Swords of Intent (sequel to Rose of Titanium)

Chapter 29: Rememberance

     After onyx and ruby got back to the house everyone was standing in the living room awaiting their return. When the front door opened and they saw Onyx walk in with Ruby unharmed, they all visibly relaxed. "I'm uh...gonna take a shower" Ruby said, before heading up the stairs.

     Onyx let out a sigh as he took off his helmet, running his hand through his hair. "We should all head to bed, especially you Weiss. We got a long day ahead of us." Everyone nodded and went to their respective sleeping spots throughout the house.

     Onyx went to a nearby wall and leaned against it after sitting on the living room floor, preparing to go to sleep. He looked over when he heard footsteps coming down the stairs, seeing none other than Ruby. "Can I stay down here for the night?" Onyx gave a light sigh, but nodded. Ruby sat down next to him on the floor. "Im...sorry, for yelling at you earlier. It's just...I want to be useful for once, ya know?"

     Onyx stayed silent as he stared up at the ceiling, recognizing what ruby had said. "I...understand, but you have to think of what it'll take to complete the mission."

     "What do you mean?" Ruby asked as she looked at him.

     The ex-spartan simply stared at the wall across the room from them. "Sometimes you'll have to make a tough decision, even if it's something you hoped you'd never do. Even if it means sacrificing yourself or a friend, then so be it." Ruby was about to speak, but thought against it. She turned in for the night.

     Soon morning had come. Everyone began to prepare to see the two off as Onyx and Weiss readied themselves for the journey ahead. "I can't wait to see Winter again, it's been so long" Weiss said.

     "Yeah, no kidding" Onyx replied. "She's probably gonna be a bit mad at me though, worrying her like that." There was a sudden chime on his tacpad, revealing it was a rather sizable file sent to him by Cortana. There was also a note, telling him to browse the contents when he can.

     Once the two were ready, they headed down stairs to be on their way. They exchanged their farewells before heading out the door and to Argus base. "Hey Onyx, Chief told me you used to get in trouble during boot camp while we were training. What did he mean by that?"

     The young spartan took a deep breath. "I used to goof off with an old friend of mine, back when we were just  cadets. It was fun, but probably the reason we weren't taken seriously for a while."

     Once the two made it to Argus base, they were greeted at the gate by Cordova and her two bodyguards. "I see miss Schnee is ready to head back to Atlas, yes?"

     Onyx gave a nod. "Affirmative, thank you for the transport." With that the two were lead to the ship that will take them to Atlas.

     Once the two boarded the ship they took their seats, Weiss sitting right next to Onyx. He opened the file that Cortana had sent to him, seeing multiple video logs dating back to even before the Fall of Reach. The two looked at each other before Onyx played the first one.

     *The video booted up with karliya leaning her back on the wall. "Hey Rocky, long time no talk, huh? So one of the marines wives is pregnant, and it got me wondering what life will be like once this war is over....if it will be. But if it does end maybe you should start a family with some beautiful woman,maybe have a kid or two." She let out a soft giggle. "She's probably gonna be an ice queen and you will melt her heart, maybe even ex or current military. You would make an amazing father. In this message I've sent over some parenting tips from earth. I know I know what your gonna say. 'That won't ever happen' but still, I belive in you. Also, I have something super important to tell you. You're a-" She was interrupted by some off screen chatter, causing her to groan in irritation. "I gotta go have a wonder day or night, Rocky. Keep smiling for me and our team."*

     Onyx stayed silent for a while as he closed his eyes and leaned his head back. Weiss looked up to the man she saw as an older brother. "So, who was that?"

     He simply looked at her with a bittersweet smile. "That was Karliya, my old friend."

Weiss looked him in the eyes. "If you don't mind me asking, what was she like?"

     Onyx thought for a moment, looking up toward the ceiling. "she was optimistic, never letting anything get her down. She was extremely kind....outside of battle at least, and highly efficient. Last I checked she had a success rate of at least  eighty-five percent. She could even match me in hand to hand combat, but she really shined when using a sniper rifle. But above all else horny...very horny."

     The young Schnee smiled as she looked to the floor. "She sounds really-wait, what do you mean horny?!" She asked with shocked confusion.

     Onyx looked back at Weiss. "She would make sexual innuendos all the damm time. Since my mindset was that of a soldier, they went over my head. Weird thing is though...she only made them towards me."

     "...how did Winter get with someone this dense?" She asked herself as the ship finally took off for Atlas.