As always a BIG thanks to commanderpill for editing this chapter for me!
Yang Xiao Long
Yang and Veronica approached the gates to Freeside, both of them looking up at the large, glowing sign of Freeside.
"I need to get you something before we go meet Six." Veronica said as she led Yang to a store called Mick and Ralphs.
"What is this place?" Yang asked, looking around the store.
"Its Mick and Ralphs. Six took me here once to buy some comfortable clothes for when we were had some down time." Veronica said, getting the attention of one of the two shopkeepers. The other one approached Yang.
"So, what brings you to Mick and Ralphs?" Mick asked the blonde huntress.
"I honestly don't know, my partner just brought me here." Yang said in a bit of confusion.
"Yea, she's been coming by a lot lately, don't know why, but my brother and I sure don't mind." Mick said, with a chuckle.
"What does she buy?" Yang asked, a bit curious of the buying habits of her mentor.
"Dresses and spare parts for her power fist." Mick explained much to the surprise of Yang.
"I'd understand the spare parts, but a dress, really?" Yang asked in a state of minor shock.
"Yup, we get new stock of different dresses every week just for her. The Courier managed to hook us up with the dresses just so she could be happy and enjoy her life. He comes around from time to time to check up on the shop and buys all the ammo we have in stock." Mick explained for Yang.
"He seems like a nice guy." Yang said, her interest in the man known as Courier Six began to grow further.
"He's surprisingly compassionate when it comes to those he's worked with." Mick said, handing Yang a small, blue box with a lock sealing it closed.
"What's this?" Yang asked, taking the box.
"It's something that Six ordered yesterday. I figured you could save me the trip and give it to him when you see him." Mick explained.
"Where's the key?" Yang asked.
"Six has it. Both the box and its contents are known only by Six. He paid my brother and I to hold on to it until he ordered for it again. And to make sure that the contents of the box were not stolen, he kept the key." Mick explained.
"He seems to be a bit paranoid…" Yang said, a bit concerned for the mental health of the Courier.
"Well who wouldn't be, considering what he's been through." Mick said, lighting a cigarette.
"What do you mean 'what he's been through'?" Yang asked.
"Oh, you don't know? He was shot in the head, twice, and lived to tell the tail." Mick said, waiting for Yang's reaction.
"I don't believe you." Yang countered.
"You don't have to." Mick said much to the surprise of Yang. "You're going to see him, ask him yourself. He might even show you the scars." Mick finished, taking a drag on his cigarette.
"Yang, look what I got you!" Veronica said with excitement, holding up a beautiful white dress. Mick nearly keeled over in laughter after seeing the look on Yang's face.
"Thanks…" Yang said, caught a bit off guard by Veronica's gift. She folded it up and packed it away for later.
"You can put it on when we get to the Lucky 38." Veronica said, taking Yang's hand and leading her out of the shop. They rushed through Freeside, going straight towards the checkpoint to New Vegas proper.
As they crossed into New Vegas, the bright lights of Sin City attracting the gaze of Yang and Veronica. "It's been too long…" Veronica said in awe as she led Yang to the Lucky 38. They were greeted by a robot with a disturbing smile on its monitor.
"Welcome back Veronica! Six will be quite glad to see you!" The robot said with an upbeat tone. "Who is this pretty little lady?" The robot asked her.
"Oh! Yes Man, this is Yang. Yang this is Yes Man." Veronica said, introducing her to the robot. "He's the A.I. that controls all aspects of Six's robot army and the computers in the Lucky 38." Veronica said, leading Yang into the casino.
"Wow, this place is amazing…" Yang said, taking in the sights of the ground floor of the building.
"If you think that is impressive you should see the upper floors." Veronica said, as they entered the elevator to the presidential suite. As the elevator doors slid open, there was no one to be seen. However, there was a note quickly written on the door to Veronica's room.
"Dear Veronica, if you are reading this then you are here in time for a meeting of the Guardians. Please go to the conference room as soon as possible." Veronica read out loud.
"The Guardians?" Yang asked.
"I'll explain… once you are in the dress!" Veronica said, handing Yang the dress and pushing her into the changing portion of the room. Once Yang emerged from the room with the dress on, she looked over to Veronica to see her in a light pink dress. She motioned for Yang to follow her to the elevator.
"So, about 'The Guardians'… what are they exactly?" Yang asked as the elevator began to climb the floors of the Lucky 38.
"The Guardians were created about five months ago after the second battle of Hoover Dam. Courier Six decided to create a group of trustworthy people with whom he had worked with him in the past to safeguard the Mojave Wasteland from any threat, be it internal or external. We would go back to where we were before Six found us, except for Rex and ED-E, so that we could cover the most ground. With us spread out, we could watch over the people of the Mojave and report to Six should anything concerning arise." Veronica explained, looking at Yang.
'Just like huntsmen and huntresses.' Yang thought as she continued to listen to Veronica.
"However, Six decided to keep the creation of the Guardians out of public knowledge. He felt that if the people of the Mojave knew that they were being looked after, then they would grow weak and not learn how to defend themselves from the dangers of the wastes. He had also given us each a transponder so that should we been needed, he could send out a signal. We have meetings every five months where we give Six any reports of suspicious activity in our sector." Veronica finished as the doors to the elevator opened to a large room with a single, large table in it with enough chairs around it to seat a platoon of soldiers.
"Hey Six!" Veronica said, waving to the Courier.
"Glad you could make it Veronica." Six said with a calm voice.
