Volume Two Finale

Part Five – Exaltation of Penance


/-\ Weiss Schnee /-\


Just as we were about to set off once more, I noticed that the clearing this base was in overlooked a much, much larger one down in the forested valley. As I looked on, the tankette roared into the open, only a few scorchmarks on its hull. The others weren't far behind, looking completely unharmed, if a little tired.

Yang glanced up, waving. I waved back before turning to Valkea, nodding. She suddenly raised her rifle, squeezing off a round. I flinched, tracing her shot. A single Jackal fell out of a tree on the opposite end of the clearing from the team.

"Nice shot." I said.

She hummed, turning back towards the forest and continuing on. I followed after one last glance downward, the tankette just disappearing into the treeline only a few feet from where the Jackal fell.

The rest of the journey towards the battlecruiser wasn't very eventful; the only action being heard from below us as the others continued their march onwards. Even so, we were starting to get slightly paranoid about the lack of contact. We moved slower than we did earlier, making sure to scan the area for cloaked enemies.

Banshees zoomed above us, their forms not visible through the canopy, but most certainly audible. Slowly, we approached the edge of the cliff leading back down into the valley. I got on my hands and knees, crawling the last few feet.

As my head poked through the brush, Valkea's right next to mine, I saw three Covenant ships hovering over a patch of burnt forest. The clearing was easily several miles in diameter; no cover stood at all between the edge of the forest and the alien base growing at the center. As we looked on, a Phantom dropped the gun portion of a Tyrant on its platform, several Grunts dropping down with welding sticks in their hands.

Under the ships themselves, a base was rapidly being assembled. Sections of purple wall detached from Phantoms, coming to rest as more Grunts with welders worked to join them with previous sections. On the far side, a lone Ursa Minor charged out from the treeline. An Elite Minor with a pike charged forward, getting swatted away like a fly by the Grimm's paws. It didn't get back up.

The alien's distraction was enough, however, as a Wraith exited the compound and fired its plasma mortar, killing the beast as soon as it struck. I frowned, for once wishing the Grimm killed more than it did.

My gaze drifted to the ships above us; two CCS-class ships and a single one I didn't recognize. It somewhat looked like a CAS-class, though it was much smaller; only a little less than twice as long as the battlecruisers. 'That must be the carrier.' I thought.

Suddenly, several streaks of light shot through the upper atmosphere, heading directly for the Covenant flotilla. After only a split second, the flames around the objects died, revealing almost a dozen black pods as they deployed metal scoops.

The pods fell, cutting their ties as the aliens opened fire, striking and destroying several. Most of them landed safely, though a pair skidded off the ship and fell to the ground below. One was destroyed by laserfire from the battlecruiser, but the other landed safely…

…on top of the Wraith.

It exploded and for a moment I thought the pod's occupant had perished as well. Then the smoke cleared and I clearly saw the pod sitting just outside the flames; clearly dented, but otherwise unharmed. Covenant infantry began to swarm the landing site and my eyes widened.

"Do you think you can hit anything at this range with your iron sights?" I asked.

Valkea already had her rifle out, pointing towards the enemy. "Easily, why?"

"Give me your SRS, then. That ODST will need all the support we can give him."

She raised an eyebrow for a moment before reaching onto her back. "I actually forgot I had this thing." She said, handing the sniper rifle to me.

I set it up, getting used to the feel. Just as I peered down the scope, I saw an Elite Major pry at the pod's hatch. I lined up a shot, but before I could fire, it began to hiss. A moment later, the hatch flew off the pod, practically splattering the Elite in the process.

A grizzly and helmetless Marine armed with only a shotgun exited the pod. Not wasting a single moment, he opened fire, striking a surprised Grunt. Valkea loosed a round as well, dropping a Brute behind the man.

An Elite Ultra roared, drawing its energy sword. I lined up a shot and fired, but only grazed its helmet. Blue blood covered a nearby Jackal, but the alien itself was still standing as it charged the Marine. I quickly fired another round, but that too missed, ricocheting off the ground and clipping the pod.

