I'M BACK! This story is officially off hiatus! This is my longest chapter yet, and I feel it is some of my best writing to date. In terms of plot for this story, for at least the next few chapters, this story will roughly follow the plot of Halo: the Fall of Reach, with influences from RWBY and other Halo novels. As always, if you like what you have read, please tell me so! I always like reviews, whether it's good or bad, as they help me with my writing process. I hope you enjoy this chapter, and the next ones to come!

One more thing. Today, as I post this, is June 22, 2015. Today would have been Monty Oum's 34th birthday. Monty's creations are what inspires myself to create. I thank him each day I get to write my stories or watch one of his fantastic animations. It is an absolute privilege to get to be inspired by such talent.

Happy birthday, Monty. We all miss you dearly.

Keep moving forward.

CHAPTER FOUR

0730 Hours, February 21, 2529

Onboard Albatross dropship,

En route to UNSC Military Reservation V-17-B, local designation "Emerald Forest",

UNSC Colony World Remnant

Ruby gazed out the tiny window as the dropship roared over the treetops. The sun was just beginning to peek over the mountain range ringing the forest, giving its snow-capped peaks a pinkish-orange tinge.

A hand on her shoulder brought Ruby's attention back to the interior of the dropship. She turned back to see her golden-haired sister give her a reassuring smile.

"See anything interesting out there?" Yang asked, taking a peek out of the window as well. A thin stream twisted through the lush green forest, a silver snake that emptied into a sizable lake about half a kilometer long.

"Just trees and rocks." Ruby said, returning her gaze to the forest below. "Plenty of steep terrain."

"At least we're over the forest and not those mountains." Blake, Yang's partner, gestured to the range of rocky peaks.

"Nice place for a snowball fight." Weiss said next to Ruby, joining the other three girls in looking out the window.

"Game on, Schnee. Just so you know, I play dirty." Yang chirped with a grin. "Like, loading my snowballs with rocks dirty."

Ruby giggled as Sergeant Port rose from his seat at the head of the troop bay. He cleared his throat, and all 60 children onboard ceased their chattering and focused on him.

"Good morning, trainees!" the sergeant said, his voice booming in the otherwise silent troop bay. "Today's mission is actually pretty simple." He produced a stack of papers and handed them to one of the children, a lean redhead. "Pass these out, Trainee. One for each person."

"Sir!" the young girl smartly saluted and passed out the papers to everyone in the dropship. Ruby received hers and gazed upon it.

"It's a map," she whispered to her teammates. She turned the square piece over in her hands, inspecting the markings. "Well, part of one, anyways."

"You will all use your maps to navigate to a marked extraction point." Sergeant Port said, bringing the attention of the children back onto him. "However, the last trainee to make it to the extraction point will be left behind." He motioned to the wild mountains visible outside the dropship's window. "And it's a very long walk back to base."

Ruby frowned as she processed this information. She didn't want to be last, but she didn't want anyone to be either. All the trainees had in terms of cold weather gear was a heavy parka, canteen, combat fatigues, and hiking boots. Not ideal for long-term wilderness survival.

In the last two years, Ruby had come to know each recruit in the program as family. After that first day of training, Ruby had strengthened the bonds with Weiss and Blake, coming to know them as treasured friends. Even the other recruits were more than just teammates. They were fellow comrades, someone to count on and support. Even the thought of losing one of them pained Ruby. She would do anything to ensure their safety. Ruby decided then and there, if anyone were forced to stay behind on this mission, she would volunteer to take their place. Her mind made up, she returned her attention to the sergeant's briefing.

"First drop off is in five minutes." Port looked at Blake. "Trainee Belladonna," reading the nametag on her fatigues, "you are up first."

"Sir! Yes, sir!" Blake saluted sharply.

Ruby focused on the visible terrain, her mind working out a plan. She spotted the river, and followed it with her eyes as it dumped into the silver lake. That seemed like a good rendezvous point.

She nudged Blake to get her attention. "Head for the lake. I'll spread the word to the rest," she murmured under her breath. Blake gave Ruby a slight nod.

The raven-haired Blake readied herself for the task to come. She could hear slight murmurs spread throughout the ship as Ruby passed the word of their plan. If Sergeant Port heard any of them, he made no motion of showing it.

Before she knew it, the dropship descended and touched down in a clearing. The ramp eased open. Blake rose from her seat and stepped into the woods outside.

