AN: Hello again Readers, DovahCourier here! I… don't really have anything to say here, so… Enjoy le chapter!
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I do not own RWBY or Fallout: New Vegas. Those belong to Rooster Teeth, Bethesda, and Obsidian.
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The Tale of Dust and Sand
A RWBY/New Vegas Crossover
Chapter Twenty-one: Jacobstown
Ruby slowly opened her eyes. She scanned her surroundings; she was in her room in the 38, lying down in bed. She looked at the floor, surprised to find her suit, shirt and tie from the night before strewn across the floor. She shifted to sit up, but stopped when she felt a delicate yet firm grip around her midsection. She looked down, only to find a fair-skinned arm wrapped around her. She followed the arm, rolling over slowly to find herself face to face with a still sleeping Weiss.
Ruby looked Weiss up and down, following the gentle curve of her chest (which was covered up by one of the bedsheets), down to her abdomen, which rose and fell with every breath the woman took. She looked up slightly, confused by the expression on Weiss' face. It looked like a combination of fear, anger, and a hint of sadn-
"AHH!"
Suddenly, Weiss shot up with a scream, eyes flying open. Ruby instinctively grabbed onto the startled heiress, pulling her into a hug. "Shh… its ok, I'm here…"
Weiss buried her face in Ruby's shoulder, sobbing uncontrollably. Ruby just sat there, stroking a single hand through her lover's soft white hair. A few minutes later Weiss pulled away, locking eyes with Ruby. "Sorry, bad dream…"
Ruby looked at Weiss, a worried expression on her face. "You can tell me if you want… I am here for you." To hammer the point of support home, Ruby placed a hand on one of Weiss' bare shoulders, patting softly.
Weiss nodded, acknowledging Ruby's support. "I… I had a dream about my father."
Ruby raised an eyebrow, confused slightly. "Your father?"
Weiss nodded. "Yes Ruby, my father. I… I was back in Atlas, introducing you to him. I told him I didn't want to take over the family company; that I wanted to be a huntress; that I wanted stay with you. He… he…" Weiss began to choke up again.
Ruby squeezed the hand on Weiss' shoulder reassuringly. "It's ok if you don't want to keep go-"
"He screamed for me to get out of his sight! He said I was a disgrace to the Schnee name and that I was banned from visiting home again…" Tears began to make their way down Weiss' face once more.
Ruby pulled Weiss into a tight hug. "Shh… It's ok, it's ok… it was just a dream, alright?" She pulled away slightly, resting her forehead against Weiss'. "If it makes you feel better… I think you would make as good a Rose as you would a Schnee…"
Weiss grabbed Ruby, hugging her tight enough for Ruby to feel a few of her ribs pop. "Thank you…"
Ruby pulled away enough to be face-to-face with Weiss. "Don't worry about it; what are lovers for?" Weiss laughed at this, laying her head against Ruby's chest. Ruby smiled, stretching with a loud yawn. "Alright, time to get up…" Ruby threw the bedding off of her and Weiss, swinging her legs around to the edge of the bed. "Um, Weiss…"
"What is it?"
"Where are my pants?"
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Ruby and Weiss entered the kitchen, surprised to find Blake, Yang, and Veronica already at the table…
…Being served breakfast by Ruby's robot, Caroline.
"Alright, that's two cups of coffee, a cup of tea, and scrambled eggs that I'm pretty sure aren't from a chicken. Will that be all, luvs?"
"Actually, if you have any attachments that are capable of vibr… Oh, mornin' Rubes!"
Blake and Veronica followed Yang's gaze, catching sight of a very tired Weiss… and an infuriated Ruby. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING WITH MY ROBOT?!"
Yang raised an eyebrow. "What's wrong? She makes great coffee!"
"I wasn't done with the arms! If she uses them too much, they'll-" Caroline's arm holding a large coffee pot fell off at the 'elbow', hitting the floor with a loud crash. "…do that." Ruby quickly ran towards the robot, opening an access panel on the back of her central pod.
"Oi! What the bloody 'ell do ya think you're doing back the…" Ruby flipped the emergency power switch, and Caroline's voice cut out as her limbs went limp. Ruby looked down at her Pip-Boy, inputting a few commands and sending Caroline back to the basement.
Weiss and Ruby sat down at the table. Ruby threw her legs up onto the table, leaning her chair onto its hind legs. "So, what's up with- AGH!" Ruby was cut off as her chair shifted backwards, sending her toppling backwards onto the floor.
Weiss pinched the bridge of her nose, shaking her head. "I think this dunce was trying to ask what our plans are for today."
