Snowflake on the Sand
Chapter 23
Heist of the centuries
Winter sorted the weapons and medical supplies as the Villa ambience music played a distorted version of something that once was beautiful. The slow notes and the lyrics creating and almost diabolical noise, it was actually funny how little silence there was on the death villa. The Mojave had an eerie quietness to it, the wind against the sand and the occasional creature in the distance, but here there was always noise. The radios, the ambience music that came from speakers she could not see and the ticking of the collars when they wandered towards places they were not supposed to go and now the bickering of her two "teammates".
"I have seen better ventriloquism at bars, at least they know their name without having to carve it into their chest" Dean said as he glared at God, Winter did not why they were arguing but it started because the Super Mutant had found one of Dean's hidden stashes and used it, apparently the ghoul took offense to that.
"Mirrors tell me my name when needed and I have several names for you, charlatan, thief and monster. Your greed for the Madre and your obsession could not be stopped even when the bombs fell" God fired back as Winter made a mental note to keep a close eye on Dean once they got inside the casino. The confrontation was cut short as footsteps echoed in the villa coming from the medical district. Winter prepared her holorifle and made a motion for both of her companions to wait for her signal, there was a tense moment but they finally managed to see crearly as Winter lowered her weapon "It's Six, don't shoot"
God went back to the other side of the fountain while Dean walked next to Winter "A super mutant, a scarred lady and a pirate, are you the only one who doesn't look like they just walked out of NukaWorld?" Dean commented but Winter did not hear him her attention was on the new eyepatch that Six was wearing and how his new companion looked like she was about to pass out. To her surprise Six looked rejuvenated but his expression was not one of joy, she briefly wondered if everything was ok.
"How you doing Winter?" the courier asked as he approached her, Winter gave a sad smile "I've been better, i think the lucky thirty eight spoiled us a little"
Six snorted as he handed Christine some med-x and some stimpacks "Poor girl, found her inside an autodoc that did nonstop operation on her vocal cords and her brain, fucked up her ability to write and speak but she doesn't need to talk for me to see how much it hurts" Wintered gave him a look "Auto-doc?"
"Ah yeah, forgot to explain that one. A machine treats all injuries and can perform operations. Healed my injuries for the most part but I think the ones in the villa are messed up because I felt like shit after getting in one, best to stick to stimpacks" Six said as he rubbed his arms. Winter nodded and then turned to the fountain "Do we talk to him?"
Six pondered for a moment "Sure, but we should be careful with our words this Father Elijah is a real piece of work"
"Is he like a priest or something?" Winter asked as Six shook his head "Not quite, he's from the brotherhood of steel and from what I have heard he's someone we should be weary of. He did almost hold Helios after all" Winter raised an eyebrow at the comment, she remembered the description of the battle differently but she noticed how Six subtly pointed towards his own wrist, the PipBoy's light no longer comforting.
He had access to it, Elijah could hear and track their every move. Winter swallowed hard as she thanked the brothers that she was not that vocal on her dislike of him. She briefly wondered if Elijah had heard the schemes of God and Dean, or if he even cared enough to listen into it.
Six was the one who tapped into the fountain; there was a moment of silence before the old man appeared once again. His eyes cold and focused as he looked down at them as if they were tools ready to use "Ah so you gathered everyone… good, then we can begin. The Sierra Madre can only be opened under certain circumstances; luckily for us everything is prepared so all we need is the right people at the right place for the festivities to commence. The gala opening is now our main objective I have sent the instructions to your PipBoy"
The hologram shut off as the familiar image of the woman, who Winter had learned from Dean was named Vera, came back to spout the same message again. The promises of riches seemed hollow now, all she wanted was to leave the Sierra Madre. But out of the corner of her eye she saw the gleam in the eyes of the people around her, cold hatred, ancient ambition and a sense of duty came from the people she had just met. But there was something she was not expecting, Six grinned as he stared at the Madre.
Winter walked next to him and placed a hand on his shoulder "Everything all right?"
Six snapped out of his trance as he faced her, to her surprise he reached for her hand and gave it a gentle squeeze "It will be, just thinking on some things" Winter narrowed her eyes but leaned on his shoulder anyways "You better not get the gold sickness too you know, I will freeze you where you stand"
The courier laughed as she shook his head "No need to worry, just forming a plan once I am inside that's all. Besides the real treasure is right here with me" Six glanced at her eyes making her heart skip a beat. "Save the flirting for when we get out of here…" Winter leaned a little bit as if to kiss him but she instead whispered "We should not leave the girl alone with Dean"
Six glanced at the ghoul who was glaring at the Madre, there was something off about this Dean that he did not like, he briefly wondered if it was the same Dean that was mentioned in the terminal that he read in the hospital, but he really doubted it. Two hundred years was a feat impressive for any ghoul but it was impossible that someone could survive so long here, but for now that did not matter. He briefly glanced at his PipBoy for instructions he walked towards the ghoul who glanced down at him.
"Dean right? The name's Courier Six" he extended his hand but was not surprised when the only thing Dean did was stare at him "Is everything about you odd, what kind of name is that?"
Six chuckled "The one I use friend, so we need to get you to Puesta del Sol South so if you do not mind following me" Dean let out a sigh as he looked at the heavens as if God himself would answer his dramatic cries of frustration. "Sure, lead the way pirate man" Six cocked his head to the side not understanding the insult aggravating the ghoul further, Winter watched the exchange with curiosity. She didn't get it, where was the suave manipulator she had met a couple of minutes ago?
Six fumbled with his PipBoy for a minute as he tried to see the coordinates, the ghoul gave her an exasperated look as they started walking but Winter for her part saw through the little charade, she was glad she didn't say much of Six. There was an act, the fool was easy to dismiss. A dumb bastard who came looking for greed, she just hoped that Six didn't over play it.
