-Six cleaning up RWBY is really gratifying atleast for me as i'm really into the Punisher/DoomSlayer vibe!
Sypnosis: There's always been growing legends in Remnant. Some of fearless warriors and others of horror, but there's one that's recently been picked up by the inhabitants. A legend of a man who was more akin to a wolf without a pack, barely speaking and doing his deed before leaving without a trace. After all... some people just want isolation rather than company.
Rated: M
Words: 133K
Posted on: m.fanfiction.net/s/13280894/1/Wolves-That-Walk-Alone (TheManThatWalksTheAbyss115)
PS: If you're not able to copy/paste the link, you have everything in here to find it, by simply searching the author and the story title. It sucks that you can't copy links on mobile (´ー｀)
-I'll be putting the chapter ones of all the fanfics mentioned, to give you guys a sample if you wan't more please do go to the website and support the author! (And maybe even convince them to start uploading chapters in here as well!)
Chapter 1-3 (exceptional)
"This is the Pillar of Autumn. We're away. The package is delivered." Keyes' voice rang out. Those were the last words he had heard as he watched the ship break atmosphere. He knew this was his end, he knew that as long as the package was secure and the Pillar made it out safely then his sacrifice wouldn't be in vain. He walked for a long time, didn't know how long and it didn't matter. Eventually he came across the battlefield, broken and barren from the countless battles that had occurred here.
He managed to get Emile's dog tags and hold them close next to Jorge's, despite being with them for a short amount of time, he found companionship in Noble Team. He enjoyed their company like some of the war orphans during his Spartan training. Despite him being a part of the team during the Fall of Reach, he knew that solitude was always going to be his true companion in the end. It wasn't a stranger to him like some of the others. In fact, he found comfort in solitude. The feeling of isolation calmed him at times and there were moments that brought him back to when he was clearing out insurrectionists by himself.
The smoke in the sky and Banshees that flew across bounced off his visor. He was brought back to reality when he heard a Phantom approaching and snapped into a stance he always had when he was about to get into a firefight. Turning around and spotting a mounted turret, he gripped it and began firing into a nearby Elite that was coming around a truck. Its shields flared up in response to the amount of rounds being firing into it and eventually they fell, soon blood began to fly out from its body and it slumped over dead. Covenant spotted him and began to shout slurs at him while aiming their weapons and firing. Plasma rounds hit him and made him slightly wince at the force but he wouldn't give the bastards the satisfaction.
His vision caught the Phantom soaring overhead and the main gun hone in on him, ripping the turret off its stand, he jumped from the perch as soon as the heavy plasma cannon fired. More rounds from the automated cannon fired after him but he merely avoided them and their area of affect. Once he was sure it was gone, he slightly ducked when a Grunt fired it's plasma pistol at him, widening its eyes when he turned the turret in its direction and fired. It took seven rounds to kill it and he turned the turret to several Covenant, letting the barrel heat up as he fired rounds at them and reduced their bodies to mere piles of steamy flesh. Three Elites started to rush towards him with their plasma rifles and fire at him; he returned it with the remaining rounds of the turret. Two of the Elites fell while the last one rushed towards him as soon as it realized he was out of ammo for the turret. Quickly dropping the gun, he equipped his DMR and fired four rounds at its head, making it recoil.
One more shot and its shields broke with a flash before he put another round into its skull, watching as skull fragments and brain matter splattered against the ground. A couple of Grunts started to flee when they saw one of the stronger members of the Covenant fall under the demon and started to run away. Three shots to their skulls made them drop and he saw that he had seven shots left in the magazine. His shields flared up when plasma slammed into him before turning around and firing into the Jackal that was holding its shield up.
It gave a cry of pain and dropped to its knee when he firing into its hand then firing another round into his skull. He ran into the broken building but not before his helmet cracked when it took a shot of plasma, making him frown. He could tell his HUD was starting to lose some of its features the more his helmet became damaged. He switched his magnum and fired three rounds into a Grunt, ignoring its cries as it died. A plasma grenade stuck to the ground and he could hear it start to explode which forced him dive out of the building. He rolled a few times and came to a crouch, firing the rest of the mag into an Elite before he had to reload.
More Elites, Jackals, and Grunts started to close in on him, making him fire the rest of his magnum into the crowd before it ran low on ammo. He managed to kill the Grunts and a few of the Jackals but the Elites were still a problem. With his magnum had four rounds in it, he switched back to the DMR and fired the rest of the magazine into a few weak Elites and killed them before reloading quickly.
Each shot struck home and at the weakest points of the Covenant. Two shots and another Elite was dead before he turned to the other one, firing several shots and killing it shortly after. A noise over his head made him look up to see a Dropship lowering towards the ground and more troops jumped onto the ground and closed in on him. Five shots into the crowd of Covenant and five Grunts were dead, all with holes in their heads. Elites shouted slurs at him but he paid no mind, it didn't matter in the end because either they would be dead or he would.
Two magazines later and he finally ran out of ammo for his DMR, a second later another crack appeared on his helmet and rendered his HUD practically useless at this point. He didn't care, all he needed was another gun and a breather and he'd be ready to go for another ten rounds. Deep down he knew he wouldn't last another five but he'd make this a fight that they never forgot.
He moved out of the way when an energy sword swung at him and slammed the butt of his rifle into the Elite, making it roar as its shields went down. This bought him a tiny window to go behind it and jump on its back. His hand clasped around one of its mandibles before pulling with all his might. That sickening crack of the neck made him crack a small smirk before he picked up an energy sword and slashed another one that came from behind, making its body fly a few feet. His fist slammed into another one and knocked its shields down and it made the mistake of throwing its arms up in rage. He went behind it and stood on its back before shoving the sword through its heart and ripping it out.
Two Elite rushed after him and he quickly sprinted up the stairs, snagging the armor lock and activating it as soon as a grenade landed next to him. The small fuse on it met his ears and soon after it exploded, knocking a few boxes away. The sprint armor ability merely made him faster at times, it didn't necessarily mean he couldn't sprint like everyone else, it just meant it enhanced it.
Two Elites that entered the building were assaulted with heavy rounds from the sniper rifle he picked up earlier. One of their shields were down and fell when he focused fire on the weakened one. He dove backwards when the second one threw a grenade at him and forced him outside. More Covenant saw him and began to fire at him, four Elites focused fire on him and he managed to kill three of them before he couldn't take it anymore. His weapons were dry and the pain from all the fire was just too much for him to handle, even his helmet felt suffocating.
He threw it off and ignored the plasma shots there fired his way as he spotted an assault rifle on the ground. He picked up the weapon and fired into the Elite. It staggered towards him but soon fell on the ground dead when he pumped enough rounds into it. Footsteps behind him and his instincts told him to slam the butt of his rifle against the assailant's face; the Elite from behind fell and tried to get up had he not fired a magnum round into its skull. He holstered his sidearm but recoiled when plasma rifle rounds were firing into body, making him stumble back and fire his assault rifle into the attacker. Another barrage of plasma made him flinch and reach around his waist with his left hand and pull his side arm out.
One Elite fell from the magnum rounds. Another from the assault rifle that shredded its body. The third rushed up to him and shoved him harshly, throwing him onto the ground and knocking his weapons from his hands. The Ultra jumped onto him but he blocked it with his foot and shoved it away, back onto his broken helmet. A Zealot tried to stab him but missed when he moved out of the way and slammed his fist against it, knocking its sword away. The Ultra tried to pin him down but he slammed his elbow against it, the force of the blow was enough to break its shields and break its neck. He was about to stand up but felt a searing pain in his abdomen.
He shakily looked down to see the energy dagger from the Zealot in his abdomen. It said something to him and he gripped its hand with his before pulling with all his might. The snapping of bone and tearing of flesh met his ears before he let go and saw its hand next to him. He ignored the wails of pain from it and turned his head towards to his left to see the smoke slightly clear up.
His vision slowly started to fade when he saw the battlecruiser overhead. All was quiet except for the winds that were blowing. The burning sensation in his abdomen had long since faded from the intense heat of the plasma. For the first time in the three days he had been in this constant struggle to survive after the Fall of Reach... he smiled. Not because he was dying and was lying in a pile of slain enemies that went into the dozens, possibly hundreds, but because he knew humanity would prevail in the end. He knew that someone down the road would finish the fight, not for him, but for mankind itself. They'd take his and Noble Team's sacrifice and make sure the people of mankind survive the future. His job was done now, he could rest. After all...
There'll be another time...
