The start of the second season is here. Let's get this started.
Chapter 9
Movements
"By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down, yea, we wept, when we remembered Zion. Remember, O Lord, The Children of Edom in the day of Jerusalem who said, "Raze it, raze it, even to the foundation." O daughter of Babylon, who art to be destroyed. How happy shall he be, that rewardeth thee as thou hast served us. Happy shall he be, that taketh and dasheth thy little ones against the stones."- Psalm 137:1, 7-9 King James' Bible
The City of Vale. It was a pleasant place, the Courier had to admit. Compared to the Strip it was a lot more calm. He had heard it said that Remnant was currently going through a time of peace and prosperity. But if one knew where to look, he or she could say that underneath these happy times were coming times of bloodshed and sorrow.
In a way it was the best of times and it was the worst of times. Academies trained Hunters and Huntresses to do battle with the Grimm who stalked the wilderness. Groups made motions. Companies made innovations to improve society or ways to tear it down. The sun rose and fell.
Life as usual.
The Courier sat, invisible thanks to one of his Stealthboys, on a bench looking across the street at a bookstore, Tukson's Book Trade the sign announced. The police was just about to leave. The Courier stood up. Looks like it was time to get to work.
/
There was a sign of a struggle but pretty much he found nothing so the Courier headed back to the small apartment he had managed to purchase. The Courier found that having the SDC pay for practically everything was rather convenient. Even retooling his weaponry to fire Dust cartridges was no problem, in fact he had it done for free in Atlas. His armor also got some upgrades as it was partially infused with Dust. The Courier liked it very much.
Connections...some things never changed. He unlocked his door revealing a rather spacious interior. The Courier removed his helmet and unbuckled his boots before setting them down away from the carpet. He stashed his weapons in his personal footlocker and took out the scroll he had been given by the SDC. He made his report, as usual, before heading to his kitchen to get started on things. He ignored the chime, he'd read the reply later.
Months had passed since his arrival in Atlas. The billowing desert winds gave way to a more springtime climate and the Courier had wondered during those days if he had actually died. How wrong he was. He wandered that countryside fighting off Grimm and the elements by himself until he finally reached some civilization and learned about where he was.
The Courier looked down at the simple meal he had prepared and sat down to eat.
Remnant was dangerous, much like the Mojave. Civilized, beautiful most certainly but dangerous. The Grimm were many and human tenacity could only do so much. The Courier smiled. Remnant had much to learn from the Mojave, because when bombs and guns and knives did not do hate could certainly pull you through.
He pulled out his scroll to read his employer's response and briefly considered heading out again to search. The Courier smirked and whispered "Fuck that." He instead fired up his Pip Boy and selected a tune. Recording all of those songs for one day was totally worth it. A dreamy and slow saxophone began to play. The Courier leaned back and relaxed.
Maybe he'd head down to Beacon sometime this afternoon. Mister Schnee, the younger, had asked him to look in on his daughter who was attending Beacon. The Courier held up the badge identifying him as an agent of the SDC. He thought back on that particularly surprising fight back on the docks a few months ago.
The thought of facing down that brown haired kid with the power fist put a cautious thought in his head. Perhaps he might also have his own uses.
/
Beacon Academy, the next morning...
Royce Walker was aware of some kind of buzzing noise as he pored over his textbook for the fiftieth time. His mind was abuzz with all kinds of technical information...like how to get poison from a Deathstalker without killing yourself or how to chase off an Ursa Minor with little more than a small firecracker. The textbook was suddenly yanked out of his hands. Royce looked up.
Weiss was frowning. That usually meant that Ruby was frowning too. "Uh...hi?"
"Royce, it's a few weeks before the semester starts." Weiss said. "Can you give the studying a little bit of a rest? You've been poring over your textbooks for days!"
"Yeah! Now's the perfect time to go do fun stuff!" Ruby agreed. "You can't just sit there and study all day!"
"But...I...wasn't..." Royce said in complete confusion as both girls grabbed his arms. "I was just reading...Can I get a book from my stack?"
"No." Was the quick answer.
"Aww..." Royce bowed his head disappointed.
