A Huntress In A Demon's World
Chapter 5: The Command Spire
Ruby tapped her foot as she sat her seat, watching as the ground went by below the Pelican. She had so many questions running through her head and it hasn't been an entire day yet. She wondered what everyone else back home was doing. She figured her team would be out looking for her, obviously. Maybe Jaune and his team too. Wait, Chief said he'd answer her questions.
"Hey Chief?"
He turned to face her.
"So...what exactly is the Flood? You said it wasn't good."
"It isn't." He said. "Are you SURE you want to know about the Flood?"
She nodded, "It wouldn't hurt to know, right?"
The Chief nodded. "The Flood is a parasitic species we encountered back on the first Halo. They start out as small infection forms the size of my hand, but on what they infect, they can be much larger. When they infect someone, they take over your body and turn you into something terrible. I've seen what they do to UNSC and Covenant. What they do to the mental health of people."
"So...they're like space zombies?"
"Worse. The Flood gain the intelligence of the host they infect. They have the potential to use weapons or operate vehicles, entire ships even. And they move fast. You couldn't just outrun them."
Ruby looked down as she processed the information, "Wow. We can still shoot and kill them right?"
"Yes, but it doesn't stop them completely. You can't truly kill the Flood by conventional weaponry. You'd need to starve them out, take away their food source."
"Oh, we don't have to worry about them, do we?"
"As far as I'm aware, no. And I hope it stays that way, I wouldn't want you to see what they're capable of."
"Heh, you and me both, Chief."
Wait a minute, "Subject change, what exactly happened to Cortana?"
The Chief stood in silence for a moment," Cortana and I were adrift on the Foward Onto Dawn for four years after we defeated the Covenant. She woke me when we were found by a Covenant Fleet-"
"I'm sorry but didn't you say you defeated the Covenant though?"
"We defeated the true Covenant. This was a new Covenant."
"Oh, proceed."
"We came across the planet of Requiem when she told me she went into rampancy. She had gotten old for an AI and was deteriorating. She was 8. AI like her begin to deteriorate after 7. We tried to get back to Earth where she could be fixed, but we ran into many issues along the way. In order to save me, she sacrificed herself."
"Oh...I-I'm sorry to hear that. So, how exactly did she become your target? How did she come back?"
"Nobody's truly sure how she came back, but when she did, she wanted peace throughout the galaxy. The bad part was her methods. She used the Guardians, powerful constructs made by the Forerunners, which caused destruction just by awakening them. That's why she was our target."
"Oh, I think I get it. So, why was that Locke guy after you?"
"I was after Cortana, Blue Team and I. We went against the UNSC to search for her. Locke and his team was sent after us. We fought. I won."
"Was it hard?" She asked.
"No."
"Huh, figured."
"Second Spire's coming up, where do I drop you off?" Esparza asked over comms.
"Close." The Chief said as Ruby got up from her seat.
"Alright, close as it gets. Call me when you're done."
The Chief and Ruby jumped out of the Pelican and onto the ground below. What exciting thing would they see next?
The past half hour or so has been...boring to say the least. They couldn't access the Spire immediately and needed to get data from beacons around the ring. It wouldn't be that bad if it was just one, but there were four of them. Ruby felt like it was a mission in a video game made to make it longer.
At least she got to see Chief grapple onto a Banshee and hijack it, which made her want a grappleshot even more.
They've gotten through three out of the four beacons, having just cleared out the Banished from the fourth one. The trio made their way inside the structure where Chief let Joy onto the plinth to collect the remaining data.
"Last one guys," Joy said before beginning to collect the data. Her eyes widen before jerking her hand back. "No, no this isn't good."
"What is it? What's wrong, Joy?" Ruby asked.
"It's a trap. The Harbinger's trying to figure out what I am, trying to use me to break the deadlock. Start the Spires. My routines plus the monitors...not good." Joy replied.
"Well, what do we do then? Chief?" Ruby asked, looking at the Spartan.
"We stop. Stalemate." He said while walking around the room.
"For now," Joy said, "She'll figure it out eventually."
Chief turned to look at her, "Then we have no choice."
Joy tilted her head, unsure about it. "Are you sure?"
The Chief nodded, "We've got you."
Joy smiled before turning and returning to collect the data from the beacon. Ruby noticed the subtle movements in Chief's head as if he was thinking about something. The Spartan looked at Joy, "Red-"He stopped himself. Ruby raised an eyebrow at this. "Everything okay, Chief?"