Port stood at the open maw of the troop bay. "Good luck, Trainee. See you at the extraction point."

Blake nodded and started to head into the woods. She turned to meet Ruby's eyes one last time before the dropship lifted. She managed to give Blake a minute nod, confirming that everyone else received the message. The ramp finished closing, and the ship's engine's roared as the craft rose into the sky. Blake plunged into the wilderness.

The raven-haired girl started to head eastward, towards the river she had seen while she was airborne. She wound through the trees until she heard the sound of rushing water, then started to follow it downstream towards the lake.

This environment wasn't new to Blake. She had been forced to learn how to survive in the wilderness during her troubling childhood on the tiny colony of Umbra. Like most of the children of the SPARTAN program, Blake was also an orphan. But she did not lose her parents to the Covenant.

Umbra was one of the smallest human colonies, one that was far flung from Earth. Blake's family had lived on a tiny farm near the edge of a massive forest. Umbra's chief export was foodstuffs meant for the Inner Colonies, with huge commercial farms producing fruits and vegetables meant to be shipped all over the galaxy. The Belladonna family farm was small enough to sustain themselves, while having a little crop left over to sell at their local market. The Belladonnas were not rich, but neither were they poor, and so they lived happily on their farm, unbothered by anyone else.

However, due to Umbra's distance from the Inner Colonies, the majority of its population did not wish to remain part of Earth's galactic empire. Whispers of discontent eventually turned into violence, and insurrection sprouted up among the populace. The rebels began to organize, attacking farms and businesses that were loyal to Earth and her Inner Colonies. As the rebels grew in size, so did their tenacity, as they expanded their attacks to those citizens of Umbra who were still supporters of the UNSC.

Blake's family did not share the views of the Insurrectionists, but instead opted to ignore and avoid the violence by staying on their farm. If they stayed out of the conflict, they figured, the rebels would leave them alone.

Unfortunately, it was not meant to be.

Blake was only six years old when the head rebel officers came to their home. Blake remembered the large men wearing uniforms, a red ribbon with claw marks tied around their arms. Blake was ushered out of the room while the leader talked with her father. The man laid it out for him: either he surrendered his farm and its crops to the rebels as support for their cause, or the entire family would be detained under suspicion of being Earth supporters. With the threat against his family, Blake's father responded by punching the leader square in the jaw. The gunshots sounded a few seconds later.

Blake's mother had screamed for her daughter to run for the woods as fast as she could, before the rebels turned their weapons on her as well. Blake darted for the forest, not daring to look back to see if she was being followed. Luckily for Blake, she had played in the forest so many times before, and so she was very familiar with the terrain. She ran straight to one of her favorite hiding spots: a hollowed out trunk of a monstrous oak. She crawled inside and hid as she heard the men brush past through the foliage, searching for her. Eventually, time passed and the men appeared to have left the woods. Night had fallen, so Blake had felt safe enough to crawl out of her hiding spot and return to her home. As she got closer to the edge of the woods, an orange glow became visible. She smelled smoke. When she reached the tree line, she collapsed to her knees, a sob escaping her throat.

Her house, the barn, even the fields themselves, were engulfed in massive flames. The rebels had torched her home.

Her family was murdered. Her home was burning to ash. Blake Belladonna was only six years old girl, left to die in the wilderness.

However, Blake was very resourceful for her age. She had acted quickly, salvaging whatever meager supplies she could from her homestead. Thanks to the knowledge she had learned from her parents, Blake was actually well suited to survive in the woods. She could make a fire with practiced ease, knew which plants and fungi were edible in the forest, and, with practice, became a proficient hunter, managing to take down game as large as a deer.

For almost two years, Blake not only survived, but flourished, living off the forests of Umbra. She grew to be extremely close with nature, learning the sights and sounds of the wilderness with incredible skill. One day, a passing group of hunters discovered the young girl living in her makeshift tree shelter, looking more like a feral cat than a human being. After the initial shock of human contact passed, which involved Blake nearly slitting the throat of one the hunters, she allowed herself to be taken back to the nearest settlement, where she eventually opened up about the events at her homestead.

