The entire town laid silent as the hour of noon approached. Even the Brahmin and Bighorner stood silent in their pens as the air of upcoming battle loomed overhead.

Steady… Steady. Six thought to himself as the Powder Gangers started to close in on the town front.

Sunny and Delilah waited with their spear wrapped in dynamite at the ready. Their eyes were on Six, waiting for the signal. As the first powder ganger stepped into the crossroad, Six jerked his hand down. Sunny lifted a spear to her shoulder while Delilah lit the fuse. Sunny let loose.

The spear pierced one of the gang members right in the chest and he fell on his back. The rest of the gang hunched over looking for where the spear came from, not noticing the Dynamite attached to it. When they finally did, all hell broke loose as two gangers near their dead comrade were engulfed in the explosion. The rest of the town erupted in a blaze of gunfire as both sides opened up on each other.

Six took a shot at one that dived behind a boulder but missed. He fired again and chipped the rock making the ganger flinch. Six took several moments to wait for him to peek out again. The Ganger did so and quickly fired three shots from his pistol before Six hit him in the neck. The ganger collapsed on the ground clutching his neck, blood spurted from his mouth as he tried to scream unsuccessfully. Six could barely watch as he frantically worked the bolt of his gun. He finished him off with a bullet to the head to end his misery. Meanwhile, Delilah heard a cry for help from the right side of the town as one of the defenders went down. She grabbed her bag and sprinted over to check on him. A bullet struck the civilian in the right arm. Luckily it went clean through and Delilah was able to stop the bleeding with a quick tourniquet and Med-X. If someone else were to get hit somewhere vital she was going to need her few stimpaks.

On the left, Vanessa and Easy Pete did their best to hold their flank. They kept them at bay until three Gangers started to fire wildly at once while advancing on their position keeping them pinned down.

"Sunny! We need a blast over here now!" Easy Pete called out. Sunny spotted the advancing Gangers and readies another spear. She threw it hard and it landed right at the Powder gangers feet, vaporizing them before they had time to react.

On the other side of the firefight Joe Cobb became very concerned with how difficult the raid on the town was becoming. 'There's no way the town could have organized like this so quickly!' He thought to himself. He whistled over to the right side of the street to his partner. The same one that accompanied him earlier in the saloon. Using hand signals, he asked how much of his gang was left. The Punk answered 'Seven'. A second later an explosion erupted on the right side of the saloon. The punk corrected with 'Four'. Cobb spotted where the spears were coming from. He turned and whistled to the other gangers to his left to give them instructions.

Back at the town front the lines were holding and it seemed like the fight might be turning in their favor. Suddenly one of the Gangers started to sprint towards the middle barrier right where Six and Sunny were positioned, holding two sticks of dynamite. Everyone concentrated their fire on him, but before getting gunned down the Ganger managed to throw both sticks over the wood barricade with one of the sticks falling right on the spear stockpile. Barely enough time to react Six grabbed Sunny and shoved her towards the Saloon door. They made it inside but the entire storefront turned to splinters and broken glass. Luckily, most of the defenders inside managed to pick up right where they left off with not much more than some scrapes and bruises. Sunny on the other hand, groaned in pain on the ground.

"Sunny! What's wrong?" Six called out.

"My arm. I think it's dislocated." She sat up trying not to move her left arm. She looked up at six and shouted, "Go! Don't let those bastards get through!" Six did as her was told and rushed back out the door. Cheyenne, who had been hiding in the back of the bar, ran out to tend to Sunny, licking her face to try and comfort her.

Six heard Delilah call out his name as what seemed to be the last of the powder gangers roared madly and started to charge the right flank.. He rushed over, Vanessa and Easy Pete right behind him.

"Sunny's hurt! See if you can help her." Six said to Delilah. She immediately ran back inside the saloon as Six, Vanessa, and Easy Pete took her spot.

