Return to Sender

by Courier666

Courier Six rose from the grave severely lacking in the memory department. When reunited with her younger brother, the two band together to wreak havoc across the Mojave, change the fate of the Wasteland, and have a hell of a lot of fun along the way. The game will never be the same, but you know what they say - it was rigged from the start.

3. Blue Moon

A/N: Hello again, everyone, and welcome to the newest chapter of Return to Sender: Blue Moon! Thank you all so much for reading!

A little note: this fic is not going to adhere to the, "one human, one animal/robot companion" rule. If we want to have a little Wasteland justice squad rolling around, we will. Without further ado, here we go!

Blue Moon

You saw me standin' alone

Without a dream in my heart

Without a love of my own

-Blue Moon, Frank Sinatra

"I wanna skip Nipton," Sam declared out of nowhere. They'd only been walking for a few hours, and were nowhere near Nipton yet. Darren cocked an eyebrow.

"Can I ask why?" Darren replied. They were still ages away, why did she want to skip it? Besides, wouldn't it take them out of their way?

"I've got a bad feeling," Sam mumbled. Looking up, she pointed. "Besides, look at that. All that smoke? Ranger Ghost over at the Outpost says it's coming from Nipton. Something hit there, something big. I told her we'd check it out, but I'm not dealing with it right now. Not until we've got some information on Mr. Checkered Suit."

"Wait, when did you talk to Ranger Ghost?" Darren asked, perplexed. He turned his face to the sky, and had to admit, the large plume of black smoke made him queasy too.

"You were asleep. I couldn't, so I wandered around. Got bored and decided a little stargazing was in order," Sam explained. "She was up on the roof. Said she wanted eyes. She's not sure what's going on, and truthfully, I don't think I wanna find out. Not when we're two to however many there might be."

The robot beside her beeped.

"I meant three!" Sam exclaimed. Darren rolled his eyes. The bot seemed to have taken a liking to her immediately despite the fact that he's the one who fixed it up.

"Hey," Sam said holding out her arm to stop Darren. He looked to her confused.

"Pip-Boy says that's the Nipton Pit-Stop," Sam said. Darren gestured for her to go on. "There's a fire on – there's someone there. Not sure if their friendly or not, but knowing my luck, they're not. Get ready for a fight."

Nodding, he grabbed his trusty shotgun.

"We're in Jackal territory," he said. "Wouldn't surprise me if that's where they've set up camp."

Walking closer proved them right, and Ed-E, their new pet robot, threw itself into the melee, blasting the raiders back to whence they came. Sam only had to fire off two shots from her 10mm, which was lucky, thanks to the lack of ammo. Darren nodded, impressed.

"Not bad," he said. "Not bad at all."

"It's getting late," Sam said as she kneeled down to loot the bodies. "We should probably try to eat and snooze while we can."

Darren acquiesced and built the fire higher while Sam pulled some provisions out of her pack.

"Looks like it's a Pork n' Beans night!" Sam crowed, pulling out a can for each. Darren groaned as she began heating them over the fire. Ed-E hovered nearby, seeming to keep watch. Together, they ate and set up their bedrolls.

"I'll take first watch," Sam said. "I'll wake you up in a few hours." Darren nodded and laid down.

True to her word, Sam shook him awake several hours later. Secretly, she took the longer watch, sitting with Ed-E and listening to Mr. New Vegas on her Pip-Boy. It said 2 AM before she woke her brother.

"'m up," he groaned tiredly. "I'm up."

"I'd certainly hope so!" Sam teased. "I'd like to go to sleep too!"

She flopped down belly-first onto her bedroll and was asleep in minutes. Darren rubbed his eyes and took her vacated place. Ed-E beeped at him curiously.

"Yeah, good morning to you too, pal," he said, studying the darkened horizon. He doubted they'd catch up to the asshole who shot his sister in Novac. Hell, they probably wouldn't catch up with him until they reached the Strip, if that's really where he was going. Maybe he'd get eaten by some radscorpions along the way. Wouldn't that be nice?

Darren fantasized about all the ways that idiot could die before reaching the Strip until the sun rose, and shook his sister awake for some breakfast. They each ate a prickly pear fruit before packing their things and setting off again.

They dipped south to avoid Nipton in its entirety, black smoke still rising ominously to the heavens. Sam's face was solemn as they passed, knowing something – maybe Powder Gangers? – had gotten to the town. She didn't really remember Nipton, but knew she had to have delivered there before. She'd been all over the Mojave, Darren had told her. Hell, all over America, for that matter.

They headed north again toward what the Pip-Boy declared to be Wolfhorn Ranch. It loomed in the distance, a small shack with a windmill behind it. Cautiously, they explored it, finding it to be abandoned.

"Someone was here not too long ago, though," Sam said, shifting through someone's former belongings. She pulled out a cleaver and raised both eyebrows. Ed-E hovered above her shoulder.

They settled in for the night, thankful for the protection from the elements, and began the same routine as the night before. Sam sat in a chair facing the door, Lights Out across her lap. Darren laid on the bed in the far corner of the room. Diligently, Ed-E hovered at her side.

"Ed-E?" Sam asked the bot. It beeped softly in return. "Do you think I'll ever remember everything?"

Quietly, her bot beeped back to her.

"I don't know either…" Sam said quietly. "I don't know either."

Morning came far too soon, and the trio set out once again, north this time. Vipers ambushed them this time, coming from above with a grenade launcher.

"Shit shit shit!" Sam shouted. Ed-E immediately went into combat mode, flying at the attacker with absolutely no regard for its own life. Sam dropped to a knee to aim the sniper rifle, hoping to take out the jackass with the grenade launcher while Darren focused his attention on the other two.

In the end, they made it out with minor injuries considering how off guard they'd been taken. Sam's left arm had been grazed by a stray bullet, and Darren had been shot in the torso, though his leather armor had prevented it getting any further. Still it left one hell of a bruise.

"Hold still," Sam muttered, injecting him with half of a stimpak, reserving the other half for herself. Darren winced as she stabbed him. He held his hand out for the stimpak, and did the same for her.

