Disclaimer: I don't own anything you recognize. Fallout New Vegas belongs to the respective owners.

Savior

Prologue

Fortification Hill was always a busy place, even on the boring days. Even with the sun setting behind the crimson colors, people were still milling about. Even though the Legion hadn't been here long, you couldn't tell. Red banners were everywhere, and the soldiers were getting ready for the upcoming invasion, set for the next couple of days. Even the slaves were more chatty than usual, probably pleased with the aspect of less beatings.

Elise sighed and ran a hand through her red hair, taking a break from the shirt she was mending. Joshua was always ripping through his clothes while training the soldiers. She was also a pro at getting blood stains out, although that wasn't her favorite chore.

Being enslaved by the legion at 17 was difficult, especially given her age. When Caesar took over her small tribe in Northern Arizona, she hadn't much of a choice. Her parents were killed fighting to save the tribe from annihilation. Most of the girls her age, her childhood friends, were taken immediately. They became wives of the higher soldiers and, later, mothers to the new generation of the Legion.

At first, Elise refused to submit. She, like so many others, was beaten until she could no longer stand. As the scars on her back healed, Elise was put to kitchen and mending duty, which suited her just fine. She slept with the other female slaves, and she hardly ever saw one of her "masters".

She grew close to an elderly woman named Nina, who grew up in the ruins of Flagstaff, where Caesar had set up his first capitol. Nina would tell her of her childhood while they were cutting vegetables or mending clothes and her stories let Elise slip away from the harsh reality for awhile. She was almost, dare she say it, content. The stability wouldn't last.

When delivering mended armor to one of the members of the Praetorian guard, Elise moved very quickly, keeping her head down and bowing out of the room almost immediately. She was not, however, expecting to see the Legate and Caesar's second in command, Joshua Graham, standing in the door. She stammered out an apology and backed into the Praetorian, who backhanded her. Joshua promptly shot him in the face.

He took her as his wife not long after, and her life slipped back into a tentative schedule. In many ways, he saved her. Her life in the kitchen would more than likely have stopped and she would have been used as a pack brahmin on their migration to the Mojave Wasteland. They had been "married" for about four years and had grown close as a couple. Joshua, who serious by nature, now relaxed in her presence. Despite his wicked temper and brutal violence with others, he never so much as raised his voice to her.

Elise looked at the white shirt she was stitching affectionately. She missed her freedom more than anything else, but life with Joshua was relatively easy. She could move through the camp without worrying about being whipped. Being the wife of Malpais Legate, the soldiers never so much as looked her in the eye.

A rustle that signified the tent flap being lifted broke her from her thoughts Elise turned out of habit. Joshua stepped in, his white shirt and jeans speckled with blood and sweat. Rolling her eyes, Elise put the finished shirt down and stood, her hands on her hips. "If you keep insisting on covering yourself with blood, you need to start wearing black."

Joshua stopped and regarded her with those bright blue eyes of his, and for a second Elise thought she had finally over stepped her line. However, the corner of his mouth quirked into a smirk. "If I did that, what would you do all day?" He ran his hand over his short cropped hair and began unbuckling the bullet-proof vest he always wore.

"Who knows what I could do with my time if I wasn't constantly scrubbing your clothes clean." Elise deftly caught the shirt that Joshua had thrown at her and turned back to her pile that she needed to finish. She fought the urge to roll her eyes again at the ever-growing pile.

Joshua's arms around her made her jump, the heat of his bare skin against her back startling her. "You know we're leaving soon." It wasn't a question as much as a statement. Elise nodded and her husband rested his chin on her shoulder. "No matter what you do, keep this with you." Something metal pressed into her hands and Elise frowned.

It was a .45 Auto Pistol, Joshua's gun of choice. Putting the pistol on the table, she turned in Joshua's arms so she was facing him. "Is there something I should know?" Elise looked into those bright blue eyes, his intensity seeming to radiate into her. "Am I even allowed to have this?"

That brought a deep chuckle from him. "Even if you weren't, would anyone dare tell me different?"

Elise smiled at him, ignoring the pang she always got when he reminded her what his job was. "I doubt it." She studied his face, and knew that even by Legion standards, Joshua was handsome. She also knew that beyond the beauty was raw cruelty and a lot of anger.

The man in question quirked an eyebrow at her. "What is it? Something is bothering you."

She shook her head. "It's nothing. Just thinking too much, I guess."

Joshua rolled his eyes and kissed her forehead. "Get some sleep, Caesar's victory is coming and we will all need our energy."

The battle was waging and Elise felt sick to her stomach. The last she had heard, they had won the Dam and they were chasing the New California Republic back to Boulder City. That had been days ago.

