(A/N): Chapter 10 following up really quick! Both chapters were actually written but I ended up splitting the content into two and converting this one into the next chapter (if I did, the other chapter would've been 1.5 times the length it was).

Without further ado, let's get back to it.


DISCLAIMER: I do not own Fallout New Vegas but if I did, player homes would be more fun.


Chapter 10: Fear Of The Legion


The Following Morning- Lobby, Lucky 38 Casino

"How's that girl the Securitron found last night?" asked Christian.
"She'll be fine; Mr. House authorized me to use the high grade Stimpacks so her injuries didn't take any time at all to heal up," replied Jocelyn.

He smiled.

"Who'd have thought that you'd turn out to be such a good doctor eh shorty?" he said.

She shook her head.

"I like to help," she replied.

He ruffled her hair and gave her a brotherly hug.

"You've really grown since you joined us and it's good to see just how far you've come," he said.

Despite his tendency to sometimes pick on her because of her height, she couldn't deny that Christian remained one of her closest friends amongst the group. Even though he was a hard ass all the time and he often picked on her, he was still there for her and she knew that no matter what kind of problem she was having, she could go to him. He may not necessarily give the best advice or have the best reactions...but he certainly cared enough to try.

"She should be awake by now...let's find out what's going on," she said.

~ o ~

I heard the door open as I finally regained control of my numb body. I watch as a tall man and the same woman who took care of me last night, enter the room. I tried to move my arm and much to my delight, it was perfectly fine.

"You feeling better?" she asked.

I nodded.

"Thanks for saving me...it must've been a bother that I came at such a late hour," I replied, feeling guilty.

She shook her head.

"I always have time for others," she said.
"What's your name?" asked the man.

I bowed my head politely.

"Emily Su," I replied.
"Man...how many Asians are we gonna get in our group?" chuckled the man.

The woman shook her head.

"I'm Jocelyn and this meathead here is Christian," she said.

I nodded at both of them as Jocelyn scooted closer to me.

"What exactly happened to you? You were in very rough shape when we found you..." she said.

I took a deep breath.

"Well..."


Earlier The Previous Night- Near New Vegas Strip, Mojave Wasteland

"Everything's been taken care of as instructed,"
"Excellent work,"

I watched in horror as the tall man, clad in the infamous attire of Caesar's Legion, approached one of the prisoners.

"I will ask you once more...there were others following you and one of them was in possession of a satchel containing important documents...important to us," he said.

He looked at the bound man, grabbing his chin and forcing him to look up.

"Where has he gone?" he asked.

The prisoner did not respond. The man let out a deep sigh and turned to me, removing the knife from his belt.

"If you don't answer me, I'll gut this girl right in front of you,"

His tone was disturbingly calm, as if he felt absolutely no remorse in killing a young girl to achieve his goals. I felt the blade reach my neck but he made no attempt to cut me.

"You have three seconds," he said.

The prisoner began to panic; he clearly didn't like the threat that the Legionnaire made. He swallowed hard as he nodded.

"No...stop...let her go...she's done nothing to anyone...I'll tell you everything," he cried.
"That isn't what I need to hear," replied the man coldly.

I felt the blade press harder against my skin and with only a little more pressure, he would definitely break the skin. My heart was going absolutely insane and because my hands were restrained, there was nothing I could do but watch.

"Aidan...went towards the east to NCR Headquarters," he said.

The man smiled and removed the blade from my throat.

"Now was that so hard?" he said with a chuckle.

He walked over to the prisoner and crouched down.

"Let the girl go," said the man.

Two of the guards approached me and removed the rope on my arms. The man then looked at me.

"You have till the count of ten to get out of here or I'll make sure that pretty face of yours is on the floor," he said.

The prisoner tried to yell but the sickening sound of knife meeting flesh cut him off. The man removed his knife and I saw that he had impaled the prisoner's neck. The man sighed deeply and released his now limp body. A pool of blood began to form beneath his corpse and soon, he moved no more.

"Such a waste...but can't afford weakness now can we?" he said.

