AN: Welcome to another chapter in Fallout: Unforgotten! I hope you enjoy it! (as a side note, I'm excited for Fallout 4 and its November release date!) Now chapter 5!

Amata's nose instinctively scrunched when it caught the smell in the air. As she walked towards Nipton a small whisper of wind blew in her direction carrying the all too familiar stench. It was the stench of death and decay, she tried to block the thought of an unfortunate individual who's corpse was baking in the blazing Mojave sun but as she neared the town something deep down told her something was very wrong. As she got closer the stench became more and more pungent, almost to the point of making her gag. A sour knot was starting to form in the pit of her stomach as she notice an increasing number of carrion birds flocking about. Soon she reached the entrance to the town and the sight before her suddenly had her fighting back the urge to vomit. Before her laid corpses on wooden crosses and decaying heads on spikes all of which were a feast for the birds as they peck and peeled away rotting flesh. Some were even fighting over an eye one had manage to pry from its socket. Charred corpses laid on top of one another on an extinguished pyre made of rubber tires. Amata had seen death before but never on such a scale as this. This was genocide, an entire town killed off and put on display as if it was some type of trophy.

"You would think the NCR would have gotten around to cleaning this place up." The Courier noted completely unfazed by the sight.

Amata shot him a look all the while trying to keep the contents of her stomach from escaping through her mouth.

"You didn't…" Amata started before being forced to fight back another gag.

"Didn't you say you weren't squeamish? And before you go around pointing fingers, no, I had no hand in this. This was the work of the Legion… I mean I've committed genocide before but they had it coming but that's a story for a later date." He told her.

"How far is it to the next town?" Amata asked holding her nose.

"The next town would be Novac, and it's a bit a ways from here. I recommend we stay here for the night and get started in the morning." He suggested.

"You got to be kidding. Stay here?" Amata asked fighting another gag reflex.

"There's a lot of things between here and Novac, Jackals, Radscorpions, maybe some legionaries if we're lucky." He rambled on.

"Fine, just, do you know a place where the smell isn't so… strong?" Amata asked hoping she wouldn't regret her decision.

"That would be the town hall. It's the big building with the double doors." He answered.

'I can't believe I'm agreeing to stay here.' Amata thought as she approached the town hall doors. It took some effort to push open the doors and once inside only the smell of rotting wood and dirt greeted them. It was dark inside with only small beams of sunlight peeking through the boarded up windows.

The entire place was giving off an eerie vibe, creeks came from the pipes and the floor squeaked underneath her footsteps threatening to give way underneath her. 'Well at least he was telling the truth about this place.' Amata mused as she glanced around. The place looked like it haven't been touched for a while given the amount of dust that caked various surfaces.

"It's not haunted if you believe in that sort thing. Even spent a few nights here myself." The Courier added while opening the door to the assembly hall.

"Somehow that's not really comforting." Amata retorted as she split off in search of a room for herself.

The sun was beginning to set, causing long shadows to form and what remaining light to illuminate the dust that hung in the air. She found the stairs leading up to the next floor and each step echoed in the empty building as she climbed them. Despite the place being completely abandon there were no supplies to be found no matter how hard she looked. After exhausting all other options she settled on a room on the third floor, reasoning that it was far enough away from the Courier. The room looked to be the cleanest in the building, sporting a chair and a desk with a small covering of dust along with a soft carpet to sleep on.

"Settled on the Mayor's office did you?" a voice suddenly came from behind her. Amata nearly jumped out of her skin. She quickly spun around revealing the Courier leaning against the doorframe.

"Seriously what the hell? Do you enjoy scaring the shit out of people or just me?" Amata scolded.

"Right now? Just you." The Courier answered flashing a mischievous grin. "Well I'll leave you be for the night… or will I?" he tacked on, making ghost wailing noises as he walked away.

'What an asshole!' she thought as she glanced outside. She was a bit surprise to see the sun setting so soon. "Where does the time go." She mused stifling a yawn. She put her pack down and used it as a pillow and soon sleep came despite the place she was sleeping in.

