CHAPTER 23: OPERATION RETALIATORY STRIKE

1650 Hours, November 13, 2557 (Military Calendar) / Unknown System, Planet Remnant, Continent of Sanas

The Master Chief was very uncomfortable with the situation he was in right now.

In all of his military service, there were usually only two ways that he interacted with civilians: in a professional environment where civilians were employees of the UNSC or in combat when he had to rescue them from the enemy. In both settings, he knew how to respond appropriately.

In a garrison environment or in the fleet, he kept his interactions minimal and interacted with them only when he was required to. For the most part, the interactions were brief and polite, just as expected.

In combat, civilians were more than likely in a fight, flight, or freeze response. In all three scenarios, he knew how to respond.

The first demanded de-escalation, the most difficult of the three, but one that was easy enough to master with experience. Few had the ability to match a spartan in fighting ability aside from another spartan.

The second was challenging because the flight response could easily be enhanced by additional stimuli, but with the right non-threatening moves, it could be reigned in. Of course, no normal person was faster than a spartan, so

The third was perhaps the most complicated because when a person froze, it took at least thirty seconds to a minute to get them to be responsive to simple commands and get them back on their feet, the sort of time that could kill lots of people.

But for the spartan, he could not apply any of that to the setting he currently found himself in.

Normal civilization.

It was certainly not as expansive as the Kingdom of Vale, at the latest according to the map, but it was sizeable enough to not be considered a village out in the wilds. The defenses here were much more sturdy. There was a twenty-four-hour watch that was staffed by a few permanent huntsmen and huntresses. There was a steady flow of traffic coming and going, no doubt providing resources and all other necessary items for a city of this size to not only fight back against the Grimm but thrive.

These were the sorts of places that John had little to no experience in, nor did have the intuition to navigate this place like Kurt-051 would no doubt have. If he was being honest, he didn't want to be here, but there were a few reasons that the team was here.

Firstly, they were restocking on supplies and equipment. Hunting and gathering food was all well and good, but rations were more convenient not to mention lighter to carry. Water was more or less guaranteed to be drinkable without the need to purify it.

Dust was also a must-have item. They had no need for rounds; the Chief's ability to summon weapons came with that perk. What they did need was dust for more experimental purposes.

And there was also the fact that the girls needed a break. Even though the Spartan-II's were known to thrive in suffering, but even they appreciated breaks.

"Master Chief?" Belladonna's voice came from his left side. "

John didn't look at her. "I am merely doing a mental after-action report. Is there something you need?"

A lie, but an easy one for him.

The Faunus girl had chosen not to venture out into the market, instead sticking by him, a habit that had not been broken since her outburst.

"Why did you not join Rose and Xiao Long?" The Master Chief found it puzzling her recent attachment to him. "This is your opportunity to unwind."

And truthfully, a bit of time to himself wouldn't hurt either. He tolerated her presence and he had grown used to two sisters, but the faunus girl he didn't trust.

…in that case, maybe it was better that he keep an eye on her.

Belladonna glanced to her side, rubbing her arm. "I don't know… I'm not comfortable around them."

To be more specific, she's not comfortable around Xiao Long. The spartan was not blind to the distinction, but he held his tongue.

Instead, he simply stared off; he was compelled to talk about something, but speaking with someone that was neither a spartan or a close comrade was difficult for lack of a better word.

In that regard, the Faunus girl was similar to him. More often than not, she simply was close by, never saying much nor showing any indication that she needed or wanted anything more.

John saw some children run by him, then stare to look at him in awe. It was a familiar reaction that he had seen play out many times during the course of the Human-Covenant War. That sense of awe often became hero worship, something that every Spartan-II at one point or another had experienced. It was a strange feeling, but not an unpleasant one.

He did his best to not give off any intimidating body language, not an easy task considering his full stature and overall look of MJOLNIR.

But behind his visor, his eyes regarded the little ones as they went about their lives, playing and not having a care in the world.

