Boone crept through the canyon, trying to keep out of sight... he wished it was night time. He'd be more stealthy at night.

He hadn't wanted to work with the other troopers, because if he started having a panic attack at the thought of Zero dying on him, he didn't want anyone else to see that. Mental breakdowns were best kept private.

Besides, Zero was really the only person he felt comfortable working with anymore. He didn't know these NCR troopers... he didn't know if he could trust them, didn't know their skills... No, he was better off alone.

A bone dry wind was pulsing through the canyon, blowing sand into his eyes. He put on his sunglasses. Then, out of habit, he looked around, expecting to see Zero following him... but of course she wasn't there.

And it was weird. He missed how she'd laugh when he scowled at her, he missed her cheerful humming at his back, he missed the way her eyes glowed when she smiled at him... Boone shook his head to clear his mind.

Keep it together, he told himself. Don't lose it. She's tough, she's still alive. And so are you. That's why you're out here, you still have blood in your veins, blood to shed for your partner. She bled for you, because she was on your side... now it's your turn to prove you're on her side.

He froze as the sound of people talking met his ears... there were voices nearby.

The sniper crept closer... And there they were. A small group of Legion soldiers were huddled underneath an outcropping of rock, but there were only about five or six of them.

"Why are we still attacking that pathetic camp?" one soldier muttered. "The NCR operation there is minimal."

"And there are barely any captives worth taking in that place as it is," another Legionnaire grumbled. "All malnourished and weak. They would be all but useless."

"I'm sure the Fort is planning on a site for us to regroup at..."

Boone heard the beep a radio. And then a minute later...

"New orders from the Fort. Bitter Springs is sheltering someone Caesar wants dead," another soldier answered, who seemed to be the leader. "She has been difficult to trace, and Caesar does not wish us to waste this opportunity to dispose of her. She has been wounded as well... even better."

Zero... they were talking about Zero! Exactly how long had she been terrorizing the Legion to get them to continue to fight a losing battle just to try and take her out?

"We are provoking the enemy to dispose of a woman?" someone said incredulously. "How much trouble could a woman really be?"

"It's Caesar's orders! You would dare defy him?"

"Never," the same person growled. "But we're outnumbered now... Bitter Springs has called on the Rangers for assistance. We would be more successful if we wait for our own reinforcements."

"Coward," the other soldier snarled. "We attack now, while they are still in disarray. That woman is to be killed on sight. We are not taking captives today, we cannot risk her escaping."

"Must we kill her?" a rough voice asked. "If this woman could be broken... I could use a decent specimen for breeding."

Boone nearly threw up in his mouth. Hearing this shit straight from the horse's mouth was absolutely disgusting. No way was anyone using Zero as a specimen for breeding.

The sniper grit his teeth. He couldn't let these bastards leave this place alive. He reached into his pocket and pulled out something he'd borrowed from the camp... a grenade. He couldn't expect top performance from himself with an injured hand, but this would do the trick for him.

Got a little present for you, boys...

He edged closer to their hiding spot. When he was sure no one was looking in his direction, he pulled the pin, letting the grenade cook in his hand for a moment or two before throwing it.

A satisfying boom met his ears a second later.

Boone stood up, a pistol in his hand, to survey the destruction. Mutilated corpses were strew all around, blood spattering the brown stone walls. But one soldier was still moving as he lay there on his stomach.

Cold fury mounting in his blood, Boone strolled over to the weakly stirring body. He kicked the Legionnaire in the side, rolling him over onto his back.

Boone aimed his pistol at the man's head, about to place a bullet between his eyes... but then an idea struck him. He lowered the gun.

"Hey," Boone said easily. "Sorry to cut your plans short, but..."

"Bastard," the soldier groaned.

"I was going to kill you, but I have a better idea. You're going to deliver a message for me," Boone talked over him. If the Legion was already gunning for Zero, he had to convince them that trying to assassinate her was a mistake. He had to make them afraid... it probably wouldn't work, but it was worth a shot.

He knelt down next to the wounded man, his lips moving to form a twisted smile.

"You run back to that pathetic little man you call a leader, and you tell him... you tell him if he wants my partner, he'll have to come get her himself, and when he does..."