"You always were good at poking people," Darren said off-handedly. Sam's brows furrowed, asking for an explanation.

"You don't remember do you?" Darren asked. "Well, never mind. I'll tell you. You always fixed up anyone and anything that needed your help. When we were little you tried to keep an injured nightstalker for a pet. But you always fixed people up right as rain. Or at least as well as ya could. Some things just can't be fixed. You'd always use healing powder for the mild stuff – always had that on hand. Can't tell ya how many times you had to hold me down to rub that stuff in. Burns like fuck."

Sam grinned. She could remember, vaguely now, chasing down a much smaller boy and tackling him into the dirt – often creating more scrapes to take care of – just to put some healing powder on the existing cut.

"It's not that bad, you big baby," Sam teased, grinning. Darren huffed and threw his hands in the air.

"Doesn't hurt, my ass!" he exclaimed. Sam just laughed. They walked together past Ranger Station Charlie, and Darren started to walk toward it.

"Don't!" Sam suddenly shouted. Darren turned around, confused.

"Look, I've just got a bad feeling about that. Why don't we just head into Novac? It's just another hour or so's walk," Sam cajoled. "I'll even pay for a hotel room – you said they've got a hotel, right? Just please don't go in there. I know we're on good terms with NCR but don't."

Darren's brows furrowed in confusion, but did as his sister asked. She'd always had some kind of freaky sixth sense. It's what made her an excellent sniper. Together, they continued on to Novac.

"That's an enormous fuckin' dinosaur," Sam breathed. Darren snorted. He then watched as her already pale face drained of color on seeing a Securitron at the gate, almost as if it was waiting for someone.

"Hello Victor!" Sam greeted, but her tone was faux-pleasant to Darren's ears.

"Well butter my butt and call me a biscuit, if it ain't my old friend from Goodsprings!" the robot exclaimed cheerfully. Darren was lost.

"It's nice to see a friendly face out here," Sam replied with a wide smile. Jesus, she was not a good actor. At least not to someone who had known her for 21 years.

"Likewise, friend, likewise!" the robot said. "Is there anything old Vic can do you for?"

"So, what's the story with this place?" Sam asked curiously. The robot lifted his arms as if shrugging.

"Novac?" it asked. "Nice enough place I suppose…but between you and me – when I rolled into town, my skin started to itch. Watch yourself."

"Thanks for the warning, Victor!" Sam replied conspiratorially. "If you don't mind, I'd like to check into the hotel and snag a room. Sure would be nice to sleep in a bed for a change."

"I can imagine! I've gotta get goin' myself," the robot said ruefully. "Got a notion I need to head to New Vegas. Guess I'll see when I get there!"

Sam's face was tight as the Securitron rolled off, cheerful cowboy face grinning all the way.

"What was that?" Darren asked as she grabbed his arm and dragged him off toward the motel.

"Later!" Sam hissed as they reached the door to the Dino Dee-lite Motel. She released his arm and grabbed the door handle.

A spindly woman with thick glasses sat at the desk in front of them. Her graying blonde hair was pulled back in a bun, and her glasses dominated her eagle-sharp face. She smiled up at the siblings from her perch.

"Hello!" She greeted cheerfully. Sam resisted the urge to wince. "I'm Jeannie May. Jeannie May Crawford. I take care of folks here at the motel. Long as they ain't trouble-makers."

Sam immediately decided schmoozing Ms. Jeannie May would be her best course of action.

"It's a real pleasure to meet you, Ms. Jeannie May," Sam started. "I'm Sam, and this is my brother Darren. You wouldn't happen to be able to help us with a room, would you?"

Jeannie May fell for it hook, line, and sinker. Darren rolled his eyes – Sam was laying it on thick and they both knew it.

"Well I think that's a fine idea," Jeannie May grinned. "I'll give you a good, flat rate, and you can stay long as you like. Least till busy season comes. 100 caps. Sound good?"

"Yes ma'am!" Sam replied, smiling as she forked over the caps. It hurt to pay that much, but comfort was worth it in the end. "Can you tell me what's of interest around this fine town?"

Jeannie May visibly brightened at the 'fine town' bit.

"Well, there's Dinky, the town mascot," Jeannie May explained, "He's a sight. You probably already saw him when you came in, but you can go up inside, too. Up the road, a ways to the west, there's REPCONN. That's the old rocket facility. There's been some sinister characters out there lately, so you may want to stay clear. Other than that, nothing to do but take it easy and enjoy good company!"

"Ms. Jeannie May, could you tell me if you've seen a gentleman in a checkered suit pass through recently? I'm sure a lovely lady like you knows everything there is to know about this town," Sam asked, flattery oozing from every pore.

"He might've been wearing a fancy outfit, but he wasn't any kind of gentleman to me," Jeannie May explained, staring down her beak-like nose. "Had his nose stuck so high in the air, you couldn't see it above the clouds. City folk, they always think they deserve better than what they got. Those hoodlums seemed to know Manny for some reason. He's our daytime sniper, up in the dinosaur's mouth."

"Daytime sniper?" Sam asked, now genuinely intrigued.

"Oh yes, young lady! We've got two gentleman snipers keeping their eyes on the road. Have to keep out the slaver riff-raff, you know!" Jeannie May simpered as she snagged a key from her wall. "Here's your key. Let me know if there's anything I can do to make your stay better."

"Oh, yes ma'am, thank you ma'am!" Sam grinned. She walked to the door, Ed-E following like a faithful hound dog. Darren smiled and nodded to the woman at the desk and followed his sister up the stairs and to their new room, thankfully with two beds.

"Gentleman snipers, huh?" Sam breathed, awed. Darren rolled his eyes.

"Keep it in your pants!" he groused. Sam shot him a grin. "Now tell me what the fuck's with that robot."

Ed-E made a curious beeping noise. Darren threw his arms in the air.

"Not you!" he shouted. Sam laughed.

"That robot was Victor. Dug me outta my grave in Goodsprings." Sam explained. "There's just something about it though…I don't like it. Makes my skin crawl."