…that was me once. The Master Chief let that thought play out in his mind. A long time ago.

"Mister John!"

Although he had only heard that voice once, it was familiar. It wasn't all that long ago that he'd heard it.

Turning his helmeted head to the left, he was met with the feeling of someone grasping his left leg. He looked down to immediately assess what had happened.

It was a little girl with green hair and a pair of Faunus cat ears who clung to him. At first, he didn't know what to say or do.

Then the details of the child made a few things click.

Green hair.

Cat ears.

And she knew his name.

Only one little girl fit the bill.

"Lilac." John felt his alertness subside. "Hello."

Of all the people that he would see today, he certainly didn't expect to meet the girl whose life he had saved just when arriving in Remnant. To see her again, this time with a clean appearance and a smile on her face were…

He wasn't sure what he was feeling.

Careful so as to not hurt her, he gently moved his right hand to pat her head, being mindful of the extra appendages. In response, she simply gave him an even bigger smile not to mention purring as well.

The Master Chief was still getting used to the Faunus.

"Lilac!" A woman's voice. "O-oh, it's you!"

The spartan acknowledged the mother. "Hello, ma'am."

"Oh, none of that ma'am business." May waved his greeting off with a silly tone. "You saved Lilac's life. As far as I'm concerned, we're family."

Family… when was the last time he had ever been called that by anyone?

"Thank you for saving my life!" The female child's declaration was clear and resolute. "Thank you for saving us!"

Moments like these were few and far in between because spartans were usually not around long enough to deal with the aftermath of battle. They were usually pulled out long before anyone could get a good look at them, and that took into account after the Spartan-II program went public.

He simply continued to gently pat the top of her head. Any other would seem inappropriate or awkward.

I've been called a hero many times in my life. John still couldn't make sense of what he was feeling. But this is the first time that I feel… nervous about the title.

Not for the first time, he thanked his luck that MJOLNIR concealed his face. Although he was well-known for being a quiet professional through and through, he did not trust himself at this moment not to display something outwardly.

He briefly glanced at Belladonna, who seemed entranced by this display. For a moment, he could not comprehend why she was confused until he recalled how for the most part, she was used to seeing him in combat, not interacting with civilians and children least of all. Perhaps that image did not match what she was seeing now.

"Where is your father?" The Chief wanted to get this conversation elsewhere, lest the crowd around them grow more curious.

Lilac looked up, still clinging to him. "Daddy's talking to other grownups about something! He won't tell me why!"

The armored man turned his visor to the mother, who simply smiled as if that was enough to explain the situation.

If there was a hidden meaning, he failed to see it.

The spartan, even more gently grasped the little cat girl and pulled her into his arms. This only seemed to make her even happier as she surveyed the new height.

"We should take this elsewhere." John adjusted himself.

May nodded. "My husband is around. Will your… friend be joining us?"

"No, ma'am." Belladonna quickly turned down the offer.

The war veteran turned to the former terrorist. "Get with Xiao Long and Rose. Inform them that personal business has come up for me."

"Y-yes, Master Chief," she said obediently.

This was turning out to be a most unexpected turn of events

Halo - - - RWBY

1704 Hours

The sisters were kind of excited to get back into the flow of normal. It had been a good minute since either of them had been back in regular civilization. The first thing to do was get a proper shower. Gods knew that they needed it.

Then it was all food that they had missed out on. It didn't matter how outrageously unhealthy their choices were. They had spent the better part of two months roughing it out in the wilds.

They were going to spend a week here before they hit the roads again to conduct advanced training. They were going to squeeze this opportunity dry because who knew when their next chance to do this was.

Thankfully, the two of them had kept some civilian clothes on throughout their travels, so blending in was turning out to be just fine. The one clear item that marked them as unusual was their weapons. Ruby opted to be more lowkey with her M6D strapped to her left leg while Yang brandished her M90 with a sling to her front without a care in the world.

