Super RWBY IF Chapter 12: Fought in Reach? (Part 2), a Mario + RWBY Crossover fanfic

Ibuki: Disclaimer! The author does not own any of the material appearing in the story. The OC's belong to their respective owners!

BGM: Hades' Infernal Theme (Kid Icarus: Uprising)

"Time! Space! Reality! It's more than just a boring ol' linear path! It's a prism of boundless entertainment! A single choice can branch out into infinite realities and infinite amusement from yours truly! Alternate universes created from the ones that we know and love! I am Lord Hades, your handsome guide to these wonderful and boundless fun of opportunities! Follow me, if you dare… and bask in the neverending torturous question of:"

SUPER RWBY: WHAT IF?

"What If!"

End BGM

"So, the last time we left our heroes, the Winter Contingency was making their lives a living hell and the Covenant seemed to be one step ahead of them. Luckily the Noble Team is putting a stop to their rampage, but will they keep up the momentum? Let's watch the fun!"

What If… RWBY Fought In Reach? (Part 2)

"Personally, I'm rooting for the Covenant. Come on, you should know me by now!"

A large UNSC squadron consisting of Warthogs, Scorpions, Falcons and one Mongoose charged toward their destination.

BGM: Tempest Perimeter (Halo Reach)

"It appears that Noble Team's discovery last night was not an anomaly." Dot began. "Large Covenant deployments have occurred undetected and we are now under attack across the Viery territory, including orbital defenses. As per the Winter Contingency, we are countering on every front. Noble's reconnaissance has also identified sophisticated Covenant army-hiding canopies… and has pin pointed what's believed to be a landing zone for additional Covenant forces, the origin of which is yet to be determined."

The squadron continued to advance ahead, where Banshees started to appear in the distance, charging at the advancing squadron.

"That landing zone has been tagged by UNSC command as a priority one target." Weiss said from inside a Falcon.

"Discharge link is loud and clear!" Blake called out.

"Copy that! Acquiring signal lock on the pylon." Pyrrha said, riding alongside Ruby who was driving the Warthog. She pulled out a detonator. "Detonating in three, two…" She pressed the button as the pylon exploded on the cliffside.

After that, the Banshees shot at them while large plasma shots from Wraiths rained down at the squadron. The Warthog and Falcon gunmen returned fire while a Wraith shot nailed a Warthog as the Banshees flew past the Warthogs.

"Turn left at bridge." The GPS in the Warthog spoke up.

Some of the Warthogs crossed the bridge, however a Wraith blew up the bridge right in front of Ruby and Pyrrha. "Oh crap!" Ruby yelped as a Warthog in front of them swerved out of the way as the duo went airborne.

"You might want to hold on to something!"

"Panic in midair."

The Warthog slammed on its roof and started rolling until it came to a complete stop on its side while both Pyrrha and Ruby were sprawled out.

"Please flip car right side up."

End BGM

"Uuungh…" Ruby groaned, getting up and noticing her helmet near her. She picked it up and put it back on as she turned around to see a Warthog attempting a jump, only to just miss and exploded, falling into the canyon below.

BGM: Alien Ground (Halo Reach)

"Six! Are you alright? Six!" Pyrrha said as she had sprung back up. "I could use some help over here!"

"On my way…" Ruby shook it off. Alright, A game! Let's go! She thought as two Banshees destroyed what was left of the Warthog that the women were using as Covenant forces approached them. Ruby picked up the Grenade Launcher lying near her.

"Pyrrha, Six, what's your status?" Weiss asked.

"Pylons are down! We're pushing up the hill!" Pyrrha responded as Ruby switched to her DMR as the two proceeded to shoot down the Covenant charging at them as a few of them managed to get Ruby's shields down, forcing her to take cover as Pyrrha shot down the Skirmishers and Elites that put Ruby's shields in the red.

"Thanks!" Ruby smiled as she switched to her grenade launcher and shot at the two Fuel Rod Shade turrets, blowing them up as Pyrrha took out the stragglers. Ruby looked around right after. "Alright, area secure!" She said as a Pelican flew over them.

"Pyrrha, be advised: ONI has identified two hostile anti-aircraft guns southwest of your location." Weiss said.

"Copy, commander."

End BGM

The Pelican hovered over them, dropping a Rocket Warthog near the duo. "Ooooh, Rocket Hog!" Ruby's eyes sparkled over it.

"Now's no time to be fangirling, Six. We have a new target. We need to destroy those AA guns. You commandeer the Rocket Hog and we'll get there in one piece."

"...Pyrrha, did you just admit that your driving sucks?"

"No, you're just the better driver."

"Oookay." Ruby snickered as she got in the Rocket Hog.

BGM: Drumrun (Halo Reach)

"Also, just to warn you… the Rocket Hog has a bit of a kick to it." Pyrrha explained.

"Now what do you mean by-" Ruby hit the throttle as the Rocket Hog did a wheelie. "KIIIIIIIIICK!" She yelled as the Rocket Hog dropped down on its wheels and drove off. "Whoa, this thing's faster than the actual Warthog!"

