A/N: Alrighty, time for a new story, one in new territory for me. One thing I want to clarify is that this fic will not be just "HaLo InFiNItE sToRy WiTh RuBeR rOoSe!!!" Things will be altered/added not only to incorporate Ruby's existence but to also include elements and setpieces not in the canon story. I also will accept suggestions for what could happen if it fits what I am going for or if I've already planned for it.
I'm aware that the cover shows V8 Ruby, but I want to clarify that I'm using V1 Ruby, at least for now ;). Although I write fics for fun, I'm open to critique/criticism and advice to improve the quality of the story. I hope you enjoy it!
A Huntress In A Demon's World
Chapter 1: A Strange World, A Strange Soldier
Ruby's head ached, getting her to seethe through her teeth. She slowly opened her eyes to find herself on her knees, hands behind her back. Her eyebrows furrowed as she tried to move her arms, only for them to not budge.
She looked back to find a strange glowing rope tied around her wrists, connected to a just as strange, glowing device. She looked around the room, a large one at that. The floor and pillars were grey and metallic and she could spot was she assumed was a large door in the distance. She looked to her left to see a red and black rack holding a variety of weapons.
She watched as a five-foot...thing walked past her, wearing some orange armor over its chest, the back jutting out in a triangle of sorts. Her eyes focused on the weapon it carried.
It was purple and had pink-ish spikes coming from the top of it. Even though it wasn't in her hands, she could tell that it was a big gun, at least for someone her size. She had to admit, it was a cool gun, but ogling at weapons had to wait, she had to get out of here.
Ruby attempted to stand up, only to feel a large hand grab her shoulder and force her back down. She looked up to see an armor-wearing ape-like creature standing behind her.
"On your knees, human!" It barked.
Ruby growled as she tried to free herself from the creature's grip, "Get your hand off me!" It let go of her and continued to stand behind her. It suddenly clicked to her that Crescent Rose wasn't with her and she began to frantically look around for her weapon.
She looked over and gasped to see another creature holding her weapon, this one being a little shorter than the ape one, wearing blue armor and having weird mandibles lined with teeth. This creature looked over the weapon as another ape creature approached it.
"What is it?" The ape one asked.
"Unknown," The reptilian one replied, sounding much more professional and almost royal in comparison to the ape. "This weapon is new to us."
Crescent Rose was snatched from the reptilian one's hands as the ape one looked it over and hummed. "It must be a new development."
Ruby narrowed her eyes at them, "Leave my Crescent Rose alone!" She shouted at them.
The reptilian one raised what Ruby assumed was an eyebrow, "Crescent Rose? Is that what you call this weapon, human?"
"My name is Ruby! And yes, it's also my weapon!"
The creature snorted, "I do not care what your name is, child. I have no use for it. Your weapon is...interesting to say the least."
"You'll see how interesting she is when I get out of here!"
It was then the ape one's turn to laugh, "You'll never break out of that confinement. No human can."
Ruby smirked, "I am no mere human, weirdo alien! I happen to be a huntress, sworn to protect humanity from those who threaten us! That goes for all of you guys too!"
The creatures were not amused. The ape snorted while the reptile rumbled, moving its mandibles.
Ruby furrowed her eyebrows, "Who are you guys anyway? What do you want from me?"
The ape that was standing behind her walked in front of her.
"You know nothing of us, human?"
Ruby's eyes darted from side to side, "Uh, no?" She answered with a raised eyebrow.
"We are the Banished! The most powerful faction in the galaxy!" The ape said proudly.
"Wait, the galaxy!?" Ruby said as her jaw dropped. 'So...I'm not on Remnant. I've never heard of these guys.' She thought to herself.
"Correct." Said the reptilian one, "The UNSC has fallen, the Spartan is gone. You humans stand no chance against us."
"The UNS-what? The Spartan? I don't understand a thing you say! What are you talking about!?"
The ape growled as it rubbed its ear, "Your voice pains me, human."
The sound of whirring made the creatures look to see someone wearing green armor and a golden visor enter through another large door, getting the smaller ones to scream while the larger ones prepared themselves for battle.
"It's the Spartan!"
"Kill Spartan!"