Boone paused then, smiling even wider as he thought of all things he'd like to do to that man... Death was too good for him.

"When he does, I'll string him up with his own fucking intestines," Boone hissed. "I'll rip out his spine, if he even has one... we'll find out, I guess, huh?"

The Legionnaire was attempting to back away from him.

"Caesar will crush you," the soldier moaned, trying to stem the flow of blood coming from his leg. Boone ignored him.

"You tell him that for me... You tell him his days are numbered," the sniper said, cold fury still pulsing through him. It was hard enough even leaving this one Legion soldier alive. But he needed someone to deliver his message.

"Now GO!" Boone screamed, aiming his pistol back at the Legionnaire's head. "Go crawling back to your little fort, unless you'd rather take a bullet to the brain right now, you fucking coward!"

The Legionnaire tried to stand, couldn't manage it, and instead began to crawl.

You really are a coward, Boone snarled in his head. Afraid to die, huh? You act so tough, terrorizing innocent women and children, but in the end you're nothing but a bunch of weaklings.

He hoped his message would be delivered and that it might make the Legion decide coming after Zero was more trouble than it was worth, but he wasn't holding his breath. At least he'd done what he'd came out here to do, eliminate the remaining Legionnaires.

Boone stood for a little while longer and watched as the Legion soldier crawled across the desert, leaving a little blood trail as he went. When he was satisfied that the man really was crawling back towards Legion territory, Boone turned around and began trudging back towards Bitter Springs.

Because now that the task at hand was done, the only thing he had left was fear. The fear that his partner was dead, and he hadn't been there for her, and she'd died alone with strangers.

He picked up the pace and started to run.

I'm coming, Zero. I made you a promise.

/

Late in the evening when Boone finally reached camp, his feet aching and his heart heavy with fear, he found the medic washing black stuff off his hands in the stream. Boone paused to talk to him.

"What's that?" Boone asked, pointing at the medic's black hands. The blonde man frowned at him.

"Your girlfriend had black stuff in her hair..." he said, scrubbing under his nails. "It started coming off as we washed the blood off her... we didn't know what it was, so we rinsed it all off to be safe. We think it was a dye of some kind."

"But she's... she's okay, right?" he asked breathlessly, trying to swallow the lump that had come up in his throat. He didn't even care that the medic had called Zero his girlfriend. That didn't seem very important at the moment.

"She still alive," the man said shortly. "Gave her some medicine to help her sleep... she's still out right now. We'll see if she wakes up."

The lump in Boone's throat wouldn't go down. He tried to swallow it again, but he might as well have been trying to swallow a brick.

She needs me, my partner needs me.

"Where is she? Can I see her?"

"If you can keep a lid on the threats," the medic snapped, gesturing over his shoulder. "We didn't move her."

When the sniper reached the tent Zero was in, he froze. If he went in there and she was awake, what would he say to her? Please don't leave me, I can't be on my own anymore? That sounded pathetic even in his head.

He reached up, taking off his beret and stowing it in his pocket. He smiled faintly at the memory of Zero asking him if he ever took his beret off...

Well, I'll take it off for you, partner. Just this once, though.

The sniper sighed, picking at the scabby mess on his injured hand until blood started trickling down his wrist. He still couldn't decide what he was going to say... But no matter how awkward this was going to be, he had to go in and talk to her. He pushed his way inside.

The tent was empty except for Zero, lying on her back in a lonely cot. Most of her clothes and weapons were piled on the ground next to her, and her body was wrapped tightly in a blanket. Only her arms, shoulders, and head were outside the blanket. A long line of stitches stretched from just above her breast all the way to her shoulder blade.

Her arm was hanging limply over the side of the cot, her fingers brushing the ground.

But what really stood out was her hair... The medic had been right. The black stuff in her hair must have been dye. Because now... now he knew what she was hiding. Zero's hood had been removed along with the rest of her clothes, and her pure white hair was tumbling over the side of the cot like a waterfall woven from moonlight.

Her black hair had been fake. She'd put dye in it, made it that color on purpose... So that was why she'd always needed so much privacy.

