This chapter officially marks the beginning of the Enclave Remnants story arc, and as the title suggests, this is also the chapter that Layla finishes her recovery. Needless to say, there will be obscene amounts of bloodshed. Yay!

Recovery's End

Arcade Gannon, Journal Entry 248

When I started this journal 4 years ago, I never thought I'd actually have anything interesting to write in it. I certainly never thought I'd have to write anything about the Enclave. I thought I'd left that chapter of my life behind years ago, but it seems fate has other plans.

A week ago, I heard a rumour that somebody was searching for information about the Remnants. I know what the NCR do to anybody who has any sort of connection with the Enclave, and since the NCR all but run the Mojave these days, it was likely they'd find out about my connection at some point. It was likely that there was no basis to this rumour, but I couldn't take that chance, so I packed up my belongings, and left the Old Mormon Fort as fast as I could.

I may not like talking to people much, but I still had my ear close enough to the ground that I knew where to find an effective information dealer. His name was Lenny the Nose, and he's probably the least trustworthy man I've ever met. I got the impression that he'd sell me out for dirt. He still gave information to those who paid however, so I still needed him. I paid him a few caps, and he told me who was looking for the Remnants: a mercenary named Campbell. I'd heard of Campbell; he's a legend in Freeside, and has sent more than his fair share of injured people to the Followers. I knew what this mercenary is capable of, so to keep him off my track I told Lenny the Nose that I'd be hiding out in Goodsprings, and that he should contact me there if he learnt anything else. That, of course, was a lie. I'm not going anywhere near Goodsprings, but if Lenny is as much a rat as I suspect, he'll tell Campbell what I told him, leading the merc on a wild goose chase. Of course, if he's as good as I heard, then that didn't delay him for long. He's probably right on my tail, even as I type this.

Now, a week later, I'm holed up in an abandoned shack in the middle of nowhere. It's the shack that we stayed in when we first arrived in the Mojave all those years ago. Amazing that it's still in one piece; I'd half expected it to have been overtaken by raiders by now. Well…actually, there was a raider here when I arrived. He was injured, so I offered to treat his wounds. He pulled out a knife…I pulled out my plasma defender…now I have a green puddle that I'm too lazy to clean up.

This isn't the first time I'd had to avoid some pursuers; I spent most of my teenage years running from the NCR and the Brotherhood with the Remnants after all. Even after all these years, I remember what they taught me. I was able to cover my tracks effectively, I left no evidence anywhere that I stayed over the past few days, and I haven't seen or spoken to anyone, so there're no witnesses for Campbell to question. Even so, all those years taught me that you can never be totally sure you've lost your pursuer. Far too many times we thought we'd fully evaded NCR or Brotherhood troops, only to be caught right in the middle of an ambush a few minutes later. Anyway, I've set up sensors all over the outside of the shack; a little trick Doc Henry taught me way back when. If somebody approaches, I'll know about it.

I'm just about to turn in for the night, so there's not really much else to add. Arcade Gannon, signing off.

His journal entry complete, Arcade turned away from his portable terminal, before getting to his feet. I don't even know why I still write that thing. He thought to himself as he walked away from the desk that he'd been sitting at moments ago. He walked towards his duffel bag, and pulled out a bottle of Nuka-Cola, before taking a drink. He'd never much cared for the stuff, and the caffeine would no doubt make it difficult to get to sleep, but he hadn't had anything to eat or drink for the past few days, and he was craving nourishment. As he greedily chugged down the cola, he cast a look around the room.

The shack he was staying in wasn't particularly large, but there was still more than enough room for him to make himself comfortable. After all, he and the Remnants had lived here comfortably for a few weeks back when they'd first arrived in the Mojave. If six people could live in this place without going crazy, one person would have little trouble. The place hadn't changed at all since then, and Arcade smiled wistfully as he saw a familiar scorch mark on a nearby wall. Back when they'd first moved in, Moreno and Johnson and been having one of their usual arguments. Moreno had lost his temper (As was the norm with Moreno), and had pulled out his laser pistol. He'd tried to shoot Johnson, but tripped on the rug at the last second, causing him to fall flat on his face, and making the laser miss completely, scorching the wall nowhere near Johnson. Arcade had found Moreno's blunder hilarious, but Judah had still needed to rein the large man in, before he fired another shot. Ah…good times. Arcade thought as he reminisced.

He currently stood in the living room of the shack. The only pieces of furniture were an old sofa that sat in the middle of the room, a comfortable armchair to the left of the sofa, and a metal desk in the far left corner, on which Arcade's portable terminal now sat. His duffel bag, containing all his belongings, sat on the floor a few feet away from the desk. In front of the sofa was a window, but Arcade had the blinds pulled up. The last thing he wanted to do was inform people that this place was now occupied. On the far wall next to Moreno's scorch mark was a small pile of chems; belongings of the raider that had occupied this place before Arcade turned up. Said raider lay a few feet away from the chem pile, now only a puddle of green goo. Next to the scorch mark was a doorway which led to the only bedroom, to the right was the shack's front door, and on the shack's right wall opposite the desk was a doorway which led into the shack's bathroom.

Arcade took off his glasses, before rubbing his eyes tiredly as he finished his Nuka-Cola. He was exhausted, and sleep was beginning to sound better and better by the minute. After a few seconds he left his eyes alone, and took off his Followers lab coat before draping it over the armchair, leaving him in his light grey collared shirt and dark grey slacks. He started to walk towards the bedroom, when he heard a familiar beep from his terminal. The terminal could only be beeping for one reason: Arcade had linked his sensors outside to the terminal, so that it would inform him if one of the sensors was tripped. Since the terminal had beeped…it meant there was somebody outside.

"Great." Arcade said wearily, before flattening himself up against the wall next to the blinds. He put his glasses back on, before inching closer to the window. With one hand, he slowly pulled aside the blinds, before looking out of the window. It was almost pitch black outside, no doubt a result of the lateness of the hour. He realised that looking outside was pointless; he wouldn't be able to see the trespasser even if they'd been jumping up and down right in front of the window. Luckily, he had just the thing for this situation. He detached himself from the wall, before creeping over to his lab coat.

He rummaged around in his coat for a few seconds before pulling out what he'd been looking for: a jar of Cateye tablets. He'd taken them from one of the Followers' medical storage chests when leaving the fort, thinking they'd come in handy. He'd felt guilty for a time, but eventually reasoned that they wouldn't miss one jar of Cateye, when they had many in reserve. He opened the jar and took out a tablet of Cateye, before closing the jar and putting it back into his coat pocket. As he returned the Cateye to his coat pocket, he pulled something else out of a different pocket: his plasma defender.

The gun had been a gift from Judah when the Remnants had gone their separate ways, and Arcade had become quite proficient with it. He quickly checked to make sure the gun was in working order, before swallowing the Cateye tablet. The effect was almost immediate.

His vision suddenly took on a blue tint, making everything appear much brighter than normal. Inside the shack, where there was already light, his eyes were badly strained, but outside in the dark the blue vision would be invaluable. His eyesight now boosted by the Cateye, Arcade returned to the wall, before pulling open the blinds again and looking outside. With the Cateye, he could now see perfectly in the gloom. The blue vision highlighted the dirt and rocks that occupied this barren portion of the Mojave, but he didn't detect any sign of movement. There didn't seem to be anything abnormal out there.

Just as he was starting to feel safe, his terminal beeped again. Another sensor had been tripped. Arcade immediately made his way over to his portable terminal, before turning it back on again. Once the terminal had rebooted, he opened the simple program he'd been using to monitor his sensors, before checking to see exactly which sensor had been tripped. A large grid appeared on screen, along with a map of the surrounding area for a few miles. The grid showed precisely where on the map he'd planted each sensor. He'd been thorough, planting sensors at specific locations all around the shack to make sure nobody could sneak up on him. The first sensor that the trespasser had tripped was almost a mile away from the shack, on the very outskirts of the grid. The second was closer, less than half a mile from the shack. Whoever it was, they were getting closer. The tripped sensors were located around the front of the shack, so Arcade gripped his plasma defender tightly before heading towards the front door.

Upon reaching it, he took a deep breath, before slowly nudging the door open. He tried to stay concealed behind the door as best he could as it opened, while scanning his Cateye enhanced vision over the landscape. The area around the shack was mostly made up of several medium sized rocks, and could only really be reached by a single path leading to the front door. The tripped sensors hadn't been anywhere near the path, so Arcade focused his attention on the rocks instead. As the door opened all the way, Arcade slowly and nervously stepped out of the shack, looking all around for his would be intruder as he did so. He detected no movement either in or around the rocks, and heard no footsteps around him. The whole area was silent, apart from the rustling of the wind in the night. And Arcade's heartbeat; that was getting quite loud too.

