Authors' Notes:

This is the final part of this upload. Again, I will be going on a 2 months hiatus (maybe 3) for work reasons after this. I will be back and hopefully writing in 3-4 months.

Thank you for your support of this, it's been an amazing journey so far and I hope you'll stick through the Courier's journey in a strange world!

"Text"

"Speech"

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

Remnants of a Courier

Arc 4: Chaos Theory

Chapter 39: The Mad King and the Mad Bull

Weiss's words were… Surprising. It's not how he would've described himself and it was a tad bit insulting. But the Courier had to admit she probably had the most reasonable outlook on the entire situation given that he came there solely on a rage-fueled vengeance streak.

It never occurred to Six that the former Heiress would take his words to heart. But it was nice knowing someone at Beacon was listening to him. That was also why he couldn't let Adam hurt them.

The Huntress-in-training got through to him. That red haze of anger was lessened. It was a stupid idea to storm a White Fang stronghold by yourself dick first in a rage. To stress-test his ties to the criminal syndicate he still needed.

But more importantly, perhaps she had been right about him. That he was just frustrated with the world and everyone's lack of effort.

She also knew an uncomfortable amount now. If Weiss began coming after the Mimic and putting the pieces together, she'd figure out his cover fairly quickly. She'd only need a shred of proof and even without that she could cast suspicion on him.

That was a problem for later, now he needed to play the role of a bullfighter. He fired at Adam and made the White Fang officer pause his assault, buying time for the two to run around the side of the building and leave.

"Shit!" The Faunus turned to the Courier and pointed his sword at him. "Why can't you just let me finish them off? I was close!"

"You really didn't hear a single thing she said, did you?" Six was almost astonished at the sheer refusal to even consider the teen's words. "I've already told you I don't kill kids. But I also understood what she was trying to say. Which is why I'm going to give you a chance."

Joshua's last statement made the Faunus pause. Good, it at least meant there was a chance.

"This doesn't need to go any further," the Courier continued as he holstered his revolver. "We don't need to kill each other here. There's already been enough damage and it wouldn't benefit either of us. We're both in a dangerous place with Cinder, pushing this further could make the situation explode."

For a moment, Adam seemed to think about it, actually considering it.

Then a frown crossed the Faunus's face as he replied, "no. A human kills so many Faunus and just walks away? I don't think so." Bringing up his arm, Adam pointed his sword at Six before continuing, "draw your gun. We're finishing this now."

The Courier clicked his tongue before drawing his revolver again. He took a moment to reload it while replying, "alright, just don't say I didn't give you a chance."

It was just like one of those classic stories he used to read as a kid. Two cowboys facing each other in a standoff, one misstep meant death. Only the wind and crackling fire was their company.

The fire had spread to some of the surrounding trees. If they weren't careful, that could spread into a forest fire. That was an issue Six would resolve later.

The red dirt and burning red leaves for which the Forever Fall Forest was known for parted as Adam dashed through the clearing towards him.

Six knew the bull Faunus could immediately send energy back like Yang. However, where Yang's could be saved and built up over time, Adam's had to be used directly after being absorbed. This meant that Adam didn't have any energy currently saved and also meant Six needed to make his next move carefully. It also meant the bull's saved energy was stronger than Yang's when used, more precise.

Rather than shoot, he allowed the Faunus to close the distance before raising his powerfist and sending a wave of fire at Adam. The heat wasn't kinetic energy he could absorb so the fire kept the melee combatant at least somewhat distant.

The White Fang member paused just outside the reach of the flames. It bought Six time but ate up a lot of his Burn Dust to send out a continuous flame like this. That was when he finally thought of a counter to Adam's aggressive style.

A few dust rounds slammed into Six's armor as Adam fired from the hilt of his blade. Blush was the scabbard of Adam's blade that could serve as a rifle when necessary and now the Faunus was pointing said weapon at him. It would have been effective if he didn't have armor and that the rounds were Dust instead of gunpowder.

Changing tactics, the Courier waited for his Burn Dust supply to lower to an acceptable level to deceive Adam before letting the fire die down. Adam pushed forward immediately after the fire died, not giving Joshua a moment to breathe.

Instead of retreating or firing the Mysterious Magnum, the Courier slammed his powerfist into the ground and activated his Ice Dust in the gauntlet. Ice rapidly spread from the point of impact, freezing the red dirt and putting out any burning leaves as a circular area around the Courier froze over.

