You get bored of dying after a while. The Courier died many times before, both physically and who he was as a person. Him before Benny might as well be a completely different person, one brave enough to traverse the Divide, and create the prospering town of Hopeville… and subsequently destroy it, albeit indirectly.
He walked around the morgue with Mint, who was disguised as a paramedic. He pulled out some dead bodies as he checked each one's toe tags. Some dead students here and there, a couple of old people or people unfortunate enough to die before he began his extermination of the Grimm, a lot less than what he expected. He pulled out another corpse and scanned the body, "Found it," the Courier reached out with his one arm and brushed aside the cloth covering up the corpse, "Mint, cut this guy's right arm off with your sword."
"Uh…" Mint hesitantly took out his katana, "Okay…?"
The Courier clicked his tongue and grabbed the katana out of Mint's hand, "I don't have time for this," he muttered, bringing the katana down on the corpse, severing the dead man's right arm at the elbow before he throws the blade back at Mint, who caught it shakily. The Courier then grabbed the arm and lined it up with his stub. He sighed, "Mint, hand me the sword again."
Mint handed him the sword without any fanfare this time, the Courier rolled up his right sleeve as he peered down at his stub, he brought down the katana on his stub, cutting off a small chunk of it as blood began gushing out, "Oh shit!" Mint panicked, the Courier dropped the katana and grabbed the corpse's right arm from the ground.
"Let's do this again…" he lined the arm up with his stub, hissing as he felt the stinging pain from his freshly cut wound, "Stealth Suit," he whispered, making sure Mint doesn't overhear, "Inject me a dose of Med-X and several Super Stimpaks, please and thank you."
"Sure thing!" the Stealth Suit cheerily replied back, not too loudly because she is supposed to be a STEALTH suit after all.
Mint watched in horror as the dead man's arm began knitting itself to the Courier's stub. He flexed his fingers a bit, twisting his wrist here and there to get a feel of the arm, "Aren't you afraid of getting infected, sir?" Mint asked warily.
"Nah," the Courier shook his head, looking down at his arms, one newly acquired one that was discoloured, while the other was covered in burns, "I don't get infected anymore."
Mint tilted his head at this, the Courier just sighed, "Don't ask too many questions," his Duster then appeared on his back, so did his Beret… but not the Lucky Shades… no, because that bitch destroyed them… "We're going to get to Patch first and foremost, pick up Johan and Lavs, and then go to Menagerie for a meeting with Khan."
Mint nodded, the Courier continued, "I assume that you have a bullhead ready?" Mint nodded vigorously.
"I do! It's just outside the morgue, I used it to transport you here, sir," Mint then scratched the back of his head, "Although… technically you're supposed to be dead…"
"Right, that does put a dampen on things doesn't it?" he rubbed his chin, "Do the people know that I'm dead or only a select few?"
"Only a couple of people, but the news will come soon enough," Mint walked towards the exit, the Courier followed close behind, "Your uh… acquaintance? Qrow, he knows that you're dead, and probably all of Beacon knows as well."
"Shit," the Courier cursed under his breath, "I might have to come up with a new name again," he slapped his forehead and sighed, "Ah… who cares, it's not like we're going to see them again anytime soon."
"Well, unless they want to travel to Vacuo for whatever reason instead of staying in Vale then sure," Mint pushed open the doors to the outside, the two began walking towards the bullhead, "Although Beacon… I don't know if they'll ever open again, sir."
"Really now? The Academy's done for?" he chuckled, "Now that is interesting… the students will have to find another academy, probably one outside of Vale," the Courier climbed aboard the bullhead as Mint entered the cockpit, "Chances are... pretty likely that we'll see some familiar faces here and there."
"That's Vacuo yes, but what about Patch or Menagerie?" Mint glanced behind him at the Courier, "After the whole 'attack' thing, the students are moving back to their home, and since Patch is pretty close to Vale, chances are we'll see some familiar faces there too."
"Right, Menagerie might be a problem though," the Courier rubbed his chin, "The Faunus students might prove to be a challenge to navigate around," he sighed, leaning back in his seat, "I'd rather they not know that I'm still alive, I did fuck up quite a lot of things during that plan."
"Well, I wouldn't really say that you 'messed up'," Mint scratched the back of his head, sheepishly smiling, "Other than Cinder getting away, I'd say that it was pretty good! Almost everyone's still alive and Vale is virtually Grimm-free!"
