Holy shit has it been a bit. How is it going guys and gals, it has been a while. And in that time a number of things have happened. Bungie released their 30th anniversary pack for Destiny 2 and Witch Queen. Gota say both were fun to play. Halo Infinite came out with season 2 now out. Still need to play it though. Halo got its own TV show for better or worse. I have been playing Mass Effect Legendary Edition and having fun as well as reading other works of FanFiction and trying to come up of one of my own. Got some concepts but nothing concrete. And lets not forget IRL things going on.
So I wont keep you guys and gals much longer but I do got something I want to say. It will be quick but needed.
So in the last chapters Authors Note, I brought up a couple of things. Mainly Law Enforcement and Self defense. Now I am from the US and we have the First Admendment. Witch is Freedom of Speach. It was with that that I chose to use my position to give my input on some things. I realize that not everyone will agree with some of my views and that is fine, I am not blaming or calling you out or nothing like that, but I can see that some may not agree with me. Again that is fine. I gess what I am saying is that while I am not appoligising for what has been said, I will always support law enforcement and people having the tools to defend themselves, I am wanting to say that I can understand where people can come from.
We good? Good. Now, lets get to the story.
/
Thomas Laskey looked out of the bridge of the Infinity. Again, nothing out of the ordinary. Just blackness that was full of the white dots of stars. He normally would go to an observation deck to let his thoughts wander, but he was expecting a status report from the Spartan teams he sent to aid Blue Team. It should be coming in any moment now. Or so he hoped.
He looked to see Dr. Halsey looking over a star chart, trying to think of a new system that they could stop at for a while and stage out of without Cortana knowing.
He sighed and was about to turn around when a portal opened. Not one that a Guardian would use, but a human portal. And from it came a single UNSC Prowler. But only one Prowler.
" Roland, hail them." he ordered.
The Infinity's AI appeared on the holo table. " Already on it."
Not even a second later, the voice of Locke came on the waves.
" Captain Laskey, I have some bad news to report. Permission to talk about this on the bridge?" he reported.
Laskey gave a "Granted." and had Roland cut the link.
" I suppose it is too much to hope that Blue Team's prowler was disabled and that they decided to cash in on some personal time and go on a vacation." Lasky asked, hoping that a shot of humor may lighten the dread he felt.
Halsey just gave him a look that told him to can the jokes.
" I thought so." he said, letting his head drop.
The feeling of dread in his stomach rose. Did Blue Team go AWOL again? Or are they still on the hunt? He didn't know. And it was the only thing that he was hoping for.
He kept that hope until the team of Spartans walked onto the bridge. When they entered the Bridge, Locke was the first to speak.
" Sir, I recommend we jump immediately and have our prowler sanitized."
" Reason?" Laskey asked.
" Cortana may have bugged the prowler…"
" CORTANA WAS THERE!?" asked.
" Were you tracked?" Laskey asked.
" I don't believe so, sir. But better safe than sorry." Locke replied
" No shit." Roland said, as with a clap of his hands, claxons blared and the Infinity prepped for jump.
They waited for a few minutes for the ship to jump before Locke continued.
" When we arrived, we found Blue Team's prowler. We entered the ship and cleared it with no sign of Blue Team being present. We were then locked in the bridge with Cortana manifesting herself behind us." Locke stated, " She played a video of what happened during Blue Team's mission." Locke paused again trying to think of the best way to break the last bit of news.
" What happened? What happened to John?" Halsey asked desperately wanting to know what happened.
" They were ambushed and forced to detonate their fusion packs." Locke said, " They are dead ma'am."
Halsey covered her mouth as she let out a choked gasp and cry.
" No. He, they, they can't be. They, they can't." she said, dropping to her knees in grief.
Laskey had a dum struck look as he grasped the counsel.
" God help us. And God have mercy on those that took them from her." Laskey uttered under his breath.
" That is not all, sir." Locke said.
" What is it?"
" A message from Cortana. That is why I recommended we jump first before we view it."
Laskey gave it a thought before nodding, " I bet she is just as shocked as we are, but pissed off." he looked Locke in the eye " Play it."
Locke withdrew a chip and slotted it. On the table, Cortana's avatar appeared.
" I am sure Halsey is with you, Captain. If not, bring her here. She deserves to hear this just as much as you." She began, " Captain Laskey, You are one of the few officers in the UNSC who has my respect. You won it when you aided me and the Chief to take on the Didact on Requiem. It is because of that respect I do not track you when I easily could." She paused, " I ask you to give me the same respect. I am not asking for much, just a meeting point to discuss what Blue Team's death means for the universe, as well as the heads of those that took them from me.`` She took another pause to think of what she wanted to say next, " I ask you to meet me at these coordinates or to contact me on this frequency."
She winked off and left the room in silence, a silence so thick and pungent that one could see it.
Laskey could see that Halsey was not far from a breakdown and had her escorted to her quarters. Once she was gone, and managing to get his own head clear, he started to think tactically and strategically.
" So, she wants to meet. Not sure if it is the wisest but it would give us a window." he said as a conversation of an opp to Reach came to his mind. " Where is Gray Team currently?" he asked Roland.
" Currently in a comm blackout opp. Want me to send a message?" he asked.
/
It was Saturday and Blue Team found themselves in an odd predicament. Glynda, their adoptive mom, forced them into Vale proper for a wardrobe update.
" No offense, but combat fatigue won't cut it for certain events. While they may be comfortable, they are boring. Save it for the arena. Besides, you need some color in your lives."
And that is where they were. Much to their annoyance. What is wrong with their boots and fatigues? They were not only comfortable but also functional.
John let out a breath, " Let's get this done and over with. You know she probably won't let us go until we got something."
" How many things do we need to get? Because I am not going to wear any dress." Kelly replied.
" I heard that and yes you are going to pick a couple out." Glynda said, appearing like magic behind them, " Even Tomboys have at least a couple of dresses for occasions."
" Do we look normal?" replied Linda.
Glynda gave them a stern look, " Be that as it may, you are going to have something. I won't ask you to pick out jewelry, that bill would be crazy expensive. But if you find something you like point it out."
Being the voice of reason, Fred spoke up, " Come on. The faster we get this done, the sooner we can get paint."
Glynda smiled at his statement and led them to the clothing store. They have been there for an hour with the team having no idea what to look for. When it came to their armor, it was simple and functional for their roles. Same with their weapons. Sure Kelly and Linda painted and customized their personal weapons, but it was something unique to them.
Glynda had long since called in support from one of the staff but even he was having a hard time getting them something that would match them. He asked what they liked. Bands, games, charters from said games or movies or TV shows, he even asked if they liked memes. He needed something to go off of. And when hope seemed lost, they caught a break as RWBY walked in.
" Why are we here again? I thought we were meeting Blue at the hardware store?" Ruby asked.
" I didn't bring anything that I can paint in. So I was going to grab a couple of simple T-shirts and shorts for us to wear while we paint." Yang told her sister.
" I am going to have to agree with Yang here. I didn't bring anything and I sure don't want to get my dress full of paint." Weiss agreed with Yang.
Blake kept her thoughts and comments to herself as she began to scan where to go for shirts and shorts when she spotted Blue Team near a rack of shirts looking completely lost.
" Um, I don't think we need to worry about Blue team." Blake said, gaining her team's attention.
She simply pointed when they looked at her. Their confusion was evident as they looked to see where the team was.
" Well, should we go over and see what they are doing?" Ruby asked. After she got approval from her team, she led them over.
" Ruby? Thank God you and your team are here. I need your help." Glynda said from around the corner of a stall.
" Umm, sure, what do you need?" She asked.
" I need you and your team to help me in getting Blue team an upgraded wardrobe. And they are not making it easy. Care to throw things at them and see what sticks?" the teacher informed.
" As long as you consider it extra credit you got a deal." Yang said, hoping for some extra points.
" If you can get them three outfits a piece to stick, consider your next assignment an A." she said with a sigh of relief.