Most people seemed to understand that they weren't to be fucked with and gave them a wide berth. This wasn't the first time that they'd received such treatment. Even before meeting the Master Chief, it wasn't uncommon for civilians to give them a strange look. There was certainly respect, but the distance was also a factor.

The only thing that the two of them could do was just go about their day and mind their own business. Be polite, have fun, and then get out. There really wasn't anything more to it.

But it was weird, seeing a whole bunch of people and not having to be hostile toward them. Everyone was laughing, being chill, and just being decent. Even the Faunus people here were nice here and not at all like the now-defunct Vale branch of the White Fang.

Well, they weren't completely wiped out. There were some elements concealed within the cities of the kingdom, but that wasn't the point. Their days were numbered and pretty soon, it would be time to move on.

A nice change of scenery would be good. Mountainous terrain and generally forestry were getting a little bit stale.

The silver-eyed sister munched on a pack of strawberries that she had gotten a few minutes ago while the lilac-eyed sister snacked on a kebab. So far the day was going splendidly and thankfully it was going slow.

And yet the entire time they were casually walking through the market, they couldn't help but regard everyone around somewhat warily.

Logically, they knew that they were in a place where the White Fang's reach was practically non-existent even before they had been cleared out. There was little chance of any hostile action taking place.

And yet…

Ruby saw a female Faunus with a tail, probably a lion type, and her hand almost instinctively reached for her sidearm, before carefully moving it back to her side with more than a little effort.

"You good, Rubes?" Yang gave her sister a look. "You looked like you wanted to kill that woman."

Ruby tried to process what had just happened to her body. "I just… moved on my own… like I saw her Faunus trait and my body reacted."

"You too?" Yang chuckled, her tone dark. "Yeah, I got that feeling too. I even checked to see if my weapon was loaded."

The former scythe-wielder thought about what they had just said. "Are we racists now? Did all that White-Fang killing fuck us up that bad?"

"I don't see it like that." The brawler took another bite from her kebab. "White Fang are bad guys, we killed the bad guys, and all of them just happen to be Faunus. Besides, it's not like you haven't killed humans."

Ruby pressed her lips into a thin line. "I guess…"

"What's there to think about?" Yang wiped her mouth with her forearm. "It's not like we're offing people that haven't done just as bad if not worse. If anything, they're getting the long end of the stick. They don't have to pay for their crimes in jail, suffering for years. They got a quick death, maybe not clean or painless, but they've got no worries anymore. Far as I'm concerned, we did 'em a mercy."

The silver-eyed girl could agree with that logic. "Don't get me wrong. I have no regrets about killing bad guys, but feeling nothing… it just feels wrong. I feel wrong about feeling nothing… does that make sense?"

"I kinda get it, but not really." Lilac eyes gazed into the sky. "Maybe I'm more of a violence junkie than I realized. Maybe that's how a real warrior's supposed to feel. If we stop and feel sorry for everyone we've killed, how could we ever hope to do our jobs right?"

Ruby perked up. "Speaking of jobs, you know what the Master Chief's doing while we have fun?"

"Couldn't say, little sis." Yang shrugged. "Chief's probably doing the decent thing as our leader: getting us ready. I honestly wouldn't mind giving him a hand; it'd make me feel less like a shitbag. If we see him, we'll see what we can do, yeah."

"Yeah, I'm game."

"Aight."

They walked a few steps before a new conversation began to roll.

"Yang, what would you say if I found myself a boyfriend?"
"I'd say it's not really my business, Rubes. What, you thought I'd murder anyone you'd want to fuck?"

"Yang! I don't want to be like that. I'm actually waiting for the right one! I know that I'm not exactly in the best shape mentally, but I still believe in that."

"It's cool, sis. I totally getcha. If it makes you feel any better, I really don't feel like even trying to flirt with guys, much less have fun with them."

Ruby was surprised. "C'mon, it's your chance to have some fun. Gods know when we'll get another chance like this."

"I don't know. I guess… my priorities changed." Yang looked around them. "I mean, I see a couple of dudes are decent-looking, maybe one hot guy, but I just don't really care to talk to 'em."