Blake was sent to an orphanage in New Austin, the largest city on Umbra. She lived there for two months, trying to reintegrate herself back into civil life. But a part of her still yearned to return to the woods. She felt in control of her life when she was living on her own. At the orphanage, she was forced to abide by the rules of civilization, which made her feel restricted. She strived to do something more with her life. So when a UNSC officer came to speak with her, inquiring about her life in the forest, she immediately accepted his invitation to the SPARTAN program. Here was a chance to leave her home, which had brought nothing but bad memories, behind for a future in which she could strive to become great. Her pervious knowledge and strength from her past experiences gave her a leg up on the other children, and with the skills she had learned with her SPARTAN training, she had become one of the top candidates in the entire program.

Blake reached the lake, a shimmering silver sheet in the early morning light. She began to traverse around the edge of the water, careful amber eyes scanning the tree line for any signs of her fellow trainees.

She had only walked a few dozen meters when she heard the soft call of an owl. She moved towards the sound, which appeared to be coming from a tall oak tree. "Hello there, owl," she called up into the branches.

The branches rustled. "That's Sergeant Owl to you, Trainee!" a voice flitted back. Blake stepped away as a blonde blur thudded from the branches. Yang rose from her landing and brushed herself off. She extended her arm to Blake. "Nice to see you, partner,"

Blake clasped Yang's arm in an extended handshake. "Likewise." She looked around. "Any sign of the others?"

Yang shook her head. "Not yet. You're the first I've seen. Everyone got the message though. We set the lake to be out rendezvous point."

Blake scanned the shores of the lake, trying to spot any of her teammates. She saw no one, but that was not a bad sign. If they were smart, they would be undercover until they made friendly contact, just like she did with Yang. She set out, motioning to her partner. "Come on, let's go find them."

It took about 30 minutes to traverse the circumference of the lake, meeting up with the rest of the SPARTAN trainees. Eventually all 60 children gathered in a clearing next to the lake.

Weiss suggested that they get everyone's map pieces together. Blake assembled the map as the rest of her teammates studied it, poring over the pages looking for the extraction point. "Any ideas?" Weiss asked.

"It's hard to say," Blake said. "Some of these pages don't match, and some are copies." She eventually got the map together, and located the lake. "Here we are," Blake pointed to the shore where the trainees had gathered, "and here is what looks like the extraction point." She showed the other three girls a large open clearing on the map. Blake studied the map and frowned. "If this legend is correct, it's almost 10 kilometers from our location. It's a full day's hike."

Ruby nodded. "Then we'd better get moving. Blake, you lead the way and navigate. Pick two others to move ahead and act as scouts."

Blake nodded and walked over to the rest of the group. She picked two children: Ren, a quiet boy with jet black hair who had some of the best senses of the group, and Pyrrha, the lean redhead who was quick and alert. The two melted into the trees. The rest of the children readied themselves for a long march.

The group started their journey through the wilderness. For the most part, the trip through the woods was pretty straight forward. As the sun got higher, the temperature warmed to a much tolerable level. Every once in a while, either Ren or Pyrrha would signal the group to halt and take cover, hearing something out of place in the forest. But it always turned out be some sort of animal.

At midday the group stopped to rest near a small stream. Everyone stretched and relaxed, some taking the opportunity to fill their canteens, hydrating themselves from the cool water.

Ruby and her teammates gathered to consult the map. They were making good time, on track to make it to the clearing right around sundown. But something was nagging at Ruby.

"This seems too easy," she said to the other three. "Since when does Sarge make his exercises so clear cut? There has to be something we're missing."

Yang agreed. "Normally we would have been ambushed by the trainers five times over by now." She shrugged.

The lack of challenges worried Ruby. But she and the rest of the trainees had handled everything Sergeant Port and his staff had thrown at them.

Team RWBY, as the four girls had come to call themselves, had come together and bonded over the rigorous training they had undergone over the last year. Ruby herself became much stronger than she could ever think possible. She was only ten years old, but had the body and strength of an 18-year old Olympic athlete. Ruby was confident that she and the rest of the children could complete this task and any task the trainers threw at them.

"We'll just have to keep our eyes open for any surprises." Ruby said to her three teammates. "We should probably get going again. We're still about 4 kilometers from the clearing."

One of the other children, a tall boy with brunt orange hair, waked up to the four. "Speaking of which, what happens when we get there? We will all be arriving at the extraction point at the same time. So who gets left behind? We should decide now."

Ruby stood and faced the boy. "Nobody is getting left behind, Cardin. We'll figure out what our plan is when we arrive at the clearing."

