Important notes at the end regarding the Courier and his semblance

The world was burning, the very air itself reeked of blood and gunpowder, the sky itself had seemingly turned red as a result of the war raging around them, and the earth was watered with blood. The cries of the wounded orchestrated a hellish symphony across the dam, and the sickeningly sweet scent of death cut through everything like a hot knife through butter.

War had come to Hoover Dam once again.

Explosions rang out across the dam in a scene that could only be described as utter chaos. Wave after wave of Legionnaires rushed forward, machetes held high with battle cries on their lips as dozens, if not hundreds of Centurions provided cover fire from behind them. Corpses of both Legion and NCR littered the dam as far as the eye could see. Chief Hanlon had once said that the First Battle for Hoover Dam was the bloodiest event the Mojave Wasteland had seen since the Great War, but it was nothing compared to this. Nothing could compare to this.

The Legion would not retreat, that was clear to any eye that cared to look. They were too driven, too empowered by what waited calmly for the right moment at their end of the dam, and it's presence instilled a sort of hysteria into Caesar's dogs. It was almost humorous, aside from a little sabotage and using the drainage pipes for a surprise, their battle strategy was almost the same as the first time they tried to take the Old World Wall.

An old… ally... had once told him that if war won't change, then it was men who must change, and how the roads that they walked forged who those men would become. A lesson that Caesar had failed to heed apparently, that and so many other lessons that history taught those who would listen.

But, the lessons taught within the crumbling ruins of the Divide, the horrors, the conflicts and moral dilemmas were not so easily forgotten. Not to the one who had walked those roads when they hummed with potential and life, but had also walked those same roads when they very ground beneath his feet screamed for blood.

Yet he supposed it mattered little at the moment.

Courier Six stood seemingly unfazed by the carnage around him, a Light Shining in Darkness snapping from target to target with uncanny ease, each shot creating a new hole in a Legion soldier's forehead. Joshua's pistol seemed to guide his hand, and Six could almost feel the rage of the Burned Man guiding his hand against those who had wronged him. Salt-Upon-Wounds may have been spared, but Six knew that Joshua would still have given almost anything for a chance at Caesar.

It was almost fitting, Joshua believed that his God used him as an instrument upon this earth, to carry out his will. Now Six was acting as Joshua's instrument of vengeance upon the Nation that caused him to suffer so.

As the world burnt around him, Six's duster fluttered softly in the wind, an Old World flag worn proudly on his back and a respirator mask fit snugly around his face. Both gifts from another Courier in the Divide. Six had seen the result of Legion radiation bombs at Camp Searchlight and would take no chances as he spearheaded an assault into the heart of the Legion ranks. As an absolute failsafe, the Big MT Transportalponder was strapped snugly to his waist. He had no intentions of suffering the same ghoulish fate as his good friend Raul. He really didn't have the face for no nose and ears… or skin.

Those eggheads in the Big Empty were barely sane on the best of days, but Six had to admit, their tech had never failed on him so far. For all the horror and sadistic takes at humor they had put him through, Six himself was living proof of their occasional genius, as the mechanical thumping of his new heart within his chest continued at a steady pace. No longer being susceptible to poison made dealing with Cazadors and Night stalkers far easier, and the ability to slow his heartbeat at will made him a rather popular partner with the First Recon, despite not having formally listed into their ranks. That and finally being able to shut Boone up about his aim swaying too much had almost made the nightmare that had been the Big Empty all worth it. Almost.

Behind him Cannibal Johnson and Paladin Ramos brought nothing but death to the Legion as their minigun and gatling lasers screamed with fury, mowing down Legionnaire after Legionnaire as the trio steadily progressed across the dam towards the Legate's Camp. Behind them, the NCR Rangers, Enclave Remnants and Brotherhood of Steel all providing cover fire against the now dwindling horde of Legion onslaught upon the dam.

This is going better than expected. Six thought to himself mildly as he fired off 5 more shots, 5 more Centurions dropping dead as a result. He watched in mild fascination as one Legionnaire got too close for comfort, only for Cannibal Johnson to swing his Minigun like a warhammer and decimate the man's skull, his headless body falling lifeless to the ground, before immediately turning the gun back onto a group of Frumentarii, tearing them to a bloody mess as the gun sped up. Six could only hope that Vulpes was among them as he passed by the now unrecognizable piles of blood and gore they had become.

