Hello, everyone! It is been a while - again. But here is the next chapter. Its not very long compared to some of my latest chapters, but it was kind of a necessary chapter so, yeah. And I also knew that I would be making quite a few replies here. I won't get everyone that sent me a review, so if I don't reply to you know that I am still very thankful and appreciative. I'm going to try to catch all of those that I feel I need to reply to and such and I'll probably jump around in the order I received them. Oh, and apologies for the replies if they sound kind of choppy; its 7 AM here and I've been up all night. So here goes, and enjoy the chapter.

gorguts5: Hm. I only saw the beginning of Bleach so I don't know that character too well. I just kind of had an image of the way Vulpes was, and from the way he talked about how people acted in Nipton he kind of sneered 'loved ones' in a way that made me wonder if he had issues with the idea of love. I kind of ran with that sentiment a bit.

Lakritzwolf: For some reason that makes me smile a bit that my story is being handed out like that. Link worthy I suppose. And about a beta reader? Sigh. I know I probably need one. I go over my chapters a million times, including once or twice after I post it to make sure the upload didn't screw anything up and I still miss stuff. I've talked on my blog a bit about a personal issue I have and I guess that will explain why I haven't gone out and got one... I hate to admit it cos I feel like it makes me sound like a psycho, but I have a really bad anxiety disorder and can't usually bring myself to initiate conversation with people I don't know. And also I have a bad habit, though I don't mean to, of sometimes disappearing from here for a few months, and I don't want to put a beta through that kind of see-saw activity. But, I suppose if there is anyone out there that wants to help me check over my stuff I definitely wouldn't be adverse to the idea.

SepiaDreams: Thank you for liking Scarlet. The every day just trying to get along kind of person was what I was going for with her. I think a lot of times people make the Courier out to be either this badass renegade or super paragon (god, I've been playing way too Mass Effect to use those descriptions, lol) but a lot of times I just see them as a regular person. I wanted Scarlet to struggle with her choices and the life that's just been shoved in her lap. If it was easy it would be a boring predictable story. And to clarify I don't mind the super paragon or the badass if done well, I just didn't feel it fit Scarlet's story.

Lucidique: Danke, friend. I was worried about the sexual bit in 16, with the two of them, err, well enjoying themselves. However I hope it turned out well to show their 'relationship' is beginning to step up a bit from traveling companions. And about the line concerning the legion and the NCR, I'm glad it stood out. She's so deeply twisted in the war between the two that I felt it needed to be shown how it was starting to effect her. Oh, Vulpes. That scene was hard to write with him being all in pain and everything, even if it was just a bad dream.

Rastanton94: Ulysses! Yes! I haven't decided if he will be in this first story yet, but after playing the Lonesome Road I definitely want him somewhere. I think he is very relevant to Scarlet's struggle with herself. I've been trying to figure out how to work him into Scarlet's tale and want to very much. Most likely he will be in Arcana Imperii, the sequel.

Ok, I'm getting a big list of replies and I'm exhausted. When I have more time I might make a reply post to as much as I can on my blog - if I can ever get the link to show up on my profile. For some reason my links aren't working, at least on my end. Love all you guys and I hope you haven't given up on me!

Chapter XXVIII

No Rest For the Wicked

Vulpes watched the sun come up over the edge of the Mojave as he pushed the contents of his breakfast around the pan Scarlet had packed for him. Somewhere in that head of hers she must have realized that he had the ability to take care of himself, yet she had insisted upon readying a travel kit filled with a few meals worth of food and other necessary items. He remembered the way she had spoken about the cosmic force that seemed to ruin every aspect of her life and wondered if this was a small way she combated it, by feeling like she was doing something productive towards taking care of those that meant something to her. It had been a long time since he could remember anyone trying to take care of him, and those memories were so surreal that they could have said to be just dreams.

He shook his head, a smirk ghosting over his features as he slid the omelet onto a small plate. He wouldn't say so, couldn't say so, but it was actually a pleasant feeling. Some of the other soldiers had wives back home, wives that would cook for them and mend their armor, wives that bore the next generation of the Legion, the future of the world while giving their husbands a present worth living in. Vulpes never fully understood the appeal of officially taking a spouse or companion before. If one wanted a child or just a night of pleasure there were ways of achieving that goal. However, the time spent with the Courier gave him a small glimpse of what it might be like to have someone look out for you in that manner and he began to get why some of the men would choose to have that life.

