Hello readers, I pulled the Chapter because I rushed in a plot point. Which none of you ever saw… right? I stayed up for like 37 hours and decided it would be good to sew a plot point I had wanted to string in 2 chapters later, now. You think of a cool plot point and you want to behold it to your readers but it was too soon for the truth to be revealed ;( .
So erase and bleach your wrinkled minds those of you who have read what I wrote.
It is an awesome narrative. which I will be writing in later, trust me I haven't been discouraged by anyone. I just got a little too excited. Anyway, I've removed, strategically, parts of the last part of chapter 1. If you have already read the previously posted Chapter 1 you'll find there isn't much difference between this and the last apart from the ending of the Chapter.
—
Chapter 1
Settling In
—
The cries of the NCR pinned to crosses, the scorching glare of the desert sun upon their bare, lashed backs. None stood more tormented than he nailed to the central cross of Nelson, his flesh flayed, scorched and disfigured. A mountain of a man.
Me, Courier Six.
From the Barracks of Nelson, that slug crawled. Dead Sea, one of Ceasar's Decanus, came to mock me for my 'Capture'.
"You. You are the Bear's deliverer of 'Justice'? you, who we have brought low, crippled and strung upon a cross as reminder to the profligates that we are who is righteous"
"You talk just as much as they said you would. I got something to say to you 'Dead Sea' , something for you and all your men to hear" I had rehearsed this, over and over in my mind.
"I am surprised you are lucid enough to speak. Talk then, I will hear your pleas for forgiveness" I could hear the Grin beneath his mask, no matter. I was about to wipe that smug grin off his face.
"I, The Courier, Challenge Decanus Dead Sea to one on one combat in the honourable art of Melee" I'd learned of this from Doc Mitchell, Raul and some old world books. The Romans had trials by combat and after catching a Legion spy in Mccarran, confirmed that the Legion shared that same tradition.
Now Dead Sea couldn't back down, why? It was the main square, he'd put me there for all to see. Issue now was that all had heard as well, If he refused the challenge of a beaten, broken man then he'd forever be hailed as a coward in Ceasars camp.
I'd done this because Dead Sea had captives, some 8 NCR troopers that I wasn't gonna let die and at the time I figured I could bargain their lives if I won a duel.
"W-what are your terms profligate!?" he bit
"Release of the NCR captives back to Camp Forlorn Hope. Alive. If I should win." Needed to specify so they wouldn't fuck me after the duel was done.
"When you lose, I will force your hands to pull the trigger on each and every one of them." Dead sea spat back at me, but I knew I'd win.
They let me down, beaten, bloody. "What weap-"
"Don't need one. I'll rip your throat out with my bare fucking hands" Was I insane? A little, I was dosed on Med-X and Psycho before I let them capture me so I wouldn't pass out from their torture.
It was a joke to them, well at least it was at first. Until the fight started and I ripped that machete out his hands and crushed his skull against the crucifix he'd hung me on. Then it wasn't a joke.
Then I was a demon, The Beast, Courier Six.
I told them to take what they had seen back to Caesar. Hoping the recruits would run in fear after seeing what I'd done, they did, thankfully. One of the few strokes of luck I'd had.
I barely had enough strength after all that to release the captives. I Radioed the ranger's for help, barely made it out of Nelson on a gamble. But it made me a hero when I did.
—
Six's eyes opened slowly, morning rays parting through the curtains of the clean room he'd found himself sleeping in. "My scar's hurt" he groaned, pulling himself to his feet and stumbling to the bathroom.
Shedding his wraps revealing the canvas of wounds and scars his body bore. He winced as he saw the wounds from yesterday's melee had re-opened. Leaving him bleeding, very badly.
Grimacing, he looked at the time on his watch. 'Goodwitch wants me there sooner rather than later, doesn't make a good impression if I'm late the first day'. Six flicked through his Pip-Boy and procured a Super-Stimpack. Something he reserved for the rare occasions he thought he would actually die.
Securing it on his biceps he allowed it to inject itself, the potent stimulant began healing him at an exponential rate. His body felt weak and slow as it processed the healing chemicals chugging through its system. But it would do its job and that would allow him to do his.
He discarded the syringe into a bin by the side of the sink before suiting up.
He pulled on the US general outfit he'd looted from the missile bunker in the divide. As he fastened the rather proper jacket on, it hit him just how hard he wanted to forget that lonesome road. The only reminders he had of that time were logs, scars and the strewn items he kept stored on the Pip-Boy.
"Who are you, who do not know your history…" Six muttered, looking at his bandaged face in the mirror. Dark green eyes stared back at him, sometimes he wished he could ask himself for the answers to his past.