For all his time with the Remnants, Arcade had never actually been in a combat situation, so he was understandably quite nervous. The fact that his pursuer was most likely the famous/infamous mercenary Campbell only made his nerves worse. As he crouched low near the house, he tried to slow his heart down, all the while looking in the direction of the last sensor that had been tripped. There was nothing but rocks in that direction, no sign of whoever had tripped his sensor. Must've been a wasteland creature or something. His mind said to him, and he was inclined to believe it. He released the breath that he hadn't even realised he'd been holding, he turned to go back inside the shack. Then he heard a familiar beeping coming from within. Another sensor had been tripped.

He spun around, before frantically looking all around the rocky area in front of him. There were rocks everywhere he looked…and a figure that was too large to be a rock. He immediately raised his plasma defender and fired. His shot was surprisingly accurate, hitting the figure dead on and knocking it to the ground. He breathed a sigh of relief, before leaning back against the shack's exterior wall. He'd got him. The intruder was down. But is he out? Arcade decided to check this, firmly gripping his plasma defender before walking over to where the figure had dropped. He wiped a bead of sweat from his forehead as he neared the figure, before focusing all his attention on navigating the rocky terrain. One wrong step, and he could fall knee first on a rock, rendering him immobile and easy pickings for wasteland creatures, raiders…or whoever had been lurking outside his shack. As he stepped over a particularly sharp rock, he reached the figure, before pointing his gun downward. The figure was definitely a person but…wait…no…no it wasn't. Arcade lowered his gun in confusion as he saw a male mannequin lying at his feet, with a plasma burn on its chest.

"What the hell?" He wondered aloud as he prodded the mannequin with his foot. The mysterious individual who'd been sneaking outside his shack…was a mannequin? It didn't make sense, for numerous reasons. Besides the obvious reason (A mannequin, was sneaking around outside his shack), there was the fact that he hadn't seen the mannequin when he'd been looking around earlier. It had only appeared after the third sensor had been tripped. Sure enough, the third sensor lay very close to the mannequin, but as he looked at it, Arcade realised that the mannequin had something tied to it. He crouched down to get a better look, and realised that the object was a stealth boy. Why did somebody tie a stealth boy to this mannequin? Arcade wondered to himself as he ripped the cord binding the stealth boy to the mannequin. He lifted the stealth boy up to his face so that he could examine it properly, and he quickly noticed that the device was out of power.

This bizarre event was beginning to make a little more sense now. His sensors generated infrared beams around them in a small radius, and if anything disrupted the beams, they would trigger the sensor. When a stealth boy was activated, it generated a stealth field around the user, which reflected light to make the user invisible to the untrained eye. Whoever had placed this mannequin must have activated the stealth boy before placing it, so that the stealth field would reflect the infrared beam in such a way that the sensor wouldn't be able to figure out that the beam had been tripped. The intruder had then purposely tripped the other two sensors to get Arcade's attention and make him go outside. While Arcade had been searching, the intruder had hidden him/herself and the mannequin had been sitting there, still invisible. Eventually the stealth boy had worn off, disabling the stealth field. Without the stealth field to reflect the infrared beam, the mannequin had tripped the sensor. Arcade had spotted the now visible mannequin, mistaken it for a person from such long range, and blasted it. The whole thing had been a distraction; an admittedly brilliant distraction, but a distraction nonetheless.

Arcade's vision swam as the Cateye began to wear off, and he pushed his glasses down onto his nose before rubbing his irritated eyes. As he rubbed them, he realised something that made his heart start beating like a jackhammer again. If this whole thing was a distraction…then the intruder's still out here. He was probably being watched right now, and without Cateye he'd never spot the intruder in the darkness; he could barely even see two feet in front of his face. He turned back towards the shack, and just barely spotted it through the gloom. All he could think about was getting back into the relative safety of the shack, and he frantically ran towards it as fast as he could.

He stumbled a few times while running through the uneven, rocky terrain, and as he got close to the shack he lost his footing and tripped. Fortunately, he didn't smash his kneecap on a rock, though he did land on a group of smaller rocks and badly scratch his knees. Ignoring the pain in his knees, he got back to his feet, before continuing to flee towards the shack. A few seconds later he reached the shack, and burst inside before slamming the door shut behind him.

Finally back inside the safety of the shack, he breathed a sigh of relief, before gritting his teeth as he felt the pain in his knees. Deciding to inspect the damage, he looked down. The first thing he noticed was that his trousers had been torn when he'd fallen onto the rocks. The second thing he noticed was that his knees were quite bloody. The third thing he noticed, completely unrelated to his knees, was that there was a stealth boy on the floor.

"Good evening." A voice suddenly said, giving Arcade the fright of his life. Steadying himself on the wall as his heart tried to burst free from his chest, Arcade looked in the direction of the voice. He saw an unfamiliar man sitting in the armchair, looking quite casual with his legs crossed and his arms rested on the arms of the chair. Arcade wasn't too bothered about the man's body language however...it was the gun in the man's hand that gave him pause. The gun looked quite unusual, unlike any gun he'd ever seen, but he hardly cared since it was being pointed right at him. The man wore a brown trenchcoat over a black shirt, with baggy white trousers and thick combat boots. He also wore a brown hood, but he used his free hand (The one not holding the gun) to pull it down as Arcade noticed him. With his hood down, Arcade could see that he was bald, had a small amount of stubble on his chin, and had a nasty looking scar that ran from his chin to his left ear. "You must be Arcade." The man said in a friendly tone that surprised Arcade.

"And I assume you're Campbell?" Arcade asked in response. The merc confirmed this with a simple nod of the head.

"Let me guess…Lenny the Nose told you I was looking for you?" It was Arcade's turn to nod in confirmation. "Shifty little bastard isn't he? He'd cut out his own mother's organs and sell them to make a profit. But you took advantage of that didn't you? Telling him you were going to Goodsprings, so that he'd tell me and then I'd go there looking for you…pretty impressive. Of course…it didn't slow me down for long."

"How did you get in here?" Arcade asked, as he desperately tried to think of a way to escape this situation. Annoyingly, his mind drew a blank.

"I assume you found my mannequin? I triggered two sensors around the front of your house – nice work on those by the way – and left the stealth boy equipped mannequin to distract you, all the while going round the back of your house and climbing in through the window." Arcade looked behind Campbell, and noticed for the first time that the window was open. "I was there when you ran out of the house; you even looked at me a few times." Campbell smirked as he mentioned that. "Fortunately, the mannequin wasn't the only one with a stealth boy. I had one too." That explained the stealth boy at Arcade's feet. "Not a bad plan if I do say so myself." Campbell looked very pleased with himself. Arcade meanwhile, kept his expression neutral.

"So…what happens now?" Arcade asked, as an escape plan began to form in his mind. Campbell seemed like the type who liked to talk, so Arcade just had to keep him talking until he could put his escape plan into action. "Are we going to sit here and talk? Are you going to explain how you managed to track me down?" In response to this question, the merc surprised Campbell by pulling out a coin. A coin? Is he with the Legion? Arcade wondered. That would actually make sense, since the Legion would no doubt benefit greatly if they obtained the weapons in the Remnants' bunker. That suspicion disappeared as Campbell flipped the coin however, and Arcade noticed that it didn't have Caesar's face on it. The coin flew upward for a few seconds before dropping back down to the floor. Campbell caught it without even looking, clearly experienced at this. He briefly looked at the result, his face impossible to read, before looking back at Arcade.

"No." He replied simply and quickly, before firing the gun that he'd had pointed at Arcade. Arcade gritted his teeth in pain, expecting a lethal bullet to blow straight through his ribcage, but was surprised when instead, a small dart stabbed into his chest. Before he could process this, he started to feel woozy. He dropped his plasma defender, before swaying on his feet. "Sweet dreams." Campbell said cockily as everything went white.

*Layla – The next day*

It was a sunny day in New Vegas, but since night had not yet descended, business wasn't exactly booming on the strip. As the midday sun shone over the city, two people stood on the roof of The Tops. If anyone had looked up onto the roof, they would've seen two girls, two insane girls, who were both best friends…and were about to fight each other.

"Are you sure you want this?" Veronica asked as she finished stretching, and started to crack her knuckles.