The Spartan fired upon the creatures, taking down one of the smaller ones with a few shots. The ape that was watching Ruby took off to fight the Spartan, shooting a blue weapon at him.
An orange glow appeared as the Spartan took the shots before returning with his own. The ape roared in pain as some of the shots hit unprotected areas, spilling dark blue blood on the floor. The Spartan dashed over to the stunned ape and delivered a fist to the face, cracking its skull.
Ruby shut her eyes after that, not wanting to see any more of that.
The Spartan pressed on, taking down the creatures one by one. One of the reptilian ones, wearing red armor, swung its fist at the armored soldier. The Spartan dodged the attack and punched it in the stomach, getting it to double over in pain.
The Spartan landed a few more blows before kicking off the creature and firing his weapon at it. Blue energy popped as the creature's body was filled with bullets. The armored soldier rolled out of the range of plasma being shot at him and picked up a fusion coil and threw it at his attackers.
The fusion coil detonated on impact with the creatures, vaporizing them instantly.
The Spartan dodged a fist from one of the apes, slamming his elbow into it before killing it with rounds to the chest.
The armored individual looked around the vast and nearly empty room. Seeing nothing but corpses, and a captured little girl.
Ruby opened her eyes to the sound of footsteps approaching her. She looked up to find the Spartan looking down at her. A few seconds passed before Ruby decided to speak.
"Um, do you think you could-"
The Spartan lifted his weapon and shot at the generator that powered the "rope" that held Ruby. It exploded after a few shots, releasing Ruby. She rubbed her hand as she stood up, being much shorter than the soldier.
"Thank you."
The Spartan nodded before kneeling, " Are you injured?" He asked.
Ruby shook her head, "No, I'm fine." The young huntress' eyes widened, "Oh my gosh Crescent Rose!"
"Crescent...Rose?" The Spartan asked.
"It's my weapon!" She said, frantically looking for it. "Have you seen a red and black gun around here?"
"It's over there." He said, gesturing to Crescent Rose on the ground, near the body of one of the smaller creatures.
Ruby squealed in joy and disappeared into petals over to her weapon, hugging it tightly. The Spartan stood there, surprised that this little girl just turned into petals.
"You will never be out of my sight again!" Ruby said to her weapon, standing up. "No one will get their grubby hands on you!"
The Spartan walked over to Ruby, "How did you do that?"
She looked back at him, "Do what?"
"You dashed over here in petals."
"Oh! It's my semblance!"
"Your semblance?"
"It's like a special power everyone has, mine is where I can go so fast that I turn into rose petals!"
The Spartan nodded, "I see."
"So I guess you don't have a semblance. What about an aura?"
The Spartan shook his head, "I don't know what that is."
"Oh. Well, semblances and aura kinda go hand in hand. Semblances come from an aura, which protects you from harm."
"An energy shield?"
"Uh, yeah. Sorta like a biological energy shield. But it can decay after a while and can even shatter from too much damage."
'Quite similar to energy shields.' The Spartan hummed finding the similarity very odd, "What is your name?"
"My name's Ruby Rose. What about you?"
"You may refer to me as The Master Chief."
"Okay, is it okay if I call you Chief for short?"
Chief nodded, "Affirmative."
Ruby nodded, "Okay, so what happens now?"
"It isn't safe here. Stick with me and I'll get you out of here." He said. He turned and made his way to the other door, Ruby close behind.
"So Chief, did you know I was captured by those freaks?" She asked as the door opened.
"No. I'm here to find something, a weapon."
"Ah, must be a pretty good weapon if you're going through all this for it."
The two walked through a hallway to reach another door, which opened to reveal a large room. What caught Ruby's attention was the strange rectangular objects with a blue outline of a human floating all around.
"Whoa..."
She heard the sound of a comm crackle as a male voice spoke up, "What are those things? This is Forerunner right? I've heard the stories but man, this is crazier than I imagined."
"Um, who's that?"
"My pilot." The Chief replied.
"Chief? Who's with you?" The Pilot asked.
"A girl. She was taken prisoner by the Banished."
"A girl? How the hell did a girl end up in the Banished's hands?"
"I don't know."
"Dumb question," The Pilot started, "How do you know this isn't a trap?"
