DISCLAIMER/ I don't possess legal rights to Halo or RWBY
CHAPTER XI: Night of the Bull Part II
"Bad luck relies on perfect timing."
-Catherynne M. Valente
Saturday, January 4, 2527 [MILITARY STANDARD TIME/06:10]
*Knock. Knock*
"I got it," Jaune said as he approached the door with an outstretched arm. Today was a less than promising day in his personal opinion. From being Cardin's personally ploy in doing his and his team's work, he wasn't in the best of moods right now. In fact, he was anything else at this point. He opened it before seeing the second most important person within the school outside his team's room. Ms. Glynda Goodwich.
Glynda Goodwitch scrutinized the blond soon-to-be-huntsmen whose eyes flashed with fear, his entire body language looked physically uncomfortable. She in all regard dreaded the boy in her class. From his lack of knowledge on human/Faunus history, Grimm tactics, Aura techniques, and combat specialties, there was nothing remotely useful of the boy from his first couple of weeks in the school.
Most if not all, the teachers suspected something was wrong with the boy. Not only were the transcripts he had given weren't exactly from previous mediums prescribed. His academic score was just barely above passable and she was beginning to question whether or not he was located into the right school.
Not to mention from her point of view, which was rather close by some of her peers mentions, he had little to no experience strategizing in teamwork and planning, or tactical frontal assaults on a multitude of situations taking place. When given the instruction to defend himself against Cardin, or simply to unlock his aura to fight against anything attacking, Jaune would freeze up. Not have enough time to plan or think up a strategy.
Jaune was simply uneducated in everything Beacon stood for.
Unlike some people, like the Champion of Sanctum, Pyrrha Nikos.
Or Ruby Rose, youngest ever to enter in Beacon Academy with probably one of the most deadliest weapons designed.
Or even the heavily praised and decorated soldier, John-117. That man was an odd one. From reports given to her he wasn't one to question orders, but rather have all of the necessary skills to bring all of his men home. Even though his threat level was rated at 'HYPER-LETHAL', he detested in killing or ending lives. Which was a shock to Glynda.
She'd have to re-read Jaune's transportation transcripts to verify their legibility. With everything that had gone on in the past months with the United Nations Space Command, forged transcripts, the Schnee dust company involvement with the Insurrectionists, and above all the Master Chief nearly tearing an ear off of one of her students, she was beyond busy and didn't have much time to herself these oncoming days.
Which only continued to make her distaste for the UNSC to grow. To the point that the Master Chief, a civilized special unit were to attack a student and leave the premise left her absolutely stupefied. Trying to send a call in or get a response though was more complicated then it seemed.
"Hello, Mr. Arc. Is Miss Nikos with you?" she asked with her riding crop in her left hand. She wasn't at all in the mood to return to work on a Saturday afternoon with this type of request put in by headmaster Ozpin via scroll.
"Yes M-Ma'am." Jaune turned and looked at Pyrrha, who sat on the bed in her usual out of school style which consisted of a loose fitting red tank top and white shorts. Her hair was left undone and her hair was freely going past and cropping her shoulders.
"Uhhh... It's for you," he said quickly.
Pyrrha closed the red book she was currently writing in before slipping her slippers on and walking over to the opened door. Both Ren and Nora were at the mess hall getting dinner... Which was breakfast themed for some reason and Nora was stuffing herself with pancakes that would have made stomachs churn.
"Who is it Jaune," she questioned the leader of Juniper.
"It's Gly-" He stopped mid sentence to correct himself, since the teacher was right behind him in arm's length of killing him. "Ms. Goodwitch."
"Oh," she said as she went over to the door and saw that it was in fact professor Goodwitch, who looked anything but enthusiastic.
"Get dressed and meet me in Ozpin's office. This is urgent," she said before turning her heels and leaving. Pyrrha blinked once, dumbly, before looking back at Jaune and nodding.
A few minutes later, she exited her room in her normal bronze battle armor attire before venturing down the cold lonely halls. As she approached the headmaster's office, her obvious worry for Jaune was evident in her thoughts.
Not only was he trying to deny his obvious problems with Cardin, but also pushing aside his issues with his academics. She only knew him for a few months, but she knew when someone was struggling. It was written clearly in Jaune's poor vexed eyes that yearned for skill. Skill that he lacked.
She knew, and it would only be a matter of time before everyone else did. But she knew he was destined for great things... No matter how cliched that sounded.
As she came into the clock tower and towards the elevator, she couldn't help but shiver.
XXXXXXX
"You mustn't underestimate my Spartans headmaster, they are not to be reckoned with on any given time or date," Catherine said first within the clock tower room.
