Brought to you by my suffering


Ah yes. To be surrounded by nervous people armed with loads and loads of guns. Where have I seen this sight before. I think that might've been the most guns near me since I visited California and 'negotiated' a peace treaty. Turned out that gentle persuasion worked against the NCR as well as it did the Brotherhood. Remember, kids, if a certain idiot named Aaron Kimball ever threatened to invade your independent casino city, just hold his own capital hostage.

Even with All American in my hand and the Burned Man to my right, shooting my way out was a terrible idea. There were too many people. I could probably clear the front row, and if Graham joined in he could shoot the woman behind us. That would still leave us to the people on the walls and the ones I just wouldn't reload in time for. Even if I could win, I was still bruised from that encounter in the woods. The Monocyte Breeder was already patching that up, but I'd have to wait a minute or two.

In a strange new lands with shadow monsters and non-radioactive green, killing a bunch of people I could potentially turn into allies wasn't something I was keen on. These guys could be like the Goodsprings way back when. Help 'em out with a few escaped convicts or whatever their equivalent of that was, and I get a steady supply of... well... supplies. So, I decided to play nice.

"What do you want to know?" I asked with my 'friendly mctrustworthy man' voice.

"Are you huntsman or something?" the woman behind asked.

Odd question, but I've had odder.

"From time to time," I answered honestly. "More like a hobby or a necessity than a career."

A few murmurs from the people in front. Why was hunting for food such a big deal? Were they like Red Lucy and placed a common noun on something to make it special? Even in her definition of wasteland egg thief I would qualify for, I guess.

"Right, what are your names?" lady bigger iron continued. She stepped out from behind us and stood between us and the townsmen, still holding her weapon with just one hand. I also noted how she seemed to be in charge.

"Name's Courier Six."

"That's an odd name." The woman narrowed her eyes.

"So they say."

"What about you, mummy boy?" She turned to face Joshua. I cringed behind my gas mask at such a terrible nickname.

"I am Joshua Graham," he responded calmly as he usually did.

"Right." The woman stood in thought for a moment before going back to asking questions. "I am Katherin Almond mayor of the town of Black Plains. Where are you from? Your clothes look very different that ones I've seen around Vale."

Bingo. Got a location name. Now to figure if we actually did time travel.

"I'm from the Mojave desert," I responded. "Currently living in New Vegas."

No reason to lie. If she knew where that was then this little fuck-up can be fixed without much issue. Well... there might've been an issue judging by the Moon, but that was a concern for later.

"I am from New Canaan," Graham stated.

The lady looked into my lenses with a confused expression. I concluded that she didn't know where that was.

"Where is that?" She asked, confirming my assumption.

"Relative to where?" I answered with a question.

"..." She looked at me like I just pissed in her salad. "Here, dumbass."

Yeah, I don't exactly know where 'here' is. You could've been in Europe, South America, Africa, the East Coast, Asia. Hell, with all the shit I've seen I'd believe you if you said this was just Canada.

"Dunno. Got a map?"

"What do you mean you don't know." Her tone told me she was annoyed.

"It's kind of in the sentence."

"How?"

"You lose track of where you are sometimes." That and my pip-boy world map wasn't working. I checked on our wander here.

She sighed. "I left my scroll in the mayoral office. Follow me." She holstered that big weapon on her back.

The assembled mob moved out of the way and cleared her a path as she turned around. I tucked All American away and, seeing that there was nothing better to do, followed her. Graham followed us, too. He had been oddly silent throughout the whole trip. Also, did that guy have antlers?

"Something wrong?" I whispered to Joshua as we made our way through a square made with some fine cobblestone. Like, real fine stuff. Didn't look two centuries old fine. Maybe this place was spared? The nuclear winter should've killed any life they had, though. Maybe civilisation survived beyond the ol' US of A and Red China and they just never bothered to contact us. I mean, I wouldn't want to talk to me either.

"The creatures outside still linger on my mind," he responded. Graham didn't have that look of fire burning within him, nor did he have that look of calmness that sometimes happened. No, he had a look of contemplation. Like back when I told him to spare Salt-Upon-Wounds. He was conflicted about something.

"Fighting a horde of shadow demons would do that to a man, I suppose."

"That's not meant." He pointed to the woman leading us. "I'll explain after we talk to her."

We passed by an oak tree at the centre of the square. It was really big. Probably ancient, too. So ancient that I might get a time frame of when life started growing back around these parts if I knew when this thing sprouted.

"Hey," I called out to the mayor. "When did this thing grow?"

She looked back at me with slight discontent. Why so much animosity?

"Dunno," she replied. "Been here longer than we have."

Great.

"How long have you been here?"

"Around thirty."

