Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY or Fallout
Trial by Fire.
Dogmeat wagged his tail absentmindedly on the slightly old couch that Nathan had procured from a yard sale some days ago. Nathan in the meantime was busying himself with the work-in-progress teleporter in the center of his personal shop at the school. He screwed in another metal plate onto one of the three protrusions on top of the main platform, hiding some wires that were previously exposed to the elements. The sole survivor wiped the sweat from his exposed brow as he whistled a bit.
"This has been easier than I thought." Nathan commented as he surveyed the near completed teleporter. The main platform was much wider than the original design he used to get into the institute, and the three arm-like pillars that encompassed the platform were also a bit bigger, each one being covered in vacuum tubes and piping. The whole platform device was connected to a personal computer that Ozpin had stored in a storage closet somewhere in beacon. It was what the professor described as an 'older model'. However to Nathan, it was far more refined and complex than any of the computers on earth.
"Especially since I don't need to worry about a power source." Nathan continued, looking at the extension cord that led to one of the outlets on the far wall. "All that I need now is something to create and amplify the signal." Nathan then looked to his diagrams again, set up on a diagram table within his shop. "I'll probably have to move all this outside, but at least I'll have the finished product." Nathan stretched as he looked at his work, and sighed contently. All this prep work for the classes Ozpin is having me do may have all just been a waste of time. Soon, I'll be out of wherever this is, and back in sanctuary sipping on a nuka-cola. Nathan thought to himself. Then something hit him. Wait... If their teleporter somehow sent me to another world...How is my miniature version going to do the same? Ah shit. Before Nathan could continue to ponder this revelation, a knock came from his door. Nathan went over to the door and opened it.
"Ah! Mr. Sullivan!" Oobleck said as the door opened, revealing the energetic professor was right in front of the doorway, startling Nathan a bit. "I see your working on your teleporter. I was wondering if I could have a look at it." Nathan paused, an unsure expression on his face. Would letting this kind of technology into the hands of beacon really be safe? Well, their going to have it anyway when I leave... If I leave. Nathan thought as he moved out of the way, allowing the professor in.
"Sure, just don't mess with anything, its kind of... fragile." Nathan said tentatively as Oobleck approached the machine. Dogmeat seemed to give no reaction to the professor, other than turning over on the couch. Oobleck hummed as he looked at the platform, and then the computer where the commands were already set up, and finally how he had it hooked into the wall, where Nathan could get his power.
"Interesting, very interesting." Oobleck said aloud as he examined the molecular beam emitter attached to the platform. Nathan watched as Oobleck hummed to himself. "So what exactly does all of this do?" Oobleck's question made Nathan sigh a bit.
"In essence what this does is break you, or whatever else is on the platform, down into a transmittable molecular construct that will then be re-constructed at another teleporter elsewhere. The only thing I lack now is a relay dish... Or at least something to transmit the molecular data." Nathan explained, and Oobleck looked at him with fascination.
"Incredible! But it does seem rather dangerous to break someone down on a molecular level. Doesn't that... hurt?" Nathan shook his head.
"Nope, I've done it plenty of times, never hurt me, but did make me a bit dizzy the first dozen or so goes. It most likely because the first thing that gets broken down is your head, meaning your brain actually never registers any molecular breakdown." Oobleck seemed to gush over the technology that was laid before him, and Nathan couldn't help but chuckle a bit. It was strange how some things had seemed to develop better in comparison to Earth on Remnant, but when it came to others, Remnant seemed to not even have a concept of the idea.
"How long until it's fully operational?" Oobleck asked, still darting from one place to another observing the machinery from every possible angle.
"All I need to do is create a relay dish, and probably take all this outside. Then It should be ready." Nathan answered, and Oobleck smiled as he turned to the mostly armored man.
"You certainly are proactive aren't you? Its good to see your making good use of your time." Oobleck commented as he approached Nathan. The sole survivor shrugged, as he had always been quite proactive, and did not see it as anything special. "So if its going to be completed so soon, I imagine you won't be able to actually teach." Nathan nodded, those same thoughts having gone through the sole survivor's head multiple times.
