The scene at the Legate's camp was one of blatant militarism and optimism. The training drums that led the legionaries prior to this battle were deadly quiet. The sharpening of blades and maintenance of firearms have stopped as well. The only noise that everyone heard was the crackling of the fire on the torches around the camp and movement of the various soldiers.
The Legate's camp had amassed a large number of legionaries of various ranks. The veterans and prime legionaries were in the back with much better equipment compared to the recruit legionaries in the front. Decanus' were all around the camp, sticking out due to their feathered adorned helmet. Lastly Centurions and other specialized ranks in the Legion were sprinkled around the camp surrounded by their subordinates.
The Courier himself looked like he usually did. But instead of the lucky shades and the breathing mask he wore a veteran legionary helmet. Which was a repurposed baseball helmet with a vertical red stripe going down the cap of the helmet. The helmet came with black goggles with a red face wrap. On his back was a favorite of his, a woodland camo marksman carbine rifle known as All-American. A reliable weapon with good range, found deep in the ground surrounded by Ferals within Vault 34's armory.
Following close behind the Courier was his only companion that didn't betray or leave him. He was a Ghoul of tall stature, who came to the Mojave wasteland from a foreign land. He wore an outdated cowboy outfit, which made him stand out from the rest of the crowd in the military encampment.
He wore a tipped sombrero with a red feather on the top of it. A brown jacket covered his bandoliers, gray shirt and red bandana around his neck. He also wore matching brown pants and cowboy boots with spurs on them. He had two holsters which held matching six shot revolvers. A knife was stuck in between his belt, sticking out like a sore thumb.
"We made it, the battle for the dam is in store for us." The Courier said, pointing to the camp's exit which would lead into the Western portion of the Hoover Dam. No doubt guarded by vast amounts of NCR troopers from various battalions. Although he doubted the use of their more specialized troops at the border between the two nations.
First Recon was still at Camp McCarran anticipating an attack by the Fiends and California's cavalry units were bogged down by the now irritated Long 15, cutting off the mainland's supply to its holdings in the Mojave. The Courier walked towards Legate Lanius' personal tent, where he was to inform him about his role in the upcoming battle.
Raul followed close behind, but knew that the Legion only allowed him alone to enter areas of great importance to the nation. The Legate's tent was on top of the small hill which gave him the view of the entirety of the Legate's camp as well as the other Legion encampments all across from The Fort. A sea of red tents just visible from his point of view. In front of him was the Monster of the East's personal tent, which was rather large compared to all the others. It was colored a dusty brown and its entrance was guarded by a member of the Praetorian Guard. Which the Courier knew by his man's clothing, which was much like the rest of the Legion, but with a red cape draped across his shoulders and his pair of sunglasses.
The Courier gave a nod towards the guard, who opened the tent for him to enter, but Raul wasn't allowed to enter, with the guardsmen holding up his hand to stop Raul from potentially entering. The Ghoul smiled and before gesturing his thumb towards the stoic guard.
"Hey boss, this guy doesn't even smile. Think he's your twin?" He said before chuckling a bit before walking off towards the side. The Courier gave a small smirk in response, which was hidden due to his helmet. The guardsmen shut the tent flap, leaving the Courier only to talk to the living legend himself.
Now inside the tent, Courier Six saw in front of himself a rather exotic sight. The General of the Legion, Lanius, asked for one of his slaves to come towards him. She wore out rags with a gigantic spray painted red x across her chest. The explosive collar around her neck kept her from even attempting to resist his orders. The girl meekly made her way slowly towards the man, due to her blindness indicated by her blindfold she was wearing and her general nervousness. She made her way in front of him and did a small polite bow towards Lanius.
The man grabbed her by the arm roughly and placed her on her knees. The slave girl whimpered, knowing that she was going to be the same as the others before her. Legate Lanius harshly grabbed the ends of her head and squeezed, making her head pop like a zit. Blood and brain matter getting all over the Legate's armor and floor. He held his now bloody hands to the sky, as it suggested he had done a grand gesture.
"May Mars bless his son's triumphant Legion once more, as he did in Arizona and Colorado. And may he bless the profligates with hellfire and death to free them from the dissolute hands of the West." He chanted, hoping the God of War would accept his blood sacrifice for the Legion's eternal glory.
The Praetorian Guardsmen from before entered the tent and saluted Legate Lanius before relaying important information to him.
"Legate, Decanus Dead Sea and Centurion Aurelius of Phoenix have gotten in position to overwhelm Camp Forlorn Hope and Camp Golf. The Courier has arrived at the camp for the Battle of Hoover Dam."
The Legate finally turned around, revealing to the Courier his masked face and monstrous body. His mask being an exact one for one recreation of the God of Mars face. The rest of his armor being a smooth and well chiseled mix of iron and steel. His gigantic sword was put on his back, with no sheath accompanying it.
"And this man right beside you is the Courier Caesar had talked so highly about? His accomplishments for the campaign have been rather… interesting." Legate Lanius asked, in his rather deep and dark tone of voice.
"Of course, Caesar has ordered him to accompany the Legionaries below in the battle." The guardsmen stated. The Legate hummed in acknowledgement of the man's words. He turned to face the Courier.
"You are the Courier that Caesar sent, correct? If so, have you had your induction into the ranks of the Legion?" He asked, quickly in succession of one another.
"I haven't yet, I still bear the mark of Caesar as a friend of the Legion, not a member of it." The Courier explained quickly. Legate Lanius crossed his arms at his explanation, and gave a sigh of annoyance.
"Then this will be your initiation into our ranks. If you survive that is. As of now you are a recruit, and like the rest of the recruit legionaries you are our first line of attack against the NCR at the dam."
The Courier nodded at his statement before saluting to him. He made his way towards the entrance to the rest of the camp. But before he could leave, Legate Lanius spoke once again.
"Bring me the West's general's head." Legate Lanius asked, although it was more like a proper demand than anything else. He nodded to his superior and left the tent. He turned his head to the right to see that Raul was standing there nonchalantly.
"We are going to the front Raul, we are leading the charge." He informed Raul while walking down the hill to make his way towards the front. Raul caught up with him and was able to walk beside him.
"If that's what you think is for the best. Although just to warn you, you might end up with as many holes like me after this." Raul quipped, making the Courier turn his head towards the old school Ghoul.
"Nope. I am as fast as greased lighting. The bullets can't touch me!" The Courier proclaimed jokingly, which made Raul give a dry chuckle in response.
"You know boss, leave the humor with me. Yours isn't the best." He replied back in jest. Finally the two friends made their way to the front where they were surrounded by recruit legionaries with various different weapons. All ranging from spears, machetes, and different types of more common firearms. Unlike the higher ranks which have the higher quality weapons in both firearms and melee.
They all waited patiently and quietly, waiting for the Legate's order to be given to take the dam. Some gripped onto their weapons tighter, and stared towards the giant rusted, ancient gate that was built generations ago. Raul pulled the hammers on his revolvers back, and took them out of their holsters. The Courier took the All-American off his back and looked down its scope on its sight. Picturing an NCR trooper's head within sight.
