Red vs. Blue: The Spartan Rejects
Episode 4: Voi, where the path divides

: VOI, KENYA

: INDUSTRIAL ZONE

Caboose and Donut ran alongside each other, splashing through muddy puddles and dodging heavy fire in an effort to gain a flanking position beside the Anti-Aircraft Wraith. At the same time, Tucker and Simmons used a Warthog to distract the Wraith. Simmons contacted over his radio, "Donut, you guys in position yet?"

Settling on a warehouse rooftop, Caboose and Donut knelt behind the peak and pulled up two M41s. Donut hollered back, "Roger, in position and ready."

Caboose looked at him funny, "I thought his name was Simmons."

Before Donut could answer, Tucker's voice interrupted them, "Fire!" Caboose and Donut fired their rocket launchers and the Wraith was blasted to smithereens. The leftover shrapnel, though, almost burned some nearby Marines.

"Sorry!" the blue and pink Spartans meeped as a cloud of curse words were flung at them.

OOOoooOOOoooOOO

Meanwhile, Church and Grif were combing the battlefield, trying to shoot any Covenant infantry in sight. Church shouted over the noise of their weapons, "Where is she?"

Grif darted his eyes from side to side, surveying the vicinity for any yellow colored armor. Finally, he spotted her, "There!"

Beneath a metallic overhanging, Sister was backing up as she futilely fired shot after shot at an approaching Hunter. Nearby on the ground was another dead Hunter that she must have already claimed. Standing on a level above, Grif threw two plasma grenades down on the Hunter, "Look out below!" Sister saw this and jumped behind a huge metal slab for cover. The Hunter, upon finding the glowing orbs attached to the back of his neck, hastily scraped to pull them off but was too late. Grif was rewarded with a satisfying double blast and the alien popped in the air and flew into a bunch of propane tanks, which exploded on impact.

"Whoo! That was hot!" Sister emerged from the metal slab and greeted her brother, "Hey, bro, what's up?"

Grif leapt off the landing to talk to her, "Sister, what are you doing? You're colorblind! How can you be fighting?"

She spoke as if the answer was simple, "Oh, that's easy! I just shoot anything that's not human."

Grif computed these words carefully, "Hey…When you mean anything not human, do you mean you shoot at our alien allies as well?"

Sister bit her lip, "Er, well, yeah, sometimes…What? Gimme a break! They all look the same far away!"

Church decided to stay out of this family reunion and keep watch for anymore enemies. Although his body's in the fighting, his mind was somewhere else. Every now and then he would bring his attention to anything that's black on the field. Why is Tex here? Does she really hate us for not saving her? Or is she trying to tell us something? Crap, I wish I knew where she is…

Suddenly, a pulse beam tore through his shoulder. "Son of a bitch!" his body fell to the floor but his ghost remained standing. He looked about angrily, "Who the f-?" Then he found his assailant. Peeping through a broken five-story window at a far off factory was a Brute armed with a Beam Rifle. Oh, you did NOT just snipe me. PO'ed, Church re-inhabited his body, dressed his wound, radioed to Grif that he will meet up with him later, and snuck off the landing.

After winding through the front line, he pressed his back to the wall beside the factory's open doorway. He peeked around the doorway, gun barrel in front, and discovered the area was nearly picked clean, meaning the place was littered with dead bodies with the exception of two chatting Brutes. Here's a good spot. Church briefly abandoned his body, ran across the room, and possessed one of the Brutes. It took about a few seconds to wrest the body's control away from the Brute's spirit. The other Brute faced him, curious of the strange noises Church and the Brute spirit was making, "Huh? You okay?"

"Blarg."

"What—? Ugh!" the Brute was knocked out with a rifle butt to the head. Church then focused at the highest catwalk above him. After scaling several ladders, he at last saw his target. Unaware of his presence, the damned Brute was directing his Beam Rifle at the Marines outside. Church snuck up behind him, peered over the alien's shoulder and saw the next would-be victim. It was the Master Chief. Oh no you don't.