"Well, yea, but honestly, I think the less time I stay in this world...universe, whatever, the better. There could be serious consequences that neither one of us know about when it comes to this kind of stuff. So the sooner I get back, the better." As Nathan explained this, he walked over to one of the workbenches he had, and picked up the still closed bottle of lightning dust he had been given not too long ago. "Of course, I'm still not sure what I'll do with this dust stuff, I'll probably just leave it here, I don't really have a very good Idea of how to harness it's power without using something you guys already have."
"Well, I'm sure you'll figure it out." Oobleck said, adjusting his glasses. "Its almost time for dinner, why don't we-" The professor was suddenly cut off as his scroll began to ring. He brought it out of his pocket, and answered it. "Ozpin, I was just about to bring Nathan to dinner, what seems to be...?" Oobleck stopped, obviously listening, and a concerned expression grew on his face, making Nathan a bit concerned as well. "I see. We'll be right there." Oobleck hung up the call, and turned to Nathan. "You might want to put that suit of armor you have on."
"Thank you for coming Nathan." Ozpin said as he saw the large suit of flame painted power armor step into his view within his office. Next to him was not Glynda as normal, but instead was Port. Nathan was slightly confused on everything that was going on, but considering what Oobleck had told him on the way to the office, he decided to save his questions for later. "Now, it seems as though a concerning situation has arisen in the town of Greenville. As you all now know." The three men nodded to the headmaster, all of them having a firm grasp on the situation. "Unfortunately its gotten worse. It seems as though Vale will indeed, not be able to help us. It'll be up to your three to handle the Grimm threat." Ozpin explained, causing Nathan to grow even more concerned.
"You mean there's no backup? That village is going to be flowing with Grimm, if it isn't already. How are we going to deal with that by ourselves?" Ozpin nodded, understanding his concerns.
"Our main concern is the villagers, not the village." Port said, breaking his silence. "We get them to some bullhead transports, and get them out of there. The village buildings can be re-built." Nathan nodded in understanding. "While they get on the transports, we keep the Grimm away from them, and try to rescue anyone we can."
"With all the negativity being brought about by all this, more and more Grimm are going to keep showing up. So juts be sure to be careful out there." Ozpin said, and the three man nodded, but Nathan had one more question that needed to be answered.
"Theres still one thing I'm confused about, how did this all begin anyway? I understand the Grimm got into the village and created more panic, but how did they get that close to the village anyway?" Nathan asked, as Ozpin began to stand up, ready to depart for a different important outing.
"The way I understand it, a fire started in the village's school house, which made a lot of the adults panic, thinking their children were still inside. Which in turn caused the Grimm to gravitate towards them." So how did the fire start? Nathan thought to himself, but decided to remain silent. Ozpin walked to the elevator leading to the office, as the others followed.
"At the moment, I must join Glynda for an important meeting. I trust the three of you to take care of this?" At the bottom, Ozpin began to make his way outside to the bullheads, talking to the others along the way. Port quickly responded.
"Absolutely, those Grimm will wish they had never crossed paths with me! We'll dispose of them and make sure the villagers are safe." Port said with his usual boisterous attitude.
"Thats good to hear." Ozpin said with a small smile. Then he looked behind him to see Nathan, his power-armored form taller than all of them. "Will you be okay Nathan?" The man chuckled, his laugh given a radio like effect due to the mask.
"Oh yea, Ive done this kind of thing all the time back on earth. As weird as that sounds."
Nathan, Port, and Oobleck rode in a passenger bullhead alongside three others, all of which were meant to transport the inhabitants of the village. Nathan had at first been a bit skeptical about the whole operation, considering the size of the bullheads, and the number of villagers that inhabited Greenville. It seemed unreasonable that they only had two hunters, and an armored soldier, to send for an operation like this. The pilots could help, but if they were to leave the confines of the bullheads, they could get hurt, potentially leaving one of the valuable passenger bullheads without a pilot. Which meant that the fighting of the Grimm, the recuse of the villagers, and the protection of the bullheads were all going to be relegated to three individuals. While Nathan had faced similar odds and won out, he was rarely forced to do so during a rescue operation. This also made him wonder juts how short staffed Vale's security detail was.
