, I arrived at Winter's pod, my new battle buddy standing beside it.

"I'm guessing the manual release worked." I said.

"Indeed it did." She said. "Now let's get moving. The less time I spend in Covenant territory, the better."

"Couldn't'a said it better myself. Plus, I landed on a covvie patrol; with any luck, they'll assume Grimm got to 'em, buuuuuut…"

"There's no guarantee of that happening." She finished. "Lead the way, Lieutenant Commander."

I nodded, heading off towards our target. The GPS said that we were about ten miles away; a lot further than I thought. "Wyn, ya up for double timing this? At normal marching speed, we're about three hours away."

"And the attack is scheduled in one-hundred-and-sixty minutes." She said. "I don't believe I have a choice in the matter, do I?"

"I could always carry you." I said, a smirk hidden beneath my helmet.

She glared at me, speeding up rather than respond verbally. I easily matched her jogging speed; the pace being more akin to a power walk for my enhanced body. Even specialists like herself had limits, though, and after over an hour of straight jogging with no breaks, I could see that she was at her limit.

"We're taking a break." I said.

She glanced back but didn't say anything. Instead, she gradually slowed down to walking pace. After another minute, she slumped down on a log, removing her helmet and taking several gulps from her canteen.

"How… the hell… are you still… standing?" She asked between breaths.

I shrugged. "Super soldier, remember?"

"That's… not fair." She said.

I smirked, popping off my own helmet and taking a swig of my canteen. "Tell that to the Covenant."

"Well, they appear to have gotten the message." She said, her gaze trailing to the ground.

I nodded. "Hopefully we can corner that thing and kill it today. I don't like it running around where my teammates might find it…" I frowned. "or where my friends did find it…"

She frowned. "I would rather not encounter it at all, myself."

"Someone has to kill it and we've got the best chance out of anyone."

"You, maybe." She said. "I couldn't even track its movements; I'm lucky to be alive at all, let alone combat effective."

"Luck had nothing to do with it; you held out long enough for rescue and that's the end of that."

She gave me a flat look. "I was the only one even remotely capable of still fighting. It was luck."

We lapsed into silence for a few minutes while Winter rested and I pulled security. After we'd been still for ten minutes, I reached into one of my pouches, withdrawing a pair of small pink tablets. "Here; these'll get you back on your feet."

She raised an eyebrow. "These are the same stimulants you gave us before we boarded that carrier, correct?"

"Yep. You know they work."

She hesitated for a moment before swiping and swallowing them with another swig from her canteen. She then popped on her helmet and stood up. "I suppose we should get going."

I nodded. "We'll take it at regular marching pace from now on; we're twenty minutes away and we've got over an hour to actually take it."

"You'll not hear any complaints from me." She said, striding onward.

I quickly caught up to her, keeping my own eyes peeled for any enemy contacts. However, they weren't what caught my attention. Only ten minutes into the march, we came upon something… unexpected.

"Should we report this?" Winter asked, staring ahead. Before us sat half-a-dozen tracked vehicles; all scorched and half-melted.

I shook my head. "We're under radio silence until the attack happens. It'd be a bit suspicious if ya picked up enemy long-range radio traffic from inside your own territory, wouldn't it?"

"I see your point." She said, warily approaching one of the wrecks. "This looks similar to the vehicle that rescued us."

"I'll take your word for it." I said, approaching the same one. The IFV was fairly long with a wedge-shaped prow, a single small turret on its roof. Spotting a cracked-open hatch on the side, I slipped my fingers in and pulled; wrenching the blackened metal fully open.

"Should we really be investigating this? We are on a timetable, after all…"

"Just one quick look-see, Wyn." I said, switching on my helmet's nightvision and peering inside. "Neither Ozpin nor Witherson know where that IFV came from. It miiiiight be a good idea to just get an overview on one or two, quick; if just to figure out if they're even Remnan."

She paused. "That's an unsettling thought…"

"Damn straight…" I said. While I couldn't tell the color of the interior due to my nightvision turning everything green, I could at least guess that it'd be charred black due to the entire other side being melted at one point; likely what knocked the vehicle out in the first place.

I stepped inside, seeing a raised platform underneath the turret where a humanoid figure was slumped against. I slowly approached the cowled and unmoving figure with one hand reaching out and the other resting on Wilt's grip.

I grabbed its shoulder and shook it lightly, half expecting a startled gasp, but instead the only reaction I received was the body slumping to the floor. As it did, I got a glimpse of its legs…

…and the forked feet attached.

I glanced around, looking for any obvious traps and finding none. I looked up at Winter, who was just climbing in the vehicle as well. "Recognize this thing?" I asked, gesturing to the alien.

"I can't see anything in here, do you have a flashlight?"

I sighed, reaching for her tacpad and pressed a few buttons. She visibly flinched after a moment. "What did you do? It says… visor mode enabled?"

"Handy little software package the helljumpers have; makes everything brighter and does a few other things. Just press this button to turn it off when you need to." I said, indicating the specific button. "Now, recognize this asshole?"

She stepped over the platform, peering down at the body. "She looks like one of the people who saved us."

I glanced at her. "You're sure?"

She nodded. "Positive."

My gaze trailed back to the alien. It looked remarkably Human, save for the forked feet, backwards legs, and three-fingered hands; hell, it could even pass for a normal woman with those hidden and maybe some makeup. I shook my head, ensuring I had enough pictures to show Witherson and Foley before standing up and heading out.

"Where are you going?" She asked, following.

I glanced back at her. "I don't know why an alien would help a Human, but I've got all the intel we need right now. It's time to get back to the mission."

"Acknowledged." She said, glancing back to the body before we both exited the vehicle and continued marching.

The rest of the trip went by quickly, my thoughts drifting back to that alien every so often before I refocused on keeping us secure. Soon enough, we were both laying in the bushes, watching the aliens, the Covenant aliens, as they guarded their post.