He had bits and pieces, memories would flash, some people knew of him. Yet whenever he tried to think about it, the past, his mind, like it was rejecting it would ring like he was coming off the worst withdrawal he'd ever had.
Even his own head shackled him, his memories locked away in a lead casing.
He looked down at the sink and sighed, putting on his brown ranger hat as he looked back up and moved for the door. He opened his room door to the hallway.
As he did he saw a blinding flash of colours dart by. Team RWBY, all rushing to a class they were definitely going to be late for.
[8:57]
As he strode through the halls, he still had to marvel at the sheer beauty of the academy. It's architecture was beyond anything he had ever been in before, it was far past grandiose in terms of descriptions. It was literally a glowing beacon held aloft by inscribed arches and holding vast auditoriums and dorms within for teaching and housing.
To him. It was simply glorious, what man could achieve and what he hoped the NCR would come to do.
"Did you sleep well?" that voice, Six turned. A green haired man wielding a cup of coffee and looking generally dishevelled.
"Oobleck?"
"Indeed, glad to see you made it out of that forest in one piece, but I suppose you left some of yourself behind so that's not entirely accurate.".
"I thought you'd look more" he paused "like a professor?"
"What are the round glasses not enough, should I wear a lab coat and speak in deep scientific terminology"
"No. Please, god no. I had enough of that at the Empty" Six's mind called back to the brains of the 'brightest' scientists.
Oobleck raised an eyebrow "The Empty? You really must tell me of your home, I find it fascinating, your arrival that is and your origin."
"The Empty is a story best told over drinks. It's so batshit insane I thought I was dreaming when I went through it."
"I see, well. I prefer coffee to alcohol, but I won't turn down the chance to further the study of history! So I will join you for that drink, when we are off duty."
"Great, I'll come find you after hours then"
"See you then Six"
Six tipped his hat and walked away from the man, towards the largest Auditorium. A Large stage was in the centre, a screen hung above it. Goodwitch sat at a fold out desk with a pile of scrolls in front of her.
"Good morning Six" She said, not even looking up from her desk as she tapped on the screen of a Scroll in front of her.
"Morning Ms. Goodwitch. So what are we looking at" he walked down and sat across from her.
"Well. I did you the favour of pulling the Children's combat test data from their application test. It was a measure of how they did in various aspects, I've arranged the best from top to bottom".
Six nodded, picking the first off the top 'Pyrrha Nikos. She's a golden child from what it says here and a helluva seed. Good combat sense, skills are generally above average for her age range and amplified by use of her semblance' he squinted 'Semblance?'
"Hey Ms. Goodwitch" he pointed at the screen "What's this?".
"You don't know what a semblance is?"she looked genuinely shocked.
"Nope. Why is it something commonplace here, some sort of implant?" He looked through the record for any note of a cybernetic.
"No. nothing like that" Goodwitch coughed. "Do you know of Aura?"
Six thought back, "the blonde girl, Yang, she mentioned that when I was getting ripped to pieces, that I 'Wasn't fighting with aura' or something"
"Aura is the manifestation of one's soul" Six audibly chuckled, making Goodwitch red in the face in seconds "I knew you were joking that you didn't know about it-".
"Wait." he stopped laughing "You weren't?" They both looked at one another.
Goodwitch cleared her throat "as I was saying. Aura is the manifestation of one's soul. It can manifest in many ways, but It dwells in all living beings with a soul and Grimm are the only creatures without Aura as they have no soul."
Six looked at Glynda, then through her, then the wall behind her and through the wall behind that wall. 'There was no way she was joking unless she was totally insane and she wasn't, he could tell. Unless these people were like the Bright Followers. But they weren't, there was a basis to the madness and that's what scratches my brain in all the wrong ways.' he thought in a calm panic.
"So. The Soul is real, and it's a weapon and you fight mythical creatures that have no soul".
"Yes," She said with absolute certainty.
"I see. That seems totally normal" he smiled, a blank stare on his face as he did "So. What does this aura do. You said it manifests in many ways"
"Well, the first use of Aura is primarily as a shield. Secondarily it lends a healing factor and thirdly it can use weapons as a conduit and amplify their abilities and finally a skilled practitioner in the use of Aura will have a semblance. An ability unique to only them."
Six pondered this revelation for a long minute "So it's like magic?".
Glynda groaned "I suppose in some ways yes" then she looked at him quizzically "do you not have your Aura unlocked Six?"
"Seeing as I didn't know what it was before this. No."
"We need to Unlock it if you're going to train these children."
"How about you handle all the magic voodoo shit and I teach them how to shoot things?"
