A.N.: Hello Readers, DovahCourier here… Wow it's been too long since I've written those words. I am SO SORRY for the delay. I've been busy with schoolwork, family life, and another story (more on that later,) but don't worry; I've not been completely inactive on this story! I've been, with the help of a few amazing fellow authors, planning out the rest of this story in a bit of detail. I am proud to say that we have planned the rest of the story in the best way possible, so everything from this point to hell breaking out at the Hoover Dam is lined up and ready to go!

Anyway, without further ado, here is the conclusion to the cliffhanger at the end of chapter 24!

LINE BREAK-LINE BREAK

I don't own anything! The Fallout universe belongs to Bethesda/Black Isle/Obsidian, a nd RWBY belongs to Roosterteeth.

LINE BREAK-LINE BREAK

The Tale of Dust and Sand

A RWBY/New Vegas Crossover

Chapter Twenty-six: Transcontinental

Blake rolled to the left, narrowly avoiding a laser bolt. She drew her pistols, taking aim at the robotic figures on the ridge above. She opened fire, catching one of the skeletal figures in the knee with an armor piercing round. She looked over her shoulder, yelling to the trio waiting in the road. "Get to the car!"

The man in the sunglasses took the weight of the wounded woman over, nodding in Blake's direction. "Tommy, go raise some hell."

The man in the armored leathers nodded, drawing his sidearm and dropping to a knee next to Blake. Blake looked sideways, catching a glimpse of the man's firearm. It was obviously very well taken care of, with everything from its grip to its silencer polished until it shone. The only sign of the weapon firing was the man's finger pulling down on the trigger, followed by a slight incline in the barrel's direction.

The three remaining skeletal figures slid down the ridge, batons sparking. Blake holstered her right pistol, drawing a war club from her hip in its place. She looked down at the weapon; a two foot long piece of hand carved wood covered in tribal paints, capped off with a solid steel horse head with a short spike where the creature's mane would be. Blake rolled forwards, swinging her weapon. It caught one of the machines in the side of the head, sending ceramic plating scattering across the desert ground before the machine toppled over.

Blake fired a burst of rounds into the next skeletal robot, clustering her rounds in the center of mass. The machine shrugged off the first few shots, but froze when a shot hit an exposed tube. Immediately, the machine began to twitch erratically as a blast of freezing gas was expelled from the hole in the tube. The robot stumbled backwards, its chest beginning to glow a violent orange. Blake acted on instinct, planting a hard kick in the center of the machine's chest. The robot stumbled backwards, knocking over the last of its allies before sending them both up in a large explosion.

Blake looked up at the ridge, finding that the man in the dark trench coat was still there. She leveled her pistol on the man's head, pulling the trigger, only to have the empty clip drop out from the pistol's grip. She dodged to the side, narrowly avoiding a neon blue laser bolt. Blake looked over her shoulder, yelling back to the car. "CHRISTINE, SNIPER SUPPORT!"

Blake watched as the man on the ridge slung his bulky laser rifle over his shoulder, drawing a pair of batons similar to those of his fallen comrades. He slid down the ridge on the heels of his boots, coming to a stop a few feet from Blake. The man looked her in the eye, pointing a baton in her direction. "You are interfering with something that is far beyond your comprehension, girl. Now stand aside and let that stolen property…" He pointed at the wounded woman, who was being helped into the back seat of the car. "…be returned to its owner."

Blake smirked, shrugging. "Well, if you insist…" Blake stepped to the side…

…narrowly avoiding a .308 round as it came flying through the air past her head.

The round impacted the man's shoulder, forcing him to drop one of his batons. He reached for the rifle on his back, only to have another shot catch him in the wrist, blowing his hand clean off. The man darted backwards, using his free hand to tap a panel on his now handless forearm. He brought the arm up to his face, speaking into it in that constant monotone voice. "This is X6-88, requesting immediate withdrawal from combat…"

Blake drew her kukri from its shoulder sheath, darting at the man. She swung hard, planning to catch the man in the throat, only to have the blade pass through empty, ozone-scented air. 'Fuck… where did he AGH!' Blake's hands shot up to her ears, attempting to drown out a sudden, high-pitched noise coming from her Pip-Boy. She lowered her left arm, looking down at the device for any sign of the cause of the malfunction. All she could see was the radio screen, set to the far low end of the spectrum. "SIGNAL HIJACK COMPLETE; PROGRAM WITHDRAWL INITIATING…" Suddenly, the high-pitched noise ended, replaced briefly with what sounded like a classical sonata before blurring back into the usual jazz instrumental Blake kept the device tuned to.