Puesta del Sol was what she could only assume to be the plaza where companies could set up shop to sell what they desired, the amount of broken signs and the few intact vending machines told Winter the story of how much money went into this place "Makes you wonder doesn't it? If there was this much luxury exposed to the elements, just what is waiting inside the Madre?" Dean commented as he walked next to her, Winter gave him a glare for sneaking up on her.
"Not really, I just want to go home" Winter said with a sigh making Dean chuckle "Ah but what home is out there anyways? I cannot imagine that the world has changed much in my absence, it took time but the radios came back and all I heard was ramblings of death and wars. It gets quite monotonous after a while you know"
Winter shrugged "Better than here, the nations in the wasteland are a step in the right direction"
Dean gave her a look "Nations? Maybe from where you come from my dear but, are they really no longer just raiders looking to get money? I highly doubt that, all of them can act different but they are not civilized like you and me, they are brutes whose strength carry them". As if answering him, a ghost trapper tried to jump at Six who simply slammed a ghost person against the wall and brutally beat him until it exploded into a green mess, Dean shuddered while Winter blinked in surprise as she watched Six struggling to regain his posture. He was hiding something allright but she didn't know what.
He said that the Auto-Doc healed him so he should be fine. Maybe the eye was giving him trouble she briefly wondered, but Six did not give her time to question him as he walked towards a building "This is the place, we just need to climb to the top of this building and then you can connect the cables"
"What, this in the open?! Are you insane, they will kill me! Those things are attracted to noise and smells, when the whole fiasco goes off there is going to be so many of thos thing that I wont be able to walk towards the fountain" Dean immdietly pointed out as they started walking towards the point, Six ignored him as he mumbled into his PipBoy. Dean nervously looked around as if the ghost trappers where going to jump out of the walls and then kill them, Six only stopped when they were in the place "I know this is a shit position, but what do you suggest? That we say no? Our heads will get blown off and he will just move on to the next batch of bastards that come along, so what can I do to make you stay here?"
"Absolutely nothing, you cannot guarantee my safety, that is the problem you Neanderthal" Dean said as he glared at Six, the courier for his part looked into his PipBoy again and wited for some time before answering "I saw some holograms around the place, what if I activated the security. You would top security watching your back" Six said making Dean and Winter stare at him in surprise, they had seen nothing while coming up here.
"If that is true… then yeah, I would stay here but only if what you said is true" Dean said, Six gave him a nod "Sure, wait here I will get those holograms fired up so you can be safe". Six moved towards the exit with Winter on his tail, the courier was eerily quiet for his part as he looked down at the machine on his wrist "Six, is he…"
"Yes, he's giving me instructions, it makes things easier" there was something in his eye that told Winter that Courier Six was not happy with it but he gritted his teeth and got on with it, there was a small sense of irony here that was not lost on Winter. Elijah was using the thing that had facilitated their travels across the wasteland, their helpful guide, to make them do his viding. With some help from Winter the last terminal was hacked and the holograms flickered to life, their lifeless faces not changing their expression as their attention turned towards the ghost people.
The flashes of light illuminated the dead villa, the ambience music making the already hellish sound of flesh burning even more otherworldly, the ghost people ran into the red cloud with the holograms in pursuit allowing them an easy way back towards Dean who smirked down at them. "Well look at you, I guess you do keep your promises… but I assume it was more the girl than you huh cyclops?" Dean said as he tried to get a rise out of Six but the Courier simply gave him a nod as he looked down at his PipBoy and headed towards the exit "Be ready, when you hear the signal from us do your part and then run to the casino, see you there". Dean frowned as he saw the duo leave, but Winter heard him mutter "Damn tourists"
God was easier to please, the super mutant preferred to speak to Winter only sparing a glance at Six, Winter saw hatred and resentment in the eyes of the Courier but it was distant as if foggy. "You two should figure out how the machine works then, I will be hunting for ghost people do you have a preferred body part to eat?"
"Just carve the meat human" God said as he glared down at him making Six snort, with a small nod at Winter the courier prepared a spear he had sharpened and went towards the red clouds. Winter turned to study the panels but tapped on her shoulder "The one you call Courier, how did you meet him?"
Winter frowned "I don't se why share the story with someone who hates him" God chuckled "I do hate him, but the more I look at him… there seems little to there to hate"
Winter tilted her head and gave the super mutant her full attention "What do you mean?" God looked at the sky as if recalling something "The super mutants after the fall of the Master where… fearful to say the least, the world though of us as dumb monsters, hunted down by the more powerful factions. And so the fearful mutants flocked to whatever cause across the waste they could, Dog was no exception. The hunger had made him stay in California but from the hushed whispers of the tribes that he planned on feasting, the secret that there was a super mutant army gathering once more and they followed a strong leader, but Dog got there too late. There was nothing of the massive army, nothing but bones and blood. Dog heard from the few survivors the story, how a monster that resembled a human tore through their base his green eyes shining in the dark as he tore their leader apart"
Winter felt a knot form in her throat "Many people have green eyes"
"Yes, they do but there is more to the story that just his eyes. I am sure that he is the one who stopped the father and the fear in your tells me you believe it to… or he was. The eyes do not lie and before me stands an empty shell. Such a shame, he will die alone and a nobody, so maybe I will stop hating him for now"
Winter shook her head "He's not going to die… and he's not alone" their conversation was interrupted as Six appeared dragging along a blood bag full of body parts "Doctor Six diagnosed them as delicious, so here you go big boy. Be sure not to eat them all at once"
God nodded "This will suffice… thank you human"
Six's eye opened wide as he grinned "Aw, am I growing on you?" God took a bite of what looked like to be a leg "Like a dangerous tumor" Six laughed and gave Winter a weird look "Is everything ok Winter, or do I have blood on me still?"
There was a moment where Winter thought about coming forwards with the story telling him about everything she had learned, from the girl on the Ultra Luxe and from God, but would it even matter at this point. It would probably make him even more sad, so for now silence would do "Nothing Six, just thinking that we still have one more point left to cover"
Six narrowed his eyes but shrugged "Sure, I hope Christine recovered enough to get there" Winter walked next to the man as their fingers brushed against one another Six held her hand and gave it a soft squeeze. He mouthed the words "Don't worry" as the fountain came into view, but Winter could not believe those words. She did not know if it was the cloud that was hanging over the Sierra Madre or if she simply was too tired, but in this hell everything seemed so hopeless and… well red, event Six's eye seemed to turn red little by little.