"Told ya!"

Ruby swerved at the corner and drove off a small ledge that used to have a man made ramp. She then drifted another corner and drove off, where they saw the first AA gun up ahead.

"Six, AA gun should be within sight." Weiss said.

"I see it!"

"Two Lima Four to Noble One, those guns are pounding us with high velocity plasma shells!"

"Which would mean a strike by the UNSC frigate Grafton is also out of the question." Dot mentioned.

"Noble Six, all our birds are stuck out of range unless you do something about those guns!" Weiss explained.

"On it!" Ruby nodded as she noticed Pyrrha climbing out of the passenger seat and getting on the rocket seat. "What are you-"

"Drive by them!" Pyrrha requested as Ruby nodded, driving alongside the road as Pyrrha fired rocket hell on the Covenant, blasting them away while Ruby ran over a few Jackals that tried to stop them with their plasma shields, but to no avail.

Ruby drifted a corner as Pyrrha took out the stragglers as Ruby hopped out and went inside the AA gun, while Pyrrha noticed an unmanned Ghost. "Hmmm…" Pyrrha mused as Ruby found the generator that was powering up the gun. She aimed her grenade launcher and fired a grenade inside, where both the grenade and the generator exploded.

The AA gun powered down, followed by an alarm as Ruby quickly ran out where the AA gun exploded behind her. The shockwave was enough to shove her into the Rocket Hog. "Oooof!"

End BGM

"Control, Two Lima Four: Permission to request bombing runs, heading two-two-four-point-six, over."

"Good work, Noble Six." Weiss praised. "UNSC air support: skies are clear."

"Copy. Two Lima Four, bombing run heading two-two-four point six, permission granted - out."

"You alright, Ruby?"

Ruby turned around. "Yeah, i'm fi-... whoa!" Ruby aimed the grenade launcher at the Ghost.

"Whoa! At ease!"

"...Pyrrha?"

"Apparently we can use the Covenant vehicles to our advantage." Pyrrha said.

"But isn't alien technology hard to figure out?"

"Apparently not!"

Suddenly, shots exploded behind them as they turned to see three Longswords and two Frigates coming in to bomb what was left of the AA gun.

The two of them drove near the cliffside, spotting the airships unleashing hellfire on a few Scarabs that were in the midst of a battle with Scorpions and Falcons.

"Come on. They're having their fight. We have ours." Pyrrha said.

"But hang on a second. Who's gonna commandeer the rockets while you're in the Ghost?"

"Ah!" Pyrrha hopped out and hopped into the rocket seat. "Don't move." She said as she began tweaking with it as Ruby looked at her curiously. "There we go!" She hopped out as the rocket mount moved on its own. "I made a modification to where it can fire at any Covenant forces that move without the need of a gunner."

"Oh wow!"

"Now let's move."

BGM: Eyes on the Prize (Halo Reach)

"Let's go take out that other AA gun." Ruby said as they drove off with Pyrrha losing ground behind Ruby.

"Hmmm… what's this one do?" Pyrrha hit a button, causing the Ghost to boost. "Whoa! Alright, now we're talking!" She said as she drove side by side with Ruby as they both turned the corner as the rockets fired and destroyed a Wraith within seconds as Pyrrha shot down some Grunts as they crossed a bridge and continued driving through the canyon.

"There's a mining facility near your positions. The Covenant are using it as a command outpost. Troopers on-site have already engaged."

The duo soon made it at the factor as Ruby drifted and came to a stop as the Rocket Hog automatically laid waste to the Covenant in front of the Marines, also destroying a Shade turret in the process while Pyrrha walked out, pulling out her own grenade launcher as some Jackals and Elites fired at her from on the roof.

Pyrrha aimed her grenade launcher and fired a couple of grenades, landing on the roof and landing near the Covenant as the grenades exploded and launched a few off of the roof.

"You're welcome." Pyrrha said to the Marines as she and Ruby walked into the factory.

"New intelligence: Friendly forces near the Covenant outpost have spotted a high value target. An Elite Zealot, in fact." Dot mentioned

"A zealot?" Pyrrha asked in surprise. "We're onto something big here, Commander."

"Eyes on the prize, Noble. Take out that Zealot when you get the chance, but keep moving toward the spire."

"Copy that." Ruby nodded as they moved throughout the factory, shooting down Skirmishers and Grunts along the way as Ruby fired a grenade near a fuel tank, unleashing a huge explosion that wiped out some forces along the way as they went into the area where Pyrrha had shot her grenade launcher at.

A Jackal that had survived weakly reached for his Plasma Pistol, only for Ruby to shoot him in the head without even looking as they went further in, spotting the Zealot dead ahead. "There he is!" Pyrrha said as the Elite pulled out a Plasma Launcher and fired at the two, forcing them to dive out of the way as Ruby fired her grenade launcher in return, striking the Elite as he jumped down as Ruby did the same, both of them meeting each other.

