Black

Pain.

That was the only thing Spartan-141 was capable of feeling at the current time. It felt as though she had been lit on fire, then electrocuted, then stomped on repeatedly by an army of Hunters. For a time, she couldn't move without her nerves catching fire, so the Super-Soldier simply laid on the ground until her nerves stopped firing. She groaned as she slowly pushed herself up, the glowing crimson lines on her armor flickering slightly as she slowly sat up.

Putting a hand to her head, she shook her skull as she looked around at her environment. She seemed to be in a field of some kind, the trees dressed with blood red leaves that were gently falling from the branches. A light breeze blew through them, creating a hauntingly beautiful tune that reverberated through the trees. The Spartan looked around as she pushed herself to her feet, hands instinctively running over her body to check for injuries or damage to her armor.

Within the first few seconds, the Spartan spotted her personally customized SRS-99-S5AM Sniper Rifle just a few meters away, the matte black material and red rose insignia standing out against the crimson grass. The soldier picked up the 30-pound weapon with ease, the Anti-Material Rifle sitting comfortably in her arms as she rose to her full height of six feet five inches. Her head turned left and right as she looked for any sign of civilization. At first glance, there didn't seem to be anything. But she had more than enough experience to know that just walking for a while in really any direction would get her somewhere with people.

That said, she still activated her comm unit, using several dozen UNSC Encrypted Channels at once.

"Sierra-141 to any UNSC forces, do you copy?"

No response. Just static.

She mulled for a bit before trying again, this time on an open line.

"Sierra-141 to anyone who can hear me, please respond."

She started walking while she waited, heading south-west on a whim. As she walked, she thought back as far as she could, trying to recall how she ended up in the field with nary a scratch on her armor…which was no longer the Gen-2 Recon Armor she had obtained while aboard the Forward unto Dawn. Instead she was clad in a sleek black suit with aerodynamic curves, lines of red-light curving along the plating, her visor a sleek silver line across her eyes rather than the curved glass from the Recon helmet.

She remembered her and John destroying Alpha Halo. John being assigned to Fleet Admiral Hood's ship when the Covenant attacked Earth. Hunting and killing the Prophet of Regret on Delta Halo, followed by talking to the Gravemind alongside the Arbiter. Fighting through High Charity guided by UNSC AI Cortana the whole way.

Falling to Earth from Truth's Forerunner Dreadnought via scrap metal after leaving Cortana behind on High Charity. Fighting through the jungles of Africa alongside one of the many aliens she had been killing for over a decade. Heading to the Ark with 343 Guilty Spark with a few dozen Sangheili-led ships to retrieve Cortana's solution for the Flood. 141 saving Commander Keyes via a stupid amount of Bio-Foam to keep her alive after she had been filled with Spiker Rounds by the Prophet of Truth. Arbiter killing Truth before the two of them had to fight their way through a massive swarm of Flood. From there, going to Light the new Alpha Halo Ring to destroy the Flood that were infecting the massive Installation. Spark killing Johnson. Her and Cortana lighting the Ring before high-tailing it to the Forward Unto Dawn with the Arbiter. Going through the Slip-Space portal. 141 entering Cryo. And then…

The Spartan frowned under her helmet. Everything stopped after she told Cortana: 'Wake me, when you need me.'

Something in her gut told her that she was missing a massive chunk of time, but the only thing she could pull up was the image of a towering soldier dressed in advanced armor with orange lines along his body. The image brought with it a sense of fury, something 141 hadn't felt since her team had been wiped out by the Covenant back on Reach. She didn't bother to call for Cortana, since the tiny icon in the bottom left corner of her HUD told her that she had no AI chip installed, which was accompanied by the lack of the familiar sensation of ice through her skull that came with having an AI onboard.