"Nervous Nathan?" Port asked rather cheerily as he slapped the armored man's back. His attitude severely betrayed what Nathan saw as a very Grimm situation. "Don't worry, your attack dog might not be here, but we'll be right by your side." Nathan nodded curtly, but his helmet was fixated on a slight orange glow within the forest, in contrast to the dark night that swallowed the landscape. Nathan could tell there were black smoke clouds rising from the very obvious fire, and wondered if they would be able to control the inferno if it spread to the forest.
"Sixty Seconds!" A voice said, coming from the pilot's seat, signaling to the hunters and other world-er they were almost to the village. Nathan pressed some of the extended knobs of the Pipboy on his left arm, and saw the menu pop up on the power armor's HUD. He wasn't sure exactly what he's need, but not only did he have the weapons within his Pipboy, he also had the two heavy hitters on his back, and the Deliverer on his hip. He glanced to either side of him, seeing the two most explosive weapons he had strapped to his back. The Big Boy, and The Party-starter. He would only use these two as a last resort, as their explosive yield could be dangerous to enemies and allies alike.
"Once we land, we need to get as many villagers back to the bullheads as possible." Oobleck said, starting to formulate a plan. "If you two could get them to the transports, I will ensure they get there safely." Port and Nathan nodded, seeing it as a sensible plan. "Then..." Oobleck said as they began to pass over the village, the sight of burning buildings, raging Grimm, and scared people could easily be viewed. The Bullheads landed not too far from the edge of the village, and the three men immediately jumped off. "...Lets get these poor souls out of here."
"People of Greenville!" Port announced loudly as he and Nathan ran into the burning village. "Get to the Bullheads! We'll hold them off!" A Beowolf jumped the professor from behind, surprising Nathan, but Port simply jumped up with dexterity you would not expect of a man of his size. The Beowolf landed where Port was, and the professor came back down on top of the Grimm with his blunderbuss, the axe end being driven into the creatures skull, splitting it's head in half. It dissipated quickly afterwords.
The townsfolk had seen the Bullheads approaching, and most were already attempting to get to them. The only ones that weren't were the ones that were trying to fight off the Grimm with firearms or melee weapons. Nathan and Port quickly approached where there seemed to be a bit of a scuffle going on between the people and the Grimm. Beowolves were quickly outnumbering and outgunning the ones fighting as more showed up.
Port sprang into action, firing a lighting dust round into a Beowolf, sending the creature sprawling and t witching, slightly paralyzed. Nathan charged into another, the weight of the power armor, and the speed of the charge quickly reduced the Grimm to nothing.
"Everyone! Get to the Bullheads!" Port repeated for the fighters to hear, and many of them disengaged from the Grimm and fled. Except for one, and the professor recognized a look of desperation and anger in the male rabbit-faunas's features. He had white hair, and accompanying it, where two large rabbit ears on his head. Port quickly approached the man "Son, get to the bullheads, we need to get everyone to safety." The man seemed to glare daggers at port for a moment, before the glare became more of a pleading one.
"Please, my wife! My wife and my little girl are trapped in our home down the road, please! I need to rescue them!" Nathan overheard the conversation as he slammed his armored bot on the top of a Beowolf's head, before retrieving 'Le Fusil Terribles' from his Pipboy, and approaching the pair. The man noticed him immediately, his eyes bulging slightly at the sight of his armor.
"I'll get them." Nathan said calmly, an expression of grim understanding hidden under his helmet. "Port, can you hold off the Grimm from the Bullheads?"
"Of course I can! You leave that to me, you go rescue those girls." Nathan nodded his thanks, before turning back to the father. His eyes were full of hope, but also of concern, both for his family and for the man who said he was going to rescue them.
"Don't worry, If I can get them back, I will." Nathan said, before he began to jog further into the village. The sole survivor briefly glanced behind him, wondering if that man's expression of desperation was the same one he had when he first walked out of the vault.
"Run, Emily." A brown-haired Rabbit Faunas Woman said weakly to her daughter as the little girl attempted to pull her mother from the wreckage that used to be their house. The girl had rabbit ears as well, and had white hair with big dark brown eyes. Her mother was trapped under a large beam of their house, and fire was slowly beginning to spread into the building. While the Grimm couldn't get inside, the smoke from the fire certainly could. "We'll both die if you stay." The mother said before coughing blood, some of it even getting on her daughter's mostly dark brown floral dress.
