Oly Oly Oxen Free

by red october700

A routine mission to take out a high leader of the insurrection goes horribly wrong and ends with Blue team's death. But were given a second chance on Remnant. So let us see what kind of trouble they can get into shall we? Not good at summery. I also cant get everyone tagged. But Blue team and Team RWBY are all in this with Ruby and John being paired.

2. Chapter 2

Linda looked at the three teens standing on the other side of the arena. Each with a cocky look and swagger. Everyone could tell that they were not taking this fight seriously. Shame on them. If they choose to not take this seriously, then they will suffer for their ignorance.

Even now Cardin was palming his mace and looking her up and down with disgust and wondering how the best way to beat her.

Linda did a mental review of the gear she had on. Light combat fatigues and boot, her knife, and her sidearm loaded with TTRs. She would have brought NornFang but did not want to risk the High Explosive-Armor piercing High-Velocity rounds in a training scenario like this. Plus she wanted to save some tricks for later...that and even she knew that a rifle like hers would be more of a hindrance in close quarters, three on one fight.

' This ought to be fun. Haven't gone this much hand to hand in a while.' she thought as she relaxed her muscles and cleared her head.

Up in the stands, Team RWBY sat with anticipation and worry. Most knew that CRDL would challenge an opponent that they saw as weak, they would gang up on and beat on stage.

" I hope she does ok." Ruby said.

" She will." came Fred's voice.

They looked up and back and saw the remainder of Blue team sitting behind them.

" She may take a couple of licks, but she will come out on top in the end." Fred said as he twirled a knife between his fingers.

" How can you be certain?" Yang asked.

" No offense to her, but she stayed back and took cover. How are you so confident that she can handle herself in a three-on-one fight?" Weiss asked.

" We may have specialized in specific fields of combat, that does not mean that we forgo other fields of combat." John told her.

" And she is not a coward for hanging back. That is what a sniper does. Hang back and support the team from the shadows." Fred picked up.

" I never said she was a coward!" Weiss shot back.

" Never said you did, but it was in your voice." Kelly said as she propped her feet up on the desk and waited for Professor Goodwitch to start the match.

" I don't think Weiss was trying to be rude or insulting, just curious. I for one would like to see how she does." came Blake's calmer voice.

Fred gave her a small smirk. " She may be average in something like this. But when it comes to taking out a target at range, you can count on her to take down every target that comes into her crosshairs, even if the target only gives her a dime to work with."

The three smiled at that thought. It may have been a half lifetime ago when Fred and John watched as Linda took out four Banshees in a full-speed turn, and shooting their rider out of their seats through a gap that was no bigger than a quarter.

" That is oddly specific." Blake remarked.

All she got was smirks.

Back on the floor, Glynda was having a bit of trouble bringing up Linda's aura monitor. She must have noticed because the girl in question spoke up.

" Everything Ok Professor?" came the ever so calm voice of Linda.

She looked up and saw her standing in a relaxed stance.

" I am having trouble getting your aura meter setup. Must be a bug in the system." Glynda said, slapping her tablet in hoping that it would erase the error message.

" That would be because I don't have mine active." Linda said, earning a confused and surprised face from not just her, but most of the class.

" And why would that be?"

Linda shrugged. " Never had someone around to do it, or they charged an arm and a leg. Plus it taught us to fight smart and to keep going even when hurt." she said matter of factly.

" Oh, this is going to be fun. We don't need to work hard to bruise her up." Cardin uttered ever so softly to his team that no one but her heard thanks to her proximity and the wolf ears on her head.

Glynda blew out a breath. " Does this go for the rest of Blue team?" She asked and blew out a breath when she got a nod, " Ok. We will fix this after classes end. I can do yours now if you want or you can continue at a disadvantage of not having an aura."

Linda just said that she wanted to get this done.

Glynda walked back to her original spot and gave a countdown.

Up in the stands, the girls turned to the three remaining members of Blue team with shocked looks.

" YOU DON'T HAVE AURA!?" Yang whispered with alarm and a bit of respect for the four.

" That is correct." John said.

The four girls could not help but wonder if they were mad, insane, or stupidly brave. To go into this profession without aura is almost a death sentence.

" Alright class, today we get a bit of something new. A three on one match where one has no aura. Be sure to pay attention. We may get a surprise." Glynda tells the class.

" Or the quickest match that will end a life." Cardin snickered quietly.

Linda narrowed her eyes at him and cracked her neck.

" Fighters ready?"

Linda gave a nod as Cardin, Sky, and Dove gave an affirmative with a twirl of their weapons.

" Begin."

The three boys ran towards the lone female faunas. They had wicked looks in their eyes as Cardin, Sky, and Dove cocked their weapons back for an easy strike. Linda just watched as they came in and tensed her legs. When they started to bring their weapons down, she dove between Cardin and Dove escaping their strike and landing behind them. She drew her sidearm and started to pelt their backs.

Cardin growled as he spun and swung his arm back and hit Sky hard in the gut and taking down his aura to 70% and out of the ring. He then slammed the head down sending a shock wave towards the girl. Linda rolled to her right and drew her blade to block Dove's sword. He scowled at her and went for a vertical chop. Both blades met in a few sparks as Dove smiled putting his weight into the blade.

Linda grunted. She was right-handed but her knife was in her left and in a bad position. She needed to do something and quickly as she caught Cardin coming in with a heavy swing aimed for her ribs. She moved into Cardin's attack and angled her blade to slide Doves' blade off of hers. She spun again and ducked under his arm as his mace slammed into Dove's face sending him to the ground with a dizzy expression.

Cardin growled again and began to hammer at her like a brute. He went for an overhead strike, but it was a faint. When she dove to his right, he brought his elbow down right onto her back messing her roll back up. He was smirking when he turned around.

" I am going to teach you your place, mutt. He spat at her as he swaggered over to her.

She may have lost her gun and blade, but she still had her hands and head. The pain in her shoulders was already fading as she got to her feet.

" Oh, you are still standing? Not for long." he said as he rolled his shoulder back to deliver an underhanded blow. He switched it to an overhand and swung it down. Linda snapped her hands up and caught the mace with both hands.

Using his other hand he swung a punch right into her ribs. Her breath came out in a painful exhale. She felt him hit her again but with an open hand to her chest as he shoved. Whether or not he was trying to get a feel on her was a different story. Either way, he got the room he was looking for. And while she was drawing the breath she lost, he wound up for a finisher and swung. Again she stepped into his swing and grabbed his arm and used his size, mass, and momentum to pull him over her smaller body and onto his back. She then placed her foot on his neck and pulled his arm to its limit. From there she can keep pulling and dislocating his arm, or if she wants to be mean, break it.

" Yield?" she asked.

He looked at her with pure hatred as he told her to shove it. In return, she pulled harder making him groan and scream as he felt his arm at its limits. One could see that he was trying to find an escape. He then slammed his hand onto the stage twice. He was done. Linda eased his arm back before she let him go and backed away with the crowd cheering her victory. He stood and rolled his shoulder while Linda turned and retrieved her M6 and knife.

But Cardin being Cardin, he used the opportunity to strike. He ran at her with his mace swinging down onto her.

" LINDA BEHIND YOU!" she heard a voice cry out. She turned and saw Cardin's mace swinging for a gut or leg shot.

She got mostly out of the way but he did hit her in the leg. She let out a cry of shock more than pain but used the shot of adrenaline to ignore the pain and tackle him onto the stage floor before she slid her knife out and hit him with the hilt hard enough to shatter his aura and then held it to his throat.

" Keep one thing in mind. I may be a sniper. But that does not mean I am weak. And I am a woman you do not want to get on the bad side of. For if you are on my shit list, you won't even hear the shot that takes your life. Got it?" she stated. Her voice was cold and held no emotion to it.

Cardins eyes held anger, hatred, but an ever-growing fear. He watched how she worked. How she killed Grimm at long range. How she blinded a Deathstalker through the smallest gaps it gave while fending off the other three.

The dead silence from both the crowd and Cardin was thick. It was only relieved when she withdrew her blade and slid it back into its sheath as she made her way back to her seat with an ever so slight limp.

" And the winner is Linda by tap out. Got to say it has been a while since I saw something like that happen." Glynda said marveling at Linda's skill...and warning.

Linda took her seat with an annoyed expression as she rubbed her leg.

