CHAPTER 4: OPERATION GRIMM REAPER DOWN

1631 Hours, August 4, 2557 (Military Calendar) / Unknown System, Planet Remnant, Continent of Sanus

The Master Chief stopped once again to survey the security of Vale's borders. This would be his final day of observation before he would end his surveillance mission. After this, he would return to the wilds and continue to map out the untamed areas of this continent. There was a considerable amount of distance for him to cover; even with his augmented body and his ability to endure long-distance journeys without the need for rest, he still had his work cut out for him.

He steeled himself for the upcoming task ahead of him without a single complaint. He was the sword and shield of Humanity. He would do his duty gladly and without hesitation.

Returning to the matter at hand, continuous observation of Vale's outer security concerned him to say the least.

Based on what the spartan had seen of Vale and its security, it was far too relaxed. It felt like these soldiers guarding the kingdom were not taking their duties seriously enough. The reason for thinking like this was partially due to the appearance of the soldiers present. From the look of their protective gear and armament, they looked to be ill-equipped to fight Grimm. While they were better-equipped than the spartan in regards to weapons, the fact was that the former did not have the advantages of any special augmentations while the latter did. These men and women looked like average people at best. That was not meant to disrespect them as soldiers, but this seemed a less-than adequate means of fighting back against hordes of the monsters that roamed this world.

John let out a light breath. Perhaps he was jumping to a conclusion too swiftly. After all, he couldn't accurately judge them based on their apperance alone. Furthermore, with the things that he had in his arsenal, he was in no position to be such a harsh critic of any military personnel and their gear. This was, at least, the mentality he ought to have been taking. However, having lived through near-extinction events on a galaxy-wide scale, there was no helping the paranoia and heightened tension he seemed to be constantly wrestling with now. It was like there was a potential threat around every corner.

The war veteran banished these pointless thoughts from his mind. He needed to maintain focus while he conducted his mission. These thoughts could be considered once he was in an appropriate setting. Now was not the time or the place.

Another point of concern regarding the Kingdom of Vale was its seeming reliance upon the terrain of the land for protection. There was no denying that the mountain ranges to the kingdom's east were ideal protection not to mention the ocean to the west, but to rely solely upon the landscape for insurance was tantamount to stupidity. Natural barriers might be able to protect the kingdom from Grimm, but what about human and faunus attacks?

The Master Chief had become increasingly aware of the history of this world and the last war that had happened, the Great War, which had taken place some eighty years ago and had lasted for ten years, demonstrated just how effective people were at finding creating ways through and around obstacles in the land.

But the concerns did not end there. The Grimm, according to some of the locals, were actually creatures that evolved with each survived encounter. While they were not nearly as creative in their thinking as Mankind was, they were not to be underestimated in the least. Assuming all of that to be true, then it was only a matter of time before the eldest of the beasts began to understand how best to fight through the issue of natural impediments in the land. There seemed to be an infinite number of Grimm as well, which only contributed to the growing list of problems.

The Master Chief could only see a horrible outcome for this city and this kingdom one day. Nearly a century of peace had softened these people, made them forget about the realities that they were living beside each day. If this was the best that militaries could do on this world, then it was not at all impressive, but then again, what he was seeing here was not necessarily a reflection on the might of Vale's armed forces, at least he hoped so.

The spartan shifted his position and his HUD moved with his head as he zeroed in on a gate checkpoint. Based on what he was seeing here, there appeared to be a somewhat lengthy process for entering into the kingdom. Many individuals and groups coming in appeared to need a form of identification. Others were merely let in based on appearance alone and these people looked to be warriors of some kind. Judging by how they dressed and what they carried on them, these must be the renowned huntsmen and huntresses that were said to be able to deal with Grimm in large numbers.

More than anything, the supersoldier wanted to get a first-hand look at these men and women to see how they fought. From the things he had heard, the image he had was that of fighters with borderline supernatural powers, something closer to the Forerunners than anything resembling what Mankind was capable of. If any of these claims and rumors had a grain of truth, then maybe he just might be able to find a way to tap into what they were doing in order to increase his own combat effectiveness.

