The fiend-grunt escorting me barely made a peep before I jammed the electrode of my cattle prod into the back of their neck. The second before his buddy could react either, Cass flipped her double barrel around and cracked him upside the head with its stock. It didn't knock him out immediately, but he hit the ground, and Cass slammed him in the face again. That time, he's was out like a light.

"Subtle." Cass said, oozing sarcasm "Real subtle."

"Ah, shut up." I answered back "It was either this or shoot our way in, would you rather me trying to pull lead out of you later?"

Me and Cass had finished Contreras' business in short order. After getting what we'd needed from the Gun Runners, he'd asked us to take care of some business with the Crimson Caravan. Part of me was glad Boyd had wanted us to look deeper. Contreras had fingers in just about every pie, and the moment he went off the radar, someone was liable to step in and fill the void.

It took a meeting with an undercover guy by the name of Keller in Westside to tell us we knew enough for me and Cass to take what we knew and show it to Boyd. We helped her secure Contreras when he resisted, and even got the pleasure of literally throwing him into a cell. After that, Boyd told us it was likely someone was going to wind up replacing Contreras eventually, but the work we'd put in had put some air back into the vacuum, and it'd be a while before things had gotten back to the degree they had. She couldn't officially thank us, given circumstance, but had been kind enough to slip us some gear as thanks. Probably the biggest bonuses being the Cattle prod I'd just used, and an old battle rifle from the armory. It might've been pre-war, given some 'patriot' had carved 'Well this machine kills commies' into the side of the stock. Given its fairly good condition though, it was hard to say. The sight was broken in a way I couldn't seem to fix though, my shots always seemed to hang to the right of where I was aiming. No amount of adjusting fixed it either, which was annoying. So much for shooting straight.

After all was said and done though, Boyd asked us to take a look at a slightly less pertinent matter. Namely that a ranger hadn't reported in, one by the name of Bryce Anders. The colonel had sent him on a mission to take the head off the fiends' leader, whether he was being figurative or literal, I had no clue. Bryce had missed his check-in and while the colonel was willing to trust a ranger to look out for themselves, Boyd seemed to have some interest in the matter. She made it a personal request that we go find out what was going on, whether that meant finding him or bringing back his tags.

So simple enough job, charge head long into fiend territory and find someone who may or may not be dead. No pressure at all.

The intelligence Boyd gave us said that the fiends had camped out in one of the local Vaults, Number 3, and were using it as their major base of operations. They were also skull-fuckingly insane, and as close to rabid as you can be without actually having the disease. Me, Cass, Boone, Raul, Veronica- hell- all of my companions had run-ins with them at least once by this point. They always charged us, the moment we got in their sights. Scary part is, they were also the only faction I'd seen so far to have regular access to energy weapons. Not that they were any good with them, but they had plenty of them apparently. But nearly no armor to speak of, despite how it was ubiquitous to almost everyone else.

I can recount at least two instances where a fiend charged me in their birthday suit with nothing but a laser RCW and a half empty syrette of med-x.

Intelligence clearly wasn't their strong suit.

So, it only came as a small surprise when I managed to get into Vault 3 without killing anyone. All I'd had to do was tell the guys at the gate that I was carrying, and they let me and Cass in with an escort. Don't know if that was points towards them for civility, or more against them for intelligence. They didn't bother checking I actually had anything.

Once we were about halfway down, I'd noticed a side hallway with one or two dead fiends down it. While I didn't put it past the fiends to kill each other, I'd figured they would do it by stabbing or shooting each other, not leaving mines around for each other and then leaving the body to rot in the open. Or maybe they would, since they didn't seem to give much of a fuck that there were bodies lying around.

Which brought us back to now.

Cass mumbled something under her breath in response to my question.

"What was that?" I asked

"Nothing." She sighed "You think he's down this way?"

"Probably." I said, carefully maneuvering down the hall with the dead fiends. "Or maybe we're walking into some kind of extra weird part of the vault."

The small hall had some blood on the walls the further down we went, leading to a closed door. I looked back as I opened the door making sure nobody had noticed as Cass dragged one of the bodies behind us. Probably not necessary, but at least she was being cautious. The door made a hydraulic hiss as it slid downward.

"Alright, odds are he-"

"Shit- stop!"

Before I took a step into the doorway, Cass dropped the body and put a hand on my shoulder. Pulling me back from the doorway. I stumbled a bit as she did, but quickly caught my balance. So at least I avoided falling on my ass.

I gave Cass an annoyed glance and looked at the door. It only took me a second longer to notice the bouquet of grenades dangling just over the opposite side of the door frame. That and the string running across the floor beneath it.

"… Ah." I said "I see."

"Hmm." Cass said, giving me a smug smirk. "Gee, I wonder what killed the fiends."

"Hrm, yea, real riddle for the ages, that."

I bent over and started working on disarming the booby trap.

"Shouldn't take much to-"

"Hey!" A new, gravelly voice called "What the hell is going on over there!?"

'SHIT!'

I snapped upright in time to see another fiend approaching us from the adjacent hallway. Despite the voice, it was actually a woman. Easy enough to tell since she didn't have a shirt on except for this leather bra that some of the fiends apparently considered the pinnacle of fashion.

She had a laser RCW in her hands and pointed it at me and Cass. She looked twitchy, and was probably either tweaked out on something or hadn't gotten a fix recently. Either way, not good if we made a wrong move.

And we were standing over one fiend corpse, and two potentially unconscious ones. Also not good.

"The fuck is going on!?" The fiend asked, looking at the three fiends beneath us.

Cass had returned her shotgun to the holster on her back, and I doubted she could draw it in time to avoid getting shot. Which meant I was going to have to either A. Draw faster than light, or B. convince the addled psycho not to shoot. No big deal, just needed to play it cool.

"We're here for Motor-Runner-" I started to say.

Then the bitch shot my leg with a laser.

I fell to a knee as a several thousand-degree bolt of light seared through my reinforced leather armor and blasted my upper thigh.

"AGH, YOU CRAZY BITCH!"

"I didn't say you could speak, meat!" The fiend snarled "Now what happened here, answer me!"

I stayed silent. I could see Cass wanted to help, but wasn't sure whether to try and draw on the fiend or reach down and help me.

"…Answer me!" the fiend barked again

"You shot me for that already." I snarled back "You gonna shoot me again if I do?"

She proceeded to shoot me in the shoulder, leaving another smoldering hole in my armor.

"AGH!"

"I'll keep shooting you until you answer me!"

"Ok, fine, calm down!"

That time she didn't shoot me, psychotic bitch.

