Hello my RvB Fans! I hope you enjoy this oneshot that I thought of not too long ago. This plot bunny nibbled my garden.

Disclaimer: I don't own RvB or Halo.

Please read and review! Hopefully I can figure out a sequel to this.

Take Me Out

The first thing Caboose felt was pain. Pain everywhere. Mainly in his torso. The firing seemed to stop as the Spartan dropped his assault rifle and his knee guards clacked when he hit the ground beneath him. His body crumpled forward and suddenly, Caboose found it difficult to breathe. With a lurch, he coughed and a rusty flavor flooded his mouth. Someone was calling him, but as to who it was, the Spartan had no idea. There was too much pain to focus.

Caboose gasped for breaths, but every time he tried to draw in air, his chest would stab. His lungs felt heavy. Again, someone was calling and he saw blurry armored feet stopping in front of him. The blue-looking figure knelt down and arms scooped him into the other's chest. The moment he was moved, Caboose tensed, his body curling in. He let out a small cry.

"Dammit, Caboose! You had to get your ass shot!" Church's voice was quivering and it sounded fairly distant. That didn't make sense. Church was right there; why would he sound so far away? Caboose tried to speak, but his chest ached. Unfortunately, Caboose began coughing and blood dribbled from his mouth. "Let me get that helmet off your head, Caboose. Stay with me, alright? I can't lose you."

Arms shifted again and Caboose felt his helmet slide off with a hiss. The bright light of the sun above burned Caboose's eyes and he squinted, giving a pained whine. Church raised his matte hand, wavering above the other man's face as though he were confused on what to do.

"Dammit, Caboose." he repeated. Beneath his helmet, Church grimaced at the sight of his lover. Church had to think fast in order to save his life. He saw all the blood spilling from beneath the charred remains of Caboose's armor and if his heart could lurch, it would have. The Blue team leader noticed the quivering hand raising and he immediately grasped it in his own. Fear was plainly seen in the blond man's eyes. Church went through the swallowing motions. A thought clicked into his mind and he spoke. "Caboose. I need you to hold on, okay? I'm going to get into your mind. And I'm going to try and pull you out before your mind shuts down. Stay with me and when you see me in there, come to me."

Caboose whimpered, his hand squeezing around the other gently. Church lowered his upper body as though he were shielding the mortally wounded man and he left the synthetic body. Church entered Caboose's mind and he felt the intense aura emanating from it. As he looked around, Church couldn't believe what he was seeing. His lover's mind was in absolute turmoil; the maze of Caboose's mind was destroyed, pillars fallen over, bridges collapsed and ground cracked open. Church had to hurry. He began to run, sprinting through the destruction and calling Caboose's name. As the moments slowly passed, the floor beneath him shook and his surroundings fell apart further.

"Caboose, for God's sake! Where are you?" his voice was panicked, head swivelling in all directions. Everywhere he looked, it was all tarnished and wrecked. "Caboose! Please, dammit come out! You don't have enough time!"

Finally, at that last remark, a familiar royal blue Spartan came out of the shadows. Church hurriedly ran towards him. As Church approached, Caboose stepped back. A feeble voice went past Caboose's lips as he spoke. "Please... please go..."

Church stalled. "What, no! Caboose you need to come with me!"

Caboose shook his helm, holding fast onto the pillar that was right beside him as the ground tremored again. "No, Church. I-I can't... Please, just go..."

"No, Caboose. I came to get you. I won't leave you behind to die." Church couldn't believe what he was hearing. "Come with me and I will keep you safe." he held out his hand for the consciousness of his lover to take.

Caboose stared at the matte hand for a while, contemplating. For a moment, Caboose's hand left the pillar and he began to reach until he suddenly gasped for air, grabbing his chest. Collapsing to his knees, Caboose lurched forward with a hacking cough. Church became alarmed as he moved forward and took off the other's helmet, eyes widening behind his visor as he saw blood ooze from Caboose's mouth and splatter on the floor between them. The blond man raised his head, bright blue eyes showing fear. "I'm scared... Church... Help me..."

Church grit his teeth, pulling the other into his lap and holding him tight despite the pained groans Caboose gave. "Stay with me, okay? I'm going to take you out of here. Just stay with me."

Caboose buried his face into the other's chest plating, fingers gripping around the clavicle guards. He took in another pained gasp of air. "I don't want to die..."

"You won't. I promise."

Church closed his eyes, his energy waves hard at work; he was trying to delve further into Caboose's mind, past the subconscious level and into the energy and nerve impulse level. He needed to separate Caboose's consciousness from his own body. He wasn't sure if it would even work. But he had to try. The rush he received from the body's natural energy was intense; it was so overwhelming it took a hot second for the AI to recover. Now that he was in, Church needed to pull Caboose out. It was an interesting sensation, gripping the counciousness of another being. The AI felt emotions, feelings, everything that made Caboose... Well, Caboose. Memories blurred past Church so fast, he had difficulty registering them all. The brain's impulses were stronger than any machine, far more stronger than an AI's. Church began to separate, holding fast to his lover's consciousness. He pulled, separating his entity from Caboose's soon-to-be barren mind. At first, Church met resistance and judging by the increasingly rapid nerve impulses, Caboose was frightened.

"It's me, Caboose... Let go so that I can take you."

The gentle coax was enough for the blond man and Church felt him relax. Church pulled again and the resistance faded, granting the AI to take his consciousness.

Caboose stared off to the distance Church's synthetic body went through breathing motions as they both waited for Church. His chest cavity was ached and he felt pressure all around it; his shallow, rapid breathing making him dizzy. Caboose was sure he no longer felt his fingers and he counldn't find the strength to find out. He felt sick to his stomach as blood began to coagulate in his mouth. Church had just left, but it felt like an eternity ago. As the Spartan stared off, his vision began to darken around the edges. Was this the end? Final tears came to his eyes as he laid motionless in his lover's synthetic arms. This was it. No more cuddles, no more kisses. No more waking up Church with gentle, little kisses. No more Church... He was going to die out in the battlefield. Death happened; Church had died, but it turned out he was an AI. Unfortunately, Caboose was no AI. He was very human. And like all humans, he would die.

Then, there was a sudden feeling of fainting and Caboose gasped, albeit painfully, and the darkness around his vision was no longer there as he yanked himself back into full consciousness. Caboose coughed uncontrollably for several moments until he settled down; he then felt something soothing somewhere in the back of his mind. Somehow, he knew it was Church and Caboose relaxed. Darkness began to fill his vision again and this time, Caboose embraced it. He felt the dizzy spell return and the blond man closed his eyes, waiting for his pain to end.