King: You knew what this was going to be, don't lie.

Knox: You didn't do that for Chapters 66 or 115.

King: One was your fault if memory serves and the other I just couldn't get to work at the time. Either way, here we are again. First, I want to say Happy Halloween. This feels so much more appropriate now~ Also, we passed 5 million views a few chapters ago, but I forgot to say anything.

Knox: Seriously? You're usually so excited by that.

King: I'm excited, don't get me wrong. This was fun~ Anyway, hope you enjoy.

Inspiration: Halo

/\

Everyone mulled over the last reality, feeling a sense of hope, but the screen made to begin a new world.

The new reality opened to the vast void of space, stars dotting the area around as the only light they see.

To the viewers, they weren't sure if it was just the night sky or not. They didn't have anything to say otherwise at the moment, and the screen has tricked them plenty of times.

A shadow fell over the area as the camera fell back. Soon, a large mass of metal took over the entire screen. As the chunk of metal moved passed, they could see the large mass formed a large ring floating in space. The inner section of the ring resembled a planet's surface.

The sight amazed many in the audience, but others were left wondering if such a thing was even possible and why such a thing would exist.

They saw something on the ring's interior, a miniscule dot moving across what they could see. The camera snapped to the surface of the ring to show a full sky with a dropship flying through the artificial atmosphere.

Now that everyone saw the size of the ship, they could finally truly have a scale for the ring and that left them floored again.

"That's…" Weiss would have been floored if not for her being seated in a chair, "That ring has be as large as a planet!"

Yang chuckled, "Must have been one crazy engagement."

The craft set down and a landing ramp opened from the back of the ship. A series of men in military armor ran down the ramp and set up a perimeter. With everything clear, half the group moved to unload some equipment. They slammed barricades into the ground and set up a small armory for them to utilize at any time.

Ironwood sat back with a bit of a grin. He appreciated the efficiency and even the idea of these mobile cover sets and armory.

With everything set, the men gathered at set posts. The camera moved between two of them and toward the ship. They heard someone's steps in the ship before seeing an armored boot fall onto the ramp. The figure moved down into frame to reveal a tall man in futuristic, fading white armor. His helmet covered his entire head with a golden plate over his face.

"Guessing that's Jaune." Yang smirked a bit to herself.

"Most likely." Blake nodded. A part of her felt there was more going on, given his armor compared to the others they'd seen.

He stepped onto the ground, revealing he towered over the men as a 7-foot 2-inch bulk of armor. This man is the United Nations Space Command's most famous solder and most powerful weapon, the Master Chief Petty Officer Jaune-117 of the Spartan-II program.

Yang's grin turned downward a little, "Master what officer?"

Winter was the one to explain it for her, "A Master Chief Petty Officer. It can be equated to the Army's Sergeant classes. It's most comparable to the Sergeant Major."

Yang turned toward the oldest Schnee sister, "Where's that compared to your rank, exactly?"

Winter clammed up, but there was no saving her.

Roman knew the answer, "He'd outrank her by 7 ranks with five pay grade steps over her. Specialist is the last stage of ranks before attaining the non-commissioned officer status."

Winter turned to him, more shocked than anything, "How do you know that?"

"I make it my business to know lots of things." Roman smirked and sat back in his chair with an aura of satisfied smug, "I know more than you'd prefer," he held a hand toward Neo as she handed him a small set of notes. "Atlas Army Specialist Winter Schnee, age 22, weight 174 pounds…"

Eyes turned to Winter, but she didn't seem bothered. "I'm a Specialist and officer of the Atlas Military. Such measurements are hardly that difficult to find."

Roman raised an eyebrow and turn a note page, "Ambidextrous. Weapon type: twin swords. Formerly heiress to the Schnee Dust company."

Winter rolled her eyes. "Yes, yes, we all know this. You're not as smart or resourceful as you seem to think you are."

Roman grinned, "Favorite color: off-white-blue, oddly specific. You had three bunkmates bail on you in the Academy because you were quote-unquote 'too demanding and bitchy.'"

Winter felt her complexion pale. "What? What are you…?"

"You were forced into 'punitive service' a total of 39 times in your first semester. Someone was a bad girl back then, huh? So, that enough to prove how, 'smart and resourceful I am, Specialist Ice Queen?

Winter was more in shock than anything, only the sound of Qrow's incessant laughter knocking her to her senses.

Jaune stepped onto the ground and looked around.