"I got this." He whispered to himself as they rushed to the brawl. He flipped his rifle around and swung hard at one of the gangers, that had tackled one of the defenders, in the head. Meanwhile, Vanessa had grabbed another ganger, and in a headlock snapped his neck. Finally, Easy Pete managed to get a shot off and brought down yet another. The last two gangers, knowing they were hopelessly defeated, backed off and ran for their lives. -One of the retreating gangers Vanessa recognized as the one who stole her drink. She raised her assault rifle, lined up the shot, and pulled the trigger. The bullet hit its mark square in his left buttocks. He screamed but kept limping away as fast as he could. She smiled and laughed at the sight as the rest of the militia cheered in victory. Delilah, Sunny, Trudy, Ringo, and the rest of the defenders inside the Saloon emerged as well to take sight of the moment.

Six was the only one not celebrating. Something didn't seem right. He began to look over the bodies on the small battlefield. 'Where is Joe Cobb?' he thought to himself. He started to scan the area down the road for any sign of him. To his right in the corner of his eye he thought he could see movement by the cornfield. He knew it was a very bad idea moving in to investigate, but he was too determined to find him. His rifle at the ready, he scanned the area by the cornfield, then by the housing. Nothing. Suddenly he felt a sharp kick from his left side. He was pushed on the ground, his rifle just out of reach as Joe Cobb himself stood over him with a cowboy style revolver aimed right at his head.

"Should have just stayed out of the way, Paperboy." Cobb chuckled. He pulled back the hammer on his revolver, and pulled the trigger. *Click* His face dropped as he realizes he was out of bullets. Six took the opportunity to kick the revolver out of Cobb's hand and with his other foot kicked him back into the side of a nearby house. Six grabbed his rifle and aimed it right at Cobb's' neck at point blank range.

"Yeah? Well.. Looks like it's time to pay your dues!" Returned Six. Cobb just gave him a confused frown. "Hey, I don't ever do one liners, give me a break." Six finished, and pulled the trigger of his rifle. *Click*

"...Ah crap." He groaned. Cobb took his opportunity and pulled Six's rifle to the wall and kicked him in the groin. Six swayed in pain, loosening his grip on the rifle. Cobb grabbed it and swung it across Six's jaw. He stumbled back as Cobb charged him and tackled him to the ground. Six was ready for it and quickly flipped him over and pushed the rifle across Cobb's neck. In desperation Cobb spotted Six's bandage protecting his head wound and started to press on it, hard. Six screamed in agony as all the pain started rushing back to him. He was so disoriented that he didn't notice Cobb had flipped him back over until he felt himself not being able to breathe. Cobb pushed the rifle down on Six's throat with even greater force than Six could hold back.

"Don't mess with the Powder Gangers! We take what we want, and nobody can stop us... Too bad you won't live long enough to understand that." Cobb intimidated. Six started to black out, for the last time he finalized. Suddenly he felt Cobb loosen pressure on his neck, then slumped over him, motionless. Slowly his vision started to catch up with him as he saw a silhouette rush up towards him. It was Delilah, to Six's relief.

"Oh my god! Six! Are you okay?" She said panicked as she pulled Joe Cobb's body off of him. Six's breathing slowly returned to normal but his throat still ached, preventing him from speaking clearly without it being painful. Instead he nodded.

"C'mon. Let's get you inside." Delilah gently pulled Six onto his feet, putting an arm over her shoulders so he could lean on her. His legs were fine but he was still so disoriented that he didn't think he'd be able to make it back to the Saloon on his own.

"*Cough*.. Did I win?" He asks in a raspy voice after a couple seconds. Delilah just smiled at him with assurance.

The battle was won, but everyone was already at work cleaning up the town. Even Six had gotten to work only taking a small break for his headache to go away, against Delilah's medical recommendation. She still made him sit still so she could resew a couple new stitches to his head wound that opened up again, thanks to Cobb.

Trudy insisted that Six should stay outside the saloon while he helped Ringo, Chet, and the other settlers clean up just the town front. Amazingly all of the defenders survived with only four injuries including Six. The other's being a gunshot wound through a settler's arm, glass shards with another, and Sunny's dislocated shoulder. Doc Mitchell managed to walk down with the help of a cane to take over patching everybody up. People were debating on the morality of giving the attackers a proper burial, but Six had insisted. His argument being, 'it's the humane thing to do'. They settled on a ridge just to the west outside the cemetery to start digging the large grave. Everybody was silent during the process. Nobody knew any of their names, aside from Joe Cobb, so the graves were largely left unmarked.

