It was different travelling with civilians this young. The girl had proven to be quite a handful but luckily the boy was reserved enough to keep her in check, especially when they were forced to hide from Grimm while he handled them. When they ate, they ate in silence much to his relief but there were times where the girl would strike up a conversation. Both of them had been travelling with him for the last week and it didn't bother him as much as the Rose woman, there was no excuse for a woman of that age to act like a child at times but at least these two had an excuse.
Currently, he was looking at his map to see where the next settlement would be when a cough met his ears. He craned his head over his shoulder to see Nora coughing quietly while her face was slightly red. She seemed to wrap herself tighter in his cloak that was draped over the two and seemed to be shivering. More coughing made him frown slightly when he had deduced she had contracted an illness. Ren had woken up from the coughing and was shaking her a bit to see what was wrong with her, panic adorning his face when he processed the coughing and the sound of it. He quickly got up and started to ruffle through Six's bag and grabbed the first medical item he saw. Before he could give it to her, his hand was stopped by the Spartan.
"Let go, she needs medicine." Ren tugged at the item.
"It is not the right medicine." Six stated simply.
"It'll help her either way." Ren tried his hardest to wretch the item from the Spartan's grasp but to no avail.
"No, it won't. Giving her the wrong medicine will bring about side effects. Go get my bag." Six instructed as he took the item then set it down before he sat near Nora. He brought her up then lied her down in his arms, taking in her symptoms. Flushed face that indicated a fever, coughing, and drowsiness. These could be taken care of easily if he had the right medicine but chances were that he didn't. He turned his head to see that Ren had dumped the items on the ground and frantically looked around for anything, handing Six the first thing that looked like medicine. He nodded then instructed the young boy to open it and fill the liquid to the third line and to give it to him. He shook Nora awake and guided the medicine down her throat, while it wouldn't get rid of her illness, it would at least give him some breathing room until he could get her to a doctor.
"Will she be okay?" Ren asked as he peered over Six's shoulder while standing on his toes.
"The medicine will bring her fever down and alleviate her cough but it will not cure her." Six replied. A pit seemed to form in the boy's stomach as he stared worriedly at Nora, who's breathing seemed to be labored a bit.
"So she's still sick?" Ren asked.
"Yes." Six replied. It didn't fly over him that the boy's face seemed to morph into one of worry. He didn't know how to comfort civilians to be honest, he never was one for conversations and comforting people was never his thing. While he wasn't warm to them like Jorge, he also wasn't cold to them like Emile; if anything he was more distant towards them. Though he had picked up a few things from the Spartan II, such as civilian interaction and how to ease their worries, if only a bit.
"Get some sleep. I will stay awake and keep an eye on her and anything else." He said.
"Promise?" Ren asked.
"... I promise." Six nodded then watched as the boy got underneath his cloak and started to drift off. He waited a while for Nora to stop coughing a bit before he stood up with her in his arms then walked over to the spot where Ren was asleep and put her next to him, covering both children from the night chill. He stood next to them and just stared at them before he sighed quietly then went back to the tree and leaned against it, turning on his night vision and keeping a close watch on everything. There was a town that was a six day hike from where they were at right now, it probably had a clinic he could take the two to. He just needed to get them there.
Nora needed rest and she couldn't do that if she was walking, which is why he had to carry her. She was carried across his chest diagonally while Ren just walked next to him in silence. He could tell the boy was tired after three days of walking but he wasn't, he had to walk for several days at a time when he first arrived here but a part of him kept forgetting that these were kids. They needed to keep going if they were to make it to town and if it meant he had to carry both children then so be it.
"Six..." Ren murmured quietly. He said nothing but turned to the pink-eyed boy and nodded in his direction, indicating his attention was caught.
"Can we stop? I'm tired and my feet hurt." Ren said. Six said nothing for a few minutes before he readjusted Nora to sleep on one of his shoulders before picking Ren up and letting him set his head on his other shoulder. They needed to keep going and picking the children up was like picking up a pillow since both were light as feathers in his arms, most likely due to his augmentations.