One of Ruby's hands moved to push a lock of hair out of her eyes. "I never thought I'd see the day that you'd turn down messing with boys."

"People change." Yang finished her kebab and tossed the stick in a nearby trashcan. "Their tastes evolve."

Some things changed, and some things stayed the same. The two of them understood the feeling very well. They had spoken about it many times, accepting it and yet lamenting it as well. It made no sense, yet this was their way of life now.

Ruby was down to her last few strawberries. "Any regrets?"

"Hell nah." Yang looked down at the weapon on her person, a frown adorning her. "I honestly think that if I'd kept doing what I always did, I probably would've ended up in jail. You know how obsessive I was with the search for Raven."

The blonde's birth mother had always been a taboo subject in the family, and yet the name had come out so smoothly.

The close-quarters specialist looked at the ground with a serene face. "Y'know, dad's the best, but he should've been harder on us. All it would take was a bit of crying and he gave in. You wanted to be a huntress, a hero, he always said you could do anything. Look at how we turned out. I was a bitchy brat and you had grand delusions about being a hero."

"... you think dad wasn't a good father." The sniper wanted to ask a question, but her words came out as more of a statement of fact.

Yang met eye to eye. "No, he wasn't. He was… more like the relative that spoils you, not the parent who's supposed to tell you right from wrong and unfuck you when you do the wrong thing. Shit, the chief's been more of a father to us than our own father. How depressing is that?"

"...yeah." Ruby didn't like thinking ill of her father, but it was an apt description.

Taiyang Xiao Long was a good man, but he doted on his girls too much, gave them too many freedoms, and promised them the world, even more so when her own mother never returned from a mission.

The Master Chief, many times both verbally and otherwise, had made it clear that he wasn't their friend. If they were to stay, they would have to follow his orders or face corrective training measures. Thankfully, only a few had to be endured before they learned fast and fixed themselves.

Any sane probably would've left given their training and their living conditions, yet the two of them were still here willingly.

Yang looked up, then stopped. "Hey, is that the Chief?"

"Yeah, it…" Ruby saw him too, and her eyes widened.

Was he… carrying a little girl in his arms?

A Faunus girl?
…

...

RWBY - - - Halo

1717 Hours

Blake subconsciously felt herself touching her ears. Even though she had long since done away with the ribbon, it was still difficult for her to look around and not see any potential racists who would come out to mock her.

But they never came. Everyone simply regarded her and then went on their way. That response, in a way, made her even warier. She couldn't recall a time when there wasn't someone who made a remark about her being a Faunus.

And yet here she was, living in a place where people were just going about their day alongside other Faunus. Aside from the occasional gaze that was more so on account of attraction rather than malice.

And speaking of other surprises, the cat girl was flabbergasted when that little Faunus girl came up to hug him. She half-expected the giant to avoid the issue or brush off the child. Instead, he treated her almost like a father would treat his daughter: gently and with kind words. He even picked her up and carried her. Judging by the few words exchanged, he had to have saved her life at some point.

Blake could only guess at the sort of mysteries that the man in armor might have. Science fiction and the military were hardly her areas of expertise. She was more into the fantasy and ninja setting. That being said, she couldn't deny that behind the futuristic-looking armor was something that had her intrigued.

With Adam, she knew him. She knew who he was, where he had come from, and what he had done. Then again, she had known him for a good chunk of her life. There were no secrets with him.

With the Master Chief, she knew almost nothing. Even as observant as she was, she saw more machine than man. There were the occasional glimpses of a person inside, but those moments were few and far in between.

Adam… wherever you are, I hope you're at peace. The ninja girl still thought about him, albeit without a violent reaction.

Hindsight had given her some perspective now that her emotions weren't on a high. Even when she was still part of the White Fang, she knew that they were doing the wrong thing, but who would want to admit that their entire life's work was all for nothing?