/
If there was one thing that Royce did not expect, it was getting into a food fight. A food fight with kids with super powers. And a ton of food that was getting wasted by the second. As he watched Nora launch Yang through the roof with what seemed to be the lovechild of a pole and a melon he managed to catch a can of grape soda that was sent flying. He was currently hiding under an unmolested cafeteria table watching the ensuing combat between team RWBY and JNPR.
The absurdity of the situation was not lost on the Lone Wanderer, although he was a bit miffed at how much food was being thrown around. So when Weiss took that pie to the face the Wanderer calmly maneuvered himself out of the way when food began flying all over the place and the rest of Beacon's students began running for the doorway.
He caught a plate that slid across the floor. He looked down to see a perfectly good looking sandwich still on it. Royce stowed that under his little shelter. The Wanderer waited and soon enough he had quite a bit of food down under the table. Two more bag of chips went flying and slid passed the Lone Wanderer. He waited for it and reached out to catch the bowl of salad and the two soda cans sliding towards the table. Grinning to himself he stowed them next to a growing pile of provisions.
"Hey," Royce turned to see Jaune sitting next to him. "Well...this is nuts."
"Yeah it is," Royce said taking a bite out of his newly claimed sandwich. "That double Turkey punch looked like it hurt."
"Sure, thanks..." Jaune grumbled, he felt his stomach growl. His brow quirked. "Hey could you spare me one of those? I'm kinda hungry."
Royce offered him the plate of food. "Go ahead."
Both young men heard the door slam open. "Uh oh," Royce said as the table began to vibrate.
/
Glynda Goodwitch had walked in and promptly rearranged the entire cafeteria, clearing up the considerable mess caused by the frenetic food fight. "Ladies," she said testily holding her riding crop. "It is unbecoming of you all to play with your food." The professor then noticed Royce and Jaune sitting quietly on the floor. Royce had already devoured half of his enormous sandwich and both he and Nora let out loud burps which set Ruby laughing.
As the professor watched in confusion she felt Ozpin put a hand on her shoulder.
"They're going to need to grow up eventually." She told him.
Ozpin nodded sagely. "I understand Miss Goodwitch, but let them be children for a little while longer." He told her. "We've already one world weary soul here." Glynda looked at Royce, who was sitting there with a satisfied smile while Yang and Ruby looked at the stack of empty plates piled right beside him. They looked slightly horrified.
Glynda sighed. Something told her that today was going to be an extremely long day.
/
Ozpin waited in his office scowling as he read and re-read the message on his scroll again. In addition to the students from other schools he was now expecting an agent from the Schnee Dust Company to arrive. To make matters worse, it was the very same man who had come to blows with his newest student. And that bothered him. Glynda stood by his side waiting. A scowl was present on her face as the doors to the headmaster's office opened and the man inside stepped through. His dark green duster billowed slightly around his armor. A helmet was strapped to his belt, its red optics glared at all that encompassed its gaze. Ozpin caught the unmistakable shape of a carbine slung over his shoulder and the long barreled revolver holstered at his side. A second firearm was on the opposite hip, next to the sheathed fighting knife.
Unlike Royce, the man in the duster was not very tall or broad. But Ozpin could sense something...off about the man. Something extremely dangerous. It felt like a wave of killing intent that warned off all sentient life. He saw Glynda tighten her posture in his peripheral vision. The agent had dark, tanned skin. His features were sharp and scarred, two scars in particular marred his head and would not have been noticed because his unkempt black hair hid them from view. They...did not seem like normal injuries. His youthful looks said that he was in his twenties. But his hard, indigo eyes told Ozpin that he had seen more than he would ever want to share. There was a coldness there that would render lesser people speechless.
The man's boots made no sound as he stopped a few feet away from Ozpin and Glynda. His posture was relaxed, but could switch to battle ready at any second. Ozpin could see that the man was not only fast, but strong in those few moments.
"Good afternoon headmaster Ozpin," the man said, his tone was low but rich and polite. "You can call me the Courier, I'm here on behalf of the Schnee Dust Company."
"I have the message." Ozpin replied politely. "And I can assure that Beacon is a safe environment. You have no need to worry about Miss Schnee's safety."
"Regardless, I was asked to check on her." The Courier didn't relent. "But I can do that so long as I am here in Vale." He looked around. "Very nice place you got here, reminds me of home."