Both of them charged as they both swung their weapons into their faces, but their weapons clashed against each other as the Elite snarled at her as Ruby grunted, both of them struggling to gain the upper hand… until Pyrrha snuck up behind him and stabbed him in the back. The Elite roared as Ruby shoved the grenade launcher into his mouth and pulled the trigger, making him swallow it, as the grenade exploded inside of him where he fell limp.

"What's wrong, split lip? I thought you Zealots were better than that!" Ruby taunted.

"Don't get a big head. We just got lucky." Pyrrha warned, picking up the Plasma Launcher.

"Come oooon, it's bragging rights!" Ruby said as they walked further ahead until they saw two Grunts trying to drive away on Ghosts, but Pyrrha tagged them with the Plasma Launcher, where said plasma bolts exploded before they could get away.

End BGM

Ruby spotted a Revenant near them as she hopped inside. "Need a lift?"

"Sure." Pyrrha nodded, climbing in as the two drove off, plowing down any defenses as Ruby pulled the trigger as the Revenant fired and took down several Grunts in the way.

"Ooooh baby! I like this one~!" Ruby smiled as they kept going.

"Update, you two: Scans show another Covenant AA gun ahead of your location. I want you to neutralize that gun, by any means necessary." Weiss informed.

"Copy that." Ruby said as the Revenant rounded the corner and saw the AA gun up ahead, and then also spotted a large group of Covenant forces… that the Revenant easily took care of. However, Ruby spotted a Wrath.

"Hmm… Pyrrha, take the wheel!" Ruby said as she climbed up and got on the hood of the Revenant.

"Huh?! What are you doing?"

"Trust me, I have an idea. Charge at that Wraith!"

"Okay…" Pyrrha drove toward the Wraith, activating the boost as Ruby knelt down, Armor Locking as the Wraith's gunner opened fire. "Just one question, Ruby… what if you miss?"

BGM: Fist Under Hand (Halo Reach)

"I won't." Ruby smirked and just as the Revenant slammed into the Wraith right as Ruby got out of Armor Lock. She jumped over toward the Wraith and tore open the hatch. "Hey there!" She pulled the Elite out of the seat and tossed him overboard as she hopped inside where Pyrrha backed away and ran over the Elite for good measure.

"Alright, you Covenant bastards." Ruby turned the Wraith around. "Let's party!" She charged ahead, firing at the rest of the Covenant forces as another Wraith opened fire at Ruby, but with her and Pyrrha's help, the Wraith was immediately destroyed as Ruby's Wraith was hit by powerful plasma shots.

"You got two Hunters coming at you!"

"Not for long!" Ruby turned it around and opened fire, laying waste on the Hunters as they attempted to block with their shields from both Revenant and Wraith fire, both of them going down within seconds as Ruby aimed the wraith and fired at the AA gun, quickly destroying it while Pyrrha fired at some Drones that tried to shoot at Ruby.

"I never liked those Yanme-e…" Pyrrha mumbled as they spotted a Phantom coming in, only for it to get destroyed when Ruby shot at it a few times, destroying the Grunt reinforcements.

End BGM

"Area secure!" Pyrrha said.

"Well done. ONI needs close up recon on those Spires, we're gonna fly you the rest of the way." Weiss said.

"Yang has a Falcon inbound to your position, Lieutenant." Pyrrha mentioned as she got out of the Revenant while Ruby hopped out of the Wraith as a Falcon flew in while a Pelican landed with some Marines. "Commander, I'm going to set up a forward observation post here."

"Copy that, I'm waiting on new intel. See what you can see. Weiss out."

"Need a lift, Ruby?" Yang asked.

"Yup!" Ruby hopped into the Falcon, the two giving each other a hug before Ruby manned a grenade launcher turret.

"Spotted some nasty business in the canyon on the way down." Yang explained.

"I'll call out targets as we go!" The pilot said as the Falcon took off.

BGM: Unreconciled (Halo Reach)

The Falcon flew through the canyon, all of them having their eyes peeled as they would come across a bridge with some Grunts and an Elite. Ruby aimed and fired, blasting away the Covenant on the bridge as they kept going.

As they continued on, Ruby would see a Wraith on the ground and opened fire, blowing away some Grunts and an Elite, destroying the Wraith in the process while on the other side, Yang manned the other and destroyed two Wraiths that were attempting to fire at them.

"Oh, were there more?" Ruby asked.

"Not anymore!" Yang grinned as she got back in her seat as the Falcon continued to fly off, Ruby picking off stragglers while doing so as they saw the spire dead ahead, but it was shielded.

"There's the spire!" The pilot said.

"What's that shield?" Ruby wondered.

"Latest intel suggests these spires may be projecting electromagnetic cloaking shields." Dot said.

"Oh great, an EMP as a shield…" Ruby groaned as the Falcon stopped just near the shield.

"Priority one, pilot! We gotta know what's in there." Yang said.

"Affirmative, ma'am. Here we go…"

"You sure about this?" Ruby asked.

"It's the only choice we have." Yang responded as the Falcon went through the shield, only to lose power instantly and spun violently.

End BGM

"We just lost all power! We're going down!"

