CHAPTER 28: OPERATION ESTABLISH DOMINANCE
0630 Hours, November 28, 2557 (Military Calendar) / Unknown System, Planet Remnant, Continent of Anima
The Master Chief had gathered all of his people in addition to his guest before shepherding them to a cordoned-off section of the village so as not to disturb the locals. He'd even done the courtesy of informing the townsfolks that a sparring match was imminent and that it was likely to be loud. He wanted to ensure that nobody panicked if they saw the signs of combat occurring; the town appreciated the forewarning.
More important was the spartan overseeing this fight between Yang and Schnee. On one hand, he found himself frustrated by his subordinate's lack of restraint and professionalism. Special Forces might abide by looser standards than conventional forces, but that didn't mean they were reckless; they were aggressive. The blonde girl had aggression in spades, but not enough control of it.
On the other hand, a civilian like the SDC heiress had no business getting involved with his troops. She had shown restraint, but clearly not enough seeing as her pride and ego were dented so much that she felt compelled to challenge one of his own. He could respect anyone who was willing to fight themselves and wouldn't resort to using others to fight in their stead, but this was simple ego-stroking.
But it had to be done lest tensions between them fester and the last thing that John wanted to contend with was an even more on-edge Yang and a disagreeable Schnee. Once this fight was over and a victor was decided, they would move on and soon their guest would be returned back to Atlas and they would return to dealing with the remnants of White Fang within the surrounding areas of Vale and potentially inside the kingdom's walls.
The Human-Covenant war veteran had debated expanding operations into the kingdom because as much as progress was made outside, he wasn't foolish enough to think that the faunus terrorists were restricted only to outside the main bastions of civilizations on Remnant. The documents and intel obtained from each camp, outpost, and forward operation base had revealed that much.
Once the White Fang collapsed completely, he was honestly not sure about what to do next. This campaign happened by chance, right place, and right time. He was not certain that he would find another one like this one. After all, the White Fang was classified as a major threat in the world of Remnant.
But knowing his luck, the Master Chief was certain that something was bound to happen to his team that would change that real quick. Call it instinct, experience, or simply his own arrogance; he had a feeling things would not remain idle for long.
For now, the duel had to be done with.
The rules were simple. Anything went except for permanent injuries and fatal blows. Everything else was fair game.
Yang decided to go with a simple shotgun-pistol duo, the latter weapon not really being her style, but it was the only appropriate alternate weapon to compliment the M90.
Schnee had been provided with a basic MA5D and an M6D, the former of which the spartan knew wasn't suited for her.
"Are both combatants ready?" He looked to his left, then to his right.
Yang nodded, her M90 at the low ready. "Standing by."
"Yes." Schnee nodded her head.
John raised his hand. Get ready! Get set!"
Both fighters moved into their opening stances. The brawler had an almost serene look on her face while the heiress appeared to be focused.
"Begin!"
Yang was the first to seize the initiative, closing the distance quickly, and slamming the buttstock of her weapon into the Schnee girl's face. Disoriented, the heiress stumbled backward, trying to reorient herself, and that was enough time for the brawler to point the shotgun barrel directly at the chest and pull the trigger.
At such a close range, the M90 couldn't possibly miss its intended target; the smaller girl was immediately stripped of a good chunk of her aura as indicated by the bluish-white glow that surrounded her. While he couldn't accurately say how much aura she had lost, he knew that the brighter the aura flashed, the more damage had been taken; Schnee's aura had shined quite brightly at that moment.
What was unexpected to the Chief was how quickly the heiress pulled back. Despite having lost the initiative and having taken serious damage, the girl had enough control to backpedal and counterattack with her borrowed pistol. The weapon's shots discharged, but their aim was poor due to the Altas native not anticipating the massive kickback from the weapon. Clearly, she wasn't used to firearms with lots of stopping power.