The Spartan came to a stop as she reached the edge of a cliff, the overhang giving her a view that went on for miles on end without stop. Raising her rifle, she scanned the horizon. It took only a moment, but she spotted what appeared to be a train track that wove itself in between the numerous mountains that dotted the landscape. And about 3,500 meters away, there was the train, barreling down the tracks at high speeds, the machine sticking to the rails like glue even as it made the tight turns necessary to maneuver along the track.

Must be a maglev, She mused.

Every now and then, the train would show what appeared to be snow white snowflake logo on the side, with the letters SDC underneath. Must be some kind of big company if it's got the logo on the engine car…hmm, perfect place for an ambush. Plenty of places to jump on, no security on the exterior…looks like the back few cars are open-tops, so anyone could just hop on at any time.

The Spartan was quickly proven correct as a pair of individuals leapt from an outcropping just as the train passed beneath it, the two falling a good fifty meters before landing on the rear cars and made their way towards the front with impressive speed. At her current distance, the Spartan could see that the taller of the two appeared to be male, if his tiny features and short, red-black hair were anything to go by. The shorter of the two appeared to be female, her wild black hair flapping wildly in the wind. She watched as the male slid to a stop, using what appeared to be a red-bladed katana to cut the latch off one of the box cars, before lifting the door to allow his companion in before following down himself.

The Spartan lowered the rifle as she examined the train and followed the tracks. At the current speed, it would pass beneath her in approximately fifty-five seconds. Plenty of time to get ready for a jump.

Hope the owners don't mind me hitching a ride and saving their stuff.

She waited patiently, counting down every second until it was time. And then she jumped.

Thanks to her immense weight, she descended quickly, smashing into the roof of the car three boxes ahead of where the two had entered. Her momentum carried her through the steel roof and into the car, cratering the metal beneath her feet as her legs bent to absorb the impact. She stood, lifting her rifle to her shoulder as she looked around.

Her sharp ears picked up the sound of combat, the sound of machines moving back and forth, gunfire and metal on metal. The Spartan nodded to herself as she shut down her armor's systems, causing the red lines to fade as she moved back into the shadows, disappearing from view and holding as still as possible. It didn't take long for the fighting in the other car to stop, and soon the intruders stepped through the door.

The taller of the two; the male with the red-black hair; was dressed in an asymmetrical black, long-sleeved, double-breasted stylized high-collared blazer with slit sleeves along with red thorn sigils adorned with a white crest that lined up on his left shoulder. His suit jacket had crimson lining atop his red shirt, with red thorn sigils atop a black flap attached to the bottom of the left hem and a wilting rose emblem on the back over an emblazoned white sigil resembling the curved stems and flower of the deadly nightshade plant. His blazer was half-buttoned, exposing a red shirt with a black line running parallel to his collar under it. Interestingly, he appeared to have what looked to be a pair of short black horns peaking from his hair, slanting backwards over his red-black locks.

The upper half of his face was covered by a mask that was whitish-tan with red, Japanese style, horn-like symbols decorating the front and two slits on each side presumably to allow for vision. At his waist was his weapon, a long, straight bladed katana in a black scabbard that seemed to have a trigger on it.

The girl beside him looked to be a fair-skinned young woman with wavy black hair and amber eyes. She was dressed in a black buttoned vest with coattails and a single silver button on the front. Underneath this is a white, sleeveless, high necked, crop undershirt and white shorts with a zipper on the front of each leg, emblazoned with what appeared to be the YKK logo of the Japanese zipper manufacturer from the 21st century. Her legs were covered by full stockings with a color gradation of black to purple at her ankles black low-heeled boots and. Her emblem of choice was visible on the outside of both thighs just below her shorts in white, which looked to be some kind of flame-like flower. On her left arm was a black detached sleeve with a silver cuff around her bicep, and black ribbons are wrapped around both forearms. A small, loose, black scarf is wrapped around her neck. Some form of sword was sheathed at her back, the scabbard of the weapon looking very much like a large cleaver.