"Lock your armor, Ruby!"

"Brace for a hard landing!"

The Falcon crashed a few seconds later.

BGM: Hard Landing (Halo Reach)

"Uuuugh…" Ruby groaned, getting up from the crash and shaking it off. She noticed her helmet had slipped off and landed in a small puddle of water. She picked it up, shook the water off and put it back on as Yang got up from the other side of the Falcon and shook it off. "What's the status on the rest of the crew?"

"They're all dead. We shouldn't be here." Yang said, picking up her minigun.

Ruby sighed. "I was afraid of that." She said as the two of them walked off and laid hellfire on any of the Covenant that came into contact with them, as Ruby dodged a Skirmisher that had a Concussion Rifle and shot him down as they kept going up the hill until they saw the spire. Ruby dropped her grenade launcher and picked up a Needle Rifle.

"Commander, we got eyes on the spire. Looks like a staging area."

"Copy, we have your visual. Dot's working the problem, standing by."

The two of them got to the top of the hill, spotting a Phantom flying away from the spire.

"Noble Five, ONI believes those spires to be teleportation terminals."

"Teleporters? Linked to what?" Yang wondered.

"Frigate Grafton is on-station ready to kill that spire, but first we need to power down the shields!" Weiss said.

"Understood. Ruby, I'll hold these bastards off. You find a way into that spire."

"You got it." Ruby nodded, the two of them doing a fist bump as Ruby ran in while Yang proceeded to turn everyone into swiss cheese. Ruby saw an opening as she went inside while a Banshee flew overhead and shot at her. Ruby kept running as the bullets grazed her heels as she went inside, forcing the Banshee to turn around as Ruby found a lift and hopped inside.

End BGM

BGM: Spire One (Halo Reach)

"Noble Leader, Six is on her way up." Yang said, shooting down the Banshee.

"You know what to do, Ruby. Take down that shield! I'm en route with a Falcon, we'll pick you up as soon as you knock that shield down."

Ruby got up on the top floor, pulling out her Needle Rifle and proceeding to shoot down any Grunt that was in her way. "Wait… this is too easy. Wasn't there an Elite that-"

She shifted her eyes, noticing an Elite swinging his Energy Sword down as Ruby jumped back as she shot at him, but he blocked with his Energy Sword, forcing her outside as the Elite lunged and cut through the Needle Rifle, severing it in half as the Elite got on top of Ruby.

"You fool. You think you have won! But we are close to exterminating your pitiful race!" He raised his Energy Sword up in the air. "Any last words, pitiful human?"

"Yeah. I'm not an ordinary pitiful human!" She rolled him off where he fell off but grabbed the ledge as Ruby got up. "I'm a Spartan!" She declared, raising her foot into the air.

The Elite growled. "May your pathetic race burn in the ashes! " He said as Ruby shoved her foot into his face to make him fall, but as he did, he landed right on a Banshee where he kicked out another Elite that was inside. The Banshee turned around and fired, forcing Ruby inside the spire as the Banshee turned around and flew away.

"Coward." Ruby chuckled as she walked over and turned off the shields.

End BGM

BGM: Long Night of Solace (Halo Reach)

Ruby sprinted through the spire as the shields went down, leaping off toward the Falcon as Yang leaned over and grabbed Ruby's wrist, pulling her in. "Get us out of here!" Weiss ordered as the Falcon flew off.

"Control, this is Noble One, Spire One is green and you're free to engage. Have a nice day."

"Copy that, Noble One. Be advised, all ground units: Frigate Three-One-Eight heavy is inbound, and MAC rounds have been authorized."

"MAC rounds?" Yang asked in disbelief. "In atmosphere?"

"That's one way to get their attention. Hang on to your teeth, people!" Weiss said as the Frigate flew past them and unleashed a MAC round to destroy the Spire.

…However, the victory was short lived as a powerful energy projector beam struck the Grafton, causing it to fall toward the ground.

"New contact: High tonnage."

"No… NO! Somebody tell me this ain't happening!" Yang exclaimed in shock as they would see a Covenant Supercarrier above them, orbiting part of the planet.

"UNSC frigate Grafton, do you copy?"

"Grafton is dust! We need to get out of here NOW!" Weiss exclaimed as they flew away.

End BGM

"Dun dun duuuuuuun!" Hades chuckled. "Score one for the Covenant! …Anywho, here's the next phase!"

BGM: Kat's Plan (Halo Reach)

A Scarab walked past a cave, as Blake, Yang and Ruby quickly made it inside as the Scarab continued to walk past them.

"Our foe is more devious than we imagined. That spire was indeed a teleporter linked to a cloaked Covenant supercarrier, a grave threat." Dot explained. "Thankfully, sixty percent of the UNSC fleet is en route to Reach from existing deployments. The first battle group should arrive within forty eight hours."

"Forty eight hours?!" Blake asked as she took off her helmet. "That's imminent?" She would then look at Yang. "Uh oh. Who's your money on this time?"

"Her." Yang said, referring to Pyrrha who was chatting with Weiss.

