Author's Notes:

Fair warning, this is going to be a really bloody and violent chapter. If this story was ever going to truly earn an M rating, it would be for this chapter.

Also, I'm uploading this a day early as I won't have time to do so tomorrow. Enjoy!

Enjoy!

"Text/Messages"

"Speech"

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

Remnants of a Courier

Arc 4: Chaos Theory

Chapter 74: Ruby Tinted River

The Mimic crept through the underbrush of the woods outside Vale's capital, his feet nigh silent on the grass near the cliff edge. Below a calm river flowed, its color a vibrant green thanks to the crystals embedded at the bottom that reflected the moonlight. If Six had to guess, it was maybe a hundred feet wide and a dozen feet deep.

He had traveled from the capital gates and up the river. There had been a few people along there late at night for romantic getaways but Six was fairly certain none had seen him. And even if they had, it didn't matter. No one would care what a couple of lovebirds by the river supposedly saw.

For now, he was watching a poor bastard yawning at his post across the river from him. This was the sixth and final lookout for the camp below. The position was relatively hidden thanks to the tree line but the night vision built into his modified Elite Riot Armor's helmet was more than enough to spot the dead man walking.

Six imagined what Caesar would say in a moment like this.

"This is why the NCR was bound to fail. This Kingdom of Vale reeks of the corruption of the Old World. Its focus solely on its elites in the capital has allowed this threat to grow right on their doorstep."

Just like the Brahmin Barons of the NCR.

Their shifts changed a little over thirty minutes ago. He imagined that they'd be there for at least a couple more hours. More than enough time for his plans.

Right now, the ground he was standing on was at the top of a ravine that overlooked the river by about fifty feet. The other side of the ravine was far more rocky. Where his side was a sheer cliff, the other side had jutting rocks and flattened areas at varying levels, allowing climbers to traverse up or down. At the bottom of this natural-looking path was a decent-sized crevice, maybe thirty feet in width. The crevice was slanted downward towards the water but led up into a damp cave.

A small dock had been made at the edge where the crevice and river met. A few tents had been set up along the dock and crevice with several crates full of supplies. Against the walls of the crevice, several small cages were aligned together. He could see several people inside them; men, women, and children of both Faunus and human descent. This was why all of their jailors were going to die.

Caesar may have been wrong about a lot but he had been right about the NCR's corruption. It needed to be pulled out by the roots.

Thanks to the natural coverage from the trees, unless someone were to walk right up to it, the cave and the surrounding platforms wouldn't be seen. Thankfully, that also helped the Courier.

The only reason these idiots hadn't been caught yet was because a Councilor was keeping people away from the river. Not tonight.

From what little research he managed to do before coming to this despicable place, the den below used to be part of an underground railroad during the Great War to get civilians to safety. It was then repurposed during the Faunus Rights Revolution for much the same reason except for Faunus. Too bad it had fallen into the hands of criminals in the last couple of decades.

The Mimic counted six lookouts and another twenty in the crevice below; not counting the victims of their crimes. There were also ten or so people traversing the rocky path up and down. They were carrying building supplies, wooden cross beams, and planks. But honestly, there was no telling how many were inside or how deep the cave system went. All Six could see was an ocean of red pips that couldn't be counted. There could be another ten people inside or a hundred. It didn't matter, they were all going to die.

Taking a second glance, several of the men below were Dogs of War, their insignias emblazoned on their vests. However, many of them were unknown or from varying syndicates. He had no way of knowing, nor did Six care to know.

Then a clean-looking man wearing a grey business suit with slicked-back greying hair and yellow eyes stepped out from a tent. The vertical slits he had for pupils narrowed and opened as he looked between the cages, accentuating the wrinkles near his eyes.

Leonard Dream, this was going to be cathartic.

In front of the good Councilor was a man dressed in a purple hoodie that matched his eyes. The man had silver ear-length hair and seemed to be talking about the boy in the cage next to them.

Taking a glance, the Courier recognized the child. Wild unkempt red hair matched his tattered clothes and neutral expression. Red eyes stared out from behind the bars with unmasked anger. That was Cerise, that one orphan kid from Rhyt. He'd have to be careful about his approach. When had these guys even been in Rhyt? So alarmingly close to Carmine.

Alarm bells went off in his head as he checked the area for Carmine but didn't find her. He'd be on the lookout but he doubted she was there. Richter would have notified him if she had been taken.

But taking a second glance, Six noticed something, several tents were surrounding that cage as almost a form of privacy. Did Dream not like dealing with the "riff-raff" around there? Either way, it was an opportunity to put his plan in motion and deal with the Councilor. It was why he had risked Ozpin's attention and gathered the necessary supplies. All of his gathered equipment would come to bear here.

After all, he'd already placed the first devices at the top of the ravine surrounding their camp. It would be close enough to fall into the crevice and also catch the lookouts. Not one of them would escape. Especially not with the bear traps and mines he'd placed around the area as well. Anyone fleeing wouldn't be making it far. That also meant he'd have to do a bit of cleanup after but that was fine.

