The red-haired trickster didn't look up from the letter she was writing as Riveria walked into the office of the Twilight Manor. The elf blinked as she watched her goddess working at a desk stacked with books, maps, and papers, before cautiously asking,

"Loki? Is everything alright?"

"Hm? Yeah, Mama, everything's fine. Why'd ya ask?"

"It's just, very rare to see you working, especially this early in the morning. We normally have to drag you in here to do any paperwork. What made you wake up this early?"

"Oh, I just didn't go to sleep once I got back from Genasha's shindig. I'm trying to learn about a prospective new member of our Familia."

"Who is it?"

For the first time since Riveria entered the room, Loki looked up at her, a look of frustration on her face.

"That's the problem! She's nobody!"

"Pardon?"

"She calls herself 'Courier Six'. First time she's ever been into the city, according to the gate logs. I went to the Guild, but her files contain practically nothing, no Familia, not even an age. Just 'Mid-twenties', and her place of last residence was somewhere called New Vegas, apparently in a region called the Mojave. To top it all off, she is apparently only level two, and has no alias."

Riveria blinked owlishly at the flood of words as her goddess vented about her lack of results.

"Only level two? That's a good accomplishment. Not many make it past level two outside of Orario. What's the problem with the lack of information about her?"

Loki sighed, before perking up.

"That's right! Mama, does she look familiar to you?"

Loki scrambled to grab a folder before opening the first page and showing it to Riveria. Looking up from a Guild record was the smiling face of the woman they ran into in the Dungeon earlier that week. A second passed before another thought occurred to her. This Courier Six was apparently strong enough to put Finn on edge, but was only level two?

"I can see from the look on your face that you figured out why I'm concerned."

Loki put the file down as Riveria nodded. Slouching back in her chair, she spoke, gesturing toward her letter.

"Anyway, I've been looking through maps and books for any reference to either a New or old Vegas, the Mojave region, or even the kind of weapons or armor she's supposed to be carrying. Care to check my letters for Goibniu and Hephaestus? You have firsthand experience with what her magical hammer looks like."

As Riveria moved to take Loki's spot at the desk, the green-haired woman was a little concerned, and asked,

"Why is she looking trying to join us? Did she approach you?"

"Well, she didn't exactly approach me, and I don't know if she even knows we're looking into her as a member."

Loki made herself comfortable on the corner of the desk, and leaned back as she told her story.

"This all started last night while I was teaching that shrimp Hestia a lesson…"

"I'll let you off easy today."

As Loki turned and stomped away to hide the tears in her eyes, Hestia bit back another scathing remark about her rival's lack of assets, before she scowled, and said her next words like they physically hurt her.

"Loki, wait. I do have to ask you something important!"

"Unless it's you begging for forgiveness, I don't want to hear it!"

"It's about a Child who wants to join your Familia!"

That got the goddess's attention, as well as the attention of the other patrons who gathered around the spectacle the two were causing.

"Oh, I thought you only had one Child. I guess I can take him off your hands if he's finally tired of his goddess being an itsy-bitsy pain in the ass."

"NO! This isn't about my Bell! A woman named Courier Six saved him, and I promised I'd help her look for a Familia. She needs to grow strong, and as much as I hate to admit it, your Familia would be a good fit for her."

At this, Loki snorted.

"And why would I do anything for you, shorty?"

"Because, man-chest, I'm afraid she going to die on her own. She's hunting the Black Dragon."

The room had grown quiet as their argument continued. At this point, many of the gods had heard of the adventurer that had been whispered like a rumor over the last few days. A lack of a name, unknown origins, unique armaments, and now, she was apparently looking for a Familia? Some of the gods were practically salivating at the prospect. Once the Black Dragon was brought up, most lost interest, however. Not many would want an adventurer on a suicide mission.

Loki was silent. Hestia grew more anxious as the silence grew longer; afraid she'd be rejected after humiliating herself by asking her rival a favor. Finally, Loki spoke.

