Sorry this took a while. I've been reading RWBY fics and kinda fell headfirst into the fandom. I'm actually going to try my hand at writing a RWBY fic of my own so if anyone's interested check it out. It's going to be similar to this one since the focus will be exploring the frontier villages and life outside of the big cities of Remnant.
Anyway, since people have asked I should probably clarify. Yes, this version of Six went through the someguy series mods and a few others such as those made by th3Overseer. I'll try to limit those references, though, since not everyone played New Vegas on PC.
Another thing people asked is which ending I'm going with. It's essentially a hybrid ending where NCR took over but Six persuaded House to agree to be officially be taken over so he can keep doing his plans. This was actually a cut ending that you can now do with a recent mod.
Six had to admit he'd been skeptical on Mages. Sure Matilda was impressive, and burying people up to their necks was pretty damn effective, but he'd still take a hunting rifle over magic any day of the week.
Seeing Louise zip around skewering goblins like she was hopped up on turbojet was almost enough to make him change his mind. Almost.
He shot another charging goblin and let the rifle drop. The gun held a lot of bullets but it was a bitch and a half to reload, same with every other gun in this place. He grabbed for the flintlock at his side and raised it just as Louise zipped past the next charging goblin, spilling its guts as she went, "...Show off." He grinned, which she responded to with a light, cocky smirk of her own.
Matilda crushed three more goblins charing towards her with a large rock. Shit scented blood splattered to the ground and he thanked whatever God was out there that he'd gotten used to those kinds of smells. His partner's face was turning as green as her hair used to be and she barely held back the rising tide of vomit. Credit where it was due, at least Deathclaws didn't smell like a week old outhouse.
One last goblin spasmed towards him, right arm raised and flailing. Six kicked its face and it crashed to the ground with a large heap. A knife to the throat stopped its struggling quick enough, "Annoying little bastards." He stomped on its head one last time for good measure and let out a frustrated breath. There was a reason he never liked those old holotape games. Who wanted to go around killing little green men all day?
"They are rather foul, certainly." Louise scrunched up her nose and flicked the blood off her rapier. Lucky, "If only these creatures knew the value of a bar of soap. Wretches."
"At least it's over now." Matilda sighed and hid the wand back under her cloak again.
"Your job was to get rid of this infestation, correct?"
"Yes, though I'm starting to believe that the reward outweighed the risks."
"We had it handled," Six said.
His partner threw him a dirty look, "Maybe you are, but we can't all be so lucky as to cheat death over and over again."
"Luck ain't cheating, partner." He picked the rifle back up and frowned slightly. It was already out and he didn't have any spare bullets for it. And no one was selling ammo for it, last he checked. Great. He'd have to kill more Legionnaries if he wanted to use it again. Matilda was gonna love that, "But yeah, you did help us out a lot there. Thanks."
"No need. I was simply doing what is expected of me." The girl - who looked about the same age as Tiffania - put a hand on her chest and smiled confidently, "It's both a knight's duty and honor to exterminate vermin such as these. That I helped you both was a happy coincidence."
"A knight, huh?" The last knights he remembered were from the Brotherhood of Steel...and a bunch of them were pricks. As much as he loved Veronica, even she agreed they were a bunch of hermits hoarding tech like Fiends did Jet, "Lemme guess, you travel the land righting wrongs and saving the damsels in distress?" Kind of the same thing he did. Except there weren't any damsels and most of the things he did he wouldn't put on a résumé.
Man, maybe Tiffania was right. His life was kinda sad.
Louise laughed, "Nothing so fairy tale. I came to this country with a task of my own, but my Familiar is resting now and I didn't want to sit idle. Getting rid of these creatures seemed as good a task as any." She sheathed her sword, "I suppose you'll be returning to town now to receive compensation?"
"That's the plan." Matilda nodded.
"Then I wish you good luck."
"Not coming with us?" Six asked. He didn't know the girl long but he already liked her. Nice to talk to someone who seemed like they were on the same wavelength.
"I shall explore the cave further. These creatures are foul in more ways than one and I wouldn't be surprised if they took one of the women in their past raids."
"Whoever they took is probably dead. These things don't exactly seem like they'd keep hostages alive." Matilda crossed her arms and frowned.
