Disclaimer: I don't own anything you recognize. Fallout New Vegas belongs to the respective owners.

Savior

04

"If I never see a feral ghoul again, it will be to soon." Elise put her 10mm down and bent to loot the decayed corpse. "Seriously. The hissing drives me up the wall. Reminds me of Nightstalkers."

"Hm." So, maybe choosing Craig Boone as her "companion that talks" was a bad idea. She got more of a conversation out of ED-E, to be honest. At least ED-E had the courtesy to beep at her every now and then.

Elise sighed and straightened up again. "Alright, we have the stupid radioactive crap they want plus those expensive thrust controllers. Let's get them to Jason before I start to glow from carrying it."

Boone simply nodded and they made their way to the basement where Chris Haversam was waiting. Elise couldn't get over the fact that he actually thought he was a ghoul. The poor man.

"Here's your stuff. What are you going to do once they're gone?" Elise heard Boone groan in annoyance and she really couldn't blame him. The last thing she wanted to do was try to explain to this sad bastard that he was human. Ugh.

Haversam gave her an odd look. "I don't know. Jason won't let me go."

"Uh, probably because that would kill you. You know, being human and all."

"I'm not human, stupid Smoothskin!" The man let out a shout and pushed Elise who, caught by surprise, stumbled to the floor. "You think I like looking like this?"

Boone quickly moved to stand in front of her, his rifle aimed and ready. "Take it down a notch. She's just trying to help you."

Elise stood up and patted ED-E who made a chirping noise. "Listen, Chris, what makes you think that you're a ghoul?" She gently pushed Boone to the side and gave him a small smile, mouthing a quick "thanks".

Chris stood back and folded his arms across his chest, a scowl set across his face. "I started... losing hair."

Elise rolled her eyes. "You think you're a ghoul because you're going bald?" She turned to look at the usually stoic Boone who was currently rubbing the bridge of his nose. "You're quite cute, actually."

"You call this bald? I'm hideous! Don't make fun of me!"

"Please. Going bald isn't the end of the world. You're a male, it happens sometimes."

"Are you sure? What am I going to do? Follow you around the Mojave?"

Nodded, Elise went on. "As lovely as that would be, I don't think that you would like the lifestyle I live. But, there's a town not far from here. Novac. They could use your skills. Once we get the Bright followers on their way, come with us."

Chris looked hesitant, but sighed. "Alright. We have everything we need, so go up to the viewing platform and pull the switch. The Great Journey is about to begin."

"It's much easier to walk through here without worrying about invisible Super Mutants popping out of nowhere." Elise commented lightly as the ragtag group took the last staircase to the platform. Only receiving beep from ED-E and a grunt from Boone, Elise sighed. The chip and her gun seemed a long way away.

After dropping Chris off in Novac and meeting the ever-helpful Manny, Elise and her companions were on the way to Boulder City, where Elise was hoping to finally find the man who shot her. She finally had a name to stick to the admittedly handsome face. Benny.

Boone walked besides her with ED-E trailing behind her, playing Radio New Vegas. She stole a look at Boone and found him staring straight ahead, his eyes occasionally darting around.

"Are you gonna keep staring at me or ask me what has been bothering you?" His voice made her jump and Elise felt her face heat up at being caught.

"Sorry," she smiled apologetically. "I was just wondering about you."

Boone looked at her with an eyebrow raised. "Me? Why?"

Elise shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe it's because-" Pain blossomed into her back and she choked, another hit and then two, and Elise was sprawled on the pavement.

ED-E went into battle mode, firing at the Viper gunslingers before completely turned around. Boone swore and started shooting with deadly accuracy, considering his gun had been strapped to his back not even seconds ago.

Elise rolled onto her side and bit her lip to keep from crying out. She opened her Pipboy and groaned when it confirmed what she already knew. She had two bullets lodged in her back. One by the left shoulder and one a few inches from her tailbone. The third, lucky, had just skimmed by her ribcage. The shooting stopped and ED-E was floating by her head in no time, beeping erratically.

Boone dropped to his knees next to her. "Son of a bitch! We need to get you somewhere safe. Can you walk?"

Elise nodded and got to her feet with Boone's help. "There.. should be a old petrol.. station up this way. Only a mile or so away I think."

It was a long walk, with Elise barely clinging to consciousness and ED-E chirping angrily at it's companion being manhandled. Elise didn't mind, though. Leaning on Boone, she felt a sense of safety that she hadn't seen Joshua had died, and she barely knew the man.

Boone left Elise outside with ED-E as her guard while he checked the old Poseidon Energy station for hostiles. She was doubled over, leaning against one of the old pumps. The pain seemed to open old scars, her entire back felt like it was on fire.

Boone came out quickly before picking her up and depositing her inside. "What supplies do you have? I need to get those bullets out before I can use any stims."

"Tweezers.. gauze.. there's matches and whiskey, too... Inside the doctor's bag." Elise gasped out as Boone searched through her pack, pulling out the said brown bag. He opened it up and laid it out on one of Elise's clean shirts.

"Uhh... I'm going to need you to remove your shirt." The embarassment in his voice was almost palpable.

