Author's Notes:

For this chapter, I changed the order of events around just a little bit from canon to better fit the story. Nothing major, just changed when Jaune does certain things in the chapter. Read on and find out what I changed!

Edit: Fixed a mistake where Pip-Boys were used in place for Stealth-Boys. Thanks OpKingDimond!

"Text"

"Speech"

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

Remnants of a Courier

Arc 4: Chaos Theory

Chapter 47: Dull Days and Loud Nights

"Hi, this is Carmine. I can't get to my scroll right now but thank you for calling. If you leave a name and scroll number, I'll get back to you really fast! Bye!"

Six sighed as he lowered his Pip-Boy. He hadn't been able to reach Richter or Carmine since that incident with the White Fang. It was fair, they were probably scared of him. Still, it hurt just a little bit to be ignored by them.

It also didn't help that he had nothing better to do. Watching after a bunch of teenagers playing dress-up at a "ball" was beyond asinine. What the Hell was a "ball" anyway? Some dance competition? Probably something the White Gloves would do, which was not a resounding endorsement. It was asinine and against everything he learned in the Mojave.

Despite his complaints, it was about time to actually get back to the party.

Six stepped onto the second floor of the large auditorium-like room. He was currently on the balcony above the stage. On either side of him were large curving staircases that led down to the first floor. There were a few side doors that led into the room but primarily there were two large wooden doors on opposite ends of the first and second floor for entrances. To Six's left was a large glass wall with a door that led to an outside balcony.

The room was adorned with tables, streamers, balloons, drinks, stereos, and other "teenage fun" antics. The main attraction was a stage setup on the first floor just below the balcony for the band. As long as he kept an eye on the punch, House was sure it would be an uninteresting night.

The students below were engaged in a typical "ballroom dance." There were maybe a dozen couples on the dance floor and another dozen wandering around the room. This included many of the first years he had come to know. There were a few other professors that were keeping track of students and even Ozpin showed up briefly for the festivities.

Six felt disgustingly out of place among them. Not only had his teenage years passed him but the idea of traditional schooling wasn't something he was fond of. He grew up alone but also free. The few more traditional environments he had ever been in were less than ideal.

A wave of anger washed over the Courier as he monitored the students. He wasn't completely sure where it stemmed from but seeing the happy teenagers conversing without a care in the world was irritating. They lived happy lives that were ignorant of any responsibility or worry about what was going on around them. And these were supposed to be future protectors of Vale? Then it hit him.

He was jealous. Jealous of the childhood he felt robbed of. Jealous that they had not a single care between all of them. There was a stray thought in his mind that this was similar reasoning to what Cinder used to justify her hate for them a couple weeks ago. A trap he would not let himself fall into.

His gaze drifted until it settled on a certain blonde female student. From what he heard, team RWBY was in charge of setting up this event. In fact, he could even see Yang ushering a new couple in. One wore a black tux that fit in with the party but his grey hair stood out to Six. The other wore a green dress and was always accompanied by her partner. Dark skin and green hair stood out from the sea of other students.

That was Mercury and Emerald. Fuck. Six knew for a fact they wouldn't give a shit about a school dance like this. So why were they really there? His eyes scanned the room for either Neo or Cinder. Not spotting either of them made him worry more.

Instead of the two issue people, he heard something else.

"So, uh, hey Pyrrha." Six heard someone say over the crowd. As soon as he picked it up, the Courier's eyes scanned the crowd for the nervous voice.

His eyes stopped moving when he spotted the ruffled blond hair of Jaune. He had what looked like a dress of some kind and a heart-shaped box of chocolates hidden behind his back. It was a bit early in the season for chocolate and uncharacteristic for him. Across from him stood Pyrrha. And the blond was also wearing a suit, it painted a strange picture as the Courier was used to seeing Jaune bruised in his normal armor.

The redhead did a good job at hiding how giddy she was. Even if she failed to hide the smile slowly spreading across her face, the rest of her body language remained calm. The red dress matched her hair but again looked out of place given Six was used to seeing her with weapons in hand.

"Oh, hi Jaune. Thank you for inviting me to the dance." She said, knowing full well he had something hidden behind his back.

The nervous blonde nodded his head towards where the outside balcony was. "Could I talk to you for a minute?" He asked while doing his best to hide the nervous tapping of his foot.

Shit, is this what he had to look forward to tonight? Some teenagers confessing to each other… Fuck no Six didn't want to stick around for that.

Besides, he had troublemakers to find. Scanning the crowd, he saw Emerald and Mercury loitering, waiting for something to occur. The two were currently stalking around on the second floor like him. Mercury noticed his stare and smirked before pointing behind the Courier.

Six turned to spot his boss's boss standing behind him with her arms crossed. Wait, if she was his boss's boss, did that make her the big boss?

"Instructor House," the amber-eyed woman greeted with an almost sickeningly sweet tone. "I didn't think you'd be presiding over the dance."

Cinder wore a long black dress that almost seemed to sparkle in the lights of the room. Like stars in the night sky. Of course she had to wear something flashy. It was accompanied by long black gloves and heels. That combined with her black hair reminded Six of a raven or a crow. Maybe a raven of the night as corny as that sounded. Though Raven of the Night made her sound like a prostitute, something Cinder would hate, which was also utterly hilarious to him. The Courier filed that thought away for later.

