Other people had it worse than her. She knew that for a fact. But there were some days when Allegra thought that there couldn't possibly a fate worse than the one that she had been bestowed. It had been less than a week since she made an almost full recovery from her little altercation with the man in the checkered suit and it seemed as if trouble was following her like a shadow. Maybe it was.

She wasn't really sure how it all happened.

She had just left Primm, having dealt with the crisis there with relative ease. It wasn't anything her trusty shotgun couldn't handle, but at the end of the day, she could have gone without having to singlehandedly take out a gang of escaped convicts. For some reason, she just felt compelled to help out, even if it meant potentially finding herself on the wrong end of a varmint rifle.

Allegra didn't remember much about anything, really. Well, more like anything that went beyond the past week. All she could recall was the man in the checkered suit. Sometimes when she slept, she could still hear his smug little speech, his words flowing out of his mouth like velvet. She'd wake up, not in a cold sweat but in a fiery rage. She wanted revenge and she wanted it bad.

It didn't take much for her to leave Goodsprings after Doc Mitchell had patched her up, though she did stick around to deal with the Powder Gangers that were causing some trouble. It was really the least she could do. It was a nice enough town with nice enough people, but the Strip called to her louder than any old mattress in a rundown trailer could ever do. She figured she'd go back to visit after she was finished with her business. After all, how hard would it be to track down a guy like the one who shot her?

Not everyone in the Mojave had a fashion sense as tacky as he did.

She didn't have much time to think about insults she could use against the guy. Allegra was much too busy dealing with the affairs of other people to do that. She couldn't resist offering to help people out, regardless of the task at hand. Her next problem was finding a new sheriff for Primm. She couldn't understand why Beagle couldn't have just done it himself, but she figured he was just that sort of guy, the kind to ride on other people's success rather than do anything on his own. He sure seemed that way after she saved his ass from the Bison Steve.

Regardless, Allegra wanted to make sure that the town had a decent law enforcer on duty. She decided it would be best to get Slimm to do the job. After all, he was a Protectron. It was in his programming. It just seemed like the most viable choice. After rewiring a few things, he was fit and ready to serve as Primm's new sheriff.

After that situation was dealt with, Allegra couldn't see any other reason to stick around. The hotel was littered with bodies and she was never one for gambling. Maybe she would've stayed if the roller coaster was still in working order. However, she noted that she should come back for the robot, if she had the time and the resources.

Johnson Nash had directed her to go through Nipton to get to Novac, and so that's where she was headed. She ran into a bit of trouble on her way there - a few ghouls and a handful of Vipers later and Allegra found herself sprawled out under the cover of a cactus, rummaging through one of the Doctor's Bags that Doc Mitchell had given her, fixing up her left leg and her right arm. She used up a stimpak and took a dose of Med-X for good measure.

She decided to be more careful from there on out, sneaking in the shadows to avoid aggravating any potential enemies. She also wanted to conserve some ammo, just in case she ran into any more Vipers on her way between Nipton and Novac. She would probably be able to get some supplies in Nipton and depending on the time of arrival, she would also probably need to stay the night. Allegra didn't like traveling alone at night – maybe she was just paranoid. She was more than capable of taking on the average desert creature.

As she came closer and closer to Nipton, the smell of smoke hung thick in the air. It wasn't hard to miss the dark plumes of smoke that rose from the old buildings in the town ahead of her. She furrowed her brow, checking her Pip-Boy again to make sure she was in the right place. Yep, this was it, this was Nipton. Allegra frowned, pulling out her shotgun, just in case.

As she approached the small town, she noted the flags that now hung around the perimeter. What was going on? Narrowing her eyes, she could make out the figure of a person running towards her. Gripping her gun tighter, she stopped and let the person come to her.

"Yeah! Who won the lottery? I did!" the man exclaimed, wearing nothing but shorts, a shoulder piece and reading glasses.

Allegra squinted at him, wondering if maybe there was something wrong with his head. What lottery? Was he a Powder Ganger? This man just seemed too enthused about life after an apocalypse to be sane. As he spoke, her eyes looked past him, eyeing the smoke rising into the sky behind him. There was a foul stench in the air that tugged at her gut. It was familiar, but she couldn't put her finger on it. Her stomach lurched as she dismissed him, not even bothering to look as he fled.

She took a few tentative steps into town before stopping dead in her tracks.

All she could see was death. Blood seeped into the dry earth and the smell of burning flesh hung over her head. She would've keeled over and tossed her lunch right then and there, but she didn't. Her heartbeat in her chest at an alarming rate as she debated on just skipping Nipton entirely, or staying to find out what had happened.

Allegra chose the latter. Not that she had a choice, really. The main road through the town was barricaded by a bonfire of old tires.