"We're here on a delivery for Motor-Runner." I lied again, smooth as I could "We ran into some NCR ranger on the way down-"

"What!?" The fiend squawked angrily "I sent Manis and Leon to take care of that asshole…"

The fiend trailed off as she looked at the body of the dead fiend nearest the door.

"Wait, that is Manis." She said, closing the distance between and past us. "What the f-"

I heard the string holding up the grenades snap with the extra tension her foot introduced. Followed by a metallic clatter as the grenades hit the floor.

"Watch out!" Cass shouted, grabbing my burned shoulder.

There's always a long dread when someone throws grenades at me. They've got a deceptively long fuse, and unless you account for them, your target will be out of the immediate blast radius before the maximum damage can be inflicted. As long as I'm moving, I can avoid getting blown to pieces. But until it goes off, I don't know if I'm safe.

For once, the fuse was as much a blessing as a curse. Cass hauled me around a corner in time to avoid the blast, and I watched as bloody chunks flew down the adjacent corridor. The trio of grenades gave an earsplitting boom, cracking like thunder in the closed space. We both sat curled against the wall, waiting for the ringing to subside. I was a little jittery now, adrenaline pumping through me.

"Ho-lee shit~" Cass wheezed "That was a little too close."

"Psh, what're you talking about." I said, a little unsteady "That's not even in the top five close calls we've had."

She gave a weak laugh, then looked at the new holes I'd acquired. "You ok?"

I looked at my shoulder and leg, prodding them with a finger "… not too deep. Leather must of ate most of the beam before it hit me."

I pulled out a stimpack and stuck myself with it. The pain faded pretty quick, and a minute or two later the holes filled in with only minimal scarring.

Gotta love pre-war science.

Wasn't happy wasting one, but better to use it here than let it wait until I was in danger. Not so much free room to stick myself when I'm getting shot.

"How's it look?" I asked Cass

She leaned around the corner and looked. "… well, she won't be a problem anymore."

I hobbled up off the floor and around the corner. All four fiends, living or dead, had been reduced to bloody chunks littering the floor and coating the walls. The Laser RCW was at the far end of the corridor, laying broken on the floor.

"… I guess, that's one way to do it." I said, offering Cass a hand up. "Let's keep an eye open, right?"

"… Right."

We quickly collected ourselves and maneuvered past the newly minted mess. Odds were that, if any of the fiends gave a damn, they'd heard the explosion. Last thing we wanted was to be caught anywhere near there if they showed up.

The hallway leading away from the door turned up to a flight of stairs, the wall stained with blood and marked with the signs of a struggle. Another dead fiend lay on the stairs a little further ahead. From the look of him, somebody had shanked him good. They'd also used him to conceal a landmine. Thankfully Cass and I were more observant this time around, so it wasn't an issue. I disarmed the mine and we made our way up the stairs. They lead to a 'rec. room', that was sealed off with a locked door. Given what we'd just experience, we had a pretty good idea why. It took me a minute or two to pick the lock and open the door.

When I did, I was staring down the barrel of a gun.

Seated on the floor and leaned against a massive computer mainframe, was a sole man. He wore the patrol armor of an NCR ranger. Not a veteran, but the full tactical plate I'd seen on guys like Ranger Andy in Novac. Stiff plates of some poly-steel-composite crap painted in tones of beige, brown, and piss. A crumpled ranger's hat rested on his head, complementing the armor. He had a wide face and doughy features. The bare dustings of a thin moustache and soul patch. One of his eyes was wandering a bit, whether that was a natural thing or a product of exhaustion I wasn't readily able to discern.

Granted, having someone point a 9mm handgun at you for opening a door gave reason to focus elsewhere.

"Knew those grenades weren't enough." The Ranger growled, his voice thread. "Would've thought the mine would get you though."

"You Bryce Anders?" I asked, carefully, not wanting to get shot.

"Depends on who's asking."

"A friend, judging by the fact that you're clearly not a fiend."

The ranger I assumed to be Bryce looked at me for a second. He blinked, his eyelids staggered and slow. His gun arm dipped downward a little with effort, but raised back up as he focused.

"Again, who are you?"

"Courier Six." I answered, motioning back to Cass "This is Cass, we were sent to come find you after you missed your check-in."

Bryce gave a weak laugh "Bullshit, the colonel doesn't have the manpower to worry about rangers."

"You're right, which is why Lieutenant Boyd asked a favor of me."

"Carrie sent you?" Bryce asked, his voice giving a slight, hopeful rise. He realized it though, and backpedaled "I-I mean… shit."

"It's alright Anders, we're on the level." Cass encouraged "You can put the gun down."

He kept it aimed at us for a moment longer. "… Tsk, it's not even loaded anyway." Then set the gun down limply.

No longer worried about getting shot, Cass and me hurried into the room. I shut and locked the door behind us. Just an added precaution, in case the fiends came calling for their friends. I turned and gave Bryce my undivided attention. Cass was kneeling front of him, and I could see why. He'd hidden it when we came in, but his right leg was a bloodstained mess, even with the armor covering it.

"Ah crap." I groaned, kneeling beside him

I got a better look at Bryce's face. He was clammy, and I could see the sweat coating him like morning dew. His jaw was permanently pulled tight and his breathing was shallow.

"'s not as bad as it looks." He said, breathless

Rather than state the obvious, I got to work looking him over. I didn't know a whole lot about medicine at the time, but I knew enough. Bryce had an improvised tourniquet on his leg, and the blood had dried his pant leg to the skin.

"Managed to get a dozen of 'em on the way in." Bryce said weakly "Then one of 'em got the drop on me. Fucker shot me in the leg with that gun."

"You got fifteen actually" I said, distracting him "That bouquet you left killed two fiends we'd knocked out on the way in, plus a third that tried to hold us up."

"Ha!" Bryce laughed, just as thread and pained as everything else "Promised Morales I'd beat his record. Just… just a few more…"

"Ok, I gotta take the pant leg off, this gonna hurt."

"You gotta what?"

Cass Held his leg down as I ripped the bloody pant-leg back. He howled in pain and tried to lash his legs out in instinctual retaliation. Cass kept a good grip though, he avoided causing too much trouble. Though I thought I saw him kick Cass in the boob.

"Christ on a cracker!" Bryce hissed

"Hold still, unless you want to bleed to death."

Whether out of self-preservation, or lack of energy, Bryce complied, and his legs hit the floor. I took the opportunity to begin cleaning and dressing the wound.

The smell was the first thing to hit me. Even through my motorcycle helmet, the sickening stench of infection was easily recognizable. A hideous cross of fermentation and rot.