"N-No! I can't leave you mommy! You have to get out!" Emily practically screamed, tears streaming down her face. "We have to get daddy!" She was desperate, and couldn't muster the strength tp pull her mother out, nor could she lift the beam on top of her. "Please!" She cried as she continued to pull on her mother's arm. Then a hand touched her face, and Emily recognized that touch.
"Don't worry Emily." Her mother said weakly, smiling as much as she could. Her hand cupped her daughters face, resigned to her fate, trying to save her daughter from the encroaching fire. "I'll be fine, you need to go." Emily began to cry harder, her dark brown eyes full of sadness as they stared into her mother's own dark brown eyes. Then the wall caved in.
Emily flinched as some shrapnel fell near her and her mother. Then she looked over to then new hole in the wall. Standing there was a pure black silhouette, before it's eyes lit up a bright solid red, an insectoid shape to them. Emily's mother stared in horror at the giant humanoid Grimm that had just busted down a wall of the house, her fear for her daughter's safety growing exponentially. The fire was growing, and smoke had turned the room hazy, but she could still see the red eyes and black body.
"Emily, run!" Her mother begged, but to her horror, the girl had stood up and stared at the figure with determination. Her mother knew what the girl was doing, but Emily had moved out of her reach.
"No! I won't let you hurt mommy!" Emily yelled defiantly as the Grimm began to slowly approach them, heavy footsteps hitting the wooden floor. Emily stood her ground as the dark figure stepped into the light. Revealing the flame painted metal body. "W-What?"
"Why would I hurt her?" The figure asked, a man's voice coming out as if from a radio. He looked over and saw Emily's mother, he stepped over and rather easily lifted the beam from above her, before gently pulling her out. She had a dumbfounded expression on her face as her Daughter came rushing to her. "Are you okay?" The man asked, kneeling down to look at her head on. Reluctantly, she shook her head. "I understand, but I need to get you out of here, and its going to be a bumpy ride. Here, I have something that can help you." At the strange man's words, a strange syringe appeared in his hand. "Its... a pain killer of sorts."
Before she knew it, Emily was now holding onto the back of the armored man for dear life as he ran towards the bullheads. Grim were following them, and more tended to give chase as they fled. Emily's mother was being carried under the man's left arm, while he held a small pistol in his right that he would occasionally shoot with if a Grimm got too close.
Nathan was simply trying to get to the bullheads without dropping the girl's mother. The deliverer was full of what he was told was earth rounds. While not as commonly used as fire or lightning rounds, earth rounds could be useful for knocking back enemies without using rare gravity dust. He only had a few gravity dust rounds anyway, and he sure wasn't going to use them for combat. He was coming upon the bullheads and could see Port rush over to him, obviously trying to stop the Grim chasing him. The hydraulics and servos in the power armor accelerating the three of them to the bullheads.
Port slammed a Grimm's side, causing it to be knocked into several other Grimm that were also following Nathan. The Beowolves looked at the man with hatred, and he simply rose his blunderbuss and fired. A Beowolf was shot in the head, and his body slowly started to dissipate afterwards. The rest of the Beowolves attempted to pounce the professor, but in response he spun his blunderbuss around, and hefted one mighty swing, slicing four of them in half at once. The other Grimm were not so eager to join their brethren in an assault.
Soon enough Nathan reached the bullheads, and saw the father from before. The faunas immediately recognized both the armored man, and his family that were being carried. He immediately rushed to them.
"Emily! Carla!" The Father cried, as he ran to his family. Nathan gently set the mother down into the bullhead, and Emily jumped off his back to hug her father with teary eyes. "Your alright. Wait, Carla! What happened?" The woman shook her head as both her husband and daughter approached her.
"A beam of the house fell on me, but I'll be alright. Its thanks to that huntsman that I'm alive." She said while looking up to the huntsman in question. Nathan nodded curtly at her, and the family looked up to him in thanks and joy. That was interrupted by the sound of Port's voice.