Six wasn't a stranger to the unknown. He welcomed it at times unlike others who feared it. The first thing he noticed was that it was cold, not like Sword Base on the Babd Catha Ice Shelf but more along the lines of a cold fall morning. The second thing was that he was in the woods, the quiet woods that put him on alert so much that he didn't notice some things at first. His HUD was fixed, he had his DMR and a shotgun on his back, and a TAC pad on his forearm. He set his weapons down and took off his helmet to inspect it. It wasn't his Mark V but a Grenadier helmet with a UA/FC accessories on it. Sniper shoulder armor that held Anti-material rounds. His chest armor was what he had observed as Collar/Breacher variant that held shells for his shotgun. A trauma kit on his leg for utility and a TACPAD on his wrist. Grenadier knee guards and a black visor for a more intimidating look he supposed.
"Odd..." He muttered and put the helmet back on. He recognized the shotgun and it was Emile's, which made him reach around and pull out his dog tags, letting them dangle in his hands. Staring at them for a minute, he sighed then put them back in their place before heading off in a direction. This wasn't Reach. Reach was a scorched planet and a fallen bastion of humanity, he didn't know how he got here to be honest. It confused him and that bothered him. Confusion led to poor decision making, and that led to mistakes that could be made. Mistakes at the wrong time led to one's downfall.
Humming at his thoughts drifting, he kept North for some reason. For all he knew, he could be on a planet taken over by the Covenant so keeping his guard up was his only option. Time passed by and he came across what looked like a village. He went on alert when he heard shouting and quickly hid in one of the bushes and observed from a distance. There were people storming into homes and houses, hauling out valuables and food while some people lied dead on the ground. To his right was a truck that was being loaded with bags and boxes full of supplies. People were being rounded up and either assaulted or killed on the spot.
These weren't insurrectionists, their gear didn't match; some brandished guns while others wielded swords. No, he knew what insurrectionists looked like and operated like and these weren't it, they were too uncoordinated, too arrogant for his taste. Despite them being human, they were threatening innocent people which meant he had all the right to put them in the ground. He's only been here for maybe three hours since he woke up in the woods but he's already seen something that needed to be stopped. There were shouts from the civilians and he silently crept towards the driver of the truck. He had been looking for a word for the attackers and nothing came up other than the term Bandit. These people were nothing but mere bandits like in some of the history books he used to read in his downtime.
He had the element of surprise and he wouldn't compromise his position yet. It took him sticking close to the ground and the driver too busy looking backwards to notice him until he was right next to him. The man didn't even get to utter a single noise before gigantic hands gripped his mouth and the back of his head then twisted. A sickening crack was heard and the body slumped onto the ground with a thump. He grabbed the body and threw it over his shoulder like it was a mere pillow and opened the truck door, throwing the body into the driver's seat and leaning it against the wheel.
He hadn't anticipated the honking and was about to take the body off but a plan formed in his mind. It would draw some of them in the area where he could either eliminate them or slip inside the compound and take them out from the inside, only time would tell. Forcing himself to move back to his spot in the bushes, he went to a prone position and hoped that the brush would provide enough camouflage to hide him. Like he anticipated, some of them came out and investigated the sudden noise, it allowed him enough time to sneak inside without a sound. It was a very long street that had houses on either side, which provided him with a perfect amount of cover.
The bandits were suddenly on alert when they found one of their own dead but Six wasn't paying that much attention to them, he was more focused on the one that was currently bringing a young girl, presumably sixteen, down one of the alleyways. He threw her on the ground and chuckled darkly as he brandished a knife, unaware that Six was approaching from behind without a sound. Her eyes were wide with fear as he brought the knife closer and she flinched when he thrust it down, closing her eyes in anticipation to her death. The blow never came though.
She looked up to see the man gagging while a 6'9 behemoth of a titan had one hand around the offending arm and the other around the man's windpipe. He dug his armored hand into the windpipe and squeezed with an impressive display of force. The sickening sound of flesh being torn resonated through the air, her eyes widened when the titan suddenly ripped the man's throat out like it was wet paper and threw the body away and the throat. She scooted back in fear when the titan looked down on her and knelt to her level, tilting his head.
"Are you injured?" He asked. His tone was cold, calculative, but it held a minuscule amount of worry for her well being.
"N-No. I'm fine... thank you." She gulped.
"I advise you to stay here. I'll handle the threats." He said. She nodded shakily and watched as he equipped his DMR and silently crept through the spaces between houses, never once making a sound. He saw that there were fifteen bandits in total, eleven near the dozen civilians and four alerted ones near the truck at the entrance of the town. He wouldn't really call this town but more along the lines of a village, or a settlement for that matter. His boots barely made a sound as he dashed across the street and aimed down the sights to see one of the bandits hold a gun up to one of the civilians. He hadn't forgotten his training but he would not risk a civilian's death on his watch and honed his sights on the offending bandit, pulling a trigger before they could.
The crack of his DMR rang loudly throughout the air and the round soared quickly before planting itself through the man's skull. His head snapped back as the round went through and splattered brain matter and skull fragments on the ground. He disappeared around the corner of the house as soon as he fired and went behind another house the moment he heard shouting. They knew he was here, he still had the element of surprise but not as much as he would like. He heard shouts of spreading out and slightly beamed. Them spreading out made it easier to take them out one by one. With how disorganized they were, it was no surprise that those three that he killed fell like ants. But he was not one to underestimate an enemy force, he would remain vigilant.
Two went down the alley that he was occupying but didn't see him until they rounded the corner. Before they could fire a shot, he equipped his combat knife and slashed one of their throats before parrying another one that had a sword. She slashed at Six but spat up saliva when he slammed the palm of his hand against her stomach before a quick slash of the knife made her gurgle wetly as blood leaked out profusely. Six watched the bodies lie on the ground for a few seconds before dashing behind the houses, avoiding the field of vision from the ones approaching. He was three houses down when he saw two more bandits spot the recently killed ones then bellow in rage, claiming how they were going to find him and make him suffer.
Twelve of them left.
His instincts blared and he ducked to avoid an axe that would've connected to his neck had he not moved out of the way. He turned around to see a man that was around his height snarl at him before pulling the weapon free. He swung twice but both swipes were dodged with precision. Six blocked an overhead swipe easily then twisted the gun clockwise, making the man lose some of his grip on the splitting tool. He managed to throw the weapon into the dirt before grabbing a punch sent his way then twist the man's wrist painfully. His foot lashed out and kicked his shin before he flipped him over his shoulder with his hand still in his then twisted quickly, breaking the man's wrist and forearm. He screamed painfully before being silenced with a single shot to the forehead, alerting the others to his position.
They knew he was here which meant they were closing in on his position quickly, more than he had anticipated but he adapted. One made the mistake of coming around the corner too quickly and jerked his head back when a single DMR round punched a hole in his head, making him crumble to the ground. He kicked the backdoor of the house down then dove inside when rounds started flying his way. He knew his shields would keep him safe momentarily but his training and instincts kicked in so he couldn't help it. He treated every situation like it was life or death, which is ironic, because this very well could be.
He saw that the kitchen connected to the living room and that connected to the front door. His shotgun was in his hands and his DMR was on his back as he aimed his gun at the backdoor. One of the bandits made the foolish mistake of coming through the door that he kicked down and found a M296 Magnum shell discharged into her torso, which punched a hole the size of a dinner plate into it. Blood and gore splattered against the walls as her body flew out of the entrance.
A grenade was thrown into the house next to him and the fuse was going, making him activate his armor lock and feel the force of the grenade. He didn't know what kind of grenade that was because the area around him cackled with electricity but was quickly snuffed out when the EMP from the armor lock burst out. Shots from the front door splintered the wood and hit him, making his shields flare up in response; the effects were... rather weak. It was like a weaker version of plasma in his opinion. His shields still took a mildly concerning amount of damage but it didn't really make him tense up like he did when Plasma was thrown his way.
He looked at the motion tracker and fired two shells at the door, the sound of two bodies slumping met his ears and gave him some breathing room for a quick second.
Seven hostiles left. Their deaths would be quicker than they could blink or it could be brutal, depending on the situation. The front door to the house was kicked in and he had to duck underneath a set of arms that tried to grasp him. His fist clenched tightly and he uppercutted a massive man that was a few inches taller than him. His foot slammed on the man's shin and a natural force field from him cackled and sputtered before being replaced with the snapping of bone. He fell. Hard enough to shake the ground a bit.
His screaming suddenly stopped when Six jumped up high in the air and crushed the man's skull beneath both his feet. The force of the jump combined with the weight of him and the armor made the skull crush like a gr.a.p.e. Blood flew from the crushed head and splattered against the walls and his armor. The back door exploded with bullets and they impacted his shields a bit, he sighed and slightly winced before rolling out of the front door and into the main street. The civilians saw him aim his gun in their direction and fire half a second later, making them cower down. They screamed when they heard the shots but slowly opened their eyes when they saw neither of those two rounds were meant for them, rather the two bandits that were keeping some of the group hostage.
Four left.
