Author's Note: This originally started as a Mad Max/Dragon Age crossover, but I don't really consider it that since it's not a crossover perse, as no Mad Max characters make an appearance of any sort. Consider it... inspired by the lovely diselpunk franchise.

"Mon Ange!" Leliana shrieked, motioning frantically. "Difficulté! They're gaining on us!"

"I know!" Mara shouted, flooring the gas on their car and jerking the steering wheel to the side as hard as she could, slamming the car into a hard slide.

It didn't help.

There was a very sudden cracking sound, and the car shuddered , lurching crazily to one side. To anyone else, it would seem like there was something lodged in the engine, but they both knew better.

Their tires had been shot out.

Leliana cried out, and Mara wrenched the steering wheel the other way, but it was useless. They went skidding as the tires slid helplessly across the road. They were spinning out of control, the desert skies above rushing towards them, and then they flipped.

The two of them were flung out, and the car landed on it's side, sliding away helplessly.

Moments later, they were surrounded.

Six men, two on a motorcycle and four crammed into a truck, all dismounted and surrounded them. Mara laid there, still and unmoving, but very much intact. She had gotten good at the innocent little girl act over the years, and they wouldn't just outright shoot a young woman.

She silently prayed that Leliana was still awake, and knew what the Warden was doing. Without her, this might not work, but it was her only chance.

"Looks like we bagged another one." A gruff voice called out from above, and Mara tensed. If she got the timing wrong...

"What do you suppose these two kittens were doing together?"Another voice, this one from a little further away.

There were feet directly in front of her head, so close her hair stood on end. "I think you know exactly what they were doing." The voice came from whoever's feet it was, and there was an almost sneer in his voice. "Maybe we'll have to keep them together!"

It was clear from his voice that he threw his head back and laughed, and Mara knew she wouldn't get a better chance. With a lightning fast movement, she ripped a knife from her belt and jammed it deep into his thigh.

He tried to scream and jump back, but she had an iron grip on his leg. Before he could react, she ripped the XD-M pistol from the holster around her hip, and fired a single shot through his skull.

A half second later, a second, louder gunshot sounded, and Mara knew that it was the sound of Leliana's Mateba autorevolver. Sure enough, another of the five remaining men fell.

One of the men had a shotgun in his hands, but no one else was armed. The shotgun man fired, but hit the one Mara had already killed. Mara lined up the shot, and fired, killing him before he could line up another shot, and Leliana cut down the rest of them like clockwork.

She pulled herself up, ripping her knife from the dead bandit, and dusted herself off before turning to smile at her love. "Thank god you were awake."

Leliana smiled back at her, loading the spent bullets into her revolver. "You would have been just fine. That unconscious, innocent little girl act?" She gave her wife a cheeky wink. "Beautiful."

Mara chuckled under her breath. "I learned from the best, Mrs. Seductress." She turned to their wrecked car. "Well..." She sighed. "It looks like we're not driving that one anymore."

Leliana shook her head. "Luckily," She motioned to the bandit's truck. "We have a new one."

"Who in he hell do you suppose those people were?" Mara asked. They had just been driving through to Henderton when these men had tried to run them off the road. Mara was a good driver, but not good enough to recover from blown out tires.

Leliana shrugged. "Probably just bandits or some psychos, sweetie. I wouldn't worry about it." Her voice was calm and nonchalant, especially for having very nearly been killed. Although that was the rule of the land, here in the wastes. Anyone could die at any moment.

She sighed, and nodded. "You're probably right, love."

But she couldn't shake the feeling that this wasn't just some random encounter. They had come out of nowhere, worked together to force her to turn, and that shot to the tire would have been one hell of a trickshot from where their car was...

Someone knew who they were.

Three Hours Later

"Stop."

Leliana held up a hand, and Mara applied the brakes, bringing them to a gentle, quiet stop.

"What is it?"

Leliana pointed to the offside of the road, and Mara saw what she was looking at. There was a massive six-wheeled Heavy Truck, with a gigantic fuel tanker loaded on the back.

She gave a low whistle. "Wow." Mara turned to her wife. "What do you suppose the odds are that it's owner is gone?" She wasn't a looter. She considered herself better than that.

Leliana shrugged. "I don't know. But," She tapped the fuel gauge, which had the needle dangerously close to empty. "We're not going anywhere without more fuel." And she was right: Goldfield was another ten, maybe twelve miles east. They might get another half mile.

"I suppose if couldn't hurt." Mara admitted. If there wasn't anyone there, then there was no harm in taking some, and if there was maybe they could trade. Worst case scenario, they would leave empty handed.

At least, that was what she hoped.