"Yes, everything's fine."
"Alright, just checking on ya."
Chief nodded in appreciation before turning to Joy, who had just finished collecting the data. "Alright, we got what we need." The Spartan ran his hand over the plinth before heading out with Ruby in tow. After dealing with reinforcements guarding the Command Spire, Chief had Joy open the door.
"You ready, Ruby?" He asked.
Ruby spun Crescent Rose, "Yup."
He nodded before they entered the structure. "The structure under the Ring calls itself the Nexus, interesting," Joy said.
"The Harbinger?" Chief asked.
"She's here."
"Good. Let's go say hello."
As they went further down, the trio dealt with more Banished, which were promptly dealt with. It wasn't long until more echoes from Cortana began again.
"Darkness has stretched its color. Deep blue across the pane. No cloud to make night duller. No moon with its tarnish stain. Now in this hour of waking from under brows of stone-a new pale day is breaking and the deep night is gone."
Ruby shuttered, "Have I told you guys how much those echoes creep me out? Because they do."
"Actually, you've already said tha-" Joy stopped herself, "Oh! Sarcasm! You're funny too!"
Ruby couldn't help chuckle a bit, "Yeah, I guess so."
After pushing through more Banished infantry and falling down a chute, the trio made their way down to an open area with a chasm. In front of them was a bridge that led to a gondola.
"Hmm, that's not good." Joy said, "We need to find a way across this chasm."
"Hey, maybe we can use whatever that is?" Ruby pointed to the gondola in front of them.
"Yes! That'll do just fine, get me over there, Chief." Joy said.
The trio made their way over onto the gondola where Chief let Joy onto the plinth that controlled it. The gondola rumbled as it began to move forward.
Ruby took notice of several silver-flying robots approaching them. "Hey Chief, what are those?"
The Chief turned to face what she was seeing, "Sentinels." He said while aiming his assault rifle at them. Ruby followed his move and aimed her S7 at the Sentinels.
One of the Sentinels made a noise before firing a blast of energy at the two, forcing them to roll out of the way. Ruby fired off two shots which ended in the Sentinel exploding.
Three more Sentinels fired their beams at her, getting Ruby to use her semblance to weave out of their range while Chief filled them with bullets.
"Ruby, get behind me!" Chief called out before deploying a drop wall, the blasts from the Sentinels being blocked by it.
"Oh my gosh, that's so cool!" Ruby said while taking cover behind the drop wall. She gasped as she saw Chief shooting through it while the Sentinels could not. "Oh, that's even cooler! I've gotta find out how that works!" She said before taking down another Sentinel.
More Sentinels attacked, and more fell. After a while, there were no more Sentinels and the gondola came to a stop. The trio disembarked and made their way through a set of doors before entering a large room.
Joy's avatar formed in Chief's hand as they entered the room, holographic images of the spires appearing.
"Look at this place. All the Spires... interconnected. Just waiting to become something more. So much potential. It's exquisite!"
"It's dangerous." The Chief said to her.
"O-of course, I'm not suggesting that we change the plan but, you can see it, right?" Joy asked.
"I can see it," Ruby said, earning a smile from Joy.
"All I see is a problem," Chief said.
"I don't believe that. A part of you must recognize the grandeur of this achievement. You're not a machine, you can't be that closed off." Joy said before looking down for a brief moment. "What will it take for you to trust me?" She asked, looking up at the Chief. Ruby looked at the Spartan as well, waiting for his answer.
"I..." He paused, "Spire first."
Joy nodded while Ruby furrowed her eyebrows slightly. "If you say so."
Chief approached a plinth and attempted to activate it, only for nothing to happen.
"Um, what happened?" Ruby asked.
"Would it surprise you if I said it wasn't going to be that easy? Don't answer that. The lift's been disabled, probably to slow us down. Let's get it powered up."
As if on cue, multiple doors around the room turned blue, signaling that they were now unlocked. The trio headed to the first door, battling through Sentinels to reach a power seed. Once it was obtained, another Cortana echo spoke.
"They let me pick, did I ever tell you that? Choose whatever Spartan I wanted. I did my research and watched as you became the soldier we needed you to be."
Chief plugged in the first power seed when a new echo started, this time, a male's voice.
