Chapter 10: The One That Got Away

Authors Note: Thank you all for your support and feedback, I hope you enjoy this chapter.

Disclaimer: I do not own Fallout.

Noah watched the NCR gather up the Legion's supplies into their stockpiles while Major Polatli and Drake stood over Dead Sea in front of the crosses. It was satisfying for him to see so many legionnaires lying dead in the dirt.

Mike was tending to the wounded while Zach and Skye were having a smoke by the main entrance. He had no idea where Sam and Jane were hiding out in. Deciding that he was done sitting around he decided to get up and join Drake. Drake looked at him as he approached and smiled at him.

"Hey buddy," He greeted while throwing an arm around his shoulder. "I just wanted to tell you how great life is right now." Noah chuckled at his young boss's positive attitude. Clearly, he had a celebratory drink. "And it is all thanks to you, Noah."

"Aw come on man," He smiled. "If it wasn't for you saving all of our asses, wouldn't even be standing here." Noah said as he waved his arm around, motioning to his oncoming friends. "This victory is all on you, Drake."

Dead Sea, who was still kneeling on the ground, looked up when he heard Drake's name.

"Noah and Drake," He mused. "You two along with the medic and the giant and that girl are a part of that group that left our stronghold a month ago, aren't you?"

"That would be us." Drake snickered. "It wasn't even that hard really. We were out in less than thirty minutes and all it took was a rock and a razor for the most part." Drake reached down into his boot and pulled out his shaving razor. "This little guy saved our asses that night."

Dead Sea let out an amused hum as Drake flicked the blade out of his handle. As the light shined off his blade he noticed the large gash on the side of Drake's cheek. Sea let out a low chuckle.

"Noah and Drake." He chuckled. "Let me see your hands, Drake." He put emphasis on his name.

Drake narrowed his eyes at Dead Sea. He couldn't have known about his hands. Drake placed his razor between his teeth and removed his gloves from his hands. Noah and the rest of the misfits cringed when they saw the burned scars on the palms of his hands. Everyone was interrupted when Dead Sea started to laugh.

"You are him," He said with a sadistic grin. "You are the one that got away."

"What the hell are you talking about?" Noah snapped.

"Your fearless leader here, he is the son of a coward who managed to kill four of our men five years ago. It was fathers fault too."

"Is that true?" Noah asked.

"Yes, my father. I told you he was a farmer and that we rented our house out to drifters like the Khans and NCR." He explained. "Our home was raided by a Legion scout."

"Atlas…" Dead Sea chuckled. "Atlas the gouger."

"How did he get that name?" Mike asked.

"After Atlas had murdered his father and mother, this one," He nodded at Drake. "Took up his father's rifle and tried to kill him and he would have succeeded if Atlas had not swung his machete down at that exact moment."

"I don't know if it was my bullet or the shard from his blade, but I know I managed to shoot his left eye out before escaping."

"How did you get these burns?" Skye asked as she ran her soft digits over his bumpy flesh.

"My father was set on fire from a Molotov and his rifle was the only gun available. So I reached into the flames, pried his gun from his hands and shot this son of a bitch's boss."

"Oh, he has been very angry at you since that day." Sea chuckled. "He's been ripping out his victims eyes ever since. He didn't know where you were or even if you were alive. Until he hears talk about how some young traveler with a gash on his face, manages to make the Legion look foolish and in their own fortress."

Drake narrowed his eyes at him. It was another piece of the puzzle put right in its place. Atlas was tracking them and he knew who they were.

"It was him wasn't it?" Drake asked. Sea looked at him with a raised eyebrow before Drake nodded over towards Serena and Abella. "He knew who I was traveling with and he sent you to gather them up and use them for bait."

"Yes, he came here a few days after my men took Nelson from the Bear. He asked about you personally and showed us all photos of your crew. We tracked your movements and your mail you send through the couriers and found a letter to a Serena and Abella Bagby. I believe the rest is self-explanatory. We lure you in and we let Atlas have you, but we didn't plan on you tracking down our men so fast."