"Whatever they are, we're making new ones." The entire group turned to see Liz walking into the kitchen, already wearing her armor and armed to the teeth.
Ruby, who had already gotten back up from her fall, looked at Liz, confused. "What is it?"
"This;" Liz pressed a few buttons on her Pip-Boy. Static made its way from the speakers, before a voice could be heard through the device.
"This is a distress call… Please, anyone who can… Under attack by mercenaries… old ski resort, northwest of Vegas… setting to repeat… This is a…" Despite the constant static, Ruby could tell the voice was a male, and had the telltale signs of being from an older gentleman.
Liz turned off the radio. "Alright, I need two of you to…"
Ruby shot up from her seat, grabbing Weiss by the wrist and hauling her up with her. "We volunteer!"
Liz nodded. "Great; lock, load, and meet in the garage in five minutes." With this, she left the kitchen, running for the elevator.
Ruby turned to face Yang. "Will you guys be alright with staying here?"
"Definitely; we already had plans to start remodeling upstairs today!" Yang said with a sly grin.
Weiss raised an eyebrow. "Remodeling? What do you mean, remodel-" Weiss was cut off by a loud crash from a few stories above.
Veronica let out a laugh. "That'd be Christine… We should get upstairs and make sure she doesn't bring the casino down. Good luck!" With that, she grabbed Yang and Blake by the collar before darting for the elevator.
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Ruby stopped her bike next to Liz's car. They had driven up a mountain highway, and found themselves surrounded by lush pine trees. Up the road, Ruby could just make out a line of figures standing in front of a large wall, weapons in hand. "Alright, what's the plan?"
Liz killed her engine, jumping out of the car with Cass and Goris. "Easy; assess the situation, try and negotiate, and kick some mercenary ass if it goes south."
Ruby nodded in approval, before killing her bike's engine and dismounting. Weiss followed suit, walking around the bike to help Roxie out of the sidecar. She watched as the cyberdog took a few steps, grinning at how well her leg had recovered since Ruby had first found her.
Ruby turned to face Weiss, gesturing at the girl's outfit. "Um, Weiss… Aren't you a little bit, I don't know… under-armored for this?"
Weiss looked down at her outfit; a clean white pre-war business suit with a dark blue undershirt and a bright red tie, taken directly from House's personal closet. "Don't worry Ruby…" She undid a couple of upper buttons and pulled the collar back, revealing the upper edge of her stealth armor. "…I think I'm covered."
The party made their way towards the gathering up the road, weapons at the ready. As they got closer, Ruby realized the group was large; at least two dozen men with decent looking armor and weapons. Every so often, one of the mercenaries would fire at the closed wooden gate in front of them, leaving bullet holes in the surface. Liz took the lead, stopping a few feet away from the back of the group. "Hey dumbasses!"
Every head spun around, locking vision on the duster-clad courier. A bald, pudgy man in clean, military-grade armor stepped towards Liz, scowl on his face. "What the fuck do you want? This is none of your concern."
Liz grinned. "Actually, all I see is a bunch of punks harassing a town, so I believe it is my business." She drew her sword, giving it a quick flourish before pointing it at the man.
"Hey lady, I'm just doing my job; either get the fuckin' Greenskins to leave, or give them a reason to attack so we can wipe em' all out." He looked over his shoulder briefly at his men, before returning his gaze to Liz. "I don't know if you can count babe, but I think twenty-four mercenaries easily beats four girls, a freaky dog, and an old man in a robe." Every mercenary's gun came up, training on a target.
Liz looked over her shoulder, sarcastically counting the entire group and throwing a sly wink back. "Well bub, I think you miscounted; All I see is four gals, a dog, and…" She snapped her fingers and ducked to the side. Goris threw his cloak to the side, letting out a guttural roar that shook the very ground as he ran his metal claw-daggers along each other, sending sparks flying. "…A motherfucking armored deathclaw. So, if you don't want to become a pile of minced merc, I suggest you hoof it."
The man looked at Goris for a moment, who only threw a toothy grin in the man's direction. The man signaled to his troops, before running as quickly as possible back down the mountain road.
Liz turned around, flourishing her katana once more as she replaced it in its sheath at her hip. "Well… that went nicely, if I do say so myself." The entire group could only stare in silence, mouths agape.
The group started walking towards the large wooden gateway the mercenaries had been attacking. As they approached, Ruby noticed a large sign above the gate. All of the original writing had faded away with age, replaced with the word 'Jacobstown' written in large red letters. Suddenly, a deep, gravelly voice sounded from the other side of the wall. "Just a moment, opening the gate…"
Ruby took another step towards the slowly opening gateway, but was gently shoved out of the way by a large scaly hand as Goris darted forward. The doors opened fully, and Ruby was surprised by the sight before her.