It felt like she had just closed her eyes when she heard something go bump in the night. As she opened her eyes she was greeted with complete darkness. It was a moon less night so the only light she had was the faint glow of the HUD display on her Pipboy. She was about to dismiss the noise as a figment of her imagination and return to sleep but another sound jolted her to pay more attention.

'If he's trying to scare me again, I'm seriously going to kick his ass.' Amata thought reasoning that it was the Courier's attempt to scare her again.

"Explain to me again as to why the hell are we here?" A voice asked in a barely audible whisper.

"Because I've overheard reports of the Courier being sighted here with a female." Another answered.

"So you wish to spy on them consummating?" The other one asked.

"No, you idiot we've come for his head. Just imagine when we present it to the Legate! We will surely be raise up to be Decanus or maybe even Centurions." The other answered.

"Or maybe even Frumentarii while you're at it. Honestly your ambitions will be the end of you. If only you put as much work in your studies as you do in your dreams of advancement within the Legion, I'm sure they will acknowledge you in time." The other criticized.

'Legate? Decanus? Legion? It seems like I'll need to find out more info on them if they're a major group in this area.' Amata thought as she quietly grabbed her belongings. She braced herself against the wall next to the door. From the sound of things there were only two but there could be more waiting down stairs. Before Amata reached for the door knob the door was brutally kicked opened. One walked in followed by the other. Both obviously missed the surprised red head standing within in arms distance.

"I can barely see the hand in front of my face. How do you expect us to find the Courier in all this darkness." One spoked.

"The darkness will work in our favor. If we cannot see him then he cannot see us as well." The other reasoned.

"Then we are just two fools stumbling in the dark then. I knew this was a waste of time." The legionnaire complained.

'If they really can't see then maybe I can sneak out of here.' Amata thought as she inched her way out the door. Once sure she had some distance between them she started looking for the stairs that led to the second floor. No sooner than she found the stairs her foot stepped on a creaky board, making what had to be the most telltale noise in the building.

'Shit' Amata mentally cursed.

"Did you hear that?" One asked.

"Yes, we are not alone. Do you think it is him?" his partner asked.

"Could be, or it could be his female mate." He reasoned.

"Do you think the tales about him to be true? That he lets you hear him just before he kills you?" the other asked.

"Now it is you who is the foolish one. Those are simply tales they tell to scare the recruits who huddle around the fire. If I were to take a guess I would say it is the female." He answered.

"Come out and show yourself, if you surrender now maybe you live. Make us look for you and we will make you share a cross with one of the corpses outside." He threatened calling into the darkness.

Amata ignored the threat and instead focused on staying as quiet as possible as she moved down the stairs. She could hear the floor creak as footsteps above her moved obviously looking for her. She had just got to the landing of the second floor when she heard another pair of footsteps but these where hurried rapid steps. The door at the far end of the hallway opened and another shadowy figure step through it looked like the figure was looking for someone.

"We need to go! He is here!" the figure yelled calling out into the darkness.

Soon Amata heard the footsteps upstairs brake out into a run. She quickly ducked into a side room as they were coming down stairs.

"Who is here brother?" one voice asked.

"He is! The Legate!" the other answered a bit out of breath.

"What have you damned us to!" his partner asked angrily.

"He does not know we are here. I was keeping watch when I saw his banner. I immediately came to get you two." The lookout informed them.

Amata was wondering how to get pass them when she started to smell smoke. A glance outside revealed a faint orange glow flickering at the windows. With the air around her starting to heat up one thing flashed into her mind.

'Fire'

Telling from the way the floor beneath her was heating up it was spreading quickly, and the three inside quickly came to the same conclusion.

"They're putting this entire building to the flame!" one exclaimed as beads of sweat started to form from the heat. Soon embers could be seen coming up from the rotting wood floor and the sound of windows being shattered on the bottom floor could be heard. It didn't take long for the fire to spread as it greedily licked at the dry interior of the town hall. Amata couldn't afford to be stealthy and pulled the 9mm from her back pocket. She came out of her hiding place firing, she managed to hit one in the shoulder and another in the leg as she attempted to clear her way. She made it halfway down the hall when the floor gave out from underneath her. She fell onto the first floor landing on her side. The smoke was thick from the fire that claimed the first floor but she could make out the three figures looking down on her from the opening she just made. They were low on her priority list as the blazing heat demanded immediate attention. She looked around and saw that everything was on fire including the entrance to the building.

