Disclaimer: I do not own anything you recognize. Fallout New Vegas and it's characters belong to the respective owners.

Savior

08

Emptying out Cottonwood Cove had actually proved to be disappointing. It was easy. With Boone sniping, Arcade's Plasma Defender, and both Rex and ED-E, the entire process has only taken several minutes at most.

Elise was standing on the dock, looking at the raft. She was feeling very apprehensive and Arcade's assurances weren't helping her feel any better. "Come on! You'll be fine. I'm sure I'll be a very competent raft-driver!"

Paling further, she started to back up. "Erm, give Caesar my regards. Someone's got to watch the cove to make sure that you guys can return safely." Her voice was squeaky with fear and her cheeks heated up.

"Seriously? You escaped from the Legion, you complain that feral ghouls hiss too much, you even confront the man that literally put you in the grave, and you're afraid of water?"

Elise nodded rapidly. "Yep, that sounds about right." She continued to back up until she ran into Boone. She was going to mumble an apology until the man picked her up roughly and started down the plank. "Boone! Let me go!"

"The dog and the robot are going to guard the camp. You are coming with us. You started this."

"Fucker." Boone probably rolled his eyes behind the dark glasses and he deposited her on the raft, fixing his beret. Elise groaned as Arcade pushed off the dock, the nausea already coming on. She needed new companions. Preferably females.

The Fort was difficult. No matter what Elise did, it seemed that there were constantly more soldiers coming at them. She dodged a machete deftly and used her .45 to shoot the young soldier in the face. It was a shame, really, such a short life to end.

"It figures you would betray us!" Elise turned quickly, her auburn hair flying in her face. Her gray eyes narrowed on the older soldier. She knew him. He was here when she was enslaved. He obviously recognized her, too. "Burned Man's whore! We should have tossed you in the Canyon with your cursed husband!"

Elise felt her heart stop and she turned to her left. Boone was standing there, his mouth parted in shock. Anger clouded her senses and she used her pistol and shot the man, the bullet cutting in between his eyes.

"What is your last name, Elise?" Boone's voice cut through the remaining gunfire and shouts.

She started walking away and glared at him over her shoulder. "Fuck off, Boone."

A hand wrapped around her wrist and turned her around, Boone grabbed her pistol and fired it over her shoulder, no doubt hitting it's mark. "What is your name, Elise?" He repeated, his voice harsh and cold.

"It's Graham, alright?" Elise cried and pushed away from him, making sure to take her .45 with her. " My name is Elise Graham. Fuck, Boone. Can we do this some other time? When we don't have Legion trying to lynch us?"

"You said you were a slave!"

Elise slammed the butt of her shotgun into one of the remaining Legion soldiers and glared at Boone. "I was a slave! Fuck, I'm still a goddamn slave! Just to a new master!"

A green blast flew past her and hit the soldier Elise was holding off in the chest, making him collapse. Arcade moved next to her, firing. "Are we really going to do this now?"

"Your husband was the fucking Legate!" Craig Boone's voice was harsh and cutting. "I'm sure your life was hard!"

"You have no fucking idea what the hell you're talking about! So he was the Legate. He's dead! I guess that makes us more alike than we originally thought, right?" Elise couldn't stop herself, the words were flowing out like blood. "We both have dead spouses, thanks to the Legion."

"I guess we are. Don't mind me, I'll just go and put myself in harm's way while you two squabble like children!" Arcade moved off, grumbling to himself. Elise felt guilty, but what could she do? Boone was a dangerous man and Elise had a bad feeling now.

Boone turned and Elise was staring down the business end of his rifle. "Don't you compare your bastard husband to my wife! She was a fucking saint compared to your husband!"

"Joshua Graham lost his way. But he fucking saved me, not once, but twice! He was a cruel man, but he was the only goddamn man that I met since I came to the Mojave who hasn't either hit me, shot me, or aimed his fucking rifle at me!" Elise ran a hand through her blood-matted hair and cursed. "Listen, you can either shoot me now or you can wait till after we deal with Caesar to finish it. At least if you wait till then, you will have one more person to help."

The sniper regarded her carefully before rolling his eyes. He moved the rifle out of her face and grimaced. "I'm not gonna shoot you."

"Well, that's good." Elise jumped when Arcade reappeared. "The rest of the camp is clear and I don't think his majesty could escape without us knowing."

