AN: Ayo over 50 follows? May not be anything spectacular but that's a milestone for me. Guess I'm doing something right. Thanks for that!
Also, I didn't properly specify WHEN Ruby ends up on the ring. Ruby arrives shortly before Volume 2 would begin. So no epic food fight :p
Responding to reviews...
bigbossHayden98: Oh that was intentional. I wasn't a huge fan of Atriox being absent from the main campaign. That being said, Escharum will not be totally absent either. He will appear in the main Infinite and maybe post-Infinite story depending on how I go about this
A Huntress In A Demon's World
Chapter 2: The Tower
As they flew above the land, Ruby asked the Chief many questions, mostly about what aliens made up the Banished and their weapons.
"Ok...so the little guys that scream a lot are Grunts. The ones with shields are Jackals. The big mean ones are Brutes. And the lizard ones are Elites. Did I get that right?" She asked.
Chief nodded. "Correct."
"Alright. Also, I heard something about a UNSC from the Banished. I'm guessing you're part of it?"
He nodded again, "Affirmative. So Miss Rose-"
"Oh, you don't have to call me Miss. Ruby's just fine, Chief."
He nodded, "Ruby. Your Crescent Rose has two forms, correct? What is its gun form?"
Ruby's eyes lit up as her smile grew, threatening to tear her mouth apart. She took out Crescent Rose and squealed. "She's a High Caliber Sniper Rifle! .50 caliber to be precise."
".50 cal?" Joy asked.
"Yep! I know it's got a big recoil, but it works in my favor. I use it to help me in battle, like slowing my falls or getting extra speed for attacks. Wait, why did you ask?"
"Crescent Rose is limited to melee since its ammunition doesn't work outside your planet. There are going to be times when having something for long-range combat will prove very useful." Chief said.
Ruby leaned in, having an idea of what he was getting at. "And?"
"I'll find you an S7 Sniper."
Ruby gasped as her smile grew even wider, "Really!?"
Chief nodded, "Yes. I will also get you a sidearm."
"Awesome!" She smiled before her eyes found themselves looking at a number on the Chief's chest plate. 117. She thought back to the vision/data memory thing from underground, mainly how Dr.Halsey said something about wanting one subject to survive.
"Hey, Chief?" She asked.
The Chief looked at her, giving her the go-ahead.
"So uh, you remember that vision or memory thing back underground? That Dr. Halsey said something about 75 healthy subjects and how not all of them will survive. She also said she wished one of them to survive."
Ruby swore she saw Chief shift ever so slightly. She continued.
"I didn't see it at first but your number is 117. Dr.Halsey said she hoped the one with the 117 number survives. I'm just wondering, how did you become a...whatever you are now? Was it because you ranked up, did you have to pass a special test or?"
For a moment, the Pelican was quiet other than the engines.
"I can't get into that," Chief said.
Ruby tilted her head, "Why? Does it bring up bad memories? I'll back off if that's the case."
Chief shook his head, "It's not that. How I became a Spartan is classified information."
Ruby deflated a bit. "Oh. Ok then."
The pair sat in some more silence before Ruby swallowed a lump in her throat.
"Subject change. Where did the Banished come from?"
"Before I can tell you about the Banished, you need to know about the Covenant."
Ruby raised an eyebrow, "Who are they?"
"It would be more appropriate to say 'who were they'. We discovered the Covenant in 2525, they were similar to the Banished. The difference is that the Covenant was led by Prophets, they planned to fire other Halos for their 'Great Journey'."
Ruby's eyes widened, "There are other Halos!?"
"Yes."
"Wait, back underground, you said the Banished wanted to fire this ring. What do these Halos do?"
The young huntress in training saw the Chief stiffened, even if it was barely.
"I don't think you're ready to learn that. It's too much for someone your age. It's...horrible."
Ruby blinked, "I see. Uh, so the Covenant?"
"A war broke out between humanity and the Covenant. We won. Only because the Elites began to rebel once the Prophets replaced their jobs and found out the truth about the Great Journey. It caused a rift in the Covenant. The Elites led by The Arbiter helped us against the Covenant."
Ruby nodded, "So these are good Elites? So what about the Banished ones?"
"Most likely that Atriox didn't care for the war between the Elites and Brutes."
She nodded again. "I know I'm asking a lot of questions, but what's with you and that Atriox guy? It looked like you had a little bit of history."