'Great, what else can go wrong?' Amata fumed. As if answering her thought several legionaries charged through the flame and into the burning town hall.

"Find the Courier! And kill him in the name of Legate Lanius!" their leader ordered. His eyes spotted Amata laying on the floor attempting to get up.

"And kill any other profligate that may be hiding." He added pointing his spear at Amata.

'These people are insane!' Amata thought as a surge of adrenaline refilled her energy. She quickly got up and headed for the stairs to the second floor. She could hear her heart pumping in her ears as well as the footsteps of her pursuers behind her. She pushed open the doors and slammed into the group upstairs, but before any of them could recover she opened fire on the one blocking her path killing him, and ran pass the others before they could grab her. The whole she had fallen through stopped her from going any further. She instinctively kicked open a door next to her and spotted a window with no boards on it. She didn't realize what she was doing until she heard the crash and the pain of sharp broken glass cut into her skin as she threw herself through the window of the second floor and landed awkwardly on the small shrubbery below. For a moment only the night sky filled her view before her mind clicked back on telling her to get up. She rolled off the shrubbery and attempted to stand and was rewarded with a sharp pain in her right leg. She took a glance at it to see a piece of glass was sticking out of it. She averted her eyes in an attempt to block the mental image and instead looked towards the front of the burning town hall. It would soon become a decision she'd regret. Standing before the burning building stood a mountain of a man armored from head to toe in golden armor with the orange flames reflecting off of it, his mask sculptured in the image of a man but his eyes were a soulless black and it was these eyes that locked on to hers. Amata felt herself go numb and everything going on around her suddenly came insignificant including herself. She had never met the individual before but she wouldn't have to, to know he was an extinguisher of life. At that moment she was thankful looks couldn't kill if they could he would've done it ten times over and wouldn't take much effort. One of the legionaries that had snuck into the place had ran out of the burning building and fell onto his hands and knees before the individual.

"Legate Lanius-" was all he managed to get out before the Legate pulled his massive sword from his back and brought it down on the poor legionary smashing his head in and nearly cleaving the torso in half spraying blood on himself and the ground around him. It took little effort to pull the sword from the mutilated corpse as he put it back in its holding. The sight was enough for Amata's most primitive instinct to kick in and override the shock she was in and before she knew it she was running as fast as she can in an attempt to leave everything she had just witnessed behind her. When her conscious finally wrestled back control she stopped and leaned against an abandoned truck on the road and heaved.

"So much for not being squeamish." A voice noted from behind her.

Amata immediately pulled her gun and pointed it at the source. There standing behind her stood the Courier with only the light of his cigarette illuminating the features of his face. He slowly raised his hands to show he wasn't a threat.

"Given what you just went through, I'm going to overlook the fact that you're pointing a gun at me. Hell I'm surprise you even survived that. You got grit kid, I'll give you that." The Courier complimented.

The adrenaline was starting to fade from her system and the pain in her leg demanded to be addressed. Exhausted she lowered her gun and took a seat on the back of the truck. 'Just like a bandage' she thought bracing herself for what came next. Biting her lower lip she grabbed hold of the shard of glass and pulled it from her leg with a sharp yank. Her vision blurred as she fought the urge to pass out, she took off her jacket and wrapped her wound before tying it tight in hopes of stopping the bleeding.

"Who the hell was that?" she asked trying to find something else for her mind to focus on.

"That terror inducing hell spawn would be the Legate." The Courier answered finishing off his cigarette and tossing it to the ground.

"He leads what's left of the Legion." He added as he snuffed out the embers of the cigarette with his boot.

"The Legion, tell me everything." Amata demanded propping herself up against the trucks rusted frames.

As the Courier began, Amata couldn't help but remember something The Lone Wanderer would mutter to himself. No matter how big of a badass one may come across as, there is always someone bigger.

AN: Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did writing it. I will be uploading more chapters soon and hope you will continue to read and review.