AN: Yes, Yes I know. What took me so long! Well I'll explain later, until then however please enjoy these two chapters!
Just outside the Securitron guarded gates of New Vegas lies the town of Freeside. Not far from those gates was a building and inside this building, sat a man at a table watching the show on stage with little amusement. However this wasn't just any man sitting at a table this was the individual simply known as 'The King', and he is the leader of the gang who shares his name. He was awaiting the arrival of a certain individual. The problem was that the King didn't like to be kept waiting and just as he was about to send one of his men out the individual came walking through the door.
"Well, Well look what the cat dragged in." the King greeted. He couldn't tell if the individual heard him or simply didn't cared as a few of his men snickered at his welcoming line.
'These types of people are always hard to deal with.' The King mused to himself.
"So I take it that job I sent you on is finished. I hope it wasn't too hard." The King remarked.
"You already know the Job is done." The individual told him.
It was true, The King knew of everything that went on in the town of Freeside, and the 'strangers' actions were definitely not excluded.
"I've heard that those NCR soldiers had a sudden change of heart and have begun returning those 'confiscated' goods back to the good people of Freeside… That wouldn't have been your doing wouldn't it?" the King asked.
"Just pay me." The individual spoke.
'Well isn't this one a tough nut to crack.' The King thought as he sighed. With a snap of his fingers one of his men brought forth a sack full of caps and placed it on the table with a thud.
"I believe this should be enough to get you past those gates and into New Vegas." The King informed him.
The individual grabbed the sack and was about to leave when the King stopped him.
"Surely you can't be satisfied with just those caps. If you're interested-"
"No thanks, I got what I need." The Individual said. He continued toward the door when two members of the Kings blocked his path.
"You should really hear this out, it's a good offer." One said.
"Yeah, It'd be disrespectful not to hear him out." The other suggested.
"…Tell them to move." The individual said starring them down.
Another member of The Kings approached the individual from behind and place his hand on the stranger's shoulder.
"You look a bit tired, take a seat, relax." He offered.
"Last chance." The Stranger told the King. The King simply lit a cigarette and leaned back into his chair.
'This is going to be interesting' The King thought.
The Stranger sighed, it looks like he would have to do this the hard way. He quickly grabbed the hand on his shoulder and twisted it at an extremely awkward angle as he wrenched the arm it was attached to behind the gang member's back. With a hard shove the stranger pushed him into the two in front of him. One had managed to get out of the way as the other two crashed to the floor. The Stranger ducked under his left haymaker and kneed him in the stomach knocking the air out of the goon. The stranger clasp his hands together and slammed them down on the hunched over King knocking him to the floor. At this time the other two had managed to recover and rushed him. The stranger jolted his elbow into one member's mouth braking several front teeth. The man reeled in surprised pain while the other attempted to tackle the stranger. The stranger side step and gave him a quick shove pushing him off balance making him ending up back on the floor. The King watched on amused at the strangers' relentlessness as he kick the first goon he downed in the face knocking him out. Seeing as there was two more to go he grabbed the King member who was nursing his mouth with cupped hands and slammed him through a nearby table ensuring he wouldn't get back into the fight. The remaining fighter got back up and rushed at him again obviously not learning his lesson from before. The stranger grabbed a nearby chair and smashed it across the last King's face putting him down for the count. The commotion signaled others to come rushing in, luckily for the stranger the doorway could only allow one to enter at a time. He quickly kicked another chair towards the doorway tripping the first eager gang member that came through, his face bounced off the floor with a sickening smack. The stranger took out his combat knife he had hidden in his boot and threw it causing the sharp blade to end up in the wall next to the head of the next King that was about to come through the door.
"Call them off or I'll start killing them off." The stranger demanded.
With another sigh The King held his hand up signaling to his men to stand down. He stood up and gave the stranger a slow clapping ovation.
"It's been awhile, I haven't been so entertained in years." The King complimented. The stranger turned to leave again this time stopping at the doorway waiting for crowd of Kings to part for him.
"Let him pass." The King ordered, on command they separated giving the stranger a clear path to the exit. The stranger pulled his knife from the wall and walked out. Leaving The King with his men.
The King sat back down in his chair and let out a plume of smoke he had held in his lungs. He's met a lot of individuals but this one took the cake. There was something about him that he couldn't put his finger on. The fact that the stranger in worn out combat armor was always seen wearing a strange hood on his head didn't help him the slightest in figuring out his identity and the fact that he didn't know this individual gnawed away at his subconscious.
"Why did you let him simply walk out here like that, boss?" one of his men asked.
"If we hurry we can catch up to him and teach him a lesson, one he won't forget." Another suggested.
"Good luck with that. Did you see what he did?" another muttered.
"You knuckleheads won't lay a damn finger on him." The King ordered as he took another pull of his cigarette. "He'd kill you without giving it a thought, hopefully the Courier and he will meet up and with any luck they just might kill each other." He mused as he exhaled.