"Death would be a mercy compared to what these vermin do to their captives." Six's eyes narrowed. They were dancing around it but he could read between the lines. Even back home there wasn't much else you could do with captive women, "I can't in good conscience leave without making certain there's no one else being harmed. Please be careful on the journey back."
"I suppose that-"
"We're coming with you," Six interrupted. Matilda's eyes narrowed and he spoke again before she could get a word in, "Look, I may be new to this place, but I ain't an idiot. If these things are doing what I think they are then I can't just turn around and leave. And I don't think you can either." She looked like she was going to argue before another look at the closest Goblin corpse made her purse her lips shut.
"...This isn't our job," she said eventually, though it sounded weak.
"Then you can go back on your own. I'll go with Louise and meet up with you when we finish."
"I can't ask you both to risk your life for-"
"Fine." Matilda let out a frustrated breath and took her wand out again, "Someone needs to make sure you don't get yourself killed. I don't want to explain that one to Tiffa."
"Love you too, partner." He raised both hands in mock surrender when she scowled at him. Knew there was a heart under all that stone, "So we're just gonna go in there, right?"
"Yes." Louise nodded, "I would recommend that I take the lead while you follow behind and your partner at the back. Forgive me for presuming, but you're not a mage, correct?" Six shook his head, "Then our placement should be correct. Please be careful, both of you."
"I can take of myself, don't worry." His hand ghosted over the 1911 hidden under his cloak. Joshua's gift saved his life more times than he could count, "Let's get in there."
Another good thing about Mages was just how convenient some of those spells were. With his pip-boy and implants still on the fritz he had to use torches whenever he wanted to see more than five feet in front of him. One quick spell from Louise and there was a floating ball of light above their head lighting up the entire cave's insides. Kind of made them stick out, though.
The cave itself reminded him off the ones back home. Tall and wide with gray rocks covered in a lot of things he didn't want to stand too near to. Six held onto the last flintlock with his right hand while the other held onto the bowie knife. Corridors were always a crapshoot. Made it easier to shoot downrange but also made him a sitting duck if he didn't have any cover.
"I think I'm going to be sick," Matilda said behind him, one hand on her wand while the other desperately covered her nose. Even Six felt sort of lightheaded, though again he pushed through, "Would've been better if we sealed the entrance and let these monsters starve to death."
"Even one innocent life lost is too high a price to pay," Louise replied. Like him she wasn't covering her nose, but the tears in her eyes made it clear it took a heroic effort on her part to keep going, "Please pay attention. Goblins may be animals but they aren't stupid. Make sure to watch every corner and call out if you see anything. If you suspect even a single hint of movement then don't hesitate."
No sooner did she say that when he heard a skittering to his side. Six turned to the right and shot the scrambling goblin right in the neck. The sound of the discharging gun was deafening inside the hall and both Louise and Matilda flinched. The pink haired knight recovered first and cast another spell to take out two more goblins that charged past their dead friend.
"Tch, I suppose it was too much to hope we killed them all outside." Matilda raised up two spiked that impaled four more chargers. Six shot one more with the musket on his back and debated reloading before thinking better of it. A quarter of a minute was way too slow here.
He grabbed 1911 with one hand and shot two more rushing towards Louise. Her eyes snapped back at the alien sound and her eyes flickered to the dull silver pistol, "That firearm..." She shook her head and focused on killing the remaining goblins, "Keep moving! If we stay here we'll be tripping over bodies!" She charged ahead first with the two of them following after. Being surrounded on both sides wasn't ideal. The last time he and Boone were caught on both ends they barely survived.
They kept going till the caves' walls changed to something resembling mortar. Six took out another greenskin and mentally counted down the bullets. Two left, "Door on the left." Louise rammed it with her shoulder and he did the same. It took a couple more shoves before the stone door opened with a loud crash and they slipped inside. The goblins were still there but at least they'd be funneled just one way now.
The inside of the room reminded him of a church, at least the ones in those old books Arcade loved to read. Mojave didn't have any real chapels last he checked, "By Brimir..." Louise covered her mouth with one hand and eyed the bodies scattered around the room. Human bodies. Some of them fresh, most of them not. He wished he could say he was horrified, but honestly he didn't feel much of anything. That cherry popped a long time ago.
Matilda shut the door and raised a rock to cover the entrance, "I hope you have a plan, Sir. Knight."