I silently pulled out Noble Rose, scanning with its scope for any weaknesses. After a minute of searching, a nice plan formed in my head and I switched my sniper for Onyx Rose once more. "They're all bunched up on the eastern side of the compound. A couple well-placed grenades, and all we'll need to worry about are the stragglers."

"The less we have to fight, the better."

"Attagirl; follow my lead." I said, getting up to a crouch and moving out. We kept low as we approached their concentration of soldiers; almost half-a-platoon by my count. They all sat huddled around a box of some kind. When the box started talking, I realized it was a radio.

Suddenly, Winter spoke up. "We still have twenty minutes. Let's see if we can learn anything useful." She whispered. I weighed the options before reluctantly nodding; they'd get blown to hell soon enough.

"Have the most noble hierarchs reached a decision?" A Brute's asked over their radio.

"Indeed, we of the emergency council have." An Elite's voice said. "We find this man, Sal'Makaramee, to be guilty of heresy in the highest degree."

Another Elite's voice, one slightly less deep and with a metallic twinge to it, spoke up. "Guilty?! The only thing I am guilty of is bringing the truth to light! The Humans would not have been granted such powers were it not for the Gods' will! There is just simply-"

Suddenly, plasmafire echoed from the radio, followed by a loud, meaty thump. "Your thoughts, beliefs, and actions have condemned you, heretic." The first Elite said.

One of the Elites present strode forward, shutting off the radio and turning back to the crowd, only staring at them. I glanced at Winter, handing her a frag. "On three." I said, readying my own grenades. "One… two… three!" I shouted, lobbing it into the middle of the crowd.

My frag bounced off a Grunt's head landing in the lap of a Brute sitting with its legs crossed. By the time Winter threw her grenade, I was priming my second. When hers fell to the ground, my first exploded and screams erupted from the crowd.

As the second left my hands, I brought up Onyx Rose and began spraying into them. After all three grenades had gone off and my magazine ran dry, no alien stood alive in the crowd. Others, however, heard the commotion and rushed to their aid.

With Weiss's battle rifle in hand, Winter began shooting at the responding aliens. I slammed a fresh mag into my weapon and charged, downing three foes before I met someone who I actually had to pay attention to.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a flash of plasma; an energy sword. I ducked, the blade sailing over my head as I thrust my barrel into the Elite Major's mouth. It fell and I scanned the area, not finding any more guards.

"Let's get a move on." I said, replacing my half-empty mag as I rushed towards the Tyrant's entrance. "I've got the right!" I said, breaching. A single Grunt stood there, a puddle beneath its feet. Soon, that puddle turned into its own blue blood.

Behind me, I heard Winter squeeze off a few rounds, and looking back, saw her standing atop her own kill. I nodded to her, bashing in the shield door protecting the reactor core. Tossing in a looted plasma grenade, we booked it out of there.

After we exited, the whole thing erupted in blue flames, causing me to smile as I cued my radio. "Command, this is fireteam RedBlizzard; objective complete."

"Roger, RedBlizzard. Sit tight and await further orders. The attack will begin momentarily."

/-\ Oscar Pine /-\

"Brace! Brace! Brace!" The commander shouted over the intercom. I grabbed the bars overhead just in time to keep myself from being thrown about the cabin. "All stations, report in!"

"Portside, we're green!"

"Starboard, same here!"

"Bow here, we're green and very, very mean!"

I looked around and saw someone on the floor bleeding from his head. "Engineering, the loader's knocked out!" I reported.

"Shit! Cerulean, get over there! Pine, take over for her!"

"Yes sir!" I shouted, moving as fast as I could through the corridor. I nodded at the helmeted girl as I passed the ladder to the landship's bridge, our only medic. I reached the starboard sponson only a few moments later, jumping into the vacant machinegunner's seat.

"Port, Pine's here!"

"Roger. We're the only one in the squadron to have a casualty; driver, ahead half!"

"I still think parking these things on top of a bloody airship was a terrible idea." The gunner next to me said off-comms as I saddled up to the viewport. The landship lurched forward and I got a good view of the crashed Bullhead that had dropped us.

"We've got a job to do, soldiers! Zip it unless you see a covvie or a Grimm!"

Our vehicle lumbered on through the flames, shrugging them off as if they were nothing. I heard the engines whine as a loud thunk resounded throughout the hull. Moments later, trees slowly drifted past my viewport, the occasional noise still being heard from up front.

Eventually, another landship rolled alongside us, hanging back enough to where I could still shoot past its bow if I needed to. A fireteam of rangers knelt atop the vehicle, eyes scanning for any threat.

Suddenly, they leaped off as globs of green sailed towards them from the trees. The front armor boiled away nearly instantly, but I could barely hear the main cannon on the far side return fire. Both our landships veered to port, though I still didn't have an angle on the enemy.

"Fire at will!" The commander shouted a moment before the cannon beside me roared, shaking the hull. Another salvo of green plasma came sailing in from the side and hit all around the bow. The metal glowed brightly under the forest's shaded canopy and moments later, the entire upper section of the bow began to slump forward as the walls collapsed.

The landship slowed down dramatically and we matched it, but the machine kept going, both main guns still firing. A crewmember climbed out the top hatch, uniform charred, and mounted the rotary gun that sat just behind their now-sunken bridge.

The gun next to me fired again. I recoiled at the smell of burnt dust as it finally reached me; the stench reminding me of when we'd have to burn plastic back on the farm. Clearing my eyes, I finally saw some movement out my viewport.

Just ahead of their landship, shadows moved throughout the trees.

Just as I was about to call it in, a humanoid body flew in from the distance, clanking against our hull. A big ape stepped out from where the body flew from; one with ornate armor and an equally large hammer. It charged and I immediately opened fire, the rounds plinking off its aura as the gun's stock pounded my shoulder.

Seeing my tracers fly past his bow, the pintle gunner shifted his attention to the ape. Soon after, its aura broke. It barely got another few feet before it faceplanted into the ground, twitching. The cannon fired again and this time I faintly heard a distant explosion over our engines' constant drone.

