Author's Note:

Sorry for the long hiatus. It's been like three or four months. So, I decided to reward your patience with a few chapters instead of one. A few of them are shorter but overall it equals to about double what I usually upload in one sitting. Hopefully the quality is still to your standards!

Starting next month, I'm going to try and upload a 2,500 word chapter a week to see if I can get on a normal schedule.

"Text"

"Speech"

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

Remnants of a Courier

Chapter 9: Out of Sight out of Mind

Another week, another series of days where Carmine bugs him. Six had been getting progressively less amused as the days went on. He didn't hate the girl; no, the girl was about the only person he currently had some sort of connection to. But it would be an understatement to say she was an irritant.

For the past six or seven days she had been pestering him to train her nonstop. She hadn't made any remarkable improvements over the past week but she at least knew the basics. A little CQC, firearms training and safety, tactics, and even a little of his own philosophy. In fact, Six would say he enjoyed it if not for the fact she bugged him about it every second of every day.

The girl was lucky that the incident on his own world left him with no connections and thus he had clung to the girl. Not in any major way but definitely enough that he viewed her above the average person. Although that wasn't an achievement considering he thought most of the population could be wiped out with just him and a few remaining and nothing of value would be lost.

Currently, the two were back at the firing range. She was learning how to make her own bullets; probably not a skill she would need but she wanted to learn what he knew. And that gave Six ample time to make more bullets for himself as well, and even get a helping hand at that.

It had taken the entirety of the last week but the majority of his weapons, except for the anti-material rifle and his gauss rifle, could fire specially designed dust rounds. The anti-material rifle was difficult because Dust didn't seem to work well when put into large-caliber rounds and the gauss rifle for obvious reasons. The gauss rifle required very specific ammo. In fact, he was pretty sure the rifle would only work with ferromagnetic projectiles.

"Joshua," Carmine said turning away from the workbench Six had made. "When will I get as strong as you?"

Six grimaced under his bandages not really wanting to answer the question. The truth was she might never be "as strong" as him in his own skills. What she really needed was to sprout her wings and find her own skills that she could use to surpass him. In a decade or two… Maybe.

"When you figure out your own path," the Courier replied carefully preparing the Dust round in his hands.

The frown that crossed the girl's face tipped Six off that she wasn't pleased with that answer. "Don't be super vague, I don't know what that means," she replied stopping what she was doing to cross her arms and pout at him.

Carmine's current attitude was both annoying and good at the same time. As he had stayed there for a good bit of time, she had figured out how to push his buttons and it annoyed Joshua to no end. On the other hand, she had also opened up which Six doubted Carmine had done in a long time.

Six set the Dust bullet down before looking at her and saying, "you need to develop your own skills and strengths. You'll never become strong following someone else's footsteps forever." Though if she had to follow someone, Joshua couldn't think of a better man than himself.

The red-head seemed to be satisfied with that answer as she went back to work with a thoughtful expression. At least he had satisfied her curiosity for now.

"How long did it take you," she asked nearly making Six sigh. Kids really did ask a lot of questions.

Her inquiry did give him pause as he turned to look at the tree line. How long had he been doing this? How old was he again? It's not like he had a limited number of years thanks to the Think Tank. He had an extended life and Six wasn't sure if he even would die of natural causes. The benefits of being mostly machine on the inside.

He set out when he was a kid. That was after a few years where he spent it with some fucking crazies; and after his mother died. Six had spent the last year or two in the Mojave or at least near it. How much time had taken place between when he set out and when he made it to the Mojave?

As far as Six knew, he had been traveling the Wasteland for about a decade. He was lucky and started young; many people started closer to twenty and had to retire in a decade or two. Even if he wasn't cybernetically enhanced Six would have had another two or so decades before he would have stopped traveling.

The problem wasn't lack of skill, but rather radiation, damage, and what the Wasteland does to a man. Most men were too injured or old to keep going after thirty or forty. Hell, the average lifespan of a man was around fifty nowadays in the Wasteland and that was if something didn't get you first.

So, time for some simple math. Six had set out at roughly the same age as Carmine, traveled for about a decade, and had been in the Mojave for a year or two. If the Courier had to guess…

"I'd say it took me fifteen years," Six finally replied coming back to reality. Of course, he was counting the three or four so odd years before he had set out as well, training and all. Thanks to the bandages almost no one could tell his age but if he had to guess, the Courier would say he's between twenty to twenty-two.

"That's a long time," Carmine muttered before letting out a long sigh and continuing, "that's going to be forever."

"It takes a lot of time, dedication, and perseverance to get anything worthwhile done." His response probably wasn't what she wanted to hear but it was the truth. His circumstances had forced Joshua to go above and beyond just to survive from an early age.

It was then that Six heard footsteps coming from the woods towards town. He figured it was probably one of the militia goons based on the metallic sound of the boots but he didn't say anything. He waited and watched Carmine.

One second, two seconds, three seconds, and there it was. The girl's green eye finally moved to look at the stranger stepping out from the trees. They would have to work on her perception skills.