I looked around the town. Thirty years and all of that was quite the achievement. Sure they had more manpower than most settlements I've seen, but they must've also had some tools to ease the process. No way they managed to get all that stone for the roads. Wood for the houses maybe. But, unless this is a quarry town, there's no way they got that much cobblestone.

"Thirty years and all of this. Must've been rough."

"It was," she said with a little solemn in her. "My father and twelve other families settled here back when. Decided city life just ain't for us."

We came to a stop in front of a modest wooden cabin. It had one floor and a few windows here and there. It was well taken care of. Painted walls, clean porch, and a doormat even. "What's this place?"

"The mayor's office. It was the first building they built here. Was supposed to be a tool storage, but it got change to this instead."

"Humble beginnings."

"You could say that." She opened the door and let us inside. The interior wasn't too different from what I've seen before. A few filing cabinets. A couple of shelves filled with books. A desk in the centre with three chairs in front, and a photo frame on it that had its back facing me. "Have a seat."

I obliged and took a seat on a chair that was the furthest right, removing my back pack and putting it in front of me. Graham took one next to me. The woman searched through one of the drawers and returned with a map.a small metallic device and extended it, showing a small with of glass that functioned as a screen. Reminded me of one of those earlier pip-boys that didn't have the things to attach it to your wrists. The only difference was that this little white thing was as thin as a clipboard.

She tapped on it a bit then handed it to me. I handled it a bit awkwardly, but I grabbed it by the metal bits and looked at the data on screen. A map of what I presumed was the world was presented to me. It showed five big islands with map I didn't realised. At first, my mind went to one of the fantasy books I found at the Follower's library that went through the effort of making an imaginary map for their imaginary world. One of them even looked like a dragon. My eyes darted between them and locked on a place called Vacuo. Name sounded like Vegas… sorta. It was even located in a western desert. I guess you might want to be a few whiskeys in to see the similarities, but I just didn't see anywhere called the Mojave. Hell, there wasn't even an America.

I started to try and figure out what was happening. My super advance teleporter was shot. It sent out flying currents of electricity which burned me and Graham. I got knocked out and awoke in an actual forest. The moon was broken. There were shadow monsters. The map was weird. Nothing was making any sense, so I just handed the data tablet to Joshua and let him be as confused.

"Yeah...um..." I struggled to put my next sentence together. "Not familiar with this map." Actually true.

"What?" She looked at me with a 'are you kidding me?' face.

"I use a different version." Not a single lie.

"There's a different version?"

"Well I've never seen this one, so yes." Really was honest that day.

The mayor sighed and facepalmed. "Do you at least know where you're home is?"

"Vacuo... I think." Really was pondering if it could be anywhere else. It was a desert. It was in the west. If that wasn't southwestern United States, I guess I'm in another world. But, that was a stupid idea and I dismissed it. Time travel and teleportation I could handle. An alternate universe on the other hand...

"You think?" She definitely wasn't pleased. I understand where she's coming from. If someone suddenly appeared in New Vegas with a shit ton of weapons and just shot up what a shit ton of ink monsters, I'd be suspicious and concerned as well. In fact, I wouldn't let them in to my mayoral office where it'd be just me and them. That was a mistake I would exploit if she turned hostile.

"Like I said, not familiar. The names are new, too."

Her frown still on her face, the mayor turned to Joshua. "What about you?"

Graham looked up from the map.

"I'm not familiar with this map either," he responded.

"Gods damn it."

Polytheists, I thought. Better not start talking about Jupiter and Mars.

"What's up with those things out there, by the way?"

She wasn't angry after I said that. It was more like confusion. The look she gave me was just blankness. The mayor opened her mouth like she was going to say something, but nothing actually came out. I was starting to think that that was a bad question. They did seem prepared for an a large tide of shadow demons, so to ask that would be like asking me what a gun was. Deciding to try and not look like an idiot, I spoke and began to downplay my ignorance.

"I'm familiar with what they are," I lied, "but these guys look different than the one I'm used to."

"Didn't you go to an academy?" Didn't look like she thought I look like an idiot anymore, just confused.

"Not to study." Yeah, true. Scavenged around a few schools before. Never enrolled in any one of them. That was false if you counted taking part in the X-8 Data Retrieval Test. Although, I wouldn't because I was only there for a few hours. Or maybe because it was just an insane science experiment set in the scene of a highschool. Damn, the more I think about it the weirder Big Mountain is. "Mostly just visited and picked up a few things."

"I see..." Her eyes darted back to the Burned Man, waiting for his answer.

"Though I've attended a few when I was younger, I doubt that would be what you mean," he replied.

Wait, New Canaan had schools?

I silenced that thought and made a mental note to ask him later. I mean, of course it had schools. Why would it not? It's a peaceful Mormon settlement relatively far from harm's way, and rich enough with resources that caravans had died to make it there and trade. There's very little reason for the youth of that place not to be educated. It also explained why Graham knew so many things about Old World stuff.