"We did. His fleet ambushed the Infinity, our best ship. We fought. He threw me off."
A small gasp escaped Ruby's mouth, putting the pieces together, "And you were stuck in space, for six months?"
"Yes. I've missed a lot."
"Wow. I guess you have. Well, don't worry Master Chief! I'm here to help you!" Ruby said with a smile.
For what seemed like the millionth time, Chief nodded. "And I promise to get you home, no matter how long it takes."
Ruby and Chief watched as structures appeared in the distance. Ruby watched as they passed mountains and trees, seeing parts of the ring broken. She wondered what exactly caused the damage.
Joy's avatar formed in Chief's palm, "Ruby, you were right, it's beautiful."
"To some." The Chief said.
A few moments passed before Joy decided to say something else, "Question. I was created to lock down Cortana, but I'm not sure why. What did she do that was so wrong?"
Ruby chimed in, "Yeah. She was your first AI, right? How could she go from your partner to a bad guy?"
"She was our target," Chief said.
"That doesn't necessarily answer the question." Ruby crossed her arms.
"Is it classified information?" Joy asked.
The Pilot, now known as Echo-216, decided to butt in, "Chief. This is insane. I see Banished everywhere. Everywhere!"
"What intel did Dr. Halsey give you before your mission?"
"Halsey only tells people what they need to know." The Chief replied.
Ruby hummed, "Okay...I still don't get why you needed to delete her though. I don't think you're telling us everything."
Before the Chief could reply, the Pelican rumbled slightly.
"Guess what? They all noticed! And we've got a Banished structure up ahead. Very heavily armored." Echo-216 said over comms.
"Guess it'll have to wait." Ruby shrugged before Joy's avatar disappeared.
"How close can you get us?" Chief asked.
"How close!?" 216 exclaimed, "We're unarmed and you're asking me how close?"
Ruby rolled her eyes, "Oh boy." She was gonna hear this guy complain a lot, wouldn't she? She understood why but still.
Once the Chief could see the structure in the distance, he gave the order. "Put us down here."
The Pelican lowered near a rocky wall, "Hope this works. This is as close as it gets!"
"It's close enough." The Chief said, "Let's move, Ruby." The Spartan jumped out of the vehicle.
"Right behind ya!" She jumped after him.
Chief landed with a heavy thud while Ruby landed with a little click.
"We're close to the UNSC signal's origin." Joy stated.
"Source?" Chief asked as he and Ruby slid down a small cliffside.
"There's too much chatter on all Banished channels. I keep hearing 'The Tower'." Joy replied.
"Think it's that big building we saw earlier?" Ruby asked.
"Most likely." The AI said. "Look down there, there's the FOB we detected earlier. Take out those...monsters and I'll show what I can do."
Chief nodded before looking at Ruby, "Let's get to work."
Chief opened fire on the Banished forces while Ruby petaled behind two Grunts before slashing them down. She dodged plasma shots before dashing over to a single Brute. It swung at her only for Ruby to hoist herself up on Crescent Rose and kick the Brute.
The Brute stumbled before Ruby slashed at its side. The Brute roared before a well-placed shot from the Chief made it slump down dead.
"You know, for a child, she's pretty skilled with her weapon." Joy commented. "I wonder what goes on where she comes from to have a weapon like that."
Chief agreed that she was skilled, but he had to admit that he was a little curious about what could require a teenager to have such a weapon.
"Hey, Ruby?" Joy asked, appearing in Chief's palm.
"Yeah, Joy?"
"I've been meaning to ask you, why do you have Crescent Rose? What happened on your planet to justify such a weapon?"
"Oh, right. I haven't told you. On Remnant, there are these monsters called the Grimm. They've been around as long as we could remember and they have one goal in mind. Kill humans." Ruby said. "That's where people like me come in. We're huntsmen and huntresses, our job is to protect citizens from the Grimm. Well, that will be my job once I graduate and get a license."
"I see. That makes sense. Chief, get me to the terminal and this FOB will be ours."
Chief walked up to the terminal and let Joy do her thing. "There we go, FOB Golf is ours."
"Should we move on to the Tower now?" Ruby asked.
"Actually, it seems the FOBs are linked to the battlenet. There's a Banished outpost not too far away from here. Its purpose is unclear but it's worth checking out. And blowing up." Joy said. "There are also squads of marines engaged in...trying to survive."