Her outfit contrasted starkly with his usual work uniform, the bulkier bulletproof vest taking away from the slicker design of the suit. Six preferred functionality over aesthetic every time.

The Courier had no choice but to greet her amicably. "Yeah, someone has to make sure a bunch of teenagers don't do anything stupid. There something I can help you with?"

"No, I just wanted to stop by and say hi. Enjoy the festivities." As she spoke, Cinder pointed at him before pointing at herself and nodding her head towards the door.

Getting her point, Six nodded his head as he replied, "you as well ma'am."

Cinder strutted off after their conversation. She went into the crowd and mingled amicably with the other students. A lie she sold well, speaking with grace and fake kindness.

After a few minutes, Six made his way out of the ballroom and into the halls surrounding it. Pale moonlight shined in through the windows, the only source of light for him. Deciding he might as well get comfortable, he leaned up against a wall and waited, idly looking out at the shattered moon as he did.

Sure enough, a few minutes later Cinder followed him into the hall.

"Quickly, we shouldn't be seen together," Six muttered to her as she approached.

Letting out a small huff, Cinder rolled her eyes as she responded, "fine. The Mimic is going to make an appearance tonight. You'll need to be quiet. Get your things and meet me just outside the main gate in ten minutes. We'll be traveling to the CCT Tower." With that, the raven-haired girl turned and walked away.

Okay, Six knew she said to be quick, but that gave no details on what he was going to be doing. House let out a sigh before moving back towards the ballroom. Fortunately for him, he always had his equipment on him. Which gave him enough time for an idea. It was time to put some heat on Cinder.

Making his way back into the ballroom, Six searched for his target. He soon found the girl in the red dress looking as awkward as possible at the party.

Mercury and Emerald were nearby but as long as he didn't make a scene it wouldn't matter.

Six took the stairs down to the first floor before walking over to Ruby.

"Ruby," he greeted in a monotone voice.

The short girl jumped before turning to him. "O-Oh, hi Instructor House."

"I take it parties aren't your thing?" The Courier questioned as he noticed how she fidgeted on the spot. Shifting from one foot to another and wringing her hands together.

"Not really," she admitted while looking away. After a few moments, that classic Ruby hyperactivity kicked in and she looked back up at him before saying, "what about you? Do you like parties?"

Six shrugged before replying, "nope. That's why I'm gonna take a break. If you get too crowded in here, you should take a break on the balcony. I hear it has a really good view of the CCT tower."

The younger girl tilted her head in confusion. "Okay?" she responded while raising a brow at him.

This was obvious bait. The CCT tower–while an amazing and almost mythically huge piece of architecture to Six–was common to the people of Remnant. That would be like someone saying "go stare at the Lucky 38 for a while" back on his world.

"I highly suggest you do so," Six recommended as he began walking away from her. "Nice talking to you Miss Rose."

"So, Pyrrha…" Jaune trailed off, doing his best to build up the courage to do what Cardin and him had planned.

He asked his partner to the dance and she said yes. It was kind of insane to even think she would but even crazier that it was actually happening. It made him way too nervous to think clearly.

Now he was alone with her because he invited Pyrrha to the school balcony, to be alone. Oh Gods, he was alone and about to do something super embarrassing.

The woman he hoped actually liked him smiled softly with an almost angelic beauty as she replied, "yes Jaune?"

He still had both her presents hidden behind him. When was the right time? God of Water give him the wisdom to not mess up.

He coughed into his free hand before saying, "so… We've been teammates for a while. And you're awesome and wonderful and just generally a patient person with me." Oh no, he was laying it on too thick! She was giving him a pity smile; he just knew it!

"And I wanted to invite you to the dance… To ask… If… To ask if…"

Again, he trailed off, on the verge of just asking her out. To anything, anytime. Ever since House had told him that Pyrrha liked him, Jaune had taken a second look at every experience he had with her. It was so obvious now in hindsight but he had let his single-minded goal of Weiss blind him. And maybe the others had a point that he was kind of oblivious.

Sure, Weiss was pretty, smart, and determined, all things he liked. His first crush even. But Pyrrha was the one who had taught him how to stay at Beacon, how to get stronger, how to be patient, how to just be a genuinely better person. Jaune couldn't ask for more.

And that was the problem… She was perfect and… He was nothing. A fraud who cheated his way into Beacon. A failure who was barely getting by in his classes, who got beat by everyone because he didn't belong. The runt of his family. Just like always, he just wasn't…

"Pyrrha, am I good enough?"

The question was obviously not what she was expecting. Her expression went from a warm smile to a confused furrow of her brow.

"Good enough for what Jaune?" The girl of his dreams asked in a worried tone.

He turned from her and leaned against the railing of the balcony, the cool night air did little to calm his nerves and emotions.

"This… Beacon… You… Being a Huntsman." He finally settled on the last part, not completely sure how to phrase his emotions.

"Of course you are," she replied immediately. Just like someone perfect as her would do.

Jaune couldn't help but turn and snap, "but am I?! I failed to get into Beacon so I cheated my way here and forced you to keep that secret. I fail at beating even a single person during our combat training. I fail to be a good leader for my team." A small chuckle escaped him before he continued, "I am failing to ask you out right now!"

