Idea just came to me and I figured it'd be good to get some writing done before I became stagnant. I wrote Twisted Reflections as following the stations of the canon pretty closely and really only started deviating by the time of the Albion arc so for this fic I'm experimenting on a more original plotline.

It's been a while since I've written for Familiar of Zero so it'll take some time to get my 'groove' back, so to speak. Hopefully this introduction is good enough so I can get to the real meaty character interactions in the next chapters.

Side Note - If you're reading this, Sascha, good luck with work.

"Retribution!"

Another one. Six turned and shot the charging Legionary three times in the chest with his .45 auto pistol. The impact knocked the skirt wearing bastard on his back and the fourth bullet through his skull made sure he wouldn't get back up again.

'Shit.' He reloaded quickly and switched back to his assault rifle. Three more Legionnaries charging right at him with machetes with a couple of Centurions aiming hunting rifles out back. He gunned down two of the screaming berserkers and doubled back behind cover. He was sure his armor could deal with it but it wasn't a risk he wanted. One mistake and these bastards would pounce on him like starving dogs.

The last of the charging Legionnaires reached his position. Six shot him in the leg and grabbed him mid-scream before he could fall, "Kill me, brothers! End this-" He pulled the pin of the grenade on the recruit's belt and kicked him back to his buddies. They were far enough that the explosion didn't catch them completely but the thrown up sand and blood was enough to mask the second grenade he threw past the gory mist down at their feet.

Six raised his right hand to cover his eyes just before the grenade exploded. The Centurions screamed and through the bloody mist he saw them lying on the ground in crumpled heaps, one of them clutching at where his leg used to be while the other writhed and gurgled.

Without another word he finished them off with a quick burst of rifle fire and let out a dry breath. It'd been almost half a day since he had a sip of water and the dry Arizona air wasn't doing him any favors, "Focus..." He shook his head and wiped the sweat from his forehead. He could pig out when he was out of this damn place.

Ignoring the baking sun above, he looked around the camp again to make sure he didn't miss anything. The bodies of dozens of Legionaries littered the blood soaked sand and the stench of copper lingered in the air. They came out in force as soon as that sentry he missed sounded the alarm. So much for the stealthy approach, he mused. Oh well, it'd make the NCR's cleanup easier, at least.

"ED-E? You around?"

The telltale chirp of his companion came from behind the nearby house. Six walked around and saw the eyeboat floating in front of a pair of huddled kids - two boys - sporting slave collars. They were starved and had the telltale signs of beating and abuse; typical Legion treatment. The wounds were old, nothing a stimpak could fix. He suppressed a scowl and did his best to give a comforting smile as he knelt down in front of them.

"Hey, it's okay. I'm not going to hurt you." He raised both hands slowly, "I'm not a Legionary, alright? It'll be alright." He drew closer and put a hand on the right boy's collar. The boy's eyes widened and he looked ready to run away then and there before Six spoke up again, "Shh, I'm just going to take it off, okay? You can't leave this place while it's still on. You want to leave, right?"

It took a moment but he eventually gave a mute nod.

"Okay, so just trust me. I'll get you out of here soon." He gently coaxed the young brunette to turn around and got to work fiddling with the mechanism. He'd done this dozens - maybe even hundreds - of times before, but it never got any easier knowing that one mistake and an innocent person's blood was on his hands, "Almost there..." He pressed down on the pin and yanked the collar out as soon as the clamp released.

He tossed it far away from them and got to work on the second kid's collar. Male slaves weren't exactly rare in the Legion but most kids their age were integrated into the war machine. Either they were considered too sickly or that policy changed after he killed Caesar and Lanius.

It was only after the second collar was gone that the two children embraced again. Judging by their hair colors and similar features he guessed they were brothers, "Are there any more people around that the Legion took?" He hated to ask but there was no chance that a camp like this would have just the two. Especially if it really was going to be the base of the new Caesar.

"Y-Yeah." The brunette to the right said. His voice was weak and scratchy and Six wished he still had some water to give in his canteen, "Th-Th-They k-kept us in the pens...r-right side of camp."