Instead of a man, a massive creature stood before the group. Ruby immediately recognized it as one of the beasts Caesar's men had sent after her in Nipton; tall, dark green skin, vaguely humanoid. Instead of leather and chains, this one wore armor made of metal scraps, with an apparatus consisting of a headset and goggles on his forehead.
Before anyone could speak up, Goris charged at the massive mutant, arms stretched out wide…
…And grabbed him around the midsection, lifting the large creature into a hug.
"Brother! It has been too long…" Goris let go, dropping the mutant.
The mutant clapped a hand on Goris' back, a massive grin on his face. "Goris; I thought you were back west searching for more of your pack!"
A somber expression crossed Goris' face. "I… I am the last one."
The mutant frowned. "I'm… I'm sorry for your loss. Now, who is this ragtag team you find yourself with now?"
Goris smiled at this, leading the massive being over to the rest of the group. "Guys, this is Marcus." Marcus waved. "Marcus, this is Ruby and Weiss…"
Weiss nodded, and Ruby waved enthusiastically.
"Roxie…"
Roxie barked, and Ruby noticed a nostalgic smile cross Marcus' face for a moment.
"And, last of all, Liz and Cass."
Marcus gazed at Cass for a moment, before turning to look at Goris. Goris only nodded, smirking. "She sure does look like her pa, doesn't she? She sure drinks like the son of a bitch too."
Marcus laughed, reaching a hand out to shake Cass's. "Rose of Shannon Cassidy… You sure look like your pa."
Cass returned the handshake. "Well, apparently everyone from here to The Boneyard but me has met the bastard, so I'll need to take your word for it."
"Marcus, this is Liz…" Marcus followed Goris' gaze, freezing when his eyes fell upon Liz.
The mutant looked Liz up and down, before making an expression that would raise an eyebrow if he had one. "Have we… met?"
Liz shook her head. "Not to my knowledge."
"What's your last name, young one?"
Liz shrugged her shoulders. "Hell if I know; never really needed to use it, so I forgot."
Marcus shook the woman's hand. "Well no matter; welcome to Jacobstown!" With this, he threw his arms out as if to present the surrounding village to the group. "Feel free to explore, just try not to piss off the nightkin. Liz, Cassidy, Goris… if you would please follow me to my office, I need to talk to you all for a moment." With this, Marcus started walking towards a large ski lodge nestled right against one of the surrounding mountains.
Weiss, Ruby and Roxie began walking in the same general direction, taking in their surroundings. The entire town was surrounded by a wall constructed of trees uprooted from the surrounding forest. There was a large farm, with a small heard of bighorners in a nearby pen. The one thing that shocked the two the most though was the fact that the entire village was populated by Super Mutants.
The duo reached the door to the ski lodge, walking in through the massive oak door. They looked around for a moment, taking in the lodge's decor, before a deep howl from a room to the right gained their attention. Without warning, Roxie darted away from Weiss' side, towards the source of the noise.
Ruby and Weiss followed Roxie, running into the room. They skidded to a halt in the room's doorway, taking in the scene before them. The room was obviously a laboratory of sorts, with entire walls and tables covered in technology. In the center of the room was a pair of people, an older gentleman and a ghoulified woman, wearing pristine white labcoats. On the floor in front of the apparent scientists was Roxie, slowly circling and sniffing at another animal. The creature was built like a bulldog, with a leathery hide very similar to a Super Mutant's. The animal's hind legs and lower jaw were missing, replaced with mechanical counterparts.
Weiss stepped into the lab, grabbing Roxie by the collar and pulling back. "I am so sorry…"
The male doctor waved a hand, dismissing the girl. "Not to worry young lady, I'm used to cyberdogs; centuries old sometimes, yet still as energetic as pups. This is an absolutely stunning specimen, where did you find her?"
Weiss hesitated, deciding to not exactly lie about Roxie's origins. "We found her in some Pre-War science facility. What about your, err… dog?" She gestured towards the stocky creature currently sniffing Roxie.
"Oh, this little devil?" The man kneeled down, scratching the beast behind the ears. "This is Scrap; a traveler all the way from the East Coast gave me him a couple weeks back. Said he deserved a better home than where he was heading." The man stood back up, reaching a hand out. "Where are my manners?! Dr. Henry, canine robotics and cyber-genetics expert."