"I am." Layla replied. She was wearing her recon armour, and was standing in a fighting pose. "Campbell says I'm fully recovered, but I need to be sure…I need to know I can fight."

"And so you want to fight me…your best friend." Veronica raised her eyebrow, clearly not following Layla's logic.

"It's just sparring, it's not like we're actually trying to hurt each other. But having said that, don't go easy on me. I want you fighting like you mean it." Veronica seemed worried.

"Layla…I don't want to hurt you."

"Who said you have to? How about this: the first to make the other submit wins." Veronica grinned mischievously as she heard Layla's suggestion.

"Kinky." She said jokingly as she got into a fighting pose. "Okay then…are you ready?"

"Am I addicted to whiskey?" A competitive grin appeared on the red haired one's face. "Let's do this."

"Okay. Since you're out of your league, I'll let you go first." Layla was surprised by the blatant taunt, while Veronica just smirked.

"Ouch." Layla said, faking hurt. "Where did that come from?"

"A little good natured taunting never hurt anyone." Veronica replied, sticking her tongue out cheekily as she did so. "Go ahead; first move's yours."

"Okay." Layla paused, took a deep breath, then charged.

Layla rushed forwards, and tried a simple punch on Veronica's chest. Nothing too painful, she didn't actually want to hurt her. Just as Layla was wondering if she'd put too much strength into the punch, Veronica grabbed her wrist mid strike, and swept her foot beneath Layla's leg, knocking her off her feet. Layla just lay there on the roof, wondering what had just happened, while Veronica sighed.

"Come on Layla, if you don't want me holding back, then I don't want you holding back either. You don't have to worry about hurting me, so put some effort in." Layla nodded, before getting to her feet. "I'll let you have another shot." Putting more effort into it this time, Layla charged before trying to punch Veronica in the face. Her friend ducked low to dodge the attack however, before striking out with the palm of her hand. Her palm hit Layla in the chest, pushing her back slightly. Veronica then charged forwards, before trying to sweep kick Layla. Layla was ready however, and she leapt over the sweep kick before delivering a roundhouse as Veronica got to her feet. The scribe swayed under the kick, before firing off a quick jab in Layla's face. Layla blocked the jab, but was unprepared for the quick punch that Veronica aimed at her ribs. She stumbled back, allowing Veronica to dash forwards and tackle her to the floor. Layla lay on the roof for the second time in a few minutes, except this time Veronica was on top of her. "Submit?" Veronica asked. Layla laughed in response.

"Hell no." Before Veronica knew what was happening, Layla kicked the smaller girl off her. While Veronica rolled backwards, Layla got to her feet, before rushing her friend, fists at the ready. Veronica shot to her feet, before firing off a straight kick at Layla's chest. Layla crossed her arms to block the blow, before grabbing Veronica's leg and pulling her closer. She tried to grab her friend in a chokehold but the smaller girl was quick, easily squirming out of Layla's grasp before pushing her back. Deciding to go on the offensive, Layla unleashed a barrage of quick punches on Veronica. The blows proved completely ineffective however, as her friend easily sidestepped every blow. Layla tried a stronger punch, but Veronica simply batted her hand away before kicking her back. The kick was strong, but Layla managed to stay on her feet, and performed a roundhouse kick as Veronica charged her.

Veronica leant her head back as Layla kicked, and the blow sailed right over her. She aimed a quick jab at Layla's ribs, but was surprised when her friend grabbed her fist mid blow. Layla firmly grabbed Veronica's fist, before wrapping an arm around her friend's throat and dropping to the floor. "Submit?" She asked forcefully as she tried to get Veronica into some kind of submission hold.

"Nope." Veronica replied cheerfully as she expertly freed herself from Layla's grasp, before springing to her feet. Getting a little frustrated now, Layla climbed to her feet, before aiming a strong punch at Veronica's face. Veronica moved her head to the side to avoid the blow, before grabbing Layla's arm and quickly moving behind her. She pulled Layla's arm over her shoulder, and dropped both of them to the floor, before wrapping her legs around Layla's midsection, trapping her. "Submit?" She whispered into Layla's ear. Layla didn't answer, instead surprising Veronica by getting to her feet. Veronica held on in her makeshift hold as Layla stood up, with the scribe still on her back. Layla shook herself violently as soon as she stood up, knocking Veronica loose. The scribe hit the floor, but started to get up as Layla rushed her.

By the time Layla reached her, Veronica was on all fours, still partway through getting up. She still wasn't defenceless however, as she shot out a quick kick behind her. Layla jumped back to dodge the kick, while Veronica finished getting to her feet. Layla tried a kick, but Veronica countered with a kick of her own. She easily deflected Layla's kick with her own leg, before rolling under a second kick that Layla sent her way. She rolled into a crouch in front of the red haired one, and quickly punched her in the stomach. While Layla was winded, Veronica got to her feet and grabbed the red haired one's arm. Layla didn't even have time to blink before Veronica flipped her over her shoulder. She landed on the floor hard, and was dazed for a second. This was all the time Veronica needed. She quickly climbed down onto Layla, pinning her legs down with her knees and firmly grabbing her wrists to keep her rooted to the spot. They stayed like that for a few seconds, both panting tiredly, before Veronica asked the important question.

"Submit?" Layla tried to get free, but it was no use. She was too worn out, and Veronica's grip on her wrists was surprisingly strong. She had no choice.

"Dammit." Layla cursed, before smiling. "Yeah…I submit." Veronica smiled triumphantly as she released her hold, then got to her feet. "How are you so damn tough?" Layla asked, lying back on the floor and panting heavily as she did so.

"It took a lot of practice." Veronica replied as she leant against a nearby air conditioning unit.

"But you've got pretty much no muscle on you, yet your attacks hurt like hell." As Layla spoke, she sat up and rubbed the leg that Veronica had kicked earlier. "My whole body aches…I feel like I just had a wrestling match with a bighorner." Veronica laughed.

"I told you that you were out of your league." She had a cocky grin plastered on her face.

"Those moves…where the hell did you learn to fight like that?"

"Well…when I was a little girl, my Dad brought me a load of pre-war holotapes from some scavenging trips he'd been sent on, and a few of them had old martial arts movies on them. I watched the tapes religiously, and learned most of my moves from those films."

"Wait…you became an unstoppable unarmed combatant…by watching a load of kung fu movies?" Layla asked incredulously.

"Yep." Layla eyed her suspiciously. "Well…most of the Brotherhood members I grew up around knew some form of martial arts and they taught me some tricks. The movies are what got me interested in the first place though." A worried expression appeared on Veronica's face as Layla continued to rub her leg. "Are you okay? I didn't hit you too hard did I?"

"No, no, I'm fine; I'm just going to be aching for a while."

"That regenerating implant we got you should help speed that up." Veronica held out a hand to Layla, which Layla promptly grabbed. "So how do you feel? Do you think you're fully recovered?" As soon as the hand was grabbed, Veronica pulled Layla to her feet.

"Yeah, I think so." Layla had a thoughtful expression on her face as she turned to look off the edge of the roof, at the city skyline beyond. "I mean, you kicked my ass, that much is obvious, but I think I'm back to full strength. My concussion's gone, I can throw a knife accurately again, my reflexes are back to 100%, and I don't have any annoying injuries to slow me down. Now all I need to do is practice with that katana a bit."

"I am not helping you practice with that." Veronica said quickly, holding her hands up in objection. "Sparring with fists is one thing; I am not sparring with swords." Layla smirked, before turning back to face Veronica.

"Don't worry, I'll practice on the target dummy I set up." Veronica breathed a sigh of relief, while Layla walked over to her bag, before taking the katana out and unsheathing it. As she held the blade in both hands, a question randomly popped up in Layla's mind.

"Hey Veronica…can I ask you something?" Layla asked as she tried a few simple practice slashes with the katana.

"Sure, go ahead." Veronica replied.

"I know he's been with us for almost a month, so it's probably a weird time to ask this…but how do you feel about Campbell?" There was a pause as Veronica considered this. She obviously hadn't been expecting Layla to ask her that.

