Author's Notes:

This chapter was a lot of fun to write and I hope that shows!

"Text"

"Speech"

Disclaimer: I do not own Fallout, RWBY, or any associated characters.

Remnants of a Courier

Arc 4: Chaos Theory

Chapter 46: Brawn or Deception

"You remember what's coming up right?" Cardin whispered as he picked up Jaune by his sword arm.

"Yeah, I know," the blonde responded as he brought his shield up and into the crook of Cardin's elbow, forcing the taller student's arm to buckle.

When Jaune's feet touched the ground, he crouched before lunging back up and planting his feet on the brunet's chest. Either Cardin would have to let go or risk Jaune grappling his arm. Cardin had noticed over the past few weeks that the little bugger was learning moves from their instructor.

Letting go of Jaune's arm, Cardin reared the mace in his other arm back. Before he could bring it down, Jaune kicked off and performed a backflip before landing.

The blonde rose to his feet with his shield held out in front of him, his pistol hovering just over it. Good, Cardin had been looking forward to testing out his new toys!

In terms of strength, there were very few that could compare to him even with their Semblances. What was more impressive was his raw endurance. Jaune could take a beating thanks to his large Aura but Cardin's Semblance was based around tanking hits.

When activated, Unwavering Judgment does three things. Cardin first gets enhanced strength and it causes his Aura to surge. He also stops feeling any pain which allows him to press forward. He'd never tested it but Cardin assumed the benefits would persist even if his Aura broke. And last but not least it reduced the impact of anything hitting him. He didn't know if it was just blunt stuff or if it could do that for things like heat from lava too. This allows him to chase down his opponents and give them no room. It was why he nicknamed himself The Beast.

Not that he'd ever told anyone that. He may not be super smart like Weiss but Cardin was cunning enough to know the advantage of keeping his Semblance a secret. Only the staff and his teammates knew.

"Let's kick this up a notch then!" Cardin bellowed as he decided to let loose. The larger warrior whipped the shield off his back and held it in his left hand.

It was styled after Jaune's but heavily modified. Its white sheen in the center was contrasted by the black rock-like outline surrounding it. Due to his increased physical strength, the shield was a larger tower shield that could withstand some of the heaviest blows a Huntsman could dish out.

It made Jaune's bullets ineffective as The Beast charged. Cardin could practically feel his boots make the ground beneath him tremble as he pressed his attack. When within range, Cardin yanked his shield arm back before slamming it forward.

Only to hear metallic screeching and feel his shield pass through air. He couldn't see on the other side of his shield but he could feel the scrawny bastard pushing his attack to the side somehow. It didn't make sense because even if Jaune did push it to the side slightly he was sure to take the hit.

But as his shield continued to meet open air, from his left–on the other side of his shield–appeared the blonde. His pistol was still out and Cardin felt several small rounds pelt his ribs.

The Beast felt rage swell up inside him and decided to swing his shield around and into the nuisance. But said nuisance didn't back up; instead Jaune darted forward and behind Cardin, using his own shield to deflect the tower shield. This opened up The Beast's defenses and Jaune let loose more rounds in the taller student's back. With the size of his shield, Cardin wasn't able to get it close enough to his body to hit Jaune who was practically pressing up against him. This must have been how the blonde avoided his first shield bash as well.

"Jaune you fuck!" Cardin shouted as he turned to his right, swinging The Executioner as he did so. But again, the blonde merely ducked under the attack.

While he ducked, Jaune put away his pistol and brought his sword out. Again, the smaller student charged forward and dragged the blade along Cardin's torso before rolling away from The Beast.

Not being slowed by the blow, the brunet brought his mace overhead before slamming it into the ground, shaking the dirt beneath the two as he ejected the Burn Dust in a small explosion. But again, the blonde rolled out of the way of the attack.

But Cardin smirked as he activated the new feature of his mace.

"Fire burns hot, try not to get burned Jaune-y boy!" He taunted while hoisting his mace up to point it at Jaune.

Cardin pressed the newly installed second button on his weapon and a small compartment on the round end of The Executioner opened. He could feel the head of his mace heat up before a bright orange and burning ball shot forward.

But Jaune still didn't look worried. Instead, he brought his arm back, loosened his shield's straps, and flung the small white kite shield forward. Cardin couldn't help but watch in bewilderment as the shield sailed into the burning ball and exploded.