"We should help them!"
"I agree, there's a squad en route to the Tower, we'll get them before we hit the Tower."
Ruby nodded before looking to the Chief, "Let's go be heroes."
Chief nodded, "Mark the location." The Spartan heard a ping in his helmet.
"Marked, let's go."
Chief and Ruby took off in the direction Joy marked. They made their way up a rocky wall, Chief via his grapple shot and Ruby via her semblance.
'That grappling hook is so cool! I wish I had one!" Ruby thought to herself as they made their way to the marine in distress. 'This place is so cool! Creepy and mysterious, but so cool!'
Ruby took notice of Chief's speed. She originally thought that the armor would slow him down. But he was fast. So fast that Ruby had to use her semblance and or her fancy acrobatics to keep up. She looked ahead to red smoke over a hill.
"Think that's them?"
"It is. I'll draw their fire, free those marines."
Ruby checked to see if she still had that red gun that shot very fast. Oh, she must have forgotten to take it with her. Oh well, she just do without. Easy enough.
Chief stopped and raised his fist, getting Ruby to stop. She raised an eyebrow, "What is it?"
The Spartan held up two fingers and flicked them to the side with his wrist. "Head to those trees. Once the enemy is distracted, take out the generator."
She quickly understood that he meant the same thing that held her not too long ago. She nodded before petaling over to the treeline while the Chief pressed on forward.
Jumping into action, Chief shot down a few grunts, catching the attention of the remaining Banished troops.
"The Demon is here!" Shouted one of the Brutes.
"No no not the Grunts!" A surviving Grunt cried in its recognizable high-pitched voice.
The marines looked up with smiles on their faces as the Spartan did what he did best.
"It's the Chief!"
"I knew it! I told you guys he'd make it!"
Chief smacked a Jackal in the face with the butt of his rifle before shooting it dead. He turned his attention to one of the Brutes firing at him. He took the shots before landing his own, downing the alien in just a few. A Grunt tossed a plasma grenade, which the Chief rolled out of the way before putting a bullet in the Grunt's head.
Ruby watched as the Banished focused on the Master Chief. She noticed a few Jackals and Grunts near the imprisoned Marines. She gripped Crescent Rose and lunged at the unsuspecting aliens. She tore through them like a knife to butter, some barely able to scream before being cut down.
"What the hell!?" Exclaimed a female marine.
"Is that a little girl!?" A male marine added.
"Look at the size of that scythe!" Said another.
She cut down the last Jackal before picking up one of the spiked guns, the Needler.
"Don't worry Marines! I'm with the Chief! Now let's get ya outta there!" She said before aiming the Needler at the generator. She pulled the trigger and watched pink shards tear into the generator. A few shots later and it exploded, immediately releasing the Marines as they began to search for weapons.
The Marines gave Ruby various thanks as they found suitable weapons.
"The prisoners are free!"
Joining the fray, the Marines mowed down what remained of the Banished troops, even turning their own weapons against them. Soon, the local Banished troops all fell to the Spartan, Huntress, and Marines.
"Whoo!" Said one of the female Marines. "Feels good to move my hands again."
"Are you alright, Marine?" The Chief asked.
"We're good," She answered, "What's with the kid? She says she's with you." She jabs a thumb at Ruby, who was receiving even more thanks from the Marines. The young huntress rubbed the back of her neck as she sheepishly accepted their words.
"She is. She was captured by the Banished."
"The hell? How did a kid get captured by those bastards?" Said a male Marine.
"Hey, I'm just as confused as you are." Said Ruby. "One moment I'm home, the next I'm on a weird ring planet thing with aliens who want to kill me! What's up with that? I didn't do anything!"
One of the Marines groaned, "You can say that again."
Chief looked over to see an S7 sniper on the ground. He picked the weapon up and looked it over, it was in decent condition. He reloaded it before making his way over to Ruby.
"Ruby, here's the S7 I told you about," Chief said while presenting the weapon.
Another face-threatening smile appeared on Ruby's face as she zipped over to the Spartan. She bounced on her toes while shaking her fists in excitement.
"Oh my gosh, it looks so cool! What ammo does it take?"
"14.5x114mm rounds and 4 bullets a mag."
Chief handed Ruby the sniper, watching the girl fawn over it. He gave her an extra mag before turning to the Marines, who saluted him.
