Chapter 1

A/N: Well, I can't help it. Ideas are always flooding my head and I have filled out more than four notebooks worth of keeping stories intact. Plot and diagrams to make sure I don't forget the good ideas I come up with. So, please bear with me. I made a bow that I'll make sure to update my other stories. That's my promise.

So, this came up in mind after watching Halo Legends. The episode Prototype was the episode of this series that hit me home. Many leaders have faced the same situations Ghost had to go through. I thought it be good to give him another chance after giving him some thought.

This be following some canon as well my own story plot.

Disclaimer: I don't RWBY or Halo. They belong to their respective owners.

Location: Unknown

Date: April 20th, 2548

Green Beacon Squad

It was a quite night. The dark green leaves of the forest rustled through the soft breeze as they bathed in the gentle moonlight of the bronze twin moons in orbit of the planet. It seemed peaceful enough. You could just walk hours on end just to feel at peace and relaxed. This planet was that deal, and the colonists prospered from it.

That was until two years ago that stopped all together.

Two years ago, Covenant forces have overrun the planet within a matter of weeks after launching a surprise attack on the colony. UNSC personnel were sent to fight back against the Covenant forces to retake the planet since it was in a strategic location well suited for supplying and shipping lanes for UNSC frigates to come and pass through for support and reinforcements.

And since then, it has been a hard campaign fighting in with military causalities almost surpassing twenty hundred thousand in the first year of fighting. But slowly, they have been gaining ground, fuelled to retake the planet.

A small squad of marines were slowly marching through the forest. Weapons at the ready in case if they were ambushed suddenly from any direction. They moved in cautious formation with their MA5C assault rifles in hand. This was just another cakewalk for them if things would play out right. They find enemy positions and get out of there without making contact.

The squad leader of the group had his eyes scanning the front relentlessly. The squad leader has seen enough to last his lifetime. But despite all that he has been through, his light brown eyes still look soft and passive. Save for a few grey strands in his short black hair, he was looking alright for being in the military for a number of years now.

A marine then panicked slightly and aimed her rifle at the foliage to her right. "I-I heard something," She muttered underneath her breath. A few strands of her red hair was going past her forehead and in front of her rather innocent green eyes.

"Amy, it's nothing. If it was something, the sarge would've checked it out by now," One of the other marines told her.

Amy just nodded at him and followed behind the marine who caught her attention. "Brian, I'm pretty sure I heard something. I think the Sargent didn't hear it."

"Amy, for the last time, the sarge knows what he's doing," Brian told her again to keep her calm. He was a newly graduated cadet from boot camp along with Amy and most of the marines in the squad. Only a small portion were actually veterans along with the Sargent. But he was just looking out for Amy who was the newer addition to the squad.

The squad leader soon raised his left hand up making the squad stop in their tracks. "Get behind those tress. Now," He ordered. His voice was firm and gravely toned with seriousness and a drop of venom. They didn't even had second thoughts and heeded to his order and hid behind the trees. He did so himself as well and got down to his knee. "Stay quiet. Don't move," He told them via radio through their helmets.

A few minutes passed on by since he gave out his order to the squad. And things have gotten quiet. Rather too quiet for their liking, even for his. This usually meant something. He then felt a soft tap on his shoulder. He looked behind him to see his second-in-command right there. "Ghost, should we move out now? The men are getting restless," He told him, calling him by his callsign.

"We don't move, corporal. You will follow my orders until I say we move again. Understood?" The squad leader, now know as Ghost, hissed back at the corporal. The corporal only nodded in obedience and slowly stood back up. But he never got to stand all the way up when purple crystal stuck itself into his head by the side. He fell in front of Ghost with the blood seeping out of his head. "Shit-"

"Ambush!" One of the marines screamed and ran out of his cover to run. He was only to be riddled with plasma shots, bright green and blue rounds burning right into his chest. He fell down dead onto his back with the plasma wounds smoking.

"Return fire! Return fire!" One of the veteran marines leaned out of cover and fired his MA5C assault rifle rounds at the flashing lights that fired at their little perimeter, bright lights criss-crossing through the air. The younger marines soon started following his actions and returned fire as well at the lights.

Ghost ran towards cover in a low position and rolled towards another tree just before a plasma shot almost grazed his back. As he came back up into his crouched position, he pulled a frag grenade out and lobbed it far in front of him. When he heard the explosion of the grenade, he heard multiple roars and screams before they went silent. He smiled a bit sadistically before turning around and fired a small burst into the face of an Elite charging for him with it's Plasma Rifle overheated. "Wrong choice in running for me, buddy."

"Sarge! We're in a killzone! We gotta move!" One of the marines shouted from his cover.

"No! We stay here and fight it out! Keep fighting!" Ghost shouted back. Without looking, he slung his rifle to his back and pulled out a knife from his left shoulder. He spun around and stabbed the knife into the head of another Elite through it;s left eye. He turned it around and shifted inside it's head and pulled it out before kicking it to the ground.