The Marine saw the Elite coming and ducked under its swing, shoving his shotgun in its sternum before blasting a chunk out of the alien's back. It fell over, dead. He glanced behind him, seeing me strike the shoulder of a Grunt. He finished it off with the butt of his shotgun.

Valkea brained another Brute, one just on the other side of the pod from the Marine. As the alien's body fell, the man tossed a grenade into a cluster of enemies, making them scatter. One of them dodged into a round I shot; one that would've otherwise missed.

I lined up another round and pulled the trigger, only to be rewarded with a click. "Valkea, I need a new mag!" I said, already removing the spent one.

She shot another round into the fray before using her left hand to feel around in her pockets for a moment. Suddenly, she sighed. "You didn't give me any more ammo, just the sniper!" She said, racking the bolt before shooting once more.

I cringed. "Well, I guess fighting from a distance is out, then." I said, drawing my sword.

"You still have your other rifle."

I rolled my eyes. "I can barely hit anything with a sniper at this distance, do you really think that would be helpful?"

"Good point." She said, shooting once more before slotting a fresh clip into her rifle.

"Just cover me." I said, springing forward and sliding down the hillside.

I thrust my sword forward, transforming most of the slope in front of me to ice with a small ramp at the bottom. The guns of nearby Covenant troops swiveled to me, opening fire a moment later. I dodged from side to side as I slid down, flicking Myrtenaster over to its red chamber and returning fire. Burning projectiles erupted from the glyphs at my sides, washing over their positions. Most missed, but the ones that hit were devastating, killing or incapacitating their victims nearly instantly.

Valkea's riflefire zoomed over my head, striking both targets that engaged me and ones more focused on the surprisingly tough Marine. One of the plasma bolts finally struck me directly, but no burning sting came. Instead, a blue flash protected my aura. I smirked as I finally reached the bottom, the ice ramp catapulting me into the air and making me soar over a platoon of aliens like one of the Angels of Death straight out of legend.

A wicked smile crossed my face as I used all my remaining fire dust, casting dozens upon dozens of glyphs. Just as I passed over each individual glyph, it released a fireball. The cluster of infantry fired at me wildly, only a scant few bolts hitting me. It was enough to fully drain my shield, but not much else.

By the time I elegantly rolled into a landing, all weaponsfire from behind me had ceased. A glance backwards revealed only an inferno. A subsiding one, yes, but no aliens remained in its wake.

I whipped back around just in time to see the few stragglers charge the Marine as he pumped his shotgun. My eyes narrowed and I flicked Myrtenaster back over to lightning dust. Taking a deep breath and shutting my eyes for a moment, a yellow clock-like glyph sprouted at my feet. When they opened, a plasma bolt crawled towards me only inches away.

I quickly sidestepped the projectile, forming a glyph behind me and leaping towards the Grunt that fired it. As the alien's head left its body, I turned my attention to the pair of Elites that were tag-teaming the Marine, their forms nearly frozen in time as they fired their plasma rifles.

I zoomed towards them next, quickly taking their defenseless heads from their shoulders and moving onto my next victim. Just as the last enemy fell, the time dilation effect wore off and the world seemed to buzz by faster than I could ever hope to perceive.

The Marine blurred towards me, moving almost as fast as Ruby did with her semblance. His questions were so rapid-fire that they seemed to even be in another language, not a single syllable intelligible. Suddenly, a white and red blur stepped between us and spoke in that same foreign tongue. I now realized I was on the ground, sitting on my cloak.

Slowly, the aftereffects started to wear off. The blurs settled down and I recognized the second as Valkea. Their speech started to become intelligible; not individual words, but I could at least tell they were speaking Valerian as opposed to gibberish.

Finally, time sped up to the point where I could react in real-time once more. I groaned. "Finally…"

"Geez, one minute you're flying through the sky making it rain napalm and the next you're sittin' here lookin' like a private who had a little too much fun last night." He shook his head, extending a hand towards me. "Thanks for the save."

I took it, getting hauled to my feet. "Weiss Schnee, second in command of huntress Team RWVBY."