"Something you need," Six asked finally turning towards the visitor. It was the messenger Faunus he had seen during their little group discussion.

The Courier watched the guard cross his arms before replying, "there's going to be a Grimm attack in the next few days, Captain wants you to come to the meeting for it."

So, the Captain wasn't as bullheaded as she first appeared, that was good, it meant there was hope for this town surviving after all.

"I'm coming, I just have to get Carmine home," Six said standing up before turning to said girl. "We're gonna have to finish up for today, Grimm on the prowl and all that."

The girl nodded her head seemingly less willing to speak now that a stranger was near. The two quickly packed up the bullets and equipment before following the Faunus into the trees.

"So, what the hell do we call you? Everyone just knows you as the Stranger." The Faunus' question was fair but he likely wouldn't like the answer.

"Six, like the number," the Courier replied before feeling a tug on the bandages on his arm. He looked down to see Carmine giving him a look. He sighed before correcting himself. "Or Joshua."

There was a slight pause in the conversation as the three walked in silence. "What should I call all of you, unless you like me calling you guard one through five," the Courier said still following along.

"I'm James," the Faunus began before seemingly losing himself in thought. "The blonde guy you met is Larry, the Sergeant is John, and the Captain's name is Lirah. Though the sergeant prefers Variance. There are others but those were the members of the Guard there."

Six glanced at the Faunus as he asked, "is there a reason why you're more amicable today?" This guy hadn't trusted him for a second the first time they met and had been an ass until just now.

"Listen, I know we might seem like ungrateful suspicious country people but even if I don't like someone, they deserve some respect." The Faunus' words elevated him slightly above that of an animal in Six's eyes. There was something about being straightforward and honorable that caught the Courier's eye.

"Fair enough, I can respect that," Joshua replied as they neared the clearing where the town was.

Six was forced to draw his weapon when he heard rustling from the foliage to his left. The guard followed suit with Carmine stepping behind him.

There were a few more seconds of silently aiming and rustling before they heard, "don't shoot, don't shoot! I'm just lost."

The guard lowered his weapon but Six remained steadfast and wary of whatever was going to come out. A man wearing a grey and orange suit stepped out from the bushes with a smile on his face.

"My name is Logarius, I'm a Huntsman and I'm looking for a town called Rhyt. Should be close by here right?" The Huntsman's words calmed Six as he lowered his weapon as well.

James pointed towards the end of the trees and to town before replying, "it is. Just over that way, not more than five minutes. We were heading there ourselves." The Faunus stopped giving directions to turn back to the Huntsman and ask, "did the Captain finally request a Huntsman's help?"

Logarius blinked a few times in confusion before the smile returned and he replied, "oh no! You see I was tasked with investigating the recent surge of Grimm activity in the area and I figured where better to get information than a town smack dab in the middle of it all!"

The frown that adorned Six's face was only matched by the curiosity in Carmine's eye. Joshua knew exactly what the girl was excited about as she had been elated when she first asked him if he was a Huntsman. This guy was the real deal and she wanted to talk to him.

To the former ruler of Vegas, the guy was too damn chipper, and the oversized bright orange revolver on the man's waist didn't put his mind at ease. Just like how he had appeared out of nowhere when a Grimm attack was inbound. Six took a second look at the guy again.

Pale, brown hair, a handle-bar mustache, and a large revolver. His suit wasn't helping matters as the Huntsman's three-piece suit in this hot weather made Six question the man's sanity. The outermost layer was grey, followed by a vest that was orange underneath, and finally another grey shirt underneath that. This guy definitely liked orange and grey.

"Well, if you're sticking around, we could use your help. There's supposed to be a Grimm attack in the next few days," James replied looking somewhat hopeful. Six was curious to see a Huntsman in combat. Of course, he didn't miss the idea that James simply wanted to rely on a Huntsman rather than him.

"I might help, depending on how severe the attack is and if it could lead me to my quarry," the Huntsman replied in a carefree tone. The Courier was suspicious of a Huntsman who just happened to show up before a Grimm attack and who had an eternally chipper attitude.

The guard seemed slightly flustered by the response not expecting such an apathetic view on the situation from a Huntsman. James turned and began walking back towards town as he said, "well, we're going to a meeting to discuss the Grimm attack anyways. You can come and decide there if you want."

Logarius nodded his head before following behind the guard. Six and Carmine moved to catch up to the two men and the Courier took position behind the Huntsman.

The red-haired girl moved to the suit-wearing Huntsman's side before looking up at him. "I bet you're really strong," she said in a quiet tone trying to make sure James couldn't hear her. The Faunus' ear perked slightly so Six doubted that Carmine had accomplished her mission.

The other thing Joshua noticed was the Huntsman glance back towards him briefly before turning his gaze to Carmine. Was Logarius suspicious of him or just the fact that he was behind him? Either way, it proved that the Huntsman didn't trust them as much as he let on.

"Well, I'd say so but there are people stronger than me," the man in the suit answered a soft smile adorning his face.

The girl listened to his response her hands fidgeting before she asked, "like who?"

