Sandstorm over Remnant

Bonus Chapter: Sand and Snow

There once was a dream. A dream shared by two worlds, a dream that many fought and died for.

Peace. To live without fear.

As the bombs fell on earth and the waves of Grimm and war suffocated Remnant that dream seemed to have faded from human memory. A mere illusion, the future became blurry and unseeable like the fog in Far Harbor or the Sandstorms of the Mojave, the prophets and the scholars unable to find a solution.

History did not have the answer, the gods remained silent, and the scientist saw it as a dead end, but a dream can not so easily be killed "What do you see?" Six looked up from his desk at the top of the tower and looked out toward the great green of Remnant.

Six smiled "Paradise"

"Should a paradise not be safe? To have peace?"

There was a pause as Six looked at the person on the other end, of the long table "It will, Winter's world won't end up like mine" there was a small chuckle as the person morphed to someone different, military attire, grey hair and a somewhat kind smile "And what of us? Does your world no longer matter soldier? With everything you and I sacrificed to keep it safe? Holy Hannah we gave our liberty for it, our lives for it!"

"I haven't forgotten, I will make it work, Sir" Six said with a waiver in voice, he coughed into his fist and shook his head. He was no longer the seventeen-year-old kid, he did not know why he still felt the need to be so formal with the man in his dream. There was a pause as the dream changed and he was no longer in the office that had once belonged to the headmaster Ozpin, he was in the wastes of the Mojave once more.

Sand beneath his feet, mutated creatures could be heard in the distance and the soft sound of the wind, Sarah; the girl he had rescued from the Omertas stood next to him "Can you make it work? Is it really worth saving?" the courier nodded slowly.

"I have to try, no matter what I must make sure that two worlds can be freed" the sands turned into grass as Six could feel that his dream was coming to an end, now he faced the one that he had failed the most.

Young, green eyes and a charming smile, Six stared at himself. At the boy he once was, before the bullets… before he lost hope in the dream. His past self grinned at him "Ready to do this to ourselves… again?"

Six woke up from his dream, with his heartbeat a bit accelerated. Pushing aside some papers he groaned as he remembered where he was. Ah yes, he was back in Remnant and… he had fallen asleep on his desk. Closing his eyes for a brief moment hr felt worry begin to form in his heart "I am ready, again and again. I will play the part I was made to play."

A small beep on his wrist made him look towards his PipBoy "Winter is here" a small smile made its way onto his lips as his worries faded into the back of his head. He excitedly reached for his coat and made his way towards the hanger. He did not know when she brought him happiness, it was a weird feeling if he was being completely honest.

Love.

When did he start to love? He knew that he had liked her ever since they had shared a laugh back in Novac, when Bright's ghouls where launched to God knows where. But love was more complicated, he just knew what he felt and that was that, in a way it was almost intoxicating but it was also a great weakness. It was making him question his every step, taking his will and strength away.

As the transport landed near him Six waited patiently for Winter to walk up to him, her blue eyes looked at him up and down and then smiled at him "Have I ever told you how good the Riot Gear looks on you?"

Six chuckled and gave her a quick kiss as he held her. "I… I have missed you" Winter leaned into the hug and looked at him a bit surprised.

"I have too, are you ok? You look worried" Winter wondered as Six simply shook his head, and gave her a smile "Nah, I just have a lot in my mind that's all"-"I figured, what do you need to talk about? I got the message from Yes-Man" she made a face as the name of the robot left her mouth.

Six nodded "Ah yes" the courier pointed at the building they were in, the carcass of Beacon and his new property. "I am proud to announce that Rob-Co Industries Remnant is now fully operational and ready to go. Assembly lines are ready for the production of Mr. Handy units, some weapons and… well Stimpaks are still something that we have to check if they work on you guys and the drugs but that's a big can of worms that is best if we don't open just yet. I just wanted you to know first… and if you have any thoughts on the matter."

"You… are doing this earlier than I expected. Remnant has not given you resources or have provided aid for the people on Earth" Winter said as they both looked at the forest bellow "Maybe not, but I feel like the best way for us to get things is to begin to produce, economics are not my forte I will be the first to say that. But I do know how to barter and for now we will begin slow, raw metal and other materials to rebuild Free-side and the wall around Vegas"

Winter nodded "And I have just the company in mind that could help you get that. And funnily enough that is the other thing that we need to talk about" there was a pause as Winter looked away embarrassed.

"Six… do you… I mean, can you come meet my parents?"

There was a long silence as Six fought the urge to laugh at the face Winter was making, but he was also a little nervous even if he would never admit it "Well… sure, I mean I don't have anything formal to wear when I meet them. Do you think they would mind the Riot Gear?"

Winter hummed a bit "Do you have anything else?"-"My vault Suit"

"Absolutely not, I will NOT allow you to wear that. My mom would think that you are an exhibitionist!" Winter said as she grabbed him by the collar, Six pouted a bit "Why does no one like the Vault Suits goddammit… then the Riot Gear will have to do. I can leave right away if you need me to. Yes Man can take care of the little details while I am gone"

Cold, that was the first thing Six though when he walked out of the ship.