But Yang didn't attempt to dodge, at least not in an extremely evasive way. Since the shots being put out were not accurate, she could afford to make small adjustments in her body posture to allow shots to fly harmlessly by her, not even nicking a single strand of her hair that flowed down her back.
I'll have to tell her to police up that hair. Spartan 117 made a mental note to remind his trooper of that later.
Meanwhile, the heiress activated her semblance, as indicated by the glyphs that resembled snowflakes. He watched her closely, finding it important to see a semblance at work in a controlled environment, something he had not found the time to see either Ruby or Yang use to exploit them.
Then she fired the M9D again and this time, she seemed to be able to control it much better, enough so that the blonde girl's aura began to flash, indicating that she was taking damage, which then forced what was a casual advance into a cautious and evasive one.
Schnee seemed to take this as a sign to counterattack, which had her again using her semblance. The glyphs changed colors and this time, instead of what looked like an effect to help her, it was something else.
This time, the bullets met their mark, causing ice to begin forming on the CQC specialist's arms and legs. For a moment, the blonde girl stared at herself before simply smashing her limbs against the ground to shatter the unwanted formation. The effect didn't seem to agitate her, merely slow her down.
Which was what the heiress seemed to want as she closed the distance quickly, delivering her own flurry of point-blank shots that couldn't be dodged. Despite the power that aura provided a user, its effectiveness against UNSC weapons had been proven time and time again. This time, the initiator of the fight was now on her back foot.
But that was only a temporary setback; Yang kept her eyes squarely on Schnee and once again moved in for the kill. Schnee, while better prepared for an onslaught, was still caught off guard due to the ramped-up intensity of the attacks.
Even with this setback, the Master Chief knew that his spartan was going to win. He knew that his own was going to win for one simple reason: violence of action. The girl was far from the smartest person he'd ever worked with, but what she lacked in intelligence she made up with grit and confidence, even if it was a bit misplaced.
And that's exactly the reason he knew she was going to win this thing. Although she still had much to overcome, he knew that when shit hit the fan as it always did, she would stick around and fight for her team and her family. Like it or not, she had become a spartan and they were all family now.
Yang slid her shotgun on her back, then produced two frag grenades, one in each hand. "Boom time, princess!"
The spartan, for a moment, felt his breath hitch as Yang ran forward with two live grenades in her hands. It was a near-perfect recreation of a grunt's suicidal attack that he'd seen so many times in his career. It was a final desperate move by a for that knew that it was about to die, so to see it used like it felt unsettling.
Yet his spartan charged forward with a look that he'd seen grown on her over the past few months, that look whenever she was in combat: a willingness to do whatever it took to win and a complete disregard for her own safety.
Yang thumbed the safety clips off both grenades, then deftly pulled both pins from the grenades. She then released her hands from the safety lever, beginning the countdown for the explosives.
"What are you-"
The blonde's hair began to glow and her eyes turned red. "Dodge this!"
The CQC specialist grabbed the heiress into a bear hug and simply held onto her opponent, refusing to let go. Then there were two momentary bright flashes and then a loud bang followed by a cloud of smoke and dust kicked up in the air.
At his side, he could see Ruby tense up visibly at this display despite trying to maintain a cool exterior.
John looked to his HUD.
There were vital signs still pulsing.
"Yang is the winner." He spoke.
Halo - - - RWBY
0900 Hours, November 30, 2557 (Military Calendar) / Unknown System, Planet Remnant, Continent of Anima
Weiss, for the second time in a row, awoke to yet another familiar setting: a quiet cabin filled with tranquility and injuries.
Then it came back to her
She had been soundly beaten by the blonde bimbo by a tactic that she had never seen coming. What she had employed was more a suicide tactic. There was nothing she could do to stop it, only hope and pray that her aura would save her from serious injury, which it had, but that didn't change how hurt she felt.
Even the simplest of movements felt like a labor to accomplish and she hated being cooped up in this bed. As comfortable as it was, this was not how she wanted to spend her indefinite protected state in.
