A flash of blue light broke the quiet day, and a lithe figure was left in its wake. The figure was covered in an armored leather coat, above a layer of sturdy black armor and a helmet with glowing red eyes. After scanning the surroundings, a soft sigh and a feminine voice came from the figure. "…At least the probe was easy to find." Six was relieved. The device stood out like a sore thumb among all the greenery. Picking up the basketball sized probe, Six took another look around. She was astounded by the forest around her. It was the greenest place she'd ever seen. The area around Jacobstown, Zion, or even Vault 22 couldn't compare with how vibrant and healthy the land looked. Six took off her helmet, letting her long red hair fall over her shoulders, and took a great breath of the clean air, nearly sickeningly sweet to the nose of the wastelander. Six stored the helmet in her pack, and took a couple of minutes to bask in the sunlight gleaming into the clearing, like a gecko lazing on a rock. Checking the probe's logs, she was a little surprised to see that all of the creatures' vitals were reported flatlined, other than Gabe Junior's, whose were strong until it left the probe's range. Eventually, Six rose to her feet, and started wandering aimlessly, wanting to absorb the scenery just a little more.
After a while, she started to hear voices nearby. Taking care not to be seen, Six snuck toward them.
"Don't ya think they're taking too long?"
"Shut it. It was a big creature. They're probably just being careful. Besides, maybe Dix gave them another cage to bring. If they gotta make another trip, may as well bring another one to the auction."
"I guess yer right. Still, we didn't 'ave much room left 'n the wagon."
"Who cares? They won't die just cause they're a little cramped."
The voices came from two men, both relatively well-built and wearing too little armor. One was wearing a metal breastplate that barely covered his pectorals and burlap pants, and the other wore an unbuttoned vest that was too small for him, and green baggy pants. They both had fur of some kind on their shoulders, and were scarred. Maybe you'd be less scarred if you wore something actually protective, Six thought. The two men were situated around an extinguished fire pit, with a large pile of crates with tarps covering them from prying eyes. Those must be those cages. Slavers? They certainly look the part. I might as well ask, if they aren't, maybe they can help.
"What brings two fine men like yourselves out here?" Six said, strolling out of the woods towards the camp.
"Wha- Who are you? How'd you find us?" the one in the vest asked.
"Oh, I'm just a girl, going on a hunt through the woods. I'm looking for a monster to bring home. Maybe you could help me?" Six asked, and sent a wink towards the one wearing a breastplate.
"Oh, I think we got what yer lookin' for right here," Breastplate grinned confidently, taking a step towards the tarps in the back.
"Oi! We can't just… Get away from there!" Vest shouted, thrown off by the bold woman and his partner's cocksure attitude.
"Relax, Dix prob'ly told 'er to meet us here 'cause of the delay. That's how she knew where we were." Breastplate claimed, then in a whisper "'Sides, it's been a while, and this gal's pretty. If you mess this up, I swear…"
"Fine. You bring any money, lady? These creatures don't come cheap." Vest grunted, annoyed at the unexpected turn of events.
Six was intrigued. She didn't expect things to turn out like this, and wanted to know what was under the tarps. "Of course, but I left it hidden in the woods. I hope you don't blame a lady for making sure she was safe before walking up to two strong men with a great deal of cash on her."
Breastplate smiled wide at her. "Oh, no. I understand. A pretty lady like you must be worried. But I'll protect ya. I'm level 3, ya know. Now, here's the lot." With a flourish, he pulls the tarps off of two large cages, revealing four creatures pressed for space.
In one cage, there was a large monster with a head like a pig. It was crammed into a cage meant for a much smaller creature, and much of its body was pressed against the bars. In the other cage, there was a black dog, a living shadow, and a green skinned humanoid crammed together. The three drew back into the far corner of the cage, and Six's jaw dropped when she heard the green one beg, "Please… Let us go! We don't want to hurt anyone."
"Shut yer traps!" With a kick to the bars that made the four monsters flinch, Breastplate smiled at the dumbstruck expression on Six's face. "It's one thing to hear about talking monsters, but another to see it, eh?"
The big one looked at Six, and the fear and suffering she saw in its eyes reminded her of recently captured slaves of the Legion.
"Are there any more? There was a particular one I was looking for." Six said, her voice flat.
"These're all the ones we were shipping out. You sure that Dix sent you?" Suspicion crept into the voice of the vest wearing man, and his hand sunk to the hilt of his sword.
