"Are you sure about this, Six?" Pyrrha asked, looking down at her hand.

"This… doesn't seem like something you should give away lightly." Blake added.

"Why's that?" I asked "I'd consider it a worthwhile investment."

"Because it's… it's…" Jaune said, clearly weighing the object in his hand.

"Really cool?" I offered.

"Overkill." Weiss finished, pensively looking at the object in her own hand "This is too much."

"No, giving you two of them would be too much." I corrected "This is just good business."

I noticed Yang snicker a little, but said nothing.

"So, you're just going to give them to us?" Ren asked, rolling his own object around in his hand, shifting it to his fingers and holding it in front of himself. The light of the room caught brightly off the aureus in his hand.

"Yes, no strings attached, free of charge, and I'll even gift wrap it for you if it'll get you to just take it." I groused "Sheesh, talk about looking a gift horse in the mouth."

My teammates and JNPR collectively looked at me for a moment, then down to the aureus each held in their hands. Having learned what they were worth, I'd mulled the idea over for a little while, before deciding to do it anyway.

"… This is the most money I've ever had." Nora said, completely deadpan and devoid of energy.

"Then you'll hopefully know to spend it wisely." I said, looking over the ingredients I had to work with. "Either that, or you'll save it."

"But… why are you giving them to us?" Jaune asked "Why not just… not?"

"Why?" I parroted "Simple: it's my money and I can do what I damn well please with it." I settled on a recipe for the evening, a variation of desert salad. Some green would be good for everyone. "First, I've got more of the damn things than I could realistically spend, and I'd spend them sparingly on top of that. Second, while I'm sure they'll make some things easier, I work hard at being self-sufficient. Third, money only has value if you spend it, so combined with the first two points, I'm using it how I see fit."

Fourth, and one I was reticent to voice: I could recognize that having it might help them in the future. Sure, I couldn't control what they did with it. However, there was never any telling what the future held. What you had today, you could lose tomorrow. Given the line of work that 'Hunters' partook in, a rainy-day fund was worth the investment. Having spent so much time flirting and skirting with coin and cash, I knew it well enough. Maybe they'd be irresponsible, go out and blow their wad on something stupid.

But I was willing to gamble they'd be smarter. Save it for when times got lean.

"Four:-" Nora said, eying me with a grin "You're worried that we'll need money at some point and just want to help us."

"…"

I said nothing, I had the right to remain silent.

"…Why don't you ever do anything like this?" Ruby asked, turning to look at Weiss.

"I bought us lunch yesterday, didn't I?" Weiss groused.

"Speaking of food-" Nora said, completely ignoring Weiss "What's for dinner? Steak? Pancakes? Steak and Pancakes!?"

"Salad." I answered shortly.

Nora gave me a look of disgust that was so insulted it was like I'd just slapped her with a rotten fish.

"Aww~" Ruby whined.

"Quit yer belly-aching." I shot back "It's good for you, makes you big and strong."

"That's what milk's for." Ruby countered, pouting.

"Milk is mostly proteins and fats." I countered "You need vitamins or all the milk in the world won't make a difference."

"Well, I for one welcome a salad." Weiss answered primly "I quite enjoy fresh vegetables."

"Excellent." I said, pulling out a head of leafy greens "Then you can go rinse this off in the kitchen." Before Weiss could say anything, I tossed her the head, forcing her to react and catch it.

"What?" Weiss asked, brow knit in confusion.

"Go rinse the greens." I reiterated "They're covered in dirt, and I don't want to hear any complaints about dinner being gritty."

"What!?" Weiss asked again.

"… Are you really going to make me say it a third time?" I asked "Are you going to help make dinner or not?"

"You want us to help this time?" Yang asked, confused.

"Naturally." I said "My week of debt is over. I don't have to make dinner for any of you now. You want to eat, you're going to help make it."

Yang pursed her lips, narrowing her eyes at me "Weak."

"You hungry or not?" I asked.

Yang rolled her eyes and shrugged, then shot me a smile. "I guess."

"Good, then you're on tomato duty." I said, passing her two of the fruits and Blood-Nap "Dice 'em."

"On what, my hands?" Yang asked, cocking an eyebrow at me.

"No, that'd be a good way to make finger food, not salad." I said "Use your dinner plate, it's gonna get dirty anyway."

Yang gave a small scowl, then shrugged and got cutting.

"Same goes for the rest of you." I said, passing out ingredients and tasks as I went "Jaune, shell the nuts. Pyrrha, shred the cheese. Ruby, peel the carrots, then give them to Yang to chop. Blake, shred the greens when Snowflake gets back. Nora-" I paused, looking at the job I was about to hand Nora, then thought better of it. "-Ren, slice the onions, half-moons, thin."

Nora gave me the stink eye as I passed her boy toy the onion and a smaller knife.

I wasn't trusting her with a knife.

Instead, I poured measures of salt, vinegar, oil, pepper, and a few other spices into a set of cups, then sealed them like a cocktail shaker. "Nora, shake the dressing until I tell you to stop."

Nora eyed me sharply as I handed her the cups. But it passed and she just gave me her usual manic smile. "'Kay."

I took a quick stock of everyone, I found Weiss was still sitting with the greens in her hand. Nobody had started moving yet either.

"… Well, what're you all waiting for?" I asked "We can get this thing together in two shakes, just set the garbage aside and I'll compost it later. You want dinner or not?"

At the question, they all started working. Chopping, cutting, shredding, and peeling as Snowflake got up and rushed out of the room, muttering to herself. While the rest of them tore through their tasks, I took out a few small bits of steak I had hanging around. I tossed them with salt, then seared them in the skillet, just enough to get a good rare- medium rare finish.

After a few minutes, while the meat was cooking, Weiss came back with the greens thoroughly soaked. Judging by the water still dripping off them, I had to guess she hadn't bothered to dry them. Acceptable, but it left me questioning the job she'd done.

But, if dinner turned out gritty, they knew who to blame.

"So, where do we feel like starting tonight?" I asked, poking the steak, judging doneness by feel "Any ideas, or interests?"