"You mean combat schools?"

Now that's something I can get behind.

Deciding not to let her continue to steer the conversation, I tried to bring the attention back to my original question. "Cool, yeah. Not to sound rude, but can you answer my question first?"

"Oh right." The mayor recomposed herself. "Well, the grimms sometime look different depending on their habitats. I hear the ones up in Solitas are bulkier to deal with the cold. It's likely you're just experiencing something similar."

Made sense, I suppose. Didn't explain why they evaporate into black vapour when they die, but asking something like that might've made them lose confidence in me. Confidence was important if they had a big problem I could solve and earn favours with. If they thought I was just a moronic murder hobo, they would be less likely to ask me for help. Their name was also kinda fitting. Grimm, while not what I would've picked for them, was an appropriate label.

"Is there a place I could buy some supplies?" I asked. Helped a lot back in the Mojave to make the providers indebted to me. That and I really wanted to get my assault carbine looked at. The thing needed a proper look-over. Maybe I could use a weapon's repair kit, but I wanted to hold off on touching anymore of my supplies than I needed to. Not to mention how too many .45-70 rounds were used on the way there.

"There's Liz who works at our general store in the market. You should try talking to her if you need anything." The mayor leaned back into her chair. I assume it's because I'm finally asking normal questions that travellers would. "There's also Dearg who runs an inn."

I was definitely going to get spied on. "Do they have room service?"

"Not sure. You'll have to ask him."

I turned to Graham to get confirmation from him.

"I don't see a reason not to," he responded. "A shelter while we plan our next destination would be helpful."

"Then it's decided." I shrugged. "So where's this Dearg guy?"

"I'll show you." The mayor put away her device in her pockets. We all got up and left the cabin out the front door. There were a few people looking at us outside. Almond talked with them for a bit. Unfortunately for me, it was too quiet to hear. The people walked away and went about their business. She continued to lead us down the streets of Black Plains. Surprisingly, the town was quite big. I'd say it was around the size of the Strip.

We came to a stop in front of a large, two-storey building made with wood. Only a few of the places were made with stone, I realised. It made sense. If you were surrounded by easily usable wood, why bother bringing out the stone for just a house. I guess if you're rich you might do it as a flex. But, why would you do that in such a rural environment.

Katherin kindly opened the door and let us inside. The interior scene was a room filled with long, empty dining tables. There was a bar with various liquors behind it. A few doors that led to other part of the building, but all of them had an 'employees only' sign on them. Only one man was present, putting away his lever-action rifle on a mount on a wall behind a counter. He was a large, bald man with a big, red beard wearing just a t-shirt and shorts. "If you're here for food, we're closed," he said with an accent.

"Got some travellers that could use a room," Almond responded. She walked up to the counter and leaned on it. "Two huntsman." The mayor gestured towards us.

"Where you the people that were shooting out there?" He said rolling his tongue with every r pronounced. "Weren't subtle, were ya."

"Yeah, well, blame it on the grimm."

The inkeeper laughed. "So, what can I get ya?"

"I'll take one of your basic ones for each of us," I replied. "How much for it?"

The guy I presume is Dearg pushes a few buttons on a cash register. "'Bout forty lien per night."

Of course, they wouldn't use caps. I sighed and dug around in a few pouches on my belt. I had a few other things in there. Some NCR dollars, a few casino chips, and bullets that I was willing to part with. I'm sure Graham had a few things we could use to barter, too. "What else do you accept?"

Dearg gave me a questioning look. Alright, so maybe they didn't have many currencies like back in the Mojave. That's understandable. New Vegas was under siege from the Republic, Caesar, and was under the common currency of caps; it made sense that with so many foreign powers some of their money would flood into our markets. I especially like stealing denarii from the Legion and smelting them into bars. Made me feel much richer than owning hundreds of thousands of bottlecaps.

"Well what d'ya have for me?" The innkeeper removed himself from the register and leaned against the counter. "We don't take junk, by the way."

There went one of my options. I considered my alternatives. NCR money is useless beyond their borders. Casino chips are basically the same. Ammo, though, was a staple of wasteland bartering. "Do you count bullets as junk?"

Dearg shrugged. "Nah, but I got enough o' that stuff already. Besides, ammo doesn't pay the bills."

"Right." I pulled out a denarius. The silver coin was a little dull, but you could still clearly see what it was. "What about this?"

The inkeeper took the coin and inspected it. He looked at both sides of the coin and pocketed it. "This real silver?"

"Yup." Thank God for the Legion's use of precious metals.

"Where'd ya get it?"