Adam, who was charging, didn't have time to stop. As his feet hit the ice, the Faunus was sent sliding forward in an uncontrolled manner straight at Six, his form broken.

The Mad Bull turned and stabbed his sword into the ice, halting himself from sliding completely out of control. This left him open.

The ice held Adam's sword in place just a couple feet away from the Courier who seized this opportunity and darted forward using the last of his Burn Dust for one last attack.

The armored man put his all into sending the powerfist crashing into Adam's form. Still, Six refused to use his trump card, letting the powerfist ram into Adam's Aura. It wasn't the right time to reveal his Aura-piercing ability and Adam was a good resource.

Once more the powerfist lashed out and Burn Dust exploded, enveloping Adam before sending him flying back a few yards. The Faunus scraped along the ground before rolling to his feet.

Despite the force of the impact, Adam's Aura didn't even flash that it was weakened. Instead, he rose from his kneeling position and cracked his neck.

"That's only going to work once," the Mad Bull said before darting forward once more.

Six let out a sigh as he stowed the powerfist to pull out one of his last two remaining frag grenades.

"You know, you remind me of myself when I was a bit younger. Headstrong, stupid, but capable." As Six spoke, he fired a few rounds at Adam who stopped to block the shots. In turn, the Courier pulled the pin on the grenade and began cooking it.

"Got any other cliches to tell me?" The Faunus responded before slashing his sword at the air. The blade glowed with red energy that was condensed and sent flying towards Six.

The Courier was forced to sidestep the attack as he continued to cook the grenade. He needed to wait just a bit longer as Adam closed in once more.

Just when Adam got close enough to swing at him, Six began, "you could do so much more," before tossing the grenade directly between the two of them.

At this distance, neither of them could get away. Instead, Six turned and braced himself.

The explosion consumed both of them, sending Six to his stomach and mangling his back. Pieces of his backside armor were shredded and torn off as Six's ears rang.

For a few moments he simply lay there in the mud created from the already melted ice, recovering. His mind knocked senseless from the grenade. Most normal people would have been killed right there and then but his armor and cybernetics kept that from happening.

Still, everything hurt as his senses finally came back to him and he could once more hear the growing fire.

Six slowly pushed himself to his knees before turning around to see Adam already on his feet. While he didn't appear to be outwardly damaged, there was a layer of soot and dirt on his face and he was breathing harder than usual.

"If you would just drop the superiority complex, and admit to yourself this is about power..." Six finished as he tried to gauge how hurt Adam really was.

If this was a tournament bout, Adam would probably be in the yellow somewhere, maybe even red. That beast really was in a different league from team RWBY after all.

Six coughed before getting to his feet. He was a little bit wobbly but as long as he kept his wits about him-

In that single moment of weakness where Six was disorientated, Adam closed the distance in an instant with his Huntsman speed.

"Right back at you," Adam replied as he brought the edge of his blade down towards Six. Thinking quickly, the Courier did his best to move along the blade and just out of the way.

Unfortunately, Adam was just as quick as Six and adjusted accordingly. The blade sunk into the fake Grimm covering for his riot mask before digging down. After cutting the covering I half, it sliced into the optic of the mask but luckily didn't touch Six's face.

Instead, the blade continued on, missing his torso but digging the tip deep into his right bicep. The blade ran his arm through entirely, appearing on the other side as Adam continued to drag it down.

Six let out a pained wheeze as the blade tore his arm asunder, having dug into the weak spot of his armor.

With a smirk, Adam drew the sword back, sending a splattering of blood to the ground as Six's arm went limp, dropping the magnum.

"You aren't that tough after all," the Faunus taunted as Six fell to his knees.

The Courier bent over, reaching for the wound at first before moving his hand into the duster. Blood dripped from the Faunus's blade and Six knew he had only one shot...

"No last words huh? That's alright," Adam said as he raised his blade once more. "Humans shouldn't speak at all."

Six didn't reply. Instead, he materialized his Gauss Rifle variant under his duster before whipping it towards the Faunus. The Faunus's eyes widened in surprise and quickly brought his blade downward.

The Mad Bull and the Mimic faced off once more in a contest of quick reflexes. Six could finally see Adam without the filter of an optic. Despite that, his vision remained red.

The man standing received the full force of a ferromagnetic round to his chest. Unlike with the powerfist that sent him skidding, Adam flew this time as what looked like a red glass case shattered around him before he fell to the ground at the edge of the clearing with a graceless thud.