Elise nodded and, with the man's help, pulled off her ruined shirt and leather vest. She winced when it pulled the blood that had already clotted to her shirt. "Hand.. me a new shirt." Boone dug to the bottom of her pack and pulled out a white gauze shirt, which Elise registered as one of Joshua's. He handed it to her and she pressed it to her front, careful not to get blood on it.

She felt Boone move to her back but he hesitated. She knew it was the scars that ran diagonally across her back. "Don't... worry. You can't do.. any more damage. I'm kind of.. fucked as it is." He helped her lay down. She felt his breath hit her neck as he sighed and then she groaned as the metal tweezers went into the wound. This would be almost hot, had there not been bullets stuck near her spine.

"What happened to you?"

Elise smiled ruefully. "Caesar took over my small tribe when I was seventeen. We called ourselves the Sunlake Tribe, there were only about a hundred of us or so. We were peaceful and pretty happy. We traded, had livestock. We were an easy kill for Caesar. He struck in the middle of the night and we were overrun in minutes. A lot of our warrior defected, wanting the glory that was Caesar's Legion. My parents were among the first killed. I refused to submit, so they made an example of me. I was tied to a pole and whipped until I couldn't stand." She heard a soft 'plink' and felt him move to the one by her shoulder. "That's one."

"How long were you enslaved?"

Elise winced and thought for a second. "About five years, give or take...take a few months."

As she winced again, she felt his hands still. "Do you want med-x? This one is pretty deep past the scars."

She shook her head. "No. I have a high tolerance for pain and I'm not a fan of chems."

His hands continued their works. "So, that's what you meant when you said you were in the same situation as Carla." Elise nodded. "How did you get out?"

Elise stilled. "Another slave.. my friend helped me get out. She found me tied to a cross after they killed my husband and whipped me all over again."

"Was your husband a slave, too?" There was an odd emotion in Boone's voice that Elise couldn't put her finger on.

"In his own way. Everyone in the Legion is a slave, other than Caesar. They just don't know it."

Elise heard Boone mumble to himself as he pulled out the last bullet and injected her with a couple stimpaks. He was silent as he wrapped taped the gauze to the healing wounds. "Done." He helped her sit up and she quickly pulled Joshua's shirt over her head. "We're going to need to stay here overnight, though. We can't get to Boulder City until your back is healed."

She smiled. "Thanks. How far away are we?"

"Not too far. Only about an hour or so."

"Ugh. An hour and he could be halfway across the Mojave." She looked at her mess of armor." And I guess those are ruined. They were my favorites, too."

Boone raised an eyebrow. "It was a dress with leggings."

She stuck her tongue out.

Elise woke up really early the next morning. She stretched and was happy to note her back had apparently stitched back together. She then noticed that Boone was still awake, pacing the room. "Why didn't you wake me up? I could have kept watch. Did you even sleep?"

He stilled for a minute. "I don't sleep often. I'm getting our stuff together. Have you even cleaned that rifle lately?"

Elise's eyes followed his hand to the Varmint Rifle. "Uh. No. I just got it a few days ago, after I woke up. The gun I usually use is missing."

Boone's brow furrowed. "Missing?"

Elise nodded. "The idiot that shot me took my .45 along with my package. It was my husband's. I want it back."

"That's a rare gun in these parts."

Elise grinned. "So I'm told. That's probably why he took it." She stood and grabbed her pack, picking the first piece of armor she found. "I'm gonna get changed. We both need to eat something, then we'll head out." Boone nodded and turned around so she could have privacy.

Elise quickly changed into the brahmin skin outfit she grabbed and also grabbed a box of sugar bombs out of the pack. "Done!" She sat down in the chair next to the one Boone had taken. She ripped open the box and took a handful, offering the box to him. She smiled. when he took it.

"Were you in the same outfit of NCR as Manny?"

Boone nodded and popped a piece of cereal in his mouth. "He was my spotter."

"I figured. He seemed to care about you." Boone rolled his eyes but said nothing. "I'm serious. He seemed sad that you two haven't spoken. Why?"

He shrugged, but noticing the look Elise gave him, frowned. "After... I just can't look at anyone in that town the same anymore."

Elise put the last of her cereal in her mouth and patted his arm. She swallowed. "He had nothing to do with it, Boone. And he misses his friend. Just think about it." She stood and looked at ED-E hovering over the bed. "Do robots eat?"

Boone shook his head and stood up, shouldering his rifle and pack. "Let's get going. We're wasting daylight."

Elise nodded and followed him outside after grabbing her own stuff, motioning for ED-E to follow.

They walked in silence to Boulder City. When they reached the hill overlooking the town, Elise stopped and took it in. This was where Joshua failed. She looked at the rubble and a frown came over her face. She was happy that the Legion was held off, but it cost Joshua his life. She knew she should be happy to be free, but a part of her still missed him.

ED-E bumped into her and jolted her out of her thoughts. She gave the robot a sad smile and patted it before walking down the hill.

