Chapter 20

A/N: Hello everyone, how're you doing? Welcome back to another chapter to Becoming Human.

Reason why I haven't updated was because I was in a car crash. Now before you start worrying about me, I'm completely fine. No broken limbs or anything major. Just had a minor concussion. But I needed to get my mind off of things after what happened, so yeah.

Now I'm sorta back on schedule and decided to roll out with this story since I've been wanting to finish this chapter.

And apologies if this chapter isn't the best so far in the story, or my writing, but considering that I've been in a car crash, that could be one of the many factors to as why. But nothing will stop my writing. Not even a car crash.

I guess that's all to say here, so you guys enjoy this read.

If Glynda had to admit, she never thought that she would be in this situation right now. The Commander of the UNSC on Remnant was right here with her, willing to tell her why his brother was the way he is right now. She had to say, she was entirely nervous for what is to happen.

Patrick leaned against his chaired tiredly rubbing his eyes, doing what he could to focus his thoughts together. With a deep sigh, he nodded looking over at Glynda. "It was 2523 back on Reach, Riley wasn't all the bad. He was a pretty happy kid, ya know? Doing the things kids do, having fun." A sad smile appeared on his face as he closed his eyes. "I still remember those days. They really were something... Until that happened."

Glynda cocked an eyebrow with her head tilting. "W-What happened?" She stuttered out. "Dear Oum, this isn't like me at all," She scolded to herself. Then again, she didn't want to seem pushy whatsoever.

That's when Glynda saw that some tears were slowly building up in his eyes before he wiped them quickly. "Prof. Goodwitch... It came to us all unexpected... But when Riley was just five years old... Our... Our mother passed away..."

Shock soon washed upon her face and she covered her mouth stiffing a gasp. "I-I'm so sorry..."

"Our mother was an ODST herself, having accomplished multiple drops against Insurrectionists at the time. But during a skirmish against some of the Insurrectionists, she was killed after throwing herself on top of a grenade to protect her men. This allowed her squad to evac safely from their engagement as they took her body along with them. She was a hero to them... To us. I just remember my brother going numb after hearing the news and cried for a long time."

Patrick sniffled softly and wiped away his tears from memories he shared with their mother, only to smile knowing he was able to spend time with her. "I'm just glad she wasn't around once we made contact with the Covenant... Because that's when our father died in an engagement with them after the second year in the campaign to take back the Planet Harvest on 2527. What was supposed to be a quick victory turned into five years of hell for us."

Glyda gulped knowing that she was now waltzing upon deep scars that both brothers carried with them. "I'm sorry you lost your parents."

"It's alright. I'm just thankful that we managed to spend time with them before they passed away. But that was just the start for my brother's suffering."

"Just the beginning?! What else could he suffer through?!" Glynda thought, being boggled on how The ODST was able to keep his own sanity, somehow, in check up to date.

"I know, you can't believe that, can you? Me neither. Then again, everyone is different in their personality and how they deal with various situations that are thrown right in their faces."

"I can agree on that, Patrick. I'm still impressed on how Ozpin still continues to be the Headmaster of Beacon despite what has happened in his past... W-Which I won't say anything about," Glynda told him, quickly stuttering out the last portion.

Patrick shook his head with a small smile seeing how flustered Glynda was. "Don't worry. I'm not gonna pry into his privacy nor force you to spill anything about him. I'm not that kind of person."

"O-Of course..."

Another silent pause from the Rear Admiral as he chose his words carefully. "Riley and I relatively lived in peace after to what happened to our parents. We didn't need to worry about the Covenant coming anytime soon as they were still in the Outer Colonies."

Patrick yawned softly and shook his head as sleep threatened to stop him. "Nine years later, Riley was enlisted into the UNSC Forces. By then, I've been serving with them for about five years at that point, being with the ODSTs for two years after serving as a Marine for three. About a year after his enlistment, he was sent on his first tour on the Planet Osiris."

Glynda now looked down as she held her arms close to her chest. "I'm guessing nothing good happened during his deployment there, huh?" She asked.

A nod was her answer along with a sigh. "Spot on. A few months before his first tour, the Covenant invaded the planet looking for any holy relics that belong to them."

The Huntress nodded slightly. She remembered what Ceri had told her about the Covenant, that they were religious extremists who'd do anything in the name of their Gods, hence giving them the gall to launch their genocidal campaign against humanity.

