(A/N) So I was chatting on the Discord server with a couple fans, and the subject of Summer and the Flood came up. Then I remembered this thing existed and went looking for it. So after a minute of digging, I found it, but haven't actually re-read it. This was originally supposed to be chapter seven of ASH, but the direction I took it just seemed to drag on and on and on, and then I hit a brick wall. Thus, it was scrapped and Gold was written instead. So... enjoy this deleted content! Though beware that it does cut off fairly abruptly and I have no intention of ever finishing it. Also, this was written a long time ago, so expect some markers that I used to write, but have since abandoned.

Also, as a reminder I CANNOT DIRECTLY RESPOND TO GUEST REVIEWS. If you would like a more immediate response than waiting for the next chapter, leave your review under an account.

Canonicity - Non-canon deleted chapter

Timeframe - Just prior to the Spirit's escape from Etran Harborage

A Summer's Harvest

Chapter Seven – Silver for Monsters

/-\ Summer Rose /-\

UNSC Spirit of Fire – Hangar bay

The moment my dropship's bay door dropped, Professor Anders, still unconscious from her wounds, was spirited away to the medbay. I followed the group of doctors and nurses as they carried my friend's stretcher, though I wasn't in any hurry. I knew her injuries weren't lethal with the treatment she'd be given; hell, they better not be given how I looked when I showed up here.

My ears flattened against my head when I remembered that day. I've been away for weeks now, my family likely thought I was dead. I tried to reassure myself that they were fine; that Ruby had escaped after I left and Tai took Yang to safety, wherever that was. 'I dealt with the half-Grimm, that was the only thing tracking us.' I thought to myself.

No matter how many times I told myself that I'd dealt with the Grimm-man, and that they'd likely escaped, the thought just wouldn't stick. A solitary tear rolled down my cheek as I realized the fact that my own children could be dead and I wouldn't even know.

All because I just had to be sent here instead of staying where I belonged.

I pushed open the doors to the infirmary ward and walked up to- "Summer Rose to the bridge." I heard the intercom say. I sighed as the message repeated, turning back the way I came. 'I'll have to check on her later…' I thought as I made my way to the bridge in silence.

Minutes later, I found myself standing in front of a very stern-looking Captain Cutter. "So," He began. "since Professor Anders is still unconscious, we'll have to get your account of what happened first. Start at the beginning, please."

I told them everything, eager for a distraction from my thoughts. Cutter and Serina occasionally butt in with questions (especially about the 'lights' I'd seen outside the Covenant ship), but, all in all, it went smoothly. "So then she told me to look at a page in her journal, but I can't really make sense of it." I said, finishing out the story.

Cutter raised an eyebrow. "Show us."

I nodded, producing the item and turning to the correct page. "It keeps talking about a 'stellar destabilization'; whatever that is…"

He glanced at it, furrowing his brow before pressing it to a nearby scanner. "Can you make any sense of it, Serina?"

"One moment." She said as the scanner did its thing. "Hmm… Well it seems our intrepid professor has stumbled upon this facility's self-destruct mechanism."

I blinked. "Wait, what? Uhh… why does this place even have one?"

"Well, it might just be me, but if I were designing a facility with those horrifying zombie parasites in mind, I would be sure to include the biggest red button I could." She smirked. "And it seems the designers of this facility agreed, as pressing said big red button will cause the sun to go supernova."

Cutter tisked. "That'll certainly take a lot of Covenant forces with it."

"Undoubtedly. There is one small problem, however…" She said. "And it might be the fact the Flood are currently occupying the self-destruct complex." She then pulled up a map on the holotable revealing a cave entrance covered in… I didn't even know how to describe the things that snaked their tendrils around it.

Lithe betentacled bipeds and hulking grotesque quadrupeds circled the perimeter; twisted parodies of featherless eagles darting around overhead while literal blobs of flesh floated aimlessly in the sky.

I shivered at the sight. "All I can say to that is hell no." I said. "Just… no. I like living, thank you very much."

"Might I also add that the Flood are spreading over the planet's interior surface at an alarming rate." Serina said. "I estimate the entirety of the structure will be… consumed within seven days. When the process is finished, it will much resemble the exterior of this world."