"Rest." He said. Ren blinked a bit before he nodded then closed his eyes, looking down at the ground as it passed by before he started to fall asleep shortly after. It was silent for a while as he just walked with the two children in his arms, their destination was still days away and he wanted to be there as soon as possible so he could get Nora to a clinic so her illness could be handled. Tens of minutes seemed to pass by quickly before that stretched into hours and then some. Both of them were still sleeping and he still walked towards the town.
Some hours passed by before the three of them reached a waterfall and he woke them up. It took several minutes but eventually they woke up and he sat them near the shore then sat down next to them. The only sound was the crashing of the water against the rocks and some of the wildlife going about their business. Eventually, he stood up and spread his cloak out before dumping the contents in his bag and spreading them out to take an inventory. Food was getting a little scarce, he had some water to fill up his canteen, medicine was still somewhat abundant, and he had plenty of ammunition. Nora and Ren sat quietly and just looked at the waterfall before their stomachs started to rumble loudly, catching the attention of the Spartan.
"Why didn't you two say anything?" He asked.
"We were afraid you would get angry." She muttered. He didn't say anything but just stood up and began to look around for a couple of sturdy looking sticks before he found some then sat down next to them. They watched as he silently brought out his knife and began to sharpen the sticks for the next several minutes. It wasn't long after did they see three perfectly sharp wooden spears next to them before he handed two of them to both of them while he picked up the last.
"What's this for?" Ren asked.
"I am going to teach you how to catch fish. This is an important survival skill when no food is available." He answered and guided them to the river, where some fish could be spotted. Time seemed to slow down for him and he steadied his breathing before his arm seemed to turn into a blur and the wooden spear stabbed through a fish. It wiggled wildly for a few seconds in agony before it eventually went still and he placed it on a nearby rock. He looked at the two of them and they tried to mimic what he had done. Their clothes got soaked the more they tried and eventually they grew frustrated when they couldn't catch a simple fish. They noticed that he didn't grow angry or even show any disappointment at their results, just simply observed from his spot with his arms crossed.
"This is hopeless!" Nora cried out and threw her stick before erupting into a coughing fit then sat down. Ren simply set his stick down and sat next to her, patting her back until the coughing stopped. This went on for a minute before she stopped, she blinked when Six held out some medicine for her. While she practically forced it down and her face turned green from it, he was kneeling next to Ren and showing him how to spear fish efficiently. Silently taking his right hand and placing it over the young boy's calmly, he guided his hand to the nearest fish. He offered tips on how to catch fish efficiently then let go at the last second and watched as the wooden spear impaled the fish. Ren's eyes lightened up brightly when he realized he was the one who killed it and gave a small cheer before running in the water to retrieve it.
The two of them caught one more fish and he showed them how to start a fire easily, instructing to be very careful not to burn themselves when starting one. He merely showed them and gave them emotionless instructions while letting their mistakes be their learning point. He barely spoke and let them learn through their mistakes, but it seemed they were quick learners. The next thing that was taught was how to gut and clean a fish, throwing away all the unnecessary parts while keeping the parts that could be eaten. While he wasn't much of a talker, to which they noticed, he did teach them different techniques in order to survive. It was one of the reasons why he was so adored by them, he was merely teaching them how to survive. Though they did wish he talked more, for each time he talked it seemed to bring a smile to their face, even if he didn't really show anything other than a cold, calculative tone.
In his downtime when he was serving the UNSC, he would read survival tactics in the wilderness then apply them when he could. He was taught to survive, despite most of his missions being suicide ones, he survived regardless. It was one of the reasons as to why he was so stubborn to die when alone. In some cases he was the prey that bit back while in others he was the predator that killed without mercy. He was always in the back observing his prey, learning their patterns and behavior, their weaknesses and strengths before he lunged for their necks and took their lives.
"Six... this fish is kind of bland." Nora stuck her tongue out.
"I cannot do anything about that." He answered as he tilted his helmet up and ate silently.
"Ren! Can you add some flavor to this?" She asked while holding out her piece of fish.
"I don't really know to be honest." He said quietly.
"Oh... well I'll eat it then since you caught it." She beamed. He blinked before smiling too and eating his piece of fish in silence. Six observed the two of them before he started to eat his piece of fish silently while looking over the map. He observed it for a while before he felt Ren and Nora peek over his shoulder and observe the map with him in silence. After a while and looking at the surrounding area, he marked an area that seemed to have a section with a space and marked it as the next settlement. The next hour and a half was spent teaching them how to read a map and the surrounding area, it was a blessing that they were fast learners because come the next town he had to leave them. They may not have liked it and grown attached to him over the past two weeks but it was bound to happen eventually.