"Okay, that's a start. Do you have any family there?" he asked, though a part of him already knew the answer.

"Dad's dead..." The one to the left said, "A-And they took our mom and big sister when they caught us. W-We don't know where they are..."

"I'll try to find them." There were probably still alive; the Legion didn't want to waste anyone that could feed them more meat for the grinder. If he was lucky they were given over to officers in the camp and they'd still be here. If not...

He didn't want to think about it.

"ED-E, take them to the entrance back to the boat. I'll meet you there."

*beep beep* ED-E said.

"I know. I'll be careful." He tapped the top of the eyebot's orb and re-checked his magazines. He was pretty sure he killed most of the Legionaries already but if there was one thing you could count on it was that the Legion were as tenacious as radroaches. Kill one and two others pop up screaming retribution.

Maybe he shouldn't have come here alone, he sighed. Dry Wells, the home of an 'old friend' and the staging ground for a supposed third invasion by the next trumped up warlord calling himself Caesar. Killing Lanius fractured the Legion but that just meant they had to deal with multiple splinter groups of skirt wearing assholes instead of the one. Sometimes they fought each other, trying to establish themselves as the new Caesar, and others like this camp figured taking the Mojave was the key to making themselves the top dog.

A part of him wondered if he shouldn't have stopped that damn launch, then maybe at least this place wouldn't be around. He couldn't do it, of course - too many innocent people caught in the crossfire - but it was something to think about while he was here baking under the hot sun surrounded by dead Legionnaires.

The camp was pretty big. Nothing like Fortificiation Hill, but big enough to make a few people worry. He killed what few Legion pricks were left and

He held onto his pistol as he drew closer to the slave pens. Judging by the noises inside there were a lot of them - too much for the boat he and ED-E took to get here. They'd need to hijack one of the Legion's barges unless they wanted to make multiple trips. Maybe he really should've brought someone else besides ED-E. Boone would've been all too happy to raid a Legion camp and he doubted Gorobets would mind giving him some leave.

He was about to enter when a voice called out.

"Courier!"

Six sighed and looked back. The eye-searing yellow and green metal armor made the nearly 7 foot tall figure stand out even among the piles of Legion bodies, "Wondering where you were..." Gauis Magnus, the next chump who thought he was the 'rightful' heir to Ceasar. Yeah, him and every other chucklehead who wanted to sit on Caesar's bloody throne. He would've thought leaving Caesar's headless corpse on it would've made them a lot less likely to try their luck.

"Thought you'd have run by now." Six stepped away from the slave house and walked closer to him with a sneer. For a guy who styled himself the new Caesar he looked more like a wannabe Lanius. The yellow and green armor was styled just like that towered brute and the mask that covered his entire face looked like the faded picture of Mars that hung on Caesar's tent.

Unlike Lanius, though, he was smart enough to come with a minigun.

"Run? And miss the chance to kill the one who has fractured the Legion? What was your intention here, Courier? Did you hope to stem the tide all by yourself? I have more men, more weapons to take your precious Mojave. You've done nothing but delay the inevitable."

God, what was with these bastards talking like someone out of a Grognak comic book? He would've taken the guy shooting him in the back to this, "Oh really? Cause I don't see anyone else here screaming retribution. Face it, chump, your whole camp couldn't stop a mailman. And when you die you'll be no different than every other clown who thought they could fill Sallow's shoes. Now, let's get this over with."

He raised the .45 just as the minigun began to spin.

Tiffania looked out of the window worriedly and kept a tight grip on her wand. She'd been holding onto it more and more in recent days; ever since those people in red started getting closer and closer to their home.

It started off subtle at first. Nicholas told her about a man dressed in metal and red cloth walking alone in the forest. He didn't find him, thank the spirits, but it was enough that she and the rest of the children stayed inside for the next few days.

She knew about them. The Legion, they called themselves. They came almost out of nowhere, especially for someone like her who only occasionally went to the nearby village. From what she heard they started off a few years ago as people who weren't happy with the royal family. There were many like that, at least from what her sister told her. Apparently nobody paid them much mind.