"Shit" Cass hissed "That reeks."

"Hmm" Bryce hummed "You tune it out after a while."

The bullet wound was surrounded by puffy, enflamed tissue. The wound itself had a small scab over it, hardly as thick as an eggshell. I could see the yellow underneath it, some of it was oozing it from my sudden removal of his pant leg. I had a clue about what to do next, but whether it was a good idea or not was a different matter.

"Ok" I said "Suffice to say, your wound is infected."

"No shit." Bryce answered softly "What's the prognosis doc?"

"Keep talking like that and you'll wish the wound is what killed you."

Bryce sobered up quickly at that.

"… Given your symptoms, you're probably an hour or two shy of it turning septic. I've got a doctors bag, and can clean the wound to the best of my ability. But you're going to need to make a hard choice."

"What's that?"

"Option 1: You turn tail and head back to McCarran, visit the onsite doctor, receive proper treatment, and, if the doctor is good enough, keep the leg. Or-"

"I'm not leaving." Bryce said, voice still thread but clearly resolute.

"Option 2." I said, only slightly annoyed at his interruption "You push forward, run the risk of being slowed down by your injury, and either die from it, a fiend, or succeed in your mission and then promptly die from septic shock."

Bryce just looked at me impassively.

"… Are you dense?" I asked "You push forward, you're going to drop dead. Not might drop dead, will. Anders, I'm not someone qualified to give people life advice, but there are less painful ways to commit suicide."

"Maybe." Bryce said "But I've got to. Rangers don't leave jobs half done. Especially not one like this, I've lost too many friends because of these assholes. Motor-Runner's the only fiend here with two brain-cells to rub together, and he puts them to use. We don't take care of them, we're going to keep losing guys to their shit."

"Taking out this 'Motor-Runner' won't change that." I spat back. "Even if they're down a leader, they'll still keep trying to kill people."

"They do worse than that. They do a lot worse than that. I've seen some of the people around McCarran that've had run-ins with the Fiends and survived… Maybe killing Motor-Runner won't stop them, but once he's out of the picture, they won't be as organized. It'll be easier to fight them when they're as unprepared as we are half the time."

"But you might not even kill him Anders! That's what I'm saying. You're one light breeze from falling into a grave right now. If you go through with this, odds are you won't even make it to Motor-Runner."

"… I know… But I have to try."

I stared at Anders. He was half delirious at this point. He had to be to think this was going to work. I could understand his reasoning. I got why he needed to do this. But that didn't change he wasn't going to be able to. He'd be dead before he even got down the stairs. He didn't seem like a bad sort, and he probably thought he was doing the right thing. But that didn't change the fact that he was throwing his life away on something that wasn't going to work. Not the way he was trying to do it anyway.

'… I can't believe I'm doing this.'

"How important is it that you specifically kill Motor-Runner?" I asked

Bryce blinked, then looked at me in confusion. "I just said-"

"No, I get it's important, but do you have to be the triggerman?"

"Well… no-"

"Then we'll handle it." I cut him off "Meanwhile, you get your ass back to McCarran and get a doctor to look at your leg." I looked up to Cass "That good with you?"

Cass looked at me in surprise for a moment, then just gave an approving smirk.

"Don't be stupid." Bryce growled, trying to get up "This is a job for a Ranger, I can't let you put yourselves in-"

Before he got all the way up, I lightly poked the tissue around his wound. He gave a small, breathless scream and hit the floor again.

"Yes, you can-" I said, calm and reassuring "-and you have to. I might not know you too well, Anders, but that doesn't mean I want your death on my conscience. Trust me, we'll get the job done."

Bryce fixed me with a hard glare, and I met it with equal measure. We held the staring match for a moment, but he conceded defeat quick enough. He didn't have the energy for it.

"Alright, alright… If you succeed, take Motor-Runner's hat to major Dhatri back at McCarran. It'll be a good enough signifier that you got the job done."

"His hat?"

"Heh, trust me, you'll understand when you see it."

"… alright, I'll take your word for it."

I began taking out the doctor's bag. Then, after a thought, pulled out a stimpack and stealth-boy. I set them next to Bryce.

"What're they for?" Bryce asked

"You." I answered "The treatment should hold you until you can get back to McCarran, but it'll hurt like hell. The stimpack will help with that. The stealthboy is just a bit of insurance to help you get out of here without getting shot."

He eyed the stealthboy warily. Those things weren't common occurrences. They were a pain in the ass to find and expensive as hell. If it weren't for the fact I'm good at moving quietly, I might have been a bit more reluctant to part with one.

"Th-thanks." Bryce said

"Don't thank me yet." I said, opening the bag. "Get back to McCarran first."

…

If I'd been any deeper into my nap than I was, I probably would've attacked Professor Peach when she nudged my foot. Not out of malice, but out of long honed instinct to protect myself when attacked in my sleep. Granted, Peach wasn't high on my list of preferred persons at the moment, but attacking her would've been a bad idea.

I felt like I'd only just set down to rest when she pulled me back. I'd been up since early this morning 'participating' in a social event I wanted no part in. I only knew it was her bugging me because, of maybe the two or three people that comprised the botany club, she was the only one crazy enough to bug me. That and, you know, she's a slave driver. Not my fault she can't get anybody interested and get the work done. If she didn't have me by the balls, I wouldn't be here either.

Peach stood over me, dressed in clothing surprisingly less formal than her teaching attire. A wide brimmed, straw sun-hat sat on her head, covering her bun of hair. A worn pair of overalls and a short-sleeved shirt covering the rest of her, with a pair of well-worn leather gloves and boots protecting her hands and feet. She was dusted with dried dirt from head to toes, but didn't look uncomfortable with it. She did, however, look displeased with me.

"Mister Six" Peach said "While I can't force you to do any work, could you please refrain from sleeping in the middle of club activities?"

"Mmm… no can do." I groaned, pushing off of the tree I was laying under. "It's just such a nice day, I can't help but be lazy."

"I can understand that, but could you at least refrain from being so until after the event is finished."

"Again, no can do, the sun doesn't wait for work to finish, so neither can I."

Peach gave me a dull expression, then sighed in exasperation.

"What can I say?" I asked "I'm just not a very diligent member of the club."

Peach gave me a glare"…Behaving like a smart aleck will only give me a reason to find more work for you Mister Six."

The club event that Peach had more or less dragged me into was some form of exhibition. Basically, showing off the grounds of Beacon to the people of Vale and the travelers there-in. Given that more exchange students were beginning to pour in for the festival, it made sense. What purpose it served beyond that; I had no clue. I was pretty sure no one was coming to Beacon to join up with the flower club.