If he had either his MA5D or his BR85, he would feel a lot better about his chances in any given combat scenario. As things stood, his knife was not going to last him forever; in fact, at the rate he was making use of it, the blade would become useless sooner rather than later.

The other problem was the semi-operational state of MJOLNIR. Being able to maintain the armor on a basic level was not enough and he lacked the proper expertise and knowledge to make the critical repairs he needed to maximum operational abilities, but he couldn't very well go asking people about it. MJOLNIR was a highly-classified piece of hardware. Being separated from the UNSC was no excuse for giving away sensitive information and technology.

His borderline obsession over his readiness level was not a good thing and he was aware that his concerns would continue to fester if he didn't find a solution to his problem and soon. Him being like this was something that he was ashamed of in many ways. As a special operations soldier, it was expected that he would be able to maintain his own gear and make his own decisions based on the needs of the mission at hand. It was something ingrained into his mind from his earliest days of Spartan II training.

What he needed was to do whatever was within his ability. If he didn't have a weapon, he would get one somehow. If MJOLNIR wasn't fully functional, he would find a way to fix it without leaking top-secret info. If he needed help, he would look for it. It really was that simple.

The Chief maintained his position, making sure to remain as hidden as possible. This would be much easier if he had an active camouflage unit with him. He could stand almost right next to the checkpoint area and find the flaws and weaknesses of this entrance from up-close. This could provide him with information for him to conceive of an entry plan. That was not to say that his stealth training was lacking in any way. It was working like a charm; in spite of his relative close proximity, he still had not been spotted. Even infantrymen in the UNSC would have a better chance of spotting him than these people.

So there he remained, his mind mentally recording all the details that was relevant.

This reminded him of some of his earliest missions against Insurrectionists when he and Blue Team were together, a simpler time. Reconaissance missions against the Innies were semi-frequent, often mixed in with another mission objective. In retrospect, those missions had been easy.

The rest of the Spartan II's were more than willing to voice their own discomforts with certain types of missions and environments not to mention joke about them quite a lot. More often than not, John remembered having to be the voice of authority even amongst the very professional Spartan II's. As a team leader, he accepted long ago that he had a responsibility to be the odd man out in any banter. Privately, he wished he could join in with his team on more than one occasion, but rarely did he break this steadfast rule.

It was strange how much Cortana had loosened his otherwise very strict and uptight behavior. He could listen to her sarcastic and snarky comments and take some comfort in them. Hell, he could even say that he took some joy in responding back with all the humor that he could muster. Despite having known her for only a few years of his life, he felt like he had known her for far longer.

The spartan breathed in deeply, controlling his emotions as best he could. He missed his AI companion and every day that he went without her voice, he felt like something wasn't quite right, which was ironic. Once, he viewed her as nothing more than a piece of equipment, important without a doubt, but still just a piece of equipment. Now, to call her merely that would be to devalue her in so many ways. He would not hesitate to call her a true friend and he would have followed her instructions straight to hell itself. He trusted her with his life and if she were here now, he would immediately consult her for all the tactical data that she had on her.

Another few minutes ticked off his clock. A few seconds later, he decided there was nothing more to see.

Halo - - - RWBY

1752 Hours

Ruby Rose, now that she was out in the wilds without anyone's knowledge, began to wonder if this was a good idea. Yeah, she did want to slay some high-level Grimm to prove a point to her sister, but even she knew the dangers of going alone to a place like this, especially considering she was still training. As good as she was with Crescent Rose, she was not on the same level as Qrow.

The red reaper banished her doubts from her mind. She was already out here and she had done some rather questionable things to get here. Now she had to own up to what she had done and do what she came here to do. Backing out now with nothing to show would be tantamount to suicide when she got back home. Not only would Yang get mad, but so too would her dad. At least if she had something cool to show off, they would be both proud of her as well as displeased and not just displeased.