"Six wait…" Winter said as she grabbed his wrist and stared at his eye, she gasped as the problem became clear; it was not a hallucination Six's only eye was changing the blood vessels seemed to be rupturing and the green on it seemed to be sucking up some of it.
"Time… is not on our time, I get why Dean uses glasses now" Six commented as he rubbed his eye, Winter felt her aura spark as they moved through a cloud and it all clicked, why the people from the villa used masks and why they covered their entire body. The cloud was eating them like a parasite eating their skin little by little, so with that in mind Winter accelerated her pace towards the fountain where Christine was.
The girl gave them a nod as she managed to stand up, there was some difficulty and Winter spotted irritation in her arms and the beginning of the reddening of her eyes, Winter briefly wondered just how quickly did the red cloud acted but there was little time to wonder.
The walk towards the switching station was short and quiet, too quiet for her taste, there was little enemies to be found but Christine seemed to be narrowing her eyes at the shadows, Six had walked ahead looting every fountain on the Villa his smile widening every time he found a large stash of Sierra Madre chips. Winter felt a small nudge on her shoulder, Christine motioned to Six and the back to her, she made the form of a line and then pointed to the mountain.
Winter tilted her head "Outside, where do we come from?"
Christine nodded as Winter thought about it for a minute "New Vegas, that's… our home for now" it felt weird to consider the city preserved in time as home, but there was nothing more she wished than to blink and wake up at the lucky thirty eight and then just crawl into her bed and hen die. The mute girl made a sign as Winter smile "So, you're from around there too huh? then when we leave we can go together" Christine shook her head and made another hand motion.
"Job? You still have a job to do" Winter said as the girl formed a glare towards the PipBoy on her wrist. Elijah, she wanted to kill the old man. From the way she worded it, it seemed that this was more than simple revenge. Was it assigned by someone? Maybe the NCR? Who knew but now they needed to get the gal event going, so the trio prepared itself for battle as Six kicked down the door of the building. The first impression they got from the humid was the anwful smell coming from everywhere "God this place reeks, what the hell died in here" Six said as he tried to look around for anything useful, Christine motioned to the wall and then to her neck making Six immediately walk away from the wall "Didn't notice the speaker, thanks Christine. Ok we need to get you to somewhere deeper inside this building and according to my PipBoy…"
Six muttered something as he opened a door and let out a disappointment sigh "Of course this would happen, we need to get to the upper level but the area is flooded… or gassed I don't know, but the point is that there is a lot of the red cloud inside this place. So the only way through is by holding our breath, so here is my plan Winter fill free to stop me if you feel like you have an idea to add to the plan, so there are three of us right and there are three possible routes so here is what I suggest. I take the long route over there pass the generators, Winter takes the one with the tricky jump while Christine covers our ass? Sounds like a plan?"
Winter frowned and looked at the giant room "There is no telling that you will make it in time to the other side Six, my aura can take care of the gas for a time" Six paused as he rubbed the back of his head "But I am slightly faster, but it really doesn't matter we just need to get there… Christine change of plans you're with me, I will need your help with the speaker over there. Doesn't look like one I can destroy" Christine nodded and gave a thumbs up to Winter who prepared herself for the run, channeling some of her power into the ground the symbol of her glyphs launched her forward into the red cloud parting it for some time.
Chritine looked in awe as she pointed at her "Yeah she's pretty cool… pardon the pun" Six jumped and grimaced a little bit as the metal sank into his skin, the blood stained the ground bellow as Six climbed but he shook off the pain and reached the top. "Christine! Wait for me to find a ladder somewhere, we don't want the speaker to blow our heads off" Christine nodded and headed to the door, there was a loud bang as Winter slammed into one of the railings as she desperately tried to hold on "Six!"
"On my way" Six jumped across the gap and shot a nearby speaker as he reached towards Winter "I got you, don't worry"
Winter coughed violently as she held onto him for dear life "It shattered…" her sentence was cut off by another coughing fit, Six simply hugged while she regained her breathing "Six, that thing is dangerous we can't get near it anymore"
Six felt a dull ache on his good eye as he stood up again and let out a sigh as he looked around "I can't make heads or tails of where the hell we need to leave Christine" he commented as the lights dimmed, Winter did breathing exercises as her lungs tried to rid her system of the invasive gas. Her aura on the other hand was having trouble coming back, she was not sure how aura worked on the inside of the body but she was sure that if she could see inside her body it would be as if someone had set up fire works.
"God my eyes and nose are in agony, how have you been able to…" Winter trailed off as Six gave her a smirk "I got some augments at the clinic, one suppresses pain so I was real lucky to get it before we got here, but I won't lie it's only a suppressor so I still feel the itches and my only eye is bugging the hell out of me. I was hoping to find something to cover it while we look for a way to get Chritine up here" Winter nodded as she steadied her breathing and looked around "There seem to be some lockers on the room over there want to take a look?"
"You read my mind baby, come on let's look around" Six said making Winter smile a little, she watched his as the walked in the run down facility, the metal under their feet whining as the corrosive cloud had eaten away at some of the structure, but Winter was trying to remember.