" Are you going to be good Lin?" Yang asked, already coming up with a nickname for her.

" Yea. I have had worse." she told her.

" You sure? You look to be hiding a limp." Ruby said hoping to be the one to take her to the nurses and get better acquainted with the sniper.

" I will be fine." was all she said as she put a hint of coolness in her voice.

Ruby sat back thinking she angered her.

Linda sighed.

" She is not being mean Ruby, she just knows her limits and wants to be in the class. She can keep going." John told her, setting her worries at ease.

Ruby smiled at him and with a " Thank you" went back to watching some of the upcoming fights.

Blue team was not called out at all. Whether it be the student body was scared to face them, or was wanting to wait until they saw what they could do before challenging them. Linda proved that even she can kick ass in close quarters for being a sniper.

The only one that was willing to take a chance and make the offer was Phyrra. Unfortunately, the bell rang signaling the end of the class.

" Sorry Pyrrha, maybe next time." Fred told her.

" Next time." She confirmed with a smile.

They stood and made for the door to go to the next and final class of the day. And that being history for today. How bad could it be?

/

" I have one question," John said, gaining team RWBY and JNPRs attention.

" And what would that be Johnny boy?" Yang asked.

" What the hell does he drink?" Fred finished.

" And what does he put in it? If you say it is decaf, I am going to shoot you." Kelly said.

She got a few laughs from that.

" Not even we know what all he drinks. Some say it is concentrated espresso, others say it is nothing more than just regular coffee. And others say that is some concoction of straight caffeine, ground coffee beans, steeped in energy drinks with about twenty pounds of sugar." Yang shot back with a snort of laughter.

Blue team had a look of them trying to come to terms with that. How could the human body handle such amounts of sugar?

" Soooo, you want to catch dinner with us? I hear it's ( What would the Remant version of Italian food be? Screw it, I am going with Mistral.) Mistralian food tonight." Yang asked, offering them a place at their table.

John turned to the rest of his team and held a hand out, palm up. The other three gave a shrug and a thumbs up.

" Sure. Why not." John said, making the team of girls smile in excitement.

" So what are you guys going to do until then?" Ruby asked.

" Try and finish our dorm. We got some plumbing to get done as well as a few other things." Kelly said, earning some raised eyebrows.

"Uhhhh, why are you taking your bathroom apart?" Weiss asked.

" We are not. We are making a wash and maintenance bay for our gear." Linda responded.

There was a pause when Ruby spoke up. " Want a hand?"

The four looked at her. John then turned to the others and raised a hand, palm up. They all shrugged not knowing what to say or do. On the one hand, the extra help would be nice. On the other, do they trust her or any of them enough to let them help out?

" Thanks for the offer Ruby, but we can handle it." John said letting her down easy.

She accepted the answer but one could tell she felt upset at first.

" Well if you change your mind you know where we are." She said as he held her arm behind her back with one hand. One could tell that she wanted to help out and converse with the new team.

Yang looked at the team. She could see that they were trying to be polite. But she still did not like seeing her sister get upset.

" Come on Ruby. Let's head back and get some homework done. I am sure they are just wanting to get some stuff done without needing to stop and answer a question every five seconds." Yang tried to comfort.

' Well actually we just don't trust any of you yet.' was the thought that they had. It was not out of malice or hate but because what they have is sensitive. How would they react if they found out that they were actually supposed to be in their late sixties early seventies and that they died and were brought here at the age of sixteen because of reasons. How would they react to what made them who they are? How would they react to the knowledge of not being alone? And how would they react to all of the footage?

Ruby, still with a downcast look turned and left. Yang looked at them.

" You could have let her help in getting your dorm set up. All she wants is to help and make friends."

" We know. We have some things that we only share if we fully trust people. And no offense, but we just met the other day and have not had much in the way of interaction." Linda told her.

" Give it a week or two. We are not exactly the trust at first sight kind of people." Kelly added.

Blake arched an eyebrow. She trusted her team for the most part but even she is keeping secrets. She understood what they were saying. They wanted to get to know the team first before they talked about their pasts with them.

Weiss pretended to not care, but she was irked that they would not open up.

Yang just wanted to get closer to the boys and have fun. But how can she have fun with any of them if they don't open up a bit?

" There are some things that we would rather not tell strangers that could blab about it. It is just some safeguards that we put up. Some rather very personal stuff that brings back memories." John added on.

Blake had the look of understanding come across her face. Chances are they had to watch people they knew die when their orphanage burnt down. Possibly other things were done to help them survive.

" Well, the offer to sit at our table is still open. We can even come to get you when dinner is ready." Blake offered.

It is the least Blue team could do. " That would be nice. Thank you."

The three girls nodded, turned, and left.

" You do realize, Ruby is going to keep asking to help us and get to know us better right?" Kelly pointed out as they entered the dorm.

" She is too friendly and curious for her own good. She could easily fall into the wrong crowd thinking she was doing the right thing and trying to make friends." Fred said, also making his voice known.

John chose to stay quiet about the young Rose's attitude. She was friendly and still naive. But John could not help but feel that she had some trauma in her past. If she did, then her cheery attitude and demeanor could be her trying to project her happiness to cover any sorrow her hurt she may be feeling. But that was his thoughts.

"Let's just get our armory finished. Dinner is at 1800." John told them ignoring conversations of other teams for now.

/

Ruby sat on her bunk looking into the swirls of the plaster that was the ceiling and blew out a breath. She just wanted to help the new team out with settling in and getting to know them better. Possibly learn what made them all tick and to hear stories from them growing up.

She blew out a breath.

' How can I get to know them all better if I cant talk and socialize with them?' she thought.

She heard the door open and the rest of her team walked in talking. She raised her head and looked down to see what they were going to do until dinner time. Weiss went to her desk and went to do homework, Blake plopped down and started to read and Yang, she decided to join Weiss in doing homework.

She let her head hit the pillow with a sigh as she checked her scroll. She shut her eyes and let her mind wander. She went to the past with her sister and father and uncle. Going on picnics with Yang and Qrow, to seeing her father come out from his grieving state to try and be a good father to her. And of course, visiting mom.

Her thoughts then went to present with her acceptance to Beacon and meeting her team and all the friends she made along the way. Jaune, the loveable dork that he is, is a boy that was a lot like her. Phyraa being the supper champion that was just awesome. Nora was just her on crack with a heavy splash of caffeine. Ren was JNPRs silent ninja that was the sedative to Nora's hyper and chaotic nature.

Then there was Velvet and the fashion nut Coco. She may have only met them a few times and only worked with them only a couple, but they seemed to be a very chill bunch.

And then Blue team. The newest group that she met and was currently thinking about. They were so enigmatic, so unknown. Of course, they just arrived over the weekend so that is to be expected but that still did not mean that they could socialize a bit more. What did they like to do? What she saw of them was that they spent a lot of time in a gym. Kelly and Linda had the look of being feminine yet the muscle showed that they are not afraid of breaking a sweat.

John and Fred had the look of bodybuilders in the making. Their arms were the size of her head.

She let a breath out as her thoughts shifted to the future. The next four years of school and gaining her license. But what about after all that? What about when there was no hunt to go on or when she needed rest? Does she want a house? Probably. She would need a place of refuge. A place to just chill and be her. To store extra parts and clothes and just a place to be happy. As she let her thoughts drift into her future plans, she asked herself if she wanted to share her life with someone. Whether they be a husband and children or have her sister be a partial owner of the home. And while the world was very open to gays, she was more of a traditionalist. She had nothing against guys who date other guys or girls that date other girls, it's just that if she wanted to have children, she wanted it to be done naturally. That is if she even wants children. Or a husband.

But the image that came to her mind was a house like the one she has lived in for the past fifteen years. A log cabin kind of house with a big yard and a garage and shed. She opened the door to the smell of freshly baked goods. A pie? Cookies? It made her mouth water. The sound of tinny running feet on hardwood could be heard as a young girl no older than five in a dark green dress and chocolate brown hair and silvery-blue eyes came running into her arms as she dropped to a knee and opened her arms. The sound of slower and heavier footsteps followed as she stood with the child and was embraced by a man. A man that she was unable to make the face out of due to her sister breaking her out of her thoughts.

" Hey sis, we are fixing to grab Blue team and head to the chow hall." Yang told her.

Did she fall asleep? She must have because Yang said that she was napping for an hour and a half.