"Um, actually, there is." Ruby said, giving me a decidedly embarrassed smile "If- um- you don't mind?"

"Ok?" I answered, not sure where she was going with this.

"I- I wanted to try and tell you more about Patch." Ruby said.

"… Really now?" I asked, checking the steaks again "… Well, it seems we might have a few minutes. What do you want to say about it?"

"More than I did." Ruby said, giving me a firm look as she continued peeling the carrots. "You're trying to tell us about your world, but I didn't do a great job telling you about here."

"That's not so big a deal." I said "Trying to explain everything is difficult. I've just had practice."

Ruby pursed her lips, silver eyes gaining a determined gleam. "… Radia is the port leading to Vale." She started "We told you about it last time."

"…" I nodded, willing to listen.

"It's… small, but it's also a really pretty place." Ruby said "During the summer, and winter, we have solstice festivals. The whole town pitches in to decorate, like how Vale's decorating for the Vytal festival. People hang decorations from the street lamps, and there's stalls and games on almost every street."

"…"

"During the summer, the entire island stinks like fish and the ocean." Ruby continued, shrugging embarrassedly "But, y'know, it's an island. I guess that's normal… but it's a small place, everyone knows everyone. Halloween's always fun, because you know who gives out the best candy. During the winter, everythin-"

"Whoa, hold on a sec." I interrupted.

Ruby's eyes widened like she'd done something wrong, and looked at me worriedly.

"How the hell do you know what Halloween is?" I asked.

"I-it's a holiday." Ruby flushed "Everyone knows about it."

"… Does it involve wandering the streets at night, dressed in costumes, playing tricks on your neighbors, and getting candy from them?" I asked.

"Uh- yeah." Ruby answered, nodding "Why?"

"Because we had a holiday before the war, centered around those exact things." I answered "It's got myriad origins, but there are hallmarks of it that are so ingrained, we still know what they are, even hundreds of years after we stopped celebrating it. Trick-or-treating, dressing up in silly costumes, running the streets at night-"

"What about Jack-o-lanterns?" Ruby asked.

"And pumpkin pie!" Yang cut in, having taken an interest.

"You mean those things people would hollow out- um… pumpkins, right, Yang just said it. Yeah, we had those too, you'd set them up some place for people to see, have images and faces carved into them." I nodded, thinking "… Never had pumpkin pie, but I wouldn't be surprised if it existed."

"How do you know about it if you haven't celebrated it in literal centuries?" Weiss asked, helping Blake shred the greens.

"Depending on where you go, you'll find decorations and calendars still hanging around from before the war." I explained "The bombs fell literally a week before it was supposed to be celebrated…" I turned back to Ruby, a question burning in my mind "What day is Halloween here?"

Ruby gave me a cute, bubbly little smile "October 31st, my birthday."

"…"

I stared quietly at Ruby for a moment as a chill ran up my spine.

It must have been pretty obvious, because everyone seemed to pick up on my sudden silence. Ruby looked at me funny. "Six?"

"… That's the exact same day as my world." I answered.

Ruby's eyes went wide. Same with the rest of the room. The clatter of cutlery and work suddenly coming to a halt as that piece of information settled. It wasn't something earth-shattering, just a date. What made it so profound was that it was for a holiday that was mirrored on both our worlds. Worlds separated by time and space and so dissimilar you could be forgiven for not connecting the two. Yet they were the same. Same events. Same Days. Same traditions.

It was… jarring, for me at least.

"… Well, that's a coincidence." Nora said, looking at the cups in her hands, before beginning to lightly shake them again.

"Y-yeah, no kidding?" I asked "I… I think we're going to need to have a conversation about that at some point. I've never celebrated it, but I know enough. There are so many questions I could ask, and I really don't know how many answers I could get here tonight."

"Would you rather talk about that instead?" Ruby asked.

"No, no." I dissuaded "I… I think I need to digest that first… also, your birthday is Halloween?"

Ruby gave me another disarming smile "Yup."

"… Cool." I nodded.

Ruby flushed at that, then shook her head "So, what now?"

"I believe you were talking about Patch. We got sidetrack at Halloween." I offered.

"R-right." Ruby nodded "Um… Halloween's fun, and winter's always cold and snowy. Like, there's always ice and snow everywhere, and everything's gray and windy."

"Sounds like Atlas." Weiss mused.

"But during the winter festival, it's actually really cool." Yang said "People set-up all kinds of lights and everything smells like cookies or hot cocoa."

"Figures things would be cool in winter." I muttered, poking the steak again.

Yang gave me a narrow look, before looking down. Then her eyes brightened and she gave me a playful look. "Ha! I hadn't even realized I made that one. Thanks."

"…"

I rubbed the bridge of my mask. I was only getting worse. The looks everyone was giving me were well deserved.

"But summer's pretty cool too." Yang added "We've got the beach, and since most of the island is covered in forest, you can get up to all kinds of trouble without anyone finding out."

"… You know dad caught you every time you tried to sneak out, right?" Ruby asked, throwing her sister under the proverbial bus.

Yang gave her baby sister a cocky grin "Only the times I let him."

Ruby gave her a confused look "You mean you let him catch you sneaking out after stealing that bottle from Uncle Qrow's cabinet?"

Yang paled a little "Y-yeah, totally."

"Party in the backwoods, stolen booze, and just a hint of illegality." I mused "Sounds fun."

"It wasn't stolen." Yang defended "I was just borrowing it, and planning to pay Uncle Qrow back later."

"… That's theft, Yang." I said.

Yang rolled her eyes. "Not like it worked anyway, dad was literally waiting outside for me. I stepped outside, and he literally grabbed the bottle out of my hand."

"That was your first mistake, should've tried hiding it." I admonished.

Yang's eyes narrowed at me again, before she rolled them again "Never liked the taste of Hunter-Chief anyway."

"There's also lots of Grimm on Patch." Ruby said "All of the forests and caves give them plenty of places to hide and spawn from. Their numbers are normally small, but you can find clusters of them sometimes."