"Sergeant John Forge, UNSC Spirit of Fire." He said, turning to the other person here. "And you are?"

"Valkea. I'm on her team." She said, slotting a new clip into her rifle. "Speaking of, where are the rest of them? They should be here by now."

Just as she finished her sentence, I heard a mighty wooden crack coming from behind us. Looking to its source, I saw the skid-steer tankette toppling a tree on the edge of the forest. The others guarded its flank as the vehicle rolled out onto the open plain, a few scorches in its armor visible from here.

"What the hell is that thing?" Forge asked.

"Something that will make boarding that battlecruiser a lot easier."

He tisked. "Well then, need an extra shotgun? I'm supposed to be on the other one right now, but you probably saw how that panned out."

"Well, I certainly won't say no to more help, if that's what you're asking."

"Good. I've got your back." His hand went up to his ear. "Spirit, Forge; I bounced off the target but linked up with the ground team. We're about to assault the other ship, over." He waited a moment before glancing to the approaching tankette. "Copy, Forge out."

The other group approached, Tai going directly for Forge while Yang approached me. "You alright?" She asked.

I nodded. "I'm fine. You?"

"Aura took a beating, but uhh… yeah, I'm go-"

"Hunters!" Forge shouted, suddenly.

My head whipped towards him and saw a grenade already in his hand. I followed its arc as it landed at the feet of two Hunters, their massive forms just stepping off the gravity lift. The grenade's explosion seemingly only pissed them off. "Neo, Tai, Yang, take the left one! Everyone else, on the right!" I shouted, grabbing my XBR55 from my back. "Target the weak points on the back and the neck!"

I threw up a barrier glyph between the Hunters and the tankette, intercepting a pair of green plasma blasts. The glyph shattered under the force, but it did its job. The Hunters then turned their gazes – and cannons – on the approaching huntsmen. My rounds plinked off the alien's helmet, only a handful finding their way into the neck before it raised its shield.

Valkea rushed around the side and loosed a round into its unprotected flank, causing it to wail in pain. Forge primed another grenade as the beast whipped around, aiming at Valkea and exposing its back to me. I pumped burst after burst into the creature, but they might as well have been tennis balls for how effective they were. Forge's grenade did little better.

He grunted. "Cover me!" He shouted, lowering his shoulder and sprinting full-bore towards the Hunter.

"What are you doing?!" I shouted, putting even more rounds down range.

At this point, Valkea was doing her best to stay alive. Between the Hunter's shield bashes, she had absolutely no time to fire any rounds of her own.

Just as my magazine clicked empty, Forge reached his target. He practically shoved the barrel of his shotgun into the alien and put burst after burst of buckshot into it. For the first time, it roared in pain and it whipped around to face Forge.

His bursts tore off the Hunter's back plate, exposing the worms writhing in agony beneath. Suppressing a shiver, I put another burst into the beast. Valkea did the same. As Forge dodged the first attack, Valkea's second round hit something vital and the creature stumbled.

Forge got around to the back once more and put another shell into it, finally killing the alien. As it thumped to the ground, I looked over to the other Hunter…

…only to see it fall as well.

Yang stood over it, the monster's helmet in hand and half her body covered with orange blood. She tossed it aside, retrieving her own rifle that had fallen nearby. "We uhh… we ready?" She asked.

Neo stood next to her, a savage glint in her eyes as she nodded.

I turned towards the gravity lift. "How do we work this thing?"

"Uhh… Serina says we've just gotta stand on it." She said, moving to the edge of the lift before motioning for the skid-steer to join her. As we walked onto the platform, the tankette rolling to the center, nothing seemed to happen.

Only after we were stopped for a few moments did I feel a slight… weightlessness.

At first, it felt like I was swimming in a pool, but the sensation passed quickly. Then I realized I was flying up into the air. Looking back down, I saw the others start to fly as well, the tankette lifting off last. I clutched my rifle tightly as I passed through the warship's belly, everything going white for a moment before my feet found solid ground.