Courier Six then looked at his pip-boy and scrolled to the radio section. Not to tune into Mr Vegas or Mojave Radio, but the NCR emergency radio. He pressed the screen on his wrist mounted computer and turned on the station.
"A-am I broadcasting? Shit okay-" The man on the radio asked nervously before continuing. "This is the NCR emergency channel, we have gotten word that the Legion is mounting an assault on Hoover Dam. Prepare for anything, and stay tuned."
Adrenaline rushed into the Courier's veins, and if he had to guess, most others had the same feeling as well. Before he could even get another across his mind, the radio came to life once again.
"We have lost contact with the contingent of men stationed at the outskirts of Camp Searchlight. Forlorn Hope reports that the Legion encampment in Nelson has gone quiet in the recents hours. Ranger Station Echo hasn't-"
But before the radio could even continue in its spiel on military news, one loud horn was blown loudly. It drowned out the radio's news, and the legionaries and other members of Legion charged towards the gate and went to flood into the Hoover Dam. Both Courier Six and Raul followed closely along with them. Almost immediately after the legionaries entered into the Eastern part of the Dam, the enemy fired upon them greatly from their positions behind their sand bags.
It was a clash between the old ideals of Pre-War America and Ancient Rome. The brown military fatigues of the New California Republic juxtaposed the dull red Roman inspired uniforms of the Legion. Two different peoples fighting over an foreign land for similar reasons of expansion and for their own survival.
The Courier, and by proxy every other person with their allegiance to Caesar started firing back almost immediately. Some even charged the sandbags with their machetes with success. Hacking and slashing at any NCR that failed to gun them down. In one case a legionary got close enough to slit the throat of a profligate trooper.
Bullets, yells and various noises plagued the Hoover Dam. The smell of death became more prevalent as the battle continued on. The Courier took some shots at the defenders, some of them missed, although one of them hit a soldier in the back line causing the enemy combatant to explode in a gorey mess of blood and guts. His remains stain his friends' uniforms as well as the ground that was once beneath his feet.
The Hoover Dam itself wasn't the most complex structure. The Eastern portion of the Dam bordered the Legion's camp. The Western portion was the real defense against them, heavy troopers and rangers were stationed there constantly to defend the visitation center that led into the plant itself. All they need to do is to take the top of the Hoover Dam and the Battle would be won.
"Hey boss, keep your mind sharp. I wouldn't want you to kick the bucket right now. Would be pretty unlucky." Raul quipped while dual wielding his revolvers, taking shots while advancing along the side of his friend and his allies. Courier Six gave an affirming grunt back to Raul while taking cover behind one of the sandbag walls set by the NCR that once were.
The path to the western section of the Dam was a linear one, a straight shot into the heart of the bear. The Courier poked his head out from the safety of the sandbag, and started shooting until he ran out and had to reload. While he was reloading, Raul did the same thing as Courier Six, shooting at the defenders.
"We have gotten reports that the Hoover Dam is currently under attack. Stay tuned for info." The radio blurted out unhelpfully. Raul ducked back down, and reloaded his revolvers. Then the Courier went up from his position and shot again at the defenders. It seemed like the NCR position had weakened, at least where they were right now. They kept falling back to more sandbag lines and the Legion kept advancing. Courier Six noticed this and holstered his rifle back on his back. He then looked in his inner duster pocket and took out his machete, Liberator.
"Cover me, I am going to break the bears back." The Courier shouted over the other such battlefield noises. Raul nodded in return, and started firing his revolvers back at the NCR troopers. Courier Six hopped over the sandbag he was formerly taking cover with. He ran like a deathclaw that saw weak prey. Both the NCR and Legion noticed his movement and reacted in different ways. The NCR started to focus their fire on the Courier, while the Legion's soldiers got their own melee weapons out and started to charge at the NCR positions.
With shouts of fury behind him, the Courier successfully reached the first real line of NCR defense in the Eastern part of the Dam. He swung Liberator towards the head of an unfortunate enemy soldier. The weapon cut the head of the trooper causing the top of his head to fall off the newly butchered corpse. Another NCR trooper took his combat knife out of its sheath and swung back at Courier Six. He deflected it and brought his blade down on the trooper's head, although it took a few tugs to get his machete out of the corpse's skull.
He raised his newly blood soaked machete in air, pointing it towards the metal shed that divided the Western and Eastern parts of the Dam. As he did this he observed the battlefield surrounding him. Various corpses were littered all about the land. The road and walls of the Old World dam were slowly being painted red. Many NCR were still retreating, leaving those who were too wounded to retreat back to the next line of sandbags. Many of the wounded were missing parts of their limbs, some were blinded by the usage of grenades and bullet wounds, and the most unfortunate were missing their limbs entirely. With the amount of red blood coming out of their wounds, some could mistake the dying men and women of the NCR with Legion due to the blood staining their uniforms.
Not that the Legion was leaps and bounds ahead of the NCR in the way of casualties. Many recruit legionaries had small bullet size holes in the front of their heads and by proxy their helmets. In the back laid larger holes that one could place their fists in comfortably without issue. Others had entire clips of ammunition buried into their chests, taken down by the NCR's superior firearms. The Courier steeled his resolve and prepared to charge again at the new NCR line.
"ADVANCE!" Courier Six shouted while running at the new line. With his friend Raul and the vast amounts of legionaries behind charging as well, with their numbers, they nearly blotted out the Sun in the NCR troopers field of view.
The amount of gunfire now nearly tripled. The enemy grew fearful that they would taste the end of the Legion's blade. More and more legionaries fell to the gunfire. More and more screamed out in mixtures of fear and anger. It was never ending, the NCR and Legion clashed again in close quarters combat. Though the NCR were more prepared than before, fixing their bayonets and fighting against Caesar's seemingly never ending legion.
The Courier slammed his fist into a trooper's face, making her stagger backwards. Then he ran Liberator through her side before running the blade up and out through her chest. Almost like a man gutting a fish. Raul on the other hand, was using his revolvers like knuckle dusters. Using the ends of one revolver to beat back an enemy before blowing the enemy soldier's head off, leaving only the lower jaw intact. But the larger battle at hand was more mixed at this point.
The NCR held their ground more than they did before. The bayonets they fixed were keeping the Courier's men at bay. One of the NCR troopers in the front ran his bayonet through a legionary's neck like a needle. Another one of the NCR's men took his bayonet and hacked, slashed and tore through a recruit legionary who got too close, and used the legionary's corpse as another sandbag to strengthen the defensive line.
"Camp Forlorn Hope has fallen, some troopers fell back but the installation has been lost." The radio stated, though no one besides the Courier heard over the vast amount of noises overshadowing it. Courier Six then raised his machete in the air and again pointed at the metal shed dividing the Dam. The shed itself wasn't too breathtaking, it had what seemed to be an empty gunner's nest on top of it, and a NCR flag on top along with it.