Two bandits came from the house adjacent to him while the other two others followed from his opposite. Their eyes were wide at his size but also the blood that seemed to dribble down his armor. They backed up when his stance shifted and he switched to his shotgun when they surrounded him. All was quiet as the four surrounded him and began to circle him while brandishing different weapons. Everything seemed to slow down as a plan formed in his mind as he assessed the situation.
Four attackers. One has a gun, the two diagonal to him have swords, and the final one seems to have an axe but with a trigger on it? He closed his eyes and let out a few calming breaths before snapping them open when a battle cry was heard. He ducked down quickly to avoid a shot from the gun user before sweeping his leg of one of the sword users. His shotgun was leveled at the ranged attacker and he pulled the trigger, watching the man's body fly through the air then land on one of the stalls, turning it into splinters. The sword attacker beneath him looked up to see the barrel pointing at him before his world went black. The other sword attacker managed to move out of the way from the first shotgun blast at him but a loud crack from his neck was heard when Six slammed the stock of the gun against his throat.
He jumped back when the man with the axe swung downwards at him and twisted out of the way when a shot from the axe came soon after. He dodged several swipes from the weapon then ducked underneath a wide swipe before rushing up to the attacker and equipping his combat knife. There was a loud shattering noise and and the squelching of the knife entering the man's heart rang out. Six twisted the knife a bit and heard the man groan before dragging the knife upwards and watched as a geyser of blood shot out. It sprayed for a few seconds before the body crumbled to the ground.
Everything was quiet as he looked at the carnage he had enacted then his eyes caught sight of the civilians. Some of them flinched when he looked towards them while others seemed to scoot away when he approached them. They closed their eyes when he brought out his combat knife and reached towards them, only to shakily open them when they saw he was cutting their bindings. It barely took any strength to actually cut the rope and it took a few minutes to actually set everyone free but he managed to do it. Once they were all free and hugged one another, they looked at him. There was a sudden tenseness in the air as they stared at the giant black and red death machine that seemed to slaughter an entire bandit tribe easily.
"What's your name?" One of them asked. At first, he was silent but then he realized that they had been waiting for an answer for what he assumed was a few minutes.
"Some people just call me six." He answered. Some people winced at his particularly cold voice.
"That's not a name, it's a number. Are you part of a new Atlas squad or something?" Another one asked.
"Atlas?" He tilted his head.
"Yeah, Atlas, you know the biggest and strongest military in the world? Figured you'd be some new elite force or something with all those gizmos on you." The person pointed towards his armor.
"... No." He answered curtly.
"You a huntsmen or something then?" The same person asked.
"What's that?" He asked. He really didn't know what these people were talking about. Atlas seemed to be a military on this planet but as far as he knew, there wasn't anything stronger than the UNSC, maybe the Covenant but even they were still going to lose to humanity in the end. If there was a strong military than it would've picked up on the UNSC's radar.
"You okay there, buddy?" One asked.
"I'm fine. What is it that you were saying about those Huntsmen?" He asked. Some looked at him weird and he could hear their confused whispers about him not knowing about those two things. He listened to the various people explain about the world to him, from Atlas and their military, to the other kingdoms and their academies. Needless to say, he was extremely confused about the events that had transpired and was slightly distraught when he figured he wasn't in UNSC territory. He was possibly on a lost colony planet or something but even that was a long shot.
He needed to leave.
Staying on this uncharted planet spelled all sorts of problems for him and could eventually lead to his affiliation with the UNSC. If a foreign power even got a hold of Spartan armor then there's no telling what they could do with it, possibly nothing judging by the outfits these people wore. He asked more questions about the planet and soaked up everything he could about it before taking a bit of supplies then leaving. A part of him wanted to stay and help these people rebuild their little settlement but he couldn't trust even one of them to report him to this Atlas if they got the chance.
He didn't know about this world one bit but he would learn quickly like everything else he mastered. If he could then he'd send signals and hope a UNSC ship could pick him up. There must be a reason as to why he's stuck on this rock rather than be in the afterlife or a smoldering, burnt, shriveled up corpse on Reach. If he was alive and fully operational then it meant he could continue to fight.
The most he took from these people was a tattered cloak that covered his body, a map, some food and water to last him a few days, and their thanks for saving them. He didn't need praise for saving innocents, what he needed was to get back to the UNSC so they could get him back in the fight. There was a job to do after all.
.
.
.
He just didn't know how long it'd take before he was found on this uncharted planet.
Chapter 2
The sound of his heavy boots hit the light snow beneath him, creating a crunching noise. The continent he was in was currently called Atlas, known for its rather strong military. Over the course of a few days and nights, he had learned that there was an evil known as Grimm, the stuff of nightmares apparently feared by most. He had the pleasure of dealing with a few of them. They were about as troublesome as a group of Grunts, only thing was that Grunts had tactics and could change the turn of a battle at the cost of their lives, something Grimm don't do half the time.
The wind blew to the side of him as he walked without a direction. What more could he do other than walk in hopes of finding something? He didn't have the UNSC to give him orders, he didn't have a goal to complete, and he didn't have anything to keep him occupied. He was just... wandering. From what the locals said about this planet, they had never achieved space travel nor even launched a satellite into space which meant their technology was severely lacking. Going to the military was off limits; never in his life would he work with a foreign power, even if it meant he would live at the top. Wearing another uniform other than the one the UNSC provided for him was like dishonoring all that he worked for. He followed their protocols, nobody else's.
He walked for a long time, presumably a day or two until he reached a rather quiet town. People entered and exited it without a care in the world, some even looked at him while he just went by them. His cloak covered his entire body and the hood did a remarkable job in covering his helmet, the less people knew about him the better. What he was looking for was a shop or something to gather more Dust, food, and supplies. Sleeping in the wild was kind of relaxing and it kept his skills sharp when he fought experienced Grimm and some less than savory individuals. After wandering for several minutes and looking around he found a rather small shop that held at least food and water.
A bell jingled as he opened the door and stepped inside, browsing the selection. Some minutes passed by and he had brought numerous canned items that would serve him well and managed to find a small bag to hold the items. The cashier wasn't paying attention and didn't notice him until he put the items on the counter. She jumped in surprise and laughed sheepishly as she scanned the items, occasionally glancing at him. It was rude of her to stare but she couldn't help but shudder around him; it was like a wolf staring down its prey before lunging in for the kill.
"Is that all?" She asked, throwing him a kind smile. In reality she wished that he would kind of just leave, not that she had a problem with him but something about the way he was around her made her feel somewhat fearful.
"Yes. Thank you." His cold voice replied, making her wince. He threw some lien cards down and exited the store, those cards were stolen off of the bandits he killed previously and saw that they were the form of currency of this planet. She finally released the breath she didn't realize she was holding as soon as he exited the store.
When he exited the store and headed towards the next one that held Dust, he stopped in the street when he heard a scream and turned to see a Grimm tackle a guard at the front gate before sinking its jaws into his neck, killing him instantly. Civilians pushed past him and ran from the Grimm while he just stood there motionless as they went in their homes. Some of the guards tried to usher him into getting inside and one even tried to force him inside one of the buildings but was failing miserably. A red blip on his motion tracker made him grip the guard's collar and swing him around to narrowly avoid the lunge of a Beowolf.
It roared at him in response to his intervention but soon found a DMR round piercing its skull. He managed to bring out his weapon faster than anyone could blink and kill the offending Grimm effortlessly. Some of the people staring from their windows widened their eyes when he took off his cloak and bag then threw them to the side to reveal his large figure. He was a healthy 6'9 armored titan that seemed to have two weapons.
Two shots rang out and two Grimm fell before they could pounce on guards, making them quickly look to see an armored man heading towards them. In the span of a few seconds, he was next to them firing into the horde of Grimm. He was a lot quicker than some of them had imagined and it disturbed them a bit to see a man that large be that fast but they were glad he was on their side. The guards at the gate fired into the horde of Grimm that were quickly rushing towards them. Four shotgun shells being discharged and two Ursa and two Beowolves were dead at their feet. Some of the guards glanced to see Six's shotgun barrel smoking a bit before he fired two more shells and two more Grimm fell down. His reloading speed made some of the more veteran guards jealous as they watched him load shell after shell with speed and grace.
He switched back to his DMR and fired seven rounds into the Grimm, killing seven with smoking holes in their heads. One of the guards screamed as a larger Beowolf gained ground on them at a fast pace, ignoring most of their rounds as it honed in on them. It managed to lunge towards one of them but quickly found its prey whipped to the side when Six hauled the smaller guard and watched as the large Beowolf skid against the ground. He suddenly took off while it was recovering and kneed it in the face, listening to the cracking of its armor and saw blood fly from its snout.