"Nathan, I believe I will need your assistance here." Port said while grunting, as another Ursa dissipates in front of him. Nathan curtly nodded, and went to assist the man as Oobleck continued to hold back Grimm with a... mechanical Torch? Nathan made a mental note to ask what kind of weapon that was exactly. Nathan de-atomized the Les Fusil Terribles and immediately shot one of the Beowolve's heads off. More Grimm were coming, but thankfully most of the villagers were on the shuttles, and they were getting ready to take off, or so they all hoped.
Nathan shot twice more with two more Beowolves going down with two more fire dust shells. Nathan felt something hit is side, and bounce off. He looked to his left and saw another Beowolf that had apparently tried to tackle him. He shot it in the chest, the majority of it's body being destroyed near instantly. Then an Ursa came charging at him, and Nathan began shooting at the much larger Grimm. The first shell merely grazed the side of the Grimm, black ichor spewing out a bit. The second hit it's faceplate, breaking away half of it, and causing the Ursa to roar in pain. The final shell also hit the faceplate, and caused the head to explode. The Ursa stopped moving it's leg, but the body kept going forwards, dragging across the grassy ground, a black ichor trail following it. The Ursa's corpse finally stopped only a step from Nathan's feet, as it dissipated. Nathan stifled a chuckle. Port then landed next to the armored man after taking out another Beowolf.
"Nathan, I believe we should be going. The Bullheads are ready" Port said before he aimed his blunderbuss and shot a round at a charging Beowolf. "We need to hop on before any serious Grimm sho-" Before he could finish his sentence, a burning house busted open sending burning wood shrapnel everywhere as a lone villager attempted to flee from the exploding house. Then a huge orange glowing stinger pierced the man from the house as a new Grimm emerged.
Great... This world has giant scorpions too. Nathan thought as he watched the near house-sized Grimm come into view. It had hard looking white armored plating on it's back and tail, large frontal pincers, red eyes, and red intricate markings on it's back. The smaller legs on it's side were pitch black like most of the rest of it. The Grim lifted the barely living villager up, before throwing him into the woods. Real jerk giant scorpions.
"A Death Stalker!" port exclaimed with excitement in his voice. "We need to dispatch of it ]at once! This will make for a great story!" Nathan shook his head. "Oobleck!" Port called to his partner, who turned to the portly professor. "Hold them off for a little longer, me and Nathan are going to-"
"Yes yes, destroy the Death Stalker. Well, do it quickly, we're all ready to leave, and if that thing is left alone..."
"It could move on to another village, or follow us back to Vale." Nathan surmised, a feeling of slight dread coming over him. Originally he thought Port wanted to simply kill the Grimm for another kill to be added to his name, but now he saw the true reason.
"Not just that!" Port said, breaking Nathan from his thoughts. "But also because defeating a Death Stalker is a great way to experience yourself with tougher Grimm. Besides all that, like I said earlier, It will make for a great story!" Nathan was starting to wonder how serious Port was, but decided to leave it be for now. The Death stalker began to approach them, several other Grimm moving out of the way. Port and Nathan ran to face it head on, aiming to be distractions for the Grimm so it didn't attempt to run past them to the bullheads.
Port was upon the Death Stalker first, and shot at it's eyes while jumping to it's side, the giant Grimm recoiled as the pelts from the blunderbuss took out one of it's eyes. Fiery orange ichor spewed from the eye, as Nathan closed the distance between him and the Grimm. He hefted Les Fusil Terribles, and shot multiple times at the Grimm's eyes as well. Two more orange orbs burst on the Death Stalker's face, and the Grimm screeched in pain. Before Nathan could react, the Death Stalker's left pincer slammed into Nathan's side. The power armor briefly lifted off the air before the other pincer grabbed Nathan and hefted him up, now in the Grimm's grasp.
Nathan attempted to get out of the Grip, but his arms were trapped in the pincers as well. He could hear the hydraulics slowly pry the pincer apart, but not before he noticed the Grimm's stinger was aiming at him. The pressure of the pincers on his armor wasn't enough to cause damage to the armor, but it was enough that he wouldn't be able to free himself before the stinger struck. Then the stinger suddenly fell off, along with a large amount of orange Ichor accompanying it. The Death Stalker screamed as it unintentionally released Nathan from it's grip, and Nathan looked around to eventually spot Port off to the right side of the creature, nodding to the sole survivor.