"I trust him." She answered eventually, sounding completely sure of herself. "I know that's a stupid thing to say, since he blew up my home, killed the only family I ever had, shot you numerous times and is in general pretty damn annoying, but…I trust him. Hell, I trust him with my life. I know he's only with us because his coin told him to join us, but…he's done more than we've ever asked him to. He's gone above and beyond the call of duty, he's done more for us than we could ever repay him for. He broke us out of Camp McCarran even though it would've been easier and more beneficial for him to turn us in, he helped me get our stuff from the Lucky 38 even while an insane AI was trying to stop us, he bought you that katana without any provocation on our parts, he helped me launch an all out assault on Camp McCarran and kidnap Boyd just to make you feel better…and the best part is, he didn't need to do any of it. He could've just gone to General Oliver at any time, told him our location, and gotten paid for it, but he didn't. He stayed with us, knowing that doing so would brand him a criminal, and he helped with everything while you were recovering. So…yeah…in short: I like him. But don't tell him that because he's still annoying as hell." Layla laughed at the last comment, before ceasing her practice slashes and looking up at the sky wistfully as she replied.

"Yeah…I like him too. I just get the feeling that he's…you know…like us. He knows what it's like to lose your parents, and he's suffered through a lot of hardships, just like us. He's arguably just as insane as me, if not more so. He knows what it's like to be…different; to be…not like normal people. He's one of us, I think, and like you, I'd trust him with my life." Layla slashed at her target dummy as she spoke, while Veronica walked up behind her.

"Plus he follows orders, so that's good." Veronica joked as Layla stabbed the target dummy.

"I think he's just what we need to destroy the NCR." Layla said with a smile.

"Him and the Remnants' weapon stockpile." Veronica replied, causing Layla to roll her eyes. She looked like she was about to attack the dummy again, but suddenly stopped, instead turning to Veronica.

"You know what? Screw this!" Layla said with a smirk as she turned away from the dummy. "I'm fully healed, I'm back in action, why the hell should I have to hide on a rooftop stabbing a mannequin, when I could be stabbing some NCR bastard?"

"Maybe because we're supposed to be keeping a low profile?" Veronica replied, clearly nervous that Layla was going to do something they'd all regret.

"Blowing up Camp McCarran wasn't exactly 'keeping a low profile' was it?" Layla retorted with a smirk as she sheathed the katana again.

"Yeah…but nobody knew that we were involved!" Veronica replied. Layla responded by waving her hand in a dismissive gesture

"I'm sure they've figured it out by now."

"You're not blowing anything up." Veronica said sternly. Layla turned to her, smiling mischievously as she attached the katana, scabbard and all, to her right hip. The weight was unusual, but she adapted quickly.

"Who said anything about that?" She asked innocently. "I just thought you and I should go out somewhere and spend the day together. You know, since I've been out of action for so long, and I haven't left this damn building in a month." Veronica raised her eyebrow, a look of suspicion on her face.

"Okay…where do you propose we go to spend the day together?" A sadistic smile appeared on Layla's face as Veronica asked her question.

"Well…I haven't been to the NCR Embassy in a while."

*An hour later*

"Jesus Christ." NCR Ranger Dennis Garfield said as he and his small squad of rangers arrived at the NCR Embassy…or what was left of it. They had been called in to answer a distress signal coming from the Embassy, but hadn't expected anything quite like this. The first sign that something was wrong had been when Jerry had tripped over a headless, female corpse less than five seconds after the squad entered the district that the Embassy was in. It only got worse from there.

Corpses littered the streets; most likely NCR soldiers that had tried to run. It was impossible to walk more than three steps without stepping in blood. And that was just the street outside the Embassy. The Embassy itself was much…much worse.

Dennis had held some hope that, while the street outside the Embassy was littered with corpses, maybe the Embassy itself would be fine. This hope vanished when they arrived at the Embassy gate, and he saw a severed head, impaled through the Embassy sign with a series of knives. The corpse hanging from the flagpole didn't make him feel better. Neither did the numerous corpse that littered the courtyard.

The courtyard was the sight of a massacre; corpses everywhere you looked, and enough blood to overflow Hoover Dam itself. Though Dennis was a ranger, and a skilled one at that, he was still quite young, having not even reached his 25th year yet, so seeing so much death chilled him to the bone. As they stepped through the Embassy gates, Jerry fell to his knees, before throwing up all over the ground. Dennis felt like joining him. Dammit. He thought to himself as he looked around. He remembered that all the securitrons on the strip had suddenly shut down weeks ago, without any explanation. It had been much harder to keep order without the bots, but nothing truly bad had happened…until now. He couldn't help but think that if all the securitrons were still online, they might've been able to stop this. As it stood however, the bots weren't going to be of any use. He and his squad were on their own.

"Sir…I think we may need more backup." Sasha, the most serious member of his group, said in what was most likely the biggest understatement of the century. Along with Jerry and Sasha, Dennis had six other rangers under his command. They were all skilled, but none of them were over thirty, so they were just as horrified as he was by the desolation around them. Regardless, Dennis kept a cool head, and turned to face his group.

"Jerry, stay here and call for backup. Forest, Sean and Grange, you follow Sasha. The rest of you, follow me." Though they were frightened, his squad was loyal, and they all nodded in confirmation. He nodded back, before drawing his hunting revolver and walking to the right, towards the NCR Military Police HQ. Sasha led three rangers into the Embassy building opposite the Police HQ, while the other four followed Dennis. Jerry meanwhile stayed on his knees among the corpses, vomiting uncontrollably.

Upon reaching the Police HQ, Dennis slowly opened the door, his four squadmates right behind him as he looked inside. Unsurprisingly, the room beyond was littered with corpses, but there didn't seem to be any sign of what had killed them. Dennis silently signalled to his squadmates using hand signs as he entered, and they understood immediately. One, a muscular, ebony skinned ranger named Rogers, shut the front door behind him, while the other two, women named Marston and Chambers, took point behind Dennis, watching his back and sides to make sure nobody snuck up on him.

Dennis had been to the Police HQ before, and so knew the basic layout. They were currently in the office, a large room that made up most of the building. The base wasn't large, and the only other two main areas were the equipment storage room, and the holding cells. As he tried to remember where these areas were, he saw a head poke out from behind one of the office desks. He pointed his revolver at said head immediately.

"No, please don't kill me!" A female voice frightfully begged as he took aim. Surprised by this, he lowered his revolver, and a young women in an NCR uniform crawled out from behind the desk. "Please…please don't…" She cried, tears pouring down her face uncontrollably as she looked at them, clearly terrified.

"We've got a survivor here!" Dennis called out to his squadmates, before walking over to the girl, and crouching down so that he was at eye level with her. "Are you okay?" He asked softly. She seemed reluctant to reply, clearly still terrified.

"Who…who are you?" She asked quietly, fear evident in her tear filled eyes.

"I'm Dennis Garfield with the NCR rangers. My squad and I are here to help." He replied with a friendly smile. Some of the fear disappeared from her eyes as he smiled, and she even managed a small smile of her own. "What's your name?"

"I'm…Christine."

"Can you tell me what happened here Christine?"

"I…I don't know. I just went out for a quick smoke break, and when I came back inside, everybody was…" Fresh tears started to pour down her face. "Oh God…the blood…so much blood…" She still seemed to be in a state of shock, and Dennis realised he wouldn't be getting any useful information out of her any time soon.

"Listen Christine, I'm going to leave one of my squad here to look after you. His name is Rogers, and he'll take good care of you. Is that okay?" Christine nodded slowly, and Dennis smiled reassuringly. He got to his feet, before walking over to Rogers. "She's in shock. Keep an eye on her while we scope out the rest of the building." Rogers nodded, before walking over to the girl. While he started to comfort her, Dennis gave some hand signals to Marston and Chambers. They nodded their understanding, and covered his back as he began to enter a room at the side. No sooner had his hand touched the door handle however, than he heard a sharp cry behind him.

He spun around the very second the cry reached his ears, revolver pointed out in front of him…just in time to see Christine plunge a knife into Rogers' throat. Rogers gurgled as blood poured out of him, before falling face first to the floor. Christine meanwhile, got to her feet…an evil grin on her face. As Marston and Chambers took aim with their rifles, Dennis noticed movement behind Christine, right at the back of the room. A woman emerged out of a room behind her, and the woman's appearance caused his heart to skip a beat. While there wasn't anything alarming about the recon armour she wore, her blood red hair sent off alarm bells in his head. The Red Blade Witch. He thought instantly, as she drew a katana from a scabbard attached to her hip. Shit.

"Sir, there's nobody alive in the Embassy and…oh shit." Dennis turned to the sound of the voice, just in time to see Sasha, Forest, Sean and Grange enter the Police HQ. The look on Sasha's face as she saw The Red Blade Witch was one of abject terror. He imagined it looked just like his own.