"Pine!" The intercom blared. "That landship had their mechanics killed in the fight and they're requesting assistance. As soon as we stop, go to them!"

"Y- Yes sir!" I shouted, blanching at the idea of going inside that melting wreck. Just as I finished speaking, a torrent of smaller blue plasma rounds sailed past my viewport.

The cannon next to me boomed again just as the landship started to wheel to the side, slowing to a stop when it was at a forty-five-degree angle to the other one. I practically leaped from the viewport, scurrying to the side hatch. As I opened it, I saw the medic just finish up with the wounded, repacking her medkit.

I undid the huge bolt that secured the hatch shut, readying my revolver if anything was out there. I poked the barrel out along with my head, scanning for targets. Blue plasma flew over the vehicle, but I couldn't see any aliens actually concentrating on me.

The cannon boomed once more, giving me my cue to book it. I passed the now cherry red bow of the other landship and ducked behind their sponson. I pounded on the hatch, the metal hot to the touch.

Just as it opened, I saw a giant blue ball of plasma approach out of the corner of my eye…

/-\ Ruby Rose /-\

I withdrew my knife from the Grunt's neck, immediately flicking it into a nearby Elite that Winter broke the shields of. She nodded to me, bashing in the head of another Grunt with her empty gun before drawing her sword.

I followed, slicing off another Elite's sword arm with Wilt before decapitating the alien. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw my battle buddy finish off a Jackal. I quickly flinged my sword into the back of a retreating Grunt, retrieving it a moment later before scanning the area.

I tisked. "No contacts on the motion tracker." I said.

"This sector looks clear." Winter said, wiping off her sword with a cloth.

I nodded, cuing my mic. "Command, fireteam RedBlizzard; their counterattack on the Tyrant has been blunted."

"Roger, RedBlizzard." Witherson said. "The assault is yellow across the board, but I'm making the call to initiate phase three. Proceed to rally point Blackreach."

"Wilco, heading to rally point Blackreach. Expect us there in an hour if things go well."

"Right on schedule. Command out."

I rolled my shoulders, checking my ammo once more before turning back to Winter. "Welp, breaks over. Let's move, Wyn."

"Have I ever told you that I hate marching?"

/-\ Blake Belladonna /-\

I stared up at the ceiling, having become bored with reading for the time being. I cracked a small smile; I never thought I'd actually get bored of that. One of my ears twitched as I heard the faint rustling of bedsheets. Looking over to the bed next to mine, I saw Nora stirring in her sleep.

I debated getting up for a few moments before grabbing my wheelchair and rolling over to her bed. As I approached, I realized I didn't really know what I was doing, so I just ended up… sitting there; doing nothing.

After a few minutes of watching her toss and turn, her eyes shot open and she gasped. She just laid there for a few moments, slowly catching her breath. "Welcome back to the land of the living." I said.

She slowly turned her head towards me. "Oh umm… hey Blake." She said. "Where am I?"

"Beacon's hospital." I said. "How much do you remember about what happened?"

"I…" She let out, much more subdued than I'd ever seen her. "It's coming back, but right now it's just flashes." She said, squinting. "I remember… we were at the village but ran away when we found the Covenant there. Then we were hiding in a log when Winter brought back that kid and then-" She gasped. "Jaune…" A single tear rolled down her eye. "Did he…?"

My ears flattened against my head. "He's gone."

Her eyes moistened, yet somehow lost a tiny bit of their light. "Jaune is…" She let out, her voice cracking up. "He's…" She sniffed. "Just like that." She let out a low whine before she started convulsing, wailing all the while.

I looked away, feeling that I should do something, but not necessarily knowing what. After a few moments' deliberation, I reached out and-

She hugged me faster than Ruby can throw a punch.

I froze as she sobbed into my shoulder, her prosthetic arm digging into my back somewhat. After a few awkward moments, I returned the embrace. We just sat there, the normally hyper ginger just… crying into my shoulder as I gently rubbed her back.

After what felt like hours, her cries finally quieted down and she fell aslee- "…what about ren… and pyrrha… and winter…" She asked, her voice barely above a whisper.

"Winter fully recovered and she's on a mission. The other two are here, but they haven't woken up yet."

"…can I see 'em?"

"Yeah." I said, loosening my grip on her to wheel us towards Ren's bed. All the while, she clung to me like the sloths she likes so much cling to trees. "Here." I said, stopping. "Ren's just behind you."

Reluctantly, she tore her hands away from me, bringing her gaze to her partner. She stared at him for a moment and my Faunus ears faintly heard her heart quicken. "Is… is he gonna be alright?"

"The doctor seems to think so." I said as we stared at his bedridden form, his face hidden by the ventilator. She moved her arm out to touch him, but I stopped her, gently pushing aside the metal appendage. "You can stay with him, but we probably shouldn't touch him just yet." I said.

She froze, gasping slightly. At first, I thought she was angry that I wouldn't let her touch him, but then she shakily brought her flesh-and-blood arm into her view, slowly beginning to examine her prosthetic. She opened and closed her hand slowly, eyes trained on the appendage in mute horror.

Her fingers traced the edge of her new arm, running up its surface, pulling up the sleeve covering it, and then finally reaching her still-flesh torso as they traveled above her shoulder. Slowly, she looked at me. "I… wh… when did this happen?"

"They couldn't save your arm." I said. "I didn't see it myself, but Ruby and Weiss said it was pretty grizzly."

"So… I…'ve got a robot arm now." She said. "That's… cool, I guess…" Her gaze wandered throughout the room before finally settling on Embra's form. Slowly and shakily, she got off my wheelchair, causing me to wince in pain, and walked over to her. She sniffed. "I… I remember what happened to her." She said, opening and closing her mouth wordlessly.

Eventually, she just… stopped; sitting down between Embra's and Ren's beds with her back to an end table. "Nora…" I started.

"I want to be alone…" She said.