"Get Cortana off this ship. Keep her safe. If they capture her they will learn everything. Force deployment, weapons research, Earth. Good luck, Master Chief."
"Who was that?" Ruby asked.
"Captain Jacob Keyes. The Pillar Of Autumn was his ship. When we found the first Halo." Chief replied.
"And where is he?" Joy asked.
"He went down with his ship."
They battled through more Sentinels as they collected the remaining power seeds. An echo of Chief and Cortana appeared in front of them.
"We promised we'd protect each other...and we did." Echo Cortana said as she placed a hand on Echo Chief's chest before they took a step back from each other, fading away.
"She saved me...but I couldn't save her." Chief said, answering a question he knew Ruby had.
The huntress-in training put the pieces together, "And...you blame yourself for it."
"Yes."
Ruby opened her mouth to say something but decided against it. She was going to say he shouldn't blame himself for it, but she doesn't know the full story. She wasn't there.
Chief let Joy onto the plinth and she turned to face him.
"Are you sure about this? She'll know I'm here. I'm quite vulnerable like this. This could go spectacularly wrong."
"Don't worry, Joy. We'll take care of you, right Chief?"
He nodded, "We will."
"Okay then." Joy turned and began to start the process. "Oh, false alarm, she doesn't-" Joy was suddenly enveloped in a yellow hue before disappearing.
"Joy!? Joy are you okay!?" Ruby called out, concerned for her friend.
"Why do you fight the inevitable?" The Harbinger's voice boomed, "Order approaches. The Reformation is but a new beginning."
"Help me! Chief...stay..." The sound of Joy's pained voice got them both to turn and see her now having a yellow color.
"Joy!?"
"The Reformation will spill its secrets. The Endless will walk this world once more."
"I can't fight it!" Joy cried out, "Please...I..."
"Come on, Joy! Push back!"
After a tense moment, Joy fell to her knees, breathing heavily as she returned to her blue color.
"Oh my gosh, are you okay!?"
She nodded, "Yes. I'm okay, Ruby, thank you." She said before holding up a blue object in her hand. "I got the activation index. Let's get going." She said before snapping her fingers and the grav lift activated.
Chief picked up Joy and the three made their way up the grav lift when the Harbinger made her presence known.
"Do you know what you're interfering with? The Monitor's Encephalon has served its purpose! The Reformation has begun. Nothing can stop it. They will be found!"
"Yeah well, we'll see about that, weirdo," Ruby mumbled to herself as they came to a stop on the grav lift. Chief let Joy onto a plinth and she brought up a screen.
"Looks like all the Spires are active. Oh."
"What is it?" Chief asked.
"The Reformation is being focused on one area called the Silent Auditorium. Interestingly, all records of its purpose are missing."
"Huh, how convenient," Ruby commented.
"Indeed," Joy said. "The only way up is through there." She pointed up to see a large hole leading somewhere. Chief used his grapple shot to move upwards while Ruby used a combination of her acrobatics and semblance to do the same. After battling through waves of Banished, they were nearing the top.
"You three close to done?" Esparza asked over comms.
"Yep, we're on our way up to the top!" Ruby said.
"Good, because something is being built...well rebuilt."
"Really? What is it?" Ruby asked.
"I don't know, but you're about to find out."
As if on cue, Adjutant Resolution appeared in his mech, now dawning a new color.
"Aw come on, this guy again!?"
"I'm afraid to inform you that this will be our last encounter!" Adjutant said before opening fire on the two, getting them to dodge his fire.
"Wow, he's gotten quite the upgrade!" Ruby said as she took cover behind a large structure...only for it to be lowered into the ground.
"WHAT!? That's cheating!" She whined before rolling out of the way of Adjutant's blast. Ruby fired off two shots to one of Adjutant's arms, destroying it.
"NO! I WAS GOING TO USE THAT TO KILL YOU! " Adjutant shouted as his mech closed up, giving Chief and Ruby a short window to shoot at him before he recovered and fired his beam at them.
Adjutant proved to be more formidable than before, even bringing in Sentinels to back him up. Even with the upgrades and assistance, Adjutant Resolution fell to the Spartan and Huntress.
Ruby took a breath as she looked at the downed mech, "I hope that's the last we see of him."
The trio made their way up the elevator to the top of the Spire. After dealing with the Banished infantry on top, the horn of a Phantom caught their attention. They looked to see a Phantom rising above them.