It roared at him and swiped downwards but he just leaned out of its attack and curled his fist, sending it rocketing towards it's snout once again. Bone cracked and teeth flew as another roar escaped its lips. Rounds pelted it from the guards at the gate, who had finished dealing with the oncoming horde, and were assisting Six. It roared at them but yelped in pain when he slammed his foot against its leg and broke its leg. He watched its large body fall to the ground and jumped high into the air, letting his combined weight of the armor and his own to slam against its head, making it explode in a shower of blood and gore.
Everything was quiet for a while as some of the townspeople slowly came out of their homes and stores to look around. Soon their eyes wandered to him as he silently went back to his tattered cloak and bag before putting his weapons on his back then slink the cloth around his body and let it cover him again. He could feel their eyes on him but that didn't matter, as he was about to leave the town he was stopped by someone and that led to everyone in town crowding around him, thanking him for saving them. All he really answered was their questions about what he needed. They gave him some Dust, some supplies to bathe himself once he figured out how to get his armor off, some more supplies, and some money after some reluctance on his part. He didn't even enjoy being rewarded this much for saving them but it's not like he could talk them out of anything at the moment.
"You should stay, I mean you must be tired." One of the people said.
"I'm fine. I just needed supplies." He answered curtly. Some looked at him and saw him begin to walk back out into the wild. They didn't even get to ask for his name, all they managed to get was his description of his armor.
The most prominent thing was the black wolf howling in front of a white moon insignia.
There was a tiny objective on his mind, head to a new continent. As much as he enjoyed the snow, it got quite tiresome after trekking through it for the last several days. He had been travelling for several days and after much experimentation, had managed to find a way to get his armor off by himself and put it back on. This served him well since he had to relieve himself and bathe. He usually slept in caves or in trees that were strong enough to hold his weight.
It was around that time when he sent another distress signal from the TACPAD then continued to walk towards the port. From what he understood from the map, there was a shipping area that housed numerous sh.i.p.s. One of those sh.i.p.s could possibly take him some place other than the snow, it was annoying to see nothing but white all the time. He wanted to see some green, a little bit of red, even some orange wouldn't hurt but nothing but pure white snow was going to drive him nuts.
A hollow blip on his radar made him stop walking, letting the wind blow his cloak to the side and partly reveal his armored legs. More blips appeared around him and had him surrounded but that didn't really make him nervous like most. He had a small hunch that someone would eventually find him, he had saved two settlements in the last few weeks so it would be foolish to think that word didn't travel fast. Instead of waiting to figure out who was surrounding him, he just started to walk again. If these people wanted to have a conversation then they would be disappointed, if they wanted to fight then they better start praying because he would show no mercy to them.
He saw the blips follow him until he was in a snowy clearing, the oddly broken moon illuminated the night as the wind kept blowing to the side of him. After a few minutes of walking in the clearing he stopped and finally looked over his shoulder to see some people following him. Despite them thinking they were well blended, they weren't. He didn't even need to look at his motion tracker to see that they were following him, it was just that he knew they were there. They just stared at him while he did the same before turning back around and continuing to walk.
Their blips suddenly turned red as one of them rushed at him from behind. He moved to the side and equipped his knife. The attacker barely caught the shimmer of the blade before their world when black when he shoved it in their skull. A wet, squelching noise broke the silence as he ripped the knife out and fully turned to see several attackers. The blood dripped down from his knife and landed in the snow with a soft impact sound.
Some of the attackers stood at the ready before parting ways when a woman with a rather strange mask stepped out in front.
"You have some skill to take on members on that settlement a week and a half ago. They were some of the more competent members." She complimented with a mock clap. The air was tense as the group stared at the lone man who took out a member in half a second with no hesitation at all. His eyes flicked to each one quickly as he took in their features before closing them and opening them once more. They saw him spread his feet slightly and flip his combat knife in a reverse grip then standing still as a statue.
She whistled and two bandits sped towards him, each one raising their weapons, only to fall over dead when he brought out his shotgun quicker than anyone could blink. That little knife stance was merely a deception, it worked perfectly since those dead attackers were none the wiser. The shells clattered against the snow and bounced once before coming to a standstill as he continued to stare at them.
Three bandits came rushing at him and he put away his shotgun and took out his knife, parrying the first slash at him before countering it with a throat slash. The second one swung at him twice while the third came from behind and stabbed at his back. He moved out of the way as the machete impaled the second one before he grabbed the third one by his neck and held him high with one hand. He gagged violently and tried to hit Six's arms but suddenly went limp when the Spartan applied pressure on his neck and broke it like a stick.
Snow kicked up when he dropped the body then went back to staring at the group, who's numbers were dwindling rapidly. It set them on edge and even the leader was beginning to grit her teeth. She had seen his armor and weapons and that desire to have all of it clouded her mind, on the other hand, she wanted him in her ranks. His skills meant they could train new recruits and have more successful raids.
"... It seems we have underestimated you." She gritted her teeth.
"It seems you have." He spoke for the first time. His cold voice seemed to have a lower temperature than the air outside.
"Huh, and here I thought you were some Atlas death machine. Good to know that you're human." She smirked.
"What do you want?" He asked.
"At first, your supplies but now that I see you're a capable fighter so I'll cut you a deal. If you-" She didn't get to finish when he started to walk again.
"No." He interrupted.
"No? No?! Don't you turn your back on me!" She shouted.
"I'm wasting time listening to a piece of human garbage. I'd rather reach my destination then listen to you monologue about me joining you." He answered curtly. It was true, he had somewhere to be and she was wasting precious time. He needed to find some place that would be different and the military was after him. Yes, he knew the military of this world was after him after he saved those two settlements. Word travels fast around here.
"You... you bastard!" She bellowed and shot towards him. His motion tracker caught sight of her speeding figure and he turned around just in time to avoid a rather wide slash of her sword. He recognized her sword as an odachi, a rather large sword meant for long slashes. Despite it being a rather large sword, she was swinging it extremely quick. It kept him on guard most of the time but years of dodging bullets, plasma, and energy swords honed his skills.
A horizontal slash made him duck underneath the blade but then quickly twist out of the way when she followed up with a vertical slash. She slashed at him twice before sending a kick out, to which he parried and sent an open palm to her solar plexus. Her air supply was cut off and she couldn't inhale or exhale, giving him the window to send a series of quick, but strong, jabs to her face and chest. When she recovered enough air and slashed at him, he had to hold up his forearms to block her quick strike. The shields flared up and he saw it take a portion of it off but also saw her blade snap. Her eyes slightly widened and he took this opportunity to grip her arm and flip her over his shoulder, equipping his knife and thrusting it towards her, sending the blade deep into her shoulder and splashing the snow with blood.
Her scream made his eyes flicker to his motion sensors to quickly let her go and spin out of the way of a torrent of rounds sent towards him. His DMR was brought out quickly fired a single round, striking the attacker in the skull and splattering the pristine white ground with blood and brain matter. Before any of the other ones could react, he fired three more rounds and killed three more bandits before turning his attention back to the woman.
She growled at him and air kicked up behind her as she rocketed towards him and began to slash at his unguarded parts. Her eyes narrowed in fury when he would either parry her attack or simply dodge, very rarely would she be rewarded with a successful hit but his shields otherwise took a majority of the damage. More rounds pelted his body and tore into his cloak and he reacted by firing two rounds into another bandit, killing him quickly then turning back to the woman once again.
If looks could kill, he'd be dead where he stood because she was glaring at him while putting her broken sword back in his sheath then bringing it out again with a different colored blade. This one was a dark purple, almost black color, and every time she swung at him it felt like gravity itself was pushing against him. He moved out of a diagonal swing and kneed her in the stomach, watching as her eyes widened in pain before he gripped her hair and threw her onto the ground.
She swung at his feet but he jumped quickly then slammed his right foot on her offending wrist. The snapping of bone met his ears and her scream echoed in the night while some of her assailants widened their eyes at the noise. He ignored her scream then slammed his foot against her face, breaking the mask and her nose in the process while breaking her wrist even further. Did they really think he'd show mercy in this fight? Mercy in a fight like this only meant one's downfall and he'd be damned if he showed any to these filth.
He had to roll to the side when a hammer struck the ground next to him then swung at him again. This time, he gripped the hammer tightly and made the attacker's eyes widen before he wretched the weapon out of the man's hands then swung it with all his might. That sickening crack of the skull made him smirk and the snapping of the man's neck made him shake his head at the foolish attempt of an attack. He looked back to see the rest of the bandits shaking in their boots before they turned tail and ran away. It made him scoff at this.
There was groaning and he turned back to see the woman that attacked him starting to crawl away while blood leaked from her nose profusely. She heard the sound of snow crunching behind her and crawled towards her weapon but was dragged away from it. A large hand gripped her throat and hauled her high off the ground with one hand, making her stare into the black visor of the Spartan.
"I merely wanted to leave this continent and you had the audacity to stop me..." He said calmly, too calmly in her opinion. It was like a predator staring at its latest prey before sinking its jaws into it.