"Even you have to sleep." Mike grunted. "Your plan has failed and you are going to die real soon."

"It doesn't matter, Atlas has you in his sights and when he finds you. He will-"

He never got to finish his empty threat. Drake grabbed him by his short blonde hair, pulled his head back and ran his razor across his throat. Every one of the Misfits shuddered and looked on in disgust at the brutality Drake has just committed.

Skye hadn't taken her eyes off of Drake. His right hand had clenched the razor tight which was dripping with Dead Sea's blood.

"Drake?" She asked while slowly walking towards him. She held her hand out and slowly reached for his shoulder. When she patted him he flinched, causing her to jump back.

He said nothing and just bent down towards the fallen warrior. He grabbed his tunic and used it to clean the blood off of his blade. Once it was spotless, Drake flicked his razor closed and slipped it back into his boot before storming off.

Skye looked between him and her friends wonder what she should do. Noah nodded at her to follow him and she did so without any hesitation. Sam and Jane stepped out of a nearby house and Skye quickly told them to follow her.

"That was brutal." Noah looked behind him to see Serena standing behind him with her arms crossed. "But understandable."

"We've been there just like him." Noah said. "He's got demons just like the rest of us."

"Yeah, but one of those demons are known for gouging out peoples left eyes and sticking them in a jar." Serena stated. "We almost died because of him."

"Yeah, the Legion wouldn't have abducted two female NCR operatives if it wasn't for Drake." Noah stated sarcastically.

"You know that's true."

"Yeah, they would have just killed you or worse." Noah shot back. "Look, I with this guy till the end. I've got my own demons to battle as well."

"Bitter Springs?" She asked. Noah's face fell and he just nodded. "Well I can't stop you. I never could anyways."

"Yeah, hell we took out a lot of legion today." Noah chuckled. He wrapped an arm around her shoulder. "We're going to take off. What about you, you want to take off with us?"

"Nah, Abella and I are going to stick around Hope and help out." Serena explained. "Besides, with that nut-job setting his sights on us and Legion scouts spreading out amongst the wasteland I don't want to take any chances." Noah smiled at her.

"Thank you." She rolled her eyes and wrapped her arms around him. It wasn't long until another pair of arms wrapped around them. Noah smiled at Abella and kissed her on the top of her head. "You two be safe now you hear."

"We hear." They said in unison as they all broke off.

Mike and Zach were waiting for Noah outside of Nelson. When they saw him walking towards them he frowned at their serious expressions. "What's wrong?"

Zach tapped Mike's arm and he nodded before he pulled out a few photographs. Noah took the photos and examined them closely. It was all of them, drinking at a bar and few more of them going into their warehouse and another of them talking to the kings outside of their hangout.

"Son of a bitch." Noah muttered. "He's been on us for weeks."

"He might even be watching us as we speak." Mike suggested. Noah's shoulders tensed and he gripped his carbine tight. He wouldn't feel safe until he was back at home in Freeside with the Kings and NCR to keep an eye out on things.

Things were getting worse by the day.

(!)

I was ten o'clock at night when they got home. Everyone finally made it back to Freeside. The group felt the weight of anxiety lift off their shoulders when they saw a few kings outside the main gates smoking and chatting.

Noah took in the sights of the rundown slums and never felt more at home in his life. The vendors were selling their grub to the kids while a little boy advertising Mick and Ralph's at the street corner and the King's keeping up their patrol as per their agreement with the Misfits.

They nodded their way and they returned it as they made their way home. Drake punched in the code for their security door on the console and stormed inside. Everyone else soon followed.

Drake didn't even bother turning on the lights and made his way to the kitchen. Everyone just decided to let him blow off some steam before getting back to work. Skye looked over at Sam and Jane.

"Okay, um, there is a room with some bunk beds you can share, or there is a room with its own bed if you two want separate rooms." Skye explained sheepishly. Sam and Jane looked at her and smiled.