The heiress at least could look around the room and see if anyone was present and unsurprisingly, there was the Master Chief, pouring over what appeared to be a map of Remnant. The way he outlined it with pen and the way he traced his finger along its surface indicated his concentration on studying its contents.
Now that she had gotten a taste of what his team could do, Weiss was uncertain how she should view him.
On one hand, he was calm, poised, and authoritative. He was knowledgeable, he was skillful, and he was competent. He embodied so many traits that she wished to become and more and to see done so seamlessly was amazing to watch.
But now she'd witnessed one of his spartans unleashed and what the Schnee heiress had seen did little to set her mind at ease. If someone as unhinged as the bimbo was someone he controlled, what did that mean for the other two females?
And the fact that she owed him her life did not help matters one bit. Weiss was many things, but she never foget when people did her kindness or did her harm. Just as she would never forget of forgive the White Fang for being the cause of so many problems in her life, big and small, she would never forget nor take for granted that the man nearby had saved her from a horrible fate.
There was also her dented pride to consider. There were few people who could match her in terms of fighting prowess if she did say so herself. She had been taught and trained by the best that money could afford, so she knew that barring a few exceptional individuals around the world, she could not be beaten, let alone pushed.
But that fight with Xiao Long had not even lasted for two minutes and she had been the loser if her current condition was anything to go by. The head understood, but the heart was more stubborn.
Weiss pulled herself into a sitting position. "How… did I do?"
Her throat felt dry.
"You acquitted yourself respectably despite your severe disadvantage." The Master Chief's voice indicated no sarcasm of any kind, simply what he thought. "But the outcome of the fight was decided before any blows were traded."
What did that mean?
She stared at him. "What makes you say that?"
"Your eyes tell me your intent clearly. You're driven by ego and pride. You wanted to humble my spartan in a way that could be considered… civilized." He sat straight, but he did not look her in the eye and continued his own task. "That was the wrong approach. Your aim should've been to win no matter the cost to yourself. Yang understands that in combat, there is no prize for second place, only death."
She frowned at his words, both at the understanding that he was correct, but also at the implication of her way of fighting. She was taught to be elegant, graceful, and poised, never stooping to the lows that others were willing to go. By fighting fairly, she could prove dominance by showing that she was simply that much better.
Weiss felt she had to argue the point. "But should we resort to such methods, we become no better than savages, like the White Fang. As warriors, we have a responsibility to maintain certain rules of fighting in order to retain our humanity."
It sounded racist and frankly, she did not care.
"I will concede to your point; there is a right and a wrong way to conduct warfare and there are certain methods that are unnecessary, but warfare is not so cut and dry." The Master Chief's helmeted head glanced at her from the side. "More often than not, morals and conduct disappear in favor of protecting your life and the lives of your team."
Certain choice words got the heiress's attention. "You sound like you speak from experience."
"You could say that." His visor returned to his map for a moment before he rose to his full height and began to move to the other side of the room. "The outcome has been decided; from now on, you will not interfere with my spartans nor with my trainee. If you have any grievances with any of them, you will settle the matter immediately with me. I can't have my team distracted while we prepare. Do you understand?"
She knew better than to push where she wasn't wanted. "I understand. I will cause no further disturbances."
"Good." The Master Chief approached her with a bottle of water. "Now drink. You are no doubt dehydrated."
Weiss carefully took the drink, popped the cap, and took a drink, the cold water soothing to her throat. "Thank you."
He simply nodded, then turned to leave the room. She watched his slowly retreating form for a moment.
"...wait," The white-haired girl called out, "I have a question. What does it mean… to be a spartan?"
For a moment he said nothing and did not move a muscle, which made her wonder if perhaps the topic was either secretive, sensitive, or both.
Then the giant spoke. "Spartans are the greatest warriors to have ever existed. We accomplish the impossible because it is our duty. And we will do it with or without help."
The conviction in his words was absolute, so much so that even she could not deny his words, not that she would ever. After being beaten by one, she had no doubt they possessed combat capabilities that were beyond anything she had seen.