The Mimic moved slightly upstream and just out of sight from the camp, crouching low and moving slowly through bushes and plants. The fools didn't know that a predator was stalking them just out of sight.

Once in position, Six moved to the edge and produced his rebreather. He had to take off the mask for now as he took a long breath before jumping. Air raced past Six as he fell, green water rising closer before bubbles encompassed his vision. Cold water surrounded and soaked his armor but Six paid it no mind as he sank for a few moments in disorientation before the water cleared enough for him to see.

The river was carrying him downstream which was part of the plan as he sank deeper. His modified organs and bones combined with dematerializing his gear made him incredibly heavy, making him sink down to the bottom of the river.

Normally, this would be a massive problem for anyone else, but most of his gear was water-resistant and thanks to said enhanced body, Six had his rebreather specifically for moments like this, and even if he didn't Six could effectively hold his breath for over ten minutes. The Mimic was almost where he wanted to be when his feet hit the bottom of the river.

It was a crystalline structure at the bottom, jagged and almost diamond-like. It stretched on as far as the Courier could see both up and down the river. He supposed this green hue was where the Jade River got its name.

Thanks to his enhanced strength and sheer weight, he wasn't dragged away by the soft-moving current. Instead, he trudged slowly downstream. Every step felt like an eternity to him as he was forced to slowly wade through water.

But eventually, he moved to where he believed the downstream side of the crevice was, away from where he had dropped down into the river. Once there, the Courier trudged up to the river's side before creeping to its surface. The closer he got, the less the river resisted him.

Once he was less than a foot away from the surface, he paused and glanced around, being careful as his bone mask and red optics would be obvious to anyone near. He couldn't see the slavers as he lurked below the water, like an aquatic predator searching for prey. Activating a Stealth-Boy, Six crept out of the water. All anyone would see was water droplets seemingly floating before falling back into the river. As he did so, he wiped his face before dematerializing his rebreather and placing his mask back on.

Glancing over, he saw a pair of Raiders glancing upstream where he fell. Good, they didn't know he was there.

Moving forward, Six materialized and attached a silencer to the end of Maria before creeping between two of the tents. From here, he could overhear Dream and the purple man's conversation.

"Young, scrappy, healthy, and he just got brought in tonight. You could have him for a thousand Lien." It sounded like the man in purple was bargaining for Cerise's ownership. Disgusting.

The Councilor didn't answer for a few long moments, merely staring at the red-eyed child.

"How many children did you bring with you?" The man's southern drawl was annoying, and was the suited man asking what Six thought he was asking?

Luckily, Mister Purple replied, "I'm afraid that's the only one. Why do you end up taking so many of them? You into that?"

A grimace flashed across the businessman's face. "No," he replied in a neutral tone. "I have no such predilections I assure you." He turned his gaze on Cerise. "My support is only for the benefit of Vale. It keeps troublesome elements in check."

"You mean the White Fang or Atlas?" Mister Purple questioned.

Dream scoffed before replying, "Both."

Six had heard enough. Moving from his position, the Mimic stood and fired a single round into Mister Purple's eye. The man crumpled to the ground, a small puddle of blood pooling around his head. Now, Dust rounds were naturally softer on the ears than gunpowder rounds as they had less velocity to them. And thanks to the river's noise and the men being noisy around the enclosed space, it was unlikely anyone heard the suppressed shot.

Firing also meant that his Stealth-Boy wore off, making him visible once more. He turned his gun on the Councilor who held up his hands.

"Wait!" Cerise in the cage hissed. This gave Six pause.

"Why should I?" Came his own distorted voice. Why should he let this child-enslaving piece of shit walk? Why shouldn't the bastard be face down in the dirt with a cracked skull and missing eyes?

Glancing at the boy, Six was once again reminded that the strange boy from Rhyt was different from other children. Whatever he had been through had changed him. The cold and calculating look of a child that had seen too much.

"Because I was listening to their conversation." The redhead pointed to Dream before continuing, "He comes by and picks up all the kids he can. Then puts them into homes or whatever."

"He's still supporting slavery," Six shot back. The kid had the nerve to chuckle at that.

"Him and every rich prick." That calculating look never left the kid's face as he said, "But he's my meal ticket." Turning back to the Councilor, he continued, "I save you here, you owe me. Understand?"

"I believe so," Dream replied, cool as ice. Six hated how calm and collected he was. All the Mimic wanted to do was bash the man's face in.

"So, you want me to spare him so you benefit from it?" Six's question was met with a nod. Fucks sake.

"If it's any consolation," the Councilor began with that smooth voice that made Six want to vomit. "The business here would exist with or without my support. I control it to hinder our enemies and make sure as few people are hurt by it as possible."

Six snarled at the hypocrite. "And you also get a fat paycheck when you do."

This time the Councilor's eyes narrowed as he replied, "Never assume my inclination is towards greed, dear Mimic. I use those funds to help as many as I can, like Cerise here. None of it goes to me." He raised a hand towards Six and nearly got a new hole in his head for it. "I do what is best for people by controlling crime. You do what you think is best by murdering them."