LINE BREAK-LINE BREAK

Blake turned to face the two men sitting next to her in the back of the car. "So, who exactly are you people?"

The man in the leathers looked over to the man in the sunglasses, who only nodded. The leather clad man looked back at Blake. "We are part of the Railroad; a group that is devoted to helping Synths escape the Commonwealth."

Blake raised an eyebrow. "Synths? Commonwealth?"

The man in the sunglasses pointed to the one-legged woman, who had fallen asleep in Christine's lap in the passenger seat while Raul drove. "Synths; synthetic beings created by a group of scientists merely known as 'The Institute'. They are treated as property; we do what we can to give them the freedom they deserve."

Blake nodded. "An honorable cause. Now, where did you say you are from again?"

The man in the sunglasses pointed at Blake's Pip-Boy. "Can I see that for a moment?" Blake nodded, extending her arm. The man grabbed the device, inputting commands rapidly. "Wow, this is one of the 3000 models! I haven't seen one of these since my trip to DC… here ya go!"

Blake pulled her arm back, looking down at the screen. The map was zoomed out farther than she had ever needed, with two highlighted points; one showing her current location, and the other one showing a city over two thousand miles to the east, on the continent's coast. Blake's eyes widened in surprise. "Well… That is certainly a bit farther than I've traveled around."

The man in the leathers nodded, looking over at the man in glasses with slight irritation. "Yes it is. This guy over here met someone from all the way out here, and he offered to set up connections with their group for another escape route…"

The man in the glasses put his hands up defensively. "Hey! How was I supposed to know their camp got hit by a deathclaw before we could make the handoff? You are the one that suggested we start heading west and find these 'Followers' ourselves!"

"Yeah, that's because Glory would've gunned down both of our asses if we didn't get E9 out of the 'Wealth in one way or another! And you are the one that let the car get stolen by raiders in Colorado!"

Blake decided to change the subject before things turned violent. "So… I don't think I caught your names…"

The man in the leathers reached across to shake Blake's hand. "The name's Tommy, this is UMPH!"

The man in the sunglasses covered Tommy's mouth. "That's classified information. Now, would you mind if we asked the same question of you?"

Blake shrugged. "The name's Blake, that's Raul" The ghoul in the driver's seat raised a hand, waving. "And that's Christine." Blake pointed at the woman in question, who had also fallen asleep in the passenger seat.

The man in the sunglasses nodded. "Alright. Now, any idea how far it is to Vegas?"

Blake pointed out of the car at the Freeside sign that had just come into view. "About three seconds. Where are you guys headed?"

Tommy spoke up. "We're tracking down the headquarters of a group known as 'The Followers of the Apocalypse'. Before he got eaten, D- I mean, my friend here's contact said something about coming from a fort around here…"

Blake nodded. "I know where we're going. Raul, take a left up here if you would…"

Raul nodded. "You got it Boss!"

The car took a left onto one of Freeside's side streets. Blake pointed ahead to the Old Mormon Fort a couple of blocks away. "There's your fort. Now Raul, if you could…"

Before Blake could continue, the streets were filled with the sounds of roaring engines. Blake looked down the road, only to see a jet black Highwayman shoot past at full speed, followed closely by a sprinting set of dark blue power armor. Blake shook her head, signaling for Raul to roll forward. The car moved about an inch before a pair of motorcycles flew past, laser and plasma bursts firing from the drivers towards the car and power armor.

Blake turned to look at the others. "Alright, either we follow that and see what the fuck is going on…" There was a dull thud of an explosion in the distance. "Or we drop off E9, head back to my place, and have a drink while agreeing we've been shot at enough already for one day."

The man in the glasses raised a single finger. "I'll have a whisky on the rocks, if you don't mind."