And that decision has costed him something more than he thought it would've cost... Losing himself.

Fifteen minutes later...

The scent of blood and burnt flesh was prominent in the air. Smoke rose from trees and corpses alike. Bodies of numerous UNSC Marines laid dead among the ground and against trees. Some bodies were riddled with plasma rounds imbedded into their chests. Some were torn apart from limb to limb. Other atrocities were done more horrific than one man can explain.

But only one could.

Ghost was in the middle of a clearing. The mangled corpses of his men were littered around him like discarded bullet shells that littered the ground just as the same. Yet it didn't faze him. Not one bit.

A marine was in his arms as he was knelt on the ground. A small bit of blood was dripping down his face heading towards to the right. Once again, that didn't faze him. Not one bit.

Her red hair was now messed up covering a small bit of her head. Her eyes stared up in the night sky seeing the twin bronze moons. Blood was trailing away from her lips with bloodstains on her neck. She let out a pained smiled, wincing in pain form her smiling."Sarge. Look at the moon." She laughed softly saying that. "It's funny, I never noticed how beautiful the moons are here. Do you think anybody noticed?" She asked Ghost weakly.

The Sargent only hushed her quietly as he slowly pulled out the needle of the Biofoam canister. Setting it beside him, he took a close look at her wound. In the stomach, a large gnash that was bleeding heavily. Now barely thanks to the medical attention he was able to provide. "Stay quiet. The Biofoam's working but you're still bleeding," He told her sharply, cradling her in his arms to keep her close.

"There's something I've always wanted to know. Your call-sign. Ghost. What does it mean?" The marine asked him, completely ignoring his order to stay put. Her time was waning, and it was shortening quickly than her short life span.

Ghost gritted his teeth behind his mouth but didn't want to show her this action. "Why won't she just stay quiet. She needs to save her strength!"He held his stoic composure and kept on looking at her. "Stop talking. You've got to hold tight until the med-evac gets here."

She let out a soft giggle at him despite her sharp pain in her stomach. "You finally have an excuse to show that you care and..." Amy stopped in her words when she blacked out for a moment. Nodding mentally, she said, "Let me ask you something. Just one last thing. It won't hurt, I promise." She took her time gathering her strength to ask him, "What was I to you?"

Ghost was slightly set off by that question she asked him. No one before has ever asked him that. But something faint in his memory tickled the back of his mind saying that he was asked that same question. But now was not the time to be wondering what it is. His objective right now was to make sure this marine got back alive. "What do you mean? You're a soldier. A soldier with a promising future ahead of you. You're... A soldier," He told her, giving a slight pause before saying the final two words.

"And you're a ghost. Aren't you?" Amy suddenly brought up.

Ghost was disturbed at that question from her. That was the first time somebody told him that. "What?"

"Feelings pass right through you, don't they?" She looked up to look into his cold dark brown eyes with her waning green orbs. They shimmered in the bright moonlight that they bathed in. "So cold and unforgiving in every choice you made in battle. Pure soldier. I think that's what let us trust you so-"

"Don't talk, save your strength," Ghost quickly cut her off. He was determined to get her back to the frigate alive. Alive to live another day. To-

"I don't need it."

Ghost widened his eyes at that answer she gave him so quickly. "Huh?"

Amy closed her eyes and relaxed her body. "I need you to be strong. Strong enough to do what you've never done in your life." She opened her eyes once again, for probably the last time in her life, looking at him with desperation and hope. "Can you be strong enough to allow yourself to be—can you just be human?" She begged him softly, her voice weak yet gentle.

Ghost's eyes just widened even more at her. His mouth was gaping open slightly trying to make out words to her. But they wouldn't leave his throat. "I-"

Amy closed her eyes for the last time at him. Tears leaked from her eyes as she laid her head back into Ghost's hand that held her head up. "If not for your sake, for all of us. If you would just allow yourself to feel something... maybe you wouldn't be a ghost any longer." Her breathing then slowed down into shallow breaths, struggling for oxygen. Amy's chest rapidly moved up and down for a couple minutes before it came to a complete standstill.

Ghost beared his teeth as he held at the limp body tightly. His gritting threatened to chip his teeth from the pressure he applied to them. He closed his eyes shut. They threatened to let loose his tears but he held them back, not wanting to cry. He shivered in his spot before snapping his head up to the night sky. His mouth opened wide letting out a blood curdling scream to resonate from him. It echoed around his area, bouncing off the trees and ravines that were nearby.

"WHHHHHHHYYYYYYYYY?!" He screamed.

That's when something truly died in him. That's when he became a real ghost. Devoid of all emotion and feeling. Surrounded by death.

"... I truly am a ghost..."

Three years later...

Location: Planet Algolis, UEG/Covenant tested space

Date: July 21st, 2551

Hades Corps

Ghost laid on the ground starring straight into the starry night sky. Blood trickled down his lips as he panted. He had no feeling in his left arm since it was severed off from a plasma grenade that stuck itself to his arm. "What's the matter, Ghost? Why can't you move?" He whispered to himself.