The armored man took the hint, and atomized his shotgun, before de-atomizing a large revolver with a bull barrel. It used to belong to a particular mercenary that Nathan had the displeasure of meeting, but now he used the pistol for far more righteous things. At least in his own opinion. Nathan rushed the Death Stalker again, and jumped on it's armored back, and aimed the 44 in the center of it's head. He unloaded the cylinder, the lead bullets cracking and breaking the bone-like structure on the Grimm. Nathan hopped off and saw that while it's head was now heavily bleeding Ichor, it was still moving, albeit thrashing like a crazed animal.
It screamed and flailed about, destroying more of the burning village, and actually catching few Grimm too. Port yelled as he jumped up high, using a Beowolf as a spring board, toward the Death Stalker, and by the time the Grimm realized what was happening, it was too late. The axe end of Port's blunderbuss came down on the exposed area that Nathan had created with his pistol, and practically split the rest of the Grimm's head open. A large crack formed down the middle of the rest of the head plate, while a respectable sized black oozing valley of Grimm-flesh was now home to Port's axe.
"Quickly! Before more Grimm show up!" Oobleck yelled from behind Nathan and Port, quickly reminding them of their main objective. Port retrieved his axe, and began sprinting with Nathan to the Bullheads.
"Excellent job Nathan, that was some fine huntsman work." Port complimented as he Nathan and Oobleck rested a few feet away from the unloading bullheads. As the citizens bailed out, officers from the Vale police department wrote names and numbers down on their notepads, while other officers and EMTs assisted the injured. May of the villagers, despite being saved, had sullen looks on their faces, while others were outright weeping. Nathan couldn't help but look. "Don't worry Nathan, eventually they will rebuild, but I understand what they must be feeling."
"You have no idea." Nathan said a bit dangerously, without looking back at the professor. Nathan knew Port didn't mean anything by it, but to have it not only happen to yourself, but others as well... It never sat well with him. Then he noticed one of the villagers was approaching them. It was the white haired rabbit faunas from earlier whose family was in trouble. He stopped in front of Nathan, a bit of trepidation in his stance and movements.
Nathan reached up and took off his helmet, revealing his face and giving the man an understanding and gentle smile. This seemed the give the man a sense of ease as he sighed, giving Nathan as best of a smile he could manage.
"I just wanted to say... thanks. If it hadn't been for you three, the pilots, and whatever you gave my wife before you saved her, neither of my girls would be here now. Again, thank you." The father said with no small amount of thankfulness and gratitude. Nathan shook his head.
"Just doing our job, but... Your welcome." A comfortable silence fell over the four of them, before the father looked back to notice his wife was being carried into an ambulance, and his daughter was right there with her. He looked back to the hunters, and Nathan simply nodded, understanding that he couldn't talk anymore. The father turned away, and went to reunite with his family.
Port walked up to Nathan and patted his armored back. The professor was about to say something else, but the familiar sound of a scroll ringing caught him off guard. It was Oobleck's. The Doctor quickly answered it.
"Hello?" He began, quickly followed by a "I see." Several small words like these passed from Oobleck's mouth, neither of his companions getting a good grasp as to the topic he was speaking about, or being told about. That was until the Doctor adopted a surprised expression as he looked off into space. "She had silver eyes?"
Author's notes
Discord: /uDxVym8
I know...I'm sorry, but I'm trying I promise. I had a trip out of tow recently, and I discovered I'm probably going to be working close to 50 hours this week. If I didn't get something done soon, It wasn't going to happen. So here it is, the last prequel chapter, aka, the last chapter before the beginning of the first season. So yes, next chapter will be all about the beginning of the school year... more or less.
Moving on... to those that read my other story, Blades seeketh blood. I have begun the next chapter... but thats about it. I'm going to try to work on it a bit more often, so hopefully it won't be another month until I update something again. Anyways, I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter, and as always...
Thanks for reading!