When they reached the lockers Six got to work breaking away everything while Winter stood still with her eyes closed "What the hell where they doing they even got the cloud in a jar here, it would be funny if that shit wasn't killing me… everything ok Winter?" the specialist motioned him to come closer. Six approached and felt her cold hand on his cheek "If you want a kiis I wont say no but the place seems a little odd"
"Quiet, I will try to unlock your aura… is should have tried to unlock it a long time ago, I'm sorry" Winter said as she started to recite the ancient words passed down since mankind had memory. But there was no draining of her own aura, nor was there wa flash of light Six stared at her expectanty but her expression gave everything he needed to know "Maybe you're just too tired, no problem I can work just fine the way that I am" Winter frowned. "No, something is wrong, I have seen soldiers do it even on the brink of death"
Six simply shrugged "Maybe I just don't have what is needed"
"Please, we all have a soul don't deny the fact that you have one" Winter said as Six returned rummaging in the lockers, when one didn't open he motioned her to get back and smashed the locker with a pipe "I'm not saying that I don't have a soul, or that I don't believe in this aura. Hell I have seen you create ice out of thin air, but here's the thing maybe our worlds work differently… and what do we have here?" Six said as he showed her a small key and a notebook.
Winter looked at the last page "Ventilation system fixed?" Six grabbed the notebook again and motioned to the other side "Precisely, the railing and metal floor are gone but I think we can make it with a jump" Winter nodded as she watched Six take the jump. There was a moment of silence inside the new room, but what followed was a large explosion, Winter almost jumped too but the ventilation system awoke from its slumber and the floor bellow was visible once more.
"Fuck, some asshole thought it would be funny to have a bomb there" Six said as he jumped back to the platform, there was some pieces of shrapnel sticking to his body but he mostly ignored it as he motioned to Chirstine to meet them on the now cleared floor.
"You're quiet, something on your mind?" Six asked as they returned to the ground, Winter shook her head as her gaze lingered on Christine "Just trying to figure something out" Six nodded as he walked to the other side of the room, trying to get a look of the room now that there was no cloud to kill him. Winter saw Christine swallow nervously as they walked deeper into the facility, the walls closing in on them as a single set of stairs came into view.
Six made a signal for them to wait as he headed up, Winter had more time to look around, it was very dark only a couple of lights flickering. "There's nothing here you can come up" Winter felt the air grow colder as they reached the room Six was in. He was pushing the door of an elevator open, the doors broke and fell into the dark abyss bellow "Good, it works now we just need to call the elevator and send you down there Christine"
The girl shook her head and took a step back as if there was a monster that was going to crawl out of the elevator "Something wrong, don't tell me you got cold feet now". Six said as he walked forward but Winter stopped him, placing a hand on his shoulder she whispered into his ear "She's having a panic attack, it seems like she has claustrophobia" there was a tense silence as the both of them wondered what do. Six let out a sigh and walked towards Christine while Winter spotted a terminal sitting next to a bunch of machinery. "It's ok; I am not shoving you in that box if you don't want to… I understand, being locked into that auto doc must have been horrible, there must be another way to get this thing to work"
Winter smirked as she approached them "Already found one, Christine should be able to work from the terminal. The switching station is at your fingertips" Christine nodded and gave them a smile, she extended her hand towards Six who grabbed it and gave it a gentle squeeze "I promise, we're all getting out of here"
Christine smiled, but it was not one of happiness puzzling Six and Winter. But it mattered little, with one last look Christine the both of them walked towards the final destination, someone had to trigger the entire event and that was their job. The walk towards the place was quiet save from ambushes from one ghost trapper who was quickly disposed by Winter who froze his face and then Six who shattered it.
"You know, I almost feel my karma changing. This poor sods are probably mad from all the time in the Sierra Madre" Six commented as the giant bell tower came into view, Winter shrugged "Maybe, Dean says that is impossible to communicate with them. He mentioned it while we where on the fountain"
Six shook off some green blood from his hand "Say now that we are alone, I wanted to ask you something. Why did you tell me to not leave Dean alone with Christine. He looks like just another pompous jackass to me"
Winter shook her head "You didn't see it, he was different around me and different around God, I don't trust him and I would not leave a defenseless girl next to him. He gives me a bad vibe" Six hummed as he brought a hand to his chin "I would not call Christine defenseless, I have a theory that there is more to her than meets the eye. This is not the first time I have heard about Father Elijah, Veronica mentioned him while we traveled helping the NCR, took one hell of a detour just to get some old info he left behind"
"Veronica told you? And you think that Christine is…" Winter trailed off, Six nodded. She was part of the Brotherhood of steel? It would make sense, the mysterious group would not let go someone of his previous status that easily. But for now theories would have to wait, they had arrived at the place. The stair seemed to still hold up but in this place one never knew "You first Winter I'll watch your back" Six said as Winter gave him a raised eyebrow, Six tilted his head confused and then it dawned on him. "I mean, don't get me wrong it is a nice behind but I am more worried about the ghost people" Winter grumbled something and started the climb, making sure to turn back to glare at Six who simply gave her a wave and a grin. "Watching for ghost people… liar" Winter finished the climb and stared at the mess of cables before her and she felt irritation at the long dead workers, this was the best money could buy back before the war?
Six reached the top just as she finished arranging the cables "You took your time" Winter commented as Six chuckled "I wanted to get a good view of the area, we need to get back to the fountain as quick as possible when we activate this and sadly is not a straight line back. So here's what we are going to do, we jump and land on the building to the left and then we need to cross most of the villa"
Winter stood up and looked at the horizon "The fountain got it. Are you ready?" Six gave a thumbs up and raised his PipBoy "Elijah, all is set. Get ready everyone" Winter looked down at the controls and brethed in to steady her nerves, she then slammed her fist into the red button and in the blink of an eye the Villa and the Sierra Madre came to life. Fireworks illuminated the sky and the speakers blasted an old forgotten tune to signal the opening of the one place on earth where you could begin again.
The screams of the ghost people echoed as the sun started to set over the Sierra Madre, the New Vegas duo jumped to the nearest roof and tried to get advantage over the Trappers and Harvesters but their luck ended when a Seeker launched a bomb towards the building they where in, the building already weakened by years of exposure broke, sending the duo towards another part of the Villa. Winter managed to deflect a spear with her hand, but a Trapper slammed her against the rubble Winter hissed as multiple spears hit her some snapping against her aura, the ghost people confused hit her all at once shattering her aura for a second time, Winter gasped as she felt the Sierra Madre armor break and a spear dig into her flesh touching her ribs.