It wasn't hard to find the Great Khans, to be honest. All you had to do is look for a punch of pissed of NCR soldiers and either the Legions, Fiends, or Khans were around. They were in the barricaded part of the city, with a officer standing in front. Boone nodded at her and walked ahead, greeting the officer with a salute. Elise held back and watched him.

Boone constantly confused her. He was holding back so much, it had to be obvious to anyone that spoke more than a couple syllables to him. Whatever it was, it brought out a emotion in Elise that she couldn't understand.

She watched Boone give the officer a sharp nod and she stood a little straighter. Being around all these soldiers made her feel self-conscious, almost. "What is it?" She asked as he got closer. He shook his head.

"Great Khans, like you said. They started shooting and barricaded themselves in there with a couple hostages. Sounds like the ones you're looking for."

Elise frowned and walked up to the officer. "I need to get in there. One of them has something that belongs to me."

The officer shook his head. "I can't do that. It's a dangerous situation in there, it'd be against code to let a civilian in."

Elise just smiled. "I guess it's a good thing I'm not an NCR citizen, then. I'll get them out, don't worry." She shouldered past him and pushed the door open.

She stepped into the area and saw at least 7 soldiers aiming west. She walked past easily, ignoring the yells to come back. Boone ran after her and grabbed her arm. "What are you doing?" He hissed at her. "You completely ignored the CO."

"Yeah, that tends to happen when someone gets in my way. Let go, I need to finish this." She pulled her arm out of his grip and stalked forward before turning around. "You can follow if you like, but I wouldn't want you to get in trouble with your CO." She knew she was being a bitch, but she was so close to getting some answers.

She heard Boone swear behind her, but kept walking. She was too close to let anyone stop her. She felt the door and pushed it open, Boone and ED-E following in behind her, although Boone looked like it was the very last thing he wanted to do.

Elise's eyes rested on the man across the counter. He wore the typical Great Khan outfit with his hair in a mo-hawk. Yes, she recognized him. He was one of the ones who dug her grave. He didn't look like he was expecting to see her, if the gaping mouth was anything to go by.

"What the hell? You're that courier Benny wasted back in Goodsprings. You're supposed to be dead!"

Elise smiled and shrugged. "It's surprising, but I'm pretty good at the whole not-dying-thing. At any rate, I'm here, and I believe you have something of mine."

"Yeah, about that." The Khan swallowed nervously. "Don't have it. Benny stole it, right before he stabbed us in the back. He's probably back at the Strip by now, laughing at me."

"You've got to be kidding me!" Elise dug her finger nails into her palms. "Ugh. Fine. Alright. Let's talk about this situation with the NCR."

The Khan narrowed his eyes. "What's to negotiate? They back off, we walk out, nobody gets hurt."

Elise ran her hand over her face. "Listen, if you let the hostages go free, I will personally make sure that you all get out of here without the bullets the soldiers are dying to give back to you."

The man thought for a second and nodded. "Alright. The hostages can go. The NCR had better keep their end of the deal, though."

He went to move before she held her hand up. "I have a few more questions, if you don't mind. Who is the man that shot me?"

"His name is Benny. He's one of the Chairmen, big shots who run The Tops casino in New Vegas. A friend from the city contacted me with info on a big job. I should have known that the caps were too good to be true, but there was still no way I could pass up the chance."

Elise crossed her arms. "But why would he betray you? I mean, other than the fact that he hired you to help kill an innocent woman. That didn't tip you off?"

He shrugged. "People die out here." He sounded like Boone. "He's a snake. He owed us the rest of the pay for the job but didn't want to pay up."

"Seems like his type. Alright, let the hostages go first and go after I leave. Hopefully I won't be seeing you again for awhile. And next time some idiot pays you to track and put a bullet in a courier's brain, make sure they're dead. They may not be as forgiving as I am."

Elise turned to go but the Khan stopped her. "Wait. Here- a souvenir for you. It's Benny's lighter. Shove it up his ass when you catch up with him."

Elise smiled and turned back to him. "I will. My name is Elise, by the way."

The man actually smiled back. "Jessup."

Elise headed back out. She had high hopes, she found out her final destination. New Vegas. She figured she was going to end up there eventually, to be honest. It was just going to be a little sooner than she thought.

The officer at the door stopped her. "I'm glad you were able to get my people freed, but there is a new problem. I just got orders to take out the Great Khans, hostages or not."

"Of course, why not?" Elise groaned. "Listen, the Great Khans let go of the hostages. They did their part."

The officer at least looked upset. "My hands are tied. I can't go against orders... can I?"

"Isn't the NCR about honor and everything? If you have any integrity, you'll honor the deal."

He looked thoughtful. "You're right. The Great Khans are free to go." He nodded at Boone a final time before walking away.

Elise pulled a water bottle out of the pack and took a drink before handing it to Boone, who nodded in thanks. She walked up the hill in the direction her Pipboy showed New Vegas to be. When she got to the top, she could see for miles, including the glowing oasis that housed her killer.

She smiled. "Almost there."

A/N: Four chapters in! Don't really have much to say on this one, if you like it let me know. I love getting all the alerts. Thank you! It encourages me so much. And sorry for any typos. Running on lack of sleep right now.