Six's arm shook due to firing the YCS/186 with one hand but he couldn't stop now.

Rising to his feet, Six stepped towards Adam slowly, worn down after the fight and bleeding fairly heavily. He'd fix it after he dealt with Adam.

His adversary lay there breathing lightly. It was obvious that his Aura was broken and that he couldn't continue.

The Butcher of House approached, holding his limp arm, before standing over the prone bull. This was the end of the line.

Adam's mask was shattered, laying amongst the red dirt and black ash. As Six stood there, Adam opened his eye, his face revealed to the world. S.D.C. was burned over one eye, the flesh having become useless long ago, the ugly wound an obvious reminder of who had done that to him.

Green eye met sky blue as the two stared at each other. "Yo-You're a Faunus?" Adam questioned meekly as he tried to sit up only to fail and fall back to the earth with a soft grunt.

Six stood there, not responding to his question. That once cooled anger boiled in him once more, spurred on by the growing heat of the fire around them that had consumed more trees and the injury the Faunus had given him.

The Sunderer of Mars' First Born deemed the Faunus unworthy of life.

Placing his feet on either side of the Faunus, Six knelt down, taking a dominant position as he brought his fist up.

The first punch wasn't too bad, Six was tired and hurt. But Six kept punching, and as he did, he gained momentum. Fist after fist was delivered into the Faunus' face. What was a slight bruise turned into a cut, then a swollen mess as he continued to destroy the once proud Adam.

He continued punching until his knuckles were sore and his gloves were worn. Then he switched, curling his hand into a ball before hammering the Faunus' face with the underside of his fist.

The only sounds that resonated through the forest was of violence and fire. Of a slow and agonizing beating that was drawn out over the course of several minutes.

Once Six was completely sure that Adam was too hurt to fight back, he leaned up. Reaching over, he tore off one of the bone decorations for his armor. It was time for this animal to rest.

"Normally, as much as I would enjoy watching the puppies continue to fight, you're going to stop right now."

That voice… Shit.

Six paused and turned his head. Cinder stood there with Mercury and Emerald at her sides.

It was a sorry sight to see the disparity between Adam and Six and the trio. Cinder with her flashy dress, Emerald with the white and green top that was clean, and Mercury… Who wasn't as impressive as either of the other two but at least he was clean.

Compare that to Adam whose mask was broken, face beaten in, and was nearly unconscious. And the Courier, who had a limp arm and was drenched in blood.

"Oh, you're in trouble," Mercury taunted before receiving a quieting glare from Cinder.

The leader of their entourage glanced towards the burning building before letting out an irritated sigh. With a flick of her hand, the fire consuming the building began to condense, vacating the building and gathering unto itself just outside. Likewise, the fire that had spread to the trees gathered into the ball as well.

After a dozen seconds every flame that had graced this place, that familiar heat that the Courier was used to, had been condensed into an inferno. Not so dissimilar from a tiny star. Another flick of the woman's wrist and the ball was sent up into the sky.

The flames illuminated her in an orange and red hue that mixed with her eyes and dress, almost reflecting off them. That effect quickly dissipated as the inferno traveled upwards.

"I didn't want to do this, as this little trick is going to draw attention," Cinder began as she turned back towards the two troublemakers. "But I can't let the entire forest burn just yet because you two decided to throw tantrums."

The fireball climbed into the sky before it exploded, bathing the night air in orange and red light, like a large explosion akin to a firework going off in the night sky. They were showered in bright light, illuminating them all for a moment, before everything went dark.

A small chuckle escaped the raven-haired girl but it quickly shifted into a mocking tone bordering on anger.

"You look terrible." She commented, and Six knew she was right. He was drenched in Faunus' blood and his own, one lens broken, and his arm in ruins.

An aloof and almost amused expression crossed her face as she said, "you know, when Roman first contacted me and said you two were starting trouble, I thought better of you."

That expression of amusement disappeared as her eyes shifted over to Six. Her deadpan look may have fooled some but he knew it well. That was someone on the verge of murder, uncaring of the consequences.

"But I see now that was a mistake. One you're going to rectify for me."

Six began reaching one hand down towards the inside of his coat with his one good hand. But he was cut off as Cinder threatened, "challenge me, I dare you. You'll truly see how all your efforts here were for naught."

Cinder strode forward but her lackeys remained behind. Fire burst to life around her once more as she closed in on her target. Once she was in range, she loomed directly over the kneeling form of Six. The fire she had just created swirling around the two.