"Oh yes, quite sure. I think I'll be taking them all of your hands. Do you accept payments in lead?"
"Wha-"
As Breastplate was trying to piece together what she said, the courier's hand sunk to the Ranger Sequoia under her coat, and her perception of time slowed to a crawl as her Implant GRX was activated. Using VATS to line up her shots, she squeezed off two shots, nailing the two slavers in the head. Vest died as the bullet shattered his skull, and Breastplate crumpled to the ground, with a large wound on his temple, swearing as he tried to make some distance from the Courier.
He froze as he felt the metal of the weapon press against the back of his skull. He begged. "Please… why are you…? Is it those monsters? Do ya really care 'bout 'em?"
"Truth be told, I don't particularly care about them one way or another. I just hate slavers. I'm impressed that you survived the first shot. Since you deal in monsters, I have a question for you. I'm hunting a real monster. A deathclaw. Big, black, could flay a man in seconds. Have you seen it?"
The breastplate clad man spit out, "Go to hell. Dix'll kill ya once he finds out about this."
Shrugging, Six pulled the trigger, ending the man. Turning towards the cages, Six raised the revolver once more. The monsters shut their eyes and recoiled when they heard another two shots, expecting death.
"Are you going to stay in the cages until this 'Dix' guy comes to find y'all? Let's get out of here."
The Xenos opened their eyes in disbelief, the cages' locks blown open while their savior loots the fresh corpses of their captors.
"Damn, they don't have anything useful. C'mon. Let's find a new place to set up camp. I expect you to give me some information, so don't try to run."
Sitting around a campfire in a shallow cave, Six observes her new companions. They were quiet, obeying the few orders she gave while they were setting up camp. "So, what are y'all? Y'all ain't human, or any types of mutants I've ever seen."
It was the green creature that spoke up again. "My… my name is Mot. I'm a hobgoblin. This is Nort the orc, and Dim here is a war shadow. He doesn't have a name yet, and he probably won't be able to speak, but he is a hellhound." Mot took a deep breath, before shouting "THANK YOU FOR SAVING US!"
Six watched on, as the war shadow quietly wept. "Nice to meet y'all. Courier Six," she introduced, "I'm new around this area. Are situations like this common?"
Composing himself, Mot said, "Not really. Most monsters are killed outright, but we Xenos have to be careful. There aren't many of us, and humans see us as the same as the mindless monsters that just want to kill. We were captured by the Ikelos Familia a while back, and they were taking us to an auction. Yesterday, while we were being smuggled through the forest, we were attacked by a monster we'd never seen before. It was just like you were asking about. A deathclaw?"
"I'm impressed they survived."
"It was fast and smart. It set up an ambush and killed three level ones and a level two before they were able to knock it out."
"They knocked it out? Why'd they not kill it?"
"They used enough tranquilizer to make a minotaur sleep for a week. They thought they could sell it, so they put it in Nort's cage, shoved the three of us into another, and put Nort in the cage Dim and the hellhound were in. They left to bring it back to their hideout in Orario, and we were left behind waiting for the wagons to get back."
"Can you help me get to Orario then? And what were those levels you mentioned earlier? Is level 3 a big deal?"
"You… you don't know what levels are? How'd you beat them then? He was level three!" Mot short-circuited, shocked that someone who wasn't blessed saved them.
Surprisingly, it was Dim that answered Six's questions. "Umm… Levels are part of the Falna. It's the blessing that gods give to adventurers. Most are level 1, and level 3 adventurers are really, really strong. I think that Dix is level 5. He was the one who captured me. Umm… We can't get you back into Orario, we're monsters, and that is the adventurer's home." After speaking she hid behind Nort, who nodded solemnly.
Six absentmindedly scratched the hellhound behind his ears. So the deathclaw is in a big city. If it gets loose, they might be able to kill it, but who knows how much damage it will do. Standing up, Six extinguished the fire. "Get some sleep. Tomorrow, I'll have to go to Orario. Be careful."
As the four Xenos settle down in the cave, Six takes the Gobi Scout Rifle out of her Pip-boy, settles in for a watch, and gazes at the unfamiliar stars until morning.
Two nights ago…
.
Prowling through the darkened forest, Gabe Junior continued her hunt. In the past five days, she had claimed the forest for herself, rooting out the other creatures smelling of the decrepit laboratory she was housed in. The Mojave creatures provided a familiar source of food for the first couple of nights, considering the natives of the forest simply faded into ash.