"Hell of a sight, isn't it?" Jaune turned to see the UNSC Marine Sergeant Sun Wukong walking down the ramp, dressed more in line with the other men. He grinned to the Spartan as he reached the ground, "Feels weird, doesn't it?"

Sun blinked before laughing a little. He never imagined himself as a military man, so it was interesting to see.

Sun turned to his men, "Alright! We're on a schedule! We got energy signals to the south and a target just passed that! Means we got Covies in the way!"

Nora snickered a bit, "Covies? What's that supposed to be?"

Ironwood tapped his chin a bit, "I think it's a shortened version of whatever the actual name is. Helps keep things quick."

Sienna raised an interested brow, "What do you call the White Fang?"

Ironwood deadpanned, "Terrorists."

Sienna sighed, "Should have seen that coming."

Sun grabbed one of the guns from the mobile armory. "Our job is to get the data and fuel, then get off this thing as soon as possible. Covies chased us down and into a corner. Now! Let's show those ugly bastards what they're messing with!"

The soldiers didn't even flinch from their positions but shouted, "OORAH!"

Ironwood and Winter couldn't help but crack a smile at how professional and poised the soldiers were being. It was common for at least one person to be either too much or too little when it came to such moments, often due to a lack of experience. However, these men were acting more like proper soldiers.

Sun turned back to Jaune and handed him a sleek assault rifle, "You, on the other hand, are heading north to grab the data, and I got money saying you're going to have plenty of Covies of your own. We sent a recon unit out that way and they haven't reported in. Be careful out there, alright Chief?"

Jaune took the weapon with a chuckle, "I'll see what I can do." He sounded older than the Jaune they knew and definitely more experienced in war. However, he still sounded very human; like despite everything he's been through, he retained himself rather than falling into some kind of destructive outlook or apathy.

That got Ironwood and Winter's smiles to become a little somber. They knew too many soldiers that had been through so much that they gave up on everything. Some lost brothers-in-arms, some actual brothers, and many would lose limbs in combat, be it against the Grimm threat or terroristic attacks by the White Fang. Ironwood in particular knew what it was like to lose himself. He was lucky enough to be able to move passed the horror to become what he was now.

Jaune took a glance at the setup, "You sure you don't me to stick around?"

Sun laughed it off, "My marines are plenty for what we have in store. Now, get moving and get the job done!"

Jaune nodded and turned, walking to the side of the makeshift base to a waiting vehicle that looked awfully familiar.

Nora gasped, "Wait! That's the puma car!" Despite how long ago it was, it was hard for her to forget the world with Velvet as the Meta, given what happened (see Chapter 16: You Think You Know Someone). Seeing the same type of car appearing was a little weird.

Ruby jumped a bit in her chair, "Is it a similar world to that one?"

King popped in, "Yes and no. It's hard to explain. Same idea but the terms and uses are all different. You'll see soon enough."

Jaune took the driver's seat and ignited the engine.

Sun laughed, "You want someone to take the gun?"

"You'll need all the help you can get. I'll be fine." Jaune hit the pedal and peeled out heading north. The M12 Light Reconnaissance Vehicle, more commonly called the Warthog, didn't have the best handling but it was good for what it was.

Nora crossed her arms and tilted her head, "Why is it called the Warthog?"

Ironwood decided to have a little fun with that one, "Because M12-LRV is too difficult to say in conversation."

Nora either didn't get the joke or ignored it, "No, I mean, why 'warthog' specifically? It doesn't look like a pig. It's like a puma."

Ironwood rolled his eyes and sighed, "And I suppose the Atlassian Firefly actually resembles an insect with a glowing rear?"

"The what?" Nora was confused until Ren pulled out his scroll and showed her the low light reconnaissance fighter. "Oh… Military names are weird."

Jaune drove off along the hills and toward a large alien structure in the distance.

The camera transitioned to the structure and rose up to show two strange, dinosaur-like aliens with other worldly rifles. They hunched slightly as they looked out over the area, a pair of scouts for the Covenant Forces on the ring. These beings are called the Kig-Yar or, for those that don't speak the alien languages, Jackals.

Winter nodded with a realization, "Okay, they're called Covenant, hence the shortened Covies."

One of them turned to his troopmate, speaking in their shared language. Subtitles beneath them allowed the viewers to know what was going on, [Hey.]

His partner turned toward him as well, [Yeah?]

[You ever wonder why we're here?]

Neptune picked that one up and really ran with it, "That's quite the sentiment. Is there a greater force binding our fates, or is everything simply a cosmic coincidence?"

Sun sighed, "Great… he's in nerd mode."