Atlas was ridiculously cold, the cold wind hit his face making him test out something. He breathed out and smiled as it turned to fog. Winter walked next to him as she waited for the transport to arrive "Father is going to send a vehicle to pick us up, as far as he knows you are just another businessman… my mom and siblings are aware of who you are"

Six chuckled a bit "So serious, are you worried?" Winter nodded slowly "Yes" the courier looked at her and noticed the small frown on her face, reaching for her hand he gave it a gentle squeeze. There was a small pause as Six looked for the right words "I… also feel a little bit worried"

"You? That's not something I thought I would hear" she admitted with a small smile. Six shrugged "What can I say, I am better at dealing with raiders and creatures than being… you know human"

She frowned at that "You are human, never doubt that" before Six could say more a white limousine pulled up and its doors automatically opened "Ah Winter, I thought I would come here personally and greet this… partner of yours, I see that you are rather close"

Jaques was sitting there with a small smirk on his face. Winter felt her hand form into a fist as she pressed her lips into a thin line "Father" Six looked at the man and felt a small smile thug at his lips, he looked like if Mr. House fell in a bath of bleach. Only that his hairstyle was more modern.

"So you are the man my daughter spoke off, I must admit I have never seen a CEO like you" Six nodded "What can I say, I'm one of a kind. Nice to finally meet you I have heard a lot about you"

Jaques shook his hand with little enthusiasm, the self-imposed patriarch of the Schnee household seemed to think this was a waste of time but he kept glancing at him with wariness. Six could not blame the man in all honesty, he did look like he could break him in half. But he felt compelled to make a good impression on the man so he smiled at him "Atlas is very beautiful, nice weather compared to what I am used to"

"Oh? You live far from here then" Jaques said as he glanced out of thew window. "You could say that, I live in a dessert far from here" that caught Jaques interest "And your company is in this dessert?"

Winter tilted as she wondered what was Six up to "Yeah, RobCo is in the heart of it all" Jaques seemed to want to say something but bit his tongue for the moment "We are quite of ourselves, we made a city in the middle of a wasteland with just our machines. But we are missing some key materials. Iron, lumber and all that, Winter says that your company might be able to help with that"

"Yes… if something of equal value can be given to us in return" Six simply smiled and brought out a knife. Jaques jumped in his seat as Six cut his palm "WHAT ARE YOU… doing? What?!" Jaques looked in surprise (and horror) as the wound closed itself. Six placed a Stimpack on his hand "Our invention, one capable of accelerating healing at a rate not even thought possible. Just imagine how many lives can be saved… and how much you could charge" [Barter 50-Success]

Winter saw the wheels turn in her fathers head as he let his greed begin to take a hold of him "And… how many companies have you reached out to help you distribute this product?"-"Just you at the moment" Winter swore she could see the Lien on her fathers eyes "OH! Then the Schnee company would be more than happy to help you distribute this fine product, Lien and these raw materials that you need can begin shipping in…" Six nodded as the promises and the deals began to pour in.

"Not bad, dealing with my father I mean" Winter said as they arrived at her home. Six simply smiled "I did what came naturally, I just pictured House and it kind of worked out" he said with a soft chuckle as Jaques left to deal with a company business. Winter grinned a bit as that man finally left and she could relax even if just a bit "Come on I want to show you around" Six complied as Winter led him through halls and rooms that to him looked like they where out of a fairy tale.

Not even the lucky thirty-eight was so well preserved "The kitchen is over there, I hope you don't mind fancy food. I tried to get them to serve something more lowkey but they insisted on extravagant food"

"Nah its fine, I can eat just about everything" Six as Winter shuddered at the memories of grilled rat meat, mantis and even rad-roach, she placed a hand on his back as she led him to the dining room "It's a miracle that you managed to be this fit only eating that type of irradiated meat"

Six stopped briefly as he felt his tesla coils turn in his head "I… not always. I used to have normal food like the one before the war, the vault made sure of it" Winter glanced at him in surprise "Six! You are…"-"Yes, I remember. I think I remember all my past now. It came in waves after the battle of Hoover dam. Sorry I didn't say anything, it was a little overwhelming at first"

Winter placed a hand on his cheek "Hey its fine, I am just glad that its better now" she looked at him with a smile that made Six feel… peace. "I have so many questions I want to ask"

"And I got all the time in the world… after dinner"

A/N: A small bonus chapter that I wanted to make to explore a bit of what the main characters feel. Six is not a good person, that's something that I have tried to show over the course of this two stories. He was once back in California but that did not end well for him, he tries but now he is what Arcade called Hildern; a man who is too focused on the big picture but the one thing keeping him completely from this path is the fact that he loves Winter which makes it all the more fun to write.

The once hero now a morally grey man and a genuine (but flawed) good person, Winter

Thank you so much for reading, I appreciate it. Please let me know if you spot any mistakes or simply want to point out something out, thanks!