Blake certainly didn't want to, but now circumstances forced her to take a look at what she had done. The death of the Fang might as well be karma now. They had resorted to violence and now someone was hitting back, just as they had originally when peace was no longer an option. Did the morality of it even matter in the first place?

"Maybe it's not about what's right or wrong," she said to no one in particular, "Only who's strong enough to enforce their way."

A familiar voice pulled her from her reverie. "Ayo, Belladonna, where's Chief at?"

Blake turned to face the blonde. "He had some… personal business to attend to?"

"Did that personal business have to do with a little girl?" Rose held a nearly empty container of strawberries.

Raven hair bobbed as she nodded. "Yeah… it's was surprising. I didn't know that he was…"

"Good with kids? Maybe a little softer than we thought? Neither did we." Xiao Long appeared to be genuinely interested in the subject. "Did you see how she was holding onto that dude? It was like he was the dad. He isn't a dad, right?"

Blake shook her head. "From what I could tell, it sounds like he saved Lilac's life and probably her parents as well."

"Lilac." Rose tested the name. "Makes sense with the hair."

That little conversation lasted for all of a minute. Then the three of them fell silent. They honestly didn't have a lot to talk about, at least not in a way that wouldn't turn awkward due to the shared history between them all.

Xiao Long was the first to break the awkwardness. "Let's head into the markets. I hear that some new scroll models are out. I wanna check 'em out!"

Perhaps it was a little force, but nobody commented on it, simply making their way toward the busier areas of the shopping district.

As they moved further in, the Faunus girl could see large crowds and groups scattered all over the place. Normally, such a sight wouldn't be considered abnormal or unusual, but there was one factor that was similar to all of them.

All of there were gathered around a screen of some sort. Whether it was a storefront display or a TV in a coffee shop, it seemed like everyone had tuned into whatever the news was spitting out.

"So is it just me or are there are lot more people interested in the news today?" Rose seemed to have spotted it.

Blake chimed in. "No, I see it too. Whatever it is must be interesting."

"Maybe the Second Great War's about to pop off," Xiao Long nonchalantly suggested, "That's about the only news I'd care about."

The shortest girl in the group rolled her eyes. "Yang, if another Great War pops off, there'd be more than news. There'd be drafts and recruitments going on like crazy. No, it's something else."

A few people had pulled away from a storefront, allowing the three of them to get a look at what seemed to be catching everyone's attention. There was no sound to hear, but that wasn't necessary because the headlines were all they needed.

TERRORIST GROUP BELIEVED TO BE THE WHITE FANG KIDNAPS SCHNEE HEIRESS

The footage following appeared to be someone in the audience who was filming the girl known as Weiss Schnee giving a performance before all hell broke loose. From there, it was a few shots of law enforcement collecting evidence, the most significant proof being a banner of the White Fang, most likely left behind as a taunt.

Blake didn't even have time to fully process it as she turned her head to the two sisters.

Rose was giving her a stone-faced look.

Xiao Long regarded her with a grin, but it wasn't friendly.

Then she found herself being grabbed on both sides, They gripped her arms somewhat harshly before dragging her off to a secluded location.

"Explain." Silver eyes bore into her gold ones.

The former terrorist shook her head. "I don't know anything about that! There's a different branch leader in all the Kingdoms. Adam was just the leader of the Vale Branch."

"What, so dudes don't talk to anyone at all outside of their AO?" The brawler wasn't so quick to trust those words. "Y'all don't talk to anyone but yourselves? I call bullshit."

Blake was starting to get annoyed. "It's true! The only person who could've authorized that kidnapping was either the leader of the Altesian branch or the High Leader Sienna Khan! I couldn't have done anything and Adam wouldn't have been able to tell me. What each cell does is kept secret from everyone else!"

The two sisters looked at each other, probably asking each other through their eyes if what she said made sense. It was a tense few seconds of watching their facial feature harden for a moment, then somewhat soften.

"We need to find the Master Chief." Rose finally spoke up. "He'll want to know about it, not that this changes all that much."