Winter pushed them away with a glyph as she tried to keep her breathing steady, another explosion threw debris at her pieces of metal and rubble sticking to her hands and one to her cheek. Six ran from the smoke, his arm bent as blood oozed from the wound, Six spotted and ran next to her "We have to go, there is too many of them!"
Winter tried to stand up but her knees refused to work, Six cursed and wrapped his one good arm around her "Hold on to me!" Six yelled and Winter managed to wrap her arms around his shoulders and her legs around his waist. As she held for dear life, Winter felt her armor start to get damp from the blood, she just wondered who's blood it was. "Six they are getting close" Winter said as a ghost trapper jumped towards them.
Six ran through a window and once inside he moved towards the stairs, Winter reached for her Holorifle and shot at their pursuers, it felt as if she was trying to see underwater but she managed to sneak in a headshot. The are around her changed and she realized they were close to the fountain, Winter looked over to the massive hotel and she spotted three different figures running to the casino, a large blue one that was lagging behind, a white blur in the middle and one who she was sure it was Dean because only him had the balls to dress in all black in this red hell.
"Winter hang on, we're almost there!" Six yelled as the doors on the casino started to close, with one las jump both Six and Winter crossed the frame as the door slammed behind them. Six dropped to the ground his lungs crying for air as Winter coughed "Six, what is that smell…"
Six's eyes widened "It smells like… back in the bunker…"
As the darkness claimed them they faintly saw the blue light of holograms walk towards them.
"Can you hear me?!" came the yell from the PipBoy as Six managed to push himself off the floor "Damn this speakers, made it hell to reach you. Look at this place isn't it wonderful?"
Six snorted as he looked down at himself and the place around him "Wonderful is the last thing I would call this shithole"
"Even if you disagree on the decoration, this is what the old world stood for needles excess and a materialistic view on everything, the world was about to end and yet they opened casinos, fooling themselves into thinking that tragedy would never fall on them oh how wrong they were. The only ones that remain are the workers that got… tampered by the big empty"
Six placed a hand on Winter's cheek as he checked on her brething "I though the place was called big mountain?"
"Big empty, big mountain it does not matter because in the end all that matters is that it lead me here. So are you ready to begin?" Elijah asked as Six ripped a curtain as he placed it softly on Winter. "Sure, lets get down to bussines"
Elijah was silent for a moment but he resumed his speech soon after "Good, we need to restart the Casino. The control should be in the Casino go there and remind it, that it has guests" Six picked up his weapons and gave the main entrance a good look. The marble of the fountains shone with the dim light from outside, there was a beautiful staircase towards the upper floor that made Six remember just how much humanity had fallen.
He would have laughed if he didn't find it so depressing, Vegas was the exception sure. But it had nothing like the Sierra Madre, he got what Elijah said when he said that it was beautiful. But for now all that mattered was for him to push forward he could ponder on phylosofy later, so he opened the door to the casinos and let out a whistle "Now this I like"
"Please refrain from trying to rob a dead casino I bet it doesn't even have something of value" Six smiled as he turned to Winter "What can I say, the thrill is what gets me" Six looked at her side, the blood on her fingers bothered him so he walked forward and placed a Stimpak on her hands. Winter shook her head and pushed it back towards him "We should save it…"
"For later? No, you're hurt and besides I got the code for it" Six said as he pushed the Stimpack towards her, Winter reluctantly grabbed it and injected it on her wounded side "I suppose you put the curtain on top of me? Thank you but the dust on it made me sneeze and here we are"
Six chuckled "Sorry about that, I was worried that you would catch a cold" a small smile made its way onto his lips as Winter scoffed "Compared to Atlas this place is as cold as the beach on a summer day" but even if her tone was sharp there was a small smile on her lips.
The casino itself was nothing to write home about, the machines all powered down but the refrigerators and the bars looked lifeless lifeless, but that didn't stop Six from graving a bottle of wine he found inside one of the refrigerators. Winter for her part spotted a Nula Quartz and was pleasantly surprised by the fresh taste "Fresher than I expected, but I need to know why we are at the bar?"
Six pointed towards the fridges "Those are still running somehow, so all we need to do is follow the cables. The casino was about to open, leaving fridges must mean something"
Winter snapped her fingers "That's it! There's no way that they would serve warm drinks on the opening night, so what do they do? Hours before the opening they connect this small fridges to the backup supply, this cables are connected to the main console"
"And if my eye does not deceive me, we need to get to the second floor for that" Six said as he eyed the cables that had been cleverly hidden, Six raised his wine bottle towards Winter who chuckled as she toasted with the shining quartz bottle. Putting down their empty bottles the duo made their way upstairs using one of Winter's ice structures to distract the hologram guard, but it quickly dissolved Winter's strength faltering as their stay in the Madre started to drain them. Once inside the issue was on avoiding the holograms their lifeless eyes searching for any movement.
Six looked at his police pistol and smirked, he grabbed a bullet and launched it towards a book, making it fall over. The Hologram turned his attention towards the falling object letting the duo move towards the other set of stairs. "The holograms must be running on backup power just like the coolers downstairs, if I were the owner I would ask that security and just the essentials run on the backup. If we can get the entire casino to power up maybe it will reset the security system" Winter commented as they entered the room, a lone terminal stood in the middle of the room Six went to it and frowned.
"Seems like the only way to get to open it is from a closet so we need to take a turn around here, but wouldn't you know it, this place has the key right in this drawer" Six said as he showed off the key, Winter for her part simply wondered out loud."I wondered how far away from opening they were, was it hours? Maybe even minutes?" Six shook his head as he moved towards the closet where he could supposedly restart the energy "From what I remember they bombs fell in the morning, I am not quite sure but that would explain the lack of skeletons, everyone was down at the villa except the most essential workers"
As they pushed the doors to the closet open Six held his breath as he spotted the lever "Here goes nothing"
And just like that everything changed, they were almost blinded as the entire closet lit up and the doors opened "Look at that!" Six said as he ran towards the railing and looked bellow at the casino "Those slot machines are brand new!" Winter felt weird as she stared at the surreal image before her, the machines and poker tables all attended by holograms. It felt off and it gave her the creeps, machines should not replace humans at this level.