I frowned, but silently nodded, wheeling back to my bed. Faintly, I could hear the occasional sob escape her lips. I pulled out a book and tried to read; tried being the operative term…

/-\ Oscar Pine /-\

I groaned, slowly opening my eyes as I registered a loud and omnipresent whistle. "-ne-" I heard. "ine!" The voice shouted. Suddenly, someone shook my shoulder. "Pine! Are you alright?!"

My head whipped to the source of the voice, meeting Cerulean's concerned sky-blue eyes. "Wha? What just-"

"No time! We have to get back to the landship!" She shouted, practically dragging me to my feet. I blinked my eyes, clearing away the fogginess of… whatever happened.

As she practically dragged me through the forest, I saw the smoldering wreck of a landship, hot gasses leaking out of holes where there used to be rivets. Just then, I saw a blue flash descending from the heavens… heading right towards us.

Without thinking, I tackled her. "Pine, what are you-" The blue flash hit the ground in front of us, sending boiling plasma sailing over our heads. "M- Much obliged!" She stuttered.

"Yeah, no problem." I said, getting back to my feet and looking around.

"This way!" She said moments before two cannons boomed. Looking to the sounds' source, I saw our own landship staring down the alien counterpart as it drifted towards them. A stream of small plasma rounds shot forth from their secondary weapon, washing over our position as we ran to our vehicle.

I ducked under the searing bolts of blue, just their passing enough to burn the cloth parts of my uniform. Just as we reached the landship, several stocky aliens with spikes on their backs waddled into view. As Cerulean pounded on the door, I drew my revolver and took aim.

The trio squawked as the first round passed them, missing by a country mile. The second still missed as they raised their weapons. The third nailed one in the chest, throwing off its aim and causing a chain reaction.

The alien's shot impacted one of its fellows just behind the large spike, sending it flying into the canopy. As plasma washed over my position and I continued returning fire, a branch suddenly fell and struck one of the two remaining aliens, dislodging its own spike and sending its body into the last alien. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a black bird fly away.

I watched on as the aliens flew through the air, eventually falling when the one without a spike exploded, sending the other plummeting to the ground as it screamed. Suddenly, I felt a hand pull me backwards and looking back, I saw Cerulean half-in and half-out of the landship.

As soon as I entered, the vehicle lurched forward, making me grab for the handholds as I lost my footing. "Pine!" The intercom said. "We've lost all power on the forward engine! Get it fixed!"

I scrambled back to my feet. "Uhh yes sir!" I said before making my way to the forward engine room and slipping on a pair of headphones. As I entered, I could feel a wave of heat wash over me and I knew I'd need the leather overcoat. Throwing it on, I slipped through the tight walkway around the running engine to the diagnostic display. As the door slid shut behind me, all notion of the outside world disappeared. I was alone in here; all alone save for the mechanical roar and the heat.

The landship jolted again, sending me falling against the engine block. I pulled away quickly, but if it weren't for the overcoat, I would've easily been burned; as it stood, I could feel the heat soaking through where I'd touched it. Finally reaching the diagnostic display, I groaned when I saw what had gone wrong.

In bold red letters, the words 'Transmission Failure' flashed on the screen.

The vehicle once again shook, but this time I was able to grab a handhold in time. I quickly moved to the front of the compartment and pulled the lever marked 'disengage engine'. It took some force, but finally, below, I could see the shaft spinning free of the broken transmission. I opened the floor grate, removed the bolts holding it in, and attached the winch to the part…

…only to realize that had lost power as well.

I yelled in frustration before being thrown about once more. When I got back to my feet, I found that the gravity had slowly shifted to the side. This was my chance; I quickly raised the winch with the hand crank, the block of metal rising out of its hold. I didn't even bother disengaging it properly; just tossing it aside after it cleared the lip of the floor grate.

Now all I needed to do was replace it with a spare, of which we had one in each compartment. Suddenly, the heat started to get worse, the wall next to me glowing a faint red. I gulped and grabbed the spare transmission. With a roar of effort, I slid it into place. Only a few seconds later, I had it secured and engaged.

And that's when the front of the compartment started to glow cherry red.

I backed away as fast as I could from the heated wall. In my haste, I didn't look where I was going and tripped over the loose transmission, sending me sprawling into the engine block. I screamed as I pulled away, a nasty throb emanating from my face where I'd hit a pipe.

I groaned, already feeling the blisters form as I left the compartment. The landship rocked again, making me brace against the doorway. After righting myself, I quickly closed the door behind me and threw off my earmuffs. The first sound I heard after doing so was the loud roar of a cannon, but only one.

I rushed over to an intercom terminal. "Commander, the engine's fixed!" I shouted.

"Good! Our crew is mass-cas, get on the port cannon!"

I paled. "Y- yes sir!" I shouted, moving to my new station. When I arrived, I saw both gunners slumped against their weapons, bits of metal embedded in their skin as blood poured out of the wounds. I gagged, pulling the cannon's gunner free and dumping him on the floor.

As I slid into his blood-stained station, the hole in the roof told me all I needed to know about what happened here. Very gingerly, I retrieved a shell from the magazine, for once thankful that my aura was still locked. With a satisfying ca-chunk, the shell was loaded and the door was closed. I looked through the periscope and my eyes widened at the sight of several landships reduced to wrecks in front of us.

Looking past one, I saw a small purple hovercraft engaging something behind a destroyed landship. I quickly lined up a shot and pulled the trigger. The cannon boomed, the round sailing into the hovercraft and engulfing it in blue flames.

I began the reload cycle again and set my sights on my next target. I put another round downrange, this time hitting an enemy landship in its cannon, tearing it off. We slowly advanced as it withdrew from the field and suddenly, a horde of infantry charged ahead of us, bayonets affixed to their carbines.

For what felt like hours, we fought through the forest. Sometimes, there'd be enemy contact. Others, we just had to keep our eyes peeled. Our units and the infantry traded places several times; the foot troops falling behind us when they encountered armor, only to advance past us when we broke through their lines once more.

While my nose became blind to the burning plastic smell of the dust, I couldn't stop smelling the decaying bodies of my crewmembers around me; our medic being one of only three others to survive. She gave me some ointment for my burn, but quickly disappeared up to the bridge.