"Bought it." Yeah, no way I was going to say I killed people for it. Didn't know these people well enough to just say that. Most people react kindly to legionnaires dying, but some people are weird and just can't bear the concept of spilling the blood of a fellow man. These guys were probably the same because of how nice and sheltered they seem. I was eager to be proven wrong, honestly.

"I'll give ya three nights for it."

"Sweet." He handed me two keys and I passed one of them to Graham. Both of them had a piece of paper with our room numbers strapped to it using scotch tape. "Where's room five?"

"Go up the stairs and down the hall." Dearg pointed at the stairs. "Five'll be the third room in the right, and three should be the second."

"Is there breakfast or room service?" I didn't have much hope for room service, but I really hoped they have breakfast.

"Nah, lad. Kitchen opens at one in the afternoon. We begin serving beer at seven in the evening if you're interested."

I chuckled at that. "Sorry, friend. Can't get drunk. Literally. I'm too resistant to it."

"Well that's a bloody shame. Born once and can't even drink." He yawned. "I should probably go to sleep now, though. See ya in the mornin', Kath." He turned around and started walking away.

I waited until he turned the corner. "Quite the character," I remarked.

"You're one to talk," Almond muttered under her breath. She raised her voice and said, "I should go to sleep, too. It's getting late."

"Right. We should get going, too." I made my way to the stairs, and Graham followed me. "I guess this is where we say goodnight and part ways, mayor."

"You can call me Katherin," she responded. "Goodnight, Courier."

We all went out separate ways. Joshua asked me for some new sterilised. I gave him a roll and we both went to rest in out new rooms. My room consisted of a bed in the centre, a table with three chairs, a closet, an end table by the bed, and no windows. I dropped by duffle bag by the table, and took off my backpack. I searched through it and took out the Stealth Suit Mk 2. I laid it on the table and kept on looking through my backpack.

"Did you miss me?" the stealth suit asked. To be honest, I didn't. The fight that night would've involved many more stimpacks if Sneaky had it her way. I took out a few tools and a bunch of other repair material and got to work fixing it. "Where are we?"

"Place called Black Plains," I answered. The fabric was burnt through. I'd need some more proper gear to fix that. The armour though, was fine. Yes, there were a few burns here and there. But, the main protection was made at Big Mountain. Those things could survive some of the tougher stuff the waste had got to offer. If only I had some white paint to fix that burn. "Fought through an army of shadow demons to get here. System diagnostics."

"I am at eighty-six percent strength," Sneaky replied. "Why didn't you take me out for it? I could've helped."

I tapped on my torso armour under the duster. "More protection here. Didn't know what I was going to fight, so I did the safe option."

"Wouldn't the safe option be to sneak past them?"

"Not with Graham." It wasn't that I doubted the guy, but cloak & dagger just didn't seem his style. That and that I didn't realise the stealth suit was still over eighty. "I got myself hurt with the second best protection I have. Imagine if you were there instead."

"We still have stimpacks, don't we," she said with a little desperation in her artificial voice.

"Yeah, thirteen. Hate to break it to you, Sneaks, we're kinda low on supplies here."

"Like you don't have thousands of rounds in that bag alone."

"That's not enough. A thousand rounds is a field trip from Hopeville to Ashton."

"Are we in the Divide?"

"No, but shadow monsters." I took out my chainsaw. That thing was in worse condition that I thought. I mean, the pip-boy would've told me how bad the state my equipment were really in, but I didn't check it. The energy cell was completely busted. With a duct tape here, some hopes and dreams there I could probably fix it. Unfortunately, I had no duct tape and little hopes of doing anything.

Maybe a repair kit could be used, but with how I only had four of them I was planning to use it in the worse case scenario.

"All the more reason why you should let me tag along."

"No, I'm hiding you as a trump card from the local population."

"How am I supposed to do that?"

"No one's going to expect a random guy to have a stealth suit. Just lay low and let me sort it out."

Sneaky gave a defeated sigh. "Can I at least help with the planning?"

"When we need one, sure."

I stored the chainsaw and checked my pip-boy for things I could repair without using a kit for it. All American, fine. Medicine stick, fine. Assault Carbine, no. Anti-material rifle, fine. All my pistols are fine. Still have that laser detonator. Sonic Emitter, good. Shotguns, in working order. Shit.

After looking through my inventory, I realised I didn't pack the Red Victory grenade rifle. So, I quickly looked for things that might've been able to substitute it. The result came out a bit disappointing. Only two C4 plastic explosives, and a big kid mini nuke. The mini nuke could probably level a block if I wasn't careful, but having only one was bad. Aside from those were two holy frag grenades that I still had, 40mm grenades, and a few rounds of 25mm plasma grenades. In conclusion, my boom department was lacking.

Cursing my luck that I had to go and start a new adventure right before my planned equipment upgrade at the Sink and deciding that I really couldn't deal with that shit right then, I planned to search for more bombs in the morning. Black Plains don't have Gun Runners, but they have to at least have dynamite, right?