Mara grabbed her G36C that she had scavenged, in addition to the HS2000 in her holster, and Leliana grabbed her Winchester Model 70, with parts replaced for the more common .223/5.56 bullets that Mara's rifle used so they could share ammo.

After a moment, Mara drew a shaky breath to steady herself, and Leliana gave her a reassuring smile.

"Ready?"

"Ready."

Stepping outside, the heat of a scorching Nevada afternoon hit like a brick, and Leliana gave an annoyed grunt of complaint.

"Maker above." She groaned, rubbing her eyes from the heat and the dust. She had known it would be searing out here, but at least in the car they had air conditioning.

"I know." Mara agreed, stepping next to her and taking her love's hand. "The sooner we get this over with, the sooner we can go back." Leliana nodded, and they started forward.

As they drew up closer, the truck was even more impressive. It was a Tarta T815, with a storage pod behind the driver's seats and a gargantuan fuel tanker holding up the back end, both of which towered several times the height of the two women. The main tanker had two turret towers carved out of smaller cars and reinforced with sheet metal, and the one at the very back had a mounted machine gun loaded on the back, poking just out of the back windshield of the former car it was moulded out from. The tires were thick and strong, almost brand new, and it looked like they wouldn't be able to be shot out by anything short of a harpoon.

Mara gave another low whistle. Whoever owned this gigantic truck was ready for whatever came. The pod in the middle could hold months of supplies, and she couldn't imagine how much the fuel take could hold. If you emptied it out, you could fit a hundred men or more inside.

As she was admiring, a figure stepped out from the front of the truck, having been concealed behind the tractor. He was a tall man, with dark brown hair and a stubbly beard, wearing a heavy armoured leather duster with combat armour underneath, two bandoleers in an X across his chest. Two holsters sat around his waist, one was empty, and the other held a sawed-off shotgun. Around his waist was a sling, holding an AK-12 assault rifle.

He was holding a Glock-17 handgun, from the empty holster. Pointing it right at Leliana's head.

They lifted their guns back up at him, caught off guard. "Go. Away." He ordered with steel in his voice, gesturing away with the gun just a little, although not taking it off of Leliana's head.

Since he didn't shoot immediately, Mara figured he wasn't intent on starting an unneeded fight. "Alright." Mara said, lowering her assault rifle. "We're not here looking for anyone to get killed." She gestured, and Leliana lowered her rifle as well.

He didn't lower his pistol. "Then leave."

"Look." She hooked her rifle on the sling across her waist. "Our car ran out of gas just up the road, and we-"

He shook his head. "Can't help you."

"We can trade you bullets."

He quirked an eyebrow. "What kind?"

Mara and Leliana shared a glance, silently deciding what they could trade and what they couldn't. "9 mil, 5.56 and .38 Specials."

He shook his head again. "Can't help you. Go away."

Mara turned to Leliana and sighed. "Alright then, love. I guess we'll just have to figure something else out."

"How?" Leliana asked, and Mara wasn't used to the fear in her voice. "We can drive maybe another mile at most. And then what? We'll never make it before we die of Hyperthermia, and even if we didn't, how far can we walk until sundown?"

"I don't know." She admitted, but held her wife's hands comfortingly. "But we'll figure something out. We always do." And with that, they turned to leave.

"Amore!" A new voice, that of a woman's called, and all three of them turned. Standing in front of the truck's tractor was a woman with olive skin and dark hair, staring at the armed man. "You're not just going to turn people away to die, are you?"

"Josie," He hissed, turning his head to face her, although his gun was still pointed in their general direction. "We don't know them, they can't offer us anything, and they look dangerous."

The woman, apparently Josie, put her hands on her hips and walked a little closer to him. "If they were dangerous, why wouldn't they have just killed you?" She motioned to Mara. "Why would she have put her gun away?"

He gave an exasperated sigh. "Sweetie, even if they are just travellers, they're only going to slow us down. If the Tevints catch us..."

"We're better than them."

He opened his mouth, but no words came out. A moment later he sighed and lowered his gun. "Okay," He turned to them. "Look: Where are you two going?"

"Goldfield." He turned to face her, and met her eyes, before shaking his head.

"We're so going to regret this." He whispered before turning back to the two of them. "Alright. As fate would have it, that's where the two of us are going too." He gestured to his car. "So here's the deal: You two can tag along, but you two have to agree to help fight off any bandits that might attack us on the road."

Mara shrugged. "Seems fair."

He nodded. "Don't touch anything, and I reserve the right to kick you out if I think you're up to something. Got it?"

They both nodded. "That seems more than fair."