I wiped my eyes, blinking rapidly. When my vision finally cleared, I found myself in a spacious purple room, supply crates and even an uncrewed Wraith lying about. On one end of the room stood a door large enough for a pair of Wraiths to travel through side-by-side while smaller doors – clearly meant for crewmembers – were embedded in the other walls.

The others appeared one by one, floating through small holes just big enough for them to fit through. When they all stood before me, a larger plate clicked out of the floor, sliding to let the tankette through before floating back into place and sealing to the floor once more.

Just as the everything returned to normal, one of the smaller doors opened. "Jahn-rayn-chay! Keeoh-eesay!" A deep voice shouted. My rifle instantly snapped to the Elite, sending a burst into its shields as an energy sword ignited in its hand.

Before anyone else could do anything, a torrent of white lasers tore apart the aliens entering the room. The tankette moved forwards, completely unfazed by the few plasma bolts that flew from the survivors. Less than fifteen seconds after they revealed themselves, the group of aliens all lay dead.

Directly behind us, a different door opened, this one admitting another group of enemies. My eyes narrowed and I sprang forward on a propulsion glyph, drawing Myrtenaster in the same motion. As a Brute's decapitated body fell to the floor, its comrades suffered a similar fate at the hands of Yang and Neo.

I glanced around, looking for Tai and Forge. In that same instant, a shotgun's boom blasted through the air. I whipped around and saw them engaging another squad of Covenant infantry; Tai running point for the auraless Forge while he took down anything and everything that was unlucky enough to be in his sights.

I started toward them, but before I could even take five steps, plasma shot by my face from a different direction, my shields flaring. My gaze darted to their source and I flicked Myrtenaster over to shock dust. Yang tried to run past me, but I held out my off hand to stop her. With a wave of my weapon, glyphs formed mid-air and with only a few motions, the aliens were writhing in agony on the floor… those that weren't outright killed, that is.

I smirked, happy with how easily they were eliminate-

"Guys! Get over here!" Valkea shouted. I saw her poking her head out of one of the doors, an Elite's body next to her with a tread mark running through its midsection. "I dunno if he actually knows where he's going, but the guy in the tank is sure acting like it!" She said, darting back down the corridor.

Behind us, Tai and Forge were still too busy with the Covenant to even hear Valkea's warning.

I glanced to Yang and Neo. "Follow the tankette and try to steer it towards the bridge. I'll direct them" I nodded towards the other two. "towards engineering, though if your friends in space could give me directions…?" I trailed off, Neo already having disappeared through the doorway.

She stared at me for a minute before flinching. "Oh! Umm… yeah, one sec. Serina, could you-" She stopped mid-sentence. "Oh, she says she can guide Forge there."

"Thank you." I said before starting off, though I paused. "Good hunting."

She nodded. "You too."


/-\ Valkea Khan /-\


I sprinted down the purple corridor, boots beating against steel with every step. Ahead, I faintly heard Atlesian laserfire and the screams of dying aliens. The door to my left hissed open as I passed it and I looked back just in time to see a pair of silver-armored Elites rush out, swords raised.

My eyes widened and on instinct, I raised my rifle and brained one. As the alien's body fell to the floor, shields flickering, its partner roared, charging me almost faster than I could react. I barely dodged its strike, feeling the plasma blade's heat start to cook my skin as it passed by.

I swung my bayonet-less rifle's butt in an arc, aiming for its split jaw, but it merely ducked out of the way. I jerked away from my opponent, another slash grazing the aura on my stomach as I let out a hiss. It jumped forward and I retreated again, unable to regain my footing in time.

I leaped back, trying to put enough distance between us to cycle my bo-

Glass shattered as I passed through it, knocking me to the floor.

As the cloud of shards dissipated, I saw Neo squaring off with the Elite. Her eyes narrowed as she effortlessly spun around the alien's thrust, bashing its skull with her umbrella. It jumped back, spitting a wad of blue blood onto the metal floor before charging again.