Interesting…

The Spartan watched silently as the two made their way over to one of the many crates that filled the car, the man lifting the lid to examine the contents. From where the Spartan was kneeling in the shadows, she saw what appeared to be a bunch of different colored crystals ordered neatly in the box.

The hell are those? She wondered as she watched the pair. The young woman seemed apprehensive, nervous even as she scanned the room. Her amber eyes locked onto 141's silent form for a split second before moving on, apparently writing her off as some form of offline combat drone.

The man chuckled darkly as he closed the lid, turning to his younger companion. "Perfect. Move up to the next car. I'll set the charges."

141 clenched her jaw at the blood-thirsty tone in the man's voice. He sounded almost like a Brute that hadn't eaten in several days.

"What about the crew members?" the young woman asked. She was obviously the more human of the two, unlike her monstrous counterpart.

"What about them?" the man purred maliciously.

141 had heard enough. With a thought, her armor's systems came back online, the lines of red on her armor springing to life as she stood, chambering a round on her rifle as she brought it to bear.

"Hands up, Now!" she snapped as she stepped out of the shadows, rifle aimed at the man's head. The young girl nearly jumped out of her skin as the towering soldier aimed her massive weapon at her partner. "You so much as twitch towards your weapons and I blow his head off."

The man grinned darkly. "Human arrogance. So another will die today for your mistreatment of the Faunus."

Faunus? That explains the horns… her mind drifted towards another thought before she shook her head, responding with: "I'm not human."

The man's grin faded slightly. "You're obviously not Faunus. None of us would threaten another the way you just did."

"Then those people are idiots. When some self-righteous jackass like yourself wants to blow up a train filled with innocent people, any person who knows the difference between right and wrong should stand up to you. You claim you want to make people pay for you mistreatment? Then be better, not the same. Now take your hand off your blade before—"

BANG!

The man's sword shot from the scabbard like a bullet towards her head hilt first. Apparently, he'd never fought a Spartan before. She dropped her rifle and caught the pathetic weapon by the blade a half-inch from her visor as her free hand lashed out to grab the man by the throat; the horn-headed man having charged in the same moment she dropped her weapon. With ease only a Spartan-II was capable off, she lifted the man up and slammed him into the floor, denting the metal panels under his spine before slamming the fist that still held his sword into his stomach, knocking the wind out of him.

"ADAM!" the girl cried as she slashed at 141 with both short sword and cleaver-sheath, the Spartan leaning back from the fallen combatant as she flipped his sword around to block the girl's wild strikes. The girl's attacks were horribly choreographed, her surprise and fear throwing off her obvious skill as the Spartan grabbed the arm that held her sword in a steel grip.

The Super-Soldier lifted the girl with ease as she struggled, lifting her so her fear-filled amber eyes were level with her glowing silver visor. "You've got heart, kid. Don't waste it on terrorism."

141 tossed her aside gently as 'Adam' charged, his scabbard shortening into what looked like a rifle, firing a round that pinged off her shields with a flare of gold as she dodged his wide punch.

He's fast, I'll give him that, 141 mused silently as she used his blood-red blade to knock his rifle-scabbard aside, throwing off his numerous shots before she tossed aside the blade and threw a massive punch into his face. What surprised the Spartan was the flare of what appeared to be a red energy shield appeared around Adam's body, protecting him from the full force of his attack even as he spun with the punch, allowing the force of the blow to knock him away from the Spartan and toward his sword, which he picked up and sheathed as 141 hooked a foot under the body of her rifle and kicked it into the air, catching it with practiced ease, the barrel aimed right at his head as she tightened her finger around the trigger.

BOOM!

What caught the Spartan completely off guard was Adam reacting fast enough to unsheathe his sword to block the HVAP round with the flat of the blade, the kinetic energy of the massive bullet pushing him back a meter or so; his hair, the red markings on his clothing and mask and the blood red blade glowing sinisterly as he grinned arrogantly, the energy field around his body shimmering as he sheathed his weapon and straightened his posture, his hands not leaving the blade for a moment.