The suited man turned away from her and tapped his finger against his chin. "I'd say… Ozpin of course, Glynda, Qrow, Ironwood, some of the members of the Schnee family…"

Carmine's brow raised in confusion and when the Huntsman saw it he quickly corrected himself, "don't get me wrong, most of those people are some of the best Huntsman and Huntresses in the world. While I pride myself on my abilities, they just don't compare. In fact, Ozpin—the Headmaster of Beacon Academy—is said to be one of, if not the strongest Huntsman there is."

"What's he like," Carmine asked as Six increased his pace to get closer to the two.

"Don't annoy our new friend with too many questions now," Joshua said trying his best to kill the conversation. It wasn't that he really was annoyed by her questions, he'd been putting up with them for a week, but the Courier didn't trust this Huntsman for a second.

Logarius chuckled before placing a hand on Six's shoulder who in turn had to restrain himself from reacting violently. "It's no worries; Ozpin, well frankly he's a mysterious fellow," Logarius answered removing his hand from the Courier's shoulder.

"He's always wrapped up in a mystery but he does look out for his students. The man trains future Huntsman and Huntresses now, like me." As the man paused, Six took time to process his words.

Ozpin seemed like he would be a problem to his plans. A higher-up who was mysterious and protective of his students, it was a good idea to stray away from any such man for now.

"But I hear he was truly something else when he was younger. Still, don't underestimate him just because he's a tad older now." The Huntsman chuckled at his own words and Six fell to the back of the group again. At least Carmine was happy.

"We're here," James called out as the group broke the clearing and spotted Rhyt.

Logarius took a breath in and stretched before saying, "ah yes, the town from the reports. It was fun talking to you…" The suited man paused as he turned to the red-head.

"O-Oh, I'm Carmine, sorry for not introducing myself!" The girl's enthusiasm didn't stop there however as she continued, "and that's James, and that's Joshua."

The Courier stepped forward again placing himself between the Huntsman and Carmine. "It was nice to meet you Logarius, but I need to take Carmine home and head to the meeting. You two should head there without me, I'll catch up."

James turned back to Six before saying, "well, the meeting is taking place in the remains of town hall, we've cleaned up some space there. Make your way there when you're done."

The Former Ruler of Vegas nodded his head in response before taking Carmine's hand and leading her towards the Spring home. Now that the two were back in town and away from the Huntsman, Carmine had grown quiet, not wanting to attract anyone's attention.

"Listen Carmine," Six began as the two walked home. "I understand you're excited about this Huntsman, and that you're curious. But you've got to be careful when talking to strangers, no matter who they are."

The red-haired girl pouted as she leaned closer and muttered, "but Huntsman are supposed to protect people, not hurt them."

The Courier sighed tilting his head back for a second before looking back down at her and replying, "I know, but remember when you said you wanted to get stronger? That means you have to be able to read people. To understand their intentions and if they aren't who they say they are alright?"

"I… Don't understand," she replied with a confused expression on her face.

"It just means," Six began before pausing to find his words. "It means that some people will say they're good when they're really not. And in order to protect people from liars like that, you have to be able to tell when they're lying. That means you can't just trust people you meet okay?"

This time the girl didn't verbally respond but instead nodded her head. The frown that was on her face indicated she was disheartened but the Courier would rather have that than her be naïve and vulnerable.

"It doesn't mean you can't talk to people," Joshua continued trying to bring a smile back to her face. "Just make sure that you're being careful when you do. That you really know who they are."

Carmine still wasn't smiling but she wasn't frowning anymore either. Mission partially accomplished at least and he was out of time.

The two walked up to the door and Joshua let the girl's hand go. "Alright, now go inside and tell your father what's happening. I'll be back later today," he said opening the door for her.

"Okay, stay safe Joshua," she replied before stepping inside and glancing back at him.

Six nodded his head in response before saying, "of course, I'm invincible remember?"

It was a quick walk to town hall and Six got to see a lot of the mayhem the Conqueror Worm had caused. Many buildings were just gone, the debris still partially scattered around where they once were. Some were partially destroyed, and a lot of the roads had been dug up.

It had been a lot of pain for the townspeople to repair a lot of the damage in the past two weeks and a good bit of it still remained.

Town hall itself wasn't in that good a shape either now that he could see it. The half of the building that had been destroyed had been mostly cleared and replaced by wooden make-shift replacement walls with a large tarp covering it. At least it was a roof.

As he approached, Six felt a slight twinge in his leg and paused. The fall he had taken when he had finished off the large Grimm had messed him up. For the most part he had healed from it but he still felt a bit of pain every now and then. It was a good thing his cybernetics meant an increased healing factor.

Joshua shrugged off the slight pain and made his way inside the "building." Inside were several guards running around and moving crates, weapons, supplies, anything Six could think of that the militia needed.

In the center of this mess was a wooden table surrounded by a few familiar figures. Lirah the captain, the grey-haired sergeant, and the Huntsman.