He stepped forward to ambush the Brute, only to slip on an oil slick and collided against the alien's back. "?" both the Brute and Church keeled forward and fell out of the window and plummeted to the ground. Master Chief spun around at the sound of bodies smacking floor and saw Church's ghost, standing unhurt among the two fallen Brutes, yet shocked all the same.

Two seconds later, Church came out of shock. He waved a meek hand and laughed sheepishly, hoping the situation doesn't look as dumb as it seems, "Uh, heh heh. Hi?"

Master Chief was about to say something but was cut short by the arrival of 6 Mongoose ATVs. "Need a lift, Chief?" a Marine called from one of the vehicles. Master Chief nodded and commandeered the driver's seat; the Marine took up 'shotgun' and whipped out a M41.

The Chief looked back at Church, "You coming?"

Church held up a finger, "Um, one second." He quickly re-inhabited his original body, still lying next to the factory's doorway, and climbed into the driver's seat of another Mongoose.

As they rode towards the landing zone, which they're supposed to secure for the UNSC air forces, Master Chief yelled over to cobalt Spartan, "Whatever you did, thanks."

OOOoooOOOoooOOO

"Ohh, you backstabbing cockbite."

Lying prone on the ground alongside a wrecked Warthog, an abandoned Simmons watched with deep loathing as Tucker's figure fled for the hills. Shortly after Donut and Caboose destroyed the Anti-Aircraft Wraith, an annoying little Drone flew by and dropped a plasma grenade on their Warthog, blasting the human vehicle upside down and throwing its riders out. With Donut and Caboose already moving ahead, Tucker ditching him, and his radio busted, Simmons is forced to consider making it to the landing zone alone.

When I get my hands on that—that BLUE…! He swiped a gun in front of him, rose to his feet, checked for any major damages, and marched on.

OOOoooOOOoooOOO

Cerberus sulkily stood in a tower in the center of the industrial zone. He snarled inwardly, obviously unsatisfied with his current assignment. This is impossible! Those Demons. It's like they always travel in pairs like the Lekgolo…Hm? What's this now?

Unaccompanied and unaware, a Demon in maroon armor was on ground level, peeking around corners and sneaking towards the firefight located outside the industrial area. Well. Looks like this might be my lucky day, Cerberus bared his teeth excitedly.

OOOoooOOOoooOOO

Simmons's helmet drooped and he exhaled in relief. After what seemed like hours, he finally managed to safely pass the border of the industrial site. Now all he has to do is make it to the landing zone and everything will be fine.

Just as he raised his head, he bumped into an ugly brown wall. Hey, this isn't a wall. It's…Oh, shit. A low, haughty chuckle issued from the Brute Chieftain, "Going somewhere, Demon?"

Before Simmons could make a move, the Brute seized the Red's neck and slammed him against a pillar. On impact, warm crimson blood spewed out of Simmons's mouth and plastered all over his visor, impairing most of his line of sight. Cerberus sneered, "I thought you humans in special armor are supposed to be tough. Hmph. The Elites have given you too much credit." The alien fisted Simmons in the gut, causing the human's body to involuntarily coil in agony.

With a couple wheezes in between, Simmons coughed, "What…What the hell is your problem…? Why don't you just…kill me and get it over with?"

Through the speckles of red, he could see the anger flashing in the Brute's eyes and was pummeled even more, "Silence! Did I say you were allowed to speak, human?"

The pain was excruciating. Even being instantly blown to bits by Sheila was better than this. Every punch was like being hit by a train. What's worse is that he couldn't even force a faint, save himself from further pain. Every now and then, the beast would mock him, calling him weak and unworthy of his time. Whatever insults he threw at him, Simmons didn't care. Only the shame of realizing how ill prepared he was for war, how almost all of the injuries he suffered in Blood Gulch couldn't compare, how naïve he was thinking he could become a soldier. Those were the only thoughts running through his mind.