Cutter hummed. "Looks like we have no choice. Those things seemed too smart for their own good the last time we fought them, we can't risk letting them live in case they figure out how to operate a starship, nor can we allow the Covenant to salvage anything of use either." He turned to me. "You took a beating down there, how long until you're combat ready again?"

"Bastard didn't actually hurt me, so just gimmie a few hours to recharge my aura." I groaned. "Not that I'm all that excited to fight… whatever in the Brothers' names those things are."

He nodded, grimly. "The feeling is mutual. I'm basically guaranteed to be sending good men to their deaths in the worst way I can possibly imagine, but like I said, we have no choice." He sighed. "Serina, upload all available intel of Flood combatants to Missus Rose's terminal."

"Aye sir. Upload complete."

"Good. Op starts in four hours, dismissed."

I nodded, turning towards the elevator. If I was going up against that nightmare fuel, I'm eating an entire ocean's worth of fish first.

I suppressed a shiver as I looked below me at the Flood-infested landscape. Even from up here on my Hornet, I could smell the stench of the landscape below. Almost gagging for the ninth time in as many minutes, I retrieved my spare set of earplugs the UNSC had given me for the ride here and put them up my nose.

The relief from the smell was welcome, but soon, I had other concerns. A loud screech resounded from ahead of our formation. I looked back and, of course, the Pelicans and Albatrosses we were escorting were fine. To our sides, a mixture of Hornets, Hawks, and Falcons screamed towards the grotesque enemy.

Just as the twisted abominations circling overhead their forces broke off to engage us, a dozen Shortsword bombers swooped down from the heavens. Moments later, the betentacled ground erupted in a furious inferno. My Faunus ears could faintly hear an almost demonic screech echoing out from the flames.

I keyed my commlink. "Summer here, just got some small fry to deal with before we reach the staging area."

"Copy, the Hurons are standing by on your signal." Cutter said.

"This'll only take a minute." I said, confidently as our aerial forces converged on the winged monstrosities; my cloak fluttering in the wind.

I was immensely thankful for the UNSC-provided earplugs when our formation opened fire, tracer rounds streaking towards their targets as the Flood returned in kind with biological projectiles. Several aircraft burst into flames when their salvo met its intended target, plummeting to their doom. However, seeing as well over a quarter of their number met the same fate, the parasite's losses seemed heavier.

Our Hawks and Hornets surged forwards, the Falcons hanging back to cover the transports, and engaged in the aerial equivalent of melee; a dogfight. I gained a vice-like grip on the handhold, keeping me firmly rooted to the Hornet's wing as the pilot executed crazy maneuvers one after another; sometimes literally flying circles around both friend and foe alike as his guns blazed away.

My own weapon was not idle, however, as was proven when one of their eagles suddenly lost a wing due to my 8-guage shell careening through it. The monster let out a pained screech as it corkscrewed into the ground below. Before it actually did impact, though, another of its kin plummeted with it, the deformed head of the animal completely amputated; courtesy of another round.

The craft jerked suddenly, throwing off a third shot from sending yet another bird into the dirt. At first, I thought nothing of it; just the pilot evading something. Moments later, the craft started spinning out of control and, wondering just what was going on, I looked back at the cockpit.

That's when I saw it.

I saw the monster that had forced open the cockpit and was in the process of changing the pilot. His skin mutated before my eyes, turning green while spontaneously sprouting both tentacles and cysts. I watched on, helplessly, as he thrashed about in the cockpit, his eyes begging me to do something; anything. Soon, all traces of intelligence were erased from his face, his eyes glazing over as he once again took the controls of the Hornet.

I noticed him start to line up a shot on another Hornet, and that's when I finally snapped out of my stupor. It pained me to put a shot through the canopy, but it had to be done. He was corrupted; the Human life that was born into that body extinguished forever.

Though his mind had left, the body still persisted, even with a brand new 8-gauge-sized hole in its head. I felt disgusted for doing this, but the Flood form left me no choice; I completely emptied the rest of my magazine into the creature. Finally, it released the controls and slumped into its chair. Its death, however, created a new problem.

We were now plummeting towards the ground.

Thinking quickly, I used the falling airship as a springboard, vaulting into the air. This was only a temporary solution, though, so I quickly looked for something to grab onto. As luck would have it, I noticed a Hawk that would pass directly below me. I quickly manifested a knife and jammed it into the passing airship, giving me just enough of a grip to stay aboard.