Ruby seconded this, "Do you?"
"No."
"Great...I hope this weapon of yours is worth the risk." The Pilot said before cutting off.
The Chief and Ruby approached a platform that held a terminal. Blue energy surrounded them before shrinking into the terminal. From it a blue ball formed before revealing a blue humanoid, resembling a female.
"It's been six months! Where have you been?" The small woman asked.
"What happened, where's Cortana?" The Chief asked.
Ruby looked at the woman with awe. "Cool."
"The rouge AI known as Cortana is gone. She's been deleted." The woman, who Ruby assumed was an AI, replied.
"How? By you?"
The AI looked at him, "No? Don't you remember? My instructions were to enter this installation, imitate Cortana, and lock her down for retrieval. You were supposed to take her back to the Infinity for deletion."
Ruby struggled to understand most of what the AI said, but managed to get some understanding of it.
"So if it wasn't you...okay then. There's something else, on successful deployment, my deletion routine was supposed to complete. Still here." The AI said with a small chuckle.
"Good." The Chief said.
"Good? My programming failed, I'm not supposed to be here. You need to delete me."
"Wait! Maybe you could still help!" Ruby interjected.
"She's right."
"But," The AI started, "I was made for one purpose and it's been completed. My mission is over."
"We have a new one." The Chief said as he approached the AI. "The Banished are planning to fire this ring, we have to prevent them from doing so."
Ruby raised an eyebrow, "Huh?"
"First, what's a Banished? Second, a significant piece of this installation is damaged, making that impossible. And to fire it, they would need an activation index. Cortana had the index."
"Something stopped your deletion." The Chief said as he stood face to face with the AI. "We need to find out why."
"But...this wasn't the mission."
"The missions change. They always do."
Ruby smiled softly at that. She could agree with that statement.
"Are you sure?"
The Chief reached to the back of his helmet and took out a chip, gesturing for the AI to enter it. She smiled before reaching out to it, disappearing as she entered the chip. The Chief placed the chip back into the slot as the ground shook underneath them.
Guard rails appeared around them as the platform began to move.
"Did you do that?" The Chief asked.
"No, removing me triggered a response from the Ring." The AI replied.
"Uh, miss?" Ruby said, "I didn't catch your name."
"I...I don't have one." The AI said.
Ruby gasped dramatically, "You don't? I will not stand by this! You'll have a name in no time! I just need to think of one."
Ruby couldn't tell but the AI smiled at that, "I appreciate it. And what was your name?"
"Ruby Rose."
"It's nice to meet you, Ruby Rose."
The sound of a feminine voice caught the trio's attention, a voice not too dissimilar to the AI's.
"If you knew how you were going to die...how would you live your life differently?"
"That voice...it's Cortana's." Said the Chief.
"No, it isn't her, just dust and echoes. Just data cycling until they run out of power. It's all around us."
As the platform began to move upward, another voice began.
"Today I was called an emotionless automaton. They saw the faces. Seventy-five healthy subjects. Hand-picked by me. Perfect for the program."
Ruby listened carefully to the voice, wondering what it was talking about.
"They will not all survive. I understand that and have made peace with it. Mostly. There is one subject I find myself hoping does live through this. He is perfectly suited for what is coming."
The platform came to a stop as it reached another room. The guard rails lowered and the trio disembarked as they walked up a ramp that led to another door. Ruby had her jaw agape as she watched blue transparent images of children playing.
"He's been assigned a number. 117."
The door opened before they moved past it.
"There's something up ahead." The AI said, "I can feel it calling out to me."
The group turned a corner to find Banished soldiers up ahead. Chief immediately fired on them, while Ruby held up Crescent Rose, ready to do the same.
Click!
"What the?"
Click!
Click!
Ruby groaned in annoyance, "Aw come on!" Then she remembered that dust doesn't work out of Remnant's atmosphere. "Right..darn."
The Chief made quick work of the Banished in the next room before walking up to Ruby, "Is there a problem?"
"Nothing. I just remembered that dust doesn't work out of Remnant's atmosphere."
Chief assumed Remnant was her home planet, "Dust?"
"It's the ammunition I use for Crescent Rose. It's mined from underground." Ruby then smirked as she pressed a button on her weapon as it formed into a large scythe.