"Hm, danger too?" I nodded "Wouldn't be a party without it, I guess."

"I was always happier at Signal's workshop." Ruby said "But there are other cool places in Radia. Stitchins' Beach, The Lumière Library, Cinna's Movie theater-"

'You mean the 'Cinna-ma?...'

I let my eyes drift back over to Yang. She was staring at me expectantly. With such an easy, tantalizing target, she must've made the joke a thousand times.

She was waiting for it.

But not today, not this time.

"Sounds like a nice place, honestly." I nodded "Maybe we really should make an effort to visit sometime in the future."

Yang deflated slightly, giving me a sour look. I wasn't tempted by easy targets. Would need to be something more challenging. Professionals have standards.

Aaaaand I just acknowledged I had standards with regards to puns.

Fuck.

"We live closer to the interior of the island." Ruby said "But it was always easy to get around. You could normally walk anywhere without worrying about trouble."

"Or ride your bike." Yang added "It's a lot of fun."

"I'd be inclined to agree with that sentiment." I nodded, thinking for a moment "… Y'know what, I've got a question: why's the island called Patch?"

"'Cuz they named it after the guy who settled the island." Yang said.

"… Someone named their kid 'Patch'?" I asked, not the worst name I'd ever heard. Certainly beat-out MotorRunner and Troike, if not Kimball and Oliver.

"No, I think his name was actually Percale Stitchins." Ruby said, thinking "Patch was a nickname someone gave him, and it stuck."

"… Patch Stitchins?" I asked "Someone literally named him Patch Stitchins?"

"I know." Yang smirked "Sew nice of them, right?"

"… Yep." I said tightly "People are terrible. Absolutely terrible."

Yang's smile brightened "That's what Patches are for!"

"…"

I lost.

It turned into a battle of wills, and in a moment of weakness Yang hit me in the wrong place at the wrong time. Which meant the worst possible thing that could've happened in that moment, happened.

"… pft- HAHAHA-"

I started laughing.

Hard.

Making it worse, I kept laughing. I'm really not sure how long it went on for. But longer than I wanted seemed an appropriate measure. If the looks everyone gave me were anything to go by, either they hadn't been either, or hadn't been expecting me to start laughing. Frankly, I hadn't been either. It took me a few seconds before I was actually able to fight it back.

"You're laughing." Yang said, visibly dumbstruck "You're actually laughing."

"-HAHA- hah- fuckin- Dammit, why did I find that funny?" I asked, fighting the laughter down.

"…Dunno." Yang shrugged, beaming at me "Guess we're just cut from the same cloth."

"That's not going to work twice." I answered, steeling myself.

"I don't know, I think you're hanging by a thread." Yang needled.

"I think-"

"Six, dinner's on fire!" Nora squawked.

"OH- SHIT!"

With all the back and forth, I'd stopped paying attention to the meat frying in the skillet. What fat had rendered out had begun combusting from the heat, or vaporizing into plumes of smoke.

Sloppy, very sloppy.

I killed the heat, using my spatula to move the meat onto a less thoroughly cooked side. I covered the skillet with a spare plate, and left it to rest. Give it a few minutes to redistribute its juices.

"Nice going Yang, you've burned dinner." I groused.

"Worth it." Yang smirked.

"I'll make sure you get the burned bits then." I assured her.

Yang smirked, but didn't seem otherwise bothered.

"… So, are we going to ignore that you laughed?" Nora badgered.

"I have no idea what you're talking about." I answered shortly.

"NO IDEA!?" Nora squawked.

"I wasn't laughing, that was someone out in the hall." I answered "Probably Cardin reading the gullible sign."

Nora gave me a mystified look. "We have that?"

"Yeah, it's written on the ceiling." I said, pointing upward.

Nora gave me a scrutinizing look, then started to look towards the ceiling. About half-way through though, she seemed to realize the joke, and looked back at me. She gave me a vicious smile "Nice try buster, I'm not falling for that one again!"

'…again?'

I shrugged "… Eh, worth a sh-"

"I don't see it." Ruby said "Where is it?"

"…"

I turned and looked at Ruby.

She was staring up at the ceiling. Searching the unmarred canvas with vigor and determination. Her face pinched into a focused expression. Silver eyes narrowed to slits and lips pursed.

"… *snrk*." I felt the laugh building and killed it.

"R-Ruby-" Weiss sighed.

"What?" Ruby asked, looking to her teammate.

Weiss, for her part, and just gave our leader a pleading look.

Ruby looked at her for a moment. Then back to the ceiling, lingering there for a second. Then her ears turned red, and she looked back down. "O-oh."

A tense silence fell over the room. As Ruby's head started turning as vibrant a shade as her cape, I noticed the others were trying to stifle laughter. To be fair, she'd looked to the ceiling in complete sincerity, clearly having missed the joke. I had no clue if that made it worse or not, but it counted for something.

As she was sitting close enough to me this time, I reached out a hand and gave a pat on the back. "There, there, it's written in disappearing ink."

Ruby gave me a sharp look, then punched me in the arm. Her tiny fist bounced harmlessly off my much bigger and bulkier bicep.

"Jerk." She muttered, head growing a deeper shade.

I shrugged her off, bruised egos and embarrassed feelings healed and faded quickly. More so than wounded pride at least. "In all seriousness though, thank you Ruby." I said "It was nice to hear a more in-depth description of the place you and Yang grew up."

"W-well, you're always trying to tell us about the Mojave. Shouldn't we do the same?" Ruby said "Still… it was harder than I thought."

"It takes practice, I've just had my fair share." I said "So… Where was all this the last time we talked about Patch?" I asked, bemused.

"I had to think about it." Ruby said, still flushed.

"Well, you girls think of anything else to add, please do." I said "I was quite enjoying this."

Ruby took a steadying breath, then flashed me a winning smile, nodding.

After another minute or two, I took the steaks out of the pan and sliced them thin. All of the ingredients finally together, I took a bowl and mixed them all together. Giving a heavy drizzle of dressing. The meat was sadly overcooked, but since there weren't going to be any leftovers, I was less concerned about it being overly dry at the time.

