Author's Notes:

Chapter fifty, wow. Four years and fifty long chapters later and and I'm still not even finished with Volume 3 of RWBY. It hasn't even been one year in the story yet and four have passed outside of it.

Anyways, this was just a small celebration on my part for getting this far. I hope you enjoy the chapter!

Stick around for an important update regarding my timeline for uploading after the chapter! I'm thinking of splitting up this arc into two different volumes as it's going to be quite large. Let me know what you think of the idea.

"Text"

"Speech"

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

Remnants of a Courier

Arc 4: Chaos Theory - Volume I

Chapter 50: Cold War Denial

"-so I thank you for the understanding and I will be back tomorrow. I apologize for the inconvenience."

Six hung up the call he made to the Academy. After all, it was the first sick day he'd taken in the semester and a half he'd been there. He'd even gone back directly after his fight with Adam. Still, an absence was going to be suspicious to Ozpin.

That was also why he'd taken off early in the morning and made a select few stops. He didn't need weapons but he did get food, extra fuel for the journey, and purchase a new motorcycle; jet black of course.

It was very similar in make to Yang's Bumblebee as that was the style of most Vale bikes. That being said, the vendor had promised one thing. That it was the closest model to being completely silent that they offered, which was still quite loud. But mix that with a custom-designed silencer and it was significantly harder to hear. That didn't make it completely silent. Far from it in fact.

If the Courier remembered correctly, a stationary motorcycle that is turned on generally starts at a 70 decibel range. And depending on the model can travel up to over 100 decibels.

70 decibels without any environmental inhibitors could travel up to 2,000 feet (609 meters). But only likely to be heard within 1,000 feet (304 meters).

Six's new motorcycle used a variety of factors from reducing horsepower, to lower acceleration, less treads, and other miscellaneous tricks. It also helped that a Dust engine wasn't nearly as loud as a gas engine in his world. All factors included, Remnant's quiet motorcycles could get down to 50 decibels. Most of that coming from the Dust fuel.

Add Six's custom silencer and he could quiet it another 25 decibels, coming out to a mere 25 decibels. It was around the same noise level as a very loud whisper which could be heard in an empty room.

When starting the motorcycle, a regular human would have to be close to 30 feet (9 meters) to hear it. And that was only if they were paying incredible attention. In the right environment, such as a noisy residential area, they'd have to be standing right next to it.

That didn't solve all the problems. Its decibel level increased to 40 while on the move and 55 at max speeds. Still, at most, going as fast as the Courier could in a quiet open field, the vehicle could be theoretically heard at 512 feet (156 meters) by regular people.

That meant when moving at reasonable speeds, most had to be within 300 feet (91 meters) to even have a chance of hearing him. Realistically, a person would hear him at 200 feet (61 meters).

That was also in a perfect environment like an open field. A forest would help to dampen the travel of sound and a city would dampen that noise even further with other background noises.

If the Courier had to guess, as variables were near infinite in such scenarios. In a forest he expected to be heard at 100 feet (31 meters). In a city it was reduced further to 50 feet (16 meters).

This of course went out the window with Faunus. Depending on their animal traits, especially any featuring specialized ears, their senses can be enhanced. And since animals often heard sounds on different wavelengths to people, it was hard to judge how easily they could detect noise. That likely meant doubling the range or even quadrupling it with the right Faunus.

All in all, given Vale's natural geographical landscape and its capital city, even a Faunus with enhanced hearing would have to be within a building or two's distance to hear his motorcycle moving due to the static noises in their environment. As long as he wasn't on some open field or facing some rare brand of Faunus with beyond superhuman hearing, he'd likely remain hidden.

The reason Six acquired the vehicle in the first place was to get around as quietly as possible of course. Which is what he used to leave and travel out of the city and to his destination.

And thanks to his control over most of the systems in Vale, controlling camera feeds to avoid being seen was laughably easy. The Courier just hoped that he avoided whatever observation methods he knew Ozpin must have in place.

Once out of the city, it was just a matter of taking less well-traveled roads to get to his destination which was a previously undiscovered ravine in the region. A measly few hours of travel outside of the city.

This was where the Voidwalkers would be staging their mission in less than twelve hours. Once night fell, the operation would begin to eliminate the "bandit" presence. Though Six doubted it was entirely that.

After all, this was the report he read a few days ago. The one from an anonymous Councilor, Dream if Six had to guess. And because of that, this would likely be anything but a standard raid. The opposition was going to be either a group of mercenaries or bandits with the backing of backroom dealing politicians. Either way, they'd have better training and gear than some mere thugs with guns.

Which was why Six parked his bike deep in the woods and over half a mile away from the ravine at the base of the mountain. Who knew what kind of defenses they'd have? Sensors, animals, guards, cameras, and more if he was unlucky. Not that it would matter.

The Courier moved his bike to the underside of a tree before leaning it over and covering it in foliage. And just to be safe…

Carefully, Six placed the gravity dust mine on the ground before covering it with more foliage. From there it was a simple matter of removing the U-shaped safety clip and rotating the plate into the armed position.

Once that was done, Six took a few steps back and pulled up his Pip-Boy. He absolutely needed to not be seen during the early parts of this mission. There was only one armor for such a job.

The Courier took his time donning his Stealth Suit. It had served him well during his stay at the Big Empty and would have been a great help during the Sierra Madre incident. Elijah had chosen to handicap all of them in a vain attempt to keep them from resisting him. An ultimately fruitless effort.

As he donned his modified Sierra Madre helmet, Six prepared himself for the worst part of the process.

"Hello again, your Stimpak reserves should be resupplied at your earliest convenience," the feminine voice of the suit's VI informed.

It still unnerved him to hear a virtual intelligence speak through his suit but the Courier assured himself that it couldn't do any harm. It could only advise him and it lacked the ability to learn.

The black and white suit would normally stand out in most environments. However, several state-of-the-art stealth features like noise suppression boots and even the ability to regulate his lungs to keep him from breathing too hard; the last one being a dangerous feature if used improperly. Most importantly, it also had built-in Stealth-Boy features. Meaning, he could save a couple Stealth-Boys and its outrageous colors wouldn't matter. Combine that with his own upgrades over time like facial recognition and Six was sure he'd have no problem scouting the area.