"You always pick her."

"She's always had her dialed in."

"That thing's crushing us and we're waiting for back up? They'll be backing up a graveyard." Pyrrha mumbled.

"All our nukes are either out-system or went down with the ships that carried them." Weiss explained. "You're preaching to the converted."

"How converted?"

"...I know that look, Pyrrha."

"You can say no."

"No."

"You don't even want to hear it?"

Weiss sighed. "Fine. Let's hear it."

"Remember that accident a couple years back? Colony ship en route to Cygnus. Seven hundred dead?"

"Vaguely. A slip space malfunction, right?"

"Actually, it worked fine. The drive was mounted improperly after a service haul out. When it fired, it teleported half the ship to oblivion."

"And this is relevant how?"

Pyrrha smiled. "A certain Covenant supercarrier could, with some assistance, suffer the same unfortunate accident~"

Weiss grimaced. "Even for you, Pyrrha, that's…"

"Inspired?"

"...Not the word I would use."

Yang and Cardin walked up to them. "What's going on?" Yang asked.

"Go ahead, explain." Weiss mumbled as Pyrrha reached for Cardin's knife, but he stopped her by grabbing her arm.

"May I?"

Cardin sighed. "Don't cut yourself." He said as Pyrrha took his knife and knelt down to the ground as Ruby and Blake approached them.

"Objective? Destroy Covenant carrier in geosynchronous orbit above us." Pyrrha began as she started drawing on the ground.

"This sanctioned, ma'am?" Yang asked Weiss.

"What do you think?"

"Oooh…"

"Method? A slipspace drive in lieu of the nukes we don't have." Pyrrha continued. "Delivery system? Us. Solvable? Getting us up there. That, and getting our hands on a slipspace drive." She handed the knife back to Cardin. "Thank you for sharing~!"

"So... all we need is orbit-capable transport, and the single most expensive piece of equipment made by man?" Weiss asked.

"As a soldier in the field I couldn't possibly have access to those kinds of resources. That said, a good place to look might be... I don't know, the nearest nonexistent launch site in the nonexistent Sabre Program, dismissed by three administrations as preposterous rumor... And in which our newest member was certainly never a pilot."

Everyone looked to Ruby. "...Um… why are you looking at me like that?" Ruby asked.

Cardin looked at Pyrrha. "You're scary, you know that?"

"All we need is a green light from Ironwood."

Weiss scoffed. "Good luck with that."

Pyrrha handed Weiss a data pad. "You're the one asking him~" She smiled, giving her a wink, causing Weiss to sweatdrop.

"Ooooh… there's no way in hell he's going to go for this." Weiss said with a sigh, bracing for the worst.

End BGM

Later…

BGM: Aliens, Beaches, Secret Launch Stations (Halo Reach)

"I cannot BELIEVE he green lit this!" Weiss grumbled to herself as a Falcon landed on the ground near the facility, dropping her, Pyrrha, Yang and Ruby off.

"It's a bit of a hike to the facility." Yang said.

"Anywhere closer is too hot to land."

"Copy that." Pyrrha nodded.

"Let's move… and Pyrrha? You can stop being smug."

"What? What did I do?" Pyrrha chuckled. "You're the one who asked him."

"You're the one who proposed it! Oi…" Weiss shook her head as they rounded the corner as drop pods slammed into the ground as Elites burst through as they proceeded to open fire on the team, where they fired back, all of them taking cover as one Elite flanked them, only for Weiss to trip him up and proceeded to impale him in the back of the neck, she then grabbed the Energy Sword after killing him.

"Thank you!" She said, rushing in and cutting through the Covenant with the trio shooting at the rest of them as they closer to the facility, running up a hill and taking down any Jackals or Elites that got in their way, as an Elite was cut down from Weiss as the energy run out and made the Energy Sword useless.

A Grunt pointed and laughed at Weiss, only for her to throw the dead Energy Sword into his face. "Oooof!" He grunted in a daze as she pulled out her DMR and fired at his head shortly after where they approached the front steps of the facility.

End BGM

BGM: Dead Ahead (Halo Reach)

"Spartans coming in! Watch your fire!" A female Marine called out as more drop pods came crashing down as the four turned around and opened fire until the Grunts and Jackals were destroyed.

"Flight control's this way! They're expecting you!" Another marine said, while outside, an AA gun opened fire and shot at a Seraph, causing it to lose control where it slammed into the base and exploded into the wall, killing several marines in the explosion while rocking the base, knocking the four off their feet.

A Rocket Launcher slid toward Weiss as she picked it up and walked toward the hole in the wall, seeing a Wraith being dropped in by a Dropship as it opened fire. Weiss moved out of the way and then returned fire with the rocket, destroying the Wraith within seconds. "How do you like that!" Weiss said.

"I still can't believe Ironwood said yes to this." Yang said.

"Some plans are too good to say no." Pyrrha said.

"Let's get that Sabre up before he changes his mind." Weiss said as they walked through the hallways as an Elite kicked a Marine toward a wall. The moment he laid eyes on the Spartans, a rocket already kissed his face, sending him flying toward the wall and Weiss fired another one to kill him just in case.