"We shall see of that, Dr. Halsey, we shall see indeed," Ozpin said as he poured a glass of chi-tea for Catherine, who sat in front of him wearing her regular doctor's coat with a discerning gaze. The glare from the light above lit her small rectangular glasses covering a quarter of her blue eyes that stared deep within Ozpin's thin brown ones.
"From what your 'Spartan' told me, you really had the right kind of teaching methods," he admitted, thinking back to his very brief and amicable conversation with the green armored man a very long time ago... In his old age that is. Even though Ozpin never claimed to be the most observational or taking many notes of anything detailed, he could tell any inexperienced soldier from the next.
John-117 spoke from little to no social skills. He went silent just after a few words and wasn't a talker to begin with. In his voice or the tone he took up... was pent up anger.
Rage.
A misguided young man with much in his mind, but close to nothing in his goal set. Ozpin didn't know, but he had a small yet indisputable feeling John was younger than he sounded. He knew these things since one of long time colleagues was within the military and had an army under his control.
He didn't know the man, have any prior information on his history, so much as a combat record, but deep down he knew this man was going to be of some importance later on. He could feel it.
"I beg your pardon?" Catherine questioned while cooling off her tea.
"One of my student's, a first year named Weiss Schnee was going through the learning trials of becoming a better leader," Ozpin took a rather deep breathe. "slowly but surely, and she was met with some very insightful advice from Mr. 117. By the way, if you mind, does Mr. 117 have to be addressed as so? Can his birth name be used more frequently perhaps?" Ozpin asked more assertively.
"No, I'm afraid 117 cannot have his name revealed while he is on active duty for protection of his identity and the identity of others. In fact, we need to address that to Miss Nikos as well. And what did he say to this Schnee?" Catherine asked. She very well knew who the Schnee's were. All of the UNSC, including a few key spies in ONI were keeping a close eye on them at this very moment since they had been linked to conspiring with the Insurrectionists and the White Fang.
If she remembered correctly, the Master Chief was given the task to keep an eye on the heiress more closely when given the chance or authority to be sent here at beacon.
After hearing the amount of diplomatic power they held and what little they couldn't do, Catherine decided to learn as much as she could of this aristocrat family.
"Nothing too hard for her little mind to comprehend. Just the primary basis of teamwork and what it means to be a leader," Ozpin said.
"He is one of the most recommended for leading the other SPARTAN-II units. It was my appointment, along with Senior Chief Petty Officer Franklin Mendez," she said while letting the tea's toxic aroma enter her nostrils. Catherine could discuss names with Ozpin since she was allowed clearance to, she just wasn't allowed to talk about certain topics with Ozpin. Or anyone in that matter.
Franklin Mendez was scheduled to arrive within the next coming months. Reasons why and his personal motivation? She didn't have the faintest idea as of why.
"Ah yes, I've heard about him especially. Mr. 117 spoke very highly of him indeed," Ozpin said while folding his hands secludedly on his lap. "I cannot say I was this enthralled by the United Nations military at first, but such things as space travel to having 'unkillable' soldiers really makes me question our own strength," he admitted.
"Not being allowed space travel is indeed a rather large setback when fossil fuels don't exist. That is because the dusts quality can't survive in space?" Ozpin nodded at this. "Hmmmm, that is bothersome...Returning to the main topic at hand, I have no statistics of any preliminary strengths, but if Atlas has so many issues within it's own security, it will fall in a matter of months. A year at most," Catherine said without batting an eye in his.
As of right now, she thought John was back at base, still At rest from his previous accident with the aura overload.
How wrong she was.
"Hopefully, it won't come anywhere near that. I have a rather dusty old friend taking an overly long extended mission to look for our trump card within the protection and prosperity of Remnant," Ozpin said since the woman who sat in front of him was probably one of the only geniuses within the United Nations Space Command. From his perspective, Catherine could have what it takes to help him and Ironwood find exactly what they were looking for.
The years invested in the millions of lien spent could only go so far before things really took a turn for the worst.
Time was of the essence, time they did not have.
But in Ozpin's opinion, while the UNSC had it's questionable advances towards Remnant in an odd and peculiar way, they had so many advantages that Remnant desperately needed. Space travel for example. The idea seemed so revolutionary at the time when Remnant was hitting a technological Renaissance that spurred countless and unlimited ideals. But those ideas were quickly extinguished when they realized how quickly dust would disintegrate once it left the atmosphere and entered space.
"Then let me ask you something simple. Have you ever heard of the story called the four-" Ozpin began before the double doors opened. He looked up and over Catherine, who turned around and caught sight of the Remnant version of their Spartan.