However, on the third day, Gabe found more familiar prey. Traversing through the forest was a small group of humans, armed with melee weapons. They were cut to ribbons before they even noticed the hulking stalker that ambushed them. After Junior was done feasting, only snapped bones, rags, and the weapons remained of the adventurers.
It wasn't until the fifth night that more prey wandered into her territory. There was a group of maybe a dozen people, with quadruped creatures pulling two covered carts. Once the group stopped, one of the men left the group, wandering into the forest for a short distance, getting just out of vision of the rest for reasons that eluded the hunter. The man paid no attention to his surroundings, struggling with his belt for a minute before he felt hot breath above his head. Before he could make a noise, he fell, five slash marks running the length of his body, his last sight being the black creature who slew him slinking back towards the camp.
Skirting the edge of the camp the group set up, the deathclaw observed her prey. They had established a campfire in the middle of a clearing, and were clearly relaxed. Two men were conversing near the edge of the clearing, and the reptilian predator circled through the shadows, preparing to pounce.
Right before the deathclaw leapt into the camp, a bald man sitting near the fire caught the reflection of the light in her eyes. Immediately, the man bellowed, and the split second of warning allowed some of the men to gather their wits.
The beast slammed into the two men, the one on the left crying in pain as something snapped, and he was motionless where he impacted the ground. The other man barely had time to react, one just able bring his weapon around before he was thrown to the ground, the meager spear just saving him from death as it was ripped from his hands by the sheer force of the monster. Taking her time, Gabe rose to her full height before grinning a sadistic, reptilian sneer at the cowering prey. Slowly, almost comfortingly, the deathclaw traced his stomach with the tip of her claw, before a sudden, burning sensation stabbed through his gut, and he howled at the excruciating pain.
Leaving her victim to bleed out, Gabe Junior turned around, before a ball of cloth hit her head, bursting into a cloud of dust on impact. With her vision obscured, she roared in rage before taking a deep sniff to get her bearings. As she breathed in, another three impacts released more of the sweet-smelling dust, and the deathclaw leapt towards the direction the objects came from and lashed out, taking pleasure in the cry of pain and the tearing of a limb from whoever she hit. From the viscera on her claws, she knew it was a deep hit.
The more she breathed, the more sluggish the apex predator grew. Gabe took a staggering step as fatigue began to overwhelm her. The deathclaw fell, limbs becoming leaden, struggling to stay awake.
"It must be here for the damn monsters. We'll take it back and let Dix break it. I've never seen one of these beasties before. Free up a cage and get the wounded on a cart back! We've got quite the payday coming up…"
Sleep overtook the deathclaw matriarch, her last sight being a bald human with a smug grin splitting his face as he peered over her.
It was a quiet goodbye. The four Xenos knew they couldn't accompany Six into the city, and were going to put as much distance between them and the Ikelos Familia as possible, but they gave her as much information as they could. They told her of the Dungeon, how it spawned endless monsters that preyed on the Xenos and surface dwellers indiscriminately, and they told her of the people that entered the Dungeon to hunt those monsters. They didn't know much more than the concepts of adventurers and Falna, and heard a few pieces of gossip while they were prisoners. With a general direction sorted out, the courier began her trek west to find the city.
She spent much of her time thinking about the information the Xenos gave her. Magic and monsters? Probably just some superstitious mutants. Still, the concept had Six on edge. The 'magic' could still be some dangerous energy weapon, but the 'monsters' were so far removed from any mutants she ever met that she wasn't sure what to think. And a place that spawned them endlessly? Maybe it was like some of the cloning technologies she read about in the Big MT database. They did mention neural degradation, with more and more violent clones each generation. It would explain the mindlessly violent monsters allegedly in this Dungeon, and these Xenos could be some rare, more successful clone.
Where am I, anyway? Everyone so far has spoken English, so am I in Europe? Definitely not Asia. How'd they avoid the Great War's effects? Even the areas the GECKs revitalize don't look this vibrant.
Sighing, Six shook her head. No use theorizing about it. I can check it out when I get there. Six's biggest concern was actually the people inhabiting the city. The Xenos couldn't give her much information about them, other than that Familias followed a god. If these Familias were the dominant force in the city, she could see religious conflicts being commonplace, and Six didn't have the best grasp on religions to begin with. Would she offend someone accidently, or would they try to induct her in their weird cults? Last time she ran into a Child of Atom, they ended up attacking Six for being a heretic. And if adventurers were blessed by the gods, it probably meant that they were closely tied to the priest or whoever that led the Familias.
