This is going to be a longer chapter from the last two in order to make up for their shortness. Also, I thought I would address that the relationship between Vulpes and the Courier will be fluffy. That being said, please enjoy reading this longer chapter!
"So, uhhh…"
Silence hung in the air around Vulpes Inculta, Juno the Courier, and Cursor Lucullus like a disease. The unorthodox humidity in the air did little to make the silence any more comfortable. Juno had been the first to break it, a little bothered by the quiet archetype they both held themselves to keep. She huffed and sighed, stretching out her legs across the barge. Anything to get either man to speak up.
"Is there something you'd like to say, Courier?" Vulpes asked, glancing over at her.
Her pale skin was protected by her long, thin coat and a wide rimmed NCR Ranger's hat. The dark orange color of both her coat and the hat against the background of the desert almost camouflaged her. This must have helped her when she traveled alone, hiding her from the sights of predators and people that might want to kill her. She had enough experience in the field to know how to do that much.
"Just trying to find a way to make conversation. Its awful quiet and the ride to Cottonwood Cove is long."
"Then speak your mind, if there's anything on it."
Vulpes watched her continue stretching, pressing the toe of her boots against the barge to stretch her ankles. She let out a relieved sigh before speaking again, and she kept her eyes on him.
"Did you know you'd be coming with me?"
"No. I did not."
He had told her the truth. He had not known Caesar's intentions, and now that he would be alone with the Courier for some time, he assumed that he had been sent not only to be sure she completed her mission, but to gather information on her. He knew her name, but part of him did not feel right calling her Juno. It rang sacred in his ear, the name of the Legion's mother goddess. She had little purpose among the Legionaries, but the slaves looked to her because of her role in fertility and childbirth. This Courier, a mother herself, would probably be seen as a living embodiment of this goddess. He did not want to see the day the slaves made the connection.
"Well, I guess you should know that I had planned on sneaking in with a Stealth Boy and whatnot. I have two, so I guess we could still try it, but they're expensive…"
"I can repay you for whatever cost, if that's what you're worried about."
She shrugged at him and laid down, tilting her ranger's hat over her face to protect it from the sun," I don't know. It just feels weird to have someone going with me. I'm used to working alone."
"I do my best work alone," Vulpes noted.
"As do I."
He made a small noise of acknowledgement, eying the Courier up and down. She had the frame of a mother. Her hips were wide, built for supporting a child. Her breasts seemed ill proportionate to her height, and if she would roll over, he assumed her backside would be just the same. For a woman so short and small framed, he knew she had some kind of strength. It likely came from her time as a mother-in-waiting, carrying a child in her womb for nine months in the grueling Mojave Desert.
"I guess it'll be good to have someone to talk to about killing him. I mean, I don't even know if Mr. House is really a person. He could just be a computer system, one giant fucking computer system with an advanced artificial intelligence. Or like, some really messed up wrinkly old guy in a stasis tube."
"Have you thought about killing him for awhile now?" Vulpes asked.
"Since I went down into the bunker beneath the Fort. He's such a pretentious prick. Something about self-important, but really not so important people really pisses me off. I thought your Caesar was one of those people when I first met him, but I did a lot of thinking down in that radiation."
"I would hope you saw the light of Caesar's vision."
"In a way, but there are a lot of things I don't agree with. I agree far less with Mr. House and the NCR, so… You get my vote for now."
He decided not to press the issue. He knew she would not immediately chose sides and confirm her loyalties, but it had been his hope that she would quickly become part of the Legion. As much as he hated to admit it, they needed her. She had a habit of getting things done. He had seen that much in all of the time he spent following her around the desert, watching her accomplish great things without so much as a robotic dog to help her.
"Where are you from, Courier?"
"My name is Juno, Vulpes. You can call me Juno, and I'm from New Mexico."
They talked about where they were both from all the way to Cottonwood Cove. Vulpes had been surprised to find out that she was from the same tribe as Gaea the slave and the woman who had been the mother of his stillborn child. She told him that she knew all about the dancing, but he could not bring himself to tell her that they had been integrated into the Legion. At least, not yet. The timing could ruin her alliance with them.