Pyrrha walked forward before saying, "Hello, I was called here about something urgent."
Catherine looked at the girl before her, she truly was everything they spoke of now that she got a better look at her. From Catherine's diagnosis, this girl was the paragon of the healthy and mentally vibrant. Her body would catch a few glances as it was toned to perfection with not a single ounce of fat hanging off the sides underneath that short crimson skirt.
Her skin was almost flawless, not a single blemish or scar could be seen. Her eyes and hair were perfectly cleaned and pampered, not to mention when she spoke, her teeth were perfectly straight and almost chalk white.
Remnant's Invincible Girl held a good amount of secrets within her as well.
Specifically, her designated semblance that gave her the edge to winning all of her fights. Catherine had only looked into Pyrrha's special data analysis and found out her power was something that could not only prove to nearly impossible to believe, but somehow outworldly to comprehend.
Polarity.
A rather large stepping stone when it came to fighting against an opponent who was covered head to toe in metal.
"Please, Miss Nikos, take a seat. We have much to discuss," Catherine said as Glynda, who was standing in the corner made her appearance and entered the center of the room. Pyrrha made her way over to the center as well with the other adults.
As far as her memory could offer, she knew she had seen this woman once before. She couldn't place a name, but had heard of it somewhere. Pyrrha would have to wait and see though what this was all about.
"Good evening, Miss Nikos. Would you like some coffee? Tea? A bon-bon?" Ozpin offered an assortment of treats to Pyrrha who shook her head.
"No thank you sir, I'm trying to maintain a balanced diet," she said. "I don't mean to sound rude, but why am I here?"
"As you can tell, you've met Dr. Halsey once. About a month ago," Ozpin started as he stored some more grinds in his third cup of coffee to keep him awake.
"Yes?" Pyrrha said with much doubt in her voice. She kept her knees touching and looked uncomfortable at being on the center spot.
The look Catherine Halsey was giving her made her feel as if she was living in a fishbowl. So intoxicated by the sight would've been a pure understatement.
"Then you should, Halsey is one of the United Nation's most brilliant minds, leading... Um, I beg your pardon, Doctor, but you've seem to not clue me in on which field you conduct," Ozpin chided himself for not knowing this sooner.
"All of them," Catherine said with a push of her glasses before turning her attention back to the crimson haired girl. "And what you were thinking was completely and nauseatingly, the most unprotected action you have taken so far Miss Nikos," Halsey said while clicking her nails.
"You didn't take any precautions and acted so stupidly that any of my lower colleagues would have been held to the fullest extent of the law in ONI's listings. Since you are not apart of ONI, or the UEG, I could have you imprisoned for endangering the life of a valued soldier."
Pyrrha looked visibly shaken at Halsey's type of wording. She didn't know what she had done to deserve this and was on her way to getting more worried than needed. She opened her mouth,"I'm very-"
Catherine then cut her off by holding her hand up and speaking more powerfully. "Do not speak unless I say so. Whatever you did put John into a mess. So much so that most of his internal organs were nearly minced. Now explain to me why you were so full on by unlocking this aura."
"I only wanted to help," Pyrrha spoke out above a whisper with her rich tone.
"It wasn't needed, he could have been bedridden for months because of your little stunt. Thank god that didn't happen, though. But because of you, he'll be out of action for weeks," Catherine said to Pyrrha. "In fact... Do you know the repercussions for meddling within key scientific advisories? The repercussions can range from jail..." Catherine said as Pyrrha gulped.
"... but I've learned a thing or two on what's appropriate for a proper punishment unless you do exactly what I say," Catherine suddenly lectured, making Pyrrha say silent.
"Ummm. John nee-"
"You will not use his name, but he is in need of some rather peculiar teachings. One that someone of your expertise can match," Catherine began as she wanted to conclude her conversation.
"You want me to-"
"I need you to help 117. I am afraid if he continues at this pace with everything, he'll never live to see the war end." Catherine said. "I don't know anything about your... Capabilities that make you stand above all-
XXXXXX
Bricks fell from one weak wall as it came down on top of him. He dropped his gun, but kept a firm stance when the bomb went off in his face. He managed to fall back on his side and through one of the doors as the building shook roughly.
The Master Chief didn't hesitate to look for an opening, which there were plenty of, and scoped through the smoke. He realized there was another room behind him and more than likely had a window. Turning around and seeing the door, he kicked it through before charging through the room and sending his eyes on the only opening he could see within: The window. With a flick of the heels and an outstretched leg, he soared into the glass.