"No promises… but I'll look into it. Now, do ME a favor and shut your fat face."

Loki stalked out of the room, heading towards the Guild to scrounge up the file of her newest prospect.

"What was that all about?"

"Hephaestus!"

As Hestia turned towards her old friend that just spoke up, one god's lips curled into a smile as he heard more about the elusive adventurer. It was more information on her than he'd been able to locate so far outside of newly printed Guild documents. After all, he just had to meet the one with the audacity to call herself the Courier.

"Miss Six!"

Bell's voice called to the Courier as she strolled towards the broken chapel. The boy was preparing for the Dungeon, and he was sitting near the door frame, sharpening his knife while he waited.

"Howdy, Bell. You going into the Dungeon again today?"

"Actually, I wanted to see if you could help me train again today. Oh, how's the Familia hunt going?"

"Sure. I've got a couple of things I wanted to point out to you anyway. And I've only actually met with the Soma Familia so far. Soma's nice enough once he loosens up, but their captain seems scummier than a lakelurk."

As they speak, Six shrugs off her armored coat, and leads Bell to the open area they were in yesterday. The boy flinches as Six retrieves Oh Baby! from storage. Shaking off the last of the blue sparks from her Pip-boy's storage module, the Courier smirks at the boy's fearful reaction before discussing the lesson plan.

"So, today, you are going to learn how to dodge. Failing that, you are going to learn how to fall."

"Wh-what do you mean? I'll die if you hit me with that! And what do you mean by fa-"

The white-haired adventurer cut off his sentence with a yelp as the hammer came speeding towards him. Just barely, he threw himself back and landed on his back, and as he started to pick himself back up, his instincts flared, and he rolled to the left, narrowly avoiding the hammer's street shattering impact. He managed to roll into a crouched position, and was ready this time when the Courier swung her hammer again. This time he leapt straight back from her, leaving plenty of distance between himself and the instrument of destruction, and dodged the next two swings the same way.

Bell was feeling much more confident in his abilities until he leapt back again, and he hit a wall behind him midjump. He bounced to the floor, landing hard on his rear, and looked up as Six stepped forward and swung her hammer towards him.

Before he could act, he froze as the image in front of him changed. It was no longer his mentor that was above him, but the minotaur. Not a hammer, but its fist. Cornered again, the boy simply accepted that he was going to die. Ais Wallenstein wouldn't save him this time. He was alone, weak and powerless. Not a hero, but a coward.

Six frowned as she looked at her trainee. He froze, not even trying to dodge her last swing. Honestly, this whole bout was disappointing. He just kept moving directly away from the hammer, allowing her to herd him where she wanted. He had no battlefield control and wasn't aware of his surroundings. When he fell from his first dodge, he didn't break his fall at all, and wasted time trying to stand straight up instead of moving with his momentum. She knew Bell had the potential; she saw it when he was fighting the ants. She just had to bring what he was instinctively doing into his normal combat.

The hammer stopped a hairbreadth from Bell's head, the rush of air snapping him out of the daze he was in. Six watched as he took a deep breath, and shakily rose to his feet without a word, face blank. Walking back to the center of the area, he took a stance and looked back to the Courier, a quiet determination rising in his eyes as he readied for another onslaught of vicious strikes.

Six eyed the boy cautiously. When he froze, she recognized that there was something bothering him. Even now, he was out of it, though he did his best to cover it. Mentally, she shrugged. If he didn't want to discuss it, there was no point prying. Perhaps she should go over the theoretical until he calms down.

"You can't just keep giving ground to your opponent when you dodge. You've got to pay attention to your surroundings, and use them to your advantage. You're agile enough to get around larger enemies and strike them at critical angles, and one advantage of your weapon is the ability to get inside of their guard. Now, watch carefully. When you fall, use your momentum to shift into a better stance. You can roll like this…"

Bell picked up on Six's lecture fairly quickly. As they practiced, he calmed down, and it wasn't long before he was dodging Six's hammer again, and doing much better than before. He was still being thrown around, but he was getting better. As the morning turned to noon, he found himself trying to counter Six, and despite the fact he had yet to land a blow, he felt much more confident. He hit the ground again, and rolled up into a crouch to leap past a follow up that never came as the Courier spoke.