"Shoot, we'll take the bunks." Sam chuckled. "At this point we're just glad to have a safe place to crash."

"Yeah, you guys really saved our butts." Jane smiled. "I feel pretty shaken up from this whole adventure. I think I might just hit the hay."

"Goodnight." Skye said.

"I might head to the wrangler." Zach said as he shelved his armor and Multiplas rifle, but kept his handgun at his waist. "I need a strong drink and company."

"Alright, but be careful." Noah warned. "I don't want to lose anybody else."

"I'll be fine." Zach assured as he stepped out with a wave, leaving Skye, Mike and Noah alone.

"So, what now?" Skye asked as she sat down on the sofa in the sitting area.

"I don't know." Mike groaned as he took a seat at the dining room table. "This guy Atlas, he is hungry for blood and he sure as hell isn't going to stop until he gets it."

"I think I might have heard of Atlas." Skye explained. "He's not really a part of Legion anymore. He went rouge about four years ago."

"Really?" Noah asked somewhat surprised. "I'm surprised, exiled Legionnaires get as much get the same treatment as well, everyone else."

"Yeah well, he didn't exactly let them kill him." She took her 10mm handguns out and started to clean them. They didn't really need them, but they helped to keep her mind focused. "He left a bloody trail of legion corpses behind as his resignation."

"Shit." Noah chuckled nervously. "He really hates Drake for what he did."

"Well keep in mind that he was on his way to being a well-known and well feared monster of the Legion." Mike explained with sincerity. "His reputation would mean nothing, since an elite of Caesar was deformed by a lowly farmer boy. No one would respect him."

"He's right and if you look weak in the Legion you make the Legion look weak, and Caesar doesn't like that one bit." Noah chuckled.

"So he goes rouge, hires a group of bounty hunters and what, calls up a favor from an old Legion friend to spy on us and kidnap Noah's sisters?" Skye asks rhetorically.

"Maybe, he must have been very persuasive." Mike chuckled before sitting up and pulling out a pack of smokes. "I'm gonna go smoke. Anyone want to join me?"

"Nah, I'm gonna go to bed." Noah said before letting out a loud yawn. He looked over at Skye and pointed at the kitchen. "Could you go and check on Drake, please?"

"Sure, but what are we going to do about Atlas?" She asked. Noah shrugged his shoulders.

"Nothing we can do, especially in our current state of minds. We'll start fresh in the morning."

"Alright, good night." Skye muttered.

They both went their separate ways as Skye went to the kitchen to check on Drake. She didn't have to look very far as her fearless leader was slumped in the pantry with a flask in his hands. She slowly walked over to him with a nervous smile on her face.

"Hey Drake." She said.

"Hey." He said in a brash tone before taking another swig from his bottle. She reached over to try and grab it, but he swatted her hand away. "Go away."

"Are you alright?"

"No."

"Okay…" She didn't know what to say to him, he's never been like this. She couldn't really think of anything to say or do and thought it would be best to just leave him be. She was almost out of the kitchen when she started hearing a faint sobbing sound.

"You know what the last thing I said to her was?" She looked back at Drake and was sadden to see his face wet with tears. His finger ran over the gash on the side of his face. "The spear hit my cheek and I went down, she asked if I was alright and I said, 'No, I'm freaking bleeding.'"

"I'm sorry." She said.

"She was trying to help me in a time of crisis and I snapped at her right before a bullet blew her brains all over the family den." He shook his head before finishing off his bottle. "Before that bullet hit her head, her last thoughts must have been about what an asshole I have been."

"Or maybe it was how brave her sun was for enduring such a terrible wound." She smiled. "You were her son, I'm sure the only thing on her mind was keeping you safe."

"Heh," He chuckled, clearly intoxicated. "Maybe, I tell you one thing though. I don't care what happens with Legion, NCR, the dam or even New Vegas. All I care about is finding Atlas and making him scream louder than my father."

"We'll find him Drake, just get some sleep and I promise we'll start looking, first thing in the morning." Skye reassured.