"I could've shown you a way off if you would've joined me." She managed to get out.
"At the cost of being a parasite like you. I'd rather die alone than stoop to your levels." He bit back coldly. She used her right unbroken fist to punch him in the visor but widened when he caught it and twisted it with a sickening crunch. She screamed once again in pain before gagging when he tightened his grip immensely. Her feet dangled as she kicked his chest but was met with a metal that was harder than she had ever dealt with.
In a last ditch effort, she opened up a portal and used an immense amount of aura that was poured into her legs to kick him. It made him stumble and loosen his grip on her which she used to kick off and fall into the portal, effectively closing it behind herself before the monstrous man before her could enter.
He stood there for a while, confused as to what just happened. The woman that had broken wrists managed to escape him by opening up a portable warp drive that was about the size of him. His new objective was to find this woman again, if she had slipspace technology then there could be a chance that he could find his way back home and get back to the UNSC. It did irk him a little bit that this thieving, wasteful sack of skin had that technology and used it to steal from less fortunate people.
The wind blew onto his already tattered cloak, which now had bullet holes in it, and snapped him out of his thoughts. He walked to the bodies and took off his cloak and bag before starting to loot the bodies for supplies. It was a shitty thing to do but he didn't care at this point, he did it with fallen comrades and he'll do it to these sc.u.m if it meant he had supplies to survive. What he found was some lien cards that he could use to purchase items, some ammunition that didn't match his so he ignored it, some food, and a little bit of other stuff that he found useful.
Once he was done looting the corpses, he went back and started to walk again. It wasn't his fault this people chose to live in such a dangerous condition. It's not like he wanted to kill them but they had made their choice just as he had; only difference was that he had better training than these buffoons.
He was just trying to survive, not his fault he was the predator instead of the prey.
It took a few more days before he even remotely reached the docks and another day to sneak on a ship. He had managed to catch a ride on a cargo ship by creeping inside one of the containers. That familiar feeling of the crane picking it up and lowering it on the ship is what made him sigh in relief. It was maybe an hour in when he felt the full weight of the fatigue hit him. He took off his helmet and set it next to him before closing his eyes and letting the sweet embrace of slumber take a hold of him.
His sleep ended up being around six good hours and he felt well rested from it. A few stretches and he put his helmet back on and slowly opened the crate door with a loud groan. It was night outside and the cold air from before was replaced with a moderately cool to warm one. He really didn't have a destination in mind but he did enjoy the solitude for the most part, it was like he was a civilian that just traveled for the hell of it. Another reason is if was found by some lowly bandits then who's to say the military wouldn't find out about him and try to either capture him or persuade him onto their side? Not that he would.
He didn't know where this ship led to but he had an idea that it was headed towards some tropical area or moderately warm area. Thoughts of Reach hit him like a train and it was at this moment did he truly feel the weight of the deaths of Noble. All their deaths hit him like a train and guilt started to fill his heart a bit. It wasn't like he hated being on alone but being on a team showed him companionship that he wasn't accustomed to. After ten minutes of wallowing in self-guilt, he pushed those emotions down. They were gone shortly after. Each member beside Jun, that he knew of, was gone and nothing would change the fact.
Darkness filled his vision again as he closed his eyes and let slumber take his body. Sleeping like this wasn't like him but he didn't disagree with the amount of quiet time and decided to indulge a bit. Have to enjoy the little breaks when the universe gives it to you.
The loud blaring of the fog horn made him open his eyes quickly and look around to see he was still in the crate. He looked at his TACPAD to see a whopping week had passed by, making his eyes widen in alarm. His body must have shut down for some reason and put it into a sort of rest mode from the lack of sleep he's experienced for the last few weeks. Sleeping this long meant he was slacking and slacking meant punishment in his eyes. Before he could take off and get to training, he did an assessment of his situation. In a crate, check. Tattered cloak and bag, check. On an uncharted planet with no way of getting back home, check. A breath he didn't know he was holding was released from his mouth and he stretched a bit before going to the container and opening the door.
There were workers unloading the crates and he decided that now was the perfect opportunity to leave and head in a direction. He peeked over the railing to see if anyone was looking in his direction and used it to spring off and land on the concrete with a loud cracking noise. People looked at the crater that seemed to come out of nowhere and just barely managed to see a cloak disappear around the corner. They looked at the spot for a few more seconds then went back to what they were doing.
Meanwhile, he just crept through the shipping containers until he found an opening and went through it. Pretty soon, he was in the streets brushing past people without a care in the world of what they thought of him. Some looked and stared at his gigantic figure while others just went about their day.
He walked for a long time, until the sun was dipping over the horizon. He spotted a rather large gate and a store next to it, it was a supermarket he saw back in that Atlas, or the snow continent. His supplies were getting low and he had deduced that he had enough funds to pay for a few items then head out once again.
The supermarket had more canned goods and some water to fill his canteen up with along with some medical supplies. He was busy browsing some of the selection and looking at the nutritional value on some of the items. When he was done looking at the things he wanted to purchase, he loaded a stack of them onto the counter and watched as the clerk scanned the items with boredom. The whole time he noticed something about the man in front of him. He had horns.
"That'll be forty lien." The man said. He was met with silence and looked up to see Six staring at him from underneath his hood. It was silent and the air began to get heavy with tension.
"S-sir?" The man asked.
"You have horns." Six stated while tilting his head a bit.
"Yeah? What of it?" The man snapped.
"Nothing. Never seen someone with horns on their head before." Six stated before throwing a few lien cards onto the counter then leaving without another word. He didn't seem to notice the odd look of the clerk's face as he walked towards the gate, where more people with animal parts were blocking. They had signs up and seemed to be protesting. Despite the fact that people from both inside the city and outside were trying to make their way through. It brought a small frown to his face. People were trying to go about their day but this group was too busy protesting in the middle.
As much as he wanted to intervene, this wasn't his fight. Getting in the middle of this meant creating an unnecessary conflict and it was something he wasn't fond of. So in favor of just staying out of it, he merely did something that stopped a few of them. He walked straight into the middle of the crowd and brushed through them. A lot of them merely went silent as they witnessed a clothed behemoth go through them without a care in the world. Some managed to get a peek underneath his hood and backed off immediately. A single sentence from his cold voice made them all go stiff.
"Do not cause unnecessary conflict with innocents... or I'll stop you faster than you can blink." He merely whispered. While his voice was quiet, the group of protesters felt a cold chill go down their bodies and took an involuntary step back when he walked past them, into the wild silently, never once looking back.
The days seemed to slip by as he traveled in this new continent. It was a nice change of pace from seeing all the snow. He had learned that this continent was called Mistral, it seemed to be rich in forestry and some of the greenery calmed him at times. It was a good thing he had stocked his back to the brim in supplies because it would probably be a while until another town popped up. He pulled out his map and saw that he wasn't even close to another town and sighed before going back to walking. There were times when he wished that he had a vehicle, maybe then travelling wouldn't be so bad. Yet, walking truly was relaxing at times. It often made him appreciate think how his life could've been normal had he not been trained to be a Spartan. His hate for the Covenant clouded every rational thought in his young mind at the time but there was nothing that could be done now.
While his mind wandered, as did his body, a small clearing came across him. There seemed to be someone lying on the ground. As he approached them, he noticed that they were bleeding heavily and barely clinging onto life. When he finally arrived at their battered body, he took in their features; female, red and black hair, silver eyes that was slowly fading, a black blouse, and a rather white cloak that was slowly bleeding to red. Her breathing was labored and part of him was about to stand up and leave but a small part of him had put another Spartan in her place, it made him sigh. It was always troublesome being in situations like these, he was a killer not a savior.
Kneeling down and rummaging through his bag, he found some gauze and alcohol then began to wrap her wounds. While it wouldn't heal her, it would at least stop her bleeding until he could find either a hospital or a local town to drop her off at. It took a while and she was barely clinging to life but he managed to stop her bleeding and, as gently as he could, pick her and carry her. She had eaten into his medical supplies deeply and it made him scowl a bit but sigh when he realized he was getting greedy. A person at death's doorstep was slowly dying and the most he could think of was himself.
The last thing the woman saw was her reflection as she stared at the pitch black visor underneath the tattered cloak before the sweet embrace of unconsciousness engulfed her and filled her mind with darkness.
She woke up with a gasp and looked around wildly. The last thing she remembered was fighting a man with a scorpion's tail in a clearing then losing. He was extremely quick and lethal, aiming to kill right off the bat and he almost did. As she tried to sit up, a sudden wave of pain engulfed her body and made her lie back down on the ground. Her eyes blinked and she saw that she was lying down in a cave, one that was possibly near a settlement. She was lying on her cloak but another one was covering her, it was a tattered cloak that had seen better days but it was remarkably soft for some reason.