"The UNSC Forces garrisoned there fought valiantly, tooth and nail. Only pockets of UNSC Resistance remained when he arrived. I made a drop there as well, with my ODST Battalion acting as the vanguard, clearing the area to create a staging area for the main forces on Osiris."

Glynda nodded before an important thought went through her mind. "Why did your superiors want to retake the planet in the first place? I always hear your brother mention about a planet called Osiris multiple times as well."

Patrick was a little shocked she asked this questioned but nodded. "If you want to know, Osiris is a strategic staging area where fleets could be mustered to sent out to help the war effort and is one of the planets to house massive ship foundries to reinforce weakening fleets with new ships."

"So that's why the UNSC needed to retake the planet. It was vital to your war efforts and to keep your fleets from falling apart."

"Precisely. A week before my brother and his company were sent to Osiris, me and my regiment were dropped on the planet. Resistance from the Covenant on our drop area was fairly light. And soon enough, we had a staging area ready to roll out our men and armor to take the planet back, sector by sector," Patrick explained to the Huntress with his hands now placed together.

But the long silence said otherwise to Glynda. "It wasn't that easy to retake the planet, huh?"

"Yes... It was just like Harvest... Just like all the other planets we went through the trouble of taking back... Six years of hell on Osiris... Our casualties mounted year after year... But we weren't going to give up the planet without a fight. Millions paid the ultimate price for us to call Osiris ours again... Riley went through a lot during his time in the Osiris Campaign..."

Patrick gritted his teeth and clutched his hands together but remained calm. "Riley... With his first engagement with the Covenant with his platoon... He was just one of the five that survived the firefight... And as time went on during the Osiris Campaign, he watched more of his friends fall... Brothers and Sisters in arms that were too young to die while he lingered... Just like many others who fought for humanity..."

"The Osiris Campaign soon came to a close. During that time, my brother became an ODST thanks to his experience in the field and showed no mercy to the Covenant... But eventually, he requested to be reassigned back to the Marine Corps... That was 2548... When he finally broke... When he became a Ghost..."

Patrick breathed in deeply with a nod. "Assigned to lead a platoon on a planet known as Revenant, he was to recon the area and come back... It wasn't to be as you know... Covenant ambushed them... Tore the entire squad to pieces... At the end of the firefight, it was only Riley and a lone Marine in his arms... She had just came fresh from training... And she perished soon afterwards... My brother was the only survivor of the ambush... When he became a Ghost..."

Glynda once again covered her mouth hearing this information. The more she listened to Patrick, the more she began to regret being so harsh to The ODST. But she didn't want to say anything since she didn't want to appear to be disrespectful by butting in like last time-

"Prof. Goodwitch, whatever is on your mind, don't be afraid to ask me if you really want to know what Riley went through," Patrick suddenly said to her making her eyes widen.

"E-Excuse me?"

"Please, the more you know, then the more you can understand the pain he went and is still going through. That is if you wish to know more," Patrick added in to ease the stiff tension within the room.

"If... If you say so... But there's more to than that, isn't there?" Glynda asked him, trying to make eye contact with him again.

"Yes... Tell me, have you seen him holding a pair of dog tags from time to time?"

The Huntress thought for a good moment, sifting through her memory if she ever saw him holding that item in his hands. She then nodded with a silent gulp. "I have. Sometimes in the far corner of the staff lounge, he'd take them out and... And hold them close to his mouth... Why is that?"

Glynda swore violently in her head for answering his question, even asking for anything else that was locked away behind those myriad of scars Riley bore.

A solemn look to Patrick's face making her face drop seeing that there was. "Glynda... Please tell me the truth... Has my brother acted hostile around you at all during your time watching him?"

"Well... Well yes. He usually leaves as soon as he could whenever we're in the same room, not including that one time when I activated his Aura..."

Patrick smiled sadly and he shook his head. "I see... You want to know why, Prof. Goodwitch? And that is entirely up to you if you truly want to know," The Rear Admiral asked her with his voice going even lower with sorrow laced in it.

Glynda closed her eyes, bitting the insides of her mouth thinking it over carefully. She was in personal territory thanks to Patrick telling her. But this might be a real kicker for her if she wishes to know why he's so hostile to her at times. Gulping, she opened her eyes and nodded. "Tell me..."

A long period of silence engulfed the two, drastically making the atmosphere of the room go from uneasiness to outright fear of knowing the truth. Glynda noticed that Patrick was mumbling something, but she couldn't catch any word he's saying at all.

"... Because it hurts him to see you..." Patrick finally answered after what felt like an eternity to her.