By the time they had finished, it was around 7:30pm according to Six's Pip-Boy. His stomach ached and he realized he didn't even have time to eat anything all day with the running around that he did. It was amazing what he accomplished in one day he thought. Walking back to the Saloon with everybody else he spotted the Securitron Victor strolling along the road as if nothing had happened.

"Hey Victor! didn't see you around lately. You missed all the action!" Six shouted from a distance to get his attention.

"Howdy there Six! What action did I go and miss?" Victor asked as he spun around on his wheel.

"The... Powder Gangers. they attacked and we fought them off. Didn't you hear all the gunfire?" Six said, taken aback quite a bit.

"Really? Didn't hear a thing. I guess I dozed off there for a minute."

"Dozed off? How does a robot 'Doze off'?"

"Dunno... All I can say is I did. Although, that's never happened before." Victor scratched the side of his screen, probably simulating the human gesture of scratching his head thinking.

"Hmm... maybe something's malfunctioning inside of you. There may be data corruption in one of your memory chips." It's curious that Six came to that conclusion that quickly. It's possible it was a missing link to his amnesia.

"Let me take a look." He offered.

"All right, but put everything back the way you found it!" Victor said. He let Six hop up onto his wheel and open up the back of his chassis. He saw a wire plug that seems to fit into his Pip-boy. 'Whatever happened, it should show up in the system log' Six thought to himself. Once he plugged the chord into his pipboy, the screen changed to a jumbled mess of computer code, but through that garbled mess something caught his eye.

"Interesting. It looks like an override command was activated."

"Override? That can't be right. Probably just a malfunctioning tube somewhere"

"Uh, no I don't think that's it. Override Command 16-Delta. Does that mean anything to you?"

"Never heard of it." Victor 'Shrugged'.

"Figures. Someone shut you down deliberately, but I didn't see a record of who." Six unplugged the wire and put everything back the way he found it before closing the Securitron's hood.

"That's a puzzle, all right. I'm sure it's nothing." Victor concluded in a voice of indifference.

"Victor, is there-" Six started before he heard a voice call out him. It was Delilah.

"Hey Six. You getting hungry? let's go grab a bite to eat!" She called out. Six's stomach answered her before he had a chance to.

"Okay! that sounds good!" He waved at her, then turned to Victor.

"I'll catch up with you later. I really need to 'refuel' before I shut down myself." He joked.

"I get ya pardner. See you around!" Victor waved, then went along with his business as he strolled along the town.

Delilah was already inside when Six walked up to the saloon. It sounded like the whole town was inside as well. He wondered if there was even going to be any food left by the time he got there. When he opened the door and stepped in he was greeted with a loud cheer and applause from absolutely everybody. The sudden attention caught him off guard but he smiled kindly and thanked people as he passed until he was stopped by Trudy and Ringo.

"I... I don't understand." Was all Six could muster. Trudy was the first to speak.

"All of us here want to thank you for what you did for us. You were right. those Powder Gangers weren't going to stop unless we did something. I see that now." She said humbly. Ringo was next.

"I think you deserve this. These are technically Crimson Caravan funds, but I know they'll understand once I explain things." Ringo handed him a cap bag. It was filled to the brim with approximately 100 caps. Six just stood there dumbfounded.

"Ringo I, I can't accept this." He said after a couple seconds.

"Take it. Your a hero! I owe you more than that, though, so look me up at the Crimson Caravan camp up in New Vegas if you ever visit."

"Well I don't know about a hero, I mean you guys did all the work-" Six started.

"Oh just accept it and let's party!" The voice of an already buzzed Vanessa blurted out from across the room. The rest of the town cheered in agreement, and the celebration picked up where it left off. There was laughter, and then dancing once a guitarist sat down on an overturned sarsaparilla crate, and played a song Six recognized as Blue Moon.

Before the crowd drifted him away, Six went to talk to Trudy. He was suppose to ask her where his attackers went before the whole Powder Ganger incident came up.

"Trudy, I've been needing to ask you, do you remember anything about the men who attacked me. Where they were headed maybe." Trudy thought for a second before she answered.

"They were having some kind of argument about it, but the guy in the checkered coat kept shushing them. Now I didn't hear exactly, but the leader did mention something about the Strip to his buddies."