Six approached the table and the three looked up at him. The sergeant had a neutral expression but it was obvious the captain held some level of disdain for him. And of course, the Huntsman was perfectly happy.

"What did I miss?" Six attempted to ask his question in a neutral tone but he couldn't hide the slight hint of annoyance in his voice.

The sergeant shrugged before replying, "not much. Just got done filling the Huntsman in on the situation with the last attack."

There was a nod from the suited man as he turned to Six. "Indeed, these fine soldiers just finished the part where you killed a Grimm no one has seen in… Over a century!"

"You mean the Conqueror Worm," the Courier questioned as he crossed his arms and looked down. On a table lay a map with several marks on it indicating various defensive positions.

"Indeed," Logarius replied enthusiastically. "These creatures caused a great deal of trouble long before the Great War which is why most large cities have a sort of electric security grid under their walls. After the cities installed these safety measures, these worm-like Grimm appeared less and less until they disappeared completely over a century ago!"

It was interesting to note that some Grimm had either ceased attacking or gone extinct but what was more interesting was their reemergence. It just happened to be a couple of weeks after he happened to show up to this town? Something didn't feel right.

More than one member of the town had thought so as well. Six now often caught looks from some of the townspeople. He assumed it was because not only was he a stranger but these attacks only started getting worse after he showed up.

"What's the plan to stop this next attack then," Six asked turning away from the Huntsman and facing the Captain.

Lirah looked down at the map before pointing to various sections of it and saying, "we're using several tactics from last time. We've managed to repair the gates and we've locked down two of them. No going in or out of the north or south gate as we've completely spiked the entrance against Grimm."

Her hand pointed towards the other gates as she continued, "we'll leave a few men on guard there and move our forces to the other gates to reinforce them." Her finger trailed from the gates to the roads connecting them. "We're starting to set up several barriers along the roads as well if they're breached."

"Actually, if we're doing that, we should set some traps leading to their fallback positions. Nothing deadly, just some stakes and rope to trip up the Grimm and slow them down, and remember that they moved around so the sides of these barriers need to be protected as well." Six had moved into work-mode as he explained his thoughts.

The Huntsman raised a finger as he interjected, "indeed a sound plan, but if we have some spare Dust, we could also line these traps with it. The creatures react poorly to the stuff and it might even cripple their legs when they hit the ropes."

"Have any of those mines left," the captain asked as she glanced at Six.

The Courier shrugged his head in response as he replied, "not anymore, and I'm low on grenades too."

The Huntsman eyed Joshua at his words before saying, "you're rather well-armed, aren't you?"

The Butcher of House shrugged in response before the captain said, "we asked about it earlier and didn't get a response. For now, it doesn't matter. Sergeant!"

Variance stood at attention before responding, "ma'am!"

"Get the men to start working on these traps, and get someone down to the Spring house to get some dust," she ordered before turning back to the two.

The sergeant didn't hesitate as he immediately took off and began barking orders at other guards. "Anything else that the two of you can think of," the captain asked as Six glanced out a "window" which was just a square hole in the wall.

The Huntsman responded to her but Joshua stopped listening. There was some dark shadow that was moving just outside the window. "What the hell," the Courier muttered as he flipped a familiar setting on his Pip-Boy to "ON."

"Quite a peculiar device you have thei-" the Huntsman began before Six cut him off.

"Shut up!" The former Ruler of Vegas had activated his eye's compass and the red marker was indicating that there was indeed an enemy just outside the building.

Joshua pulled the Mysterious Magnum from his side before moving over to the window and sticking his head out. There were two of them!

One was that small little piece of shit that had opened the gate and apparently killed Carmine's mother. Well, Six called him small but in all honesty the thing was only small by Grimm standards. It still stood a foot or two taller than him.

"Shit," the Courier cursed as he spotted the Beowolf beside it. That was when the first scream rang out. The Beowolf charged at one of the villagers as the smaller one slinked back between two buildings and disappeared.

It was time to put this thing down like he had put down the Kings. The King Butcher opened fire on the Beowolf, his first shot hitting it in the leg.

The red-eyed monster tumbled to the ground face first before receiving two more bullets to the head for its trouble.

Joshua turned away from the creature as it evaporated and yelled out, "there's Grimm inside the walls already!"

"What, how… That shouldn't be possible, where are they coming from," the captain asked as the Huntsman made his way over to the window as well.

Logarius tapped his chin as he said, "well, that's not normal for Grimm. Most don't ever try to sneak through towns full of prey."

Joshua wasn't listening as he had already jumped through the window. "Of course it's not normal but that doesn't matter. We need to figure out where they're coming from." The Courier didn't bother waiting for a response as he moved over to the alley the humanoid Grimm had disappeared into.

"I saw one come this way," Six said as the Huntsman approached him from behind.

The two took a few steps into the alley before spotting where the Grimm had gone. There was a large hole that looked like the Grimm had crawled into.

Logarius tapped his chin in thought as Six turned to him. The Courier's first thought was that the Huntsman really loved tapping his chin, his second was where this could lead.