I was assuming there weren't going to be any leftovers, anyway. They ate everything else I put in front of them, barring plates of Chipped Cram, they'd best not be skimping on their veggies.

I doled out the salad, making sure everyone's plates were towering with leafy greens. "See how much faster it is when you help?" I asked, sarcastically.

"*Blech*" Ruby stuck her tongue out at the plate of vegetation before her. A positively beautiful symphony of healthy foods. Tangy dressing with a peppery bite and savory seared meat, balanced by mineral-y tomatoes, bitter greens, rich cheese, and the sweet crunch of the carrots.

Ruby was giving it the stink eye. Like it'd insulted her mother.

"I expect clean plates." I clarified "You put the effort into making it, you'd better eat it."

"But you made us make it." Ruby whined.

"I see nothing wrong with that." Weiss said, moving her salad around the plate. She arranged an amount of it into a neat pile, and stabbed it with her fork, eating it in short order. Her icy eyes sparkled and she hummed thoughtfully. "…Adequate."

"Funny how putting a little effort in can make something as simple as salad more fulfilling, ain't it?" I asked "So, where do we go from here? Because honestly, I don't think there's much I could say tonight that would top what we've heard so far."

"I wouldn't say that." Pyrrha said "While it was certainly surprising to learn our worlds might share some unexpected things, there is still much we do not know. It makes me wonder what other things we might share, but have not yet touched on."

"Agreed." I nodded "But, I'm going to need a bit before trying to figure out what else. I'm alright with talking about some more minor stuff, but trying to cover anything heavy might just lead to information overload."

"So, what'll it be?" Nora asked, picking through her salad "You can't be out of stuff yet."

"I'm not, just trying to come up with something that we can cover more easily tonight." I said "Or at the very least something at least one of you would find intriguing. At least then you'd be more inclined to remember."

Nora gave me a wounded look "I remember everything you tell us, I even passed the test!"

"Yeah, yeah, I remember." I said, waving her off "Still…"

I pondered the thought for a moment, as everyone steadily tucked into their salads. I wanted to cover something, and had even had a bit of plan. Cover Freeside maybe, take a closer look at some things. I'd been wanting to talk about some more of Vegas's local history anyway, but that could be put off a little longer. Especially considering what I'd learned tonight. Even if I didn't get the chance to talk with them again, I was going to need to do some further reading. But Ruby had made an effort to better describe Patch, completely unprompted and wholly of her own volition. It was touching, really.

There had to be something that could both be easy enough to understand, and repay Ruby. I just needed to think about what she liked and…

'Hmm… that could work.'

"…Y'know what?" I asked "How about I take another crack at robotics?"

Ruby's eye brightened, shifting from her detestable greens to me "Really!?" Ruby squeaked, obviously excited.

I shrugged "Hey, you took the time to try and better explain something you'd struggled with, no sense in me not trying to do the same."

"Did you find something for reference?" Ren asked "I remember that being the reason you didn't go further with the topic last time."

"Well one of them, anyway." I admitted "The other is that we tend to cover a lot each time we have one of these little chats. Having to stop and explain everything in detail would lead to us getting stuck. We'd wind up wasting entire nights talking about why the sand is orange instead of yellow."

"The sand is orange?" Weiss asked.

"Completely off topic." I answered "But, short answer, some of the sand is coated with naturally occurring iron oxide. Gives everything a more orange-red hue. I wouldn't be surprised if it occurred in deserts here as well."

Weiss nodded, accepting what was a fairly reasonable answer, for once.

"Robots?" Ruby queried.

"Salad?" I shot back, parroting her tone.

Ruby gave me a pointed look, then grimaced at her food. Reluctantly, she loaded her fork and started eating. Her face softened as she chewed, but never showed anything beyond distaste. "Happy?" She grumbled, stabbing at her plate.

"Adequately." I answered "Now then, let's see…"

I continued to think about where to start next. There were a number of different models and series to choose from. Was going to need to start with Robco, already had a base for that. Couldn't use protectrons, already used their base model, no sense in rehashing the numerous variants. Which left me with a handful of options. Starting small was probably a good idea as well.

"… Alright, so Eyebots." I said "We'll start with those."

"Strange name." Ruby hummed.

"They were one of Robco's more common designs before the war." I explained "The protectrons, the worker drones I mentioned before, were their bread and butter, being a cheap substitute for labor. However, the Eyebots were built with other applications in mind."

"Like what?" Ruby asked.

"For one: entertainment." I explained "They were built with various receivers and transmission equipment built into them. Making it not uncommon for people to use them as radio and television sets. Aided further by the fact that they were small and mobile." I began motioning with my hands for emphasis, trying to illustrate for them "They're basically large metallic balls with speakers built into them. They've got long antennae that run out the back, and float in the air using a combination of superheated air and turbines."

"So they look like giant floating eyes?" Nora chirped.

"Of course no-…" I paused for a moment, thinking about it "… actually, if you squint at them the right way, they kinda do."

"Ha! Cool." Nora smiled.

"All they used them for was radio?" Ruby asked, oddly miffed "I mean, I guess that's cool."

"You didn't let me finish." I said "While, yes, one of their main purposes was to be used for radio broadcasts, their simplicity made them highly adaptable. Given their transmission capabilities, they were also used in fields such as security, reconnaissance, and espionage. They could be fit with photographic and facial recognition software, as well as machinery ranging from multi-tools to medical equipment."

"… I guess that's a little cool." Ruby said, pushing her salad around.

"Like many other robots, they could also be fitted with an AI if you wanted to give them more advanced instructions. One of my companions, ED-E, was actually one such case. Being a late model Eyebot known as a Duraframe Eyebot. He was the last iteration developed by the Enclave as one of their post-war experiments. They scrapped it for something called 'Hell-fire' armor, and were going to recycle his entire line. But his creator shipped him out with all the data so all the work wouldn't be lost. Found him in a place called Primm, after some dirtbag had shot him inoperable… Actually, y'know what, here:" I reached into my box of tricks and pulled out my old group photo. I fought back my instinctual desire to ruminate on it, and passed it over to Ruby. "You can see him there, in the corner. Little guy with the license plate on his side."