He then turned to me before holding an arm out to one of the guards. The guard approached him and placed my bag in his hand as he tossed it to me.

"Get going before I change my mind," he snapped.
"But my lord...Caesar would never approve of letting someone escape here," said one of the guards.

The man tilted his head and nodded.

"We should cut the ties Lord Michael," said another.
"I don't believe in murdering children...but you do have a point," he said.

The one known as Michael, then crouched down.

"I'm going to give you a fighting chance to get out of here...but my men will chase you and kill you so if I were you, I would start running...now,"

I quickly picked up my bag and began to run, fearing deeply for my life. I heard a gunshot go off and as I turned back, three men were already giving chase...

~ o ~

Emily ran as quickly as her legs could carry her. The men continued to give chase, firing shots at her but never quite able to land one.

"There's no way I'll be able to escape them on my own...I need to do something...FAST,"

She ducked behind a large rock, searching frantically for something she could use as a distraction. She then happened upon both a blessing and curse in disguise...a Gecko Nest.

"I have no choice...if I don't do something, those men are going to kill me,"

She pulled out the last remaining molotov she had in her bag and quickly lit it with her lighter. Taking aim, she threw the bottle, setting the area near the nest ablaze. She then continued to run until she heard the familiar grunts and croaks of the Geckos that were coming to investigate the nest. She ducked behind another rock and turned back to see that her plan had worked; two of the men were fighting seven fully grown Golden Geckos. However...one of the men had disappeared entirely.

"Where the hell did the last guy go..."

Mere seconds later, she was thrown against a rock, a single arm grasping her by the throat. The third guard had looped around all of the chaos and caught up with her.

"You're a threat to the Legion...you cannot be allowed to live..." he said coldly.

Emily immediately fired a kick into his stomach, causing him to relinquish his grip on her throat. Gasping for air, she scrambled to her bag to pull her knife from it...only for the man to kick her hard in the stomach. The knife flew from her hand, sliding under a rock just above her. She struggled to reach for the knife but the man gave her a vicious kick in her arm, causing an audible crack. She cried out in agony as the man wrapped his hands around her throat.

"You've got fight in you...too bad it's all over now,"

Summoning all of her willpower, she reached for the knife underneath the rock and just barely managed to wiggle it into her fingers and get a grip. She swiftly brought the knife into the man's ribs, sheathing it completely into his rib cage. He howled in pain and released his grip. Taking a deep breath, Emily used her free hand to push herself up from the ground before pushing all of her weight onto the knife, forcing the man to the floor. Once he collided with the ground, she ripped the blade from the wound before stabbing it hard into his chest. She then got off of him and picked up her bag, pausing only to see if the remaining two pursuers were still engaged with the Geckos. Much to her relief, they were nowhere near her.

"Now's my chance..."


Present Time

"So someone named Aidan is the one who went towards the NCR Headquarters?" asked Jocelyn.

Emily nodded.

"Aidan is my friend...but the man who was with me knew much more about his mission than I did...so they tortured him instead of me," she said.
"Wait...you said the man who was clad in the armor, his name was Michael?" asked Christian.

Emily once again nodded.

"Did he have really dark eyebrows and 5 'o' clock shadow?" asked Jocelyn.
"He was shaved...but his eyebrows were a distinguishing feature yes," replied Emily.

Jocelyn cursed loudly.

"He really did join the Legion..." gasped Christian.

Jocelyn closed her eyes.

"I...I should never have left him...maybe if I was still with him...he wouldn't have become..."

"Lyn, DO NOT blame yourself for this," snapped Christian.

She opened her eyes to see anger in his.

"He was turning into the person he was even when you were still seeing him; regretting over breaking up with him wouldn't have changed a thing...you made the right choice in leaving him because who knows what he might've dragged you into in his blind rage," said Christian.

She swallowed hard and nervously nodded.

"What's going on?" asked Emily.
"Michael was a part of our group...until he left," explained Christian.

Emily looked on in confusion.