The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

Despite the fact that I was giving Peach lip, I'd been working for a fair amount of the time. She'd been bringing groups of people through and showing off the grounds and giving me instructions in the meanwhile. I hadn't needed to do much digging this time, but she had me spreading these woodchips around the plants to provide contrast and ground cover. Aside from that, she'd been having me generally doing heavy lifting while she showed off some flowers the club had bred over the past few years.

It was late in the afternoon now, the sun was getting close to the horizon and pulling the summer heat with it. About time to start wrapping things up.

"You gonna lead any more groups through?" I asked, fully upright "Or can I start putting the tools away and call it a day."

Peach glowered at me for a moment, then sighed and waved her hand dismissively. "I believe that was the last group for the day. Thank you for your effort."

"What effort?" I asked, sarcastically "I didn't do anything."

Before I gave her a chance to answer though, I was already collecting my tools and returning to the shed. Last thing I need is for her to try and trap me into more work. I'd removed the leather bits from Byz's armor, leaving me in the jeans and body suit to work in. Both were now stained with sweat, dirt, and woodchips. I wanted to get a shower, have something to eat, and relax before I collapsed.

I deposited the tools in the wooden building and locked it behind me. By then, the sun had sunk more than a quarter past the horizon. I didn't have a great deal of daylight left, so I was going to have to move quickly if I wanted to do what I had planned.

After ditching the tools, I beat feet back to my corner of the grounds. It was only a short jog to get there, so I didn't lose much time on that. What I did when I got there though was going to be the thing that would take a substantial amount of time to get done. I cleared a small area towards a back wall and built a small pit of stones. I'd stockpiled dead wood and brush from around the grounds for use on a night like to night. I took some of the brush, broke it into kindling, and mingled it with scraps of tinder. If I wasn't under a time crunch, I'd have taken the time to properly build everything. But I needed to get the fire going before it turned pitch black out. Sure, I had night vision built into my helmet, but it wasn't a substitute for natural light.

I stuck my lighter to the tinder and let it catch. Flames quickly spread through the tinder, licking the long-dried kindling fervently. I gave the new born flames a small fanning, coaxing them larger as I began to stack large pieces of wood over top of them. Large plumes of smoke began to rise from betwixt the placed logs as the fledgling flames built up heat beneath them. I was going to need the fire burn to coals before I could use it, which was going to take a while. I could cook them over the flame before then, but I'd get better results by letting it burn itself down. Regardless, this was going to be the most time intensive portion prior to cooking.

I'd gotten sick of eating cafeteria food again. Not that I'm complaining about having food, mind you, but I missed making my own. This place may have its own delicacies, but I actually missed some of the wasteland staples. Like grilled steaks, mostly without regard of what meat they were.

With the fire smoking out my garden, I made the possibly not-so-smart decision of leaving it to burn. Leaving a fire unattended was a good way to let it set other things on fire. But, hopefully before that happened, I'd be to the dorms and back without issue. Just to be sure though, I moved most of the fuel away from it and built the stones up a bit more to contain it.

With that, I trotted out of my garden, across the grounds, and to the dorms. The academy was practically devoid of life now. A great deal of the students had left for the 'break', leaving me, my team, and a few others on campus. The place was almost eerily quiet without so many people in it. It gave me vibes not unlike that of the Sierra Madre in some ways. Though this place didn't have the cloud in it, it was still large buildings and corridors filled with silence and sparse lighting. If there were people around, odds are when I ran into them, they'd startle me a little. It was only in atmosphere that I was being reminded, but the presence was there all the same.

That thought sent a shiver down my spine nonetheless. Of all the places I never wanted to go back to¸ that place damn near topped the list. At least the nightmares hadn't been happening recently.

But for a reason I couldn't place, I felt as though I was being watched. Maybe it was paranoia. Maybe it wasn't. But it was a feeling I couldn't shake all the same.

I reached and entered the dorms fairly quick. After that it only took me a few minutes to climb the stairs to the second floor and get to my closet. Which had almost transformed into a sweatbox with the season. The air had been stuffy before the excess humidity and summer heat had crept in. Now it was so muggy and cloying that you couldn't quite catch a breath. In no small part to the boiler that dominated a quarter of the room. But, I was in the process of remedying that. How everyone else reacted to that, remained to be seen.

The current conditions of the room, however, were far from ideal for keeping ingredients. Most would probably spoil within an hour of being left in the room. Back in the Mojave I'd salt what I'd need to, or dry out some ingredients until I needed to reconstitute them. No one likes to eat rotten food, and I'd often wind up with more 'steaks' than I knew what to do with.

Here though, refrigeration was still a plausible idea. Though I hadn't shelled out the money for a 'fridge' yet, I had slapped something together using odds and ends I found lying around. Basically, an insulated box of steel and junk, that barely reached my knees and was about a foot wide by three long. It required me to regularly steal ice from the cafeteria, but it kept my food chilled until I wanted it.

I opened my icebox and pulled out some steaks I'd procured on one of my trips to Vale. I'd felt like splurging a little, and I'd long run out of meats from the Mojave. From what I could gather, they were cow or 'beef' steaks. Meaning they were effectively the ancestors of the typical Brahmin meat that was common in the Wastes. So they shouldn't have been to unfamiliar to work with.

I grabbed the package of them, about twelve total, and set them in my skillet. Along with them, I grabbed as many potatoes, jalapenos, and prickly pears as I could. Plus, a bottle of Sunset sarsaparilla and fistful of pinyon nuts. The sarsaparilla would be used for cooking, the nuts were just a snack that I promptly ate. I wasn't going to eat all of it at once anyway, but making it for later saved me the hassle of letting it go bad. I grabbed a few other standard implements and headed back out the door.

It was slower going back out of the dorms. The items I'd gathered weren't heavy, but I still had to carry them by hand. Last thing I wanted to do was drop raw meat on the ground either. I've eaten Grit Steaks before, but they taste like shit and give me toothaches.

I carefully wedged my way out of the dorm's doors and continued down the path.

I didn't hear them coming until they were right on top of me.

I heard the crunch of stone behind me in time to just barely turn my head. Then there was a sledgehammer like impact on my back. Followed by a sharp stinging sensation as something slapped my back.

I faltered slightly, but quickly caught my footing and turned face my assailant.

"Heya!" Nora announced, a big toothy grin on her face. "Hope I didn't surprise ya!"

A short distance behind Nora, I could see the rest of JNPR racing towards us.