Smoke obscured Cardin's vision. He quickly darted his eyes side to side trying to spot the tricky punk before he heard said punk say, "I helped make your new equipment, remember?"

The brunet adjusted his gaze directly into the smoke and a small white blur darted out of it, smoke trails billowing off Jaune's back. In both hands was the hilt of his sword which was pointed straight at Cardin. His stance was low and he was coming at the larger student fast.

The Beast couldn't help but chuckle at the sight. "If you wanna die so bad, bring it on!" Bringing his tower shield forward, Cardin let out another roar as he charged Jaune as well.

The brunet brought his mace up behind him as he stomped forward, ready to strike Jaune into the dirt for his bravado.

But at the last moment Jaune let go of his sword, sending it sailing to the side of Cardin. In his confusion, the brunet watched the sword sail past him. What? But why? What was Jaune's plan-

But The Beast brought his eyes forward again as he was cast in shade. He had to look up as Jaune cast a shadow over him now. The sword had been a Dust damn distraction! The smaller teenager had jumped up and placed a hand on Cardin's tower shield and was now balancing upside down on his shield with a pistol pointed in his face!

Cardin could feel his heart beating in his chest rapidly as something overtook him. Excitement. This was fucking awesome! Jaune's movements, their fight, and every single exchange was exciting. He couldn't help the goofy grin that crossed his face even when another few rounds collided with his nose.

He didn't even know how much Aura he had left and it didn't matter! Cardin dropped his mace and gripped the tower shield with both hands before flinging it upward. The strength behind the motion sent the blonde skyward at least a dozen feet but The Beast wasn't done yet.

Cardin turned, planted one foot in the ground, and with all his might chucked his tower shield at where he expected Jaune to fall. He needed more!

After spinning through the air, it did collide with the blonde's ribs, sending him cartwheeling to the ground with his hands on his ribs. But Cardin wasn't done yet.

The Beast ran full sprint, stomping into the ground with every step as he felt his adrenaline surge. No weapons, no shields, just him and his opponent.

"Good on you Jaune, only weaklings retreat when faced with danger!" Cardin shouted as he rammed his full weight into the blonde who was still getting up. This sent them both to the ground with The Beast on top. He needed more.

Not wasting a moment, Cardin quickly got to his feet while wrapping both his hands around the blonde's ankle.

"Oh shit," the blonde muttered.

The Beast let out one last chuckle before saying, "'oh shit' is right," and flinging his arms up and over his head. This dragged Jaune along too, first bringing his gripped ankle up before the rest of the blonde followed.

"This is paradise!" Cardin let out as he slammed Jaune into the ground.

This wasn't enough. The Beast picked the blonde up again before bringing Jaune back up and over his shoulder. As he did, he noticed he left a little Jaune-sized indent in the ground. Nice.

Again, the blonde slammed into the ground, letting out a pained wheeze as he did so.

Cardin swore he heard someone talking but he couldn't quite make out what they were saying as he shouted, "let's go again!"

The Beast's grip on Jaune's ankle became vice-like as he picked him up and flung him over one last time. Jaune sank even further into the hole made earlier.

The thought to slam Jaune again crossed Cardin's mind but before he could make a decision something collided with the side of his face. His head jerked to the side from the impact before he recovered.

Everything but Jaune was a bit blurry but as he sat still for a few moments Cardin was able to focus on things other than fighting. Only then did Cardin realize how much pain he was in or how hard he was breathing.

Instructor House stood a dozen feet away with a smoking gun in his hand. The little piece he called Maria was beautiful to look at. Wait, had House shot him? Was that what that was? But why?

Looking back down, Cardin noticed that Jaune was well out of it. Maybe that was why.

"Whoops, shi-oot. My bad Jaune." Cardin got out as he let go of the blonde's foot.

Another wheeze escaped Jaune before he replied, "no problem…"

Making sure to be delicate, Cardin reached a hand down and lifted Jaune to his feet.

"Oh yeah," Cardin whispered as he held Jaune up. "Did you get the thing for Pyrrha then?"

The blonde slowly nodded his head a few times.

"Awesome," the taller student replied while lifting him up and over his shoulder. "Let's get you some food and rest then." This earned a groan from the blonde.

"Oh yeah, hey Instructor House," Cardin called out as he began walking towards the exit of the Murder Box.

House rubbed the visor hiding his face before replying, "you know I didn't dismiss you right?"