She looked directly into the Courier's eye—lording over him—before saying, "you and Adam will be given no more 'breaks.' No more leeway. You will return to your duties until I say otherwise. If you deviate…"

The gold trimmings on her red dress caught fire. Starting from the bottom, the fire worked its way up her sides and spread across her entire dress as she continued, "you'll lose a lot more than just your pay."

"But I am fair. And while I will punish both of you, I recognize that one of you started this with your incompetence." Cinder practically spat the last word at Adam as her gaze shifted.

"I think I'll be adding to that little scar of yours."

Six knew the situation was fucked. And in part because of him. Glancing down, he saw the battered bruised, and just barely conscious form of Adam looking up at him.

Knowing he couldn't lose a resource and that it was the "morally just" but stupid thing to do; The Courier got to his feet before turning to Cinder.

"Fuck off…" Those two words came out rough and coarse. Partially from exhaustion but also a little smoke inhalation.

His boss's boss didn't respond. She merely turned to him, fixing her gaze on him once more, demanding an answer.

"I said… Fuck off," Six reiterated before pointing his good hand at her. "If you were going to kill us, you would've done it. But you need us. And you can't hurt me too much because I'm supposed to be your 'little spy.' He's already fucked up enough. Leave him alone."

There was a long uncomfortable silence. It stretched on and the Courier could see the looks of both shock and worry on Emerald and Mercury's faces. Legitimate fear, strange, he didn't think it was possible for those two.

Eventually, and just as suddenly as it came, the fire vanished, dying out in an instant. Despite the lack of heat, the tension was still high.

"Brave little puppy, aren't you?" Cinder asked before turning on her heel and heading back towards her puppets. "I'll let you off the hook this time. But remember…"

The head of their little crime syndicate craned her head back towards him before finishing, "I know where that little girl lives."

Six was too tired to think of a comeback as Cinder turned and the group made their way back into the woods. All they left behind was burnt trees and ash.

Slowly getting to his feet, Six turned and took a step before nearly falling over in a coughing fit. Due to the delirium from blood loss, he stumbled forward before righting himself.

He looked back at the broken form of Adam. Satisfied with his work but knowing he couldn't let it end like this.

"I am not your friend nor her friend. I'm not your partner or ally. We are strained associates at best." Six began as he looked down at the barely awake Adam.

The Faunus's entire body was limp, unable to even move. His face was severely swollen and bruised, cuts and gashes decorating his face. It would heal, but it would probably scar too. Not to mention the cuts and bruises from landing like that without an Aura.

"It would be pointless to kill you. Don't mistake this for anything else." Again, Six coughed, spitting out a little blood on the inside of his mask.

He turned away and took a few more steps before concluding, "I am sorry for how this ended. It wasn't my plan but you pushed me. If you still want to be a part of my plan to get out from under Cinder's thumb, contact me in a few days. We'll arrange a meeting. I'll tell you everything then."

And like that, his business here was concluded. He walked past the tree line before stopping and injecting a couple stimpaks into himself. He could already feel his muscles and flesh knitting back together as he waited. It wouldn't heal him fully but he would regenerate over time. And it was better to be in pain than use more stimpaks than he really needed.

He stopped to grab his discarded rifle before continuing on. Six had a long walk ahead.

In the distance, a creature watched, it waited. Now wasn't the time. Its prey would elude it if attacked now. That would only serve to inform the parasite of its presence.

No… Its prey's time would come but not yet. Only when the city was weakened, when the protection the parasite hid behind faltered, would it strike.

The being made of pure shadow turned towards another dark humanoid figure. This creature was smaller than its brethren, weaker. But it was more refined, agile. It could get where others could not. It had already proved so years ago. The creature stood taller than any human, claws sharp and ready for more human blood.

It moved forward, running a hand along the creature's cheek. It had a job for its loyal subject.

Tonight the Courier was going to need to actually sleep to allow his body to heal. He could feel his arm burning with that familiar tingling sensation that indicated his wounds were recovering thanks to his implants. Still, it would work faster if he rested, and so would his mental state as well. But he had one last thing to do, so the rest would have to wait until tomorrow.

It was a quick thing to get clean. After all, he only really needed to stow his armor and have it cleaned later since he could dematerialize it. Then some bandages for his arm and he was at least presentable. Though he did have to put his injured arm in a sling. It would heal in a day maybe two at most but for now he wouldn't stress it.