"Got it." Even Xiao Long was uncharacteristically serious. "You're either lying or crazy, Belladonna. If it's the former, you know what I'll do to you."

"I'm not… lying," Blake replied, her eyes narrowing and her voice quiet but certain.

The blonde looked skeptical for a moment. "Crazy then. Got it. Still gonna fuck you up if do anything funny."

The siblings didn't hold the cat girl down as they had initially, but they did keep her between them. They quickly backtracked to the last place that they knew the Master Chief had gone.

It was then that Rose got a scroll message. One look at her device and the silver-eyed girl frowned. "The Master Chief's tracking the news. He says that we're moving out in the next eighteen hours."

"Gods dammit." Xiao Long's curse was loud. "Well, we got our day off. Back to work, I guess. I wonder what's the plan."

Rose shut off her scroll. "We're getting a brief at 2000 at the place we're staying. We might as well enjoy what time we've got left."

It was meant for all of them to cut loose a bit, but nobody seemed to want to do any more relaxation with the impending work that was soon to come.

So they just returned to the local motel they were staying at.

Halo - - - RWBY

Unknown Time, Unknown Date (Military Calendar) / Unknown System, Planet Remnant, Unknown Location

Weiss Schnee hated the White Fang.

The name had caused her and her family nothing but pain and suffering. It had always been like this for as long as she could remember. She had lost family to these animals and they caused no end of grief to the Schnee Dust Company. From harassing shipping to guerilla tactics, there was no end to it.

The terrorist group was here to stay, like it or not and the only thing that the Schnee family and Atlas could do was fight back and wait for an opportunity to hit back. However, it wouldn't be this time.

Never in her wildest dreams did Weiss Schnee think that she would be the target of a kidnapping. Not only was it unexpected but it was also crushing to her pride as well. She was training to become a huntress. Money had bought the best combat instructors possible and she pushed herself to be the best that she could.

And yet she had been caught completely off-guard and with no means to defend herself to her best ability.

Weiss could only recall that she had been delivering a grand performance before an explosion and its shockwave ruptured the entire event. Before she knew it, gunfire had erupted and she had been subdued. There was no chance for her to even use aura or her semblance before she was rendered unconscious.

Now as she woke, up, the gravity of her situation came to the forefront of her mind. She had been caged and she was now a hostage of the White Fang. She had no weapons, her elegant dress was gone, replaced instead by rags and her once perfect visage was marred by rough handling, dirt, and grime. She couldn't use her aura or her semblance due to a suppressor on her neck. Basically, she was helpless.

There were a few scenarios that she could imagine. No doubt her value as a hostage could be leveraged in many forms. Ransom money was very likely, revenge was also a good bet, and maybe…

The heiress felt her breath erratically emanating from her lips. She wanted nothing more than to hold it together. A true Schnee would never show weakness, but no matter the logic she attempted to use to distract herself from her new reality, she couldn't stop fear from creeping into her thought process.

"Get up, Schnee." One of the masked White Fang ordered her, grabbing her arm.

It wasn't a good idea to be defiant, but Weiss's mind made up a split-second choice. She spit in the face of the one handling her.

It was a poor choice. She felt a punch to her face and as she fell, she felt a kick hit her guts, causing her pain and a few bouts of coughing.

Her captors were not amused. "Gag this bitch! We don't have time to deal with this shit!"

She was roughly hauled to her feet, then a large balled-up piece of cloth was shoved into her mouth which was secured by another cloth around her mouth to the back of her head. For good measure another one blinded her.

No matter the outcome of this kidnapping, there was one thing that the girl with pale skin and white hair could say.

The status quo had changed.

Team RWBY is almost here. Just hang in there for a minute.

And so the next part begins. No spoilers about what's to come, but I'm sure y'all are smart enough to put together a few ideas.

Thoughts on this chapter? Reviews and feedback are greatly appreciated.

Thanks for reading.

"A woman simply is, but a man must become."

Camille Paglia