"Alright, let's take a break."

At the words, Bell rolled onto his back, and sprawled out as he breathed heavily. As he lay there, the adrenaline wore off, leaving him drained and sore.

"Do you… want to… get lunch?" He panted, before a bottle of brown liquid landed on his chest, a faded label proclaiming it to be 'Sunset Sarsaparilla'.

"Drink up. We're going outside of the city for lunch today."

Sitting up, the boy struggled with the bottle for a moment, before managing to twist the cap off and hearing a faint hiss. He absently noted the blue star on the inside of the cap, before taking a curious sip. The flavor was fairly bitter, with a sweet undertone, and faintly sizzled in his mouth.

"Why is it… bubbly?"

"That's carbonation. People used to force air into liquids to make it last longer and taste… sparkly or something."

As he drank, he felt a bit more energy return as the caffeine kicked in, and soon, he finished the bottle. He looked at the glass bottle and the cap in his hand before he remembered something his mentor said.

"Miss Six, you told Mama Mia that you doubted she would accept caps as payment. Did you mean these?" he asked, lifting the small piece of metal.

Six glanced over before answering.

"Yep. They are the de facto currency in the Mojave. You got pretty lucky. That right there is a Sunset Sarsaparilla Star bottlecap. They're extremely rare, and legend has it, if you can collect fifty of them, you can access a secret prewar vault filled with unknown treasure and technology."

"What?! Really?"

"Yep. People would kill and backstab over a single one back home."

As the boy's expression changed from excitement to worry, the Courier chuckled before continuing.

"Don't worry, they're worthless now that the vault was opened."

"It was opened? What was inside?"

"Well, it was unbelievable. Inside the vault… was absolutely nothing."

Bell's dumbstruck expression made Six laugh even harder.

"I opened the vault, not sure what to expect. I gave my fifty Star bottlecaps to a robot named Festus. He was an ancient machine designed to spread and manage the legend of the Star bottlecaps. He told me the origin of the bottlecaps as a reward, and opened the vault. Inside, it was filled with Star bottlecaps and deputy badges, toys made for children. But there was also a corpse in there. A notorious murderer who was fixated on the Legend of the Star. He broke into the facility, but when he reached the vault, it sealed him in. He recorded his final moments."

Taking a moment to fiddle with her Pip-boy, the teen jumped as the speakers crackled to life, before listening, transfixed as the voice of a dead man rasped his final words.

"I guess this is it. Not much air left now. Minutes, maybe. And this is what I have to show for it. I guess the joke's *gasp* on me. Prolly shouldn't *gasp* have killed... all those people, Prolly shoulda stayed at home... *gasp* and taken care of my ma. She... always used to say people who... murder and steal... die bad in the end. Said they... *gasp*"

As voice fell silent, the speakers faintly crackled before falling silent, and Bell looked at the cap in his hand, and as the sun twinkled merrily off of the blue star, it felt heavier in his hand. To do something so evil, and then to have it be meaningless. No wonder he felt regretful before he died.

"Why don't you hold onto that one as a good luck charm? You've got the only one in Orario, apart from me."

The Courier's voice knocked him from his morbid thoughts, and he nodded as he slipped it into his pocket. Standing up, he stretched before asking the Courier about her lunch plans.

"So, where are we headed?"

"Why don't you follow me, and I'll show you."

Apart from Six complaining about needing to stop at the gate, it was a fairly pleasant walk to wherever Six was going inside the forest. It took nearly two hours of walking, and Bell was getting fairly hungry, before Six came to a sudden stop in a clearing.

"We're here!" she boldly proclaimed, and Bell was starting to worry about what she was planning.

"Where's here? I thought this was your lunch plan. Are we having a picnic?"

