Chapter 93: Flight of Fate

"…And so I have to commend all of you for your actions and service during this honorable venture," Scorpio told the crowd as they stood around the cleared arena before the Consul's tent. The circle was about thirty or so yards in diameter, and it was surrounded by the 4th Legion on most sides and the Ministerio on the northern side. As the Consul continued his speech, Dalton stood behind the crowd, keeping his eyes moving as more and more of the 1st Cohort of the 4th Legion assembled around the impromptu arena. This would make things tricky enough, were it not for the fact that the Midwestern Confederacy seemed absent in attendance. Hopefully, they'd be occupied with other matters soon enough.

A gunslinger came up the path, dragging a girl who was wrapped in a blanket. Dalton watched as Cade brought his charge before him, giving the old man a good look at how Rosa was holding up.

"…Who beat the shit out of you?" Dalton asked.

"Your girlfriends," Rosa answered as she hocked a bloody loogie onto the dirt path.

Dalton let out a laugh. "Figured he'd be too big a pussy to do it himself."

Cade glowered at Dalton. "Are we all set?"

Dalton leaned in to whisper. "The girls are ready for the go-ahead, but they might need a little time to get dressed. So we need to buy them some time so we can all get out of here. Fortunately, Scorpio's putting on a bit of a pre-show."

"I always knew I belonged in the main event," Rosa smiled. "So who's jerking the curtain?"

"That Big Black Scaly Idiot," Dalton explained. "And a handful of guards who ran away from him. Scorpio wants an opportunity for them to "reclaim their honor" and Nemesio wants to give glory and meat to the lizard he's worshipping."

"Can't imagine everyone's happy with that arrangement," Rosa snarked.

"We're banking on that pretty fierce," Cade muttered. "When he's done, you leave," the gunslinger looked to the old man.

"Wilco," Dalton nodded. "I'll take her from here. You go get in position."

Cade nodded as he passed his "hostage" back to the old man, Rosa brushing up against the gunslinger before she was exchanged. In exchange, Dalton passed him a sheathed machete. As the gunslinger departed with one final look at the young woman, Rosa turned to walk alongside her secret guardian. "Never thought I'd be so happy to see you," Rosa half-joked.

"Did you miss me that much?" Dalton teased, trying to keep her morale up.

"Duncan isn't much for conversation, and that favor I asked the girls kind of killed the mood," Rosa smiled. "So, how did you convince Tiny to go along with this?"

"Well, it wasn't difficult. I just had to combine his hatred of western women with his desire to see them humbled and humiliated and his need to please his allies. Your date tonight is this upstanding legionary named Valerius. Apparently, his grandfather is some hotshot supporter of Scorpio's back home and he's got an itch to scratch."

"And I'm going to accommodate him?" Rosa asked.

"After he defeats you in an "honorable" duel," Dalton almost laughed.

"So that's why I'm dressed for the occasion," Rosa muttered to herself.

"Pardon?" Dalton asked. Rosa responded by opening the blanket that covered her.

"I had to make do with some scratch and help from the girls, but I think it'll do the trick. Any thoughts?" Rosa asked.

Dalton, for a brief moment, felt proud of and a little jealous of his nephew. Internally slapping himself, Dalton forced her to recover herself. "Not now," he growled. "We've got enough to deal with."

"Ok. You'll be leaving me to hook up with the girls when I'm on, right? Then the five of us are getting out of here," Rosa whispered.

"One step at a time, kid," Dalton hissed as he approached the crowd.

Sawney made his way through the priests as they exalted and praised their Prophet. Smiling through half his face, Sawney entered the ring, chuffing and hissing as Vulpes looked at him with barely concealed disgust.

"But first, I wish to provide several of my soldiers an opportunity to redeem themselves," Scorpio called out as the deathclaw raised his nostril to sniff the night air. From the other end of the improvised arena, four legionaries were shoved into the ring, gladius's at the ready as they nervously looked at the lizard. "These four have failed in their duty by fleeing from the beast that now stands before them. However, as I am merciful, I shall provide them an opportunity to redeem themselves by fighting the beast that stands before them. Bishop Nemesio, do you have any last words for what could be the last moments of your …Prophet's life?"

Bishop Nemesio fell to his knees, holding his arms out as he exalted his leader. "Great Prophet, please liberate these unfortunate souls from their mortal coil."

"Uh-kay," Sawney croaked out as he looked at the legionaries spreading out around him, swords at the ready and a desire to restore their honor with their compatriots. Sawney looked around, salivating, when suddenly his nostril picked up something. Looking over the heads of the crowd, Sawney saw the old human. He was currently digging in his nose with a finger from his mangled hand as he watched the proceedings with disinterest, the girl standing beside him looking at him with a light sense of disgust. The plasma-kissed side of Sawney's face lit up from the memory. His hunger forgotten, he decided to put on a little demonstration for the one human he hated above all others.