Not to be outdone by an Enclave Soldier, Ramos fought like a man possessed. Each beam released from his Gatling Laser seemed to tear a hole in a different Legionnaire, and those who managed to get close tended to lose their teeth, jaw, cheekbones and just head in general as the Head Paladin would deliver a devastating, augmented hook with his Power-Armor covered fists. Those lucky enough to avoid the strike would find themselves at a loss as for what to do, their machetes bouncing harmlessly off the reinforced armor covering the paladin from head to toe, and were soon gun downed by the Paladin or Six himself, sparing a round to help the paladin out. They all pushed on, as another wave of Legionnaires came screaming towards them.

Six booted the first recruit Legionnaire that got to him in the chest, not even leaving the man time to finish his shout of "Glory to Caesar!" before Six fired a round into his head and dropped the now empty magazine, replacing it in a fraction of a second and continuing his warpath forward, his mind seemingly elsewhere despite the slaughter that occurred around him.

For it was the words of Ulysses that rang through Six's head as he advanced,all to aware of what awaited them at the end of the dam. One final lesson taught at the end of that Lonesome Road rang out clearly in his mind, and Six knew that it would never be forgotten.

"Lanius. The 'Butcher'. Monster. Terror of the East. Put Colorado to the sword, broke the Hangdogs by throwing their hounds upon the flames, so they might burn forever in the afterlife… when he arrives, he'll fall on Hoover Dam like a hammer. Break the Bear in Two. Nineteen tribes of the East could not beat him… doubt the lights of Vegas will either."

Shaking himself out of his musing, Six quickly holstered his sidearm before slinging the 7 foot pole with a screaming Golden Eagle at its peak. Old Glory tore through the Legion like a hot knife through butter, and for a moment, and for a fraction of a second Six almost believed he could feel the rage of the now long gone Twisted Hairs urging him onward against their betrayers.

As legionnaire after legionnaire fell, the Courier and his companions carved their way forward, the Enclave Vertibird providing some support to the vanguard as they cut their way across Legion lines.

Then, Six heard it. A metallic screech rang out through the air itself, the very atmosphere around them seeming to vibrate. Looking up to see what had come for them, Six couldn't stop the grin that broke across his face. Screaming through the sky, the Lady of the Lake tore over Hoover Dam and as she did, Six could see her bomb bay doors open, and in that instant knew that hundreds of legionnaires would soon be nothing more than ash.

Explosions to rival that of the Great War shook Hoover Dam to its very foundation. Six himself was forced to cover his eyes and shield his face from the intense blast of heat which forced him and his two power-armored companions a few steps from the shockwaves alone. For what seemed an eternity, the world became fire and the deafening sound of detonation. When the bombs finally stopped falling, Six forced himself to open his eyes and view the aftermath.

There was little left, maybe a dozen legionnaires and a centurion who had either found shelter in time or accidentally got out of the way of the bombs stumbled around dumbly upon the dam, unable to comprehend where their dozens of comrades had gone, why they could no longer hear and just what had actually happened.

One burst from Cannibal Johnson's minigun eviscerated 4 of the remaining legionnaires, leaving just the centurion behind, who seemed so dazed and lost that Six knew this would be no true fight, merely a mercy killing.

Letting loose a yell, Six hurled the flagpole at the last remaining centurion on the dam, the rest of the remainders being picked off by NCR or decimated by Johnson and Ramos. The Eagle flew like it's namesake before burying its razor sharp wings into the chest of the last of Caesar's centurions on the Hoover Dam, killing him instantly. Breathing heavily, Six walked forward to retrieve his weapon and with a swift tug, ripped it out of the man's rib cage before turning to Johnson and Ramos. The two nodded and followed him silently until they reached the massive gate upon the Eastern end of the dam.

"We know who's in there." Six told them plainly, noting how Ramos tensed up at the mention of Lanius. "Battle isn't over until Lanius falls back or lies dead, ready?" The Courier asked his compatriots, getting stiff nods from them both. It was odd in a certain sense, Enclave and Brotherhood, mortal enemies, fighting side by side against Caesar's Legion to protect the Mojave. Then again some things were large enough for even those two to work side by side.