She blinked in surprise as she slid off her bunk, bending her knees as she hit the floor.

" So, what were you dreaming about?" Yang teased.

Ruby looked at her with a quirked eyebrow.

" What are you talking about Yang?"

Yang gave a laugh saying that she was mumbling and even drooled a little.

Ruby blushed in embarrassment as they made their way down the hall to Blue team's dorm with Yang continuing to tease her sister and gaining soft chuckles from Blake and Weiss.

" You guys are the worst." Ruby said with a smile.

Yang gasped. " Is my baby sister rebelling?"

" Stop the presses. Ruby is going to dye her hair pitch black and get piercings." Blake chimed in.

" And probably looking to get tattoos and into the most dangerous drug known to mankind... sugar." Weiss joined in gaining laughs from even her.

They continued to chuckle as they approached the door with Ruby knocking on the door. There was a silence for several seconds before the sound of locks being undone was heard and the door opened to worked in Linda with what looked like some kind of grime on her cheek and wet spots on her shirt and pants. She looked at the group with questioning eyes.

" Do you need something?" she asked.

" It's six. Chow time. Did you forget?" Weiss asked.

Linda furrowed her brow in puzzlement before she pulled out her scroll and checked the time. She had a look of surprise as her eyes landed on the time. She gave a curse under her breath before she called into the dorm, " HEY! ITS CHOW TIME!"

" Already!?" came Fred's unmistakable voice.

" Yes! Now get cleaned up as best you can and let's go!" she shouted back.

" Ok, mom!" Fred shouted back.

She growled but smiled, " Boys."

" You lost track of time didn't you?" Ruby asked.

Linda was replaced with Kelly as Linda went to splash her face with some water, " We did get a bit carried away. Time flies when you are working and don't look at a clock every five seconds." her accented voice said as she used a towel to dry her face.

" If you don't mind, what were you four doing and can we see?" Yang asked.

"As we said earlier, we are making a wash and maintenance bay for our gear. We like to make sure it is well cleaned and maintained." she said as Fred and John joined her at the door with Linda popping in a second later as they exited the dorm and followed them to the mess hall, answering harmless questions along the way.

They entered the mess hall and grabbed their trays before moving to the line. Pasta was what was on the menu. Pasta, breadsticks, garlic bread, the works. Each got a good helping of various dishes before they went and sat at a table and dug in.

And the looks on Blue team's faces did not go unnoticed, mainly because they did not try to hide it. The shock, pleaser, and enjoyment were all seen at once on their faces. The mixture of flavors hitting their tongues and taste buds sending the pleasure centers of their brains to overdrive.

" You would think they never ate pasta before." Yang whispered to Blake.

" Maybe they were fed bad pasta or a bad memory. I avoid hard-boiled eggs for the longest time and now find them to be good." Blake responded.

" You look like you've never eaten Mistral food before?" Ruby asked, completely shattering the moment.

Fred responded first off of his food high, " We mostly grew up on the whole Cup-o-noodles kind of food. Not something that you would say has much flavor and you just ate it because it gave netruants. Rarely did we get something good."

" Mom never was a good cook." Kelly threw in.

" So. Much. Powder." came Linda's quiet voice.

The group looked to see her with eyes that looked into the past and did not like what she was remembering.

" Ummm, at least everything here is semi-homemade?" Ruby offered.

" Semi or fully homemade, this is made from a deity." Fred replied.

Weiss gave a huff and said that Atlas had some of the best dishes on the planet.

" Weiss, no offense, but none of us want to pay an arm, a leg, and our armor just to have a meal that is the size of a cookie." John told her.

" Ohhhh, John gots burns!" Yang said, pointing John with finger guns.

As they were eating, Professor GoodWitch walked up to the table.

" Sorry to disturb you guys after school hours, but would Blue team stop by my office after you are all done eating? I can get your Auras unlocked and we can begin some training with it the next day."

" Sure. But can we eat first?" John asked.

" Oh of course. Eat up and enjoy." she said walking away.

There was a silence at the table before Yang spoke up, " You know, I kind of forgot you guys don't have aura."

" Well, by tonight we will. Now if you don't mind, we are going to finish eating what is on our plates." he then turned to his team and started to give orders, " Linda provide top cover, Kelly, Fred, and myself will go up and get second helpings then provide cover for you. Grab what you want but leave no plate unturned." he said gaining looks of shock and Wtf faces.

/

Three refills of food later and we find Blue team with content faces and full bellies walking up to Glynda's office.

" Ok, that was good. If this is school food, I can only imagine what something homemade would taste like." Kelly said as John approached and knocked on the door.

It opened and Glynda let them in.

" Ok, Linda, we will do you first. Ohh I am being rude, how was your meal?" she asked as she gestured Linda to stand in front of her.

" We are perfectly content. Three platefuls." Fred told her earning a blank stare from Glynda.

" I am sorry. Did you say three plates of pasta were consumed?"

" I did."

" How are you not in a food coma?"

" Spartan metabolism." John responded.

Glynda uttered a quiet " Damn. Wish I had one of those" before she explained what she was going to do. Simply recite a citation and use her aurora to unlock hers.

Both took a breath and began. Linda closed her eyes and entered her usual meditative state when behind her scope or just warning to relax while Glynda placed a hand on the sniper's shoulder and another on her cheek and recited the citation.

Glynda's aura appeared before it crawled onto Linda. It soaked into her being before Linda seemed to have a coppery glow flow across her skin. Glynda sucked in a breath as if she just got done doing a long hard run. Linda caught her and held her steady.

" Thanks, Linda. That took a bit out of me. Didn't think it would." She said sucking in a couple of deep breaths and taking a seat.

" Ma'am, if this is going to drain you so much, we can stagger it out." John said.

She just waved him off. " John I appreciate your concern but I can do this. But don't expect me to be real chatty tomorrow."

After another minute and a couple of sips of water later, she felt ready enough to get Fred done. Again she recited the incantation as her aura crawled onto Fred's body. And just like Linda, Fred's aura was unlocked. A steel wave washed over him. This time Glynda stumbled and fell into his arms with labored breathing and a sheen of sweat on her brow.

" Professor, if this is taxing on you then please, let's stagger it out." Fred told her as he held her in place.

" No. I just need a quick breather." she said huffing and puffing. She then pointed to a chair with the unspoken request being honored.

Fred set her on the chair and with a "thanks", she drank deeply of the water. It took her longer than last time to get her breath and strength back. She fished around in her bag and found a candy bar and devoured it. With one last swig of water, she stood and placed her scroll on the table.

" Kelly. You are next." she said. It could have been the light but it looked like she had bags forming under her eyes.

" Ma'am. You look like you are going to fall over at any second. You should take the rest of the night off and do the rest of us tomorrow or when you are ready." Kelly urged.

" No. I want to get ' inhale' done. I planned, my night, around this." Glynda said, still breathing heavily, " Now, stand still."

Kelly rolled her eyes but did as instructed. Glynda took a second longer to begin but when she did, it took longer for her aura to form and carry over to Kelly and longer for Glynda to unlock her aura. When she did unlock it with Kelly glowing a steel blue, Glynda dropped to her knees with her entire body covered in sweat. Now it was no trick of the light, she did have bags under her eyes.

" Ok, I am calling it. You are going to get some rest." John said to Glynda.

" John. I am your instructor." she paused taking in several deep breaths, " I know my limits far better than you know. Not just let me gather my strength and I will get your aura done. Now hand me my lunch bag." she said pointing to the purple ox on her desk. Fred walked over and grabbed it.

" Don't let this get to your head professor. We are not some armored food delivery system." Fred told her. She chuckled as she flipped open her lunch box and took out a couple of sandwiches and what looked like a coke, and devoured them while inhaling the coke. After a minute or three to see if she needed to do something that she would consider unladylike, belch, before she got to her feet and walked over to John.

As she reached up to cup his cheek, John caught her hand and looked into her eyes.

" Ma'am. I must insist that you take the rest of the night off to rest."

" John. You are here and the last one. We don't want the student body to think and spread rumors do we?" she asked.

" Ma'am?"

She rolled her eyes before she set her other hand on his shoulder. They closed their eyes and as Glynda recited the citation. It took even longer for her aurora to manifest and sink into John. It took even longer for John's aura to manifest. Fred and the others began to worry when John had a green shimmer cover him like their shields. Once that was done, Glynda collapsed into his arms. She was sweating profusely and even had blood trickling from her nose.