Outside the sun was beginning to set casting a blue and orange sky over head. 'The Kings' sign overhead flickering on. The Lone Wanderer began his walk across the trash ridden streets of Freeside and headed towards another sign that had flickered on reading 'The Atomic Wrangler' he pushed the doors open and let out a low sigh. The place smelled of cheap sex and liquor and the cheap cologne the owners used to try to mask the smell didn't help one bit. At the nearby bar a red headed girl in a cowhide hat greeted him patting the stool next to her inviting him to a seat. He took the offer and sat in the less than comfortable stool.
"So I take it things went well?" the woman asked as the bartender put a bottle of Sunset Sarsaparilla in front of him.
"More or less." He said as he patted the sack of caps on his side.
"So I guess this is where we part way." The woman sighed as she took another sip of her drink.
For some reason the Lone Wander felt a bit pained at the thought. Something about the woman reminded him of someone he once knew but for the life of him he couldn't remember. To make matter's worst every time he tried to remember that woman he could only remember the red hair, the face would be a complete blur but the hair would be red and pictured clear as day.
"Well you could come with me Rose." He offered. Rose slightly smiled at the offer.
"I would if it wasn't for the fact that I've been banned from every casino in New Vegas. Besides who'd look after the Silver Rush while I'm gone?" she politely declined.
"Well I won't forget you and all you've done for me ever since I got here. Even though I've seemed to have forgotten everything else." He sighed. Even though he was wearing the hood he never takes off Rose could tell he was sad and decided to cheer him up the best way she knows how.
"Holy Brahmin shit, you act like you're going off to fight a war. It's New Vegas! You should enjoy yourself. Personally you should go to Gomorrah and get yourself a girl! And hey you don't have to leave now you can go first thing in the morning!" she told him with a hearty slap to his back nearly making him knock over the bottle of Sarsaparilla.
"Well you do have a point." The Lone Wanderer relented.
"Out-fucking-standing! Tonight we party hard and live with the regrets tomorrow!" she cheered, with that she ordered another round of beer. As the night went on and the beer flowed Rose's curiosity soon got the better of her. All night she watched the Lone Wanderer drink lifting his hood ever so slightly as to take in the alcoholic beverage. Hoping the booze might have loosen his lips she decided to finally ask him about it.
"…So why is it you don't take off that hood? You don't even take it off when you bathe." She drunkenly slurred.
"Well…wait you watched me bathe?" The Lone Wanderer counter.
"Don't dodge the question! Hic." She reaffirmed herself.
The Lone Wanderer sat eyeing his drink in deep thought.
"Come on, you can tell me! It's the least you can do for me." She urged.
"You'd probably think it's funny." The Lone Wanderer answered.
"Well if it is I promise not to laugh… wait you're not like all mutated in the face are you?" Rose asked.
"I'm not at least I don't feel like I am." The Lone Wanderer countered.
"If you are you got to warn me, I don't like ugly surprises." She informed him.
"I'm pretty sure it not that, I remember someone tell me I look like my dad… whoever that is." He reassured her.
"Then why the hood?" Rose asked again.
The Lone Wanderer chugged down the rest of his beer before slamming the mug back onto the bar counter.
"You know that… I can't remember things about my past." He began.
"Yeah, it was apparent the first time I met you, looked like you were on auto pilot when you were walking towards those gates. If I hadn't stopped you it would've been one hell of a mess with those securitrons." Rose remembered.
"Yeah, that would've been. Thanks for that by the way." The Lone Wanderer sighed.
"You still haven't answered the question, quit stalling." Rose warned.
"You're not going to let this go are you?" the Lone Wanderer muttered.
"Not a chance in hell." Rose smiled.
"The reason I don't take off the hood… is because I'm afraid." He told her.
"Afraid? I've seen you stare down thugs with guns in your face and fight off a squad of drunken NCR soldiers in this very place!" Rose countered.
"Yeah can't say I ever seen a beer bottle get used that way." The bartender chimed in as she cleaned a dirty mug.
"So what's the real reason?" Rose asked a bit annoyed at the Lone Wanderer's stonewalling.
"It is the real reason… I'm afraid that if I take off this hood, I won't remember the face of the man underneath it." He finally admitted.
There was a bit of silence, apparently the other patrons of the Atomic Wrangler wanted to know why the lone stranger he had come to be called never takes off his hood. Rose felt something sour in the pit in her stomach and had a tinge of regret forcing the answer out of him.
"Well damn, you sure know how to kill the mood." She finally retorted.
AN: Well it's about time the Lone Wanderer made his appearance! (If you're wondering why he has amnesia then you obviously didn't read Fallout: A path best not taken! Shame on you!) I was reading through the story and realized that he hadn't made a physical appearance (Just breadcrumbs for Amata to follow.) I am sorry that I made you wait, I'm currently having computer problems (I'm using a friend's at the moment!) I will be uploading another chapter along with this one. Also I feel I should tell you that I am working on another story that ties into my Fallout stories.