"Thank you." Ozpin said "But-"
"What exactly are you doing here?" Glynda snapped angrily. "A mercenary like you would be hired for something bigger than a regular check up. Furthermore you are not the acting guardian of Weiss Schnee therefore I find your "story" to be a little sketchy."
The Courier blinked as he regarded Glynda with a glance. Then he smiled politely. "I can assure you that what happened at the docks was nothing personal." He said. "Your student packed quite a punch."
"And yet you poisoned him," Ozpin spoke calmly his hand clutching the head of his cane. "What is your business here?" His tone was wary but he would protect his students if this man's intent was hostile.
"Like I said, I was asked to check on Miss Schnee." The Courier told the truth. "And that is what I will do. I was also asked to provide security for her as well, so...I will be staying on site. I won't interfere with any of your lessons."
Glynda didn't look too happy about it. Ozpin couldn't refuse, not when the SDC started calling.
"Very well," Ozpin said politely. "But...please refrain from frightening my students. Some of them have heard of your...exploits at Atlas."
The Courier bowed his head in respect. "Thank you. Now if you'll excuse me I will be off to make my report to the SDC." He said. "They are rather pushy, so may I take my leave?"
Ozpin gave a nod. When the Courier had finally departed Glynda rounded on Ozpin with a glare.
"I don't think he should be here." She said. "No. He should not be allowed on campus. At. All."
"You go ahead and tell the SDC that," Ozpin shrugged. "I'm not about to antagonize them. In the meantime I must ask that you keep a watch on him. I will make the announcement in the next staff meeting."
"Throwing me to the wolves already?" Glynda rolled her eyes. "But I will do as asked."
"If he does have a hostile intent." Ozpin told her carefully. "Do not hesitate. Fight at full strength. I don't think he should be a fighter to take lightly."
/
They stood facing each other. Team RWBY was on one side and the Courier on the other. Royce was not surprised he would meet this man again, but the girls were. Their reactions were quite a bit troubling. All of them had drawn their weapons. But if the Courier had wanted to kill them all he would have drawn already. And shot him first, twice. Right in the torso.
Royce stepped forward but Ruby got in his way. "Royce, don't." She said. "Please, we'll take him on."
"If he wanted us dead he'd have drawn. Plus you're drawing a crowd." Royce pointed out. He smiled at Ruby gently. "Don't worry, he just wants to talk."
The Courier agreed. He said "Boy's right, little miss. I'm just here for a friendly neighborhood chat."
"Bullshit." Yang spat, Ember Celica unfolding.
"No need to get angry but I'm sure my employers would appreciate it if you'd stand down." The Courier revealed the SDC badge on his person. And the revolver he was holding in his off hand.
Weiss gave a small gasp. That mark was usually reserved for people who worked directly with her father. She bit her lip nervously. "Guys, he's serious." She spoke up prompting Yang and Blake to look at her. "Don't start something here."
"Ah Miss Schnee was it?" The Courier turned his horrible eyes on her. "Good, good. I won't have to deliver the boss any bad news." He nodded sagely. "Or ask him to clean up bodies."
That statement earned him a nasty glare from Yang.
"How do you know who I am?" Weiss asked the Courier. "And how do you know my father?"
"I met him personally a few months ago." The Courier answered. "Man seemed in a tight spot during one of those Faunus protests." He shrugged. Blake narrowed her eyes. "White Fang bullets tend to do horrible things but I lent a hand."
Weiss' eyes widened considerably. "Was he...hurt?"
"No. I killed the men who were trying to hurt him though." The Courier answered. He turned on Royce whose own eyes narrowed considerably.
"You should be dead." The Courier told Royce, his tone neutral. "But I'm not surprised. You're one of the toughest men I've faced. That Pip Boy on your wrist...you a Vault Dweller?"
"I was." Royce said. "You?"
"A friend gave it to me," The Courier spoke. "Patched me up too, getting shot in the head tends to do a lot of bad stuff but apparently I was lucky enough to survive."
"Damn, and I thought I had it bad." Royce said casually although he was on guard for any unsuspecting moves. The Courier looked like the type of guy to kick you in the balls when you weren't looking. "Your friend was a doctor?"
The Courier simply nodded. "Real good one."
Team RWBY looked at each other nervously. Royce just kept his eye on the Courier. The weight of each man's trials and legends seemed to make the air crackle.