He kept his arms wrapped around his midsection, shielding him from many of the flying debris as he went down the forty foot drop and rolled when his feet hit the concrete. Spinning around towards the building, he saw the structure begin to tilt until the underside of it finally gave way and it caved in. The smoke and debris began to fly towards him until he stood up and began to jog towards another collection of buildings.
'Not good,' the Master Chief thought with a frown as he said into his com-link. "This is Spartan 117, if anyone's out there, do you read? Over."
It was silent on the other end. Chief then remembered the only communications was open due to the pack one of the marines had... Meaning he had no way to link with the UNSC.
"Turn around." A voice said in Chief's com-link. The voice wasn't any of his squad mates and didn't sound like someone who he hasn't seen in a very long time.
The Master Chief looked down before getting an unwary feeling in his legs. He didn't turn his head, but had a distinct remembrance of the tone he was hearing.
"It's been awhile... Human," Adam taunted with a mid pause. Making sure there weren't any exits for the Master Chief to use. "The calls of revolution hound your name."
Chief replied with silence, but stared down at Adam with his stature being low.
"Did you believe you could hide?" Adam questioned as Chief examined his sword. It looked like it had been modified since last time and he tuned its stock. Not to mention, in Chief's opinion, appeared to be sharper. Adam didn't move an inch but he spoke again. "I fully intend on spilling your blood, every last drop."
Chief answered back without saying a word. He didn't have anything on him besides a knife, and he doubted he'd be able to hold off against Adam in combat with blades.
He needed to find a gun.
Adam didn't reply or call his bluff, but shoved past a light post and charged the Master Chief.
John didn't take the bait and rolled over to the side as the wall behind him was sliced down the center. He kicked at Adam before running over to one of the collapsed fences and looking for any signs of life on his tracker.
He wasn't given any time, though, when he heard a patter of feet behind him he quickly spun around and got his visor nearly kicked in by Adam. He back-flipped and shook his head before seeing Adam hold up the sheathe of his gun up, and firing at him. Chief took the shot to the side of his chest before he rolled backwards and grabbed the first thing in front of him by his feet; that being a stone.
Adam sliced the stone tossed at him down the middle, but had to use the dull side of the sword when Chief suddenly surprised him with a punch. Adam pried his way into Chief's bubble, and jammed the stock of his gun up, catching the soldier in the jaw before slamming both feet in his chest. The Master Chief flew back and into a fence that was pulled down on top of him, before he saw Adam jump onto a building's roof and vanish. He quickly ripped the wires off of him before standing up, and looking around him for anything in defense.
His HUD could link to any registered UNSC weapons close by. When he did that, he saw most of the weapons were still inside the building.
'HEY! IF ANY OF YOU (Static) ... GREEN MEAN FIGHTING MACHINES ARE ALIVE! THEN TALK!' A familiar disgruntled voice shouted in John's ear as a round brushed off in the com-link.
"Sir?" The Master Chief questioned while walking across the road, pressing his body against a building, and staying within the shadows. He didn't know how Avery was able to contact him right now since the only thing keeping the transmission alive had been smashed under the building.
'Listen! It's a set-up! No one! God dammit, back off!' A few buck-shots were sounded off in his ear piece. 'Where in the hell did they get MY GUNS from!? The White Fang lured us here! They're attacking with our firepower!'
"Are you certain?" the Master Chief's voice asked as he kept his eyes on his scanner for any offending life forms.
'As certain as a leprechaun's green ass! No one's alive here spartan! Forget search and rescue, run back to the EV and get out of the city! It's your only chance!' Avery cut off the message as John nodded to himself.
He had to leave and re-link to the UNSC.
As he looked around for any signs of Adam, he couldn't help but feel like he was being watched. Adam left quickly while making sure it was silent. As John used his HUD to locate a weapon, an objective sign appeared on the top left corner.
Giving him the location, he returned back to the building and went over to where the entrance to the stairwell would have been. Looking to both sides of the road, he didn't see any oncoming Grimm. Digging under the piles of rubble, brick by brick at a time, he found one of the first of the marines... Or their leg sticking out. Pulling by the man's leg out, it was Leonard.
Or what was left of him.
He was beyond recognition at this point. He had taken his helmet off and sat it on the porch outside when he sat down to eat something quick. Never saw the roof fall on top of him and crush his skull.
Ripping his dog tags off from around his neck, Chief placed them in his thigh compartment before taking the single and only grenade of Leonard's, and seeing the nozzle stick from underneath him, belonging to the NA4/DP flamethrower that was still attached to his back.
Looping the straps off of his shoulder and undoing the buckled around his waist, he slipped it off of the fallen marines before attaching it to himself and linking it up to his HUD.