Whatever she was about to say was cut off by the rough, weak coughs coming from the prone woman nearby. She looked about as good as most of the corpsed here. Her skin was sallow and covered in deep cuts, a lot of them looking infected. Her half-open eyes were glassy and unfocused and whatever words she tried to form came out as nothing more than weak gurgles.
She was naked too, and it didn't take a genius to figure out why.
Six knelt down next to her and put a hand to her neck. The pulse was weak but it was there, "Burning through my stock..." He took out a stimpack and injected her wrist. Her eyes opened fully and she gasped, trying and failing to sit up, "Anybody else still alive?" he called out to Louise and Matilda.
"No." Louise scowled.
"None here," Matilda added.
"Guess this is the best we could hope for." He wasn't surprised. Going in guns blazing and saving all the hostages always felt like a pipe dream. He'd gotten lucky a few times, but there were a lot more when they came after the sick bastards decided to 'cut their losses'.
He picked the up the girl - who looked barely older than 16 or 17 - and carried her as gently as he could. Her breathing was a bit steadier now, "We're gonna have to fight our way out."
"I won't disagree, but how do we know there aren't any more innocent people?"
"There ain't any."
That wasn't any of them.
Six nearly dropped the girl while both Louise and Matilda looked around for any sign of danger, "Hey, I ain't gonna stab you or anything." The voice was coming from behind what looked like an altar. Except how the hell could anyone survive in this place? "Might wanna look down, pinky."
Louise shuffled behind the altar and came out with a rusted looking sword she could barely carry. Six raised a brow before the sword decided to talk, "Man, finally! Been a while since anyone but those damn gobbos were holding me." A...talking sword? Sure, why not? Wasn't like it was anything weirder than everything else he'd seen. And he was speaking actual words instead of just beeps. Convenient.
"Is that sword talking?!" Matilda shouted, almost drowning out the sounds of goblins banging at the door.
"Well I ain't singin'!" the sword shouted back cheerily, "Name's Derflinger, by the way, but my friends call me Derf."
"This would be a far more prudent conversation to have in a different place." Louise fumbled a bit and put the sword on her back, "But before we leave, Sir. Derflinger, you are certain that there are no more innocents that have been taken?"
"Yeah, I'm sure." He 'sighed', "They always dump em over here. It's where they store their 'prizes', see? I can't really do much to help them, but I try to keep them distracted. Been doing that since these greenskins took me from my last boss." Huh, he was wondering why there was a talking sword here, "That girl's the last. She conked out a few hours before you got here."
"Then we should get her the hell out of here before she bites it from sepsis."
"Indeed. The lady and I shall lead the way. Please stay behind us, Sir...?"
"The name's S- Adam, and my partner's name is Matilda." He held the girl tighter against him, "Let's get out of here."
"Hate to interrupt, but judging by how you're talkin' it doesn't sound like any of you met these ugly bastards' boss yet."
"...A hobgoblin, you mean? Or are you referring to a shaman?" Louise asked.
"Yeah...we ain't that lucky, Pinky."
The goblins stopped banging agaisnt the door. The calm didn't last long before a louder, far stronger crash came from the other side. Matilda's eyes widened and she stepped closer to him and Louise, "...There's only one way out of the room," Louise winced as another hit came and went, "Our only choice is to distract whatever comes through that door and make a run for the exit."
"Easier said than done..." Matilda looked like she was regretting all her life choices.
"But not impossible." He handed her a blackpowder bomb and his lighter, "Toss it at whatever's coming and haul ass."
Two more hits before the door and Matilda's barrier nearly hit them with a crash. Six knelt down and grit his teeth while the...thing stepped over the rubble. It was big, easily over ten feet tall at just a glance, with dark green skin and a monstrous face covered in rough patches of hair. Its beard, a shade of brown that stuck out from the rest of its body, was thick and covered in streaks of drying blood.
The girl in his arms whimpered.
"Ogre..." Louise hissed. It was larger than the door and had to crouch down to make its way inside the room. Its large, misshapen nose sniffed the air and when it looked down at them Six saw the hunger in its eyes.
Right before Matilda tossed the bomb between its legs.
"Run!" He didn't know which of them said it but they all followed. The Ogre screamed and thrashed around in a panic, giving them some room to move. Six ran under its meaty legs and shot two more goblins that recovered quicker than their boss, "It's okay, it's okay..." he whispered to the crying girl. It must've felt like running from one nightmare to another for her, "We'll get you back to your family soon."
