Unfinished Business
Hey there everyone, welcome to my new story Unfinished Business, starring my Courier Birdie Church! I really hope you folks like this, cause I've been working really hard on this story! Anyway, enough of me chatting, let's begin the story!
I do not own Fallout: New Vegas, that belongs to Bethesda and Obsidian.
Salt-Upon-Wounds collapsed to the ground dead, a machete imbedded into his skull and his body riddled with bullet holes. The leader of the White Legs laid on the Zion dirt twitching and shaking before finally laying still, staining the Zion grass a deep red. A tired groan escaped from Birdie Church, as she wiped the sweat from her face and looked up towards the sky. Salt-Upon-Wounds had been dealt with, the White Legs had been crushed, and Zion can finally rest in peace. Everything had been wrapped up in a neat little bow. Well, nearly everything….
"The Dead Horses and the Sorrows can now rest, knowing the White Legs have been defeated." Joshua Graham stated, reloading his .45 pistol. "I thank you for your assistance, Courier. I wouldn't have been able to finish this without you."
"Really?" Birdie muttered. The Courier bent down and grabbed the machete lodged inside of Salt-Upon-Wounds' skull and yanking it out, as blood and viscera splatters everywhere.
"Indeed, let us go back to camp." Joshua answered. "We can tell everyone that it's finally over."
"Actually, it's not over, at least not yet." Birdie explained, her words turning harsh. "We've got some unfinished business, Joshua Graham. Or should I say….Legate?"
Joshua Graham stopped dead in his tracks as soon as the word 'Legate' leaves Birdie's lips. Cocking his head slightly, Joshua turned and stared straight at Birdie, his pale blue eyes burrowing straight into Birdie's soul. A chill ran down Birdie's spine at that very moment, because deep within the ice blue pools of Graham's eyes, she could see the fire of the Malpais Legate. It may have been smothered and buried over the years, but that flickering flame of hatred was still there, right beneath of the surface of Joshua Graham.
"Consequences Rock, a small town in what was once Colorado." Birdie explained, wiping some of the blood off of her machete. "Population of about 200 people, famous for our Bighorners. At least, until the Legion came and ruined my entire life."
"That was in the past, a past I am deeply ashamed of." Joshua retorted.
"You may be able to forget what happened so easily, Legate, but I can't forget." Birdie fired back, a scowl forming on her face. "Not when my nightmares are filled with Legionnaires. When I can still hear my father screaming and my mother begging for mercy as clearly now, as I did all those years ago. Not when I can't even look at myself in the mirror anymore, cause I fucking hate what I see."
"Courier-"
"Seeing my mother being used like some kind of whore, my father being tortured and burnt at the cross, my friends and neighbours being killed and enslaved, those are memories you can't just erase, Legate." Birdie continued, hatred and bitterness infecting every word that slipped from out of her mouth. "Watching the town I grew up in being torn apart and destroyed, by your goddamn Legion!"
"Courier-"
"How do you think I feel, when I look at my body, and I see all the reminders that I was once seen as nothing but property, only to be broken and used? How do you think I feel, knowing that so many women out there suffered the same fate as me, and are still suffering like me? How do you think I feel, to know that the fucking asshole I just helped was responsible for creating the faction responsible for breaking me? How the fuck do you think I feel, Legate!?"
Joshua Graham only stood there silently, watching as the normally calm and collected Birdie Church was spitting venomous words from her mouth, her eyes blazing with pure fury and hatred. It was startling to see such a sudden shift in character, and Graham wasn't exactly sure what to do here.
"I am sorry, I am beyond sorry for what happened to you, Courier." Joshua Graham stated, bowing his head slightly. "I...I cannot forgive myself, for what I have done, for all the lives I have ruined and people I have killed."
"No."
"No?"
Birdie just shook her head, as she lifted her machete up, pointing it straight at Graham's chest.
"Your words mean nothing to me, Legate. All I hear are the pleadings of a man wishing to not meet his fate, but I am here to make sure that you do, Malpais Legate. No more running, no more hiding, no more pretending to be dead. You will meet your fate here in Zion, and I'll make damn sure that you stay down."
Silence fell between the two warriors, as they stared at each other. After what seemed like an eternity, Joshua looked down at his .45 pistol, checking to see it was fully loaded, before looking back at Birdie.
"You truly wish to go through with this?" Joshua inquired. "This does not have to end in bloodshed."
"And Consequences Rock didn't need to be destroyed by the Legion, and yet you still did it anyway." Birdie muttered. "You better start praying to your God, Graham, because you're going to be meeting him very soon."
Graham didn't answer with words, instead with a bullet. Birdie stumbled backwards, cursing loudly; while the bullet hadn't hit it, it had still grazed her army pretty badly.
"Last chance." Graham stated simply. "Walk away now, and we won't have to fight."
Birdie just looked at Graham, her head tilted slightly, before rushing forward, swinging her machete wildly. Joshua quickly stepped back, avoiding the machete swings. What Joshua didn't manage to avoid was Birdie's throwing knife, which ended up embedded into Graham's left thigh.
"Fuck!" Graham growled, seeing his jeans being stained red.
Graham tried taking aim, firing a few shots at Birdie. One or two managed to hit the woman, but they didn't seem to stop the woman. If anything, it seemingly made the Courier even more pissed off. Confusion quickly became realization, as Joshua looked at the empty syringes on the ground.
'Med-X….'
Joshua continued firing, hoping to end this fight soon, but his pistol quickly found itself meeting Birdie's machete. The sound of metal clinging together rang out through Zion, as both machete and pistol went flying in the air. Improvising, Joshua ripped out the knife embedded into his thigh, trying to jam it into Birdie's exposed throat. The Courier dodged, instead having the knife end up jammed into her shoulder. Curse words flowed from Birdie, as she stumbled to the ground and clutching her injured shoulder. As Birdie tries crawling away, her hand ends up touching cold-steel; Salt-Upon-Wounds Power Fist
"It must end, now." Joshua growled. "No more figh-"
Graham's words were cut short, as Birdie smashed the power fist into Graham's chest. The sound of snapping bones filled the air, as blood spewed from his charred lips, the knife in his hand clattering onto the cold ground. The leader of the Dead Horses stumbled backwards, looking incredibly confused, as if this wasn't what was supposed to happen. Before Joshua could get his bearings back, Birdie seized the window of opportunity. Bending down to reach the knife, the Courier rushed forward, jamming the knife straight into Graham's throat.
Blood flowed like a waterfall from Graham's throats, staining both his and Birdie's clothes deep red. Graham tried weakly to fight back, but Birdie shook off Graham's resistance, making damn sure to keep that knife where it was. No smile appeared on Birdie's face, no funny quip or comeback, as she dug the cold steel as deep as she could into the soft scarred flesh of Joshua Graham; she just had a cold look on her face, as she stared into the frightened blue eyes of the soon to be dead Malpais Legate.
One final grunt escaped from Joshua before collapsing onto his back in a heap, the knife still embedded into his throat and his entire front stained a dark red. A tired groan escaped from Birdie's lips, as a feeling of relief coursed through her veins. The Courier walked over and grabbed her machete, prepared to leave Zion and never return, before turning around to stare at Graham's body. Walking oer, Birdie stared into Graham's pale blue eyes, before jamming her machete straight into his skull, splitting Graham's head in half.
"...just to be safe." Birdie muttered, as she removed the machete from all the gore and viscera.
And Unfinished Business is done and dusted! I really hope you wonderful readers enjoyed this story! If you did, please drop a review, telling me what you guys liked! Anyway, I hope to see you folks soon!
Love,
The Desert Dancer