Ruby, for the umpteenth time, checked her gear as well as the other miscellaneous items she was carrying. She hadn't taken as much ammunition with her as she usually did because she knew that if she did, her older sister would know that she was up to something. She took only an amount slightly below what she considered average. A sniper with only fifteen rounds was a sniper that was underequipped, at least in her opinion.

Every shot would have to count.

The fifteen-year-old girl kept her senses peeled for the Grimm. Although she didn't expect to encounter any of the beasts this close to Vale's borders, there was always a possibility that one would stray from its group. Whatever the case, she was eager to get out there and kick some serious butt. Part of her excitement could be attributed to her natural desire to see combat, but she also had a considerable number of cookies before leaving. All of that sugar might be heightening her energy and anticipation just a little bit.

She held her beloved weapon with both hands as she began to advance further into the untamed wilds. While she could get to populated Grimm areas faster via her semblance, she chose to not use this speed so as not to drain aura. She needed to be at her best when she found a horde.

In her hiden breast pocket was perhaps the important thing that she needed for this endeavor: her scroll. She would be using it to record herself as she tore through some monsters. She had come up with a way to have her scroll in a way so that it could capture clear footage without her having to go in with only one hand on Crescent Rose. This way, she would have proof that would be real and undeniable. The last thing she needed was Yang telling her off, saying that she faked it all. Well, Grimm were hard to fake to begin with, but it was better to be safe rather than sorry in this case.

Ruby could hear the slight sounds of the dirt underneath her boots as she trekked forward. While it was not a primary goal of hers, she couldn't help but appreciate the beauty of nature that surrounded her. If there was one thing that the Grimm never did, it was intentionally destroy the land that they inhabited. Their instinctual side led them to act more like animals whenever they weren't in contact with humans or faunus. It was a small silver lining and to some, perhaps not one that was worth admiring. To the young teenager's eyes, beauty that was saved from destruction was nice to look at. It was far more preferable that there be land to gaze in wonder at than a landscape devoid of anything remotely resembling life.

Her eyes shifted left to right. A pair of birds flew together from tree to tree. Some tree dwellers made sure to stay clear of her. The green leaves on all the trees indicated the peak of summer time. The sun illuminated an otherwise clear sky lined with fluffy clouds lining the sky ever so often. The air felt so pristine as it rustled through her hair. The sounds of peace and tranquility were very apparent.

Occupied by her admiration of the world around her, Ruby would have likely walked the path in front of her for all of eternity and while her journey didn't take her nearly that length, she continued on and on. Even at the pace she was going, she would have to travel for quite a while before she would reach the prelude of the mountains covering Vale's back. What snapped her back to the real world was a well-deserved collision with a tree, which hurt her for a second before her aura healed the minor injury. After that moment, a revelation popped into her mind: she had lost the dirt road she was following.

She reached for her scroll to check her location when she then felt her footing become unstable. After taking a second to recover, she noted that where her left foot now rested was a huge imprint in the ground, but it was massive. Her foot only covered a small bit of it. Judging by the size and how much of the ground it flattened, this looked to be the work of something very large and something told her that it wasn't just a wild animal. Looking up, she took note of the tree she had just slammed into and found something unusual: markings that looked to be courtesy of a set of claws.

Ruby only was able to get a look for all of three seconds before her instincts told her to dodge. As she did, she caught a glimpse of what appeared to be a black arm swiping at where she had stood before dropping to the ground. Thinking quickly, the silver-eyed girl rolled away, then jumped to her feet. She quickly retrieved her scythe, unfolding it in all of its glory. It was also at this time that she took stock of his surroundings.

That was definitely a Beowolf that just attacked her, but now that she was getting a better look at the thing, she saw that it was no average specimen. It was an alpha, looking to be at least three to four times larger than its more common brethren. Taking it down wasn't going to be quick. Positioning her legs to allow her optimal maneuverability, she gripped Crescent Rose so that the barrel was pointed at its head.