My relief was short-lived, however, as a blob of Flood-infected biomass crashed into the ship and began to worm its way towards the cockpit. Completely unwilling to let another life be consumed, I lengthened my knife into a sword, charging the monstrosity as the blade finished forming.

Just as it started worming its way under the canopy, I reached my foe and promptly dismembered its tentacles, keeping the pilot safe. The monster let out a furious screech as several blisters on its 'back' popped, allowing several small, betentacled forms to scuttle from their host.

Just as I was about to dodge the first one that leaped at me, the craft suddenly lurched to the right, causing the creature to miss and plummet to the ground below. I only barely managed to keep my footing, my sword plunged into the airship for stability, and was already off-balance when the second Flood form made its move; lunging at my midsection.

By the skin of my teeth, I managed to get enough of a solid stance to withdraw my sword and skewer the creature, popping it like a balloon. The remaining three creatures, plus their 'mother', were not pleased at my continued survival and each made moves to subdue me.

More tentacles snaked their way towards me from the blob creature whereas the smaller ones all scuttled towards my legs, each with a pair of flower-like tentacles outstretched. However, I'd finally regained my balance and, striking, took out the three remaining small forms with a single swipe of my sword.

I leaped over the final foe and, with a pirouette of my blade, sliced it in two. As I landed on the tail of the Hawk, I looked to see the blob oozing green puss, flailing as it struggled to stitch itself back together from the wound that would be fatal to any other creature.

Knowing I didn't want to be anywhere near that thing any longer, I quickly slotted a new clip into Chromatic Rose and just as quickly emptied it into the creature; aiming for the threads that connected the two halves.

As soon as I registered that my foe was actually dead, my head swiveled around, taking in the state of the aerial battle that surrounded me. As I did, I caught sight of the last Flood eagle getting torn in half by an exploding missile, likely fired from a Hornet.

I breathed a sigh of relief, phase one of this battle was over. But that relief was only momentary as I realized nearly a third of our number lay in their titanium tombs on the surface. Looking back to the transports, though, revealed that we had born all the casualties; I couldn't see a single large wreck on the surface.

Knowing I needed to report this to Cutter, I keyed my mic. "Summer here, aerial targets neutralized. Proceeding to mission area." He gave his affirmations as we sped towards the cave. Just ahead of us, another strike group of Shortswords descended from the heavens, bringing their firebombs with them.

While easily visible from where we were, the inferno was a quick-burning one. In other words, by the time we arrived, the ground was devoid of the flames themselves; only the charred ground remained. Going by the entry in Anders's journal, the actual self-destruct facility was deep underground, though we gained little in the way of actual distance. We'd have to trudge through that cave practically blind.

Still cautious of any Flood forces that may have survived, the fighters formed a perimeter over the landing zone while the transports and Falcons unloaded their troops. The pilot of my Hawk gently set down during the unloading process, allowing me to disembark and giving me a grateful salute as I passed the cockpit. I nodded before he took off once more, joining the others.

"Summer here," I said, keying my mic. "staging area is clear, send in the Herons."

"Roger, launching pods." Cutter responded.

Minutes later, the dropships descended through the atmosphere. Four dropped down in rapid succession, each deploying half of a standard UNSC firebase. The remaining three, however, had a different cargo slung under their bellies, a massive yet lightly armed tracked vehicle; an Elephant for each dropship.

Before the Herons even disappeared back into orbit, UNSC combat engineers were already hard at work fortifying the bases. Portable defenses were wheeled out of dropships and parked along a perimeter, all the while, more permanent walls were being bolted together behind them. Turrets rose from the ground around the bases. Scores of Pelicans soared down from orbit, a building slung underneath each pair. Small Darter dropships ferried men and supplies from the Spirit to their destination.

A pair of Warthogs, one standard and one gauss variant, stopped before me. The standard one was manned by the nigh-emotionless enigmas that were the ship's Spartans; Red Team, if I recalled correctly. The other held two Marines, one I didn't recognize, the other was, naturally, Sergeant Forge. "C'mon, Summer," He called from the turret. "we're leaving."

I sighed, climbing into the passenger seat. "Still don't wanna do this…" I lamented.

"Yeah, me neither." He said. "But if someone doesn't stop those things, they might spread. And the last thing I want is my little Rion to have to deal with them because her old man couldn't do it himself."