Another boy, a wiry blonde named Jaune, stood as well. "But Sergeant Port said-"

"I know what Sergeant Port said, Ruby interrupted. "We are all going to make it back to base. Even if it has to be me that stays behind, I will make sure you all get back." She started back on the trail to the extraction point. "Come on, we're wasting daylight."

The next few hours passed without incident. The group steadily made their way towards the clearing. The sun sank lower into the sky, casting dark shadows over the forest.

Finally, Ren doubled back and said that they were close. The group halted, as Ruby and Weiss went forward to investigate.

The two girls stopped just short of the edge of the field, taking in the surroundings with careful eyes.

The Albatross dropship sat at the far edge of the field, its floodlights illuminating everything in a fifty meter radius. Four men sat on crates, dressed in white shirts and fatigues.

Ruby and Weiss shared a look. "What do you think?" Weiss said to her partner. "It's hard to tell from here, but I don't recognize those men."

Ruby nodded. "There's no telling what they will do to us if we show ourselves. Let's head back."

The two doubled back to where the rest of the group waited in the shadowy forest. They explained what they saw.

The children all murmured as they processed this information. Jaune spoke up first. "So…what's the plan, Ruby?"

Ruby didn't know why he expected her to know what to do. She noticed that everyone was looking at her, waiting for her response. She glanced at her teammates. Yang, Blake and Weiss all had the same look on their faces: a reassuring smile. They had her back, no matter what. They would support her decision.

Ruby swallowed and began. "All right. So we don't know who these men are or what their intentions are. So we find out."

The children all nodded to each other, agreeing with Ruby's logic.

Ruby turned to her teammates. "Blake, you're the fastest. I need you to be our rabbit."

Blake smiled. "Happy to oblige," she said, as she removed her parka and began to stretch and loosen up.

Ruby turned to the rest. "Blake is going to run to edge of the clearing and let the men see her. Then she'll double back to us, trying to get a few of them to follow. She'll lead them back past this spot, where one of us will fake being injured. Any volunteers?

Yang raised her hand. "I'll do it." She knelt and dirtied her legs a bit, making them look scuffed and torn.

Ruby nodded. "The rest of us will hide in the brush. If any of these men do anything but try to help Yang, we will take them down by force. Use our superior numbers to overwhelm them."

Jaune grinned. "Like wolves against a moose," he remarked.

Ruby smiled back. "Exactly." She looked over everybody. "Any questions?" No one spoke. She nodded. "Okay. Let's get to work."

The majority of the children readied themselves, melting into the brush. Yang positioned herself in the middle of the path. Weiss purposefully scraped Yang's shin with the heel of her boot. Blood welled from the wound.

"Oh, my leg. It hurts," Yang moaned, sitting on the ground with a slight grin on her face. Weiss rolled her eyes.

Ruby and Blake moved to the edge of the clearing. Ruby turned to her teammate. "Are you sure you can handle this? I don't want to risk you if you're not comfortable being bait."

Blake smiled and prepared to position herself. "No worries. I'm ready for this." Ruby nodded and moved about fifty meters away from Blake's position, far enough away to make Blake appear that she was alone, but close enough that she could observe the entire area. She settled in to watch.

Blake emerged from the woods at a cautious pace. "Hey! Are you guys the extraction team?"

The four men looked up and saw the raven-haired girl moving towards them. One of them stood. "There's one of them. I'll get her. You three stay here and wait for the others." He began to move towards her, a humbler stun baton hidden behind his back.

Blake stopped and turned back. "Hang on, I left my jacket back there. Be back in a second!" She took off into the brush.

The man ran after her. "Hey!" he shouted, trying to catch up.

Ruby heard the other three men chuckle to themselves. "These kids won't know what hit 'em," one said to the others.

Ruby had heard enough. She ran to catch up to the man after Blake, but realized he had no chance to catch her. She slowed down when she reached where Yang waited.

The man stopped when he saw Yang lying in the path, clutching her leg.

"Please help me, sir," Yang whimpered. "I think my leg is broken."

The man raised his baton. "I got your 'help' right here, kid."

Ruby picked up a rock and threw it, but missed.

The man looked around, suddenly alert. "Who's there?" Yang took the opportunity to roll to her feet and dart away.

Suddenly, 60 children exploded out of the brush, pelting the man with rocks. The man convulsed with each strike.