"I think you're having too much fun with that." Ruby said.

"It's a rocket launcher, who wouldn't?" Weiss responded as they made their way further into a dark room… until the windows opened up to reveal the Sabre ready to launch.

End BGM

"Yang, Six, get to the Sabre before the Covenant wreck it." Weiss ordered.

"What about you and Pyrrha?"

"Blake's on her way with a Falcon, we'll exfil after you launch. Move!"

"You heard her, Rubes." Yang said as she and Ruby made their way to the Sabre. "Shotgun~!"

"Shotgu-... crap!" Ruby groaned as they boarded the Sabre.

"You know how to fly?"

"Um… I know how to drive a Rocket Hog!"

"Think of this like a Rocket Hog… but with wings!"

Ruby sweatdropped. "How is that supposed to make sense?" She asked as the Sabre launched up into space with several other Sabres. They would soon find themselves in space and the booster rockets detached from the Sabre, leaving them both in Reach's orbit as Ruby punched it forward and flew toward the space station, Anchor Nine

BGM: Orbital Periods (Halo Reach)

"Noble Actual to Sabre Bravo-Oh-Two-Niner, over."

"Copy, Actual. General Ironwood?" Yang responded.

"Affirmative, Noble Five. Welcome to Operation: UPPERCUT. I'll be your control from here on out."

"Understood!"

"...Noble Six, I'm seeing your Sabre flying a bit wonky. Is everything okay?"

"Oh yeah, just peachy! Just uh… not used to flying!"

"Understandable. Take some time to get used to the controls while also rendezvousing with the frigate Savannah."

"Um, Ironwood? This is UNSC Savannah. They're gonna have to take a raincheck on getting used to the controls because we got multiple bogies inbound!"

"Well, Noble Six. You might as well get used to the controls in a fire fight. Good luck!"

"GOOD LUCK?!" Ruby said in disbelief.

"You'll be fine!" Yang smiled.

"Easier said than done!" Ruby groaned.

"Anchor Nine to all UNSC ships: Station defenses are down. Requesting combat support until we can get them back online!"

Ruby paled. "...Oh joy…" She groaned as they turned around and started firing at the Banshees that were coming in. The Banshees were wiped out within seconds as Ruby got more used to the controls, and then Seraphs came in as Ruby started shooting them.

"Hey Rubes, once their shields are down, hit 'em with rockets!"

"...This thing has rockets?" Ruby asked as she destroyed the shields and pressed the other button, firing four rockets that destroyed a Seraph. "Ooooh baby!"

"That's more like it!" Yang grinned as more Seraphs came in, only for the Sabres to shoot them all dow, only for more to come in as Phantoms joined the fray.

"Phantoms? You gotta be kidding me." Ruby said.

"Anchor Nine to all UNSC ships: station defenses are back online. Clear the lane, we'll light 'em up."

"Well, that didn't take long!" Ruby said, quickly doing a barrel roll to get out of the way as the space station fired everything to destroy the Phantom ships, where the remaining Banshees and Seraphs retreated.

"Anchor Niner to UNSC ships: all targets neutralized. Bravo-Oh-Two-Niner, you are clear to dock."

End BGM

"Here we go…" Yang said as Ruby gently docked the Sabre into the station. "Alright, I'm heading to that Pelican over there."

BGM: My Heart Breaks (Halo Reach)

"By walking?"

"I'm gonna need that override."

"Huh? …Ooooh." Ruby nodded as she pressed some buttons on the cockpit.

"Warning: M-Spec re-entry-" The cockpit opened. "Cockpit depressurization complete. Canopy release lever: armed."

Yang climbed out, using the Sabre as a launching pad as she glided over toward the Pelican. As she did, she looked down at the planet below, plasmic nuclear explosions was seen from space. "...That breaks my heart…" She mumbled to herself.

"Noble Five? Please repeat." Dot said.

"Pull up surface grid, nineteen by twenty two."

"Gladly. ONI Sword Base: Sector Eighteen-G."

"Thermal enhance."

"...Noble Five, your pulse is elevated. There is nothing you can do for Doctor Halsey and the others inside Sword Base. The mathematics are determinate… Noble Five?"

"I know." Yang nodded as she reached the Pelican and proceeded to help load a bomb into the ship.

"Bravo Oh-Two-Niner, you're cleared to reengage thrusters."

"Noble Six? This is Ironwood."

"Go ahead." Ruby said as she backed out.

"We've flagged a corvette class vessel on a predicted docking track with our target. Get our makeshift bomb on that corvette, and we have our delivery system. Noble Five will escort the bomb. I need your Sabre team to clear the way for boarding."

"Understood."

"As she's already donated her slipspace drive to the cause, the Savannah will be joining you to provide local fire support."

"UNSC Savannah. Our wings may be clipped, but we've got your back!"

"Good." Ruby nodded as the Sabres and Savannah proceeded onward to their destination.

"I've stuck my neck out for Noble on this one, Lieutenant."