Why are you so white, Zero? What happened? If you weren't born this way... what happened to you?

Boone sat down in the dirt by her side. Could he wake her up? He reached out to pick up her arm, briefly feeling for her pulse in her wrist. Satisfied that her heart was still beating, he placed her cold arm back by her side.

He couldn't help himself... He reached out, softly stroking that white skin. Zero didn't respond.

Come on, partner... don't leave me hanging. You know I'll get my ass handed to me without you, right?

The sun had gone all the way down... he hadn't realized he'd been sitting there that long. Fires were being lit outside, throwing shadows all through the inside of the tent.

"Mmm," Zero moaned softly, her head lolling on the cot. Her odd eyes fluttered open. She looked around for a few seconds, her gaze finally landing on the ex-soldier sitting on the ground next to her. Her mouth began turning up into a smile... that was until her eyes flitted to her white hair lying on the cot next to her.

Boone could see the panic in her eyes the instant she saw it... her disguise had been ripped away.

"Hey," Boone said softly, hoping that he sounded reassuring.

"Hi," Zero said faintly.

"So, how are you feel-" Boone began, but Zero cut him off.

"Are you... okay?" Zero said, staring up at the ceiling, her fingers twitching by her sides. "You never answered me before."

Boone rolled his eyes. Apparently she felt good enough to harass him about how he was feeling. He decided to keep his numb hand to himself for the moment, though.

"I'm fine..." he began, trying to keep the exasperation out of his voice. "You scared me, you know. I thought you were dead."

Zero's bottom lip quivered. She glanced at him, and he knew... almost being dead wasn't what she was upset about.

"Listen... could you give me a minute?" she asked faintly. She'd spotted her belongings on the ground. Her white hand began reaching for them, weakly grabbing for her hood. Boone saw a flash of pain in her face. Her shoulder was obviously hurting her.

"Hey, relax..." Boone said, frowning. Carefully, he reached for her roaming hand, picking it up and placing it swiftly back by her side. "Look... it's fine. I don't care what color your hair is, okay?"

"I care," Zero whispered. "I don't like looking even more like a freak than I normally do."

Boone sighed. Zero's pale arm was twitching like she still wanted to reach for her clothes.

"You're not a freak," he said slowly. Zero laughed lightly.

"Come on," she mumbled, using her good hand to stuff her long, white hair out of sight underneath her head and neck. She flinched as she did so. "You know what people say about me. Just... let me have my hood. Please."

When he made no move to give her the hood, Zero started to sit up. She let out a pained gasp as she moved, trying to hold the blanket to her chest with her good hand.

"Would you stop?" Boone insisted, putting his numb hand around her back, slowly easing her back down onto the cot. He could feel her shaking... "You lost a lot of blood... you'll hurt yourself."

Zero glared at him, turning away from him so that her face was shrouded in shadow.

Boone didn't know what to do. He'd never seen her like this before... sad and depressed. He'd never imagined that she cared so much about what he thought of her...

"You want to tell me what happened?" he said eventually. For a minute he thought she might have passed out again, but her fingers had curled into a tiny fist. "We'd make a better team that way," he added reasonably.

Zero's mouth twitched as she glanced back at him. She said nothing, giving Boone way too much time to take in her new appearance. Now that her hair had been stripped of its black dye, she shone as bright and clear as the full moon. The shadows in the tent were only making her skin and hair seem even brighter.

"I don't see why you'd want to know..." she sighed. "Knowing won't change anything."

Boone shrugged.

"It's not about that. I just want to know you," he said gently.

Zero still looked skeptical... She tried reaching for her things one more time, but once again Boone intervened. Zero's hand slapped against his numb fingers. Since she seemed so determined to move her hand, Boone decided to hold it still... He forced most of his unfeeling fingers to close around her hand.

That surprised her. Zero looked up at him, a strange expression on her face. Boone couldn't pin down the emotion in her eyes...

"You'd be the first," she said lightly. "But... if you insist..."

"Only if you want to," Boone said firmly. He would have been happy with just her name, but he couldn't deny he wanted to know more. Maybe now wasn't the time to be asking, but since she'd already said yes...

"It's okay," she said softly. "I guess you deserve to know."