"Sasha, it's The Red Blade Witch! Get out of here and call for backup!" He yelled at her, before looking back towards the Witch. The last thing he saw as he turned back to face her, was a knife flying right towards his face.

*Layla*

One of the rangers screamed as Layla's knife hit the male ranger right between the eyes. He dropped dead instantly, and Layla flashed her trademark sadistic smile as she looked at the rest of the rangers. Veronica (Or 'Christine' as she'd called herself) had killed one of the rangers, and Layla herself had just taken out another, leaving six more remaining. This shouldn't take too long. She thought confidently as she charged forwards with her new blade.

She quickly reached one of the female rangers who the male ranger had been leading. The woman was still frozen with shock over the death of her commander, and didn't react until Layla had plunged the katana into her neck. The female ranger died instantly, and the others finally reacted. The four rangers opened fire on Layla with their assorted firearms, but Layla reacted quickly, using the ranger corpse as a human shield to protect herself from their shots.

The other female ranger suddenly came to her senses, before rushing Layla with a combat knife. Before she could reach the red haired one however, Veronica climbed onto a nearby desk, before leaping towards her. The woman didn't get anywhere near Layla before Veronica delivered a flying kick to the back of her head, knocking her flying across the room. The four rangers by the door meanwhile stopped to reload, giving Layla the chance she needed. She threw the corpse away, before drawing That Gun with her free hand (The one not holding her katana) and opening fire. The four rangers spread out, each rolling behind a different nearby desk to dodge Layla's shots. This was exactly what she'd been hoping they'd do. Now that the rangers were separated, Layla rushed towards one of their desks, while Veronica dealt with the female ranger behind her.

As she ran towards the desk, a male ranger poked his head out. As he saw Layla, he fired off a panicked shot in her direction. She slid under his bullet, before coming to a stop next to the desk that he hid behind. She returned That Gun to its holster as she got to her feet, while the ranger vaulted over the desk, before swinging the butt of his rifle at her face. She ducked under the blow, before weaving to the side and swinging her blade at the ranger's neck. He rolled under her slash, ending up behind her, before pointing his rifle at the back of her head. Layla turned back to face him, and he sneered before moving his finger towards the trigger. As he prepared to fire, he didn't notice Veronica running up behind him. She delivered a running shoulder barge to the ranger's back, knocking him forwards. Layla saw her chance, and wasted no time in driving her katana right between his ribs. He spat out blood, and a choked cry escaped his lips. She copied the sneer he'd aimed at her earlier, before headbutting the already dying man to the floor.

"I don't know about you, but I'm having the time of my life." Layla said excitedly as she smiled over at Veronica. Veronica smiled back, before pushing Layla to the floor seconds before a bullet hit her. They landed in a heap on the floor, before quickly getting to their feet as the three remaining rangers stepped closer. The first was a fairly muscular man with a grenade launcher, the second had a wiry build and carried two combat knives, while the third was a serious looking woman with a revolver. Before they could do anything, the muscular ranger fired his grenade launcher. The two girls reacted instantly, running back and diving behind a nearby desk seconds before the grenade exploded.

While the muscular ranger prepared to fire again, Layla got to her feet and charged him. The knife wielding ranger rushed Layla, trying to intercept her, but Veronica promptly picked up a nearby office chair, before throwing it in his direction. The chair hit the ranger in the side of the head, knocking him right to the floor and allowing Layla to rush the grenade launcher ranger in peace. By the time the ranger was ready to fire, Layla was far too close, so he instead tried to strike her with his grenade launcher. He let loose a series of strikes with the large gun, but Layla swayed from side to side to dodge each blow. She tried to slice his chest with her katana, but he deflected the blow with his grenade launcher before taking a shot at her ribs. She hopped back to dodge the attack, before kicking the grenade launcher from his grasp. Before she could strike again, a bullet flew right by her face, and she looked to her left to see the female ranger taking aim with her revolver. Before the ranger could fire again, an office chair flew right past her head, thrown by Veronica. She took cover to avoid further thrown chairs, leaving Layla alone with the male ranger.

Said ranger firmly grabbed the hand that held Layla's katana, before using his other hand to grab her throat. He attempted to choke the life out of her, but Layla easily forced him to release his hold by kneeing him in the gut. He stumbled backwards, and she charged forwards, before leaping and dropkicking him in the face. The ranger's head snapped back, and he was knocked stumbling back over the desk. He landed face first on the floor, and didn't have a chance to even breathe before Layla jumped over the desk, landing feet first on his back. Wasting no time, she immediately plunged her katana downward, right through his skull.

Before she could take any satisfaction from this kill, the revolver ranger opened fire on her again. Layla rolled to the side to avoid being decorated with a bullet hole, while the knife wielding ranger got to his feet, rubbing the side of his head that had had a chair thrown into it not too long ago. Not giving the ranger time to recover, Layla rushed him with her blade, making sure to keep him between herself and the revolver ranger, so that she couldn't get a shot. She aimed a slash at the dazed ranger, thinking that this would be an easy kill. She was surprised when he leaned his head back, causing the blade to sail right over his head. The second Layla finished her strike, he firmly gripped both his knives, before leaning towards her and slashing quickly. Layla instinctively blocked the slashes with her blade, but remembered too late that she was using a katana, not her usual massive sword. Since the katana wasn't as large as her usual sword, the specific block she used was ineffective, and one of his slashes got through. His knife impacted with her shoulder, but fortunately it didn't penetrate her recon armour. She pushed her katana into the ranger side on, forcing him backwards, before trying to sweep kick him. He once again surprised her however before jumping over her kick, before trying to stab her in the face.

She sidestepped his attack, but he quickly adapted, firing off a kick to his side without looking. The kick hit Layla in the chest, surprising her and knocking her off balance. He tried to take advantage, when Veronica threw another chair at him. He was ready this time however, and rolled to the side to dodge the chair. While he got to his feet however, Veronica closed the gap. She ran close to him, before aiming a chop at the side of his head. He blocked the blow using the handle of one of his knives, before trying to kick Veronica back. She grabbed his leg mid kick, but he slashed with his knives, causing her to let go of his leg and jump backwards to dodge. He prepared to rush Veronica, when Layla aimed a slash at his throat. He brought both his knives together in an x shape at his throat to block the slash, before copying Layla's tactic by sweep kicking her to the floor. He prepared to stab downwards, but Veronica dashed forwards before kicking him again. He parried the strike with a kick of his own, causing their legs to strike each other. Looking up at their duel from the floor, Layla remembered when she and Veronica had done that exact thing during their training session earlier. Just like last time, Veronica's opponent's leg came out the worse for wear. He gritted his teeth as her blow injured his leg, letting his guard down for a split second. Layla took full advantage by drawing her combat knife with her free hand, and stabbing him in the thigh. He cried out in pain, and Veronica saw her chance. She quickly jabbed him in the throat, before bringing her knee up to meet his face. The knee strike knocked him backwards, while Layla rolled to where he was going to land, and pointed her blade upwards. Sure enough, he fell right on her sword, impaling himself. His death was almost instantaneous.

She quickly pulled her blade out of the ranger, before kicking his corpse off her. Veronica held out her hand to help Layla up, mirroring the scene from earlier that day. Layla smiled and took her friend's hand, but noticed the last ranger behind Veronica, taking aim with her revolver. Veronica was surprised when, instead of her pulling Layla up, Layla pulled her down. Less than a second later, a bullet flew over her head, right where she'd been standing a moment ago.

Veronica landed face first on top of Layla, and smiled briefly before getting to her feet. Layla did the same while the last ranger fired again. Layla dived to the side to avoid the shot, while Veronica rushed the ranger. She leapt in the air as she ran, before aiming a flying kick at the ranger's face. The ranger swayed to the side however, causing Veronica's attack to miss completely. She landed on the floor behind the ranger, and the ranger tried to pistol whip her in the back of the head. Layla put an end to that however by throwing her combat knife. The knife hit the ranger's revolver handle first, knocking the gun from her grasp. She looked angrily at Layla, failing to pay attention as Veronica got to her feet. She only noticed that Veronica was up as the former scribe aimed a roundhouse kick at her face. She blocked the blow with both hands, while Layla ran closer. Veronica aimed a barrage of quick jabs at the ranger's face, but the ranger blocked every blow, before grabbing Veronica by the wrist. No sooner had Layla reached them, than the ranger pushed Veronica towards her. Both girls were knocked to the floor, landing in a heap on top of each other for the third time that day.