"What's the matter? Lost hope already?" Cerberus dangled the hapless Spartan off the ground, now wearing a disgusted look, "…You're no Demon. Slaying you with my hands will only disgrace me." The Brute released his grip and dropped Simmons on the floor. He then unsheathed a Spiker, hovered the barrel over the human's forehead, and growled, "Farewell, human."

A last odd set of words drifted through Simmons's head…

…Was I ever a Spartan?

…

By the time Simmons came to, he saw something blue, shiny, and pointed skewered right through the alien's belly. Cerberus bellowed loudly, moved to confront his new foe and instead was met with six.

"SIMMONS?" Grif cried.

In a horrible untimely manner, Caboose figured out, "Ohh, I get it. 'Simmons' is his real name and 'Roger' is his nickname!"

Cerberus roared in frustration. How could such bad luck come at such a time? Completely scrubbing the mission, he loped away before the other Spartans could catch him. "Damn! He got away with my sword!" Tucker complained.

But that wasn't the main concern. Grif, Sister, Donut, Caboose, Doc, and Tucker quickly huddled around Simmons. Grif removed the maroon Spartan's helmet, blood coating his fingers as soon as they made contact with the neck seal, "Ewugh…" He looked over his teammate's wounds, wincing when he saw the cyborg implants on the sides of Simmons's head were shattered and dented. "Shit…! Simmons? Simmons, are you all right? Say something! Anything! You can even call me a fucktard, just say something!"

"…You're…a…fucktard…"

Grif frowned and said flatly, "…I was kidding, bitch."

"Okay, move aside, people," Doc immediately pulled out his med-kit and began working his magic…which isn't really saying much.

Simmons groaned impatiently, "Dammit, Doc, the pain is in my ribs, not in my foot!"

Doc sputtered awkwardly, "Oh, right. Sorry!"

As the healing process went on, Tucker mused, "I wonder where Church is. He said he was with Master Chief—"

It was then that Simmons noticed Tucker was there and remembered how he ended up in this state in the first place. "What are you doing here?" he glared venomously.

Tucker looked at him innocently, "Uhh, I came here to save you?"

Simmons laughed weakly, but derisively, "Oh ho ho, right. Save me. What, did you have some kind of guilty conscious or something?"

The aqua clad Spartan blinked, "What are you talking abou—"

"You left me to die in that fucking field, you stupid Blue!" Simmons snapped.

Tucker could see where this is coming from, now recollecting the prior event. "Whoa, wait a sec, you got it all wrong. See, there were some more enemies coming and I thought you were right behind me and, well…turns out the footsteps I heard behind me weren't yours and I kinda turned around and then this big Brute guy punched me in the face," Tucker gestured at a huge crack that formed across his visor.

When Simmons just stared at him like a mute, Tucker went on desperately, "But the others found me and helped me beat up that Brute and then we went back to the Warthog but you were gone and my radio was busted and…" He finished his story lamely, "Well, I came back, didn't I?"

"Yeah, it's okay, I get it," Simmons puffed out a weary sigh. An awkward silence followed.

Thankfully, Sister broke it with her usual bright perkiness, addressing Simmons, "Y'know. You covered in blood. That's kinda hot."

This dismayed the aqua Spartan, "But I thought you liked me!"

Pouting her lips, Sister added with earnest, "Well, I thought you with that sword was sexy too."

A resolved Tucker gazed after where the Brute Chieftain had departed, "That's it. I'm getting that sword back, no matter what it takes!" After Doc treated Simmons wounds, they started for the landing zone.

"I don't like the name 'Roger' very much," Caboose scratched his chin thoughtfully, "You should change your nickname to…'Dick'. Yeah, 'Dick' is a nice name."

"My nickname IS 'Dick', you dick."