"Like that Jeannie May lady?" Darren asked humorously. Sam shuddered.

"I'm pretty sure that bitch eats newborn babies." She replied. Darren laughed as he flopped down on the bed.

"Well, she said this Manny guy was the daytime sniper, and it's almost 10, so we'll have to wait till tomorrow to grill him. I'm hittin' the hay. What about you?" Darren asked.

"I'm gonna freshen up a bit and do the same," Sam responded over her shoulder, making a beeline for the bathroom.

Three hours later, Darren was snoring in the bed furthest from the door, but Sam's mind was still racing. She often either couldn't sleep for the life of her, nearly constantly on high alert as a courier, or could fall asleep in milliseconds. There was no in between, and a gunshot wound to the head hadn't helped matters. Looking over to Darren, she motioned Ed-E closer to her.

"Keep an eye on him," she whispered. "I'm going for a walk."

The bot gave a soft affirmative beep, and Sam wrapped the holster with Peacemaker around her waist. She quietly opened the door and crept out into the fresh evening air, heading straight for the giant dinosaur. She half expected to find the door locked, but instead found it open and waiting.

That's a bad business idea, Sam thought to herself as she checked out the store. The number of plastic dinosaurs was a bit disturbing. It felt like their eyes followed her. She turned her attention to the stairs leading to Dinky's mouth, and made her way up. When she opened the door, she was greeted by the barrel of a sniper rifle. Her hands automatically went up, showing she had no weapon in her hands and meant no harm.

"Goddamn it!" The young man in front of her cursed. "Don't sneak up on me like that. What do you want?"

"Expecting visitors?" Sam asked cheekily. The man frowned and his eyebrows creased in irritation.

"Yeah, I guess maybe I am," he said slowly. "But not like you. Huh. Maybe it should've been you I was expecting all along. Why are you here?"

Sam cocked an eyebrow. He was around six feet tall, if she had to guess. His hair was close-shaved under the red beret he wore, and wore sunglasses even at night. Honestly, if that was a pickup line, she was gonna take it and run with it.

"If you're looking for someone in particular," Sam said, testing the waters. "I could tip you off if I see them."

"Yeah, well," the man started. "You see anybody wearing Legion crimson or a lot of sports equipment, you just let me know. You still haven't answered my question."

Oh. Oh. So it wasn't like that. Damn. What a crying shame.

"Just looking around," Sam responded cheerfully.

"There's nothin' up here." He replied flatly.

"There's a sniper!" Sam grinned. At this point, he looked like he was contemplating which would be better – shooting her, or throwing her out of the dinosaur's mouth.

"I think you'd better leave," he declared evenly.

"Just making friendly conversation," Sam drawled with a smile.

"I don't have friends here," he replied with finality. He started to look like chucking her out of the dinosaur's mouth was going to be the most fun option.

"Well, I'm not from here," Sam countered. Honestly, messing with him was worth it.

"No," he said slowly. "No, you're not. Maybe you shouldn't go. Not yet."

Sam was grinning now.

"Why's that, hot stuff?" she asked. The sniper blinked.

"I need someone I can trust," he explained. "You're a stranger. That's a start."

"What do you want me to do?" Sam asked curiously.

"I want you to find something for me," the sniper explained. "I don't know if there's anything to find, but I need someone to try. My wife was taken from our home by Legion slavers one night while I was on watch. They knew when to come and what route to take, and they only took Carla. Someone set it up. I don't know who. Bring him out in front of the nest here while I'm on duty. I'll give you my NCR beret to put on. It'll be our signal, so I know you're standing with him. And I'll take care of the rest. I need to do this myself."

"You're trying to track down your wife?" Sam choked out. Talk about taking the wind out of her sails.

"My wife is dead," the sniper declared icily. "I want the sonofabitch who sold her.

Oh great, Sam thought to herself. I'm flirting with the dude who lost his wife to the Legion. God forgive me.

The sniper's hand extended toward her, holding a folded NCR beret. She nodded and took it, slipping it into her breast pocket.

"I'll figure it out," Sam said firmly. "I'll be back with proof. As soon as I can."

With that, she turned on heel and marched out of the dinosaur. She knew just where to start.

The human slimeball that was Jeannie May Crawford had a safe tucked into the floor of the Dino Dee-lite Motel. Sam might not really remember most of it, but she knew she had met too many people like her before, and knew she had to have a diary of some sort. A dossier on comings and goings. If it wasn't in her safe, it was at her home. She had time to check the safe tonight, and if push came to shove, she'd search her house tomorrow while she worked the desk.

She crept behind the desk, and pulled a bobby pin from her hair. Quietly, she set to work. She had a doctor's steady hands, and it only took half an hour to pop the lock on the safe. She sifted through the contents, ignoring the money for the time being, and pulling out a slip of paper.

Bill of Sale, Sam skimmed. Consul Officiorum…purchased from Jeannie May Crawford…rights to ownership and sale of the slave Carla Boone…and those of her unborn child…

Unborn child!?

Sam's eyes bugged out. Unborn child? Jeannie May had sold a pregnant woman as a slave to the Legion? Did her husband know she was pregnant? Oh God. Not good, not good, not good.

Well. This bitch certainly deserved the punishment the sniper was going to dish out. She looked at the time on her Pip-Boy. 4 AM. The night-time sniper would still be on duty. Perfect. She carefully folded up the bill of sale and put it in her pocket before looting the safe. Hell, Jeannie May wouldn't even know it was missing.

She wandered down to the "residential" portion of Novac, quickly finding the mailbox marked Crawford. She knocked on the door until a sleepy-looking Jeannie May answered.

"Is everything alright, sweetheart?" Jeannie May asked tiredly. "Awful late to be dropping in unexpected."

Sam mustered up every bit of acting she had in her.

"You've gotta see something! It's an emergency! In front of the dinosaur!" Sam exclaimed. Jeannie May perked up.

"Then let's go, sweetheart!" Jeannie May cried, hustling toward the dinosaur. Sam trailed behind, fitting the red NCR beret over her copper hair.