Somehow, blocking the bullet did something to him. Maybe he absorbed the kinetic energy to recharge or strengthen himself? Should avoid hitting his blade as much as possible. I don't know how the rules work here, but I swear to the Gods if he has some OP super-power, I'm gonna lose my fucking mind.

The Spartan lifted the rifle up and placed it on the magnetic clamps on her back. Reaching down, she pulled her twin twenty-centimeter, high carbon steel blades from the base of her spine, holding them in a reverse hold as she squared off with the man.

A look of displeasure flashed across the man's face as he lowered himself into a ready position; knee's bent, left hand on scabbard to hold it in place, right hand on pommel ready to eject the blade. A position she recognized. Iaido, the Japanese sword-art designed to slay an enemy in a single stroke before returning the weapon to its scabbard. Max-097 was proficient in that technique, and used it to great effect with a katana upgraded with Sangheili energy tech.

141 grinned under her helmet as she shifted ever so slightly, waiting for the man to attack.

'The secret to Iaido is a calm spirit. With a tranquil heart you put your hand on the hilt of your sword - in a split second your hand moves to cut down the opponent and resheath the sword - then return to your composed mind. A serene spirit must be cultivated at all times. It is said that the sword is like the mind, and if the sword is upright, the mind is upright. But if the mind is not upright, the sword can never be wielded properly.' Max had explained nearly a decade ago.

A serene spirit is required to properly wield the blade with this style of fighting. Without it, he can never master the form. 141 looked over her opponent's body, taking in every detail. Every muscle he had was tense, his face twisted in arrogant fury. She couldn't see his eyes, yet she could feel the hate flowing off the man in waves. Nothing about this 'Adam' is serene. Hate and Spite command his heart, and as such he will never be able to even get close to beating me.

She waited patiently, a decade of combat experience honing the Spartan into a force to be reckoned with. She preferred to use her rifle, but she found that fighting someone up close and personal was just as satisfying as taking the hat off an Elite at 2,500 yards.

Adam's patience ran out and he stuck.

His blade sang as it sliced through the air, the crimson blade flying towards her throat. When the weapon was a mere inch from her body-suit, she moved.

Spartan Time was an incredible thing. Thanks to the numerous Augmentations ONI had put her and her fellow S-II's through, a Spartan's average reaction time was estimated to be about twenty milliseconds, causing many of the Super-Soldiers to perceive the world at an accelerated speed, making everything seem as through it were moving at a snail's pace. What Adam saw was a blur of red that was swiftly blocked by a pair of black blades, the twenty-centimeter blades trapping the long weapon between them, 141's absurd strength keeping the blade absolutely still a nanometer from her neck.

To 141, the blade had crawled through the air slow as a snail, allowing her plenty of time to trap the weapon between her knives. The look on Adam's face was priceless, his jaw dropping comically as the Spartan lifted her right leg and kicked him in the stomach hard enough to flip a tank, knocking the man clean off his feet as the red field reappeared and seemed to shatter as he hit the metal wall of the car hard, the metal denting behind him as he stayed embedded in the wall, head lolling about as the terrorist passed out from the blow.

141 keyed her radio once more as she released Adam's weapon and returned her combat knives to their scabbards. "Sierra-141 to the Conductor of the SDC transport, please respond."

A clanking overhead had the Spartan looking up to see the tip of the young woman's boot disappearing through the hole she had made on her landing. Good luck kid.

"Specialist Schnee here. Who is this? What do you want?" came the stern, cultured voice of a young woman.

"Sierra-141 reporting from one of your storage cars. Needed a ride, so I hopped aboard about twenty miles back. Wasn't the only one. Got a man here who was intending to blow up these weird crystals you got. He's out cold."

The woman was silent for several moments before she responded. "Do you see anything you can use to restrain him?"

The Spartan looked around for a moment. "Got a bunch of steel cord lying about. I'll tie him up while you come on back."

"Acknowledged. On my way." The line went dead.

