Memememe: Why, thank you!

Heulwen: Aww, that's so cool! I apologize then for anytime in advance when I'm late with my chapters. I'm trying really hard to get myself into a disciplined writing regimen but it doesn't always work out the way I want it to. As for Scarlet's clumsiness, yeah, she's special all right. LOL. I always like the idea of someone that's flawed and imperfect being put into a position like the Courier's. In a lot of ways she and Vulpes' differences will hopefully draw them together as a balanced team. Oh, and I hope you like what I've done with Arcade in this chapter. Its not a lot. I haven't gotten to do very much with him actually in the game quite yet, but I hope I am writing him well enough for now.

Charbear1020: Wow, I'm glad I inspired you. To me there is nothing better than writing, even if its just for fun. And trust me, I understand the lurking very well. I'd be happy to swap notes or discuss anything you want! Just message me on here whenever you want to or find me on Yahoo messenger if you have it (or MSN/Windows Live, but you'll have let me know to be on there because I frequent Yahoo more). Oh, and make sure to remind me who you are and where I know you from. :) OH! Btw, is TheEnigmaticStranger your new account? Just wondering. I'm planning on taking a look at that story here in a bit.

XxXTwilight-SinXxX and Anonymous "Awesomeness": I never noticed that something was going on before. But that helps me a lot so thanks!

Befuddled in the Rain: Oh my! Yes, of course. Glad it was worth it. Here's another one:

Chapter XI

You Light Up My Life

"I don't know how I let you talk me into this." Arcade Gannon said, hoisting the bag of medical supplies he was carrying higher on his back to prevent the drag that was causing his backache. He didn't not like travel, but heading into previously unknown territory with a woman who was prone to getting herself into trouble was proving exciting at the very least. They had already fought two small bands of raiders, some mad cattle, and a lone Cazedor that was determined to turn Arcade into a human pincushion. The insofar unnamed man accompanying Scarlet had to be a mercenary or something of the like from what Arcade could tell, because he was quick on his feet and merciless when it came to taking down foes. He had been the one to kill the Cazedor just inches from Arcade's face. If his aim would had been even a little off he would have shot the doctor, but no sign of worry had shown upon his face, as if he was in complete confidence with his abilities.

That darkness and chill that floated around him was troubling to Arcade, but he knew that despite Scarlet's lucky nature she probably needed someone like that around. She roamed all over the Mojave with just that cyber-dog at her side and a few weapons, trying to act out the heroine persona that had been given to her by the nasty twist of fate that had also caused that scar on her head. That in itself bothered him because it seemed that the only reason she even did it was because that was what was expected of her. Arcade wasn't quite sure what made him want to look out for the girl. Sure, she had done a lot of good things around Freeside and had helped out the Followers more than she could ever understand. She even took time out of her travels to search for books he might enjoy and bring them back for him. The more he thought about it the less of a heroine she seemed and the more of a lost child she appeared, looking for acceptance from someone, anyone. As long as tall, dark, and handsome over there with the ripper and the .44 didn't lay a hand on her to hurt her Arcade felt he could rest a little easier knowing that she wasn't by herself.

"I'm just a silver tongued devil." The young woman gave him a quirky smile, tipping an invisible hat with her pistol. He noticed that the safety was off and groaned inwardly. If she had made one slip she could have put a bullet right back in that little noggin of hers. Arcade's eyes shot to the dark-haired man trailing a few feet behind her and saw he was giving her an irritated look that told him he saw it, too. Smiling would be inappropriate but it made Arcade feel like less of an old foggie (even though he was only thirty-something years young) if others were just as exasperated by her as he was.

"If wishes were horses you'd have a whole herd, Scarlet." Arcade cracked at her expense.

The three trekked over the road leading to Nellis and Arcade spotted a man leaning against the rocks there. For a moment the man began to call out to them but stopped halfway through when he saw Scarlet and her companion. Arcade looked between the group, knowing he was missing something, especially when the dark-haired man got a snarky smile on his face and strode over to the prospector. Arcade went to stand beside Scarlet as the other two men talked in low voices. Scarlet just stood there with one hand on her hip, the other cover her mouth to try to hide the smile and the child-like giggling. "Care to explain?"