"Keep an eye out for possible contacts," the Courier replied while grabbing his anti-material rifle, ignoring the VI's advice. Not that it was wrong, his Stimpak supply was slowly dwindling. There would be time later to make more given this world shared most of the same medicines his world had.

Yet another similarity that made no sense. The world felt relatively similar most of the time then the Courier would be forced to remember that Grimm exist or that technology was strangely advanced yet hindered compared to the Atomic Age.

Then the VI finally responded. "I always love being outside."

A shiver ran down Six's spine but he pressed on, activating the Stealth-Boy features of the suit. Whoever thought to give it such a life-like personality was a truly twisted individual.

At least the trek to the ravine was quiet. Just a nice stroll through the woods as he watched for any sign of defenses. There were none yet but Six knew at any point a patrol could come through.

"I haven't seen the outside of a mountain before," the VI quipped as Six's gaze turned to the mountain. Funny enough, it was the Jade Mountain, situated along the mountain range that served as the City of Vale's natural defenses. The reason it was funny was due to it being next to Mountain Glenn or Mount Glenn where Roman's operation was to take place.

Jade Mountain had an almost unnatural greenish hue to it, something about the local geology of the location, or perhaps more specifically the petrology of the region. In other words there were certain minerals in the ground that leaked into the flora and rocks of the region; turning a good chunk of them an almost reflective green. From a distance, the entire mountain almost seemed to glimmer in the sun. The reflected light even turned the Jade River green, hence the name. Said minerals were also rumored for why Wind Dust was often found on the mountain, leading to more than a few studies.

Not that any of that mattered when a red pip finally came up on his compass before quickly being followed by, "uh-oh, more baddies up ahead." Earning another look of disgust from the Courier. He could turn the VI off but then he would lose out on the facial recognition features of the suit.

But more enemies were to be expected. After all, he had arrived at the ravine. And not more than a couple feet out towards the edge of the drop did Six spot a mine-

"Psst, there's a mine there. You should probably get rid of it."

There wasn't just one mine actually. There were several scattered along the side of the drop. Easy to detect when your eyes and helmet could detect the vapors associated with the ingredients in a mine. That would be a problem for his Voidwalkers… Unless he took care of it first. Before that, Six needed an estimate of their fighting force.

Stepping out to the edge, the Courier estimated that at his current position the depth of the ravine was roughly 200 feet (or 61 meters) but its greatest depth was roughly 500 (152 meters). Doing a quick mental measurement in his head, Six figured the ravine to be about 300 feet wide (91 meters) too.

It was obvious why the criminals had made this their base. Instead of a cliff at the side of the ravine, the walls curved inward at the top, creating a sort of roof for the ravine with a sliver of light pouring in through the gap at the very top. Right now, there was probably a large drop right under the Courier.

A small stream ran down the slope further into the ravine before reaching what looked like a small crevice that led into some sort of cave. Lifting his rifle, Six could see that the entrance looked like it could fit four, maybe five people. The Paladin would maybe fit through there.

All throughout the ravine were several tents plus wooden and steel barricades setup. About half a dozen turrets both automated and otherwise were in place as well. Then came what looked like a couple of heavily armored civilian vehicles that had steel plastered onto them along with mounted LMGs. They even had a Bullhead on hand. That didn't even touch on any surprises they had in the cave.

These "bandits" were well-armed.

The criminals carried what appeared to be military-grade weapons. Most were equipped with some kind of assault rifle and secondary but a few seemed to be holding anti-personnel and anti-vehicle rocket launchers. Though their armor seemed to consist of low-end military gear.

"Run facial scans," Six ordered as his gaze shifted upward.

His eyes eventually settled on the edge of the ravine. Situated at the top and directly above the cave was an outcropping of trees. And it looked like a small sniper nest if the barrel sticking out was any indication. If Six had to guess, he had seen around forty hostiles in the area but there could have been more in the cave.

The Courier thanked the stealth suit for making him nigh invisible while standing still.

Glancing downward again, Six heard the VI say, "I grabbed their facial records, I don't think you're going to like it."

Friche Haunderland, James Duneback, Sonali Bright; all mercenaries for the Dogs of War. The DoW had been popping up too much recently for Six's liking. The others appeared to be either more DoW or freelancers. This confirmed Six's suspicions.

This was an enemy mercenary op being run against his Voidwalkers. Likely being backed by a certain Councilor. While Six had no doubt that his soldiers would win, they would take losses they couldn't afford this close to the Festival.

He'd start with the mines.

Stepping towards the closest mine, it appeared to be one of older make. One that was similar to mines used in Vietnam if Six recalled correctly. Using both his HUD from the helmet to research videos and his own memory, Six began the process of disarming it.

First, the Courier materialized a small pin from his equipment before placing the pin into the mine to stymie the trigger. From there, his eyes followed along the several wires in the older mine before identifying the trigger wire.

With the mine stymied, the trigger didn't go off when Six cut it. One down out of several more mines to go.

Last one finished. Overall, it had taken him two hours to do both sides moving at a snail's pace to not be seen, but that resulted in a total of 43 mines being disarmed.

Now all Six had to do was mark the sniper nest for the Voidwalkers to spot in a few hours.

"Make sure to keep a low head and try not to die!" The VI helpfully chimed in.

Six felt his fist clench as he pulled out his powerfists. The new addition to the gauntlets rested on top of both gloves.

It was a simple grappling contraption based on Blake's design. Which meant that it had enough force to pull a grown man against a wall and turn him into a fine paste. Of course, Six wasn't your average man. His cybernetics combined with his dematerialized possessions made him far heavier. Combine that with his sturdier body and he needed the enhanced grappling line.

Pointing it towards a tree, Six took aim, fired, and… Missed.

"Don't worry, I'm sure you'll get it next time."

Damn Think Tank and its asinine VI's never failed to irritate Six who fired again, this time connecting. He'd put in some time to practice with it later as he was yanked from his position and over to the cover of the tree line.

And that was that. It was pretty easy once he was out of their immediate line of sight. All he had to do was creep up to the nest and plant a nice bright beacon above it. The snipers inside wouldn't notice but his Voidwalkers surely would.

From there he made his way back towards the treeline surrounding the ravine before getting comfortable. The only thing he could do for a good few hours was wait until it reached nightfall.

Eventually, his Voidwalkers would show up, scout the area, mark threats and weaknesses, then start their operation. All he had to do was avoid the patrols from the enemy mercenaries and the scouts from the Voidwalkers. Not a problem in the current suit he was wearing.