Finally, we slowed to a stop after breaching through into an open plain. I scanned for targets, but found none and cautiously, I undid my sponson's top hatch and poked my head, and revolver, out. Fortunately, nothing was waiting for me.

Nothing but the battlefield.

And that was what it clearly was. There was no cover whatsoever for the infantry to use; not for several miles. All that lay ahead was the objective.

The enemy base sat in the distance; its purple walls lightly manned. Above it, their starship loomed, several armor plates missing. The infantry in front of us paused, making way for the landships to lead the charge.

In the distance, other formations rolled into the open, just as battered as ours. The UNSC Scorpions set off, leading the charge. Behind them, a handful of landships pattered along, the infantry finally following afterwards. I looked up, finally noticing a few Kites and Covenant airships dogfighting in the air.

The men shouted as we rolled through their lines, pounding on the side of our vehicle and saluting. Looking back to the enemy base, I saw an object rise into the sky. It stopped well short of the airship hovering above, but it still gave me an… eerie feeling.

Suddenly, a blue pulse shot from the now-raised tower, passing over our vehicle harmlessly. A blue and mostly transparent dome slowly descended from the tip of the tower.

As soon as the dome touched the ground, alien infantry sallied from the walls. Some carried shovels, others carried weird machines, and the strongest among them carried giant barricades as teams. A few airships even carried turrets under their bellies, dropping them onto advantageous positions.

Our advance slowed to a halt, the gunner on the other side of my own landship firing a round at the dome. It arced and arced, eventually stopping when it impacted its target near the bottom. The round exploded harmlessly against the dome, not even causing the slightest flicker.

Suddenly, I felt a tug on my leg and looking down, I saw Cerulean glance up at me. I buttoned up the hatch again, coming down to meet her. "The Commander says its out of our hands now." She said, bringing up her medkit. "So, I guess I should probably actually treat you now."

"As long as I can sit down…" I said, finally feeling the day's events catch up to me.

/-\ Ruby Rose /-\

I scanned the area through Noble's scope, the barrel resting on a fallen log. Downrange stood two Jackals, conversing in between gazes towards the forest. Winter laid beside me, silently resting as we waited. I heard a slight rustle from behind me and instantly, my pistol was on target.

"Eeeeeasy there, Tinnie." A gravely voice said, stepping out of the foliage. "It's just me."

My head tilted slightly as I lowered my weapon. "Did… you just call me a goddamn innie?"

His face scrunched up in confusion. "No, Tinnie. With a 'T'." He said. "The hell's an innie?"

I shook my head. "Doesn't matter; I'll tell ya later." I said. "Is Peach with you?"

"She bolted half-a-mile back; said she heard some troopers in trouble and told me to meet ya here anyway."

"Goddamnit…" I said. "She knows these mountains better than anyone. I swear if she got herself killed, I'll-"

"Do what, Lieutenant Commander?" Peach suddenly said, dropping from the treetops. "I'm well aware of my importance to this mission, but no huntress in the right mind would let people die when she can act."

"Point." I said. "Now that we're all here, what's the plan?"

"I was under the impression you were the expert on the Covenant." Winter said, sitting up.

"I am, but we've got an expert on the terrain standing right next to us. Might as well use her."

Peach tisked. "You're using your resources wisely, Miss Rose." She said, kneeling down and pulling out a topographical map. She glanced over at the enemy base before pointing to a specific location in the valley. "I'd say this is where they've set up shop."

"Any easy way in undetected?"

"If they did their homework, no." She said. "But if they didn't…" She pulled out another map, this one clearly hand drawn. "They built right on top of an underground lake. There might be a maintenance hatch or a well we can climb through."

"Probably a hatch; I don't see the covvies using bucket wells." I said. "So how do we get in?"

"There's a cave not far from here. Hope y'all Humies brought flashlights, though. Mighty dark down there even for a Faunus like me."

"Me 'n Wyn are good. You got something, Qrow?"

"If it's all the same to you, I think I'll find my own way in." He said. "Almost drowned in one of those things as a kid. I'd uhh… rather not go through that again."

"And how the hell else are you gonna get in?"

"Well…" He said, a shit-eating grin on his face. He put his hands in his pockets, stepping behind a tree and falling. What came out the other side was not my uncle Qrow…

It was a crow. The bird.

"U- Uncle Qrow?" I asked, feeling like an idiot for talking to a goddamn bi-

It nodded.

I almost physically recoiled in surprise. "You… turned yourself into a crow."

It nodded again, flying up to my shoulder.

"Well, now I feel stupid for never asking about your semblance."

"Oh, you ain't seen nothin' yet, kiddo." The bird spoke.

"Okay, that's a bit creepy." I said. "Buuuut I think you've got the infiltration bit covered."

He nodded, flapping away and practically disappearing. In the distance, I could just barely make him out as he flew towards the domed spire.

"So… my uncle can turn into a talking bird." I said, turning to the other two. "Am I uhh… getting that right, or am I finally losing my mind?"

"That is an unfortunately accurate assessment." Winter said. "Though irrelevant at the moment. We have a job to do."

"The Schnee's right. I'll lead ya two there." Peach said. "Oh yeah, are any of ya scared-a snakes? 'Cause the Mucknoodles're all over the place down there."

"The muck… noodles?"

She paused. "Oh, right. The rest of the world calls 'em heat snakes; y'know, the things that like to snuggle up to swimmers' legs?" She said. "Cute little things."

"I find that… unsettling." Winter said. "Are they venomous?"

"Nah, they don't even have mouths; they're thermosynthetic." She said. "Just don't attack 'em. They can get pretty constrict-y when they're threatened."

"I suppose I've faced worse…" Winter said. "Very well, lead on."

"How ya doin', Wyn?" I asked, walking along the road of platform glyphs Winter had made.

Beside me, she slowly moved through the thigh-deep water. "Just fine, though I still cannot believe how difficult it is to swim in this."

I tisked. "Even though that armor was made for Marines, ya don't see many amphibious landings anymore."