John caught her and picked her up before she could fall far.

" She overdid it," Kelly said, shaking her head, " We should call Ozpin and ask if she has a room here."

" Good idea. Fred, give him a call." John ordered as he shifted the professor's weight in his arms.

Fred took out his scroll and called him. After a couple of seconds, they were talking. " Room number is 497. Not all that far away." Fred told the group.

" Then let's get going. Fred, grab her scroll. Kelly and Linda, when we get there, get her comfortable. Not sure what you want to do but I think it would be best if we told her one of you changed her."

They all nodded and moved to the door and down the hallway and towards the teacher's dorm section of the school. They were stopped shortly after entering said section by a woman in a teal nightgown. She had dark orange hair and yellow eyes and a kind smile.

" Gentlemen, ladies. Care to explain why you are carrying Professor Goodwitch?" she asked, tapping her foot.

" Ma'am, professor Goodwitch unlocked our auras and drained herself. We were taking her to her room to rest." John said.

The teacher gave him a look over and asked the others if it was true.

" It is." Linda told her.

She looked at them a bit harder before she spoke, " three doors down to the left. And no funny business." she told them.

Sure enough, they found her room and entered it. It was what one would expect of a room for a teacher of her caliber. Just a few pictures, a monitor and bookcase with a few books and some light decor. Fred went to a door, opened it, and walked in. Inside was her bedroom with a simple bed with white sheets and comforter.

He whistled to get his team's attention. A second later John and the others walked in. Spying the bed, John set the unconscious teacher on said bed and turned to his female teammates.

" We know John. We will get her changed and meet you back at the dorm." Kelly told him.

John and Fred turned and left as Linda walked over to her dresser and started to look for a nightgown or something as Kelly got to work on her clencher.

/

The blackness was heavy on her eyes as Glynda looked around. Maybe she should have taken John's advice and staggered out unlocking Blue teams auras. She felt a breeze blow past her and the sound of children laughing and playing. She turned and was met with a clear blue sky with only a couple of poofy clouds and a midday sun shining brightly.

Her eyes then were met with a playground with kids running and playing tag, messing around on the jungle gym, and playing king of the hill. With the children were a couple of adults overseeing them play. One was tending to a girl who skinned her knee on the seesaw.

She kept looking and saw a young couple watching the yard. Other teachers? Or parents overseeing their child? She did not know. The woman took out some sort of cosmetic and began to look at herself in its mirror. She had a wide brim hat with a pink shaull and a white and pink floral sundress that the breeze teased the hem of and pink slippers. The male was in a grey suit. Something about him seemed off. Like he was trying to seem casual and was failing at it. Possibly military.

She watched as the woman, no older than late teens, early twenties, handed her cosmetics to her boyfriend/husband, not sure, as she approached the hill that the kids were playing on. The kid at the top had tossed brown hair, blue eyes with scattered freckles across his nose with a gap in his front teeth.

The more she looked, the more she could not help but feel like he was familiar. She could not put a finger on it but he just screamed: " We know each other." She watched as the woman walked up to the hill staring at the child. The child held her gaze and climbed down from the hill and approached her. He then held out his hand to shake as introductions were made. She could see them talking but their voices were so fuzzy she could not make out their names or what they were saying.

She watched as the woman pulled out a coin and explained the coin toss to him. She did an example toss before she repositioned the coin and gave an extra spin. The child caught it calling " Eagle!", loud and clear. The woman let the boy keep the coin as she turned and went back to the male.

She was suddenly in a dark room. Not in a bad way, just a bedroom in the dead of the night. Glynda looked around and saw toy trucks, cars with their tracks, planes, and foam dart guns. A child's room. She looked and saw a bed with the child she saw in the playground laying there sleeping happily. On the nightstand was a lamp, an alarm clock that read midnight, and a couple of pictures. The first was of him and a girl all wet at a lake, the second was the boy with two girls. The one in the last photo and another.

She could not help but giggle and utter out playfully " What a stud."

The sudden sound of compressed gas blowing out of a tube was heard as a dart struck the sleeping child.

Glynda spun and saw two men enter the room. She reached for her weapon only to find it was not there. She stood her ground however and in a commanding tone ordered them to halt.

They, of course, did not as the first man walked right through her and picked the child up as the second man replaced the child with an exact copy of the child on the bed. She could not help feel astounded. How did they make an exact duplicate child? But most importantly, why?

She watched as they took the kid to a van and drove off before pulling up to an airship of some sort. Or that is what she thought. They took the boy and placed him in a pod before leaving. She watched as frost formed as he was frozen.

She stood there horrified as she saw dozens of other pods full of children.

She spun needing to avert her eyes but was met with another kidnapping. This one of a little girl with blue hair. She was running away from her kidnappers but after an hour of running she walked up to them and they took her, replacing her with a duplicate before driving off.

Tears were welling up in her eyes as she squeezed them shut. She could not handle it. Did their parents know what was going on?

She opened her eyes hoping to not see any more but was met with another kidnapping. Another young boy with black hair. She screamed and sobbed as she was forced to watch a red-haired girl get taken next...and the reports that the replacement children died not even six months later.

She was openly crying. Damn her hard teacher persona, this was absolutely heartbreaking to witness.

Who would do such a thing? But mostly why? She dropped to the ground and hugged her knees to her chest as she cried. How many kids were taken?

She heard voices and looked up to see the same woman from the playground talking to two other people. One was a man that was old enough to be her father in a foreign uniform and a no-nonsense no bullshit look. The other was of a woman with brown hair done up in a braid and wore a toga. But something was wrong. She looked like a hologram. A long-distance call perhaps? She doubted it.

The woman took a breath and said aloud, " Bring in the candidates."

The doors at the end of the auditorium opened and in walked 75 children as well as an adult in fatigues. The kids were shivering as they took a seat. Out of the 75, she spotted the four children she watched get kidnapped. She snapped her head back at the brunette woman. She was standing at attention with the military man and hologram.

" As per Naval Code 45812, you are hereby conscripted into the UNSC Special Project, codenamed SPARTAN-II. You have been called upon to serve. You will be trained . . . and you will become the best we can make of you. You will be the protectors of Earth and all her colonies. This will be hard to understand, but you cannot return to your parents. This place will become your home. Your fellow trainees will be your family now. The training will be difficult. There will be a great deal of hardship on the road ahead, but I know you will all make it. Rest now. We begin tomorrow." She told the group.

" Send them to bed and keep them busy. Keep them from thinking about what we just did to them." She told the man.

" TRAINEES! FALL OUT!" the man called spurring the trainers to usher the kids out of the room.

Glynda watched as the woman turned and left. She scowled at her back before turning to see another sean. A sean of those trainers waking the kids up at an ungodly hour with stun sticks. The kids washed and dressed and this is where the biggest revelation happened.

Each child donned a pair of sweatpants and a shirt with their name a number on the fronts. But four names stood out. John-117. Kelly-087. Fred-104. Linda-058.

She sucked in a breath of shock as her eyes widened. Kelly and Linda had none of the extra ears. But their faces matched their teenage selves. She watched as they were then put through a morning routine of the usual. Push-ups, sit-ups, squats, lunges. And running. Lots and lots of running. They were led to a building where the same hologram was waiting for them. She ushered them inside where they were met with some crackers and milk. And she showed them a battle of 300 soldiers against a thousand.

She showed them different views of the battle as swords clashed with shields and spears were thrust into the opposing forces. So much grotesque violence was shown to children. Glynda, who was already feeling sick, was ready to hurl. Thankfully it ended and they were sent to the playground.

FINALLY! They can be kids and run around and play. What met her was a series of poles, pulleys, and other training equipment. They were told to form groups of three as John and Kelly were joined by a third kid. Samuel-034. She heard the head drill instructor give instructions. Ring the bell. The winning team gets dinner, and the loser goes without. She also caught something that she doubted the children heard, team.

Of course, when they were sent off, John took off ignoring Sam and Kelly. He was the first to ring the bell but his teammates came in last. And as such, lost. They were sent to bed without food. She watched as the next day was a repeat with an exception. When it came to the playground, Kelly and Sam gave John a hard time. They made up pretty quickly and came up with a plan. They may not have gotten first, but they did not get last either. And that night they ate like kings and a queen.