"Nora-" Ren panted when they caught up "Was that really necessary?"

"Yea, obviously~" Nora said, continuing to smile "We haven't seen anyone around here in days, we can't just let the first person we see walk away."

"Wait-" I said, trying to catch up "What are you guys doing here?"

"Enjoying summer break" Jaune said sarcastically "Nora, Pyhrra, and Ren-"

"Let me guess-" I interrupted "They're from Mistral and couldn't make the trip there and back in time?"

Jaune looked at me in confusion.

"Actually-" Pyrrha spoke up, a bit bashful "I'm from Argus, sorry."

"And me and Ren are Orphans." Nora said, dissonantly cheerful

"O-oh."I said, giving Nora an uncomfortable stare "Are… are you two okay?"

"Totally." Nora said, still smiling "Hasn't bothered us in a long time."

Though she said that, her voice gained a strained quality to it, and I couldn't help but think her smile seemed a tad… forced.

"W-what are you doing here though?" Jaune asked "We've been here the entire break and haven't seen anyone."

"… How?" I asked, skeptical "Me and my team have been here the entire time, and they live right across from your room!"

"I told you there weren't any ghosts in the dorms." Ren said under his breath, to no one in particular.

"Well, what are you guys doing here?" Jaune asked

"Broke the law." I said bluntly "Got punished, stuck on campus for the break. Still worth it in the end I think."

"Ooo, what's that you've got?" Nora asked, looking at the food in my hands

"… dinner." I answered, cautiously

"Where'd you get steaks if you're stuck on campus?" Ren asked

"Got 'em before we got stuck here. Figured I should cook them before they went bad."

"That… seems like a lot of food though." Pyrrha said carefully, looking over the mountain of steaks and potatoes in the skillet.

"I've got a big appetite." I said "Plus, then I've got left overs."

"Can we have some?" Nora asked

"Nora!" Ren snapped "That's rude."

"Quite." I said, resuming my walk towards my garden.

"Aww~ but you have so much!" Nora whined, following after.

"That doesn't mean you can go inviting yourself to things."

"Please?"

"No."

"Please?"

"Again, no."

"Pleeeease~?"

"Stop following me!"

Despite that, Nora continued following me, and Jaune, Pyrrha, and Ren after her. Or maybe they were following after me for food too, but weren't as vocal about it.

We were most of the way back to the garden when Nora's intoning and following got stale.

"Fine, I'll feed you, just stop following me!" I said

"Yea!" Nora whooped

"But wouldn't she have to keep following you to get the food?"

"Don't start being logical with me, Ren." I said, annoyed "If you wanted to be that, you should've stopped her before now."

"Uh, if you don't mind me asking-" Jaune asked "Where exactly are you going with all of that anyway?"

"A fire I started not too far from here."

"What!?"

"Oh calm down, it was a small one."

"I don't believe leaving a fire unattended is the wisest decision." Ren added

"It's not, but it's easier cooking over coals than an open flame."

Despite my nonchalance, I immediately picked up the pace. Letting the fire burn unsupervised was dangerous, to the surrounding architecture anyway. We quickly crossed the grounds, cutting across the open grass and down corridors where we could. I pretty much knew the place like the back of my hand at that point, which is why it was also odd that my hidden garden was so hidden. There was only one path leading to it, and was otherwise isolated from the rest of the academy. Whoever designed this place either A, intentionally made it so there was an otherwise wasted cube of land off to the side of everything; or B, made a huge mistake in their plans and hoped they hid it well enough that no one would notice.

Either way, it worked for me.

I turned around the last corner and we walked into my corner of the grounds. The shade of the looming walls had just about cast itself over everything. Leaving my fire to cast its orange-amber glow over the plants and trees. I quickly moved back over to my fire, its flames having burned down significantly, and began adding a little more fuel.

"I wasn't aware this garden existed" Pyrrha said, looking around at all the vegetation

"It's something of a secret." I said, prodding the fire. "Not that I really mind."

"What's this?" Nora asked, eyeing my mutfruit tree. It's branches slowly growing weighted with ripening fruit. Though they were technically the 'crunchy' variety of Mutfruit rather than their berry looking cousin. Sharing the characteristics of some type of purple apple, perhaps.

"Mutfruit-" I answered

Nora began to reach a hand toward one of the fledgling fruits. I quickly took one of the smaller sticks lying around me and threw it at her hand. Surprisingly I actually hit it. She yelped in surprise and gave me a glare.

"- and it's not ripe, so don't touch it." I finished

I wouldn't have minded sharing if they were ripe actually. I would've used the majority of them for various experiments, but there was no way I'd be able to eat the full harvest without getting sick. Plus, given the clean conditions surrounding it, I wasn't concerned with it carrying radiation either.

"I'm confused" Jaune said, looking around "If this place is such a secret, how did you find it?"

"Spent the first week or two exploring." I answered, tending the fire. "Wanted to know the fastest ways around, it just so happened I found this place in the process."

"But how has no one else?" Ren asked

I shrugged in response "Beats me, but the less people know about it the better. Last thing I need is for this place to become a hang-out for anyone trying to hide from Goodwitch."

"I think the smoke is coming from over here." A new voice said

I turned my head back towards the path leading to my garden and was met with my teammates racing down the path. They came to a halt just at the gardens edge, with Weiss at the head of them.

'Well, so much for this place being a secret.'

My teammates approached the fire, with Snowflake and Ruby leading. Though If I didn't know any better, it looked more like Snowflake was dragging Ruby towards it. This ceased, however, when Snowflake realized it wasn't just me in the garden.

"Hey Guys!" Nora exclaimed, spring up in front of Ruby and Weiss. She put a hand on each of their shoulders "Are you guys here for dinner too?"

"Um… what?" Ruby asked

"Six is cooking us dinner." Nora said cheerfully "Do you want some?"

"I'm not cooking you dinner, I was cooking myself dinner until you pestered me into making you some." I clarified "- and don't go inviting more people!"

"He's making you dinner?" Ruby asked, apparently ignoring me "He never does that for us!"

"I didn't know he even knew how to cook." Weiss said, scrutinizing me and my fire.

"You never asked!" I said in exasperation

"We're having dinner now?" Yang asked "Cool."

"I just said I'm not making anyone else dinner!"

"Aw, but we're hungry." Ruby whined

"Then go to the cafeteria."

"Please?" Ruby asked

"No."

"Please~"

"Again, no."

"Six~"

"Ruby, stop."

Ruby proceeded to give me that pleading look with her eyes again. The one that could burn a hole through vault concrete and melt steel.