"At least I can still use the scythe." She said with a smile.
"Interesting." Said the AI, "Both a gun and a scythe."
"Let's keep moving." The Chief said as they went through another door.
"So these are the Banished?" The AI asked.
"Affirmative." The Chief replied.
"They smell even worse than I imagined!"
Ruby perked up at this, "You can smell them!?"
"Well, an array of sensors in his armor can, and I analyze the input. You both smell fine, by the way."
They went through yet another door to find a large, nearly empty room. In the distance, they could see a platform.
"Over there! That's the source." The AI said.
"Is there supposed to be a bridge or something here?" Ruby asked.
Chief nodded, "There should be."
"Maybe there's a way to power it up nearby."
The Chief scanned the area in search of a power source. His HUD lit up the area, a yellow glow catching his attention. He went down a ramp to a lower level, where he found a grey box-like object with blue energy running through the middle.
"Find anything?" Ruby called out.
"Yeah." The Chief replied before taking it out of its slot.
"They'll pair you with another AI, maybe even another Cortana model if Halsey lets them. It won't be me, you know that, right?" Cortana's voice echoed.
Chief placed the power seed in a slot, causing the bridge to form. The trio walked down the bridge as Chief let the AI onto the terminal. On the stand was a blue, glowing orb.
The AI reached out to touch it when Chief pulled back, "Is it safe?" He asked.
"I think so." She replied. "Yes. It's safe."
The Chief then extended his arm, letting the AI hop off his hand.
"This...this is part of me." She said, walking around the orb.
Ruby raised an eyebrow, "It is?"
"I don't know why, I don't know how but it is me. It was the last part I remember being deleted. Let me just..." She reached out to it before dissapearing.
Ruby and Chief watched as the one orb became to, floating behind them.
"You are here because you were chosen." One of the voices from earlier spoke up, prompting the two to turn around.
A vision of an older woman walked in front of the Chief.
"Our enemies are getting stronger and more numerous every day. What I am about to show you will help turn the tide of war."
Ruby stayed quiet, watching and listening.
"I have been working to harness the strategic power of a ship borne AI onto the battlefield. Are you ready?"
The Chief nodded, "Yes, Doctor Halsey."
Dr. Halsey held up her hands to reveals another AI, this one being purple in color.
"Unlike previous AI models, she will reside between you mind and the suit, directly communicating with your neural interface. A new set of eyes to aid your reactions and upgrade your reconnaissance."
The Chief extended his hand, letting the new AI walk onto his palm.
"She's not the driver, but a way to level the playing field."
"What do I call her?" He asked.
"Ask her. She named herself."
"Hello Master Chief, I'm Cortana." Cortana smiled as she placed her hands on her hips.
"Together you will become our newfound hope. Together, you will become key to humanity's survival. She will do anything to make sure that your mission is accomplished. Even if that means sacrificing herself or you to accomplish it."
The vision faded as the Chief balled his hand into a fist.
Ruby decided it was time to speak up, "So, Cortana was your first AI?"
"She was." He replied.
"What happened?" The AI asked, "I touched it and-"
"All of that, was that real?" Ruby asked.
"No, it's just data. It's just here. Clusters of recursive code. This on the other hand," She said, referring to the orb. "This is the framework I used to trap Cortana. It contains a copy of the Activation Index. At least fragments of it. What should we do with it?"
"Do we need it?" Chief asked.
"Um, do you think those Banished guys would need it?" Ruby asked.
The Chief thought about it for a moment. He wasn't entirely sure what only fragments could do, but he wasn't ready to take that risk. "Do it."
The AI moved her hands around the orb as the data visibly went inside her. She fell to her knees as she breathed heavily.
Ruby gave a look of concern, "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine, thank you.That was...something. Let's go."
The Chief ran his hand over the terminal as the AI dissapeared.
A bridge that led to another door formed, prompting the group to cross it. They trekked through a few empty rooms before the AI spoke again.
"Am I missing something? There's a filed that's been unlocked but I don't have access."
"We need a route out of here." The Chief said.
"Okay let's see. There's a breach close by, it should lead us to the surface."
Chief set the AI onto another terminal as she turned to face him.