"Well, let's get this mess over with then." Elise swallowed thickly. When she didn't movie it was Boone who pushed back the curtain and disappeared inside. Elise sent up a little prayer before pushing through.

Caesar was seated on his throne, his Praetorian guards beside him. His hand was on his chin and he looked almost bored. The guards started advancing before Caesar waved them back. "Enough." Boone had his rifle trained on him and the older man gave him an amused glance. "Mrs. Graham, could you please call your NCR dog back? I'm afraid he'll make a mess on the carpet."

"You-" Elise stopped her companion with a gentle hand on his shoulder. She glanced over to the side and saw Benny. He was kneeling between two of the Praetorians, their machetes holding his chin up. Well, at least he was still alive.

"I'm here. What do you want?"

"So ungrateful, though given who you are, it's not surprising." Caesar eyed her companions. "Ah, so you told them."

"'Fraid not. But your men were more than happy to spout that 'Burned Man' nonsense as I was putting bullets through their skulls." To Elise's surprise, her voice was strong and steady, which was much different than the paralyzing fear she felt inside.

"Ah, yes. I heard the ruckus outside. You know those men you killed were only a small fraction of my Legion? You must remember Flagstaff."

"Of course I remember. Being enslaved is hardly something one can forget."

"So you know that even if you do manage to kill me, the Son of Mars, that the war isn't over. My Legate is ready to move on the Dam when the time is right."

"Lanius, right? The Butcher."

"So you have heard of him." Caesar chuckles. "He has quite the interest in you, I must say. Especially since Vulpes informed us that you were still alive. Though, I should have figured you were, after my assassin disappeared."

Elise furrowed her brows. "Assassin? What are you talking about?"

"Don't act like you don't know. You should be proud, after all. Killing one of my best Frumentarii is quite the achievement."

"Yeah, I really have no clue what the fuck you're talking about." She rolled her eyes and stole another glance at Boone. His face was stoic but the fact that his finger was on the trigger spoke volumes. "Can we get this over with? I know you have the Platinum Chip."

A smile crossed Caesar's face and he held out the chip, pinching it between his finger and thumb. "You need this?" Elise glared at him. "You can have it, at a cost."

"Yeah, I'm not really into bargaining."

"You know, I always wondered what he saw in you. You were a kitchen slave, not even worthy to be the Legate's concubine, let alone wife."

Elise felt her jaw clench to the point that pain shot through her mouth. "I'm glad I wasn't your wife, then. Quit stalling and give me the goddamn chip."

"The most satisfying part of killing him was watching his face as he burned. I told him you were dead and the... light just went out in his eyes. I guess he did care for you. Good thing I got rid of him, weakness like that isn't tolerated in my-"

Before she knew what he was doing, Elise had her .45 out and pointed directly in his face. The guards moved forward but a series of shots from her companions dispatched them easily. "You killed my people. You destroyed my life not once, but twice. And I'm not going to let you destroy anymore families."

The older man sneered at her, looking at her gun. "Bleeding heart. Your weakness will end you."

The smile that came upon her face was as cold as ice. "I guess it wasn't Joshua Graham that you had to worry about coming back from the dead, was it?" Elise pulled the trigger and she couldn't deny the joy she felt at having her face splattered with Caesar's blood. She watched the dictator's body slump over with a feeling of sick triumph.

"Babydoll, if I had known you were coming, I would have baked a cake." Benny's voice carried through the tent and Elise was reminded that he was still alive.

"Want me to kill him?" Boone nodded to the Chairman.

"No, Boone." The good feelings disappeared only to be filled with annoyance. Elise sighed and turned to Benny. "You're lucky I came after your dumb ass. What the hell were you going to do while tied up?"

"So there was a kink in my plans. Everything worked out eventually anyways." Elise walked closer and crouched on her haunches. Benny was pretty beat up, sporting a black eye, bruised cheek, and busted lip. He probably had a couple broken ribs, too, judging by how he was wheezing. "Nice to see you, sister."

She cracked a smile and rolled her eyes. "I'm sure it is. I suppose you want me to untie you."

"It would be appreciated." Elise made quick work of his bonds and stood as he did. Benny rubbed his wrists and looked around. "You sure do make a mess of the place."