Giving the two a nod in response, Six pulled the Transportalponder from his hip and tinkered with it for a moment, adjusting the coordinates to the base of the Legate's camp. Unlikely one could forget the coordinates of Big MT. Six mused to himself as he changed the teleport location on the Transportalponder and strapped it back to his hip. Those coordinates were burnt into his brain, literally and figuratively, at this point. If he got pinned down it was always nice to have a backdoor to use, but Six couldn't exactly just whisk away to Big MT when the fate of the Mojave was on the line.

Taking a deep breath, Six reared his foot back and kicked forward with all his might into the drawbridge door in front of him. To his pleasure, he instantly heard the restraints instantly snap and the door fell open, leaving the way into Lanius' camp open for the unlikely trio to surge forward.

Suppose those eggheads at Big MT are good for something after all. Six mused to himself as he pushed forward. There was a monster to be slayed.

Six Praetorians stood guard behind the door, each immediately splitting into three groups of two and rushing towards the oncoming trio. Six didn't even blink as he drew A Light Shining in Darkness and acquainted their foreheads with a .45 hollow-point round, reducing their skulls to nothing but a bloody mess.

Johnson seemed to roar in approval at the new challenge and charged forward in his power armor, shattering the rib cage of the first Praetorian to reach him with a single punch before swinging his elbow around and decimating the skull of the second. As the second praetorian fell to the ground dying, the first lay gasping in the dirt, only for Johnson to reach down and brutally twist his neck 180 degrees, immediately snapping it and ending the Legionnaire's life. Ironically, Six knew that Lucius would approve of Johnson's martial prowess and likely even scold the two Praetorians for being defeated by a 'profligate' so easily. Yet that was neither here nor there.

The two charging Ramos stood no chance, one burst from the Gatling Laser reduced the two to ash before they even fully finished their war cries. The Courier could faintly hear Ramos snort in disapproval as they moved forward into the camp, all three on edge for that the Legion would throw at them next.

Aside from the initial six guards, the Legate's camp was eerily quiet. Campfires burnt, training drums could still be heard beating in the distance, but there was no one to be seen. The tents lay vacant, there were no Legionnaires running laps, not even a slave could be seen in the Monster of the East's camp. Cautiously pushing forward, Six remembered the lessons that Boulder City taught Joshua, and idly wondered if Lanius had laid the same trap for them.

"Johnson, take the north end, Ramos, the south. I'll head up the hill. Call out, retreat to the center when Lanius is found." Six ordered, the Legate would not leave this hill camp without at least one bullet hole in him if Six had his way. The Mojave was counting on them. Boone, Lily, Veronica, Arcade, Raul, Cass, hell even gangs the Kings and Powder Gangers were counting on them to keep the Legion out of the Mojave, and Six would be damned if he failed them all. The Mojave was far from perfect, but anyone could see that introducing slavery and a Roman Empire fetish wasn't the way to fix anything.

Making his way up the hill, Six felt a bead of sweat drip down from his long, black hair and down into his eyes. Blinking a few times to clear the sweat and dust from them, Six froze at the sight before him.

Three NCR Rangers had apparently made their way into the camp before Six, how he had no clue, and were all facing off against what could only be described as a monster.

Legate Lanius stood at a monstrous 7 feet tall, and was built like a super mutant without the green skin and perpetual snarl. Then again, Six realized, maybe Lanius was snarling. He couldn't see his face, only the frowning visage of Mars, the god of war that went with the rest of his golden armor, plating the warrior from head to toe. Not to mention the blade that had to be just as tall as the warrior himself which be swung with uncanny ease for a blade that large and moved too quickly than any man that size had any right too.

The Terror of the East easily tanked the hail of gunfire coming from the NCR, the rounds harmlessly bouncing off his armor, as he surged forward and bisected the first ranger with a single swing of his sword, killing the man instantly. Not missing a beat, the Legate spun around and decapitated the second ranger, his headless body crumpling to the ground still firing his service rifle as the ranger's body seized and crumpled.

Turning to face the final ranger, who was about as pale as a man could get, Lanius slung his massive blade over his shoulder and stormed forward, picking the man up with his bare hands and squeezing with what appeared to Six to be minimal effort at best. A loud crack echoed throughout the camp with the same force as a gunshot before Lanius dropped the now lifeless corpse to the ground.

Three NCR Rangers dead in under fifteen seconds. A feat that neither Driver Nephi or even a god damned Deathclaw could achieve, the Legate had achieved like he was brushing dust off of his shoulders. Six grit his teeth and mentally prepared himself as Lanius turned to face the Courier and in that instant, Six knew. They both knew.