Outsiders did not understand the way the Legion hierarchy worked. At most the degenerates saw their war camps filled with warriors, slaves, and whores meant to keep the loyal company while away from home. This was not the full picture of the glory of the Caesar's Legion. Women, though below men on the totem pole, were still human beings in their eyes, meant to be protected if they properly served. Profligates believed women were treated as slaves, but that was true only if they were slaves. Free women of the Legion had their freedoms, but they also had their responsibilities. Most accepted this life in exchange for that protection from the outside world.

His fork tapped the side of his plate as he gazed into the horizon, worrying about Scarlet's place in the Legion when this was finished and she indeed chose their side as it looked like she would. She was not the kind of woman to sit before the hearth while others marched off to war. Had he grown soft in his time away from the Fort, away from other men and the influence of Caesar's laws? It was not like him to be so concerned for another in this way. Those that refused to fall in line or find their place were discarded, but it caused a spark of something akin to displeasure when he thought of Scarlet going that route.

Before his breakfast got cold he forced his mind to turn to the mission he was on his way to and closed off thoughts of the women he'd left behind on the strip. For now she was all right, surrounded by the lights of New Vegas and the men he'd put in charge of looking after her while he was away.

-X-

"—someone outside waiting for you."

"Uh, what?" Scarlet only heard the tail-end of what was being said. She set the magazine she had been reading aside and lifted her head to the securitron that had wheeled itself down from the penthouse. As robots went Yes-Man was both loads more annoying than any regular robot, but at least he was far more useful. Her orders were to stay quiet and hidden in the penthouse, especially when she was not alone in the building. It was rare for him to come to her with anything.

"There is an NCR soldier pacing outside the Lucky 38. Thought he was drunk, but he keeps looking up here like he's waiting for something. I thought you might be expecting him."

"I wasn't, but I'll go see what its about."

"Of course! Will you be needing anything else?"

"No, I won't. And don't forget to take that securitron back upstairs. I don't want to have to explain this to Vulpes." She didn't. Doing so would have her admitting to her back-up plan in case she lost the Legion's favor. She wasn't stupid enough to think she could outrun them. As the days passed she was beginning to feel more and more guilty about having this secret from her current employers.

She dressed quickly and took the elevator down to the main level. The soldier pacing in front of the Lucky 38 was rather young, so young she wondered if he had lied about his age to join up. He scratched the back of his head nervously when he saw her and opened his mouth to say something, eyes skirting around to avoid looking straight at her. No doubt he had heard stories of the Mojave courier and was intimidated by being the one to have to come talk to her. At any other time she might try to be nice about things, but today she was in a foul mood and his inability to go ahead and get to the point was irritating her.

"Spit it out, what do you need?"

"I, uh, I mean, Crocker wants to see you about something important."

"Does he now?" This was looking like it was going to turn into another important mission the NCR needed done that they didn't want to send their own people to go do. That usually meant that it would be dangerous or tedious. Joy.

"Yes, ma'am."

"I'm not a ma'am – and tell him I'll be around in a little while."

-X-

"Rex, want to go for walkies!" Scarlet waited about half an hour before she decided to go see Crocker. The last thing she needed was to give the NCR the impression she was at their beck and call 24/7. She didn't mind doing innocent jobs for them to keep up appearances, but she wasn't going to be their go-to gal for every damned thing they didn't want to do themselves.

The cyber dog had been chewing on an old shoe he'd found somewhere in the building, but upon hearing that they were going on he dropped it and got to his feet, tongue lolling happily.

Scarlet grabbed her bag and once more headed out, her faithful companion at her side. The walk to the embassy seemed longer than usual, which didn't improve her mood any. She wanted to get this meeting over and done with so she could move on with her day unimpeded.

Crocker was in his usual mood as she entered. He portrayed a friendliness with her right up until she asked to get down to business and then he grew somber. "I have a task for you, something that you may decline if you wish, but I don't think anyone else is better suited for it."

She nodded and didn't say anything so that he would continue.

"I'm sure you've heard of Black Mountain. Its just a little ways down the road from Sloan. Lately there has been an increasing amount of attacks and disappearances along that stretch of road. Now, some of the problems could be accounted to the number of deathclaws that are in the area. However, for a few that have made it back from that area they assure me that it is not just deathclaws that we have to worry about, but supermutants and nightkin. Furthermore there has been rather odd radio transmissions from the top of the mountain."

Black Mountain. The place had come up in conversations with Marcus before. She didn't know much about it except for that it was originally the place where he and his group of super mutants had lived before a coup by a nightkin, who might be to blame for these 'odd radio transmissions.'