"You're awake." A voice to her left said. It made her jump in surprise and whip her head to the source, making both her eyes widen in alarm when she saw an absolute hulking, armored titan sitting on the ground. A fire was the only thing that really separated them and silence had basked both of them for a while. She couldn't tell if he was breathing or not due to his armor but was slightly put off by how he kept his gaze on her.
"I suppose you have questions." He said, stoking the fire while occasionally glancing at the entrance of the cave.
"Yes." She said hoarsely.
"Good, because I have some also." He said. It was silent for a while before she finally steeled herself to ask him some.
"Who are you?" She asked.
"A simple wanderer. Next." He said curtly.
"Why'd you save me?" She asked.
"It was either let someone with some information die or try to keep them alive and have them answer questions of mine." He answered. A small part of her felt her stomach drop for some reason, it was like she was just an informant to him.
"I... I don't have anything else to ask unfortunately." She said tiredly.
"Then you will answer mine." He stated. It wasn't a request or a question, it was a simple fact. She would answer his since he answered hers. His questions heavily outweighed hers and they were strange. Every single one of them made her tilt her head in confusion but answer them regardless, she picked up a few things when talking to him. He tensed slightly when he thought he heard a noise, his senses were sharper because he could hear and see things that she didn't even pick up on, his voice was cold and robotic, and he didn't seem to have that much of a sense of humor. She told him her name and what she did before telling him about her family unintentionally.
"Your name is Summer Rose, you have two daughters, a husband, and are a Huntress working for an individual named Ozpin." He summarized.
"Yeah... I mumbled a lot of it out, didn't I?" She laughed sheepishly.
"You did. I suggest you stop that if you are to be in this line of profession." He advised.
"Who are you to tell me?" She pouted quietly.
"Someone who knows how to hold valuable information." He answered. She jumped slightly when she realized how loud that question had been. It went silent for a while as she just stared up at the cave ceiling in boredom then turned to her armored companion, or stranger if she would call him.
"So... what should we do when we get out of here?" She asked.
"Excuse me?" He looked at her.
"I asked what should we do once we get out of this cave?" She asked.
"Find a nearest town and drop you off." He answered.
"Then what after that?" She asked.
"You rest and go back to your family." He said.
"What about you?" She asked.
"Do not worry about it Mrs. Rose." He said.
"... I mean, I should worry. You saved my life." She said.
"That is an invalid reason for you to worry about me. We will part ways after this ordeal." He said curtly.
"Hmm... if you say so." She sighed before perking up. "Oh! What's your name?" She asked in an upbeat tone.
"Don't have one... now rest." He ordered.
"Can I call you Wolf?" She asked, flipping onto her stomach with a grimace.
"Call me whatever you want, now rest." This time it wasn't up for debate. He wanted her to rest so her wounds could heal but also so she would stop talking. She was much too loud for his taste, it was almost as if Jun was stuck inside a female's body and never had an off switch.
She grumbled underneath her breath before closing her eyes, a noise made her crack her eyes open and look in his direction but his person was blocked by the flames. Luck must've been on her side if she wasn't dead.
Chapter 3
He had found a nearby town where he could drop that Rose woman off. Despite her injuries being severe, she did prove to him that she wasn't incapable of dealing with Grimm. It was more along the lines that she didn't know how to shut up when he asked. He liked quiet and solitude while she enjoyed noise and company, two opposite ends of the scale for the both of them. The only thing that really tied them together was their cloaks. Hers was still bloody from her injuries while his was simply just worn out from his travels but it still hid his figure. They were nearing the town and could see it from their spot on a mountain and a small relieved smile graced his lips. Only another hour or two and he could finally get back to being by himself and not next to this woman.
"Hey, Wolf." She called out.
"What is it Mrs. Rose?" He asked, adjusting the hood over his head.
"Where do you plan to go?" She asked as they walked.
"Somewhere, I don't really care." He answered flatly.
"You don't plan on settling down?" She asked.
"No. I'd rather be on the move than settle down somewhere." He answered.
"Won't you be lonely?" She asked.
"I have no intentions of travelling with another." He said in a flat tone. She flinched at the harshness of his content and merely shrank back into herself. A small part of her wanted to argue but she saw that he was one of those people that didn't like being next to another during his travels. If he had encountered people and traveled with them for a short while then that was fine but he wasn't somebody who would go and seek company.
"R-Right..." She trailed off and walked with him in silence. Over time, her aura healed her enough to walk and fight some but she still needed to go to a clinic or hospital to be back in tip top shape like how she was before. He started to ignore the fact that she was walking after she explained to him the use of aura. Something he considered completely preposterous and illogical then wrote it off as a mutation. She offered to unlock it for him but he simply told her to stay at a respectable distance from himself and nearly slashed one of her fingers with knife when she insisted. From that point on, she stayed at least a couple of feet away from him.
The minutes stretched to tens of minutes before an hour and a half passed by and they reached the town. Both of them looked around town for a little bit before they had found a clinic and walked inside. It was quiet and a little music in the background was for waiting patients. They walked up to the front desk and waited patiently for the receptionist to notice them, jumping slightly when she saw them.
"What can I do for you two?" She asked with a smile.
"She needs assistance." He gestured to Summer.
"Okay, just a moment." The woman said. It was quiet for a few minutes before a couple of doctors came out and began to lead her to one of the rooms. One of them tried to lead him to a room to check up on him but he merely brushed the hand away and started to walk out, ignoring the man's pleas to stop and let him get checked out. He didn't need any medical assistance since he was still fine, what he needed was to get more supplies since Summer had eaten into his. It was always better to be safe than sorry.
As he went to go purchase items, he realized that he didn't have enough lien to pay for anymore items nor could he get anymore ammo for his weapon. He still had his personal ammo but that was meant for dealing with people and he found out that his was apparently custom ammunition in Remnant's standards and cost a bit. Another thing that struck a cord with him was how weak this ammunition was compared to his, it was about as useful as a musket round. This Dust ammunition was so underwhelming that he'd rather use weaponry from the twenty-first century than this type. Beggars couldn't be choosers he supposed.
Walking around town, he went to a billboard near the center and saw that there were little bounties and had rewards should they be completed. As he looked and gazed at some of them, he found one that wasn't too hard but it wasn't easy. It was a simple extermination of a group of Grimm. He read the contents of the paper and looked around before his eyes saw a building that was down the street. The building wasn't too old but it wasn't new either, probably a couple years old at best.
The little bell at the top of the door rang loudly as he entered and found a man sitting at a desk and walked up to him. It was quiet for a little bit before Six placed the bounty paper on the desk roughly, catching his attention.
"What can I do for you?" The man asked.
Six answered by sliding the paper further onto the table and waited for the man to read over it for a few seconds before look up at him.
"Oh, that little Beowolf bounty? Heard it's dangerous with a whole pack of em roaming around these parts. You sure you're up for the challenge?" The man asked.
"I'll manage." Six answered then began to leave.
"Wait! Before you go, if you find out what happened to the last few people who took this bounty then can you inform us. We'll throw in some extra lien if you do." The man's voice was sort of pleading, not going unnoticed by the Spartan.
Six left without another word. He had at least something to do.
It took him about two days but he eventually found out where that den of Beowolves were. He didn't even need to fire a single shot because of how uncoordinated and reckless they were. All he really needed to do was maneuver out of the way and either stab or slash their throats. Inside the den was the previous people who had taken the bounty and perished, their bodies decomposing and half mauled to death. The grisly sight didn't really affect him at all and he had suspected they were dead otherwise the bounty would've been claimed by now.
He didn't say anything but just shook his head and began to walk out of the den, snagging a few blood coated items as proof that the people had perished. The need for income never really appealed to him but he needed it if he was to get that custom ammunition that was so great, experimentation with Dust would be needed in the future if he was to maintain his survival. In all honesty, he wasn't even sure how the underwhelming ammunition would react with his weapon, it could turn out bad if he wasn't careful or didn't pay attention.
Time seemed to slip by like always while he walked, it was relaxing in a sense. The soft grass underneath his armored boots to the wet mud of the swamps he encountered and finally the river he seemed to slip by made walking all the more relaxing. It didn't take him as long to return to the village, or settlement by some, since he knew the way back this time. It took him roughly a day and a half to actually make it back. When he entered the building with that he accepted the bounty from, he set the bloody items on the desk and watched as the man's face morph into one of sorrow.
"Thank you... your pay is right here." The man said quietly as he set Six's original pay then the additional pay up for doing the extra task. Six took it without a sound then left the building just as quietly. He walked through the town to get a simple layout of it before making his way to the store to purchase some items. Like always, the cashier shot him a look and watched as he loaded the items in his bag before making his way to the gun store. The gun store was simple, numerous weapons on the walls and some boxes full of ammunition, the type he was looking for was once again, custom and required him to wait for the type to be manufactured.