He didn't realize the impact he would have on these two in the future, shaping it because he decided to teach them.
The next several days was spent travelling in the wild. On the road to the next town, he had taught them a few more things to better their chance of survival. He taught them how to read different people and basic self-defense maneuvers just in case a situation called for it. Sewing was another skill he had taught them because he had told them that clothing wasn't abundant and it was a necessary skill for when there wasn't much so you had to make use of what you had. They both had cloaks without a hood but it did cover their faces. He had made them that so when there were cold nights they had at least something to cover them and keep them warm. It was also used to patch up any openings in their clothes should there be any.
When the three of them arrived in the town and managed to find a place and broke them the news. As expected, they started to cry and bawl their eyes out at such devastating news. It drew attention and that bothered him, he wasn't one to be put on the spot for something as trivial as crying. What took him by surprise, and made him extremely uncomfortable, was when they suddenly engulfed him in a hug; claiming that he couldn't leave them. He didn't hug back nor even move but just held his arms spread out a bit uncomfortably. Eventually after several minutes of crying on their part he knelt down onto a knee and looked at them. He just knelt there for a while as they wiped the tears from their eyes and the snot from their noses. He was never one to openly display his emotions, probably due to his lack of social interaction. This was a good opportunity to apply his civilian interaction and possibly work on it if he needed to.
"I will not lie to you two, this moment had been building up for the past two and a half weeks. While I am not staying with you, I have been able to teach you something in order for you two to survive. The world is a cold and cruel place, it is no place for children to be on their own at this age but unfortunately you two have to bare that burden." He said, placing his hands on their shoulders. They blinked tears away and listened silently.
"What are we going to do?" Nora asked.
"You will survive. Compared to the rest, you are at a disadvantage, that is why you must rely on yourselves and one another." He answered calmly. He was doing his best to make his voice sound anything but emotionless and cold to them because when it all boiled down to it, they were still children. He was a Spartan, not a caretaker nor a parent like some of the others and he'd say it a million times more, civilian interaction was not his strong suit, it was probably his weakest if he admitted.
"Why do you have to leave?" Ren asked, his voice cracking ever so often.
"It is something that must happen." He answered. The tears were returning in their eyes and he sighed internally when he saw them pop up. He placed a hand on both of their heads and looked them in the eyes, but all they could see was their reflection in his black visor from underneath his hood.
"Take care of one another..." He finally said then stood up. They watched him start to walk away from the two of them and away from the building where orphans resided but not before stopping and looking over his shoulder and giving them one last gesture. A simple closed fist while they waved with their heart's content as his figure disappeared within the crowd before it finally vanished into the wild, presumably to find the next settlement or town to gather more supplies.
He had taught them what it meant to be a wolf; to hunt, to defend themselves, to make their fur, and even to create a pack in the upcoming years. That was one thing they would describe him as, simply a wandering wolf that had no one but himself.
The days seemed to slip by since he had left the two and everything seemed to become a blur to him. Over time he had become somewhat of a local legend within frontier towns, helping out with killing Grimm or bandits before disappearing into the night. He never stayed in one place very long and it showed, usually when someone would try to track him he'd just lose them shortly after, either by killing them if they proved to be hostile or simply losing them through elusive maneuvers. Word didn't travel as fast as it did in Atlas because by the time the town he had visited caught wind of a man in a cloak with a wolf insignia, he would be long gone and onto the next to gather supplies for his travels.
During his travels though he had been sending out distress signals to any UNSC ship he could come across by. It wasn't a secret that he didn't want to be on this planet, he figured that he was alive for a reason and that was to continue the fight against the Covenant. When he did, because there was no problem with hoping, he would tell the UNSC about this planet, probably hoping that a peace treaty could be discussed with the leaders if possible. He knew that if this planet decided to make threats with the UNSC then it would be no problem since this planet didn't seem that advanced to begin with and they would simply just bombard the planet from orbit. Though, he highly doubted that UNSC would be that foolish and wouldn't dare to do such an atrocity when civilians are still present, they weren't the Covenant.