Crocker continued explaining the details of the situation, even going so far as to say that if the problem wasn't cleared up then they would have to rid the Mojave of any Supermutant or Nightkin presence. This, Scarlet did not want to hear. The group on Black Mountain might not be friendly, but if the NCR begun a systematic hunt for Super Mutant kind it could cause an explosion of violence from the already on the fence members of even the Jacobstown residents. Keene would just love a chance to tell Marcus to stuff it with a reason behind it.

"You do realize what that would cause?"

"If you are talking about the other group of mutants then yes, I am aware. At this point we cannot excuse any group that may be hostile."

"Jacobstown isn't hostile!" Scarlet bolted from her seat and Crocker sat back in his chair with an expression on his face that said that he thought she might hit him.

When he recovered, realizing that she was not going to beat his face in, he added, "then I ask you prove they are not a threat by getting rid of the problem on Black Mountain. I can't have my men and other travelers being attacked. We already have the Legion to worry about and the deathclaws."

I promised Vulpes to stay out of trouble. Scarlet balled her fists at her side and glanced down at Rex, as if trying to glean some kind of answer from him. She knew she should just stay in New Vegas until he returned, but the idea that a problem could arise for Marcus and the other mutants that had tried so hard to stay out of trouble because of this other bunch, because Crocker and the NCR couldn't see a difference between them didn't sit well with her. "I'll go. But I ask that you not take any action until I return – or until you have proof that something has happened to me. I guarantee you that Jacobstown is peaceful and I will stop the attacks near Black Mountain."

As they left the embassy Scarlet sighed and turned to Rex, "why is it always us?"

Rex whined.

-X-

The Head of the Frumentarii didn't stop for lunch. By the time the sun was at it's highest in the sky he had passed Novac and headed onward. Another half hour and he was entering the small camp just a quarter of a mile from what the NCR had dubbed Ranger Station Charlie. One of the younger, apparently overzealous men immediately raised his rifle in Vulpes direction and received a prompt and unapologetic cuffing from his superior officer. This was something that, while it didn't happen often, it did happen due to his habit of not changing back into his uniform until he had reached the safety of one of their outposts.

"Do you not know who has just entered our camp, boy!" The elder man growled before turned to Vulpes. "Vulpes Inculta, you are right on time, as usual. In fact you are rather early."

He nodded his head as he swept a glance through the camp. It was definitely enough men to accomplish the mission that he had set for them. Even if they had half the numbers they would be able to complete it. "Is everything ready for tonight?" He swung his pack from his shoulder and dropped it on a log that had been set around the fire.

"Yes sir." The soldier led him up to a hidden cache where an additional set of weapons and clothing had been brought up from the Fort. Among their equipment was a small crate packed with various NCR disguises for the first half of his plan. He knelt beside it and examined each one before giving his full approval.

"I will have to tell my agents good job for procuring these. They're in perfect condition. I just need to meet the distraction team and brief them for what they will be expected to do."

Ranger Station Charlie had been a thorn, albeit a small one, in his side for quite some time. Many did not consider it so much of a threat to them, but it wasn't a matter of manpower, it was a matter of symbolism. Especially in Novac, Charlie had become something of a landlocked lighthouse shining its invisible light telling them that they were safe and that they had the Legion situation handled. After that night Charlie would no longer be that symbol. Weeks of recon had put together guard changes and patrol schedules. They knew every NCR soldier that was expected to be there and had planned for any number of random visitors that might drop in unannounced and catch them. The NCR was spread too thin as it was and once Charlie was gone they would not be able to replace the soldiers lost there, leaving the post empty and no longer an obstacle the Legion had to worry about.

The plan was broken up into three parts. The first was the manner of the two teams he had split these men into. The first would be disguised as a small band of traveling NCR soldiers that would get in close to the patrol team and take them out. Meanwhile the second would be in positions around the station, monitoring the place to make sure everything was as it should be. When the patrol team was taken out team 1 would move in and half of team 2 would follow. A couple men would be left as lookout as they ridded Charlie of its NCR presence. In, out, and totally in control. He did not see it taking longer than an hour, if that.

"Team One is ready to be prepped."

"Good." Vulpes rose to his feet and dusted off his hands on the hips of his pants. "Let us begin."

-X-

As Jacobstown came into view, Rex sprinted off barking and bouncing toward the entrance. Scarlet rolled her eyes at the mutt, but didn't worry about anything happening to him. By now most of the mutants on guard duty had become familiar with the cyber hound and his owner. This trip was probably not necessary, she had told herself, yet if something bad did happen to her then she felt Marcus needed to be warned about the volatile situation that was brewing due to Black Mountain's residents.

"Marcus!" She opened her arms in greeting.

"Scarlet, I didn't think I would be seeing you again for a while." Marcus said. "It got a bit troublesome last time."