"No idea! And if you're too slow, it's going to be dinner. You're going hunting!"

"What?! How am I supposed to hunt with a knife?!"

"Well, I'm about to teach you both stealth and survival skills. We're not going back into the city until you successfully catch something."

"I don't know anything about stealth!"

"That's why you're learning. You use a knife, so you can expand your combat potential quite a bit through stealth techniques. If you can drive your blade somewhere critical, you can cripple, or even kill, something before the fight truly begins."

"I don't know how I feel about that. It doesn't sound very heroic…"

"And? Even if you don't want to rely on it, knowing stealth helps you fight against those who do use it. Plenty of enemies have no problem striking from the shadows. Besides, you may not have a choice if you get lost alone in the Dungeon. If you had to choose between fighting a horde of war shadows or picking them off one by one, it's always safer to pick the latter."

Bell sighed, acknowledging that she was right. Rather smugly, Six began to lecture the white haired teen about hunting, and how to move quietly.

"You need to focus on where you're stepping. You have to move slow and think about what makes a sound when you step on it even if it's quiet. Leaves crunch, twigs snap, pebbles grind. Flat ground is your friend."

"Stick to the shadows. If you see cover in the light to hide behind, ignore it unless you have no other option. Even you feel exposed in the shadowy area, it's often better not to risk being seen as you move to it."

"You have to control your breathing and your emotions. Keeping a level head is always important in a combat scenario, but showing emotions while sneaking can be fatal. Even if you just start breathing faster. Quick breaths are loud breaths. Loud is lethal."

"If you're hunting something with a good sense of smell, stay downwind from it. If you're upwind, it can take a whiff and root you out first. Hell, stay downwind is always good advice."

"Most importantly, know when the jig is up. If you're found out or abandoning stealth, make sure your first actions are explosive. If you can put the enemy on the backfoot, or get a head start with your escape, you have a much better chance of survival."

This was how Bell ended up standing downwind from a deer, caked in mud as most of his clothes lay near an impromptu fire pit a good way back. Sticking to the shadows, he began closing the distance, trying to get within striking distance before the buck noticed him. On his next step, a snap rang out through the silent clearing, causing the animal to freeze as Bell stepped on a twig. As the animal began to flee, the wild adventurer sprung towards it, trying vainly to reach it before it managed to escape.

Glumly, Bell headed back towards the campfire, the sun setting in the distance. As he drew nearer, a mouthwatering smell permeated the area, and for the first time since they began their lesson, Bell saw Six.

Immediately after she finished teaching him the basics, Six disappeared. She didn't leave him, but she blended into the shadows so well that the boy couldn't find her again, no matter how hard he looked. She'd offer advice when he'd screw up, but almost thirty minutes ago, she caught a rabbit and left to cook it. Almost rubbing it in, she mentioned that she simply walked up to the animal and grabbed it.

Sitting on a log near the fire pit, Bell spoke to her.

"I wasn't able to catch anything."

"That's a shame."

"Could I have some rabbit, please?"

"Nah, I already ate it. I told you, we aren't going back until you catch something."

With a sigh, Bell stood back up, and walked into the forest in a direction he hadn't been yet. He was starting to regret agreeing to the Courier's survival training.

The moon was rising now, and Bell was very hungry. He watched as the boar he'd been following stooped to drink from a small stream. Being very mindful of his steps and breathing, he stalked towards the animal, and stopped as it turned away from the water, and it began walking toward him.

Holding his breath, he crouched lower into the foliage as the hog drew nearer. Once it got within a few feet, it stopped as it finally noticed him. Bell lunged as it began to squeal, and a short gurgle was the last noise the boar made as it stopped struggling. Barely able to contain his excitement, Bell whooped in celebration.

"FINALLY! I DID IT!"

"Congratulations. Haul it back to the fire, and I'll show you how to skin it."

Not even surprised that Six was watching, Bell was in a good mood as he brought it back to their temporary base. He watched as Six expertly flayed the animal that was foreign to her, and she let him prepare the beast for his dinner.

