Sandstorm Over Remnant

Chapter 14

Steel and bone

The Commonwealth - 1345 hours

"Everything is ready Blue, please be careful!" Piper said as Valentine watched with slight worry as the giant machine began to swirl around, he heard someone walk next to him "I don't like this Valentine"

Cait had become the closest to the sole survivor after they traveled and he helped her with some issues the synth was not aware of, Valentine had seen the change in the brawler and was surprised and in a way happy for what was changing in the man from the past, but something changed after the war with the institute and his trip to Nuka World.

Nate had begun to withdraw himself from everyone and he only came out of his workshop when the Brotherhood of steel requested he did, Nick was worried for his friend and with this surprise trip to the other side of the country his worries only doubled.

"Yeah, don't do anything I wouldn't do"

If Nate smiled, Nick could not tell. Donned in an X-01 power armor the sole survivor looked ready for war, guns hanged from the frame making quite an intimidating sight, only a deathclaw or an insane person would be brave enough to fight him "Don't worry Nick, I will be back before you know it… and Cait please take care of Dogmeat for me while I am gone"

Nate held the minigun in his hands tightly as he steadied his nerves for what was to come, as he nodded at Curie to press the button the portal that opened around him and he was absorbed into the light.

Remnant- midday

Metal slammed against metal as smoke rose from the machines, the protectron manipulated with their large claws as the sentry bot oversaw the procedure and sent information remotely to the PipBoy of his master. The machinery screeched as if stopped by an invisible hand, a small chime played as a cheery voice sounded across the facility "Hi there! A drone is passing by trying to scan us, please all the new units shut down for ten minutes thanks!" Yes Man informed as all the robots went into standby mode, the drone passed them by as it scanned for energy readings and found no human inside the facility. The atlas drone left as it relayed the information directly to Ironwood as the general tried to see what the courier was up to, he had gotten some pictures and a small tour of the facility and while not impressed by their looks and mobility he was wary of the fire power they had, the laser melted through armor like butter.

So the general had requested Six to slow down production, he did not want an army of the things, something which Six had agreed and them promptly ignored. A separate set of Protectrons had dug underneath the facility and began building a larger production line, the main purpose of this part of the facility was to build the soldiers of Vegas, the Securitrons.

In Beacon Six twirled the platinum chip on his fingers as he watched with mild amusement at the flyers and propaganda for the big event, tournament day was just around the corner and everyone seemed to be running around with only that on their mind. He had almost forgotten about if he was honest, getting the factory to work had been in his top priority alongside hiding the securitrons and assaultrons that he planned to build, from what he had heard team RWBY was in top shape and alongside the red heads team were a favorite to win.

While he did have a favorite to win, only because he was incredibly biased in favor of team RWBY, he did want to see what JNPR was all about. But he would have to see the replay, the tournament was the perfect moment to produce some securitrons and assaultrons. He did feel a little bad about lying to the general and Ozpin, he was after all building what could be considered an invading force but Six was sure that he would not use it, until things got hairy with the creatures of the Grimm. Maybe it won't even be in what remained of his life but his pessimist worldview did not let him see any other outcome, those things were not alive someone was behind them with hatred for mankind and it scared the shit out of him. Magic and all this semblance bullshit was weird already but a powerful entity lurking in the shadows made his skin crawl with fear, Winter said that there was something in the Grimlands but that no one knew what it was, Six wanted to call bull on that. Ozpin and Ironwood had to know something, they were powerful people.

But then again, power did not mean knowledge. Lanius came to mind, the most powerful man of the Legion now and the best way to describe the Monster of the East would be to compare him to a hammer, powerful but unskilled.

Hell if he really wanted to get specific Six could point at himself. Second in command of Vegas, owner of a new army of robots and yet here he was scared of the monsters under the bed. Six chuckled to himself "Am I overreacting?" he muttered as he tried to reach for his canteen. Maybe he was just a fool, always trying to play the hero and then fucking it up at the end, bitter memories of California and The Divide came to mind but then again that was just the memories of a long dead man… weren't they?

"MR SIX! SOMETHING IS GOING ON AT THE PORTAL ROOM!" Six looked up as a scientist ran to him with a panicked look on his face. The courier of the Mojave immediately gritted his teeth and ran like a crazed man towards the room, even if he was slower then most hunters Six was still fast. Lightning erupted as the scientist tried to franticly escape from the room "Something activated the portal!"

"Inform Winter, stay back!" The courier said as a silhouette began to build in the center of the machine. Reaching for the Riot Shotgun and Old Glory Six cracked his neck. It might be Sarah, it might be one of the brains but he could not afford to risk it.

Narrowing his eyes he grinned "Whatever comes through there I am ready"

A flashing light almost blinded him Six felt his blood run cold at the sight before him, memories of a past he thought buried resurfaced "Y-you… YOU ENCLAVE FUCK!" Six jumped into the air as he brought down Old Glory on the helmet, the giant metal man took the blow to the chin as the lights on its helmet activated, red light shone down on Six as the minigun began to rev up.

