(Small Author's Note here: Eli is the character that Augustinian Frog contributed to this collaboration work between him and I. Enjoy!)

Phoenix in Arizona
{Prologue}

The winds scorched across the land as they usually did during the day, holding each of the Mojave's travelers as hostages against the wild elements. Boone wiped sweat from his brow, needing the solace of a purified bottle of water at this point. As his feet carried him, it felt like he was walking in fire, dragging Rene along on this hell trip with him. He was seeking out another Legion encampment at this point, feeling the need to take one more down, just so he could feel a little bit more at peace, to keep himself from wearing down emotionally. He knew it was stupid to travel out in the heat like this, no matter what month it was- whether it is December or in the middle of June.

Rene looked around, Vegas in the far-off distance. It was almost like it seemed like a dream, how far away they were from the city, how they were possibly even leaving the southern tip of Nevada and crossing into completely unknown territory. It was an adventure to be held, and Rene almost wanted to deliberately lead them from the Mojave and into Utah or some surrounding state. But in the brash heat, that nearly wasn't an option, and they were already looking for a Legion camp. She could take Boone to Arizona; tell him about Flagstaff, and how it was their capital. But that would be a bad idea due to the fact he was already suicidal and wanted to kill as many Legionnaires as possible.

Looking towards Vegas in the distance, Boone saw nothing but the heat waves bouncing off the city. Just a reminder the Mojave was a damnable hellhole. He wanted nothing more than to have the blood of the Legion across his face, to pile their bodies upon each other and set fire to the mountain of evil. It would solve all of his problems.

"Rene, where the fuck is this camp you mentioned? I can't bear this heat any longer-", Boone commented but was ultimately interrupted by the crack of gunfire, and Rene doubling over with pain, clutching her side as she fell to her knees. Boone threw his attention forward, moving back towards Rene and pulling out his rifle as quick as he could and fire rounds into the Legionnaire Assassins' skulls, starting his pile with the few souls that dared to challenge him. He took a few rounds in the shoulder and obtained a flesh wound in his side. Rene stumbled to her feet, roughly grabbing the rifle from Boone's hands and fire faster than he did, warding off the attackers and killing each one with the rush of adrenaline that coursed through her bloodstream. Boone stared at her with disbelief and he grabbed her up and took her away from the point of attack.

"You're crazy…" He grumbled, pulling the bullet out of her side. Rene shrieked with pain, and Boone shushed her by holding a bloody hand to her mouth.

"Hey, stop whining, you've been through this before", Boone smirked to keep her from making loud noises, just in case if the Legion decided to return with yet another hit squad to keep them busy. Rene gently dug her fingers into his shoulder, pulling out a bullet that was rather deep. He grimaced in pain, holding in his breath.

"Feels like shit, huh?"

"You should be thanking me, Rene. This isn't the first time I've saved your ass."

Rene shook her head, and sat up, reaching for her pack to bring out a Stimpack and some sutures. She hated stitches, and the scar between her breasts was just there to prove her point. It was long and ragged, like how her past had been with Boone. Taking tweezers from her pack as well, she pulled more bullets from his shoulder, which caused Boone to grab her arm tightly.

"That's going to leave a bruise. Stop", she sighed, pulling the final bullet from his shoulder and giving him a stimpack. For a moment's time, he felt adrenaline rush through him and the sensation of pain escaped his body completely. Letting go of Rene's arm, it left a red mark.

Footsteps were approaching rapidly, and Boone stood, his rifle in hand and pointed directly at a traveler, who looked like he was beaten down by the Mojave as well. He wasn't the first one, either.

"Need help?" the man asked nonchalantly.

If it weren't for his white collared shirt, the man's khaki colored pants and desert military cap would have made him simply blend into the sands. Boone glanced once at his scoped carbine, that alone made the man a danger.

"I think we've got ourselves covered." Boone replied.

"Well neither of you are passed out from blood loss so I'll have to grant you that much for now. Now, I should ask; what did you two do to piss off the Legionaries? I first spotted you two from up on that small mesa back there. There's got to be at least four kill teams converging on your location. Though I see you took care of one of them." the stranger murmured, noticing the dead bodies.

"There's three more." Rene murmured.

"We were responsible for blowing up Fortification Hill back at Hoover Dam." Boone explained stoically.

The stranger's gray eyes went wide with realization.

"Shoot. That means these guys mean business..." he began pacing the sands as Rene and Boone watched him in wry curiosity.

"You got at least two more teams coming from that side." the man explained, pointing in one direction.

"I'm going to go this way. Maybe I can distract that last team from finding you."

The stranger was already huffing and puffing away before either could ask any more questions from him.

"Quick one, isn't he?" Boone commented silently.

Rene stood, her side aching and still unsutured, and moved to get set up for the oncoming attack that was meant for them. She only hoped Boone wouldn't try anything irrational at this point because he knew all of these Legionnaires were coming after them- specifically. And she hoped the kind stranger wouldn't get himself killed at their expense. The only people hitting the ground today were the Legionnaires that wanted them dead for doing the Mojave justice, and it was insane how far they had tracked them out, to the top of the southern tip of Nevada.

