"The past is strapped to our backs. We do not have to see it; we can always feel it." -Mignon McLaughlin

Things were pretty good until the visions started.

Hydra, for one, enjoyed her position of limited power but astronomical fame in the Legion. Everyone knew her name, if not her face, and having a bullet wound in ones head certainly did wonders for ones renown.

So, things were pretty good.

And then she started seeing things. She would rather die before admitting it, but they frightened her. Flashes of white buildings, a ruined museum, American flags and for some reason a recurring image of light coming over an edge, or a spotlight being revealed. It felt like there was something nagging in the back of her head that wanted to come through. But she would be damned if she let it.

-O-

The merchant kneeled before Caesar, besieging him to put a more strict guard on the roads by his farm after several brahmin had been killed by raiders. Caesar listened to his pleas with the neutral pose of a dictator. Lucius and Vulpes stood on either side of the throne in stoic but bored formality, watching the ongoing negotiation without a single complaint despite the burning sun. Behind the latter, true to her nickname, Hydra stood in Vulpes' shadow with Hades—a mongrel that followed her with unreal loyalty—at her heel. Several Praetorian guards stood around as well, as their only duty was to protect the Caesar.

The farmer was granted an extra patrol in his town for three of his brahmin and a portion of his corn harvest, which the farmer felt was more than generous and adamantly agreed to. He was escorted out of the tent, and the assembled relaxed from their formal positions. Lucius walked back into the tent, intent on poring over maps.

"It's so hot…" Hydra grumbled, putting a hand up to block the sun.

"Quiet." Vulpes muttered. It was bad enough she was a woman in the Legion. She couldn't just act however she wanted.

"You are feeling rather cheery, bone vir." She replied, giving Hades a rough but affectionate slap to the side.

"It would serve you well to know when to hold your tongue." He said, very quietly. "Not all here are so forgiving as me when it concerns your gender."

"Well, it's good that you're on my side, then." She smirked back, earning reprimanding look in response. "I know that, bone vir. I know more than most when it comes to women in the Legion."

"Then demonstrate it." Vulpes said lowly.

Hydra shrugged. "I will consider it. For now, I believe I need to feed this mutt that's been following me."

"Very well, go." He made a shoo-ing motion with his hand. "Return before sundown. I have an assignment that needs doing."

"Of course, bone vir." She bowed to her superior, and then to Caesar. "Vale."

Hydra walked with no rush out of the tent, Hades panting contentedly alongside her. Her tent was in the training grounds, for she found the sound of clashing blades and the smell of dust to both be appealing. It was small but still slightly larger than most. A shield with a green two-headed snake was over the door. She paused at the door and looked over her shoulder. The tent adjacent fluttered.

Hydra stepped around her tent, going to the back by the Fort's walls. She saw the flicker of a shadow through the canvas of the tent, and crooked a finger. There was a pause, and then a young, skinny legionary emerged from the back door.

He stared at her shamelessly for a moment before starting and bowing. "Salve."

"Isn't there something you should be doing?" Hydra asked sternly.

"Yes, of course." The legionary, who was dressed in the armour of a recruit, seemed to be a pretty green one at that. He bowed again. "I…heard rumours of a woman in the Legion, and wished to see if they were true."

"Do you know the punishment for insubordination and neglecting your duty?"

"…Yes. Forgive me." He bowed a third time, looking anxious to get away.

"Do not worry yourself so." Hydra said comfortingly, but the ruse was dropped as her hand flashed up. The recruit drew back with a breath of surprise, holding his cheek. Three parallel scratches now cut across his face, leaking a tiny bit of blood, but otherwise harmless. "I believe you have paid a sufficient price. Now, get out of my sight before I loose the hound on you." Hades growled as though to make a point.

The recruit held a hand to his cut face, apparently shocked he was still alive. "Of course, er, domina. Thank you, domina." He backed away a few steps before turning and striding hurriedly away.

Hydra stalked back into her tent with a whoosh of cloth. The tent was basic, with a bed, footlocker, and two small chests for armour and food. The only remarkable thing there was the shelf stacked full with small vials of greenish, watery liquid. She took a flask from her belt and emptied one of the vials into it.

"Cheers." She said to Hades, who glowered at her as she drank her toxic mixture. It burned her tongue and then her throat, but tasted spicy and generally good. Catching the dog's moody look, she sighed. "Fine, you greedy bastard." She reached into the food chest and brought out a bloody brahmin steak that she unwrapped from its newspaper covering and tossed at Hades. He dug into the meat with vicious gusto, tearing apart the scarlet muscles.

"How long do you give the kid?" She asked him, sitting on the bed. The mongrel paid her no mind, snapping down a piece of fat. Outside, there were surprised yells and scuffling. "Ah," Hydra said. "I would say no time at all."

She stood and walked out, observing the scene going on. The young recruit was convulsing on the ground, whitish foam bubbling at his mouth. A few Praetorians were calling out for "the medicine slave wench" and watching the dying man with the grim faces of those who had seen many die before.