"What is a Remnant? Is this not Earth? How strange." Speaking of the suit…

The VI was curious which was in and of itself a worry. As far as he was aware, the VI was just supposed to update him on information he found. It was also why he continued to ignore it.

"Do you think Aura is really a manifestation of the soul?"

It continued to talk and talk. He would've limited its access to the internet if it didn't also cripple the efficiency of the facial scanner.

"If so, then what is a Semblance?"

Granted, it wasn't exactly asking new questions. Those were questions Remnant philosophers had been discussing and debating for centuries.

"And why did Firmware Version 1.6 contain facial recog-uh oh, new arrivals."

Six snapped around and immediately saw the several pips moving on his compass. It looked like his Voidwalkers had arrived.

Moving from his hiding position at the base of a great tree, the Courier activated his Stealth Suit's features as he crept towards the ravine once more.

He could barely make out a few vague figures moving amongst the trees and darkness with him and the Courier's enhanced senses allowed him to pick up on the dark purple and black armor that was creeping through the forest.

Taking advantage of his surroundings, Six made his way over to the edge of the treeline before climbing a sturdier-looking tree.

While the dark figures moved in an almost gridlike formation toward the ravine, Six slowly placed one foot on the tree. He dug his boot into a small groove as he gripped the tree's sides. Then he slowly moved upward.

Careful not to make a sound, Six moved his limbs painfully slow, often completely stopping in his climb to make sure he didn't make a sound. One foot up, slow, slower. An inch every few seconds as his own troopers drew nearer.

With his nigh invisibility, as long as Six moved slowly, he wouldn't be seen.

Halfway up the tree to the first large branch, Six stopped mid-stride as a scout passed under him. With one foot in the air, he held that position as he craned his head down. His body flexed and screamed at him to enter a more natural position but he denied that request. Doing so now would give his location away.

The Voidwalker scout's rifle was aimed ahead at the ravine, taking a few steps past Six and ahead of the tree before stopping. The soldier knelt down before raising a single fist into the air.

Turning his head once more, Six counted the four other soldiers as they stopped and knelt down. Six held his position on the tree, as uncomfortable as it was, so he wouldn't get caught.

His mercenaries hadn't given the Courier much time to get into hiding. A good trait to have if a bit annoying at the moment. Six also had a good idea of where the enemy patrols in the area went too if his men managed to get this close.

The leader pointed toward one of the other Voidwalkers before making a forward motion. Said leader wasn't anyone Six recognized.

That was part of the beauty of the Voidwalkers, complete anonymity on the field and off. If his soldiers kept their identities hidden while off the job, their identical and body-encompassing uniforms would hide them on the field. Only their HUDs and camaraderie would allow them to tell who was who.

Another soldier stepped forward and pulled out a sleek-looking sniper rifle from his back. As he aimed down the scope, the Courier took another step up the tree.

After a few moments of silent scanning, the sniper raised one arm before balling his fist and bringing it down elbow first. Then his hand shot out again and pointed towards the sniper's nest Six had tagged.

They did spot his little beacon after all. Good.

The leader made a few more hand motions and the team split into three parts. The sniper remained where he was as the leader and another soldier moved left. Meanwhile, the last two members of the team moved right. Together they would slowly surround the ravine. Or at least as much of it as a five-man team could manage.

That also meant Six had enough space to slowly creep the rest of the way up his hiding place. Once resting on a sturdier-looking tree branch, the Courier retrieved his rifle as well before monitoring the situation. He was forced to use the sturdier branch as the added weight from his cybernetics and dematerialized items made him quite heavy.

The Voidwalker squad operated like the professionals they were as they kept to the treeline and made their way around to the sniper's nest. A scuffle ensued inside the nest but Six couldn't get a good look from his position. It lasted for only a few moments before the Voidwalkers emerged.

Now that they had taken out a few members of the enemy force, this team would have to move extremely fast and call in the main force soon to maintain the element of surprise.

And move fast they did. After only a minute, the soldiers had lined around the top of the ravine and were glancing inward. They were likely taking note of the same strengths and weaknesses he had.

Well, it was time to get moving. The recon team was likely going to call in the main force soon which meant his position closer to the entrance of the ravine wasn't advantageous.

Six slowly stood to his full height before carefully stepping around the tree trunk and onto a different branch. Doing his best to remain quiet, Six darted from his tree to another, easily making the jump. Aiming for the trunk of the tree and angling his landing, and thanks to his practice with Silent Running, Six only made the tree slightly shake as he did so.

But even that was enough to draw the sniper's attention as the purple-clad soldier turned his head. The Courier remained deathly still as the soldier eyeballed his position. Even raising his rifle in the Courier's direction. But eventually, he turned away and back to his scope.

Good, that would mean Six had free reign to move as long as he didn't go too quickly.

Moving quietly, the Courier darted a couple of trees away before descending to ground floor. From there, he moved around the edge of the treeline until he was at the opposite end of the ravine from the entrance, closer to the sniper's nest.

He was finally in position for whenever the Voidwalkers launched their attack so he was idly curious when the rest woul-

"Uh oh, the rest of your purple friends are arriving."

And with that declaration from the suit's VI, Six was pleasantly surprised as he watched nearly three dozen more Voidwalkers emerge from the treeline and begin circling the ravine. And Six could just faintly detect the trembling of the Earth as something else came closer before halting its movement.

"Your services are no longer required," Six whispered as he materialized his Mimic armor. It was time to get into position and wait.

"That's too bad, I really wanted to look at the stars just a little longer."

Fucking machines.

"Pines, keep sharp."

The Voidwalker couldn't help but roll his eyes under the mask. After all, they were all on standby at the moment, waiting for the signal from the recon team. And they had another team on lookout while the rest of the squads got their gear ready. The chances of someone sneaking up on them were improbable at best.

Having seven squads on hand was more than enough to handle a small problem like this. Putting the Epsilon squad on it with the new Paladin? Overkill.

Still, it was better to keep his head on a swivel.

"Sir, yes sir!" Pines replied obediently as he double-checked his rifle. A habit he performed before every firefight now. One bad jam could cost him his life.

Right now, his squad of five was in a small clearing where the group had parked their vehicles. The other squads around were on standby until the recon team finished up.

"Fog, is the area still clear?" Their nco questioned.