"Sorry," The Courier bowed his head. "Guess I made things a bit awkward here. Maybe we'll see each other again."
"Sure, whatever." Royce replied.
/
"I hate that condescending prick." Yang snarled as they exited the class.
"Yang, calm down." Ruby was right to be worried. Yang looked ready to kill something. "Please? He's not gonna bother us anymore."
"He was telling the truth though." Blake pointed out. "He said he was checking on you." She looked at Weiss expectantly.
"What?" Weiss looked surprised. "Do you really think I'm supposed to know why a complete psychopath like that man was asked to look in on me? I only found out that my father hired him today!"
Blake didn't look ready to believe her just yet. But she said nothing. She turned to Royce. "Do you have any guesses as to what he really wants?"
Royce exhaled through his nose. "He's a merc. He's in it for the pay." As they headed towards their dorm room Royce continued with his train of thought. "He's a helluva lot more sociable than Talon Company that's for sure."
"Talon Company?" Ruby piped up. "Who're they?"
Royce rubbed the back of his neck. "The best mercenaries money can buy. They'll do any job provided the pay is good. Problem is...they're not exactly the friendliest guys. They had a hit on me."
"What!?" Weiss exclaimed.
"Yeah I was pretty popular...ow!" Royce recoiled as Yang smacked his side. "What was that for!?"
"For being a doofus." Yang said. "Are you trying to get killed?"
"No, it was a long time ago!" Royce shook his head.
"And is he a part of said unscrupulous mercenary company?" Weiss asked.
"No." Royce answered. "In a way, he's a helluva lot worse and a helluva lot better at the same time."
"And how is that going to be a good thing?" Weiss asked.
"He won't kill us, least of all you." Royce said to her. "I'm sure of that. Men like him have standards."
Yang scoffed. "Standards?"
"Yes." Royce said. "He won't make a scene, not when it will probably ruin his reputation and image as a problem solver."
/
"Hey guys!" Sun Wukong walked over to the table in the library. Royce, who was busy looking up some information for Blake barely acknowledged the other Faunus. Weiss put down her cards and walked over to the wanderer and his scroll and closed the browser window.
"Hey!" Royce looked at Weiss. "What-oh." He saw Sun looking expectantly over at him.
"You're alive!" The blonde young man looked honestly surprised to see him.
Royce checked his pulse. "Yes I am," he said. "It would be kinda weird if I wasn't wouldn't it?" The young man laughed in return.
"That's good, that's good." The newcomer offered his hand. "Sun Wukong."
"Royce Walker," The Wanderer shook the young man's hand and then glanced at his companion. "And your friend?" The blue haired guy had a cheery smile on his face but he kept glancing at Weiss, who looked so utterly confused as Ruby and Yang hammed it up over their board game.
Royce looked at the expansive map of Remnant on the board and all of the little things written on it and decided that military conquest was something he'd never get. He wasn't much of a strategist.
"Neptune." Sun nudged his friend. "Hey, this is the guy I was telling you about!"
The friend, aptly called Neptune, smiled. "So you're the guy Sun's been talking about. He says you...er, well, you were supposed to be dead."
Royce shrugged. He'd faced so many things that should have killed him he was...well, he didn't want to die per say but he was more than ready for it, he had died once after all. "Well, I'm not." He said. "Getting shanked in the side sucks real bad though."
"By that Courier dude right?" Neptune asked. At the mention of "Courier" Yang had scowled and clenched her fist briefly.
"Yeah." Royce shrugged his shoulders. "It was a complete misunderstanding."
Blake turned her head slightly towards him. She breathed heavily. "Guys...I-I gotta go."
"Huh!? B-But it's your turn!" Ruby looked surprised.
"Go ahead Blake, I'll pick up where you left off." Royce told Blake. The black haired girl nodded gratefully. Royce knew she wasn't going to sleep anyway. She'd been looking up a lot of stuff on the White Fang. He just did his best to help her along. That and he needed more information on the Courier in case things...went sour.
Killing a man required more than a gun after all...
"Okay." Royce took up Blake's place and picked up her cards. "...What the hell am I doing?"
/
Jaune exhaled and stood on his toes, he focused on Royce who turned to the side and raised his fists. Focus, he remembered Royce telling him to focus. He was getting better but he had a long way to go.