"Eh, you think a few NCR mercs would keep me away!" She gave him a smirk that she didn't quite feel. The memory of the second incident with those men still played through her mind like a bad dream, and that was just what she wanted to remember that as.

Somewhere she heard the irritated rumblings of farm animals and the playfully yipping of Rex. She cringed. "Sorry."

"He won't hurt anything." Marcus readjusted the goggles on his head and followed the sound with his eyes.

"…Yeah. Listen," she glanced around nervously, making sure no one else was around to hear her, "I actually am here on business. I have some potentially bad news."

"I see."

She proceeded to explain what Crocker had told her, and each syllable added another crease of worry to the super mutant's face. "I remember you talking about Black Mountain and I came to see if there was any useful information you might have, and you know, a heads up in case the NCR decides to say fuck diplomacy."

"I had heard that Tabitha had been stirring up trouble, but I hadn't known it was getting so bad. There's a super mutant called Neil who is staying near there per my request, keeping an eye on them. He might be able to help you, and I can draw you a layout of the Black Mountain facility to give you an idea of what you're walking into. Of course, Tabitha has probably changed things considerably since I left, but the buildings ought to have remained the same." He motioned for Scarlet to follow him up to the main lodge building.

"I figured as much. Do you think there is any chance I can reason with her or do you think this will have to end bloody?" God, she really hated to phrase it like that, but there wasn't another way to do so. With mutants or nightkin there was really no happy medium, at least with it came to relations with normal humans.

"I want to tell you that there is a way to get her to stop, but I don't think so. Be prepared for anything." He held the door open for her as they entered the darker, cooler interior. In one corner of the room she spotted Keene, his normal foul mood evident in his body language as he spoke to another nightkin. When they closed the door he looked up and shot her a nasty expression. Scarlet pretended not to see it.

She leaned against the aged front desk and played with the snow globe on the counter as Marcus dug around trying to find some paper to sketch out that map for her.

"Human."

"Nightkin." She lifted her eyes up to Keene when he approached her.

"For someone who claims to want to improve feelings toward our races you have no respect." Keene's voice dropped to a growl. Scarlet fought the urge to blow him off.

"I'm like that with everyone, people I like, people I don't like. Its who I am and changing that would just go to prove that I think I think humans should watch what they say and treat you different. I'm not going to do that. You don't have to like me. I'm not going to make you." She rolled the snow globe around in her hands a few more times before she set it back down.

"What are you doing here?"

"I can't visit?"

"You don't visit. You invade and irritate."

"I think you have me confused with Rex. He's the small furry one." She held out her hand to indicate a much smaller being.

Keene snarled and leaned in toward her, "I'm watching you." He turned and began to lumber off, most likely to glower about how he wasn't getting what he wanted.

Not being one to ignore a perfect moment for a come back she raised her voice just enough to give her parting shot, "you know pictures last longer, right? I'll bring you one next time!"

Keene disappeared into another room and slammed the door. How he didn't shatter it right off its hinges she would never know.

A deep sigh came from behind her on the other side of the desk where Marcus was drawing out the map. "I wish you would just get along with him."

"Keene? Seriously? He started it. And besides, he knows better than to start something right now. Its not like we had a battle royale right in the middle of the foyer."

"Let us hope that it never comes to that."

"Yeah, I'd hate to have to clean the blood off my clothes. There's not enough Abraxo around for that."

Marcus didn't bother trying to tell her she shouldn't be so flippant about the animosity between herself and Keene. They all knew the stakes of Keene finally giving up trying to get along. "Here."

Scarlet took the map and compared it with her pip boy map, marking a few points for cross reference. When she was sure it was about right she folded the map and put it in her bag. "I wish I could stay, but I need to get this done as soon as I can so that everything doesn't blow up in our face. And," she looked to where Keene had went, "its probably best I don't stay too long. Contrary to what you believe I really don't want to cause an incident."

"I know you don't." Marcus looked a millennia old, weary. He patted her shoulder as gently as he could manage. "Be careful."

"Always am."

"Uh-huh. Go collect your dog, and give Neil my regards."

Scarlet headed out.

-X-

Marcus might not have seen it, but Keene did. That human Courier did not show up unless something bad was going on. His suspicions were confirmed when he heard them mention Neil. She must have been there about Black Mountain. Well, it has been a while since I've been there. Maybe it is time to pay a visit…

…and get rid of her for good.

Bam! You have now reached the end of Chapter 18. Chapter 19 will be pretty action packed if I get it the way I want it, even if it has to be long. I will try not to make the wait as long as this time. I hope you enjoyed.