The only female member of their squad turned away from the treeline before replying, "still clear sir."

Fog, his partner in crime as it were. Each and every mission they had been on was together. Honestly, Pines had a hard time imagining a mission without her. Especially so given her ability to track Auras.

From what Pines understood, once an Aura was unlocked, one could develop a sixth sense to find other Auras. That was about all he knew though, which brought up a question.

"Hey Fog, how does Aura tracking feel?"

Their comms and tracking specialist paused for a moment and registered his question before turning to him.

"Are you asking how it works?" She questioned while adjusting the portable signal enhancer on her back. The device boosted her Scroll to get a better signal in the Wilds.

He responded by shrugging. "I mean, sort of? I only have a basic understanding. But what I really mean is how does it feel to uh… Sense another person's Aura?"

Another silence ensued as his partner thought over the question.

"There are a few different ways of sensing another person's Aura. The way I do it…" She trailed off again before finally turning to face him. "Imagine your Aura for a moment. The way it feels like a second skin. Then try to imagine that skin as a muscle that can be flexed and stretched."

Pines couldn't help but feel disgust at the description. Nodding his head, the Voidwalker replied, "disgusting, but also highly intriguing, continue."

"Well, flexing your Aura means you can stretch it outward. You can spread it outward all around or hone it in one direction but go farther. When it collides with another person, if they have Aura, it's like yours is repulsed."

"But it also requires training," she continued while pointing at him. "Right now, I am currently 'sensing' your Aura but you can't notice mine right? That's the difference between training and no training."

She was right. Pines had never taken the time to cultivate any tracking abilities with his Aura. And if what she was saying was the truth, he couldn't feel that Fog was feeling his Aura with her own.

"Now, if you focused, even at this distance you'd be able to tell I have Aura too. Any two-bit Huntsman can do that. But most people when they first unlock their Aura can't sense another person's Aura. That requires them to acclimate and understand how to manipulate their own Aura and eventual Semblance."

The woman shrugged before turning back and staring off into the treeline for possible enemies. "Even if you can sense Aura, it's not a passive thing. You have to focus on an object or person to sense their Aura. In a sense, they have to be in your line of sight. The sole exception to this being trackers."

Pines could already feel himself starting to check out from the rather drawn out explanation. He wasn't planning on getting an Auraology lesson today.

"Trackers specialize in their sensory abilities until they can detect Aura by both reaching out with their own Aura and enhancing their other senses. They can even detect trace remnants of Aura exertion or Semblance usage. Hence, they can track Aura. In fact, if an Aura is strong enough, a person can be identified by it. It's like a thumbprint or signature of the soul."

"You are a serious nerd," Pines commented as he turned his gaze away from her and back to the forest. "I'll stick to being pointman."

A small hum of confirmation came from Fog and it felt mildly condescending. In fact, it felt like she was implying he was stupid. He was about to comment when she continued with the horrid lesson.

"There are ways to mask Aura as well. Certain Semblances and pieces of equipment can suppress a person's Aura, countering a tracker. But the best way to hide your Aura from trackers is by surrounding yourself with other people. When enough Aura is gathered in one place, it acts as a sort of net blanket of Aura, confusing the senses. Unless someone exerts their Aura or Semblance, they would blend into the crowd of other Auras. Plus, anyone trying to focus on and prod another person's Aura is considered rude."

This was it. This was where he gave up on life. Not to an enemy or trauma from battle. But because of the most boring Aura lesson of all time.

"Please stop…" He muttered, feeling his willpower draining from him every second she spoke.

"Think of it like mixing colors in paint. Red and blue by themselves are easy to identify. But if you mix red, blue, and several other colors together you usually get an unidentifiable mess of colors."

Pines would do literally anything to get out of his current predicament.

"Enough," their nco ordered as a sergeant from a different squad sent him a hand signal. "We're moving out, flock formation."

Their squad leader was Sergeant Major Bane, serial 0042E1. Pines would give anyone one guess as to why the man earned his codename.

The serials for each soldier were broken down into a simple system. The four numbers at the beginning were based on when you joined, the letter was given when assigned to a squad, and the last number was your identifier in the squad.

For instance, Pines' was the 94th contractor to join the Voidwalkers and was placed in Epsilon Squad as the 4th member. This meant his serial was 0094E4. Fog's was 0068E2.

The last two members of their squad—Striker and Harps—quickly made their way over before stepping into the designated "V" shaped formation. This was used in conjunction with other squads to comb through an area.

Striker, serial 0044E3, demolitions and heavy weapons expert. As close to a veteran as Bane, almost as ornery, but also less strict on protocol.

Harps, serial 0066E5, squad medic. A quiet guy. Honestly, he creeped Pines out just a bit by never interacting with anyone outside the squad.

Together, they made up the sole Aura team within the Voidwalkers. Which also meant that his squad would be on point for this mission. And since he was the pointman, Pines got to be right at the head of the formation.

Still, he wasn't too worried. Especially when he saw the new Paladin power on. That thing was worth a couple of their squads and maybe even a Huntsman. But it would have to stay behind for now. They couldn't risk giving up the element of surprise yet since the recon team reported successful infiltration.

And since they were on the move, any talking was kept to an absolute minimum. From here on out, they would only use hand signals in conjunction with other squads for communication.

But, as the briefing implied, this part of the mission was laughably easy. The recon team had done their job and cleared the way.

The squads moved slowly but surely toward the edge of the designated ravine. Quiet footfalls were the only precursors to their arrival. No alert yet but they likely only had ten or so minutes before their targets figured out something was wrong.

One of the leaders from another squad gave a forward hand motion, signaling for the squads to advance.

And so they moved from cover and Pines noticed the blinking light in the distance. That must have been where the recon squad took out a nest of snipers. Did the squad place it there? Why?

The sound of Striker patting his chest twice in quick succession drew their attention. He then pointed towards the ground and Pines quickly spotted the oddity.

Only a few feet away from them the dirt had been disturbed in an almost circular pattern. A strange occurrence by itself, but after a few more hand motions from Striker, Pines felt confusion take hold.

Someone had placed mines there and later removed them. And another few hand signs from their sergeant confirmed that the recon squad hadn't removed them. In fact, several other squads were reporting similar occurrences. Who had removed the mines?

A silent conversation was had between the squad leaders using hand signals and motions. But after a few moments of tense silence, Bane turned and motioned for the squad to continue.