This battle would cause victory for one side, crushing defeat for the other.

"And who are you to come before me? You fight with men of the west, yet you do not wear the insignia of the Bear as they do." The Legate spoke with a voice like thunder, yet he appeared genuinely curious, perhaps even amused at the Courier wielding Old Glory before him.

Luckily for Six, he quickly recovered his wits. Oliver, Ulysses, House, even Caesar himself had all warned him about Lanius, the presence he carried with him, and his unrelenting brutality against those who stood against him. How Caesar's favorite tactic of war was to sit back and let his most feared instrument, Lanius, have his fun.

"Should you believe that you will take Hoover Dam, and as a result, the Mojave, then you are blind to your circumstances" Six grit out, his grip on the flagpole tightening.

Yet Lanius didn't seem concerned in the slightest, the opposite in fact as a small chuckle reverberated throughout the man who crossed his arms and looked down a little less than a foot to meet the Courier's gaze, observing his opponent and particularly, the staff in his hands.

"I see you have met the Flag-Bearer in your travels. You even speak as he does. Did he teach you to fight with words, like other men of the West? Many graves in the East are filled with those who said as much, but with braver words, backed by further strength. The Flag-Bearer's own people listed among the dead." The Legate commented dismissively as he reached for the massive bumper sword on his back and in that moment Six knew the reality of this situation just as well as the Legate.

There would be no peace today.

"Nice Mask, I'll claim it as a trophy" The Courier proclaimed loudly, idly hoping that Ramos or Johnson would overhear him and come to his aid.

That actually seemed to get some sort of response from Lanius, who audibly growled at the Courier. "We shall see how brave when you are nailed to the walls of Hoover Dam, your body facing west so you may watch your world die" Lanius snarled and as quick as a bolt of lightning, he was upon Six, his monstrous sword flying towards the Courier in a devastating arc, which Six only barely managed to counter by raising up Old Glory, the sturdy maple frame holding strong against the brutality of Lanius.

Refusing to let Six formulate any sort of plan, Lanius immediately delivered a devastating kick to Six's chest, sending him flying backward down the hill, rolling into the dust as the Legate charged down the hill after him.

So much for 'convince him that the Bear will not be the 20th tribe beneath his boot'. Six thought idly as he rolled down the hill. My big mouth.

The Courier was up on his feet in an instant though, quickly drawing the 1911 from the holster on his side and ringing out five shots in rapid succession before he was forced to holster as Lanius was upon him again. Swinging his staff to meet the Blade of the East, Lanius met the strike with ease before countering and pushing Six back yet again. In the background, Six faintly heard the yells of "For the Glory of Caesar and the Legion!" alongside the roaring of a Minigun and Gatling Laser and realized that his backup would most likely be busy.

Ducking under another swing of Lanius' blade, Six quickly drew his sidearm and spent the last round in the chamber into Lanius' mask before swerving behind the Legate and swiftly replacing the magazine. As the Legate grunted and turned to face Six, 6 more .45 rounds were dumped directly into the Legate's chest, forcing the Terror of the East back a step as the shockwaves echoed throughout his armor.

Pressing his advantage, Six reloaded as quickly as his trembling hands would allow him to and drew Blood-Nap, emptying further 6 rounds into Lanius' chest before burying the Bowie Knife into his shoulder, eliciting a roar of agony from the Legate. Before Six could retrieve the knife, a devastating backhand from Lanius sent the Courier tumbling back down the hill again, groaning in the dust at the foot. That had definitely bruised a rib, maybe 3.

Stumbling to his feet and injecting a stimpack, Six looked up just in time to see Lanius pull the knife out of his shoulder with the difficulty that one might have removing a cactus spine. Wasting no time at all, Lanius hurled the knife at the Courier, causing Six's eyes to widen as his own knife flew towards him. Ducking into a roll and allowing Blood-Nap to fly past where his neck had just been, Six just barely dodged this knife and let it thump into the dirt behind him.