"YANG!" Both Blake and Weiss shouted at the same time, rushing over to their teammate with arms outstretched.
"We were so worried about you!" Weiss said as she began to lecture Yang on safety.
"I'm just glad that you're ok." Blake said as she continued to hug her.
"Well, now that everyone is here, shall we begin?" Six asked, leading Yang and Veronica to a seat at the table.
Six took his seat and began the meeting. "I have obtained information that suggests that the Enclave may be planning an attack on New Vegas. I will try and negotiate with them, however, there is an extremely high chance of a battle, or even a war ensuing. From what information Arcade provided me, they have at least one hundred men, fifty percent of which have power armor. Twenty percent are officers, and the remaining thirty percent are scientists. If that isn't bad enough, they have at least ten deathclaws under their control. Any questions?" Six asked the rest of the Guardians.
"How much time do we have until they arrive at the Mojave?" Boone asked.
"From what I was able to gather, we have at least two weeks, at most a month." Arcade responded.
"Any other questions?" Six asked.
"The next subject of this meeting is the addition of a new member. As most of you know, Lily Bowmen passed away a few days ago, and due to such circumstances, her place must be filled in. I, Courier Six, hereby nominate Cinder Fall as to take her place.
Six said, turning to Cinder. "I have been traveling the wastes with her. She is more than capable in surviving the Mojave. She learns quick and can adapt just as quick to any situation she has been in. I would like to have her join us." Six said.
"Any objections?" Six asked, preparing to give her the position when Weiss rose from her seat.
"I have an objection." Weiss said with a stern look on her face.
"And what is your objection?" Six asked.
"She has killed in cold blood." Weiss said, confident in her argument.
"Who hasn't?" Six asked, much to the surprise of all the inhabitants of Remnants.
"You've killed in cold blood?" Weiss asked with disbelief.
"Yea, I don't like it, but unfortunately as I hope you have noticed by now, this world isn't for the weak or weak-willed. Anything is justified under the context of survival." Six explained, walking over to Weiss. He slowly formed his hand into a fist and raised it up to Weiss's head. Winter, Blake, and Yang shot up from their seat, ready to defend their friend or sister from the man.
"Have you ever seen corpses of humans with bite marks smaller than my fist…" Six started to ask as he opened his gloved hand and pointed to his palm. "But bigger than my palm?" Six asked.
"N-no. Why are you asking me this?" Weiss shot back, a bit intimidated by the mere stature of Courier Six.
"Because… those are the bite marks of human teeth." Six said, taking seat next to Cinder. "What I'm getting at is that, while killing in cold blood isn't very 'kind' or 'pure' it's necessary, because sometimes it's kill or be killed. You don't know what situation Cinder was in when she killed, do you know if she was coerced, blackmailed, or threatened? You don't know and context matters in actions like that." Six said, turning to Cinder and giving her a warm smile.
"Does any of the current Guardians have any objections?" Six asked, looking around the table.
"How well can she fight?" Raul asked, hoping to get on the Courier's good side, as he was.
"I can fight quite well, if I do say so myself." Cinder said, rising from her seat with a confident smile on her face. "I've killed some raiders and can strategize on my toes." Cinder finished, confident in how she presented herself.
"Any other questions or objections?" Six asked, looking around the room. Everyone from remnant held their tongue it was clear that Six wasn't going to listen to them so they would take matters into their own hands. Later. "None, good. Now there's one more thing I would like to show you all." Six said, leading them to the elevator.
"What is it that you need to show us, Boss?" Raul asked, only to receive a boisterous laugh.
"Why tell, when I can show…" Six said cryptically.
"Could we get any hints?" Veronica asked, only to get a slow shaking of the head from the Courier. The elevator stopped and the doors opened to the demonstration room.
"What's going on Six? We've all been here before besides the newcomers." Cass asked.
"Stay in the elevator, this isn't where we are going." Six said as a small, hand-sized touchpad revealed itself via a sliding panel that otherwise blended in completely with the interior of the elevator. They all watched as Six took off his right glove and pressed his open hand onto the screen.
"Welcome Courier, please submit to the rental eye scan." A calm female voice requested. Six slowly took off his shades and knelt down, his face being at eye level of the touch pad, a small scanning device scanned both of his eyes. Once the scan was finished, Six put his glove and shades back on.
"Why such the high security?" Boone asked.
"Because what I'm about to show you could single handedly win this upcoming war for us." Six said as the elevator doors slid open to reveal an absolutely astonishing sight.
"What are these?" Winter asked, exiting the elevator.
"In the old-world they were referred to them as 'Tanks'." Six said with air quotes.
"They look a bit complex to just hold water, don't you think?" Weiss asked the Courier.
"That's how they got their name. The first variant of the tanks was made to look like simple containers of water. But in reality, they were machines of absolute destruction. A tank requires a crew of men to use it to its highest potential. However, these tanks, they are automated. I managed to scavenge a few transponders, took them apart so that I knew how to replicate them, and did so." Six said walking out of the elevator.
"Six, this is dangerous stuff you're messing around with." Veronica's Brotherhood ideals starting to surface.
"I saw to it that should they fall into enemy hands, they will self-destruct so as not to fall into enemy hands. And the only existing blueprints exist up here." Six said, pointing to his head.
"You mean to tell me, that you memorized entire schematics and blueprints for machines as complex as these?" Arcade asked in disbelief.
"You and I both know that it can be done." Six said, looking at Arcade. "And if the self-destruct feature doesn't put your worries to bed Veronica, they are under the control of the same A.I. as the Securitrons." Six said with a confident smirk.