She groaned again "Stay still and don't say a thing" glaring, she got up and walked around behind him "I'm going to unlock your aura now. Ok?"
"It doesn't feel like a question."
"It isn't, now, be quiet. Close your eyes and focus"
Six huffed. He found this all ridiculous. Yet as she touched his back his vision dimmed, he felt euphoric, like that first hit of jet. But he couldn't move, like he was 200 ibs over the weight limit.
He supposed he'd enjoy it for a while. 'Didn't she say she was going to say something?'
—
Glynda had never met such a scruffy man. 'Well, I suppose that isn't true. At least he uses honorifics. Sometimes.' she shifted to his back, it was massive and as she placed her hand on it to commence a chant to release his Aura she felt it.
An absolutely monstrous amount of aura, vibrantly crimson. It was a burning inferno of a soul that was screaming to be let out. But it wasn't whole, it was fragmented in places. Melancholic blue fragments broke off in wisps where the central flame could not mend itself into one.
She pulled back 'no wonder the Grimm pursued him all the way to the temple. Even without training it seeps out around him and he doesn't even realise. It's probably why he isn't dead, that and any chemicals he's pumped into himself' she sighed.
"I can't release your Aura."
"Why not?"
"It's fragmented, splintered precisely in places. Releasing it could cause a horrible backlash on you. Although certain events can strengthen one's aura, others can weaken it tremendously. And if you don't know how to soften that blow it can cripple your possibility to utilise it if you're unlocking it later in life."
Six put his hand beneath his chin "It's a shame, would have been cool to have a personal forcefield. Guess I'll just have to rely on good old armour from now on haha".
Glynda made a note of the man's unusual aura, she'd report it to the headmaster and see if he had any opinion on the matter but every second Six was here he grew more and more bizarre.
—
Six spent the next few hours trawling through the information he was given by Goodwitch with her. The scrolls contained literally everything from their combat tests.
"It's like S.P.E.C.I.A.L. but worse." he was scheming his part of the lesson. Of course he'd have to run it by her first, but that was fine.
'I think doing a standardised test would be good. Everyone has their own unique weapons, what happens if they don't have 'em? They'll need to be prepared for that situation.' He noted down that as a lesson idea.
'Then there's ammo types. I don't need the datapads to know they could have picked their ammo better for the Nevermore. Hollow Points would have ended that a lot quicker.' there's another one.
Tapping a pen against his mouth he continued 'Weapons again but lets drill them on the strengths and weaknesses of their individual weapons and how they should capitalise' he put down idea three and sighed contently.
'Beginning to feel like a real drill instructor.' He left the notes in front of Goodwitch who filed through them 'These kids will learn to hate me'.
She squinted at each of them "These are. Decent ideas, although I can't see a need to run them through different weapons, the chance of a hunter losing their weapon in combat is quite low."
He held up a finger "but it isn't zero, better to have them prepared and ready. No?"
She blinked 'I'm surprised he's taking it so seriously.'"Yes I suppose so. We'll do some basic combat drills to allow them to get comfortable with one another today. So nothing too crazy, if one of the students doesn't have a sparring partner you will be expected to assist them.".
"I can do that" he stood up as the Students started filing into the classroom. Faces he knew, faces he didn't all the same he'd help turn them into the best killing machines he could whilst Oz had him on 'payroll'.
"Welcome Students. As some of you may already know, I am Glynda Goodwitch. I will be your primary combat instructor for your tenure here at Beacon. These classes will be your tool to sharpen your combat skills and form new skills as well" she paused "any questions?".
No hands went up 'the class is pretty straight forward after all' Six thought.
"For today, you will spar in twos. Pick someone who isn't on your team as your partner for today. If you cannot find someone, you will be sparring with the teaching assistant" Ms. Goodwitch finished and the class began to move.
Took a few minutes but people found pairs and Glynda began calling up names. "Ms. Goodwitch can I ask you something?" Six whispered down to her.
"What is it Six?"
"These two" he pointed to Ruby and Jaune on the scroll "they are leagues behind other students, Jaune more so. If we allow them to pair up they're just gonna fester one anothers habits"
"So what do you suggest we do?" she tilted her head.
—
Blake and Ren, Nora and Yang, Weiss and Pyrrha and finally Ruby and Jaune. Of course they had all sought one another, they knew each other so it was easy picking sparring partners.
"Oh man, this is gonna be so fun!" Nora beamed, twirling "You're going down Yang."
A 'pfft' came from the other girl as she fastened on her gauntlets "You won't even realise what's hit you!" she banged her fists together with a wide, confident grin.
"Let's have a good match, Blake" Ren said, looking over to the raven haired girl who loaded her pistol with a nod before making her way out of the locker rooms.