"Of course you're good enough. Jaune, before I came here, I didn't have any friends." This got his attention as Pyrrha continued speaking, "being really good at something can seem really inspiring to others. Inspiring them enough to put you on a pedestal for life. And when you're on that pedestal, everyone is too scared to approach you. They see you as too perfect."

His partner raised a hand towards Jaune. "You treated me like a person. Not a tournament winner, not some amazing fighter. But as a person. You did that. You're the first and only person to have ever done that for me."

"But anyone can do that!" Jaune nearly shouted back at her. "I'm not special just because I'm nice Pyrrha. I… Wanted to ask you out, to give you stuff." As he spoke, the teenager placed her gifts on the balcony. "But I don't know if I'm good enough."

"Jaune…"

"No, Pyrrha, it's not about you being too perfect. It's about me being too imperfect." While speaking, Jaune moved away from the balcony and held his hands up. Looking down, all he could see was imperfection.

Every time he tried to hit on Weiss, every time he was thrown down by Cardin or House in training, his forged acceptance into Beacon, his failure as a leader, as a person. How could he attach that kind of failure to the person he cared about?

"Jaune," Pyrrha pleaded as she stepped toward him. "You're perfect just the way you are…"

"But I'm not!" He finally shouted as he turned to her. "I'm the fuck up."

His shout stunned his partner for a moment and he didn't dare say anything else. So, the two stood there in silence, waiting for the other to respond.

The person Jaune liked balled her hand in anger before relaxing it.

"I'm sorry you feel that way Jaune," she began while placing a hand on his shoulder. "And I won't push you… Just know that I don't think that and that I'm always here for you."

Pyrrha retracted her hand before saying, "I'll give you some space. Head inside if you need me."

And like that, she turned and walked away. And all he could do was stand and watch, doing everything in his power just to keep from breaking down.

"Fuck. Fuck. FUCK!" He shouted while turning back to the balcony. How did he manage to fuck that up so bad?!

Everything was perfect. Cardin had recommended gifts, saying that whatever he got would be good as long as he had her in mind. And it worked, but he screwed it at the last second.

"Oh man… How am I ever going to fix this?"

He was already wracking his brain for ideas on how to apologize for his breakdown in front of her for literally no reason at all. How was a major goofball like him ever going to…

The dress and the chocolates were sitting on the balcony still, which gave him an idea.

Sure, he was a goofball, but sometimes that could help too. If he was just willing to set his own doubts to the side, maybe he could still salvage the night. He just needed to have the confidence to believe he was good enough for Pyrrha. She seemed to think so at least. And if she thought so, who was he to say no? He may not believe in himself but all he had to do was have faith in her beliefs.

If he just faked his confidence until he made it, it would all work out? The teenager sure hoped so.

"Fake it till you make it," Jaune muttered to himself as he grabbed both the chocolates and the dress before darting away from the balcony. As he did, he noticed his friend Ruby heading outside.

"Hey Ruby, bye Ruby!" He called out to her with newfound excitement as he dashed past her and into the building. He had to make this work!

"And what exactly will I be doing tonight?" The Courier questioned as followed after Cinder.

The pain-in-his-ass had changed into some kind of infiltration uniform. Black and grey skin-tight pants were accompanied by a sleeveless black shirt with a massive V cut showing off her cleavage. And she wore the same black gloves she had at the party. To top it off, she was wearing a black domino mask. If she asked Six, he would say she looked closer to a stripper than a night ops soldier.

The two were darting from rooftop to rooftop towards the CCT tower. Six was only barely able to keep up thanks to his augmentations but it was clear she was slowing down for him. Six couldn't help but curse the stupid superpower bullshit.

Cinder glanced behind her before responding, "stop staring at me. And we're going to be uploading this to the CCT tower." His boss held up what looked like a small USB stick. It was tiny compared to the ones his own world had.

Six noticed that technology on Remnant was always smaller and sleeker than his own world. It was okay but not his personal choice of aesthetic.

"Please, I don't like you in or out of your stripper uniform." As the words left the Courier's mouth, a small spark of fire leapt off Cinder.

Another head turn and she replied with burning eyes, "at least I don't hide behind layers of armor."

It was true. He was dressed in his elite riot gear that he altered to look like a Grimm. Or his Mimic armor. Six would give a lot right now to have a cooler villain name.

"Whatever you say," Six said as he glanced towards Beacon. More importantly towards the small figure in red stepping out onto the balcony of the party.

It took the girl a few seconds but eventually Ruby glanced in their direction. She watched with confusion as they continued towards the CCT tower.

That look of confusion quickly turned to alarm and finally determination as she darted back inside. Good, the plan was going smoothly so far. Said plan would put him at risk but also put Cinder in a bind as well if they were discovered. A risk he was willing to take.

What were the chances she ran after them without grabbing a proper authority figure? Knowing Ruby, nearly certain.

Six had the next couple of minutes to organize his thoughts as he ran behind Cinder. The CCT tower was only a ten minute walk from Beacon and a five minute sprint like they were doing. But what did the CCT tower have to do with her plans? What were they uploading? Would he need his stealth suit?