"Well, yeah, but I don't really care about all that," the Courier huffed, looking out the window of the bullhead, seeing mainland Vale pass by as they approach the small island Patch, "Cinder getting away is enough for me to call the plan a failure," he sighed, looking back at the destroyed Beacon Academy, "What a mess…"
"Mint, throw me your Scroll," the Courier walked towards the cockpit, grabbing the Scroll as Mint chucked it behind him, he dialled Lavs' number and waited.
"What is it this time, Mint?" Johan's voice came through the Scroll, annoyed, the sound of shuffling cards played idly in the background.
"Johan, where are you and Lavs in Patch?" he could hear her physically stiffen the moment he talked through the Scroll.
"A- Ah, right, Greenhorn and I were taken in by a family, we're staying at their house for the time being," the sound of wood creaking played through the Scroll, "I'll send you the location via message, sir."
"Good, is Lavs safe?"
"Yeah, Greenhorn looked a lot happier than she usually does," Johan chuckled, "So… Vacuo?"
"Correct, but Menagerie first," the Courier craned his neck, "Do you have family in Menagerie, Johan?"
"Yeah, my Ma and Pa were White Fang once," Johan sighed, "That was before Sienna Khan came into power, they got dissatisfied and left."
"How come you're here then?"
"I ran away from them, didn't listen to a word they say when I joined," she let out a weak chuckle, "I- I don't think I can face them again," Johan shook her head, "It's been a couple of years now, I don't know if they'll forgive me."
"That's understandable," the Courrier said, "We'll talk face-to-face later, Mint and I are on our way there."
"Great, see you soon then, sir."
Now's a good time to reflect on his actions, the Courier thought, something he learned from Joshua back in Zion. To truly become stronger, one must know themselves more than the enemy. He sighed, realizing that he got himself into deep shit again because of his incessant lying and natural curiosity.
He lied about having the qualifications of a caravan guard when he joined the Happy Trails Company; his curiosity got the better of him and he got kidnapped both to Big MT and the Sierra Madre; but the Divide… the Divide was the first time that the Courier had told the truth and nothing but the truth.
Ulysses… the Courier remembered him sparsely, only glimpses from his past life, before he got domed by Benny. A few surprise appearances here and there, especially when he travelled through Hopeville before it was destroyed. To be honest, Ulysses had every reason to be mad at the Courier, even though his vengeance was motivated by emotions rather than logic.
The Courier didn't destroy Hopeville, the thing that he delivered did, and he was only doing his job.
He resented Ulysses for a time, always wondering why he let that man live after the hell he force him through…
"Sir! We're approaching the landing pad now!" Mint said, turning around to glance at the Courier.
"Yeah, yeah, got it."
"Thanks Taiyang," Johan nodded her head as she took a sip from the teacup, "Told you there's still good people out there," she smirked as she nudged Greenhorn, who just jumped when she felt Johan's elbow touched her sides, "What? Still jumpy?"
"After what I went through with Courrier," Greenhorn took a sip out of her cup as she shook her head lightly, "You don't even know the half of it."
Johan leaned back on the couch, she missed this peace, this familial atmosphere that she once had… Taiyang and his daughter Ruby were sat in front of them, a pile of cards laid out on the coffee table as the four of them played some games. Qrow was there too, although he's not allowed to play since that'll make the game just not fun anymore.
"NO!" Taiyang grabbed his hair as he groaned, "Argh! This is the third time this has happened!"
"Sucks to suck big guy," Qrow jeered from the sidelines, "How about you get better then?"
"Get better? Qrow, this is a game of luck!" he motioned to the cards, "Y'know, you might be the reason why I'm losing so much! Go stand next to Ruby instead."
"Ha! You wish."
"Oh man…" Ruby just chuckled, "Guess you don't have to do chores for the next week, Ruby…"
"Yay!" she cheered, throwing her hands up in the air, "High five uncle Qrow-" her words were interrupted by a knock on the door.
"I'll go get it-" Johan started before being stopped by Taiyang, "No, no, it'd be rude if I have my guests do the work."
He stood up and walked towards the door before suddenly it swung open, despite it being locked from the inside. Taiyang assumed a combat position and so did Qrow as they see a silhouette of someone standing in the doorway. The person stepped into the house, scratching the side of his neck, "Hi, is Johan here by any chance?"
"Mint?" Johan walked out to greet the man, "Where's… uh…"
"I'm here," Qrow gasped as he saw Acting Commander Courrier walk into the house like he owned the place, "Johan, Lavs, we're leaving."
"Wait, wait, who are you people?" Taiyang raised his fists, "And what business do you have with our guests?"