It was another five minutes before the so-called 'Specialist' arrived, and by that time, the Spartan had hog-tied Adam with enough steel cord to keep a Scorpion tank in place. His weapon was sheathed and attached to her back as she stood guard with her rifle in hand. The door at the far end of the car slid open and a tall, fair-skinned young woman with slate-blue eyes walked in, followed by a group of six machines with white plating. She wore her white hair tied up in a bun, high on the left side of the back of her head, while her bangs were shaped around the right side of her face, a small curled lock of hair reaching almost to her left shoulder. Her attire was colored navy blue, white, and gray, consisting of a white coat with sleeves that expose her upper arms, a red-lined high collar, with a red brooch and black gloves, as well as pants that had garters incorporated into them.

At her hip was what appeared to be a silvery saber, with a blue gem in the pommel. She walked with her back straight, head held high and shoulders back, the mark of a person with extensive military training.

Her slate-blue eyes widened slightly as they landed on the armored giant, standing stock-still with Sniper Rifle in hand. The woman stopped before the soldier and held out her right hand. "Specialist Winter Schnee. I'd like to thank you for saving this transport's cargo."

The Spartan released her weapon and grasped the smaller woman's right hand with her own in a firm but gentle grip. "Spartan-141. It was nothing, ma'am. I'm not one to stand by while someone commits a terrorist act."

Specialist Schnee nodded slowly before she moved forward, the Spartan moving to the side to reveal her fallen opponent. On seeing the man, Schnee gasped.

"I take it this one is rather important?" 141 asked on seeing Schnee's reaction.

The woman turned her eyes to lock with the Super-Soldier's crimson visor. "Yes. This is Adam Taurus, a high-ranking member of the Terrorist group known as the White Fang. He is responsible for the deaths of many innocent people and military personnel, along with the destruction and theft of many military assets."

The Spartan nodded and reached over her shoulder to hand over Taurus' weapon. "He had this on him. Used a combat style that really didn't suit him. Probably why it wasn't as hard to beat him as I thought it might be."

"And what was his fighting style?"

"Iaido. A style designed to slay an enemy in a single strike. However, it requires a calm spirit and absolute focus in order to use it to its fullest potential. He was far too angry for this to be a viable style for him." The Spartan said simply.

The woman nodded. "Was there anyone else with him?"

The Spartan paused for a moment, tilting her head to give the appearance of thinking. She could tell the woman about the girl…but she hadn't seemed to want to hurt anyone, and had taken the first chance she could to escape rather than help her…colleague. That told the Spartan that she had wanted out of the 'White Fang' for quite some time, and this op had been her best chance to disappear.

The Spartan shook her head. "Not that I saw. He came in alone, started talking to someone who wasn't there. When he mentioned planting detonators, I intervened. If anyone was with him, they bailed before they entered this car."

The Specialist nodded thoughtfully. "Well I thank you for capturing him. Would you like to come up to the passenger cars?"

The Spartan shrugged. "I really don't care all that much, ma'am. I can rest just about anywhere."

"Well I insist. You've performed a great service to the people of Remnant, and as such I will not allow you to stay back here in this filthy cargo hold."

With that, Specialist Schnee turned and marched away, her droids each taking up a position around Taurus, their weapons all aimed at his head. The Spartan watched them for a moment before marching through the Door, her mind latching onto one thing.

Remnant…why does that sound so familiar?

Okiday people! I am back!

I know, I know, "Warden, why aren't you continuing your other stories!'

The Answer to that: I'm working on those, but my stupid aspergers makes it effing impossible to focus on one thing for to long, and once i get another idea into my head, i have to get it out before i can continues what i was doing beforehand.

Sorry to those who want me to get it on with my others, i promise i'm doing my hardest to pick them up again!

That said! This story was inspired by Ruby-B312, written by the talented Green TheRyno so i highly suggest you go and read his story!

Thanks for the patients, and have a nice day!