"Jocelyn was the woman he had a thing for...but she left him because she saw just how much of a monster he was turning into," he continued.

Emily's eyes narrowed.

"He's...not completely monstrous," she said.

She then looked at Jocelyn.

"He didn't kill me...he gave me a fighting chance to get away," she said.
"That doesn't change the fact that he joined the Legion; who knows what else he's managed to accomplish in all this time," said Christian.

He rose to his feet.

"When Jordan and Janet get back, we need to do something about these fuckers; they're slaughtering innocent people for the sake of one king psychopath," he said.

Jocelyn slowly nodded as she looked at the locket around her neck.

"Please come back soon..."


Later That Afternoon- The Divide

"How're you feeling?"

I slowly opened my eyes to see that Janet had returned from her visit to the cave. Despite my protests about her going alone, she saw no point in wasting time so she managed to finish laying all of the strobe lights and she astonishingly came back largely unharmed; she had a few scratches but nothing a small shot of Stim wouldn't solve.

"A lot better...I think we can make our trip to the cave tomorrow," I replied.

She smiled at me.

"Good to hear," she replied.

I accepted the mug full of tea from her and greedily began to down it, quite thankful considering how cold it was here in The Divide. Unlike the rest of the wasteland, this place was always cloudy so not a lot of sunlight gets through. The worst part about it all was that this place wasn't in the least humid, which made the cold even worse because there was nothing we could do to alleviate it apart from light a fire, crowd in front of an open lantern or wear all of our heavy gear to ensure we didn't freeze to death at night. We had more than enough food to last the time so we made it a bit of a routine to eat more than we usually would so we wouldn't waste it all.

I had been in bed the entire night and through the whole morning up until now; that venom really did a number on me. Thankfully however, I was otherwise healthy. Janet did a surprisingly excellent job in nursing me back to health and even though she was a hard ass at times when it came to me trying to do something around the house to keep myself busy, she still truly cared. I felt horrible allowing her to go out on her own at risk of the Tunnelers overwhelming her, in addition to the numerous other things that roamed this place but she was probably the most capable person of doing it; she took good care of Estelle during the time they spent traveling together.

I did however...begin to notice Janet somewhat putting me at an arm's length, mostly likely because of the fact that I was spending a lot less time with her. In between training Dawn and practicing with Caitlin, in addition to the traveling I had to do and the scout work, it was difficult to find time for just about anyone...even Lyn.

"She must be killing herself with worry for me right now..."

Janet suddenly looked at me with a serious face.

"I need to ask you something," she began.

I placed the mug down beside me and sat up to face her.

"What's on your mind?" I asked.

~ o ~

"What the fuck is wrong with me...why am I hesitating?!"

My fists unconsciously clenched as I struggled to find the words to say to him. More and more, Estelle's words rang through my head in addition to the fond memories I had with him.

The days when we trained together were among my favorite. I absolutely loved the challenge of trying to beat him in a fist fight and also in a shooting competition...but whenever he talked to me, he was nothing but honest. He didn't sugarcoat anything and he certainly didn't hold back anything. I hadn't spoken to him about Lyn at all since they became a thing...but deep down, I can't help but feel something.

Out of all the other men at Haven, Jordan was the only one who actively made an effort to speak to me, excluding Palika of course because he was just that friendly of a guy. If he came into the bar after a hard day's work, he would sit with me and talk to me about anything ranging from music to the good old days when this fallout bullshit wasn't a reality. I thoroughly enjoyed the time I spent with him on these days and even though I know I could be a little cold to him, I couldn't deny that in the end if it really came down to it...I would trust him with my life. He's proven time and time again that he would do just about anything for us, more so for our small circle of friends than anyone else.

But then he had feelings for Lyn. I wasn't around nearly as much as her...granted she took care of him whenever he was injured and such. He also had more time to see her than he did with me because most of my time was spent helping with the maintenance of the settlement or traveling to posts; I was the only woman apart from Caitlin and Lily who was capable of making the trips to and back without an escort. I also didn't show him that I had a...thing for him but by the time I fully realized it, it was too late. I cursed myself and I couldn't blame him for not noticing my feelings; I was a pretty difficult person to read because I'm very good at hiding my emotions.