"It probably leads straight out of town," the suited man said with a curious expression on his face. "I don't think I've ever seen Grimm behavior like this."

"Okay, how do we follow it? Or at least plug it up," the Courier replied not bothering to try and sate the Huntsman's curiosity.

There were a few moments of silence before the Huntsman replied, "we could try going after it."

Silence fell between the two again as the Courier looked from the Huntsman, to the hole, and back to the Huntsman. "That's a stupid idea for so many reasons," Six replied thoroughly not impressed by Logarius.

"I know, I know," the brown-haired man replied as he stepped towards it. "Grab something that can cover the hole."

The former Ruler of Vegas wanted to argue but figured time was of the essence as he heard another scream in the distance. It wasn't a long journey as city hall had plenty of smaller tarps laying around.

By the time Six made it back to the hole, Logarius had already finished most of what he was doing. What the Courier did get to see was the Huntsman lifting a rather large container with what looked like a hose on the end of it.

"That should be enough, put whatever you found over the hole," the suited man ordered as he straightened his back.

Six moved past the Huntsman and covered the hole with the tarp. This felt familiar to when he was first running around the Mojave, no one had given him an order like that in a long time.

"And, here, we, go," Logarius said in a happy tone as he lifted the tarp and threw a small crystal-like object into the hole. It looked like pure solid Dust.

The Courier's eyes widened as he realized what the Huntsman was doing and could only cover his face before being blown back to the ground as a small explosion knocked him down.

A few coughs escaped Six's lips as he slowly rolled over and pressed his hands to the ground. That had hurt, he wasn't even in his elite riot armor and was still wearing the Burned Man's set.

The bandages on his hands were singed black as Six guessed that the entire front of his body looked similar as he got to his feet. "Logarius," the Courier called out as he looked back towards the hole.

"Yes," the Huntsman replied in a questioning tone. The front of his suit was blackened as well but it looked like the explosion had hardly affected him. The wonders of an aura were true then. At least Six could confirm it with his own eyes.

Logarius gave the Courier a curious glance as he said, "I would have thought your aura was unlocked already judging by the stories the sergeant and captain told." The Huntsman took a few steps towards him as Six analyzed what the man had done.

Joshua figured that Logarius had filled the tunnel with a gas before using the Dust crystal to ignite it. He glanced back spotting the cracked ground indicating where the explosion had reached. It led out into the street before curving and heading straight towards the eastern gate.

"The gas was actually Dust as well, a different kind that reacted violently to my burn Dust crystal," the Huntsman answered Six's unasked question. When the suited man placed a hand on the Courier's shoulder the smile on his face dropped.

"This can't be right," the Huntsman began as Joshua looked at him with a curious expression.

"What isn't," Six asked shrugging off his hand before taking a step back.

Logarius' finger went to his chin tapping faster than ever. "This is a strange little town," he began before glancing towards the sky. "You don't have an Aura. That shouldn't be possible. I mean, everyone has an Aura even if its locked… But…"

The Huntsman's hand went to his hair as he continued, "you don't have one at all, or at least one I can sense. Even a regular person should have some kind of Aura."

Well, that was strange news to hear. As Six thought about it, he came to a few theories. It could be because he was from a different world… Possibly. Or maybe it was because he didn't have his brain? Maybe his "soul" as the locals called it had left with his brain. Since you needed a soul for an aura, maybe he didn't have one?

Both were insane ideas that he'd have to think on later. For now, he'd have to worry about this Huntsman telling someone about this.

"This town really is funny," Logarius commented as he turned back to the hole. "But we'll talk about this later, we should start driving the Grimm out of other holes nearby."

"Wait," Six said holding up his hand. "I have an idea about what is causing the attacks."

The Huntsman turned to him intrigued at his words. The Courier remembered that Logarius had come to investigate the source of the Grimm attacks in the area and he hoped this would put an end to it.

That was when he felt the first drop of rain hit his bandages. Six glanced towards the sky to spot the darkening clouds. If this was like the last attack, they needed to work fast or it would be near pitch black out soon.

"There's a Grimm, pretty damn big one, looks kind of like a snake and a dragon put together, last time it showed up but kept its distance." Joshua paused for a few moments to glance at the broken ground the explosion made leaving a trail. "If we follow the trail, I bet we could get a good idea on where it's at."

"And you think that if we get rid of this Grimm then the attacks will cease," Logarius asked while tapping his chin.

In response Six nodded his head before turning. "The Grimm were never this coordinated before it showed up. At the very least, their tactics should fall apart," the bandaged man spoke as he took a few steps out of the alley.

The Courier raised his hand before pointing towards the eastern gate and saying, "you head that way and wait for me at the gate. We'll have to trust the guard can handle the situation. I'll head back and let the captain know our pla-"

"What plan," Six heard as Lirah interrupted him. The captain had a rifle in hand and looked ready to kill.

Joshua pinched the bridge of his nose before responding, "I think there's a big Grimm coordinating the attacks, we're going to kill it. It's up to you to protect everyone."

"Are you sure it's causing this," the captain asked eyeing the cracked trail in the ground.