He figured he'd leave this continent and head to the next one soon. When he entered the next town that wasn't destroyed, he looked around for a certain shop that held outdoor supplies and was in luck when he found one. It looked like it barely had any customers and the cashier looked bored in the window. The bell above the door rang loudly as he entered then looked around for something. He couldn't find it on the shelves so he went up to the cashier and asked him for a mortar and pestle.
"Wow, first customer and he asks for something nobody would ask for, what's the reason?" The cashier asked.
"Medicine." Six answered calmly.
"Well, you're in luck. I happen to have one." The man said proudly as he went in the back and brought the item and also a book after a few minutes of searching.
"I did not ask for this book." Six said as he picked it up and rotated it.
"I'm giving it to you as an added bonus. It has different herbs and the effects they can bring so it's useful to know so you don't end up poisoning yourself by accident." The man shrugged.
"..." Six didn't say anything but just threw some lien cards on the counter and began to walk out but stopped when the cashier said something.
"Hey, if you stop by my shop again, I'll try to have something for you every time." He said.
"...Why?" Six asked.
"As a thanks for saving the town about ten miles away. My sister was in that town and she said a armored man with a cloak saved the town. Said to thank him if he ever had the chance to stop by. Also don't worry about the lien, it's on the house." The man reassured. "Oh, if you have a map then let me see it, I can mark my place on it so you always know where it's at." He added. Saying nothing at the comment, Six set his bag down from around his shoulder then fished out the map for Mistral, watching as the man had stuck his tongue out in concentration before beaming and marking the map.
"..." Six nodded at the map then at the strange man before placing the map back in his bag then put it around his shoulder again. He left the store shortly after that. That had worked out better than he expected but it also made him leave the continent faster. It wasn't the fact that people found out about him, it was more along the lines of he didn't want anybody trying to recruit him to their cause. No doubt some ill will company would try to force him into their cause or the academies would try to. His main objective now was to get off the this continent and onto the next, although he had to be careful if he was to head to a different continent instead of the same one, like Atlas.
This made him want to go back to the UNSC more than ever. He had spent the last few months on Remnant and frankly, nothing really made him pleased with how this planet operates. It was too chaotic and incompetent for his taste. He desired order and stability, and this world was far from stable.
He picked up some herbs and observed it for a few seconds before placing it in his bag for later. It wasn't hard to create medicine for some people to use, it was quite easy for him and he usually gave it to the sick when they needed it. He had spent the last few months here overall and it was time to leave this continent and head to the next one that wasn't Atlas. As much as he enjoyed the jungle here, he didn't really want anybody tracking him. Catching a ride on the ship was easier than he had expected and he did the same process as before, hiding in one of the shipping containers for the next several days before sneaking out and onto the next continent.
His thoughts sometimes traveled back to those two children and wondered if leaving them was the right choice. It was obvious that they looked up to him and wanted to stay with him but for some reason, he didn't want that. No part of him could fathom raising two children like how he was brought up. It just wasn't a good thought. The most that should happen to those two is that they take his teachings and help guide one another throughout the years.
The continent he was in was called Vale apparently. It was... different in a sense. A lot more people than what he was comfortable with and more of the ones with animal parts were more common. Over his time in Mistral, he had learned that the ones with animal parts were named Faunus. He supposed that could've been his first guess seeing as to how animals were often called fauna and plants, flora. Walking through the streets proved to be more troublesome than imagined. There were protests whenever he wanted to find a way into the wilderness and some even blocked streets. Every now and then, authorities had to be brought to the scene and had to escort the protesters off the street so that traffic could pass by. All the more to reason to leave this planet.
Understanding people was one of the perks of working with ONI for so long. Reading and understanding people were key skills that had helped him throughout the years, something he was having trouble with these inhabitants. There is a threat larger than petty racism and these people were still arguing over an extra set of ears. Eventually, he gave up trying to understand them and brushed through the crowd. People would send him dirty looks when he brushed past them but he didn't care and started to search around for an exit into the wild. The city was too crowded in his opinion and something didn't sit right with him.