She watched as they stuffed their faces with a smile on her face. The next season was a couple of years later if their height and muscle builds were anything to go buy. They were on a ship with heavy parkas. She watched as Kelly was told to hand out pieces of a map as Mendez, she heard that name be mentioned a few times, told John that he would be departing first. He looked out the window before nudging Sam and pointing out the window. He nodded and began to spread the word. The ship landed and John was told to depart. Glynda watched as he walked through the snow, stopping at bushes to strip it of berries until he met up with the other children at the lake. They all handed their map pieces to Kelly with her saying that some of the map pieces were out of date or a different location, or duplicates. But she did get a rough idea of the location and pointed to a clearing on the other side of the map.

" I do have one question." came a voice that she could not put a name to, " We are all going to arrive at the same time. And the Chief said that the last to arrive gets left behind to walk back to base. So who is going to be left behind?"

Wait what? One was supposed to be left behind? When did he say that? She must have zoned out when he gave that tad bit of information.

It took the whole day but they got to the clearing where they saw an airship sitting and men with guns guarding it.

She heard John and Kelly talk about it before heading back to the makeshift camp and discussed what to do. They landed on a strategy where Sam would lay on the snow and act like he had a broken leg as Fred scraped a scab with his boot to get some blood flowing out onto the snow as Kelly acted as bait, even being called a rabbit, to which she smiled and said " Happy to obliged."

Glynda knew how fast Kelly was. That second day of training she showed that she was extremely fast on her feet. During their initiation, she showed what she was capable of. The only question she had was how much did that armor help.

She watched as the men saw her and tried to stop her with one following her into the woods. It was obvious that he lost her but did find Sam who was doing a good job acting like his leg was broken.

The man took out a button and made to strike the kid just to get a rock to the head as Sam took off as even more stones hit him taking him down. Now knowing that the men were hostile, they all got rained on with stones. Making sure they were all down, John ushered the others aboard before entering last and taking them home.

Later he was debriefed and told to explain his actions. The Pelican was guarded by men Mendez ordered to guard it, and when the Spartans found them, they were out of uniform and did not identify themselves. So they neutralized the hostels and took the bird home. That is when Halsey said to make him squad leader.

The sean faded and was replaced with space and the children floating and doing drills in no gravity. Wait space? She looked out the nearest window and saw a world spinning below with other ships off in the distance. How? Remnant never had a successful launch into orbit. She then smacked herself. Blue team told both her and Ozpin that before they died, they were part of an organization that spanned over eight hundred worlds. She was still dumbstruck by that very thought.

" If only the world could come together. We could then maybe make a fuel source that does not use dust as the main part and get a satellite into orbit." Glynda said to herself as she watched one of the children who bore a resemblance to Ren took to zero gravity quickly. She turned to take another look outside the window just to be met with a beach. She looked around and saw that she was standing on an island with palm trees and a beautiful view of the ocean.

She looked around and saw the group around a bonfire laughing and cheering.

" DID YOU SEE THE CHIEF'S FACE! THAT WAS PRICELESS!" One Spartan spoke.

" Hey, it was payback! He sabotaged half of our oxygen tanks, so what were we supposed to do?" Sam shot back.

" STEAL HIS AND GO ON A VACATION!" Fred called out earning a series of cheers.

For the first time in this whole mess did Glynda have a genuine smile. They were having fun and being kids...sort of. They still had that mentality to kill but they did put it aside and have fun.

She watched as they lit fires, roasted clams, and other crustaceans, and surfed.

But all good things must come to an end as their CO found them and threw hard training at them. But she could see the man have a smile as his back was turned to the recruits. Maybe this guy was not so bad.

And on and on she watched as they went on training mission after training mission. World after world. They were trained to kill and be the surgical precision weapon Halsey envisioned.

But none of the training, none of the target practice, none of the grotesque imagery could prepare her for what she was about to witness. The surgeries and augmentations. The pain and the blood and the suffering that she saw. Twelve crippled. Thirty dead. And thirty-three operational. Some woke during the surgeries screaming in pure animalistic pain. The woman, Halsey, was the mastermind behind this. The moment Glynda saw that monster, she wanted to detain her and have her executed for her crimes, but her face and her eyes gave her pause. Halsey had regret and remorse in her eyes and expression. The woman in the toga appeared next to her.

" ONI will have their soldiers."

" That still doesn't mean I have to like it Deja. We really should have held off and made sure it was safer. It would have given me time to work on Mjolnir."

" Dr. Halsey, I already told you that there are those in ONI that are running out of patience with our delays. If you delay any longer they will let you go and replace you with someone with less skill and unfortunately for the children, less experience."

" I know. But thirty dead is not a good number of losses. These augmentations could be safer if we waited until Mjolnir was complete."

Glynda's' already strained and broken heart for these children broke even more. And even though she hated Halsey for what she has done, she could respect the fact that she wanted to keep the children safe and hated the fact that even one died.

The funeral that they had to send their dead to the stars. How John learned what it meant to spend a life compared to wasting a life. How John went to the gym and fought three ODSTs, killing two of them on accident and crippling the other.

Glynda stood stunned at John's new strength and speed.

She watched their first mission as Fred and Linda joined John on Blue team to infiltrate an asteroid and capture a rebel leader that was once a colonel in the UNSC. How John got wounded in action.

Then, then, she came into the shock of her life as she watched the 14-year-old Spartans get briefed on their new threat. The Covenant. How they took the planet Harvest and burned it. The ship they were shipping out on to receive their equalizer got jumped by a smaller but just as deadly covenant ship. She watched as John gave an analysis of their enemy. How the ship took two MAC rounds just to have a good position to fire. The captain of the ship, Captain Wallace, sent out a squadron of fighters to buy them time to run out of a weapons blast radius. A Shiva. And since Remnant had nothing similar to a nuke, she was confused as to what was happening...when a flash of light was seen through the blast shudders as Wallace saluted the fighters that she can only assume, and was later confirmed, were sent to their deaths. Nothing was left. Vaporized. Sure Remnant had high yield bombs that could leave nothing behind, but what she was thinking this weapon was was something way bigger than their mark 7 incendiary bombs.

Their fighters were gone...but the covenant ship was still there. But it was moving off giving the crew a respite as Halsey and her Spartans left for the planet below where they were given their armor.

She watched as they were fitted and walked through the simple basics of walking, running, and jumping before they got back to their old cohesion. She now knew the reason behind the augmentations. They needed to have them otherwise they would be dead because the armor was so reactive.

The Spartans then were called and told that the enemy ship was heading back in and the Spartans heading back to the Commonwealth when John came up with the plan to board the enemy vessel and blow it from within.

Only John, Kelly, and Sam managed to get on as the others were off floating in space. The three-man team got to the reactors and were ready to book it. But during the earlier firefight, Sam took a plasma shot to the chest. And as such, had to stay behind. The vacuum of space would kill him. And neither of them had a patching kit. So he stayed and fended off the enemy as the bombs exploded, taking the ship with him as John and Kelly got far enough away.

Glynda held a hand to her mouth as she choked back a sob as tears welled up in her eyes.

And she watched as over a couple of decades were them fighting a losing war. Operation Silent Storm where John learned what it meant to be a good commander and to break him of his hero complex thanks to Johnsen with Colonel Crowler promoted him a full four grade jump from Chief Petty Officer to Master Chief Petty Officer. Destroying a ring around a planet, saving students at an academy a couple of months later.

Operation Oblivion a month later. And on and on it went. On the ground, the UNSC gained the respect of the ground-pounding forces of the Covenant, but any victory they had on the ground was hollow as the aliens just went to orbit and glassed the planet from orbit.

One of the most angering and most disgusting was the massacre at Draco-III. When the Spartans ship got in the system and over their destination and ready to drop, the citizens were being herded and hunted. When they got to the ground, all they were met with were eaten corpses. The grunts and Jackals took a liking to human flesh. Every single one of them. Every man and woman, young and old, armed or not, were hunted, killed, and then eaten. And if they were lucky in that order. Those that were unlucky were eaten alive. Blood flowed in rivers down the street with chunks of meat floating on top.