The large wolf-life beast didn't charge her immediately, but instead reared its head and let out a howl. It took a moment to realize what it was doing and she knew she had to end this as quickly as possible. Using her semblance in combination with a shot fired backwards, a blur of red sped towards the Grimm.

The Beowolf held up its arms to block her attack. When she struck the crossed appendages, Ruby was surprised that her momentum wasn't enough to break its defenses. Rather, the only thing she managed to accomplish was pushing it back a few feet before it lowered its arms and thrust forward with its jaws wide open. Panicking, the red reaper quickly retreated, returning to the ground and firing a round off aimed at its exposed head. However, without the luxury of careful aim, the bullet only grazed the right side of its face.

The Grimm then seized the offensive by swiping and biting. The frenzy of motion that followed was enough to put the girl on her back foot as she was pressed into defense, something that she wasn't adept in and unfortunately, she had done very little in the way of finding a way to compensate for this weakness.

Ruby began to use an imperfect move, spinning her weapon in a pinwheel fashion with enough speed to keep the Beowolf Alpha from further attack. She couldn't do this nearly as well as Qrow, but this was the first move that came to mind. Maybe desperation would push her to do something amazing with it. That hope was instantly squashed used its strength to uproot a sizeable tree and use it as a battering tool. While the aspiring huntress's scythe prevented a direct strike, the part of the tree caught in the spinning arc was shattered into many pieces. A few pieces of debris flew into her face, knocking her head back and causing her to close her eyes instictively.

Blind and off-balance, the teenager began to fire blindly in a frenzied attempt to regain some control of the battle, but it was in vain as she felt her grip lost on her prized weapon and heard it hit the ground with a loud clatter. Then she felt sharp objects hitting her right in the chest. She could feel her aura taking the brunt of the damage, but it did little to stop the physical pain from registering.

Ruby staggered backwards in time to open her eyes to the world and see too late another paw coming in. She raised both hands, but she was still sent flying backwards and into another tree, causing both herself and the tree to fall to the ground.

Disoriented as she was, she could distinctly make out what sounded like overlapping growls and roars and howls.

RWBY - - - Halo

2111 Hours

The Master Chief took a moment to carefully mark his map. It looked like he had marked the critical points surrounding Vale. For the most part, there was little in the way of variety in the environment. The mountain rangers were a ways off as was the ocean. There was little chance of extreme weather occurring here given his observations thus far. That worked in his favor. One more predictable factor could be worked with.

Additionally, he made sure to make a note of the major roads that led into the kingdom. Predictably, being outside the safety of the kingdom borders, these roads were not well-maintained. There were hardly any paved roadways; most were simple dirt roads and little more. If this was an indicator for anything, it would be that either efforts to expand were difficult or it was simply better to not expand outward at all.

John wouldn't pretend to be an expert at planetary colonization and the many details and intricacies, but based on his observations and what details he remembered from the various operations and campaigns he had participated in, there were a few key factors that seemed to contribute to the overall success of a colony world.

One critical factor was resources. If a planet was rich with resources necessary in the present and foreseeable future, then most likely a new planet could expect a multitude of prospective colonists looking to make the most out of said resources. Reach was known for its abundance of titanium deposits and as a result, it was one of the most important worlds that humanity controlled.

Another reason to expand outward was in response to the growing population. Mankind was a very rapid-growing species. More people meant more space was necessary and what was each colony but another place for more people to go. Some worlds were better-suited than others to house humans, but ingenuity had a tendency to win out over unfavorable conditions. If anything, challenges were accepted quite readily.

A third reason to expand outward was to reclaim lost territory. For five years, the UNSC had attempted to retake Harvest, the very first planet lost to the Covenant. Even though the strategic importance of the planet was eventually lost due to drastic changes in the war, it was still a very important colony world not only due to its status as an agricultural world, but also as a symbol of human expansion into the greater unknown.

Those were just a few reasons among many and frankly, with the way things were looking on this world, it wasn't difficult to realize the situation that Mankind was in. That being said, he had yet to see the other kingdoms.