It was tough and gamey, and tasted like a boot, but it was one of the best things he'd ever eaten.

Six watched as her student gleefully devoured his prey, and smiled. In this moment, she wasn't watching Bell, but rather, herself. The younger Courier had just crawled out of her grave in Goodsprings, and with no memories of survival to rely on, Sunny Smiles, one of the friendliest people Courier Six had the pleasure of meeting, took it upon herself to teach Six how to survive. After helping clear the Goodsprings well, there was an abundance of gecko corpses to deal with, and the Courier watched, enraptured as the woman she fought alongside showed her how to skin and cook the geckos, and later how to make a medicinal powder.

As she finished reflecting on the fond memory, she looked over and saw that Bell had fallen asleep on the log. Chuckling, Six took a minute to set up her Roughin' It! Bedroll, and placed the boy atop it. Her enhanced body could go quite a while without sleep, so, making the decision to keep watch all night, she sat by the fire.

To pass the time, Six materialized the acoustic guitar she found in the Sierra Madre. She briefly reflected on the memory of a friend of hers who taught her to play it to pay her back for finding him a job. She began strumming the guitar lightly, and sang softly.

"Staaaaaaars of the Midnight Ranges…"

In the Guild building

…

Eina was burning the midnight oil again. She was backed up on work due to the disappearance of an adventurer named Gran. It was a big situation within the Guild, but they had managed to prevent word from leaking. He was supposed to have a very important confession, but he had disappeared before they were able to take his statement. There was little trace of him. No one saw him leave the building, enter the Dungeon, or leave the city. He simply vanished.

As far as Eina was concerned, this meant a lot of paperwork and some investigation work into Gran's background was required, in addition to her normal duties. He was part of the Ikelos Familia, but they weren't any shadier than some of the other Familia's out there. On paper, at least. The few members she interacted with were unsettling to the half elf.

"Uggh. I HATE Royman!"

And there was her partner for the investigation, Misha. While the pink-haired human was a good friend of hers, it was hard to get her to take her job seriously most of the time.

"What happened this time?"

"Well, I was called in by him AGAIN because 'I didn't collect enough information' on my newest adventurer!"

"You mean the one you approved while knowing nothing about them?"

"Urk! I'll have you know that I made her fill out more information later!"

"I read the updated file. You just put unknown in most categories. There's still basically no information. You don't even know her name."

"Yes I do! It's Courier Six!"

At Eina's blank stare, Misha blushed before mumbling.

"W-well, I believe her… Besides, remember that guy I was opening an investigation about? That creep who was impersonating a Guild official?"

Eina took a second to try to recall the inquiry she read.

"Someone called Fels, right?"

"Mmhmm. Royman called me in to yell at me about wasting Guild resources to 'look for a hoax' when I should be looking into the Courier."

This puzzled Eina. Their boss was notoriously strict about hunting down people who pose as Guild employees, and was all too eager to levy a hefty fine against them.

"Well, he's probably just stressed because of Gran's disappearance and the Courier's lack of information."

"Oooor," Misha drawled, and her pout turned to a sly smile, "Fels IS a Guild employee who handles undercover stuff, and is a super cool spy assassin."

Misha laughed as Eina leveled another bored stare at her.

"You know Monster Philia is tomorrow; can you please just help me get this done?"

"Fiiiine. But only because we need our beauty sleep."

The two employees settled back down to finish their work.

Tower of Babel, high above Orario

…

"What do you mean, she left the city?"

The silver-haired goddess frowned, placing her wine glass down as she received the unexpected news from the captain of her Familia.

"She left earlier today. She walked out of the eastern city gate. She didn't report a destination, and was travelling with Bell Cranel. I do not know if or when they plan to return."

Ottar stood in silence after he finished his report. His mistress took her time to contemplate her options, obviously annoyed that her plans are being interrupted by her quarries' decision to leave the city.