Deciding to ignore his teacher, the brunet continued, "you know that Carmine girl you brought over for a tour? Yeah, I decided to do the same for Alex, thanks for the idea!"

And knowing he'd pay for it next time they trained, Cardin darted out the door and away from his teacher. Man, Alex was going to think this story was so cool. He couldn't wait to bring the kid to Beacon!

Six sighed as the two left. Cardin was getting more rambunctious by the day. At least it was in a healthy way now.

He'd ignore that bit about Alex, it wasn't any of his concern. At least he knew Logarius' kid was doing better. Though more people finding out about Carmine was bad. Eventually, someone was going to send an agent to question her. At that point Six would be found out either because Carmine would tell them or when said agent disappeared for daring to come close to the girl.

Outside of that, with the sudden attitude change of Blake since yesterday, like actually getting enough sleep, things were finally starting to look his way. At the very least it made the Faunus less ornery. He wondered if the rest of team RWBY had taken his advice and talked to her. Whatever, it wasn't his business anyway. As long as she wasn't as anal anymore, he didn't care.

He was a tad curious about what Cardin and Jaune were planning with Pyrrha but that also wasn't his business. House already had enough on his plate as is. No need to get snoopy on whatever the two had planned at the student ball, or whatever it was called. It was next week's problem anyway.

Both of them had grown. Six joined the academy six to seven months ago. During that time Jaune had been his trainee for four of them with Cardin. And of that time Jaune had asked for private tutoring from Six for 3 months. Since his six months of training and three months of private tutoring, the boy had grown exponentially.

As he damn well should, Six's training wasn't easy! House always made sure to mix mental and physical training along with practical exercises and sparring sessions. He always made sure to push them to their absolute limits and then some too. It was finally paying off.

Hell, the kid was even getting Cardin out of his shell in both his fighting style and his personality. The brute was shaping up to be a real Huntsman at this rate. If Six could just get that pesky racist side of Cardin under control, a majority of Six's academy problems would be solved now.

And their newest fight had been interesting. Jaune's Aura was in the red but Cardin was in the solid yellow. It was definitely Cardin's win but It wasn't a beat down anymore. Even the tall brute could feel that with how he went ballistic at the end. It was probably the first time Cardin had found someone almost equal to him. Not someone overly stronger than him but not someone too weak to put up a challenge. Cardin and Jaune turned out to be perfect training partners.

Feeling pleased with himself, Six stepped out of the Murder Box and into the halls to see several students staring at a TV on the-a "scroll" on the wall.

"-his is Amberly Flame with RN Inc."

On the monitor was a vaguely familiar face. The blonde hair and sharp features of Amberly greeted him. If he recalled, that was the reporter that talked to Weiss and Whitley after Jacques' death. More interestingly, the older figure with reptile yellow eyes sat next to her.

The man once had black hair that was long past greying now. Wrinkles at the corners of his eyes gave him a tired look. But the sharpness held in those vertical narrow eyes was anything but tired. He wore a black business suit and a soft smile.

"And with me is Leonard Dream-" Amberly enthusiastically began before being cut off by a surprisingly commanding voice.

"Please Miss Flame, Doctor Leonard Dream if you will," the older man said in a voice that dripped baritone with an accent Six would call country. "And if you'll allow me to do the honors of introducing myself…"

The older man trailed off expectantly. It was obvious he had flustered the reporter who had a strained smile on her face and flushed cheeks.

After a moment of recovering, the hardened reporter kicked back into gear. "Of course, go ahead."

The older man's gaze turned to the camera with a soft yet commanding feel to it.

"I am Doctor Leonard Dream, owner of Dreams Incorporated, and current Financial Councilor of Vale."

As he spoke, Six analyzed the way he was sitting. Dream had one arm resting on the arm of his cushiony-looking chair while his leg was crossed over the other. Business casual is what he would call it. The Councilor was trying to appear as approachable as possible but his movements were too sharp and calculated for Six to fall for that.

"I understand the public has some questions for me and you might as well." The older man continued as he looked back over at the reporter.

"Yes… Well, we were actually-"

The Councilor held up a hand as he cut her off. "My apologies, but I feel I should get the obvious out of the way first."

That was definitely a show of authority. Something to remind the reporter of who exactly was in charge.