She looked away, back up at the ceiling, seemingly pondering how to start.

The sniper was content to just sit there and wait, her cold hand still resting in his. She'd never stayed in physical contact with him for so long...

Finally she looked back at him, a strange glint in her her blue eye, just like the night before. Glowing in the darkness like this, she seemed more unreal than ever.

"Well, since it's night time... want to hear a ghost story?" she asked casually, but Boone could feel her fingers twitching in his.

"Sure?" the sniper said, a little thrown off. But he could tell this was important to her.

"Oh, you'll love this one... this is a ghost story told by villagers up in the North West, beyond Jacobstown," she began softly. "It takes place in a lonely town, covered in mist."

She took a deep breath.

"One day, in that misty village by the river, a young girl was kidnapped by Fiends," Zero said in a slightly shaky voice. "The villagers said you could hear her screams from all the way across the water... the Friends tortured her until she died. No one from the village tried to help her."

Fiends... Boone thought furiously to himself. He should have known. Those were the people who scared her, the people who had hurt her.

"So when she was dead, the Fiends tossed her body in the river," she whispered. She blinked her odd eyes at him, a sad little smile on her pale face. "Except she wasn't exactly dead."

Boone said nothing, but he could feel Zero's fingers unconsciously tightening around his.

"The undead child, the ghost child, she rose from the river to take revenge on the people who abandoned her," Zero continued, like she had no choice but to keep talking. "The villagers said you had to be careful who you talked to, you never knew if that person might be the undead child in disguise."

Boone glanced at Zero's hood. The undead child in disguise...

"But the ghost mostly stayed by the river," she said faintly. "If you believe the stories, if you went down to the river at night and you came across the ghost... well, she'd pull you into the river, dragging you down to join her in a watery grave."

Zero gave a soft little laugh. She was squeezing his numb hand so tightly at this point, some feeling was actually starting to come back into that hand.

Then he remembered something else. The river... Zero had sketched out the river, the place where she'd died...

"The child's spirit was eventually put to rest, but the villagers claim that on calm nights, you can still hear her dying screams..." she paused then, tears welling up in her eyes. "I know I still can."

She fell silent then, and a few minutes later, tears were dripping down her porcelain cheeks.

"I don't know what the Fiends did to me, but ever since that day I was thrown in the river... I've looked like this," she said apologetically, like it was her fault.

Tears were getting lost in her hair. Boone managed to give her hand a little squeeze, and she glanced down at their clasped hands like she'd never seen anything like it before. Seemingly with what strength she had in her at the moment, she raised his numb hand to her wet cheek.

"I..." Boone began, completely stunned. She was willingly letting him touch some part of her other than her hand... almost like she trusted him.

"Look, just pretend like you care for a second, okay?" she whispered into his hand.

I don't think I have to pretend, Boone thought to himself, his heart in his throat.

Boone finally convinced his fingers to move, carefully caressing her tear stained cheek.

He stared at Zero's pale skin. What had the Fiends done to her to make her look like this? He wanted to ask what she remembered, but Zero was already silently crying into his hand. There was no way he could ask now.

His fingers brushed her neck and she jumped.

"Sorry."

"It's fine. I'm sorry I'm so jumpy... It's just... in my experience, people only touch me when they want to hurt me," she whispered into his hand.

"Well, I don't," Boone said bluntly. "Never would. Alright?"

I want to stay with you. If superstitious weirdos want to call you a ghost... whatever. You're not a ghost. You're real, I can touch you, feel you...

Six years alone... Zero had spent six years alone. This was why. She'd been an outcast. People had been afraid of her, thought she was some kind of monster... The sniper felt his heart sinking into his gut.

"Thanks," Zero said eventually, closing her eyes like she was enjoying the feeling of his hand on her cheek. Boone's heart rose again... "So, you wanted to know my name, right?"

Boone nodded.

"Yeah."

Zero sighed, tilting her face into his hand.

"It's Fay." She whispered her own name like it was the name of a friend she'd lost a long time ago. "Fay Morgan."

"Fay," Boone repeated slowly. "That's... a nice name. Mind if I call you that?"