"How quickly would the Familia be able to track them down?"

"Assuming they stuck to the road, I should be able to catch up to them by midnight. However, if they are in the forest, there's a good chance we will be unable to find them."

"Then just check the road for tonight. We will come up with a better plan to find them if they do not return by tomorrow."

"Understood, Lady Freya. Am I to capture them?"

"No, no. Just discover their intentions. If they plan on eloping, drag them back to Orario. If they're merely on a trip, find out when they return. Be friendly."

"Yes, Lady Freya."

Freya narrowed her eyes as she peered into the distance far to the east. The souls she desired were too far to gaze upon, but their very nature made them hard to spot in the first place. She needed them back in the city, tomorrow was supposed to be a big day for them, after all.

.

Ottar leapt over the wall, and began sprinting eastward. The wind whipped past him as he dashed, his abilities as a level 7 far outstripping most mortals. After a short while, he reached a campsite on the side of the road, housing a small merchant convoy. As he stopped, the low-level adventurer on watch panicked before he recognized the face of one of the most well-known adventurers on the planet.

"It's the King!" the fanboy began excitedly whispering, before Ottar interrupted.

"You left Orario this morning, correct?"

"Yes, sir."

"Did a white-haired man and a red-haired woman pass you by?"

"No, I don't believe so- wait, where are you going? Can I have your autograph?!"

Ignoring the man now that he knows the two adventurers he's searching for are not on the road, he begins to start walking back slowly, attentively scanning his surroundings on the off chance that they left a trace behind.

Nearly halfway back to Orario, Ottar spots a faint trail of smoke in the moonlight, only catching it due to the enhanced senses of a high-level adventurer. Figuring that there's a chance it's his objective, he steps off of the road to begin trekking through the forest towards the origin. After a short hike, the boar ears atop his head twitch as the pick up on a faint tune. Before long, he sees the warm glow of a campfire, and observed as Courier Six idly sung her song.

"Oh, he might have gone on livin', but he made one fatal slip
When he tried to match the ranger with the big iron on his hip"

Six kept strumming her guitar as she noticed someone encroach on their position. Judging from the footsteps she heard, the stranger was fairly large, and was either unused to stealth, or not trying to hide. The former would likely be a bandit that was still wet around the ears, and didn't pose much threat, while the later probably meant that they either had no ill intentions, or were overly confident in their abilities to take on a sleeping teenager and distracted woman.

She stopped singing, mindlessly strumming as she let the traveler draw nearer. They stopped on the outskirts of the camp, just outside of the fire's light, and simply observed.

After a minute or two of inaction, Six spoke to the presence.

.

Ottar watched as the Courier continued to observe him. She didn't look at him, but the way she tensed up when he approached told him that she was keenly aware of him, and was waiting for him to make the first move.

Six spoke first, still facing away from him.

"So, what brings you here, stranger?"

Ottar had prepared a cover story, and spoke with little hesitation.

"I am patrolling the area around the city. I saw a campfire, so I came to investigate."

"Well, here we are. Ain't like we're dangerous. Just a courier and her trainee camping in the great outdoors. Why do you need to patrol the forest, anyhow?"

"Tomorrow is Monster Philia. As a high-level adventurer, I've been given tasks to ensure no problems arise."

At this, Six placed her guitar down, and turned to look at him.

"I see. Well, what's your name- Lanius!"

As she looked at him, she snarled. Leaping back, she had her knife in her left hand, and brandished a strange metal contraption at him, with some tube aimed at his forehead. Ottar cocked his head, confused. He spoke calmly, and kept his hands away from the large blade strapped to his back.

.

When Six turned to look at the adventurer, her blood ran cold. The hulking figure she looked at was a a doppelganger of the Monster of the East, and he radiated power. Before she knew it, she was armed, and glared up at him as he looked down at her.

"I do not know who this 'Lanius' is, but I assure you, my name is Ottar. I serve the goddess Freya."