His words gave me pause; just thinking about subjecting Ruby and Yang to these… monsters was enough to steel my nerves. Forget the Grimm, if these things found Remnant, there wouldn't be a planet to come home to. "Yeah…" I absentmindedly agreed. Trying to distract myself from the monstrosities we were about to fight, I looked for just about anything to talk to. "Elephants?" I asked as we drove past the trio of vehicles. "Why do we have those?"

"I was wondering when you'd ask." Serina suddenly said over comms. "My scanners cannot penetrate far enough into the crust to see the bottom; the only reason why we know of the location of this facility is due to the professor's journal. But to answer your question, the Elephants are loaded up with ammunition, mainly, and will serve as mobile supply depots."

Forge whistled. "That's one big boom if I'd ever heard one…"

"Indeed; the Elephants must be protected at all costs. Thankfully, they are quite armored." She hummed. "In fact, they've even been heavily modified; sporting a medium base turret and additional ceramic plating among other things."

"Well… that's reassuring, at least." I commented as our pair of Warthogs approached the inner perimeter of the base; the one surrounding the cave entrance. As we left the makeshift gate, we pulled up behind an armored wedge interspersed with infantry; the maw of the cave gaping in front of us, barely illuminated by the ever-present sun.

I could see further than most due to my Faunus night vision, but even then, I was still light-blinded by the sun. Until I actually entered the cave, only the occasional scuttling shadow would be visible to me.

Finally, Cutter gave the order to move and, reluctantly, the men moved onwards. The cavern itself was very wide, able to accommodate an entire armored company with room to spare. Yet, the ceiling was extremely low for its width; only a foot taller than an Elephant. I grew uneasy when I realized there were no supports along the Flood-infested corridor; it wouldn't bee too difficult to imagine this whole place caving in at the slightest provocation. Even though we were near the edge of the cave, I still couldn't help but shiver at the thought. It certainly didn't help that the flashlights and headlamps the Humans used to see had the same effect as the sun, nor was it any better that the roar of their engines practically deafened my Faunus ears.

"What was that?!" I heard one of the Marines beside my 'Hog shout.

My eyes immediately snapped to where he was blindly waving his flamethrower…

…and promptly unloaded my entire magazine at the hulking monstrosity stalking us from behind a growth.

The gunfire caused him to shriek momentarily, but when he regained his nerve, he joined me; scorching the entire section of cave. After the inferno had died down, several charred pieces of Flood biomass flaked from the cave walls, revealing a pristine silvery surface.

Serina hummed. "It would seem this cave is not a natural formation."

"Just means someone built it." Forge said. "It's gotta lead somewhere."

"Indeed. Combined with the Flood presence in the area, it would seem the intelligence Anders collected was accurate."

"I would hope so." I commented. "If this whole living nightmare of an op turns out to be for nothing…" I growled, unable to find any appropriate words.

"You can say that again." Forge commented. "Whatever these things are, I hope they're only on this world; a genetic experiment gone wrong, maybe."

"We can only hope." Cutter said. "Your signal is starting to get weak. Elephant teams, deploy the first relay."

"Copy, Captain." A new voice said. "First radio relay deployed; all systems green."

"Reading you loud and clear. Forge, proceed with the operation. Be careful, you're already beyond the range of our sensors. We have no idea what the terrain looks like down there."

"Well that's comforting…" I deadpanned. The Marine that spotted the abomination was shaking uncontrollably, obviously terrified to his core. I sighed. "Here." I said, getting out of the vehicle. "Take my seat, you look like you could use a breather."

He meekly nodded. "Thanks…" He mumbled, accepting my offer as I reloaded my weapon.

Forge looked at me and I jerked my head forward, signaling him to move. Now that I was slightly further away from the Hog's headlights, I could see a little better, but not by much. I shivered at the sight of the putrid boils adorning the walls, suddenly very thankful I'd decided to swipe a pair of ODST legguards and gauntlets. Even if my torso was still clad in my regular attire, at least my extremities were protected from the Flood's ooze; I'd probably never get the bloody stuff out of my normal leggings.

As I strode forward, shaking off my inattentiveness, my leg suddenly caught on something. Thankfully, I was actually cognizant enough to remain upright, but my boot was still stuck. My brow furrowed in confusion as, no matter how hard I pulled, I couldn't free myself. Confusion turned to abject horror as I felt my leg slowly become engulfed by something. It didn't take long for me to come to a horrifying conclusion…

I was being eaten alive.