"Why do you ask?"
…why indeed?
"Curiosity." Weiss could only say that one word.
He processed for a moment, then walked out, closing the door behind him. Once she was alone, she carefully leaned against the bed headboard, hissing in discomfort at her injuries.
As she settled, the Atlesian native pondered his words.
Whenever he spoke to her, he always did so like she was an actual person whose opinions and experiences were important, not like her father who always seemed to either ignore her or treat her like a child. It was strange to be spoken to with such brevity and directness as opposed to the flowery and arrogant language that she was accustomed to.
She also pondered the nature of spartans. Superior warriors they might be, but such caliber fighters were not created in a vacuum. They had to serve a purpose and more importantly, they had to serve someone. He had mentioned his UNSC, but she was not certain of the validity of his words despite his no-nonsense attitude.
Regardless, Weiss found something oddly intriguing about the man and the girls that followed him. A part of her had questioned if maybe he was in some way tricking them. Perhaps he intended less than savory plans for them. She had seen it plenty of times in Atlas, men who approached her for her status, for her wealth, and for her looks.
But such ill intentions flew in the face of what she had clearly seen demonstrated by the Master Chief. If he wished harm upon these girls, then no doubt he would have had plenty of opportunities to do so in the past, especially given the fact that he was likely training them to be killers. Such basic and barbaric desires would be better served if his supposed targets were ill-equipped to deal with him.
So if his intent was not lecherous nor cruel in manner, then what was his purpose, and where did he intend to lead his team? That single mystery had her head spinning, which in any other setting, would probably be an idle question that would come and go. However, given her relative isolation and her lack of anything meaningful to do, all she had to ponder on was her host and his entourage.
The heiress sighed and shook her head, finding no answers and feeling incredibly restless. She might not be allowed to interfere with the Master Chief and his subordinates, but he said nothing about working with them.
An insane move on her part perhaps, but given the insanity of doing nothing and the insanity of colluding with questionable characters, the choice was obvious. It was merely a bad decision or a worse one.
Weiss drank again from her water bottle.
RWBY - - - Halo
1700 Hours
Blake didn't like the Schnee heiress one bit. She could overlook the fact that the Atlas bitch was racist; frankly speaking, that insult about her faunus heritage didn't really matter right now. What did matter was how she seemed to act like she ran the show despite the fact that there was a clear hierarchy to follow.
The Master Chief was in charge not simply by merit of him being the best fighter, but also because he was a competent, capable, and credible leader. It showed in everything he did from the simplest of tasks to the most complicated of plans. The sheer level of knowledge, experience, and skills he brought to the table were unmatched and everyone knew it, so everyone was quick to fall into line.
But clearly, the Schnee girl thought that she could waltz in and act like she was the leader despite the fact she was clearly out of her element. Out here close to the wilds, she was just another human female with some aura. Without the Chief, Xiao Long, and Rose, she was nothing.
But the raven-haired cat girl kept these thoughts to herself. She also understood that anything that she said or did could be used against herself as well. She wasn't a spartan nor was she fully trusted among those she kept company with. The thin line between life and death was one she had to tread carefully now.
And that didn't include her mental headspace.
Blake had more or less come to terms with herself, accepting that she was a coward for abandoning the White Fang and Adam to save her own skin. She was at a point where the thought of her past was beginning to matter less and less. The once peaceful protest group turned terrorists were done and there was no one to curse her out.
These days, the only thing she did was keep her head down, do whatever training that the Master Chief placed before her, and learn fast in the hopes of staying in his good graces and hopefully living to the next day. Dared she hope that one day, she might accepted into the ranks of the spartans, but they were just that: hopes.
Knowing her luck, she was more likely to die before she was fully accepted by the man who'd killed her former mentor and executed all of her brothers and sisters with extreme prejudice.