"Oh come on! How are we supposed to deal with THAT!?"
Chief scanned the room as he dodged incoming plasma fire when his HUD picked up a nearby Rocket Launcher. He made a beeline for the weapon before shooting two rockets at the Phantom. Two small explosions rocked the vehicle, red flames appearing on its sides.
Ruby wanted to help, so she looked around for another powerful weapon she could use. Her eyes landed on the weapon she used to kill Bassus, the Skewer. She grabbed the weapon and shot at the Phantom, causing another explosion and forcing the Phantom to flee.
"Yes!"
Another Phantom rose.
"No!"
Chief went for more ammo and shot at the second Phantom, Ruby doing the same. Eventually, that Phantom was destroyed and they could continue. Chief let Joy onto the plinth and she got to work.
"Alright, and...we're done!" She said with a snap of her fingers.
"Alrighty then, I'm coming to get you," Esparza said over comms.
Ruby took a breath as she watched the Pelican move in on their location. "Y'know, I'm feeling pretty good about this. I think we're going to make it through this just fine!"
"I think so too, Ruby," Joy said with a smile.
"We'll see how it goes." The Chief added on.
As the Pelican neared, something caught Ruby's eye and she looked at the cockpit, seeing nothing unusual...except for the blurriness that formed behind Esparza. She narrowed her eyes to get a better look when an Elite uncloaked and stabbed its red energy sword into the control panel.
"CHIEF!" Ruby cried out, getting the Spartan's attention. Chief jumped onto the Pelican and punches through the glass, but the Elite twisted his blade and forced the Pelican to throw him off and back onto the Spire.
"No!" Ruby petaled onto the Pelican and through the hole Chief made. She slammed into Elite and knocked him off balance.
"Leave him alone!" Ruby shouted as she got in between the Elite and Esparza.
The Elite, Jega 'Rdomnai, growled as he stood straight, "Ah, you must be the Red Reaper. The girl who's faster than any other human and can withstand being shot by plasma. You are truly a remarkable individual." The Elite spoke, raising his energy sword.
Ruby's eyes narrowed, "It was you. You killed those Spartans. You're one of the Spartan Killers."
Jega said nothing, instead, he charged at Ruby, energy sword ready to strike her down. Ruby brought Crescent Rose up just in time to block his sword. She kicked his stomach and swung her scythe at him, only for it to be blocked by Jega.
As the two battled, Chief jumped off the Spire and grappled onto the Pelican, punching away at the glass so he could enter. Jega took notice of this and slammed Ruby into a wall before racing to the controls and stabbing his blade into the controls. He roared and forced the Pelican to throw Chief off again.
Ruby yelled as she pulled Jega back from the controls, which forced the Pelican away from the Spire and out of Chief's reach. Ruby and Jega battled again, proving to be a difficult fight for the huntress. While she was faster, he was stronger and more skilled than she was.
To make matters worse, Crescent Rose was taking heavy damage. She had to do something quick, or something bad could happen-
SHING!
Ruby was thrown back as Crescent Rose was thrown from her grasp. She slammed into a wall and slid down it. She groaned as she opened her eyes, only to find a sight she never wished she never saw.
Crescent Rose lay on the ground in two pieces, steam emitting from the two halves. Her eyes shrunk at the sight and she froze, unable to move.
"Ruby!" Esparza cried out.
Jega chuckled and grabbed Ruby by the throat and walked over to the hole in the Pelican. "You've fought well. But now I must dispose of you."
Ruby struggled against his grip, doing her best to escape. She looked over at Esparza, who was fishing out a pistol. "No, don't!" She cried out.
Jega took notice and whacked the pistol out of Esparza's hands and slammed him into the control panel, knocking him out.
"No!" She shouted as she watched him fall to the ground, a stream of blood pouring down the side of his head.
"I believe we are done here." Jega said before throwing her out the Pelican's cockpit, smashing the rest of the window as she tried to grip something. She fell off the vehicle, watching as it grew smaller and smaller.
As a last-ditch effort, she used her semblance to fly up to the Pelican. Her efforts were in vain as the Pelican grew even smaller and she could feel the wind pick up as she fell towards the ground.
A/N: A shorter chapter than usual but hey-ho. Yall deserved something after I've been gone so long. Also I have a job now. So updates my be even slower from now on. Until next time!