Jeannie May had just reached the dinosaur and turned to ask Sam what the problem was when her head exploded. Sam grinned triumphantly, thankfully having been far away enough to avoid the spray.

"I know I told my brother you eat babies, but I was wrong," Sam said matter-of-factly to the headless corpse. "You just sell them instead."

With this, she bounded back into the dinosaur and up the stairs to find the sniper waiting.

"How did you know?" he asked thickly. Wordlessly, she handed him the folded bill of sale.

"Guess I shouldn't be surprised," he muttered. "It'd be like them to keep paperwork."

He shoved a small purse of caps toward her, along with a different red beret. He plucked his off her head.

"Here. This is all I can give," he explained. "I think our dealings are done now."

Sam tried to hand the caps to him, but he wouldn't take it. He eyed her curiously behind dark shades as she tried to simultaneously put the beret on and shove the caps back at him. She was failing spectacularly.

"What are you gonna do now?" she asked, concerned. He couldn't stay in Novac, that was as sure as hell. The sniper frowned and shrugged.

"Maybe I'll wander like you," he replied easily. A lightbulb went off above Sam's head.

"You should come with us!" she exclaimed.

"Us?" the sniper asked.

"Yeah!" Sam said. "Me, my younger brother, and our pet robot. They're asleep in our room right now. Well…my brother was asleep. Dunno about the bot. His name's Ed-E."

If Sam could see his eyes, she would've noticed the miniscule twitch.

"I'm good, thanks." He replied evenly. Sam frowned thoughtfully.

"I thought snipers worked in teams?" She questioned. The sniper in question's face took on a thoughtful quality.

"Hm. Yeah. Working on your own, you're a lot less effective. I've been there and paid for it," he said slowly. "You trained as a sniper?"

"Well…" Sam started. "Not so much trained as…self-trained? But I'm still a crack shot. Listen, me and my brother need to talk to this…Manny fella tomorrow. Or I guess today. So if you wanna catch some shut-eye, we can come get you before we leave town."

The sniper made a face at Manny's name.

"Hell do you want with Vargas?" he asked. Sam's face drained of emotion.

"He has information," she said coldly. "Information I need. It's why we're out here wandering."

The topic seemed to anger the young woman, and the sniper was wise enough to let sleeping dogs lie. Instead, he noted the dark circles around her eyes and bid her goodnight.

"Oh," she said softly as she turned to leave. "What's your name? I never asked."

"Boone," he responded gruffly. Sam smiled tiredly. The sun was already starting its steady ascent, and Darren would be up and ready to go soon.

"Well, Boone, I'm Sam. My brother is Darren. And I already told you about our bot. Nice to meet you."

"This isn't gonna end well," Boone cautioned. Sam snorted.

"Pal, I'm pretty sure it can't get too much worse," she laughed as she walked down the steps, and returned to the hotel room. Darren hadn't even moved, but Ed-E greeted her with a soft beep.

"Hi, love," Sam greeted the bot. "Guess what? I made a friend. He's gonna come with us. His name's Boone. You'll meet him later."

With this, she laid down, tucked the new beret into her pocket, and caught a few hours of sleep before being shaken awake by Darren.

"What?" she groaned.

"It's nine," Darren explained. "Daytime sniper should be on duty. Let's go meet this Manny guy."

Sam sat up, rubbing her eyes as Darren handed her a box of Sugar Bombs. She ate a handful before passing the box back to her brother. As he ate, she changed clothes and threw her armor on. She decided against taking her pack, but strapped Peacemaker to its place against her hip. Darren opted for the same, with his hunting shotgun slung over his back. Sam tied her hair up in her typical messy bun and threw Darren an elastic to pull his hair out of his face if he wanted. Together, they locked up the motel room and started toward the dinosaur, Ed-E in tow. Darren's face grew concerned at the dried blood on the dirt.

"Uh…what's that?" he asked. Sam laughed.

"That would be what's left of Jeannie May," she explained. Darren turned to her wide-eyed.

"Look, I know you didn't like her, but did you kill her?" he asked in a harsh whisper. Sam laughed again.

"No, I didn't kill her," she explained. "Long story. Tell you later. Let's talk to Manny first."

The human duo waved to Cliff Briscoe as they mounted the stairs to the sniper's nest. Manny turned to face them much the same Boone did to Sam the previous night.

"What's goin' on, man?" he asked the siblings. Sam looked to Darren, who nodded.

"We're looking for a man in a checkered coat," Sam explained. "Heard you might have some information we need."

"Sure, I know him," Manny arched an eyebrow. "What do you want with him?"

Sam snorted.

"I have a score to settle," she replied darkly. Ed-E beeped in alarm.

"Doesn't surprise me. Guy seemed like he'd do whatever it takes to get what he wants. Probably makes a lot of enemies," Manny mused. "Well, listen, I can definitely help you find him, but I've got problems of my own. Maybe we can do a trade. You need my help. There's something I need, too."

Look, pal, we've all got fuckin' problems! Sam wanted to shout. She gritted her teeth against the tide of anger pooling in her stomach.

"What do you need?" she gritted out. Darren could tell she was pissed to hell, but she should've expected the information wasn't free. Nothing was free in the wasteland, except death.

"Novac, it's home to me now," Manny explained, seeming to not notice the woman seething in front of him. "I want that to be for good. I like it here, and I've left too many homes behind. But the only resource we got here is junk. Without that, people wouldn't have anything to trade. They'd all have to leave. We get most of it up the road from the old rocket test site. But a buncha ghouls showed up one day and took it over. We can't get in there now."

"We'll see what we can do about it," Darren spoke up, the voice of reason to his sister's temper as per usual. Ed-E beeped in agreement. Sam nodded, shoulders slumped.

"It'd mean a lot!" Manny called to them as they headed back down to the Gift Shop. Sam forked over most of her caps for ammo for her sniper rifle and his hunting shotgun. She blessed the Gun Runners – Darren had told her due to recent events, Gun Runners were ramping up their supply across the wasteland. Several more caps went toward food to last them the rest of the week. By the time all was said and done, she only had what Boone had given her the night before. Darren reassured her that he'd saved up from his most recent caravan runs.