Not until they killed and crucified an entire town one of the crown princes was visiting.

Up until a couple of months ago they were at war with the Albion royal family. She didn't know what happened. There were rumors that the entire crown family was enslaved or crucified like so many others while a few more hopeful ones claimed that they simply retreated to fight another day. Regardless of the truth this...Legion was the one now occupying the castle.

For the longest time Tiffania paid it no mind. Conflicts weren't rare among the nobles and her older sister always told her to keep her head down and never involve herself. She and the rest of the children lost their families because of fights like that.

But then they started getting closer and closer to their home. Just a week ago one of them caught Sarah and demanded to know where she came from. It was sheer luck that Tiffania was nearby and managed to erase his memory with a spell, but the close call was enough to make them all worry. Had he just been there by chance or was he deliberately looking for someone? Had she gotten careless and led them back somehow?

So now they did their best to keep a low profile. A part of her wanted to leave, but where would they go? A teenager and eleven children would draw attention no matter where they went and they didn't have enough money or supplies to go traveling across the country, especially after the royal family got deposed.

"Sis...please come back soon..." Tiffania closed both eyes and clasped her hands in prayer. Ever since the Legion had taken over transportation in and out of the country was much more difficult compared to before. And it was another reason she was reluctant to leave. If they were gone all her sister would come back to were abandoned buildings and empty patches of land. She wasn't going to leave without somehow telling her.

The light of the twin moons shined down from above as she nervously fingered her wand. Ever since that close call she hadn't gotten much sleep. Most nights she stayed up vigilantly watching the forest for any signs of unfamiliar figures. The children were worried when they saw the bags under her eyes and the unsteady way she walked but she always reassured them with a smile.

Her eyes almost fluttered close from exhaustion when she saw it. Torches, eight of them. Any sense of fatigue immediately disappeared and she ducked under the window, "Oh no..." Her grip on the wand tightened. They'd made plans ever since that close call. No lights on in the evenings and make sure to have an escape plan. Both her cottage and theirs had a door at each side to allow for an escape.

She crawled along the ground as quietly as she could towards the nearby cellar entrance hidden a thick rug. They hardly ever used it but her sister insisted on making one all the same. The children's cottages had them too and they'd made plans to hide inside if something happened.

Tiffania opened it quickly and tugged the cloth back just before closing the hatch again, 'Have to keep quiet...' She pressed her wand in close with both hands and held her breath as the door was kicked open. She wanted to check on the other children, but she knew that doing that would just draw more attention. She had to trust them. They'd practiced this already.

Tiffania saw them through the cracks in the floorboards. Crimson and metal just like the one whose memory she'd erased. Tiffania's entire body shook and she had to bite her tongue to keep from screaming when one of them yelled loudly and trashed the table and cabinets. The torch he held in his left hand was distressingly close to the wood and for a moment she wondered if he'd burn down the cabin with her inside.

"Find anything?!" A rough voice called from outside.

"Nothing. The house appears abandoned."

"Keep looking!"

Tiffania stayed there, pressed against the wall with her hands covering her mouth as the man in red tore her house apart. The young woman winced as engraved tablecloth she sewed was ripped away without a care. They were just things, she knew that, but she couldn't help the stab of pain in her chest seeing it torn apart so callously.

It was only after minutes of that when he finally stopped. For a moment she thought he was finally satisfied and would leave when his gaze landed on the rag haphazardly covering the hatch, "Hmm..." He walked over and pulled the cloth back with the same roughness as before. Tiffania's eyes widened and she quickly aimed her wand through the wooden cracks, "What is-"

The incantation came out in a panicked rush and soon enough the man's eyes turned hazy shortly before he collapsed on his back with a dull thud, 'Oh, I hope no one else heard that...' She just waited, heart beating so loudly it nearly drowned out everything else, but no one else came.

Any sense of relief was quickly drowned out by the sudden scream from outside the cabin, 'Juleka!' It was her, there was no mistaking that. She rushed over to the ladder and hesitated only slightly before climbing up, 'Please, please, please...!' She threw open the hatch and clambered back up to the cottage window. She had to do someth-

'No...'