As she walked, Six noticed the trees were starting to thin, and farther ahead, the forest turned to plains. Putting her thoughts aside for the moment, she picked up the pace, eager to see what a healthy field of grass looked like. Once she broke from the canopy of the forest, Six's eyes immediately snapped to the tallest structure she'd ever seen. The walls were as tall as the Lucky 38, and the tower in the middle dwarfed it, disappearing into the clouds above. She felt a small amount of nostalgia, seeing a walled, sparkling city that promised wealth and fame. Was this how Vegas was before the war? Was anywhere this bright, lively, or hopeful? Six would have scoffed at the thought if she wasn't gazing at Orario in the distance. Looking across the emerald plains, she sees a road and a small line standing before a large gate in the wall.
Approaching the gate, she stored her rifle away in her Pip-boy, remembering that the weapon was unknown to the Xenos, and the slavers didn't seem to recognize her revolver. Stashing a .45 pistol under her coat, Six recalled Oh, Baby! from her storage, and strapped the super sledge to her back, and Blood-nap to her hip, figuring a war hammer and a bowie knife would stand out less. She tucked her helmet into her bag, and after a short walk, reaches the back of the line.
The people in front of her are strange. Some have pointed ears, some wear fine clothes, some are armed, and some have animal parts. But the strangest ones were the few who looked fairly ordinary, but the feeling they gave off made Six wary. It felt like the pacification field of the Big MT was on when she looked at them. But most of all, Six couldn't believe just how healthy they all looked. Even the peasants donned in rags looked to be in better health than most of the Mojave. Even she looked fairly ragged, given good nutrition was hard to come by in the wastes. As she got closer to the gate, more people started to take note of her, and she became the topic of rumors. Most centered on her foreign armor and strange hammer, and wondering how strong she was. When she finally reached the front, one of the guards turned to a new page in his book and started to ask her questions.
"Name?"
"Courier Six."
"No titles, I need a name."
"Sorry, that's the name I have. I've been called that since I can remember." Explaining her name was always a chore. When Doc Mitchell put her back together, that was the only identifying information she had. Two bullets took her memories, and left nothing but scars behind. After wandering the Mojave without learning anything about herself, she had realized she stopped wanting to know. Benny killed whoever Courier Six was, and she forged herself a new identity. The dead should stay dead.
The guard's voice snapped her from her thoughts. "…Right. Courier Six. Occupation?"
"Courier."
"Why'd I even ask… What Familia are you with? Are you one of Hermes's?"
Six wasn't sure how to answer. The only thing the Xenos could tell her about Familias was general knowledge. She had no idea who Hermes was, and she the only gods she knew of were Joshua's and Caesar's, and she wasn't about to claim either. "…I'm not affiliated with a Familia."
From the tired look the guard sent her, it was a very strange answer. "…Fine. I'll put Independent. Business or pleasure?"
"Business."
"Right. Make sure you register with the Guild before accepting any jobs. You need to officially register as an adventurer if you need to enter the Dungeon, but you should be fine accepting courier work on the surface. You have a week in the city to register or leave. Have a pleasant day."
Nodding her head in acknowledgement, Six walked into the city, following the street signs to the mentioned Guild.
At the guard station, the guard who questioned the Courier turned to the boisterous masked man who watched the exchange. "Should I assign 'Courier Six' to a watchlist? It's hard to be any more suspicious than that."
"HAHA! She didn't tell a single lie! Not even about her name! We won't watch her if she registers and abides the law. For I AM GENASHA!" The masked man shouted. Even if she lacked a proper name, she was still far from the weirdest person in the city, thought the guard.
Courier Six was experiencing some culture shock as she walked the streets. The buildings weren't rusted metal or scraps, but wood and stone. Buildings had windows with intact glass. The presence of glass is a good way to tell how advanced a civilization is, she recalled Arcade telling her once. What do you think it means if New Vegas only has broken windows and bottles?
There was a lack of drunks and beggars here, though Six suspected they were merely sequestered away from the public eye, and the people walked around without concern for their lives and wallets. The streets were clean, no bodyguards advertised to escort people around the city, merchants would hawk food and trinkets, and criers pointed people to shops. The average person looked healthy and more or less content, as opposed to the weariness and distrust displayed by Mojave denizens.