"EEK!"

-BANG-

-BANG-

-BANG-

-BANG-

-BANG-

-BANG- -PING-

My heart hammered through my chest as I leaped to safety, my smoking weapon still laser-focused on the hole in the ground. As I finally regained control of my breathing, I absentmindedly stuck another clip into place,. Finally calmed down, my Faunus vision allowed me to quickly scan the area where I'd felt the… thing grapple my leg.

Turns out it was just a tentacle, meaning I may have jumped to conclusions about being eaten alive. At that point, I remembered what happened to that Hornet pilot and, suddenly, my reaction didn't seem quite so over-the-top.

After reassuring the convoy I was fine, we moved on, though I now wielded a sword in my off (right) hand. If those… things could sneak up on me like that, I want going to rely on six measly 8-guage rounds to save me. I'd already been ambushed twice, why couldn't it happen again?

With that beautiful little thought, we continued onwards. Not even a minute later, a trio of hulking monsters erupted from the wall and charged a tank in front of me. The moment I saw them, I was already charging forward.

The tank thankfully noticed them and managed to get off a round before they closed in, completely disintegrating one of their number. That just left two, one of which was now missing an arm courtesy of my sword. To my surprise, the now-one-armed abomination turned to fight the tank and I moved to pursue the-

-I rolled to the left, dodging a strike by a literal hair's breadth. I glared at my new opponent, only to pause when I realized it was covering its wounded ally. I've certainly done it enough to recognize the tactic, but I didn't expect these things to do any more than blindly attack.

My eyes narrowed. These weren't Grimm, and if I treated them like my usual opponent, I might die. Or worse. With that in mind, I sized up my opponent; big arms, big legs, bigger body. It stomped towards me, but I didn't let my guard down this time; I wouldn't be blindsided again. I leaped forward as my Faunus ears twitched, my weapon found its mark in the abomination's leg, severing it. A pair of 8-gauge shells to the face finished it off, and I quickly sliced through the thing that had landed in my place before…

…causing it to explode in a cloud of infection forms.

I shrieked, kicking and clawing as the little demons engulfed me. Thousands of tiny knives tore gouges in my skin, or would have if not for my aura. I roughly grabbed one of the pods causing me so much agony and, with a thundering shout, tore it apart with my armored hands.

The knives didn't stop, however; there were more still digging into me. I threw myself against the nearby tank, producing a satisfying -SPLAT- signifying the deaths of two more little creatures. Seeing my sword glint on the ground, I snatched it up and quickly bisected the last pod.

Scanning my surroundings, I found no more Flood… for now…

Then my priorities shifted to making sure I was actually okay. I ate my shotgun in preparation for finding any… holes that weren't supposed to be there; Brothers know I'd rather pull the trigger than turn. Legs were good, same with the arms, torso was A-Okay, and my head was fine.

I… I was alright.

I slowly removed the gun barrel from my mouth as that realization hit me. Sure, my aura was down all the way to thirty percent, bit I was alright. I sunk to my knees in relief, a hearty laugh bubbling from my lips.

"I'm still me…" I whispered in between laughs. "I'm still me!"

"Prove it."

My head snapped to the voice, coming face-to-face with a dozen guns pointed directly at me. "Ehehehe… well, this is familiar, eh Forge?" I said, slowly raising my hands in a surrendering motion.

He facepalmed from his gauss turret. "Yeah, that's her alright." The Marines and ODSTs slowly started lowering their weapons. He threw me a towel. "Ya might wanna use that, by the way." He said, smirking.

I blinked before looking down at myself and discovering my outfit was completely covered in green ooze. I shivered in disgust, quickly toweling myself off as we continued onwards. Now, I was much more careful. Every unexplained sound got my full, undivided attention.

As we progressed, my newfound vigilance saved many from being dragged off into the night, or speared by a hidden tentacle, or jumped by a monstrosity lurking in the walls. We'd been walking for over an hour, and, despite my best efforts, we still had to deal with men dying and turning against their former comrades. Most of the time, the fatal attacks took place where I wasn't, leaving me caught between long periods of eerie silence and seconds of intense combat.

"Captain, we've got a problem." Forge said, voice drained to exhaustion.