This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.

Ruby took the photo and began scutinizing it. Her eyes lighting up when she apparently spotted him "Ohh, ok, cool. Cool."

"Yeah" Yang said, leaning over to look at the picture "I see what you mean."

"Boo." Nora intoned.

"Har-de-har." I said "Like I haven't heard that one before."

"Eye got you to laugh once, eye can do it again." Yang said, giving me a wry look.

"Hey- um, what about the dog in this picture?" Ruby asked "His name was- um-"

"Rex" I answered.

"Yeah, Rex, right." Ruby nodded, flipping the picture around, tapping my quadruped companion "He's not a normal dog, but he's not a robot either, is he?"

"No, no he's not." I answered "If you'll remember correctly, I specified that he's a cyberdog. He's not a machine, but-"

"A dog that's been enhanced with machinery, like a cyborg?" Jaune asked.

"…" I looked over to Jaune "… So I guess that concept exists here too?"

"You see it a lot in old sci-fi movies." Ren said.

"There are also numerous companies in Atlas, including the military that specialize in producing bio-mechanical prosthetics." Weiss chimed in "Everything from mechanical limbs to replacement organs and life-support systems."

"No shit?" I asked "Huh, well, I'm just learning all kinds of useful information today."

"Though that's not to say they're all of the same quality." Weiss continued "The Atlas military has cutting edge limb prosthetics, but most life support systems are done through various private sectors."

"Makes sense, soldier isn't much good in combat if they're crippled." I admitted. They could serve in non-combative capacities, but the word 'soldier' is synonymous with combat for a reason.

"So, what does that make Rex?" Ruby asked, eyes starting to sparkle "-Does that mean there are cyborgs in the Mojave too?"

"That… is off-topic, slightly." I answered "I promised you robotics, and while it's related, we'd be stepping down a very deep rabbit-hole if I tried to explain it."

"Aww~" Ruby whined.

"It is tangentially related to another topic, however, so we'll probably wind up talking about it later." I added "Suffice to say though, what was done to Rex wasn't exactly a 'common' procedure before the war. It was part of an initiative by the pre-war government to keep old service dogs active. From the markings on him, Rex was part of a K-9 unit based somewhere in the Old-world state of Colorado. I'm not sure how he got the procedure done though. There were, much like Atlas, a few private contractors that would do it, so narrowing down the maker is a bit hard."

Though, having been to the Big Empty, I had seen how the process was done, and wouldn't have been surprised if Rex had been sent to them at one point.

"So… is that really his brain?" Ruby asked, pointing at Rex as she handed the picture back to me.

"Well… yes and no." I said.

Ruby gave me an uneasy look. "So that's another dog's brain?"

"Again, yes and no." I told her "I don't know if that was Rexie's original brain in the case, but when I first got him, he was having trouble getting around. Doc I took him to said that he was suffering neural degradation, an unfortunate side-effect of the bio-gel and the two hundred-plus years it'd been floating in it."

"Huh?" Nora asked.

"… His brain was rotting in his skull." I told her succinctly.

"Oh!" Nora gasped, then her eyes grew worried "Oh no!"

"Don't worry, he's fine, we wound up catching it in time to do something." I placated.

"But his brain was dying!" Weiss cut in, showing an uncharacteristic degree of concern "You can't just fix it like- like-"

"Like taking it out and putting a new one in?" I offered.

"Yes!" Weiss said "That- that would…" Her eyes widened as she seemed to realize what I was saying. A perturbed look spread on her face "You didn't."

"It was either that, or let Rexie die a slow and painful death." I said "There weren't many options to choose from. And I sure as hell wasn't going to put him down. Rexie is a good boy, the best. Even barring his hatred of rats, hats, and anything that rhymes with the two."

My teammates and JNPR all gave me a very concerned look.

"So... you'd kill another dog just to keep yours alive?" Ren asked, calm but pensive.

"… It wasn't a choice I made lightly." I told him "There weren't many donors to pick from either. Had to be a biological match for Rexie's systems to accept it. Couldn't just take some random pup off the street and… y'know."

I could see that everyone was growing uncomfortable with the topic. I wasn't comfortable with it either. But I'd promised the King I'd help his boy, and I was fond enough of Rex by that point to put my own compunctions aside. Didn't mean I had to like what I did.

"… So what happened?" Blake asked, clearly at least willing to hear how things turned out.

"Had a couple 'donors' to choose from." I answered "The Fiends and Legion were known to raise and breed dogs, and there was bound to be a few among them that's fit the profile for Rex… But I wasn't comfortable doing that to him. I wasn't sure what putting another dog's brain into his body would do in the first place, let alone ones that were as hostile as that."

"Like it not being Rex not being Rex once it was over?" Jaune asked.

"Yeah, that was my biggest fear." I admitted "I'd only known him a short while, but if my trying to help him screwed things up worse I'd… I don't know what I'd have done… So, rather than take the chance, I went to an acquaintance I had by the name of Old Lady Gibson. She raised and bred dogs to keep as company, and guards for her scrapyard. Her oldest pup, an old hound by the name of Rey, was getting on in years, had trouble getting around. In the wasteland, that meant he only so much time left, maybe a year, assuming something didn't get him while he was trying to keep Gibson safe… So I introduced her to Rex, and explained the situation to her, made her an offer."

"You paid her to kill her dog and take its brain?" Weiss asked, looking horrified.

"… I don't expect you to understand." I said, trying to keep my voice even and soothing "But it's a hard, simple fact that all living things die at some point. Gibson knew Rey's number was almost up, and wasn't happy about it either. She loved Rey as much I love Rexie. If there were any other way, I'd have gladly seen that the both of them would get to live long enough to see either of us wither to dust. But reality isn't so kind. Hell, when I explained the situation to Gibson, while she was sad, knowing she was losing Rey, she was happy too. Knowing the pain he was in was going to be over, and that a part of him would get to live on in Rexie. She was almost cavalier about it…" I took a deep breath, steadying myself "Please, please, stop assuming I'm talking about these things like they're easy. I may be an idiot, but I'm not heartless. Given the options available, letting Rex die, replacing his brain with that of a feral animal, or one from a loving companion, I chose what I thought the lesser evil."