Six for is part if he was unnerved didn't show it once they got to the main floor he placed a couple of chips on the slots and started a lucky streak "Lady luck is always smiling" Winter allowed herself to relax a little as she watched Six dart from the slot machine to the counter. Six returned with a lot of old war money and a small frown, Winter grinned at him "Expected something else?"
"I thought I could by something cool, the snow glove I found on the ruins is more interesting. This is just paper… atleast I can buy you a drink, if you would allow me my lady?" Six said as he exaggeratedly asked for her hand. His posture was wrong and he would hurts his back if he kept that pose but Winter found it charming from the man that liked to kill his problems, was he changing a little on the inside? As she placed her hand on his, SiX raised it so he could give it a small kiss.
Winter blushed a little but she saw something hidden in his eye, Six was sad. There was something there that did not lie to her while, but a drink was placed softly next to her as he returned to his PipBoy "And here comes the not so pleasant part, seems like we are needed back at the main lobby"
Winter raised her glass and downed her drink in one swing, she glanced towards the dead casino one last time as the holograms waited for guests that would never come a sad and haunting look at the past. As they returned the speakers on their PipBoy's speakers automatically turned on "Ah so the casino has woken up, paying attention to us, good. There is something we need to do before we can access our prize, the audio of three selected places and wouldn't you know it your team has been set there, their collars are interfering with the system, once you have the audio just upload to the main console over in the desk. The hotel must have shuffled them around while they were knocked out, matched them with the profiles of the guests that never came, but that hardly matters now. You will need to change their collars manually or kill them. Personally I would kill them, be done with it after all the collars are not that linked inside the building. However, be aware that once you kill them the collars are still linked so you only have a limited time to run with your life… hmm I am getting something off from the kitchen, the FEV reject is there be careful"
"Sure dad" Six said as he rolled his eye, the walk to the second floor was quiet and their suspicion only grew worse once they reached the main kitchen area, everything was locked and there was a smell in the air that made Winter frown "Smells like…"
"Gas" Six finished as the mad ramblings from Dog came over the speaker "Going to make casino burn, no more pain" there was a pause as God took control "Don't do this Dog, I just wanted to protect you. Always wanted to protect you!" Six tried to open the door but Dog had smashed the lock from inside "Fuck! We need to try another route, let's try the casino!" Six said as he ran towards the first floor again. "Stop the mutant before he kills us all!" Elijah yelled from their speakers.
"I fucking know!" Six yelled back at his PipBoy, as he slammed the doors of the casino open, Winter ran towards the room they had been before searching for a key or anything, but there was little of help except for a small key. Winter eyed it as she wondered what she could open with it but now time was not in their side so for now all she could do was run back towards Six who was busy trying to kick a door open "Ah just in time Winter, you should be able to freeze this stupid lock"
Winter smirked as she used the small key "A little back tracking would do you good" Six laughed as the door opened "Maybe, it would be easier if my PipBoy pointed at where I needed to go but now, we need to take care of our buddy the Super Mutant"
The door they opened led the down towards the heart of the hotel, the lights of the casino long gone and all that remained was the groaning of metal as the pipes flowed with flammable gas, Winter brought a hand to her face as the air around them grew more and more thin. "… NO! Ever since the master left, life has been pain. No more… DOG listen to me, you never needed the master or a master what you need is…" the internal battle of the tormented soul was audible once more as they approached, Six quickly shut off one of the valves next to the wall, Six raised his PipBoy as the schematics of the kitchen came into view, a gift from Elijah. Winter signaled Six to get the one on the left while she got the one on the right, the footsteps of Dog as he cried in frustration, his mind stretched to the point of physical pain.
Winter opened the door as Dog gripped his own head, drops of blood falling to the ground as the skin turned purple, the blue skin looking faded and greyish. Winter felt pity and she wanted to reach out to the tortured soul, but she spotted a small lighter on his hand, all she could do was shut down the valves and then maybe try to reach the Darkin. So with that in mind Winter spotted the valve in the room and sneaked her way towards the valve, the rust at first refused to let the gear turn but a small amount of force made it close but it came at the price of a horrible screech that silenced the room.
Winter felt cold sweat go down her forehead as the ramblings stopped and a deep sigh replaced it, as she tried to turn she was violently raised from the ground and slammed into the wall, Winter's blue eyes stared back at the yellow and crazed eyes of the anguished creature, Dog now fully in control crushed her windpipe as she desperetly tried to voice that all she wanted was to help.
"Why?! Why wont you let me die!? The flames would free me, WHY ARE THE FLAMES NOT HERE!?" Dog yelled as Winter felt her vision start to blur, but a bottle to the back of the head of Dog made him release her slightly "Wha…"-"That's enough Dog, let her go"
A red eye glared at the super mutant as Dog flung Winter to the other side of the room, Winter coughed as she felt her lungs burning after being denied of the air it needed to survive. "Dog knows you, you destroyed Dog's hopes I will kill you"
"Really, do you want to make master sad? He sent me to help you" Six lied as he approached the super mutant "You killed many of us! You're lying"
Six nodded "Yes, I know the look of someone who wants revenge… I do not remember why you hate or who I killed but I do know that know you will follow Mater's orders after all… it's all you have left"
Dog hollowed as he raised his fist and tried to strike Six but the blow never came, Winter felt a pang of worry as the Super Mutant of gritted his teeth the fist slowly reaching Six's face "The master, what does he want"
"To make me your new Master Dog and you will obey me" Six said and this time he was actually slapped, a red mark appeared on his face Dog ready to slap him again but to his surprise Six laughed "Are you not tired, what would you even do if you could me, run back to the master that threw you away like a broken toy?" Dog grabbed Six by the collar. "Dog will…"
"Dog will do nothing, he will eat and he will still be hungry. You have nothing Dog, only the voice" Six said as Dog released him, clutching his ehad in panic "NO! Don't talk about him! He will come back, the voice does not want to leave Dog alone!" Winter walked towards Dog "No, please listen to us. The voice, Six and I we only want to help you Dog!"