"You put an A.I. in a weapon that powerful?!" Veronica countered. "What if it deems that 'humans are no longer needed to protect New Vegas'?! What then Six? Can you protect us then?" Veronica continued.
"Isaac Asimov." Six said with absolution.
"What?" Veronica said, caught a bit off guard.
"Isaac Asimov." Six repeated. "Do you know who he was?" Six asked.
"No…" Veronica answered.
"Well, I'm sure the Brotherhood would have loved him. He foresaw the problem of robots becoming self-aware and coming after humans. And so, he thought up three laws of robotics, each of which was implemented into the tanks' A.I. First rule, a robot must not, or by inaction, allow a human to be killed. Second rule, a robot must follow the order given to it by any human, unless it conflicts with the first law. Third law, a robot must protect its own existence, unless it conflicts with the first or second law." Six finished, facing the young scribe.
Veronica didn't agree with anything he was saying but she after everything she and him have gone through she would trust him on this.
"Any questions?" Six asked, facing the crowd.
"Who will they be used against?" Boone asked.
"Most likely the Enclave, they are highly technologically advanced and I don't want to take any chances." Six said.
"What about the Legion?" Boone asked with a stern tone.
"Yes, the Legion, I have been monitoring them as of late. From what I know, they intend to attack New Vegas as well, but I don't know when." Six said with a disappointed sigh. After that, the group moved back up to the Presidential suite. Each went to their respective rooms for the rest of the day.
After a while Veronica and Yang met back up with Six. "Hey Six! It been a while!" Six heard Veronica shout in his direction with her usual upbeat tone.
"Hey Veronica. I see you got another dress from Mick and Ralph's." Six said with a grin. "And who is this?" Six said, motioning towards Yang.
"Oh! Her? Her name's Yang and she's my pupil!" Veronica said happily.
"Nice to finally put a face to the man known as Courier Six we met each other at the meeting but didn't get to talk one on one." Yang said, extending her arm for a handshake, which was taken.
"So, what have you hear about me?" Six said with a curious grin on his face.
"Well… I've heard you aren't that bad at unarmed and melee combat. I've also heard you've helped out other people… when you feel like it that is." Yang answered.
"So, you've been around the block, just like every wastelander. Heard anything interesting about me?" Six asked with a smirk.
"I'm sorry Six, but there just isn't anything interesting about you." Yang said, insulting Six in a very discrete manner.
"Oh, Yang, you wound me!" Six said in the most sarcastic manner possible. The two of them laughed until they needed a breather. "Yang, I think we are going to get along just fine." Six said, wiping the tears of laughter from his face. After the sarcastic battle, Veronica and Yang left the room.
"Hey Six, thanks for backing me up at the meeting." Cinder said, thanking the Courier for his assistance.
"Don't mention it Cinder. We're partners after all." Six said with a smile. "Oh, and that reminds me, if there is anything you need to get out of your system or vent about, I'm here for you." Six said, leading the fall maiden towards her bed. "I'm going to be gone for a day or two, stay strong Cinder, stay strong." Six whispered to her before giving her a peck on the forehead. He pulled out the Big Mountain Transportalponder and fired, disappearing from where he stood with only small blue particles taking his place.
'Cinder, I believe he's trustworthy. You need to tell him. It's not safe for you to keep your emotions bottled up inside.' Pyrrha suggested, only to be shot down by Cinder.
'He'll see me as weak, he'll-' Cinder thought only to be interrupted by Pyrrha.
'He shared his past with you, he trusts you. You have nothing to fear, but fear itself.' Pyrrha reasoned.
'Fine. I'll tell him. But on my terms.' Cinder conceded.
'Fair enough.' Pyrrha said with the audible form of a shrug. 'And Cinder?' Pyrrha asked, hoping she would listen.
'Yes?' Cinder asked back.
'Although it may be hard to believe coming from me, but I do care about you, and not just because it depends on my survival. We may have been foes in Remnant, but here, we've become, I hope you could consider me… a friend.' Pyrrha said in a tone with both sorrow and hope.
'Huh.' Cinder thought. 'A friend… never would have thought.' Cinder thought as she drifted off into sleep. As she did, her mind began to create a scene that both her and Six were in. She was standing in a graveyard with three men facing a bound Six. There was a man with a black and white checkered coat and the pistol that Six used in his hand which he pointed at Six's head.
As she looked on she could hear the man in the checkered suit talking to Six. "Truth is… the game was rigged from the start." The man said before shooting Six in the head. The other two men who were with him carried Six's body and threw it into a shallow grave.
After his limp body hit the bottom of the grave the entire scene began to change, this time Six was facing the man in the checkered coat, with a hunting shotgun pointed at the coated man's head. They were in a sort of fort, surrounded by men in armor painted red, some wearing a fox's head, others wearing modified helmets. Each held a machete and shotgun on their back.
She heard Six say the very line that man told him before he shot Six in the head. "The truth is Benny… the game was rigged from the start." Six said with a malicious grin on his face.
"Well ain't that a kick in the head." Benny said with a shit-eating grin on his face. "So, are you going to kick my bucket, or am I going to die of boredom?" Benny asked the Courier.
"You will die by my hand, but not like this." Six said, motioning for two of the men to pick up Benny. They dragged him over to a make-shift arena. Six walked in and holstered his shotgun, and replaced it with a machete. One spare machete was thrown in front of Benny, who quickly picked it up.