Ruby and Yang fist-bumped while Blake and Weiss just smiled.
" Okay, Blake and Yang, take the girls and get them some outfits. Weiss and I will help the boys." Ruby said.
" And why am I helping Kelly and Linda? Why not Weiss?" Yang complained, hoping to get a feel for Fred and John. You know, to see what they were like and most definitely not wanting to get a look at those abs she was sure they had.
" Chances are you are going to perv on them. They need someone that will find them a good outfit that won't consist of something that is skin tight and reveals everything." Weiss said.
Yang let out a groan and uttered that she was cock blocking her before grabbing Kelly and going to the women's section of the store.
" You are not going to drag me around like her." Linda said to Blake.
Blake shrugged and gestured for her to follow before following Yang and Kelly's trail, leaving Ruby and Weiss with John and Fred.
" So, how do you want us to do this? Favorite colors, vehicles, shows extra." Ruby asked.
Knowing that Ruby would be a better bet thanks to her background of being a weapon geek, Fred spoke up.
" Find a shirt that has something to do with blades and you would have my attention."
Weiss said she would take him, leaving Ruby with John.
" I guess that leaves you and me." she said with a smile.
" Guess so." he replied.
" Well, anything you like? Solid colors are optional."
John thought about it before something Cortana once said to him. " This ring is not a cudgel you barbarian. It is something much more important." was what she said to him on the first Halo ring, and on High Charity when he told her that he was going to shoot his way out, you know, mix things up a little.
Giving her a small smile, he asked if there were shirts about firearms or firearm slogans.
The light that came to her eyes with the smile that came to her lips, precious.
With Linda and Kelly, well they had three shirts apiece as well as some jeans. Kelly had a shirt that had an unsuspecting bunny at a mouth of a cave with bones littered around with the words ' THAT RABBIT IS A MONSTER' on it and another with the words ' I am the one your mom warned you about' with the last being something nice. A nice flower pattern shirt.
Linda had a black T-shirt with a wolf howling at the moon with another that caught her eye. A wolf beast forging what looked to be an iron cross.
" Just looks badass." she told them.
The last shirt was a nicer shirt that was a darker shade of green that was loose but in a good way.
And much to their disappointment, they found a couple of dresses that they could tolerate. They helped the girls out with underclothes even.
" Linda, can I ask you a question?"
" Sure."
Blake took a second to think of how she wanted to ask her about being a faunas without outing herself.
" How do you do it?" she asked.
"How do I do what?" she asked.
Blake was going to elaborate when Linda seemed to understand what she was asking. Looking to see that Yang, being the ever unshy person she was, had a tape measure wrapped around Kelly's chest to get her bust size for bras that, when they found out they had nothing that wasn't gray and boring. In Yang's words, " That will change."
" You are wondering how Kelly and I deal with being a Faunas?" She asked.
Blake nodded.
Linda looked to her bow and simply asked, " how do you do it?"
Blake's eyes widened briefly before she said she had no idea what she was talking about. Linda lowered her voice, " Blake. I am the sniper of my team. I am supposed to be observant. So do not bullshit me. I know you are hiding ears under that bow." Linda told her.
Blake shifted from foot to foot looking uncomfortable.
" Blake, I can tell you are uncomfortable being in a public place discussing your heritage. Let's save this conversation till later."
Blake relaxed and thanked her.
" Linda, it's your turn to get measured and find underwear you like." came Yang's sing-song voice.
Linda looked Blake in the eye, " Save me." she said in total seriousness.
" I don't know," Blake said with a smile, " She looks like she is going to have you no matter what."
Linda seemed to whimper and hung her head.
/
After an hour, hour and a half, they left the clothing shop. Blue Team had enough alternate outfits to be comfortable. Although their faces told another story. Their faces looked like they were just tortured. For Team RWBY, they had the looks of your average-looking girls that just got done helping friends out.
" So, what colors are we getting?" Ruby asked.
" Navy blue, yellow and white." John said.
" Why those colors?" Glynda asked.
" Our team colors. Our armory needs a bit of color. Team RWBY offered to help in painting." Kelly replied, " you want to join us mom?" she asked half offering and half teasing.
While the mom part did catch RWBYs attention, they did hear the teasing tone and thought that Kelly was playing a joke on the middle-aged women's expense.
Unknown to them, however, that was Kelly's way of welcoming her to Blue.
/
Once they got the paint and got back, Yang threw Blue team pairs of cheap clothes with a simple " You can get dirty in these. Everyone needs some good painting clothes."
After a quick change of clothes, RWBY, Blue, Glynda, and even JNPR came in to help…with NORA BRINGING A STICK OF DYNAMITE! WHAT THE HELL WOMAN? WHEN FRED SAID PAINT WITH EXPLOSIVES, HE DIDN'T MEAN IT!
With the walls painted blue with Blue team's logo painted on the back wall.
" Hmm. I still think you could use some more color." Yang commented.
" I think it's good." Weiss said surprisingly.
Yang shrugged saying that she would have probably done something different.
Glynda told RWBY that their next couple of assignments are done as well as a test or two as payment for helping with Blue team getting a wardrobe update. They thanked her and offered a place at their table for supper, Blue team being a given. In such a short amount of time, RWBY and Blue were becoming close friends with one another and with JNPR.
Even now at the table, the two teams were talking and cracking jokes to get Blue team to smile or laugh. Which was a challenge in itself.
Glynda saw what they went through and knew that they had a lot of emotional armor to disengage from. Using humor to break tension while in the field. While off duty or aboard ship? Not a whole lot. They would check their gear, eat, get some training in, sleep…and not much else.
So to see them eating and at least attempting to fit in made her smile. The only thing she wished was that she could have raised them from a younger age. To mold them into something less soldiery and more human. But this was the hand she had been dealt, and she was going to play it.
" So, what are you doing tomorrow?" Ruby asked.
Blue team gave differing sounds of being unsure.
" Not much, probably. Never really had a weekend where we can just kick back and relax." Fred let out.
" Soooo, Linda, are you doing anything fun or exciting tomorrow?" Ruby asked the sniper.
" Aside from doing a gear check and meditating, not really." the wolf sniper of Blue team replied to the little reaper.
" Would you be interested in some target practice?" Ruby asked.
Linda raised a brow at her.
" I mean I don't think you need it or anything like that. You are a sniper and one that looks to be very good in her trade. I would never suggest you are a bad shot or anything like that" Ruby rambled on trying to say that she was not trying to be insulting but rather inquisitive.
" Ruby." Linda halted the girl's rambling, " If you are wanting to compare scores, I am fine with that. If you are looking to get some pointers or practice with another sniper, I am okay with that as well. All you have to do is ask."
Ruby let out a breath, " Thank you. I was kind of hoping to pick a few tricks up from you. The way you blinded that DeathStalker in initiation was awesome and would love to learn how to do it."
Fred let out a soft chuckle. " Ruby, Linda is one of the deadliest snipers alive. If you are wanting to learn how to be an effective sniper, she is the one you talk to."
" Flattery will get you nowhere Fred." Linda replied.
" Who said I was flattering you? We both know you could shoot a target at two kilometers straight up into a target the size of a dime." he told her referring to their time on Onyx when she shot a Sentinel from the air with Tom and Lucy using rockets as cover for her to make that shot.
" Sounds like you are looking for brownie points." Yang replied, "Speaking of, what are you doing tomorrow?"
Fred shrugged. " Not much. Why? You want to spar or something?" he asked.
Yang chuckled, " A spar does sound fun, but I was thinking of doing something else. Like I don't know, kicking your ass in the Arcade?"
" Don't know what an Arcade is but sure. Sounds like fun."
The two teams looked at him.
" Fred, do you not know what an Arcade is?" Phyrra asked.
He shook his head.
" Well considering you are from an out-of-the-way village, I will let it slide. An Arcade is a place to chill and hang out, play some games and win prizes, and eat. You know, fun." Yang told him, " Also, I want one of them blow up hammers. People need to be bonked."