Scarlet's mouth upturned into a smirk as she regarded Arcade, relaying to him the events of their previous trip to Nellis and how her friend had made a deal with the other man if they had survived. "I just hope he has the caps to cover that deal." She commented, tone indicating that it would be a horrible thing if he didn't, but she wouldn't lose sleep over what happened to him. A small piece of the puzzle fell into place about her quiet companion. Apparently he was a serious man when it came to business and holding people up to their end of a bargain.

Finally he returned to them holding a bag in his hand. Before he replaced it in his larger traveling bag he shook it a few times. "600 caps, as promised."

"Did you check to make sure?" Scarlet whispered as they began to walk away, her eyes darting behind them to the other man.

That half-smirk again and the dark-haired man replied, voice full of cold callous, "I made him understand what a bad idea it would be to try to deceive me."

Arcade shook his head at the two of them. "Conmen of the Mojave beware."

-X-

Part of the Follower's researcher was a little disappointed that he missed out on the initial excitement of storming the air base, but knew he should count his blessings as they walked straight through Boomer territory and up to the front gate without so much of a gunshot. Scarlet then led him straight to the medical barracks and introduced him to Argyll, Nellis' resident doctor. Then she and her companion promptly disappeared with only a quickly hurried statement claiming they had work to do. Arcade felt a twitch in his cheek but somehow kept it from showing. He supposed he understood. The two of them did have a lot of work to do and they weren't just doing all this for themselves. They were on a mission for the NCR.

The NCR. That bothered Arcade the most about this whole situation. When she had first told him about it he felt like he had been slapped with a "sense-this-does-not-make" stick. Scarlet didn't particularly hate the NCR, but more than once she had went on about how they were making everything worse in the Mojave, not better. The only thing they were good for, she said, was keeping the Legion at bay, but after what she had seen in Nipton she claimed that they weren't even doing that very well either. So it shocked him to learn that she had finally agreed to do some work for them. He knew it was a little paranoid maybe, thinking that she had something else up her sleeve, but in this case A and B were not leading to C, but rather negative 5 and that was just apples and oranges.

God, he was hungry.

-X-

The Monster from the Grime Lagoon had invaded Nellis Air Force Base – oh wait, that's just Scarlet. Arcade had to bite back the smile that had worked itself onto his lips as she stepped inside the medical building. She was covered in dust from head to toe and a particularly dark smear could be seen on her cheek from where she had attempted to wipe it off without some kind of aid. Bits of dried grass and chunks of soil clung throughout her hair, which was no longer neatly pulled back as she normally kept it when she was working. "One word, Arcade Gannon, one word and I swear I will end you!" She pointed a finger at him in an attempt to be threatening, but it just made her look that much more ridiculous.

He bit his tongue and then said, trying to contain the laughter in his tone, "Uhm, what… what happened to you?"

The blond female dropped into one of the chairs across from him and sighed. Her companion had stopped right inside the door and had leaned up against it. His appearance contrasted quite starkly with Scarlet's, seeing as while the usual amount of wind-blown dust had come to rest on his clothing he was nowhere near as dirty as she was. There was a story behind this. Scarlet's mouth drew up in an unpleasant scowl as she recounted the last few hours out of Arcade's presence. "We went to see Loyal, he's an engineer and mechanic around here, and he told us about these solar panels he had that weren't working. So we went to see what we could do to fix them." She flicked a wedge of dirt off her knee with a look of disgust. "Well, I found out that repair is not one of my fortes."

They had spent most of the time on top of the generator building trying to tinker around with the broken panels, each one proving too difficult to fix by themselves. At one point she had gotten so frustrated that she didn't watch what she was doing as she was removing a large chunk of ruined array, the irritation-fueled jerk and sudden release of the piece sent her flying off the side of the building onto the hard ground. Luckily she had been near one of the inclines and managed to hit softly enough not to cause too much damage, although between the heat of the day causing her face and exposed skin to sweat and the roll down the incline she had managed to attract every piece of dirt nearby.