"Night, Sneaks. Keep watch for me, kay?"

"Goodnight," came a response. My [Perception 10] picked up a mumble. "I'll be watching you."

I mentally sighed and threw myself onto the surprisingly soft mattress. It had been a long day, and I fell asleep instantly.


Joshua Graham rose up early. He had gone to bed with some fresh bandages after the previous ones had been dirtied by the night before's fighting. His pistol and SWAT vest were rested on a table nearby. None of them had taken any real damage since he avoided getting hits, but he was aching a bit from getting shot in Freeside. The Courier had applied healing powder when he was knocked out on arrival at the new place.

He equipped the vest and rolled up his sleeves. The .45 auto pistol slid into its holster cleanly. Graham slightly regretted putting off giving the grip the same snakeskin that he gave A Light Shining In Darkness. That was of no concern now, though.

The Burned Man exited his room and walked over in front of Courier Six's room. He decided not to bother his friend with a lengthy discussion of their situation last night because of how tired the Courier seemed. Graham knocked three times.

"Who is is?" a female voice responded. Joshua recognized that voice as one of the stealth suit's.

"It's me," he responded. "Is the Courier awake?"

"No, he's sleeping like a precious baby."

"If he asks for me, tell him that I've gone for a walk." Graham walked away and down the stairs. He found the same empty environment as when they had arrived. No customers, no food, nothing. The only difference was a woman with black hair and medium build cleaning the table. Joshua assumed it was on of the employees the inn must've hired.

The Burned Man stepped on a squeaky floor board causing the woman to turn around. She flinched at the sight of him. His bandage concealing most of his body, and horrific burns where they didn't. It was a bit of an unexpected and terrifying view. "I... uh..." The employee struggled to properly form a sentence. "How can I help you?"

"Is there a place I could get fresh water?" Joshua asked. With all the green around there was probably a large source of water nearby. Maybe even a river.

"Oh, yeah. Give me one second." The woman left her cleaning rag on a table and disappeared behind of the staff doors. Graham sat down on one of the seats and waited patiently. She came back with a glass of water. The Burned Man took it and examined it. It was clear, no silt mixed in like one you might get from a lake, nor was there any indication of radiation. Of course, he couldn't know that last part without a geiger counter, but to pull one out and check the water would be a rude gesture. So, he simply lowered his bandages around his mouth - causing the woman to cringe - and took a sip.

Graham was delighted to find that the water wasn't too bad. It was even better that the purified water served at the New Vegas Strip. The water found in the streams of Zion was still superior in his opininion, though.

"How much do I have to pay for this?"

"... It's free."

A surprise to be sure, but a welcome one. Sharing essentials like water was something Graham could definitely get behind. Though, he was surprised. Most people in the Mojave and the rest of the wasteland would charge a price for a glass of water. Even if you had a house next to Lake Mead there would be a merchant trying to sell some of its contents to you.

"But to do good and to communicate forget not: for with such sacrifices God is well pleased," Joshua quoted. A smile formed on his face. "Are you familiar with the teachings of the Lord?"

"I don't think so." The employee tilted her head to the side. "Not a lot of religions around these areas. You'd have to go to Vale if you want to find a church."

"That is a shame." Graham's face returned to a neutral expression. "Is believing in the words of God shunned around here?"

"Not really. Just isn't popular."

Joshua sighed and got up. "What is your name?"

"Jenny Coal, sir."

"It has been insightful to talk to you, Miss Coal. I hope we can talk again in the future." With that said, the Burned Man made his way to the door.

"Uh.. umm.. Same here!"

Graham left the inn with a positive attitude. To find such a nice person outside of fellow New Canaanites or the tribals of Zion was a good thing in his eyes. It meant that the world wasn't truly corrupt. That is not to say that there were no amoral people in the new lands. Though, he was eager to be proven wrong. No, simply that the world was peaceful enough that a man need not sacrifice their moral purity to survive and had the capacity to be kind.

He had come outside to survey the lands. The trek through the woods the night earlier was delightful, but with all the abominations assaulting them and the darkness of night didn't give much of an opportunity to act like a tourist. The questionable nature of those creatures were still nagging the at the back of his mind. That didn't matter for now.

Joshua strolled down the streets, gaining glances and curious looks from passersby. It was the same in the Mojave. The difference is that the people of Black Plains didn't know about his past.

Graham found himself in the market. Many vendors were going about their day with shoppers coming and going between stalls. Some were selling foodstuffs, few were selling various things one would find from foraging in the woods, one was selling pottery, another was selling trinkets. It was lively. Peaceful. Somewhere he wouldn't mind settling down at.