Neptune gave his team leader a light punch, "Intellectual."

The friend just blinked, [Do you dare question the word of our mighty profits?!] He raised his weapon toward the supposed heretic.

Ozpin nodded, seeing the signs, "A theocratic group. If the first Jackal isn't careful, he might find himself in deep trouble."

The first Jackal scrambled to justify himself, [What?! No! I mean why here, specifically! We're snipers. Shouldn't we be on higher ground than this?]

The second Jackal blinked before lowering his weapon again, [I guess you have a point.]

A small device fell at their feet, causing them both to jump to a start and aim toward the device, finding a round grenade. They both looked toward each other before the explosive went off, killing them both.

Jaune leapt over the ledge with his rifle ready as he ran along the wall. As more aliens, mostly smaller Grunts, ran out in force to find Jaune in an attempt to stop him. Jaune, however, was a force of nature, mowing down the alien forces with ease. One of the Grunts saw no way out, choosing to kill the devil of a human by any means. It grabbed two sticky plasma grenades, armed them, and ran toward Jaune intent to die for his cause.

Blake groaned. She'd seen some in the White Fang that seemed to be taking steps to end up like that.

Jaune shot the Grunt's leg and kicked him back into a group before the grenades exploded.

Yang whistled, "Damn! Look at him go."

As his weapon ran out of ammunition, Jaune slammed the butt of his rifle into a Grunt and took his plasma pistol. It wasn't the best weapon for direct combat but felt it he would need it. Placing it on his hip, he drew his own weapon caliber magnum and fired kill shots without wasting a single round.

Ruby started to drool over this new weapon, "Oh my gosh! That thing is crazy! It seems way too powerful for a pistol!"

When everything calmed a little, Jaune relaxed and rummaged for better weapons. Being a Spartan specializing in solo shock and awe missions meant that he often had to scavenge weaponry rather than using the same weapon throughout the entire mission.

"Smart." Ilia smirked, "Scavenging weapons in a state like that is more efficient and ensures you're less likely to run out of ammo away from supplies."

Tossing his assault rifle to the side, he grabbed one of the Jackal's plasma carbine. Once he was set, he ran into the instillation. A few larger aliens (the Elites) were inside and spun around as he stormed inside. Jaune fired a few shots out, but the Elites' shields were too strong for that to be enough.

Nora gasped, "They have aura?!"

Penny wasn't as sure, "It seems less like aura and more like a full body force field."

Jaune ducked behind a wall as the Elite's opened fire. Jaune sighed and thought about how to best get out of this. After a moment, he heard them stop firing and knew enough about Elites to know where this was going. He dived to the side as a pair of energy blades slammed into the wall. The Elites were wielding their energy swords in what they believed was honorable combat.

Ruby nodded, "Okay, that's the 'sword' from the world with the AI Jaune."

King nodded, "Right. In that world, it's a powerful weapon that imprints on a single wielder. In this reality, it's a simple tool for war."

Jaune fired a few shots, enough to kill one of them, but at a heavy ammo cost. Another Elite charged to find Jaune ducking the blade and snapping his grenade to life and running back to avoid the explosion. He could kick a Grunt with no problem, but Elites were too much of a risk to attempt the same thing. He fired bolts at a few more, aimed for the grenades. After a few kills, the Elites figured out what he was up to and ditched their explosives.

Jaune knew this wasn't great for him, but he'd figure something out. As the Elites returned to their rifles, Jaune found his opportunity. He fired a bolt into their rifles, causing a few to explode and drain the shields. This allowed Jaune to level the Elites with well-placed headshots.

Jaune relaxed again, finding himself alone again. "Alright. That looks like the last of them. For now anyway." Jaune walked to a nearby console and took a small device from the back of his head. He placed the device into the console. "Anything we need to know?"

Jaune thought back over the previous worlds with similar situations. "I'm guessing that device has an AI."

A hologram appeared on the console, showing a small human female. Her body was covered in circuitry and seemed like she was wearing a full bodysuit of some kind. Everything from her hair to her skin and circuits therein was some shade of red. As for appearance, it was hard not to see the visage of Ruby Rose. "Give me a minute. I just got here."

Ruby blinked before her face showed all the confusion she could muster, "Why the heck does my AI form look like that? Jaune's other version had a full set of armor!"

Penny tapped her friend's shoulder, "If I may, it may be a representation of the AI's age. Your AI is likely older and thus doesn't have the same cosmetic capacity."

Ruby felt a bit better now, "I mean, that makes sense… I think."