He told her of how he grew up in the Legion, that he knew he was originally from Utah. He did not tell her much else, and really, there was little else to tell. His past had not been an interesting one before he became a Frumentarii. After that, his world grew infinitely and his possibilities became endless. She did not inquire about what he did after that, or his personal life, so he spoke nothing of it.
Once they were on the trail for the Vegas Strip, Juno began telling him about her daughter, and how she came to have her.
I met this guy named Vigo, right? Silly name, I guess, but he was handsome and damn good with words and I was seventeen. I didn't know any better. I met him when my dad delivered some cattle to the Ultra-Luxe for a deal he made. Vigo was from the White Glove Society, by the way. He bought me a drink, and we talked for a long time. He called me pretty. People didn't call me pretty back home. The red hair was pretty standard fare there, and it was what he liked most about me. It made me happy.
So I visited him every time my dad went to the Strip for a deal, and after a few months, we slept together and decided to run away. We went to Primm for awhile, stayed there for a month or so. I found out I was pregnant, and I told him. 'Said we'd be together forever and shit like that, and he'd love our baby more than anything. I went to bed cuddled up in his arms and so excited for the future.
When I woke up, I was alone. He left me a note telling me that he couldn't take life outside of the Strip and that he didn't want the baby. So I packed up, headed to Freeside, and started my life up there. I couldn't find my father, so it was just me and a baby, growing inside of me.
Worked and worked even when I was pregnant, eating irradiated food that I could get from the stores, fixing machinery and helping with surgeries for the Followers of the Apocalypse. I kept doing that after Ariadne was born, and then I took the Courier job a few months back. Here I am, walking down the Mojave with Caesar's Frumentarii commander-type.
She just smiled at him, like none of it bothered her. Vulpes now understood the source of the Courier's strength. She had worked hard, built from nothing a future for herself and her child. This would be news for Caesar. He would need to understand the woman to know best how to bend her to his will.
When they arrived at Freeside, The Courier insisted that they stop at the King's to visit her daughter and give Vulpes and opportunity to gear up. He had changed before they entered the city, but he had to prepare his weapons. He found that Juno was always prepared with pistols strapped to either hip, knives on either calf, clips of ammo on either thigh, and a shotgun and hunting rifle strapped to her back, all of these things well kept and fully loaded.
"Mommy!" The small, redheaded child came running at them when they arrived inside of the King's, carrying her stuffed animal in hand.
Juno glowed instantly, kneeling to gather up her child in her arms and spin her around. She suddenly had this happiness all about her that Vulpes could not understand but knew its value. It was a mother's happiness. A mother's love.
"Hello, sweetie. I just wanted to come say hello. Mommy will be back later today and she's going to take you on a big adventure. Would you like to go on an adventure with mommy and her new friend?"
The child looked over her mother's shoulder at Vulpes. She had big green eyes, like her mother, and she stared right at him, almost like she was looking into his soul. The child proved to be unnerving, if only for this reason. She sized him up as a human being without even talking to him, and he wondered if all children did this, or just the child of a mother goddess.
"What's your friend's name, mommy?"
"You may call me Mr. Fox," Vulpes spoke to the child.
Juno turned around, her daughter's gaze at him being broken, and she smiled at him," Yes. Mr. Fox. He's a nice man that's going to help mommy finish some business so she can play with you more."
Juno had put a lot of trust in him in that simple sentence, and he was not sure if she really knew the implications of her words. He wondered just how much business she had left to finish, and how much of it he would be helping her with. The way she looked and spoke to him made him feel like she was trying to draw him in, and he hated that idea. He knew her to use similar techniques to get what she wants, citing the incident with Benny (even if her tactics were far more seductive than trust-building then).
"Will Mr. Fox play with me too?" Ari asked as her mother sat her on the ground once more.
"Maybe," Juno answered for him. The looked on her face betrayed to him that she did not see him partaking in play with her daughter," We're gonna go get ready to leave sweetie. Momma will see you in a few hours, I promise."
"Okay!" Ari smiled wide, looking from her mother to Vulpes, and then taking off for a room nearby.