Fred gave a questioning look " Okay?"
Yang smiled brightly, " It's a date then."
Fred looked to the group with a 'what' look, " Help."
Kelly laughed, " You talked your way into this and you can talk your way out!"
"Traitor."
That got a round of laughs from everyone.
" Would you look at my boys. All grown up and going on his first date." Glynda said with a playful smile.
That got even more laughter with Fred shifting his glare from Kelly to her.
" Traitor." he said again, earning another round of laughter from the table.
" What are your plans tomorrow Kells?" Yang asked, looking to see if she could recruit the bunny Spartan to the arcade.
" I think I am just going to relax. Maybe go for a nice run even." she said, ' And to check out the music the Maidens sent me.' she thought
" Sounds boring. Why not get some studying done?" Weiss asked.
" On second thought, I will join you. I have been meaning to find a barbershop anyway." Kelly corrected.
" You are wanting a haircut?" John asked, looking at his sister with a raised brow.
" No. Just wanting to add some color." she said with a smile. He knew what she was referring to. She dyed her hair blue from time to time. Something about it reminded her of something before their kidnappings.
John chuckled and told her to not overdo it.
" Sooo, that is Kelly, Linda, and Fred. What are you doing tomorrow John?" Jaune asked.
John thought about it. What was he wanting to do with a day off? He never had much downtime to just let the day slip by.
" Not sure. Might bounce from one teammate to another if they are around the school." John answered honestly.
" Well if you want, you can study with me then." Weiss tried again.
John looked to Glynda, " You got anything you want me to do?" he asked.
She smiled and looked away like she didn't hear him.
" Linda, you got another plus one." he told her, making everyone chuckle.
For the rest of the evening, the conversations went well. Linda was asked about her longest shot and Kelly was asked about the fastest and furthest she ran. When they finished eating, Linda decided to check out her sound library in their dorm with a stick of incense burning to meditate to. She stood, stretched, put her tray on the counter, and left with the rest of the teams following suit.
" See you tomorrow Linda." Ruby said to the sniper.
Linda waved the young rose a good night and went to her dorm.
When RWBY entered their dorm and got settled did Weiss shoot her mouth off.
" Is it just me or do Kelly and Linda give you the creeps?" she asked.
" No. Why would they?" Yang asked.
" Well, I mean, it is only a matter of time before they leave us for the White Fang." Weiss said, " Why devote so much time to making friends when they will leave us for a terrorist organization."
Blake was going to snap at her saying that she was lumping a whole species in a crime for the actions of a few.
" That is pushing the line between prejudice and racist Weiss." Yang shot at her, " Kelly and Linda have been nothing but kind, if not a bit on the socially awkward side. And do you see them trying to talk down on John and Fred? Hit them, tell them that they are worthless or blind?"
Weiss glared at Yang, " Yang, all the Faunas I have known have been looking to put a knife in my back. My father fired many Faunas saying that they were looking to slit our throats or to get close to me and then use me."
Blake stood up and made for the door. She did not need to listen to a rich brat talk about how her people were bad. She was one to talk. How many Faunas were thrown into the mines with little to no PPE, low pay, and often worked to near-death?
" Where are you going, Blake?" Ruby asked.
" Out." she told her leader.
Yang and Weiss seemed to ignore her and continued to argue about whether or not Linda and Kelly are going to slit her throat while she sleeps.
She walked down the halls towards Blue team's room. Linda called her out, and she needed to know how and whether or not she needed to worry.
She walked down a couple of hallways till she came to Blue Teams dorm. She raised her hand to knock but hesitated.
' What if John and Fred are in there? Would they accept me for who I am and not what I am?' she asked herself.
She knocked with one of the softest of knocks. The sound of things stopping could be heard due to her sensitive hearing. A few footsteps later and Fred opened the door.
" Blake?" he asked, surprised.
" Kelly, you owe me twenty Lien." John said.
A growl could be heard as Kelly grumbled something.
" Let her in." Linda said.
Fred opened the door further and stepped aside for her to enter. When she did, she saw a stick of incense burning with wisps of smoke giving off the desired scents as well as a speaker playing a series of sounds that went with the sents. A forest scent and sounds. Birds, crickets, everything. It made Blake like Linda even more purely on her meditative practices.
Kelly was bobbing her head in a way that made it look like she was listening to music with a healthy beat while writing something down in a notebook. Journal perhaps? Or a sketchbook.
Fred went back to his bed and started to sharpen one of his knives with John joining Kelly with a notebook, it looked like he was making battle plans.
" You are coming to ask about me calling you out?" Linda asked as she opened her emerald green eyes.
" I am." she said.
Letting out a breath, she paused the nature sounds and threw a bullet at her sister. Startled, Kelly snapped her head around to look at Linda.
" What?" she asked, raising a headphone.
Linda pointed to Blake.
" Ah. So she did want to talk."
" It seems so," Linda said to her sister, " Lose the bow, Blake." Linda ordered.
Blake stood there not moving, not knowing what to do. Should she remove the only thing she had to conceal her ears? Or should she trust this team of two humans and two faunas? She did not know. But at the same time, she did. If two human boys could accept two faunas girls as siblings, she was sure she could trust them. She took a breath and let it out before raising her hands. A quick pull and the ribbon was in her hands. She scratched her head as she stood in front of the team of hidden Spartans with her cat ears showing for all to see. She could feel the heat rise to her cheeks slightly as they stared.
" Please, stop staring." She asked.
" An extra twenty Lien." John told his sister who groaned and opened her wallet.
" You're a thief, you know that?" Kelly asked.
Blake looked at the two snark at one another.
" You were placing a bet as to what kind of Fauans I was?" she asked incredulously, not sure what she should be feeling.
" Friendly bet. So, you are wondering how I pegged you for a Faunaus?" Linda asked, after a nod she continued, " I caught your bow twitch every once in a while. Not much but when you are an observant person by nature it stood out."
" So no one else would know then?" she asked.
" Doubtful. I bet that even Weiss would not see it unless you deliberately did it in front of her." Kelly retorted.
" And my being a Fauans doesn't bother you at all?" she asked.
The team gave her a deadpanned look.
" Ok. Dumb question."
There was a moment of silence as the team went back to their tasks.
" So that is it? You are not going to blackmail me into keeping my secret?" Blake asked.
John shrugged. " Why should we? You did nothing to us and blackmail is not our style."
" What you do is on you. If you want to keep your heritage a secret, then that is on you. It is not our place to tell." Fred added on.
" We all have things we don't want to tell people for one reason or another." Kelly further added.
" Some can be told at an appropriate time while others…" Linda paused, " Should stay buried in the ground."
A weight lifted off of Blake's shoulders just for another one to slip on. What were they hiding? Linda said that some secrets should remain that way and never see the light of day. But why? Did they have something like that hidden? Would one of those be something they would need to kill her for? What was it about Blue team that screamed ' More than we are letting on.'
" Is there anything else you want to ask or talk about?" Fred asked as he sheathed his knife.
Blake thought for a moment. Weiss still thought that they were here as a pit stop before they joined the Fang. Might as well see if they are.
" I am not sure how far your village was but have you heard of the White Fang before?"
" We heard of them. Never met or saw anything. Why? Are some of their operatives here?" Kelly asked.
" No, or at least not that I know of. But Weiss seems to think you are going to join them simply because you are Faunas." Blake replied as she sat on a bunk.
" Then she is stereotyping. Does she say the same for Velvet or Foxx? Or any other Faunas in the school?" Kelly asked again.
Blake thought about it. " I haven't heard her say anything about anyone else. Just you two. She seems to think that you are actually scouts for an invasion of Beacon or are looking to slit her throat while she sleeps."
Kelly and Linda raised their eyebrows in both amusement and shock. Amusement because if they wanted to, they could kill the entire school in one night like that. Not hard for a Spartan They practiced it during training back on Reach. Shock because Weiss really has such a low opinion of them.