Most of the folks there gave him some space and stayed clear of him. Joshua understood why. Covered in wounds and armed was not the picture most would link with the adjective approachable. So, he didn't bother them. He was just here to look, after all.

Graham continued to stroll around. Despite the large fight that happened last night, the town was continuing as though nothing had happened. Not an unexpected sight if the settlement was used to death, the Burned Man reasoned. That and he didn't see any of the grimm breach through the defences, so nobody probably died. The smokes rising from beyond the wall wasn't assuring, though. Joshua concluded that it's better to be safe than sorry and headed for the walls. He was going to see whether there was figurative fire.

Going past the market and into the town square, he noticed a brick building. It wouldn't have been eye-catching if not for the fact that it was made of a different material to the surrounding buildings. Graham didn't see that place when he first entered Black Plains, but that was probably because of everything else happening. The building was two-storeys tall with many small, narrow windows just big enough that you could stick a rifle out of. It was also guarded by a young man with a rifle slung on his back.

With his past experience in many military compounds, Joshua concluded that the buildings was probably a barracks or an armoury. Stronger material, small windows, and a single door that was being guarded. All the qualities checked out for what he assumed it would be. Why a settlement out in the wilderness would need an armoury with guards was something he brushed off as just concerns of the demonic fauna in the woods.

Graham climbed up the wooden stairs up to the top of the granite defence. In the large fields that surrounded the towns were burns. Lots of burns. Joshua turned to the side and saw that it was mostly limited to the direction that he and the Courier had came from the night earlier.

"You're a new face around here," a male voice with a country accent spoke. To the Burned Man it sounded like one of those people far east of Arizona. Texas, he remembered. "I ain't ever seen man wrapped up like you."

Graham turned to see an older man with a scoped rifle slung across his back. The man was wearing a simple black jacket over his clothes and sported a magnificent mustache. He was also wearing a silver pin on said jacket.

"I arrived here yesterday with my friend," Joshua clarified. "Do you know what happened out there?"

The old man chuckled. "So you and that red eye were the one who started last nights shenanigans, huh. Weird how less people are talkin' bout you. Well, when the grimm rolled into town, some of the youngins used fire dust to burn their sorry hides. Unfortunately, some of the crops got a taste of it as well, so we had to quickly try and put it out. Most of it made it through, but grain's gon' be real pricy from now on."

"I apologize for the trouble that I have caused you. If there is a way we can work to remedy this, please do not be afraid to tell me."

The old man chuckled even more. "You a kind spirit, you are. Ain't no point thinkin' bout it now, though. Fields already burnt. Tell you what, they ever ask for help, I'll tell you about it."

Graham nodded in appreciation. "Thank you... I didn't quite catch your name."

"Name's Arthur. Arthur Brown. Part o' the militia." Brown tapped on his pin.

"I am Joshua Graham." The two continued to stand there for a while, looking out into the scorched farmland. Arthur looked at Graham's burns. The bandage covered most of it, but the ones around his piercing blue eyes revealed the torched skin.

"How d'ya get those scars?" That brought the Burned Man's attention back on to the walls. I've lived long enough to see some real bad wounds, but you might just take the cake."

"For my failures, I was covered in pitch, set alight, and thrown down a canyon," Joshua explained calmly.

Brown's eyes widen. "Shit. You don't have to talk about it if you don't wanna."

"No, it's alright. It was better that way." Graham stared back out beyond the defences. He thought about how much he could reveal about his time with the Legion. Since the people there weren't familiar with it, Joshua decided to keep it vague and not say any of the names to avoid dragging the story out too far. "I was lost. Misguided. I was trying to pacify the lands of raiders and unite the people under one flag. In the end, I sinned more than I ever needed to."

"Damn." Arthur took out a flask and had a swig. "Mayor said you were from Vacuo, yeah?"

"We presume. It's the only desert on the map."

"Had a friend from Vacuo back in Vale. Lemme tell yah, he ain't got a shard o' your humility." The militiaman smiled. "Sometimes it ain't bout the things you've done, but how you feel bout it in the end."

"The Lord forgives those who seek redemption." Joshua nodded. "Though I am a sinner, I believe my soul is saved."

"You a holy man, Mr. Graham?"

"Not quite. I follow the teachings of God and spread them where people would listen, but I find other people more fitting for that title. I stopped being a missionary about thirty years ago."

Arthur let out a chuckle. "I'd like to meet him one day. Confess all my sins or whatever they do at those churches."

"How common are religious practices of any kind in Vale?"

"Rare. You'd find them if you look at the right places. It ain't that they're hated. Just unpopular."

"I can't say I'm surprised. Not many practitioners where my friend came from either. In a world filled with so little trust, is it really a shock that people choose not to believe what's not in front of them?"