"The Strip?"

"Yeah, it sounded like they came in from the north through Quarry Junction. If that's the case I can't say I blame them for not wanting to go back."

"Why's that?" Six cocked his head.

"That whole area's overrun with the kind of critters that just get mad if you shoot 'em. Merchants avoid that whole stretch of I-15 like it's radioactive. Which it could be for all I know. If that fella wants to get there and avoid the 15, he'd have to go east by taking Highway 93 up"

"Thanks Trudy. That's very helpful."

"Not a problem. Now get going, have fun. And go get something to eat for goodness sake!" Trudy gave him a quick hug and was off to tend to the bar.

"Will do Trudy." Six smiled and went to do as she said. He could only move very slowly to try and find a place to sit down. He was getting stopped constantly by townsfolk wanting to shake his hand or pat him on the back, even one of the children asked for his autograph. I was a bit awkward considering he didn't even know his own name. He ended up just writing 'Courier 6'.

Moving along slowly he saw Delilah at the bar in one of the booths. He realized that she had been by his side practically the whole day, and he hadn't even had the chance to get to know her. He started to make his way over only to be stopped once again. This time by Sunny who greeted him with with a big hug. Cheyenne at her feet, as usual wagged her tail and panted.

"You did great! That'll teach the Powder Gangs to avoid Goodsprings." She said. After letting go she shrunk back to her height after using the tips of her toes.

"Like I keep saying, it wasn't just me. You did great with the dynamite by the way!" He noticed that Sunny had her left arm in a sling. "Uh how's the arm anyway?"

"It's fine. Just a little bruised is all. Thanks for saving my hide back there."

"Hey, couldn't just leave you there and make me do all the work." Sunny smirked at that.

"I feel a bit silly though since the only other guy here in a sling has a hole in his arm." She nudged over towards the settler across the room who also had his arm in a sling. Only it was the right side. "*Sigh* But that Delilah is so stubborn."

"I've kind of noticed that." Six agreed. He looked over at Delilah, who glanced up at the right moment to meet his eyes. She made a little smile but turned away quickly.

"She thinks your cute, by the way." Sunny raised an eyebrow in a hint. That got Six's attention.

"Seriously? Did she say that?"

"No. But she and I practically sisters. I know when something's up."

"But, she doesn't even know me that well. And I don't know much about her either."

"Well, I think there's enough time right now to get started." That made Six both eager and knotted up inside at the same time. An odd combination. Sunny stood up straight after leaning up against the door frame the entire time

"Well, I'm gonna get a bite to eat and make my rounds. See ya around Six."

"Uh, See ya." Six was at a standstill for a moment. He had worked and fought alongside Delilah throughout the whole day, but now he was a bit nervous to approach her.

"Hey there hero! wanna join me for dinner?" Delilah greeted him. It didn't even register in Six's mind that he had already started to walk over to her until he was right at the table.

"Uh, yeah. that sounds great!" He took a seat across from her. The brief moment of awkward silence hit them even louder than the bustling throughout the rest of the Saloon.

"Uh, how's it going?" Six asked first.

"*Sigh* Exhausted. But hey, were alive. That's something... How about you?" Delilah answered back and gave a weary smile.

"A bit sore... all over... So I never really got around to knowing more about you yet."

"Aw, that's sweet! What did you want to know?"

"Well, where did you grow up? didn't you say you were from California?".

"No, My parents were from California. When Dad met Mom, they decided to come out here make a life for themselves in the Mojave. They found Goodsprings and saw it as their own little piece of heaven. I was actually born here."She pointed her finger down on the table.

"How about your Uncle Sulik? Which side of the family was he from?"

"Uncle Sulik was my dad's best friend, and were like brothers. But not really by blood. See, Dad was raised near tribals in California, and had a close relationship with them. Uncle Sulik came with them, to protect them."

"Wow. That's really something. They must have had a real bond for him to leave his tribe to be with your parents."