"THE PROFLIGATES HAVE BEEN DESTROYED AT FORLORN HOPE. ADVANCE FOR MARS AND HIS SON'S BIRTHRIGHT TO THIS LAND!"
The news of the defeat of the Republic at Camp Forlorn Hope motivated the legionnaires while demoralizing the enemy. The legionaries again pushed against the NCR line. But unfortunately for the NCR, the Legion again broke the NCR's line, causing another retreat to another line of sandbags. Although it seemed like this was the last one before the Legion could take the Eastern portion of the Dam in its entirety. The gunner's nest on the metal shed was now lively, the large barrel of the nest darting around taking down any legionary that didn't take cover. Many, including the Courier and Raul took cover behind the newly claimed blood soaked sandbags.
"Boss, do we have anything that could take that out?" Raul asked, taking this time to reload his weapons. The Courier put Liberator back on his hip and took out All-American, trying to see if his aim could take out the gunner from his position. Although the machine gun turned on him, and thankfully he was lucky enough to duck again, saving his skin against the automatic gun.
"The Remnants should be here any minute now." The Courier answered before spraying his rifle's bullets over the sandbag wall, not revealing himself to the gunner. One of the legionaries taking cover behind one of the sandbags next to the Courier's took a frag grenade out of his satchel, and pulled the pin. He then stood up and took his hand back to throw the explosive into the nest. However before he could throw it, machine gun fire cut through the man like a hot knife through butter. Causing the man's body to drop to the ground and the grenade exploded, making shrapnel fly everywhere including to other legionaries.
One such piece of shrapnel hit Raul in his right hand, causing him to wince in pain. The Courier turned to his friend in a worrying manner.
"You need a stimpak Raul? You got a bit of the grenade stuck in your hand." The Courier asked. Raul laughed his friends' worries away before replying himself. The machine gun fire stopped, probably to reload before firing upon the advancing Legion again.
"Guess it's time to test my aim again huh? I can take that guy out no problem right now boss." Raul boasted, though the Courier knew that the Ghost of Mexico City's aim was superior to most people out in the wasteland. Raul peaked up from the sandbag and aimed one of his revolvers at the gunner's nest. Though the gunner's were still reloading, a rather loud shot rang out. Most likely a sniper rifle if the Courier had to guess. He looked to see if Raul took his shot but he saw the man lying down on his back, with a pool of blood appearing just beneath his upper chest.
Raul was clutching his chest and breath heavy, as if he couldn't properly breathe. Courier Six rushed to his side and quickly got a stimpak out, though it seemed that he was too late. A stimpak wouldn't take effect in time to save the old Vaquero from his fate. Slowly Raul brought his hand to his forehead and then back down to his lower chest and back across his sides. Though his hand started to slow down immensely. He then turned his head to the Courier and spoke, his eyes looking rather glassy.
"Rafaela eres tú? ¿Porque estás con Claudia? No puedo ir ahora, tengo un amigo que depende de mí. Se está poniendo frío…" Raul whispered before he stopped moving in his entirety. He went limp, just another corpse to add the pile of corpses left at the Dam. The Courier didn't know what to think really. His last real friend died right in front of him. He had all of the means to potentially save his life but Raul's wound seemed to be very fatal. He wasn't able to inject a stimpak into him to save him.
Courier Six didn't know why he started to sweat all over. He was sweating already due to the physical activity of war and his rather physical way he was doing things so far but not to this extent. Especially from his face, which he quickly wiped away. His new found feelings turned into a seething rage as he got out of his cover, not caring if the machine gun would have targeted him. He looked on top of the shed and saw the suspect who most likely did it, as he was the only one who was equipped with a sniper rifle. He wore a familiar red beret and aviator sunglasses.
It was Craig Boone who killed Raul Tejada. With that information in mind, he aimed his weapon at his former friend. But before he could even concentrate a little bit and take the shot, the radio turned on again.
"Some soldiers are reporting a vertibird sighting near the Dam. Don't know if it's one of ours," The radio reported. The man on the radio went silent before nearly screaming out something unbelievable to the Californian.
"We are getting reports of an Enclave Vertibird, we don't know how many are on board. But we may need more firepower to take them on if that's the case."
As the radio reported the latest news update on the battle, a vertibird flew just above the very small no man's land between the remaining NCR troops on the last line and the invading Legion. Its dark paint job and ominous letter e with the thirteen stars surrounding it was a dead giveaway on what its allegiance was. Then two ropes dropped from the left side of the helicopter. An old man wearing an old Enclave officer uniform slid down the rope onto the battlefield. So did another old man wearing an old Enclave scientist uniform. With its white hazmat suit making it stand out between the two opposing uniforms of the NCR and Caesar's Legion.
The Courier knew that Doctor Henry and commanding officer Judah Kreger would show up for the battle. But that left one, assuming that Johnson stayed true to his word and that Daisy was flying the Vertibird. One Orion Moreno was missing. Until he wasn't that is.
He jumped out of the Vertibird, causing the ground to shake a bit. He was wearing his old Enclave power armor, which made both the NCR and Legion fearful of him. They both heard stories of the metal men coming into villages and leaving them ghost towns. Orion took his gatling laser into his hands and started to rev it up, with its barrels spinning the old man shouted his war cry.
"REMEMBER NAVARRO!" And with that the Enclave Remnants started to open fire on the NCR. The NCR, on the ground, was almost completely destroyed. Obviously not expecting a small Enclave force. Most of the NCR were shot dead by the combined forces of the Legion and the Remnants. With some NCR troopers turning to ash when Orion's lasers from his gun hit them repeatedly. Others crumpled onto the floor, like sacks of potatoes. The gunner's nest's almost foolishly shot at the Vertibird just a few feet away from it. However due to its superior armor it didn't even scratch it. The aircraft returned fire and liquidated whoever was manning the station.
While both the Enclave Remnants and the Legion advanced to the Western portion of the Dam, the Courier just stared at the corpse of his friend. He talked to this man a few minutes ago about menial things. Now he lay there on the ground motionless. His eyes were dead and unmoving like a fish's eye.
The Courier snapped out of it and went on to enter the metal shed like everyone else, although instead of crossing into the Western portion of the Dam, he walked into pure darkness.
Until he woke up, that is, making his eyes open wide and shooting up to sit straight. He found himself not in the Mojave but in Beacon. Somewhat surrounded by teenagers who haven't passed the practical exam to get in yet, including him. Though their numbers dwindled greatly. He got up and went to the men's bathroom quickly. He rushed over to get to the sink. Turning it on, he splashed water on his face.
The Courier looked himself in the mirror, his eyes looking more dull than they did before he went to sleep. He hated that dream, but he never vocalized it to anyone. He will deal with it by himself. Before he could think to himself more, a voice broke his thoughts.