"And that's when it hit me," she continued, lifting her hand nonchalantly, "that there's a similar array over passed Novac called Helios One. I could just pop over there and see if they have any replacement pieces. That would simplify repair to the point that a child could do it."

Arcade regarded her, so surprised that it actually left him numb. "It took you three hours and a fall to realize that?"

Scarlet snarled, and from the minute smirk tugging the man's lips behind her Arcade knew that he had probably said something of a similar nature at the time of her accident. "Apparently so."

She was cute; she really was. How the hell she survived though was beyond Arcade's understanding.

-X-

"You should stop and rest your leg."

Scarlet raised her eyes to glance up at Vulpes. He had a habit of talking to her, but not looking at her. He was doing that now, his eyes flickering across the road ahead of them and the surrounding area. So he was sly like a fox but had the eyes of a hawk. Yes, that's what they reminded her of, raptor's eyes. His vision was sharp and during their short time traveling together she noticed he missed very little, if anything at all. That went for her, too, she supposed. He had a way of seeing right through even her most carefully hidden ploys. Not that she was lying to him, it was just a girl had to have some secrets. Vulpes didn't seem to agree because he appeared to be trying to uncover everything about her.

She knew that his interest in her was purely for the Legion. Caesar's words floated back to her about his dislike for not knowing certain things and she was sure he wanted to know every little detail about the woman he was trying to get on his side. Why he wanted her on his side so badly was still a mystery. Then she remembered Gaius' words as well, his tentative warning about Vulpes. She dropped her eyes back to the ground. He was just interested in her for the Legion, wasn't he? "My leg's fine."

"Your limp is getting worse." He stated things so blunt and with no room for argument. Sometimes she really loved that about his personality, and sometimes she found it overbearing and intolerable. At this moment she just wanted to keep walking, get those replacement arrays, and then finish up whatever other jobs the Boomers had for them.

A burning pain was becoming a constant in her leg though, and the heat that she felt every time she put her hand near the bandage told her that it was feverish. She hoped that it wasn't infected and just acting up. Violet eyes shifted to Vulpes once more. Perhaps she'd have him help her take a look at it later. Currently it hurt for her to bend that far as it stretched the muscles all the way down her legs and through the sore areas. "I promise I'll take a day off when we finish with the Boomers. We're coming up on Novac now and Helios One isn't that far, so unless you're tired I say we go ahead and get there tonight."

Vulpes was no stranger to marching through the night so he had no objections to her plans, although he was concerned for the state of her injury. She could not serve him as well as he intended if she let it get much worse. Serve the Legion, he meant. He fought to push that switch in his brain back towards the needs of the many instead of the need of the one, himself. Legion first. Personal endeavors later.

The crack of a gunshot echoed through the night, shattering through his thoughts. His first instinct was to reach for a weapon, but when Scarlet started yelling he realized that further investigation was required before action. Behind them and slightly off the road was the body of a large black radscorpion. Someone had taken it out before it had reached them. For some reason Scarlet was actually not happy about this. Curious.

"What the fuck! You almost shot me!"

Vulpes looked around, searching for whoever it was that she was talking to, and then followed her gaze up into the mouth of the large dinosaur that stood at the front of Novac. There was movement in the darkness, a glint of metal in the moonlight. A sniper.

The sniper moved forward into the light and Vulpes saw the red beret that adorned his head. First Recon. He was NCR, or had been at some point. The sneer in the man's deep voice was evident as he shouted back down to her, "Don't insult me, princess! We both know you're being dramatic."

"Dramatic! I'm not the one taking trick shots just to show how fucking badass I am! You could have just warned us."

The man in the red beret ignored this comment and changed the subject. "I thought you said you didn't like traveling with other people." The bitter sound in his voice indicated that this wasn't just any man, or any sniper. The two of them had some kind of past.

Scarlet huffed and thrust a thumb over at Vulpes, "you mean him? He's just temporary. We're doing some work for the NCR." She then placed her hands on her hips and added. "I thought you said that you were going to go off hunting Legionaries."

Vulpes controlled the urge to snap his head to look at both her and the man she was talking to. On the outside his face remained as stone cold as was characteristic for him. On the inside he felt a jolt of rage at the thought of someone hunting down his comrades. That rage did not disappear as the First Recon man replied to Scarlet.