Weiss gave me a pensive look, then pursed her lips and began absently picking at her salad.

"… So, what happened?" Ruby asked "Did it work? Was Rex still…"

I nodded "Rexie was still himself, coming out the other side. Not sure how it worked, but the machinery supporting his brain must have saved his neural patterns or something. He came out the other side, same lovable boy he was going in, minus the medical trouble… But, sometimes, I catching him staring off elsewhere, acting a bit out of sorts. Not in a bad way, just not in the way I know he would. Have to guess Ol' Rey is kicking around in there with him. At the very least, I find peace in knowing that I hadn't been lying to Gibson in saying he would still be around." I nodded "This whole thing turned into a tangent, and is a bitter pill to swallow. But you have to get used to it. There are a lot of ugly things in the wasteland. Try as you might, there's not always a happy ending."

"But I guess this is one, huh?" Ruby asked "In the end, everything worked out, right?"

"…"

I thought about all the travels Rex and me went on after his brain was replaced. All the stupidly dangerous places he'd followed me into, the random crap I had to keep him from chewing on. The number of times he'd just walk up to me with a doggy grin looking for a scratch behind the ears.

Man's best friend at his finest.

"… Yeah." I nodded, smiling "All for the best."

Everyone looked thoughtfully at their food. I couldn't tell if they all agreed with what I'd chosen to do, but frankly they didn't need to. They weren't the ones that needed to make the call at the time, I was. If the world was fair, they'd never have to face a dilemma like that.

But the world wasn't fair. She was a cheatin' bitch with a stacked deck. Most I could hope for was they could hang on when the time came.

Yang looked back up from her plate with a soft smile. "So… Rexie, huh?"

"Hm?" I grunted.

"You keep calling him Rexie." Yang said, still smiling "Why not just Rex?"

"Uh… well, um…" I hemmed.

"Kinda strange how you'll call everyone by their name, but your dog gets special treatment." Yang said, her smile turning into a smirk

"Rexie is the best boy, he gets special treatment, Sunshine." I shot back.

Yang's smirk deepened "That so?"

I realized a moment too late what I'd just done.

Yang pointed at herself. "Sunshine…" Her finger trailed to our teammates "Snowflake… Kitten… Tiny…" Her finger trailed to JNPR "Pancake… Vomit boy-"

"That last one was yours." I groused, cutting her off.

"Do you have ones for Ren and Pyrrha too?" Yang asked.

"I'm not going to answer that." I shot back.

Yang's smirk turned to a sunny smile "I just think it's funny how much of a softie you really are under all that talk about being from such a horrible place."

"Terms of endearment having nothing to do with pragmatic bearings." I said "That I'm willing to try and behave civilly is only a facet of that."

"… Endearment?" Yang asked, still smiling.

"…"

Yang's smile doubled in size. "I'm starting to think you and Blake have a secret contest going to see who can act the most brooding and mysterious. She's winning, by the way."

Blake gave her partner a pointed look, but I could see she was getting a small flush to her cheeks at being called out on her habits. Not helped by the small chuckle I noticed everyone else was having our expense.

"I am many things, Sunshine." I said, calmly "I've been many places, done many things, and have my share of scars. Of all the things I am, soft is most certainly not one of them."

Yang turned to me again and started to say something, but stopped as she opened her mouth. She paused for a moment, as her mouth drew back into yet another smirk.

"…What?" I groused.

Yang nodded at me "Your neck is turning red."

"…"

The room had gotten noticeably warmer.

"There's nothing wrong with saying you like the people around you, y'know?" Yang asked, still smirking "It's not like I'm saying your bark is worse than your bite."

"…" I shook my head "If you were expecting me to laugh at that one, you're sorely mistaken."

Yang shrugged, clearly not bothered by that "Oh well, I tried, guess you just don't have a dog in this fight."

"… We've gone way off topic now." I said "We're going back to it now."

"'kay." Yang said, smiling warmly.

I rubbed the bridge of my mask, and exhaled deeply through my nose. Clearing my head. Last thing I needed to do was get caught up on stupid shit, like what I was supposed to call Flowers and Champ-

Aw- dammit.

"… Next on the Robco line-up is the Securitron series." I explained "They were an odd-duck in Robco's catalogue. Namely because they only really have presence in New Vegas. From what I gather, Mr. House had them developed to function as private security for the city. Effectively making them his robotic police force."

"I can only imagine that went over well with the actual police." Ren said.

"Don't actually know that, honestly. While I'm sure House owned the police prior to the bombs falling, I think he kept the Securitrons as more of a 'personal detail' until the bombs fell. Afterwards, now being connected to the whole of Vegas, they became his private army. And he had a lot of them. In terms of design, they're odd even by Robco standards." I began motioning with my hands again "Imagine a large, rectangular body with a television or computer display built into it. On top, you have an array of broadcasting and sensory equipment, and underneath you've got a single, massive wheel used for mobility. It actually makes them surprisingly nimble, despite what common sense might have you believe. On either side of its body, you've got boxy 'shoulder' pieces, and a lanky arm descending from each."

"They don't sound all that threatening." Blake mused.

"True, but that's likely intentional." I agreed "Unlike the Protectron series, the Securitrons were developed with peacekeeping and combat in mind. Most of them are decently armored, and equipped with an array of weapons and important sub systems. The standard model was more than capable of dealing with your average rioter, being equipped with half-inch titanium-alloy armor plating, a 9mm submachine gun in one 'hand', and a Gatling laser in the other."

Ruby's eyes lit up "A Gatling WHAT!?"

"… oh, right, we still haven't talked about that."

Ruby looked at me expectantly.

"… another time." I said.