"Did you sleep well, Courier?' The man asked. Courier Six whipped around to see a man with dark blue hair and brown eyes. His eyes portrayed a lack of seriousness to the man, though not in the way it seemed mean spirited or rude. It was more similar to that of a free spirit. He wore dark gray armor that was rather similar to Cardin's but less decorative.
"Who told you my name?" Courier Six asked quickly, although he could guess who told him already if he really wanted to. The dark blue haired man chuckled at the Courier's rather defensive response. He took a comb out of his pocket, combing his hair into a slick back before relying.
"Cardin did, and he said that you were someone from Western Vacuo," He answered before adding onto what he said. "The name's Sky Lark, another Signal Academy hopeful. Nothing too hard for you to pronounce I hope?"
The Courier rolled his eyes at the insult. The immaturity radiated off this guy who thought he was smart. He put his hands back in his pockets before asking the most important question pertaining to them.
"When does Initiation start?" He asked, not wanting to be in the same room as Sky for too long. In case he were to act on his intrusive thoughts. His violent ones at least. Sky smirked condescendingly to Courier Six. He walked out of the bathroom without answering his question, though he did stop in the middle of the doorway to finally drop the information.
"It's happening in thirty minutes, so prepare yourself."
The Courier was not used to being sneered at like that. Everyone back home knew better not to, lest they end up with a bullet in between their eyes. It seemed like Sky didn't like him on a personal level, due to him perceiving him as a backwards tribal. Sleeping in could also be a cause of the unwarranted animosity, but the Courier knew that probably meant little to Sky.
Though Sky didn't give him much in the way of information. He just knew that it was going to start soon enough. Courier Six checked on his person to see if anyone had taken his things during his sleep. He still had Maria and the Mysterious Magnum in their respective holsters. Blood-Nap was also still in between his belt and pants. In the inside pockets of his duster he also still had his lucky shades and the fire dust he stole from Weiss in his right pocket. In the opposite pocket his breathing mask was making itself a new home.
He put his sunglasses and breathing mask on before walking out of where he slept into the halls of Beacon. They weren't most eye-catching like the outside of the building but it kept to the regal feel of it. Even though there was rarely anyone beside him walking the halls as of now, he knew that it meant that everyone was meeting up somewhere. He kept walking around until he heard a pair of people talking to each other. A woman mostly, and loudly.
He walked until he saw an orange haired girl wearing a black sleeveless vest that covered her white sleeveless shirt that had a heart shape cut out just above her chest. She also wore fingerless pink gloves which matched with her short pink skirt she was wearing. On her back was what the Courier could only describe as a grenade launcher on her back. Not a china lake grenade launcher, but a more stereotypical one could be found in comic books.
Right beside her was a man with black hair in a rather oriental style of clothing. He wore a diagonally buttoned light green tailcoat with gold and black trimmings on the pink cuffs on his shirt. His eyes were a rare magenta, which was a rare sight to see for the Courier. The girl noticed the Courier and nearly dashed to him before introducing herself.
"Hey you! I didn't see you in the ballroom before we all left! Why are you so dark and mysterious? You're not a grimm in human form are you?" She accused, with her pointer finger pointed at his chest. He couldn't tell if she was serious or not about her claims about him. But she seemed energetic enough to look like she was taking it seriously. Although it seemed like her first couple of questions were more realistic than her last one.
"No, I am not a grimm in human form. I am just a regular huntsman like you. You didn't see me in the ballroom due to me sleeping in apparently," The Courier answered before he held his hand out for her to shake. "My name is Courier Six, yours?"
The bubbly and eccentric character in front of him eyed his opened hand before reciprocating herself. Her grip was strong, very strong to the point where his bones in his hands were achy all of the sudden.
"My name is Nora! And my bestest friend next to me is Ren," She said, introducing herself and her friend to the heir. She then got a little closer and whispered into his ear.
"He's pretty calm, cool and collected like you. You wouldn't be Ren's long long lost brother would you?"
The Courier raised his eyebrow at Nora's weird and incessant questions. He could tell that she didn't mean any disrespect by her inquiry or any other really nasty like emotion. Though it wasn't truly a tease towards him or her friend. Not really directed at him or Ren, it seemed like she said it due to it being on the tip of tongue. Acting on one's intrusive thoughts when it comes to speaking could prove to be useful in discovering true intent, but in this situation it was more annoying.
"Wow! You really are like Ren! Always thinking and being quiet. You wouldn't also sit on the floor and hum for hours on end? For meditation of course." She continued, using her arms and hands to elaborate on her point. Backing up a bit to give some personal space back to the Courier. Though very little. Courier Six's left eye darted quickly to the other man to gauge his reaction to his friend's question, but he was relatively unaffected by it.
An important conclusion that he could reach from this is that both Nora and Ren have known each other for a long time. Maybe not since birth or since childhood, but many during early adolescence? It was either an early friendship that caused this seemingly yin and yang relationship. Or it could be that he kept her on a metaphorical leash, due to her more spastic personality.
Much like those fighters in older tribes like the Jackals or Vipers, those with more out there personalities have to be reeled in from time to time. Not that the Courier wanted to compare a more energetic girl to cannibals and snake occultists.
"Nora, I don't think a person with blond hair could be related to me." Ren reasoned, before motioning Nora to follow him to wherever they were going. It seemed like Ren didn't intentionally exclude the Courier with his motion. So Courier Six asked the obvious question.
"I heard that the initiation is starting soon. Do you know where it is happening today?" The Courier asked, just wanting to confirm what Sky told him. Nora looked at him like he grew three heads.
"Of course dummy," She said in a mix of joking and non serious tone, causing the Courier's eye to twitch. "It's taking place at the cliffs. But a fair warning, I got a good word from a friend of a friend that they are forming the teams today."
"Oh really? How would you know that for sure?" He asked, calming himself. Not wanting to cause a scene over an unintentional insult to him.
"It's just a feeling in my gut. And I have a pretty big stomach!" She boasted. Ren then spoke for a second time in his quiet low tone.
"It was announced over the speakers in the morning."
The Courier nodded and gave a polite wave to the pair goodbye before speed walking away from them without a real direction. He didn't want to be around the pair for much longer, lest his blood pressure rise above the average. His walking speed gradually increased with him counting the minutes left before the ceremony would start.
The halls of Beacon Academy didn't really point him in any one direction. They all looked rather similar to one another, having the same look to them. Not to say that the halls and style of architecture was boring, far from it in actuality. But it didn't help him find his way in the slightest.
The Courier continued to look for a way to the place where the ceremony would take place before running into a new type of doorway. It was rather large compared to the other doors which led into dorms and classrooms. So in his view it must lead into a place of some importance. He peeked his head into the room and saw that it appeared to be a locker room of sorts.
It was integrated both in the ways of race and gender. Copious amounts of both men and women; faunus and humans in the same. That's not to imply all the groups of people existed in harmony however. Many of the humans in the room held animosity towards the faunus for various different reasons. Their features depicted a lack of distrust and hatred not known to the Courier. Sure, humans back in the Mojave could be prejudiced against Ghouls and Super Mutants. But due to the environment in the wasteland led to a social Darwinist mentality in the people. That the strong lived, and the weak died or served the strong.