"Yeah, well, I find that enough of them come by here for me to do some damage."

Vulpes' body stiffened. It was just a minute body change, but somehow Scarlet caught it, for a few seconds later he felt her delicate hand brush across his lower back. Then it settled there, her thumb tracing a reassuring and soothing pattern along his spine. What… She was trying to calm him. This was a strange thing for him to experience. Legion soldiers didn't need reassurance, didn't get it. To feel her gentle touch caused an odd curling in his stomach. The feeling made him uncomfortable, but her touch…

His body was already relaxing, as if by some kind of magic she was caressing away his rage.

"Where are you headed?" The Sniper asked.

Scarlet merely pointed in the direction they were going.

"Gibson?"

"No, Helios One. You think they have any extra solar array panels they can spare?" Her thumb had stopped moving but her fingers now kneaded the tense muscles in his back. He fought the want of his eyelids to slide closed at the soft pleasure, determined to not let her effect him so strongly. Instead he thought how amusing it was that she was trying to console an angry Legion officer while arguing with a soldier for the NCR.

Oh, Scarlet, do you have any idea how you look sometimes? If he had spoken the words instead of thought them he knew they would have come out a deep purr and perhaps a little mocking. Fight, fight, fight, she did against the thought of the Legion but her actions spoke volumes. Did she even realize how close she was to tipping the scale already?

-X-

Vulpes knew that it was just a story that Scarlet was telling, but every time she told someone that they were working for the NCR he could feel the temperature of his blood begin to rise. For a moment he actually missed the magic touch she had so calmed him with not even half an hour before. Just as soon as he realized that was true he squashed it down with a wave of personal disgust. He didn't need a woman to coddle him, especially that one.

The two were silent as they worked their way through the catwalks and then down to the doorway that led to the main control room for Helios One. That's where they would find a man called Mr. Fantastic, who Vulpes had a feeling was anything but fantastic. They would also encounter a Followers scientist named Ignacio Rivas. Arcade had told them about him before they had set off from Nellis and hinted to ask him more about the power system. Vulpes was beginning to see what Caesar was seeing now. She had this way of making people trust her, care about her. He had realized this to some degree before but now it was obvious that she could accomplish things that not even the most well trained Frumentarius could. Something about her just seemed so innocent to people that they wanted to lay their secrets in her hands.

When they arrived they found that Fantastic was, as expected, not that fantastic, but Rivas was more than helpful. When they went through towards the back exit that would lead them to the fenced in part of the facility they met him. Scarlet immediately introduced herself with a smile and Rivas had apparently heard of her as well. "I've been told you've helped us out quite a bit." He mentioned. "You have our appreciation."

"Don't worry about it. The Followers are super cool so I don't mind helping out." She told the man. "Is there anything else we can help out with other than this power problem? Arcade said there was something else going on."

Rivas looked out his door and when he was satisfied Fantastic wasn't around he closed it and locked it. He then told them about the possibility of a powerful weapon that almost had Vulpes weak in the knees. Mars be praised, the Legion could be having victory handed over to them on a silver platter and the Mojave was too ignorant to realize it. And it was all thanks to the petite little cherubim at his side. He gave Scarlet a look that meant that they were going to talk about this when they were alone. She looked nervous.

-X-

With the knowledge of a potential weapon dancing through their heads both Vulpes and Scarlet knew that their stay at Helios One would last a little longer than expected. Originally she was just going to come in, say what she had to say to get the array parts, and then leave with an apology that the work was far beyond what she could help them with. However, a greater incentive dangled in front of them like a big destructive carrot. Vulpes was interested in it for war; Scarlet was just curious. They set about inputting the codes into their rightful terminals and then headed to the building in the center of the camp. They could feel the eyes of the NCR soldiers on them as they walked, knowing they were thinking that the two were not going to come back out of there due to the heavily guarded interior.

Inside they found robots, and turrets. "Fucking robots!" Scarlet cursed, chucking a pulse grenade toward a protectron that was waddling their way over to them. Why was it always fucking robots? Much to her dismay it bounced and fell past it over the side of the walkway. Another curse and she swung herself back around the wall to avoid being shot by the turrets. Across from them Vulpes pointed out a door. They hurried to it and shut the door behind them.