Six had thought about donning his prototype stealth armor but he didn't want to let that cat out of the bag yet. Besides, the facial recognition for the SINK personality of the stealth suit wouldn't give him any more information than what he had been able to glean from his research.

Cinder Fall, age seventeen. Affiliations, Haven Academy, Mistral. Mistral born and raised in Atlas. No known criminal record. That was it. No affiliates, friends, or history. Hell, he couldn't even find where she was raised, just that it was in Atlas. And he knew for a fact she was older than seventeen.

The girl was like a ghost in the system with only two individuals lacking more in the "real records" department. That being him and this Salem character.

"Stop," the woman ordered as she came to a halt at the edge of the current rooftop they were on. The Courier did so as he stepped up behind her and surveyed their surroundings.

The buildings around them ended and for a few blocks there was nothing but concrete and the tower. A large section of open land was between them and the roughly fifty-story tower. Six wasn't sure about the exact height of the spire but it was utterly massive. Just its circular base spanned several city blocks.

The base of the building had one primary entrance, a large set of blue ornate-looking doors that contrasted with the rest of the grey stone. It had several symbols on it that Six didn't recognize, likely iconography of various nations and groups of Remnant. No windows could be seen on it and the base had a much larger radius than the rest of the building, likely for support.

Other than its base, the design was rather simplistic. A grey spire that had some pillars running along the outside and to the top. He could see large blue windows dotted the outside of it. The design itself wasn't impressive but the sheer size was. It made the Lucky 38 look small in comparison.

The Courier had never bothered to visit as he had no reason for cross-continental communication. The furthest people he communicated with were the Spring family and they were within Vale. It was a poor connection from the capital to Rhyt but it was enough for chatting with them.

Looking at the barren area between them and the tower, it looked like there were several guards. Their uniforms reminded Six of their Atlas counterparts but these soldiers had light grey upper body armor. Maybe it was some kind of synthetic weave based on the modern-looking design. The helmets were angular and covered the head like an Atlesian helmet but the mouthpiece was removed. The grey helmet sported dark yellow accents that also adorned bits and pieces of the chest armor. However, their legs were left entirely unprotected in what looked like a thin black undersuit.

Six assumed these were either Vale guards in Atlesian-styled gear or Atlas guards in a strange Vale-influenced armor set. Likely the former given what Kingdom they were in.

"What's the plan of attack?" Six questioned as he watched his new partner take a step forward. The Courier never did get a response as she jumped to ground level before stalking along the edge of the buildings for cover.

A sigh escaped the Mimic as he retrieved his anti-material rifle. An open field like this was easy work for a sniper. Especially when the targets were unaware of his presence.

The Courier laid down and got comfortable on the edge of the rooftop, propping up his rifle on its bipod mount. He could fire this thing one-handed with the support it had now.

Tracking Cinder as she moved, Six watched as she stalked along and through several alleys before she darted over to one of the closer and separated guards. There was a swift movement of her hand colliding with the back of the soldier's neck before he collapsed. Poor guy never had a chance to scream.

Another guard wasn't too far away and Cinder made sure to dart over to him as well. Watching with rapt attention, Six noted that she wasn't using lethal force as she first wrapped her legs around the guard's waist from behind before strangling him into submission.

The Courier didn't have many non-lethal methods of takedown with his sniper and was just considering moving when a guard stepped towards Cinder's position.

Taking aim, he noticed that his new partner was just standing up from her stranglehold when they spotted each other. Cinder paused as the guard registered what was happening.

This gave Six just enough time to take aim and fire. The guard's hands jerked downward as his weapon was ripped from his fingers by a bullet and the Courier could see him curse before Cinder lunged toward him.

The terrorist jumped up legs first before wrapping her knees around the man's head. She then leaned back and backflipped, sending both her knees and the man's head into the ground. From the lack of movement the guard showed after, Six guessed he was either dead or unconscious.

While his suppressor would keep him quiet from the other targets that were a distance away, it wouldn't be enough to hide the noise from anyone in the building below him. At least, not with the caliber of weapon he was using. He probably had a few more shots at most before someone got suspicious enough to either check out the roof or call law enforcement.

His scope moved back over to Cinder who was staring directly at him. She darted her hand towards the tower, a hand gesture meant to send him forward as well.

"Oh sure, send the sniper forward and away from his perch," Six bitched as he got up from his nice comfortable position. As he stepped onto the edge of the building, he wondered when Ruby would catch up.

In total, the duo had taken care of seven guards patrolling the perimeter in a matter of minutes. Which was good because Six figured their buddies would want them radioing in after a few more minutes at best.

Interestingly, Cinder had spared the lives of every single one of them. Which was fine with Six, all of these people were just doing their jobs. No need to waste human life for no reason. Unless they were criminals, raiders, spies, or particularly problematic for him.

"We're just going to walk in?" Six questioned as the two intruders approached the large archway leading into the tower.

He was slinging his rifle over his shoulder and pulling out his Mysterious Magnum when Cinder replied, "it's the quick solution." Which was true, but the quick solution wasn't always the smartest in his opinion.

The Courier turned and stared at her, his lenses meeting the mask that covered only her eyes.

Letting out a chuckle, the Mimic turned away before saying, "I can't take you seriously in that thing."