"Gimme a second to get this bridge activated."
Only a few seconds passed when pieces of the bridge began to rise up.
"We got company, Chief! Meet me at the plinth up ahead!" She said before dissapearing.
"Rose!"
"Yeah?"
"Show me what you can do."
Ruby nodded as she spun Crescent Rose around, ready for battle. The last piece of the bridge rose, revealing six smaller aliens. Ruby charged at them, dodging their plasma shots and hacking away at them. The Chief followed her and began to mow down Banished infantry.
Chief saw a group approaching, so he took out a grenade and pulled the pin, "Grenade out!" He shouted before throwing it. Ruby jumped out of the way as the grenade exploded, killing those in its blast radius.
Chief found his weapon almost out of ammunition. He emptied what was left before extending an arm, a grappling hook shooting out and digging into a gun.
"Whoa!" Ruby exclaimed as the grapplehook reeled in of of the purple spike guns. "You have a grappling hook!? So cool"!
Chief shot at one of the apes, a pink explosion sending it flying.
"Oh my gosh that is so awesome!"
Ruby dodged more plasma shots and cut down an alien with a shield, which happened to be the last of them. Chief approached the terminal as the AI appeared again.
"You guys got here fast! Not big on wasting time, huh?"
"No." The Chief said.
"Not really." Ruby added.
"Noted. Let's go." She said before dissapearing into the Chief's hand. Pieces of another bridge began to rise up as they crossed it. The trio came across a path that split, Banished forces on both sides.
"Rose! You take left, I'll take right."
"You got it!" Ruby said before dashing off to the left, cutting down Banished. The Chief filled Banished with pink shards of death, ending with pink explosions. Using her semblance, Ruby dashed behind an ape alien and slashed its leg before doing the same to its neck.
They made quick work of the Banished and moved through another door. An alien wearing a pack with some weapons walked through, only to let out a scream before Chief placed a shard through its skull.
The Chief took one of the weapons it dropped, being the one Ruby saw him use before. The MA40 Assault Rifle.
They unsurprisingly entered through another door to find yet another room.
Ruby whined, "So many doors and rooms! I wish we can get to the surface already"!
"Don't worry, Ruby, we'll be there soon." The AI reassured her. "Oh no."
"What's wrong?"The Chief asked while making quick work of an ape alien.
"This gravity lift is supposed to be powered up, we need to power it back up."
The Chief scanned the area to find another power seed above them. Using his grappleshot, he zipped over a ledge and grabbed the seed. He jumped down and plugged it into a slot. The grav lift powered up as blue 'smoke' began to rise.
The Chief entered the grav lift, sending him up. Ruby followed after him, trying and struggling to keep her balance.
"All space. All time. The stars. Swelling. Collapsing. Ending. Serving their longer. Shorter use."
"The voices kinda creep me out." Ruby commented as they exited the grav lift and made their way through a few hallways.
They turned a corner to find another hallway, filled with dead Banished and another armored soldier, like the Chief.
"Is that a Spartan?" The AI asked as they approached the body.
"What happened to them?" Ruby asked as she knelt by the passed on Spartan.
Chief knelt as well, picking up a round object, glowing green at the center.
"She was carrying an enhanced shield module." The AI said as the Chief placed a hand on the Spartan's shoulder.
"This is Spartan Bonita Stone. Recon Specialist. Her vitals have been offline for nearly month. Cause of death was an energy blade but...different. Stronger. A single strike, she never saw it coming."
"I don't like the sound of that." Ruby said.
"Neither do I." The AI added.
Chief installed the module as he felt his shields getting stronger. The trio went through another door that lead to a large room, covered in an ominous red tint.
"We're here.That elevator should lead us to the surface."
Chief looked to Ruby, "Take em out."
She nodded bed dashing over and cutting down smaller aliens. Chief fired upon others as he spotted one in the crevices, aiming at Ruby. "Rose! Jackal Sniper!"
Ruby looked up to narrowly avoid a shot. She dashed over and sliced the alien, which she now knows as a Jackal. The Chief made short work of the others before they met up near the elevator.
"Let's call down the elevator." Said the AI.
The Chief approached a control terminal and pressed it, only for nothing to happen.