"I-I'm really looking forward to learning from our spar, Pyrrha"
"Likewise, please, don't go easy on me" Pyrrha and Weiss readied for their duel.
Finally, at the end of the locker room "Please, go easy on me" Jaune groaned.
"Oh you'll be fiiine" Ruby chirped, loading rounds into Crescent Rose. Jaune seemed to focus his vision on the monstrous bullets that would soon be hurtling towards him as they loaded into the chamber.
With an audible gulp, Jaune shakily sheathed his sword. His attention to his inevitable humiliation was shattered as all students still in the lockers heard a throat being cleared.
There at the entrance stood Six "Ruby, Jaune could you two come with me please?" he disappeared out the entrance back to the auditorium and the pair looked back at their teams then out the door, confused.
"Oooo~ someones in trooouble" Yang teased.
"But I didn't even do anything! Yet" Ruby fumed back, she sighed and meekly walked out of the locker rooms.
Standing in the centre of the Auditorium he stood next to Goodwitch who gestured for them to come over "Both of you, over here." they trudged over, slightly dejected. "Now, Six has observed some inexperience in the combat records we have on each of you. So he'd like to give each of you a personal lesson."
"Don't worry, it'll just be some basic training to refresh you on some of the basics" he gave a friendly smile.
The two looked between one another, both knew what the other was thinking. 'I'll stand out like a sore thumb if I'm given basic training on the first day of an advanced combat school…' Jaune mentally screamed.
"Look. There's no pressure for it, It's just to refresh you. If you want I can take you two to one of the other auditoriums. You'll still be fighting one another, I'll just be instructing you on a few things."
'That'll look even worse' Ruby fought to contain a groan of frustration.
"Others have already begun sparring, please choose quickly" Glynda sighed.
"We'll just do it here, if that's alright" Ruby spoke up and Six nodded.
"Be gentle" Glynda whispered to Six.
"Now, let's start with you two just having a fight. Just give it all of you've got" Six placed them about 20 paces from one another.
"On the count of 3" they both tensed.
1… Ruby brought her Scythe to her left hip, ready to dart to Jaune.
2… Jaune raised his shield, bracing himself.
3. In a second Ruby blitzed across the stage, swung from her left hip and hooked the scythe around his shield.
"STOP!" Six shouted and both of them froze.
"What, why?" Ruby looked at him, she hadn't even landed her first blow
"He's dead, that's why, you can't block the first strike, how are you gonna block the second. Reset and tell me what happened"
"Dead? But his Aura would have protected him"
"And his shield would have saved the blow to his aura. Now are you gonna tell me what happened"
"Well I used my semblance and swung for him. Pretty simple if you ask me?"
"And you?" He looked at Jaune.
"I… raised my shield?"
Six pinched the bridge of his bandaged nose. "No, you raised your shield in the wrong direction. A Scythe is a hooked weapon. It is your natural enemy"
"So what do I do then?"
"You watch what she does", Six levelled a finger at Ruby "and react". He moved around Jaune "you're too stiff, you're static. You need to move, loosen up and be ready to receive what comes your way."
Jaune looked down at his feet then back up, nodding he readied himself. This time he would block her.
Slash
"Dead! Reset and tell me what went wrong."
"She's too fast!" Jaune remarked, panting.
"Or you're too slow" Six reached a hand out "lend me your shield"
Jaune looked uncertain at Six, but handed it over. "Okay Ruby, I want you to come at me whenever you're ready".
"O-Okay?" Ruby lowered her scythe to the right before darting forward.
Six reflexively moved the shield not to his front but to his side where her scythe's blade would end up. Batting the blade to the side, knocking Ruby off course he punched her in the face sending her spiralling to the floor.
"Dead, Reset" He handed Jaune back the shield "Parrying." he said to Jaune "it's about reading what your enemy telegraphs and moving to intercept, In melee there are many ways to victory this is just one"
Jaune looked at his shield then up at Six, he nodded and stood back up with confidence. "Okay Ruby I'm ready!" he beamed.
"Mi Nowse" Ruby sniffled, rising to her feet.
"Suck it up and reset '' Six chastised and Ruby huffed, rubbing her nose where Six had hit her 'damn I punched her hard and she's just walking it off? What a little monster' he chuckled under his breath, shaking his head.
Jaune readied himself confidently, as the timer hit 3, Ruby darted forward with a frown and swung for Jaune who actually managed to block it, partially and nowhere near as well timed.
Ruby hooked her scythe onto the edge of the shield and swung around, booting Jaune in the face.
"Dead. Reset what went wrong"
"I don't know" Jaune rubbed his Jaw.