"I'm pretty certain, and we don't have time to argue," Six answered as he turned to the Huntsman. "You, get to the gate, I'm going to grab some gear and catch up."

This time there were no questions as the Huntsman set off towards the gate.

The Courier made good time as he didn't have to run back to the Spring home. Instead, he dipped into an alley before changing into his elite riot gear and heading back out. In total, the Huntsman had been about a minute faster than Six to the gate.

As Joshua approached the gate, he could see the guards in the towers watching something on the other side. It didn't take a genius to figure out who was shooting a gun.

Six quickly moved up to one of the small towers before climbing the ladder and forcing the guard out of his way. What he saw proved how dangerous Huntsman could be.

On the other side were a group of six or so Beowolves all doing their best to hit the Huntsman. The Courier figured there had probably been more at the start considering how nimbly Logarius moved out of their attacks.

The oversized revolver was in the suited Huntsman's hand and a loud shot rang out as one Beowolf dissipated.

Six got to see the Huntsman's speed as two lunged at him at once but the large revolver in his hand seemed to almost morph. The change was quick enough that by the time the two Grimm were on him his gun had transformed into a small shield which he used to block the first's attack. From there Logarius pushed the shield into the creature's stomach and launched it over his head and into the other Grimm.

The suited man paused his assault as another Beowolf rushed him. It looked like the man was studying its movements for only a moment before chucking his shield at it.

The Grimm hadn't been expecting it and received a shield to the face which bounced off and managed to hit another before returning to Logarius.

Six's face scrunched up. How was that even possible? That would require a ridiculous understanding of physics and decent strength to pull something like that off on moving targets. Let alone monsters that were attacking you.

The last Grimm lunged at him but the creature's prey was faster. The Huntsman spun around and hit the Grimm with the end of his shield hard enough that the monster's skull caved in.

Two down, four to go.

As the four creatures got to their feet, the weapon transformed once again back into a revolver. By the time the Grimm knew what was happening, another two of them were dead.

The last two only managed to take a few steps towards Logarius before being shot down themselves.

"Now that's a Huntsman," the guard beside Six muttered causing the Courier to roll his eyes.

Joshua put one foot on the railing of the tower before jumping off and over the wall. It wasn't that high of a jump and he was prepared for it unlike when he had jumped off the worm.

He landed with a small thud as Logarius glanced over towards him. "I take it you're ready," the Huntsman said a small spread across his face. "The trail ends over there but I'm sure all the Grimm came from this direction."

Six turned, he had to agree with the revolver-wielding Huntsman's assessment. Several large holes had been dug and the cracked ground ended at one of them. All the two of them had to do was head into the woods in that direction. It was dangerous but they would be hard-pressed to miss such a large Grimm.

The Courier's thoughts turned to the guards. How had they possibly missed Grimm digging these holes? Right now, he had a job to do, so he'd dwell on that later.

"Yeah," Six replied glancing up towards the darkening sky as a light stream of rain began pouring down. "Let's hurry too."

At first, the Grimm caused them no hassle. Six didn't realize what was wrong until the two of them had made it a good half a mile into the forest.

The raining had picked up and the sky had darkened to the point that visibility was down. The eerie quiet of the forest didn't help as the only sounds they could hear were their own footsteps.

It was only when the Courier and the Huntsman came upon a small clearing that they realized the problem. There was an absurd amount of Grimm that had converged. It looked like all the Grimm nearby had gathered here.

If the last horde of Grimm had been a little over a hundred strong, this one was twice the size. And now that the two of them had seen the Grimm, Joshua knew that coming out here instead of waiting had been a mistake.

Unfortunately, the Grimm had also seen them.

"Run or shoot," Six muttered as he backed up and aimed his survivalist rifle.

"Both," the Huntsman replied turning and sprinting with inhuman speed into the forest.

The Courier could do that and he was almost as fast as Logarius as he began running as well. That was when the worst possible problem occurred.

On the positive side, they no longer needed to find the dragon-like Grimm. On the negative side, it had found them. Now that they were close to the thing the Courier could make out its form better.

The creature like its brothers had a pitch-black hide. Its skin seemed to emit some kind of black smoke-like substance. The creature had the head and wings of a European dragon but its body was far too long, coiling around several trees.

It easily towered over the trees around them as it stood up on its two legs. If Six had to guess, it was shorter than the worm at about fifty feet. The worm had been bordering on a hundred. The thing was longer than it was tall though, its snake-like body slithering towards them.

"I'm guessing that's the creature," the Huntsman shouted out as he opened fire on it.

Six didn't respond as he turned back to the swarm of Grimm. They were flanked from the front and back by a giant Grimm and a giant army of Grimm.

"Go left, I'll go right, split up," Six barked at the Huntsman as he turned and fled. The group of Grimm would split up to chase both of them, right?

The Courier ran for a few moments before glancing behind himself. His eyes widened in alarm as he realized that they hadn't split up at all and the Grimm had elected to run straight for him. This was getting increasingly bad.