Hours seemed to pass by and they light in the sky began to turn dark as nighttime approached. Lights began to turn on and despite it being dark out, it was still so bright. This city turned out to be a lot larger than he had anticipated and he figured since he was in a new continent, he'd look for a new map. This turned out to be more problematic since everything was closed at this time of night with the exceptions of a few places. The only places that were open were a few restaurants, fast food establishments, and some stores. Food wasn't really a problem but it didn't hurt to stock up again, especially if it meant going back out into the wild soon.
He passed by fast food places as he made his way to the store and glanced inside to see some of the workers preparing food for some people. Fast food didn't really interest him that much nor did he find it all that appealing. Just because he was raised and trained to be a Spartan didn't mean he didn't know what fast food was. He wasn't stupid, none of the Spartans were, at least the ones he's encountered.
Lien cards were still sort of odd to him, he understood that they were the currency of this world and didn't mind that part but the fact that there were several variations in color struck a cord with him. He knew he had enough to pay for food and supplies seeing how he completed the entire bounty board back in Mistral but that begged the question when he couldn't get anymore for supplies. Questions that would be answered when they needed to be.
It took a few hours but he finally managed to find a small time store and an exit gate that lead out to the wild. Medicine wasn't that much of a big deal since he kept himself healthy by doing his daily exercises and constantly being on the move. When he entered the store, he just browsed the selection and eventually saw some things that looked to be beneficial to him, mainly food and drinks. There were some purification tablets that would suit him well for when he needed to fill up his canteen.
His ears picked up a commotion at the front of the store and two blips appeared on his motion tracker, both appearing red suddenly and he turned his head to the cashier being held at gunpoint by two armed robbers. One of them had ox horns on his head while the other one didn't, most likely a faunus and a human by the looks of it. His steps were quick and quiet while he simply went up to the one with the gun and gripped his wrist tightly, snapping the bone as he aimed the weapon up to the ceiling as it suddenly went off.
The man screamed before Six kicked the shin of the other man and snapped the bone with a loud cracking noise. He took the second man's collar then suddenly rammed his face into the counter, making blood fly from his face before his body crumbled to the ground loudly. The first man's eyes widened as he stared at his companion's fate before screaming loudly when Six twisted his wrist with an even louder snapping noise and aimed the barrel of the pistol at his eye, making him pull the trigger not even a second later. His body crumbled to the ground a second later as he stared at the men he had neutralized. All this happened within the span of a few seconds.
The cashier's heart was beating rapidly as he stared at the behemoth before him and suddenly jumped back when he suddenly looked at him for a few seconds before throwing a few lien cards on the table then leaving shortly after, presumably before any of the authorities came in.
Six merely ignored some of the people that were staring at the shop and him before he found his way to the gate he discovered earlier. There were already crowds of people gathering around the shop while he just walked out of the gate, not bothering to stop even when the guards tried to. He had already brought enough attention to himself and didn't need any more.
Nobody really saw much of him after that for a while.
So... yes. Everyone I am sorry for not updating like I said I would, and I owe you all my upmost apologies for not doing so. I'll say it right now, I'm not dead nor am I going to abandon my other stories. It's just that College is taking a toll on me and I'm trying to get myself situated first before I even remotely start updating like how I did. Some of you have been asking about Johnny Topside and keep asking if it's cancelled and the answer is no, it is not cancelled nor is Evolution, those stories I just want to get decent quality chapters out while trying to balance a busy schedule with school, work, and this. I don't have much else to say other than thank you for being patient. Now onto reviews.
Maniaclnter: Thank you, and I won't have him give out any information.
TheFishKing: That'd be funny.
VGBlackwing: Wow, long review but I do enjoy those sometimes. I'm starting to see how incompetent RWBY kind of is to be honest, I mean, there are some authors who have taken the entire RWBY lore and made it phenomenal. As far as Six goes as staying Neutral, he'll just do what benefits him and I don't know about him starting his own business, I'm intrigued by the idea but I don't know about it. Thanks for reviewing.
negronomicon: Thank you.
Zero: He could but not in my story. Plus, I really didn't know about Maria-062 or Randall-037. Haven't really brushed up on my Halo lore in countless years.
sacke110: Thanks for understanding and being patient, and yes it was a little sad but I felt it was needed.