But the strangest thing was how people would stop and have friendly conversations with seemingly strangers. This place was nearly idyllic to the wastelander, and it set her on edge.
As she stopped to read the street signs, a youthful voice called to her.
"Miss, would you like to buy a potato croquette?"
Speaking was a small woman, wearing a dress that is marginally more appropriate than a Gomorrah hooker's outfit, and a bust twice as large. Looking at her, Six got that odd pacified feeling, and immediately sought to leave the area.
"No thanks, I'm looking for the Guild."
Hearing this, the woman closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and asked the courier a question. "Oh, so you're an adventurer? Would you please join my Familia?"
After a couple tense seconds of bracing for rejection, the vendor cracked one eye open, having not heard a response.
"What? Where'd she go? Unbelievable, how rude! At least have the decency to say 'Oh no, Hestia, I would never join your pathetic Familia!'. Think your fancy coat and red hair are too good for our Familia. Bell is all I need…" Hestia grumbles as she gets back to work.
Arriving at the Guild building, Six scanned the room as she entered. It was filled with men and women who were dressed in either a black and white uniform or light scraps of armor covering the bare essentials. Most weapons she saw were blades ranging from low quality to finely worked pieces. Behind the counter was a few of the workers who would record information into their books from the adventurer's that lined up in front of them.
Spotting a pink haired attendant who just finished with the last of her line, Six stepped up to the counter and waited for the girl to finish writing in her book.
"Hello, my name is Misha. How may I help you today?"
"I was told to register here before entering the Dungeon. My name is Courier Six."
Misha narrowed her eyes at the Courier when she said that, before sighing.
"…That's not what I'd have picked for you… But if that's your name, then… Alright, what Familia are you in, and what level have you reached? Any abilities you want the Guild to note?"
"I'm actually looking for a new Familia. My first one is… no more. I have reached level two." Six lied, trying to make a believable backstory. She was hoping level two wasn't too far out of the realm of possibility, and maybe by being evasive about a Familia would be enough. Worst case, she could find some chumps to take advantage of until Gabe Junior was slain. "I have expertise with a variety of weapons, and I heal from injuries pretty quickly."
Misha looked at the Courier with sadness. It wasn't uncommon when an adventurer would come to the guild looking for a Familia after being kicked out, but when level twos or higher did, especially ones that were skilled or had abilities, usually their lack of Familia was because they lost their god. "I understand. I can permit you to go down to the first five floors today, and down to the tenth once you finish the lessons. We can start looking for a Familia today if you want."
Internally, Six was smirking. She didn't know if she managed to play off of her pity or if they really didn't bother confirming her claims, but this was going just as she wanted. Taking a shaky breath, Six said, "Thank you. I… I need a couple of days before I'm ready to find a Familia. I just want to fight in the Dungeon to blow off some steam today. Could you tell me how to get there?"
The entrance to the Dungeon was near the Guild, at the base of the large tower Misha called Babel. Updating her Pip-boy map while walking, Six froze as she felt a sensation of being watched, coming from the upper levels of the tower in front of her. She quickened her pace, feeling relief when she lost the feeling after entering the building. It was easy to find the stairs down into the Dungeon, as many people were coming up and down. Tomorrow, Six would start looking for the Ikelos Familia, but for now, she just wanted to see what the Dungeon had in store, maybe look to see if her theories were correct.
Slipping her helmet back onto her head, the red lenses in the eyes flared as her helmet adjusted for the low light environment. The first floor had a decent number of adventurers on it, who gave her a wide berth as she strolled through the tunnels. The few monsters she encountered didn't even require a weapon, most dissipating after a strong punch or swift kick. They were dog-headed and green skinned tiny humanoids, leaving small gems in their wake, and Six wasted no time pocketing them. The dissipation into smoke was strange to the Courier, and the crystals seemed to have some special property. Her cloning theory was thrown off when she saw the monsters had too much variety within the species, making it significantly less likely.
The second floor was much the same, with the occasional lizard that liked to cling to walls appearing, as was the third. The fourth floor was oddly quiet. Six was deep in thought about the Ikelos problem, and as she rounded the corner, she was rammed by a red blur. Six lashed out in a vicious cross, feeling bones give behind her blow, and quickly drew Blood-nap, prepped to pounce until she saw what hit her.