"At ease. Marines, there is a UNSC distress signal at that Tower over there." He said, pointing at the Tower in the distance. "We'll be heading there shortly and rescue anyone still alive."
"" Sir yes sir!""
"Ruby."
Ruby turned to the Chief, "Yeah, Chief?"
"The Marines and I are heading to the Tower. I have something special for you."
She raised an eyebrow, "What is it?"
He pointed into the distance, "You see that ledge over there? I want you to head over there and prepare to take down Banished. The Marines and I will storm the Tower from the front. While they're distracted by us, you'll take down as many as you can. See if you can take out any snipers."
Ruby's eyes lit up at the thought of having a special task all to herself, "Yes sir!" She zoomed off, leaving petals in her wake.
"What the hell!? Who is that kid?" One of the Marines said, watching the young huntress disappear in the distance.
"A special one. Let's move, Marines."
The group headed down the hill and towards the dirt road leading to the Tower. Ruby made it over to the ledge where Chief had pointed. Luckily for her, it was close enough to get good shots off while far enough to not be immediately spotted.
She got on one knee and brought up the sniper rifle. She slower her breathing as she lined up her sights on a Brute. She looked to find the Chief and the Marines approaching the entrance, gaining the attention of the alien troops. As soon as the firefight broke out, Ruby gripped the sniper and pulled the trigger.
BANG!
BANG BANG!
It wasn't Crescent Rose when it came to recoil, but it still packed a punch. It felt good to shoot a sniper rifle again. She trained her sights on a Jackal sniper perched on top of a Banished structure. She sent a round through its skull before reloading. She popped the skulls of a few more Banished before realizing there were more Marines than originally. She figured that they were just rescued.
It was a only minute or two before all gunfire came to a stop. She watched a red hologram of an Elite form in the center. Ruby was too far away to hear exactly what he said, but she assumed it wasn't good. She jumped down the ledge and petaled her way over to the Tower, coming to a stop right in front of the Chief.
"I'm here, who was that Elite just now?"
"That, Ruby, was Chak'Lok." Joy replied. "This place is an interrogation facility before prisoners are taken to a place called the 'House of Reckoning'."
"Ominous." Ruby said, "And Banished sounding."
"Indeed. Chief already activated the grav lift, we should be going up now."
Ruby nodded before they went up the grav lift and landed in front of a crate with Spartan armor laying on it. Ruby began to fear the worst.
"Oh no...are we too late?" She asked while walking up to the helmet.
"I don't know," Joy said, "Let me see."
Chief picked up another module and added it to his armor, being a deployable threat sensor.
"This armor belonged to Spartan Hudson Griffin. Sensor logs suggest he was alive when he was removed from his armor. Forcefully."
"Do you think he's still alive?" Ruby asked.
"It's a long shot, but it's possible."
Ruby gained a look of determination as she took out Crescent Rose and put it in its scythe form. "Let's see if we can help him."
Chief nodded before a door to their right opened, revealing a Brute without any weapons. The Brute roared and charged at Ruby. She spun Crescent Rose and slashed its neck, watching it fall to the ground.
The trio made their way up ramps to higher floors taking down Banished ranging from Grunts to Brutes.
"You have overreached, Demon. This is not a place to come by choice. I await you and your compainion. Eagerly" Chak'Lok's voice echoed through the place.
"Kinda cocky isn't he?" Ruby asked while slashing down a Grunt.
"Yes, but it's very misplaced." Joy replied.
Battling their way through multiple floors, they made it to the top floor where they could see through a window that Griffin was being held captive, presumably tortured as well.
"There he is! We need to get him out of there!" Said Ruby.
"Where's Chak'Lok?" Chief asked.
"Unknown, keep your guards up."
Chief used his hands and forced the door open, entering before Chak'Lok decided to reveal himself. Deactivating his camouflage, he stood atop the machine holding Griffin, holding an energy sword.
"Welcome to my Tower, Master Chief." He said before jumping down. "And welcome to you as well, child." He said while looking at Ruby.
"This is where you will be broken. It is where you'll give up your secrets." The Elite said before activating his camouflage again.
"Aw no fair! He's cheating!" Ruby groaned while constantly looking for the alien.
The sound of whirring made them look back to see the walls retracting.
"Watch your backs! He can come from anywhere!"