While they started to get up, the ranger ran over to her revolver. Veronica tried another flying kick, but the ranger ducked under it, reaching down to grab her revolver in the process. Layla rushed with her katana again, only for the ranger to shoot her at close range. The shot was aimed at Layla's head, and would have hit it, had Veronica not kicked the woman's arm mid shot. The sudden blow knocked the woman's arm to the side, and changed the trajectory of the shot. Instead of hitting Layla in the face, the bullet hit her in the shoulder. Regardless, the shot knocked her right to the floor, causing her katana to fly from her grasp at the same time. Veronica looked at the downed Layla, concern evident on her face. Concern changed to fury as she looked at the ranger.

"You'll pay for that." She growled, while the ranger pointed the her revolver at her head.

"I doubt that." The female ranger replied. "You and your friend are finished."

"Oh, you're not going to kill me." The ranger looked dubious.

"Is that right?"

"Yes, it is. Do you know why you're not going to kill me?"

"Enlighten me." A cocky smirk appeared on Veronica's face as she replied.

"Because you've already fired six shots." The woman's eyes widened, and she looked down at her revolver in sudden realization. While she did, Veronica dashed towards her. The ranger hadn't had a chance to even start reloading when Veronica kicked her in the ribs. She stumbled backwards, but recovered quickly before trying to pistol whip Veronica. The former scribe ducked under the blow, before aiming a punch at the ranger's chest. The ranger sidestepped the blow however, before grabbing Veronica's forearm with her free hand. Her other hand put her revolver on her belt before grabbing the back of her head. Using both hands, she flung Veronica towards a nearby desk. Veronica hit the desk chest first, while the ranger drew her revolver and tried to pistol whip her again. Veronica pushed herself back off the desk however, falling under the ranger's blow and landing on her back on the floor. The very second she landed, she kicked upwards, hitting the ranger's hand and causing her to drop her revolver. Veronica then sprung to her feet, before firing off a roundhouse kick at the ranger's chest. The kick knocked her sprawling backwards, until her back hit the wall. While the ranger was momentarily stunned, Veronica walked over to Layla's lying form, before crouching down to talk to her.

"Can I borrow That Gun?" She asked casually. Layla nodded, and Veronica promptly took the gun from her thigh holster before getting to her feet and turning to face the ranger. The ranger had recovered by this time, and had an angry look on her face, which changed to one of dread as she saw That Gun. She looked like she was about to curse her luck, but Veronica put a bullet between her eyes before the words could leave her lips.

"Nice shot." Layla said with admiration as the corpse stumbled back, before slowly sliding down the wall, leaving a trail of blood behind it.

"Thanks." Veronica said with a warm smile as she returned That Gun to its holster on Layla's thigh. "Are you okay?" She asked, as she looked at the shoulder where the ranger shot her.

"I'm fine. The bullet didn't penetrate my armour." Layla replied reassuringly. "How about you? Are you okay?"

"A little hungry, but besides that I'm fine too." Veronica replied with a grin as she held out her hand to help Layla up for the third time that day. Once again, Layla took the offered hand, and Veronica pulled her to her feet.

"Well…that was fun wasn't it?" Layla asked as she looked around at the destruction they had wreaked.

"You know…there's other ways to spend the day." Veronica remarked, while sitting down on a nearby office chair. She put her feet up on a nearby desk, while Layla returned her katana to its scabbard, then went to retrieve her combat knife, which she had thrown earlier.

"Oh come on. You know you enjoy it." Layla replied with a smirk as she picked up her knife and put it on her belt. "Besides, the NCR deserve it."

"I guess." Veronica admitted half-heartedly, as she started to fiddle with a stray lock of hair.

"That was some great acting by the way." Layla said as she walked over to Veronica. "I really believed you were some hysterical NCR soldier who just watched me kill a bunch of people. I especially liked the parts where you managed to cry on cue. Very impressive."

"Thanks." Veronica brightened up at the compliment. "I was inspired by that female soldier who walked in here after her smoke break and started screaming. Remember? You sliced her head off?"

"Oh yeah." Layla grinned as she helped Veronica to her feet. "You know, you really have a gift."

"For acting?" They started to walk towards the exit, chatting idly as they did so.

"Well, that too. But mostly for beating the shit out of people." Layla's grin widened considerably. "You're a woman after my own heart."

"And you're just figuring this out now? After we've been together for months?"

"Well…we don't fight side by side often. I rarely get to see what you can do." Layla kicked open the doors to the police HQ as they continued to chat, and spotted another NCR ranger. This guy didn't seem to be a threat though…mostly since he couldn't seem to stop vomiting. Layla drew her katana with one hand before beheading the ranger, all without stopping their conversation. "Up till this point, I just thought that your only virtues were being smart, funny, cute and an awesome friend, but now I find out you're an ass kicking machine too." Veronica blushed slightly at the flattery…until she stepped in some of the ranger's vomit.

"Oh goddammit." She cursed angrily as she kicked the ranger's corpse.

"Want me to stab the corpse?" Layla asked, noticing Veronica's frustration.

"No…it's fine." Veronica answered as she looked down at her boots with a mortified expression on her face. "Great, now I've got blood and vomit on my boots." She complained.

"Don't worry; we'll get Campbell to clean them when we get back." Layla replied calmly as she returned her blade to its scabbard again.

"Wait…we can get Campbell to clean our stuff for us?" Veronica asked, clearly amazed.

"Well…why not?" Layla replied quizzically as she walked out of the Embassy's front gate. Veronica had been standing still staring at her boots the whole time, and quickly ran to keep up with Layla.

"My god…this is the greatest breakthrough in human history." Veronica announced, clearly filled with awe. "I'd always thought we could only use him to kill people and do simple missions for us, but you're saying we can make him do manual labour for us too? It…my god, it's brilliant. I'll never have to clean my boots again." She stared at Layla, a look of utter adoration on her face. "You, my friend, are a genius; an absolute genius." She knelt at Layla's feet, earning a look of surprise from the red haired one. "I am not worthy to behold your brilliance." She said in a worshipful tone, never taking her eyes off Layla as she did so.

"Finally, somebody realises my brilliance." Layla replied with faux arrogance. The two looked at each other for a time, their grins slowly widening, until they both burst into laughter. They laughed for almost a full minute, with Veronica falling onto her back and just lying there in the street, unable to stop herself from laughing. After their laughter eventually died down, she got to her feet, her grin so wide it threatened to consume her entire face.

"Seriously though, getting Campbell to clean for us is a stroke of genius." Veronica said as they continued to walk, leaving the city district that contained the Embassy and crossing into the second district. "That is…assuming he's good at cleaning of course."

"Oh, I'm sure he is." Layla replied confidently.

"How can you be so sure?" Veronica asked, raising her eyebrow at Layla's confidence.

"Veronica, have you seen the shit he can do? At this point, I wouldn't be surprised if I learnt he could fly." Layla explained. Before Veronica could reply, they heard rotor blades overhead. They both looked up, and saw a vertibird flying high above. Before they could wonder who it belonged to, it flew downward, before landing on the helipad on the roof of The Tops. Campbell. Layla thought instantly. "You know…I was wrong." She said slowly. "As it turns out…I am surprised to learn he can fly."

*A few minutes later*

By the time Layla and Veronica had arrived back at The Tops, Campbell had landed the Vertibird and had made himself comfortable in the suite. They found him sitting on the sofa with his feet up when they entered the Strip.

"Hi, where've you guys been?" He asked casually as they entered.

"Killed everyone in the NCR Embassy and the Military Police HQ." Layla replied equally as casually as she walked over to the bar area.

"Kudos." Campbell replied, while Veronica plonked herself down on the empty sofa across from him.

"I have a question." Veronica asked, suddenly changing the subject. She took off her filthy boots and threw them over to the door before asking her question. "Where the hell did you get a vertibird?"

"Oh…you saw that huh?" Campbell asked with a nervous smile.

"How could we not?" Layla asked as she grabbed herself a bottle of whiskey and walked over to the sofas. "You flew right over our heads, then landed on the roof of The Tops."

"If we'd been training on the roof like normal, you would've landed right next to us." Veronica added. "You had absolutely no chance of keeping this a secret." Layla sat down on the sofa next to Veronica, before taking a big swig of whiskey. Veronica wasted no time in making herself comfortable, lying down so that her feet were on the sofa's arm, while her head was resting on Layla's lap.

"Comfy?" Layla asked with a smirk as Veronica adjusted herself.