"So, we're going to have a nice little sparring match, huh?" Benny asked.
"No, this is a fight to the death. If I kill you, I get your suit and gun, if you kill me, you get your freedom and the cloths on your back." Six said before charging Benny with his machete. Benny blocked the attack and sloppily countered, giving Six a shallow cut on his right leg. Six lunged forward, knowing full well that it was not a stabbing weapon but rather a slashing weapon.
Benny not knowing this, tried to block, but Six anticipated the action and grabbed the arm that held the weapon. Six disarmed Benny with a swift knee to the hand.
"Come on baby, don't do me in like this, JUST DIE FOR ME!" Benny shouted as tried in vain to finished off the Courier in a single blow. What Benny failed to realize, was that Six now held both machetes, and swung them, aiming for both side's of Benny's neck, embedding themselves into the casino owner's neck. As he bled out on the dirt floor of the arena, Six decide to taunt Benny one last time. He crouched down near him and whispered, "The truth is Benny, the game was rigged from the start." Six repeated with a devilish grin.
Courier Six
The Courier arrived back at the place where one of the most confusing events, speaking to his own brain, occurred. Even though he still had the old buddy in his cranium, it always put a shiver down his spine. He walked into the Think Tank. He needed two things from the Old-World scientists. The first, was something Six had commissioned from the Think Tank a few weeks ago, which was a pulse rifle. The second was one that Six hoped they could create, and that was a second Big Mountain Transportalponder, or at the very least modify it so that two people could come to the installation instead of just one.
"AH! The lobotomite returns!" Dr. Boros shouted in excitement as he approached the Courier.
"Hello Dr. Boros, how have you been lately?" Six asked with a friendly smile.
"No time for small talk lobotomite! I have made a breakthrough in the pulse rifle you requested!" Dr. Boros said, leading him to his room.
"It just looks like a LEAR…" the Courier said, unimpressed.
"Use it and you will realize that it is in fact not a LEAR!" Dr. Boros insisted. Six shrugged and picked up the weapon and fired it at the wall, a ring-like pulse emitted from the weapon.
"Not bad, not bad at all. I'm going to go outside for a field test after I go check up on Dr. Klein." Six said walking out of doctor Boros' room. He approached Dr. Klein and got his attention.
"Doctor Klein! I have a question for you." Six said.
"And what question might that be?" Dr. Klein asked.
"Would it be possible to modify the Big Mountain Transportalponder to transport two people instead of just one?" Six asked.
"Hm, interesting concept, but I'm afraid it would take a long time to even develop a prototype, not to mention the actual thing!" Dr. Klein said in astonishment.
"Gotcha, thanks for the answer doctor." Six said, walking towards the Sink. As he opened the door to his quarters he was greeted by the many personalities of the Sink.
"Do you have a-a-any mugs for me to clean?!" Muggy asked in desperation.
"I sure do Muggy, here you go." Six said with a chuckle, handing the robot ten dirty coffee mugs.
"Good to see you have returned master." The Sink Central Intelligence Unit greeted him.
"Got any injuries for me to treat?" The auto-doc asked with his military-like tone.
"Good to see you two, sorry doc, I'm not injured, not yet anyway." Six said with a nostalgic chuckle.
"How have your adventures in the Mojave treated you?" The Central intelligence unit asked.
"They've been… interesting. I even met a young lady." Six said, nervously scratching the back of his head.
"Did you put you plant your seed into her?" The biological research station asked in his smooth tone.
"NO! NO!" Six said nervously shaking his head.
"Is the master going to get a bride worthy of his combat prowess?" The Central Intelligence Unit asked.
"Whoa guys, don't get ahead of yourselves!" Six said trying to change the subject of the conversation.
"Have you found any seditious materials for me to dispose of citizen?" The Book Chute asked the Courier.
"Yes, I do in fact." Six said, never so relieved to hear the voice of the book chute. Six rushed over to the book chute and deposited multiple books into the mouth of the book chute.
"Thank you, citizen, I will process this seditious material for you." The book chute said.
"I'm going outside, talk to you guys later." Six said heading out to the find some robots to test the pulse rifle on. After three hours of searching, he found a group of sentry-bots patrolling at a lower elevation than Six. He took aim and fired, the pulse hitting the sentry-bot, electricity arcing around its metal chassis. Then it went completely limp, the remaining two quickly finding the source of the pulse and began to fire at Six. He vaulted behind a large rock for cover.
He popped out from his cover, and fired two shots at one of the remaining sentry-bots, only to get greeted by a hailstorm of bullets, a few ripping through the Courier's side. Six began to reload the pulse rifle, when he noticed another fire option on the side of the rifle that read 'beam'. He flipped the switch and the next shot he fired was in the form of a solid beam that enveloped the final sentry-bot in a suit of electricity, blowing up the final target. He put the pulse rifle back into his inventory to keep it safe. He returned to the Sink with a shallow trail of blood following behind him.
"Auto-Doc, patch me up." Six said with a fatigued voice.
"Certainly!" The Auto-Doc said enthusiastically. Six closed his eyes as the auto-doc went to work. Once the operation was finished, he stepped out of the auto-doc, ready to say his goodbyes.
"Alright guys, I'll be gone for a long time again, so be patient." Six said heading for the door.
"We will always be waiting master." The Central Intelligence Unit said with his butler-like voice.
"Stay groovy." The Jukebox said with his jazzy tone.