After her daughter left, Juno led Vulpes to one of the bedrooms used by the Kings. Once they were in it, he wasted no time in going through his things, preparing his weapons for what he assumed could be a very ugly battle. Nearby, Juno had also gone digging through her bags.
"Here. We're going to try to sneak in. We don't need anyone getting hurt," She tossed her spare Stealth Boy at him, the piece of machinery landing with a soft bounce on a mattress close to him.
Vulpes looked down at it, and then to Juno, who had within a few seconds turned her gaze away and once more into her bag. He did not respond to her, and she just kept talking.
"I brought some healing powders just in case.. I know how you Legionaries feel about chems."
"How considerate of you." Sarcasm dripped from every syllable, and she just responded with a chuckle.
"Alright. No more talk. Got it."
The Lucky 38 loomed over them like a citadel of death. Juno dreaded returning to it, especially considering that she had to account for Vulpes now. She did not doubt his capabilities, but she did not want to see him get hurt. It would be a waste of his talents and her time if House's robots happened to hit him in just the right place with a laser. She found it funny to be concerned about him yet carefree about her own health and safety. It came with experience, she supposed, and wordlessly approached the doors.
"One. Two. Three."
Simultaneously, they activated their stealth boys and passed through the main doors of the casino. House's securitrons did not react, and for that she considered herself lucky. She grabbed onto Vulpes' arm as a way to keep tabs on him with the stealth boys activated, and his muscles tensed beneath her fingers. He must not be used to touch, or at least hers. She didn't linger on the thought too much as they snuck between each robot and neared the elevator.
She pressed the button to bring it down, and was surprised when none of the securitrons turned to check on it. Luck gave her the sound assurance that the securitrons did not react to environmental change, but other sounds would surely alert them. They had to be careful once they reached the penthouse.
"It won't be long now," she spoke after the doors closed, her hand still grabbing Vulpes' forearm," The stealth boys might not last long enough for us to make it into the central chamber, so run like hell if they go off. The securitrons can hurt, and they won't go into other rooms or areas."
"If that is what it takes," Vulpes responded, the will in his voice shaking for just a moment.
She noticed this immediately, even after being around him for only one day of travel. His inflections were easy to understand for her, and what came from his mouth in that moment, when they waited for the doors to open and she held his arm firmly with her left hand, was not normal for him. Something was wrong, and she made a note to ask when they were safer.
As the doors opened, she heard the grinding noise of the securitrons at the door turning, but she felt Vulpes move forward. She followed rather than yank on his arm and ask him to wait. The keen edge of alarm had not raised itself on the hairs of her neck yet, and she felt safe moving forward.
She knew her way around the penthouse chamber well, and lead Vulpes around each corner in hopes that they would have enough time for her to unlock both doors before their stealth boys wore off. Time felt thin, unraveling faster than they could move. Worry set in. Alarm would follow soon.
She let go of him when she reached a computer terminal attached to the wall, very close to a securitron. She felt Vulpes reach out and feel for her, to make sure she was still there. His hands found her shoulder, and there it remained. The only sounds floating through the air reminded her of the unnatural robotic sounds of vaults. She hated the place, and much preferred the sound of Vulpes' breath, quiet and relaxed among all of the machinery.
The keyboard popped out for her and she typed in the passwords quickly, watching for the securitron to just turn and fire a laser straight at her face. The red alert went off in her head, warning her to go faster and watch out for everything as she unlocked the door. That's when the real red alert went off, securitrons at full alert and alarms blaring out the only natural noise she had been able to hear.
Vulpes used his hold on her shoulder to drag her around the securitron and through the door as quickly as possible. He moved so silently that the securitron they passed did not hear him, but it swiveled around at the sound of Juno's guns bashing together in the hurried movement. It raised its weapons and took aim in the direction of the sound, blindly firing into the air before it. Juno had been luckily missed. Vulpes had not.
The first laser passed through his thigh, dropping him to his knee for just a moment. Blood splattered onto the crisp, clean floor of the penthouse, bubbling from the heat of the laser. Vulpes had been soundless even at his injury, and this astounded the woman who took the initiative and helped him up, running for the second door now.
