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

Savior

05

"This place is amazing!"

In the four years of being free, Elise had never been to New Vegas. Not even to Freeside. She steered clear, out of fear of being found. She knew Caesar has spies everywhere, so she had to lay low. Then the Courier job came up, and it was caps she needed.

Freeside was impressive to her. Besides having a junkie shoot at her as soon as she walked into the area, of course. The wooden fort drew most of her attention. She motioned Boone over. "What is that?"

"That's the Old Mormon Fort. The Followers of the Apocalypse use it as their regional base."

Elise raised an eyebrow. "Mormon?"

"It was an Old World religion, I think."

Elise already knew that, but didn't say anything. Joshua was a Mormon. At least, he was. Before Caesar. She shrugged. "Shall we go in?"

"I thought you wanted to get to the Strip?" Boone's eyes couldn't help but go to the Courier's mouth as she bit her lip. He shook himself.

"Well, we're pretty much there, right? Might as well see if we can find anymore information before I rush headfirst into this. If I'm not careful, I might not even get the courtesy of a grave this time."

"I won't let that happen." Boone surprised himself with that, but if he was honest, Elise struck him differently. She was refreshing, like a breath of fresh air.

She smiled brilliantly and waved him after her into the fort.

It was busy, and in a sick way, it reminded her of Caesar's compound. But, then again, people walking around in doctor's fatigues helped with that. Elise smiled at Boone, at which she received another raised eyebrow. Men sometimes.

Elise spotted a woman walking around with a mo-hawk and she grinned and walked up to her. "Hi, I'm new around here. Is there anything I can do to help?"

The woman blinked. "Yeah, we have a few things. We're mainly doctors and researchers here, but we're severely under supplied. We tried to work with the Crimson Caravan, but they wanted more caps than we can afford for the supplies. If you could find us a merchant willing to make a deal, it would help us greatly."

Elise nodded. "Okay, I can do that. Shouldn't be a problem. Is there anyone else I should talk to here? I'm trying to get to the Strip."

"Try the King at the Impersonation school. If Freeside has a ruler, it would be him. He has eyes and ears all over this place. He would be the one to help you."

After leaving the Mormon Fort, Elise collasped onto the curb and put her head into her hands. "Why can't this be easy?"

Boone scoffed. "Nothing is easy in the Mojave."

Elise rolled her head back and glanced up at him. "I know that. I've lived it. Doesn't make it suck any less."

"Aint that the truth."

"Sometimes I just wonder if it's worth it."

"What?" Boone sat down next to her and put his hands on his knees.

Sighing, Elise ran a hand through her admittedly filthy hair. "I chased a man I don't know halfway across the Mojave for a fucking poker chip. Yeah, he shot me, but some days I'm torn between wanting revenge or shaking his hand and thanking him for trying. I mean, what's the point? I could find a better job and cut my losses."

"Taking the coward's way out."

Elise glared at him. "It's not the 'cowards way out'. It's actually pretty fucking smart if you think about it. The closer I get to this guy, the more I get shot at."

"No pain, no gain." Elise shot him a dirty look. "Besides, doesn't he have your gun?"

"Yes." Elise lowered her eyes. "If it wasn't for that, I may have just went in the other direction."

"Home?"

"Nope, don't have one. I'm a escaped slave, remember? Doesn't pay to stay anywhere for any length of time. If I put down roots, there's a good chance someone will hear of me and I'll be back to where I started, on a cross. I will die before I go back there."

"I've told you before, I'm not going to let that happen."

Boone's face was unreadable as he stared across the road. Smiling, Elise took a drink of the dirty water in her pack, gagging when the radiation hit her tongue and handed it to Boone. "Ugh. Please tell me there is purified water around here."

Her companion took a gulp and Elise noted, with awe, that he didn't so much as shudder. "They have it in The Strip. If you go to Mick and Ralph's they may have some bottles."

"Mick and Ralph's? Is that the store that kid was yelling about?"

Boone nodded. "Yeah, civilian run. Mick sells weapons, Ralph sells food and odds and ends."

Elise stood and stretched, smiling a little when ED-E beeped at her. "Alright. So, to Mick and Ralph's, then the King's place."

The King was easy to sort out. His right hand man, Pacer, was causing all sort of trouble. All because he had a superiority complex with the fucking NCR. The King, however, was a pretty easy-going, charismatic man. And he was very grateful for all the trouble Elise had gone through to sort out the situation, including stopping a shoot-out that Pacer caused to hide that he was intimidating civilians.