Drake nodded and slowly nodded off to sleep in the pantry.

(!)

The next morning was tense for everyone.

Drake was nursing his hangover with a Nuka Cola while Sam and Jane cooked up some squirrel on the stove. Mike and Noah were packing up their goods for their next trip outside of Vegas and Skye was preparing their rifle.

The only one who was unattended was Zach.

"He's been gone since last night?" Drake asked in a tired tone.

"Yeah, after you retired to the pantry." Noah chuckled as did everyone else.

"Ha, ha, ha…" Drake fake laughed. "Okay, let's go find in about five hours. I'll be good and ready by then." He said as he rested his head on the table.

"Get up you lazy drunk." Noah said as he smacked Drake upside his head.

Drake shot up from his spot at the table and was ready to punch Noah when a knock came at the door. Drake pulled out his .45 from his holster and slowly made his way to the door. He opened it and raised an eyebrow at the little boy standing at his doorstep.

"What do you want?" Drake grunted.

"Zach paid me fifty caps to tell you to meet him in the brick building at the south end of freeside." With that he left the steps and ran off to his friends.

"Thank you." Drake said with a wave. He shut the door and looked back at his friends. "I guess we're taking a trip into town."

(!)

After gathering some of their supplies the group, along with their two new members, had made their way to the south end of Freeside and towards the red building. Drake stepped up onto the stoop and knocked on the door. The door opened instantly and Zach smiled at his group of friends.

"Hey guys, come on in." Drake turned to his friends who were just as confused as he was and slowly walked inside. The inside of the building had been abandoned for some time, and the floor was littered with bottles and jet inhalers.

"A flophouse, go figure." Mike shrugged. "You want to tell me why we are here?"

Zach stopped and turned to look at his friends.

"Last night, I was at the wrangler." He explained in a casual tone. "It was nothing different from any other night. I drank, I socialized, gambled and I was about to get some, 'entertainment', when I kept noticing this guy following me everywhere."

"So I skipped the pleasure and left the bar for home and went the wrong way and sure enough, he followed me again." Zach kicked open the door and the group witnessed a man, severely beaten and tied to a chair with two knives sticking out of the top of his thighs. "I found a camera in his possession. It's small, bit it works and he has some photos of us."

"I know this guy," Noah said. "He bought us a round last week at the wrangler."

"Yup, he's a spy for Atlas." Zach said as he turned to the man. "Why don't you tell them what you told me?" The man remained silent for a moment, but another smack from Zach got him going again.

"Atlas, he hired me to follow you, to track your movements." He explained. "He wanted me to collect as much information as I could on all of you. You see, he doesn't want to kill you, he wants to break this one." He nodded over at Drake. "Atlas wanted to watch as you all resent him for his failure as a leader and a protector of the people. Your sisters, Noah, they were meant to be found nailed to the crosses that hung at Nelson, surrounded by the corpses of your comrades." He said with malice in his voice and a twisted grin on his face.

"Why," Skye asked. "Why would he waste his time trying to torture Drake when he could just kill him?"

"You really want answers?" The man coughed blood as his right eye started to twitch. "Then go to the bunker, North-East of Nelson. Then when you get there and you tell them…"

The man then broke free from his restraints and held up his left arm. A Pip-Boy was fastened on his arms and to Drake's horror it was glowing red.

"Tell them that Orion has sent you all to hell!"

Everyone quickly rushed towards the front door and jumped out into the streets with only seconds before the whole building was engulfed in flames. Drake stood up and dusted himself off as he watch the building burn to the ground.

"I'm going to go." Drake said. "I don't want you guys to follow me."

"Drake." Skye snapped and grabbed his arm. "I'm going with you, and I am not going to leave you alone."

"You might as well accept it Drake." Mike said. "You are stuck with us as much as we are with you." Drake shook his head, but gave in.

"Ugh, fine, but don't blame me when this all goes to hell."

"We haven't before, why start now?" Zach chuckled.