Jaune chuckled, "Don't give me that. I know you're already done."

"Can't put one over on you, can I?"

"You were literally just in my head."

"Good point. Anyway, I found plenty, but nothing important. I wasn't actually kidding before, there's a lot in here to process. It'll take a second. You, in the meanwhile, need to get down to the lower levels. Covenant Forces are hiding something down here."

"You sure you'll be alright on your own?"

"I think I can handle a few spreadsheets and dead aliens. Get moving."

Jaune nodded and ran off to the lower levels.

A group of Elites were waiting below, unaware of the battle that happened above. As they walked through, they heard something in the distance, a green glow seeming to hang in the hallway. A large bolt of green energy struck one of them, knocking his shields out with an EMP effect. Jaune charged in and punched the alien before stealing his sword and running another through with his partner's weapon. Jaune fired his magnum, expending the full eight rounds and dropping a few of the smaller aliens before snapping the neck of the Elite under his knee.

Cinder felt a certain appreciation for the efficiency and brutality of his actions. It was in the same vein as her appreciation toward Adam's actions. Quick, brutal, with a clear message in mind. The largest fault Cinder could find in his actions, however, was what caused the White Fang to become what it was seen as now. If his actions and power were used only in self/group defense, the White Fang wouldn't be seen as a terrorist group. Instead, he went out of his way to attack humans believing it to be the only way they'll understand. Cinder chuckled to herself every time he brought that up. After all, human or faunas, they'd all be under her heel.

Jaune stood and ran through the halls again. "Ruby, check in."

"All quiet here. Where you are, on the other hand, is getting pretty loud. Hang on a second, I think I found the recon unit. Sending a feed to your HUD."

"HUD?" Oscar turned to someone that might know what that means.

Ozpin explained it, which was surreal for the young man because it wasn't the Ozpin in his head, "Heads Up Display. Often used to display important information in front of one's eyes through a visor or screen on a ship."

Oscar nodded slowly at first, "Okay. I think I get it."

Jaune took up a safe position with a motion alarm set. This allowed him to focus on the video feed.

The video showed the recon unit arriving in a large empty room in the lower levels. He could see them clearing the area and starting to relax. After a moment, something made them jump to attention and look around in a panic. Soon, small strange creatures crawled out from the darkness, resembling a bulb with tiny tendrils to walk with. As the men leveled their weapons, uncertain, one of them jumped onto the weapon and impaled its tendrils into the man's hands. The soldiers lost any cool they could have had and started to fire into the swarm. Some of them popped, but the recon unit was laid to waste in less than a minute.

The viewers were scared stiff. These things just killed an entire unit in no time flat. A horrifying strength in numbers despite their weak forms.

Jaune finished the feed, more than a little shocked, "What the hell were those things?"

"I'm looking into it. I keep getting the same word over and over. Flood."

Ozpin took a deep breath, "Quite an apt name given their method of attack. A wave of weak creatures that cover you in their assault."

Jaune moved slowly, now more than a little on edge from the video feed. As he continued down the levels, he started to find fewer Covenant walking around. "Ruby, I need a scan."

"On it." After a moment, she responded, "There's a signature ahead. Wait… two signi- three? Seven! JAUNE! GET OUT OF THERE!"

Jaune activated a flashlight on his helmet to reveal a mass of Flood spores on the ground, seemingly looking up toward him.

Everyone felt an unholy chill run up and down their spines. Seeing these things, the sheer number of them, and their disgusting forms made everyone feel sick. And this time, it really was everyone. Even Cinder couldn't stay stoic at their disgusting form.

Jaune spun around and started to run as fast as he could through the halls with the Flood giving chase. As he ran, Jaune pulled a grenade from his side and dropped it with pin released. After a moment, it went off and ripped a large chunk of the Flood apart like a bunch of balloons, but the wave, as a whole, continued to follow. He ran through a turn to find a pair of Elites waiting. He punched the two to keep them off him and continue his escape. He took another grenade and glanced back to plan out his timing. A part of him really wished he hadn't.

The flood stopped chasing him and were jumping the pair of Elites. As the aliens cried out in horror and pain, the Flood started to clamp down on their flesh and devour them alive. The small creatures congealed on the alien bodies and ate away at the living body and its nervous system.

This got a few of them to evacuate their stomachs to the floor. Again thankful for the magical properties of the theater.

Jaune didn't have the time to slow down, attempting to escape the Flood swarm. As he ran through, he found himself in a familiar, large and empty room.