"This elevator is drawing power from the ring. At least it was, the power seed it missing."
"Keep guard." The Chief said to Ruby before going off to find the power seed. Ruby spun Crescent Rose and swept the area. 'Seems all clear.'
It wasn't long until the Chief came back, power seed with him.. He plugged it in to a slot. He let the AI onto the terminal, "This isn't Forerunner, it identifies as Banished."
"Can you operate it?" Chief asked.
"In my sleep. Not that I sleep but-" The sound of the elevator cut her off, "Oh, I don't need to. It's already on its way down."
Ruby and Chief looked up to see one of the ape aliens coming down on the elevator. "Incoming."
"But, what if it's a friend?" The AI asked.
"It isn't." The Chief said as he picked her up. The elevator came down, revealing not only the ape, but two Jackals with him. The ape roared and jumped, its rocket pack roaring to life.
"Atriox's orders are that you should be brought before him. He did not specify how many pieces."
"Rose. Deal with the Jackals. The Brute's mine."
"You got it, Chief!" Ruby dashed over and began to fight with the Jackals.
The Chief fired upon the Brute, jumping to and from cover as the the Brute fired back. The weapon he carried had explosive ammo, giving Chief more of a reason to use cover.
Ruby made quick work of the Jackals and looked back to see Chief and the Brute. She looked down in front of her to see one of the weapons the Jackals used. Shs picked it up and shot a quick test shot. She hummed before holding down on the trigger.
The weapon gave a continuous hum as it built up energy. A lightbulb formed in her head as she aimed at the Brute. She let go as a green blast shot at the Brute. A red glow shattered his energy shields. The Brute roared as Chief shot the grapple at him, reeling for a punch.
The Brute doubled over in pain before Ruby dashed over and slashed at his back. The Brute roared out before the Chief shot at his chest. The lifeless body slumped over.
The Chief looked at Ruby, "Good work."
She gave a sheepish smile, "Thanks."
"You were right, he was not friendly." The AI stated. "By the looks of it, he was some sort of leader. They called him Tremonius."
"Ha! Not anymore they don't!" Ruby said proudly.
Chief pressed the terminal's button as the elevator began to move. The comms suddenly crackled to life.
"-On the way! I repeat, multiple Banished craft are converging on your location. They're coming for you!" The Pilot said.
"Sierra 117, understood."
"I've been trying to reach you. You vanished. I thought I was one my-okay I got your location. On my way, be ready!"
The elevator came to a stop as they got off it. The Chief approached a box and opened it, finding a core.
'What's that?" Ruby asked.
"A Spartan core." Chief replied. "It upgrades my equipment."
"Cool!"
The trio came across a room where a yellow outline of an unknown alien stood on the wall.
"Another Cylix. But this one's open. What do you think was in it?" The AI asked.
"Something creepy?" Ruby suggested.
"Another problem." The Chief said.
"Why so cynical? It could be something good."
"Trust me, it won't be."
The trio entered another room after clearing it of Banished.
Ruby groaned, "Please tell me we're almost out of here?"
"Don't worry, Ruby. We're almost there."
"I hope so."
"How do we get out of here?" Chief asked.
"Terminal, over there."
Chief walked over to said terminal and place the AI onto it.
"Just give me a second, I should be able to get control from here." She turned only to find a red hologram of a Brute appear.
"So Tremonius has fallen. A victim of the Master Chief's might." The Brute looked at Ruby, making her flinch.
"What's this? A girl?" The Brute hummed. "Do not fool yourself, girl. He was not the best of the Banished, not by any measure. It occurs to me that you don't know who I am."
"No. Are you one who's leading the Banished?" Ruby asked.
"Indeed I am, girl. Now, what's your name?"
Ruby began to sweat bullets, unsure what to do. "Um, my name is Ruby Rose."
"Ruby Rose. I want you to know my name too, I am Atriox. Warmaster Of The Banished! This is my world now, you have little remaining time in it." Atriox's hologram faded as a large door opened up, letting in sunlight.
Ruby covered her eyes as they both turned to see the outside world. The sky was a bright blue and Ruby could see the ring curve upward.
"Whoa." She said as she looked around. "It's...it's beautiful."
The sound of a horn made them look as a Banished dropship flew over them.