Bell Cranel was sprinting back to the surface, his heart pounding from fear and excitement. He almost died, but Ais Wallenstein saved him. He ran from her, but she saved him. His grandpa was right! Sure, the roles were reversed from what he imagined, but this was the best day of his life!
His thoughts were interrupted as he ran into what felt like a wall. Within a heartbeat, he felt a blow connect to his chest, throwing him to the floor in great pain. He cursed his luck, having survived a minotaur only to run from his savior into another creature. He trembled as he looked into the beasts glowing red eyes, its oddly human form relaxing as it took in the easy prey before cocking its head, mimicking confusion and concern.
Suddenly, a feminine voice emitted from the creature. "Shit… Sorry kid. You startled me. Let me patch you up."
Six sighed as she looked at the kid she flattened. The boy looked young, and was absolutely DRENCHED in blood. Just what she needed, someone to spread rumors that she assaulted them. The boy looked terrified, despite her apology and offer of aid. Realizing her helmet probably wasn't helping matters, she took it off, noting how the teen relaxed, before hissing in pain. "Careful boy. I wouldn't be surprised if a rib or two are broken. Calm down and tell me where you're injured."
"Ju- Just the ribs. Um, a couple of scrapes, too."
The boy watched with wariness and curiosity as I pulled out two syringes. I held his arm firm as I injected the med-X to prepare him for the mending of his bones. Waiting around thirty seconds to be sure the pain killer had taken effect, I kept up a conversation with him to distract him from what was about to happen.
"What's your name, kid? I'm Six."
"I'm Bell Cranel. You look older than six."
"It's my name. Courier Six. What are you doing down here, Bell?" He was still mostly lucid, but the painkiller still had him a little loopy, making his lips looser than normal, and his answers slightly nonsensical.
"I want to meet girls."
"In the Dungeon?"
"My grandpa said it was a good idea."
"I see. Why are you covered in blood? It doesn't seem like its yours."
"I met a girl! Ais Wallenstein cut a minotaur chasing me in half!"
He rambled about this Ais for a bit. He had it bad, describing her like a juvenile love poem. I prepared the stimpack while he was distracted, and plunged it near his ribs before emptying the syringe. He briefly cried out in pain as his bones mended, before sagging in relief.
"Sorry about the pain. Fixing bones hurts, but you should be good as new in a few minutes. Once the aches wear off, I recommend taking it easy for a few hours. You can fight, but too many stimpacks too quickly can leave the bones more brittle."
"Th-that hurt. Thanks for healing me, but couldn't you warn me?"
The pain seems to have snapped him out of the med-X daze. "That's what the painkiller was for. If you tensed up, the bones would have had to move through tighter muscles. That hurts even more."
"Sorry for running into you. I didn't mean to make you heal me. I- I can't afford to pay you back for the medicine."
"You kidding kid? I wasn't paying attention, broke your ribs, and you apologize to me? You wouldn't last a day in the Mojave. I owe you, so if you don't report me, you can ask me for something."
Bell flushed red and stuttered, "I-I can't ask you for anything! You're a lady!"
Smirking at the boy, Six decided to tease him. "My, what a gentleman. You sure you're here to pick up girls? You could have asked me to go to dinner. You could even treat Ais to dinner to repay her."
If Bell was red before, he was nearly purple now as he forgot how to breath, imagination running wild at the thought of being on a date with Ais or the woman in front of him. After watching him open and close his mouth for a bit, Six decided to be merciful and bring the teen back down to earth.
"Alright, since you can't ask me for anything, I guess I'll have to think of something. You said you can't afford medicine, right? Give me a second." Six rummaged through her pouch, swiftly preparing a first aid kit, while Bell focused on her words.
"Here you go. Three stimpacks. Inject these around sites of injury, they can mend most wounds, but bones hurt like a bitch. Two doses of Med-X. These are painkillers. Use them if you are about to patch a bone of a very large wound. One bottle of Buffout. This stuff is great for a quick boost in strength and endurance, but it is dangerous. Be careful with how much you take. Use it only if you need to run from something. One syringe of Psycho. This stuff makes buffout look like candy. This is for emergencies only. Use it if you have no way out except through. It will make you hit harder and power through more pain, but you might lose control. You will be angry and violent. Emergencies only. In case you have any side effects from any of those, take two of these Fixer pills each day for four days."
Bell looked worried at the description of psycho, but took the kit regardless.
"Can you make it back to the surface?"
Bell nodded.
"Good. Be careful, Bell. Don't die."