Ruby's heartbeat quickly accelerated as she tried to spot the Elite. Her grip on Crescent Rose tightened harder, enough to have the weapon shake just a little.
She inhaled and exhaled through her nose. She scanned the room for Chak'Lok, watching a piece of the room blur for a moment. She raised Crescent Rose and prepared to strike if necessary.
The Elite revealed himself, mid-swing. Ruby barely had enough time to block with her weapon. Chak'Lok kicked Ruby in the stomach before blocking fire from the Chief. He backed off before disappearing again. Ruby groaned as she stood up, luckily her aura took the hit.
Chief's shields flared up as plasma was shot at him. The Spartan shot in the direction the plasma came from. He saw Chak'Lok's shields flare up before the Elite lobbed a plasma grenade at him.
Chief rolled out of the way as the grenade exploded behind him. Picking up a yellow fusion coil and popped off the threat sensor. The sensor made periodical pings as a blue wave went around the room, at least some of it. He and Ruby circled the room, not too far from one another.
Ruby swore she saw the blur of Chak'Lok's camo go by her. She whipped around and petaled away from a swing from the Elite. Chak'Lok dodged the fusion coil from the Master Chief before jumping up on the platform.
"I've never seen a human with such an ability. You are certainly an interesting one, child."
"Why thank you." She said with a glare before shooting Chak'Lok with her sniper. The Elite weaved out of the shot, which Ruby then petaled behind him and raised Crescent Rose. Chak'Lok turned and blocked the attack, only for Ruby force both their weapons up and delivering a spinning kick to the Elite.
Chak'Lok disappeared before Ruby jumped down and regrouped with the Chief.
"Refuses to go down, doesn't he?" Came Joy's voice.
"Seems not." Said the Chief.
The Spartan whipped around and caught Chak'Lok's wrist before slugging him in the face. He landed a few more blows before Chief began fill the Elite with bullets. Blue shields popped as Chak'Lok attempted to back away.
Chief had other plans. The grappleshot zipped out and dug into Chak'Lok's skin and blue electricity coursed through his body. The Elite roared out in pain as Ruby ran up behind him while Chief reeled himself in.
Chief cocked a fist back while Ruby jumped up and raised Crescent Rose. Chief struck Chak'Lok's stomach while Ruby slashed his neck, purple blood spilling out. The Elite gripped his throat as he gurgled.
Ruby cringed as she watched Chak'Lok cough up his own blood. He slumped to the ground as the purple liquid began to appear around him.
Chief went up to the terminal and let Joy onto the small platform. Spartan Griffin cried out in pain.
"Shut this thing down." Chief said.
"Working on it. Okay, be ready, I'm going to cut him loose."
Joy turned off the restraints as Ruby and Chief caught Griffin before he could fall.
"It's you. You're alive." Griffin said weakly.
The duo set him down, giving Ruby a chance to look at him. His face was bloodied and one eye was almost shut. Griffin looked towards Ruby.
"Taking little girls on missions, eh Chief?"
"It's a complicated situation." Ruby said.
"I see. Chief, the Banished...I tried to stop them...I tried to..."
"Easy," Chief said, "You're safe now."
"The Banished, they...they have something they call the Conservatory. That's all I know. I was picked up north of here. Dig site. I couldn't stop them. But you can...you have to."
Chief nodded, "Consider it done."
Griffin slowly nodded, "That's good. The others...the Spartans. Did you-"
"We'll find them."
"Echo 216. All channels. Can you hear me? I repeat. Can you hear me?" 216's voice said over comms. No answer.
While 216 continued to try and contact Chief, Ruby understood why he was silent. They were too late. She wanted to save everyone, sure she didn't know who anyone was, but that would never stop her. Griffin was a harsh reminder that not everyone can be saved. If she can't save them all, she'll save as many as possible.
Ruby knelt beside Griffin and closed his eyes. "I'm sorry we didn't get here sooner, Griffin."
"It's time to go." Chief said while picking up Joy.
"Yeah, let's go."
The three of them head out through an opening in the back. They stocked up on ammo via refill stations. After jumping down and regrouping with the Marines, Chief spotted a turned-over Razorback.
"Ruby?"
"Yeah, Chief?"
"Do you tend to get carsick?"
And that's that. I was originally planning something kinda sorta big to happen during the Chak'Lok fight, buuuut I felt it was a little early for that to happen. What the hell am I talking about? Just wait and see.