"Oh, it's you. 7.62x51mm Full Metal Jacket Armor Piercing, right? Couldn't exactly find the same material you had inside that bullet but I gotta say, never seen anything like this before, you planning on fighting a war or something?" The cashier joked, only to receive silence in return. Did this man actually think war was funny? Did he know what it was like to be shot at and almost perish or to lose a comrade? Fat chance that he didn't.
Six threw a couple of lien cards on the counter and grabbed his "custom" ammunition before walking out of the door, leaving the cashier in awkward silence. He already knew these weren't even that strong due to them being filled with Dust instead of gunpowder. He'd have to experiment with Dust. Maybe there was a way to increase the firepower of it to match the effects of the more effective gunpowder. From what he's heard though, Dust is extremely volatile if not handled correctly but he brushed those concerns off. His shields could mitigate the damage to him or completely block out any of it if need be.
His mind wandered to that little bounty he did and contemplated on doing another. While he knew that doing another one would put him on the radar of this town, it did lessen the threat of Grimm around the area and possibly give these denizens some breathing room. It also did put a little income in his pocket so he could purchase items for the future. On the other hand though, he wanted to leave and possibly come back another day, if he decided to come back during his travels. So, he went back to town square and looked at the bounty board, descriptions of some did interest him but didn't pose that high of a threat. He didn't become a Spartan just to sit back and watch as a threat to humanity trample all over them.
Fate didn't seem to be on his side since none of the bounties didn't seem too pressing to where it was threatening. Some would've wrote it off and went by but Six merely tilted his head and observed them. There were a total of five bounties on the board, all of them having different types of Grimm for the pictures. The locations of each Grimm was fairly close to one another and he figured that he could knock them all out within the same time frame. At this point, he wasn't even looking for a reward, it was more along the lines of doing his duty as a Spartan and eliminating a threat to humanity. Ripping off all of the papers, he took them and went back to the same building where the man had his head in his arms.
It took him a few minutes to notice the Spartan but he quickly wiped away the tears and looked down at his desk to see the remaining bounties spread out. Each one had been harder than the last and he was too busy gaping at the task the cloaked man had taken.
"Sir, you can't do this on your-" He didn't get to finish because Six was already out the door and onto his next mission. While he knew that eliminating those Grimm wouldn't free the settlement forever, it at least gave them some breathing room.
While walking all this distance proved to be tedious at times, it did help him locate the different Grimm quickly. The Beowolf pack to the North took a couple of days to find and they weren't even that threatening, A large bird that was ironically called a Nevermore took around a day to find and it took a few well placed shots to its eye to finally bring it down, A den of Creeps proved to be more troublesome than he imagined since they were constantly moving but it did give him an insight on what to expect when he encountered more, and the final bounty was an Ursa Major. It proved to be a little less menacing than a Brute but it did prove to be faster than what he imagined for a beast of its size.
His back slammed against the wall and cracked it while he just peered up to see its massive form barreling towards him. He rolled to the side just in time to see it slam against the wall and the stalactites above wriggle back and forth from the impact. These Dust rounds were highly underwhelming and he'd say it a million times more but it did have some curious effects. He fired a round into the stalactite above and watched as it cracked and fell quickly onto the large beast. It roared at him and prepared to charge but suddenly gave a horrifying roar of agony when the sharp rock-like object punctured it and pinned it to the floor.
He went up to it and slammed his fist into its mouth before ripping out a couple of its teeth and tossing them to the side as evidence that he completed this little thing. It swiped at him but he just moved out of the side and brought out his shotgun, placing the barrel against its forehead and pulling the trigger. Blood, brain matter, and skull fragments exploded and splattered against the surrounding area. It was quiet for a while before he placed his shotgun back onto his back and went to the few teeth that were scattered and scooped them up into his bag.
The silence seemed to bring him peace as the quiet sounds of the wild brought a sort of tranquility to the mix. It was nice but it was also overwhelming at times. For pretty much a majority of his life he was used to seeing dead bodies or hearing plasma and gunfire, even the sound of death was welcoming but total quiet and peace... it unnerved him slightly. The lack of objectives or missions was actually mildly irritating also but he flushed it all out after a while. His bag was slung over his shoulders once more in a diagonal fashion which didn't block his magnetic strips before his cloak was slung over his body once more.
Call it odd but the cloak did bring a semblance of comfort to him, it was his "fur" in a sense, protecting his armor from the harsh conditions of the wild while protecting his figure from the inhabitants. Of course there were times when it had to come off when he fought but most of the time he kept it on. His personal musings were cut short when he began to make his way back to the settlement again, he would inform them that the threat was eliminated for now then leave to the next town or just take him wherever his foot took him.
The days dragged on slower than normal and for once, he was glad they did. It meant people would forget about him and he could slip out unnoticed. He had looked at his TACPAD and had noticed that two weeks had passed by since he's taken up that task and was returning to the settlement. Ignoring the people near him, he went back to the building where he accepted the bounties and opened the door. Silently as ever, he retrieved the items from each of the bounties and set them on the desk.
"Y-You're back?" The man said.
Six gave a curt nod and stared at him. He watched as the man fumbled around his desk to receive the pay and practically threw them on the desk and stared up at the Spartan. His eyes widened when Six only took a portion of it then began to walk out of the building.
"Wait! You're not going to collect the rest?" He asked.
"No... give it to someone else." Six replied then exited the building as silently as he came in. As soon as he exited the building, he heard someone call out to him and turned to see Summer running towards him. She looked rather excited for some reason and was soon in front of him, her health had recovered quickly.
"Whew, I'm so glad to see you. Where were you these last few weeks?" She asked.
"Doing tasks." He answered.
"Really? What kind of tasks?" She asked.
"..." He didn't say anything but just pointed the bounty board and watched as her eyes widened.
"That was you?!" She screeched, making him wince a bit then sigh at her volume.
"Yes." He answered curtly.
"I've been wondering what had happened to all those and when I ask around, that man in the collection building said a cloaked man had taken them all." She put her hands on her h.i.p.s.
"... Is that a problem?" He tilted his head.
"What? No, I mean people who often do those are usually really skilled." She said.
"I see..." He muttered.
"Well, how much did you get paid? I bet it's a lot." She said.
"I only took a small portion. The rest is still there." He answered. He watched her eyes widen a bit then began to flail her arms around for some reason. This woman was extremely animated.
"Why?! You can get a load of weapons and ammo with that kind of money." She said.
"I am comfortable with what I have." He answered. It was quiet for a while as the two stared at one another.
"You really aren't good at conversations are you?" She deadpanned. He didn't say anything but just looked around a bit before turning to leave then began to walk away from her. As he neared the gate, he noticed that a blip was following him and turned to see Summer trailing right behind him.
"What are you doing?" He asked.
"Isn't it obvious? I'm going to travel with you." She beamed.
"...Why?" He asked after a minute of silence.
"I mean, I still have to do my mission but I figured I'd tag along and you can help me." She smiled.
"That is not a wise choice, Mrs. Rose. You should return to your family." He advised then began to leave.
"But-" She started.
"Think of the emotional trauma you could cause to your loved ones if you had perished." He interrupted. This made her stop, could she really leave her family like that and leave them in such a state? To leave her two little girls and husband alone while she went and possibly died on a mission? She couldn't bare the thought of doing such a thing, she knew that she had a mission to complete but could she really put her mission over her family?
"I think-" She stopped when she saw his figure starting to turn smaller as he exited the settlement. He didn't want to spend anymore time in the settlement and he didn't want the Rose woman following him. He really didn't have a destination in mind but he just wanted to be alone like he's been since he's got here, it was calm and peaceful when he traveled. There was the sound of a goodbye being said to him and he looked over to see Summer waving to him while he just stared at her for a few seconds before giving a curt nod.
There was no reason to trust her and he probably wouldn't ever but she did provide him with some answers, even if they weren't the ones he wanted, she still provided him with answers. She was quite the character but them travelling together would spell trouble that he didn't need at the moment. He didn't need anyone to travel with and she didn't need him for her mission. Should they cross paths again so be it, but neither of them were meant to work together. She had too much to lose bringing him with her and he didn't need her problems on his plate.
Though he would admit, she did make interesting company...
As time passed by, he noticed that this region was rather, immoral. Bandits and criminals seemed to roam freely in this region and Grimm seemed to be more vicious. He simply stared at the destroyed settlement, walking through the ruins of what was once great. It was a shame since the attack seemed to be fresh. Dead bodies could be seen strewn about and the occasional Grimm would be seen in the distance. Smoke filled the air from several houses and the scent of dead, decaying bodies threatened to reach his nostrils had his helmet not been on. Houses were cracked or broken like simple toys and very vaguely he could spot a mutilated body inside, neither of which fazed him in the slightest... he had seen worse.