"Oh, hey Qrow, how's it hanging," Courrier waved at the man before turning to Mint, talking about something that Johan can't hear. She noticed Qrow grabbing Taiyang's collar and saying something to him.
Taiyang's eyes widened after Qrow finished whispering to the man, the two of them turning to look at Courrier warily, "Courrier… how are you still alive?" Qrow asked slowly, glancing at the strange discoloured right arm of the Acting Commander.
"I have my methods," he scratched the back of his head before turning to Johan, "Where's Lavs?"
"Dad? Who is it-" Ruby froze when she looked at Courrier.
"Oh hello Ruby," he addressed the child before turning back to Johan, "So?"
"She's back there in the living room, I'll go get her for you," Johan turned to leave, "but... do we really have to leave? I mean, this place is nice right?"
Mint nodded, "Well yeah but we're running a tight schedule here-" "Eh, not really."
Courrier waved his hands dismissively, "What's the harm of staying for a few days here? Might as well rest to get our strength back," he turned to Taiyang and Qrow and bowed slightly, "We'll be going after we talk to Lavs."
Qrow was at a loss for words, and it seems like Ruby was too. He grimaced, they were just talking like Qrow and Ruby wasn't there… Courrier acted too casual for someone who got their arm ripped off and several holes punched into them… although that arm… it looked off.
"Courrier…" "Mr. Courrier…" both Qrow and Ruby spoke at the same time.
He just turned to them, "Hm?"
"How are you still alive?" Qrow asked, narrowing his eyes.
"I have my ways," he shrugged; Violet then pulled Greenhorn out to the front door as well.
"Ah, good to see you Lavs," Courrier smiled warmly, strange… "I was thinking about departing for Menagerie… but maybe staying here for a few days or weeks or so to get our strength back would be the right idea."
"Is it okay, sir?" the mint-coloured haired man asked, "I mean… the meeting and all that, do we have the time to rest?
"We do," he patted Lavs on the shoulder, "Well, if you aren't going to invite us into your home then we'll set up came elsewhere," Courrier turned away, waving a hand behind him, "See ya."
…
What did he mean by 'he has his ways'? Was his hypothesis so long ago true? That Courrier was another immortal like Ozpin? Now that… that just raises more questions… questions that Qrow needed to be a lot drunker to even address.
Ruby tried to dash towards Courrier to give him a hug but Qrow stopped her in her tracks, "What? Why?" she asked, pouting.
"Call it… intuition," Qrow responded vaguely, "Something's off about him…"
We're close to the end of Volume 3! And that means I can now be more lenient in what the Courier can do, since he's no longer bound by any obligation to work for Ozpin since the guy's fucking dead.
It's time to talk about things!
Stories like Mushoku Tensei and Rising of the Shield Hero really grinds my gears, the fanbase for the shows especially. So imagine my delight when I come across a fanfic of John Brown getting isekaied and freeing the slaves in the new fantasy world that he got dropped into.
Remember kids, anime fans are fucking weird. You can enjoy anime and media freely, I'm in no position to force you to stop watching or anything, and just because a piece of media has a problematic part to it doesn't make the entire thing problematic. Hell, I watch Vinland Saga and the story made you empathize with a literal mass murderer in the form of Askeladd.
No, the problem arises when the fans try to justify the problematic shit.
This happens mostly in Isekai shows like Mushoku Tensei and Rising of the Shield Hero. Hell man, you go to r/anime or places where they discuss these things and you'll find droves upon droves of people saying that "Naofumi was a good slave owner so its fine and that Raphtalia loving him and being a potential romance partner is also fine" despite the fact that she's fucking 10 and that there are no good slave owners except dead ones.
Sorry, I just have a really strong opinion on slavery. So let's go through the whole 'good slave owner' thing shall we?
People say that Raphtalia (in the beginning of the story) genuinely likes Naofumi. Now I'm referring to when she was first bought by him. For that, I raise a a counterpoint. Slaves usually try to appeal to their master, like showing affection or acting like they actually like them, this is a way for them to deter punishment, not out of genuine feelings for the master. Added onto the fact that she has a slave shock-collar mark thing on her neck and that's just fucking wild.
Some people will say that 'Raphtalia wants to be a slave for Naofumi' which is, first of all, fucking insane. I dropped the show entirely when Raphtalia (after being freed) purposefully get the slave mark put back on her because she wanted to be with Naofumi.
Oh my fucking god.
Sorry for my ramblings. I hope you enjoyed the chapter though.
Thanks for reading!