As he did this and finally picked the nozzle from the ground, his HUD picked up something in the distance. About 20 meters off. Looking behind him and down another alley... He saw a turned over warthog. It looked like it had been pushed on through here and was covered in remnants of other buildings foundation. Standing up with the clunky nozzle in hand that was easily 50 pounds, he read the fuel capacity was at 20%.
Not enough to go on through a minute, but he'd have to use it wisely.
Stretching past the road, he heard a few gunshots in the distance. He had a feeling it'd be the other group of marines that went down to the other side of the city. He couldn't go down there without something to defend himself. Nor could he help them with the Grimm surrounding his current location. Any noise made by him would prove to be a dangerous maneuver.
There wasn't a single exit not occupied by Grimm.
There wasn't an evac zone coming for him.
There wasn't a chance he'd escape without alarming nearby Grimm.
And he wasn't going to get off of this clean.
Getting to the fallen warthog hastily, it looked pretty cleaned out. None of the back compartments were full of the needed medical supplies, but empty. Any or most of the warthogs would normally carry all essential batteries, lights, spare equipment, or even ammo for most needed artillery. Not this one though. It was picked clean.
Continuing to salvage through the warthog, he checked any of the support systems to see if he could re-route the closest IP address and find any life... But saw the warthogs main battery supply had been taken out.
How long had this warthog been here?
Feeling that his luck had just run out, he backed up and looked over the warthog sprawled on its side with bricks and garbage covering the large portion of it... And got caught by something looming at the end of the alleyway. Walking past the truck and over fallen bits of rock, he came closer and closer to what had caught his eyes... And noticed his helmet zoomed in on it and showed him what it was.
A spartan laser.
Rushing over to it, he gripped the weapons stock and linked it to his HUD before grimacing.
1 shot left.
He REALLY had to make this count.
As he surveyed the weapon, he put the overly large nozzle above his head and rested it on the tank he strapped to himself by clipping it behind him. He checked the weapon he currently held and made sure there wasn't any anomalies with it such as the BA-53635/PLMD Battery Unit Series 6971 battery cell wasn't damaged or punctured.
If it was, it'd blow up right in his hands before he could even fire it. The direct energy weapon was probably one of three last lines of defense against all his enemies now... He had to take precautions seriously on with who he fought.
A beeping sound singled him on his scanner and alerted him of a presence of someone. Looking to his scanner, he saw there was a detection next to him, which wasn't possible since there was a wall and nothing could have been on the other side of it.
He heard a stomp behind him and the scanner showed the thing was now right behind him, just 15 feet away. Spinning around, Adam stood there at the end of the alley with his sword drawn. Chief, quickly thinking, primed up the spartan laser and let it charge while taking a kneeling position to make sure it didn't recoil. The end of the weapons nozzle began to spin and glow brighter and brighter.
Adam, held his blade in front of him upwards, and stood his ground valiantly. Even though the only though raging through his mind was the feeling he'd received when his sword cut through the spartan like a can filled with jelly.
Things happened too quick to process what was happening. The laser came straight out of the nozzle like a destructive beam of light from the underworld. Swirling like a heated vortex, it shot at Adam, quicker than one could blink.
Adam absorbed the laser's energy through his sword.
But the Master Chief nearly choked when he looked through the weapons sights and saw something that was near astronomical in all retrospects to physics itself.
Adam's was still there, standing like nothing had happened... But glowing red.
The rings and markings of his mask glowed red while his hair resembled the crimson fires of hell.
The Spartan laser had a muzzle velocity of 299,792,458 m/s (983,571,056 ft/s), but Adam seemed to have absorbed the energy like a sponge to water.
Adam let the blade down to show that his eyes were streaming fire, and he uttered one word.
"Flee." And with that said, he swung down a monumental strike.
The Master Chief was smashed backwards down the alley like a top, flying back while losing his grip on the spartan laser that fell from his hands to the ground in a heap of damage. When Adam hit Chief with the repulsed slash, the spartan laser was cut clean through.
The Master Chief hit the concrete floor while being propped up by his napalm tank. He shook his head, getting the ring that resonated in his hearing and looked down the alley at Adam. The sides of the alley on both walls were cut deeply, and seemed to have reached as far as twenty feet towards him.
Adam was still there, standing with his sword outstretched. He looked up at John who stared him before snarling. Adam sped towards him as the master chief struggled to get up, and get a hold of the flamethrower. He knew there wouldn't be an ice cubes chance in hell he'd be able to hold off against him with a flamethrower.
You had to be an all kind of a new type of a lunatic to bring a flamethrower to a sword fight.