"Hell yeah." She replied without hesitation. "You have a really soft lap." Layla smiled, while Campbell coughed loudly to get their attention. "Why are you coughing?" Veronica asked.

"…You asked me about the vertibird?" He reminded her. A little 'Oh' escaped her mouth, and she motioned for Campbell to continue. "I found it a few years ago, crashed in a crater near an old nuclear test site. I wanted to fix it, but didn't have the parts back then, so I left it be. I knew it would be safe…nobody was going to carry away a crashed vertibird; especially not when it was near a nuclear test site filled to the brim with feral ghouls. Anyway, other the next few months, I kept coming back to it, each time bringing new parts and each time fixing another part of it. I returned there once a month for almost a year, but eventually I fixed it. I still didn't know how to operate it though, so I left again, then came back with an instruction manual that I'd found in an old military bunker. After a few hours of flying, I quickly got the hang of it, but I still needed a place to store the thing. I found a cave on the very outskirts of the Mojave, and hid the vertibird there. Since it attracts so much attention, I don't really use it on anything but the most difficult assignments. I also use it either if I need to transport something that's annoyingly heavy, or if something has to be taken a long distance."

"So…why did you take it out of storage?" Layla asked as she idly ran her hand through Veronica's short hair.

"Well…I had to transport something that was annoyingly heavy, and I had to transport it a long distance." Layla and Veronica both looked confused, so he continued. "I was tracking down a scientist who works for the Followers of the Apocalypse, because I heard he knows about the Remnants' bunker. I hunted him for almost a week, then found him last night in an abandoned shack in the arse end of nowhere. I tranquilized him, threw him in the vertibird, then flew back here. I'm guessing you'll want to have words with him?" Layla nodded. Veronica wasn't as eager.

"No thanks. I'm perfectly comfy here." She said as she rubbed her head on Layla's lap, smiling contently.

"You know…I don't usually let people nuzzle my crotch unless I plan to sleep with them later." Layla said jokingly. Veronica was quick to reply.

"Great! Go get the whipped cream, I'll be waiting in your bed." She quipped. Layla smirked, before turning to Campbell and asking him a question.

"So where's this scientist?" A brief look of disappointment appeared on Veronica's face, but it was gone before anyone could notice.

"In the meeting room/torture chamber." He replied, before getting to his feet. Layla got to her feet too, causing Veronica to whine in disappointment.

"Hey, you're the one who was so eager to find the bunker in the first place." Layla reminded her.

"Fine." Veronica huffed, before getting to her feet. She followed Layla and Campbell as they walked to the meeting room/torture chamber, all the while sporting a grumpy expression on her face. A short while later Campbell opened the meeting room doors. Layla got sense of deja vu as she walked into the room, and saw that it was empty, apart from a lone figure tied to a chair in the middle of the room…just like with Boyd. The sight caused memories of the torture session to flood into Layla's mind…and a victorious smile appeared on her face.

"What did you do with Boyd's corpse?" Layla asked as Veronica followed her into the room.

"Dumped it outside the city." Campbell replied with a shrug. "It's probably been eaten by now."

"And what happened to all the blood? When I was done, there was blood EVERYWHERE."

"I cleaned it off." Campbell answered simply. Layla smiled widely on hearing that.

"I knew it!" She announced, before turning to Veronica. "I told you he'd be good at cleaning." Veronica smirked slightly in response.

"Yeah…but can he cook?"

"Yes." He interjected. "Quite well actually. I worked as a chef for a while." Veronica shook her head in disbelief while Layla grinned.

"Okay…seriously…how the hell are you still single?" She wondered out loud, a look of amazement on her face.

"Oh, but I'm not." Layla tilted her head to the side, clearly confused. "Didn't you know? I'm married to my coin." Layla and Veronica both rolled their eyes in response…almost simultaneously. "Anyway, I assume you'll want to interrogate this guy." Campbell said seriously, changing the subject as he motioned at the bound figure in the middle of the room. She still couldn't see him properly, so she flicked on her Pip Boy light. The light revealed that the scientist was a male, he was quite tall, and he had a bag on his head. Layla couldn't help thinking that his appearance looked quite…familiar (Apart from the bag). Where have I seen that body shape before? She mentally wondered.

"Sounds like fun." She confirmed enthusiastically, pushing her confusion from her mind. "Go get the torture equipment and we'll crack this egg."

"Wait…" Veronica said suddenly. "...Why the hell does he have a bag on his head?" She asked, looking completely bamboozled.

"Yeah…I was wondering that too." Layla asked, looking equally confused.

"Well…you know…it's so that he didn't know where I was taking him and…to build atmosphere." They eyed him quizzically. "The world is much scarier if you can't see it. I thought if he couldn't see who was interrogating him, he'd feel more intimidated. I thought it would…you know…get him to crack easier." As Campbell tried to justify putting a bag on the man's head, they heard muffled breathing beneath the bag, and the bound man began to move. "Oh look, he's awake."

"Take the bag off." Layla ordered. Campbell immediately obeyed, removing the bag from the man's head and revealing his face…his familiar face. "Wait a minute…" Layla said slowly as she searched through her memories. "…I've met this guy before." Where had they met? Of course! How could I be so stupid? "Is his name…Arcade Gannon?" She asked Campbell, earning a look of surprise in return.

"Yeah." He replied. "How the hell did you know that?"

"Because he and I have worked together before."

"Not one of my favourite memories." Arcade interjected, causing everybody to look at him.

"Wait…when did you work with this guy?" Veronica asked. "I've never seen him before."

"Remember when we needed to find somebody to treat Caesar's brain tumour?" Veronica nodded. "Arcade's the guy I got. To cut a long story short: he said no, I hit him a few times then took him to the fort, he tried to kill Caesar, I threatened to cut his ear off, then I decided to let him kill Caesar." Arcade sighed in annoyance as she finished her story.

"Why…why did it have to be her?" He muttered to himself, while Veronica looked at him in wonderment.

"Wait a minute…you killed Caesar?" She asked. Arcade nodded. "Wow…you did a favour to all womankind. I should buy you a drink or something."

"Given my past experience with Caesar, I should buy you a drink too." Campbell added, leaning against the wall as he did so.

"As interesting as this conversation is…could I not be tied to a chair please?" Arcade asked.

"Oh! Right…sorry." Layla said sheepishly, before turning to Campbell. "Untie Arcade and take him to the living room." Campbell nodded, and moved to untie Arcade. While Campbell worked at untying him, Layla turned to Arcade. "So…do you want a drink or something?" She asked him. He shook his head.

"No thanks." As he answered, Campbell finished untying his hands. He rubbed his wrists briefly, before taking Veronica's hand as she offered it. As she pulled him to his feet, she gave him a piece of advice.

"Trust me…you're going to want a drink."

*A few minutes later*

"Comfortable?" Layla asked as she sat down on one of the sofas in the living room. Arcade sat on the sofa opposite her, a bottle of generic beer sitting untouched on the table in front of him.

"Can't be any less comfortable than when I was tied to a chair with a bag on my head." Arcade replied with his eyes narrowed.

"Yeah…sorry about that. I had no idea that the scientist we were looking for was you."

"Yeah well, that's just my luck I suppose." Arcade had an annoyed look on his face, for obvious reasons. Not only had he been hunted down for a week, shot with a tranquiliser dart, and tied to a chair with a bag on his head, but he had been hunted down for a week, shot with a tranquiliser dart and tied to a chair with a bag on his head by Layla, a woman he'd probably been hoping to never see again after their last meeting.

"I know our last little adventure wasn't exactly pleasant."

"No Layla, it was wonderful. I love being kidnapped, brutally beaten, and threatened by a psychopathic lunatic and her Legion friends. It's just a shame we can't do it more often." His sarcasm was getting more biting by the second.

"Would it kill you to be a little more polite?" Veronica asked crossly as she sat down on the sofa next to Layla. "We're all friends here." Arcade laughed bitterly at that.

"Friends? That's stretching it a bit." Campbell leant against the wall behind the sofa that Arcade sat at, while Layla came up with a reply.

"Alright, I know I was a little…"

"Insane." Arcade cut Layla off midsentence, earning a sigh from her and a glare from Veronica.

"…insane, when we last met, but I apologised for that. I thought we parted on good terms."

"Because what you put me through was so forgivable."

"Arcade, please. I'm trying to be reasonable here." Arcade laughed harshly at that.

"You? Reasonable? The same woman that threatened to cut my ear off, then threatened to cut my eye out after I pointed out the obvious lunacy behind her obsessive revenge scheme? Wow. Next thing you know, a cazador will stop by to invite me to dinner."