She almost screamed when she saw the men in red dragging all of the children out of their cottages. The hand holding her wand trembled and it took everything she had not to drop it. There were seven of them, there was no way for her to erase all their memories; at least not all at once. At best she could knock out a couple before the rest realized what she was doing.

It might've been worth it, however. If she just distracted them long enough then the children could run.

She raised a shaky hand and aimed her wand at the closest man when she remembered something her sister once told her. It was a few years ago during one time she'd snuck out and nearly gotten in trouble. She was a Mage, unorthodox as she was, and that meant she could summon a Familiar. Someone to protect her while her big sister was out helping earn a livelihood for them.

She'd never actually done it before. Still, it was the only thing that came to mind right now. Familiars were meant to protect their summoners, that was what her sister had told her, 'Please let this work...' Taking a deep breath, she pointed her wand at the center of their small village and chanted quickly.

Six stabbed the bowie knife into Magnus' neck and pushed him to the ground. The tin man struggled against him, gurgling screams slipping past the cracked mask, before the Courier twisted the blade and cut from one side of his neck to the other. Blood pooled out in a quick wave, coating both metal and flesh in the warm crimson.

The struggling continued for just a few more seconds before, eventually, the mammoth of a man lied still. Six kept the knife planted in his neck for just a few more seconds before he pulled it out with another vicious twist. It might've looked grotesque but he knew from personal experience that some people could survive what looked like certain death. With people like this you had to make sure.

He stepped up somewhat shakily, ignoring the bullet wound on his right shoulder (he'd use a stimpak later), and picked up the scratched .45 from the sandy ground, "Tch..." He eyed the silver finish and frowned at the fresh nick on the barrel. Bastard nearly lopped his arm off with that machete of his. Oh well, he'd fix it up when he got back home. Right now he had more important things to worry about.

He did another quick look over to make sure he didn't miss anyone then did the same thing again after activating his eye cybernetics, first heat then infrared. Nothing. Either Magnus was bluffing about those reinforcements or they hadn't arrived yet. Either way he didn't want to stay and find out.

Six opened the door to the slave pens and grimaced at the sight inside. Dozens of men and women, children and elderly, lined the too-small buildings shoulder to shoulder. They all looked at him with a mixture of surprise and fear. It was the same look he always got. Slaves had disobedience and rebellion beaten out of them first and anyone who didn't break was hung on a cross as an example to the rest.

"The Legion is dead. You're all free." The fear abated just slightly and he saw a few sparks of hope on a handful of them, "Anybody here know where they keep the barges or larger boats? I need something bigger so we can all leave."

"I-I do..." An old man with messy white hair said. He looked frail even for someone who was under the Legion's 'care' but he stood straighter now that there was a chance for freedom.

"Alright, I'll get rid of your collar first. Everyone else get outside and take as much supplies as you can. It'll take at least half a day to get back to the Mojave and I don't want anyone dying of thirst on the way there." He deactivated the old man's collar and tossed it up and over out of sight. Slave collars...if he ever found the guy who made the damn things he'd put it on them and make them run through a wall of speakers.

The former slaves piled outside and a few of the younger ones winced when they saw the corpses scattered around the sand. A few others had looks of relief and he spotted at least one woman who spat on Magnus' corpse.

"Any of you have somewhere to go back to?" Six asked the old man. He pulled out a stimpak from his belt pouch and injected it into his left wrist. Bullet went clean through, at least. No need to dig it out.

"No...we came from a village back in Arizona. I...they burned it to the ground and took all of us as slaves."

"I'm sorry..." It wasn't his fault, he knew that, but he couldn't pretend that he wasn't connected. With Ceasar and Lanius dead the Legion was fractured. Any kind of protection or structure in Arizona collapsed too. A few of the aspiring Warlords kept up Caesar's old policies - keeping a strong front for their 'inevitable succession' - but a few others decided it was dog eat dog. Anyone they couldn't use was enslaved instead of manpower being 'wasted' to protect them.