As they walked back to the hotel, he once again turned to face the rusty stain in front of the dinosaur. Sam walked ahead without him, whistling. When they got back to the room, he shouldered his pack and made for the door.

"Where are you going?" Sam asked. Darren turned, giving her an eyeroll.

"We're setting out for REPCONN?" he responded with an air of did the bullet scramble your brains more than I thought?

"We're waiting until tonight to go," Sam said with finality. She flopped back onto her bed after pulling her armor off. Darren stared at her incredulously.

"Why!?" he nearly shouted. "Oh god…is this about what you did to Jeannie May?"

"For the last time," Sam said with an eyeroll. "I didn't kill Jeannie May! I may have…helped…but I didn't do anything!"

Darren blinked.

"Why did you help!?"

"Sit down," Sam said dismissively. "You'll agree with me in the end, but it's a long story."

Darren sat down in the chair opposite her bed and motioned to her to begin. Ed-E hovered between the siblings.

"Look…since…that," Sam began. "I've had trouble sleeping. I couldn't sleep last night, but you were out cold, so I decided to go meet the nighttime gentleman sniper."

Darren looked poised to cut her off with frustration, but Sam beat him to the punch.

"Now you shut up and let me tell the story!" she exclaimed. Darren blinked in surprise, but motioned to her to continue. "I won't try to pretend, I was flirting with him – he's hot, damnit! But then he asked me to lend him a hand. I thought he meant that…yanno, in that way…but he didn't. He wanted help figuring out who had his wife kidnapped by the Legion."

Darren gaped.

"I decided to crack Jeannie May's safe first," Sam explained. "I figured she'd have a diary of comings and goings involving Novac. She seemed nosy that way, and I'm not talking about the beak God saw fit to plant on her face. I found something even better. Or, well, worse. It was the bill of sale where she sold the wife and, get this, her unborn child. She sold a momma and a baby to the Legion as slaves."

Sam had shouted this last bit, waving her arms for emphasis.

"The sniper, Boone, had given me his beret, and told me to put it on and bring the person in front of the dinosaur when I figured it out. I knew he meant to kill whoever did it, and I was just fine with that. Man deserved revenge – that cunt sold his wife and baby," Sam justified. "So I went to Jeannie May's house, told her there was an emergency by the dinosaur, put the beret on, and led her out in front. He blew her head right off. Serves the conniving bitch right. Not like there's law out here like Primm. 'Sides, they woulda done the same to her."

Darren nodded slowly. He was in shock, honestly, that the woman who'd greeted them on arrival to town was a slaver. Legion was bad news, even if NCR wasn't particularly sparkling either – at least they didn't enslave women or commit unspeakable atrocities for fun.

"When I went back up to the sniper's nest, he gave me caps and a beret of my own," Sam gestured to the beret in her hand. "He can't stay here, not with the ghost of his wife, so I told him he should come with us."

Darren gaped.

"No…input from me then, sis?" he asked incredulously. Sam grinned.

"Absolutely not, brother-mine," Sam declared, grin widening. "He's my buddy. When you find someone you wanna bring along, you've got a free pass!"

Darren sighed and rolled his eyes. His sister had always taken in strays, including human ones on occasion, but bringing not one but two strays on their revenge mission? He'd just be another mouth to feed and gun to supply, and Darren voiced such.

"Yup," Sam agreed. "But he'll also be another gun to have our backs. He was an NCR sniper. He's probably better trained than both of us put together."

Darren had to admit that was a good point. Sam rolled over, told her brother she was taking a nap, and promptly fell asleep.

"Guess those sleeping problems are just at night?" he asked Ed-E, who beeped in return.

"You know, beeping really isn't helpful," he muttered.

As the sun began to set, Darren roused his sister. The two shared dinner before packing up their gear and locking up the hotel room. Sam headed toward where this "Boone" should be, and hammered on his door. She was worried he'd already left town rather than come with them, but the door swung open to reveal the sniper shouldering a pack.

"Hi Boone!" Sam greeted cheerfully. "You ready to head out? We're running down to REPCONN to deal with the ghoul problem, because Darren made the point that Manny can't give me the information I need if I shoot him!"

The sniper cocked an eyebrow and Darren snorted.

"Yeah, she's always like that," he explained, holding out a hand. "I'm Darren, that one's brother. You get used to her running her mouth, don't worry. This bot's Ed-E."

Boone shook the outstretched hand silently. He took a moment to survey the duo…well, trio, if he included the hovering robot. The family resemblance between them was slight, but he could tell they were related. Sam was shorter and more compact, with a calculating gleam in her green eyes Boone wasn't sure he liked yet. Her brunette brother was closer to his own 6' tall, with a more open face. He'd guess late teens, early twenties for the boy, and early twenties for the girl, even though her copper hair was going gray at the roots and temples. The boy was a bit tanned, indicating he'd been in the sun for some kind of work, while his sister was as pale as fresh-fallen nuclear snow. Despite this, her skin was weathered, indicating she worked outdoors, primarily. He was thankful the NCR had taught him to infer and read his enemies and allies. He wasn't sure if traveling with the siblings was a bright idea yet, but hell, he had nothing to lose. If nothing else, they'd put him out of his misery.

"Let's go," he said, emotionlessly. Darren raised an eyebrow at Sam. She shrugged, and led the way out of Novac toward REPCONN.

They stumbled across dead ghouls on the walk there, most notably a Glowing One. Sam's Pip-Boy crackled to life in protest of the radiation surrounding it.

"I forgot those things had Geiger counters in 'em," Darren remarked. Boone hummed and continued walking. Darren pulled his sister's arm.

"Why did we decide to bring him with us!?" he hissed in her ear. "He's emotionally stunted, look at him!"

Sam rolled her eyes and smacked her brother upside the head before running ahead to catch up with their newest addition. For the rest of the walk, she tried to draw him into conversation, but was given grunts and hums in return.