"What, why?" Cinder questioned as the two made their way down a hall and further into the tower. Was she being serious?

A quick glance in the woman's direction revealed she was. Did she… Actually think that was a good disguise?

As they entered a large cylindrical-shaped room, Six couldn't help but answer, "you're serious right now? That's a terrible disguise." What conversation was he having right now? The head of a terrorist organization really thought that was a good disguise? Someone who was conspiring against governments and had literal magical powers, someone who was not above murder, was acting like a child.

The room they entered was aglow in blue light being cast from the outside wall of the room that stretched into a full circle around them with one large monitor covering all of it. That light bathed the several consoles and screens that were lined up in a similar circular fashion around them. Finally, there was another large pillar in the center of the room that housed an elevator

This… Was a weird side to Cinder that Six didn't really need to know. Every other time they had ever interacted, she used the bare minimum to get her point across, and she generally held herself with confidence. Was it an act? Was she really an idiot? Wait, was she socially awkward?

It would have made Six chuckle if they hadn't just stepped into a room with four guards. All four were currently staring at them, more than a little dumbfounded that they had somehow snuck past everyone else. The reality was worse for these four.

Cinder and Six's discussion died down as the former stepped forward.

Finally, the guard closest to them kicked into action and drew his sidearm. Why he didn't draw his primary wasn't Six's problem.

The guard may have been faster than his friends but he wasn't faster than the Courier who used his revolver to blast the pistol from the guard's hand.

The soldier let out a pained yelp as his index finger broke and the gun was flung from his hands. He didn't have long to be in pain as Cinder jumped forward and kicked the guard in the head, sending him flying back into his other buddy, the two of them falling to the floor in a heap.

The other two defenders grabbed what looked like batons at their sides before charging forward. They sparked with electricity as the first soldier swung at Cinder.

Six could only sigh at people with guns pulling out sticks to fight. Only on Remnant.

As Cinder flourished her hands to her sides, conjuring flame for a moment, the Courier made his way over to the two prone guards. The female soldier on the floor was just pushing her unconscious friend off her as Six raised his boot. She only had time to glance upward before receiving a heel to the face.

That took care of two of them.

He turned back to see Cinder now had two curved and jagged black blades in her hands. God above only knew where she got them as they weren't there when he turned away. The two weapons were roughly a little under two feet in length and one was currently slashing at the last guard standing. The other fighter lay prone and unconscious a few feet away from Cinder and the last guard.

The lone guard sidestepped the first swipe at him before catching the follow-up attack from Cinder's other blade by gripping her wrist. That was when he made his first and last mistake.

The emboldened defender went to shoot a smug look at Cinder but the amber-eyed woman crouched down before jumping back up into a backflip. As she flipped, Cinder made sure to kick the man in the face. This sent him flying as she deftly landed back on her feet.

With the defenders disposed of with a final thud from the cocky guard hitting the ground, Cinder and Six were free to roam the tower as they liked. For such an important site as one of the four towers required to keep intercontinental communication going, Six would have expected more security.

That must've been the difference between Vale and Atlas. Atlas had mediocre security that would slow him down. Vale had pitiful security he could practically sidestep. How hadn't Cinder already won?

"So, why did you need to bring me along? This seems simple enough." At the Courier's question, she turned to him before narrowing her eyes.

"For insurance purposes. I wanted to know where you were at while I was doing this." Her answer almost made Six chuckle again.

As he stepped towards the elevator in the center of the room, Six held up his hands in a surrender motion as he replied, "it's like you don't trust me."

Cinder shrugged before continuing, "it's good to have a second set of hands in case something goes awry too."

Six watched the lit number for the elevator turn from six to five as it ticked down to their floor.

"Am I allowed to ask what's on there?" As he spoke, the Courier pointed towards where Cinder was currently keeping the USB device, inside a small pack at her side.

Returning to that strict and stern attitude he was more used to, she replied, "you may not."

Fair enough, he wasn't expecting all the answers here and now.

The elevator finally dinged as it reached their floor and the doors opened. Two more unfortunate Vale soldiers were waiting inside. They both looked at Cinder and Six before glancing behind the trespassers and at the unconscious bodies of their friends.

Neither party moved for a few moments until Cinder walked into the elevator with them as if nothing was wrong. The amber-eyed woman played too much for Six's liking.

She then turned and stared at Six expectantly. Unfortunately for her, he wasn't going to play along.

He instead turned and shot the soldier on his left in the knee. Without Aura, the guard crumpled to one knee and gripped his leg with a pained yelp.

Not giving him a chance to recover; the Courier took one step into the elevator, reared his other leg back, and slammed his knee forward and into the guard's face. This likely shattered the poor man's nose and sent his head slamming back into the elevator wall before crumpling to the floor.

By the time he glanced over towards Cinder, she already had the other guard sprawled out on the elevator floor. At least she was a quick worker when she wasn't playing.

His new partner pressed the elevator button and the doors closed, sending the two upward.

The rumble of the elevator did little to help them ignore the long climb up. As they waited, Six couldn't help but notice the way Cinder glanced toward the bleeding guard at his feet.

After a few long and painful moments of silence, Six spoke up. "Something wrong?"

His partner turned away and scoffed before replying, "do you always have to fight like a savage?"