LINE BREAK-LINE BREAK

Yang stretched, walking into the top-floor penthouse apartment. She had just walked past the kitchen, deciding it would be best to avoid whatever Ruby was screaming at the top of her lungs at the others about, deciding instead to head upstairs for a well-deserved nap. She entered the living room, only to be greeted by an unexpected sight.

The first thing she saw was the booze; a bottle of wine sat on the coffee table, next to two empty bottles of scotch, a few beers that she didn't recognize as local, and what looked to be a margarita glass with salt that was literally glowing a nuclear green. Next, she saw a person wearing a mechanic jumpsuit, facing away from her…

…Touching her power armor.

Yang shot forward, fists raised. "Hey, what gives?" She reached the man, taking in more details as she went. She noticed he was a ghoul, similar to those she and Weiss had encountered at the rocket site weeks ago. He had one arm holding up the breastplate of the suit, while the other held a wrench, tightening an internal spring. "Alright mister, you better have one hell of an explanation for why you're touching my baby…"

The man spoke up in a raspy voice, not looking away from his work. "Because, Niñita; the primary compression spring was looser than a mother of octuplets. One or two good hits and this plate would've flown off." The man lowered the plate, wiping the grease from his hands onto his jumpsuit before extending a hand. "The name's Raul. You must be Yang."

Yang nodded, shaking the ghoul's hand. "Yup, that's me… how did you know…"

Raul pointed across the room. "Your amante told me all about you."

Yang followed the ghoul's finger, locking eyes on Blake, sitting near the window, talking to a couple of men. Yang grinned, nodding to Raul before making her way over to where Blake sat. She jumped over the back of Blake's seat on the couch, landing in her lap as gracefully as she could manage, following up with a quick peck on Blake's cheek. "Cheers love!"

Blake jumped in surprise, looking down at Yang with a glare before looking back up at her guests. "As I mentioned earlier, this is Yang. Yang, meet Tommy and…" She let out a sigh, saying the next sentence with sarcastic air quotes. "…'Classified'."

Yang looked over at the two guests. One man, clad in a leather coat covered in steel plates, waved casually. The other man, wearing a simple shirt, jeans, and sunglasses, gave a half-salute with a smile. "We should get going anyway… where did you say the garage is?"

Blake pointed at the elevator. "Bottom floor, take a left… House said you can take the slightly rusted Panther at the close end of the bikes."

Tommy stood up, merely nodding before turning to head to the elevator. The man in the glasses, however, stopped for a moment, grabbing his friend by the collar. "We would just like to thank you again for your help; we wouldn't've made it without you."

Blake shook her head, waving it off. "No need for that; I was just doing what was right…"

Before Blake could continue, Tommy reached around and pulled the large hammer off of his back. He handed it to Yang, grinning. "Blake mentioned you are a bit of a heavy hitter, so consider this a gift from her…"

Yang looked down at the hammer, grinning. Most of the handle was replaced with a long, thin fuel tank, with a tube leading up to the hammer's head. The back half of the head was what appeared to be a small thruster. Yang gave the weapon a swing, pulling down on a trigger on the handle as she did so. Immediately, the thruster let out a burst of flames, sending the hammer double-speed through its swing arc.

Tommy smirked. "Yup; consider that a little taste of the Commonwealth for ya. Anyway, we'll be going… thanks again!" With that, the man headed for the elevator."

The man in the sunglasses clapped a hand on Blake's shoulder, leaning in to whisper. "Thanks again. Now just remember…" He slid a piece of paper into her pocket. "If you ever find yourself in Boston, feel free to drop in for a donut and some coffee…"

The man stepped towards the elevator room, smirking. Blake looked up. "Wait! I never got your name…"

The man shook his head. "Sorry darling, that information is classif-"

"Deacon! Hurry up, or Des will have the two of us running the Rivet City route through the Glowing Sea for the next decade!"

Deacon sighed, waving again at Blake and Yang. "Hasta La Vista, amigos!" The man turned around, making his way to around the corner to the elevator.

Blake pulled the note out of her pocket, looking at it in detail. It was a simple pre-war flyer, advertising a new Slocum Joe's Coffee Shop branch in Lexington, Massachusetts. She flipped it over, only to find a small drawing of a square-shaped gas lamp, with an atom where the flame would normally go.