"She's an idiot," he told Ed-E. Ed-E beeped loudly.

"Can't tell if you agree or if that was anger," Darren mumbled.

Sam had started to get ahead of Boone as they walked around the curve in the road, when he grabbed her by the wrist and jerked her back. She gracelessly stumbled back toward him, where he caught her.

"See 'em?" he hissed. She craned her neck, trying to make out what he'd seen.

There!

The pink, wrinkled flesh was undeniable, as was the smell. Ghouls. And not the friendly kind, either.

"Ferals," she whispered in return. He nodded. They each climbed the rocks nearby, finding an area flat enough to set up. They reached for their sniper rifles in sync. Sam took the left side of the building in her scope, while Boone took the right. Darren watched in awe as they cleared the ghouls in the courtyard.

"Damn," he muttered. Ed-E beeped in agreement. The two snipers stayed in position a moment longer, waiting to see if more ghouls rushed from the building's entrance. When none came, the duo packed up their rifles and scampered back down the ledges.

As they wandered closer to the building, the ghoul stench grew stronger. Sam's nose wrinkled as she took in the smell of rotting flesh. Darren did the same, tying a bandana over his face in an attempt to stave off disgust. Boone's face remained impassive.

Getting inside the building was the easy bit – fighting off the ferals that rushed them inside? Not so much. There wasn't enough distance to snipe them, so Sam, Darren, and Ed-E had to do most of the heavy lifting. The rough voice from the intercom caught everyone by surprise.

"Hey!" the voice crackled. Sam and Darren both jumped, while Boone's head swung toward the speaker, rifle lifted. "Over here! Are you listening?"

"Uh…yes?" Sam responded, shocked to hear a voice coming from the box.

"Go to the big room on the east side of this building and take the metal staircase all the way up," the voice instructed. "And hurry!"

"God, is that you?" Darren muttered sarcastically. Sam pinned him with a look.

"Well, do we go or not? Could be a trap." Sam asked.

"The mouth of the Lord hath spoken!" Darren declared, amused. Sam rolled her eyes with disgust.

"Look, I'm just more concerned with that," Darren said, gesturing to the body on the floor. It looked like a Super Mutant but…purple?

"Nightkin," Boone answered simply. "Kind of Super Mutant. Uses Stealth Boys."

"Oh boy, invisible Super Mutants!" Sam cried jovially. "What will the wasteland dream up next?"

"I say we keep going," Darren said, changing the subject. "We need to get rid of the ghouls in this dump, and who knows if there are more or not?"

Sam sighed and agreed, so the siblings looked to Boone, who shrugged. With an eyeroll, Sam mounted the steps and pushed open the door.

Killing the ferals turned out to be easier than finding the damn metal staircase – they'd gotten lost twice, finding themselves back at the entrance.

"Alright, I won't lie, I'm curious and concerned," Darren declared. Sam arched an eyebrow. "What's with the ghoul monks?"

Rolling her eyes, Sam found a door they hadn't seen before, pulling it open to find a factory floor setup and a metal staircase…along with a few more ghouls. They were far enough away that Boone picked them off before Sam or Darren had even cleared leather.

"Damn," Sam whistled as she walked toward the staircase. Together, the human trio mounted it, Ed-E beeping cheerily all the way. When they reached the top, they came to another intercom.

"Alright, smoothskins, I'm letting you in," the voice crackled to life again. "You better watch yourself. I'll sure as hell be watching you."

With this, the door swung inward to reveal a balding man in a lab coat.

"God, but are you ugly!" the man exclaimed. Sam's head snapped up in confusion. Darren stared in shock. Boone rolled his eyes behind his sunglasses. "Get upstairs and talk to Jason before I throw up just from looking at you!"

"Fuckin' excuse me!?" Sam protested, infuriated. Okay, she was not the prettiest rose in the garden. And sure, her attitude pretty much matched. But someone saying they'd get sick looking at her? That was a new one.

"You're not a ghoul!" Darren cried, pointing at him.

Way to state the obvious, Boone thought to himself.

"Your pranks won't work on me, smoothskin," the man said confidently. "And they won't work on Jason either."

"What, did you miss the lotion dispenser outside or did your head absorb it all for us?" Darren snarked.

Boone grabbed them both by the arms and started pushing them upstairs. The sooner they began, the sooner they finished.

"If he's a ghoul, I'm a Super Mutant," Sam muttered petulantly.

"You're too short," Darren retorted. She shot him a look that would put him not six feet, but sixty feet underground if it could kill, while Boone continued shoving them along. They reached the top floor and found a glowing ghoul in a tattered suit waiting for them.

"Hello, wanderers," the ghoul greeted. Sam's mutter of at least this fucker's polite went ignored. "Please forgive us of our humble surroundings. Our true home waits in the Far Beyond. Have you come to help us complete the Great Journey?"

Sam blinked. Darren's eyebrows knit together. Boone kept up his poker face, but internally questioned what the fuck he was doing here, at this point. Ed-E just beeped.

"Great…Journey?" Sam asked. The ghoul nodded and explained.

"We wish to escape from the barbarity of the Wasteland, especially the violence and bigotry of its human inhabitants," the ghoul said. Truthfully, Sam was beginning to wonder if she was still in her coma, and these were just dreams. "The creator has promised to my flock a new land: a place of safety and healing…a paradise in the Far Beyond. Preparations for the Great Journey were nearly complete when the demons appeared."

It was Darren's turn to look confused.

"Demons?" he asked incredulously. "Like…Biblical demons or some shit?"

"The demons appeared from nowhere…except it might be more accurate to say they never actually "appeared" at all," the ghoul explained patiently. "The demons are invisible. Where one of them stands, the most one sees is the air shimmering, like sunlight on water…They set upon us as we were on our way to worship one morning. We had just entered the basement. My flock fought bravely, and killed a few, but at such cost. Nearly half of us died or went missing. The rest of us retreated up here. One of the demons raved at us, but they have not tried to attack us since. Still, their demonic presence brought all progress toward the Great Journey to a standstill. But now you have come! Once again, the creator has sent us humans to help us across a seemingly insurmountable obstacle. Will you drive away the demons, wanderers?"