Those snake eyes glanced over to the monitor as he continued, "I am currently in Atlas as is my duty as the Financial Councilor of Vale to hopefully seal a few trade agreements between Atlas and Vale. Specifically with trade routes along our more northwestern shores and their southwestern shores. If the agreements should go through, it would mean prosperity to the many smaller coastal towns and cities in not only Vale but Atlas as well."

Six could tell Amberly was annoyed as she narrowed her eyes and replied, "that's very nice Doctor Dream. Some of the citizens were actually more worried about the disappearances along the shorelines of both Vale and Atlas. In fact, some have even been going missing along the Jade River leading out of the Capital of Vale, the city you live in."

But the older man kept his cool. He merely uncrossed one leg only to cross it over the other before replying, "that is part of the agreements and deals yes. This is a most critical matter to the Council, fear not." The Councilor's soft smile turned grim as he continued, "we will find the cause of these disappearances and deal with it. And if the cause is criminal in nature…" His gaze then turned to the camera as he finished, "we will give them the highest punishment we can under the purview of the law."

"So fear not," the Doctor said again as his soft features and smile returned. "And rest assured we have the situation under control. It is being worked on as we speak."

There was a silence that filled the air after that. Again, it appeared the reporter was caught off guard by the intensity of how the Councilor phrased his words.

"Right… Onto another matter." Amberly finally got out as she composed herself. "There are reports that Atlesian Paladins will be sold to Vale, is this true? And if so, how can we be sure that they will truly be fighting for Vale and not Atlas?"

"Ah, I see you already heard about the first boon to the trade agreements." His response was instant as if he had been expecting her to ask that.

"First," he continued, opening his arms in a welcoming gesture. "Let me dissuade any preconceived notions you may have. While these Paladins are advanced, our military and scientific minds in Vale are more than equipped to ensure your worry does not come to pass."

The Councilor's smile grew just a little as he held up his hand towards Amberly. "And this boon was offered by your General Ironwood as a show of good faith to help seal these agreements between Vale and Atlas. Why, the relations between Vale and Atlas have never been better, Miss Flame. Even if rogue elements continue to stir the pot when unneeded."

The Faunus shot the reporter a glance. For just a moment, Six saw the threat that Leonard was implying towards Amberly. That she was the troublemaker and if she continued on her path it would end in disaster. More so considering the reporters penchant for leaking classified information.

"So again, I urge both Vale and Atlas citizens to rest easy as…"

Six had enough of the slick salesman pitch as he turned away from the screen. He was trying to defuse some of the tension amongst Vale's citizens with Atlas putting a damn air fleet over their city.

Not that any of that mattered in the days to come. Right now, he had to prepare for whatever Cinder had planned next.

Author's Notes:

Cardin's character is originally based on Henry Beaufort who was the cardinal and bishop that oversaw Joan of Arc's trial. Keeping with his character and original inspiration, Cardin's "Unwavering Judgment" Semblance represents both Carin's steadfast beliefs and the dogmatic ways of Henry Beaufort. There may be a fourth and hidden aspect that even Cardin doesn't know about.

On a side note, I may mix around Jaune's Semblance in the future to more fully reflect his character's inspiration of Joan of Arc. I haven't committed to this yet so we'll have to wait and see!

Also, yes, Cardin is a complete cheeseball and totally named himself "The Beast."

On a side note, here's a spoiler for the next chapter. The next chapter will feature the CCTV tower.

And, At the behest of a reviewer, I decided to clear something up. It was planned for a later chapter but I figure it should be explained sooner rather than later. Blake doesn't recognize Emerald and Mercury (for reasons not explained yet). For anyone curious, I went out of my way to ensure a couple of things for Emerald and Mercury (I even had to go back to previous chapters to ensure I did it right).

One, I have never had Emerald and Mercury use their real names while on campus. Two, Emerald and Mercury never gave their names to Blake. Three, during the operation that saw Jacques' demise, Blake was kept specifically in the dark on the whole thing.

In the show, I believe they go by their given names while at Beacon but I see no reason why they would do so. It just seems like a good way to get caught.

As for why Blake doesn't recognize their appearance, that's a surprise that some of you have likely already figured out.

I was originally going to give all this information at a later date in-story as a surprise but that may have been a misplay on my part as it seems to have created some confusion.

If anyone does notice Emerald or Mercury using their name at Beacon or in Blake's presence, let me know, that's a mistake on my part.