Once at the edge of the ravine, their sergeant motioned for the squad to take defensive positions before sending Striker forward.

Their demolition expert executed the next part of the plan. Thanks to the recon team, they knew the defenses of the enemy. They were in a fairly defensive area and entrenched. However, that same defense could be used against them.

That was why Striker along with several other specialists were placing explosives along the edge of the ravine. The plan was to collapse the overarching roof of the ravine down on them before engaging and cleaning up the remains.

Of course, they needed some of them alive and whatever gear they had stowed away. That was why the demolitionists were only placing explosives along the initial descent into the ravine, leaving the deeper parts unharmed.

It would still kill and maim some of them, destroy their defenses, and confuse the Grimm out of them. More than enough of an opening for an invading force to swoop in.

Once the explosives were in place, Striker notified them to take cover by the trees. Their sergeant took the opportunity to motion to the other teams that their squad was done before doing so.

The mission was going incredibly smooth as they got back to the tree line. No resistance, no fuss, just a straightforward job and an easy paycheck. Just the way Pines liked it.

Once the rest of the teams had finished planting their explosives and retreated to the treeline, Bane made a circular motion toward one of the other squad leaders.

Not being a Faunus and being unable to make out the other squad leader's hand motions, all he got for confirmation was their sergeant turning and giving Striker a thumbs up.

Only then did Striker speak for the first time since they arrived in the forest.

"Boom."

Six was almost tempted to hum a tune as the explosions rocked the forest.

The initial series of explosions served their purpose. The top of the ravine expanded greatly as the rocky formation came crashing down on its inhabitants.

Screams filled the forest but were drowned out by the explosions and falling earth. Six imagined that the inside probably looked like something out of a horror film by now.

For him, it was a dream come true to watch his Voidwalkers peak over the sides of the widened ravine and shoot down into it, not giving the enemy a chance to recover. Several of their explosive experts tossed even more armaments down the cliffside earning another series of shouts and hollers of fear.

Dust had billowed up from the explosions and falling debris, creating a cloud that many would have a hard time seeing through. Not Six though.

He got the sight of blood, smoke, and scrambling mercenaries trying to get into position. But anyone that wasn't hit by the initial onslaught was being gunned down by the secondary assault.

And Six got to watch all of this from his safe position on top of the sniper's nest. It just barely had a view into the initial slope into the ravine's entrance. He'd have to move closer soon but only when the time was right. There just weren't enough Stealth-Boys in his inventory to be using them without restraint unfortunately.

That was when his Pip-Boy began ringing. Unfortunate timing.

Six glanced down to see a small screen informing him that Ozpin and Ironwood were talking in their office. It was a tad bit negligent to listen to it in the middle of a battle but…

Turning back towards the battle, the Courier watched as the first wave of Voidwalkers entered through the mouth of the ravine and down the slope or by rappelling down the sides. So far, zero casualties.

Six figured he could afford to multitask.

"-e need to talk." The first voice coming over his Pip-Boy sounded a bit deeper and gruff. Likely the good General if Six had to guess.

"We always do," a calm and collected voice replied. Ozpin most likely. "I assume this is about House again?"

"Losing complete track of a suspected terrorist inside your own city isn't acceptable!" The General reprimanded in an aggressive tone starkly contrasting Ozpin's.

"And what would you have me do instead? Sequester him to Beacon? Not allow sick leave? Hardly appropriate for an Academy."

As Ozpin spoke, the Courier watched the assault. His mercenaries had broken through their initial defenses with ease and the first wave had cleared the entrance of the ravine. But by now, some of the defending enemies towards the deepest part of the ravine had reorganized. The remaining survivors were split into two groups; individuals stuck in the rubble and the lucky ones that had fallen back to better cover.

That left four general areas of engagement. The initial ravine entrance that sloped down where his Voidwalkers had entered, the severely damaged part of the ravine where a few unfortunate souls were still stuck in, and the reorganized enemy mercenaries at the deepest part of the downward slope which led to the mouth of the cave. The last and most important area was the newly widened ravine's edge where many of his Voidwalkers were positioned and shooting down from. Then they'd have to push into the cave last.

The two groups were trading fire but still no casualties on his side so far thanks to the confusion of the initial assault. Soon enough, it would be time to endear "The Mimic" to his Voidwalkers. Six still shuddered at the sheer stupidity of the name. Oh well, it wasn't like he came up with it.

"This is hardly a normal staff member Ozpin. Who knows what he's out doing right now." Ironwood rejected the older Headmaster's attempts at humor. It was a tad strange in Six's opinion to make light of the situation.

And for just a moment, the Headmaster's patience was tested. He tapped the ground once with his cane while replying, "do not focus on what cannot be changed James. Focus on what can be worked on. Like how to keep better track of him in the future."

"Or keeping better track of other problems. We still have no idea who Cinder's other teammates are." The General's response was punctuated by some kind of movement Six couldn't see on his Pip-Boy. Maybe a shift in posture or crossing his arms? "Or have we lost sight of them too?"

There was a pause as the Headmaster of Beacon did something. Six would have to check later but he imagined some kind of image was being displayed. Likely of Cinder and her team.

"You mean Miss Xin and Mister Velafi?"

Six scoffed at the aliases of Emerald and Mercury. Aesling Xin and Markus Velafi, two supposed Mistrali students with a storied background. They both started off as nobodies, either orphans or poor, before joining Haven Academy. A rags to riches story as it were; or rags to Huntsman in this case. Their fake lives closely resembled their actual lives but left out key details. Like Mercury being the son of an assassin or that both of them were terrorists.

"And the other one…" The General's voice was more subdued as he said that one. Six couldn't blame him.

Even the Headmaster's tone was unsure as he responded, "I'm fairly certain Miss Dawn isn't an issue in this regard…"

Carmine Dawn. A name that Neo had taken specifically to bother Six. Fortunately for the mute, she was almost entirely above suspicion because of her childlike behavior. It was either an act or her natural personality to pretend to be innocent and carefree, only to then kill a person in their sleep for fun. Maybe it was all fun for her? The pretending and the murder.

The disguised student had taken to raiding the pantry for ice cream when not around Six, annoying other students, and generally being an oddball. In her short stint at Beacon, she had broken no less than seven windows and a vending machine.