The barge was thankfully unguarded. The old man knew how to use it, surprisingly enough. He didn't question it too much. Sometimes lady luck did smile on him, "You can head on over to the old Mormon Fort, I'll draw you a map. Ask for Julie Farkas and tell her Six sent you. She'll know what it means." Six, another nickname the Mojave decided to give him. And the only name he really had ever since Benny blasted his real one out of his skull Better than Courier, at least.

"Yeah...thanks, kid."

"Hey...I ran into a couple of kids outside. Said they had a mom and a sister?"

"Yeah, I know em..." That wasn't a happy tone, "Mom tried to resist and she got crucified. That was a a week ago." Too late to save them, then. Damn it. Most of the Legion used rope but Magnus' group stuck to actual nails, "And the sister...our ma- uh, the guy in the mask, he took a liking to her, made her one of his...personal slaves. He...breaks em really quick."

"Son of a bitch..."

He freed the rest of the slaves and called ED-E back with his pipboy to lead the kids to the barge. NCR would clean this place up soon enough and the Followers would take care of those people. It didn't do much to make him feel better. After everything the Legion was still going it didn't seem like that was gonna stop no matter how many Legionnaires he put down or camps he emptied it seemed like there were a dozen more to take their place.

Six sat down on a patch of unbloodied sand and let out a tired breath. When the NCR took the dam people thought it was a total victory, that the Legion would run with its tail between its legs and they'd finally get a long-deserved break. And maybe it was that for most people but for people like them there wasn't any kind of rest. The Legion was still as hungry as ever and they needed to make sure they couldn't make another push.

*beep beep* ED-E suddenly nudged his uninjured shoulder.

"Hey, didn't see you there. They manage to get out?"

*beep beep*

"Yeah, good job." He laughed under his breath. All of his friends were busy with their own lives right now but ED-E was always a constant. He always wondered if he'd continue his journey to Navarro now that he got his memories back but he seemed fine with staying with him for now, "...Come on, we should get outta here. The Legionaries are starting to stink."

He stood and turned just in time to barely notice the green light that suddenly appeared in front of him, "What the-" His foot made contact with the sickly green glow and he suddenly got pulled forward like a magnet.

It was difficult to describe what it felt like. The sudden, blinding light lasted for only seconds but felt much longer. What felt like a burst of electricity surged through him and he screamed in both pain and shock as he stumbled ahead. Just barely he heard ED-E's worried beeps before it faded too. He couldn't see, couldn't hear...it felt like when that damn autodoc scooped out his brain.

Then suddenly it disappeared and all his senses came back at once. Six opened his eyes and gasped. He was on the ground on his hands and knees, clumps of grass between his fingers. He didn't get a chance to wonder how rare actual to God greenery was before a sudden voice called out.

"Who are you?!" Six looked up through blurry vision and saw something that looked far more familiar than he would've liked. A bunch of kids huddled together and crying while men in red holding torches corralled them together like they were animals. The one who shouted drew close to him and pointed a...was that a flintlock? The hell? "I asked you a question! Who are you?!"

"Yeah, just gimme a sec..." It was suddenly dark out. Did he get taken somewhere like Big MT again? He tried to activate night vision only for another shock to rush through him. Whatever that light was it did something to his cybernetics. He felt...heavy, like he was suddenly carrying a load of dead metal.

"Last chance! Answer my question or be hung on the cross like a degenerate!"

Degenerate? Cross? Guess that answered his own question, "You're Legion, aren't you?" The bastard's eyes narrowed and he pressed the gun closer to the top of his skull, just a few inches from the bullet scar, "Man, just my luck. I always run into you no matter where I go."

"You shall-"

Six grabbed the gun's barrel and twisted it away just before the shot rang out. The six other crimson bastards moved for their own guns while he grabbed their leader by the neck and pulled out his own pistol, using him as a human shield. Even without his cybernetics he'd be damned if he'd let these pieces of shit be the ones to do him in.