" Yang did defend you saying that you showed no such actions and that you all seem to be on the socially awkward side of the spectrum." Blake responded, " I am sure in time, once we get to know you better, you would be completely different people."
" Maybe. You all do know how hard our lives have been. It's just plates of armor we erected." Linda told the girl, " So, you seem a little touchy when people talk about the White Fang. Care to tell us why?"
Blake smiled and gave a soft chuckle. " Maybe some other time. It wasn't always a terrorist organization. It was once something beautiful. Ruined by one person who sees the short game and not the long term."
She stood and made for the door. " See you all tomorrow." she said, making her way back to her dorm and hoping Weiss got an ear full from Yang.
/
Ruby stood at the cliffs that she and her team were launched from that first day at Beacon. She was waiting for John and Linda to show up. She was excited and was vibrating with barely contained energy. She was going to shoot and show her skills to the two students. To her new friends. Sure Linda was quiet and a lot like Blake, but she had a sense of humor. She hoped she could pick up a trick or two from the student.
And John was, well, John. She saw him take notes and was studious. More so than the others. And he was always jotting things down. He didn't talk all that much but when he did, she made sure to listen and pay attention. But the thing that caught her attention was his eyes. Eyes, it was said, were the windows into someone's soul. Their personality, likes, dislikes, passions, and fears all resided in one's eyes. All of Blue team had the same tired look in their eyes. That ' Older than their years' look. But John, to her at least, seemed older. Or at least had more experience and hardship. His blue eyes held so much that she wanted to know. More so than Linda's green eyes. And, she hated to admit it, John had some nice muscles going on that she wanted to feel. Damn teenage girl hormones. Always messing up things.
She heard a twig snap and she looked over to see the two walk out of the tree line. John carried two normal-looking, gray/black rifles and a pack on his back, while Linda carried her custom rifle with the wolf painted on it. Her other feature was a scope for sighting that she carried in her other hand.
Linda let out an " Okay" and set her gear on the grass.
" So Ruby, I take it you know the basics of long-range shooting?" Linda asked.
She nodded with a smile.
"Okay then. I came out here earlier and set up targets from 50 yards to 2 thousand yards." she informed. She then gave her a playful little smirk, " Think you can make that kind of shot?" she asked.
Ruby felt a thrill of excitement run through her. Then the last shot hit. " Did you say two thousand yards?"
When Linda nodded, her excitement turned to nervousness. " I-I never shot that far before." Ruby admitted.
Linda shrugged. " That last one is more for me. I have an 83% accuracy rate at that range. I want to see if I can still do it." she admitted.
Ruby let out a sigh of relief.
" What is the longest shot you ever made?" Linda asked.
" About 100-150 yards. I mainly use Crescent Roses recoil to get around and add momentum to my attacks." Ruby admitted.
Linda nodded. " I reviewed some footage of you in the arena and your run-in with Torchwick. You took a bulky weapon that has a high recoil that is meant for long-range and turned it into something that can be used in close quarters. It is admirable."
" With that said,'' John picked up, " You should also use that massive rifle of yours for its intended purpose. Long-range anti-material shooting."
He as well was setting up one of the gray rifles.
" What is that rifle, by chance?" Ruby asked.
" SRS-99-S5. Shoots a 14.5x114 round from a four to seven-round box magazine." Linda said offhandedly. Like she had the specs memorized.
Once they got the guns set up, as well as the spotting scope, they were ready to begin. They tossed her some hearing protection and went prone.
" We will start at 100 meters and work our way up. Prove yourself and I may consider letting you shoot my baby." Linda offered.
The light that came to the girl's eyes was pure. And was the equivalent of being told that she can hold a newborn baby. She pulled out Crescent Rose and laid prone between John and Linda and slipped the safety off.
" Okay, calibration. 50 yards. One magazine apiece." Linda said as she flipped the safety off and rested the butt against her shoulder.
While the wolf, the rose, and the eagle were shooting, the rabbit of Blue team exited a hair salon. Kelly tossed her freshly dyed blue hair with her hand.
" Why do you dye your hair? It was beautifully brown before." Yang asked.
Kelly smiled. " Just something I did early in my life. Reminds me of the good times in my childhood." ' If I even am able to remember it.' Kelly told her.
Yang shrugged before grabbing her arm and dragging the now blue-haired bunny to the Arcade with Fred and team JNPR following. After all, Ren has to keep Nora in check somehow.
Yang dragged them to a brick single-story building and ushered them in. They were met with the sound of, well, an arcade. Charters talking, beeps and boops, and the sound of people getting high scores. All on top of conversation and the smell of foods being cooked. Cheap pizzas being backed and kept hot as well as hotdogs and other fried finger foods. It all hit the Spartans hard. So much so fast that they had to take it slow going into the arcade. Yang saw them groan at the sensory overload.
" You two look like you are going to be sick." she asked.
Both Spartans looked at her with the ' you think?' face.
Yang looked and saw a table they could chill at until they got used to the noise and smells of a closed-in building with many bodies in it.
" You want me to get you some water or something? You look like you may need it." Jaune offered. At the nod, he stood and went to the counter and returned with a pitcher of water and some plastic cups.
They grabbed a cup and filled it with the cool liquid and drank. It was a full pitcher later before they felt well enough to do anything.
" So, what do you feel like playing and losing to me too?" Yang asked.
Kelly looked around and could not make sense of it. Booths with pedals and steering wheels for racing, or with fake guns. Angled tables with ringed sections, ball games, darts, and hoops.
Fred looked at his sister and simply asked what she felt like. She shrugged.
" Want to race?"
Fred smiled and looked to see Nora and Yang smiling at them. For the next few hours, the rabbit and the blade of Blue team competed against the insane hammer wielder and knight of JNPR as well as the blonde bombshell of RWBY.
Tickets were won and food and beverages were consumed. And when they left, well, Yang had her blow-up hammer.
When they arrived back at Beacon those that were not part of RWBY were invited in to continue their chat that they have been having. When they opened the door, they saw that Ruby, John, Linda, Weiss, and Blake were talking about how they did shooting.
" How did she do?" Fred asked, wondering how the little rose did.
" She has the talent. Just needs to work on her distance." John replied.
" I got to shoot NornFang." Ruby said in a tone of awe and excitement.
" You let her shoot your weapon sis?" Kelly asked.
" I did. She earned it." Linda replied.
She did earn it. Both she and John pushed the young one to further on her distant shots. She managed to get an extra 50-60 yards with Crescent Rose and when she switched to an SRS she got an extra 100 yards…once she got dialed in. She asked how Linda managed to reach out as far as she did. The answer was for her to take in the wind and the distance. And for even further distances she needed to take in the curvature and rotation of Remnant.
Ruby raised an eyebrow at that. That is when Linda looked down the scope and told Ruby to get on the spotter scope. The result was Linda finding a target well past the targets she set up, told Ruby to watch, made her adjustments, and fired. A second or three later, Ruby saw the target she was aiming at, a tree branch, explode.
" Damn. And did she start worshiping you as some sort of sniper goddess?"
Linda looked to Ruby to see her somehow readying her knee pads so she could bow and kiss her feet.
" You tell me." she said looking at her brother, she then looked back to the young girl and asked where she got those knee pads.
" Chief, how did you do?" Fred asked.
John shrugged. " About my usual. Hit some at distance, missed some at distance."
" And did you try Ruby's weapon and put it through its paces?" Kelly asked.
" She did. And she managed to get Crescent Rose to reach out to 400 yards." Ruby said, still in awe.
" Seeing Linda work a rifle the way she did was a sight to behold." Weiss said.
" It was. Even John managed to work those rifles well and he even admitted to not being a sniper. Just knowing enough to use it when needed." Blake added.
" I thought you two had something going on?" Yang asked with a raised eyebrow.
Blake shrugged simply saying that she was curious.
" I had to make sure the dolt didn't hurt herself." Weiss replied.