She deflated "Aww~ but Six-"

"We keep getting off topic." I said "I promise I'll tell you all about them at some point, But I said I'd try and keep it light, and we're already treading murky waters to begin with."

"…" Ruby gave a dejected sigh and rolled her eyes "Fine~."

"None of the sass, now finish your salad." I said motioning to her half-finished plate

Ruby blew me a raspberry, but continued eating.

"There were a couple other variants beyond the standard issue which, if rumor is to be believed, House had planned to use during the battle of Hoover Dam." I continued "They included self-repair systems, as well as missile pods built into their shoulders and an automatic 25mm grenade launcher to replace the SMG in its hand."

Ruby stopped mid-bite and looked at me like I'd sprouted a second head.

"No, I did not stutter or mis-speak." I told her "They replaced the smg with a fully automatic grenade launcher, and put missile launchers in its shoulders."

"… -ool~" Ruby said, mouth full of food.

"What exactly were they planning for these things to fight?" Weiss asked "Atlas has vehicles carrying less weaponry than that."

"Remember what I said about House being paranoid and preparing for the nuclear apocalypse?" I asked "He didn't know one hundred percent what was waiting on the other side, so I have to imagine he went heavy just based on principle. It paid off in the end, most who tangled with one of the upgraded units tended to be left a charred pile of mincemeat."

That wasn't even getting into the variants that Big MT had 'reproduced'. House probably paid as much mind to the competition between him and Dr. 0 as most did when they looked for a spot to take a leak. Fact was though, had Big MT ever had the opportunity to take their model to market, they'd have floored Robco. Same could be said for almost of their inventions. Assuming House didn't immediately try to ruin them with copyright.

"It does seem quite like overkill." Pyrrha said "However, all things considered, it's far from the single strangest thing we've heard tonight."

"No arguments there Ch- Pyrrha."I answered.

Pyrrha gave me a puzzled look as I pushed on. "The last of Robco's designs I can call upon, outside of some automated turret systems, is the Sentry bot." I explained "These things were built to be the most dangerous commercially available robots Robco produced. Even by the standard of the Securitron. Though their shock value came as much from surprise as raw power."

"What's so special about these ones?" Weiss asked "Did they somehow manage to cram even more explosives into it?"

"No, actually, on the whole they tend to have less apparent weaponry than the Securitrons." I answered "Like I said, House intended them to be his private army, and kept most of their more dangerous features hidden. Sentry bots weren't built for subtlety, however. They were built purely for combat and had no reason to hide that fact. It wasn't uncommon for them to be used for perimeter security, and I can think of a few occasions where they were used for interior security as well."

"How did that work out?" Blake asked.

"About as well as it did for Sn- Weiss's family." I answered, then leaned towards her "Personal tip: if you're going to have them working in tandem with people, make sure they've got personnel badges that can't be removed."

Weiss gave me a puzzled look "If we have them replacing the workers, why would we need-"

"Anyway, yeah, people tried using the sentry bots for security. Not the brightest move, but it worked, depending on the context." I continued "Sentry bots were made to be highly mobile, though less nimble than their Securitron cousins. Where the Securitron rolls around on one wheel, the Sentry bot uses a combination of six, set in a tripod formation. Each set in a pair, and able to rotate and turn in a full three hundred and sixty degrees. Theoretically giving the Machines a nigh unparalleled range of motion. The tripod connects to a torso mount, again much like the Securitrons, but more streamlined and limited in range of motion. The idea was that the bots could move in a full radius, switching motion almost instantly and as smooth as mechanically possible. Though having encountered them, I can say that they never got that part ironed out. Their AI is too limited to actually perform those action seamlessly."

"So it's a man sized tank?" Nora chirped "A tanklet?"

"I wouldn't say man sized, bit larger really, but close to it." I nodded "The armor is the same alloy as the one used in the Securitrons, but far thicker and overwhelming. Their systems and programming, though limited, are redundant enough to ensure that, even when damaged and stuck in prolonged combat, the machine would still function. Its mobility, though not reaching its potential, was still more than capable of traversing almost any terrain without issue. Coupled with this, its arsenal is at least comparable, if not exceeding, that of the Securitron. The standard model comes equipped with either a Minigun or Gatling laser by default, in addition to a missile launcher. Further advancements include cluster grenade launchers mounted to the machine's back that can function effectively as short to mid-range mortars. In combat, even one of these things can be positively devastating. Some were even built to self-destruct once critically damaged, as a final screw-you to whoever broke it."

"Wow~." Ruby cooed.

"They sound similar to something I saw during my time with the White Fang." Blake said, thoughtful

"That so?" I asked.

Blake looked pensive for a moment, but grew resolute and continued "During one of our raids, we encountered a four-legged drone, armed with heavy artillery."

"Really?" Ruby asked "What was it like?"

Bake shrugged "Four legs, a torso, two heavy cannons on the shoulders. They pulled together a few times to fire a combined shot… The armor was black and red, like the droids in that magazine you have."

"The knight-130's." Ruby supplied.

Blake nodded "There might have been something piloting it too, but I didn't get a chance to see, it might've been one of them. I don't know what it was called though."

"It sounds like a Scorpio-150" Weiss supplied.

Our heads collectively swiveled towards her.

The heiress gave a sigh, and explained "They were a prototype artillery mech, developed with my father's company, much like most other weapons used by the Atlas military."

"A mech?" I asked.

"Robots you can pilot." Ruby supplied.

'Isn't that just a piece of industrial equipment then?'

Ruby turned towards her partner. "I've never knew what happened to the Scorpio series, I read a column about them once but nothing else ever came up."

Weiss shrugged "As far as I've ever been aware, they were scrapped. The materials and personnel were shifted towards some other project."

"Tended to happen before the war too." I said "From some of the documents I'd find lying around occasionally, it was a mad rush to find some new thing to keep one step ahead of the Chinese. If they had better stealth tech, we needed better armor. If they had better infiltration skills, were needed smarter computers. If they built better hideouts and bunkers, well we'd better be able to make stronger explosives."

"If they try to blind us, we'll zap them with lasers!" Nora chirped.