Weiss accepted the handshake. "Weiss Schnee. Nice to meet you, good sir."
"And you too young lady. Calamity…"
"Yes, Dr. Henry?" The ghoul asked, her voice matching that of an extreme chain-smoker's.
"Would you mind getting a bowl of water for our new friend here? She looks tired."
Weiss raised an eyebrow. "Are cups not an option he…"
"I was talking about the cyberdog."
"Yes, of course you were…" Weiss pounded he face into her palm.
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About an hour later, Ruby and Weiss found themselves sitting at a table with Henry, a large bowl of bighorner stew in front of each. Weiss giggled as she watched Scrap and Roxie playing, rolling around like best friends. Dr. Henry spoke up. "You know, I think he might be a bit happier if he goes with you; No mutt deserves to stay cooped up in a lodge all the time."
Weiss thought about it for a moment. "I don't know… The 38 is getting pretty crowded…"
Weiss was cut off by Ruby throwing herself on top of Weiss, gazing up at the heiress with massive silver puppy eyes. "PPPPLLLLEEEEAAAASSSSEEEEEEEEEE….."
Weiss sighed. "Fine… we can keep him."
"YAY!" Ruby rolled off of Weiss' lap before crawling on her knees over to join Scrap and Roxie.
Dr. Henry turned to face Weiss. "You can keep him under two conditions…"
"What do you need?"
He stuck a finger up. "One; give him a damn good home. I've seen too many cyberhounds mistreated and abused."
Weiss pointed at Ruby, who was currently scratching the massive hound's belly. "I don't think you need to worry about that, sir."
The man nodded, before raising a second finger. "And two; I have an associate down at the Old Mormon Fort that has been helping a local leader with his own cyberdog's medical needs. If you could stop by and help get the mutt up here to see me…"
Weiss nodded. "Consider it done."
"Alright than…" Henry reached into his pocket, pulling out a piece of paper and handing it to Weiss. "Just find my associate, and he can lead you from there."
Weiss looked down at the paper, making out the words 'Arcade Gannon' written in a rough handwriting. "Alright, I will handle this as soon as I can. Now, I was wondering if there is anything I should be specifically doing to care for Roxie…"
Weiss stopped talking when a knock resonated from the lab's doorway. She looked around, only to see Liz standing there. "Hey guys, we're heading out for a drive… Anyone want to come with?"
Ruby shot up, giving both dogs a final scratch behind the ears. "I'm in!"
Weiss shook her head. "Have fun… I think I'll stay here for the moment."
Ruby bounded over to Weiss, planting a quick kiss on the tip of her nose. "See ya!" With this, the girl darted out of the room, following Liz to the door.
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"Where are we going again?" Ruby asked from the backseat of Liz's Corvega. They had been driving for at least an hour, making their way through pre-war highways deeper into the mountain range.
"Just to go see somebody." Marcus said from his seat next to Ruby. The mutant was so massive that he had to lean sideways, throwing one of his legs unto the armrest between Cass and Liz's seats. "Liz, turn left up here."
Liz complied; taking a left onto a road that Ruby assumed was rough terrain even before the area was swept with nuclear fire. The road went on for a while before coming to a stop in front of a small cabin surrounded by thick trees. Liz opened her door, slapping Cass on the shoulder. "Wake up, lil' Whisky Rose…"
Cass grumbled, getting out of the car. Ruby and Marcus followed suit. Marcus took the lead, walking in front of the group as they all made their way towards the cabin's front door. Ruby looked around the yard, noticing a large shape covered by a tarp peeking out from behind the back corner of the hut. Marcus reached the door and lightly rapped a massive fist against the door.
A loud barking sounded from inside of the house, followed by the click of a weapon being primed and a woman's voice. "NO VISITORS! LEAVE NOW, OR I WILL OPEN FIRE!"
Marcus only smirked, shaking his head. "Can you make an exception for an old friend?" The barking immediately stopped. There was a brief pause, than Ruby listened as a series of metallic clicks made its way down the edge of the door. Suddenly, the door swung open, revealing the owner of the voice…
…A tall, aged woman with silver-blonde hair, piercing violet eyes, and a small burn scar just above her right cheek.
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AN: Well, this was fun; mostly a filler chapter, plus that little end bit that I will admit I've been kinda-sorta planning since chapter one. Now, onto the guest reviews:
Guest: 'Bow-chicka-bow-wow' ;)
Well, that's all for now folks. The request for a cover artist is still in effect, so anybody interested please PM me for details if interested. I will see you all next week, and just remember; keep on fightin' the Good Fight!
-DovahCourier