Six dematerialized his rifle before grabbing a few of his grenades, pulling the pin, and tossing them behind him. A few explosions rang out but he didn't bother checking how many he got, it wasn't enough.

The Nidhogg's tail slammed down in front of him. The Courier refused to die today as he pulled out his variant gauss rifle and fired his last few remaining max charge microfusion cells. It hurt to use the last of them but the effects were immediate, blowing holes through the creature's tail.

The Grimm let out a roar of pain as it began lifting its tail and slamming it against the ground.

Six didn't stop running and dove under the tail managing to not get smashed under it. This bought him a few seconds of breathing room as the Grimm paused at the tail.

The Courier knew that he wasn't going to get away from the Nidhogg so he'd have to think of something. The gauss rifle dematerialized as the anti-material rifle appeared. He hadn't properly modified the weapon yet but he had made a single round, just one for it. A .50 caliber Dust round was his best bet at the moment. Otherwise, he'd just have to use the rest of his C4 and blow up the whole damn forest.

A quick prayer escaped Six's lips as he loaded the round. The dragon-like Grimm had rounded on him as it raised on arm. To his surprise, the arm seemed to extend and stretch, immediately heading for him at impressive speeds.

Joshua took aim, bit his lip, and pulled the trigger.

There was a loud bang and Six felt his hands shake in his hand as his weapon fell apart. He'd have to take time to fix his anti-material rifle but the results were impressive.

The Dust round hadn't just been regular Dust. It had been filled with fire Dust or burn Dust for the technical name.

The explosion had been larger than his explosive rounds and it continued to burn the creature after as well.

The Nidhogg itself had a large chunk of its face vanish in the explosion and was currently using its extendable arm to try and put out the fire on its face. The creature let out a shriek and the advancing Grimm paused.

It turned its head away from Six and spotted the Huntsman who had come back around. The thing glanced between the two for a few moments before leaping into the sky.

Its wings expanded and it fucking flew. The Courier tried to catch his breath as he watched the Grimm fly away at seemingly impossible speeds. How did wings possibly carry that gigantic thing?

As it flew away, the sky around them seemed to brighten and the rain lessened. The Grimm themselves seemed to pause for a few seconds until a distant roar rang out. The moment passed and the Grimm all turned tail and ran towards the direction their leader had gone.

Six took a knee as he picked up the fallen pieces of his rifle. The thing was smarter than it appeared and kind of a coward. It thought its life was actually in danger so it ran. That was a first in Grimm history, right?

As he was picking up the pieces, the Huntsman approached.

"We need to talk," Logarius said, Six spotting the unnerved expression on his face.

Joshua finished picking up the pieces before moving over to a tree and leaning against it. "About what," Six asked closing his eyes. He needed to rest; not as bad as when he had nearly blown himself up but he was still tired.

"You."

"Me," Six replied before crossing his arms.

"That was not normal, in fact, that might be the strangest thing I've ever seen. No one in the entire history of Remnant has seen Grimm act like that." The Huntsman's words were quick and his finger had gone back to tapping his chin.

"In fact, I think you're the cause of the attacks," he continued making Six's eyes open.

The Courier shot a finger towards the Huntsman as he replied, "you're saying this is my fault?"

"Not directly," Logarius answered as he took a step closer. "There are too many things suspicious about this though. From what the captain's told me, the Grimm started attacking like this when you showed up." At the end of his sentence, the Huntsman held up one finger.

The suited man's second finger went up as he continued, "you don't have an aura which shouldn't be possible yet you withstood the explosion and survived. The Grimm having tactics shouldn't be possible."

The Huntsman was already up to three fingers now. "You were almost as fast as me, a trained Huntsman, without aura," he said holding up a fourth finger.

"And finally," he began as he held up his thumb making the count five. "The Grimm went solely after you when we split up."

This guy was more perceptive than the Courier gave credit for.

"It's also strange, most Huntsman can sense strong Auras by instinct. When we concentrate, we can even sense the auras of those yet to unlock their own. Trackers can do it for miles." The Huntsman's finger now pointed at Six. "When I first met you, I wasn't sure because I thought you just had a weak aura."

"Now, I'm sure, you're not natural and the Grimm are attacking this town to get to you," Logarius finished before lowering his finger.

Six had come to the same conclusions himself but the Huntsman sensing ability was interesting to learn.

"And," Six said before shrugging his shoulders. "What are you going to do about it now?"

"That's simple," the Huntsman replied. "I was sent here to find the source of the increased attacks. I've found it. To complete my mission and keep Rhyt safe, I'll take you to Beacon and to Ozpin."

Oh no, Six couldn't have that yet. He didn't want to be in the spotlight of someone with that much political influence yet. He needed more time to prepare, to learn.

"No can do, I'm not going anywhere," Six replied as he reached behind his back. He had a theory he wanted to test in the next minute or two and it would determine if he lived or died.

"Then I'm afraid I'll have to subdue you before taking you," Logarius replied with the ever-so-happy tone.

The two both drew their revolvers. Six with his Mysterious Magnum and Logarius with his bright orange and grey revolver.