He shot down three of the Legionaries when the other three unloaded on their buddy, 'No hesitation. Guess some things never change.' He charged ahead, still using the bleeding out body as cover, then tossed him to nearest Legionary with enough force to topple him over. Another shot, this one to the neck, took out the fifth one while the sixth didn't get a chance to pull out an honest to god sword before Six unsheathed his own bowie knife and stabbed him in the chest multiple times.

The fourth one got a shot between the eyes as soon as he tossed off the cooling body of his former leader.

Back the cabin's entrance, Tiffania's eyes were wide and she was torn between screaming in fear or crying in relief at what she just saw. This man - a human - was the one she'd summoned. He appeared along with that metal sphere that lay still on the ground a short distance away.

And he did protect them even if the way he did so was...shocking. But what else did she expect, truly? These people weren't going to leave them alone even if they pleaded and her sister made it clear that, even if she never wanted to, there would be a point that she'd have to take a life to save her own.

She walked forward tentatively till she stepped on a discarded branch. The man turned and aimed his odd flintlock at her and her breath caught in her throat, "P-Please..." She raised both hands in surrender.

His narrowed eyes softened and he lowered the gun. Now that he was facing her she finally got a good look at his features. He was older than her, perhaps as old as her sister, with cropped brown hair and a stubble. His skin was lightly tanned, though most of it was hidden beneath his...odd clothes. His shirt and pants were made of a black and dark blue material, respectively, while the belt held a number of oddly shaped bullets. Across his chest was a thick vest of some kind with multiple pouches and a sheath close to his right shoulder where his knife just was.

Her gaze shifted from him to the still-kneeling children and, ignoring caution entirely, she rushed past him to comfort them.

Six looked down at the blonde haired teenager - or more specifically her ears. He wasn't a stranger to mutations but pointy ears like a Grognak elf? That was definitely new. Still, didn't seem like she meant any harm. Just another victim of the Legion.

He looked back to where he landed and grimaced when he saw ED-E lying on the ground, "Shit..." He trudged over to where his companion lay and twisted him around. No external damage but whatever that green light was that fried his cybernetics must've did something to his circuits too, "Hm..." He checked his pip-boy and frowned. Yep, even that was fried. He'd need to check it over when he got the chance. Good thing he always carried tools for maintenance.

Carefully picking up ED-E with one hand, he walked back to teenager, trying to ignore the occasional spasms of pain that ran through him. He'd need a scan for all the cybernetics too.

"Excuse me?"

The blonde gasped then suddenly stood up and bowed to him, "Oh, I'm sorry! I didn't thank you for saving us."

"It was nothing." He waved with his free hand and tried to smile through the pain. He wasn't going to mention the ears. Last time he did it while he was still groggy from the bullets in his head the guy nearly bit his ear off, "Could you, uh, tell me where I am?"

"Huh? O-Oh, you're in our home. Westwood."

"Right..." Didn't ring a bell. He sighed and raised his head up in exasperation only to nearly fall on his back at the sight that greeted him. Moons. Plural. And they weren't white either. They were and blue with both of them so close he would've mistaken them for planets at a first glance. Was this...it had to be a simulation of some kind. He'd seen enough crazy things to explain it away with some kind of sense.

"...Don't suppose you know the way to the Mojave, do you?" he asked numbly.

"Um...no. There's a nearby village here and past that is the city of Saxe-Gotha. I'm sorry I don't know what this mow-ha-vey is."

Right...something told him he wasn't in New Vegas anymore.

As I said I'm trying to avoid the stations of the canon so here we see that there are already changes before the Courier arrived, most notably in the case of there somehow already being Legion present rather than Reconquista. Other changes will follow from this.

This story, at least as far as I planned it, more focused on exploration and day to day survival. Being summoned by Tiffania instead of Louise means the danger mostly comes from acclimating to Halkeginia while also trying to make sure she and the rest of the children are safe. With this in mind the Courier, Tiffania nd Fouquet will be the main characters of the fic and should provide a ground level POV to explore the world.

That's it for now. Hopefully people like this one even if I still feel rusty.