However Courier Six knew that not all of the humans in the room or in this world hated their sister species. Just like how the majority of faunus probably didn't hate the humans back. A true testament to just how good they have it compared to his own world. From what he knew from people like Marcus and other older people, the wastes were once way worse than they were currently.
The Courier saw some people he did recognize from the day before. The two sisters were talking about something next to an open locker. The locker itself wasn't too out of the ordinary besides it seemingly having some curved top and what he could only assume was a rocket engine on the bottom of it. He didn't see the purpose of a rocket propelled locker, but perhaps he will in time.
He made his entrance into the room and saw the blond kid from yesterday, Jaune making a less than good impression with the two girls he was talking to. One of them seemed familiar to the Courier, the heiress Weiss seemed to be perplexed and annoyed by whatever he was saying. The other girl was completely new to him, and she was more interesting than the other two.
She was a redhead with various intricate pieces of seemingly bronze armor. With what the Courier could only describe as a faux laurel wreath or crown on top of her head. With the head piece and her semi muscular figure, it was safe to say that she has seen her fair share of battles. Her choice of weapon also proves a point, a rather fancy looking spear and shield.
A very basic combo that many people that fight used in the past and the current day. Though those who excel in that form of combat truly rise to their occasion. Although with the invention of firearms it had rendered it almost obsolete. But the Courier didn't count out the fact that the spear could have mechashift capabilities.
So the Courier did what he did best, and stirred the pot a bit by introducing himself. He walked on over to Jaune and slapped him on the back in a friendly manner. Causing the other blond man to stagger over his own two feet before balancing himself on a nearby locker.
"H-Hey C-Courier! I didn't see ya here. Surprised that you took so long to get here." Jaune said, stumbling and stuttering over his own words a bit. Probably due to the shock of him getting slapped on the back.
"What's going on Jaune? I saw you talking to the lady in front of you. You're not testing your luck at the slots are you?" The Courier teased before jutting his hand to the Greco-Roman inspired woman. Her eyes portrayed a mix of confusion and relief, though a twinge of red could be found on her cheeks due to his implication. Though that died down almost as quickly as it came.
"My name is Pyrrha Nikos, it's nice to meet you too! Are you and Jaune acquainted with each other?" She asked while introducing herself in a very polite tone, shaking his hand. The Courier looked at her with a rather friendly face. Although he didn't really care about her in a relationship sense in a platonic sense. It seemed like she could handle herself, and he wanted the best of these children to be on his team.
"Me and Jaune met each other the other day. Although I wouldn't say we're best friends or anything." He answered politely enough before ending the handshake. Though it seemed like Weiss didn't like the fact that the Courier made his appearance. Butting in before he could add on anything to his introduction.
"Well, back to what I was saying Pyrrha. I think that you and I would be a strong and formidable team combination at this school." Weiss said, before continuing on about something to do with her and the people's champion's potential synergy for a hypothetical perfect partnership in the huntsmen profession.
The Courier, and Jaune by proxy, didn't really care or know why Weiss wanted to pair up with Pyrrha for four years of her life. Jaune simply saw Nikos as a cute girl, much like the others in Beacon were skilled in the ways of combat. Courier Six on the other hand saw something else in her.
If Weiss, a heiress to a multinational company wanted to be on the same team as someone, it probably meant one of two things. One, the person was well connected and the heiress had a financial incentive to make a connection. Or Weiss truly wanted to elevate herself into more glory and fame through the trials of combat against the endless hoard of grimm, hand and hand with a potential prodigy of this profession? The Courier would give her props for this strategic move if she wasn't such a hag.
"And why did you join Beacon Pyrrha? I am pretty sure there are other schools outside of Vale that would be sufficient enough for you," The Courier asked, talking with his hands a bit. "If you don't mind me asking of course."
"Oh it's no problem! I just want to spread my wings a bit. Get away from your parents for a little while."
The blond knight from before then pointed his finger upwards like he was going to make a great point to both the champion and the messenger. But he seemed to be conflicted about what he wanted to say. But after a few seconds of awkward silence from the other boy, he asked his question.
"I get that, family is great but they can be a little, uh-overbearing at times. But-"
"Do you two even know who you are talking to?" The heiress interrupted, her voice portraying annoyance. The Courier had a mental image of what Pyrrha could be. A prize fighter, mercenary, soldier or even a potential assassin. But he would let Jaune answer the question for him.
"Uhhhhh, am I supposed to know?" Jaune asked. Weiss' eye twitched at his response.
"Four time regional champion of the Argus province, two time national champion of the Kingdom of Mistral?" Weiss probed. Jaune just gave her a blank stare in response.
"Doesn't ring a bell."
Weiss flapped her arms up and down like an angry bird before responding back.
"She's on the front of every Pumpkin Pete's cereal box!"
The Courier rolled his eyes at Jaune's sudden realization of Pyrrha's stardom. He didn't really want to be a part of this conversation anymore. He slowly backed away from the trio, without them noticing and left before Weiss could throw another tantrum or Jaune had another word jabbed into his skull to jog his memory by the heiress.
He looked around for anyone else to talk to before noticing the two sisters talking to each other. Not wanting to waste more of his time, he walked over to the pair.
"You guys wouldn't happen to know where the cliffs are right?" He asked quickly, as if he didn't want any further discussion with them. The older blonde turned around to face him before replying.
"It's a straight shot from here to the cliff edge, you shouldn't be able to miss it." Yang answered with a smile before leaving her hand up for a high five. The Courier didn't leave her hanging, and threw his hand into hers, causing a small connection. Recalling his hand, the Courier put it back to his side.
Not wanting to really continue with pointless conversation, the Courier smiled back with him pointing finger guns at the older sister. Before finishing off with a very performative wink. He then turned away from the pair of sisters, with the younger one shocked on how easy social interaction could be. Courier Six then left the room, wiping the smile off his face before returning to his usual serious deadpan stare.
He kept walking the path Yang had laid out for him, until he met a pair of double doors leading out of the school itself. He opened them, and left the school proper to make his way to where initiation was taking place. The paved paths that led into the different areas of the campus ceased to exist on the ground for a while, with him starting to follow a more rustic dirt road to the spot where the big ceremony would take place.
The environment was completely different from what he had seen currently in his life in the Mojave. Even in places like Big Mountain or Vault 22 there wasn't this amount of greenery present in the area. The trees were less dense in their trunks than those that he found in Mistral, but they were more numerous instead. A small trade off for this species he supposed.
But by the time he had made it to the cliff side the trees had simply thinned out before it leading to a more grassy plain. There were various lines of little steel squares implanted into the ground with the symbol of Beacon imprinted onto it. In front of said devices in the ground was headmaster Ozpin and his deputy, Professor Goodwitch.