Blake sprang down from a tree branch and smashed a rock into the side of the man's head. He went down in a heap, instantly unconscious.

Ruby emerged from the brush as the rest of the children sorted themselves. They all looked at the man on the ground.

Weiss looked at Ruby. "So, what now?"

Ruby had a look of rage on her face. "You heard what he was about to do to Yang. He's not one of us. Our trainers would never hurt us like that. We need to take out the rest of them."

The children all moved to the edge of the clearing, still out of sight. The three remaining men were still waiting for their companion to return.

Ruby looked at Blake. "I need you to be our rabbit again. Just get them to the edge of the clearing. We'll do the rest."

Blake nodded and ran out into the clearing. She called out to the three men. "Hey! This guy fell and hit his head. I think he's hurt bad. Hurry!"

The men stood and ran as quick as they could towards Blake. When they got close enough, Ruby gave the signal. "NOW!"

The children roared as they enveloped the men in a wall of flesh and fists. The adults tried their hardest to fight them off, landing some hard blows. One man drove a fist straight into Jaune's nose, driving him back. Before he could finish him, however, Yang retaliated with a kick to his groin. The man went down in pain.

Finally, the fight was over. All three men were knocked out, bloody welts all over their bodies. The children cheered in celebration. Pyrrha helped a shaky Jaune to his feet.

Ruby looked around the makeshift camp. There was no sign of anyone else. She marched up the ramp into the dropship, checking the cockpit. Completely empty.

Ruby looked at the dashboard of instruments and recognized the controls for the autopilot AI program. She flipped a switch and the dashboard came to life with colorful lights. "Hello," a warm female voice spoke from the overhead speaker. "Welcome aboard the D96-TCE Albatross dropship, designated as 'Beacon 1'. I am the artificial autopilot program designed to pilot this vessel. You may call me Sheila."

Ruby wrinkled her brow. "Okay…Sheila. My friends and I are looking to get back to Beacon. Can you fly us there?"

"Oh, absolutely!" Sheila replied. Please inform all passengers to embark. We will take off when everyone is aboard."

Ruby grinned. "Okay, hang on a second." Ruby ran out of the dropship. She waved her hand towards the troop bay. Everyone aboard!"

The children streamed up the ramp. Yang paused in front of Ruby. "But what about-"

"Don't worry about it," Ruby said. She waited until she was the last one left outside, then she herself climbed into the dropship. "Okay, Sheila. We're all on board."

"Preparing to take off," the computer program replied. The ramp eased up and sealed itself. The dropship fired its jets and rose into the night sky. It spun on its axis, then jetted back towards Beacon Military Academy.

Ruby Rose stood at attention inside Sergeant Port's office. There were no windows. The corrugated steel walls made her feel like she was standing in a shipping container.

A bead of sweat traveled down back as trembled slightly. Sergeant Port glowered at her as he read the after action report. His bushy eyebrows narrowed as he scrutinized the young trainee.

The door slid open. Colonel Ozpin and Major Goodwitch walked in.

Ruby snapped to attention and smartly saluted. "Colonel, sir! Major, ma'am!"

Colonel Ozpin gazed upon Ruby. "At ease, Trainee Rose."

Ruby dropped her hand, but remained at rapt attention. Cold fear slipped into her gut as Sergeant Port continued to stare at her. What was going to happen to her?

"Trainee Rose," Sergeant Port began, "explain again you actions during this training exercise."

"Sir! The men we encountered did not identify themselves. They threatened my teammates with bodily harm. We defended ourselves in kind."

Port's eyes scoured the report. "Hmm. So it seems. And taking the dropship back to Beacon without a pilot?"

Ruby swallowed hard. "I activated the autopilot program, sir. It lifted off when everybody was aboard. I was the last person to board, sir, so if anyone was to be left behind, it would have-"

"I did not ask for a crew list, Trainee," Port growled. He turned to the Colonel. "What should I do with her, sir?"

Colonel Ozpin smiled. "Isn't it obvious, Sergeant?" He tuned to Ruby. "Trainee Ruby Rose, your actions showed resourcefulness and bravery in the face of nearly impossible odds. What's more, you cared for the safety and security of the rest of your teammates. I am hereby promoting you to Petty Officer, Third Class." His smile grew wider as Ruby's eyes grew in shock and surprise. 'Congratulations, Ruby. You are now the leader of the entire SPARTAN class."