At first, Sam stood to diagnose the ghoul with a nice case of schizophrenia, but recalled the mutated purple body in the foyer. Nightkin. Stealth Boys. Demons. Ah, now it was starting to make sense.

"We'll take care of the "demons" for you," Sam declared. Darren frowned and nodded. It was the only way to make REPCONN safe for salvaging again, and the only way to get Manny Vargas to spill the beans on Sam's assailant. Boone agreed, wondering if it might bring him closer to his end goal.

"Praise the creator!" the ghoul cried as he handed Sam a key to the basement. "Bless you, wanderers! Bless us all!"

Jason directed them how to get to the basement, and the group was on their way, heading down the metal staircase, up a small incline, and hooking a left. The door was bloodstained, and Sam sighed.

"Well," she started. "That looks…promising."

She twisted the key in the lock and listened as the inner workings popped open. She crouched down, trying to keep a smaller shadow in the darkness. Boone crouched behind her.

"Dark in here," he whispered over her right shoulder. "If you wanna use a scope, I can spot for you. Keep you on target."

She nodded, nearly breaking his nose in the process. Her vision in total darkness had never been particularly strong, but fighting something invisible now? Dear God, have mercy.

The first shimmery figure came into view around the corner.

"Eleven o'clock…little higher…there," Boone instructed in a whisper. "Take the shot."

Sam squeezed the trigger on instinct and watched as the Nightkin shimmered into view, dead. Boone hummed noncommittally and they pressed on, taking out four others. Finally, they stumbled into a door. Behind a table stood a Nightkin that didn't immediately attempt an attack.

"What's that, Antler? We have a visitor?" it asked a…skull? "An assassin, more like! I say kill it Antler, for safe's sake. Hmm? Okay, Antler, I'll ask."

"Not interested, moving on," Sam declared as she squeezed the trigger of Lights Out. Sam shrugged as Darren gaped.

"What?" She asked as she opened the door behind the dead Nightkin, gun at the ready.

Together, they scoured the other rooms, finding Harland in a locked room. They ventured to the jail cells, killed the Jailer, and helped him back to the surface. After having checked every closed door, the trio declared all Nightkin eradicated, and rushed back upstairs.

"Is the way clear?" Jason asked the trio when they returned topside. Sam answered the affirmative.

"Praise the creator! And bless you, wanderers! The way is clear!" Jason announced. "I will lead my flock through the basement to the sacred site! I hope you will come find us there, wanderers. There is much to be done!"

With this, Jason rushed off, his followers close behind. Sam shrugged.

"We need them out of REPCONN, and helping them on this "Great Journey" is the only way to get them to move on permanently that doesn't involve a buncha dead ghouls," she explained. The three headed back to the basement, Ed-E beeping happily along to the Dean Martin tune on Sam's Pip-Boy.

Once down in the deepest reaches of the basement, Jason called to them.

"I waited to speak to you one last time before I descended to the launch pad, wanderers," he explained. I want you to know that we will remember you for all eternity how you delivered us to the threshold of the Great Journey. Our preparations are nearly complete, but the rockets that will carry us to salvation are yet missing vital components. If you would still help us, wanderers, speak to Chris. He can tell you what is missing. There is no way that we can thank you enough. Your arrival here was a blessing. We will remember you always."

"Yeah, hey, can we talk about Chris for a minute?" Sam asked pointedly. Jason sighed.

"After everything you have done for us, I suppose you deserve to know everything…" Jason trailed off, looking away. "When Chris came to us, we tried to convince him he was human. But this only angered him. He seemed…lost. We decided to let him stay with us for a few days, over the course of which we learned that his technical skills far surpassed our own. It became clear that the creator sent him to us, to ensure the success of the Great Journey. Equally clear was that Chris should labor in blessed ignorance of his humanity, and his inability to make the journey himself. It is no coincidence that four humans have been vital to the success of the Great Journey."

Ed-E beeped indignantly.

"And one robot!" Jason corrected. "It is my belief that the creator sent you and Chris to expiate the sins of your kind against mine. You are redeemers all."

"So you're just…gonna leave Chris behind?" Sam asked incredulously.

"Such is the creator's will," Jason explained. "Vision upon vision has shown me that, were Chris to accompany us, he would die in minutes. The radiation around the launch pad alone would kill Chris in minutes. The radioactivity of the Far Beyond is much stronger."

"Wow!" Darren exclaimed. "Way to pull the wool over his eyes! You go, guys!"

"It is the creator's will, and I must submit," Jason argued. "There is no malice in it. We would take him with us if we could."

"Goodbye, Jason," Sam said emotionlessly. While Chris was certainly an asshole, he didn't deserve to be deceived like that. She made a beeline for the engineer.

"Chris?" Sam asked. He nodded.

"Jason says that I am to cooperate with you on the final tasks necessary to launch the Great Journey," he sighed.

"Why don't they let you work on the launch pad?" Sam asked slowly.

"When I first joined the flock, Jason made it clear he wanted me to supervise the repairs, not do them myself," Chris explained. "It would be a waste of my gifts to work on one system at a time. From up here, I've been able to supervise the entire project."

"The radiation down there would kill you, Chris," Sam explained slowly, like she was talking to a small child. "Because you're human."

"I thought we were past all that, smoothskin," Chris said, rolling his eyes. "But you just can't resist the chance to mess with me. Typical human. I was human once, you know. Grew up in Vault 34, northeast of here. Nice upbringing, if you like assault rifles and target practice. But oh, you prefer machines that don't shoot people? Not so nice, then. Who should maintain the Vault's reactor? Houser? Mitchell? No – make it Haversam, he likes machines! Haversam won't mind getting irradiated! Haversam won't mind mutating! He's already ugly as it is! Haversam won't mind when his hair starts falling out after a few years! There's no connection, Haversam, you're neurotic!"