The Master Chief shoved Adam back before spinning a palm toward his head. The Master Chief's hand hit nothing, but the brick wall in front of him was where Adam's head should have been.
Taking his hand from the newly formed hole, he spun his wrist before trying to punch at Adam again who sidestepped him before. Adam was brushing past all his blows before responding with his own by slapping both palms on the sides of Chiefs helmet, followed by back flipping and connecting the tip of his heel on the bottom of John's jaw.
The Master Chief grunted as he felt the blow, but shook his head and eyed Adam who landed back on his feet before whipping his sword out.
The Chief had to take a step back, but felt something slam into the side of his head. He heard a few more pops off to the side, one not only hit his helmet, but struck the side of his arm.
Looking up to the roof where he heard the gunshot, he saw something in the corner of his eyes. When he scrutinized the round object abstracting his sight, he saw it was a man. Not one, but a group of three.
He shrugged off a jab at his neck from Adam and continued to beat the hose of the flame thrower at him like a wild mace. Adam held up his sword before grinding it against the side of the wall, before kicking off of it and shoulder ramming John in the chest.
John almost fell back if it hadn't been for his left footing caught him and holding him upright. Slamming the hose up on Adams face, Adam slices downward... Before he hit nothing and was jabbed in the stomach. When he swung his sword down, he left his entire midsection exposed.
At the point, Chief swung the tip of the flamethrower up, catching Adam in the jaw which sent the assassin snapping his head up, before he held the flamethrower forward with both hands, and pulled the trigger.
There was a high wheezing sound, and the entire hose rattled before it sprayed a silver liquid that shot off like a hose in the moonlight towards Adam. Then in an instant, the clear liquid ignited into a serpent of orange flames that consumed the narrow alley like the throat of a dragon.
The few stationary White Fang members on the top of the roof armed with pulse rifles, didn't know what happened in the alley. Some of them couldn't see through the slits of their mask very well, but could make out some noises. Grunts, smashing, the sword from their leader clanging back and forth, but something really caught them off guard.
It was probably the torrent of blistering flames that ripped through the alley, straight towards them. The few revolutionary members looked on in horror, before being ravaged by the fire.
The Master Chief guided the hose that had quite a kickback from its power, in an up and down motion. Chief felt the nozzle get swung off to the side before getting a view of Adams gloves fist racing toward his neck. Chief bent his head to the side before picking his left foot up and swinging a kick at Adam's side, that he flew over in an evasive maneuver. Adam spun in a ninety degree tail spin before swiping at Johns arm, which got stuck in his armor.
"You have crossed my path one too many."
The Chief retorted without words.
"You will bleed, and so will any traitors against our destiny." Adam then didn't hesitate to jump forward before launching both feet at John and use his sword to create a shower of sparks as he slashed it against the metal wall.
The Master Chief swerved his body to the right as Adam's sword just grazed the left right side of his helmet, emitting sparks. Adams feet were then both planted firmly on the Chief's shoulder, nearly knocking him to the ground. The Master Chief skidded to a halt before jumping back again to create room.
As he did this, he heard a cluster of feet beating the ground. Looking to the left, he saw a group of Grimm down the road head towards him and Adam. He turned around, only to nearly get his head chopped in half when Adam returned to his previous assault.
As the two exchanged blows, more and more Grimm ascended upon them from every corner of the blocks.
John saw sparks as Adam's blade glided across his chest, but managed to trip Adam up by grabbing him by the arm and smacking him in the nose with the back of his own hand. Adam grunted as he felt his nose shatter, but looped a foot around Chief's ankle and used his own weight to knock the man down when he got caught in a crack.
Chief fell on his back and reacted instantly when Adam stabbed down like a pin in a cushion.
He used his left hand to stop the sword from cutting into his heart and used his right hand to apply a grip around Adam's ankle. Adam saw this however and used his other free foot to kick Chief in the side of the helmet.
Chief kicked Adam off before rushing to one of the buildings, and began to climb up by using the windows ledge as stairs. He pushed and pushed towards the top ledge, closer he came with each and every graph at the same width of the ledge. When he got to the top, he quickly rolled over the railing and looked down at the road to see...
Adam wasn't there.
The Grimm that had been rushing towards the commotion looked up from the street below and began to climb up, similar fashion towards him. Their boned nails cut right through the brick like sand.
Chief noticed his sensor gleamed at a presence behind him, and on action he spun to the side and around and saw Adam standing on the other side. Calmly.
Adam walked forward, before he took his sword out and held it in a reversal grip.
The Chief took the nozzle off of his back and held it to the side, almost like a staff. The hose was wrapped to his side so it didn't interfere with his fight, but it retracted mobility when he wanted to hit Adam.