Oh, so the slaver was calling him the hypocrite now? How cute. But having him under control would help his plans. And Cerise seemed to benefit from it. Hell, he might be able to get more information on crime from Dream if he left him alive... Shit.

The Courier trudged forward before grabbing Dream by the collar. "You owe me too then. Stop fucking with the Voidwalkers. Stop fucking with me. And If I call, you better come."

Even this didn't seem to phase the Councilor. "Worry not, I fully understand the predicament I find myself in, and I do not doubt your capabilities to dispose of me if the need arises later."

Six held him for a few long moments. He internally debated on killing the man. It would harm his long term plans but this slimey criminal angered him the way House did. Pretty words and the "greater good" masked his dark nature.

"Then sit down," the Mimic began as he tossed the man against Cerise's cage. "And be quiet." He moved over to the cage before handing the kid a knife. "If he moves or makes a noise, kill him."

Was this a lot to ask of a child? Yes. Was it putting him at risk? Yes. But Cerise wasn't the average child, he and Dream both knew that. Besides, while it would be refreshing to kill every Raider there in a bloody battle, to make it last for as long as possible, he had other ideas.

"I'll be back."

He turned away as the kid pressed the knife hard enough into the Councilor's throat to draw blood. Good, the bastard deserved it.

Taking a step between two tents, he saw several people moving toward the docks to move what looked like crates toward some tents. No one was actually sitting at the mouth of the cave which worked for him.

Activating another Stealth-Boy, the Mimic crept forward to the edge of the cave. No one was near yet. Glancing in, he could see that it stretched a decent way in before branching into a few different paths.

Taking a moment, Six materialized and placed down a small device no bigger than a football. Its grey metallic sheen was covered with tiny holes and as he activated it, the device beeped once signaling the connection was good. The Courier took a few moments to place a couple more since this was where he needed it to take the most effect before covering them up with fallen grass and rocks. It would work for long enough.

Turning around, it looked like he was still in the clear. Glancing once more from side to side, Six deemed it safe and darted to the other side of the cave entrance before placing another.

With his objective done, the Mimic crossed the cave entrance again before stopping and pressing himself against the wall. The men from the dock were carrying a crate inside.

"Fuckin' animals," one of the men muttered. "That bitch that the boss wanted fuckin' bit me. What kinda animal bites people?"

His larger cohort shrugged. "The Faunus kind?"

"Well," the smaller man began. "You're right about that. Can't expect anything better from 'em, eh?"

Good, racist slavers, that made killing them more fun.

The more important thing was that neither of them noticed the devices he set at the sides of the cave's entrance. The trap was now set.

Making his way back over to Cerise's cage, one of the other victims of these Raiders noticed Six when his Stealth-Boy's battery died.

"P-Please, help, they took my husband," she muttered to him. "I don't know what they're going to do to him."

The Terror of Vale turned his attention to the woman. He raised a single finger to his mask.

"It will be over soon."

Then he crept into the tents surrounding the boy's cage. Six saw that Dream was where he was supposed to be. The Courier was slightly disappointed he wasn't dead.

"Now what?" Dream questioned as Six moved over and retrieved the knife from Cerise. In return for the trade, Six kept his silenced pistol trained on Dream. He wasn't worried about Raiders coming over. He'd just use another Stealth-Boy if needed.

Taking a seat on one of the crates. "Now we wait," the Mimic replied as he tapped his Pip-Boy and activated the devices he planted. "In less than an hour, everyone here will be unable to defend themselves."

"What?" Dream again inquired. But a quick raising of Six's gun silenced the Councilor.

He wasn't going to explain it to him. After all, the Councilor wouldn't like the effects that 3-quinuclidinyl benzilate had on the human mind.

3-QNB–or Agent BZ dubbed by the American government before its use against the Chinese–was a chemical weapon. It came in the form of an invisible odorless gas and had a delayed effect on human anatomy. He wasn't sure what effects it would have on Faunus, but he knew it would be non-fatal and that was enough. He used 3-QNB specifically for its non-lethal trait, making sure it wouldn't kill the victims of these Raiders so long as contact with the gas was maintained for a short enough time. Roughly 3 hours. Then the symptoms would pass like a bad hangover.

Its normal components were roughly Metallic Sodium, various common chemicals, a type of Fern, and hydrocarbons. The first and last were replaced by Dust types that shared the same composition as their counterparts. All of it had been bought, and after meeting with Ozpin, mixed together.

The symptoms of 3-QNB were often described as hallucinatory, the gas making the line between reality and fiction hard to discern. It would induce hallucinations and schizophrenia in the subject and in some extreme cases temporarily paralyze them. For a fighting force, that would make them as vulnerable as a newborn baby.

It wouldn't affect Six. Not only was his mask filtering it but he had long ago become resistant to such things thanks to his enhancements.