Blake put the note back in her pocket, looking up at Yang. "Well, how was your day?"

Yang shrugged. "It was normal; got some new guns, fought a couple of bugs, watched V blow herself up…"

Blake smirked, remembering to collect payment on her bet with Christine later. She wrapped an arm around Yang's shoulder pulling her towards the door to their room. She looked at Yang, wide amber eyes meeting Yang's soft lavender ones. "Well, I think we both have earned a bit of rest, if you don't mind…" Yang blushed for a moment before nodding, following Blake towards room. As they passed the power armor station, Blake looked over her shoulder. "Keep up the good work Raul! Feel free to go work on the bike at the end of the row downstairs if you want…" With that, she closed and locked the bedroom door.

Yang looked over Blake's shoulder at the closed door. "Wait… that's my bike at the end of the…"

Yang was cut off by Blake biting down softly on her collarbone as she ran a hand through the blonde's hair. Blake looked up at Yang seductively. "Exactly…" Without waiting for a response from the blonde, Blake locked lips with her lover, moaning with pleasure as Yang's scent of citrus and honey overwhelmed her.

Yang pulled Blake with her to the bed, pulling the ebony haired beauty's duster off as she landed on the water-filled mattress, losing themselves in the gold and black satin sheets. Yang moaned as Blake nibbled softly on her lower lip, strengthening the Faunus' natural taste of licorice and black cherry, with traces of red wine from earlier. Blake reached past Yang, breaking the kiss for a moment as she reached under her pillow. Yang raised an eyebrow. "What's that?"

Blake smirked. "Oh, it's nothing…" She grabbed Yang's wrists, slowly pulling them towards the headboard. "Just a little something I found in the casino floor's security office…" Yang heard a soft metallic click, giving the noise little attention. She moved to raise her arms to embrace her lover as tightly as she could…

…Only to find her hands cuffed around a bedpost.

Yang grinned, hiding her slight anxiety while she shook the cuffs more. "Alright babe, very funny…"

Blake sat up, pulling off her armor, shirt, and tank top, leaving nothing hidden as Yang ogled her beauty. She leaned forward, stopping inches form Yang's ear. "Look at the sunset, little dragon…" Yang looked out the window, catching the beautiful sight of the sun going down over the Sierra Madres in the distance. "…Because that's the last light you're seeing until sunrise…"

With that, Blake clicked the button on her hip-mounted stealth boy; giggling with pleasure she slipped into invisibility, preparing to spend all night with her favorite woman in the world.

LINE BREAK-LINE BREAK

Ruby tapped her foot rapidly, crossing her arms as she looked around the kitchen. There were duffel bags overflowing with energy weapons, ranging from small pistols, mines, and grenades to a massive, chrome-plated Gatling Laser with glowing green veins along the barrels. "I'm not going to ask again; explain NOW!"

Weiss recoiled slightly, rubbing the back of her neck sheepishly as she looked at the others for support. "Well… It all started this morning before breakfast…"

LINE BREAK-LINE BREAK

A.N.: Well, let's hope that I NEVER go that long without posting again. I am SO SORRY for the delay; the last month has been a little rough for me, but I'm pretty sure things are looking up from here on out. I would like to directly thank every one of you who has not abandoned this story yet!

I also have been working on another story, a Skyrim/RWBY Crossover by the name of 'Of Chaos and Dragons', so feel free to look at that one if either of those catches your fancy (well, if you're reading this you are probably a RWBY fan… fuck it, never mind). I will be alternating chapters between the two stories when it comes to work time, but both stories will definitely be worked on unless I say otherwise.

I am sorry to say that I have forgotten who I have and have not PM'd for reviews, so please PM me if you really want to talk story, or anything else; I am not just an author, but a fellow human being (at least that's what my doctor says), so feel free to just talk to me like one! I will hopefully get back into the habit of responding immediately starting w/ this chapter.

Next chapter will be the long hinted-at heist chapter, so be ready for that! Thank you all again SO MUCH for hanging in there while I got my shit together, thanks for reading, and just remember; keep on fighting the good fight!

-DovahCourier