"Next time you come around, make sure to bring the lady you mentioned to us back here." The Biological Research Station advised.
"Bring more dirty muggs!" Muggy demanded.
"Make sure to steer clear of seditious material Citizen!" The book chute advised.
"Alright guys, I'll keep that in mind." Six said with a laugh.
"Oh, and master, it would be nice to see a misses come along with you on your next visit." The Central Intelligence Unit requested.
"I'll definitely try." Six said before walking out of the Sink.
"I hope you do, master. I hope you do." The central intelligence unit said as the Courier left the Sink. The Courier pulled out the Transportalponder and fired. He was thrusted into the empty Mojave Drive in. He looked up and sighed.
"It's time to head back home." Six said out loud to no one in particular as he looked down at the pulse rifle. He stored it in the pip-boy and replaced it with his trusty katana and Maria.
He moved off into the Mojave wasteland, aiming his path back at the Lucky 38. Six looked down at his pip-boy and selected the radio tab. "Hm, this one should be playing some good tunes." Six said to himself as he selected Radio New Vegas and the song 'Blue Moon' by Frank Sonata.
"Bluuuue moooon! You saw me standing alone! Without a dream in my heart! Without a love of my own! Bluuuuue moooon!" Six sang along to the dark night sky as he walked towards home.
Adam Taurus
Adam was currently talking with Joshua about revenge. He had decided to approach the Burned Man.
"So, you mentioned that someone had helped you to not commit revenge?" Adam asked as he walked into the tent that was occupied by the Burned Man.
"I did." Joshua said, calmly interweaving his fingers together. "I believed him to be a messenger of god. For in the lord's text of Romans 12:19, 'Never take your own revenge, beloved, but leave room for the wrath of god for it is written, vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the lord'." Joshua recited as he closed the bible he was reading.
Adam snickered at the quote by the Legate. "So, you guide your life by the words of a 'special' book? What a fool." Adam said confidently.
"You may think me a fool Adam Taurus, but the thing is, I do not let it guide me, but rather, I let it explain why the things in this world happen. To let anything but your need for survival guide you in this world would be a foolish decision that would likely lead to a short life." Joshua said with a chuckle.
"So even a religious human such as yourself has some common sense." Adam said to Joshua.
"Are you implying that the vast majority of those who follow religion lack common sense?" Joshua asked Adam.
"Yes, I am." Adam said concisely.
"Although I disagree with you, I do appreciate your honesty." Joshua said, handing Adam a Yaoi Guai steak. He devoured it, enjoying the cooked meat that was presented to him.
"Interesting way of thinking, human. Not many are like you, giving food to a fanus out of your own hand." Adam said, taking a bite from his food.
"Adam, I was wondering, how was your life in this other world you speak of?" Joshua asked.
"Terrible. The humans there didn't care for us fanus, so we decided to take our rights by force through a war. Even after that war, the humans refused to give us our rights. Most of the fanus didn't want to fight anymore, those were the weak ones. The ones that were ok with their mistreatment at the hands of humans. The rest of us decided that we still wanted our rights and began to fight for it, committing assassinations and stealing supplies for our revolution." Adam explained.
"Who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth, Timothy 2:4." Joshua said reading from his personal bible.
"What?" Adam asked a bit confused by the cryptic quote by the Burned Man.
"The truth of revolution will come to you, Adam." Joshua said as Adam finished his steak. Adam got up from his seated position and looked Joshua directly in the eyes.
"Do you honestly believe there is a peaceful solution to get rights?" Adam asked the Malpais Legate.
"Yes. While it would be the best path to take, it would be the longest too. And time here is a luxury." Joshua answered.
"Which path would you take?" Adam asked.
"Depends on when you would have asked me. If you would have asked me a few years ago I would have told you to be violent can take what was rightfully yours, but now I will tell to go the peaceful route." Joshua explained.
"One last question before I go. Was the desire to kill ever quenched?" Adam asked.
"I'm afraid not. It died down, but never left me." Joshua answered, waving Adam goodbye.
He walked back to Vulpes' location to get more information on their escape plans. He saw Vulpes laying down in same spot he was in the last time they talked.
"Adam…" Vulpes said, calling Adam over to him. "We leave tonight. I've managed to convince one of the tribals to release me. He was even gullible enough to supply us with weapons. While he prepares for our escape, you should get some sleep before we flee." Vulpes whispered to Adam. He nodded and headed over to a bed to rest for his escape.
Ilia Amitola
Ilia and Fizz were currently held up in an abandoned, rundown building just outside of Freeside. She began to worry about Fizz's injuries, not having enough medical knowledge to treat Fizz's wounds. She heard two men talking outside of the building. One had the voice of a man in his early sixties, while the other sounded to be around his late twenties.
"Elder, why do you insist on coming here? These lands are dangerous, far more dangerous than Navarro. We should head back to New Arroyo where you can live the remainder of your life in peace." The younger man pleaded with the older man.
"I told you Fen, I am no longer the elder of New Arroyo, I passed that responsibility down to the next in line. I have taught my daughter all I know. Do you lack faith in her ability to lead?" The older man said to Fen.
"No, I don't, but I'm worried for the tribe. And you didn't answer my question as to why you came here." Fen responded firmly.
"I came here because I wanted to explore the wastes just one more time before I pass from this earth." The old man said with a surprising tone of serenity.
"Sir! Please don't talk like that." Fen pleaded with the Elder.
"I'm sorry I worried you." The Elder said, getting closer to the door. Ilia began to panic, drawing her plasma pistol, her hand shaking with fear. As the door opened, Ilia began to slowly apply pressure to the trigger.