Overall, she appeared too childlike, idiotic, and most importantly blatant to be a spy for their enemy. She was also the school's troublemaker at the moment, having even made friends with Nora. A thought that made even Six nervous. The staff had not stepped in solely because she would be leaving after the festival shortly.

As for Cinder herself, the name Cinder Fall was likely an alias already so it served her purposes well. Not only that, Six personally believed the fiery woman to be too prideful to not use Cinder, though that was unconfirmed.

The Courier watched as an enemy mercenary crawled out from under a boulder only to be gunned down moments later. That kill confirmed that the last of the trapped mercenaries in the rubble had either fallen back or were dead now.

And with the way the fight had been going, it would be another fifteen or thirty minutes before the entire ravine was clear. A pretty good record.

"You don't find it odd that the White Fang girl-"

A loud tap echoed from Six's Pip-Boy as Ozpin's patience finally ran out.

"Do not begin to denounce one of my students over mere suspicion alone." Beacon's Headmaster let his statement sink in for a few moments before continuing. "Yes, I do find it strange that Miss Belladonna has not recognized any of these faces as they are likely in league with our enemy and the White Fang if Roman is anything to go by."

"You know she was formerly White Fang."

Six was tired of Ironwood's incessant questioning but the General did have a point.

"Formerly, and her sparing Weiss' life is why she's here in the first place." Six could tell Ozpin was getting irritated if he was willing to drop the "Miss" act. "Perhaps she may have left before they joined the enemy. Or perhaps something else is at play.

Oh, the Courier was sure something else was at play. She had been there during the mission with Emerald and Mercury to board the train. She should by all accounts recognize them and she had no reason to hide them either.

But after monitoring the fake Mistral team's movements for their entire duration at Beacon so far and comparing it with Gratius' reconnaissance revealed a couple key details.

One, they were monitoring Blake. Using the credentials he gave them, it was likely that Cinder was using the cameras to monitor her movements and keep away from the Faunus.

But Six also noted that whenever they did have to run into Blake, Emerald was always there. Every single time. In the Courier's mind, there was only one real conclusion.

One of them, likely Emerald, had a Semblance that could deceive Blake's senses or mind, maybe both. What that Semblance exactly was, he didn't know. It didn't change their appearance after all. It was the only logical explanation Six could gather.

He'd definitely need to look into her Semblance later but right now he had a fight to monitor.

The Voidwalkers were advancing and had taken to using the rubble as cover. That combined with the other soldiers at the top of the ravine was pushing this small band of dead men into a corner. But after the rubble was a deadzone for cover and the defending mercenaries knew it.

His Voidwalkers would have to cross a small patch of coverless flat land to reach a series of sandbags and small metal walls for cover.

And their reply to this was to send in Epsilon Squad. The one squad made up of soldiers with Aura.

The Courier crept closer to the edge of the ravine as the leader darted forward, taking multiple Dust rounds but pushing through. With the firepower of the enemy mercenaries divided between him and his four squad members, they could easily make it to cover with minimal damage.

Once there, the leader motioned for his squadmates to move forward with one specific member taking the lead.

It was hard to tell based on appearance but Six assumed it was Pines. The pointman of the squad.

The pointman rushed forward to a small bunker that had been blown in half at some point while another rocket sailed past their group and into the rubble behind them. The explosion sent up scattered debris as Pines turned the corner of the building and put a three round burst into the surprised mercenary unaware of his presence.

Not wasting time, Pines pressed forward again–offhandedly putting another round into the downed man to confirm the kill–before sliding into a prone position behind a few sandbags.

From there, another member of the squad threw a grenade over the Voidwalker's head at another small metal wall ahead of Pines.

"Ozpin, this is slipping through our fingers! We need to take a more active approach. Let me put them away, at least until things have calmed down. I'll get Atlas personnel to keep security and we can crack down on whatever plan they have."

A sigh escaped the Headmaster. "How will martial law stop their plan? They want to spread fear and unrest in Vale, your plan caters to that."

The ground rumbled underneath Six as a new threat emerged from the end of the ravine. From within the cave emerged an Atlesian Paladin, a grey standard issue one at that. Had this been their trump card? Unfortunately for them, the Voidwalkers had one as well. He couldn't fully see it from his position but if he moved any closer the Voidwalkers would spot him.

"Even if it did stop their plan for now. We would have no way of knowing who was truly behind this and their co-conspirators. They would merely wait and adapt their plan to strike at a later date."

The large machine fired off a missile at Pines' cover who was forced to sprint away. For his troubles, the Voidwalker received a wall of bullets before diving behind another metal barrier.

"We would be forever at odds and in fear of everyone around us. Unable to tell truth from fiction. A different and insidious kind of war. A war of fear and uncertainty."

A Cold War of sorts just for Remnant. The thought made Six frown. After all, that kind of war was what eventually led to the Last War, World War III, or just The Great War as most knew it in the Wasteland. Only those that had studied what little history was left even knew there were other wars similar that had come before.

A challenger met the mercenary's power armor below him as the Voidwalker's black and purple Paladin began its descent down the other end of the ravine. It was thicker and featured more armaments than the standard issue one.

This was going to be a costly fight.

"A war is better than losing the Maiden!"

Ironwood's words were punctuated by a missile flying from the Voidwalker Paladin and colliding with the enemy power armor. The force rocked it backward for a moment before several small hatches opened and launch bays for several small missiles extended out from the machine; the Javelin weapons systems for the Paladin.

"We cannot exchange not only the freedom of Vale's citizens but the trail leading to the real culprits for a mere chance to stop this disaster," Ozpin replied, his voice still even but it was obvious their argument was about to intensify.

As the machine tipped back forward, it responded by launching over a dozen missiles at its Voidwalker competitor. The purple power armor copied its actions and produced its own launch bays before firing off.

"Then we have already lost!" Ironwood shouted back.

Several trails of smoke covered the air and distorted sunlight as rockets smashed into each other. Even as explosions rang out overhead in a mixture of orange and red fireballs, further adding to the smokescreen, the oversized powersuits fired their primary weapons and large dust rounds slammed into their hulls.

There was a silence between the two men over his Pip-Boy as the two overly sized suits tore pieces off each other. It internally made the Courier wince at the bill piling up. It was just about time.

The sound of someone walking over to the two Headmasters was clear as Six stood from his hiding place.