Based on his research and what he heard from villagers and travellers, the most secure kingdom was Atlas. They were known as a kingdom of technology and innovation as well as having the strongest military on this planet. If all of this was true, then a closer look was warranted. The problem was that it rested on one of the northern-most continents and could only be accessed two ways: by boat or by airship. Security there would be the most difficult to penetrate, so a plan was needed first before any attempt could be made to get in.

Mistral and Vacuo were of no concern to him. Neither had anything noteworthy that the war veteran cared about. The former emphasized culture while the other was merely a place with all sorts of questionable characters. In short, there was no strategic value in either kingdoms, so they could be ignored. Sure, Vale was little better and frankly speaking, the only reason it held any importance was because it had some critical locations.

John did a final once-over of his map before carefully folding it up and placing it back in his belt pouch. Then, checking to make sure that the coast was clear, he removed his helmet and took a drink of water. The cold liquid rushing through his body felt so invigorating. Once he was done, he replaced his helmet. The familiar hissing sound in his ears indicated that MJOLNIR was airtight.

Now that he had a familiarity with the locals as well as his environment, it was time to take a journey deeper into Grimm-infested territory to find out more about their strengths and weaknesses, their numbers, how many types there were, anything that might be able to help him understand the enemy better. As far as he could see, they were violent creatures that attacked humans and faunus on-sight, yet ignored all wildlife. This contradicted itself in so many ways. The only logical conclusion was that this was not merely a coincidence, but rather intentionally done.

But that begged two important questions: who created the Grimm? What was their intended purpose?

Calling these beasts mere weapons seemed too easy an answer, but other than killing people, there seemed to be nothing else worth noting about them. This was almost like rediscovering the Flood all over again, only this threat killed and didn't assimilate, which was a definite plus.

The spartan noted the sun dipping into the sky. Although his eyesight would allow him to see in the dark, it was best for him to get a consistent amount of rest each night so as to allow his body to recover properly. Going on for days and days without food and water was never a good thing despite its necessity at times.

He turned his head. For the most part, this was flat terrain and Grimm encounters had been almost non-existent today. This might be the best chance to get some shut-eye before he began to initiate contact with civilization in earnest.

As the Master Chief surveyed the horizon, nothing seemed out of the ordinary. There were no signs of human or faunus life anywhere, but his eyes spotted something in the distance. Even with his enhanced eyesight, he nearly missed it. It was a momentary blip of movement that seemed unnatural against the calm and still landscape. At this distance, it was too far away to be an immediate threat, but whether it be paranoia or vigilance, the MJOLNIR-clad soldier focused on where he last saw the anomaly.

No, that had not just been a trick. There was definitely something going on there. Now there wasn't just one blur. There were many blurs. Blurs this big from this distance meant that whatever was moving was very large. Naturally the only thing moving that could be this big were Grimm. There were definitely no signs of normal wildlife growing to this size.

The spartan made a quick decision and took off in a run to get a closer look at what was going on. Careful so as not to accidentally expose himself, he did his best to blend in with the surrounding wilderness, although this was difficult given his limited cover. Nevertheless, the color of his armor was somewhat compatible with that of the colors of his surroundings. It was his height that was the main problem.

His hearing began to pick up the familiar sound of Beowolves and from the sounds of it, there looked to be a sizeable pack. By itself, this wasn't particularly surprising; from close examination, the monster wolves acted exactly as their normal counterparts did. They travelled in packs and separated only for very specific reasons.

In any case, John would deal with this problem. It didn't matter if this bunch was attacking people or not. They were a threat and had to be dealt with accordingly. If he chose to ignore them, that decision might come back to haunt him later should these beasts find innocent civilians.

The next thing he heard made him snap to attention because it was something he knew all-too well: a scream of pain. Someone was in danger.

Pushing his augmentations, the Master Chief saw everything around him slowing down. While it was not nearly as slow as Spartan Time, it was definitely not the speed at which the world should be perceived. About nine seconds ticked off of his clock and in that time, he had managed to cover some 200 meters, but he was still at least another 300 meters away from the person in danger.