Was she… Was she really judging him? She was the one who ordered him to go and kill people for fuck's sake. Why the Hell would she care?

He analyzed the past five to ten minutes and thought hard. Terrorist leader who doesn't like Beacon and thinks the students are privileged and wants to overthrow the current system. She's likely jealous of the easy lives they've had. No guards were killed on the way into the tower. Six glanced up as he realized what it was.

It was either killing or violence that Cinder didn't like. He assumed it had to be the latter since she had sent him to kill people. Or maybe she didn't like unrefined fighting? Something along those lines. Cinder didn't like the simple but brutal methods the Mimic employed. Funny since he was under her employ at the moment.

"It was the quick solution," Six finally responded, making sure to use her own words. If she was worried about the means he used, she should first worry about her own methods.

The elevator dinged as they reached their floor and the doors opened. It looked like the communications room. Booths with Scrolls that looked eerily like computer monitors were stationed around the room. A glass window completely covered one wall of the room and it was dimly lit by ceiling panel lights.

Was she planning on bugging all communication in and out of Vale? An interesting idea but a difficult one to execute. She would need a way to funnel all of the information and sort it into something digestible for the human mind.

The pair made their way over to a central console at the other end of the room. Once there, Cinder took a seat and Six watched over her shoulder as she plugged the USB in.

When the lock screen appeared, so did a folder for a drive that was unrecognized by the console. He wasn't sure how the software worked but someone knowledgeable about CAPL made this if it was able to bypass security merely by being plugged in.

Cinder ran a program and installed something onto the computer. Six wasn't sure of all the specifics but it was definitely some form of malware they were putting onto the device.

Six had an idea while watching her work. If he could get a copy of their program, he could repurpose it to his own ends and figure out what they were doing.

"Who makes their password 'B3acon#'?" Six insulted as he watched the program rip the wireless password for the tower from the console.

Cinder didn't answer him, instead holding up her scroll as the program dinged at her. Then the screen flashed with the symbol of a black queen chess piece.

Turning, the Courier noticed that all the other monitors flashed that same symbol before reverting back to their original state. What an unnecessary feature, what if someone had walked in on them?

Six could hear a voice speaking to Cinder over the phone. After a few moments, they went silent and she replied, "no, we're done here."

His partner stood up from the chair before nodding at him and heading towards the elevator again. Before they could approach it, the elevator dinged. Someone had just ridden the elevator up to their floor.

There was one curious student Six figured it was. Not taking any chances at being spotted, Six ducked behind the console that Cinder had just been operating on. He could see Cinder taking cover behind a different computer as the elevator doors opened.

The Courier didn't dare look out of his cover yet, instead choosing to use his compass to keep track of the new intruder. Well, the four new intruders if the red markers were any indication.

"Hello, is anyone there?" He could hear Ruby call out as she stepped into the room. Her steps were uneven like she was having difficulty walking for some reason.

Staying low, Six leaned out of cover and waved at Cinder for her attention. When she turned to him, the Courier pointed towards her and then to one of the side doors. He then produced and held up a grenade for his partner to see. She seemed to understand what he was going for as he primed the grenade.

Now, Dust grenades were a bit different from Earth's standards. Namely, the mechanism for setting off Dust was inherently more volatile than regular explosives. What would normally require some kind of spark like a primer to detonate could instead be ignited with any type of foreign energy going into it. Heat, electricity, other Dust, any of these and more could set Dust off.

Instead of a release and a primer, Dust grenades merely had a single button. When pressed, the timer started. Highly, and Six meant HIGHLY fucking dangerous for a grenade.

Another voice called out as what Six assumed was team RWBY began spanning out into the room. "We know someone's here, come out now." That was Blake's voice if he was right.

The Courier cooked the grenade for a few moments before lobbing it over the consoles and at the group.

The grenade tinked off the floor a couple times before Six heard scattered footsteps. Six ducked back into cover and another moment later an explosion ripped through the room.

This was his perfect chance to get something he was dying to know about.

As the smoke began dying down and the ringing in his ears from the explosion dissipated, the Courier could hear a single set of footsteps heading for the side door he had pointed to earlier. It was likely Cinder was now making her escape.

"She's going over here!" Yang called out and Six tracked five markers moving away from him. Perfect. The Courier waited until he was sure they were all out of the room and their footsteps were fading before stepping out of cover.

Knowing he didn't have much time, the Mimic moved over to the console Cinder had worked on before plugging his Pip-Boy into the device.

He didn't have anything at the moment to break into the device. Six could use some of his programs that were meant to break into Ozpin's office but they would take too long.

"C'mon," Six muttered as he looked for any stray files or logs left behind by the program. Someone can't just put a program in and leave absolutely no trace of how they broke in.

He tried to remember back to what he saw the program doing earlier. It had ripped passwords from the device… Or maybe it had actually been inputting passwords until it got one right? Or maybe he already had the password... No… That would be too stupid.

The Courier quickly typed each letter and number in. B3acon#. And he was in. The password for the wireless was also the same password for the user on this console.

"Fucking end users," Six muttered as he pulled up several different administrator logs and audit trails to check what had been changed.