Glynda's face scrunched up in confusion hearing this. "What...? It hurts for him to see me? How...?"

Patrick sighed again and placed his chin atop his hands. Closing his eyes, he nodded with baited breathe. "... A long time ago, my brother was in love... He was happy... Content... And full of life... He was... Happy... And it's been years since he has been like that... About ten years if I remember correctly..."

It was entire silence between the two, with the beeping of the machinery keeping a status check on the The ODST. And Glynda couldn't believe it, but it felt like the room dropped a couple degrees making it colder.

"Her name was Sasha Valent. She was a SPARTAN-III... She saved Riley's life multiple times during the Osiris Campaign... And eventually, those two fell in love... But in the fifth year... She died protecting him..."

"I don't see how I come into this..."

Patrick looked over at Glynda which made her entire being freeze up. He had a glare on his face. But instead of malice, it was one of... Sorrow.

Reaching for his side, Patrick took out a small device and turned it on. A couple moments passed by as he cursed lightly looking for something before outstretching his hand over to Glynda. "This should speak for itself..."

The Huntress looked at the small device and gulped. Her hand slowly reached over hesitantly with sweat forming on her forehead from the mystery that was to be solved for her. Grabbing it, she brought it over and saw it was a picture. The picture showed a much younger Riley in the UNSC Marine BDU, dirt and grime all over his face, but he bore a smile despite his appearance. "I've never seen him smile... Only seen him smirk most times..."

But then her eyes drifted over to the woman that he had an arm around. Unlike Riley, she was fairly clean with just a few dirt smudges on her face. That's when Glynda's eyes widened to the size of saucers. There, the woman had emerald green eyes with a blonde hair tied up in a messy bun. But the face she had was one she knew all to well. In fact, she bore it.

For the first time in a long time, Glynda was utterly speechless. Only a few times in her life has she ever been in such a state.

She was then brought out of her shock with Patrick clearing his throat with a sad smile. "I couldn't believe it myself at first, Prof. Goodwitch. But when he showed me a picture, I immediately understood his hostilities towards you..."

"... I'm her spitting image..." Glynda finally spoke. "So everytime he sees me... He sees her..."

A nod was her confirmation. With a deep sigh, Glynda handed Patrick back his device with him still bearing his sad smile. "That's why he's the way he is... He lost too many people... Too many friends... Loved ones... He's hostile towards you because he wants to forget. To be rid of his pain... But he can't... He doesn't want to let go of her memory..."

After a long time of silence for the final time, Patrick stood up and stretched, grunting as he did so to loosen his muscles after sitting for quite some time. "Thank you for listening to me, Professor. I hope you'll understand why my brother acts the way he does now."

Glynda nodded as she got up herself. A short yawn came to her before she sighed. "No... Thank you for telling me... Forgive me... I wasn't aware what he went through... I just kept being so strict with him, never giving him a break..."

The Huntress then felt a hand on her shoulder causing her to look up. She was shocked to see Patrick not with a glare, but a soft smile. "That's because you didn't know then... But now you know. Don't beat yourself up over it." Withdrawing his hand, Patrick placed his hands behind his back and looked at the bed. "I'll be postponing the procedure for now. Riley needs to recover after what happened. Perhaps in two weeks, he'll be ready. I'll be explaining to Ceri about this. Would you mind telling Ozpin about the news? I'll tell Ironwood myself."

"O-Of course... I'll let him know the moment I see him."

"Thanks." Patrick soon yawned himself and nodded. "It's pretty late. We should turn in for the night, try to get some shut eye."

"Very well... Goodnight, Patrick..."

"Goodnight, Glynda."

It wasn't long when the two parted ways making their way back to their respective places to catch a wink of sleep.

Glynda arrived back to her room and did her daily nightly rituals to ready herself for bed. But she couldn't help but be plagued with guilt now knowing the reasons- No, the pain that Riley went through, and she had the gall to be all strict and demanding of him.

There she laid in bed, dressed up in a light purple nightgown, her hair undone, blonde splashing all over her pillow. Glynda's hands clutched at the blanket that covered her, her gaze just staring at the ceiling in the darkness.

"He certainly is someone... No one deserves to go through what he did... No one... And yet, he still pushes on... He keeps moving forward despite what happened... Just who is he?"

She was soon interrupted with a yawn which she took the as an indicator to get some sleep. Getting comfortable in her bed, she turned onto her side and closed her eyes. Just as she was falling into the clutches of sleep, her heart skipped a beat.