"You're not exactly being reasonable yourself." Veronica pointed out, clearly taking offence to Arcade's sarcasm.

"Well, since Layla's leading by example, I thought I'd follow. You know, when in Rome."

"Enough." Layla said in a frustrated tone. "I didn't get Campbell to bring you here so that you could spend the whole evening sarcastically insulting me."

"Then why did you bring me here?" Arcade asked, his voice softening slightly.

"We need your help."

"No." Arcade's response was swift, and his voice quickly hardened again. "I told you, I'm not helping the Legion."

"This has nothing to do with the Legion."

"Since you're trying very hard to have that group of lunatics take Hoover Dam and enslave everybody in the Mojave, you'll understand if I'm a tad sceptical."

"This is a favour for me, not the Legion."

"And what makes you think I want to do you a favour? I don't know if you're getting my point here, so I'm just going to come out and say it: I…DON'T…LIKE…YOU."

"Speak carefully." Veronica said threateningly.

"I'll speak however I damn well please." He snapped. "Layla, you are a lunatic; a dangerous, unstable lunatic. Twice now you've waltzed into my life, and both times you've sent everything to Hell. Last time, you nearly got me murdered by the Legion. This time, you forced me to leave my home and caused me to become a fugitive."

"What are you…"

"I heard that Campbell was looking for me ON THE STREET. If I heard it, then you can bet that the NCR heard it too. Do you have ANY IDEA what they do to members of the Enclave? They're probably looking for me even as we speak. You have singlehandedly destroyed my life. Maybe now you understand why I WANT NOTHING TO DO WITH YOU!"

"That's enough." Campbell growled as he pressed one of his 10mm pistols into the back of Arcade's head. "Apologise."

"For what? For stating the truth?"

"Stop. Both of you." Layla said forcefully. Campbell promptly obeyed, returning his 10mm to the inside of his jacket.

"Arcade, I'm sorry that I haven't exactly had the most positive effect on your life, but I need your help. I'm trying to ask nicely here."

"You can ask as nicely as you want, but the answer will be the same. I'm not helping the Legion."

"IT HAS NOTHING TO WITH THE GODDAMN LEGION!" Layla yelled, slamming her hand down onto the table in front of her as she did so and making Arcade jump out of his skin. "Look…would you at least let me tell you what I need? If you don't like it, then we'll let you leave." There was a pause, as Arcade considered her proposal. When he answered, he sounded a lot more level headed.

"Alright, fine. Tell me what you want." Layla smiled, but before she could speak, their conversation was interrupted by a knock at the door. "Who the hell could that be?"

"I'll get it." Campbell said, before turning round and walking towards the door. No sooner had he put his hand on the door knob than the door swung open, and Swank burst in.

"Ring –a-ding-ding." He said loudly as he walked in, as though he was announcing his arrival.

"Swank?" Layla asked unnecessarily, a surprised look on her face. "How the fuck did you get in here?"

"I've got keys to all the rooms baby." He said casually, before walking around to the front of the sofa that Arcade sat on and sitting down next to the scientist. Arcade inched himself as far away from Swank as he could. "Listen doll, you and I need to talk." His voice took on a serious tone as he said that last sentence.

"Swank, if you and I are going to 'talk', then you need to speak like a regular human being. I don't know what the hell the deal is with that weird slang you and the Chairmen use all the time, but it annoys the fuck out of me. Keep it up, and I may have to castrate you." Swank found this hilarious for some reason, and burst out laughing.

"Fair enough." He replied, in a perfectly normal voice. "Between you and me, I fine the slang annoying too. The tourists love it though, and you know what they say: the customer is always right."

"Whatever. Campbell, take Arcade to the tort…meeting room." Campbell nodded, before motioning at Arcade that it was time to leave. Arcade reluctantly got up, and allowed Campbell to lead him back to the meeting room. As soon as they had gone, Layla turned back to Swank, a stern look on her face. "Talk, Swank. Quickly." Layla would've simply kicked the annoying prick out of the suite and told him to come back later, but since they were lodging in his casino, she decided it couldn't hurt to be civil. That didn't mean she was going to be nice, but it did mean she would listen to whatever bullshit he wanted to say. Within reason, of course.

"I'm here to discuss the small matter of your payment."

"Payment?"

"You know, the payment for this fabulous suite?"

"Oh, right. Talk to Campbell about that. He'll pay you." Swank smirked at that.

"No, no that' not what we agreed on. We had a deal." Layla was confused.

"What deal?"

"Well, you were unconscious at the time, so you weren't a part of the deal. I worked it out with Campbell and your girlfriend instead." Veronica looked like she was about to hit him in the face, but Layla held her back.

"What deal?" She repeated.

"Well, once I found out who you were, I objected to having you stay here. Campbell was most determined though, and he made a very interesting deal with me. You do something for me once you're fully healed and back on your feet, and I give you access to the suite for as long as you need it."

"Oh shit." Veronica said as she realised what Swank was talking about, and brought her palm up to her face in what seemed to be annoyance. "Layla, I just want you to know, that despite what this idiot says, I had no part in Campbell's deal." Layla wasn't listening; she was still demanding to know what Campbell's deal was.

"Get to the damn point! WHAT…DO…I…HAVE…TO…DO?" Layla had an impatient look on her face. She had a feeling that whatever the deal was, it would piss her off greatly. Swank meanwhile changed his smirk to an annoyingly wide grin, which only got wider as he spoke.

"Me." He replied quickly and simply. Layla had not been expecting that. While she tried to process his answer, Swank grabbed the bottle of beer on the table that Arcade hadn't touched, before removing the lid and taking a long swig.

"What?" Layla asked eventually, her shock evident on her face.

"It was a simple deal really. I let you stay here until you recover, then in return…I get a night with you. I was against it at first, but Campbell managed to…talk me into it." As he said the last four words, he cast his eyes over Layla's body. Layla looked repulsed, while Veronica looked like she was about to pop a blood vessel.

"Keep your eyes on her face or I'll cut them out and force feed them to you." The words left Veronica's mouth filled with venom, and she got to her feet threateningly as she spoke them. Swank didn't flinch.

"I didn't mean to offend." He assured them charismatically. "I just came here to get what I'm owed. I fulfilled my end of the bargain…now it's your turn." Veronica was literally seething with rage at this point, and she looked like she was about to kick Swank's teeth in. Layla held her back however, before responding.

"I need to discuss this with my entourage. Would you please step outside for a moment?" Layla's request was exceedingly polite, and seemed to knock Veronica for six. Swank's expression hardened slightly, as he put the beer bottle back on the table and looked her in the eyes.

"I'm a very busy man Layla. I don't have time to…" Before he could finish his sentence, Layla slammed her foot down on the beer bottle that lay on the table. Her blow smashed the bottle easily, leaving behind nothing but glass shards and a puddle of beer.

"Make time." The look in Layla's eyes could scare the dead back to life, and Swank seemed to take the hint.

"Well…alright then." He said calmly as he got to his feet. "I'll give you ten minutes, then I'm coming back in." With that, Swank cheerily walked out of the suite, shutting the door behind him. As he left, Veronica stared at Layla, clearly astonished.

"Wow…Layla I've got to admit, you're taking this a lot better than I expected." She said with a smile. Layla didn't return it.

"Believe me…I'm not." She snarled, as she walked over to the bar area and grabbed a bottle of whiskey. "Please bring Campbell in here. I'd like a word with him." Veronica obeyed at once, leaving the room as fast as she could, while Layla drank from the whiskey bottle, and barely managed to contain the sheer rage that was bubbling up inside her. Save that for Campbell. Her mind told her, and she was more than happy to obey.

RIP Campbell

2246 - 2281

Goodbye Campbell, we hardly knew ye. Well...okay I admit, he's not actually dying. Layla will most definitely not be pleased though, and Campbell will be lucky if he gets out of that meeting without being castrated. Will Layla go through with the deal? Will Swank be...serviced? You'll find out soon enough.

Also, Arcade's back (Arcade fangirls/boys scream). Yeah...I have no idea how to write Arcade. He's incredibly difficult to do dialogue for, and I barely know his character. If he seems out of character, let me know. I'm hoping the new chapter will come sooner than normal, but I'm not setting any deadlines, since when I set deadlines I usually fail to meet them, which dissapoints people. So...yeah...please review as normal. :)

By the way...is it weird to get writer's block when writing author notes? It took me all day to think of these.