"Fair enough." She said. "Professor, how much further?"

"Not long now. Only 'bout another half-mile."

I felt a slight pressure squeeze against my shin and looking down, I saw a long and thin mouthless snake looking back up at me. We locked eyes for a moment before it looked away, snuggling against my boot. I cracked a slight smile before refocusing on the path ahead.

As we moved onwards, I faintly heard the sound of a waterfall. "That wasn't there last year…" Peach said, her rabbit ears twitching slightly. She readied her bow, knocking an arrow. "Lower us into the water more. There's something up ahead I do not like."

"Very well." Winter said. We walked forward more and as we did, the platform glyphs we were standing on began to slope downwards until Peach and Winter were up to their chests in water. As we got closer and closer to the waterfall, I started noticing purple pipes on the cave's ceiling, occasionally illuminated by distantly spaced lamps.

Finally, the waterfall came into view. Like we'd all suspected, it wasn't a waterfall; at least not a natural one. Instead, it was a large Covenant machine spewing out water, the surface of it absolutely covered with the dark forms of mudnoodles. A single Grunt stood on a catwalk around the machine with a broom, trying to dislodge as many as he could.

"Stay quiet, I'll take it out." I said, crouching down into the water. I paused right next to Peach. "You said these things get angry when they're threatened, right?"

"Mhmm. Best not do that."

"Would it be threatened if I threw it?"

"I'd say so, yeah."

I smirked. "Good." I said, slowly uncoiling the mudnoodle around my shin and raising it above the water. It looked at me, eyes blank as if to ask 'what the fuck are you doing?'. I held the snake, making sure it didn't coil around my arm as I wound up for a throw.

Faster than most could see, my arm shot forward, launching the mudnoodle at my target. It landed moments later , wrapping around the Grunt's arm like a horseshoe. It let out a shrill scream of terror, flailing about and screaming in its native language.

I could see the snake shaking from here as it quickly slithered up to the alien's neck, wrapped around, and squeezed. The Grunt fell to its knees, clawing at the serpent. After only a few moments of struggle, it collapsed fully, only the occasional twitch showing any signs of life whatsoever.

"…I am no longer comfortable being around those… things." Winter said.

"Just don't startle 'em, and you'll be fine." Peach said. "C'mon, we've got an objective to complete."

"I'll take point." I said, leading them onwards. Looking around, it seemed like that Grunt was the only alien down here. We silently boarded the catwalk, our armor (or outfit, in Peach's case) dripping as we transitioned to dry land.

I loaded a grenade into Onyx Rose as we moved forward, wary stumbling upon any heavy Covenant units… or new Covenant units. It wasn't long before we transitioned from the catwalk to the familiar purple walls of a covvie corridor. After only passing a few sections, we found an open chute of some kind big enough for me to fit through. After a moment's deliberation, we decided to climb it.

The two smaller women lined up their backs and jumped into the shaft, bracing their feet against the walls and slowly walking upwards. I stood, bracing my hands and feet against the narrower dimension and just barely was able to reach.

Soon enough, we were at the top. Opening an access hatch spilled us out into an empty shop, vehicles all around us. Human vehicles. All of them were civilian models and all were clearly in the process of being disassembled, the raw materials being thrown into various piles strewn about the place. I made sure to take a few screenshots with my helmet before we used Winter's semblance to launch us through the skylight.

We quickly ducked down behind cover on the rooftop, searching for any covvies that may have seen us. However, we appeared to be in the clear; the vast majority of the city's inhabitants manning the defenses beyond the southern wall as they waited for the VDF to charge.

The base itself, however, was very odd. In the center stood a very Covenant-like building; curvy, lit up, and purple. So were the walls. The rest of the base was seemingly divided into districts. On the far side sat several corrugated steel… structures stacked atop each other. Around the chop shop stood several other industrial-looking buildings. Finally, separating the industrial and the slum districts, a pair of tent communities sprang up; one made of tribal huts and the other much more regimented.

'Are all Covenant bases like this?' I thought. I shook my head, taking some more pictures and quickly plotted our course to the spire. Then, I had an idea. "Winter, you've still got the backup shutoff program, right?"

She nodded. "Indeed I do."

"Good. I'm gonna cause a distraction. Countdown three mikes after I leave then summon a Nevermore and go to the spire yourself. I'll meet you there."

She nodded and I checked my ammo one last time, making sure it was full. When I saw it was, I leaped over the side of the building, slightly denting the concrete when I landed.

I ran through the street destroying I could to make as much noise as humanly possible. Finally, I came across a pair of Brutes. "Ey furry fuckers!" I shouted. "Over here!"

They each growled, firing off their spikers in my general direction. I casually sidestepped their fire, returning with far more accurate rounds. I smiled when I remembered Remnant's rounds packed a bigger punch than their UNSC equivalents, dropping both apes in only half-a-mag.

As they fell, a loud alarm sounded throughout the compound. I reloaded; it was time for a rampage.

/-\ Winter Schnee /-\

"Well, she certainly knows how to turn heads." Peach said, the gunfire echoing in the distance.

I gave her a flat look. "We should take advantage of her distraction."

"Indeed we should." She said. "If you'll do the honors…"

I drew my sword and thrust it into the roof, summoning a large glyph. Moments later, a large white Nevermore slowly climbed out. I hopped aboard, patting it on its cheek as Peach did the same. "Hold tight." I said, feeling her arms encircle me.

The Nevermore flapped its wings, taking off towards the spire. A lone Banshee intercepted us, launching a glob of green plasma. I held on for dear life as my mount rolled to the side, flaring its wings as it launched dozens of projectiles.

The cloud of fatal feathers pierced through the Covenant airship like it wasn't even there, destroying it instantly. In the blink of an eye, it deposited us atop a shielded platform, snatching an Elite in its jaws and throwing it off the edge before I commanded it to dissipate.

"Come on! They can't have missed that!" I shouted, drawing my sword and charging into the spire itself. Just as I did, two Elites rushed to meet me. Thinking fast, I summoned a flock of smaller Nevermores, throwing them at the aliens.