"And full of more monsters wanting to kill us." The AI added on.
"You need to clear me a place to land!" The Pilot said over comms.
"Rose, let's clear an LZ."
Ruby nodded, "Let's do this."
Chief opened fire with his assault rifle while Ruby began to cut down Jackals. She ducked under a Brute's swing and jabbed the back end of Crescent Rose into its eye. The Brute roared out before Ruby slashed its neck.
Chief braced himself as plasma shots ate up his shields. He grabbed a fusion coil and threw it at a group of Banished, killing most and leaving a few open to rifle fire. He mowed them down before looking up at a Banished soldier manning a plasma cannon.
"Rose! Gunner up ahead!"
Ruby looked up to see said gunner, "On it!" She petaled behind the gunner and slashed at him and those around him. The Chief made his way up a hill, firing at Banished soldiers. He grappled at a Brute, reeling himself in before punching it.
Ruby dashed between plasma fire and cut down a few Brutes. She grabbed one of the weapons on the ground, being red in color. She fired it at a Jackal, surprised by the rate at which it fired. It even caused her hands to shake.
"Ah! Hot!" She hissed at removed one hand from the gun, flicking it as the gun cooled off. She continued to fire it, now aware of the cool down.
The rest of the Banished fell to the Spartan and Huntress as they met up with one another.
"I think that's all of them," Ruby said.
"If you can find me somewhere to hack in, I'll make it safe for your friend to land." The AI said.
Ruby spotted a terminal up a ramp, "I see a terminal up there."
Chief walked up the ramp and let the AI hop onto the terminal.
"Let me see. The Banished are using a modification of the Covenant battlenet protocol. Pretty easy to push through. And done!" She said with a snap of her finger, "I removed this location from their system. It's safe."
"LZ secure." The Chief said.
The sound of whirring got the trio to see a vehicle fly in from the distance. It flew over them, landing on the platform. A ramp extended as a man with a full beard walked out.
"Oh! Solid ground!" He said before getting on the ground and kissing it. This elected a giggle from Ruby.
"As good as this feels, please tell me we can go. You find the weapon you were looking for?" The Pilot asked.
Chief revealed his palm as the AI appeared, "Hi." She greeted with a smile and wave.
"What the!?" The Pilot backed away before crawling behind the vehicle.
"Cortana? But she-This is all her fault!"
"It isn't Cortana." The Chief stated. "Tell him."
The AI looked at Chief, "But...it's classified."
"Permission granted."
"I was created by Doctor Halsey to mimic this installation's security system to trap Cortana for deletion. I was successful."
"Cortana's no longer a threat." The Chief added on. "And she's going to help us stop the Banished."
The Pilot sighed, "Of course she is." Then looked at Ruby, "I guess you're the one the Banished captured?"
"Yep! Name's Ruby Rose."
"I see where you're coming from. I didn't know what a Banished was an hour ago and I can see the odds aren't great." The AI said, looking at the Chief.
"Yeah, kinda have to agree on that one," Ruby added.
"Yes, you should listen to her! You'll get us all killed!
"This is fascinating. You're trying to survive but I was programmed to die." Said the AI.
"Really? I guess one person with a death wish wasn't enough." The Pilot said.
"Wait, I'm picking up a UNSC distress signal."
"Location?" Chief asked.
"4 kilometers from here."
The AI began to talk to the Chief about something neither Ruby nor the Pilot could understand due to a lack of visuals. They gave each other a look before looking back at them.
"Mark it. Let's go." Chief said.
"Let's go?" The Pilot parroted, "What?" He sighed before heading to the vehicle's cockpit, saying something in a language Ruby couldn't understand.
"Hey, Ruby?" The AI started.
"Yeah?"
"You said you were going to name me?"
"Oh! Right. I was so caught up in the weapons and fighting that I forgot. But I did come up with something."
"What is it?"
"I was thinking of...Joy."
"Well?" The Chief asked.
"I...I like it." Joy said. Even if neither of them could tell, she was smiling.
Ruby smiled, "I'm glad you like it."
"Let's get moving." The Chief said as he entered the vehicle.
Ruby took a deep breath before entering as well. Her journey on this ring had just begun.