After he spoke, Six took a second look. Ottar did resemble the deceased Legate to an uncomfortable degree, but he was clean-shaven, and much tanner, as he presumably did not hide his face from the world under a helmet. The massive sword strapped to his back appeared more refined, and less brutal, than the Legate's Blade of the East, but Six had no doubt that it would hurt just as much. He stood just as tall, but wore little armor, and atop his head were a pair of animal ears similar to the one Bell caught earlier that night.

Slowly, the Courier calmed herself. This wasn't the Legate. He was dead, his blade and helmet hung as trophies in the Lucky 38 after their grueling fight. Lanius would never have served someone besides the Legion or Caesar. Taking a breath, Six relaxed next to the fire again, and apologized to the man.

"Sorry 'bout that. You spooked me, being as big as a mutie and all."

"I see… So, you and the boy are camping tonight?"

"Yep. We went hunting earlier today, and we decided to rough it instead of walk back to Orario in the dark."

Ottar cocked his eyebrow.

"And only one bedroll between the two of you? You must be pretty close."

Six laughed it off.

"Nah, nah. I've got my coat. And besides, we barely know each other. I'd be hard pressed to call him an acquaintance, and I'm sure he doesn't trust me either."

A moment of silence passes as both adventures watch the fire, the only sounds being the crackling of the flames, and the noise of insects.

"Are you going to the festival tomorrow?"

"You called it Monster Philia, right? I'm… not one for parties. I'm much more comfortable in a fight than a crowd. I'll either find a quiet place to drink, or enter the Dungeon."

"Very well. Have a good night, Courier."

Ottar turned and walked away, having good news for his goddess with their plans to return in the morning. Meanwhile, Six added a new log to the fire, and stared deep into the flame, when she heard a soft murmur.

"Miss Six… I do trust you."

Before she could respond, a faint snore told her Bell had already fallen back asleep. With a small smile, she picked up her guitar and strummed until the morning.

In the Dungeon

…

A roar of triumph resonates around the Dungeon floor as the black beast claims another victim. Standing above the wounded body of a blue snake that was more than twice its length, the deathclaw hurriedly began to feast, tearing the meat from its prey before it died and faded to ash. A couple bites in, the writhing Worm Well groaned before disintegrating, leaving behind a crystal that Gabe Junior wasted no time devouring. Though bland, consuming the stone filled the deathclaw Matriarch with energy, and the more she consumed, the more powerful she felt.

The first stones were consumed out of desperation, and did little for the beast. Once she consumed enough of them, however, something changed. She was wracked by a terrible pain, as her body felt like it would ignite, and it was vaguely reminiscent of the time she spent in the decrepit laboratory she was now free of. She passed out from the agony, and dreamt of an endless slaughter. When she woke, she was revitalized, a new energy surging through her body. Her already keen senses were even sharper, and her thoughts became clearer. She quickly found out that the stronger her prey was, the more powerful she would become after consuming their stones.

Finishing her feast, the deathclaw turned toward more noise, eager to eat more and grow stronger still. The labyrinth she found herself in was perfect for her, a maze of constant prey and fighting. She delved deeper and deeper, encountering bulky, black brahmin that walked on two legs, bipedal reptilian creatures, and more.

However, the only thing that held Junior back from descending deeper was a large monster that looked like a skeleton. There were smaller versions of it that she could defeat with more effort than the other monsters on the floor, but the giant was in another class altogether. It wielded a gargantuan dark sword, and had nearly impaled the deathclaw when they first encountered each other. That exchange was the first time in this Dungeon that she had sustained a major injury, and she had barely survived the bout, recovering only due to the enhancements of the Think Tank. Now, Gabe merely avoided the creature while she hunted, and would challenge it again once she grew stronger still.

A group of barbarians surrounded her. They always came in waves, trying to wear her down and beat her with numbers. She snorted, and welcomed their challenge with a bellowing roar and open arms. After all, this Dungeon was her territory now. She was an apex predator, and now she needed to prove herself the alpha.