One, a Minor, was completely distracted with fighting off the birds. The other, however, fought through the pecking Grimm and unleashed a hail of plasma from its dual-wielded rifles. I dodged some of the rounds, but many splashed against my aura, making me wince.

An arrow shot out from behind me, pinging off the Minor's shields as I drew Weiss's BR and ducked behind cover. Another of Peach's arrows shot forward and I popped out of cover, taking a shot at the now shieldless Elite. It fell to the ground, dying.

Its partner roared, charging me as my bullets plinked off its shields. Just as it reached me, summoning an energy dagger out of its wrist, I formed a propulsion glyph under it, sending the alien careening into the ceiling.

As it fell down, I jumped up and impaled it through the throat with my sword. "Let's get goin', Schnee!" Peach said as soon as I touched down.

"Right!" I shouted, following her to the command center. I waved my arm over the console, pressing the big red 'activate' button on my wrist. A moment later, the shield sputtered and faded. The display, however, started flashing red at the sudden intrusion and we were enveloped in a flash of light.

When it cleared, we found ourselves in a completely different area; one surrounded by very surprised Covenant soldiers. We all stood still, not quite believing what was happening. "P- Parasites!" One of the Grunts shouted, fumbling with its plasma pistol.

I shot it square in the head.

/-\ Qrow Branwen /-\

I shook off the last remnants of the shock I'd received when passing through the dome, the tingling sensation still coursing through my entire body. In the distance, I heard gunshots and, thinking it'd be the best opportunity to meet up with the team, flew in that direction.

After only a few minutes, I landed on the side of a building; one with numerous bulletholes in it. Looking down at the scene before me, I saw my niece surrounded with the bodies of over a dozen aliens. Make that a dozen plus one… or two.

I thought about intervening, but she honestly didn't need me to. Plus, it was probably better if I kept my distance anyway. Like always.

If she ever pulled out her scythe, I could get a better idea of what drills she needed to practice with from up here. I nodded to myself; she was fine, it wasn't like anything was standing a chance against her any-

She whipped to the side, randomly firing a grenade into a building. Only it wasn't random. The explosion revealed a cloaked alien; the lithe one.

The Persian.

They stared eachother down, the other aliens pulling back. My eyes narrowed, ready to jump in if she needed me.

/-\ Professor Ozpin /-\

I sipped my hot cocoa, staring out at the city from my office. If I squinted my eyes, I could just barely see a battle wrapping up along the walls. Indeed the populace hadn't taken the news well, but the attacks were fewer and weaker than I'd expected.

This whole situation set me on edge.

Beacon guards not one but two relics, and I'd be stupid to assume She hadn't noticed. I sighed, moving to the wooden desk in the corner and opening the drawers in a specific combination then tapping my cane on it twice. Another drawer slowly materialized atop the desk. Opening it revealed a portrait I'd drawn a few lifetimes ago; one of a man who has been dead for longer than entire civilizations.

I frowned as I saw the ink had smudged, His face no longer clear. I'd have to draw a new one soon. Still, I smiled, reminiscing about the simpler times; times when it was just myself and my mentor. Before the Gods were evicted; before the moon was shattered; before Her Grimm held dominion over Remnant.

Suddenly, the UNSC datapad on my primary desk chimed. Stowing the portrait and hiding the drawer once more, I walked over to the desk and answered the call. "Commander." I greeted. "How goes the assault?"

"Well, all things considered." He said. "The Valerians hit a few snags, but the diversion worked and our team was able to lower the shields. The attack is resuming now, starting with the artillery shelling their positions."

I nodded. "And how many losses have we suffered?"

"We don't have any concrete numbers yet, but-" He paused. "Headmaster, is there another battlecarrier running around that I didn't know about?"

I frowned. "Not to my knowledge, no. Why?"

"Because we're picking up one on approach to Vale and it's going fast." He said. "Faster than even we go in atmo; not to mention the strange readings we're getting from it."

I raised an eyebrow, but before I could ask him anything else, my desk itself chimed, notifying me of a call from the VADF tower down in Vale. "Stay on the line, I'm getting a call that may be related to this development." I said, answering the desk's call. "Professor Ozpin here."

"Sir! We've got a massive contact inbound to Vale! IFF says it's the RANV Sovereign!" The operator said.

"The Sovereign? If memory serves, that ship was lost in the Fall of Atlas."

"Not so lost, it seems." Witherson said. "Headmaster, I'm ordering the archer pods in the city to warm up. Just give me the green light, and I'll blow it out of the sky."

"Hold for a moment, Commander." I said. "Lieutenant, how far out are they and what is their speed?"

"A hundred clicks, sir! But they're traveling so fast, they'll be here in just over a minute!"

I frowned. "Hail them. Patch it through to my office."

"Yes sir!" He said, turning away. After a few seconds, his face grew more and more worried. "Sir, they're not answering!"

"Broadcast a warning. Tell them that if they do not change course, they will be destroyed." I said. Part of me really wished James were here, but he was personally commanding his contingent over in the mountains.

He paused for a moment. "Message sent." He said.

We waited several moments with no response. "Send it again." I said. "Witherson, what will their trajectory be if we shoot them down now?"

"Just a moment…" He said, before frowning. "The debris field will hit all over Vale."

"When can we safely destroy it?"

"Twenty more seconds."

"Lieutenant, how long before it arrives?"

"Thirty, sir." He said, face paling.

"Witherson, the second the debris will not endanger my citizens, you have the green light to engage."

"Understood. Alice! Set pods V-A through V-C to fire in fifteen seconds!"

I sipped from my hot cocoa once more. "Sir! We're detecting something leaving the ship!"

"What is it, Lieutenant? Missiles?"

"No sir, it's… cargo containers."

/-\ Blake Belladonna /-\

Nora stopped sobbing a long time ago, and if her regular breathing pattern told me anything, it's that she fell asleep. I frowned; that didn't really tell the whole story, did it?