When the Spartans landed and saw the carnage that was in the streets, they took the time to let it sink in. To pay their respects to the dead, and swear vengeance. And for the next week, each Covenant camp was methodically and deliberately slaughtered. Each Spartan fireteam showed how deadly and pissed off they were. Fred carved his targets into pieces and was covered in so much blood at the end that his armor was stained. Linda picked her targets off with such a precise precision, in such surprising times of their routine and from such a distance that they could not find her on top of some missing important parts of their body. Kelly snapped necks and limbs. She caved in chests and skulls and slit throats. As for John, he was mostly stealthing and taking his kills by surprise or placing explosives in their barracks and latrines. He killed them in their sleep or when they were using their version of the bathroom. No one showed any mercy and Glynda felt conflicted. She was sickened at everything. The war, the training and kidnappings, Drako-IIIs massacre of its populace, and the Spartans sheer brutality. They made it all look like an art form. An art form of death. She could understand it but it still made her sick to her stomach.

' How can they be so casual about killing other sentient beings? And be so brutal? How broken are these kids?' Glynda thought as she clutched her stomach and tried to keep her supper down.

From Drako to Sigma Octanes to the Spartans Briefing on Reach about operation RedFlag. How they were supposed to board and capture a Covenant ship and take it to their homeworld and capture a Prophet and force a peace. And the tools to do it.

What she witnessed next was John getting an upgrade to his lace and fitted with some new armor. He was also introduced to Cortana and was told to run the obstacle course. She watched as he was told to count to ten and begin. But right as he hit that number, a squad of ODSTs walked onto the field and opened fire. She was sure that live rounds were ok, but special forces? She had to question that. She watched as he took hits but he had shields that surprised her. At least he had an extra layer of protection. She watched as he took out the squad and made for the gravel yard. He stopped suddenly and took a grenade off of an armor mount and threw it. Her question was answered a second later when three other explosions went off. Mines? Who would put mines on a training course? Were these people mad?

Even the chainguns over the razor wire had her scratching her head in puzzlement as to why they put such deadly weapons here? The thing that made her jaw drop was an airstrike. She watched as a jet few by firing its cannons on its first pass and coming back for a missile run. Who in their right mind authorized this? Whoever did should be court-martialed for attempted murder. The fact that John somehow survived was a miracle.

" CALL OFF YOUR MEN COLONEL ACKERSON! We won." came Halsey's voice, " Great work Master Chief. Stand by, we are coming to get you."

Well, at least the doctor didn't call that stuff in. That was this Akerson person. She breathed a sigh of relief as the others were outfitted and sent to the Pillar of Autumn. Then Reach happened. Nearly all the Spartans were sent to the surface of Reach as John, James, and Linda were sent to Gamma station to take care of unsecured nav data.

Glynda watched from four different angles how everything was going...and her heart stopped when Linda was shot and declared clinically dead with Fred and Kelly getting banged up. And John was to be believed to be the last Spartan as he was shot through slipspace to Halo and its horrors. A weapon of last resort and research station as the Flood was released. How he blew it up with the Autumn's reactors and taking a Covenant flagship and taking it back to Reach as Fred and Kelly found Halsey in Castel Base before setting the charges and going even deeper into the mines built under the base and even the now known forerunner chamber.

She watched as John and the others snuck onto Reach and to where the others were hiding. The surprise that everyone was under the gaze of thousands of soldiers and not one fired...well except two hunters. The already wounded Kelly jumped in the way of the plasma bolts, taking the shots and sending her into shock. Their escape and fight through Slipspace where they lost Lee to stray plasma fire from a capital ship and throwing them all unconscious.

She took a breath as John and Fred woke from their states and got briefed. Kelly was on a bed getting rest as Linda was prepped for surgery. They went to a system that held the Spartan's first mission. The asteroid belt they first went to was where they were going. The meeting they had with Giles and getting interrupted by a couple of Covenant ships and something that was kind of funny. Both overestimating each other and coming up with a way to take care of one ship as the other left to get reinforcements. After that, they got their combined ship ready for round two as missile pods were refiled and engines were worked on. Linda was on bed rest and Kelly was up and about. Hasey talked to John a few hours ago and gave him two crystals. Each was about the flood. The first being a breakdown and possible cure. The second containing the source material that would lead to the unneeded, useless, disgraceful murder of SGT. Johnsen.

John took both crystals and thought about what one to give to the ONI officer on deck.

Everyone was in the hanger talking and even joking about Linda's return from the dead. Each chuckled as Kelly was called to the med bay for a final round of steroids and other medical attention.

What Glynda did not expect was for Halsey to sedate Kelly and kidnap her, again, for a new mission that Halsey had. One that would take her away from First Strike.

John and the others were puzzled when Halsey left and entered slipspace but could not focus on it since the Covenant showed up. They jumped again and John told the Admiral about his plan and even got it approved.

A Spirit dropship was prepped as well as gear before they were underway. John, Linda, Fred, Will, and Grace all landed and made for the core on the Covenant space station, The Unyielding Hierophant. How they were on a route for nearly twelve hours before they were forced to find a new route. When they got to a chamber, Linda took to her job. Scaling a building and hiding from what Glynda could see was in deep shadow and extreme light, upside down. And she picked off-targets with ease. Glynda was amazed to see such skill.

She watched as John and Fred took off across an open field and next to a temple of sorts. John was informed that a new race was inside. Brutes. They infiltrated their comms and one wrestled John and almost killed him. While in Mjolnir Power armor. These things could outperform a fully decked out Spartan easily. From Fred's point of view, she saw what all happened to John but was forced to take on another squad that came in and was forced to watch as their grenade launchers tore open Grace. She could see her laying on the cold hard ground as blood slowly oozed out of her.

Watching both feeds, she saw Fred behind a pillar and John winning his wrestling match and clicked his comm for a check, just to get a surprise as the brutes came around a pillar firing.

John ducked behind a colom himself and dug out a mine. He set the mine on a timer, threw it and spoke into his comm, " FIRE IN THE HOLE!"

The explosion took the brutes out as they popped up right under the mine. They took the time to check on Grace, just to see there was no bringing her back. John set her fusion pack to self destruct on a ten-minute timer and left. They found the core and set it to blow. They only had thirty minutes before it went up. They ran for the hanger they saw on their way in with John informing Linda and drawing fire. She sniped out a few of the banshee and they took those to the window. A lot happened in rapid succession. Grace's funeral pyre, setting their last mine, the Cortana copies going nuts on coping itself, John grabbing Linda, the mine detonation and the window holding until the millionth Cortana opened the airlock door, shattering the window. Commending a dropship with the other Spartans in tow, getting on the human frigate Gettysberg, and the sacrifice of Witcomb and Haverson as they lured the fleet closer to the station as it exploded. And the journey home.

Their debriefings with ONI. Fred, Linda, and Will went down to Earth to tell ONI what they wanted to hear as John stayed and played celebrity. The first invasion of the planet with John eventually going down to the planet after an epic space flight and hitching a ride on a frigate. She whooped in delight as she watched him take down a massive walker. All the while Johnsen was cracking jokes.

After their retrieval and hitchhike thanks to Regret initiating a slipspace jump.

The fight on yet another Halo ring, Installation-05, and Regrets assassination with John jumping into the lake to escape the beams of plasma and getting pulled into the depths by a tentacle.

As for Fred, Kelly, and Linda? Fred and Linda did several missions on Earth. A dip in the oceans and a walk on one of the ice caps were some. Kelly, on the other hand, found herself on a new planet. As well as the introduction of the Spartan-IIIs. Glynda could not help but feel sick at seeing them. More children that were kidnapped.

From there she watched as John met the Arbiter and a true monster. The Gravemind. It was so repulsive but some inner, primal part of her mind made her quiver in fear as she spotted the tentacles. She shuddered as some of the wired things she watched now and then that featured school girls and tentacles.

On another side of her vision, she saw Fred and Linda with Will hijack a Covenant Destroyer and jump to Onyx with a detour to Delta Halo. Meeting the S-IIIs and Kurt who was an S-II that was covertly redesigned to Onyx and trained the next generation of Spartans. And basically, all of Ghosts of Onyx, and Halo 3 with Fred, Kelly, Linda, Halsey, Mendez, and a couple of teams of IIIs were trapped inside Onyx, or what was now known to be a shield world. John, on the other hand, made it back to Earth, fight the Covenant, then the Flood, the alliance with the Arbiters faction of Elites, retrieving a message from Cortana as she was left behind, the flight to the Ark and the battles their with the Arbiter ending the Prophet of Truth and the harrowing fight in the now flood infested High Charity to retrieve Cortana, getting to the newly rebuilt ring at the center of the Ark and the fight to the control room. 343s betrayal and Johnson's death, activating Halo and the escape from the ring before going into cryo-stasis.