"Your timing, Ruby is clearly adept at using her Scythe. Although it has major weaknesses"-
"Hey!"
"She's clearly in tune with every inch of the weapon, to the point where she knows how to capitalise on her strikes and even recover from mistakes" Ruby smiled "However" her smile drained "She massively telegraphs her initial strikes, which can be decisive in an actual fight. You just need to pin that timing on a created opening and nail her with your sword".
Ruby cringed at the wording "So what do I do?" she asked hopefully.
Six looked at her scythe "I guess I have been instructing him quite a bit. That aura stuff protects you from bullets?"
"Yeeessss?" Ruby didn't really know why he was asking but she was a little worried.
"Brilliant, let's move you back a few paces then" Six moved her back and Jaune groaned.
"What now…"
"Now, we do accuracy training. For her" Jaune's face paled.
"What…?"
"You" Six pointed at Jaune "lower your center of mass, make yourself as small as possible behind that shield." he turned to Ruby "swap that thing into a sniper"
"Okay" she morphed crescent rose into its sniper rifle form.
"Brilliant" Six picked up his Anti-material rifle from off-screen "Now, follow how I square myself" he dropped to one knee,he pushed the rifle into his shoulder and held it tight into it by grabbing his receiver and pushing back.
Ruby tried her best to follow "Alright, now what?".
"Well, there's your target" he aimed down the sights at Jaune, he squeezed the trigger and a shot rang out, Jaune went flying back off his feet "Just do what I did." Six pulled the bolt back and the smoking round clambered to the floor.
'Easier said than done' she grumbled and put her eye to the sights.
"Jaune, I want you to run full pelt at her." Six walked over to the boy panting on the ground.
"1-.. 1 second" he huffed.
"No. No seconds, up." Six walked over, grabbed him by the hoodie and hoisted him onto his feet "will the Grimm give you seconds to recover?"
"Will the Grimm have Sniper Rifles?" Jaune asked
"You giving me cheek?"
"No sir!"
"Good, now run to at her"
Jaune stared down the sniper, sweat beading on his forehead then looked at Six who was walking off to the side then to the clock which chimed. His face lit up with relief.
"That is the end of today's lesson" Glynda spoke up from her side of the room. "I hope you all learned something today. I'll see you all on Thursday for further combat studies."
All the students began funnelling out of the Auditorium. "Did you really have to do that?" Glynda said, walking over to Six.
"What?"
"You punched Ms. Rose in the face and shot Mr. Arc"
"It's how I learned. Anyway, if they need to learn fast, hands-on training is the best they'll get." Six shrugged and Glynda put her face in her palm.
"I told you to be gentle"
"That was me being gentle."
—
"Ruby, he punched you. In the face," Yang fumed to her sister "let me see it, what if it's broken!?"
"Yang! Stop it! I'm fine, It was sparring anyway, I'm supposed to get hurt"
"Well. He can spar with me next time, see how he feels when he's punched in the face"
"Honestly. Doting on her like she's a child won't make it any better" Weiss remarked, Yang glared down at her. "And he made some good points as well, you do make very large openings".
"I thought you weren't taking advice from someone who fought with 'pure stupidity'" Blake spoke up and Weiss turned her nose up with a huff.
"I'm not. He just happened to make some valid points about an inexperienced student".
Blake went to rebuke her but something made her stop suddenly, her bow twitched and her eyes darted around.
"Blake?" Yang turned to her partner "What's wrong?" she looked around, following her partner's eyes.
"Someone is following us"
"Like. Stalking?"
"Yes and they're" she looked to the vent cover above her and met the gaze of two Golden eyes, their pupils inhumanly wide, narrowed to a panicked pinprick as she met their gaze. "There"
The eyes darted back into the vent and hurried clambering could be heard.
"Man that's creepy, I didn't think I'd be that popular within the first week". Yang shuddered.
"Do we follow them?" Ruby asked, looking at the vents bewildered.
'Those eyes. A Faunus?'"We should, I'd like to talk to them"
"That's the spirit Blake, let's capture them, as an example to all future creeps!" Yang pointed in the direction of the vents.
"I'm not chasing after some scoundrel hiding in the vents. I have business with professor port"
"Okay, guess we'll see you back at the dorms then Weiss?" Ruby asked and Weiss simply turned to leave.
"Yeesh, what's with her?" Yang looked at Ruby.
"I don't know…"
"Well, anyway… Let's go find that stalker!" Yang patted her sister on the back and dragged her through the halls.
—
'How did she see. I was hidden.' The Boy scrambled through the vents of Beacon.'I need to find more info on him. I know he's here. But where?'