Sam let him rant, and waited a few seconds after he stopped.

"You…left your Vault…because you were going bald? Really?" Sam asked, staring at him as if he'd grown a second head and it had begun reciting Latin.

"Bald!" he exploded. "You call this bald, smoothskin!? I'm a monster! A monster!"

Sam sighed.

"Jason told me himself, Chris," she said gently. "The Great Journey is for ghouls only. You're not going."

Realization seemed to dawn on him, and horror bloomed in his eyes.

"Oh god!" he cried. "You're telling me the truth, aren't you? Oh no! How could they have done this to me? For two years? My god, I've been a joke to them! Do you have any idea how easy it would be for me to sabotage those rockets? That'd be a joke, huh! One hell of a joke!"

"That would be murder, Chris!" Sam said firmly. "And you're no murderer."

"What, you think I'm too stupid to pull it off?" he sneered. "I know enough to get their rockets going, don't I? So I can make them fail, too!"

"It's not a matter of smarts," Sam argued. "You'd never forgive yourself."

"Like I could forgive myself for being duped like this?" he retorted. "They used me! And now they'll just throw me away!"

"They'd take you if they could, Chris," Darren stepped in. "But you'd die."

"And dying would be worse than this?" he asked mournfully. "Used up and thrown away like garbage?"

"They're going to revere you as a Saint, Chris!" Sam emphasized.

"Oh, so I've redeemed the human race is that it?" he replied sarcastically. "What a crock. The human race can't stand me."

"That's not true," Darren said awkwardly. "You're alright."

"You couldn't have put more effort into that, could you!?" Sam hissed to her brother.

"So, you want me to accompany you on your adventures across the wasteland, is that it?" Chris asked. Sam shot her brother an alarmed look.

"There's a little town called Novac down the road," Darren saved.

"Life among humans again, is that what you're suggesting? I guess…I guess it's the only chance I've got. I can't believe I'm agreeing to this, but I'll give it a try. I'll get Jason and his flock on their way, then head for Novac."

Sam wiped figurative sweat from her brow. They'd gone from trying to convince him of his humanity to talking him off the ledge of mass homicide in less than twenty minutes. Chris explained the components they may need and where they could find them, and they set off.

"Jesus fuck, that was close," Sam muttered as they climbed out of the manhole. Darren agreed.

They headed back toward Novac to visit Old Lady Gibson. When they saw the dinosaur, Sam grabbed their arms to stop them. Ed-E flew straight into the back of her head, and beeped sheepishly in apology.

"Ow!" Sam muttered rubbing the back of her head. "Listen, I've got an idea. You know those rocket souvenirs Cliff has? I think those have the isotope in them – remember, kids drank them and got the shakes back in the day? Radiation poisoning would do that. Worth a shot?"

The other two humans of their little entourage agreed, and they met with Cliff first. He sold them the storeroom key for a pittance, allowing them to collect as many rocket toys as they could carry. Sam filled her pack, stating it should be enough.

Old Lady Gibson was a sassy old woman living with her dogs just north of Novac. She wanted 500 caps for the thrust control modules, something Sam didn't have.

"An attractive woman like yourself all alone?" Sam asked with a cheeky grin. She hoped her charm wouldn't get her the boot like Darren said it sometimes did. "Maybe you and I could work out some kind of trade…"

The woman in front of her let out a laugh.

"I know I'm not young and pretty anymore," she said between chuckles. "But I appreciate the thought all the same. Here, take the parts, you flatterer."

Boone and Darren hefted the thrusters, and they made their way back to REPCONN. Within hours, Chris had directed the ghouls on how to fix their rockets, and the group made their way to the viewing area to witness the launch.

On viewing the control panel, Sam noted the trajectory was slightly off. With some tweaking, she ensured they'd make it approximately 12 percent closer to their goal. Together, Sam, Darren, and Boone pulled the lever to launch the rockets.

Sam thought one of the three was going to fall right out of the sky, but somehow, it made it. Boone thought they were all meant to crash, and Darren hoped they'd actually make it, but didn't believe they would. Watching in awe as the rockets burst into the sky, Sam and Darren grinned.

As they headed back toward Novac, a crackling sound from Sam's pack drew their attention. She instructed Darren to check it out, and he pulled out a small, hand-sized radio. Boone's eyebrows knit together.

"Why do you have an NCR radio?" he demanded. Sam shrugged as Darren put it in her hands.

"I don't…" she trailed off, staring into the distance as a memory hit.

"You wouldn't happen to be Sam, would you?" Sam looked up from the plot she was digging in the garden – carrots didn't grow themselves. Standing above her was an NCR Ranger, smiling warmly. She brushed her hands off on her pants, and he offered her a hand as she stood.

"I am, can I help you?" she gave him a once-over, but couldn't see anything wrong. That didn't mean there wasn't, but it was nothing visible. That could be good or bad. It had only been a few days since the NCR had held the Dam – surely there were troopers and rangers who hadn't been tended to. The one's she'd seen to she'd also seen off, likely back to California or Mojave Outpost. He pressed a small object into her hand.

"You've done a good turn for the NCR, and now we'd like to do one for you," the ranger explained. "Here's an NCR emergency two-way radio – you call, and we'll come running. You're not alone out here – the NCR has your back. Stay safe, and good hunting."

The man turned to leave, but turned back around as he thought of something else.

"I wanted to thank you personally for helping my men. That radio will also give you access to NCR emergency broadcasts. It'll tell you where to stay away from…or where to go, if you feel like helping again," he gave her a crooked grin and a salute before leaving. Sam looked down at the radio smiling. It was nice to feel like someone had her back.

"I helped some troops coming back from the Dam…" Sam murmured. "Ranger gave me this radio."

The three went silent as the radio static became a voice.

"This message will repeat. Nelson recon has failed. I repeat, Nelson recon has failed. Three troopers crucified on telephone poles. I repeat—" the voice shook. "We have three men on telephone poles. Any patrols in the distance, please assist. We do not have the firepower or manpower to help them. This message will repeat. Nelson recon h—"