Adam didn't cease his motion as he rushed in and raised his sword, but chief beat him to it and used the double handed grip to hold Adam off. Using his left right hand, he let the nozzle go before reaching down in his boot sheath, and ripping his knife out. Quickly jabbing forward, he stabbed Adam on the right side of the chest, making the red haired masked man jump back and growl.
The Master Chief heard scratching behind him and clawing. He knew the Grimm were almost here, and his means of escape were limited.
Rearing his head back to Adam, he saw the man rushed in quicker than he could catch him, and jammed the sword at his chest, which pierced right through the tip of the hose John had wrapped around his midsection. The clear foul smelling liquid squirted out from the hose and some of it doused Adam on his jacket, and some splashed on the face of his mask. Adam coughed a bit as he took a deep whiff of the jelly gasoline that stained his clothes. It was a high mixture of aluminum, polystyrene, and petrol. But it didn't stop him from attacking the master chief.
A young Beowulf snuck up to Chief and was about to claw him, before it could strike him, the Spartan ducked under Adam's fist and smashed the nozzle of the hose on the side of the Grimm's mask, causing it to crack under the strain under the sudden buildup of pressure.
The Grimm flew right off of the roof, and another took its place behind Adam, where it was cleaved down the middle by said bull Faunus.
Both Adam and the master chief, took turns swinging at each other, then proceeded to knock off any unsuspecting Grimm that were attempting to make their way on top of the building where the two fought for their lives against both themselves, and the oncoming swarms of deadly creatures.
The Master Chief threw a punch that caught Adam in the clavicle, and Adam responded by using the Chief's force to slide back and kick off of the ledge and launch a foot at Chief, who spun to the side and kicked another Grimm off of the roof before using his knife to stab one in the throat. The one he stabbed was huge. Almost 10 feet tall with burly shoulders and loose skin. Chief shoved that one off the roof and paid his attention back to Adam who spun the sword vertically, and chopped one of the Grimm's heads off effectively.
When looking down at his feet, the Chief saw the oozing rainbows spread across his boots from the flamethrowers tank punctured... Which sparked an idea in his brain.
When Adam fought off another oncoming Grimm that nearly sized him up, John hastily un-clipped the only grenade and dropped it with the pin around his ring finger.
Adam's sensitive ears on top of his head picked up the sound of something heavy hitting the ground, and when he looked back to where the chief was, he saw the armored soldier drop the massive tank on his back. The Master Chief then slipped himself off of the building's edge and let gravity pull him from the rooftop.
Adam, now surrounded on all sides by Grimm, let his eyes follow to the sound...
And saw the grenade sitting next to the napalm tank.
Unresponsive, Adam uttered one word before being overwhelmed by the attacking Grimm forces.
The Chief hit the sidewalk with a crunch, before the roof above him erupted into colors of red, orange, yellow, and brightness. The shower of evoking sound that could be compared to a train crashing happened far too quickly for many to hear.
Adam tried to jump away, but soon found his vision covered in white. He then felt his face blistering, which began to sting uncontrollably. But the pain soon exploded, and his entire frontal portion of his body was almost instantly devoured by the inferno.
He screamed in a horrid tantrum of pure agony.
Stones from the apartments complex were tossed in all directions mixed with chunks of Grimm. The Master Chief crawled back a bit before trudging himself up, making a break for the other side of the street. The bundling rocked forward with flames consuming the roof, before it slowly inched forward. He took cover behind a wall as the colossal crash exploded through the road.
John didn't stop his breathing, but swore he could feel his lungs about to give out. He was ready to lose it back there. He was in all honesty ready to die right then and there. When he took the grenade off of his side, he thought of not letting it go. Wanting to take Adam out was top priority at that very second, so much so that his grip actually seemed to fight against his senses.
Shaking his head, he slid his back off of the wall and looked down between his knees. Today's mission had turned into one of the biggest mistakes he had ever walked into. His temporary squad of marines he was lead with, gone. Schemes from the White Fang and Adam, completed.
Without much sense, John pushed his hands under the chin of his helmet and twisted it, before pulling it off. He took a few deep fast paced intakes of scalding air. Something ran down the top of his forehead and he knew instantly it was sweat. The small things were everything to him at this point. He felt the crash of anxiety corrode his senses.
Looping his hands through the post he kept behind himself, he looked around the corner, looking at the devastation created by, himself and Adam...
There was nothing after through the ghost road but an extreme cloud of dust and smoke.
Looking down the right of the road, he took off in a sprint as he slammed his helmet back onto his head. Not caring who would come out or if he could save anyone.