Wandering over to the makeshift throne, Elise bent over and picked up the Platinum Chip. She toyed with it in her hands, flipping it over and over again. "So, now you all know who I am. What are you going to do about it?"

Arcade stopped looking through Caesar's books and shrugged.. "I don't care. Like I said, everyone- and I mean everyone-" He shot a significant look at the sniper. "Has something in their past that they would rather forget."

Elise turned to Benny who held his hands up. "Baby, I'm on your side. With a history like yours, what's the point in trying to kill you again? You'll just crawl back out of the grave anyhow." That made Elise chuckle and Benny shot her a grin.

"Hm." Elise turned and stared at her final and longest companion. She had already known what Arcade and Benny were going to say but she felt fear over losing Boone. She had come to count on him as the only stable thing left in her situation. She watched as the man walked over to one of the Praetorians he had downed and kicked the body. "These bastards deserved what they got and I'm glad we were the ones to deliver it to them. Don't you have a weather station to break into?"

Relief blossomed in her chest and Elise finally let her breath out. She wiped the blood off her face and grimaced. "Yeah, I should probably do that. You guys can stay or come with me, I don't care really."

"I've got your back." Boone shouldered his rifle, his sunglasses glinting in the low light of the tent.

"I'll stay here with Fancy-Pants and make sure he doesn't shoot anyone else that doesn't deserve it." Elise giggled at Arcade's use of Benny's nickname and how annoyed Benny looked in return.

"Baby, listen. Make sure you do what House wants down there, ya dig? Whatever is down there is the key to Vegas." Benny looked so sure, Elise could only nod in return.

"Alright. We'll be back."

The weather station was pretty non-descript. It was boring. Elise looked around and the only thing that caught her attention was the Lucky 38 logo on the floor. "I guess this is it."

"Hn."

Elise rolled her eyes. Maybe she should have brought Arcade or even Benny along instead. She looked at the machine to her right and saw a slot, one shaped like the Chip. Pulling it out of her bra (which she figured was the only goddamn safe place for it) she slid it into the slot, ignoring the look Boone gave her.

Gears started grinding, telling of years of neglect and Elise jumped. The doors slid open with a cloud of dust welcoming them. Coughing, she waved her hand and peered down into the stairwell. She grabbed the Chip out of the machine and flipped on the PipBoy light. She was hesitant on taking the first couple of steps. Before she even reached the bottom, the PipBoy started beeping and Elise could feel the radiation crackling against her skin.

"We've got rads down here." She dug in her pack and brought out some Rad-X. "I don't have a radiation suit. Maybe you should stay up top."

Boone took the medication and popped some of the pills. "I told you I've got your back. We'll just have to be quick."

Elise swallowed some of pills herself before hitting the landing. She walked through the doorway and into the circular room with rusted out barrels. The door in front of them was part of an elevator, bearing the Lucky 38 insignia. She stole a glance at her silent companion. "Well, shall we?"

She hit the button by the door and it slid open. It opened a plain metal elevator with grate flooring and walls. She entered and waited for Boone before hitting the button.

The ancient elevator jerked, sending Elise into the man before shooting down the shaft. A scream was torn out of her throat and she felt her friend pull her into him for balance. The elevator's breaks squealed as they tried to slow the descent to no avail. The Courier just buried her face into Boone's chest, closing her eyes and waited, hoping that after everything it wouldn't be a stupid elevator that killed them.

To her relief, the breaks finally kicked in. They hit the ground roughly, but not rough enough to do any damage. The doors opened and Elise threw herself out and onto the floor. "Fuck me! I hate elevators!"

Boone exited calmly and helped Elise up. "Come on, radiation, remember?"

She nodded, her throat too dry to do anything else. The elevator landed in a hallway that reminded her of one of those prewar Vaults. All metal and concrete. The hallway continued into a small room with a large computer and Elise knew that this is where House would 'meet' them. The screen flickered as Elise stepped forward and House's voice burst through the aging speakers.

"Well, you finally made it! This is where I wanted you to end up all along. I take it your meeting with Caesar went well."

Elise crossed her arms and glared at the computer set. "He's dead. Sorry. I knew he fit into your plans, but he didn't fit into mine."

House gave her a long-suffering sigh. "It couldn't be helped, I suppose. I figured your... anger would get the best of you."