My resolve held fast. I couldn't afford to go giving away all of my food. I mean, it wasn't that I couldn't get more, but it was mine. I'd paid for it and intended to make the most of it. I went through the effort to make the necessary preparations. I was always the one cooking, even back home. Sure, I was alright at it, and sure, food was always better with company. But this was my food. I'm not about to let my own resolve crumble in the face of a little obstinance. Especially with regards to something so petty.

I'm stronger than that.

…

"You can cook like this and we've been eating cafeteria food this whole time!?" Yang crowed, biting into another piece of saucy steak.

"Ah shut it." I grumbled, prodding another of the steaks as they sat just over the coals.

It took me a little over a half hour to get the food ready. I seared the steaks in my skillet first to render some of the fat out, leaving some behind and using the rest to caramelize the browning potatoes. After searing, I set the steaks directly over the coals to finish cooking, then set them to the side when they were ready, the ash from the coals absorbing into the steaks themselves as they wept their juices. As the potatoes became soft I set them with the meat, the residual heat helping them to finish cooking. I used the remaining fat to sauté the jalapeños in, plus sear the prickly pears and some of the pinyon nuts.

I was feeling adventurous, and maybe the odd ingredients would scare off everyone from eating them.

I dumped the contents of the Sarsaparilla into the pan and cooked it to a syrupy consistency, then threw in some salt to cut the sweetness.

By the time I was done, everyone was drooling. If the smells I was getting through my gasmask were accurate, I understood why. It might not have been my best attempt, but given I was just throwing things together, it smelled delectable. Seared meat, mingled with wood smoke. Sweet and spicy sauce, with fruity undertones.

Warm meat and potatoes, what wasn't to love?

I passed out steaks and potatoes to everyone with a healthy doling of the sauce which, if I'd done it right, should've been spicy, sweet, and just a little savory.

Everyone dug in with little complaint.

"…it's a bit bloody for my taste." Weiss grumbled halfheartedly.

… Except for snowflake, who apparently just liked to be a contrarian.

"What are these little pink fruits?" Blake asked, picking one out of the sauce and biting down on it.

"Prickly pear" I answered "They're good seared like this. Might've tried some Barrel cactus if I hand any on hand. Just for some tart to balance all the sweet."

"Prick-y wha- an- -rrel -ooo?" Ruby asked, mouth half full of food.

"Uh… local flavor." I answered

There were a couple of other ways I could've made this better too. Using some wine in place of or in conjunction with the sarsaparilla. Some glowing fungus seared in the pan for some extra body. A little flower to thicken the sauce into a gravy. There were options, but most of them were out of my reach at the moment.

Didn't change that it was still a serviceable meal anyway.

"This is really good." Jaune said, taking a bite of potato "How'd you learn to do this?"

"Practice and necessity. You can only rely on others cooking for you for so long before you get sick of it."

"You must've had a lot of practice then." Ren noted, taking a bite of perfectly cooked beef. "This is pretty good."

"Trade you for your pancake recipe." I said, finishing up another steak.

"Ooo" Nora cooed, tearing viciously into her hunks of meat and starch "Pancakes and steak, yum~"

I finished cooking and set the remaining food to the side, adding more wood to the fire. The hot coals quickly took it and gave us a crackling campfire. The sun had long set by this point, leaving us in the otherwise darkened garden. Lamp posts lit the academy's walkways some distance away. But here, in the garden, only the campfire cast light. A dancing, flickering orange glow that cast shadows on some of the nearby walls. It made everything seem a bit more foreboding.

But it brought me comfort too. I had plenty of good memories that involved being around a campfire with friends and food. Plenty of bad ones too, but more good than bad.

"Everyone good and happy now?" I asked, defeated.

Everyone murmured some form of agreement, and I let myself relax a little. I began to pack up some of the extra food.

"Aren't you going to eat?" Pyrrha asked "You brought all that out here to make dinner for yourself, didn't you?"

"I'm- uh- not particularly hungry right-"

I was interrupted by a shifting in my bowels and a growling as my stomach made its displeasure known.

"… I'll eat later." I finished

"Why not eat now?" Pyrrha asked innocently.

"Reasons."

"He probably doesn't want to take his helmet off." Ruby said

"Why not?" Jaune asked

"Because he doesn't take his helmet off… ever."

"He doesn't?" Jaune asked, looking to Ruby then back to me "You don't?"

"Never do." I answered.

"But… but you'd have to, how are you supposed to eat otherwise?"

"Osmosis and air filtration coupled with regular bouts of intravenous nutrition supplementation."

The entirety of team JNPR looked at me in confusion.

"… That means I absorb shit and inject things." I supplied.

"… That sounds mildly unpleasant." Pyrrha said succinctly.

'…Ah, I see what she did there, walked right into that.'

In the corner of my vision I saw Weiss nudge Ruby. Who in turn gave Weiss a look I couldn't quite discern. Weiss then began motions like they were having a silent argument, with Ruby returning them in kind.

"Ruby, Weiss-" I said, turning my attention to them "Is there something you would like to share with the class?"

My two teammates quit what they were doing and looked at me. They stared for a moment, before Weiss grew frustrated and nudged Ruby again. Ruby grimaced at her teammate, then fixated on me.

"So… Six." She said slowly, deliberately, uncomfortably

"Yea?"

"I- um- want to ask you something."

"… Ok, well, I'm listening."

"…"

Ruby remained silent. Her eyes darting between me, the fire, our teammates, and literally everything else.

"…Well?" I asked "You going to ask or not?"

"I- um- don't know how to ask it."

Weiss gave an exasperated groan and buried her face in the palm of one of her hands.

"It seems more like you want to ask me something than Ruby does, snowflake." I said, eyeing her.

"It's her responsibility." Weiss grumbled "She said she would take care of it."

"Alright, well what is 'it'?"

"Nothing!" Ruby interjected "Absolutely nothing, just some questions I- we wanted to ask because we were curious."

"Then why aren't you asking them?"

"Because I don't know what to ask." Ruby whined.

"We spent all of this afternoon going over them!" Weiss huffed in annoyance "Just do it like we practiced!"

"There weren't this many people when we practiced!"

While Ruby and Weiss continued arguing I slipped JNPR a quick glance. They all looked about as confused as I felt. Rather than continue sitting there though, with my dinner getting cold, I elected to move along.

"Well, if you've got nothing to ask-" I said, rising "-I think it's time for me to take my leave."

"B-but-" Ruby stuttered.

I picked up my food and stepped around everyone until I was free and clear of the fire. "The fire should burn itself out, just don't add anything else to it unless you're planning to stick around longer."