But in order for her to keep her life and what little freedom she had, she would do what was told of her by the armored man. At this point, she would do anything he said. If he asked her to die in a suicide attack against the Grimm, she'd simply ask how he wanted the attack to be executed.
So yes, her life was smooth.
These were her thoughts as she sat at a table at a local outdoor cafe.
Blake sighed. "I really am fucked in the head."
And still, she willingly walked this path.
"You and the rest of us, kitty cat." That was Xiao Long. "Stop talkin' to yourself like a weirdo."
The faunus girl watched the half-sisters as they took a seat, each of them with their own drinks. The elder appeared to have black coffee with no additives and the younger had what looked like a smoothie with crumbled cookies.
No judgment.
But in actuality, judging hardcore.
The former terrorist regarded them. "What are you two doing here?"
"Same thing as you, I imagine." Rose all but collapsed into her seat. "Gotta have some treats every now and then."
The youngest of the three wasted no time getting to work on her treat.
Xiao Long scoffed at her little sister. "Some things never change. By the way, where's MC anyway?"
"Over there." Blake nodded her head to her left. "Talking to some of the locals. Said I could walk around in the meantime."
The blonde girl gave a neutral look. "How does it feel… to get back a tiny bit of freedom?"
"... I've never been free, not really." The cat girl pushed some of her hair away from her eyes. "Not since I was five, six years old."
The sharpshooter slurped real loudly before rejoining the conversation. "What, like child soldier indoctrination?"
"We weren't fighters back then." The ninja shook her head. "Just peaceful protesters trying to have our rights to basic dignity."
"I wouldn't know about that." Rose shrugged with indifference. "I'm just a normal human girl."
Blake regarded the silver-eyed girl. "Are you really? Can any of us say that after joining the Master Chief?"
"But you didn't join us," Xiao Long pointed out, "It was either death, jail, or be our bitch."
Golden eyes narrowed in annoyance. "You know what I mean."
"Relax, kitty cat, just fuckin' with ya." Lilac eyes flickered with amusement. "To answer your question, hell nah. Don't think any of us were normal, like, ever in our lives, even before we crossed paths with the Chief."
Rose looked at both of them. "Sooo, does that mean Schnee's about to join us too?"
"The fuck she will," Blake blurted out.
The sisters stared at her, to which she lowered her gaze.
The brawler smirked. "You really don't like her, do you."
"That's putting it lightly." Blake's growl colored her otherwise even voice. "I'm sure you saw something you didn't like when you fought her."
Xiao Long leaned back into her chair. "Eh, I'm over it. She's weak as shit, but I respect her for at least trying to put up a fight. Didn't peg her kind as the type to do their own fighting. Figured that's why Atlas had such a big military. Plus, I'm not a faunus and I don't have a personal grudge against her."
"Same." Rose finished her drink. "Plus, she's only gonna be with us for a minute before we dump her back into her fancy mansion with all of her posh stuff and whatever it is that rich girls do."
That was the plan at least, but given the track record of people coming into contact with the Master Chief, whether that be intentional or not, the ex-terrorist wasn't so sure. She wasn't a big believer in fate or destiny, but all of them coming together felt like more than just a coincidence; she blamed her books for making her think this way.
The ninja sighed, deciding she wouldn't think about it too deeply right now. "Whatever. It is what it is."
"...you know, aren't huntsman academy teams made up of four people?" Rose suddenly veered to a different topic. "You know, and they've got a team name that's like an acronym of the first letters of their name?"
Xiao Long propped her legs up on the desk and stared at her thighs. "I didn't do the tour to Beacon, so I wouldn't know. Based on what little I've heard from Dad and Qrow, that sounds about right. Why do you bring that up, Rubes?"
"Dunno. Just… felt like we're all coming together… and there are four of us." The sniper sounded like she didn't even know what she was saying. "Maybe… we could've all been huntresses."
The brawler scoffed loudly. "Nope. Don't even want to do that a little bit."
"Absolutely not." Blake for once agreed with the blonde girl.