"So, what are you doing down here?" Elise had to take a few deep breaths to keep her anger in check. House's arrogance tended to get the better of her.

"Isn't it obvious to you that I built this place? The Platinum Chip opened it, after all."

"Alright, I'll bite. What is this place?

"It's a facility I built many years before you were born. You might think of it as a kind of barracks. You will understand soon enough."

"What do you want me to do?" Elise's throat was parched so she took a quick drink of water before handing the bottle to her sniper. Wait, when had he become her sniper? Fuck.

"The Platinum Chip is a data-storage device. I need you to manually upload the data from the Chip to the primary computer. You will find the terminal at the other end of this facility."

"Alright, that doesn't sound too bad."

"There is a complication." Elise's relief went out the window. "While I can broadcast to this screen, I can't control any of the facility's systems. That means I can't deactivate the security bots... most of which seem to be active, according to the status board I'm looking at."

Sighing, Elise nodded. She was feeling tired. After this, she was going straight back to the 38 and she was going to sleep for days. And now she had to deal with fucking sentry bots. "I'll do as you ask. As usual."

"Good, see to it that you do."

Elise went running into the elevator, slamming into the wall as Boone came in behind her, hitting his hand on the button repeatedly. Her skin burnt from the excess radiation and she felt nauseated. Checking her PipBoy confirmed her suspicions, she had a bad case of radiation poisoning. And looking at her usually collected companion, he probably was feeling the same as she was. He had a sick look to his face and, when he took his glasses off to rub his eyes, Elise noticed they were glassy.

But at least their sacrifice hadn't been for naught. The securitron army was upgraded and waiting until needed. House was pleased, at least for now. Until she figured out where her loyalties lie.

But right now, she was more interested in getting above ground and back to Vegas.

The elevator's ascent was much slower than the descent and when the door opened, it was all Elise could do to not hug the pavement. She stumbled a little on the steps, her legs sore from laser shots. Boone helped support her, despite the fact he took many shots as well.

The sun was setting as they made it out into the open. It was quiet, so she figured it was safe to assume that none of the Legion soldiers had risen from the dead. Sitting down, Elise put her head in her hands. She was somewhat aware that she was sitting in a puddle of blood, but at the moment didn't care. It wasn't hers, after all.

"Fuck." She heard Boone put his rifle down. He was on the ground next to her before she knew it. "Why didn't you tell me about you? Does anyone know?"

"Oh yes, because telling an NCR soldier that I'm the wife of the Malpais Legate sounds like a fucking brilliant idea." Grabbing her flask, Elise took a deep drink of water. "I already had to worry about the Legion finding me, I didn't want to have to watch out for the NCR, too. Besides, it's not like you've been very forth coming about you."

Boone was silent on that, because he knew as well as she did that the NCR wouldn't have helped if they knew who she was. Guilty by association and all that. That and he didn't want to admit that Elise was right, he expected more from her than he was willing to give. "How did you escape? Really?"

"Everything I told you before was true." Elise took another drink and offered the flask to Boone, who took it. "After the battle at Hoover, Joshua pushed the NCR back to Boulder city, but you know what happened then. Caesar had him covered in tar and burned before throwing him into the canyon. Shortly after, he came for me.

"Joshua was the only thing that kept me safe. Before him, I was a kitchen slave. I worked with a friend of mine, an older woman named Nina. She had me deliver armor to the Praetorian and instead of him there, it was Joshua. I was clumsy and the guard hit me. Joshua shot him. Not long after, he married me. After he died, Caesar had no further use for me. He had me crucified. Nina set me free and a group of NCR soldiers found me on the river bank."

"Jesus fucking Christ. I didn't think it was that bad." Boone pulled his beret off and rubbed his hand over his scalp. Blonde hair was starting to push through. "I'm... sorry."

Chuckling, Elise raised an eyebrow. "Do my ears deceive me? Is Boone, the stoic and totally bad-ass sniper, actually apologizing to the Legate's wife? Someone call Radio New Vegas!"

"Don't get used to it." The sniped had clammed up again, but Elise didn't mind. There was a weight off her chest now, like she could finally breathe again. Which was kind of a mixed blessing, with all the dead bodies around them.

A/N: Wow! Monster chapter! It's been awhile, guys! I hope you're still with me. I hope the length of this chapter makes up for my absence. Let me know if you guys like it, I had fun writing it.