The Courier looked around to see some students standing on the devices on the ground. He recognized two of the potential students as some of the teens he had met the day before. Though he only knew the name of the arrogant ginger that was Cardin. The other man was rather short and had more meat on his bones than Cardin. Though that didn't mean he was in bad health.
He wore similar armor of that of Sky and Cardin, though in a different color scheme. His brown hair was fixed in a bowl cut and his eyes seemed to be closed. Although it was obvious that he wasn't trying to sleep in. The Courier walked over to the pair and stood on one of the devices in the ground to the left of Cardin.
Cardin noticed this, and nudged his friend to look at the Courier. Cardin of course talked first before anyone else could.
"Hey what's going on Courier? You slept in for a while there. I tried to wake you up but my foot could only do so much before it got sore."
"Nothing much, just trying to get this over with. Who's your friend?"
Cardin rolled his shoulder and motioned with his mace in his hand to his friend before replying back.
"His name is Dove, he doesn't talk much but he's probably the best fighter I know that isn't me."
"And he can't introduce himself to me?" The Courier asked, putting his two guns Maria and the Mysterious Magnum into their respective holsters. He placed his revolver in the more official holster on his right hip. He then placed the more ornate pistol in his unofficial holster of his inside pocket of his duster on his left. All the while his bowie knife, Blood-Nap was resting between his belt.
"Dove is very selective with who he talks to. I don't really know why but that's just how he is." Cardin explained with some attitude in his voice. Dove just glared at the Courier, though the mailman couldn't tell if it was out of anger or annoyance. Most likely a mix of both if he had to guess.
Their conversation ended there on a very sour note. But it didn't take long for more hopeful's come to the mountain's edge. Some of whom he didn't recognize, though he did see some familiar faces. They all got on their respective square steel boxes on the ground.
Now that the Courier was standing on one of these contraptions. He could feel that it wasn't just a random podium like structure for people to stand on. With the technology of this world, it could be anything.
The headmaster of the academy started to give a great speech to the hopeful future protectors of mankind. The Courier wasn't listening, his hand twitched over his holster, prepared for any challenge given to him to earn a spot in the school. His ears started to ring as his vision started to strain and darken. Focusing only on what was in front of him currently. Though a question from Jaune would snap him out of his thoughts.
"How would we g-get down to the forest to get the relics, Mr Ozpin, uh sir?"
"Well Mr Arc, I hope you, and your potential classmates have practiced potential landing strategies prior to entrance here." He answered politely and calmly, taking a sip from his mug afterwards.
"Ooookay does that mean that you will give us parachutes?" Jaune asked with a shaky voice. Professor Ozpin gave a quick tsk to the blond man.
"Improvising at times of great stress and pressure is a key to success for a long huntsmen career Mr Arc." Ozpin replied back, motioning everyone to look at the forest below.
And they did. One by one, the steel squares beneath their feet shot the various hopefuls down into the forest below. The Courier braced himself for launch into the green biome below him. Then the steel machinery beneath his feet sprung up, making him fly into the forest below, with his other potential recruits.
He felt the air rush all around him, it felt rather nice and exhilarating to him. To be thrown off a cliff and fly in the air was a new experience. The Courier could see now why the Boomer had such a fascination with aircraft such as their bomber. Though that was more about their blatant xenophobia rather than their aviation ambition.
Though the cathartic moment wouldn't last, as he would start to fall back to the planet now temporarily beneath him, into the vast greenery below. The Courier didn't know if his aura would be able to completely mitigate the damage he would take from falling from this height. So he thought of a plan that he thought could possibly work if his more weak aura could protect him long enough.
He grabbed onto Blood-Nap and held it in his right hand, while trying to navigate himself into an area with a larger density of trees. Once the Courier thought he was close enough to the trees, he swung his knife in anticipation of an impact. The rest of his body made connections to the surrounding tree branches and leaves. Though his knife did connect to a tree trunk, making wounds in the plant. Him and his knife kept dragging down until his body made an impact on the tree he had personally hurt. Which caused his legs and lower torso to ache a bit. Though most of the pain was numbed by his aura.
He continued to slide down the tree at a quick pace with his knife making a long and hideous scar among the bark of the tree as he slid down. The Courier looked down, and saw that he was near the grass floor of the earth once more. Until he stopped being a man in the sky, and again was grounded like any other human being. With his feet and legs roughly connecting to the ground, although his fall was lessened through his use of Blood-Nap giving him a sense of direction and sort of cushioning the blow.
Though that didn't mean that he did not land on his ass, like he was sure most people did. He got right back up on his feet and fixed the positioning of the duster before grabbing his back from the tree trunk right beside him. Courier Six looked around at his surroundings before realizing that there was much in the way of differences or paths to take. He turned his eyes to the sky, and saw the Sun north of him, so now he knew what direction he was facing.
Putting his knife back in his belt the Courier walked at a brisk pace to the north of him. If this was an initiation to receive or retrieve something, it would probably be deeper in the forest just so that the school staff could see where they were currently at.
So he continued walking, only to hear sounds of woodland creatures and a rather morbid breeze. The air smelt like carcasses, though not human in nature. It was so putrid and disgusting it made his eyes water, and his gag reflex responded to the smell. The Courier kept walking until he heard a rather distinct noise compared to the rest.
His right hand hovered over his holster, and his eyes narrowed. The forest almost uncharacteristically went silent as some big game made its presence known with rather loud footsteps. Though he couldn't tell if was just trying to observe him or try to take his life to make him dinner. HIs eyes darted all over, trying to find out where it was trying to attack him from, since it went dead silent.
But then it happened. A giant beast with dark red eyes and black fur jumped out of the greeny surrounding Courier Six. It had a pale bone armor all around its arms, legs, back and face. With its back armor having rather numerous small spikes on the back of it. Its face and jaw resembled a yao guai from Zion valley, a giant bear of unexplainable cruelty. The beast gave a mighty roar before swiping at his torso.
The Courier jumped out of the way before grabbing his Mysterious Magnum and unloading three shots into its right leg in a hope to cripple it. So this was the demonic animal that was the plaquing this world. The Grimm. A scientific enigma of a creature that possesses a hardened heart towards a creature but its own, and even then it was prone to attack others like itself.
Luckily, one of the shots hit the animal in just the right spot where it caused its knee to collapse into itself, causing the beast to whimper and roar in pain. As a black puss leaked from its wound, the Courier smelt the same corpse-like smell as before. This creature didn't have a true purpose, it didn't care about life or some sort of animalistic meaning of love or craft.
It was pure evil. Nothing more, nothing less.
The Courier then took advantage of the grimm's weakness, and shot at its chest with the remainder of the bullets in the chamber. Its chest almost caved in like a mining accident and caused more black puss to pour out at a quick rate, almost like a waterfall. The beast tried to bite at the Courier, though it was sluggish and tired. The Courier quickly sidestepped the Grimm, and took Blood-Nap into his left hand, and punctured the neck of the beast, causing it to go limp nearly instantly, its big hulking figure falling down beneath him.