"Sir, we have a situation involving Carmine and Nora," the unmistakable voice of Glynda cut into the conversation. It was obvious from her exasperated tone she hadn't heard their argument. It sounded like the two delinquents were getting along a little too well.

"I… We'll continue this later James," the Headmaster of Beacon replied as Six used a Stealth-Boy to cloak himself.

"Our enemies will not show us leeway, not if the recent massacre of the White Fang has shown us anything," Ironwood commented as the click-clack of Glynda walking away could be heard.

"I know. But we can't become the monsters we fight."

That was all Six needed to hear of the conversation for now. It was obvious they were coming to the same conclusions as him; even if they were still two steps from realizing that he was five steps ahead.

Cutting off the call and while being cloaked, Six rushed towards the end of the ravine.

Materializing a dark purple Dust crystal and his modified power fist, Six equipped one in each hand before leaping off the ledge.

He looked down, at least a couple hundred feet off the ground, probably more. Below him a series of bedraggled mercenaries looked absolutely terrified of being cornered by the elite fighting force as they fired at them, never realizing what was about to happen.

Making a few final mental calculations, the Courier–still cloaked–turned before firing the grappling hook into the edge of the ravine.

He fell at alarming speeds, likely only having seconds to pull this off properly or break his own bones on landing. That didn't perturb the Courier who tightened the line of the grappling hook only at the last moment. As he did so, he smashed the gravity crystal in his hand.

The way Dust crystals worked was a bit finicky at times. Depending on how it was made, its shape, density, and size, could all have a variety of effects. Then you also had to crush or use its energy in the correct manner to get your desired results. Right now, this crystal was the perfect size to reduce gravity on the Courier for just a few seconds.

And in those few seconds, the line tightened and pulled him forward and down, right into the enemy Atlesian Paladin.

Six landed with a dull thud on the machine as a small wave of purple energy shot out from the impact. What normally would have been a violent impact had been reduced to a gentle landing thanks to the Dust crystal.

Only a few heads near him turned towards the Courier, having realized that something was amiss as the Paladin stopped firing at the Voidwalkers.

The Courier materialized his prototype Gauss Rifle in one hand before firing at the missile launch bay attached to the power armor's shoulder. The force rent the chunk of metal from the Paladin and sent it flying away in a small explosion. And that attack also decloaked the Courier, finally revealing his armored form to the pilot and mercenaries around him.

Not wasting any time, the rifle moved over to the Paladin's other shoulder before destroying the small launch bay on its second shoulder.

Having recovered from the initial surprise, the pilot of the Paladin brought up the machine's arm to smack him off. Not that it would do much good as the Courier dematerialized his gauntlet, gripped the top of the power armor with one hand, and pulled himself up.

Six pulled himself with enough force to launch his form over the top of the Paladin, practically doing a handstand on top of it before twisting himself in the air. After turning, he let himself fall back down and onto the other side of the Paladin, landing feet first on its back while still gripping its top.

With its enemy's primary weapons disabled, the Voidwalker Paladin pushed forward and launched another salvo of missiles at the machine Six was currently using as cover.

The explosions ripped the front of the Paladin he was riding on to pieces as the Courier did his best to hang on.

It was only when the force of the attack combined with the damage caused the Paladin to teeter and fall did Six jump away from it. His feet met the ground at the same time the paladin did, sending up yet another billow of dust and debris adding to the smoke-filled environment.

Everything was blurry for Nars which sucked. In fact, the entire day sucked. First he was stuck doing manual labor to put up some more barricades, then an unexpected attack from their targets, and now they were on the backpedal. But Nars was a trained soldier, a mercenary, so he could handle that.

But as his world slowly grew smaller, as more of his comrades fell, and as clouds of dust and smoke filled the air; it became harder to see what was happening. Panic was slowly rising in him as he realized they were probably all going to die.

And that was when a loud clang rang out and he appeared. A man dressed in black with glowing red eyes single-handedly disabled their Paladin before having it destroyed by the enemy.

He came for them then, disappearing in and out of the smoke. One man had his throat slit, another a Dust round through his brain, and another was lying on the ground with a hole through his gut, screaming.

The smoke covered everything around Nars, the explosions dulled his hearing, and his entire body was numb from either shock or blood loss. Then Nars felt his blood run cold as he froze. He could make it out in the dark smoke, two red eyes staring at him from the darkness.

Its form was obscured but as the thing approached its outline became clear. A dark looming shadow of what looked like a man approached. But if it was just a man, why did he feel so afraid? Why did the smoke seem to almost roll off the figure as if trying to avoid him?

It had to be a Grimm, it just had to be! This overwhelming aura, the Terrifying Presence before him could only be given off by nothing other than the most ancient and fearsome of Grimm. This thing before him was a monster taking human form, deceiving all of them so it could feed without being hassled!

Reason left Nars as he turned away from the monster and scrambled to his feet. As he ran, he could make out vague shapes in the smoke and gunfire going on around him. His head was still spinning but he could see many of his comrades lying dead or dying on the ground. Bullets whizzed past him in all directions. And looking up only greeted him with the jagged opening at the top of the ravine. Between the darkness and fire, it felt like the jaws of a great Grimm closing in around them all.

Then a massive explosion went off behind him, shaking the ground and knocking Nars off his feet. That must have been the explosives in the cave. The last resort if they were overrun. The explosives were meant to destroy any evidence and collapse their hiding spot. The triggering of such a weapon meant they had already lost.

Not that it mattered, he just had to get away from the creature. Hopefully the explosions would kill it.

Nars clambered over the first of the large rocks that had fallen at the beginning of the attack. Just a bit more and he'd finally be out of there.

His gaze turned upwards towards the many purple-clad soldiers coming at him before raising his arms into the air.

"I surrender!"

The more Six saw, the more he had revealed to him, the more he realized how much more was hidden.

The front of his Mimic armor was singed, again, from an explosion. He was getting tired of getting either nearly or fully caught in explosions. Thankfully, this encounter was only nearly.

It had only taken a few short minutes to cripple or kill the remaining enemy mercenaries, a few even taking off and running towards the Voidwalkers. Though, the Courier did agree that their chances of surviving with the Voidwalkers were better than fighting him.

Then he went to the cave to see what was inside. He hadn't made it in within twenty feet of the thing before it exploded along with any evidence he could use against the Dogs of War and Dream. All of it gone in one swoop. Hopefully, his Voidwalkers could get some information from the surviving mercenaries but he doubted it. There had to be some kind of failsafe in place to ensure no one squealed.