I also couldn't expect him to give me the same level of attention that he gives to Lyn because he often did work for her, in addition to her being the only person in the entire settlement who was capable of treating injuries like his. Sure it was simple enough to use a stimpack but there were some things that even that miracle medicine couldn't solve. He had every reason to like her...but I didn't give him much of a reason to like me.

I knew that he didn't start feeling strongly towards her until his return from the scorpion raid...and I should've tried to let him know then. Maybe...just maybe something could've happened between us. Not that I was jealous of Lyn to begin with; she was an amazing woman and even though Jordan was at times a fucking moron for how heroic he was in nature in addition to selfless...she was more than willing to look past his flaws and accept the true him. If I had given him a sign...maybe he wouldn't have said anything to her and maybe, I wouldn't feel so guilty as I do now.

"Is everything alright? You seem deep in thought," said Jordan.

I shook my head free of the thoughts.

"Sorry about that...I was just curious as to how you're doing," I replied.

He shrugged but I raised a hand.

"I don't mean with the sickness...I mean overall; it's been a while since we've gotten time to talk," I explained.

He laughed softly and scratched the back of his head.

"There isn't really much that you don't know apart from the fact that Dawn is probably better than you are with a sword now," he replied.

I raised an eyebrow.

"You really think that amateur can beat me in a duel?" I asked.
"She can definitely hold her own now," he replied.

I scoffed.

"Cold day in hell before I let that happen," I said folding my arms.

He chuckled loudly.

"We all know that Caitlin can beat the both of us," he said with a shrug.
"I'm sure she was a samurai in a past life or something...only reason you beat her that day is because you're stronger than she is," I said.

He nodded.

"No doubt about that," he said humbly.

He then looked towards the window.

"...I wonder how Tommy and Michael are doing," he said.
"You still think about them?" I asked.

He nodded.

"Despite all of our differences...Michael and I were friends and Tommy used to be around back at the shelter...so they're both guys I won't forget about," he explained.

He finished the tea before turning back to face me.

"Michael's bloodlust was something that we all saw coming...but he wasn't always like that; I think what happened between Lyn and I was what really triggered it because if there's one thing that's true of all us men...once we think something is ours, we believe we can go back to it anytime we want," he said.

I rolled my eyes but nodded slowly; he had a point.

"Tommy just became consumed by his desire for revenge...I can't say that I believe he's survive long out there with such a close-minded outlook on life...but I wish the best for him regardless," he continued.
"He had a thing for Lily; I could see it plain in the way he looked at her," I said.

Jordan nodded.

"I heard they did things while you guys were at the party," he said.

I snickered.

"What about her? What's your take on her?" I asked.
"Lily's a mysterious one...but I can't say I blame her for being distant; she lost her boyfriend to the fallout so she's just trying to survive the best she can," he replied.
"Doesn't mean she can bond with us; she's gonna see us every single day after all," I said.
"A fair point...but she isn't exactly a social butterfly; I did spend some time with her after all," he said.

I nodded slowly.

"I'm sure she'll come around to everyone else soon...but I suggest just letting her be for now,"
"How about Christian and Carrie? Talk about a power couple," I said.

He chuckled loudly.

"Haven't seen Christian so happy...I'm kinda glad Carrie's there to cheer him up cause he went through a lot," he said.
"What exactly happened?" I asked.
"He was in college until he came here to Vegas for some kind of convention, only for the fallout to hit and obliterate the plane he was supposed to ride back home that had his parents on it," he said.

I gasped.

"Christian was leaving towards the airport but the fallout happened and he managed to get to a shelter...where he studied how to write plans and create maps down to an art form,"
"That had to be rough...can't imagine how he felt," I said with a sigh.

Jordan nodded.

"All of us have our stories behind us...but we're all heading towards the same finish line," he said.

He took in a deep breath.