His attempted comfort was cut off when he heard a deafening roar from behind. The big guy was angry, "We're almost to the entrance!" Louise shouted, "The open area should give us more breathing room!"
"To what?! We're not fighting that thing!"
"If we run it'll follow us back to the village!" She ducked another charging goblin and impaled its throat as she went. Six almost tripped on the dropped body, "We need to stop it here and now!"
"I agree with the super mage!" Six yelled.
"You're both insane!"
They finally made it back to open air. Six barely slipped past the cave's mouth before Matilda collapsed the entrance under a wave of rocks, "That shoud...buy us...some time..." She panted, hands on her knees and face red from exhaustion, "I hope you have a plan, Sir. Valliere."
"If my Familiar were here this wouldn't be an issue. As it stands I believe the only thing we can do is fight it in open combat."
"Glorified suicide, you mean." Matilda scowled and stood up straight again, "I think I can do something, but you're going to have to buy me some time. A couple of minutes, at least."
"You better have something good, partner."
"Shut it, I don't wanna hear any complaining from you." She took the girl from his arms and slung one hand over her shoulder, "It'll just be the two of you for a while. Make sure to be careful. I don't wanna come back to two corpses."
"Just go." Six took out his 1911 and stood close to Louise. Just the two of them now, "Uh...don't suppose you got any tips for fighting this thing?"
"Ogres are beast of war. Their thick skin allows them to shrug off flintlock and musket fire and even some spells. If we want to survive we're going to attack its weakpoints: eyes, neck, mouth and...crotch." She coughed and drew her sword, "But even then that won't be enough. Ogres are notoriously fast healers and one attack won't be enough to stop it. We'll have to keep on the offensive."
"Pile up the damage. I get it." He reached for the magazine of .45 super and put it in, "You ready for this?"
"Absolutely." She raised her rapier and began chanting, "Follow my lead and do what I say."
It was just under a minute before the collapsed rocks exploded outwards. Six grit his teeth and kept his eyes level as the Ogre roared and charged towards them, spit and blood flying. It was nearly on them when Louise shouted, "Jump!" Six didn't even hesitate and was only slightly surprised when he flew through the air in an arc above its head. A spell of some kind.
He grabbed onto the hair at the back of its head and fired down at its neck. Spurts of blood came from the small holes and the thing roared in pain. Both hands grabbed at its back to try and dislodge him and he let go, falling between the thing's legs. It was wearing just a loincloth...and right now he had a good view of what it was hiding. Great. That wouldn't scar him or anything.
Louise zipped up to its front and impaled the horrific sight right through its loincloth. It might've just been his imagination, but he could've sworn the Ogre's next roar was higher pitched than the last. Louise didn't let up and, with another spell, flew up like a bullet straight towards it head. The sword dragged along the skin, cutting a thin, bleeding line from waist to chest, before she pulled out and, with a graceful spin, slashed out both of its eyes with the rapier's tip.
The ogre stumbled back and grabbed onto its bleeding eyes with both hands. Sadly it didn't give them too much of a break. What little goblins were left finally made it through the rubble and charged at them again, "Shit...!" He took out three more before the gun clicked empty, "Louise, cover me while I-"
"Use him!" Louise sped past him and tossed Derflinger at his hands. He ignored the sword's complaints about being 'swordhandled' and slashed at the next charging Goblin, "Ugh, and I thought the katana was bad!" Fuck Zimmer and his honor duel bullshit. Just cause he knew how to use it didn't mean he liked it, "Come on, you little pieces of shit! Come and get me!"
"Woo, someone's mad!" Derflinger clicked.
"Last one!" Louise impaled the remaining goblin through its right eye and kicked it away with a growl of her own, "Where is Lady Mati-"
Another roar. Six looked back and grimaced when he saw the Ogre with its bloody but somehow functional eyes. Louise said the things healed fast but this was ridulous, "...Great." Could he go back to fighting Legionaries again?
A crash came from behind them this time. Six didn't even get a chance to turn around and look before Louise sped past and grabbed his collar, dragging him back hard enough to choke, "Lady Matilda, keep it distracted!"