Elise was standing in front of the King, frowning. "It's done. Everyone is saved." Elise couldn't keep her eyes off the King's cyberdog, Rex. "I stopped your idiot friend from being shot. You know, I have a real aversion to putting myself in-between ten people shooting at each other."

The man, handsome with gentle eyes, cracked a smile at her. "Thank you, darlin'. I do appreciate it. The King owes you a favor now, but consider it wisely. I don't hand out favors often."

There was no hesitation. "I need into the Strip."

"Ah, yes. To find the man who gave you that pretty scar, I imagine." Elise raised an eyebrow. "Word gets around in these parts, darlin'. You're looking for that cat, Benny."

Elise groaned. "If you know, that must mean he knows. And he'll be gone by time I get to him." She shot a look at Boone who just raised an eyebrow and shrugged his shoulders.

"Don't go frettin', darlin'. You hear more in Freeside then you do the Strip. The Strip tends to keep to itself, you know. Folks there think they are better than us." The man gave a smirk. "I'll help you get in. I trust you've been to Mick and Ralph's by now."

Elise nodded. "Yeah, we stopped to resupply before we first headed here."

"Go there and talk to Ralph. Tell him The King sent you. You'll be knocking on your killer's door in no time."

"Thank you so much! If it weren't for the fact that I would get shot, I'd hug you right now."

The King chuckled. "Now, I would never turn down a hug from a beautiful gal like yourself, but I'm sure you're ready to get on your way."

Nodding, Elise stole another glance at the cyberdog that lay at the man's feet. "Actually, I was wondering about your dog. He's not looking so hot."

The King frowned for the first time since she had met him. "Rex has been acting peculiar for some time now. I took him to the Followers and had him checked out, they said he brain is bad or something."

"Can they do anything for him?" Elise wrung her hands and watched as Rex whimpered in his sleep. She heard Boone sigh behind her, but she couldn't help it. She loves dogs.

"No, they don't have the tools to help him."

That sealed her fate. "Is there anything I can do?"

"I don't know. Maybe. If you found a way to help my poor Rex here, I'd be much obliged. Your best bet would be to talk to Julie Farkas at the Old Mormon Fort. Maybe you'll have better luck than I did."

"Julie... does she have a mo-hawk?"

Standing in front of the doors of the strip, Elise swallowed. "I don't know if I can do it."

Boone rolled his eyes. "What did I say earlier?"

"Right. Cowards way out and all that." Elise found her passport and pulled it out, watching Boone do the same. "You have one?" It was a good thing he did, Elise never thought of how she was going to get her companion into the Strip with her. She knew Rex and ED-E didn't need one, at least.

"NCR gives them so you can take your leave there."

Elise nodded. She was secretly happy that she was, at the very least, getting more than one word answers out of her new friend now. "Alright, better get this show on the road, I guess. Nothing like the present right?"

Elise moved forward, holding her passport to the securitron who guarded the front of the gate. It scanned it quickly before issuing a "move along". Elise took a steadying breath and pushed open the gates.

It wasn't like she pictured it. Elise scanned the area. Gomorrah was as trashy as she heard it was, with female silhouettes framing the sign. She started walking forward, and was surprised to see another Securitron wheeling towards her, this one with a familiar face.

"Howdy pardner! You've come a far piece, haven't you? Welcome to New Vegas!"

"Victor! Nice to see a friendly robot face. Where should I get started?"

"The place to get started is the Lucky 38. See that big ol' tower shaped like a roulette spinner? That's where you'll find Mr. House. He's the head honcho of New Vegas and he's itching to meet your acquaintance."

Elise looked to Boone, who nodded solemnly. "Might as well do it."

"Alright, I'll head there right now. Can my friends come with?"

"Sorry, pardner. Only you're allowed right now."

Elise stole another glance at Boone who frowned. "We'll wait here. Don't be in there too long, or I'm coming after you."

Smiling, she nodded. "I'll be out in no time. I hope." Elise walked up the stairs and glanced back at her ragtag group. An NCR sniper with a bad attitude, a sick cyberdog, and a eyebot. Who knew. She looked up at wall and jumped a little when it slid open to reveal the door. Swallowing, she pulled it open and crept inside.