The door opened to find an old man in a blue jumpsuit which had the number thirteen on the back of it, and a young man with a tribal attire with tan pants and an ammo belt strapped around his chest. The old man was holding a hunting shotgun and the young man was holding a hunting rifle.
The old man saw Ilia and slowly put his shotgun on the ground and kicked it towards Ilia, then raising his hand in a show of peacefully intentions. The young man aimed at Ilia.
"Fen, put your weapon down." The elder ordered.
"I'm not leaving your life in the hands of random waster." Fen countered, taking aim at Ilia's head.
"Can't you see she's scared?" The elder reasoned.
"I'm not going to give up my weapon." Fen said continuing his aim at Ilia.
"You don't have to, just sling it on your back." The elder said. While the two men were talking amongst each other, Ilia was being pumped full of adrenaline, her instincts taking hold. Her body began to shake uncontrollably. He saw the elder approaching her.
"DON'T COME ANY CLOSER!" Ilia shouted, her body shaking with fear and adrenaline.
"We mean you no harm." The elder said, coming closer to Ilia, keeping his hands up in the air.
"Fine, but if you try anything I'm going to turn you into a pile of goo!" Ilia shouted as the elder took a seat next to her.
"Would you mind if I treat your wound? If its not treated soon it might get infected." The elder said, pulling out a doctor's bag.
"Fine, but don't touch my partner." Ilia shot back. See saw the elder turn towards Fizz with a mixed look of fear and amazement.
"Ah. A wanamingo, it's been a long time since I've seen one of those." The elder said, taking out medical instruments and supplies. He began to treat her wound, first disinfecting the wound and sterilizing his instruments. He started to work, pouring some healing powder into the injured shoulder. Then he applied a stimpack to it, speeding up the healing process. Five minutes later, her wound was completely healed.
"So… you've encountered wanamingos before?" Ilia asked the elder.
"I have, and I notice your partner is injured." The elder responded as he put his instruments away.
"Would you be able to treat his wounds?" Ilia asked with a sliver of hope in her mind.
"I'm sure I could do something for him." The elder said, taking out a separate bag of medical tools. Ilia called Fizz over to her as she held him in her arms.
"Please be gentle with him." Ilia asked as the elder treated Fizz's injuries. After ten minutes, the operation was complete.
"There, all done." The elder said, putting his supplies away.
"So, elder, how exactly did you encounter wanamingos?" Ilia asked.
"I had to fight and kill them, after fighting them so much I began to study their anatomy." The elder explained. Ilia recoiled in shock, putting herself in between the elder and Fizz.
"Don't worry I have no intention of hurting your partner. I only want to help others before my time here is up." The elder said, looking up at the ceiling.
"Fine… I hear you talking outside about a place called New Arroyo, what is it?" Ilia asked the old man.
"It's our tribe and homeland." Fen cut in, walking over to the elder. "And the man who just saved you and your partner's life was its leader. You should be thankful." Fen said with venom in his voice.
"Fen, please, that's no way to talk to someone you do not know." The elder said with a heavy sigh.
"With all do respect sir, she was pointing a weapon at us not twenty minutes ago." Fen argued.
"But is she doing so now?" The elder countered.
"I see your point, but is still don't quite trust her." Fen said as he stood by the door. The elder looked back at Ilia with a sympathetic gaze.
"So, tell me young lady, what is your name?" The elder asked.
"Yours first." Ilia countered.
"Alright. I don't quite remember my name…" The elder said with a lighthearted laugh, nervously scratching the back of his head. "However, I could tell you my past title before elder, would that suffice?" The elder asked.
"It will." Ilia responded.
"My past title before being the elder was the Chosen One." The elder said. Ilia couldn't help but laugh. The chosen one? Was he the hero to save the village from a dragon or something?
"Is there something you find funny?" Fen snapped at Ilia.
"Fen, please. She is merely laughing, nothing more." The Chosen One said, calming Fen down. "I do believe you owe me you name." The Chosen One said.
"My name is Ilia Amitola." Ilia said wiping some tears of laughter from her face.
"Well Ilia, what are you doing in a place like this?" The Chosen One asked.
"I… I can't tell you that." Ilia said with her head held low. "I'm sorry…" Ilia said, feeling guilty for not answering the question from the man who had just saved her life as well as Fizz's.
"I understand, there are somethings that only a single person would understand." The Chosen one said. "Do you wish to join us?" He asked Ilia.
"R-really?" Ilia asked, a bit surprised by the question.
"Yes, really. We could always use another person in our group, as they say, there's safety in numbers." The Chosen one said, picking up his hunting shotgun and heading for the door with Fen.
"I'm sorry, I have some stuff I have to attend to…" Ilia said, a bit guilty for not joining them. "Good luck out there." Ilia said as they departed from the building. Ilia waited a few minutes until she thought they were gone.
"Come on Fizz, let's go." Ilia said as she got up. She fed Fizz some gecko meat, which he devoured instantaneously. Fizz had grown to half her height ever since she had taken him in. it was nice to know Fizz was growing, adding an intimidation factor to her and her partner. They walked out to find a caravan walking past her. One of the guard approached her and handed her a bottle of purified water.
"Here, you look thirsty." The guard said with a smile.
"Thanks…" Ilia said, not knowing how to respond.
"Don't mention it, stay safe out here!" The guard said before joining the rest of the caravan.
