Author's Note: Ok, so...I guess in the last chapter someone said Boone was OOC. Well, here's to my first bad review lol. But I'd like to thank steph, AliCal, Into The Beyond, Dechii, ghost goo, LadyMarrowind, queenbrooklyn67, Lost Blonde, and Julie Celeste for all your support and reviews! I'd like to thank anybody else I may have left out, let's see...oh, all the peeps who put my story in their favorites, and all the peeps who added this story to their alerts. And, gosh...am I missing anyone? Lol. Thanks so much guys!
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Fallout characters, nor the source material. The only character who came from my own imagination is the name and personality of the Courier, (and I don't own the "Courier" name, either). Oh, and I will probably make some references to Elvis Presley and his songs(and I don't own those either).
Chapter 14: It Ain't No Big Thing, But It's Growing
It wasn't long after Raven and Rex's departure when the King found himself by the old train station in search of the NCR. He still wasn't too fond of them, but still, the whole situation between his Kings and the soldiers wouldn't have been so tense between the two groups had it not been for Pacer. This was very unlike his best friend to go off and do things without the King's consent, or to just flat out go behind his back on things. The King found himself to be very lucky that he'd gotten someone to intervene, even though Raven was an outsider. It lessened the hostilities, but there was still some definite patching up to do. As he reached the hideout, the King saw only one guard at the door. The man looked confused as the King strolled up to him.
"Uh, can I help you?" the soldier asked.
"Yeah, actually. I'd like to speak to the person in charge of your...operation, here. Please."
"U-Uh, yeah. Sure. Hang on a minute." the guy reached for the door and opened it before peeking inside. "Major? There's someone here to see you."
The King shoved his hands into his pockets as he waited. He didn't wait long. A woman came out through the door and widened her eyes in surprise. "Mr. King. This is-"
"Unexpected?" the King finished her sentence. When the woman nodded, the King smiled. "I just wanted to swing by and thank you for earlier today."
The blonde haired woman nodded again. "Well, that's...surprising." she ran a hand through her hair, obviously perplexed.
"I was hoping we could talk about the relief and work out the arrangements together, if that's alright."
"Of course. Let's take a walk." The woman took a few steps toward him and held out her hand. "I'm Major Elizabeth Kieran."
He smirked and shook her hand. "Nice to meet you, Major. And yes, let's walk for a bit."
They released hands and after Elizabeth told one of her men to take care of things, they began walking around for a bit. "So, if you don't mind me asking, why personally come here instead of sending Raven?"
"Miss Wagner is running an errand for me. Well, actually, it's more like doing a personal favor for me."
Elizabeth chuckled. "She sure hasn't changed at all."
The King eyed the major. "Sounds like you've known for awhile."
"Know her? She's my sister-in-law. Before a few days ago, I hadn't seen her in six years, but it's good to know the Wasteland didn't wear her down. A few postcards between the two of us, though, here and there."
"Interesting," the King commented. "I wasn't aware Miss Wagner had family to speak of. She uh, tends to avoid the subject."
"Raven had an unkind childhood, King," replied Elizabeth. "I won't get into it but let's just say that when she decided to leave home, I was happy for her."
The King noticed the look Elizabeth gave him; an expression that said he shouldn't press the matter. "So, about the relief..."
The ground crunched beneath the courier's feet as she crouched down. The hunting rifle Raven carried fit perfectly in her hands as she aimed in the direction that Rex had growled in. His snarl certainly came in handy when he smelled things she didn't spot right away. Raven saw a Cazador in her line of sight and smirked. With a pull of the trigger, a slight recoil and a loud bang, the bullet sped through the air gracefully; flawlessly. In a matter of seconds, the Cazador's head lurched back as she hit the target. Raven smiled triumphantly as the blood splattered against some rocks. Boone would have been so proud of her. In the time spent together, he'd taught her how to be a proper sniper and was astonished had how fast of a learner the courier really was. However, Raven failed to mention that she'd been shooting mutated bugs and ghouls from a variably long distance since she was a kid. Still, the lessons gave Boone a purpose other than killing Legionaries and Raven had been a little rusty.
"Thanks for the spot, Rex." she turned around and set her rifle down, smirking at the dog. "Such a good boy."