"Six wait-"

I started back towards the foot path to the dorms. After I ate, I was going to take a nice hot shower and catch 40 winks. I lost a day's worth of work time to Peach's club, and I needed to get back to it. I was close to a breakthrough; I could feel it.

"-Could you tell some more stories about where you're from!?" Ruby shouted, catching me off guard.

I stopped walking and turned back look at the smaller girl. She had a surprisingly serious look on her face for an otherwise un-serious question. It only made me feel a little more uneasy than the question itself.

"…Stories?"

"Uh- Y-yea." Ruby said losing the sudden seriousness "I wanted to know if you had any more stories like that one you told us before?"

"… You mean about the Burned Man?"

"Mhmm." Ruby nodded

"Uh…" Jaune intoned, confused "I think we're a little out of the loop here."

A quick glance at team JNPR showed that, yes, they did appear just a tad confused.

"I told them a tall-tale from back in the Mojave." I supplied "Nothing more."

"You also didn't finish it." Ruby said "I just wanted to hear the rest of it."

"I-I hardly think now is the time-"

"Ooh!" Nora interrupted "I want to hear it too!"

"What- why-"

Before I could finish, Nora sprang up from her spot around the fire. She cleared the distance to me, clamped an iron grip on one of my arms, and dragged me back to the fire. She hurriedly ushered me back to the spot I'd been sitting like she was a hyperactive child, then took her own seat back.

"I supposed this could be interesting." Pyrrha said, with thinly veiled interest "We haven't heard much about where you're from either."

"Well-" I said, trying to regain my footing "I don't think now is really the time to tell you it."

"Aww, why not?" Nora groaned

"Yea, why?" Ruby parroted

"Because I don't feel like repeating the first part of the story just for the sake of giving context." I answered, motioning to JNPR. "They don't know the first part, so I'd have to tell them it for any of what I'd say to make sense. Plus, I only told you that story to help make a point which, at the time, I'd needed to."

That, and I was beginning to feel nervous about telling them anything. With all the weirdly pointed questions they'd been asking me recently, I could tell they were up to something. They had to be. I wasn't going to accuse them of anything yet, But I couldn't keep pretending they weren't up to something either. Until I knew what, I was going to have to be as careful with them as I might be with Ozpin.

Ok, maybe not that careful, but still careful.

"Aw, but that would just make tonight perfect~" Nora whined.

"Nora" Ren sighed.

"But it would Ren!" Nora said with exuberance "A cool summer night, dinner around a campfire, the only things missing are marshmallows and ghost stories. We're already halfway there!"

'The hell is a marsh-mallow?'

"Well, I'm sorry to say, Nora-" I continued, brushing aside my own question "But I'm afraid I only have a few stories I could tell, but most of them don't quite qualify for the situation."

"Aww." Nora whined, deflating.

"Besides, ghost stories are for kids." I said "There are things out there a whole hell of a lot scarier… than… ghosts."

"Language." Weiss said succinctly

I didn't respond to her. Instead, for some reason, my brain had latched onto something else. Just mentioning the word shouldn't have had much effect, but it had given me an idea. I didn't have many real stories involving them, but that was for reason of almost none existing. You mention them around most in the Mojave, the probable reaction will be of confusion. The few that knew though, quickly shied away from the topic. For good reason.

Ghost people had a tendency to haunt more than the Sierra Madre.

If you knew what they were, you knew why.

So, I didn't have any actual stories I could tell about them apart from my own encounter with them. But I wasn't going to tell them about that. Both because I needed to watch what I said, and because the thought of revisiting the memories of that place sent a chill down my spine. Even making up a story about them was going to leave me feeling uneasy. This is even knowing how to kill them. You'd think knowing the weaknesses of the beasts would help give some small measure of confidence, but it actually made it worse because even knowing I could kill them didn't change the fact that doing so was ridiculously hard.

Fuck the Sierra Madre. Fuck it and all the nightmares it represents.

"… Six?" Ruby asked

I blinked and realized I'd been staring intently into the fire for a fairly length stretch of time. I blinked the spots of color out of my vision and came back to reality.

"Are you ok?" Ruby asked again

"I'm- uh… I'm good." I answered, steeling myself "It's just… I guess I do have a story I could tell you. I just can't guarantee you'll like it."

'And not just because I'm making it up as I go along.'

"Yea!" Nora whooped "Is it a ghost story?"

"… of a kind."

Taking that as a cue, everyone inched a little closer to the fire and began staring at me intently. All bearing some semblance of fascination. I steeled myself, because even knowing the story I was about to tell was mostly fiction, the bit of truth in there undid any consolation.

I sighed, heavily, and began my story.

"In the Mojave, there exist stories of a place- a city, known as the Sierra Madre…"

…

The Sierra Madre Casino and Villa. The forgotten city. The casino among the clouds. A place shrouded in mystery and myth. To many: a legend, a city of gold and abundance. Said to be home to untold riches and technologies beyond the wildest of imaginings. Where there was no hunger, no thirst, all was bright and hope guided all who wished to begin again. A beacon of the future.

But legends are legends. Stories we tell ourselves to give hope when we need it most.

The Sierra Madre, in all of its glory, was a place locked far away from the Mojave. Hidden by geography and the elements. To ensure that all those who sought it would be met with hardship. To have them turn away before they arrived.

But to the most stalwart of man, there is no challenge that may stand against them. No treasure that may slay greed. No piece of knowledge too small to be tempting. No light of hope too dull to try for.

But for all, the Sierra Madre promised only one truth. To Begin again.

But to begin, there is always one truth to go with it.

There must always come an end.

(…)

For Laura Dowling all she wanted had been a chance to begin again. A chance to escape the life that had tormented her for so long. A life that had started happy and hopeful. A life surrounded by friends and loved ones, there to support each other when times grew tough. A life where she'd known safety and warmth in the arms of others. Where she did all she could to return that warmth in kind.

Until it was ripped away from her.

When words became falsehoods and relationships crumbled. Where friends and family disappeared, by their own callousness or by other's. Where the warmth of a full life became hollow, and only sustained through the substances she could find. Warmth that grew colder with every moment.

Laura Dowling was alone.

But the Sierra Madre promised hope. A paradise hidden from the harsh world, and promising all that she'd lost. She only needed to go. To begin again.

So she went.

A young woman, guided only by her resolve. Who trekked deserts and braved mountains to find the promised city. The travel was long, and along the way she was joined by another who sought the city. Together, they traveled. Seeking that which may not exist, but blindly hoping beyond anything that it did.