"Go ahead, Sergeant."

"The road ahead forks into two paths. Looks like one goes up and the other goes down."

The captain paused for a moment, thinking on what to do. "Establish a defensive perimeter, then take two thirds of your men to explore one br-"

"Captain!" Serina interjected. "Two Covenant vessels burning hard for our position, ETA is just shy of an hour and a half."

"Class?"

"One CCS and one CPV, sir."

"Damnit…" He muttered. "Sergeant Forge, the cautious way just went out the window. We can't afford to take the wrong path, split your forces and explore both simultaneously. You need to be aboard by the time those ships get here."

"Wilco." He said. "This is gonna suck… Alright, listen up! Alpha company, take the left path with Red Team. Bravo, with me and Summer on the right. Charlie, I want six tanks with each company." He ordered, omitting the two Scorpions that we'd lost along the way. "Double time it, people, we're on a schedule!"

Now I found myself among several dozen men, half-a-dozen tanks, just as many Warthogs, and a single, lumbering, Elephant while we trudged through the Flood-infested tunnel. I waited and waited for more attacks to come as we advanced further, but none came.

"I don't like this…" I said after fifteen minutes with no combat.

Forge nodded from the back of his 'Hog. "Sierra-092, any contacts on your end?"

"Negative, sergeant. None since we split up."

"Well, that's not ominous at all…" Serina quipped over comms. "In horror movies, this is usually the part where all commu-"

I raised an eyebrow. "Serina?" I asked.

Silence.

"Captain?" Forge addressed. "Serina? 092? Anyone?"

More silence.

"Well, shit." I said…

…moments before the single loudest screech I'd ever heard boomed throughout the cavern.

I fell to the floor, clutching my Faunus ears in pain. If my aura had been broken, I'm sure my ears would be bleeding right now. Thankfully, the screech abated just as suddenly as it started.

As I clambered back onto my feet, I saw my unit besieged by more monstrosities than I could even count. As an elite huntress, though, this was not a new situation. Instead of standing there, shocked at our newfound numerical inferiority, I leaped into the fray.

My first target was a former Elite, my blade first dismembering a betentacled arm aiming for the back of a Hellbringer infantryman before bisecting the offending beast. Four shotgun blasts were next, accompanying four infection forms bursting.

I rolled left, avoiding a Scorpion turret that had been torn from its body and thrown around like a ragdoll. Looking to the source, I witnessed two men (the crew, I presumed) be thrown to the ground by another hulking monstrosity; their bodies beset soon by infection forms moments later.

Snarling, I leaped forward, slicing my target from pelvis to shoulder. I didn't even pause for the two halves to hit the ground, my blade already blurring into motion. Infection forms popped like balloons, their number quickly dwindling.

By the time I'd run out of the scuttling targets, larger predators had found me. I slammed another clip into my weapon, the last two rounds being used to euthanize the newly-infected tank crew, before vaulting over the husk of the tank. Enemies surrounded me, closing in from all directions. I growled in grim determination, planting my foot into the corrupted rock and rocketing forwards, a pirouette bisecting a trio of former Marines.

Just as I turned to do the same to the enemies behind me, they were suddenly run over by a Warthog. "Jump on!" Forge said as he blasted another tank form.

Knowing his tone, I immediately did so, awkwardly crouching in the back. "What's going on?!" I shouted over the roar of the engine as we sped away. Before he could answer, the cavern behind us erupted in the biggest explosion I'd ever seen., visibly shaking the cavern.

After the sound subsided, the only things left back there were flames, flaming bodies, flaming wrecks, and flaming Flood. "They overran us." Forge said. "Nobody was getting out; figured we'd take a few of 'em with us."

"Godsdamnit…" I sighed as we continued onwards, just us four and a Warthog.

/-\ 487 Resplendent Notion /-\

{Redacted location}

'Interesting…' Was the first word that came to mind when I read the unexpected report from Etran Harborage. It had been well over ten thousand years since the last meddling visitors had come to an installation within our reach, but now it seems we were due for more visitors.

"What are your thoughts, 007 Contrite Witness?" I asked my fellow ancilla.

"The Human, Ellen Anders…" He started, bringing up a bioscan of the specimen. "She is… an anomaly."

"Requires study." I agreed.