Of course, it would take an hour to spread into the area. Then Six would have another hour to complete executing them. This was all thanks to the device that would mix the samples of 3-QNB contained in them with a propellant before expelling the substance once aerosolized. The ones around the lookouts should incapacitate them. The devices at the top of the ridge should trickly the gas down into the valley below and into the crevice. And the ones at the cave's entrance would slowly trickle inside.

Overall, the symptoms would occur within an hour. The dosage he used would affect a person anywhere from four to eight hours, with an expected full recovery time of two days.

And so he sat quietly, letting the devices work. Soon, every last Raider at that camp was going to die.

Fifteen minutes, no real difference. Thirty minutes. Some began complaining of seeing things and feeling like they were being watched. Even Cerise and Dream appeared to be affected as they glanced around from time to time.

The yelling began at the forty-five minute mark as people began screaming of things in the darkness coming for them. They didn't even have time to fire their weapons before they descended into babbling begging. It was a shame that it would affect the victims but they'd live and the Raiders wouldn't have a chance to kill them.

By the sixty-minute mark, Cerise was curled in on himself and Dream was panting as he dirtied his suit by crawling around in the dirt. It was time.

The Mimic stood from his seat as the whimpers and moans of agony came from everyone around him. He'd need to get this over within an hour to make sure Vale's authorities would have time to get to the camp before Grimm.

Producing and donning his gauntlets, Six fired the anchor upward toward the top of the ravine. The mechanisms whirred as the hook sunk into the ledge.

With practiced motions, Six quickly ascended the rocky cliff face before pulling himself over the ledge with a grunt. Now that he was above the cave entrance, he looked down to get a good view. Every Raider below was doubled over, crying and begging unseen aggressors to spare them. Pathetic.

Walking to where he saw the first lookout, the man had dropped his gun and was lying on the ground. This one had been up in a tree and had fallen off. His leg must have broken during the fall as it was bent at an odd angle.

The Courier grabbed the back of his shirt before dragging the man as he babbled. Not wasting any time, he took the Raider and tossed him off the ledge, watching him fall the fifty feet screaming. The man's screaming stopped when he hit the bottom. Not all of them were going to die so peacefully, no they were going to be examples, just like the Mojave Raiders.

A few minutes later Six had tossed the three lookouts on his side down as well. A couple were still breathing, a couple weren't.

Taking his anti-material in hand, the Courier flicked on the night vision for it before searching for the last two lookouts. The first was on the other side of a tree lying down. The round from his rifle destroyed a part of the tree and the man's skull.

The last one was screaming his head off as he tried to pry his leg from a bear trap. An easy target whose suffering ended with a bullet.

Descending down the rocky path into the ravine, the Courier pulled his .44 magnum. A few still had enough cognizance to look up and beg for their lives.

"It's death, it's literally death!" One screamed, completely out of his mind. The Courier couldn't help but be curious about what the man was seeing.

"It's a Grimm!"

"It's a monster!"

"Please, mercy, I don't want to die!"

Death is a mercy for scum like them. Every last Raider found a hole in their brain as he executed the lot of them, making his way down the path before stepping onto the crevice.

"Please, please, please, please," a Faunus from one of the cages begged. "Please let me see my Emile again!"

"Please, please!" Many of the caged victims were begging him now. "Don't kill us!"

He wasn't there for them. Instead, he turned his attention to the incapacitated guards who all looked up in fear.

"Is that the Mimic?" One of them questioned as he tried to scramble away, only to fall when his limbs failed him.

Another pissed himself as he replied, "No no no no. It's a Grimm it has to be. Please, not this, not like this!"

It wasn't enough. They needed to die slower, in fear and pain.

"Run rabbit," the Mimic began in a singsong tone as he stomped towards them. "Run rabbit." The Raiders began scrambling, flailing to get away. "Run, run, run."

Six's boot descended on the first Raider with enough force to cave part of his skull in, blood painting the dirt and stone beneath him red. The ground was slanted in such a way that the blood began slowly running off toward the river.

"Run rabbit," he began again as he stomped a second time, turning the dead man's head into mush. "Run rabbit." His gaze turned to the rest of the dead men. "Run, run, run."

The Butcher of House fired several rounds into the legs of the men around him so they couldn't escape. "Bang, bang, bang, bang goes the farmer's gun." With each lyric, Six fired a round. The sound reverberated throughout the ravine causing more crying and screaming.

Some of the caged victims grimaced, some screamed; shit, some of the Raiders even cried. It didn't stop the inevitable.

"Run rabbit, run rabbit, run, run, run." Six continued singing as he executed the remainder of the Raiders in the crevice. His distorted voice rang out through the valley, creating a haunting tune.

As more and more blood stained the ground and trickled off, Six realized he had finished off all but five of the Raiders outside. That roughly thirty were dead. He was going to keep these unfortunate souls alive for now. He had other plans for them.

"Don't give the farmer his fun, fun fun." As he turned towards the cave entrance, he heard voices coming closer. Coherent voices. He couldn't tell how many there were, as there were far too many red pips on his compass to tell.