The Lucky 38 was forever frozen in it's glory days. Dust particles floated through the air as Elise walked down the small set of stairs to the main floor. The carpet was black even with the years of dust and everything was almost new. The only thing that really showed it's age were the walls, which had deep cracks set in. Even with that, it was a beautiful place, even though the eery quiet made her skin crawl. Glancing around, she saw Victor waiting at what she assumed was the elevator. It would probably be a good idea to talk to the "man" in charge before exploring, so she walked up to him.

"Nice to see you again, pardner!" Elise rolled her eyes. It had been five minutes, if that. "Ready to head up?"

"Yeah, I think so." The doors opened and Elise walked in, followed by Victor.

"Penthouse, it is!"

The elevator groaned to life and Elise jumped. The noises it made going up the tower could not have been healthy. "Is this safe?"

The robot chuckled. "Of course, pardner! The Lucky 38 is the safest place you will find in all of the Mojave!" The rest of the ride was in silence.

Taking a deep breath, Elise's heart calmed a little when the elevator slowed to a stop. "Penthouse floor!" Elise nodded at the robot and walked out.

It was spacious with soft neutral colors. It was much cleaner than the bottom floor, but if Mr. House lived here, Elise supposed it would have to be. She glanced at a securitron with a female face and stopped. "You're a girl."

"Well hello, sugar. Mr. House is waiting for you in his office."

Elise's eyebrows went to her hairline. The voice was definitely feminine. "Who are you?" Elise winced, she sounded rude.

"I'm Jane, one of Mr. House's girls. We keep him... entertained. We don't get many guests lately, maybe we can entertain you as well."

Robot prostitutes. Lovely. "Alright, then. I guess I'll just go see Mr. House then."

Elise brushed past the robot and went down the stairs. She looked to the right and saw a kitchen area. To the left was a curtain. She bit her lip and went through the curtain.

Beyond the curtain was a huge computer, the biggest Elise had ever seen. It had a picture on the screen like the robots did, but this picture was of a man, obviously prewar by the hair and She hesitantly walked up to it and almost shrieked when a voice burst out of the speakers. "This meeting has been a long time coming, hasn't it? You've come a long ways, literally and, I suspect, figuratively as well. I have to ask- now that you've reached your destination, what do you make of what you see?"

"I've never seen anything like it. I'm not sure what to make of it, to be honest."

"The Lucky 38 now pales in comparison to what she was before the bombs, like all of Vegas. But she's still beautiful in her own right."

Elise knew he was right. "Okay, but why the VIP treatment? I'm just a courier, and apparently a bad one at that."

"Oh, don't be coy. You've been playing a high stakes game ever since Victor dug you out of the ground. Don't be afraid to admit it."

"Let's get down to business then." Elise rubbed the bridge of her nose and groaned. Weeks of traveling was catching up to her and the scar on her forehead throbbed.

"The business is this. One of my employees has stolen an item of extraordinary value from me, and I want it recovered. Simple enough?"

"I'd like to ask some questions."

There was now annoyance to Mr. House's voice. "What do you wish to know?"

"What are the terms to this?"

"My only concern is the recovery of the Platinum Chip. What happens to Benny, I leave to your discretion. When you bring the Chip to me, I will pay you four times the delivery bonus stipulated in your contract. How's that?"

Elise made a show of thinking, but already knew what she was thinking. "1000 caps? Alright."

"Well enough. Return to me when you have the Platinum Chip in your possession."

The screen flickered off and Elise felt aggravation pass through her. This Mr. House was rude. She usually didn't care for rude people. But he was a means to an end.

Elise turned and walked back up the stairs, surprised to see Victor already waiting. "Hey Victor."

"Congratulations, pardner! The Boss has instructed me to comp you the High-Roller Suite! You can bring your friends, too! Be like a little clubhouse for the gang you put together! But bear in mind, you're the only one who gets to see the Boss. Any friends you got, they can wait in the suite. Enjoy the digs, pardner! They're plenty fancy!"

Elise smiled and told him to take her there. Only a few minutes and the elevator stopped, the doors opening. Elise walked out and took a quick survey of her surroundings. "Victor, where's the nearest bed?"

"Right across the hall, pardner!"

Elise turned to the robot. "Can you tell Boone and my friends to come up? I think I need to lay down."

Elise was already walking across the hall when she heard the robot agree. She pushed the door open to a single bedroom, smiling when she saw the clean sheets. She barely had time to pull off her clothes before collapsing onto the bed.

A/N: Sorry it's been so long, I've been sick and am working on my divorce. But, hope you like it, we're finally in New Vegas! The next one should be up by next week, at least.