Being a former slave, she was knew quite a few people, and she got most of her news from Nina. Since Nina worked in the kitchen, when the soldiers would come and go, she heard everything. Elise visited her a couple times a day, especially when Joshua was gone. She was lonely.

It made her sick to think of it. No matter how much she cared about Joshua, she hated the Legion. She hated Caesar. They destroyed her family, her friends, her everything. Even Joshua, the calm and beautiful man she came to care for, he was famously brutal in battle and training sessions alike.

Her tent flap opened and she quickly stood, her sad smile fading when she saw two Praetorian guards advancing to her. "What is going on?" She backed up but the man grabbed her and drug her out of the tent. She fought and dug her feet into the dirt, trying to kick out at them. "Let me go!"

The guards drug her kicking into the arena area where they threw her into the dirt. She glared up through her mussed hair at Caesar, who was sitting in his usual chair, but looking older than ever. "Elise..Graham." The man sneered at her. "It has been decided since your husband's failure to capture the Hoover Dam, you will also be punished."

Elise got to her feet and staggered backwards. "What? What are you talking about? Where's Joshua?" She had never called him that in public, but panic was setting in.

Caesar narrowed his dark eyes at her husband's name. "He is dead. I saw to it myself. You will be crucified and you will hang there until you are dead. Failure is not tolerated in my Legion."

Elise's heart felt like it was going to beat out of her chest and tears stung her yes.

Crucifixion entailed being whipped until you bled and then being tied to a cross. You either died from thirst or your wounds. Not only was it an extremely painful way to go, but it was also humiliating.

Elise lost track of how long she was there. A couple hours at most. It was the dead of night. Caesar had watched the entire thing in silence, as they whipped and beat her, then as she was put on a cross and hung by the entrance to the Fort.

Her head swimming from blood loss, she passed in and out of consciousness. When she was awake, she wished she was dead. The pain in her heart easily replaced the pain her body felt. Joshua was dead, covered in pitch, set ablaze and thrown into the Grand Canyon. The soldier gleefully told her everything as he bound her to the cross. He was a failure. He had failed the Legion.

Elise gulped back a sob. In some ways, she was happy. The Legion would not control the Mojave, not today. More families like hers would have a chance to survive. Freedom would still reign here, and as a slave, that is what she wished for the most.

Because in the Legion, everyone was a slave. Joshua was a slave, the Praetorians are slaves, the children. Even if you had the illusion of power, one slip up and you would be back at the bottom again. Or, in Joshua's case, dead. But, in death, he was finally free.

Elise felt herself slipping back into the abyss until a noise to her right startled her. She blinked wearily and begged her eyes to focus as a figure was rapidly approaching her. "Elise?" The voice was hushed, but she recognized it.

"Nina?" She winced at the sound her throat made, raw from the screams the whip had torn from her. "What are you doing here? Get back before someone sees you!"

Nina scoffed, her weathered face turning into a scowl. Her brown eyes regarded her warmly. "Girl, with all the confusion your husband caused, no one is missing me, I promise." She pulled out a knife. "Just like they won't be missing you." Nina started cutting the bonds around Elise's feet and in moments they were free.

"If you get caught-"

Nina hushed her and moved to her hands, making quick work of those, too. Elise pitched forward onto the dirt and gagged, but Nina was pulling her up and pushing a bag into her hands. "You need to get out of here now, before they realize what I'm doing. There's food and supplies in the bag, including some of the clothes I swiped from your tent before they burnt it. Oh" she cut herself off and reached into one of the pockets of her dress and pulled out something silver. The .45 Joshua gave her. She pushed it into Elise's hands. "You'll need this, too. Run until you can't run anymore. Right across the river is Cottonwood Cove, the NCR is there. They'll set you right."

Elise was shaking, the fall from the cross tore some of the clotted wounds open and she felt the blood dripping down her back. "What about you? Come with me!"

Nina pulled her into a hug and held her there, kissing her hair. "No, girl. I'm old, my time here is almost done. You are so young, and it's time you get to live. I'm giving you a fresh start."

New tears stung Elise's eyes as she slowly pulled away from Nina. "Thank you, so much. You've always taken care of me."

Nina smiled kindly. "Family doesn't just mean blood-relations, you know. Now, go. And keep that gun with you no matter what. Your man was many things, but he did care for you. I could see it. Go!"

Elise nodded and pushed the gate open, running to the river. She didn't look back.

A/N: Sorry if this is kind of scatter-brained. I had so many ideas for this in my head and they kept trying to come out all at once! I wasn't a big fan of the original story, so this my newest attempt. This prologue came out a lot longer than I had originally intended, but Elise's back story is extremely important. So, if you like it and feel like it, let me know!