"He'll get by, without his rabbit pie," the Mimic continued as he fired his gauntlet at the top of the ravine above the cave's entrance before zipping himself up. The mechanical whirring was drowned out by the screams and death below him.

Three people, three raiders. They likely had Aura protecting them or boosting their immune system, making them resistant to 3-QNB. Bracing his legs against the wall of the ravine above, Six gripped his anti-material rifle and took aim, trusting his grappling line to keep him up. The three stooges below him didn't even hear the monster above finish the verse as it hovered over them.

"So run rabbit, run rabbit, run, run, run."

The man on the left had his head explode in a shower of gore, bone, and brain matter. As the two turned to their now dead comrade in horror, they didn't have a chance to scream as Six descended.

The woman to the leader's right crumpled into the ground as the Mimic landed on her, crushing her with his weight as her bones snapped. His gaze settled on the leader Raider who turned to him now as Six raised his rifle and brought it to the back of the woman's head before pulling the trigger.

Activating VATS, Six watched the man begin shouting something as he slowly turned towards him. Another worthless idiot that would only benefit the world by dying. Why was it always his job to clean up these messes?

By the time the man brought his rifle even halfway near Six, the revolver in the Courier's other hand fired. Since he was within range and definitely intended to kill, the bullet passed through the man's Aura and created a hole in his head.

As the idiot crumpled to the ground, Six let out a sigh. It was time to clear the cave for any more potential threats. He'd come back for the others outside-

Six's eyes widened as tried to quickly turn out of the way of rapid footsteps approaching. He wasn't sure if it was the sheer number of enemies confusing his compass, the noise volume dampening his footsteps, or his own arrogance, but someone was next to him.

A man in a large suit of archaic gold armor swung and crashed his equally massive hammer into the Courier's side. The Mimic felt something break as he was sent flying a dozen feet into the shallow parts of the water, making a sizable splash as he did so.

It took a second for the Mimic to get his bearings and when he did he hissed in pain, accidentally taking in some water through his mask. Coughing and sputtering, he rose out of the water and winced as he felt a couple broken ribs and a bruised arm.

"I don't know what you did," the armored man began as he lifted his hammer. "But you'll die for it."

The man was strange. Standing a foot taller than the Courier, his armor had ornate patterns carved into it, resembling that of a bird. His helmet was too large for his head, coming off as silly as he lifted his massive golden hammer. The thing easily being the size of Six if not larger.

Behind the Raider, several of his comrades, maybe a couple dozen, stumbled out of the caves. Had they been less effective? Maybe he had used too little?

But as he watched them collapse to the ground just outside the cave's entrance, it appeared they had just been further in which meant it took longer to affect them.

Turning his attention back to the apparent leader of these Raiders, he noticed the man's confidence decline at the sight of his own men. It was just him and the Mimic now.

At his feet, Six noted that the water was slowly turning from green to a thick red, flowing out into the rest of the river and turning an odd reddish-pink color.

The Raider boss didn't give Six time to make the first move. He slammed the base of his hammer into the ground before dragging it back towards himself, creating a line in the dirt. When he did so, Six felt some unseen force tug at him.

It almost felt like gravity's direction was being shifted as Six began sliding toward the golden man. Whatever this Semblance was, it was dragging him towards his golden enemy. But rather than fight against the feeling, Six instead lunged forward. Not only did his ribs scream to stop fighting but his bruised arm ached from the blow. The change in momentum and apparent shift in his own gravity meant that for a moment the Mimic took flight, zooming toward his opponent.

Seeing the Mimic flying at him, the man reared back his massive hammer, ready to deliver a crushing blow. But before he could swing, a .44 round pierced his leg, causing him to drop to one knee and use his hammer for support. It appeared that medieval-style armor wouldn't stop a .44 round. If Six had been using regular Dust rounds, then perhaps it would've saved the crook.

There was a look of shock that Six was quickly becoming accustomed to. The guy was probably wondering why his Aura didn't protect him. Relying on his Aura was his first and last mistake in this fight.

But the man wasn't finished yet, as Six took aim again, his other hand reached out and grasped Six's wrist, twisting it to the side so the next round missed. Since his momentum wasn't stopping, Six opted to not fire his weapon and instead allowed his enemy's grip to change his orientation.

As the golden man held his arm in place, the rest of Six's body shot past as he bent his body inward and swung in a pendulum arc. Once turned around so that his feet were facing the golden man, he extended his legs fully. The resulting dropkick knocked the man's head back and Six heard a satisfying grunt that accompanied the denting of metal.

"You little shit," the man spat out as blood trickled out of his helmet before tightening his grip.

The Mimic grit his teeth as he felt his wrist threatening to break. His ribs screamed at the maneuver and he had honestly expected the Raider to drop him. As Six's feet slid back to the ground—the golden man's Semblance deactivating—he openly materialized a gauntlet and donned it on his free hand.