"Heh. You're a helluva lot better than all of them already." Brown took another swig out of his flask. "Got none of that 'Brothers'll smite you down' shit when you don't kiss their asses."

"Brothers?"

"Brother gods," Arthur said. He turned and looked at Joshua with a confused expression. "There're others?"

Before the Burned Man could respond, a loud bang echoed out from within the town. Brown quickly jumped down from the wall and began sprinting over. Graham decided to follow as well. If there were more of those grimm creatures out there, he would regret not being there to help kill them. He had to push himself to keep up with the old man. Joshua had to admit that he didn't expect Arthur to be so fit. Then again, you don't stay part of a fighting force at such an age without some serious skill under your belt.

The two ran past the town square and down a couple twist and turns. Through a few alleys, they emerge in a visibly worse side of town. There was gap between the usual, clean, wooden houses of Black Plains and the shantytown cramped into a corner of the wall. At the middle of this gap were two groups and some townsfolk who were gathering to watch. One of them were people wearing flannel shirts and jeans or some other workers clothes; they numbered around twenty. These ones were armed with various weaponry. A few lever-action rifles, a pump-action shotgun here, and a double-barrel there. The other were people wearing casual wear with animal traits. The leader of the latter group was a man with antlers growing out of his head. None of those people were armed, and everyone behind the man were scared or at least very nervous. These ones numbered around triple the other.

"You animals better return the fucking food!" a man from the former group shouted. He gained roars of approval from the people next to him. Arthur mumbled something and stepped forward.

"WHAT THE HELL's GOIN ON HERE?!" He Bellowed. "Last I checked you had a farm to run." Many of the people turned and looked at him with a sneer. The animal people looked at him with relief washing over them.

"Brown," a large man said as he stepped out from the crowed. He was as tall as Lanius with pitch-black hair and looked just as intimidating. Though he didn't have the armour and the chilling voice that the late legate had, the man did have a pistol on his hip. "You shouldn't get in the way. We're just getting some justice in."

"Mayor ain't gon' like this, Wallace." Arthur looked jumpy. No one blamed him, really. Wallace Green was someone known for being a sadistic bastard. The only reason he hadn't been kicked out was because of how well he dealt with grimm. That and how the mayor didn't care about the faunus allowed him and his friends to be as racist as they pleased. "What did they 'do' this time, huh?"

"Stole out hard earned food, Brown. Came in the chaos of the fire and stole a storehouse worth of grain."

"That's not true," one of the faunus cried out.

"SHUT IT," Wallace Sneered. He chuckled and turned to the old militiaman. "Animals, am I right."

"The gunshot. What was it?"

"Warning. Showed we were serious."

"Could've done that with a lot less danger. Mayor really ain't gon' like this."

Green let out a snicker. "The mayor won't care. She knows how these disgusting animals are. If we let them off this time, they'll just do it again. Then, again. After that, again. The cycle'd just repeat until someone else told them off. I'm just nipping the problem in the bud."

Arthur glared at Wallace. He didn't share the same outlook as most of Remnant regarding the faunus. He really wanted to teach the man a lesson, but even with his aura and experience, Green was just too strong. That's not even mentioning that the troublemaker had an aura of his own.

Graham stepped up. "I recommend you not do so, Mr. Wallace."

"Oh? Who are you, mummy boy." There it was again. That nickname. Joshua didn't really care about it. He didn't feel insulted. "You got a reason why I shouldn't teach these thieves a lesson?"

"I do." Joshua squared up with Wallace. He was a whole feet shorter than the giant, but the confidence made up for it. "Firstly, you are outnumbered. They could easily turn the tide of battle and defeat you."

"With no guns?"

"Secondly," Graham ignored Green, "even if you win, the consequences would be significant. Not everyone will view them as the wrongdoers. You will find many more enemies than you think." That was a bluff. He didn't really know for sure, but given how Arthur wasn't as pro 'punishment' as the rest of them, the Burned Man felt assured.

"Is that a threat? I don't think you know what you're talking about." The old militiaman wanted to stop the newcomer, but he was saying something that Arthur was secretly feeling. So, he decided to hope for the best and prayed that Wallace would back down. "I could beat you down right here. Then, I could do the same with everyone else. That fucking bitch of a mayor should get a hitting, too. Got her post from her daddy and made us suffer these criminals instead of kicking them out."

"Lastly," Joshua said after letting Wallace finish. He let the big man speak so he could gather information. "Waging war on good people is bad for the soul."

The mob stayed silent, looking at the bandaged missionary. Then, a few snickers. Next, full on laughter. The soul? One should be more worried about getting wounds and bruises during a fight rather than their soul.

"Are you serious?" Wallace asked. "I've done a lot of bad shit, but I don't see my aura flickering because of it."

"I understand it might seem ridiculous, but it is the most important thing I've said. To sin is to taint your soul. To knowingly do so is an even worse action."