Its corpse reeked as it released fumes of black smoke from its wounds. Which made the Courier cough a bit, backing up from the dead demon. The Courier took this down time to reload his magnum and put it back in its holster. The smoke could alert other Grimm in the area to come to this area, but he didn't think they would challenge him that much.
However, he smelt the horrid grimm smell prior to his first kill, meaning that the other students were on their way to the site of importance. If what little he heard was true and not out of context. So now with this new information in mind, he again faced North, and instead of walking, he started sprinting into the direction of what he thought could be his goal.
Past the shallow and far away sounds of the Grimm fighting and dying. Past the sounds of the use of weaponry. He didn't stop to help or aid anyone, as this was a rat race to the finale of some ultimate show. Courier Six stopped to look around a bit to see if there were any changes to scenery around him. There was none, it was again just a green forest, though the same noises as before remained, a pair of new voices appeared, two feminine ones to be exact.
The Courier quickly went behind a tree and instinctively brought out his pistol Maria from his duster. The guerilla warfare and parstian tactics of the Legion were ingrained in him at this point. He flicked the safety off of his gun, and pulled it closer to him, preparing to strike. But then he suddenly remembered he probably would get in real big trouble if he killed someone. Quieting his breathing, he tried to listen in on the pair's conversation.
"You idiot! You could've made me burn down almost an acre of this forest with my fire dust. Why didn't you wait for my attack to take out those Grimm!" An arrogant heiress complained loudly, waving her rapier in frustration.
"I just wanted to help! There was a half a pack of beowolves all over us about to gobble us up like a pack of fruit snacks!" A high pitched teen argued back childishly and hopelessly. Her hands gripping onto her weapon like she was cradling a newborn.
"Well if you had just been patient and waited for an opening we could have gotten the relics already and been in the dorms by now!" Weiss shot back, with her voice now straining in a mix of anger and annoyance. Ruby quipped back, and then Weiss would respond back. It was a back and forth, a failing dialogue between two different people.
The pair continued to walk in a similar direction to the Courier, though it was more skewed more to the right rather than just a straight shot North. The Courier kept his eye on them, before deciding to tail them for the time being. Although he didn't want them to know that he was following them, so he matched their footsteps, stopped when they stopped and kept by the trees to mask his figure.
The two's conversation continued, though the Courier didn't really care about their squabbles and disagreements on their future job. Though they did bring up an interesting fact about initiation throughout their argument.
"Why don't you pretend that you haven't seen me? It's not like Ozpin would know, and plus you might become teammates with somebody else you like. Like your sister-"
"Whaaaaaat? I don't want to get detention for the first week I'm in Beacon!"
The Courier rolled his eyes at the pair, their immaturity to the situation. How could they be worried about breaking rules or teammates in a potential life or death situation. A person or Grimm could ambush them right now and catch them off guard. Much like the soldiers of the NCR, it seemed like they lacked the discipline for the job.
Though it wasn't his responsibility to train them into real fighters. He countied to tail them without notice, until his foot got stuck beneath a root near the lowest point of one of the trees. The Courier roughly and violently shot his foot up, breaking the root. Though it made a much louder and odd noise than what a normal root would make. Quickly without thinking, he leaped into the nearest bush, and buried himself into it as to not be found. He looked at the tree where he broke the root, thinking that the two girls would check it out for its more unique sound.
But they didn't. The Courier grimaced at the lack of action. If they were in a hostile area and they did that, they would have been liquidated and had their weapons sold on the market. Courier Six got out of the bush and walked over to the tree to see why the root made that noise.
He crouched down and saw that while the root was brown in color, it wasn't really a root but rather a very beaten and dull brown piece of cloth. Most likely to have once been a part of a pair of jeans. The Courier's hands went and felt the piece of cloth, feeling that there was something inside the old pair of jeans.
Taking his knife, he carefully cut the jeans open, and then put his other hand in to take out what was in there. He felt it in his hand and grabbed it, taking it out of the pair of jeans. He opened his hand to reveal to him a rather decayed and old bone.
It was distinctly human if the Courier had to guess. It was found in a pair of jeans in an area where future huntsmen go to prove their worth. The bones structure and age dated it quite a bit, at the least this person has been dead for five years.
He wandered a bit around the area, before he saw something off about the middle area of the tree. It looked deformed, as if it formed around something. The Courier felt the bark near this deformed area and noticed its weakness. He punched right through it and felt around for anything useful.
He felt something with a dull edge of sorts. He grabbed it and pulled it out, revealing to him a journal or diary of some sorts. It had a faded pink color, with various residues all over. Likely from stickers. It had a damaged locking mechanism on the side opposite from the book's spine.
He opened it to find that most of the pages were damaged beyond belief. Some were just missing, others were crumpled together or a mix of both. The spine of the book was falling apart, probably from the years of being exposed to the elements.
Although on the back of the book where there were no more pages were the initials of someone. Faded, almost invisible, but visible nonetheless. It had some messages written in pen, but he wasn't able to read it. Though it seemed important enough for this person to leave stars and sloppy lines beneath the words.
The initials were G.H with some childish signatures practiced beneath it. The Courier didn't know what it could stand for, but it found it interesting. It could sell for a decent amount of money. He put the diary into his right duster pocket.
He entered back out into the forest area where Ruby and Weiss once stood and argued. Then he heard it again, the sounds of the predators. He turned around to see two of the Grimm starting right at him with a killer instinct present in their eyes. Before long, two pounced.
Knowing that neither of his small arms couldn't quickly dispose of the creatures of the night. He reached into his duster to grab the fire dust he stole from Weiss. But before he could a giant claw hit him in his chest, causing him to fly into one of the numerous trees in the forest.
Thankfully his aura nullified most of the damage, though he felt it almost reach its breaking point. He looked around to find the fire dust container just in front of his feet. He grabbed it quickly as one of the Grimm howled in what the Courier thought sounded like animalistic laughter. The Grimm started to bare its teeth and charged at the legionary, while the second was seemingly looking for its next prey, though it did walk closely to the Courier as well.
Courier threw the container of fire dust at the Grimm charging at him and aimed his magnum at the container. He took a deep breath before taking the shot. It was a critical success.
The fire dust exploded, and the fire embraced the face of the Grimm, making it miss its mark, biting the ground near the Courier. He got up and ran to the left of the Grimm closest to him, the one that was on fire. The other Grimm noticed this, and tried to attack the Courier. Though it's attack would be cut short by its fellow prowler of the night as it began to tear into its own kind.
The attack was brutal and vicious, not so different from the deathclaws or the fire geckos of the Mojave. He took out Maria from his duster and pressed the trigger rapidly, emptying the clip of hollow points into the now blind Grimm.
Thankfully it seemed like the homemade additions to the ammunition paid off, as the blind grimm fell beneath the fresh corpse of his friend. The Courier wiped the sweat off his brow, as the remnants of the fire made its way to the grass and leaves below the two corpses. He reloaded his pistol before starting to sprint into the direction he thought the pair of immature girls walked in.