Quickly recovering his footing, Six looked up just in time to see a storm of red lasers decimate the hillside that the Legate was thundering down, and said a silent prayer to Joshua's God, overjoyed that Ramos had finally found his opening to join the fray. Not that the beams seemed to bother Lanius, most of them simply reflected off of the Legate's metal armor into the surrounding landscape, one even reflecting dangerously close to Six, searing the leg of his pants. The Courier gave a small yelp of alarm and swatted out the small flame that had propped up and just barely braced himself in time for the charging bull of a man that slammed into him, pushing him backwards on his feet.

So focused on battle, Six didn't even notice the Transportalponder on his hip had begun to spark, beep and fizzle erratically from the hit it took from Ramos' Gatling Laser.

Grappling with Lanius, Six grit his teeth beneath his mask as he dug his heels into the ground to stop the Legate from pushing him as far as he wanted. As his heels tore through the earth, eventually Six stopped Lanius dead in his tracks and forced the Legate off of him, swinging Old Glory around in a deadly arc which made contact with the Legate's helmet and sent him staggering back.

"You're a fool Lanius!" Six roared as he swung his staff left at the Legate, who managed to get his blade up in time to block another strike. "Without Caesar's leadership, Legion would have fallen apart before it crossed the Colorado. With Caesar courting death, you wish to take the Mojave?"

Lanius growled lowly as he locked weapons with the Courier. "The coming of the Legion will free the Mojave in ways you cannot imagine. It will break the weak and allow the strong to rise, all according to Caesar's plans" The Legate snarled at Six and in an instant he broke the stalemate quicker than Six could react, placing the Hero of the Mojave on the back foot once again, forcing him back with blow after blow that Six could barely keep up. The Courier's moment of apparent reprieve came as he locked his staff against Lanius' blade in a head-on strike that pressed the two warriors against one another, Six's augmented strength from Big MT struggling against Lanius' absurd natural endurance.

"Your conquests will yield nothing but scorched earth" Six hissed at the Legate, straining at the very simple task of speech. "When Caesar succumbs, Legion will never bow to you, it will fracture as empires have before. You will leave this world with nothing but blood and dust!". Instead of snarling or insulting the Courier back however, Lanius let out a low chuckle at the jab, an action that sent shivers down the Courier's spine.

Too late did Six realize he had fallen for Lanius' trap. Locked against the Blade of the East, the Legate struck his leg out and swiped Six's legs out from underneath him, before planting a massive boot down on his chest, pinning the Courier to the earth.

"I would not have it any other way" was Lanius' simple response as he raised his monstrous blade to the sky, and Six's mind shot into overdrive. Frantically, he reached for the Transportalponder on his hip and quickly pulled the trigger. Only once he did so did Six finally notice that something was wrong as it sparked and fizzled before a bright blue light enveloped both him and the Legate.

When it cleared, Courier Six was nowhere to be seen.

And we'll call that a wrap on this little prologue here. I've always loved New Vegas, the first game I ever finished actually. That and Lonesome Road and Dead Money are my top two favorite DLCs of all time, in that order. RWBY is also such an interesting world to throw a character such as the Courier into and theorize about how he could change the entire landscape, so I figured I'd throw my hat in the ring. But I'm also throwing in a few quirks to make my story a bit more different than "Courier goes to Remnant, joins Beacon, is strapped to RWBY at the hip for the entire story"

Nah I think it's more fun to throw him in with absolutely no fucking clue as to what's happening around him and watch the Courier do what he does best, carve out his own path and bend this new world to his will.

Most importantly though, I'm hosting a poll on what the Courier's semblance should be because yes, he'd get absolutely decimated without Aura and a Semblance in the RWBY world. So he'll get one and we'll have some fun with that, the options are as follows:

-Dead Man's Hand: Essentially VATS, time slows for about 90 seconds for Six, but he can still move at a normal speed, eats a good chunk of his aura every time he uses it though.

-Honest Heart: Essentially Speech 100, Six can talk non-hostile opponents into almost anything aside from causing physical harm to themselves.

-Old World Embers: Six's presence actively drains an opponent's aura while refilling his, doesn't affect those he's fighting with.

-Old World Blues: Very similar to Old World Embers, the only difference being it also actively affects those that Six is fighting alongside, not just opponents.

-Lonesome Road: If working alone, Six becomes significantly faster, stronger, durable, more agile, lucky, charismatic, reflexive and perceptive. When working with others they drop back down to his normal levels.

There'll be a poll on my profile for whoever wants to vote, I'll likely close the poll when I post the next chapter or when I post chapter 3.