She walked at a slow pace, breathing heavily as her eyes darted towards the makeshift crosses and the men crucified upon them. She felt rage burn inside her as she got closer and closer to town hall. There was no saving them, and maybe that was the part that got to her the most. As fixated on revenge as she was, she still couldn't help the nagging feeling of letting someone down, even if they were dangerous escaped criminals. No one deserved to go like this.

All around her was death. She sneered in disgust. Who could have done this? Why? A part of her wanted to cry and another part wanted to lash out in anger – but something stopped her, or someone, rather.

"Don't worry, I won't have you lashed to a cross like the rest of these degenerates. It's useful that you happened by," the man crooned, his words dripping from his lips like drops of mercury. Cold and deadly, yet still entrancing.

"What the hell are you talking about?" she exclaimed, sneering at the man who was approaching her.

He wore a smug smile on his face. Allegra drew her gun from her back, her finger twitching on the trigger. The man rose a hand up to stop her, continuing his speech. "I want you to witness the fate of the town of Nipton. To memorize every detail. And then, when you move on?"

As he spoke, Allegra surveyed her surroundings. She would be an idiot if she thought that she stood a chance against people who could do this type of damage. She realized then why people spoke so 'fondly' of the Legion – or at least that's what she assumed they were. He was still talking. "I want you to teach everyone the lesson that Caesar's Legion taught here. Especially any NCR troops you run across."

With her suspicions confirmed, she also realized that they weren't going to kill her. Slowly putting her gun back, she pursed her lips, still seething. How could they have done this? Now, she didn't know the next thing about this town, but surely they didn't deserve a fate such as this. Was everyone dead? There was a distinct ache in her chest, but she couldn't put a finger on why.

Allegra didn't want to stick around this place a minute longer, but she felt obligated to ask just what 'lessons' the Legion had taught. She knew it wouldn't be anything good, nor would it be very educational to begin with. The man went on and on, obviously thinking very highly of what he had done. It disgusted her. It filled her with such loathing that she was sure that she was going to lose her composure and do something stupid.

Fists clenched and eyes locked on the ground, Allegra growled. "I've heard enough."

She couldn't stand to hear him go on any longer. He was probably smirking now, glad that she was playing right into his hands. She really didn't have a choice and she really wasn't in the mood to die today. She had a few more bridges to burn first. Allegra moved her gaze to match his, steely blue eyes burning with hate.

"I'll do ask you ask."

He let out a small sound of approval, crossing his arms over his chest. "Then I bid you vale – until we meet again."

She didn't even have a chance to reply before he walked away, going on to other perhaps more important business. Her hand hovered over her shotgun once more before she caught the gaze of one of the other legionaries, throwing spear at the ready. She gulped, looking to the ground as she dismissed herself. Allegra felt a wave of nausea wash over her. There was no way she was going to puke up her guts here. She had her dignity.

She was nearing the edge of town when she finally realized she was being followed. Stopping dead in her tracks, Allegra gulped. She felt a warm breath on her neck. She wanted to throw up even more. "I don't believe I caught your name, profligate."

Her lip twitched. "Allegra Dawn."

There was a long pause.

"Ah, very well. You may address me as Vulpes Inculta, if we are ever to meet again," he said, his voice sending shivers up her spine. "Which I am sure we will.

Allegra remained silent, shaking her head a bit as she moved along, her mouth running dry.

As soon as she was out of sight, she hunched over, spilling the contents of her stomach over the dry Mojave dirt. She hated it. The smell of death. The sight of it. Of course, she had killed before – but at least those deaths were justified. Or at least that's what she told herself. It was all in self defense. Meaningless mass murders were a whole different story. She cringed at the thought of meeting Vulpes again. What would the circumstances be? Somewhere in the deep recesses of her mind, she hoped that it would include her holding a gun to his head. Now, that would be a justifiable death.

Allegra sighed, plopping herself down by a rock. She opened her pack, extracting a bottle of purified water. She swished the warm liquid in her mouth for a moment before spitting it back out, doing her best to rid the taste of vomit from her mouth. Her next stop was obviously Novac, but it seemed like such a ways away. She was hoping to stay in Nipton for the night, but obviously that was out of the question. Shutting her eyes, Allegra tried to recall the events prior to her getting shot, but everything came up blank.

Was this all even worth it?

She had the notion that if she found the guy that shot her as well as the Platinum Chip that everything would suddenly be okay. That was nothing but wishful thinking. Getting a poker chip back from a guy in an ugly suit would only satisfy her for so long. Without any memory of her life before the 'accident', was there really a point?

Heaving another breath, she got up, adjusting her pack. There was no use in thinking negatively. She would get her revenge, or at least die trying. The man in the checkered suit would get what was coming to him – and maybe, if she had time… So would Vulpes. However, she stored her thoughts of revenge against the Legion away. She didn't have the strength to take on an entire army, not alone at least. Of course, getting caught in the middle of a political war was not something she wanted to do.

She scoffed a bit and shook her head. She had wasted too much time already. Once last glance at her map and she was off.