"I've noticed that you have this overpowering hatred for robots?" Vulpes inquired. He knew why he disliked them, but for a woman like Scarlet, who seemed to enjoy such things absolutely despised them.

She blinked at him. "Really?" She pointed to a fresh laser burn on the arm of her outfit.

"It goes deeper than that." He pressed, finding a little entertainment in how frustrated she got over the issue.

"They bother me. Nothing that isn't living and born with a soul should have that kind of intelligence. Its… unnatural."

"You don't like them because they creep you out."

"They don't creep me out!" She tried to argue.

"That's essentially what you just said in not so many words." He pointed out.

"Fine, they fucking creep me out." She muttered at him. As her eyes gazed passed him she saw a terminal in the corner. "Hello!" Moving passed him she pressed a few keys and brought up the main screen. It asked for a password. She cursed. "I'm going to have to hack it."

Vulpes leaned over her shoulder a little to watch her. The Legion wasn't much for technology, but it never hurt to learn new things. She then brought up a screen full of words and strange symbols. Somewhere in that list she said was the password that would allow them to access the controls. It was just a matter of finding them. The only problem with it was they only had a limited number of chances before it locked them out. The setup seemed impossible until she chose a word. It appeared on the right side of the screen with two numbers beside it. 3/7.

"What does that mean?"

"This is how many letters are correct in the password." She explained, pointing at the 3.

It was logic. Pure logic. "It's a puzzle." He said aloud.

"Yes, it's a puzzle."

"Try that word." He indicated one on the bottom of the screen. She did so, but gave him a very strange expression. That word appeared on the right side of the screen as well, but underneath the first. The numbers this time read 5/7.

"Good job." She grinned. "I'm terrible at this."

"Then can I try?" He was surprised that he was interested.

She seemed to be, too, but rose from the seat and motioned to it. "Be my guest. I'll go keep watch by the door."

While he studied the words on the screen Scarlet leaned against the wall in the dim light, straining her ears to listen for any sign that they were being approached. They had left that protectron outside marching towards them so it was only a short amount of time before it reached their hiding spot. Vulpes chose another word, lips thinning into a scowl when it came up 5/7 again. No worse, but no better. Although there could contain a clue as to which letters were the correct ones. He began to examine the three words that had already been chosen closely.

Meanwhile the door slid open and the protectron grinded out its mechanical warning. Scarlet rolled her eyes and blasted its head casing right off, and shoved it back out of the room with a kick. It bounced on the floor outside and she slapped the control for the door. Silence once more.

Vulpes took a deep breath and moved the cursor over a word. He was sure it was this one. He pressed the key and for a moment he thought it was telling him he was wrong, but then the words slid up on the screen and the control options appeared. Scarlet cried out happily and he was aware that her hand was squeezing his shoulder with excitement.

"Yesss." She hissed, watching as he began to cancel all security protocol. "No turrets today, thank god!"

-X-

Standing at the top of the tower had a dizzying effect on Scarlet's mind. The height made her feel like she was unbalanced and could fall at any moment despite how firmly her boots were planted on the steel catwalks. The beauty of the view was dazzling. Even the solar panels below had a strange beauty from way up here. Instead of hulking pieces of technology their arrangement reminded her of a giant glittering flower, and like a flower they waited for the sun to feed them. She smiled as a breeze wafted passed her face, blowing strands of copper blond hair across her eyes. She moved to brush them out of her way, turning her head just slightly to look back at her companion.

Vulpes had stopped when they came out of the door, and he was in thinking mode. Curious she walked back over to him. "What is it?"

"Archimedes." He stated. They were high above anyone who could hear them. It was the perfect place to talk about it. "What are we going to do with this little bit of information?"