The first shot was from Six who was used to fighting human opponents. The Huntsman was no more than five feet away from him which meant missing would be near impossible for him.

The suited-man let out a pained yelp as the round penetrated his leg causing him to drop to one knee. Six wasted little time and used the opportunity to bring his boot to the man's face.

With the man's aura, the Butcher of House knew he had to end this quickly or he'd heal. The fully armored Courier charged before stomping on the man's gun-hand, pinning it.

Logarius' free hand went to Six's leg but a .44 round to the shoulder stopped that.

"W-Why, why isn't my aura," the Huntsman stuttered out as he bled from two bullet wounds. The stupid grin had finally fallen from his face.

"Honestly, I guessed I'd be able to do it, but I only have theories on why," Six replied as he used his free foot to press Logarius' shoulder down.

Joshua inspected his revolver glancing down at the Huntsman to make sure he didn't get away. "Maybe it's because of not having an aura, maybe I don't have a soul? Maybe it's because I might not be from this world? They always did call me the Wild Card King. It would be pretty "wild" if I was from a different world, right?" The joke seemed to fly over the Huntsman's head or maybe the injured man didn't care.

"W-What," Logarius responded trying to kick his feet to get Six off of him. None of this made sense to the Huntsman. Other worlds?

"It doesn't matter, you see I can't let you go and tell someone about me so I'm going to have to check you out," Six continued as he glanced at the now clear sky before looking down at the Huntsman.

A soft smile graced the Courier's lips under the mask. "Hey, if it makes you feel any better, it's nothing personal," Six said aiming the gun at Logarius' head.

"A real shame you got mixed up in my business…" The Butcher of House turned his free hand over trying to elicit a response as he said, "got a full name for the tombstone?"

There were a few long moments of silence as the defiance in the Huntsman's eyes died. A small smile spread across the man's face as he responded, "Thomas, Thomas Logarius."

"Well Thomas, this must all seem like a string of bad luck to you, truth is…" Six paused as his finger began squeezing the trigger.

"You never stood a chance."

The Courier whistled a low tune as he stepped back out of the forest and into the clearing towards town. That had taken care of the attack at least. Any Grimm in town would have probably fallen back with their leader.

It was messy businesses digging a large enough hole for the Huntsman but he had done it. Even carved his name into the tree next to him as a tombstone. Shame he had to leave the Huntsman's equipment in the grave but the revolver was too flashy to hide.

It occurred to the Courier that his words had been eerily reminiscent of Benny's when the guy had shot in him in the head. He quickly shook his head clearing his mind of such thoughts for now. He had a lie to sell.

He waved at one of the guards before shouting, "hey, we drove them back. Tell the captain the leader Grimm ran away but he'll be back and that the Huntsman went to chase it."

Now he had a convenient alibi for why Thomas had disappeared. The Huntsman unfortunately died while chasing down the Grimm.

It didn't take long for him to make it back to the Spring household and he opened the door to be greeted by Richter and Carmine.

"How did it go," the father asked and Six shrugged.

"Alright," Joshua responded moving over to pat Carmine on the head before continuing, "and Logarius already left to go chase down the runners. I don't think we'll be seeing him again."

The red-haired girl pouted before giving him sad eyes. "I wanted to talk to him more," she said as Six smirked under his mask.

"I know you did but he has Huntsman business. If you'll excuse me, I need some rest, just got back from fighting Grimm and all," Six said not waiting for a reply as he made his way to his room.

After shutting the door behind him, he let out a sigh. He was a pretty good liar but with the fights he was worn out and didn't really feel like lying through that conversation right now.

What he could use was fixing his rifle that was broken. The Courier moved over to his desk before sitting down and materializing the broken rifle parts.

He set to work as he thought about the events of today. Why did he not have an aura? And how did that equate to him being able to shoot through the Huntsman's?

More importantly, the Grimm was going to be back. Logarius hadn't been wrong to say that him leaving would make the town safer. He'd give himself some time to prepare before heading out. He always knew that he'd have to set out eventually and that this would end.

Still, he could research and get himself supplied more before he did. He'd probably head to Vale first when he set out, that's where all the main players seemed to be after all and he could get supplies to fix his transportalponder.

The Courier took a quick sniff before realizing the front part of him was still blackened from the explosion, he probably stank to high hell. He was going to need to take a shower but the reconstruction of his anti-material rifle took precedent for now.

Author's Note:

I'm glad you've stuck with this story and I hope you continue to enjoy it!

I hope you all enjoyed it!

And don't worry, we'll be meeting a character from the show soon enough!

Current Gear:

Burned Man's Armor

Elite Riot Gear

Modified Stealth Suit Mk. II

Light Shining in Darkness

Mysterious Magnum

Rebreather

Maria

Survivalist Rifle

Modified Anti-Material Rifle.

YCS/186 Gauss Rifle variant.

C4 – Plastic explosives (10)

Detonator.

Frag Grenades (5)

Frag Mines (0)

Combat Knife.

Plasma Grenades (10)