"...I know I've said this in the past but I have to say it again...I'm still really sorry about Estelle," he said.

I looked towards the floor and shook my head.

"I knew what I was doing to her...so I would rather her be normal than be with a crazy bitch like me," I replied with a shrug.
"I wouldn't call you crazy...a bitch at times maybe, but you're not a bad person Janet," he said.

I was taken aback by his sudden honesty.

"It takes a lot of willpower to go through everything you did before...and even more willpower to trust someone when you've never had a reason to...that's something that I admire greatly about you," he said with a nod.

I shook my head.

"Flatterer," I snapped.

He shrugged.

"You know my policy on honesty," he said.

I shook my head and flicked him in the forehead.

"Go back to sleep so we can get up early tomorrow and finish this thing," I ordered.

He shook his head.

"My body's not going to let me sleep any longer...so I'm going to train a little," he said.

He rose to his feet and put on his jacket.

"Where are you going?" I asked.
"In the kitchen to do push ups and sit ups?" he replied.

I nodded and let him go.

"He has no idea...how I feel about him...it'd be better if he didn't know,"


Later That Evening- Lobby, Lucky 38 Casino

"So this'll be our course of action...for now anyways,"

Ollie turned to Vanna, Emily and Lynna.

"You three will be going back with them to Haven until we can figure out how we can halt the Legion's activities in the sector," he said.
"Wouldn't it make more sense for us to stay here considering we have I dunno...MR. HOUSE TO PROTECT US?!" cried Vanna.

Ollie shook his head.

"At this point in time...these Securitrons are not enough to protect the entire city from a full scale assault...yes we have guards but if the Legion is truly as large as it sounds, we're gonna be in a lot of trouble," said Ollie.
"So why have them come live with us?" asked Palika.
"The Legion will likely expect them to be here in the strip and if there's one thing the Legion doesn't do...it's let people escape and live," said Yvette.

Palika nodded.

"Billie will stay here with us because she already has a place here," said Ollie.
"Does she?" asked Vanna.

Billie nodded.

"I have a cousin who lives here...I won't be going anywhere so whenever you guys come visit, I'll be here," she said.

Vanna happily hugged her former cellmate.

"Count on it," she said.

Ollie turned back to face the rest of the group.

"All we can do now is wait for Janet and Jordan to return...unless you all would rather head back tomorrow," suggested Yvette.

Caitlin turned to Palika.

"If what Ollie says is true, don't you think we should get them out of here as soon as possible?" she asked.

Palika put a hand to his chin and turned to Christian.

"What do you think?" he asked.
"It makes sense...I mean if we leave now, they probably won't have any idea where they could be," replied Christian.

Jocelyn shook her head.

"I'm not going anywhere without Janet and Jordan so if you guys are gonna go, I'm staying," she said

Palika smiled.

"I'm not going either; we leave no one behind," he explained.

A collective nod from the group made Ollie crack a smile.

"Alright then, I'll arrange for a room for the three of them," said Yvette.


Later That Night- Haven

"I can't stay here anymore...I have to move on and get to New Vegas Strip...now that I've made all the caps that I need, I have no need of these people anymore,"

I slung my bag over my shoulder and locked the door behind me. I made my way to Valerie's house and left the key in her mailbox.

"Thanks for taking me in Valerie...you saved my life and gave me a home...I wouldn't be here without you,"

I walked over to Jordan's house and smiled.

"You're the one who saved me to begin with...if you didn't come outside and carried me in...I'd probably be dead...Jocelyn was also a major help because she nursed me back to health,"

I left a note in his mailbox as I moved onto Janet's house.

"We didn't really talk much but you still grew to be a part of the family...I appreciated the three of you always trying to cheer me up, especially at the parties we had,"

I let out a soft sigh as I turned to the gates.

"Christian...Robert...Andrew...everyone, thank you for everything you've done for me...but now I must go on my own,"

I exited the settlement and looked towards the north.

"Once I get there...I'll join the NCR's effort in the strip and work until the day I die...and come back to you Dan..."