—
Six yawned and looked up, he swore he heard something moving through the vents. He shrugged and walked towards the workshop. He had briefly spoken with Port for directions.
As he walked in, he was agape at the size of the workshop. Massive vials of that stuff the kids used. 'Dust was it?' he walked up to one of them 'it's a gunpowder alternative if what they were telling me was right'.
He walked over to one of the reloading benches. "You are free to use the facilities if you need them Six" Six looked over his shoulder, standing behind him in the doorway was Ozpin.
"You know, you are one creepy motherfucker. How do you just" Six made a poof gesture with his hand "appear".
"I'm wounded to know you think that of me" the headmaster smiled "I heard your first lesson with Goodwitch went well."
Six turned back to the bench, reaching into his pockets he procured a handful of pistol primers "Yeah. Those kids of yours are something, that Jaune though. He's stiff as a board, but" Six fitted brass into the bullet press.
"But?" Ozpin took a seat next to Six.
"He's measuring himself to the other students. When It's clear as day he can't compete with 'em, but what he doesn't realise is if the stupid kid would let himself learn at his pace he's got talent for it. Took him all of 2 tries to partially parry Ruby's scythe, give him a month and he'll have it down" Six pressed his .357 and Ozpin 'hmmed' at his assessment.
"I'm glad I am not the only one who sees the potential in that boy. Furthermore, it is good you are involving yourself so dutifully already, I had expected you to take longer to get used to working with them"
"Hey, you keep your end of the deal and I'll give these kids all the tricks I learned in the wasteland. Well, maybe not all." he gave a low chuckle "And I've worked with lots of people. Caravans, con men, tribals, mad scientists and militaries. Point is, It isn't the first time I've been dropped in the deep end and had to make quick friends." Six placed the primer in his newly fashioned bullet.
Ozpin nodded "You have a storied past, that much is obvious." sip "If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to find me" he went to get up
"I have a few, if you ain't too busy"
"Of course," Ozpin smiled, re-seating himself.
"Dust, this stuff isn't Gunpowder. What is it?" Six held up a vial of powdered dust.
"Ah yes, Gunpowder is commonplace where you're from. Dust is a much more valued resource in our society, Gunpowder was phased out many years ago as its primary purpose was simply firearms whereas Dust as a resource can be used in a variety of ways. Additionally when combined with Aura it has… additional properties."
"Like the fire, ice and lightning and what not I saw the kids using against the Nevermore."
"Exactly, Dust is primary in our fight against Grimm. It gives us a great amount of versatility in combat and can after being paired with Aura be activated with Semblances as well to create even more varied effects".
"Christ. That's a lot to think about." Six rubbed his temple
"It's a lot you'll have to think about unfortunately because your assisting in teaching the combat class"
"Yeah I know" Six sighed "The Schnee girl looks like a great team asset because of them Glyphs of hers."
"They are indeed. I look forward to seeing how the students progress under your guidance Six" Ozpin sipped his coffee "anything else?".
"Have you found anything, an angle? On how to get me back?" Six asked, his left hand gripping the bench tightly.
"I'm sorry Six. It will take time and it has only been a day since we agreed upon our deal. Have no doubt that I am doing everything I can do to find out whether or not I can send you home"
'You better be' Six thought bitterly as he bit his lip in frustration "fine, I'll wait. I'm just worried for my friends"
"And that, I can respect" Ozpin got up from his seat "I have some work I need to attend to, but I will be free tomorrow if you have further questions".
"Sure Oz. I'll come find you if I can think of anything else".
"Goodbye, Six" Ozpin excused himself. Leaving Six in the loud whirring Workshop.
It took him a few moments to breathe out a sigh of deep frustration.
After a minute he got up, pocketing his freshly loaded .357 mag into his pockets. 'I gotta blow off some steam.' Six marched out of the workshop, set for the firing range of Beacon Academy.
As he walked through the halls, he was knocked to his feet as a mixture of yellow, black and red collided with him. "Ugh", he looked down at the pile of three girls "did we hit a wall?" They looked up at him.
"No, just me" he sighed "what are you three doing?" Six picked them up, righting them onto their feet with a quirked brow.
"Someone was watching us. From the vents" Blake pointed up "we thought we heard them come this way".
"Man, that's creepy" Six trailed the vent down the hall to another corner.
"That's what I said! So we were going to go and see who it was and ask politely why they were watching us from a vent" Yang said, pointing angrily to a nearby vent.
"Did it say anything to you?" he put a hand under our chin.
"What?" Ruby squinted at Six "No they just ran away and what do you mean 'it'?"
"It could just be a molerat or something. Why would someone be crawling through the vents in a place like this" Six gestured around, his hands landing on the many corners and empty halls that someone could hide in and around. "There's no point, you could easily sneak around without the vents."