He needed to leave this place. Now.
All he could sense, feel, and hear was the unsettling presence of Adam Taurus.
The Master Chief ran and ran until he became nothing but a speck in the distance of the road.
Meanwhile, where the remnants of the fallen building laid, a burnt White Fang mask with red markings rested...
With Adam nowhere to be seen.
XXXXXXX
RWBY DORM
Monday, January 6, 2527 [MILITARY STANDARD TIME/04:10]
Blake stirred softly in her sleep. When she awoke she noticed the window next to her bed was left wide open and the wind was billowing inside like an icebox. She cursed under her breath, noting Weiss may have been the one to leave it open. Kicking the covers off and tucking her black yukata over her butt, she slipped down the bed's frame and tiptoed softly to the window. Pulling down the wood and locking it, she sighed to herself.
She had been having nightmares again and again non stop. Without many to talk to she was left desperately to her own mind. All she wanted was someone she could speak with and someone who could, relate to her.
She shook her head at this.
Her?
Who could possibly sympathize with her? The only other deserter she knew was Tucson. But he was all the way into Vale. He left previously with her after the leadership changed five years ago. He wasn't for it and wouldn't have any part of it. To him, it was despicable anyone could be that heartless and remorseless.
She should have left when she got the chance to, but she kept reminding herself it was better this way. Deep down in her heart, she knew this wasn't right, though. Her logic began to kick in and soon she realized what she was doing wasn't right whatsoever.
Doing what was right... Was better.
That's what she brought up.
She couldn't help but still think of Adam... Wondering where he was and how he was doing. Even though he had lost all of his humanity long before all of this ever happened, she still thought of him. His everything...
There was a knock on the door, and Blake nearly jumped in surprise. Taking a deep breath, she walked towards the door and stood there for a moment, debating whether or not she was going to open it.
There was another louder knock and she got a bit angry at that one. Twisting the handle and opening it full without looking, she was met face to face with the SPARTAN.
John had been able to be located off the city limits of Vale by air traffic. Not only was he taken in by them, but quickly explained what had happened in mountain Glenn. No one was collected or found besides him. The air was too littered with nevermore's to send any pelican's through, not to mention the UNSC didn't want to be responsible for any more contraband. After this mission, not only did they lose about 4,000,000 credits worth of military equipment, but had around a 50 casualty loss from the retrieval mission.
The White fang had taken them all by surprise. How they managed to sneak past them without detection was still being looked into. The Master Chief couldn't help though but feel everything that lead up to this moment was his fault, and only him. He was more at loss with his actions at how he handled the mission at hand.
No one else escaped. Only him.
He never left anyone behind. Ever. Not if he could help it. Leaving the soldiers to die though really struck him. His sense of duty. Was it a testament to cowardice? Was it unavoidable? Was he worthy of being called a solider or even being in the UNSC?
Avery Johnson was no where to be found even though he was the last person he heard alive on his com-link. The UNSC communications relay support though didn't have the slightest idea though how that message was bale to get through. Almost as if someone had tapped into their channel and purged it for a few seconds, just long enough to hide itself from plain sight.
As of now, the Master Chief was here at Beacon on such short notice for one person. Someone that was the key.
That being Blake.
She knew more about the White Fang and Adam than anyone else did.
Many things could have been thought or said at this moment of time, but no words could be described at what Blake Belladonna was feeling. Seeing the enlarged man in armor in front of her brought many things to mind.
Regret. Pain. Fear. Some of the things she felt day in and day out while at Beacon.
The Master Chief stared into the eyes of Blake Belladonna before saying, "Adam." without missing a beat, he then added the key part to the ball that was about to plummet like an anvil.
"He's back."
XXXXXXX
AROUND LIGHT THERE IS MELANCHOLIA
XXXXXXX
AUTHORS NOTE: On the note of pairings let me say this, wanting a pairing to happen without reason is a bit far fetched don't you all think? Give me a reason to have them paired. Support your reason to why you want them to be paired.
Go Attack Adam they said. It'll be easy they said...
Well you know what, in memory of Yang's hand I planted a palm tree.
After all, she couldn't HANDlE the fight.
It got out of HAND.
At least Blake gave her a helping, HAND.
You all know this is what Yang would have done if the shoe was on the other foot... Or if the glove was on the other HAND!
Anywho, just wanted to get that out of my system... After all, comedy these days can cost a leg and an arm... With a detachable HAND!
Now excuse me, if you need me I'll be at the nearby second-hand story... Yang won't be there because she won't be finding anything useful or HANDy.
-SHIPWRECK5897