The super mutant felt to his knees and started to crawl away "Lies, everyone always lies and leaves Dog alone, with so much hunger… so hungry" Winter reached to touch his shoulder but Six stopped her, he gave her a sad look as he approached the super mutant "Do you want the hunger to stop Dog the listen to me"
"Dog listens… master, just help Dog" the plea came, Six felt something stir up in him at being called master. A deep hatred for the term, he was no one's master no should be, as he stared at the super mutant he felt a deep hatred take over his soul. Dog was everything he hated, created by something that had no right to take control and was all to happy to serve the next powerful monster. Six wanted Dog to leave and let God take control but then came the tired voice from within "… tell him, please. We are both listening to you"
Six sputtered as his mind came to halt, Winter noticed this and walked next to him "You have to help him, he's hurting himself… trying to kill himself, hes listening so say something!" Six looked at Winter and then back at Dog/God, he could just kill him and then make a run to the exit, but that was not the man he was today. Instead he felt his memory go back towards a place he did not know, fields before him and a large lake with black clouds on the horizon. The lake made him smile, he felt a fondness for it, shadows playing in the water and a rest from the impending doom that awaited them.
"Dog, I want you to imagine a lake. A very clear lake I want you to stare at it what do you see?" Six asked as Dog in his mind tried to see, there was a silence as the super mutant let out shaky breaths only interrumped once he tentavily said "I see… someone who looks just like me, who looks just like DOG!"
"And Dog looks just like me, you have hurt yourself" God replied as Six felt a smile grow on his face "Then maybe its time that you stpped into one another, is time to let go"
Dog looked at him in shock "But if Dog does that he will not be able to help, Dog want to help you and the kind lady" there was a pause as God took control "He's right, if you do that there's no way to tell what will happen to us. You will be alone against the old man"
Six shook his head and placed a hand on the shoulder of God "I rather you be free, I will be fine. I got Winter with me and that's all I need"
Dog chuckled "Thank you, the both of you… thank you"
Six took a step back as the super mutant twitched, his tortured mind finally began to heal as both the personalities fused and made him whole once again "Where am I? What happened to me?"
Winter smiled "Nothing you need to worry about, how do you feel?" The super mutant stood up once more, cringing in pain as he held his scar ridden body "This pain, what attacked me? I don't understand… I know you two, but I don't remember…"
Six raised his hand "Don't worry about that, here let me help you out a little. Your collar is probably itching" the download of the acustics was completed and the collar ceased its disturbance "Much better, stay here for now. When you hear this thing go dead run to the exit ok friend?"
The super mutant nodded as he sat down "Thank you, I feel tired… I need to regain my strength"
Six nodded as he turned to leave his next target in sight Winter on the other hand lingered behind "Are you sure you're ok?" The super mutant shook his head "I don't think I feel good… but I will be, I will feel better in the future" there was hope there and that was all she needed to hear. With a small wave she left the kitchen, her soul happy with the outcome. But she could not enjoy the peace that came with their small victory, Six slammed his fist againt the wall as he read the message "Fuck! Dean is fucking something up at the Tampico, we have to hurry" and with that he ran towards the dark once again, Winter felt tired once again as she realized that no matter where she went it was always a race against time. Luckily for her the Tampico theater was not so far away.
Six was waiting for her at the entrance, his gaze unreadable.
But he did signal Winter to come a little closer, once she did he leaned towards her and whispered "He has control of the speakers and the holograms" Winter frowned as she studied the area, everything was so dark inside that she could barely spot a lone desk in the middle, holding some paper.
"He's putting up a show. Dean wants us to play his game" Winter muttered as she slammed the door open and confidently walked towards the paper, Six shrugged as he followed behind her. Winter reached the desk, it was not a message but rather a simple sheet for a song. Vera's song it said and it was to be the opener for the show followed by Dean, as she raised the sheet to get a closer look at it a key fell out. Intrigued Winter picked it up and as if it was part of a play the lights in the Tampico turned on, they stayed still for a moment before they turned to the stage, slowly creeping up until they reached the tallest part of the Tampico, there stood Dean Domino, brand new suit on and a chilling smile on his lips "So you showed, was wondering when you would finally track me down. Aw and you even brought your little puppy along with you but make no mistake sweetheart this is MY show!"
Winter frowned "Dean, stand down. Your cooperation is required in order to continue the mission" Dean scoffed "No, I can do that, this bowties and this marriage are not for me. I will be dammed before I let anyone take the Sierra Madre. It is MY prize, because of ME you stand here. That old fool will not take what is rightfully mine, I spent too much time on this and I will kill you so that the prize can be mine and mine alone… as it always was meant to be"
Six snorted "You forget one thing buddy, you kill either of us you also die" Dean shook his head. "The old man is not as smart as he likes to think he is, I listened in on your little chat all I need is the audio from your PipBoy and maybe the other collars just to be sure. And then the Sierra Madre Vault is all mine" Six whistled as if surprised. "Sure seems like you did your homework, but you forget that you won't be able to do shit once I get up there and paint the wall with your blood" Winter prepared her holo-rifle, unable to help herself she spoke up. "Divorce is also a bitch Dean"
The showman simply glared down at them "For the love of God shut up, be sure to jump at the holograms so they kill you faster and they make my job easier" Winter looked at the key and noticed a small label, backstage. As the holograms turned on she darted towards the right side of the room and up the stairs. Six for his part distracted the holograms as some of his skin was singed off. Winter opened the door just in time as Six ran in and she slammed it shut.