When he got back to his apartment, he noticed two things. The first was the Spring family standing outside his home in the middle of the night. The second was the sheriffs lingering in and outside his home.

Carmine was glued to the side of her father's leg, once more reverting to that quiet and reserved attitude. Not that he could blame her with the events of the past 24 hours.

"The authorities are still poking around your place," Richter explained while the trio walked towards the parking garage. "They said they'd keep in touch with you to ask further questions and that you could get back into your place later."

Annoying but not anything Six couldn't get over. They wouldn't find any evidence there as it was all contained on his person in the Pip-Boy.

"Right." Six's passive response earned him a raised brow from Richter. Nothing was said between the two as they made their way to the HumVee before packing their supplies in.

"Sorry you've got to cut your vacation short," Six apologized as the trio entered the vehicle. "But I think it's a little dangerous for the both of you to stick around."

The older man nodded his head before glancing towards the backseat. The young girl hadn't said a word since Six arrived home and according to Richter hadn't spoken since the incident.

This made the start of the drive back uncomfortably quiet. No one said a word as they passed streetlights and the main gate leading out of the city. They were leaving the comfort of the light and heading towards the darkness outside the city.

Thankfully, that awkwardness also meant neither dared to ask what happened to his arm.

As the vehicle rolled forward and the quiet thrumming of the engine comforted them, Carmine finally spoke. "Is that part of your job?"

The Courier glanced towards the rearview mirror and looked at her. She was staring directly at the back of his head.

"Is what part of my job?" He asked, doing his best not to broach the subject and hoping she would change the subject.

A silence followed after his question. Six figured she probably wasn't comfortable even asking the question.

"Hurting people."

There it was. That shaky tone in her voice, the way she was shrinking into herself. It threatened to bring out that rage again towards the White Fang.

"Kind of. Sometimes there are dangerous people that you have to stop. And the only way to stop them is to make sure they can't hurt anyone else."

Pausing for a moment, Six took the time to lock eyes with Carmine in the rearview mirror. "It's what all Huntsman and Huntresses have to do at some point."

This earned a disapproving glare from Richter but Six turned back to the road, ignoring him. It was the honest truth and Carmine was going to have to face it sooner or later. Not that it made it enjoyable, quite the opposite.

"I don't like that," Carmine whispered in a sad tone.

"Me neither."

Author's Notes:

And that's it, a lot happened this chapter and it was a bit difficult to write at times but I hope you enjoyed it! After the hiatus we'll be returning to more Beacon focused antics for a bit.

Once again, thank you for all the support you've shown. It's one of the main things that has driven me forward on this story.

And lastly, stick around, this next arc will take us from the beginning of Season 2 to the end of Season 3 (and slightly beyond). Hope you all look forward to it!

Reviews:

CykaBlyatintensifies: "Things are getting intense! Bloody Spring means that Richter killed a lot of people and the fact that the White Fang is coming after him says that those people are Faunuses. One thing is bothering me, though. The Great War ended 80 years ago. Does that mean that Richter is over 80 years old? Or is he simply the one who hunts down the remnants of the war?"

Author: You're thinking of the Great War. What Richter was a part of was the Civil War or the Faunus Rights Revolution. Better known as the "Faunus War." According to just "a bit" of research I've done for it, no definitive timeline has been given for the event (like much of RWBY). However, we know it takes place after the Great War and before the show. In the timeline for this story, it's roughly two decades ago, meaning most of the main cast of RWBY weren't alive then.

Fun note, this would put Richter's age at an absolute minimum of 35 (he's older).

An anonymous user also asked if each arc is 10 chapters. I don't plan them that way, no. If they happen to be that long, it's not intentional.

Finally, this story received a very flattering review from Chu-chu27. That was very kind of you to give such a long and flattering review. It helps push me forward! Thanks for the support and I hope to continue entertaining you and the other readers!

Gear:

Burned Man's Armor

Elite Riot Gear (Modified: Mimic Edition)

Modified Stealth Suit Mk. II

Civilian Clothing

Beacon Uniform

Mysterious Magnum

Rebreather

Maria

Survivalist Rifle

Modified Anti-Material Rifle.

YCS/186 Gauss Rifle variant.

C4 – Plastic explosives (0)

Detonator.

Frag Grenades (1)

Frag Mines (0)

Combat Knife.

Plasma Grenades (5 : 1 converted to plasma mine)

Plasma Mines (0)

WulfsBann Power Fist (x2)