Scarlet swallowed and lowered her head. She had been concerned about that the entire time they made their way through the facility. Archimedes was real. They weren't quite sure what it did yet, but they knew it was indeed a powerful weapon, and a dangerous one in the wrong hands. Only Scarlet felt herself wondering whose hands were wrong. She was happy the Brotherhood no longer had it, for they were technological crazies. However the NCR wasn't too much better, they would probably lord it over their people as a way to make them obey them, an incentive for those that hadn't accepted them to do so… or else. Thankfully they were too stupid and spread too thin to realize what they had here. Yet the Legion, the Legion would use its destructive power to expand their imperial might. Since she hadn't made her mind up about them she didn't want to just hand them the information about it, but she really didn't have a choice with Vulpes standing right there.

"Can we keep it to ourselves for a while? Its not like we even know what it can do."

Vulpes studied her hard. She felt his eyes driving into her like knives and she was suddenly filled with fear for the first time she had met him. If he wanted to he could just push her off the side of the railing or strangle her. By the time anyone realized it she'd be dead and he would be long gone, on his way back to Caesar to inform him of it. Still, she didn't see him as the type to just attack like that, especially when Caesar was so interested in her. No, he couldn't really kill her without orders – could he? He moved to grip her arm and drag her toward him, the muzzle of his gun pressed against her jaw. "And what if you decide to betray us and tell the NCR about the weapon and warn them to protect it?"

Her body trembled in his grasp, but she managed an answer. "If I betray you to them I would have to betray myself and admit that I was with you here."

He considered that. "However true that is, why should we just sit on information like this?"

Scarlet sighed. "Remember that trust thing we talked about? It would go a long way with me right now if you would just trust me that telling Caesar about Archimedes right now would be the wrong move. I'll tell him myself when the time is right, in fact, if I decide to choose the Legion I will make it my gift along with my services."

"And if you don't choose the Legion?" He questioned.

"Then you can kill me and tell Caesar about it anyway. You don't have to tell him how long you've known about it. No harm, no foul." She gave him a small, hopeful smile. He felt her hand on his back again, her fingers once more sliding along his spine. She was becoming quite brave when it came to him. He hoped she wasn't beginning to underestimate him, or think that she could just charm him into doing what she wanted. That might have worked on that fool Benny if she had tried it, but it would not work on him.

Vulpes didn't like the idea of keeping a secret of such a magnitude from Caesar, but at the same time her words did ring with some truth. At that moment the Legion was gaining the upper hand again, but their numbers were still small in the area compared to their other regions. Sending a regiment to take this place would mean less of their people in other camps. It might make them vulnerable. The wait and see tactic could end up helping them in the long run. Also, it might also be worth it to gain points with her. From what he could tell Scarlet had been betrayed by just about everyone, and if he could get her to believe he was trustworthy it would be that much easier to pull her into the Legion, to draw her into his own web.

Finally he pulled his gun away and holstered it. He allowed himself to return her smile with one of his own. "Very well, but keep in mind what will happen if you lied to me."

Long chapter is long. O.o;

So this baby ended up being 9 pages long, almost 10 before I decided that I would end it a little sooner than I planned, but it worked out well. Also the part about Boone was an addition that just jumped into the story as I wrote. It surprised the hell out of me because I actually really like Boone so writing him and Scarlet at odds like that was weird. I'm still trying to figure out everything for the next chapter, but as I write it should smooth itself out. I am considering doing the Young Hearts Quest where Jack reveals he's fallen for the Crimson Caravan girl Janet and wants to meet her. I'm a little iffy, but I also think it would be interesting to see how Vulpes may react or not react put in a situation like that. Any thoughts on that would be helpful.

Also also! It was raining last night so it was hard to sleep so I got back up, but for some reason couldn't concentrate on Liberatas at all so I started this possible one-shot series with another Courier character and Vulpes, although its going to lean more on the smut-side until the very last chapter (depending upon what decisions I make). It should be very short and I may not publish it until I'm finished. Just thought I'd give my fellow Vulpes lovers a heads-up while I worked on in case you're interested.

Next Chapter: Can't Buy Me Love - Title may change depending upon content. Erm, more Boomer stuff. Possible trek into the world of love if Scarlet decides to help Jack with his long distance crush and the two of them begin to prepare for the big finale for the Boomers. At most I only have two more chapters consisting of action at Nellis and then I have something a little more original planned for a little break.