Rex wagged his tail and walked to her, almost looking like he was beaming for himself. He barked a few times and she giggled before scratching behind his ear. Raven glanced at her Pip Boy and sighed, then glanced at the sky. It was going to be dark soon and she knew they both needed some rest. It had been a long day. Raven glanced at her map and estimated they'd be in Jacobstown by midday tomorrow, and she shook her head at the other sedated dog resting peacefully beside them. She knew Rex needed a new brain and decided to head out to the Fiends' location first. On the way to New Vegas she and Boone observed the savage tribe from afar and the girl had taken note of one of their dogs. This particular dog was..speedy, for lack of a better word. And the animal seemed more intelligent than the rest, but Raven hadn't been sure until earlier today. She'd heard the name 'Violetta' when Rex and her approached the encampment and the rate this dog had ran toward them was astonishing. Even more amazing was that Violetta hadn't attacked them at all.
Despite her speed, the animal looked miserable, malnourished and weakened. Raven knew, even with an intervention now, the poor girl wouldn't last more than a few days. And if she'd killed her now, the body would be useless by the time she brought it to Jacobstown. So, instead of killing her, Raven lured the dog in with some meat and water. When Violetta took the bait, Raven watched as the dog fell over and passed out. Raven spiked the meat with some meds that would surely keep the girl out of consciousness for a while.
"Rex, I think we should take a nice break from walking and get some sleep. What do you think?" Rex barked happily. "Glad you agree." Raven stood and looked out at the horizon, her eyes catching sight of some metal shacks off in the distance. "Ah, I think we found our camping spot, buddy. Let's go."
Raven grabbed her rifle and Violetta's unconscious form, and began the trek over to her target. Rex padded happily at her heels. After what seemed like ages, they finally reached one of the houses. As far as she could tell, Raven figured the place was abandoned. Slowly she opened the door. When she found no one, she sighed in relief and exhaustion. Raven pushed the door completely open and Rex sauntered in, sniffing around to familiarize himself with the area. After settled the other dog on a bed, Raven sat down herself and sighed. As she reached into her pack for some water and food, Rex nudged Violetta with his nose. He whined and looked at Raven.
"What? She's still out." When Rex whined again, the courier looked down and noticed blood trickling slowly below Violetta's tail. "Oh. Don't worry about that. She's just in heat."
Rex tilted his head to the side. "Aroo?"
Raven chuckled to herself. "Why am I talking to a dog? Ok, Rex," the courier began, "she's just fine. She just smells good because she's almost ready to mate. Understand?" Rex growled a little, as if in frustration. He nuzzled his nose against one of Violetta's paws and huffed. "Um..." Raven thought for a moment but she had no idea what was wrong. "I don't understand, Rex. What's the matter?"
Rex barked a few times and panted. Raven shook her head at him. Suddenly, Violetta started shaking a bit. Groans were forming from her throat and Raven stood up and backed away, pulling a pistol from her hip and aiming it at the door. Rex sat by the bed and barked a few more times before the dog opened her eyes slowly and lifted her head. Her eyes looked around the room then settled on Rex. The male cyber dog panted happily and wagged his tail. Raven shifted her head a little, confused by the situation. Violetta whined and groggily inched her body toward Rex. He leaned his head in and started licking her face gently before jumping on the bed and settling in beside her. Violetta sniffed at Rex and whimpered and began licking one of his paws. Raven lowered her gun slowly and frowned.
"Oh. You...two know each other, don't you?"
It was almost midday, and Raven's heart was heavy. After watching both the animals show affection with one another, it occurred to the courier that they had been friends at one point, or mates. It also shocked her that as they walked to Jacobstown, Violetta willingly trailed after Raven. With Rex walking next to Violetta, of course. It saddened her that out of the dogs she could choose, Raven picked a dog that Rex knew to replace his failing brain. As they traveled up the winding road on the mountains, Raven saw the remnants of a building and a few signs. And Super Mutants. Fantastic. But she continued onward. She had a job to do. As she approached the entrance (which consisted of wooden walls and a Super Mutant standing guard) Raven noticed another that looked a bit different than the rest. He saw her and approached her. Slowly. This was a good sign so Raven opted not to aim her rifle at the Mutant. They reached each other and Raven felt significantly better that this one was actually friendly and had impressive grammar, all things considered.
"Welcome to Jacobstown, human." said the mutant. "You're free to walk around, just don't stare at the Nightkin. They don't like people looking at them. And if you're NCR, keep it to yourself," he warned. "They're not popular around here."
"Gotcha," she replied. "I'm looking for Doctor Henry."
