Author's Note:
I know, I said I was gonna work on my other story next but this one has just been on my mind lately. When it comes to writing, I often find that you have to jump on the inspiration immediately or lose it.
Also, only now do I realize that Torchwick has bright orange hair, not red. There's going to be a mild discrepancy between this chapter and the last, apologies.
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Disclaimer: I do not own Fallout, RWBY, or any associated characters.
Remnants of a Courier
Chapter 12: Home Away from Home
"So, Roman, who's your new friend," Mercury questioned as he leaned against the back entrance to the White Fang's base. The wait here had been agonizing so when Torchwick returned with some new guy he bit at the chance for something entertaining.
The suit-wearing man wagged his finger in response which irked the grey-haired teen. Roman always liked to look in control and treat most people like they were inferior to him.
"Don't worry Merc, he's a man that can get stuff done, that's all you need to know." The smile the orange-haired conman gave him while saying that almost caused Mercury to punch him… People needed to call him by his name, not some stupid ass nickname.
He shifted his focus to Neo first barely giving the mute pyscho a glance before eyeing the new guy. That armor was definitely something else. The glowing red eyes, the black attire, how heavily armored he was. No Huntsman had dressed like that in ages, this guy's general appearance almost made him look archaic. Most Huntsman opted for lighter armor to move faster and relied on their Aura to protect them.
"Yeah, well, just let the boss know you brought someone new in," the assassin said turning his gaze away. Didn't want the new guy to get any ideas that he was afraid of him. Still, he didn't trust the guy one bit.
His eyes kept moving to the man as they moved down the ramp and into the basement. They'd have to go through the basement garage to get in. Something about the way the new guy moved… The way the armored man seemed to be on edge. Everything about the guy screamed untrustworthy.
"Don't worry about ole Mercury back there," Torchwick said trying to soothe any grievances Six had about the boy. "He's just a bit paranoid is all. This kind of work will do that to you."
The kid had always annoyed him but Roman always enjoyed annoying the Cinder-lackey back. Still, the boy needed to mind his own business sometimes.
"Right, just didn't expect your little… Group, to be recruiting that young." His new friend's words did bring out Torchwick's curiosity. How old was Six exactly? A question for later.
He placed a hand on his hat before turning to his new acquaintance and saying, "well this is the base of operations, our home away from home, our lodge, or at least the basement of it." Torch's eyes moved over to Neo who seemed to be losing interest in the topic. He had an idea.
"You know Neo, why don't you show our new friend around, get some good bonding experience in." At the annoyed look Neo was giving him, Roman knew his words had the desired effect and his Cheshire-like grin widened. "Besides, I have to report this to the boss lady."
The ice-cream colored girl had already pulled out a scroll and was typing something out but he would be having none of it. "No buts," Roman said cutting her off as he turned away. "Have fun," he continued quickly running towards the stairs and leaving. Time to go talk to Cinder.
Six glanced around the rather spacious basement. From what he could tell from outside, they were currently in Vale city, right on the outskirts of it. The building itself looked like a rather large warehouse of some kind though he hadn't seen the front of it yet.
There were boxes stacked upon each other around him. This was likely the storage area and it looked like a lot of the Dust that had been stolen ended up here. There were various other supplies but none quite as important as the Dust.
His head turned towards the other occupant of the room. The pink and brown-haired girl had an indignant look on her face as she tapped away at her scroll. There were a few moments of silence before she shoved the scroll towards him.
The Courier quickly read through it. The message typed for him described the basic layout and occupants of the building. They were in the basement now, which was for storage. There was a floor above this one that was split between a living area and a storefront. They were masquerading this place as a store? Interesting.
Apparently, Torch's boss, her underlings, Torchwick, Neo, and some of the White Fang used this as a resting place. Six idly wondered who managed the storefront while everyone else was in the back sleeping.
The final and top floor of the building was where all the brains behind this operation stayed. That would include Torchwick and his boss apparently. They even got their own rooms on that floor. It also explained that he should grab any empty room for his own on the first floor.
"Should probably stay away from any White Fang members huh?" Six's question was a rhetorical one but as he glanced towards Neo she shrugged before making some gestures with her hands. First, she pointed at him then at the top of her head.
"It's on my head if I mess with them huh," he replied, translating her gestures into something almost meaningful.