" Ahhh, I knew you cared Weiss." Ruby said with a smile.
Weiss leveled a mild glare at her.
" Did you win anything?" Ruby asked, ignoring the glare.
Yang pulled out an inflatable hammer and bopped Jaune on the head.
" I will take that as a yes from Yang, what about you or Fred?" Ruby asked, looking at Fred.
Fred shrugged as he pulled out a handle and with a flick, a comb sprung out. " I won a comb."
Ruby eyed the comb for a moment, " Lame. Kelly? Win anything cool?"
Kelly produced a pair of funny nose mustache glasses.
" Geez, you guys had some bad luck didn't you?" Ruby asked.
The two shrugged as Yang used her blow-up hammer and quickly bopped the two much to Ruby's surprise and delight.
" Well, I think we should be heading off. I can only speak for myself but I had a lot of fun today." John said standing up and stretching.
" Do it again sometime? Maybe just waste an afternoon trying everything?" Ruby asked.
" Sure. We will see about that young one." Linda said as she stood and made for the door.
" Hey Linda," Blake called, causing the wolf girl to stop and turn with a raised brow, " Are you going to meditate at all, or are you going to chill and head to bed?"
A soft smile spread on Linda's lips as she said that NornFang needed a good once over and then she was going to bed. A disappointed frown crossed the girl's face but bid her goodnight.
Once back in their dorm, John and Linda asked how the Arcade was.
" I do not know how we lost so much but we did." Fred said.
" Probably our training. We are more apt to fall back on to leading targets on the range rather than just point and shoot in the booth." Linda said as she opened their armory and started to strip and clean NornFang.
" But we did have fun. I don't think we ever did something like that, well, ever. It was a nice change of pace." Kelly said as she tossed back some blue hair.
" Well as much as I am sure Linda would like to hear it, you two smell like sweat and a bunch of other odors that I can't place. You and Fred can have the first round of showers." John said as he plopped down on his cot.
Doing as requested the two grabbed their things and made for the bathrooms, leaving John alone with his thoughts.
/
The sword clashed against the mace. The sound of the clash echoed in the arena with the combatants struggling grunts following. Cardin Winchester planted his foot in his opponent's chest plate and pushed, sending Jaune Arc onto his back. Shield and blade were thrown to the side as Cardin walked up and raised his mace for the killing blow.
" That is enough." came the voice of Glynda Goodwitch.
Cardin lowered his weapon as the instructor came on stage and began to explain rules and rules. She addressed her last comment to Jaune simply saying that he needs to consult his aura meter to make better strategies.
Up in the stands, some of the students were snickering at Jaunes defeat while others saw Cardin being nothing more than a bully. For Blue team, however, watched and came to the same conclusion. Jaune was not meant for the battlefield. At least not the way he was now.
" How did he get accepted here?" Kelly asked.
" Not a clue. And I feel kind of sorry for him." Fred said.
John and Linda simply kept to themselves and packed their things before standing and making for the door, stopping to pick up the rest of JNPR and RWBY for lunch…and storytime courtesy of Nora with the often corrections by Ren. Blue team was not overly interested but did find the corrections entertaining.
It was Jaune that was on their minds. The kid was down after his loss. And one could see that he was beating himself up. He put on a mask of cheer when people talked to him like what Ruby was doing now. She called him out and he was putting on a face.
" Name one time he 'bullied' me?" Jaune asked.
They listened to the mile-long actions of Cardin bullying Jaune, up to and including pushing him into a rocket locker and sending him into the forest and pushing him into the girl's locker room, and getting him sent to Ozpin's office.
" I didn't land too far away from the school. And Ozpin did find the video of him pushing me."
" You know that if you want us to, we can deal with him." Pyrrha stated.
" OOOOO, we'll break his legs!" Nora said with an insane smile.
" You are way too enthusiastic about that." Fred told her, " But I am sure we all would chip in."
Kelly and Linda nodded but kept their eyes on said bully, making sure they did nothing to Velvet. What they saw was him quickly casting a glance around to make sure the two weren't watching before his eyes landed on them. One could see the rage in his eyes as he turned back to his lunch.
" We most definitely would. A good hit to the head would do the trick." Kelly said.
" Guys really, it's fine," he said, getting to his feet, " and besides he is just a jerk to me. He is a jerk to everyone."
" Accept for Blue team." Pyrrha retorted.
" Yea. Accept them. But then again, I don't think anyone in our class wants to mess with them." He replied and left to get his books and things for the next class.
They watched him leave and went back to talking amongst themselves.
" I have one question." Kelly spoke gaining the two team's attention, " We all saw how sloppy he was during that last spar. Was he always like that? If so, the instructor he had before coming here was a moron. If not, what does he hope to gain?"
That got JNPR at least to think about their leader. It was Jaunes' partner that spoke, " He does need some work, but he is a quick thinker."
" And that is about it." Weiss said.
Linda caught John's eye.
' I think someone needs to talk to him.' he read.
' Who me?'
She looked at him and then motioned to Fred. ' You or Fred.'
John gave her a glare but did think about it. He shrugged.
' Maybe talk to mom and see if she can provide some insight.' was what his face conveyed. She seemed to understand and nodded.
" Well I hate to cut our eating fun time short, but we do need to get our things for Oblecks class." Yang said as she stood and, making sure she had the boys' attention, stretched and made sure to push those girls of her out there.
"Ughhh, we are normally fast learners and quick at picking things up, but damn. That teacher talks way too fast. I swear I need to be in combat with the adrenaline pumping just to be able to hear him at a slow enough pace to make sense of things." John groaned out.
He got a universal " Agreed!" as they all stood and followed Jaune to the class.
/
Thomas Laskey stood on the bridge of the Infinity looking into the holographic display. Gray team should have received the message to come out of their comm blackout and make contact. The courier did signal his arrival and delivery of his message. So it was just a matter of time now.
The operation he was going to send them on would take place at the same time he was going to be meeting with Cortana, and hopefully, call a truce to get the bastards that killed Blue team. Even if he wasn't able to, he would have Cortana distracted enough to send Gray team to Reach.
The deaths of the Master Chief and his team were still weighing heavily on his mind. Would Cortana come looking for the Infinity after she sought her vengeance? She already wiped out ONIs base in Sydney. Would she now stop and think of what her actions have done? The bridges that she burned? Or was she so focused on wanting to get the Master Chief out of combat and forcing him and his team into retirement that she was letting the ends justify the means? Good questions for another time as Roland appeared.
" Incoming signal sir. Patching it through."
He winked off the pedestal as the monitor showed Jia, Spartan-006.
" Captain Laskey. You have urgent news for us?" he asked.
" I do. The rest of Gray team, are they present?" he asked.
" Mike and Adreana are with me, yes. As for the others…"
" You, Mike, and Adreana are IIs correct?" Laskey cut him off.
" Affirmative."
" Then I have some bad news." Laskey began, " As of a few hours ago, Blue team is labeled KIA." ( I am unsure if ONI Navel Directive 930 would still be used in 2558-2560 on an S-II or S-III. I have seen some say it probably won't as the IVs are confirmed to be KIA. So for now that is what I am going to go with. If I am wrong please tell me so I can correct it. )
Jia had a look of taking it all in before he let out a breath. " How?"
" From what we got, the operation we sent them on was a trap that turned into an ambush. They detonated their fusion packs."
Jia let out another breath. Laskey knew that IIs had their own way of honoring their dead and knew that Jia and the rest of the original Gray team would be grieving. Again, just in their own way.
" I hope you didn't pull us out to tell us that, sir." Jia said after a moment.
" No. Rendezvous with the Infinity. Coordinates are with the messenger. "
Jia nodded and cut the link.
/
Oblecks class was as one would expect it to be. He was zipping back and forth asking questions about the war eighty years ago. During all of this, Blue team found ways to keep up. Linda was pulling some meditation tricks to slow the good doctor down while the others just relied on her to fill them in. He never asked them questions about history. Not sure if Ozpin filled him in or not or thought they were paying more than enough attention.