Rose pouted at them two. "I didn't mean literally become huntresses. It's just that with Schnee, we've got a team of-"
"Ruby, I love you, but please shut the fuck up." The elder sister put an end to that line of thinking. "Ain't none of us ever gonna be a huntress."
"Then what are we supposed to do now? The White Fang's gone. Who're we gonna kill next?"
That was a good question.
The cat faunus turned her head to see the Master Chief had moved on to speak to another street vendor. He appeared to be listening, his hands calmly at his side as the man in front of the stall spoke and gestured. She wondered what he was trying to learn from the locals here.
As she turned to return to the nearly-forgotten tea in front of her, she felt her senses tingle. She felt like she was being watched and it was a feeling she'd experienced more than a few times in her life.
Blake, careful not to appear suspicious, began scanning discreetly around her, noting if anyone appeared to be looking in their general direction, but she found nobody's behavior in the immediate vicinity to be alarming or an indicator of being spied on.
Then her eyes shifted to a nearby tree, where there was a lone crow perched on a low-hanging branch. Its eyes were red and an odd sight, but what was even more odd was how it looked at her.
No, not the faunus herself.
… it was looking at the half-sisters.
Then it flapped its wings and took off.
Did I just imagine that? Or was that crow… watching us?
It sounded insane when she said it in her mind. Crows were smart birds, but they weren't at the levels of humans and faunus.
It was just an odd sight.
Halo - - - RWBY
1715 Hours
The Master Chief saw that Ruby and Yang were present with Belladonna, so he decided that his watch was no longer needed, so he decided to go exploring more.
Despite not being a conversationalist, he recognized that for their indefinite stay here, he'd need to cooperate with these people, hence why he was getting to know their faces, what they did, and potentially if he could use their skills and services. There were a few that he had in mind, but he didn't want to discount anyone.
As long as the spartan kept his professionalism and was polite, he could reasonably expect to get what he needed. Granted, some of these people did love to talk and it took a bit to sift through the excess to find out what he really needed, but he managed just fine. He was used to these kinds of interactions.
Once he was finished speaking with the local fruit merchant, he decided to head down the path heading into the main square of Watertown.
"You the Master Chief?"
It was a male voice, unrecognizable. Immediately, he was on alert, but the fact that they were out in the open prevented him from drawing his weapons and starting a panic, so he carefully turned around to face the person who'd called him out.
He took in the most basic traits of the male quickly. Black hair, red eyes, tall but lean build, cross hanging by the neck, red cape, dress shirt, and dress pants, and finally what looked to be a weapon of some kind holstered around his back hip.
Behind his visor, John narrowed his eyes. "Who are you?"
"Name's Qrow Branwen." The man's name didn't ring a bell, but his next words did interest him. "I'm the uncle of Ruby and Yang."
The armored giant immediately looked at the stranger's facial features. He could see some resemblance with the blonde and the red eyes when she became angry might be a genetic holdover from this side of the family.
The Master Chief decided to file that one for later. "What's your mission here?"
He had a good idea or two.
"Can't an uncle look after his family?" The man appeared nonchalant, but those were the eyes of a killer. "Especially given that they're traveling with someone that I can't quite piece together."
…he'd been observing them.
The taller man remained on guard. "You disapprove."
"Not necessarily." Qrow looked left and right, then lowered his voice. "I think we've got a lot to talk about. Follow me."
Then huntsman turned to walk off; for a moment, the spartan stared at the retreating man before following quietly.
This might be the time to get answers assuming he's telling the truth.
This man Qrow is being weird, so I thought I'd fix that. Plus, this conversation's long overdue. A lot to talk about. Bear in mind that this isn't Taiyang.
And if you didn't catch a hint of what's to come, it's there in the chapter. I'll let you guys theorize what's to come.
Thoughts on this chapter? Reviews and feedback are appreciated.
Thanks for reading.
"War never takes a wicked man by chance, the good man always."
Sophocles