The girl graced him with a blindingly white smile, a warm glow in her blue eye.

"I don't think I'd hold it against you."

Boone grinned, happy that they'd come this far together, but more than anything he was just glad to have his partner back. He was about to tell her that, but he was distracted when Fay began tickling his numb hand.

"By the way," she mumbled, glancing down at his injured hand. "What did you do to your hand?"

Boone chuckled. She was observant, that was for sure.

"Oh, well... a bullet went through it," he said casually, trying to make it sound like it wasn't a big deal. He flexed his numb fingers, briefly letting go of Fay's hand. There was actually some decent feeling in them now. Not nearly as good as his other hand, but it was better than before.

Fay rolled her watery eyes.

"Typical," she teased him softly. "I can't leave you alone for a minute, can I?"

"Heh," Boone said with a grin, still flexing his hand. "Guess not."

They fell silent then, sitting together side by side in the darkness. Though her story weighed heavily on him, Boone was grateful he'd heard it. Because now he understood so much more about her. He understood why she hid her face and dyed her hair. He understood why she tried so hard to please people in the hopes that one day she'd be accepted and fit in...

"Can I ask you something?"

Fay glanced at him and nodded.

"Sure."

"Why did you want me to come with you?" he asked. He hadn't realized how much that one question had been pressing on his mind until the words burst from his mouth.

Fay looked puzzled, like she was sure he must have figured that out by now.

"As soon as I met you, I knew you," she said, tilting her head to one side as she observed him. "I could see it in your face... you felt just like I did. Like you had no purpose, no reason to live... and I thought that maybe... maybe I could help you."

"Well, you did, so... thanks," he said, squeezing her hand. That made her smile, and brought a light back to her golden eye.

"You're welcome," she said lightly. "You put up one heck of a struggle though, partner. You didn't make it easy on me."

"Me?" Boone said incredulously. "What about you? You wouldn't tell me anything."

Fay giggled, her head lolling in a cloud of her hair.

"I would have," she promised. "Eventually."

"I hate waiting."

The girl rolled her eyes, her amused smirk sending a pleasant shiver down the man's spine.

A few seconds later, the medic came back to give Zero another dose of medicine. Fay had looked at him, uncertainty in her gaze. Boone knew that she wasn't happy with the idea of being knocked out and not able to wake up.

"I'll be here," he promised. The uneasiness in her eyes faded.

"Okay."

She held out an arm, allowing the medic to administer more sleeping medicine. Fay stared at him with her eyes half closed as the drug took hold of her.

"You look funny without your beret," she whispered as she finally drifted off.

Boone snorted, even though she couldn't hear him anymore.

"Thanks," he said sarcastically.

Boone placed his beret back on his head, watching as the medic began wrapping Fay's shoulder.

He never thought he'd encounter a group he hated as much as the Legion, but he had to admit, as he thought of the Fiends... that burning hatred was there in his chest.

Those Fiends had hurt his partner. They'd tortured her and then dumped her in a river, leaving her for dead. They deserved to die, too. They deserved a taste of their own medicine..

Is this really my purpose? He thought as blood lust fought with common sense. Is killing really my only purpose? Is that all protecting someone means?

He dug into his pocket, pulling out Fay's coin once more.

Fay said I could choose my own path, but this is all I know. What else can I choose? Death and blood is all I know... I'm sorry, Fay, but if I get the chance... If I ever figure out where those Fiends who hurt you are hiding... They're as good as dead.

Once the medic had gone, Boone carefully tucked the blanket around his unconscious companion. He settled himself on an open cot, lying on his back and staring at the shadows playing in the darkness.

When he finally drifted off, he dreamed of a lovely spirit in a river. The spirit pulled him into her embrace, dragging him down into the watery depths...

And in the water, he came alive.

/

A/N: Yes, I got Zero's name from Morgan Le Fay from the Arthurian legend, who was a fairy or sorceress.

I'm gonna call this the halfway point. I have more action, more backstory, and more gooey mushy feels to get out, so stay tuned if you're still interested!

I kind of wish Boone could have been happy for like... two seconds in the game so I could get some idea of what he's like when he's happy, because I'm just making it up. I think it's okay though.