She practically bent her body in half as she sucked under the swipe, raising the tip of a black and white cane towards the alien's-

The end of the cane exploded, the Elite's shields flaring but not dying. I shook my head, racking the bolt on my own weapon and bringing it to bear. I grunted, annoyed that I kept on having to hold my fire as Neo practically leaped into my crosshairs whenever I had a shot lined up.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw another Elite approaching, this one with red armor. I quickly adjusted my aim, the bullet streaking past both Neo and the silver-armored alien's sides and struck the newcomer square in the chest.

Its shields flared, my hand already racking the bolt for another round. Just then, Neo finally managed to get the upper hand, slicing open her opponent's neck as the end of her umbrella glistened with blue.

The silver one fell to its knees, giving me a clear shot at the red one's skull. I pulled the trigger, painting the walls blue. I racked the bolt again, standing up. "Thanks for the assist." I said.

Neo shrugged, wiping off her blade with a handkerchief before retracting it back into her-

A loud explosion boomed through the hallway ahead, snapping out heads towards it. Behind us, loud and armored footfalls thumped through the deck. I spun around, raised my rifle and-

…lowered it again. "You really shouldn't do that. I almost shot you."

Yang shrugged. "Uhh… sorry?" She let out. "Anyway, we really need to uhh… we need to get to the bridge. Weiss is taking her group to engineering, but we need both sections to control the ship."

"I'm assuming you know the way?"

She nodded. "Yeah. Just uhh… follow me." She said, bolting past us.

I rolled my eyes and followed, going the exact same way I was going earlier. Numerous charred bodies lay strewn about the corridor, some even with tread marks on where a limb (or their entire torso) were crushed.

As we approached a corner, flickering orange light illuminated the wall opposite the door, the stench of burning rubber and flesh assaulting my nose. All three of us paused for a moment. Yang cocked her gauntlets and I readjusted my grip on my rifle.

When we burst into the hangar, the first thing we all saw was the burning wreck of the tankette. It was surrounded by alien bodies, sure, but it also had the body of its beaver-tailed pilot burning behind it.

A low rumble echoed out from beyond the blazing vehicle and the massive forms of two Hunters stepped out. One had its shield and armor scored with the aftermath of two dozen laser hits while the other was completely untouched.

The marred one roared, the plasma cannon on its arm starting to glow green. "Dodge!" I shouted, diving behind the wreckage. The bolt soared towards Neo, but she leaned backwards enough for it to sail over her. She stood back up, checking her nails as she twirled her umbrella with her other hand.

Yang charged the other Hunter head-on…

…and got smacked back into the wall.

She groaned, peeling herself up from the floor. I peered around my cover as the alien charged its plasma cannon, putting a round in its exposed neck. It grunted, stopping the weapon and holding up its shield.

Blinding it.

Yang charged the creature again, golden flames spewing out the base of her helmet and a pair of blood-red eyes shining through her polarized visor. Just as the creature lowered its shield, her gauntleted fist reared back, shooting forward with the boom of a shotgun.

Its shield visibly dented, the arm flying back as Yang wound up for another punch. With another boom, her fist struck the creature's head and blew off the helmet. She tore a grenade from her belt, priming and planting it inside the creature in a single motion before leaping back.

Her aura flickered – but didn't shatter – when she landed, her body twitching slightly. The grenade inside the Hunter exploded, sending bits of armor and orange goop all over the place. I just… stared at her for a moment, caught completely off-guard by the fact that it wasn't Ruby who did that.

She glanced at me. "Heh… I uhh… guess Ruby's lessons paid off." A green plasma bolt flew over her head, making her duck and throw her hands up over her helmet for a moment. "…Right." She said, ripping her XBR55 off her back and opening fire on the sole remaining Hunter.

I took aim, seeing Neo shatter like glass from the alien's shield bash. Yang's rounds pinged off the armor, my own doing more damage as they stung at the gaps in the Hunter's armor. I growled, whipping towards me and lighting up its plasma canno-

It roared in pain, Neo's blade suddenly appearing as it stuck into its neck. Yang ripped another grenade off her belt. "Catch!" She shouted, throwing it.