Six turned to continue further down, throwing a wave over her shoulder.
"Thanks Ms. Six! Please be safe!"
The Courier hummed in thought, wondering when the last time anyone was concerned over her well-being. Besides the Sink's personality units, of course. It wasn't too long until she reached floor five, where she came across a large group of adventurers heading to the surface. They appeared tired and, judging from how some of the younger looking members carried themselves, were unsuccessful in whatever mission they had. She'd seen the same disappointment in gamblers leaving the strip.
Those adventurers were looking at Six with curiosity, guessing at the unusual equipment she carried. Ignoring them, Six pressed on. At the rear of the group, she found more seasoned warriors. The three that stood out to her the most were a tall woman with pointed ears, green hair, and long walking stick, a short, stout, bearded man build like a yao guai and clad in plate armor, and an even shorter man wielding a polearm almost twice his height.
As the group passed her, she had a flash of recognition. The blonde girl quietly walking beside the green haired woman matched the rather descriptive ramblings of Bell Cranel.
"Your name is Ais, right?" Six's voice broke the silence.
The simple question caused a tension to spread between them.
"Yes. Why are you asking?" Ais's eyes narrowed, wary of the stranger in menacing armor.
Seeing her apprehension, Six raised her hands in mock surrender and chuckled. "Relax, sorry if I frightened you. I just ran into a kid you saved. He was very appreciative."
At this, Ais relaxed. "Oh. That's good. I –"
"The tomato kid? Ha, you saw that dumbass?" jeered a young man with gray hair and animal ears. Maybe a dog's ears? "Did you catch him screaming, absolutely covered in blood? Hilarious!"
"No, actually. I just patched up his broken ribs. What was your name again?"
"Ha! He should just give up! He broke his ribs on floor five! He'll never make it." Bete took a breath before shooting Six a roguish grin. "The name's Bete. Short, sweet, and the ladies love it."
"Oh, do they? At least there's something they find appealing. Your personality's certainly not cutting it."
"Wha- Hu- Who'd you think-" Bete's angry reply was cut off by the laugher of another member of the group, a dark skinned woman who looked almost identical to another member, only lacking some noticeable… assets.
"C'mon big guy, let it go. You can get shot down again later."
"Tiona! You heard what she said!"
"Yeah, and it was funny."
The bickering duo took all the attention off of Six, and not really wanting any more attention, she activated her Stealth Boy Mk II and faded from sight, only the small spearman noticing her disappear. A frown made its way across his face as he rubbed his thumb, the ache slowly fading. He sighed, making a mental note to tell Tiona that she did a good job later.
"Alright. We've spent enough time here. Let's get back to the manor already." The pallum called to his Familia.
Six spent another couple of hours in the Dungeon, encountering and killing new creatures, the most concerning one she found were War Shadows. While not dangerous to her, she recognized that people who were unprepared could be easily ambushed by the creatures. On the seventh floor, she found many bugs. The ants were easily dispatched, and shared many similarities to the worker ants that roamed around Ivanpah. The purple moths spread powder over her, but the filters in her helmet made sure that she breathed nothing in, and even her skin was completely covered by her armor, rendering them ineffective. Horned rabbits would launch at her, only to be brushed aside and killed.
As she reached the stairs to the eighth floor, she sighed as she checked the time on her Pip-boy. It was almost evening, and she was growing tired of playing exterminator. Right before she turned to leave, her augmented senses picked up someone running for the stairs from the floor below. Despite not detecting anything chasing them, Six drew her super sledge and went to assist.
A tall, burly man, sporting a shaved head and a black tattoo around his left eye was sprinting up the stairs. Six grabbed ahold of the terrified man as he ran past, and pulled him to a stop to get more information.
"Are you alright? What happened?"
Silence. The man was very badly injured, and probably in shock from what Six could tell. He was sliced and bruised, battered from what seemed to be a very large creature. Six took notice of the wounds on his back, five long, deep slashes, although they seemed like they were slightly healed. Six needed to confirm her suspicions, so she used a technique she learned from NCR medics.
"Name and rank, soldier!" She bellowed in a commanding tone.
"…n"
"Speak up when you answer my questions." She continued. A firm, assuring voice would help ground him and calm him down.
"I-I'm Gran"
"What happened, Gran?"
"It- it got loose. Gods, it got loose! It tore, and killed, and bit, and- and-"
"Deep breaths, Gran. What got loose?"