Weiss answered a question about a battle that a human General lost and was looking to ask another student why he failed, when a paper football from Cardin hit Jaune stuttering him awake from his nap.
" Ahh, Mr. Arc! So glad you could join us! Now what is the answer!" he asked the boy.
Jaune had the classic look of a deer caught in the headlights moment as he wracked his brain for anything to help.
He caught sight of Pyrrha with her motioning to her eyes, clearly trying to help. And unfortunately for her, he caught the wrong idea.
" Binoculars?" he asked answered.
The class erupted into a small fit of laughter.
" Very funny ." Obleck said standing up, " Cardin, maybe you would like to share your thoughts on the matter."
Cardin leaned back in his seat in a relaxed sort of way, " I know it is easier to train an animal than a soldier." he said.
" You are not the most open-minded of individuals are you Cardin?" Phyrra asked.
" What? You got a problem?"
" If she does, you know who is backing her." Fred said, shooting a glare his way.
" Oh, and what are you going to do, scarface?" Cardin asked, hoping to bruise his ego.
" You really want me to answer that? Or would you prefer a demonstration?" Fred shot back at him.
Cardin shot to his feet ready to throw down but sat back down when he saw the gleam come to Fred's eye and the knife he partially drew from its sheath.
" No, I don't have a problem, I have the answer. It's night vision. Many faunas are known to have near-perfect vision in the dark."
Cardin growled and Blake picked up where Phyrra left off.
" General Lagoon was inexperienced and chose to ambush the faunas in their sleep. His army was outmatched and the General was captured.
" Correct you two." Obleck congratulated.
" If Lagoon paid more attention in school, he would have known that little detail." Kelly added.
" The only animals I see in here are bird-brain over there and that pigeon up thier." Fred added.
The class looked to a corner that Fred indicated and did, in fact, see a pigeon on the window sill.
" Fred, don't insult the bird by comparing him to Cardin." Linda let out.
That got the class to erupt in laughter again, making Cardin see red.
" Yes, very funny Fred and Linda. Mr. Arc and Mr. Winchester, stay behind after class for additional readings." Obleck said as he continued.
When the bell rang the class packed up their things. Phyrra waited at the door to walk Jaune to their dorm when an idea hit her. She spotted Fred approaching and got his attention.
" Fred, can I talk to you for a moment?" she asked.
He nodded with a shrug and stood next to the door opposite Phyrra and waited for the people to clear out enough for their conversation to be a tad more private. When the last student was out of earshot, Fred asked what she wanted to talk to him about.
" I believe it should be painfully obvious that Jaune needs help." She told him.
" And you are wanting me to help him out?" Fred asked.
" I was thinking about both of us. We are both close in, in your face fighters. With you being even more of the in your face fighting with knives while I use a sword and shield." she told him.
Fred thought about it for a moment. Jaune did need help in his combat skills, but it was more than that. He needed help in academics as well.
" He doesn't need a tutor, he needs a mentor. And not just in swordsmen ship and combat, but also academic." Fred told her.
She rubbed her chin in thought.
" That does make sense. So, you want to help me?" she asked.
" I think it would take more than just the two of us. But it would be a good trial run." he told her.
She smiled and said she knows of a good spot to take him.
They talked a bit more when the door opened and Cardin walked out with Jaune…Jaune stumbling from being shoved. Cardin was then tripped by Fred's foot.
" You want to go punk?" Cardin scolded getting to his feet.
" If you think you can handle it." Fred told him in a bored tone.
The bully growled and knew he was no match against Fred, so he turned and stomped off.
" I will break his legs for you, you know that. Just give me the word." She said to the blond Knight as she helped him up to his feet.
" And get expelled for it?" Fred replied before Jaune could, " Just humiliate him in the arena…for the rest of the year."
Jaune let out a groan/sigh/laugh as he told them to forget it. Phyraa told him to come with her and led the two boys to a balcony. Fred thought nothing of it until Jaune started talking.
" Ummm, Phyrra? I may be depressed, but I am not that depressed. I can be a farmer or a merchant."
Phyrra freaked out slightly, telling him that is not why she brought him up here.
" I brought you up here because both Fred and I want to help you." She told him.
" You think I need help?" he asked.
Phyrra took a breath, " Jaune, it seems like you do need some help in combat and swordplay." She said, trying to be as tactful as possible, " Fred and I would like to tutor you."
Jaune seemed surprised and had a look of appreciation, all hidden under a mask of offense and shame.
" Both of you are wrong. I don't belong here." he said leaning on the railing.
" Don't say that Jaune. Of course you belong here." Phyrra said trying to cheer him up.
Fred had a feeling that what was bothering the young knight was going to come out.
" NO! You don't understand! I lied!" he snapped, " I got my hands on some fake transcripts and I lied." he said in anger, pain, and relief. Anger at himself for stooping to a deep low. Pain at telling someone this, and relife for the same reason.
Phyrra approached Jaune, wanting to comfort him, " Jaune…"
He whirled around to face her, " No! I am tired of being the lovable idiot! I am tired of being the damsel in distress!" he took a breath, " I wanted to be a hero. I took that heirloom and transcripts and came here. I have had no training. I have no knowledge to use."
Phyrra again tried to talk to him.
" Jaune, let us help you then." she gently pleaded with him.
And again, he rejected.
" No. I need to do this myself. To prove to myself that I am worthy. And to prove to others that I am worthy." he hung his head in shame as he turned out to look over the courtyard. " Just leave me." he told her defeated.
Before Phyrra could speak, Fred broke in.
" Is that how you really feel? That you need to do this all by yourself?"
Before Jaune could answer, Fred continued.
" Because if it is, you can take the express elevator down to the ground floor."
Both looked at him with shock. Fred encouraging a student to commit suicide? They never imagined that from him.
" It would be quick and painless. Sure there will be a mess to clean up, but at least your team can grieve and mourn for you and so Ozpin can find you a replacement." he looked Jaune in the eye and continued, " Because otherwise, you will be a liability to your team. Best case if you continue. You meet a Beowulf while on a training exercise in the forest. It kills you. Worst case. Training exercise. The team gets jumped. Again, Beowulfs. They can hold their own. You, however, are weak and constantly need help. Slowly, with them always coming to your aid and wasting energy to pull you out of the fire. Slowly, each one of your team falls. Leaving you alone. You may survive. And if you do, you will live with immense guilt. And if you don't, well, you won't need to write condolences letters. Chances are it will be very painful." Fred told him not breaking eye contact. He pointed to Phyrra suddenly, " Keep your mouth shut. He needs to hear this."
Phyrra shut her mouth but still had wide eyes. Fred stepped closer to Jaune.
" Now tell me Jaune. Are you still wanting to go about this your way and die? Or take the hand that is being offered to you?" Fred asked.
Jaune had a lost kicked puppy look.
" Even my team asks for help from time to time. Especially if we are going into a new area or situation. Even when we were in training, we asked questions and made mistakes when starting a new discipline. So I ask again, are you going to be humble and ask for help? Or be so arrogant that you think you can do this by yourself?" Fred asked.
When he did not receive an answer right away, Fred began to worry. Finally, Jaune let out a breath.
" I get where you are coming from. It's just…"
" Hard to do what you know is right." Phyrra finished.
Jaune nodded.
" Then do the hard thing. When it comes to life, the hard routes are often the right one." Fred added.
Phyrra was good for the young man. Fred could see that. She had a nurturing spirit about her that he was sure Linda could better explain.
" Take the night to think about your answer. When you do, come see us. And we will add our twist." Fred told him, " That goes for you as well Nikos. While you are in better shape, I think Jaune will need a helping hand from someone that knows him."
Phyrra nodded and she and Jaune left the roof. Fred watched them go before he spun around and grabbed Cardin by the collar and hoisted him up and over the railing.
" And that is what teammates and friends do. They help one another, not put them down." Fred told the bully.