"We'll get it done, general. Six out." Ruby said as she gripped her hands on the thrusters, taking a deep breath. I did this with Yang… I can do it without. She thought as they took off.

End BGM

Once they got to the Corvette…

"Target Corvette sighted within visual range of NAV Beacon RA-Fifteen."

"We have visual. Target confirmed!" Ruby said as they flew toward the Corvette. However, she also noticed the Supercarrier out toward the horizon. She gripped the thruster tightly, recalling what happened earlier.

"Frigate Savannah in position. Sabre teams, sound off."

"Echo one: All systems nominal."

"Echo Two: Good to go!"

"Echo Three: Systems green!"

"Echo Four: All systems online!"

"Er… Echo Five, I'm… good to go? Agh, you took all the good ones!" Ruby mumbled as she heard chuckling from the other pilots.

"Solid copy. We are currently jamming the Corvette's comms. Hit it hard while it can't call for help."

"Yeah, but it can still go for help!" Ruby pointed out as they started taking down Banshees. "What if we took out those engines? Make the space trek to that supercarrier a little harder for the Covenant."

"She's right! If we clip those engines, it'll make things easier, Ironwood!"

"Copy that, Savannah. Hit those engines hard!"

"Uh, we got company! We got multiple impulse drive signatures detected, more bogies incoming!"

"Echo Two to Savannah Actual, where are the reinforcements coming from?"

"Must be squadrons coming back from patrol, Echo Two."

"Don't let them get away, Sabres! Kill 'em before they bug out and warn the supercarrier what we're up to! Also, make sure you cover Noble Six!"

"Echo Four to Noble Six, I've got your back!"

"Echo One to Noble Six, so have I!"

"Good, now let's take these engines out!" Ruby smirked as she proceeded to shoot the engines while the other Sabres shot down Banshees and Seraphs while she shot out the four engines, where she had to turn around as she was getting dangerously close to the engines and then finished off the rest.

"Alright, their engines are clipped!"

"Excellent, Noble Six. That'll make boarding easier. Sabres, get on the Corvette's topside immediately!'

BGM: Boarding Action - The Ardent Prayer (Halo Reach)

The Sabres landed on top of the Corvette, Ruby hopping out and landing as an Elite Ranger flew up to investigate, only to get killed by Ruby when she shot him down, grabbing his ankle and tossing him into the vacuum of space.

"The Savannah's countermeasures won't work forever. Find a way inside, and permanently disable the cruiser's communications. As soon as we're sure the corvette can't squawk, we're initiate Operation UPPERCUT phase two!"

"Copy that." Ruby hopped inside with the other marines where Ruby assassinated an unsuspecting Elite while the marines shot down the Grunts. Another Elite turned around and opened fire, hitting Ruby where she returned fire with her Assault Rifle, gunning him down while her shields took a hit, but recharged as Ruby shot up the communications to disable them.

"There we go. Permanently muted. We're all good over here, Ironwood!"

"Ironwood to Savannah, enemy comm relay is now offline."

"Copy that. Halting counter measures, diverting all power and personnel to weapons."

"Alright, Noble. Let's get that slipspace bomb on board. Head to the hanger ASAP!"

"Let's roll." Ruby said as they went through the doorway and shot down any Covenant that got in their way, Ruby picking up a Needle Rifle while doing so as they went into the hanger, noticing the Covenant had some overshields.

"What the hell? Why are they protected?" A marine wondered.

"Up there!" Ruby pointed toward an Engineer. "That thing's probably protecting them." She said as they proceeded to lay waste to the Engineer, which in turn, caused the overshields to disappear as the Marines charged ahead and shot at everything while Ruby stared at the Engineer, frowning.

"...Why do I feel dirty?" She wondered to herself, walking over to it and gently closed its eyes before grabbing a Plasma Rifle and shooting the remaining Covenant down.

End BGM

"I'm approaching the corvette. Close down the shields, Ruby. I need in!" Yang requested.

"Got it." Ruby nodded, looking around for the controls. "Shields… shields… ah, here we are!" She pressed the button.

BGM: Powder Keg (Halo Reach)

The pelican flew into the hanger, gently landing as Yang and several marines hopped out. "Powder keg is aboard, general." Yang said.

"Copy that. Six, get your fireteam to the bridge: The Corvette's refueling run with the supercarrier will have to be initiated manually."

"Yes, sir."

"Five, stay with the bomb. And discourage the curious."

"Copy that. You hear that, Ruby? I'll be all by my lonesome back here. Make it quick, would ya?" She teased, lifting her helmet to give her a wink as Ruby chuckled.

"Don't have too much fun without me."

"Eh, that'll be impossible." Yang chuckled, both of them fist bumping as Yang put her helmet back on.

"We won't be long!" Ruby said as she walked off, picking up some plasma grenades and noticing a sniper rifle. "Ooooh!" She picked it up and strapped it to her back, then she and the marines went off while taking out some Grunts in the hallway.

End BGM

"Savannah to Ironwood: Sustaining major structural damage! We need to break off, General!"