Ruby groaned as her stomach started to settle again, "Wait… isn't that the room from the video?"

Jaune heard a groan and pointed his weapon toward the source of the sound. A mass of flesh and death walked out from the darkness. What little wasn't covered by Flood flesh showed the telling uniform of the recon unit. Its still humanoid hand held an assault rifle and started to raise it toward Jaune. It held no hesitation to pull the trigger and unload the entire magazine.

Jaune leapt aside and behind a large pillar for cover. "What the hell are those things?!"

Nora gasped, "ALIEN ZOMBIES!"

Jaune groaned again, "I could have lived my entire life not seeing those things and died happily…"

The reanimated corpse was not alone. More of the unit started to shamble forward with incomprehensible groans and gunfire. Jaune took the alien carbine and fired from behind his cover. After half of the gun's battery was drained, one of the bodies fell again, this time without seeming to rise again. Jaune's brain was modified to process information faster than the average human, so he started to consider why it seemed to have collapsed. Unfortunately, he didn't have too much time to focus on that with the other corpses still shambling. With a quick glance, he saw that they had the mental processes to reload their weapons. This got Jaune thinking further. These things latched onto living bodies and ate them from the inside, killing the host but take its body and muscle memory. Which means that if he puts them down again, they stay down.

Yang tapped her chair in thought, "I always wondered about that in zombie movies. If the zombie is dead, why is shooting their head and killing them again effective?"

Ren thought that over, and gave his best answer, "It's likely because the brain is the primary control center."

"I get that, but it just seems weird. It's like, why does the head die too? If you cut the head off of a zombie, why does the head stop too?"

"That's likely a side effect of the different interpretations of zombies. Some people have the head continue with the body failing while others keep the body perfectly mobile."

Jaune grabbed his last grenade and tossed it to cause greater damage over the group. With the explosion as a distraction, he rolled to the side and fired his carbine into the Flood-controlled corpses and dropping them all. He could have tested his hypothesis, but he really didn't feel like taking that chance. He ran off through the room and out toward a ramp upward. "Ruby! We need to get out of here!"

"I've noticed! Get up here and pull me out of the console! I got everything we need."

Jaune ran passed a few smaller Flood, kicking one into a wall for good measure.

Sun grinned, "Nice! Now, he just gets to the top and seals the door shut."

Blake nodded, "That would make sense, but I feel like there's more we're not seeing."

Jaune reached the console and grabbed Ruby's device before placing it back in his helmet and booking it out of the installation. He scavenged a myriad of sticky plasma grenades and planted them in multiple locations in the room and the doorway. Setting them all off, the entryway was buried under rubble and destruction.

"Nice!" Yang threw a celebratory fist into the air.

Blake wasn't so sure yet.

Jaune growled a bit to himself, "Well, let's hope that's the last of it."

Ruby's voice played in his mind, "Not so fast, Chief. We're not out of the water yet. The installation runs through the entire ring."

Neptune took in a sharp breath, "Ooh… that's not good."

"Then how do we stop them?"

"We leave. Fast. I was able to get information on them. Not much, but I got something. The Flood are a hive mind that latch onto living creatures and take over the host. They move like a plague. The Halo rings were designed as a way to stop their spreading."

"Rings? As in more than one?"

"Yeah, all over the galaxy. And that's part of the problem. They're designed to wipe all life in the galaxy to prevent the Flood spreading by depriving it of their hosts."

Ruby shouted, "How does that make sense?!"

"In a worst case scenario," Blake sighed, "but it does seem excessive."

"Then we need to make sure that doesn't happen."

"You think the Covenant are here to activate the ring?"

"They glass the planets of 'heretical beings.' I wouldn't put it passed them."

"Glassed?" Nora's head tilted slightly, "What's he mean by that?"

Knox popped back for the answer, "As in, they burn and melt the world's surface to leave no life to survive. Effectively turning the planet into a hard, glass-like ground."

Sun groaned, "That's messed up."

"Good point. So, what are going to do about it?"

Jaune was silent a moment, "You thinking what I'm thinking?"

"What's with you and blowing things up?"

"You have a better idea?"

Ruby chuckled, "Sounds like the plan. Let's get to the rendezvous and let the team know."

Jaune nodded and ran off toward the jeep waiting beyond the corner.

The camera held on the rumble, slowly zooming in on one of the boulders. Once it was the sole focus on screen, it jumped to reveal a Flood Spore before snapping to black.

Mercury laughed a little, albeit a bit nervously, "Well that's fucking ominous."