Cole Protocol was enacted from UNSC generals after the Covenant have invaded the planet. Fearing that they might find out the information they held in the Weapons Research Facility, they activated the protocol to purge all data and destroy any weapons and equipment in the facility.

But the Hades Corps was still stuck on the planet, even though they were ordered to pull back, after they chose to stay behind to defend the facility to make sure everything was destroyed.

They were surrounded. Outnumbered and outgunned, they slowly fell. Fell alongside their fallen brothers.

But Ghost had different plans. He disobeyed orders from the higher ups, his superiors, to make sure that his men were to be safely evacuated from the planet. He was still responsible for his men. And he was damned well to make sure that he'll see it to himself to see them taken off the planet.

Using a prototype experimental suit that some ONI engineers devised together, he suited himself up and quickly made use of it to hold off the Covenant allowing his men to safely retreat back to the transports they were to be getting into forever ago.

But he wasn't invincible.

Gradually, he was overwhelmed by the sheer numbers of the hostile forces. And this is where he was right now. He was bleeding out, slowly losing himself to death's door. But he didn't let that stop him.

Seeing that a Pelican and a civilian transport were flying away into the sky into space, this urged him to get back up. Grunting loudly in pain, he got his feet underneath him, stumbling as he stood back up on his feet. All nearby Covenant were shocked to see this and aimed their weapons at him, ready to fire their weapons at him if he did anything.

The Sargent panted heavily, struggling to keep himself up. Ghost soon remembered the night, the same night three years ago when he lost his entire platoon. He blamed himself everyday since that night, never forgiving himself for his actions. Actions he felt he could never atone for.

Until now.

"Countdown complete. Voice command required. Speak the voice command exactly as displayed," The AI of the suit told him. Looking up, his eyes widened when he saw the words that showed on the screen.

"BE HUMAN."

Sighing, he looked down and felt ashamed as he lost more of his consciousness.

"...If not for your sake, for all of us. If you would just allow yourself to feel something... maybe you wouldn't be a ghost any longer..."

Standing still there for a moment, Ghost felt himself empty. Hollow. Spaceless. But her words always haunted him since that night. They echoed in his head everyday, waking up and going to sleep.

And he made his choice.

Looking up into the screen, he grinned slightly at the screen. "Voice command authorization. "Be human"." Closing his eyes, he felt himself after a long time, felt himself smiling a bit. He heard the final beep on the suit before it let out a loud hiss before it exploded, taking him with it.

But this wasn't the end of his story. His story was just beginning.

Location: Unknown

Date: Unknown

Ghost

What Ghost didn't expect to feel was him laying down on the ground. He didn't feel any burning sensation from the self-destruct sequence. His body not being torn apart from the flesh ripping explosion that should've done the same to him. But the first thing that came to mind as always was to move his hands.

Feeling that his hands were still there, even his left one surprisingly, were still moving. That meant he was still alive. He was still alive my some miracle. Soon, he pried open his eyes. They narrowed in shock as he saw that a full visor was in his vision. "What the?" He slowly sat himself up and got himself up to his feet. The Sargent wobbled a bit in his footing before he managed to get a full balance in his footing. That's when he realized something different.

Lifting his arms up in front of his face, he saw that they were clad in black. But the sight of chip and wear showed that they have seen some rough time. Some pieces of the armor was coloured in a dull brown. On his chest and his left shoulder was a thicker plating of armor, with the left shoulder covered in tow longer pieces of ballistic plating. "What the hell? This... This is my old ODST armor. Why am I wearing this? Why am I still alive? And more importantly, where am I?"

Taking a quick look around his surroundings, he saw that he was in a rather dull wasteland like area. The sky was grey as well. He saw that he was beside a forest with what looks like to be ruins of a city some sort in the distance on the horizon.

He looked behind him to see something that he was slightly glad to see. Grabbing it, he took it in front of his face and held it with both hands. Pulling the pump back, he heard the familiar sound of a loud click sounding. It was a M90 Shotgun, the same shotgun he used in his time in the ODST's. He was more of a close quarters fighter, which was why he was outfitted with a CQB armor variant. It suited him better, before he went back into the marines. He then looked down to his right hip to see his M6S/SOCOM Handgun. A silenced pistol outfitted with armor-piercing rounds, it was a reliable gun to keep around, able to get the job done, even at long range.

But he slung the shotgun back onto his back with his head hung low. Ghost walked towards a tree and leaned on it before sliding down to the ground. Placing both hands on the side of his helmet, he pulled the helmet off his head and set it aside next to him. Short black hair was waving softly in the gentle breeze that was prevalent. He pulled his right leg up and propped his arm against it. He leaned his head against his hand and stared down at the ground. Tears once again threatened to leak through, but he kept them back as always.

"Why me? Why do I deserve to live?"

Unknown to him, he never noticed the pair of red eyes staring at him. It growled softly, sensing the regret the ODST radiated.

Well, that was a thing. Hope you all enjoyed the story. This came up within a week or so.