"Copy, Savannah. Our team is in, disengage!"

"That doesn't sound good…" Ruby said as they reached a new room where they saw three Elites manning the guns and shooting at the frigate.

"Break off! Break off! Hull breach, reactors flaring! Dammit, I'm losing her!"

Ruby immediately shot all three down with a perfect headshot on her sniper rifle… but it was too late as they would see the Frigate exploding. "No!" Ruby exclaimed as they ran toward the plasma shielded window, watching what was left of the frigate drift away.

BGM: Lost With All Hands - Belly of the Beast (Halo Reach)

"Savannah Actually, can you read me?"

The Marines said nothing, closing their eyes in silence while Ruby took off her helmet, not believing what she was seeing as she pounded the shield with a raised arm, closing her eyes.

At the docking station, Yang grimaced and sighed. "Frigate's gone, Ruby. There's nothing we can do."

"...Yang?"

"Yeah?"

"Are we actually going to win this?"

Yang smirked. "Don't worry, we're gonna save Reach by any means necessary." She said as she heard footsteps approach as she turned around to see the Covenant shooting at her. "Uh oh!" She aimed her minigun at them and started to return fire.

Back with Ruby…

Ruby put her helmet back on. "Ironwood, we lost her…"

"You're in deep with no cover. Get that corvette moving and get the hell out of there!"

With a nod, they all headed toward the bridge where the Covenant didn't even realize they were in there. Ruby aimed her sniper rifle at the leader, headshotting him instantly as he went down. All the Covenant turned to the group as they started firing back at them.

Ruby switched to the Plasma Rifle and returned fire, shooting down any Covenant in their way. She looked around. "Area secu-"

"AAARGH!"

"Huh?"

"Gah!"

"AAAAAGH!"

Ruby turned around, noticing the marines were already down but noticed no one was there. "What in…?" She wondered, unaware of a SpecOps Elite slowly approaching her, uncloaking and pulling out the Energy Sword.

Ruby shifted her eyes and quickly rolled out of the way to avoid getting impaled. She shot at the Elite as he lunged at her, backhanding the Plasma Rifle out of her hand as she jumped back and shot the sniper rifle, but he sucked and countered, cutting through the sniper rifle and grabbed her by the throat.

"Hahahaha… your planet will fall. Your ship has been destroyed. You have lost, human… and so will your friend. Any last words?"

"Yeah… hold this for me, will ya?" Ruby shoved a Plasma Grenade on the side of his throat, which exploded and knocked the two back. The explosion was enough to drain Ruby's shields and knocking the helmet off of her.

The two of them got up, both of them staring at the Energy Sword as they both dove for it, the two of them wrestling as the Elite punched Ruby in the face where she kicked him off of her, where the Elite got back up and lunged at her, but Ruby impaled him with the Energy Sword, kicking him down as she grabbed the Plasma Rifle and shot him up until it overheated.

End BGM

"Asshole." Ruby mumbled as she pressed the switch to make the Corvette move toward the Supercarrier.

"Ruby, I need some help over here! The Pelican's taking some heavy fire!"

"On my way!" Ruby said, picking her helmet back on as she ran back to the hanger where she regrouped with Yang and cut through any of the Covenant forces, picking up a Plasma Repeater and shooting at a fusion coil, which exploded and sent some Jackals flying away as Yang took down the remaining Elites.

"There we go." Yang said as she went back to the bomb. "Ruby, with me."

"Right!"

BGM: Make It Count (Halo Reach)

"Distance is closing on this vessel's refueling track with the Covenant supercarrier. Seventy-six seconds to endpoint." Dot said.

"Dammit…" Yang said as she tried to get the bomb to work. She let out a sigh. "So… that's how it's going to be."

"What's up?"

"Well, I got good news and bad news. This bird took some heavy fire and her thruster gimbal is toast, which means the only way off this hunk of junk is gravity."

"Ooof… that's terrible. What's the good news?"

"That was the good news."

"At current velocity, fifty three seconds to endpoint."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah…" Yang took off her helmet and dropped it. "The bad news is that the timer's fried. I'm gonna have to do it manually."

Ruby's eyes widened. "Wh-what?! But… that… that's a one way trip!"

"We all make it sooner or later… you better get going, Ruby. They're gonna be needing you down there. Listen, Reach has been good to me…" She pulled out her dog tags and handed themto Ruby.

"No… no! I won't… no! We can find another way. We can easily get off this junk together! I'm not leaving you!"

"In a perfect world, yes… but manually overriding it will cause it to detonate it instantly." She grabbed Ruby and pulled her in for a hug. "There's no escaping it, but you will." She picked her up. "Don't deny me this."

"B-but…!" Yang carried Ruby to the exit point, smiling at her and giving her a wink.

"Tell 'em to make it count."

She pushed Ruby out, making her free fall toward Reach's orbit. "Yang… YANG!" She called out to her, reaching for the Corvette… watching it light up near the supercarrier, unleashing a powerful explosion that severed the supercarrier in half. "YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAANG!"