I resisted the urge to chuckle. "If a project couldn't meet the requirements fast enough, everything was diverted to whatever could better counter the new threat of the week."

"How many more of them were robots?" Ruby asked.

"Honestly, I couldn't tell you." I answered "We've reached the end of the Robco line-up, that I'm aware of. But projects tended to be scattered across the country. There could be all manner of robots and machinery that exist that I've just never encountered before."

Of course, there were also the ones I didn't necessarily want to talk about, at least not yet. The Robo-scorpions were unique to the Big MT, and were one of a myriad facets connected to the place. I was also hesitant to tell them about the various cyborgs you could find in the Mojave, myself included. I wasn't sure how they'd react to that. Which also extended to the Robo-brains I'd find wandering around. Hearing about Rex's situation had already been something clearly rough for them. Hearing about what was done to create something as screwed up as the Robo-brains or the Lobotomites wouldn't be something I could expect them to stomach easily. They were all grown boys and girls, but even I was uncomfortable thinking about it.

However, there was one other robot developed by General Atomics I could talk about.

"… Alright, I think this will wind up being the last robot for now." I said "It's one of the more common ones, and avoids us getting off topic by too much."

"What is it?" Ruby asked, eyes glittering "High altitude, supersonic flight drones? Tread mounted Lightning launchers? Giant bipedal robots with Laser eyes!?"

"No, no, nothing so…" I paused for a moment, as I thought about a picture I'd seen once, of Mr. House from before the war. Standing in front of a pair of giant mechanical legs. "… Ok, there might be some merit to that last one, but I've never seen it in person, so no comment."

Ruby smiled anyway, even the mere prospect of such a thing got her excited.

"So, this last one wasn't made by Robco, surprisingly enough, but by their direct competitor: General Atomics." I explained "RobCo had the market cornered on most computer and robotic hardware, but General Atomics focused on other portions of the private sector. Appliances most commonly, things like fridges, washing machines, televisions, and so on."

"So everything that RobCo didn't." Ren answered.

"Basically, yeah, if they could get money off it then they would certainly give it a shot." I nodded "Though it wasn't uncommon for them to throw their hat into most general mechanical applications as well. Their entry into the world of robotics produced one of the most widely used and reliable models still present in the wasteland: the Mister Handy."

"That's an interesting name." Blake said snidely.

"As in Handy-man, Blake." I said, shaking my head "Their basic design and purpose was to be used as a combination of construction and maintenance unit. A response, of sorts, to RobCo's Protectron series. Their more advanced programming and design made them far better suited for their role however, and it wasn't uncommon for families to keep personal models to serve as butlers and caretakers. In a way, they managed to keep to the simplicity of RobCo's earlier models, enabling the series to be easily adapted and modified."

"Which means they used it for combat too, right?" Yang said, not really asking a question.

"Bingo." I nodded "The standard model came equipped with a set of pincers, a circular saw, and a combination cutting torch and flamethrower. The Mister Gutsy, the model sold to the military came equipped with the standard fare: better armor, upgraded systems, and a replacement weapon for the buzzsaw."

"What kind?" Ruby asked, grinning expectantly.

"I think you already know." I answered, being as vague as acceptably possible. This girl was already obsessing over laser weapons she hadn't seen yet, no way was I going to get her on the trail of Plasma. She wouldn't let it go until I gave her something. "Aside from that, their general design was a bit unorthodox, compared to the more standard designs RobCo worked with. Like the Eyebot, the Mister Handy hovers in the air rather than move across the ground. Though unlike the Eyebot, they accomplished this using a single jet constantly spewing hot air underneath them. So, their main chassis was a long, fairly thin column with a sphere of metal on top. Descending from it are six arms, three 'eye stalks' tipped with its optic sensors, and three mechanical tentacles under each 'stalk.

"Nice." I heard Blake mutter, before her eyes widened, darting around the room.

I wasn't the only person to hear her, judging from the looks surprise on JNPR and my teammates faces.

"… Y'know you just said that out loud, right?" I asked, turning to her.

Blake's irises dilated as a very vibrant flush filled her cheeks. I could see it mirrored, by Ruby and Weiss, as well as Pyrrha and Jaune. But I couldn't help but notice that Yang looked like she was trying to bite through her lower lip to keep from laughing, while Nora was twiddling her thumbs, smiling uncontrollably. Ren was probably the only one with any real control over himself, but I could see the soft smirk he was trying to hide, looking towards Nora.

"S-shut up." Blake hissed.

"Oh please, it was slip of the tongue." I needled "Plenty of worse things you could've said."

Blake's blush grew deeper. "I-I was just making a reference." She defended.

"Oh, really now?" I asked "What to?"

"Nothing!" She snapped, then backpedaled "N-nothing you'd know."

"Oh, probably not." I nodded "I'm sure whatever dark passions and intense rendezvous could entrance a young woman such as yourself would hold no sway for a man of my persuasion."

Blake went to say something then stopped. Her face fell somewhere between disbelief and shock. Her eyes searching for something.

I smirked "But the world is full of strange things, stranger and wilder still the people who might stalk its shadows."

Blake's mouth opened in horror, as the red she'd been trying to keep trapped on her cheeks crept its way up to her scalp and down her neck. Her face the picture-perfect definition of devastation.

She should've done a better job at hiding that book. Especially after Ruby outted her.

Everyone else was looking between the two of us, completely confused as to what just happened. The only apparent thing being I'd succeeded in embarrassing Blake so thoroughly she looked like she wanted to curl up into a little ball. That and, whatever it was we were talking about, were apparently embarrassing enough to get a rise out of Blake of all people.

I chuckled "Just can't seem to keep yourself from getting tangled up in things, huh Kitten?"

Kitten shot me a glare rife with embarrassment and fire. Shame that it was cut down by the fact that she was a bright red as the tomatoes on her plate.

Yang however, put a reassuring hand on her partner's shoulder. Then she started smirking at me. Giving me a look of satisfaction I didn't quite-

Oh.

'… Dammit.'