He ignored the howls and cackling of the Grimm. He ignored the vast amounts of call outs by students to help others in their fight against the never ending onslaught of the enemy. The Courier didn't really care about them, as they were members of the dissolute, and weren't Legion. Though he guessed that would be a blessing for them, since if they were deemed profligates, he would have killed them in the name of Caesar.
His vast amounts of sprinting seemingly paid off for him as he ran across an ancient looking stone structure. It was in a rather sorry state, as its dome which once covered it was broken, and as was most of the structure. Leaving its contents open for the whole world to see, a husk of what it once was.
He walked into the ruined building and saw that vegetation had made its home here. A number of podiums stood with some rather modern relics resting on them. Chess pieces to be exact.
These were probably what he was supposed to bring back. He scanned his options that were open to him. The Courier wouldn't take the king piece, as Caesar was the true king of the land. He wouldn't take the queen piece as he wasn't interested in being the main protector of Caesar, as that was the Praetorian Guards job. He couldn't pick the bishop piece on due to women only being allowed to be priests. Other pieces he felt like were applicable to him for various different reasons. So he settled on the least offensive one.
The black pawn. That's what everyone was at the end of the day. A pawn to their desires or other people's dreams and ambitions. He took it and shoved it into his pocket. He looked around the area to make sure that no Grimm were around to surprise him. Once he knew there were none, he quickly left the area, running back where he came from.
He was sort of shocked at the fact there wasn't much Grimm nearby. Animals like them were rather smart, if Beacon did their initiation every year, more Grimm should have noted that with their prey coming in year in a tradition that went back generations.
Then he heard a screech of some sort of bird, though by its cry the Courier could guess it was rather huge. Then Courier heard a very girly scream of terror a little way away from him. If he had to guess it was one of the women he meant prior that who was rather scared.
But he wouldn't go back to help, he would just keep running back the cliff's edge until he eventually made his way back to the top. Overlooking the forest once more. The forest was still as beautiful as it was before, but now there was fumes of black smoke covering some of the skyline, or damaging the forest. But a feminine voice broke him from these thoughts.
"You passed initiation, congratulations young man. Now if you could walk with me to the auditorium, I would greatly appreciate it." She said in a rather authoritative tone. He turned around to see that it was Glynda Goodwitch. He simply nodded and motioned with his hand for her to lead the way.
Which she did, beginning to walk towards the academy once more. The Courier matched her speed and walked behind her. Courier Six didn't really want to speak to the teacher so he kept his mouth shut. She noticed this, and decided to try to make conversation.
"The last group of students who came up the mountain wouldn't stop talking. I thought you would be similar to them."
"Why would that be Miss Goodwitch?" He asked, not really caring about her answer. Goodwithc noticed his dismissive attitude, but answered his question anyway.
"You carry yourself differently from the rest. Mr. Six you are quite quiet about your capabilities and hold yourself to a higher place than the rest of your class." She noted with a very stoic face, telling him her observations. The Courier chuckled in response.
"It's natural for a person to have low expectations from where I'm from. Most don't attack from the front, but from the back like cowards. They would have to earn my respect and trust, much like anyone else."
Goodwitch sighed at the young man's response. Her stoic features softened just enough to show a little sympathy for the tribal.
"I understand. Many people who come into his profession are running from or to something. In my Beacon class, there was this girl that came from a similar position as you. Didn't trust or respect anyone besides her brother. Though that changed through her time spent here," She said before continuing her point. "Just let them grow on you. Eventually your heart will soften and you will come to enjoy your classmates."
"We'll see." He answered back quickly. Goodwitch just gave a very small content smile in return before returning to her rather stoic and professional demeanor. Eventually the pair made it to the outside of the school.
"And it seems like our little trip has ended here, just take left at the first turn you see. I wish you the best of day Mr. Six."
"As do I Miss Goodwitch, vale." Courier said before entering the school. He once again walked around the halls, until he made a left at the nearest turn just like his teacher told him. He saw a pair of opened double doors, he entered them to see the auditorium, the same once in which he was welcomed into Beacon.
There were numerous students already in the auditorium, but he didn't see any that he recognized immediately. So he just loitered in the back of the room, keeping to himself, observing the others in the room. Seconds turned to minutes, and minutes turned to hours as the room continued filling up with students until it was seemingly full. With that, Headmaster Ozpin and Miss Goodwitch walked onto the stage, with the headmaster carrying a very futuristic phone of sorts in one hand and a microphone in the other. He tapped the mic multiple times before speaking.
"I would like to congratulate all of you for making it pass initiation. It wasn't an easy task as many prospects such as yourselves have been seriously wounded or dead. Now with this herculean task behind you, I hope you will come to enjoy our campus and be molded into the best huntsmen to ever grace our kingdom and planet." Ozpin shifted his eyes from the audience to the screen just above him. "Now then, the moment you were all waiting for, the reveal of who would be on your team for the rest of your time here."
A picture of Cardin appeared on the screen, prompting the arrogant man to shoot up from his seat, and come onto the stage. Another picture, this time of Russel, which caused the yes man to bum rush to the stage to be alongside his friend. A third picture appeared on screen, that of the idiot Sky, who egotistically and peacefully made his way onto the stage. A fourth and seemingly final picture of Dove appeared on screen, though no one would be able to find him in the audience, as he was already on the stage since Sky was. Though a blank slot would appear on screen, much to the audience's confusion.
Ozpin cocked his eyebrow up at the lack of a picture on the rather large screen. Until Goodwitch whispered something into Ozpin's ear. His face became one of understanding as he put the microphone near his mouth to announce something.
"Could Courier Six please make his way to the stage?"
With that said, the Courier made his way to the stage like he had other places to be. He wasn't one to care much about ceremonies of a lesser kingdom. He walked onto the stage and stood right beside Dove, who had a very blank stare compared to his friends. Who had wide smiles and grins.
"Cardin Winchester, Russel Thrush, Sky Lark, Dove Bronzewing and Courier Six. For collecting the black pawn pieces, you all will be a part of team Cardinals, led by Cardin Winchester."
The audience began to clap for the five men, as one squeaky voice tried to start a chant for the Courier, though it failed. As Cardin looked on in joy, and as Russel and Dove began to congratulate their friend. Sky was more restrained, but clapped for his friend with a smirk plastered onto his face. The Courier clapped along with Sky, though less enthusiastically. Courier Six was thinking about the situation he was in, and he came to accept it.
He would come to love it. Nevermind his neck vein bulging out of proportion, or the fact that he had a frown beneath his breathing mask. Despite what his body language told those who were perspective enough to see it, he truly loved his team.
This would be the thought that he would try to use to soothe himself, even if his team was full of inexperienced dipshits, and led by what the Courier could only describe as a prideful meathead.
May Mars bless him with the strength to preserve this troubling time.