"It was a person. I'm sure" Blake said assertively.
Six looked up at the vents and back at Blake. "Look, if you're that worried I'll have a look. If someones in there they'll need to come out to eat or go to class, right?" the girls nodded "right. So I'll sit at the exits and set up prox alarms as well, if someone comes out. I'll know."
Yang and Ruby looked to Blake, it was her call to leave it to Six. After all, she was the one who wanted to chase the 'man' in the vents.
"Fine," she grumbled.
"Good, don't worry. If it is a creep, I'll tell you guys and you can have a word with them before I hand 'em over to Glynda." he chuckled "Cass and Veronica were popular too, had to keep the Gomorrah 'scouts' at bay for them as well. Though, I doubt this is the same".
Yang looked up at Six, tilting her head "You said that name in the Emerald Forest. Who's Cass?"
"An old cowpoke with a shotgun and a can-do attitude. She was the meanest bitch in the whole Mojave. If you were on her bad side that was." he met Yang's gaze "She would have liked you" he gave her a warm smile, she shuffled a little nervously at the attitude change.
"Well, everybody likes me so that's no surprise" she returned his smile with a grin of her own regaining her confidence.
His face hardened "Right, get. That's enough reminiscing from me I've got a molerat to catch".
The Three of them nodded and walked past him. Six trailed the vent to its entrance which was out in the gardens of Beacon. He squatted down at the Vent, it looked intact to him. Nonetheless, part of his job was keeping the kids safe. He pulled out a proximity alarm he had looted from the Big MT and placed it on the side of the vent.
He repeated this process for a couple of the vent exits. His Pip-Boy would tell him if the sensors went off.
After a few hours of setting up his net he finally trudged to the firing range for some much needed exercise. It might have been for the better that he took a little while before coming. The place was packed with kids competing for a high score on who was the better marksman.
[21:10]
Six secluded himself in one of the cubicles and loaded his old .357 six shooter that Pete had given him back at Goodsprings. He loaded it with care, this old piece was special.
The Whole setup of this place was so ridiculously futuristic. Six was expecting steel targets or dummies. But no, there was a fricking terminal that would spawn targets for you to shoot.
Six fumbled through it before he got it to work. He spent the next hour blasting his woes away. Gaining himself a near perfect score "I still got it" by the end he spun his revolver and walked out of the cubicle.
He marched back to his given Dorm and slumped into his bed, exhausted mentally from his first day of settling into the Academy. "Man this shit is hard."
—
A woman, a beautiful woman stood atop a rocky, red peak. Flowing sandy blonde hair ran down her duster, a revolver at her hip.
she spoke, her voice distorted. The memory fizzled, she was like a fading mirage.
My hand, I reached out to her.
She walked up to me, her eyes, the most beautiful gold you would ever see. She was a ray of sunshine in this bleak world. A tear ran down her face. My heart, It was ripped in two.
She walked away, down the slope. Leaving me alone on its peak.
"I Love you"
—
Six started awake, as he went to sit up his head smacked against the barrel of a 10mm pistol. His Pip-Boy beeped. "So you were the one stalking the girls" Six spoke with bravado, it wasn't the first time he'd had a gun to his temple after all. He looked past the sights of the 10mm in the searing golden eyes of the one holding the gun.
His bravado melted away as a headache overtook him, his vision glowed green as V.A.T.S covered the world. He went to target the person on top of him, a wiry boy shrouded even in V.A.T.S. 'Stealth Boy'.
Jackson the Jackal, left arm target x1.
He swiped the hand, but even as he did the boy squeezed the trigger. The deafening sound of 10mm ripping through Six's ear rang out in the dorms and suddenly Beacon was awake.
Sounds of footsteps running in the halls, Six rolled off his bed, booting his attacker in the side he grabbed a .44 from under his pillow. He levelled the pistol at the Boy as he was recovering from the kick to his side.
Six recoiled as suddenly 5 more shots rang out, pinging into his gut and narrowly missing his head as he dodged. 'V.A.T's!' he stared at the boy and noticed the unmistakable glow of a pip-boy on his right wrist. Six dodged for cover, ducking into the bathroom.
"I've waited too long." His voice was hoarse.
"Mind telling me who you are" Six looked down at the expanded holes in his gut. Hollow Points "you little shit" Six peaked out and entered V.A.T's only to hear the unmistakable click that there was no one in sight.
Six scanned the room, looking around frantically, wincing from the pain of the fist sized hole in his body. "Feeling it?" Six spun firing at the voice, hitting a radio.
"Where are you!?" Six growled.