Seeing the weapon appear from nowhere caught the man's attention as he muttered his last words. "Is that supposed to be your Semb-"

With more than enough killing intent and this proximity, the gauntlet sailed right past the man's Aura before the piston shot forward and tore the man's helmet apart. Golden metal chunks flew into the air as jagged pieces pierced the man's face. There was a moment of the golden Raider screaming before the Dust in the Gauntlet exploded in the man's face.

The grip on Six's wrist slackened and he wrenched it free while watching the man stumble back. He still wasn't dead? Six's mind whirled as he stared at his handiwork, the once golden man was now a burnt black suit with only half his head covered. The other uncovered half was unrecognizable. Hot metal had melted into burnt flesh and the smell of sizzling burnt pork filled the air.

The man screamed as he dropped his hammer and swung again, his right eye completely useless now.

But his wild swing hit nothing but air as Six ducked under it, only to deliver another blow with killing intent. His powerfist launched forward into the man's unprotected face and for a split moment, he saw the man's skull fracture and flesh peel away before Burn Dust ignited again.

The explosion was enough to knock the giant of a man off his feet. And this time, he didn't get back up.

The Courier was currently holding in grunts of pain from the exertion. While his ribs would heal, his bruised and weakened arm had just used a powerfist. The entire left side of his body hurt like Hell.

Glancing down, the shrapnel from the golden man's suit had been embedded in the man's head. In fact, it was still stuck in the man's skull but now said skull was in multiple pieces. One near the water, one near the cave, most littering the ground behind his body. The powerfist colliding with the Raider's head created a shower of gore on the ground around him. Brain matter and blood began pooling with the rest of the blood currently flowing into the river.

Taking a glance around, there were maybe twenty Raiders that came out of the cave with their leader. He sighed before stepping past them and into the cave. Lights being powered by Dust had been set up along its entrance and several large tunnels spanned in each direction.

The Courier ran through the halls quickly, meeting no resistance but finding more victims of these Raiders. Every incapacitated Raider he came across was executed quickly. He had already wasted twenty to thirty minutes, he had maybe another thirty left.

Overall, Six counted another thirty Raiders still in the cave system. With all the dead men outside, that counted at about ninety of them total. But at least that part of the job was done. If there was any evidence to be had, he was sure that Vale law enforcement would find it. Along with the fifty or so victims in cages.

As much as Six wanted to help the victims of these Raiders as he made his way to the exit, he couldn't. With the current state they were in, it was better if they stayed somewhere enclosed until help arrived. That way they wouldn't wander into the river or hurt themselves by accident.

Speaking of hurting people, Six stepped outside to see the remaining twenty-five Raiders trying to get it together. He had a plan for them.

"It's the Mimic!" One screamed before finding a bullet in his head. Six didn't need all of them, just maybe ten or so.

"It's not human, it's not human…"

Another dead. Then another, and another. Until he had just ten Raiders left.

It wasn't enough. These pathetic, squabbling, enslaving pieces of shit hadn't suffered enough. This wasn't a strong enough message to every scumbag, every Raider or Legion piece of shit out there.

The Legion… That gave Six an idea. The wooden planks and crossbeams the Raiders had been carrying down were perfect for what he had planned. He just needed some rope which was in abundance here. Both for structures and for their prisoners.

After prying open a few crates, Six found the last piece he needed. A box full of metal rods. He had twenty minutes to get this done. Then he'd need to check on Cerise and Dream.

First, he spent a few minutes lining up several wooden crossbeams along the ground near the water. With the way they were positioned and the size of the crevice, this would create a small wall of wood. Next, he laid wooden planks across the upper sections of the crossbeams; another ten in total. Then he used his powerfist to hammer the rods he'd found through the wooden plank and crossbeam, securing them together. Once done, he reinforced the connection by tightening rope around them, creating a wooden cross.

Now it was time for the hard part.

"Please, stop, stop!" One of the Raiders screamed as Six dragged him over to the first cross before laying him down. While he didn't have barbed wire, the rope would serve that purpose well enough.

When the main flailed, weakly hitting the Mimic to make him stop, the Butcher of House slammed his powerfist into the offending limb. The Raider screamed as his arm shattered and continued doing so as his limbs were tied and bound to the cross. The man's screaming only intensified when he tightened a rope around that broken arm.

Once secured, the Courier turned back towards the other Raiders before tying them up one by one.

"What's that monster doing?"

"Just let me go!"

"I'm sorry!"

They all begged and pleaded, none of them were spared.

Once tied to the crosses with varying levels of violence, Six made quick work of lifting up the cross. But instead of lifting them head up and feet down, he reversed the cross. Now each Raider was upside down and faced towards the river.

"Why is this happening? Why are you doing this?" One of them questioned as he struggled against his restraints.

But he received no response, only pain.

The Mimic made his way over to the end of the line of tied-up men before pulling out his knife. He cut deep enough across the man's chest to make him bleed but not kill. The Raider screamed. Then they all began screaming as they realized what was happening.

The Courier wasn't sure what they were seeing as the chemicals in the air meant they would be hallucinating. Whatever they saw, Six hoped it was horrifying.