He met that Josie girl's gaze, who smiled, and then he turned back. "My name is Cantis, Cantis Trevelyan and this is Josephine."

Leliana inclined her head a little. "I'm Leliana, and this is Mara."

Cantis gestured to the truck's tractor. "Well then, if introductions are out of the way, then let's get going. We're burning daylight."

The back of the truck's front cab had been expanded from an old car, providing additional passenger space for an extra five people, behind the two seats in the front, and the man, Cantis, ushered them into the back before taking shotgun, the Josephine woman taking the driver's seat.

For a long time, they rode in silence. The engine was a roar, and they would have to shout above the noise. Mara and Leliana busied themselves with their bullets and magazines, replacing bullets in magazines and sorting spent casings.

But eventually the silence was too much, and Mara spoke up. "Nice truck you have here." She shouted to Cantis.

"Thank you." He turned his head to see her as he yelled over the engine's roar. "I call her The War Rig."

She shrugged. A fitting name, to be certain. This thing could probably topple countries when properly manned. "Where'd you get her?"

He was silent for a minute before speaking again. "Built her myself, over the years." His voice was a little different, a little strained, but she figured it was just the yelling over the engines. "Found the main Truck on the side of the road once, and I scavenged the rest of it from old scrap yards over the years."

"It's impressive." Leliana yelled.

More silence as they rode. Goldfield was coming up soon, and they knew it would be parting time soon enough.

"So who are you two anyways?" Cantis asked after some time. "I know your names, but nothing else."

Mara nodded. "Well, after the good you've done us, I suppose I can tell you a little about ourselves." She sat back in the padded chair. It was surprisingly comfortable for being built for war. "I'm Marilina Amell, and this lovely lady," She motioned to Leliana. "Is my wife."

"Really?" He smiled. "How old are you? You look a little young to be married."

She shrugged. "I'm sixteen." She clasped her love's hand in hers, and smile. "So yes, probably. But, life out here in the wastes is too short to pass up any happiness."

He nodded. "I get that." His gaze danced over to Josephine for only a moment, but Mara caught it and it made her smile. "So what are you two doing down here?"

"I'm a Grey Warden, and they-"

"Wait." Josephine cut her off, turning in her seat to face the mage, taking her eyes off the road. "A Warden?"

"Yeah." She confirmed, nodding. "We like to think of ourselves as a stabilizing force in the wasteland. We usually stay in the north, but I-."

"Wait, wait, wait." Cantis turned around almost completely in his seat, looking her in the eyes. "You better be careful." He warned. "There's a bounty out for the head of any Warden you can find."

Mara bolted upright in her char, and sat forward towards him to hear better. "Wait. Really?"

He nodded gravely. "That Tevinter clan set it up. Two Jerry Cans of gas and a tin can for petrol for every Warden you kill."

"Shite." She swore, rubbing her eyes as her blood ran cold. She had wondered why it was her specifically that had been sent down here. Had others gone missing before her?

Leliana pulled out her Mateba autorevolver and pointed it at him. "You had better not think about collecting that bounty." She threatened. No one touched her angel.

"Me?" He asked, pointing to his chest. "Those barbarians hate me as much as they do you. If I tried to collect, they'd shoot me and add my head to the pile." He relaxed in his seat, and she lowered the revolver just a little. "I hope you Wardens butcher the lot of them."

Then he made a sudden, lightning fast movement, he lurched back and knocked the gun from her hand, simultaneously pulling his shotgun put and pointing it at her.

"But," His face was grim and serious. "If I did decide to collect that bounty, you couldn't stop me." Then he smiled and leaned back, putting away the gun, leaving their hearts to resettle from moving faster than the truck.

"Amore!" Josephine chastised. "What did I tell you about pulling guns on people?"

"Yeah, yeah." He smiled. "Stop threatening our guests."

Several minutes of silence passed, as neither of the pair in the backseat were sure what to do after that display, although Mara noticed Leliana retrieved her revolver and didn't reholster it. "So," Mara spoke after a dozen minutes of awkward silence. "What are you two doing out here?"

Cantis grew quiet, and didn't answer for several minutes. Finally he spoke in a softer voice. "We're running."

"From what?"

Again, he took a long time to speak.

"What I've done."

Leliana and Mara shared a glance, and then Leliana asked. "And what is that?"

He shook his head. "Don't ask."

Several moments passed, and then Leliana blurted out the question. "And where do you suppose you can escape what you've done?" It was a stupid question she knew, but she also knew that it was impossible to wish the past away.

He stared into the asphalt of the road as though it had the answer. Apparently it didn't, and they rode the rest of their trip in silence.