They found the city. After countless weeks of searching, they found the Sierra Madre. Nestled in a valley betwixt a mountain range and mesa.

But the City did not meet their expectations. Where there should have been sun, only an oppressive crimson gloom hung. Where the noise and life of the city should have filled the air, stood silence and stillness. Where the light of hope should have been fostered once more, only darkness clung.

They stood in a city of the dead.

Realizing their mistake sooner than she, Laura's companion abandoned her. Sealing the way behind them and trapping her in the Sierra Madre. She turned back whence they'd come, calling out for them to come back and save her but the companion refused, running far beyond her cries could reach.

It was only after she was well and truly abandoned did she come to realize the horrors of the Sierra Madre. As she breathed, inhaling the crimson cloud that surrounded her, she could feel her lunges ache and burn. Her exposed skin and face, wherever the cloud could reach grew tender and raw as it ate at her. Tearing into her as though it were alive. Slowly devouring her.

Yet the worst, had yet to come.

For Laura was not alone.

Behind her, and further into the darkened city, Laura could hear them. Their shambling, stumbling feet traipsing down pathways. Their weapons, scraping the stone. Their breath, a slow steady staccato of rasps and metal.

The Sierra Madre was home to no man.

It was the home of the ghosts they'd become.

Fierce abominations, clothed in blackened hides. Hiding their faces behind masks of metal, their eyes glowing a sickly green in the darkness of the cloud. They were creatures that felt no fear. They were the predators. The Sierra Madre was their home. Those who stumbled in, their prey.

Laura tried to fight back, but the ghosts that prowled the Sierra Madre were beyond her. That which is dead cannot die. They came at her en-swarm, chasing her through the buildings of the Sierra Madre. Forcing her to breathe deep the toxic cloud surrounding her. Slowly tearing away at her, physically. Laura could hear them behind her, never so close as to catch her, but never so far as she could escape the rasping of their breath. She wanted to scream, tired and fearful.

But the Ghosts were not mere beasts. They held yet, some semblance of the intelligence they had whilst living. They set traps for their prey and lay in ambush for them.

Laura discovered this too late. Only having the span of a breath to realize what was happening.

Then metal pierced skin.

Laura cried in pain and the beasts descended on her.

...

I stared into the fire as I began to bring the tale to a close.

"No one knows what happened to Laura." I said softly "The story changes from person to person. Some say she managed to escape the ghosts, but was trapped in the Sierra Madre all the same. That she fled until she was cornered in a room and finally collapsed, the cloud finally taking her."

I looked back up to my teammates and JNPR. They all looked wide eyed and horrified.

"Others-" I continued "-like to be optimistic. That with all of the wondrous technologies within the city, she managed to escape. Fleeing the city and its monsters… but I don't believe this ending is true."

I closed my eyes and imagined the words I was saying. Trying to make sure I was grasping the horror right.

"I believe the ending for Laura was much worse. That the ghosts did to her as they did to all their victims."

"W-what do they do?" Ruby asked, looking paler than usual.

"That they took her… and broke her." I said simply, solidly "That they slowly and forcefully ripped the humanity from her as they had every other unfortunate that entered the city. They stripped her of her mind and will, broke her down into a savage monster. Then bound her in the dark hides that adorned all of the Ghosts, and set her free into the city. Just one more soul that got to begin again."

I opened my eyes and stared at my company.

Ruby was clinging fearfully to Yang, while she in turn had gone stock still.

Blake had gone wide eyed, pupils dilated and ready to run at the smallest provocation.

Weiss was trying to keep an air of composure about her, but I could see she was gently rocking back and forth.

JNPR was little better, but their reactions were of similar accord to my teammates. Jaune and Pyrrha were both still and stiff as boards. Though I could see Jaune was closer to losing it. Nora clung to Ren like he was a safety blanket. He was the only one who didn't appear afraid. But that wasn't surprising, given he had an exceptional poker face.

"And to this day, it's said that you can hear it on the wind if you listen well enough. A young maiden's scream, muffled by the rasping, metallic breathing of the ghosts."

"That... That's quite a story." Jaune said, breathless and fearful

"Hmm, most ghost stories tend to be when you know how to tell them."

"Y-yea… well, at least it's just a story, right?" Jaune asked, trying to re-assure himself more than anything "I mean, come on, monsters in metal masks, lost cities, 'wondrous technology', that's just silly."

I looked at the boy for a moment. Normally, I'd have been alright to let them assume a story like that was just a figment of someone's deranged imagination. Which, in this case, it mostly was. But I knew the parts of it that weren't. They were genuine threats that very likely did what I'd claimed. Even if they weren't here, that didn't change they were a threat.

I reached into one of my pockets and pulled out a small coin shaped object. I flicked it of my thumb, over the fire and at Jaune.

The Sierra Madre chip collided against his breast plate as he fumbled to catch it. He laid it out in his palm and stared at it. His teammates joined him, and I got to watch in unison as the horror rippled its way across their faces.

"Keep telling yourself that, Jaune." I said softly "It'll help with the nightmares."

With that I collected my stuff and left. Part of me figured I'd outstayed my welcome.

…

Peace and tranquility reigned over the campfire site for a small period after the Courier's departure. The two teams of huntsmen in training marinating in the fear that was bestowed upon them. All of them staring at the casino chip bestowed unto Jaune.

"… ah, Ah, AH, AAAAAAAA-"

It was also Jaune who was the first to crumble.

"I-I don't understand." Pyrrha said, maintaining composure better than her leader "It was just a story, wasn't it?"

"B-but where'd he get this from then?" Jaune sputtered, overcoming his screams.

"H-he probably made it just to scare people." Nora said, putting on a brave smile "I mean there's no way it's real, right Ren?"

"… It looks pretty real to me." Ren said evenly.

"YOU'RE NOT SUPPOSED TO ADMIT THAT!" Nora squawked.

"Guys-" Ruby said, trying to gain JNPR's attention

"It does look real." Jaune agreed, panicking "But what does that mean?"

"It would mean the story he told was true." Ren said, still maintaining composure, though he'd grown considerably paler.

"Guys-" Ruby reiterated.

"But if it's real that means-"

"Jaune" Pyrrha said, calm.

Jaune stopped midsentence.

"Ruby has something she wants to say." Pyrrha continued "Perhaps it'd best to her what?"

Without a word, Jaune gave a blank nod. He and the rest of JNPR looked to the Red clad huntress, still clamped tight to her older sibling.

"…" Ruby gave a sigh, steeling herself and burying the story she'd just heard. "I think we need to talk to you about Six."