"Doc's inside the Lodge."
Raven nodded and started walking. Both Rex and Violetta followed behind her and when she reached the front door, she turned and faced the two dogs. She knelt down by the both of them and frowned, giving them both a scratch behind their ears. She stood and turned, then opened the door and walked inside the place. It was breathtaking, even despite it's age. It was huge. Raven stared in awe of it and tried to imagine what it looked like in the Pre-War days. Her thoughts were interrupted by a Nightkin's voice.
"Another human. One was enough."
She sighed in irritation and looked over at a room on the right. She began walking toward it and when she looked inside, Raven noticed a man and a ghoul. She walked up sheepishly, carefully, before addressing the man in a white shirt and dark brown pants. He turned to Raven and blinked.
"I assume this is something important? You're interrupting my research." he said bluntly.
"Great. Another asshole." she thought. "Um, my cyber dog here is suffering from neural degradation, and possibly degenerative myelopathy as well. I was told to come to you about fixing him."
The doctor seemed surprised at her medical knowledge. "Interesting," he said, and looked past her at Rex. "Hmm, mind if I take a look at him?"
The male dog walked up to Doctor Henry immediately and Raven knelt down by Violetta. She scratched behind her ears and the female dog seemed to delight in the affection. They both watched as Doctor Henry examined Rex, looking quite intrigued now instead of annoyed by the interruption of his research. After a few minutes, Raven stood and walked to Rex and the doctor.
"So, I assume he's going to need a new brain, correct?" she asked.
"Yes," he replied. "Bio med gel can only preserve a living brain for so long, and you're right about the degenerative myelopathy, so you'll need to find a replacement brain and spinal cord," the doctor glanced at Violetta, "...but I see you already brought one. Looks in pretty bad shape. Probably won't last long, from the look of it."
Raven crossed her arms and bit her lower lip. "So...she'll die no matter how much I try to undo the damage done?"
Doctor Henry looked at Raven almost apologetically. "I'm afraid so. Diminished muscle mass, showing of the ribs, unstable stance...how did she get like this?"
Raven lowered her head sadly. "Fiends. I first saw her about a couple weeks ago and she looked better than this...and when I heard about Rex's condition, I figured he'd need a new brain and she seemed like an exceptional choice. But...uh...I think they've been acquainted with each other before this."
"I see..." the doctor turned and put a finger to his chin, thinking for a bit. "Well, I haven't left Jacobstown in years, but there was one woman in Novac...Gibson? I remember her living with a pack of hounds."
"Yes, I know her. There was one dog with her that was a good specimen, but was quite old. That wouldn't do for Rex. Not only that, but that's a long trip. And while I know Caesar's Legion fights with dogs, I haven't come across any special dogs with them. Most of them are just...programmed to kill, kill, kill. I want to give Rex the best brain out there and as far as I can tell, Violetta has the best one. Is there any other group out there that might have better choices?"
The doctor thought hard but ultimately shrugged at Raven. "Not that I can think of. I'm sorry but...Violetta seems like your best bet."
Raven looked down at Rex who panted happily. The look on her face, however, made him stop. She knelt down to him. "Rex, buddy...we need Violetta's brain to fix you. Do you understand?" They both looked at Violetta, who had settled down on the floor comfortably. "How long do you think she has, Doc?"
"Oh, I'm not sure. A few days, maybe a week." The doctor snapped his fingers. "If you're worried about Rex, he's got plenty of time. She doesn't. We could just wait for her to...die on her own. Make her comfortable until she passes, then do the surgery. Give Rex more time with her. And from what I've seen, you have extensive knowledge with medical studies. Perhaps you could help me with my research in the meantime."
Raven pondered the idea, but then she beamed at the doctor. "You're a genius, Doc! Oh, I would have to tell the King about it. Hmm...is there anyone here that could deliver a note to Freeside for me?"
"Yes, actually. We have a caravan that comes in once a week for supplies. He's supposed to come by sometime tomorrow, so he could pass it along for you." replied the doctor. "Why don't you take the pups and get set up with a room?"
"Sounds good, Doc." Raven stood up with renewed vigor. "C'mon, guys." she clapped her thighs and both dogs got up excitedly before chasing after her to the lobby.
Um, ok. I'm not sure about this chapter but I need to know if it's good or bad. If it's really bad, I'll edit it and post a new version. If it's good, I'll keep it. Just let me know, guys.