"Bastards, they are slow but one hit from them and you're done" Six commented as he took off the upper part of the ruined assassin armor, now only with pants and boots Six snorted at himself "If I was a little more muscular I could make a good Grognak, but I hate loincloths" Winter was about to object at his state but Six raised a finger to his lips and winked. He motioned for her to follow him, they stuck to the shadows only stopping to destroy radios and spot where the speakers where. The backstage area was surprisingly simple, one room for the main star and one for her costar, the door to Dean was locked unsurprisingly so Winter motioned Six to explore the rooms while she tried to open the door. The stress was not helped by the fact that Dean was humming his song as he no doubt prepared himself for the fight, the holograms at his biding.
He was after all an honored guest, Winter let out a sigh as she failed yet again to crack the terminal open, she wondered what she would do but to her surprise Six returned. A small cassete in hand and fire in his eye, he handed her the tape and motioned to the other side of the Tampico. A projector was there, Six pointed at his PipBoy, the holograms would be overwritten if the presentation was activated.
Winter nodded but before she left, Six held her shoulder and played a small audio. It didn't reveal much that she didn't know but she thanked her father for making her meet so many slimy people of the show business in Atlas. Dean was the type of man who would hurt anyone if it meant he got his way, specially a vulnerable girl and the man who had fallen in love with her.
"Careful now, some secrets are best left in the past" came the voice of Dean as the audio ended, still sure that he could take them on once the doors opened. Winter saw Six reach for his pistol and walked calmly towards the door, Six was going to kill him Winter realized. Justice for crimes centuries in the making, Winter gave him a nod as she pushed the door and ran towards the projector, the thought of when she became ok with murder locked for a later day. The holograms barely noticed her, their focus on the door that just opened and the one being inside, ready to gun down the one commanding them.
Without opposition Winter activated the tape and the guards disappeared, replaced by the face of a ghost that she knew, Dean sang a beautiful song one of love and betrayal fitting for someone like him. But what made Winter feel sadder was the other two people that clapped for him, a woman tied in lies and fear. While the other was tied to her by love, Winter saw movement and for a split second she saw Dean, admiring the past. What he once had, he would never know if it was worth it, the bombs had frozen him and his hatred in time. But that haunting look didn't last Six shot at the air and the new Dean returned, a smirk on his lips as he faced death. Winter ran to aid the courier but a laugh rached her ears "… all undone, by the likes of you and frosty" Six for his part simply shrugged, the act the fool long dropped.
"We didn't undo anything, your plan failed the moment the bombs dropped. Out there none of what you could steal matters" a tense silence followed as Dean let out a sigh "Then maybe I will go to your place, rob it blind or maybe frost's place, I bet is better than whatever shit-hole you live in". There was a pause as Six raised his gun "It is a shit-hole, but it's better than dying here" Dean laughed as he shot at Six, content on his fate. Six tanked a shot as he ran up the stairs, blood dripped down his bare chest but it didn't stop him Six simply raised his wepon and with inhuman accuracy shot the weapon out of Dean's hand "WHAT?!" the showman yelled as he tried to reach for another one of his hidden weapons but a powerful fist to the jaw stopped him.
Six was relentless drawing blood with each blow from his fists, Dean tried to raise his hand to strike back but the courier grabbed it and landed a blow at the elbow, separating the bone, Winter watched in somber silence as Six pushed Dean towards the end of the podium. Six grabbed him by the neck as he dangled him above the stage, Dean smirked "Bested by the brute, come on kill me" Six seemed to oblige as he let go a horrible crack resonated in the air as hologram Dean sang in loop. A scream drowned out the singing as Dean howled in agony, Six let out a sigh as he started to walk down the stairs but Winter grabbed his arm.
"That's enough"
Winter glared at Six, blue clashed against red as Winter tightened her grip on him "You don't need to be a monster to kill a monster" a small plea for him to put away his gun, but Six simply let out a sigh "I'm not going to be the one to kill him, don't worry. I just felt bad for the girl that's all but now… comes the tricky part" Six said as he twirled the police pistol around and started to remove all the bullets bar one. He gave it one final twirl and gave her a small smile "It is now up to Dean, to decide his fate"
The walk down the stairs was tense as the pained breaths of Dean started to become more clear, Winter kept one glyph at the ready, just in case she needed to stop Six from doing something stupid, hologram Dean kept singing not caring that next to him was the real Dean both his legs shattered and his left arm broken. "You're one hell of a torturer you know, came to savor the kill you sick fuck… I know I would have, I planned to make the holograms burn you to death and the slowly peel the PipBoys off your arms"
Six surprised both of the people in the room as he placed the gun at the end of the stage, the faces of Vera and Sanclair making the police shine in the moody lights of the Tampico. Six looked at Dean in the eye "Stay still and I won't kill you just yet" Six downloaded the audio from the collar and headed for the exit "You have a gun, you can shoot me and we both die or you can wait for me here. I will come back and heal all your wounds with all the riches of the Vault. The heist of the centuries… then you're free to leave. All of the world for the taking but not The Sierra Madre"
"I would sooner kill you and then myself then letting you take it!"
Six nodded "I know, that's why I am not leaving you a choice. I will save you and then make you let go of this stupid plan of yours" and with that Six walked away not caring that Dean tried to crawl towards the gun, Winter walked next to him as they headed towards the exit. "I did not think you would spare him Six… thank you"
Six gave her a look as loud gunshot echoed in the Tampico and their collars started to beep "He was dead a long time ago Winter, it simply just dawned on him" as the doors closed on the Tampico winter looked back and shuddered as one by one the lights on the casino flickered off and the holograms of Vera and her lover faded from existence. All that remained was the ghostly figure of hologram Dean, singing next to the corpse of the man that refused to let go.
A/N: Back from vacation and ready for action, I wanted to finish all of Dead Money in this chapter but I felt it was fitting for it to end on Dean's death. Next chapter should wrap up the story of the most controversial FNV DLC, I personally enjoyed Dead Money and how it set up both Old World Blues and Lonesome Road but that's just me maybe. See you soon!