Boone heard the Legionnaires kicking dirt towards them, filing themselves in a neat organization as they came near. He pulled his rifle and automatically downed a Recruit Prime, not even stopping the Legionnaire's line of succession. Bitter Springs wasn't even the real challenge- it was this, the destruction of the Fort and the repercussions to follow them out of the Legion's grasp.

"Rene! Get moving, now!" Boone yelled over the gunfire, moving his eyes to the limping girl for a moment. She had her pistol in hand and was firing wildly upon their assailants, and the man who had approached them earlier seemed to be helping them fend off the squads of Legion. Blood spattered the sand as bullets hit the kneecaps of the Legionnaires, disabling only a few of the squad that was pressing against Boone. If he gave Rene a rifle, she'd be a hell of a crack shot. But there was no time to line up and take aim in the battlefield… unless you were perched somewhere high. Tracking the targets carefully, he caught one more in the chest, causing one of his lungs to collapse.

Rene moved herself over to the Legionnaires that lie within the sand, unmoving but still breathing. Kicking one over with her good side, she shot him within the head twice and went through the same process with the Decanus and Vexillarius. She looked back towards the man with the Carbine, who seemed to have no trouble with the Decanii the Legion threw at him. But this whole skirmish perplexed her.

Who ordered the attack?

Lanius was dead. Caesar was dead. Vulpes was dead, and everyone in the line of succession was killed off. There may have camps they missed, but no one would hold the required rank to give such an order, would they? It was unbelieveable… here Boone and Rene were moving through the new Roman Republic like chem-overdosed Visigoths, yet, they still had oppression against them from the Legion. Finally understanding, Rene finally removed her mental block and sighed, standing like a sitting duck in the middle of the battlefield as she remembered there was still Flagstaff, Arizona. They had to hit home before the terror could end.

"We have to go to Arizona!", she yelled with excitement as Boone dropped a Legionnaire who had his arm held back in full-swing that would taken Rene's head off by the sharp machete in hand. Rene promptly looked behind her, and saw another wave. Just one more.

Boone and the man who hadn't introduced himself yet charged towards her, guns in hand as they started firing behind her. The man's calculations weren't correct as he had assumed, the last team was coming from the south and not the north as they must've originally planned. Rene turned and started firing as well, slaughtering their legs and mangling any limbs that were exposed and un-armored. It caught quite a few and sent them rolling in the dirt, but there were two more- a Centurion and a Vexillarius that looked quite upset at the carnage upon Boone, Rene, and the still unknown aid to their cause. Shaking his head, Boone placed a bullet between both of their eyes.

"That was taking too long, Rene… finish them off", Boone sighed.

Turning to the man who Boone warranted answers from, the raucous sounds of gunfire echoed.

"Who're you?"

"Eli, and you?"

"What is your name?"

"Just call me Eli. Elijah if you're feeling formal but I always preferred 'Eli' myself. It's better that no one knows my last name." Eli murmured.

"Are you a fugitive?" Boone asked.

"Sure, though my crime is simply existing." Eli shrugged, purposefully trying to be elusive.

"Boone, we have to go to Arizona." Rene repeated, walking up to the sniper who was still scrutinizing Eli.

"Have to? Considering what you two did, I don't think they'll be rolling out the welcome mat for you down in Arizona." Eli shook his head.

"It's the only way to stop this." Rene asserted.

Eli gazed out into the sands for a moment before looking back at them.

"You'll need help. I can hold my own in a firefight but I'm a better medic and I know a bit of tribal medicine. Though that's only if you two agree." Eli shrugged.

"You? You're just offering to help? Why would you do that?" Boone demanded.

"Well, I don't think I can persuade you both to turn around from something so suicidal and it's not like I'm doing anything smarter...or better for that matter. Death is not what I fear, I only fear stepping before my Creator and being told of yet one more good I left undone compared to all the evils I willingly did." Eli replied meekly.

For a moment, the only sound was that of the endless Mojave wind.

"...Well, I at least assume you two are up to doing good. I don't suspect you're just going to go all the way to Arizona to carry out petty vandalism. That would still probably be a good deed, though. The Legion never struck me as the best people in matters of decor." Eli murmured thoughtfully.

Rene offered a kind smile at Elijah, but Boone still looked wary of him, and was tempted to just make Rene thank the man and move on instead of being infatuated with the idea of having a trio, taking down the Legion and gaining glory and fame. This was their mission, meant for only two people, meant for the glory of Rene and possibly Boone's escape from the world. He wanted to let Elijah know this was for Rene, and for Carla.

"Boone… we could use an extra doctor around. I mean, it'd be awesome, because we don't have to worry about dying as much, right?" Rene looked up into Boone's shaded eyes and smiled. The same smile that made everyone late for church as she passed by. It made Boone flustered, and he couldn't help but agree with her. Sighing derisively, Boone folded his arms across his chest.

"Fine. Come along if you want, but if you die, it's not either of our faults and you will be promptly relieved of any equipment you're carrying. If you're lucky, Rene will have time to bury you and say a couple prayers."

Rene kept herself from grinning like an idiot, and kept her lips pursed in a happy smile. Another person was always welcome, and she loved making friends. So far, she had the NCR, Boone, and it wouldn't hurt to add Elijah to her list of friends she was keeping… she just loved people in general, but hated the Legion with that tiny burning coal of hatred inside her big heart.