A thought seemed to go through the girl's head as she smiled and grabbed his arm before pulling him towards the stairs after Roman. Grey concrete walls were soon replaced by more modern-looking drywalls.
It looked like they were on the backside of the first floor, in a hall. There were plenty of rooms branching off from it and at the other end of the hall was another set of stairs leading up.
The rather small woman led him by the arm and he didn't put up much resistance. She definitely acted weird for a criminal and especially for a likely murderer. Six would go along with her until she was satisfied so he could leave. He needed to prepare for whatever job Torchwick planned on giving him.
The oddly happy girl pulled him up to a door and into a room that looked like a kitchen. Stoves, counters, and several other general appliances were in there along with a few White Fang members.
As the two entered the room, there were a few stares from the White Fang lackeys. Most were either distrustful or uninterested. A select few looks were of disdain.
The racists that were created to counter other racists. The Faunus here definitely held a hatred for humanity because of their mistreatment. In his travels, the Courier found that such illogical needs for revenge usually got you killed.
Of course, Six himself was exempt from such scrutiny. His revenge was completely logical. They had wronged him so he simply had to show what happened when you mess with the Butcher of House. Okay… Yeah, it hadn't been the greatest plan and was a bit illogical and driven by base emotions. At least it wasn't racist.
His train of thought was interrupted as Neo pulled him over to the fridge before pointing to the freezer at the top. The Courier glanced from the freezer to her. She was too short but couldn't she use her almost super-human abilities to get it herself?
Joshua let out a sigh as he reached up and opened the freezer. There was a carton of ice cream and based on the girl's name and her general childlike attitude, he could guess what she wanted.
After handing her the ice cream, Neo looked like the happiest kid in the world. It was also apparent she no longer needed his help as she turned and walked away to find a spoon, all without even saying thanks.
Six turned and headed for the door, he couldn't help but analyze his own behavior. It was a bit hypocritical calling Neo and Mercury kids. He was probably only a few years older than them. But there was something about the way they acted that made him think of them as such.
It didn't help that they had grown up in this civilized world so Joshua saw them as being almost sheltered in their personalities. It was a mostly civilized world.
Still, he needed to go get his gear ready, especially his Stealth Suit. He imagined that was probably what he was going to be using the most in the service of such criminals. He'd push such self-scrutinizing thoughts to the side for now.
As he exited the room and entered the hall, Six spotted Torchwick at the end of it. The suited man seemed to be walking and talking with some woman dressed in a red dress. The look she was giving and the way her confidence seemed to seep into the room meant she was probably the boss Torchwick mentioned.
The orange-haired man turned and pointed to Six with a grin as the woman turned to him. Those bright eyes were calculating; judging what risk he posed and what benefits he could provide. Torchwick may have been the frontman but she was definitely the brains of this show.
Six crossed his arms in response, waiting for them to be done with their little show and tell featuring him. He wouldn't be intimidated by this. He'd faced down Legate Lanius and convinced the guy to run.
There seemed to be an almost silent contest of wills between the two before she turned away. She and Roman proceeded upstairs, leaving the Courier to his own devices. That was fine with him.
He spent the next few minutes scanning each room before finding an empty one and claiming it as his own. A desk and a bed, the only two comforts in the room. The only two things he really needed. Six had made sure that his room didn't have any windows either. No use for structural weaknesses.
The Courier got to work, setting some of his gear on the desk before moving to secure the door. By secure, he obviously meant trap the hell out of it for any uninvited guests. After he got that done, Six would move to make sure that his gear was all ready for whatever mission was to come next.
Still, this was going to take a while…
Author's Note:
Hey peeps, let me know if you think I'm getting the characters Neo and Mercury right so far. I'm trying to stay relatively true to the characters in the show.
Likewise, we also get to see more actual characters from the show. It only took nine to ten chapters but we're finally meeting them. Let me know what characters from the show you want to see next. I can't promise they'll make an appearance but it may change plans I have for the future!
Current Gear:
Burned Man's Armor
Elite Riot Gear
Modified Stealth Suit Mk. II
Mysterious Magnum
Rebreather
Maria
Survivalist Rifle
Modified Anti-Material Rifle.
YCS/186 Gauss Rifle variant.
C4 – Plastic explosives (10)
Detonator.
Frag Grenades (5)
Frag Mines (0)
Combat Knife.
Plasma Grenades (10)