"I'm right behind you"
Stab
A bowie knife was lodged in Six's back before being dragged down his spine, almost deboning him if he didn't spin and slam his attacker in the face with his .44. The crack of bone breaking was audible.
'No Aura' Six thought through the pain, reaching back and pulling the knife out, he threw it far behind him.
"Yew bwoke mi jaw" Jackson garbled
"'Yew stwabbed me'" Six mocked "suck it up buttercup, prepare to die" is what he said, but his vision began to blur and he fell forward into the lake of his own blood.
You have been poisoned by 'Enhanced Cazadore Venom'
"See yew in hell ahhole"
"SIX, SIX WHAT'S GOING ON IN THERE" The door to his room rattled, a chair had been used to bar it. The Sound of Oobleck rattling the handle could be heard.
No response from Six, Jackson rustled and pulled out a hammer, hovering menacingly over six.
"SIX, I'M COMING IN!"
'Good luck, locked it up ti-" Jackson careened across the room as the door rocketed off of its hinges carrying him with it to the other end of Six's room, knocking him and the door through a window, flying out into the gardens outside.
Oobleck stood in the shadow of the doorway, a panic spreading across his face as he looked at the scene before him. "Dear god, Six! Pull yourself together man" Oobleck squatted down and flipped Six out of the puddle of blood so he wouldn't choke.
"All of you, stop staring and get help. Find the Nurse and tell her to come here, that one of the staff needs urgent attention!" There was the shuffle of lots of feet as the students that had gathered darted to get the nurse.
Oobleck darted to the window, hoping to get a look at Six's would-be attacker. However there was nothing to see in the dimly lit gardens.
—
The days passed, Six had been loaded with a venom foreign to Remnant. However the Nurse was able to neutralise it with a deathstalker cure. Then came the bloody mess of removing the hollow points that had expanded in his gut.
Of course. Six was kicking and screaming the whole time "I WANT TO SEE THE LITTLE SHIT WHO STABBED ME WITH FUCKING 'ENHANCHED CAZADORE VENOM' Y'KNOW CAZADORES ARE MEAN USUALLY, HOW THE FUCK DID THAT LITTLE DEMON ENHANCE CAZADORE VENOM!"
But when he wasn't having his system flushed of the super poison he was talking to Ozpin, who was very curious to know about the intruder "Who attacked you Six?".
"Some whelp" he chewed on his canteen food "'Jackson the Jackal' is what the watch says" Six jingled his Pip-Boy. "Named enemies are usually tough fuckers. He'll be back, and when he is I'll blow his skull open".
"'Named enemies?'" Ozpin quirked his brow.
"Ah… don't worry about it, it's a Pip-Boy thing" Six dismissed the question.
"Do you know more about him than his name? Why do you think he'll be back" Ozpin sighed, ignoring the eccentricities of the man.
"Vendetta. The guy said he'd be waiting for it. Probably been hunting me for a while now."
"So he's from your continent then?"
"Yeah, he was wearing a Pip-Boy. It's an older model though. I think it's maps will be fucked up here worse than he hasn't found me again yet"
"Six, you will have to deal with this." Ozpin hardened his gaze at the recovering man "I can't have a gun toting maniac free on school grounds".
"Has he shot anyone so far?" Six asked, Ozpin squinted at him.
"No. But even if he hasn't it doesn't eliminate the risk Six. You must find him and detain him" Ozpin commanded and Six held his hands up.
"I will, but he has access to Stealth Boys. Complete cloaking Oz. It's no wonder you haven't seen or heard from him yet. Only weakness those things have is the older pip-boys don't play nice with them and won't totally cloak"
"So what do you suggest we do?" Ozpin pinched his brow.
"He'll show himself, eventually. If he hasn't shot anyone yet he has some restraint. Generally wastelanders see something they like, they shoot, they take and Oz your whole building is nice."
"You are not making this sound any better Six."
"Look. I'll find him. Don't worry, he wants to kill me" Ozpin's glare did not break from Six as he got up. "I didn't realise someone would come after me".
"Deal with this, quickly," Ozpin walked out.
"Right" Six pulled up his Pip-boy, looking down at the list of items. "What can I use to flush out this rat?"
End of Chapter 1… settling in.
–
Okay, so, again. There was no Chapter 1 posted before, what are you talking about? You're crazy :^).
Jackson still exists; he just hasn't revealed who he is yet. I wanted to keep in six having his guts blasted and the tussle with Jackson though, just to put a little pressure on Six.
Next chapter will focus on Six hunting his attempted assassin and teaching the kids more combat tips and tricks. Thank you readers and please if you have questions, leave a review and I'll respond in the coming chapters in the A/N.