" Screw you scarface." Cardin snarled, " When I tell Ozpin…"
" Chances are he already knows. And even if he didn't, do you think he would take the word over someone who constantly showed he doesn't take his school seriously?" Fred asked.
Cardin growled. " Well, I will tell Professor Goodwitch that you encouraged Jauen to commit suicide."
Fred's face held such unamusement that it hurt.
" Sure. You do that."
He dropped the bully and let him fall on his ass.
" Be lucky we don't come for your team next. Because I would enjoy getting you out of bed at 0430 hours."
He left the bully there on the roof and went back downstairs. The chances of Glynda believing Cardin were slim, but teachers did have to look into every threat that would befall a student. False or otherwise they could not take the chance. He walked the halls until he found her dorm and nocked. Funny how a few weeks ago, he and the others hauled an unconscious Glynda to her room, and here he was giving her a heads up.
The door opened to reveal Glynda in a purple silk button-up shirt and pants and wide eyes.
" Fred? What are you doing here? Problem with homework?" she asked.
" No Ma'am." he said right away, falling on instinct.
" Then what is it? I know you didn't have a nightmare and are looking for me to comfort you and let you sleep next to me." she said with a half-amused smile.
" I sure did. Dreamt that the mighty cheese man came for my noodles and was then chased by the cheese version of all the people I knew." Fred snarked back making Glynda have a fit of giggles.
When she recovered she welcomed him in and asked again what he needed.
" Doubt you would take anything Cardin says seriously. But you are a teacher and are supposed to take particular threats seriously. Whether they be true, false or otherwise." Fred began to which Glynda agreed, " Well two things. One: I am unsure if you are away of how bad Jaune is but he faked his transcripts to get in here…"
" He what?" Glynda asked for clarification.
" Jaune got some fake transcripts and used those to sneak into beacon." Fred said, again.
" I knew something wasn't right with him. Thanks for telling me. He will be on the first flight out of here tomorrow morning." Glynda said with iteration.
Fred let out a breath, " Glynda, mom," he started gaining her attention, " Jaune wants to be here. He wants to fight and be part of something. He just needs guidance. Phyrra has taken to him and is willing to tutor him in academics, and we are willing to take him under our wing. And we fought with untrained militias before."
She looked at him.
" He broke rules and codes to get here. He has to be punished." she said.
" And I am sure we can do that through rigorous PT and KP. But that is not all." Fred replied.
She looked at him with a raised brow.
" I doubt you would listen to Cardin about anything with the exception of serious allegations."
" You would be correct."
" Well to get Jaune to see how much of an idiot he is being, I told him to jump. It would be quick and painless compared to going into the field with nothing but a headstrong attitude that would get him killed."
She stared at him.
" If it weren't for the fact that we are technically the same age but with you in the body of a sixteen-year-old, and that you are a veteran of a bloody war, I would ground you for a month." she told him.
Fred smiled, " Does this mean I can still go kick ass and take names, or are you taking the keys to the car?"
Glynda smiled and gave him a shove.
" Head to bed. Brush your teeth and get to bed."
" Love you too mom." he replied with a laugh making his way to the door.
When the door was shut, Glynda could not help but have a smile on her face as she shook her head and made for her bed.
Fred in the meantime went back to his dorm and informed his brother and sisters of the developments that have transpired.
" Damn. That explains a lot about his skills." Linda said.
John stayed quiet as a memory came to his mind. Not just any memory, but his first day of boot. Running ahead of Kelly and Sam to ring the bell and unknowing, at the time, costing the team dinner.
He smiled as he remembered how it all ended with them stuffing their faces the next day when he got his head out of his ass.
" John? You okay?" Kelly asked.
John huffed out a chuckle.
" He just reminds me of myself on our first day of boot." he answered.
Kelly thought about it before she nodded.
" Yea. I can see that. Although, you took only a day to get your head out of your ass and to let us eat like royalty." Kelly said.
Fred and Linda shared a look as they let the two share a memory.
" So, do you think he will join us for PT or do you think we should sweeten the pot?" John asked.
His brother and sisters fell into contemplation.
" What can we even offer to sweeten the pot? A gun?" Kelly asked.
" Rockets?" Fred.
" Tank." Linda.
Fred, Kelly, and John looked at her with shocked expressions.
" What? I am sure we can get Ozpin and mom to get us enough parts for a tank." she replied.
" It's not the fact that someone said 'Tank', it's the fact that it came out of your mouth." John said.
" Yea, you don't really crack jokes like that." Kelly said.
" Yea, that is my department."
Linda smiled while rolling her eyes.
" But in all seriousness, what can we offer to make him want to do this?" Linda asked.
" How hard is it to infuse an energy sword into a steel sword?" Fred asked.
" I like your thinking but let's leave any Covenant weapons on the down-low unless we absolutely need them." John responded.
" Well, we need to offer something." Fred responded.
" Aside from training to be an elite warrior? We could offer him a decent handgun of his choosing. Either from our stores or something in one of Vale's weapon shops." Kelly offered.
" We will let him make the final call, but I think either an M6C or MK50 would suit the kid nicely. High rate of fire, plenty of punch in each. Would be perfect." Fred said.
" Can't be something too powerful. He might not be able to control the recoil." Linda pointed out.
" True. So a C or an H. I would go with an H, to be honest, but that is just me." Fred said.
" Either way, he needs to earn it." John added.
" Agreed." Kelly said with a yawn, " Not sure about you guys, but I am getting tired."
" It is getting late. Blue team. Lights out. Shower up and head to bed." John said.
" Roger that." Kelly said.
/
Laskey looked at the three Spartan-IIs standing in front of him. Gray team was assembled and waiting for orders.
" As I am sure you are aware, Blue team has been confirmed KIA. And Cortana is opening a conversation in two weeks at Eridanus-II. While that is happening, Halsey and I want you and whomever you trust the most to go to Reach and retrieve a few items from Dr. Halsey's lab."
" These items are needed to stop Cortana. It's a lockbox with the Azour Saber engraved on the lid and three cryo-bins." Halsey said, taking over.
" Castel Base is two Kilometers under Menicite Mountain. How will we get down there with the world glassed?" Adriana asked.
" First we will be upgrading you from Gen-II to Gen-III. The Prowler Bucephalus is acquiring a digging jumbo and a laser drill from a supply depot." Lasky said.
" What are we looking at for resistance?" Mike asked.
" Unknown. You will get more intel when you arrive in the system. What we can tell you is that there are Rehab Pioneers on world that are trying to rebuild Reach to its former glory."
The three two's stood there going over the information.
" When do we leave?" Jia asked.
" As soon as you upgrade your armor and go through the new systems it has to offer." Halsey told them.
/End./
And that is that. Not a whole lot going on. But we are getting into Jaunes arc in season one. I was thinking about putting a month or two between Jaunes last episode arc in season one and Blakes arc in season one. Give Blue team more time to settle in before Weiss has to shoot her mouth off and Sun arrives. Weather or not I make a couple of chapters covering it is up in the air. So if you got any ideas feel free to share.
So for next chapter my goal is for Jaune to give Blue team his answer and lets be honest we all know what he is going to choose. Get a training montage in or something and overall just move with what the show has given us with the thing in the Forever Fall forest and to be able to add my own flare to it.
Now before I get into the comments, I am not sure how I am going to do this yet. I never did a poll here or anywhere before so I will try it. So what is it I am saying. Well, one of you fine people reached out to me with a new twist for this story. (You know who you are). And we started talking. And in this dialog, a new twist has been thought of for this story. And instead of trying to describe what was said or thinking, I have a sample that I have written up and would like to share. So here it is.
/
Blackness. That is all that can be seen from the thrown. World after world. Universe after universe. So many possiblilitys happening making new worlds where the other option was taken. The Multi-verse. And the one who looked out amongst the multi-verse, the one who created it all, sat and watched each one. He knew each being in each world. He was the I AM. The Almighty. Lord. Father.