Lasers fired at the spot of blood, narrowly missing them both. The whole way to the second terminal she prayed that the laser had cauterized the wound. It would be easier to treat that way, less chems would have to be used. He would have to rest. Juno did not delight in the sound of that. Vulpes seemed like a restless, always moving man, and likely wouldn't stop for a near fatal bullet wound, yet alone a laser wound that may or may not have passed through bone.
She set him down near her, and worked at the second terminal as she felt his hand grab her ankle. He had fallen and sat down, even as lasers continued to blast at them, but this did not mean his actions were those of a beaten soldier. He took out the only one handed gun he had brought with him and fired on the securitrons that neared him, providing cover fire for the woman trying to open the door. Juno felt grateful for him, sorry for the wound that had crippled his movements for now.
When she opened the door, she used the knowledge that he was at her feet to grab onto him and heave him up with all of her physical strength, ducking through the large metal doors and crashing into the floor. At once, they landed on their backs, staring up into the metal ceiling of the central chamber, worn out and panting for air.
At once, their stealth boys finally gave way. Juno decided that after that moment, she would probably never use one ever again. Their timing proved to be too inaccurate, and she could never be sure when they would give out on her and leave her vulnerable.
She rolled, reaching for Vulpes even though she could see him, casting her eyes down the length of the floor," Are you okay?"
He groaned, but his response sounded sure," I will be fine."
"I'll take a look at it soon. I think we're safe now," She patted his shoulder and stood.
If this is what it took to be immortal, then Juno would have no part in it. She walked toward what she assumed was some kind of hibernation chamber, or antibacterial tube thing to preserve House's body. She could see his withered, unnatural form through the fogy glass, and it nauseated her as she stepped forward, resting her hands on the keyboard of the terminal that would control it.
She heard Vulpes stand and limp in her direction, sign enough to her that the wound had caused damage as it passed through his thigh and that she would have to treat him in the suite she would call her home after that day. She keyed in the password once more and released Mr. House from the safety of his chamber, looking at him as he emerged, cursing her name with each labored, unnatural breath.
"You're disgusting," She said without regard to his questioning insults. Something about all of this left her unsettled, sickened.
"I could have given you anything! You're going to destroy everything I worked so hard to build," Mr. House heaved, each syllable labored and harsh.
Juno looked to Vulpes, who stood silent and watchful just beside her. The look on his face commanded action without words, and she knew it was time to do what they had come to do. Without response to his gaze, her hand drifted to Maria, Benny's old gun, and she thought it would be fitting.
"Do you recognize this gun, Mr. House? It was Benny's. If I hadn't have killed him, and if the Legion hadn't have killed him when he went to the Fort after those securitrons, it would be him standing here right now… Ready to put a bullet in your head."
"I misjudged him. He was worthless."
"And you misjudged me. I am not worthless, nor am I an idiot. I knew that something about you wasn't right, and now I see what that was. You're a miserable, empty husk of a human being. You forgot what was good about the world, and you sentenced yourself to rot in there and live through a computer system. What kind of life is that, you crackpot old fool?" Juno raised the gun and steadied it, aiming for just between his eyes.
"I could have given you everything! Vegas could have been yours. That is what is good in the world. It is the only thing that's real. You would have been the face of my new empire! It will be no different if you take the Mojave for the Legion! You will only be the face of their new world!"
"That's where you're wrong, Mr. House. There are human beings in the Legion. Good, hardworking human beings fighting for what they believe in, even if its a little twisted. That's what is good about the world. Humans working together for a brighter future. Your world is a steel fabrication of lies. You gave some terrible people the keys to the kingdom, and you opened up a Vegas Strip of sin and lies and corruption and violence. It will be cleansed one way or another, and I will certainly not see it done by a vegetated, remnant of what was once a human. You are a gross misuse of humanity, and you deserve no better than this bullet between your eyes. I hope that death takes you into its arms and carries you to hell, Mr. House. It is where you belong."
She breathed deeply as Mr. House cursed her name once more, and with one swift squeeze of the trigger, ended the legacy of Robco's greatest misjudgment. One less violation of humanity remained on the earth, and she was one step closer to the future she wanted for her baby.