After a minute or so of checking, Six found what he was looking for. Within the last five minutes, a new program had been added to the computer, though no one would notice unless they went looking for it. It didn't appear in the list of applications and he had to check the audit log at the time it was installed to follow the file path for it.

Queen's Gambit. That was the program's name; how ridiculously cheesy.

Thinking quickly, Six created a separated and quarantined folder on his Pip-Boy before he started copying the program files over. It would take a couple of minutes like Cinder's session had but then he'd have the program and another piece of the puzzle.

After a dozen or so seconds, Six had the idea to close everything that wasn't the download and to lock the screen. Actually, he'd erase the log entry before locking the screen so-

The elevator door dinged again. Someone else was there.

Since everything was closed but the download itself, Six locked the screen. Once finished, the progress bar for the download would disappear on its own. Unfortunately, he couldn't go anywhere until the program was finished downloading onto his Pip-Boy. That meant he was virtually immobile at the moment.

There was a split second where Six thought he might actually get caught. That was until he grabbed one of his few remaining Stealth-Boys and activated it.

He became entirely see-through as the doors opened, light bending and altering around him. As long as he didn't move, he was invisible to the naked eye. Only movement would give away the light distortion that the Stealth-Boy caused.

A familiar serious looking man in a white suit stepped into the room. His determined gaze swept over the consoles as he held a large revolver in one hand. General Ironwood had arrived.

The General inspected every element of the room as Six stood frozen. The Courier had at least another minute before the download was finished so all he could hope for was that Atlas' most influential figure wouldn't walk into him.

A deep scowl rested on Ironwood's face as he turned towards the door the five girls had run through. He took a few steps before turning back towards Six's position.

That hardened gaze settled on the console itself and not him. What was he planning?

The General stared for a long while; seemingly thinking something over in his head. After a few moments, he lifted his revolver and aimed it at the console. It hovered in the air, pointed, scaring Six shitless for a moment. The Courier wanted stuff off that!

Why did he care so much about the single console? Was it because it was the only one not marred by the violence that had just left the room?

Eventually, Ironwood sighed and muttered, "it wouldn't matter." He then turned before following team RWBY.

For a few long moments, Six sat there in silence, not daring to move. Tonight was proving to be more stressful than he wanted it to be. He didn't bother moving until his Stealth-Boy wore off and he became visible again.

Six scanned the room as he waited for the download to finish. There weren't any cameras littered around. He supposed that was for the common user's privacy while they were using the terminals.

He idly wondered what Cinder's plans were for the cameras on the outside. Then it dawned on the Mimic that the program she just installed would probably deal with that, which would also cover for him.

Seeing the progress bar hit complete, Six unplugged his Pip-Boy before jogging over to the elevator. Now he had to get back before the others did or he'd look suspicious.

The Courier was in a full and dead sprint. No rooftops, no alleys. Six sprinted full speed the entire way back to Beacon. Even if team RWBY hustled after Cinder, they were likely taking an alternative route back. He didn't have to.

Instead, he used another Stealth-Boy to turn invisible and ran down the street at impressive speeds. Within three minutes, he had made it back to the party; a trip that had taken Six and Cinder under seven minutes by rooftop.

It took him another minute to remove and dematerialize his armor before donning House's uniform.

Returning to the party through the second story entrance, House made sure to walk over and lazily lean against the second floor balcony and overlook the party. He had to look as bored as possible when team Ruby returned. Besides, it helped calm his beating… mechanical heart… Whatever.

As he did, Six noticed Jaune and Cardin whispering about something across the room. Even his enhanced hearing couldn't pick out their voices behind every other student. To make it even worse, the party was in full swing now. They had gone from ballroom dancing to just partying like a bunch of teenagers. Teenagers who were terrible at dancing. This also came with overly loud music that hurt his enhanced hearing.

Whatever Jaune and Cardin were talking about, Jaune seemed earnest about something which was making Cardin panic. What could the blonde possibly be planning to get the bully that worried?

His eyes continued scanning the crowd until they rested on Dove, one of Cardin's teammates. The teenager was talking with a second year student with rabbit ears. Why was Velvet at a student party meant for first years?

It wasn't unheard of but usually the second years had a friend or relative if they were attending the party. They weren't meeting people that disliked them.

Neither of them were in formal clothing which was also strange. He was about to see if he could get closer and listen when Nora jogged over to him in her pink dress.

"Hey, Mister House, wanna join the dancing?" She asked with a wide smile. When Six gave a firm shake of his head, she pouted at him before continuing, "well then at least tell me another cool story!"

"Nora, stop bothering Instructor House." Six barely heard Ren over the crowd as he called out to Nora. Despite his quiet nature and the loud party, Nora perked her head to the side before sticking her tongue out at him.

The movement of one of the side doors on the second floor opening caught Six's attention. The Courier watched as Cinder–now dressed in her dance outfit–entered the room with quick steps.

Making eye contact with Mercury on the dance floor, Cinder power walked down the stairs and over to him. From there the two quickly melded into the dancing crowd. At least the two of them had some sort of rhythm to their bobbing.

After a few more moments, Ironwood–flanked by two soldiers–entered the room. The partygoers stopped to watch the General as he glanced around the room.