Okay...He can go left, right or straight on. He can either punch me in the head or kick me right in the groin. Perfect. Jaune swallowed the lump in his throat then made the first move. He charged Royce who smiled in amusement and went for a left hook.
Pyrrha watched at the sidelines with Ruby and Yang. "Jaune's doing great!" Ruby exclaimed as Jaune managed to dodge Royce's fist and actually managed to land a hit on the taller wanderer. Royce, as usual proving that he was built like a brick wall, simply endured the hit and countered. Jaune blocked then went for Royce's leg knocking him down. Jaune tried to pin Royce down but the Wanderer put his foot up to Jaune's stomach and kicked off.
Jaune landed on his back then felt a slight pressure on the back of his head. "Darn."
"Well," Royce commented smiling. "I technically did not expect you to go for my leg like that. But you did a good job." He helped the shorter boy to his feet. "What did you learn this time?"
"You can still break me in half?" Jaune tried hopefully.
Royce shook his head. "The trick is to do something unexpected. That leg sweep was good. But you should have gone for my legs even while I'm down."
"You would have kicked me in the head anyway!" Jaune exclaimed.
"Could've gone either way." Royce said shrugging. "But really man, you're getting better and better. Between me and Pyrrha, you're getting higher up."
Jaune grinned sheepishly. "Uh well...um thanks..."
"Now...let's go work on your..." The sound of engines echoed through the academy. "Wonder what that's all about?"
"Royce! The exchange students for the festival are coming in! You wanna watch!?" Ruby called out.
/
Glynda and Ozpin watched from the window as a wing of fighters roared past the tower. "Ironwood certainly does love to make an entrance." Glynda commented.
"I'm sure that as a Headmaster and a General, he is quite the busy man." Ozpin's reply was calm as usual. "...But I agree. It would be nice not having fighter jets flying around my office."
"Quite," The Courier said from the side as he crossed his arms leaning against the eastern wall. Ozpin and Glynda turned quickly to the intruder before relaxing. Slightly. Ozpin liked to say that his office was secure...until the Courier broke in and had actually beaten the Headmaster to his own office one morning.
It was an interesting conversation.
The Courier smiled.
/
"You." James Ironwood was not expecting the man to be here. The Courier just gave a polite wave.
"I assume that the both of you are...acquainted?" Ozpin asked his old colleague.
"Quite," Ironwood's reply was calm. The general made an impressive figure, one that matched the Courier's own subtle insidiousness. "He saved the lives of my students...at the cost of mutilating several White Fang who were trying to blow up a part of my school."
"Oh...I made a mess?" The Courier asked. "My apologies general, things tend to become violent when guns and explosives are involved. That, and the SDC's ammunition was a bit...overkill."
"I've received several complaints about your...methods of culling the White Fang." Ironwood glared at the Courier. "And while I agree that they must be stopped, you seem intent on destroying them all."
The Courier's reply was sarcastic. "Yes...so I suppose I should stand there and let them shoot me? Or civilians who had the misfortune of getting in their way? It makes me wonder general, why are your soldiers being deployed if they are not there to keep the peace?"
Ironwood bristled at the disrespectful tone but kept it in check. He may have disagreed with the Courier's methods but he had to admit that he came up with results. He still did not like how the man was insinuating that the men and women under his command were incompetent.
"Please calm down, both of you." Ozpin said quietly taking a sip from his coffee. "I would like it if my office would remain intact. Besides, these are times of peace. Violently tackling the problem tends to cause a lot more harm than good."
The Courier smirked as Ironwood sighed and shook his head. Ozpin had a point. The problem was that peace was usually the precursor to war. And war never changed. No matter how much people wanted it to.
"Whatever you say Headmaster." The Courier said.
/
"So...Let's go over the schedule for tomorrow again." Ruby said as Royce sharpened his knife as it lay on his lap. Since Fisto still needed some retooling, he had worked on his knife since it was simpler to do so in Professor Colt's fabrication center.
The blade was still the same design but now it was re-forged using techniques known to Vale's blacksmiths. Colt himself was the one who worked on Royce's trench knife, it was sharper now with a longer nine inch blade. With its clip point and spiked hand guard the weapon was deadly in the right hands. Royce was particularly adept with it and it had served him in the Capital Wastes ever since he received it from the Brotherhood Outcasts.