It didn't take long for Siri to arrive with healing powders and salves. Hydra stepped out, knowing their medicine could do nothing against the poison now coursing through his blood. She waltzed casually away, observing her sharp fingernails and licking the bloodied ones off. Ahead of her, she could see Vulpes standing outside of Caesar's tent.

Hydra sighed, scratching her scalp. Hades cantered up to her, his mouth stained with blood and strings of meat, a bone in his large teeth. She walked up to Vulpes, who crossed his arms in clear disapproval. "What did you do?"

"Nothing of import. Some insubordinate whelp was following me, so I…clawed him." Hydra wiggled her fingers. "Radscorpian toxin. Very useful."

"You…clawed him." Vulpes sighed and ran a hand down his face, muttering something about women. "Very well, very well…just take your assignment and let this situation blow over. You know of Martina Groesbeck?"

"The informant girl, yes."

"She has been confronted with some trouble concerning the Omertas. This is a…basic mission for someone of your talents, but you need to find her on the Strip and assure that they do not kill her. She's staying, to my knowledge, at Vault 22."

Hydra resisted the urge sigh. "Is that all, bone vir?"

"Watch your tone. Yes, that is all. Be on your way before you get pinned down for yet another crime you have committed here."

Hydra looked like she was about to retort, but stopped herself at the thought of scores of lashes. Jaw tight, she bowed. "Yes, bone vir. Vale."

"Vale." As she left, a Praetorian stepped out of Caesar's tent and quietly said something to Vulpes, who disappeared back inside.

Hydra stalked out of the camp, past the troops' tents. She passed the female slaves, walking heavily with huge weights of rubbish on their backs up and down the massive hill. Through the drawbridge and across the trench to the boatman, whose name she had never cared to learn due to her hatred for him.

"Salve." She greeted coldly, and got a cold reply in return.

"Salve, woman. Take your weapons before we depart." He nodded to a Praetorian guard, who handed her the machete and the .22 pistol she used. Hydra nodded in thanks and followed the boatman down the pier.

She stepped into the boat and sat with an intensely bored expression. Hades bounded in after her, making himself comfortable on her lap despite his massive size. However, the boatman had not yet gotten in, and was rather watching the hill leading up to the Fort. Hydra turned to look just in time for Vulpes to climb into the boat with her.

"Salve…" She greeted in mild surprise, patting Hades' back so he would lie down. "To what do I owe the pleasure?"

"Caesar has decided that after your little…stunt, I am to accompany you on your assignments until you are no longer suspected of being an enemy of the Legion." Vulpes looked even unhappier about this than her.

"I am…suspected of being an enemy? Me, since when?" Hydra asked incredulously.

"Since the boy recruit makes it your fifth kill in the Fort of one of our own. Since you were a woman. Since you were an agent trained in subterfuge and secrecy. Since you rose through the Legion so quickly. Caesar has many reasons not to trust you, so I am to accompany you."

"This is ridiculous." Hydra folded her arms crossly. The boat had begun to move, drifting across the lake. "Like I am a child who needs a caretaker. It is insulting."

"It was what you deserve." Vulpes said sternly. "Being my second and a skilled fighter is what has kept you alive."

"I would never betray Caesar and blaspheme the almighty Mars." Hydra vowed passionately, glaring at him. "It is absurd to even suggest it."

"It is not my choice." He replied, making a motion for her to lower her voice. "If it was, I would not be here."

She made a grumbling noise, looking to the shore of the river as it grew larger and closer. Cottonwood Cove was visible, the little tents and buildings defining themselves. "Bloody mad is what it is."

The boat drifted up to the pier, and Hydra climbed out before it stopped moving, making it rock and splash in the filthy water. Vulpes followed her, leaving the boatman. She walked briskly away, tapping furiously at her Pip-Boy. New Vegas was at least a day away, moving fast, and it didn't improve her mood. Hades, happy to be away from the Fort, ran ahead and then back, jumping around her in excitement. She snapped her fingers and pointed ahead with a quick whistle, and the hound was off in a flash of ragged fur.

Once out of sight, Hydra turned back on Vulpes so quick she almost snapped her heels. "Pardon me, bone vir, but I must speak my mind." At his nod, she continued. "I am no traitor nor will I ever be, but outside of the Legion I live a very different life."

"Of course." Vulpes said, as though it were understood. "All frumentarii are skilled in disguise and infiltration. Even I take on the guise of a dissolute citizen when the need arises."

"That is not what I mean. I am a different person entirely. Things are expected of me when I re-enter the world. There are…friends I must see and places where I am not known as the Hydra you see now. I tell you this so you do not mistake this other person as who I am and decide to report this "treachery" to Caesar. And my persona begins with this." She held out her wrist, where the Pip-Boy was glowing green.

Vulpes listened to this patiently and then said, "Why would I suspect you of treachery in this endeavor?"

Hydra looked briefly amused. "Knowing the Legion, they would suspect me of witchcraft. It's in reality no more than complex science. Now, put your hand on my shoulder." At his look, she sighed and rolled her eyes. "Just hold my shoulder and don't let go for anything." She whistled loudly, and Hades came tearing back toward her over a crest. He sprinted up and put his paws on her belly. Hydra wrapped an arm around him and used her other hand to tap the Pip-Boy.