"Yeah, it was very swell. He said something about being 'bound' to him. Sulik treated me just like family though, and taught me alot about tribal ways, like fighting with sticks, spear throwing, traditional rituals, but what mainly stuck with me was his tribal medicine.-"

"Who's hungry!" A voice said loudly, that nearly made Six jump. It was a waitress that had come around with a rolling cart with prepared steaks, and bowls of chopped up fruit and vegetables. The smell of the Brahmin steak made Six's mouth water.

"Oh Sammy that looks so good!" Delilah said gleefully.

"I'll be sure to tell the chef! And I know what you like Delilah. One steak medium rare, no fat, and extra prickly pears on the side." Sammy said cheerfully as she took out two dishes on a second shelf already prepared for Delilah. "And how about you Mr. Six."

"I'll have one medium well, and a fruit bowl."

"You got it" Sammy picked out the largest steak of the group and set it down in front of him. Six's eyes widened as it was the biggest meal he'd probably seen in months. Or at least from what he could remember.

"This is really fresh meat Sammy! Where's it from?" Delilah asked between mouthfuls.

I'm sorry to say it's old Betsy. Damn Powder Gangers took her down during the fight." Said Sammy with a sad face.

"Oh no! How's Old Man Larry holding up?" Delilah asked, with a hand over her mouth in surprise.

"He's a little broken up, but I think he's doing a bit better knowing she's not going to waste."

"Well, can you give him my sympathies please?"

"Will do. He'll be better before you know it." Sammy looked the two of them over one last time, " Well I'll just leave you two alone now. Enjoy." Six could tell Delilah felt more sympathetic rather than nauseated at the thought of Betsy with the way she was looking at her steak. 'That's the way the wasteland is. Take what you can and just keep moving forward' Six thought to himself. He decided to change the subject back to what they were discussing. Mainly to keep their mind off Poor Betsy.

"So... After all that stuff you learned from your uncle you still don't consider yourself a tribal?" Six asked finally.

"Not really, I mean I learned almost everything there is to know about the Crag, but mainly, he was just Uncle Sulik."

"So what about your parents? Are they still around?"

"No... They're both, 'at the Clearing' as Uncle Sulik would say." Delilah drifted her eyes downward toward her meal as she thought about her parents.

"Oh... I'm sorry... How did they die, if you don't mind me asking?" Six sympathized. 'Six you idiot! so much for brightening up the mood.' He thought to himself

"Dad was killed by Radscorpions about three years ago. He was coming back from a trading run, and he must have walked into a nest of the big fuckers. Uncle Sulik searched for him when he didn't come back on schedule. But he found him too late... The poison had run it's course. It was on my 18th birthday."

"And your Mother?"

"She... went to 'the Clearing' when I was very little. I don't have alot of memories about her."

"I'm so sorry. How did she go?"

"Mitchell's AutoDoc said 'Pancreatic cancer'... I'd rather not really talk about it if you don't mind."

"Okay. I understand... So uh, what's 'The Clearing'?" Delilah seemed to cheer up more to get off the subject.

"Well. According to the Crag, When we all leave this life we meet those we loved at the Clearing at the End of the Path. I like it. I think it adds some dignity to death."

"I like it too. Gives something to look forward too at the end."

"Yeah, it does... So, how about you? Do you remember where you're from?" Six didn't have any actual memories come to him on the subject. Just a few details.

"I remember I grew up in Oregon, I... Think I was born there. There are some spotty memories here and there."

"What do you remember?" Delilah asked even more inquisitively. Six thought more. Finally something seemed to spark in his mind.

"Well, I don't remember a whole lot... I think I had a sibling. and something about my mother that makes me feel, sad. It's all coming to me very slowly but I think it'll come back with time. I'm sure my childhood would have had been filled with wanting to be a 'Wasteland Warrior', or an explorer." Delilah let out a small giggle hearing that.

"You're funny. How about later? Do you remember anything after that?"

"Uh, I think I wandered around for a couple years. Hitchhiked with caravans, delivered packages, that sort of stuff. Then came out here because there was a call for couriers for a special delivery with good pay. That's when I got robbed, and took a shot to the head by some high roller in a checkered suit. The rest is history." Six finished.

"Wow... that's one hell of a journey. Makes my life seem boring in comparison."

"Nonsense. You've got alot going for you here."

"Like what?" Delilah asked almost sarcastically.

"Well... Your a doctor. You help everyone out."