"Weiss, you and I will be heading to the CCT and we'll find out what we can." Ruby then turned to Blake. "You're going to that White Fang meeting right Blake?"
"Yes, I can get in without any problems." Blake nodded her head.
"Yang you go visit Junior and see what he knows about the Courier," Ruby said. "I know it'll look bad but we don't know anything about the guy."
"Yeah, I got it." Yang answered. She looked a bit irritable though at the mention of "Courier".
"Royce, you're going with her right?" Ruby asked.
"Sure, unless you want me at the CCT with you." Royce said as he checked his knife before sheathing it across his back horizontally. He did not notice Ruby blushing slightly and Yang chuckling to herself. Royce stood up, by far he was the most intimidating sight covered head to toe in armor. In the first semester he had meshed the Ranger Battle Armor together with the Chinese Stealth Armor into a workable prototype. Since then he had worked on the stealth systems and he could pop in and out of stealth reasonably well if he kept still. It wasn't perfect yet but it was getting there. Royce had pulled his cloth head wrap over his brown hair.
Yang had once said it made him look like a complete and utter bastard.
"Is that the same one you've been wearing last semester?" Weiss asked.
"Mm...Longer actually." Royce said. "It's been two years since I found it."
"Jeez...I think you need to go shopping for clothes." Weiss commented. "Perhaps this weekend we should be able to get you something that is nice to look at."
Damn. Royce dreaded the idea of shopping for clothes. "You sure?"
"Royce, all you've got for clothes are T-shirts, a pair of really stitched up jeans and a blue jumpsuit." Weiss deadpanned. "You have to look good during social interactions!"
"You just want him to model out clothes you pick." Yang said, sniggering to herself. "I can just see it now, Weiss and Royce in some really high up, classy establishment...Him in a nice three piece suit and Ice Princess in her best..."
She leaned back avoiding a red faced Weiss's attempt to smack her into oblivion.
"So you guys are heading into the city again?"
Royce pulled Blackhawk out of its holster and turned around to face the window.
"Hey, take it easy!" Sun Wukong raised his hands. Royce lowered his revolver.
"How long have you been there!?" Weiss demanded.
"Oh, I've been doing this all the time- I mean I climb trees all the time!" Sun corrected himself once he saw Blake draw Gambol Shroud just slightly out of its sheath. "And yeah, I just got here!"
"I suppose your friend is outside the door?" Royce asked as he opened the front door and looked around the dorm hallway.
"Nah, he's right here!" Sun gestured to his right. Weiss and Ruby looked outside to see Neptune.
"Hey guys..."Neptune waved nervously trying his very best not to look down. "Just uh...Sun? Can you help me?"
/
Royce looked up at the towering structure based in the academy and decided that between the airships and Ozpin's office, he would rather not ascend it. Still, they were here for a reason. Royce walked behind Ruby and Weiss as he checked his Scroll in case anyone else needed anything.
"So...this thing," he spoke up prompting Weiss to turn her head slightly. "Is practically a huge communications hub?"
"Yes, Atlas spread it around a few years after the Great War." Weiss said.
"Wow..." Royce looked up at the tower. "Damn...Never seen one this big."
"Wait...you have a CCT back where you came from?" Ruby asked.
"Mm...Not exactly. Most of those stations were abandoned when the bombs hit." He continued as they walked. "Survivors after the bombs holed up in those stations...A lot of the ones I happened to pass by were tombs. I came across one still transmitting in code." He shook his head. "Man, I've never felt so depressed after I turned it off."
"Oh...wow," Ruby shook her head looking sad.
"Yeah..." Royce winced. "DC's filled with sad stories like that. Came across a trail of recordings about a family looking for shelter."
"What happened?" Weiss asked.
"It was before the war but they were looking for a shelter to hide from the bombs." Royce had found the recordings during his wanderings in DC. "It..didn't end well, let me just say that."
Ruby and Weiss looked at each other. They had no idea. How could they? Remnant was teeming with Grimm but it at least was prospering. Royce had come from a place where everything had been burned away, leaving only ashes. Pockets of what was once was could be found and they painted a picture of panic and paranoia.
"My only hope is that Remnant doesn't go through what happened to DC." Royce said breaking both girls from their musings. "I won't let that happen."