OOOoooOOOoooOOO

Leaving the Master Chief and the rest of the forces to defend the landing zone from an oncoming Scarab, Church rode his Mongoose after a suspicious-looking soldier with an ONI badge on his arm. At last, a chance to get some answers! Although he'll be missing the action (which is fine by him), this, to him, is far more important. Besides, he'll be back before anyone misses him…Right?

After a few twists and turns through a valley of rocky cliffs, the ONI soldier stopped his Mongoose before a massive narrow crevasse, jumped off his vehicle, and slipped through the entryway. Church followed suit and crept as quietly as he could through the tight-spaced tunnel. It didn't take long for the journey to end. The tunnel melded into a cavernous chamber, and situated in the middle of it was a triangular-shaped teleporter. Besides that, no one was occupying the chamber. Church searched the area cautiously. Where'd that guy go? Did he go through the teleporter?

"Took you long enough. I was starting to wonder whether it's possible for dead people to go blind."

Startled, Church's eyes swept the room and found the owner of the voice. On the opposite end of the room was Tex, leaning against the wall, arms folded with the ONI soldier he was tracking bound and gagged next to her. "Tex!...?" Church moved forward, but paused abruptly when the black Spartan aimed a Plasma Pistol at him.

Her expression wore one of distrust and paranoia, "Did anyone follow you?" When Church said 'no', she eased off her weapon.

"Tex, what the hell is going on? Why did you attack us?"

"'Attack'? I didn't attack you! I was trying to warn you!"

"Really? Then what was that shot for?"

Tex sighed exasperatedly from all of the questions, "To distract everyone so that I can pull Grif to the side, tell him what's up, and return him before anyone could see me. If it weren't for that Master Chief, my plan would've worked."

Church furrowed his brows, "What plan? What are you hiding from?"

She shook her head, her edginess returning, "That doesn't matter right now. Listen—

OOOoooOOOoooOOO

Outside, a company of ONI troopers flooded through the crevasse's entrance.

OOOoooOOOoooOOO

"—the Red and Blue civil war was just an illusion, a hoax—"

OOOoooOOOoooOOO

They stormed down the tunnel, the tapping of their footsteps coming closer and closer.

OOOoooOOOoooOOO

"—These ONI guys, they lied to us. They pretended to enlist us in the army, but really used us as test subjects in this 'project' to—"

"Halt!" a clutch of ONI were standing at the entrance and more filed into the chamber. Most had their guns pointing at either Spartan as eight soldiers arrested and disarmed them. One of the soldiers took the ONI hostage and freed him.

"Frickin' kids! Ain't ya got any respect for yer elders?" the liberated soldier barked at the two Spartans.

Church exclaimed in surprise, "Hey! Weren't you that pilot that picked us up earlier?"

The middle-aged pilot, however, hardly seem to recognize him, "Maybe. Ya Blue guys all look tha same ta me."

While the pilot was talking, Tex elbowed one of her captors in the stomach and flipped another one on top of a couple other soldiers. Unfortunately, some ONI troops quickly overcame her and jumped into the teleporter with her.

"Tex!" Church cried, attempting to wrest away from the soldiers, "Rrr, lemme go!" A soldier aimed an odd-looking Forerunner weapon at his face. Church snorted, "Heh. Nice try pal, but I'm already dead—Ow!" The soldier zapped him with some kind of orangish beam. Despite he's a ghost and shouldn't feel any pain, this thing stung like hell.

"Don't even think about hopping out of your body," the soldier fingered the weapon's trigger threateningly.

One of the ONI, possibly the leader, radioed to another team, "Bravo Team, we have our ghosts. How's the situation over there?"

OOOoooOOOoooOOO

Next to another teleporter inside an isolated warehouse, the rest of the Red and Blues, each looking equally outraged or confused, was hog-tied by the secondary ONI company. The Bravo leader answered back, "10-4, Alpha Team, Blood Gulchers secured. Preparing for extraction, over."

OOOoooOOOoooOOO

: To be continued…