Ilia watched as they passed her. Ilia had to think of a way to get to Arcade Gannon, however, she was officially vilified by the followers of the apocalypse. It wouldn't be easy to find out where he was. As she stood there, a man decked out in metal armor, holding a super sledge, charged at her. He swung at her, slamming into her legs, immobilizing her. Then he hit her on the head with the pommel of the super sledge. Her vision began to fade as she saw Fizz fighting off the attacker. The man struck Fizz in the chest with the super sledge, not injuring the adolescent wanamingo, but sending him flying back from the power of the swing. He slowly approached her, raising the enhanced sledgehammer over his head, readying the finishing blow, before a loud bang was heard and the man fell to the ground.
A large bullet hole wound in the side of his head could be seen. The last thing she saw before she blacked out was brown combat boots.
Cinder Fall
Cinder was enjoying a milkshake from the mini-restaurant in the presidential suite when she heard Cass enter the restaurant. Cinder was sitting in a booth with a table in front of her when Cass slid next to her.
"Whatcha having Cinder?" Cass asked as she ordered a root beer float.
"Vanilla milkshake." Cinder said, taking a sip from the cold drink.
"It's kinda nice, living here that is." Cass explained as her root beer float was given to her by a waiter variant of a protectron. "I remember what Six called this place when he brought me here for the first time, 'an Old-World relic'. Even the food served here is from the Old World." Cass explained.
"Interesting…" Cinder said, finishing her shake. As she got up from her seat in the booth, the four inhabitants of Remnant arrived in the doorway. Yang and Blake stood next to the doorway as Winter and Weiss approached Cinder with weapon in hand. "What brings you he-" Cinder said until Winter held her saber up to Cinder's throat.
"You are going to pay for the pain that you have caused." Winter said as Weiss flanked Cinder's left side, holding up her plasma defender to Cinder's head.
Cinder's heart began to pound furiously in her chest as adrenaline began to course through her veins.
"Hey now, there's no need to resort to violence!" Cass said, getting up from her seat in defense of Cinder. Winter and Weiss faced Cass, giving Cinder a chance to draw That Gun. She pointed it at Winter's head, her trigger finger beginning to twitch.
"I believe the time for talking is well past the point of no return!" Winter shouted. "She killed hundreds of innocent people! And for what?! So that she could become more powerful?!" Winter shouted with venom in her voice.
"That still doesn't give you the right to kill her." Cass said with a cold tone, narrowing her gaze and drawing her riot shotgun. "Release her now!" Cass shouted, aiming the riot shotgun at the two sisters.
"Why are you defending her?!" Weiss shouted in rage.
"The Courier has taken a liking to her, for one reason or another, and as a guardian to another, I think it's only fair that we stick together." Cass reasoned.
"So just because she's the Courier's favorite she gets to join his fucking fan club?!" Weiss screeched in anger.
"Watch your tongue, girl." Boone said as he and Arcade entered the restaurant only to be blocked by Yang and Blake.
"Don't go any closer or else we'll be forced to fight you." Yang warned Boone who was holding a scoped hunting rifle in his hands and a combat knife in his tucked into its sheath which was strapped on his chest.
"Weiss! Stop this now! You don't want to incur the Courier's wrath!" Arcade shouted, trying to get Weiss away from the situation she was in.
"No Arcade, this needs to be done." Weiss said with a stern retort.
"You don't know the hole you're digging, if Six walks into this and sees you four doing this, he will not be pleased. Please, walk away from this, I'll explain everything to Six, I'm sure he'll understand your reasoning." Arcade tried to convince her.
Just then, Cinder thrusted herself backwards, but not before Winter summoned her second, smaller saber and stabbed it into Cinder's leg. She grimaced in pain as the blade slid into her upper leg. She took cover from Weiss and Winter behind the bar counter in the restaurant with Cass. She loaded some bean-bag rounds into her riot shotgun and readied for combat.
"STOP THIS NOW!" Arcade shouted in concern. However, neither of the Schnee sisters took his warning. He looked to Yang and Blake with a pleading look on his face. "Please you have to talk some sense into them." Arcade begged as Cass fired at Winter who dodged to the side to avoid the non-lethal projectile.
As Cinder began to pull out the small blade, she squeaked in pain, quickly applying med-x and a stimpack to the wound. Once the wound was healed, she pulled out That Gun and loaded armor piercing rounds.
"Winter! Stop this now!" Boone shouted, aiming for her weapon arm.
"Boone, you of all people should be siding with me, not against me!" Winter shot back.
"This is not how you do this! Make an appeal to Six! He will hear reason!" Boone countered.
"You saw how he took the criticism from my sister! He didn't even consider it! There is only one solution to this problem, and that is death!" Winter shouted back, charging for the bar, only to be shot in the arm, the round ripping through her cloth apparel. She screamed in pain as blood began to drip from her wound.
Yang lunged forward, grabbing his rifle with her prosthetic arm and crushed the receiver of the hunting rifle. He took out his combat knife and took a swipe at Yang who blocked it with her mechanical arm. Blake confronted Arcade with Li'l Devil loaded and pointed at Arcade.
"Blake, was it? Look, you're making a mistake, please, you can talk some sense into Weiss." Arcade said, trying to convince her to back out of this situation and hopefully get Weiss out of it too.
"Stand back." Blake commanded, taking aim at Arcade's chest. He lunged forward, snatching the pistol out of Blake's hands, elbowing her in the face, making her stumble back a few steps.