So he pushed even further, increasing his speak. His muscles felt just a little more strained and MJOLNIR felt a bit lighter than he remembered.

Three hundred meters became 150 meters.

Then 75 meters.

Then he had initiated contact.

The Beowolves here were much larger than the more common specimen found. These had to be Alphas according to his information. For so many to be concentrated on a single target could only mean one thing: this one was fighting them and had bitten off more than they could chew.

The Chief took only a second to glance at the person in distress. It was a young girl, probably around the same age as him when first received his augmentations. She sported multiple injuries, some of them minor, some of them serious. Her clothing was also in no better condition with rips and tears dotted all over.

Questions could come later. Right now, he had to get her out of here.

Halo - - - RWBY

2124 Hours

Ruby had long since run out of aura and was now just struggling to survive. Somewhere in the middle of all of this, she had lost sight of Crescent Rose. Without her weapon, she began relying upon her aura, but she forgot that Beowolves travelled in packs. When she thought she was safe, she ran into another and then another. Slowly, her aura began to drain and before she knew it, the sun was beginning to set and she was bone-dry.

She didn't remember hunting Grimm to be this tough. She had always considered herself to be good at killing monsters. She had to be if she wished to become a huntress. Had she simply been fooling herself into believing that she was skilled at this? Was she still merely a piece of trash just like when she had begun her journey?

It felt weird to be asking herself such cynical questions, but considering her position, she felt it hard not to think this way. If this was what it felt like to die, then she didn't want to die. With that, she threw all hew willpower into moving her body, but she had forgotten about the numerous injuries that she had sustained and the moment she tried to lift herself up from her prone position, a thousand spikes of pain jabbed at her. She fell to the ground in an undignified manner, groaning pitifully.

This isn't how I wanted it to go. Ruby felt some tears in her eyes. I wanted to make mom and dad proud. I wanted to make Yang proud.

No matter how she tried to force herself up, her body simply refused to acknowledge her and here she laid, her vision becoming hazy and bits of black began to occupy the color that she was seeing.

I don't want to go. Right now, Ruby Rose wasn't a warrior and most certainly not an aspiring huntress. I don't want to go. Please, somebody help me.

If she had the ability to scream for help, she would have done so and even if she could, it was unlikely anyone was going to hear her. People didn't come this way often, not on foot at any rate. Why go on foot when air travel was much faster not to mention the relative safety of the airspace surrounding Vale.

She could vaguely make out some growling, but like with her vision, her hearing was getting extremely distorted. The best she could manage now were muffled sounds.

There was also the feeling of warmth covering her body, but that just might be the blood loss that she was experiencing. This experience was entirely new to her and even if her life was about to end, this wasn't a moment she was ever going to forget. Perhaps if there was an afterlife, she could properly digest it.

Ruby felt like she should have been killed already. Grimm weren't known to delay a kill if it could be done efficiently. It could be that time around her was slowing now that she was so close to kicking the bucket.

Before her vision faded, she made out something big and green in front of her.

If there's one rule I follow when it comes to crossovers, it's that I never take my out-of-this-world character and make him/her an addition to the main canon of the universe they're in. That's pretty pointless; if you're going to pluck a character from one world and put him/her into another one, make a new story. It's more interesting that way.

I've said this before on one of my other stories, but I've come to a realization; in regards to crossover stories that I write, I am essentially creating isekai stories. The only difference is that unlike many isekai protagonists who are male teenagers that disgrace what it means to be a boy and a man, all of the protagonists I feature are actual certified badasses and it doesn't get more badass than the Master Chief.

I feel it prudent that the Master Chief and Ruby be the central characters in this story being the protagonists of their respective properties. Even if I only had these two, there's more than enough material for me to write about, but there are more characters coming down the line and this is the first of many divergences from canon.

As always, feedback and reviews are greatly appreciated.

I hope you all enjoyed reading this chapter.

"No man will make a great leader who wants to do it all himself or get all the credit for doing it."

Andrew Carnegie