"The monster. Not… not like these monsters. It was vicious. It was strong. I- I'm level four and I barely survived."
"It's okay. I can help. Describe it to me."
"It's like a demon. Twisted horns, twisted grin as it guts you. I- It cut through Weston like he was nothing."
"I'm hunting that creature. It's called a deathclaw. Where was it?"
"You can't hunt it! It'll rip you to shreds! Oh gods, it's coming for me, isn't it! I-I didn't have a choice! I had to run! Where-where was Dix?! HE COULD HAVE SAVED US! NOW IT'S LOOSE IN THE DUNGEON AND WE'RE GONNA DIE!"
As Gran descended back into hysterics, Six took a moment to process the information. This man was part of the Ikelos Familia, who managed to capture the deathclaw, which then forced its way into the Dungeon. The Dungeon that just keeps going down, that is apparently alive and hates mankind, if the Xenos were correct. Could she just leave it here?
But… if she makes it to the surface... Bell and the other adventurers she met today flashed through Six's mind. They don't have any way to kill it at range. They'll all die if they try to stab it.
"Gran. Get ahold of yourself. We can go back to the surface. Tomorrow, you will tell me everything I need to know to track it, and then I will kill it. Understood?"
The sobbing man took a shaky breath, nodding softly as she pulled him up. Carefully, she rubbed some healing poultice into the wounds, not wanting to use a stimpack if she didn't have to, and they left the Dungeon. She would get him home, then in the morning, once he calmed down, she would get all of the information she needed.
Two hours Earlier…
.
Gabe Junior was a cunning one. She could have lashed out, tried to break the cage, but after the unsuccessful attempts of yesterday resulted in little but nicks in the bars without the proper room for a wind-up, the squishy humans that brought her deep underground knocked her out with the powder they captured her with. During her time at the cold, metal place, she began to pick up on the human's sounds. They matched what the metal eyes who called himself Borous made as she ate her morning, minty food. She understood them.
They wanted to move her to a stronger cage, so they would hit her with more powder. They have to open the door when she then sleeps. Just like Borous did, but his powder was stronger, and was put into her through a metal tube, not into the air.
"Alright, is it down?"
"Yeah, it's out cold. I'll get the cage open. Is the-"
Upon opening the cage door, the deathclaw releases the breath it's holding and lunges toward the man. There's a moment of silence as the freshly bisected man slumps down, and then Gabe Junior unleashes a bestial roar. Chaos erupts as the members of the Ikelos Familia panic. Arrows bounce off of the thick hide of the unchained predator, and the few that manage to hit it with a blade barely nick it. The beast shreds through those in melee range, until a hairless man wielding a greatsword with two hands manages to get a clean hit to the creature's back, cutting a thin line into the hide. The sight of the demon's blood being drawn raises the moral of the thugs, until the beast whirls around and swipes at the man, and the thin line healed. Bringing the slab of steel up to block, the fighter panics when his blade is cleaved into scrap.
Now weaponless, the bald man flees, shouting "RUN FOR IT!" He receives a claw to the back from the enraged deathclaw, sending him sprawling. It's only luck that the deathclaw turns to attack another target, and only his level four status let him survive long enough to down a potion.
Struggling to his feet, the man flees out of the nearest entrance of Knossos, only vaguely aware of his remaining associates following him. The tunnels echo with the growls and screams of predator and prey, until finally, the fleeing crowd emerges into the faux sunlight of the eighteenth floor.
The deathclaw was frustrated. She was too caught up in the pleasure of her kills, and now the prey trapped with her had escaped, the crowd scattering into the woods. She prowled through the woods, black hide nearly melding into the shade. She found one attempting to hide aloft in a tree, and proceeded to leap at it, tearing it from the boughs before bringing it to the ground.
Deciding to enjoy a fresh meal, Junior dug in with gusto. The only thing her wardens gave her to eat was a fruit and one of the rocks her ashen quarry left behind. Noticing the prey trapped in cages seemed to eat this rock, she decided to do the same, and to her surprise, it felt like a less potent angry meal that Borous would give her. Despite the relatively nourishing stone, the deathclaw was ecstatic to have meat again.
The deathclaw was trying to find the tunnel she ran out of, eager to claim the corpses and caged prey, but after a bit of fruitless searching, the wind blew like a soft exhale across the forest. Gabe followed the wind, and came across a stairway leading down into darkness. The black behemoth trod down the stairs, and faded into the blackness.