Arcade threw the pistol into the hallway of the presidential suite, then putting Blake in a headlock.
"I got this one, how about you Boone?" Arcade asked, keeping the cat faunus in the solid headlock.
"Working on it." Boone said as he ducked to avoid an oncoming strike from the Blonde huntress. He delivered a solid kick to her side, which she quickly recovered from. Yang sent another volley of punches in Boone's direction. He took a lunge, sliding under Yang's waist, then putting the serrated weapon to her throat.
A look of worry was painted on her face as she realized that even if she swung at the ex-NCR sniper, she would be dead. He surpassed her in both combat prowess and speed.
"Just give up, I don't want to have to kill a girl." Boone said as Yang nodded, walking back to her room.
Meanwhile, Weiss and Winter were engaged in a close-quarters shoot out. Cinder and Cass hid behind the restaurant bar as Winter and Weiss were behind an overturned table.
"Winter, I have an idea, and it might help us to win this battle and teach Cinder a lesson." Weiss said with confidence.
"Weiss, I appreciate your help, but Cinder Fall is not leaving this restaurant alive." Winter said looking at Weiss with a serious look.
"Sister, you can't mean-" Weiss asked in surprise.
"I do. She has killed hundreds through her actions, it's only right that she meets the same fate as her victim's." Winter said with absolution. "So, what is this plan of yours sister?" Winter asked, trying to change the subject.
"Well…" Weiss started, a bit hesitant to actually kill Cinder. "I thought that I could be the distraction and you could charge their encampment, taking them by surprise." Weiss explained. "I'm going to pop out on three." Weiss said, loading her plasma defender. "One…" Weiss whispered. "Two…" She continued, taking aim from behind cover. "THREE!" She shouted, sending a stream of suppressive fire at Cinder's encampment.
Winter dashed forward. Before she could reach the bar, the riot shotgun popped out from cover, spraying bean-bag rounds in Winter's direction. Two rounds hit her in the side, slowing her advance. She kept her charge and finally reached the bar, crouching on it and readying to saber for a killing blow on the fall maiden. She swept at Cinder, only for her saber to be stopped mid swing by a hand which held its blade.
As Winter turned her head, a sense of horror and dread swept over her as she turned to face the Courier. He had a look of unending rage and anger on his face as he grabbed Winter by the neck and held her up, her feet leaving the ground.
"Sister!" Weiss shouted in concern.
"What. Are. You. Doing. To. Cinder." Six asked, holding back his rage as the hand that held Winter captive began to twitch.
"We were just-" Weiss tried to lie but was interrupted by Six.
"DON'T FUCKING LIE TO ME!" Six spat in rage, his grip around Winter's neck tightening.
"Kill… her." Winter managed to choke out.
"YOU TRIED TO DO WHAT!?" Six shouted in rage, throwing Winter against the shelves of alcohol, broken glass stabbing into her back. The Courier slowly approached Winter leveling his eyes to hers. She looked deep into his beautiful caramel eyes, however their beauty were eclipsed by the monstrous glare that Six was giving her.
"If you ever come after Cinder Fall again, I will personally see to it, that you are crucified and burned alive, am I understood?" Six asked sternly boring into Winter's eyes.
Winter however was a Military soldier and no matter what she was not going to back down. "No" She said simply
"WHAT DID YOU SAY?" Six said Kicking her in the face. Winter however took it in stride.
"I SAID NO. You have no idea what she has done nor what she is capable of. She has done things horrible things and I swear on my life that I will KILL her for it." Winter said with absolution.
Six simply knocked her out with kick.
Weiss was going to say something but she was also knocked out by arcade. "Sorry kiddo but this is for your own good." he said holding her carefully in his arms.
"You got the others?" Six's companions nodded
"Good." Six said, getting up from his crouched position and walking over to Cass and Cinder. "Cass, thank you so much for looking out for Cinder." Six said, no trace of his previous angry demeanor present, and instead his voice was that of a caring mother.
"No problem, Six." Cass said with a friendly salute. Next Six moved over to Cinder who had a look of childlike fear on her face. He sat down next to her and wrapped his arm around her shoulders to comfort her.
"You wanna go back to the room?" Six asked his partner. Cinder slowly nodded as she got up and followed Six to their room. The second both of them were in the room, Six locked the door and ran over to Cinder.
He fired a barrage of questions at her in worry. Instead of answer them, she just broke down. The dam that kept her in her calm, composed state finally burst, all of her pent-up emotions coming out in full force. She just stood there, looking at Six and crying. As she began to cry, Six realized what was happening and held her in a warm hug, letting her burrow her head in his chest.
"Don't worry, I'm here for you, I'm here." Six reassured her. He slowly lead her to the bed where she continued to cry into Six's chest. He held her in his arms, wanting to help her to feel safe. He rested his head on top of hers as he apologized to her.
"I'm so sorry I left you here alone." Six whispered to her as he too began to cry.
Her crying began to die down, sniffles replacing her crying. "It's ok Six, just promise me the next time you leave, I can come with." Cinder answered in-between her sniffles.
"Sure." Six whispered as his eyes began to flutter from his lack of sleep.
"May I sleep with you tonight? I –I don't feel safe sleeping in my bed." Cinder asked, receiving a nod of affirmation from Six. "Thank you…" Cinder said as her and Six got into bed, both of them equipping their set of sexy sleepwear, Cinder falling asleep within Six's arms.
"You're safe with me, Cinder." Six whispered into her ear as he began to fall asleep.
And That's that!