Neo caught it effortlessly, even while jockeying the massive alien. As she struggled to prime it, Yang yelling directions at her, the Hunter flailed its arms and shook its back. It even dropped its shield, trying to use the now-open hand to grab her.

She ducked around its attempt, primed the grenade, and buried it in its neck before leaping free. This Hunter's fate was the same as its partner… becoming little more than a lower torso and orange bits staining the floor. Out of the suit of armor crawled a single worm, a trail of blood leaking out behind it.

Neo smiled, her heterochromatic eyes shining with glee as she marched over to it, raised her foot, and stomped down. It screeched in agony, her smile growing wider and wider with each second.

I looked away, grimacing. "So, shall we get a move on?"

She shuddered. "Y- Yeah. Let's."

One of the doors flew open, a single Grunt waddling through. It yelped, drawing its weapon. Before it could actually bring it to bear, I shot it in the face. Yang and I walked past it a moment later, rifles cocked and ready for the next encounter.

It wasn't as difficult as I'd expected, getting to the bridge. I had it in my head that we'd be running and gunning through the corridors, enemies around every corner. Yang and I still checked them – as few as they were in this labyrinthine ship – as we passed, but most enemies were either dead ahead or cowering.

After only a short few corners, we developed a system. I'd use my invisibility semblance to peek around, Yang right behind me, and pick off any Elites or Brutes I saw heading the pack. Then Yang would jump out, her rifle on full-auto, and spray down the remaining Grunts and Jackals.

Just as Yang slotted in her last magazine, we reached the bridge's doors. They weren't grand or anything, just the same elaborate purple metal design with a single green light in the center; the only reason I even knew it led to the bridge was because Yang's visor said so.

I turned to her, sharing a nod before activating my semblance once more. She pressed herself into a nook in the wall, the panel covering it having been removed for maintenance. The door hissed open, drawing the confused glances of the bridge crew.

I lined up a shot on the fanciest-looking Elite and pulled the trigger. Its shields flared, but held as it was knocked back a step. By the time it'd finished shaking its golden-helmeted head in surprise, I'd cycled the bolt and lined up another round.

It fell right as another Elite, this one in silver armor, surged forward, a sword in its hand.

My eyes widened. "Got one coming in!" I shouted, backing up and chambering another round. I did not fire at it, however, taking the life of a Minor behind it.

Just as the charging alien stepped over the door's threshold, Yang surged out from her hiding place. With a loud boom, her fist embedded itself in the Elite's skull, staining the metal wall with its blue blood. She grabbed its falling sword midair, deactivating it and clipping it to her thigh before charging in.

I followed, hearing her rifle spit round after round downrange. Few were still standing by the time I entered, and none did after only a few seconds. I walked up the elevated platform in the center of the room, my boots clanking against the seemingly unsupported metal.

"So… now what?" I asked Yang, who still had her eyes on the only door leading to this room.

Her head tilted a few degrees to the side. "Wait, what?" She muttered, just loud enough for me to hear. "Whatever… Alright Valkea, Serina wants to see if you can uhh… if you can read whatever's on that console; she says she's got a theory."

I blinked. "…Why the hell would I be able to do that?"

"I uhh… saw my mom do something similar earlier. Just… humor her, I guess?"

I shrugged. "Whatever. I don't see how this would make any se-" I cut myself off, my jaw hanging open slightly. "…what in the Brothers' names…?"

"I'll take that as a yes." She said.

I jerked slightly. "But I don't understand! I've never seen any of these symbols before, let alone been taught to read them!"

"Serina says 'mission now, existential crisis later.'"

I shook my head. "I suppose so. What now?"

"Can we uhh… overload the reactor?"

After a few moments of looking through the menus, I let out a huff. "No. It says that if we want to do that, we need the shipmaster's password."

"Damn." She let out. "…What about course corrections? Do we uhh… do we have control over that?"

I hit a few more buttons, skimming the menus once more. "Looks like it, why?"

"…And the airlocks?"

"Yes as well."

"Alright, I need to uhh… talk to Weiss for a sec. Get up here and help me watch the door."