Between the DoW, Dream, and this Salem figure, Six was growing incredibly frustrated at his lack of knowledge about the enemies. Even if he took Cinder down, she would just be replaced by new enemies from Salem.

The Courier made a frustrated clicking noise before turning and heading for the destroyed Paladin. It was time to make an appearance and exit. Hopefully, he wouldn't get shot too much.

As he took his first step up the Paladin's arm, Six materialized his gauntlet once more. Even through the smoke the faint outline of the ravine's mouth was visible. The Courier performed a few mental calculations as he stood on top of the defeated power armor.

Alright, now he just had to strike a pose or something. Was that something the Mimic would do? How did one even strike a pose properly?

That wasn't going to stop Six as he stood with his back straight at the top of the Paladin, making himself as tall as possible. Still, the smoke remained a good cover for a minute longer and he was forced to keep that position.

The Courier was just thinking about leaving when he caught the first speck of purple through the smoke. A few moments later and a squad of Voidwalkers was closing in on him.

Sitting there for a few moments, The Mimic allowed the mercenaries to see him. He stared for a few long moments at the approaching soldiers and made sure they knew it was him that had helped them.

Only to a moment later point his arm at the edge of the ravine and fire his grappling line again. With one last tug and activation of the mechanisms inside the gauntlet, he was zipped across the air and to the ledge.

But as he clambered up and made his way for the treeline surrounding the ravine, several more Voidwalkers were already closing in on him. They weren't actively firing at him yet but Six didn't want to test their discipline.

It was only when Six pointed his gauntlet forward and at the treeline that they opened fire, clearly seeing his intent to flee. But unfortunately for them, Dust rounds merely pinged off his armor. They'd need something far more substantial to punch through it.

With one last pull of the grappling hook, Six was yanked past the trees and into the forest. And as soon as line of sight was broken, he activated another Stealth-Boy. He had maybe a handful left of the things but now was an important moment to get away.

And while his Voidwalkers were good, they couldn't track a nigh invisible man in a forest, especially when that man spent his entire life avoiding danger.

The Courier couldn't help but let his mind wander as he made his way back towards his motorcycle. Why was the Councilor getting involved in all this? What stake did he have in seeing the Voidwalkers crumble? Was he being paid or were the Voidwalkers cutting into his profits? It was hard to tell. Worst case scenario, Cinder was onto him, but it was also the least likely.

For now, Six would have to wait and see. There wasn't any evidence to damn the Councilor as of yet but if he kept gunning after his Voidwalkers…

It was a problem he'd have to solve at a later date.

For now, Six disabled the mine under his motorcycle before starting up his vehicle. He needed to get back to Beacon and be ready for the White Fang mission.

Author's Notes:

Before we get into less essential notes, let me go over the timeline I have planned for uploading. That is to say, some of you will not be pleased. I plan on uploading the next few chapters and reaching the end of volume two of RWBY, this will signify the end of the first act/volume of Arc 4. I have decided that after these chapters, I will be going on a hiatus, sort of.

I plan on not uploading any chapters for roughly six or so months. During this time I will be working on three things. The rest of the arc that I plan to get at least 2/3rds of the way done before uploading again, that way I can jump back into a bi-weekly upload schedule. And two side stories for Remnants of a Courier. I will go into more detail about these side stories on the last chapter I plan to upload before the hiatus.

All this to say, let me know if there are any lingering questions or concerns you may have. I will attempt to answer them before the hiatus (which will be in three chapters from this one).

Note 1: I'm not a motorcycle or noise level expert. I did some research and found that motorcycles moving at up to 35 MPH made 80dB of noise. I subtracted 10dB for stationary motorcycles. The distance conversions were made with the assumption that the 70dB carried for 1 foot. Then for every time the distance doubled, the decibel level was reduced by 6. This led to the rough estimates in the story.

Silencers in real life for motorcycles reduce anywhere from 20-25 decibels. With it being the Courier's design, it was of course a high-end silencer.

This was how I reached my end sound distance for the motorcycle.

Of course, that's only for humans. Faunus are a bit more finicky. I combed through my story for any contradictions to what I stated in this chapter but didn't see any. It was mostly Blake having better hearing and she falls into the categories mentioned in this chapter. If you see me contradicting the Faunus physiology statements in previous chapters, let me know.

Note 2: I am also not a mine expert. The above description of disarming a mine is grossly simplified for the story and my sanity.

Note 3: The suffix "ology" generally denotes a field of study. It's not creative but Auraology makes technical sense.

Note 4: I had a lot going on during the combat section of this chapter. I wanted to mix in Ozpin's conversation with Ironwood to show that Six is great at multitasking but also that he's a bit calloused. He's willing to take calls in the middle of battle because he thinks everything is going according to plan. And maybe the two Paladins fighting was a metaphor for something…

Note 5: I debated whether to call the five man teams squads or fireteams. But from the definitions, a fireteam is a four man cell and can be part of a squad. A squad can contain two fireteams and is anywhere from 4-10 members large. Since each five man cell acts independently of one another, that makes them a squad I believe.

Note 6: The scene for Six jumping off the ravine's edge was directly inspired by Metal Gear Solid 2. Specifically, the scene where Snake jumps off a bridge onto a moving ship.

Note 7: Someone asked what Neo's age is. While it's rude to ask a lady's age, I will say that she acts childish/younger than she is. She is, in fact, slightly older than Six.

Note 8: Lastly, I was pretty nervous about this chapter as a lot was going on in both action and out of it. If there's any errors or inconsistencies, let me know.

Gear:

Equipment:

Burned Man's Armor

Elite Riot Gear (Modified: Mimic Edition)

Stealth Suit Mk. II (Firmware Version 1.6)

Civilian Clothing

Beacon Uniform

Rebreather

Maria

Survivalist Rifle

Mysterious Magnum

Modified Anti-Material Rifle.

YCS/186 Gauss Rifle variant (Magnetic Version)

C4 - Plastic explosives (0)

Burn Dust – Plastic explosives (5)

Detonator.

Frag Grenades (1)

Burn Dust Grenades (5)

Gravity Dust Mines (3)

Burn Dust Mines (43)

Combat Knife.

Plasma Grenades (4)

Plasma Mines (0)

WulfsBann Power Fist (x2) (Mobility Modification)