She cried herself to sleep.

That fit better. It didn't make me any happier, but it fit better. The other two still hadn't woken up, nor did I expect them to for some time. So here I was, reading the day away. Again.

I stretched my leg as much as I could, somewhat restless after so much inactivity. I glanced wistfully at the pair of crutches in the corner of the room. I spared a look at the door… a few steps couldn't hurt, could it?

My decision made, I wheeled over to the crutches, picking them up and bracing them against my armpits before leaning forward and letting them take my weight. I smiled, finally on my feet again after so long of being stuck in that chair.

I hobbled around for a few minutes, trying out different methods of walking with the crutches, but eventually I sat back down in my wheelchair, content that I'd gotten a good stretch. I yawned. Looking at the clock proved that it was nowhere near bedtime. I glanced at the unoccupied bed. It wasn't too terrible to take a nap, right?

After deciding that sounded nice, I slowly began to ease myself into bed, lifting off the chair and-

A loud crash resounded throughout the room, the building shaking slightly and dumping me onto the floor. I groaned, getting back up into my wheelchair just in time to see Nora pop up, dried tear streaks rolling down her cheeks. "What was that?" I asked.

"I don't know, you tell me!"

For some reason, I had a very bad feeling about this. "Stay here, I'll go see what's going on." I said, wheeling towards the door. My Faunus ears flicked, hearing faint scrapes and scratches and moans on the other side.

A pit formed in my stomach and I slowly wheeled away from the door. However, as if sensing my distress, the scrapes and scratches got louder.

And closer.

I started to panic and on instinct, grabbed one of the crutches and put it across the inward-opening door. Moments later and the scratches started coming from just outside this room. I looked to Nora, who was staring at the door fearfully.

Suddenly, I realized the scraping was above us too. Before I could do anything, a few ceiling tiles caved in, a black mass falling with them. It slowly stood up, revealing an unsettlingly human-like figure…

…were it not for the pitch-black skin and bone protrusions.

It sniffed the air, head jerking upwards as it did so. Slowly, it turned to me, growling as it crouched down on all fours. The monster's eyes glowed with hatred as they bored into my soul, the overbitten bone jaw working excitedly as black spittle leaked out onto the floor.

I desperately searched for anything I could defend myself with, but all of it was out of range. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the monster lunge for me.

/-\ Alice /-\

I stared at the battlemap of the mountains, confident Witherson could handle whatever was wrong with Beacon. I received a notification that the ship had crash landed somewhere in Forever Fall. Forwarding the message and coordinates to Witherson's datapad, I refocused on the battle.

Whatever the team were doing in there, it was certainly causing the Covenant no end of grief. Clearly they had no contingency for being attacked on two fronts; not even a Schlieffen-like plan. Some held their ground at the defenses, some rushed back into the their base, and some bounced between the two, various officers commanding them without heed for any HIGHCOM equivalent.

Suddenly, I got a notification that shocked me to my cores.

Slipspace rupture detected.

I looked to see the coordinates, frowning when no friendly IFF-

Slipspace rupture detected.

"Oh no…" I let out.

Slipspace rupture detected.

(A/N) As is tradition, shit has hit the fan. Well, I can't really say it didn't in the last chapter, but it most certainly got worse here.

I'm not too happy with Oscar's scenes, but I wanted to show the average soldier's PoV of the battle and it also let me worldbuild how fucking terrible the conditions of those tanks are. Funnily enough, what you saw there was still better by a country mile than Earth's first tanks. At least these guys were separated from the engine (save for the mechanics) and didn't have to constantly breathe in CO and CO2 from the engine. The YouTube channel "The Great War" has some great specials on early tanks if you're interested.

I don't really have all that much else to say here, so… on to the reviews!

Helljumper206 said – "I liked Jaune. To me he was one of the realistic individuals of the show. Mainly because he started out as an dork and slowly became something over time. Which is something you'd see in real life. It is going to be interesting to see what comes next for what is left of team JNPR.

Plus I wonder if this new enemy is going to catch the attention of a certain individual."

I didn't like him very much in canon V1 or V2, but he kinda grew on me as the series went on. It wasn't easy to write the JNPR portions of that chapter. Or this one, for that matter.

Wolf said – "So Juane dies instead of pyrrha I dread his sister's reaction when she finds out also wouldn't surprise me if she joins the unsc in order to get revenge i can see her becoming an ODST and a fierce one at that."

Now there's an interesting idea. Don't worry, I have a plan for the Arcs' arc. Not in this volume, but a plan nonetheless…

Guest 001 said – "You killed Jaune!? You Bastard!? What about the Computer Virus that Cinder uploaded, was it found and Eliminated!? Definitely no Vytal Festival now!"

I didn't mention it in this chapter, but yeah, the virus has been terminated with extreme prejudice.

Guest 002 said – "What the hell, who are the new purple-skinned guys!? What does IFV stand for, is it Infantry Fighting Vehicle!?"

They're not from RWBY or Halo, though they aren't an OC race either. Maybe a Shepard could shed some light on the question? Anyways, yeah, IFV stands for Infantry Fighting Vehicle.

Guest 003 said – "Who are the "witches"!? The Semblance users!?"

Basically, yeah. I figured the covvies, being religious fanatics and all, would probably use that to describe people who use magic.

Delta07phalanx said – "Hmmm... Purple aliens, orange arm computers, and gel based medical supplies... Now where have I heard THAT before. Lol, I feel like this story is about to get a lot more interesting."

-whistles innocently-

Shinigami209 said – "Was that a Prelate. I think this is the first time I've read about one in a RWBY crossover . Diving deep into halo lore . That's what I love about this fic."

That was a Prelate, yeah. They're pretty obscure, so I don't really blame a lot of reviewers for thinking it was a Silent Shadow or something; I only found out about them from a Halo x ME crossover called "United We Stand" over on Spacebattles. Great read; totally recommend.

Aaaaand that's all for now folks! See ya next time in the very ominously named Volume 2 finale: "Alone In The Dark".