DoomKnight-6642: He'll possibly find a way to get off the planet. Even if it's just a small UNSC ship that is passing by, at least it's hope that he can get back to the UNSC. Don't worry about him joining Ozpin or Ironwood or anyone, he's his own man. That last question, is kind of hard to answer. There'll be times when he feels like he should lose his need to protect humanity but ultimately goes through with doing it anyways. A certain group of people cannot speak for everyone.
the-lost-memories6: Possibly, possibly not. Really it just depends on my current mood.
spartan-140: He's not going to meet every character in the story, maybe some and others but definitely not all of them. I might do a time-skip chapter, just to get the story flowing a little bit. Nothing major but it'll eventually lead up to the canon.
: Thank you.
MidKnightMoonglow99: Probably the dialogue, maybe you're used to Six having more of a personality than my version of him. Who knows, but if there is something missing then I'll improve on it.
Rookie059: Thank you. Yeah, I think by the time I thought of this story I was sort of out of that cliche trope where they go to Beacon, make friends, deal with shenanigans, and what not. I think I was just tired of that and wanted to do something different for once, something out of my comfort zone. As far as the romance, some may see it but I really don't see Six with anyone, not because he's a Spartan but like you said, he's already a little less social than some and I feel like it just fit his character a little better.
Hamilton406: Don't worry, he won't.
The Baz: Possibly, I mean it wouldn't be very hard for him to do so but, who knows? RWBY doesn't really give us much on resources other than Dust so there's no telling what resources are in Remnant.
Lord of Moons: Yeah, just trying to make a story that is enjoyable for some.
Guest: I don't think that he'd be disgusted by the way they fight more along the lines of he doesn't see the reason for some of the theatrics or he doesn't care about it. As far as him joining Beacon or wearing another organization's uniform, that's a no go in my book. Six knows he belongs with the UNSC and wouldn't even dare to try to go to another organization, even if they are military. As far as showing the cast Remnant from space, I don't know about that, he'd probably just ignore their claims and claim that they're fools for thinking so. I agree with you though, Flat-Earth believers strike a cord with me too. I remember when I was in Chicago one time for a vacation and some tried to give me flyers to join them.
Guest: Yeah, Brutes are some of the most menacing enemies in my opinion. They're on par with the flood in my opinion as far as menacing, still more menacing than the damn Prometheans... fucking cunts.
matthew116: Thanks, I've kind of been in that mood for prequel stories and writing one kind of just felt right for me.
Gadget Tron: It may or may not be the last we see of her, that's up for the future.
Lord Demolitions: Thank you, I'll try to keep the past settings a little bit more chapters.
scottusa1: Thank you. Later.
RemasteredHype: Thank you. I will try to keep your attention until the story is complete.
Slim A Loud Prime: Thank you, and I'll try to keep the solo act for a good portion of the story. I don't know about having Jorge in the story, him being dead is kind of a big deal for Six.
Guest: I've never heard them take down insurrectionists that fast but I'll improve on how fast Six handles situations.
Main117: There can always be better ones than mine but thank you. I'll try to keep your attention for the time being.
Blaze1992: Had to give him a handicap to him in someway. I mean he really wouldn't know where to put all that stuff if he had the materials to create it, he couldn't just leave it out. His TACPAD could possibly carry that but then I remember that it was used for analyzing and displaying combat information. Though it is not possible for it to carry other things.
Malgrath: Especially people like Six who like to be alone most of the time.
That was a lot of reviews for something this small of a chapter. Not that I don't mind though. So it has come to my attention that my cousin has been getting into my account recently without my permission and writing some... less than savory reviews on my account. So if I have written some reviews that are disrespectful, I apologize on my behalf and his since he's one of those people to piss off the wrong crowd which means I end up taking the brunt of it. Another thing, whoever keeps messaging me saying you're a hot single girl looking for some fun tonight... please stop. It's not funny nor cute anymore, it's starting to irritate me whenever I see a private message in my inbox thinking it's a reader only to find out it's someone wishing to hook up. It's fucking annoying when I get spammed with those and I often delete the conversation, so if someone is doing it... stop.
Other than that, I have nothing else to say then thank you for sticking with me. If the story doesn't nor my stories don't please you or go your way, then tough titty, I can't please everyone. Anyways, have a good day and I will catch you on the flip side. Take it easy, everyone.