"Please, please, please!" One of them begged as he moved onto the next one. Slashing, cutting, and stabbing. Never enough to kill. But enough that by the time he was done with each of them, they were covered in gashes and bleeding profusely. If left alone they would all die within twenty or so minutes from blood loss.

Six watched as one of them finally passed out either from the pain or blood loss. Unacceptable.

Deciding he would be the first, the Courier grabbed one of the wooden planks before wrapping cloth around the end. While he was originally planning on using his own alcohol he brought, Six found plenty lying around to use. These Raiders were apparently drinkers.

He needed to hurry up, he had maybe ten minutes left.

He poured whiskey on his makeshift torch before walking to each man and dousing their feet in the stuff. This was the part the Legion always got wrong. When you burn them facing upwards they die from smoke inhalation.

Now that their heads were down, they'd have to suffer burning to death instead.

The first one screamed and screamed until his lungs could no longer scream. This was the appropriate amount of fear they should have.

"Please, everything, everything! My family, Lien, anything, just not this!" One begged before he began screaming as well.

"I won't-I won't beg you for anything. You're a dead man! No one's going to let this go, monster!" Bravado, just like the Kings before the Ruler of Vegas put them down. That bravado turned to sobbing and screaming quickly.

Some begged, some cried, some even apologized to their victims and mothers. It didn't matter.

The Mimic sat back and watched them all scream and burn. The smoke and embers rose into the air as they continued bleeding from their open wounds directly into the river.

And there Six sat, dressed in all black save his glowing red optics and bone-like armor. He had blood splattered across him as he stood shin-deep in water that was now red. This cave would serve as a mausoleum for all their sins. Their final horrid resting place.

Turning, he could see the river turning an odd shade of reddish-pink. So much blood had spilled into it and was still pouring that everything downstream looked like a river of bright blood. It would wash away soon, just like the sins of these dead men now that they had been redeemed in death.

This… This was enough. He just needed to check on Cerise and Dream now before launching a flare into the sky. That would bring the entourage running.

As Six began trudging over to the pair, his Pip-Boy buzzed. Looking down, he was getting a call from Adam.

Answering was a mistake as the Faunus immediately shouted, "What did you do!?"

Six blinked a few times under his mask. Was he referring to putting down the Raiders? How did he know about that?

"What do you mean?" Six asked, confirming what Adam was accusing him of.

"There were apparently sightings of a dark figure stalking off from the capital upriver." The Faunus pointed a finger at the screen. "A couple of humans went to investigate, leaving Vale. They reported a lot of strange noises."

The Bull-Faunus laughed sardonically before continuing, "Then the river literally runs with blood! Here, just watch!"

Six's Pip-Boy buzzed again as he opened a video sent by Adam. The image of the city's massive walls and trees filled his screen but was shaky. This was likely a Scroll.

"There, down there!" A feminine voice from the left called.

The camera shifted and was placed over a railing, aimed down at the Jade River. However, instead of a vibrant green, it was a light red. The camera panned up to reveal that the river was red all the way to the bend.

"Weird right?" The same woman asked.

"That's not blood is it?" Another voice questioned.

There was a quick scoff before a third male replied, "Of course not. That would be an absurd amount of blood. Right?"

The video cut off there but honestly Six was impressed. Sure, he had bled plenty of people into the river in the last hour but he thought it would have dissipated by the time it got to the city. Maybe it was something with the crystals? Maybe Remnant's rivers worked differently? Hell, he wasn't an expert on rivers, maybe it was just too much blood.

"And now," Adam cut back in. "Vale law enforcement is on the way there to investigate."

Oh shit. He needed to go now then.

"I'll be gone by the time they get here."

"So it was you!" Adam shouted indignantly.

He didn't have time for this.

"I'll explain later," Six replied before hanging up the call to an irate Adam. That felt oddly good.

That burning anger inside Six was dissipating now that he had stopped these criminals. He felt justified, validated in his actions. The people would be safe and the perpetrators dead. That's all that mattered.

Walking over to Cerise and Dream, Six contemplated what to do with the pair. They were the only ones that had known he was there. Of course, everyone would probably figure it was the Mimic. The saved victims would probably put two and two together once they recovered.

Cerise didn't have a family to go back to. He'd probably go to an orphanage of some kind… And if Six could force Dream into those terms, he'd do at least a little good for the boy. But more importantly, Dream could be a useful pawn now that he had successfully caught him by surprise and declawed him.

And now that his anger had subsided, Six put a few things together. Dream had been here before, that much was certain. But his conversation with Otto made it clear he didn't approve but rather saw it as a necessity. For what purpose? In his own words, to hinder Atlas and the White Fang.

If Six had to guess, Dream had spurred on these slavers to keep relations tense between the White Fang and Atlas. After all, they primarily operated between Vale and Atlas. Most refugees traveling to Vale were Faunus.

He also bought any children that came through and from what Cerise was implying, it seemed like the man was going to put him into an orphanage? One small act of kindness didn't absolve the corrupt Councilor of all his sins. But it did mean the man was possibly pliable, a tool to his plans.