Blue team and the S-IIIs getting recovered from the shield world and going on their adventures. The investigation of a Forerunner base on Gou. And Fred's budding relationship with Veda Lopis as she was attached to their unit to investigate murders in the Montaro cave system, needing to flee her homeworld because the new President wanted to tie up loose ends.

Then their meetup on a moon that held the Keepers of the One Freedom with the thought of them killing a UNSC Admiral and her family being the culprits. But the more they dug in, the more confusing it got as the Keepers were after some other group. Turns out to be a rogue ONI group trying to weaponize a virus strain.

Training with Tom and Lucy before they were sent off to the S-IV station, as well as other S-IVs on Infinity.

Three and a half years later John woke up as he and Cortana came around to Requiem and awakening the Didact. And also Cortana's Rampancy. Throughout the whole time, the duo fought on the planet, her rampancy just got worse and worse before she snapped on the Infinity, with Del Rio ordering his XO to not only remove her chip but to destroy it.

Before anyone could do so, John took the chip and slotted it into his helmet and telling Del Rio to fuck off. Palmer, Glynda saw, ignored her Captain's order to arrest him.

She watched as Laskey handed him the keys to a pelican and wished him luck. The whole fight taking its toll on Cortana as the Didact escaped and retrieved the Composer before finally the battle of Earth...and Cortana's sacrifice.

Glynda, whose heart was already broken and shattered, broke and shattered further as John lost one of the only non-Spartan people who knew him best, died. She couldn't see what his emotions were under the helmet, but she knew for a fact that he was hurting and grieving.

The only thing that took the sting out of it was his reunion with Blue team and going on some other adventures before going to Beaco and trying to save its governor and the Sanghilie delegates from a terror group. He got the delegates out, but could not save the human governor. And was blamed for the attack. Later on, he was cleared, but still. How could people actually think he would go out and kill innocent people? Dumb asses.

Argent moon and John having a vision of Cortana being alive before blowing the ship up and going to Meridian and getting chased by Osiris, Locke and John ducking it out with Locke getting a lick on John by cracking his visor. With John promptly handing Locke his own ass before vanishing in the Guardian.

Glynda watched as they talked in the head of the Guardian. They talked about what they were doing and how Cortana could be alive, their arrival on Genesis with them still speculating. The Warden Eternal provided some answers but decided to kill them against Cortana's wishes. She did get them a path to her, but they walked in circles for days when Fireteam Osiris showed up. Blue team was taken to a place where they were closer to Cortana, but John noticed that something was wrong with her as Warden kept slowing them down. It took Cortana needing to zap his ass out of the arena to get him to stop. What surprised Glynda was that not only did Cortana seem more human, she also seemed insane and was wanting to impose an imperial peace. She locked the Spartans in a Cryptem, a place they would be safe from harm. She explained to them while in the cryptem what she was wanting. To never need them to pick a rifle up again. To live their lives in peace and to have children if they wanted. To be happy.

Osiris got them out and back to Infinity. From there it was a jump hopping strategy to avoid Cortana and her created. Then it was mission after mission to gain resources and supplies.

The last thing she saw was their last fight. How they were killed and their second wind with the Maidens.

/

Glynda woke with tears and a heavy heart. How could they go through such a life and still be functional is beyond her. Taken from such a young age and taught how to kill when they should have been taught how to read and write and learn. Not be a warrior.

She rubbed her eyes and looked to the table to see a glass of water and a note. Food is in the fridge. Good. she felt famished. She stretched and got a strong whiff of herself and palled. She needed a shower. But first, water. While she was in the shower, she thought about what to do with this information.

What could she do? They were child soldiers and only knew the military. She could not throw Halsey in prison, she was on the wrong planet for that. She blew out a sigh as she soaked in the hot water. She rested a hand on her stomach and closed her eyes.

She needed to give them something but what.

Her eyes snapped open when an idea struck her. She shut the water off and hurriedly dried off before she went to her room and grabbed her tablet.

It took her only a few minutes to get what she was looking for. Once she was done, she checked the time seeing that it was well past her class and that school was done for the day. She also saw the date. She had been asleep for two days. Damn.

She made for the door when she remembered that she was still naked. She grabbed her usual outfit before she ran to Ozpin's office.

The ride was not long but not quick either. Kind of like when you have a slow day at work but throughout the day it gets busy and time flies right by you. Glynda tapped her foot with impatience as the elevator climbed. She thought about what she was going to do. It needed to be done. They needed an older person to look up to here and to guide them. They needed a mother. And one that did not kidnap them at the age of six. Not one that put them through an elite special forces training. Not one that would experiment on them with dangerous surgeries.

No. They needed a woman that they could talk to when they have problems. To look to when they needed comfort or advice. A woman that would love them and care for them.

Glynda was unsure if she was up for such a duty, but she was willing to take a stab at it. The only other woman that would take on such a task was dead. A dear friend of hers and mother to their youngest student. Summer Rose.

The door dinged open and Glynda walked through to see her boss sitting at his desk. Steaming cup of coffee in hand.

" Glynda! It's good to see you up! You have been out for the past two days. How are you feeling?" He asked.

" I feel refreshed but still a tad drained. But I have news. I have seen what Blue team went through." she told him.

He shot his head up to look at her.

" Are you sure?"

" I am."

" Glynda. This has only happened a handful of times. I can count the number on one hand. And it normally meant that something big was fixing to happen."

" Ozpin, I am sure. And I am sure that whatever is going to happen, they will play a role."

Ozpin nodded as Glynda approached. " I also have something I want to do." she said, setting her tablet on his desk. He looked it over before raising an eyebrow at her.

" You want to adopt them?" he asked.

" I do."

Ozpin looked back at the forms and gave a short laugh.

" I don't see why not. But you may want to let them know."

/End/

Ok so that is that folks. We picked up right were the last chapter left off with Linda squaring off against CRDL. Some filler with the two teams bantering about Oblecks coffee and them finishing up their make shift armory and Ruby taking a trip into the clouds questioning what all she wants to do with her life after school before going to get Blue team for dinner and them getting their aura unlocked.

And before people go " Oh boy. Blue team are going to be OP to the extreme arnt they."
No. They do have an aura and will have a Semblance, but they will be passive like Qrows.

John will, of corse, have his luck. And while I am still working on a Kellys and dont know the technical terms for Linda and Fred. Anyway, Linda will be able to slow her perception of time out of armor similar to Spartan time while behind the scope. You know, something a sniper would utilize. Plus she practices Zen no thought so this would be in that bag of tricks. I believe Red Dead Redemption had this mechanic in it. So that is what I am going with.

Fred is going to never need to sharpen his knives or blade ever again because all he has to do is just hold the thing for a bit and bingo, sharp blade.

Again not sure what the technical terms for these things are so any help would be appreciated.
That just leaves Kelly. She is the only one I am having trouble with. I was thinking of something to fit the rabbit theme or something that fits with the fact that she has a high pain tolerance. Any ideas would be extremely helpful.

Then Glynda gets to see what made them well, them. In all its horrorific glory. From seeing John first meet Halsey ( not sure if she did the same with Fred, Linda and, Kelly ) to thier deaths. And she is fucking heartbroken at everything that she saw.

And what is a woman like her supposed to do? Well she is going to adopt the team of Spartans. To much to soon? Maybe. But I really like the thought of Glynda becoming a mom to them.

So next chapter will be during the two days of Glynda being out. Not sure what will happen yet, so we will see when we get their.

So lets talk about IRL and other games. As of me writing this, Halo 4 will be coming to PC so I hope any of my PC readers have fun and I cant wait to see what modders can do.

Destiny 2s season of Arrivals has come and gone. Got to see the inside of the pyramid on Io and fighting Nokriss...again. But in the court of Oryx so I gess that was a nice touch. Something new. Now we are in Beyond Light. So far I am having fun. Need to dive further in and explore it a bit more so I am going to hold my thoughts. But their is one thing I am steamed about. When Bungie said they were brining back the Cosmadrone, I was hoping for the Rise of Iron Cosmodrone. Could you imagine the amount of exploration to be done? As well as, from a head canon and narrative stand point, SIVA cut through the Rocket Yard? Am I right in the location? Well lets just say it is and move on and you can correct me if I am wrong. We should beagle to get to a summer version of the Plagelands. But that is another rant for another time.