It was only when they were past the treelines that Lousie finally let go. Six grabbed on the tree and gasped, rubbing at his now-free neck. "Little warning would've been nice."
"Catch your breath while you can. The fight isn't over yet."
The fight being Matilda controlling a giant golem and grappling the Ogre. Logically speaking he'd seen more impressive sights before, but it was the most eye-catching thing he'd seen here since the two moons. The golem was large and thick, easily matching the Ogre, and Matilda stood on its shoulder like some kind of puppeteer. Both of its hands were struggling with the Ogre's as they pushed and pulled against one another.
"The golem and the Ogre appear evently matched. I suggest we strike while its distracted."
"Sounds good to me."
Louise sped ahead again and flew up till she was level with the Ogre's arms. She slashed and stabbed at the thick, bleeding flesh till the Ogre was eventually forced to let go of the Golem's arms, "Make way!" Six slipped between the golem's legs and impaled the damn thing again, much to Derflinger's loud complaints. Hey, didn't like it any more than he did.
"Come on...!" The golem's hands grabbed onto both sides of its mouth and tried to pry them apart. The ogre desperately grabbed the golem's wrists again, halting the attempted jawbreaker, "Stubborn bastard!" Matilda spat.
Louise jumped and impaled its right eye while Six shot the other. This time when the Ogre's grip slackened Louise made sure to make deep cuts on its wrists. Wouldn't stop it from healing, but they just needed it distracted.
Matilda screamed and, with one final tug, the Ogre's jaws split apart with an earsplitting crack. The Ogre, either intentionally or not, headbutted the Golem's shoulder and Matilda fell, the Golem collapsing as she did. Six caught her before she could land and set her on the ground, "Louise, need another jump." The ogre was stumbling back now but it'd heal soon enough. They needed to finish this.
Six ran and primed one of his last few grenades. Whether Louise knew his plan or not she cast the spell and when he jumped he was level with the the thing's deformed head. He shoved the greande into what was left of its mouth kicked it down for good measure. This time it was Louise's turn to catch him before he could crash land and they both rolled along the dirt with Louise on top.
"Get down!" He flipped their position and covered her just as the Ogre's head popped in a shower of blood and meat. The explosion wasn't large enough to hurt, but the gore was anything but clean. Six winced as splatters of bloody meat ran down his shoulders and back. That was gonna be a bitch to wash.
"...Is it dead?" Matilda asked eventually.
"Think so." He stood up and offered Louise a hand, which she took with a grateful nod, "Not unless these Ogre things can survive getting their head popped off."
"Doubtful." Louise laughed under her breath, "I...thank you both for your assistance. I doubt I would've been able to handle this on my own. Name your reward."
He expected Matilda to jump right on that grenade, but she just shook her head and sighed, "No need. We're already being paid to exterminate those Goblins. If anything the one who gave us the contract is the one who's gonna pay extra. An Ogre isn't exactly the same thing as a Goblin."
"If you need my help in persuading him then you need only ask." The pink haired knight put a hand on her chin, "Though, if I'm not being presumptuous, would it be fair to say that you are both mercenaries?"
"Uh...close enough?" Six shrugged. He doubted saying they were a thief and a courier would make any more sense, "Anything that puts food on the table, you know?"
"Then would it be fair to say that I could hire you both for an excursion of my own?"
"Why do you need us?" Matilda's eyes narrowed, "You were the one who saved us, last I recall."
"And you both more than held your own against both the goblins and the Ogre. Especially you, Adam. No magic and yet you more than pulled your weight." Patronizing, but he wasn't gonna say anything. She didn't seem to mean anything by it, "I will pay, of course. Let it never be said that Louise Valliere is anything less than a fair employer."
Again Matilda looked like she was about to refuse before Louise opened a satchel filled with gold coins. Not silver or copper, all gold, "I'll give you a quarter of the price as an incentive for now and we'll meet back up at the village in two days time if you agree to the contract. Does this sound fair?"
"A quarter upfront? How do you know we won't just take it and run off?" Six asked.
"Call it a hunch, or maybe it's because you helped me search for that missing girl without any incentives." Louise smirked at him, looking far older than her age suggested, "Do we have a deal?"
Six shrugged and turned to Matilda, "I'm game if you are."
"I...I suppose it would be foolish to give up on such a generous offer. We accept."