Behind the trio was another group. Team RWBY still dressed in their ball dresses piled in behind him. Where Ironwood had stomped in with authority and power, team RWBY had almost clumsily darted in. A stark contrast that almost ended with the team bumping into the General's back.

The General scowled as he stepped toward the balcony Six was leaning against. It was obvious that he wasn't finding what he was looking for. Cinder.

Eventually, Ironwood's eyes settled on House before narrowing. The music seemed to fade into the background as the room went quiet.

There was a silent contest between the two as eyes met visor. The Courier could feel his arm tense against the railing as he attempted to remain cool.

The Courier remained placid as Ironwood stared him up and down. Whatever, the General could be as suspicious as he wanted but unless he wanted to cause an incident here and now he would-

A commotion from the dance floor drew both his and Ironwood's attention. Six turned his head and felt his brain turn off for a minute at the sheer audacity of what he was seeing. Laughter and hollers of encouragement filled the stage as Pyrrha and Jaune in a dress were dancing in the middle of the crowd.

It was a clean-cut white dress a good number of the other female students were wearing. In fact, it did wonders to show off the musculature Jaune had built up over time. That was all the good things he could say about it.

The blonde did not fit the dress well, stretching the already small outfit. Not to mention the attention he was getting was absolutely ridiculous. That was the word for it, ridiculous. Weird ass kids.

But the worst part? Jaune was actually good at dancing. And it starkly contrasted with every other student that could not dance. It all added to a surreal moment that gave Six pause while Jaune freestyled on the dancefloor.

Here he was, trapped in another world and strong-armed by a criminal element to act as a spy for a bunch of superhero teenagers at an Academy for superheroes. This was while he did not have said superpowers. He becomes a security guard and instructor for said teenage superheroes. He, a Wastelander who has never attended a ball, is forced to chaperone over one. And one of the students he instructs then wears a dress and goes all out on the dance floor while the people strong-arming him and the man trying to catch him watched.

Six felt lightheaded at that realization.

This must have been what Cardin was worried about earlier. And at the very least, Pyrrha seemed to be enjoying herself. If he had to guess, Jaune did it for her.

What a damn sappy brahmin the boy was.

Ironwood and Six turned to each other.

"Dumbass kids," Six said while shrugging his shoulders.

For a split second, the Courier swore he saw the General's lip twitch upward. But it was gone just as fast as it came.

Ironwood cleared his throat before motioning for his soldiers to fall back for now. He knew there was no winning this one.

The General gave one last glance towards Six before turning on his heel and heading for the door. The Courier got the impression that the next time they'd meet would be more violent.

Turning back to the balcony, Six could see several students staring at where the General had gone.

Releasing a sigh, the Courier straightened his back before shouting, "alright students, mind your own business and get back to dancing!"

Author's Notes:

One of the conflicts I had while interpreting canon RWBY for this chapter was the actual location of the CCT tower and where Beacon is.

In the scene introducing Beacon Academy, it shows the academy on the edge of the cliff a fair distance from any other buildings (this is how Beacon in this story is set up as well).

The location of the CCT tower in the show is never explicitly said but it appears to be in a city-like environment inside the City of Vale as it's surrounded by quite a few tall city-like buildings.

These two locations obviously seem not very close to each other. However, in RWBY, the CCT tower isn't that far away when Ruby steps outside the party at Beacon to see Cinder. This means at most it's a few minutes away by jogging.

However, this would put the CCT tower in the City of Vale. And since Beacon is close to the CCT Tower, Beacon would be in the City of Vale and not on the edge of a cliff near the city. A direct contradiction to what the show itself shows in the first season.

For the purposes of this story, the CCT tower is merely in a remote section of Beacon Academy. With the Academy being a mile or two out from the city itself. The tower would probably be close to the dorms which could kind of look like the buildings in the show.

This is what I chose as it does four things. First and foremost, it keeps the story on track with no plot holes. Two, It helps expand out Beacon a bit more and helps ground the party near the dorms. Three, putting the CCT tower would help students communicate with their possibly distant relatives. And finally, it makes sense to have the CCT tower located in a highly secure location and Beacon is at least in the top five most secure locations in Vale.

If there are any contradictions, let me know in the reviews!

I felt this was a bit more important so I put it separate from the other notes. I had said I was thinking about switching to a bi-weekly upload schedule This was because I was having a bit more free time and I was hitting a series of shorter chapters. Unfortunately, I don't believe that's feasible at this moment. The real issue with my upload schedule is I have no set word minimum or maximum for my chapters so every now and then I upload a 3,000 word short chapter or a monstrous 10,000+ word chapter. The difference in effort for me is large. Meaning, I would need to stick closer to a 3,000-5,000 word schedule to do bi-weekly, and I have a tough time artificially shortening chapters to fit into a word count.

This being said, I plan to stick to a monthly upload for now and am possibly looking to set a word minimum and maximum in the future. I will keep you updated on any changes in the future.

Gear:

Equipment:

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 (Magnetic Dust Version)

C4 - Plastic explosives (0)

Burn Dust – Plastic explosives (5)

Detonator.

Frag Grenades (1)

Burn Dust Grenades (54)

Gravity Dust Mines (3)

Combat Knife.

Plasma Grenades (4)

Plasma Mines (0)

WulfsBann Power Fist (x2) (Mobility Modification)