I own Anastasia and Maxwell Maximus.

a/n.

It's done! Huzzah!


The last time he saw Anastasia it was long after the loss at the Dam. The Legion retreated East. With the death of Caesar and the betrayal of Lanius the Legion splintered. Vulpes had a hand in running his own group, but it soon folded to Maxwell Maximus, the new Caesar. He served Maximus for a while, before the leader grew discontent with the relic of the old. He had banished Vulpes for his losses at the Dam. So, Vulpes wandered West, out of Legion territory and back towards Vegas and Anastasia.

"Anastasia!" Vulpes yells as he stands outside the walls to Vegas proper. He is clad in his Legion armor and holds two swords tightly in his grip. While he was quite the spectacle for the people of Freeside, he was focused solely on one thing: revenge against Anastasia. And so, he called up to her, screaming her name until his throat was raw. He would challenge her to a fight and he would win. And then he would kill Lanius. And then he would return to Maximus with the heads of the two traitors and prove that he wasn't some old horse, but still relevant.

The door to Vegas proper then opened and Anastasia came out. Her long black hair whipped around her and shone in the dull morning light. The goddess of greed and sin descended from on high to mettle with the mortals. Vulpes tightened his grip on his swords, eager to kill her. She stops when she is several feet away from him. "Vulpes."

Vulpes snarls and tosses her a sword which clattered at her feet. "Fight me, Whore."

Anastasia works her jaw before bending and picking up the sword. "Is this how you want to die, Vulpes? Bleeding out in the street?"

"I am not dying here, Whore," Vulpes says with a glint in his eye and a quiver in his voice. "You are the one dying here. I have sacrificed too much to the Legion for it be thrown away. Once you and the traitor Lanius are dead, then Caesar Maximus will return me to the fold."

"Maxwell?!" Anya's eyes widen. "He is the new Caesar? I wonder how much of the Legion he had to kill it get that."

"The civil war was hard fought, yes." Vulpes admits. "But Caesar Maximus will surely let me back in when I kill you and Lanius. For all you have wrought, you will pay."

"For all I have wrought?!" Anastasia screams at him. "The Legion came to Colorado and destroyed my life! My father was killed! I was beaten and raped! My mother was made a slave! It was only through God's strength that I survived and proved my worth. I took Colorado from the Enclave because I betrayed my comrades! I fell in love with Lanius and chose him and my captors over my family. I didn't sleep my way to the top; I walked in because Brandenburg was my grandfather. I killed my family, my friends, because I could not imagine a life without Lanius; the only redeeming thing about the Legion. And if I was smart enough to convince Lanius to leave and join the Enclave, I would have done it.

"I have hated the Legion with a burning passion. I have hated all in it. So, I am glad I killed Caesar and I am glad that I pulled Lanius away and I am glad that you were kicked out, because now I get to kill you." She widens her stance and grips her sword. "I have wrought pain on no one that matters, Vulpes. And you will pay for saying otherwise." She begins to approach him, sword raised high.

Vulpes raises his sword only to have it struck down by Anastasia's anger. Before he could react, her sword pierces through his chest, sticking out the other side. Vulpes' eyes go wide and his sword clatters to the pavement. She bested him in combat. The whore. The Enclave bitch who pulled Lanius from the Legion. This was supposed to be a fight. They were supposed to trade blows. He was supposed to kill her. This is not how it should be.

Seemingly, Vulpes voiced this last part to her. "It's not supposed to happen like this," he gurgled. "I am better than you. I am the Legion!"

With a huff, Anya leans in, her breath tickling his ear. "You are not the Legion." She pulls her sword out and drops it next to his own. She shakes her head and turns back to Vegas. Vulpes falls to his knees, his hands clutching his heart, desperately trying to stem the flow. With effort he looks up in time to see Anastasia step back into Vegas proper and the gate shutting firmly behind her.

With a groan, Vulpes slumps down, crumbling into a pile of flesh, leather, and steel. His hands slip from his heart and he stares longingly at the gate of Vegas. "A-Anista—" he manages before the lights leave his eyes and his breath stills. Despite his best efforts, Anastasia tamed his wild soul and Vegas became his grave.