After all, having a member of the Council in your pocket was a useful thing to have. Taking a moment to think it over, Six reached a resolution.

He'd save Dream from this predicament. If the paperwork in the cave revealed the Councilor, so be it. For now, Six would drag him and Cerise to safety.

Using his powerfists to rip open the cage, Six dragged the two of them up the rocky path and to the top of the ravine. He took one last look at his handiwork.

He could still hear the sobbing and moaning of the victims in cages while the crackling fire raged on. The Raiders crucified on them were dead now. The flames were the only noise coming from them as their bodies slowly charred. No one ever described in any books how the bodies smelled. It wasn't pleasant. Nor was the red-tinted river that was now slowly turning back to green as the blood washed away. Overall, it would be a sight for the authorities.

Dragging the two further into the woods, Dream began grumbling as he blearily glanced at his surroundings.

"What? Wha-What's happening? Why…" The dazed man glanced up at Six who turned to him.

"Because I own you now," Six replied. "You will come when I call. You will obey when I order you. Or you will die." He stalked forward a few more feet as he finished, "Consider this your punishment for supporting this."

The Councilor went quiet at that, seemingly content to be dragged long. Good, because Six was not in the mood to talk as the entire left side of his body flared in pain. Dragging two people through the woods back to civilization took a lot of effort with two broken ribs. Still, the ribs were healing so it wasn't all bad. He just had to keep going a little longer.

Six chastised himself as he stalked further into the woods. He had been too slow and would now have to backtrack to grab his traps. All before team RWBY's arrival the next day. He'd be getting little sleep that night.

"What do you think Clover?"

Clover turned to his teammate, Harriet. Her pink eyes burned with both fear and intrigue as she glanced over the scene.

He turned away, thinking about what to say. He was currently crouched over one of the dead bodies, it looked like a boot had crushed the skull inward…

The burning bodies before him were… Nightmarish. In all his years as a Specialist, he had never encountered anything like this.

They were hung in an almost religious manner, cut, and burned. The sight turned his stomach. Let alone the other eighty or so people lying around dead. The sheer volume of death and barbarity in which they were killed was…

Grimm-like.

But even the Grimm wouldn't torture people to death like this. It was too elaborate.

He turned his attention to the poor people locked in cages. They were still babbling in fear as they were escorted to safety. They needed to be after all. The sheer amount of negativity here was already attracting Grimm. They already had a few squads clearing them out so they wouldn't congregate near the city.

What was more interesting were the things the victims were saying. They spoke of a dark figure and a white face with red eyes. Of a monster on two legs that slaughtered everyone. From the initial reports they received, that fit only one person's description.

But why would he be there? What business did he have killing a bunch of slavers? Why do that when he previously just killed Huntsman and White Fang?

"Sir?" Harriet questioned again as he sat there in thought.

Sighing, Clover rose to his feet. There were too many questions and not nearly enough answers.

"I think," he began as he turned back to his fellow Specialist. "We have a long night ahead of us."

Author's Notes:

I am no expert when it comes to rivers. I made those estimates and hope they are somewhat accurate to the real world according to research I've done.

I am also not an expert when it comes to chemical warfare. I did my best to be accurate in my research but that is all I can promise.

Also, I'm sorry for anyone that uses the metric system. I don't want to convert every number here and it's canon that the people in RWBY use the Imperial System (although that's technically a misnomer as I found out, it's actually the US Customary System, go figure).

There were several different references in this chapter to other media. Can you spot them all?

To 7B00k3R3ader2hehe6, thank you for the kind words from a few chapters ago. It's reviews like this that keep me going though I feel I am undeserving of such praise.

For doomforzombies16, you reference Dust and how it could theoretically work outside Remnant. This hasn't truly been proven as the reference you give-the Bridge Realm-was created with powers from Remnant and therefore directly tied to Remnant. It's very easy to say that the Bridge Realm, the Ever After, and Remnant are all directly linked to each other and thus Dust would work in all of them. That doesn't mean that Dust works outside these realms and we've even been told/seen that Dust doesn't work in space, hence no satellites. I have plans for Dust and Fallout's Earth, don't you worry, but that is a long while off yet.

I'm also glad people are on board with the change between Adam and Blake in terms of their relationship.

For Claggan, the answer is yes.

Gear:

Burned Man's Armor

Elite Riot Gear (Modified: Mimic Edition)

Stealth Suit Mk. II (Firmware Version 1.6)

Civilian Clothing

Beacon Uniform

Rebreather

Maria

Survivalist Rifle

Mysterious Magnum

Modified Anti-Material Rifle.

YCS/186 Gauss Rifle variant (Magnetic Version)

C4 - Plastic explosives (0)

Burn Dust – Plastic explosives (5)

Detonator.

Frag Grenades (1)

Burn Dust Grenades (5)

Gravity Dust Mines (3)

Burn Dust Mines (43)

Combat Knife.

Plasma Grenades (43)

Plasma Mines (0)

WulfsBann Power Fist (x2) (Mobility Modification)