"You're just as they said you would be" Six blinked in confusion as he tried to process what on the fuck this man was talking about, did someone from back in California… Six thoughts stopped as he watched with wide eyes at the insignia on the armor "You're brotherhood"

Nate gave a slow nod "I am… and you have to answer for your crimes Mr. Six, in the name of elder Maxson surrender yourself and we shall be fair in your trial, if not I WILL use lethal force"

"Crimes?! You assholes are the quasi-religious group that refuses to go away I did nothing wrong, but I am easier to reach than House aren't I?" Six said with small smirk [Speech 100]

FAILED

"You can't talk yourself out of this one. The brotherhood is needed on the wasteland and I won't let you stop them" Six felt cold sweat form on the back of his neck as he remembered the pain of those, weapons. So he activated VATS and tried to reach into his pocket to his immense surprise, the armored hand of the Power Wearing builder stopped "Don't"

Six simply grinned "Figured you had VATS too" with a strength that did not belong to a normal man Six yanked the man and slammed him against the wall shattering it and making Nate stumble back. From the smoke Six fired at him with the Riot Shotgun "Those were warning shots I don't want to kill you far from your home" Pointing at the window with his thumb the courier grinned "You are not where you think you are bud" Nate felt his heart stop as he watched the lush green forest and the beautiful vista "W-What?"

Six pushed Nate out of the window taking advantage of the small moment of confusion, the courier looked down and to his surprise Nate simply stared up at him with mild amusement "You really did think that would work?"

"Nah but it gives us room to fight!" against his better judgment Six jumped down with Old Glory in one hand and the Riot Shotgun on another, Nate fired with his weapon as the shells exploded around Six, the never ending minigun grazed the Riot Gear as the bullets dented the defensive gear, Six for his part simply swung with all his might with the golden eagle towards the helmet sparks flew as the paint job on the power armor was peeled off.

Nate reached for his 10mm pistol and shot Six in the head, the sole survivor narrowed his eyes as the head of the courier began to glow blue the Atomic-valence tri-radii-oscillator kicked in making the wound heal itself. There was a bit of a standoff as both men looked around to see that they were being observed. Students had heard the commotion, Six lowered his weapon "You want to fight, fine. But no bullets, you will hurt the children"

"Kids… they don't… they don't look like"-"Like I said you're not were you think you are" Six ran to him and planted a solid punch on the chest are of the power armor, the piercing strike pushed Nate back. Inside his head he wondered what type of freak this man was that he could punch and dent power armor, the kids all stared at him as if he was some sort of monster.

Where was he?

Cold it possibly be that he was not in…

"Over here jackass!" Six yelled as he slammed his palm against the reinforced lenses on the power armor, Nate exhaled as he refocused his military training kicked as he slapped Six away the power armor shattering his jaw but it quickly snaped back into place. Nate cracked his neck as he chuckled a bit "I had the best right hook in all the army. You're nuts if you think you can beat me in power armor"

Six simply grinned and kissed his fist "And I have the best punch in all of the wasteland, lets see who falls first!"

Both punches intersected half way as Six's fist shattered and then repaired itself he began to push back, but at the end the power armor won as Six hand split and he had to jump back there was a scream from the crowd as they looked at all the blood that poured from the wound. Reaching for a stimpak Six healed his wound as bone and muscle grotesly sitched put themselves back together "Miracle of the Old World eh?"

"It would be better if it stayed there" Nate almost growled as he prepared himself for the slug fest, Six now humbled decided that it was best if he fought with Old Glory, Nate on the other hand decided that his fist would do enough damage. As the clock hit twelve and the students of Beacon wondered if they should jump in to help, Six and Nate ran to one another and unleashed strike after strike against their torso, pieces of metal began to fall as they slugged it out. From the crowd Atlas soldiers pushed the teens out of the way with Winter leading the charge.

As she stared at the iron clad warrior her blood ran cold as ice formed in her palms, jumping down to the now bloodied floor she slammed her palms on the ground freezing both opponents before they caused more harm to one another, Six merely grunted while Nate remained quiet.

"That was…"-"Surrender, exit the power armor or we will melt it around you" Winter threatened as the rest of the Atlas Knights arrived as well as some human back up, Nate frowned but let out a sigh, ejecting the fusion core melting the ice around him immediately the General of the minutemen stepped out and flexed his muscles a bit, donned in his Reinforced Vault Suit the man out of time nodded placed the minigun on the ground.

Six looked at the man with mild shock "A… a vault dweller? Now that is interesting" Six pried himself off the ice with ease and looked at him up and down "You do look the type that would fall for the Brotherhood's bullshit", naïve is a word for your type." Nate simply ignored him as he stared at Winter.

"I am very sorry about the situation, we mean no harm. We are on hot pursuit of a terrorist" Nate gave Six a sideways glance, Winter looked around and frowned. Too many people, this was not something that needed to be public knowledge.