He loves his creations. He loves his children. Even if they scorn him. He gives them time to turn. He gives that time to repent because one day, his pactionce will cleans the worlds with his wrath. For some worlds, that day has come and gone. For others, it is still a ways away. But some worlds are soon.
He could hear two " gods " of an animee universe bickering not wanting to bother him. Aragantly saying that they can fix things themselves. How tiresome. While some worlds that were made by mankind had odd religions to them, they still, in some way, answered to him. Even these two bafoons.
" Speak." he ordered.
Two lights choelased into forms. A yellow light and a purple light. One formed into a yellow humanoid with antlers of a deer, the other a purple humanoid with the curved horns of a ram.
The gods of light and dark from the Remnant dropped to a knee knowing who the actual boss was.
" My Lord," light said humbly, " We lost control of our world."
"How." he asked already knowing the answer.
" We made two beings immortal. One by not being able to die, the other by reincarnation." started light.
" We tasked the man Ozma to unite the world. And when that was done to unite the relics to bring us back for a final judgment." Dark continued.
" And."
" It has been centuries sense we told him his quest. We checked up on the world and found it so far gone that we were debating of just destroying the world and restarting." Dark replied.
God looked into a splinter of Halo.
" And why havent you?'" He asked.
Their was a long pause.
" We can't. We tried but were blocked. We tried to influence people to do our will but we cant make the connection." Light said.
" That is because I have been blocking you."
/
Blue team moved into the compound. If Intel was right, Hector Nyeto was here with a Banished WarChief. Not Atriox but a Brute that Blue Team has tangled with a couple of times in Johns absence. The intel came from a probe that was sent into the system. A simple assassination of the brute and capture of Nyeto for interrogation.
As they moved along the perimeter, moving from shadow to shadow, Linda took a powerful beam rifle shot to her helmat, drilling into her head and killing her.
As if that was a signal, lights snapped on, and soldiers of the URF mixed with Brute and Elite forces came poring in.
/
"You see, I have been watching you stumble in the dark trying to rule a world. And fail misarbley. It is time I take over."
" But, its our…"
" SILENCE! You have done enough."
/
Kelly lept to her sisters weapon, beam rilfe shot grazing her shoulder, she shoulderd and fired the weapon into sniper. Fred duled an Elite scoring hits, but taking them as well. Fred took a stab to the side from one Elite as he decapitated another. John got hit with AP rounds that chipped away at his shields.
" Instead of comforting a widow, you told her to suck it up and to not bother you. A widow who has been locked in a tower for her whole life until she was freed." he paused as he watched the events in this splinter universe.
"I have been watching the world YOU abandond, and it needs warriors that are unyielding in their purpose."
Shots got through the shields as Brutes with Bruteshots appeared and fired making a mess of things.
" Warriors that can fix your screw ups."
Kelly laid down suppressing fire trying to give her brothers room to manover, got jumped by a roided out, rumble induced man. He brought her shields down and began to whay lay on her armor. Denting and damaging it before she dug her knife into his throte. But not before he plunged a blade of his own into her gut, severing her spine.
" But most of all, warriors that need a second chance. A chance I will give them,"
John, bloodied and bruised with his armor shot to hell and blood leaking from bullet holes, stood and faced the oncoming hord.
" I have watched all of RWBY. I have played all the Halo games. And I want to grant one of my children a dream ship of his."
Fred held his side as he looked at his brother, to his sisters and nodded. He filddled with Linda's fusion pack and backed to his sister. John fallowed him as he took another barrage of fire, taking a shoulder paldren with it and a piece of his visor.
/
From his perch, God saw the flash of their fusion packs detonate. Now came time for judgment. They wern't blameless. Far from it. But he also knew that they were video game charters. Still. He could show them mercy and give them a second chance.
" I have set a room up for these four warriors. They will be sent to Remant to fix your mistakes and to guard a Forerunner station hidden in the surface of the planet."
" But my lord, their was no Forerunner station…"
" I put one their. Now be gone. And stay away from Remnat from now on."
With a wave he dismissed the to false gods away and peered into the room he sent Blue team to be briefed and reborn. He would lock the memories of the conversation with the Maidens away for now and only let them unlock bits and pieces. Knowing what to do but know knowing how they came up with it.
/
John woke slowly. Oh so slowly. The weight of his Mjolner pressed down on his body. What happened? Blue team were supposed to report to the Infinity bridge for a briefing. When he did get his eyes to open, he was met with a helmet full of floor. Dark gunmetal tinged green floor.
He heard the groans of his team and immediately got to his knees, not trusting his spinning head to get to his feet.
He eyed his teammates as they as well got to their knees. Their shields flickered and cycled.
" My head." Linda said as she shifted from a croutch to just plain old sitting on the ground and holding her head, " It feels like I took a shot to the head." She suddenly ripped her helmat off and heaved like she was going to vomit. She didn't but her breathing was labored as she sucked in air and tried to calm down.
John scooted to her side and placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder.
" Breath Linda. Just breath. We got you." he said.
She gave him a thumbs up before sitting back up. And giving the team a shock. On her head was a pair of fuzzy gray wolf ears. They twitched as she looked at her brothers and sister.
" What?" she asked, the green in her face fading to its normal pale complexion.
" Um, I dont know how to say this. But, you, umm…" Fred tried to say, his hands moving like he was trying to say something but couldnt.
/
That is the sample. Obviously it is not done and plenty of spelling errors, but you get the over all idea of what this rewrite would look like. So here is my question. Would you like for me to rewrite this story. Start over with this rewrite in mind, or stay the corse.
What would this mean? If I rewrite this, the current chapter would be redone eventually with these changes in mind, but the next chapter wont come out till way later. So either stay the corse and have a new chapter? Or rewrite and have a new chapter come out later then usual? The " We like the sample, give us more!" vs " We are thirsty and want to see John and Ruby get married!" crowd. So I leave it up to you.
Lets get to the reviews.
Guest
Ayo find a way to to bring Daisy-023 in The chief has her bear charm I believe
I am not sure if he has her charm in 2560. And sadly Daisy wont be making an appearance outside of the odd flashback or mention. I went into this with only Blue Team and a select few others crossing over. Who are the others? Wait and see.
Guest-Questioner
Paragraph's are, TOO MUCH (or it may be my device being used to view this)
If not me, then, you should've double checked, for proper spacing.
The first two chapter's don't have that problem.
Are you looking at double spacing? I should do that shouldnt I. I forget to do that from time to time. Apologize.
Chadbunger
Good to see a new chapter go up.
And I can't wait to see what surprises you have going forward. But if you do decide to bring in other Spartans I have four suggestions, Cal-141 and Daisy-023 from HALO legends and Samuel-034 from HALO the fall of reach animated movie and finally Jorge-052 from HALO REACH. they were four of my personal favorites and didn't deserve to go out like they did and I feel like they deserve a second chance imho. Plus I want to see Glynda adopt even more kids, it makes me feel all warm and fuzzy to see her be a mom to kids like them ya know? Mama Glynda is best Glynda and if you disagree with that your wrong. jk lol
It's up to you of course, I'll still read this story regardless.
I agree. Momma Glynda does seem to be the best version of her. I mean I am sure their are other just as good versions of Glynda. Wife Glynda, daughter Glynda, best-friend Glynda, take your pick. She has a look I cant describe.
As for Cal, Daisy, Sam, and Jorge, again, outside of the odd flashback or mention they wont be coming to Remnant. When I started this stroy, I only had Blue team in mind with a couple of others coming in later that you will sadly have to wait to see.
And that is it. I dont have much to say. Reviews are done, chapter is done. Games have come out, books have come out, movies you name it. Some for good, and some for worst. Life continues for better or worse. World is going to shit. Pessimistic much? Yes. Why? Do you really want me to get into what all is going on?
With that said, I wish you all a good day or night and…
Fly Fast, Check Six, and I will see you on the Virtual Battlefield.