"I'm only a nurse at best. But if I'm going to be a doctor one day, I think I'll need more experience than what Doc Mitchell can show me here."

"You have community here. That's something to be proud of."

"I guess. But, ever since I lost Uncle Sulik, it hasn't been the same. I think I need to strike out, and find my own destiny." She shrugged. A long pause hung over them as they finished their meals. Six pondered for a few minutes while chewing on a piece his steak for longer than he needed to. An idea struck him and he put down his fork with a sharp clang which got Delilah's attention.

"I've got it." He said suddenly.

"Got what?"

"Well, I'm planning on going after the people who attacked me. And I'll bet the shirt off my back they're headed to New Vegas." Six shifted in his seat slightly before he continued. "If, by any chance you'd feel up to joining me, I'm sure there's a 'Followers of the Apocalypse' community over there. They're the most knowledgeable people I can think of when it comes to medical practices. So... What do you say? I could use the company." Six smiled as he watched Delilah's eyes widen. She stayed silent for a couple seconds in disbelief.

"I... I would love to! I think... Wait, no. I-I can't. I can't leave Doc Mitchell when he needs me." She slumped back down in her seat.

"Tell you what. Just go and ask him. I think I saw him wander off over there. It never hurts to ask. And you've got nothing to loose." Six nudged his head behind her to the end of the bar stand where Doc Mitchell was perched on his cane talking to some of the other townsfolk.

"Okay... I will! Delilah said as she bounced out of her seat. "Wish me luck!" She took a deep breath and went to talk to the Doc. Six watched them both, as he tried to figure how the conversation was going. He saw Doc Mitchell pause in conversation and leaned on his cane as he glanced over at Six. After a couple seconds he said something to Delilah and nodded his head, to which she reached out and hugged him eagerly before running back to the table.

"He said yes! Oh my God this is exactly the opportunity I've been waiting for!"

"That's great!" Six feels around his pocket and found the six caps left over from his cap bag.

"I think this is a call for a toast." Six said as he stood up to get a couple drinks.

"I agree! Just uh... I try and stay away from alcohol if you don't mind."

"You got it." He darted to the counter and traded his six caps in for a couple bottles of Sunset Sarsaparilla.

"You read my mind, that's my favorite soda!" Delilah said. Six opened up both bottles and handed one to her.

"To New Vegas we go!" Delilah called out. Before they could clank their bottles they heard another voice behind them.

"Hey! You guys headin' to Vegas? Got room for a- *hic* a third?" It was Vanessa, although this time she was alot more than buzzed now.

"Uh, yeah. Did you want to come along?" Six answered a bit taken back.

"Hell yeah! I've been needin to see someone there for a while now! *hic*" Vanessa slurred as she made her way to the booth still holding her half empty whisky bottle. If Six didn't scoot over she'd be in his lap.

"Alright then. Welcome aboard, uh. Vanessa, right?"

"That's me! Who are you again?"

"You can just call me Six."

"Just... Six? *Pfft* Whatever floats your boat man." Vanessa smirked.

"Well then. To New Vegas, and to New Friends!" Delilah started the toast again. They clanked bottles and drank with no interruptions this time.

"If you need a place to stay for the night Six, My couch is very comfy." Delilah offered.

"You know what I just might take you up on that. Let's plan to be here tomorrow at... 8:00am."

"Sounds good to me!" Delilah agreed.

"Rock on, my dear, weird new friends!" Cheered Vanessa. She took another swig of her bottle to finish off her drink. Not a second later she plopped over on the ground, completely passed out. Both Six and Delilah just stared at her for a second.

"She'd better not be dead." Delilah finally said.

"I think we'll know for sure by tomorrow." Six got up out of the booth to leave with Delilah. But not before he hoisted Vanessa off the ground and into the booth to sleep the whisky off.

"I gotta tell Sunny!" Delilah said, then fished a key out of her pocket. "Go ahead and make yourself at home, I'll be back in a bit!" With that, Delilah was out the door to spread the good news.

Authors Notes:

Betsy the Brahmin: Betsy was originally suppose to be a type of pack mule in the original New Vegas game but was cut from the final game.

Sorry I'm a bit late. See you all next Chapter!