"Is that it? Are you just going to keep preaching to me as to why this is such a bad idea? Do you really think that'll stop me?"

"I will use force if need be, but as-"

"Then do it." That gained a few cheers. "Fight me. Stop me if you wan't to let these animals go free." He opened his arms in a taunting manner. "Hit me and let these freaks keep our hard-earned grain. You'd like that, wouldn't you? After all, it was you and that red-eyes who caused all those grimm last night. Got the people all sorts of scared and made us prime bait. Just a perfect window for these criminals to get in and steal our shit."

Graham stared into the Wallace's eyes. The giant was confident. No, he was cocky. He was careless. Joshua didn't want to start a fight, though. Some people could be talked down. Maybe if he could just-

Right hook. The Burned Man ducked under the blow and stepped back.

"If you won't start it," Wallace said and followed up with a cross, "I will."

Cheers erupted all around. Some of the faunus were giving their encouragement to Graham, the mob gave theirs to Green, and the onlookers just rooted for whoever they supported. Unsurprisingly most of that was going to Wallace. Arthur tried to intervene, but a few of the mob tackled him and started a clash there. The faunus, seeing how general chaos was erupting, were conflicted. A few wanted to join in. Others hated the violence and just wanted to be left alone.

Joshua put up his guard and dodged the big man's attack. He wasn't a brawler like Six, but he knew his way around a melee fight. He gave responding jab that found its way onto the stomach of Wallace who didn't even notice it. Instead, Green gave Graham another hook. That one landed right on the Burned Man's upper arm. Graham endured it, but got sent flying. Using his [Agility 8], he landed on his feet. His [Endurance 10] making him able to continue.

Wallace lunged at Graham. Joshua dodged to the side and fired back, his fist impacting the hip. Graham ducked a hook and rose with an uppercut. Wallace didn't expect that and got hit under the chin. He definitely felt that one as he recoiled back, still standing. Joshua didn't let that opportunity go to waste and immediately followed with a cross to the stomach. Wallace tried to hit back, but it was sloppy. Graham went right past it and hit the giant in his shoulder. Normally, Joshua could expect a nice pop to follow, but Wallace proved to be tougher than that.

Green tried to kick back at the Burned Man, and he succeeded. Once again Joshua was sent flying back about ten metres. This time, though, he failed to land on his feet. Putting his right foot down first to stabilize himself, Graham landed on an uneven piece of cobblestone and landed on his rear. Before Wallace could take advantage, Joshua got up and resumed his fighting stance.

Using his 7 in [Perception], the Burned Man scanned for any weaknesses Wallace had. He was about to exploit it when a loud bang echoed through the area. Everyone turned to see a very irate lookin mayor flanked by armed people wearing various clothing and a silver pin on them.

"What the fuck is going on?" the mayor asked in a shout. "Green, I fucking told you that I'd deal with it."

"And," Wallace coughed mid sentence, "you didn't, did you."

The militiamen around the mayor raised their weapons at the mob and crowed of faunus. "Everyone lay down your weapons."

The people complied and threw down their weapons. The militia was no pushover, and the people of Black Plains knew that. Honed by years of fighting the grimm and keeping the town safe, they were also equipped with the best guns around. Admittedly, that's not much. It helped Katherin that the militiamen she brought with her outnumbered the mob.

Arthur, having dealt with his foes, joined his comrades. Graham just raised both of his hands to show that he wasn't armed.

Before anything else could happen though, bells rang out along the walls. The people of the frontier town knew what that meant. It rang last night, too. The creatures of darkness were spotted around the forest. Grimm were upon them.


Author's Corner

Imagine forgetting scrolls existed in the RWBYverse.

Writing Graham is so hard.

== As has been requested, Six's inventory in non-alphabetical order. ==

-Anti-material rifle

-A Light Shining In Darkness

-All American

-Maria

-Ranger Sequoia

-Mysterious Magnum

-Dinner Bell

-Riot Shotgun

-Medicine Stick

-Flare Gun

-Assault Carbine (Broken)

-Chainsaw (Broken)

-Sonic Emitter (Opera Singer)

-C4 *2

-Holy Hand Grenades *2

-Big Kid Mini Nuke

-A lot of Ammo (+plasma 25mm and regular 40mm)

-Aids: 13 stimpacks, 2 super stimpacks, 7 blood sausages, 13 thin red pastes, 2 gecko steaks, a bighorner steak, 10 sunset sarsaparilla, a nuka cola, various chems (no med-x), and 6 jars of salient green.

-Misc scrap

-Stealth Suit Mk2

-Elite Riot Gear Armour

-Elite Riot Gear Helmet

-Rebreather

-Big Mountain Transportalponder!

-Laser Detonator