Six being here was already hard to cover up. So she froze the hands of Nate together and walked up to him "The General will decide what to do with you" Nate simply walked behind her his upgrades keeping him from feeling the cold ice. But he did take time to look around and breathe in the fresh air, it was so nostalgic in a way that he could not put his finger on just yet.

Was it the idealized version of the past that he was remembering? Or his home hundreds of years ago? Six followed behind them as his flesh cured itself and the Sole survivor stared at him with mild disgust, an abomination from the old world for sure. Six simply shook his head at the Vault Suit "What on earth did you to the poor vault suit" Nate refused to entertain him so he replied sarcastically "Oh I changed the color from blue to blue"

"Funny"

Winter for her part sent a message to Ironwood that she was needed, she also sent Ozpin and Glynda an apologetical glance as she passed them and boarded the Atlesian Bullhead. Surrounded by armed robots Nate almost felt irony as he remembered all his times on the Vertibird back in Alaska, lifting his gaze to stare at Six he looked at the man with the red eye with curiosity, with nothing else to don and no one around but the girl with the ice power Nate decided to ask a question to his target "Why run?"

"I didn't run"-"You did, you could have stayed in Vegas. I saw the city, its more than a den of sin. It's a fortress, the Lucky Thirty-eight still has the defenses that saved the city. Going to war with the machines you have at your disposal would kill the brotherhood. Why run?"

Six glared "I came here to start something new, to help our world heal and begin again" Nate frowned as he pressed his hands together to ease his nerves, he was not even on his ruined earth.

Lovely.

"So we are in another world… and the people here know what you are?"

"And what am I?"

Nate did not miss a beat and stared at the fain blue glow coming from his forehead "A killer, an old world monstrosity. You are exactly what I saw on TV when I was kid, the horror The Silver Shroud"

"Fancy vault the one that you lived in if you got to see the silver shroud" Six said as he glared at the man "I didn't live in a vault, I was frozen in one. I was there when we pushed the red menace back, the last day of the war was the first time I set foot in a vault"

Winter almost jumped back in shock while Six felt his jaw almost hit the floor "Y-you…"

"I don't hate you, but you are just walking down the same path as those before. The city of sin you have helped rebuild is nothing more than a dying man trying to remake the past" Nate interrupted him, Six gritted his teeth "I have heard all that before, and you are no Ulysses. We are not remaking the united states, Vegas is just the vehicle to rebuild mankind. Kickstarting construction and making something new, Vegas is a city, a small nation but it influence will make sure that the NCR and other surrounding nations all begin to prosper and trade"

Nate frowned and shook his head "You are just delusional, the world as it was once is gone. The only thing that you are doing is making sure that humanity wipes itself out again"

"Or maybe you are just afraid of another big change to the world, are you running too?"

Before either of them could continue to stab each other with words the bullhead arrived at the warship and a very concerned looking Ironwood was waiting for them.

Ironwood had been called many things, paranoid, overly cautious and controlling, but what many did not seem to understand is that in order to win the war against the enemy of all life he had to be this way.

Ozpin was tired, he could see it.

And the others could not carry such a burden, it was up to him to always check the shadows and right now shadows were everywhere. It was not just the festival anymore, there were people from another world jumping and causing mayhem and that deeply concerned him, he could not be fighting a war on two fronts.

"My name is General Ironwood" so he needed to be careful with dealing with this new possible threat. The man nodded at him "Sir" Ironwood noticed how the man slightly tensed up out of habit, like he was about to salute. That was interesting, but he would save that mental note for later.

Grabbing a file he stared at the pictures "The armor that you wore is impressive, heavier than expected"

Nate simply nodded, Ironwood let out a long sigh "You trespassed private property and open fire on a school, a kid could have gotten hurt" Nate did frown at that "I did not know I would be at a school, when I did the jump I expected to meet the target and then neutralize him"

"For what?" Ironwood asked as his eyes narrowed a bit "The brotherhood of steel is pursuing a dangerous man that destroyed an entire chapter, the Mojave Chapter to be specific" Nate said as Ironwood looked at the photo, Six could be seen covered on his own blood as he struck at the armored foe with the golden eagle.

Putting two and two together he let out a long sigh "Your target is Courier Six"

"He is"-"And why is he such a threat that he is worth pursuing to another world with no backup and maybe no way to go back?"

Nate looked at the general with a serious look "To save my world. I don't want to hurt your world, I would actually prefer if there was no connection between us. its just not natural." Ironwood narrowed his eyes, he looked at the files on his hand all of them with information on earth. Had they been mislead? Was there a possibility that Six was doing something beneath their nose?

"Continue"

A/N: First fight: Draw

Thank you for reading! I had a blast writing this chapter and now that Nate is here the Brotherhood's ideals do too. With the festival just around the corner and the Queen finally making the move, one can only wonder what the two "heroes" of earth will do. See you soon!