"Excellent." She poured some of the coins into a smaller pouch and handed it to Matilda. If she was worried about losing so much money she didn't show it, "Oh, but I will need to take Sir. Derflinger back with me. I trust there are no complaints."
"None from me." The talking sword clicked, "No offense, but I get the feeling she's gonna be stabbing a lot less dicks than you are."
"Sure." Six rolled his eyes and handed the sword back. He wasn't too fussed. ED-E was better anyway, "Come on, let's meet up with the contractors then then we can take the kids to the village. Better than that cave any day."
"Agreed."
They both walked back to the village, exhausted and in much need of a bath, but in far better circumstances than before. Matilda wasn't keen on working for a Valliere, especially given their history, but she couldn't deny that the reward was substantial. And she knew the girl wouldn't double-cross them. Knights like her were simple, seeing the world in terms of honor and black and white. So long as she kept her true nature hidden they shouldn't have any problems.
"She seemed nice," Adam said. He was carrying the girl in his arms again.
Matilda scoffed, "Don't let the honorable front fool you. Many knights are loyal to their sovereign above all else and they'll do anything if ordered."
"Sounds like a bad experience."
"Yes." She didn't elaborate and he didn't ask. Good. As much as they had agreed to cooperate there were things that were too personal to say, "Just don't get used to her presence and make absolutely certain to give no hint of Tiffania's true origins. She would cut her throat with a smile if she even suspects what she truly is."
"My lips are sealed."
"Good."
By the time they managed to get everything they needed and dropped off the poor girl to someone who'd watch over her, she felt like a dead woman walking. The twin moons were high in the sky as they returned to the cave, utterly spent, "Big sis! Six!" Tiffania was the first to greet them, helping her keep balance while Six trudged close to the campfire. Even he was feeling the effects of walking and fighting all day, "Are you both alright?"
"Just great. Got the magic potions too." Adam handed the tonics to Tiffania and practically collapsed on against the nearby wall. His flying golem flew to his side and chirped, "Good news is the village we went to is pretty safe so far so we can get you all out of this cave."
"We received another job as well. It means you'll have to wait there again, but it should be better than the last time."
Tiffania nodded and administered the potions while she and Adam rested. Despite their disagreement earlier she was finding herself less reluctant about this partnership. The Valliere was correct that he could take care of himself and he had no expectations of her like her previous short-lived partners. If they could control his chronic desire for heroism she could see this working out very well.
"I wish there was something I could do to help..." Tiffania sat between them and chewed on her lower lip.
"You're doing enough, Tiffa. Trust me."
"Listen to your sis, kid." Adam ruffled her hair, a small smile on his face.
On its own the scene would've been cute and nothing noteworthy. Except Matilda didn't miss the way her younger sister giggled and oh so subtly scoot closer so their shoulders and legs were touching, "I'll try..." Was that...were her cheeks red? Was she blushing?!
Oh no...no, no, no. Perhaps it was nothing, maybe she was just imagining things, but the way her sister was acting - the blushes, the giggling, the way she looked up at him with those doe eyes of hers - it was hard to misunderstand.
Of course, she should've seen this coming. Adam was the first male she'd spent time with that wasn't a child and he'd saved her after being summoned. A crush, something all people her age experienced. She understood, even if she didn't - couldn't - approve. Matilda's expression hardened as Tiffania giggled again.
She and Adam needed to have a...talk soon.
Chapter done. This one took me most of the day to write. Hopefully it's still good.
Anyway, we've got Louise sticking around for a bit and a bit more of her fighting style. Like I said before she's not just summong golems or flinging spells in the background. This Louise fights in a much more upfront manner and isn't above getting stabby with that rapier of hers. I'm trying to make each companion character unique so they don't feel interchangable sans equipment like in Fallout 3 and 4.
We're also getting more ties to Tristain with Louise offering our two leads a job. Fingers crossed they don't get dragged into something above their paygrade.
Review answers (cause I forgot last chapter):
asd - I mean you read this chapter, what do you think?
maskedkeeper - Cause he'd essentially be a copy of Matilda due to his golems. Louise fights very differently from most Mages.
dasgun - Eh.
DarkAres12 - Okay, I forgot to say anything before but what makes you think he killed Joshua? Cause he has his gun and clothes? You get those at the end of the DLC as a gift. Six never says anything about killing Joshua.