"Then it is settled. I shall order her geas activated, and she will come to us. Be sure the Lifeworker is awake to greet her."

"Yes, Monitor. Do we have an estimated time of arrival?"

"Taking into account the calculations given to her by the shield world's ancilla, I would estimate twenty-one years; margin of another." He paused. "It is a shame the installation's long range slipspace portal network is offline; it would have only taken a few days to get here."

"Very well." I said before returning to hibernation mode. Everything would be fine in the interim, after all…

/-\ Summer Rose /-\

Alien World – Interior

Everything was extremely not fine.

I kicked another boarding parasite off the edge as we sped through the tunnel, nary ten minutes after we'd left the convoy. The Hellbringer, still sitting in the passenger seat, unleashed a torrent of flames as we sideswiped a handful of those bulbous carrier forms.

As their death squeals faded into the distance, the now-narrow tunnel opened up into an enormous chasm, a ledge on each side. We were spat out onto one, and, looking over, we saw half-a-dozen more Warthogs just exiting another tunnel; remnants of the other convoy.

The only problem was that we were completely separated by the chasm, its metal walls descending straight down into a blue-green abyss. In between our two ledges floated a platform, completely untouched by Flood. Drones zipped through the air, shooting deadly orange beams at any Flood form daring to get close.

"That's our target!" Forge announced, shortly before the driver gunned it towards a small ramp-like structure. Before I could object, we were already airborne, our tires spinning uselessly. As the 'Hog pitched forward in freefall, an orange beam swept over us, causing me to shiver, but not actually doing any harm.

Moments later, a landing ramp just materialized before our eyes, our tires touching down less than a second after the new ground solidified. As we rolled down to the actual platform, the same orange beam swept over the Warthogs on the other ledge.

"092, is that you?" Forge asked over comms.

"Affirmative. Good to hear from you, sergeant." He replied.

"Likewise, let's see if we can find a way to get you guys over-" A quartet of floating pylons then shot from the underside of the ledge, arranging themselves in a line between there and here. "… here…" Forge finished before the pylons emitted a blue light in the shape of a bridge. "Think its solid?"

I shrugged before going over to said bridge, kneeling down, and knocking on the new surface. "Seems like it." I said, surprised at how the designers managed to make hardlight without the appropriate dust.

"Come on over, I want a few more than four men to storm this place." Forge said.

"Agreed. On the way." 092 responded.

While they were driving over the hardlight bridge, I set about looking for the entrance to the facility. We were on a barren platform, but obviously something was shepherding us here. I briefly wondered if it was actually the Flood that had done that, but quickly dismissed that notion when I remembered the drones fighting off the parasite's incursion a few minutes ago.

I found nothing at a cursory glance and, turning back to Forge just as the last Warthog pulled onto the platform, started to ask him if he had any ideas…

…right when the bridge deactivated.

I immediately drew my weapon, but before I could even bring it to bear, a bright flash overwhelmed my senses. I blinked away the effects, searching for my attacker, when I noticed that the walls had changed. No longer was I in a massive cavern, but instead, the walls were a pristine metal; blue lights stretching up into the heavens.

"…The hell?" Forge muttered beside me, suddenly standing instead of manning his Warthog's turret.

Looking around, I was met with the very confused faces of our little convoy. All sans their vehicles.

"Captain, do you read?" 092 asked, only receiving silence.

"I am so done with this planet…" I muttered, earning a chuckle from Forge and a few other men.

"Couldn't agree more." Forge said as he began walking forward, shotgun at a high ready. "We're still on the clock, Marines! Only one way to go, might as well kick whoever's ass we find down there!"

A chorus of 'oorah's followed him as everyone, including myself, took up positions near the Sergeant.

(A/N) Not much to say here, so I'll just skip straight to the review responses.

Guest001 said - "You haven't shown Saphron at Beacon before now!?"

I haven't mentioned her name, no, but she was meant to be the blonde woman that Team RWBY ran into in Ozpin's office's reception area.

Guest002 said - "You still haven't explained WHY Neo was Cuddling in bed with Sun Wukong at the end of most recent Chapter (#43)!?"

Yeah, I suppose I haven't. It was originally a larger plotpoint how Sun and Neo got together (and I'm writing an omake about it atm) but I cut it from the main story because it was derailing the chapter it was in. I thought their interactions at the dance was enough, but many, many others have said otherwise.