So my USA readers will know what all had happened since the beginning of the month. The elections. I am not going to talk about it. I want to but this is a palace to get away from all of that shit. I don't want to add stress to other people or anything like that. This is supposed to be a stress free ( mostly ) and fun place so if you dont mind, I am not going to talk about it.

Ummmm, not sure what else. Winter is coming as well as the holidays. I really dont have much, so lets go to the Reviews.

Halofan2117

I regret not reading this story sooner! And now a few questions/a suggestion are Fred and yang going to be a thing in this too? And maybe Kelly and Linda could hook up with phyrra and velvet? Just a thought. I would like to see. It's up to you of course.

Well the important thing is, is that you did find it and are enjoying it and thank you.

As to Fred and Yang, I was thinking that. In a way I think Yang, post Beacon, would have a bit of Vada Lopis in her. Not sure if you read Last Light and Retribution, but think it would work.

I might have something set up for Linda but I am not sure about Kelly...or it could be vice versa. Again not sure I will need to talk to a few other guys and their opinion and thoughts. Also, and this could just be a me thing, but I dont see those two going down that road. Maybe Oscar can have one of them. That would be a sean to read. And he would deserve a drink.

Alduin

Great story! Please update soon

Alduin

Thank you and here you go.

Demonik-Foxx

I would simply like to state that master chief probably isn't interested in a relationship let alone one with a girl barely two sixths his age.

You would be right, but remember Blue team died and were brought back as sixteen year olds. I am going with the " If I took the knowledge I have now and but in the body I had x-mount of years ago, I would not want to mess with me."

Hope that smooths things out for you.

NotaSingleChance

ruby is fifteen, chief is biologically somewhere over forty.

what the fuck did i just read.

I am going to need to point you to Demonik-Foxxs question.

The TLDR is Blue team died. They returned as sixteen year olds.

Wow. Never thought that just simply saying I am doing a paring would make people flip. Just because I am shipping them, I have not ever seen a John and Ruby shipp so I am taking the first stab at it, doesent mean that they are together right away after one conversation. Its a slow burn, not a bonfire.

Lieutenant-058

Ok, so that was really good, your work has a definite charm to it, and i really enjoyed it.

Here's a tip for writing spartan 2s that I've found tends to really help, just remember that they don't do/say anything unnecessary, unless it's for/to a teammate (of course there are exceptions, but just use this as a bit of a guideline if you aren't sure about an interaction)

Either way great job.

Also I really enjoyed the Saint XIV, mando, slayer, etc cameos, well done.

Now for constructive criticism:not gonna lie, you could use some polish, especially in the beginning.

You need to work on repetitive sentence structure and pacing.

Keep in mind this is mostly for non dialogue, your conversations and general dialogue are great.

As for ships, my brain cannot picture John and Linda with literally anyone but each other at this point, but you do your lucky rose, as for Kelly and Fred, I think they make a great match, something about the chaotic one x the manager is an amazing dynamic to me. But I could also see yang and Fred hooking up as the chaotic idiot duo

Final thing: Halo infinite

I cannot agree more, it looks amazing, and the sound design is the best I've ever heard, (better than Titanfall somehow) plus they have done something amazing and decided not to go full last of us 2 and make the game so serious that it's only enjoyable for masochists, and make the game actually fun and enjoyable from both a gameplay and story perspective, (BEAR YOUR FANGS SPARTAN!) not to mention that I absolutely love mobility (cough titanfall cough)

TLDR: I'm excited for infinite and more from this, keep it up

I will try to keep that in mind. Though with them out of armor they wont be able to talk over a comm. So I do need to make them a tad bit chatty. Not trying to dismiss what you are saying, but I do hope to find a good balance as I go. So thank you for giving me the helping hand.

I would like to add those guys again at some point but in what I dont know.

And the constructive criticism will be taken to heart. I hope I did that in this chapter, if not let me know as far as structure and pacing went. And I do thanks for the praise on the dialogue.

Shipps, ahh the shipps. In canon I agree. I like Linda and John together. Witch is odd because if we take John out of the equation, my favrite S-IIs are Fred and Linda. So one could see me shipping those too together but I dont. It could be for a number of reasons. I got a soft spot for red heads, so seeing her with John ( the player in game ) seemed to be a shipp that I leaned to once I started to read the expanded lore. And I thank you for the support on LuckyRose. As I have said multiple times, I have not seen a single John and Ruby parring on the interwebs witch is a big surprise for me. I thought their would have been. So again thank you.

Also, chaotic idot duo...that is funny. Through Nora into the mix with some C-7 and you will have a jolly good time. But I was going to go with Yang. Post Beacon, and you will be one of the people I will consult, Yang would have the feel of Vada Lopis. If I am comparing correctly.

And I know what you mean. Ohhhh Esherum. I cant wait.

Good talking to you as alway and cant wait to see what you send next.

Ferrett

You spelt maidens wrong, just read the word and correct if you want. Good writing otherwise.

Well at least you are not a grammar 30s and 40s german party that I am not sure I can say here. Spelling and Grammer were never a strong suit for me, so I have been doing a double spell check. Now if you really want to see cringe, check out the first few chapters of my other story, The Huntress and The Spartan. I only did a google spell check and you can cringe all you want and I wont take offence. I need to go back and fix it at some point but I like being able to look back and cringe.

dovah117

Finally! Its going to be a long time for Ruby and John to be a pair but I can wait, soo there's a Forerunner installation here, what does it contain, armors? Guns? A portal to a different universe? The end of the world? THE DELUXE EDITION OF HALO INFINITE!? GAH I NEED THAT HALO! it just soo good, it makes me remember in a good way Halo 3, also will there be other ships with the Spartans?

Not only did I finally get this story up, but the first story to shipp John and Ruby. And I cant wait to see where this adventure goes. And yup a Forerunner instillation is on Remant. What it is we will have to wait. It could be an armory, a shipyard, or some military stronghold, or it could be nothing more then a pleaser center for the Forerunners to go to. A water and theme park with a lazy river and Fireteam raven with a stripper bar in the center? No one knows. Maybe not the stripper part but that is more for comedic effect. But I can confirm that the deluxe edition of Halo Infinite is not it...or is it?

As to you shipping question aside from LuckyRose, I am going with BurningBlade ( YangxFred) and as far as Kelly and Linda go, I am not sure yet. I am thinking of Oscar with one of them. Not sure who yet. I am thinking Kelly because I might have someone for Linda. But I could change my mind and through Oscar to the lone wolf sniper of Blue team. Again, no matter who he gets, he needs a drink. Either way he is going to have one hell of a hellcat on his hands.

Ok so I did forget one thing. So we did get something for Infanite. So everyone and their mother has heard of the new coating system. And every one is ready to chew 343 a new ass. Now I need to point a few things out.

1: THE GAME IS NOT EVEN OUT YET! TAKE A FUCKING CHILLPILL

2: we dont have much info to go off of. All we are getting is promo stuff. Do I have my apprehensions? Yes. Am I going to get on the 343 hate train? No. After all, I dont want the Instilation that can fire the entire halo array to get pissed off and wipe out the universe due to people pissing him off.

Look I get the worry. The coating system LOOKS like it would be the Destiny 2 shader system. Could it? Sure but I doubt it.

Yes some will be paid for. But this is a free to play multiplayer, they need to make their money back somehow. Plus I want you guys to think of something.

Remember in Halo 5 when one of the pro players or an employee lost his daughters or when the hurricanes hit the south coast? You could buy a pack and get a unique emblem ontop of other junk.

Now put that thought into the coating system. Say for example your author suddenly and violently dies from a puppy attack. My colors are normaly black and red. 343 could look upon my death with sympathy and make a coating in my honor. Again this is an example, and to help illustrate what I am trying to talk about. Unique items that could go to a charity can be used here.

So take a chill pill and lets wait until we get the game in our hands. Is that to much to ask? I hope not.

Now that is going to be it for me for now. I will be working on A Noble Rose and then I am not sure yet.

So…

Fly Fast, Check 6, and I will see all you fine people on the virtual battlefield.