It was a shame he didn't arrive here sooner, these people would probably still be alive, with some casualties, but a majority of them alive nonetheless. Nothing could be done now so he decided it was time to move on. He didn't even need to loot for any supplies since he was well stocked and didn't need anything for the next few weeks. Water could be found in rivers, his canned food was stocked well enough and he only needed to eat every so often. He rarely used medical supplies due to his armor but they were there just if he needed anything.
Before he could fully exit the settlement two blips appeared on his radar and he stopped. They weren't yellow or red but a simple clear blip that signaled an unknown variable. His head craned to the side and he caught sight of two objects moving underneath a house. At first he was going to leave but as a few minutes passed by he decided to see whatever it was. If it was civilians then he needed to direct them to the nearest, safest location. It was his duty as a Spartan to protect humanity, even if it's something as trivial as children.
Heavy boots seemed to make the faintest of sounds as he walked closer to the broken house and peeked underneath to see two children scoot back. Both their clothes were dirty, the girl seemed to be dirtier than the boy but their eyes were wide with fear. He saw the boy quickly hug the girl and both their bodied were engulfed in a gray effect, making him raise an eyebrow. They expected him to leave but all he did was kneel there observing them for the next minute. He didn't say anything but just extended his hand out towards them. As expected, they flinched at the sudden movement but he remained there with his hand extended towards them.
Several minutes seemed to pass by before he spoke.
"I don't intend to harm you." He assured them. Silence seemed to bask them before they made the faintest movement and started to scoot towards him, their hands cautiously reaching towards his. Eventually both their tiny hands met his gigantic one and he lifted them out from underneath the house and on their feet. In their eyes, he was gigantic, towering over them by feet and even seemed to be muscular underneath his armor. He knelt down to their level and stared at them from underneath his hood, looking over their bodies to see if there were any injuries on them, mostly scr.a.p.es and bruises that could be fixed easily.
"Where are your parents?" He asked them.
The boy went teary-eyed and pointed a shaky finger towards town square, where the Spartan followed the direction and it landed on the grisly sight of a body in the middle. Another direction made him look to see a collapsed house and it didn't take a genius for him to put two and two together. He looked down then back at the boy before nodding his head. It was always hard to see kids this young to have to see their parents either dead or missing, something about that just made him uncomfortable.
"I don't have any..." The girl said.
"..." He didn't say anything but he did look around for a bit before sighing and standing to his full height, looking down at them. "Come along." He said as he started to walk away.
"What about my parents?" The boy blinked a few tears back. Six stopped and looked over his shoulder at the body of the man then at the house where he presumed the woman was.
"I cannot do anything for them. Though I will try to do something for them if I stop by." He answered.
"Why not now?" The girl asked.
"It's dangerous. My top priority is to get you two to safety." He answered. They looked at one another before beginning to follow him, standing on either side of him while he just walked towards the next settlement. He didn't want to go back to the previous one since they had tried their hardest to get him to stay but also the people there were lying snakes in the grass. It didn't take a genius to figure out they wanted his armor, some shady individuals even wanted him to work for them. Actions like that made him rethink ever visiting that settlement again. There was also the fact that he wouldn't dare leave two young children in such a place, he had seen what happens when younger ones are exposed to that kind of environment.
As they walked out of the settlement, he felt a tug on his cloak to his right and looked down to see the little girl with orange hair looking up at him.
"Do you have a name?" She asked.
"Six." He answered calmly.
"That's a number, not a name, silly." She managed to smile, even if it was a wobbly, teary one.
"It is mine. What is your name?" He asked, ignoring her initial comment. It didn't offend him in all honesty, it was expected from a child so young.
"Mine is Nora Valkyrie!" She beamed. He nodded then looked to the boy in green, the young man looked up at him before turning back to the road ahead.
"Lie Ren." He muttered quietly. Six nodded then turned to the road ahead, noticing that the girl was trying to give a smile despite the events that occurred. It was probably a way for her to cope with the massacre that happened earlier. The three of them had their backs turned to the ruins of the settlement. The girl clutching her wooden hammer tightly and trying her best to smile, the boy who kept a straight face while trying to keep his emotions in check, and the Spartan that had brought them out of the ruins and would lead them to safety with his cloak flowing calmly in the wind.
The other two didn't realize he didn't intend on staying with them long, only for them to make it to safety and use one another to survive the trials ahead.
So, you all have no idea how terribly sorry I am for not updating my stories. I have been busy enjoying my summer but also I'm moving into my dorms for the first time. I didn't move in last year because I wasn't ready and I just drove back and forth but this year I'm doing it for a different experience so I might be more inclined to update more, I don't really know. Anyways, I just wanted to say thank you for waiting patiently for another chapter and I hope you all understand I start school in about a day so don't be surprised if I don't update. Onto reviews now.
Gamerman22: I don't know if I'd add Master Chief, I mean he is my favorite character but I've always had a particular interest in Six. He may do something about a certain psychotic scorpion if he comes across him.
reviewer: I'll try to update more frequently.
Rookie059: Yeah, I'm trying to go that route to where he doesn't say much about himself, just answers questions that he feels obligated to but nothing about his affiliation, past, or what he is.
Lord of Moons: I don't think I would, if I did a second story then maybe but for the most part, no. I really didn't think I had him acting like an ODST. I mean there's nothing wrong with that since they're certified badass motherf.u.c.kers and they'll always hold a special place in my heart but I didn't think I had him like that. Like I said, there's nothing wrong with that.
Astrefernal: Here you go.
spartan- 140: I... actually have no idea.
The Baz: I don't know, I think I'm just tired of having all my characters being so young. I mean I haven't brushed up on my Halo lore in god knows how many years, even longer with the novels but literally all my characters are still teenagers at the start of my stories, with the exception of a certain monster, and I wanted to do something different.
Guest: I've kind of grown to dislike her character a bit in canon. For one, she's ungodly arrogant, her definition of family is actually f.u.c.k.i.n.g stupid, and most of all she abandoned her daughter for her f.u.c.k.i.e.d up term of family. I mean, I wouldn't have a problem if they did something with her character in volume six but they literally didn't do anything with her and it really pisses me off. They have so many characters that could be something great but they just end up shitting on them, for example, Adam. He could've been a decent character that had a cool build up but they just ended up making his character annoying beyond all comprehension to the point where I was glad he f.u.c.k.i.n.g died. Sorry to rant but they're just f.u.c.k.i.n.g up so many interesting characters, I'm not saying I could do better but it's just a pet peeve of mine.
Specter343: I'll try to keep him likable.
darkromdemon: Yeah, my redaction could use some work since it's not top tier but I do try to make it at least somewhat readable. I'll try to improve on it and as far as Remnant against Spartans, yeah, I'm trying not to make it seem like they're pushovers.
sacke110: Glad you liked it.
Stormspartan21: None taken, friend. I had to read back on it the other day and I did notice that I kind of ruined the immersion a bit when he insulted Raven like that. I'll try to have him act more like a Spartan than an insulting asshole in the future. About the pairing thing, I do intend to keep that up with him not being paired up with anybody, because I mean they're Spartans. When have you ever heard them get mushy about their feelings. Sure they may form companionship with other Spartans and even some cases fellow Marines but never romantically. On an unrelated note, have a nice day to you too.
alertpoet91: Thank you, here's another one.
the-lost-memories-6: Maybe in the future, I don't know.
Josephi: Who knows, maybe he'll make a mistake.
Hamilton406: Yeah, it's going to be a recurring thing in this story so you don't have to worry about him telling his life story or any information about himself to anyone.
CheesusChrist15: I like you name, and thanks. I'm not aiming to be perfect but I at least aim to be somewhat enjoyable to read to some people. I'm more of a person who likes to complete their stories than make them perfect. After all, nobody in this world is absolute perfect, some may think so but everyone at least makes mistakes. We're human after all.
Guest: I'll keep that suggestion in mind when I'm making future chapters. I think I saw you on The Mantle of Remnant when I was reading it, I don't know. It's a good story by the way so if some of you haven't gone to check it out go do so.
Anyways, I want to thank you all for waiting patiently and reading this chapter. Before I leave, I want to make a small note. I don't care if you don't like the story or what goes through your mind, I'm not aiming for constant approval if that's what you're wondering. Some guy messaged me and basically got on my ass saying I was an attention hog and that I was seeking approval from everyone. I'm not. I usually receive some since I took the time out of my day to make a halfway decent story. Hell, I don't even really seek any reviews because it always takes me weeks to check my account since I'm so busy with work and school. I don't ask for much you guys. Just give my story a chance and if you like it then cool, if not, then so be it. I'm very simple, don't like it then don't read it and don't bother leaving any reviews.
Other than that, thanks for taking the time out of your day and I hope you all do well in the future.
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