One of the legionaries was able to gather his courage enough to approach and strike at the heel of the beast. He was the first that Sawney targeted. The beast wheeled around before the legionary could complete his swing, only to find his sword arm enveloped by the animal's maw. Snapping it away, the legionary stood silently as the shock of seeing the bloody stump before him gave way to pain and fear. Screaming as he stumbled away, the legionary haplessly clutched his wound as Sawney leaped into the air and brought his feet down upon the retreating wretch, the sword dropping from the arm as it disappeared down Sawney's gullet.

Sawney then got on all fours and crawled towards the remaining three with a speed that caught everyone watching off guard. Two of the legionaries dove aside as the last tried to fall back. Sawney, however, grabbed the unfortunate soldier by the leg. The gathered legionaries watched in horror as Sawney lifted their brother off the ground with his jaw and suddenly began slamming him against the ground. Bones shattered with every jerk of the lizard's neck before he released the bloodied and broken soldier from his grasp, the mangled corpse staring blankly at the audience.

The priests let out a cheer as the legionaries stood in silence. This lizard had been allowed to brutalize their comrades seemingly by Scorpio's blessing. As the matter stood, it seemed that lately Scorpio couldn't help but give preferential treatment to outsiders, like this Ministerio and the Detroiter Chapter of the Brotherhood. These thoughts simmered in their minds as Sawney corralled the remaining two legionaries, forcing them to break apart and allowing him to isolate yet another soldier.

Sawney scooped up the third morsel as he looked out into the crowd. Finding the old man, Sawney held his prey up like a human would a swaddling infant, albeit one that was helplessly trying to swing at him with a sword. Sawney then began to squeeze his victim, his eye solely locked on the old man as the legionary let out a pained cry of pain as his body began to crush and compact. Sawney kept the pressure up until he felt the spine crack, and then proceeded to keep squeezing as blood began to leak from every orifice of the legionary. Ultimately, Sawney slammed the body right before Dalton, the corpse looking like a bloody marionette cut from its strings by an ill-tempered child.

A familiar scent wafted into Sawney's nose. Looking behind him, Sawney saw the remaining legionary, on his knees and with his gladius angled to his stomach, his eyes looking up at the predator in fear. Ignoring the heckling and jeering of his comrades, the shattered legionary penetrated himself with his blade, skewering himself through the torso to retain whatever dignity he could spare for himself. Sawney watched his prey keel over as he passed. This was a first, prey offering itself to a clearly superior predator. Sawney wasn't sure how he felt about it, but now that he knew this was an option, he would be very disappointed if no one else ever acknowledged his majesty to such an extent. Sawney grabbed the still-warm corpse, broke its back over his knee, and began to shuck its intestines, eye still glued onto Dalton.

As the priests cheered and the legionaries stared in horrified silence and smoldering rage, Vulpes stared at the sight before him and wondered if anyone would be willing to dispose of the reptile. Scorpio, meanwhile, had been analyzing how the lizard attacked. The margin for error would be slim, but Scorpio was confident that a capable enough warrior who wouldn't break from the onslaught could counter the monster and deliver a death blow to the deathclaw. He was tempted to pick up his halberd and demonstrate just such a feat to all these witnesses. However, he thought as he glanced at Vulpes, he still had to appease his allies. Killing their god would hardly ingratiate himself to the fodder, and he would rather sacrifice the dissolute and retain his army's strength than put the bulk of his forces under any undue risk.

"A fine beast you have there, Bishop Nemesio," Scorpio began, diplomatically.

"The Revelacion shall liberate all from the illusion of suffering!" Nemesio announced as the priests cheered and the legionaries glared at him. As Sawney finished his meal, he grinned as he caught the old man backing away from the crowd. Sawney would find him, somehow, and pay him back for half his face. Rosa, meanwhile, watched as the bodies of the defeated legionaries were dragged away to be disposed of.

"…Showtime," she muttered to herself as she looked to the hill where Scorpio's tent was pitched. She saw Duncan's outline as he took up his spot. Taking a deep breath, she dropped her blanket as she entered the arena.

Dalton kept a weary eye on the patrols as he approached the stables. While most of the legionaries were either asleep, on guard duty, or at the arena, he noticed a squad of Midwest Marauders roaming about the camp. Cursing to himself, he ducked into the kennel and was confronted by two legionaries. Lifting her helmet slightly, Cheslie looked to the old man. "…May Lin brought over two of the guards a bit early," she explained as she held out her bloody bone shiv.

"Caught'em with their pants down. Always a good strategy," Dalton grinned. Cheslie smiled as she tried to forget the sight of the light leaving the eyes of the man she stabbed to death. May Lin, however, was busy loading up the chariot as Fang and Claw enjoyed their fresh meals.

"When will the signal take place?" Cheslie asked eagerly as May Lin readied the fuel.

"We'll know when it happens," Dalton answered as he checked his plasma pistol.

The mood had turned with Rosa's arrival. The legionaries, having largely been starved for female companionship during their expedition to the west, were now gazing upon the sight of Rosa in her new garb. Wearing little more than a chest wrap and a half-skirt, Rosa strode into the middle of the arena, looking up to Scorpio as the legionaries around her leered and hollered at her.

Scorpio took a moment to examine Rosa's figure. While lovely in its rather understated way, Rosa's body was covered in bruises and a few cuts. Scorpio looked over to the gunslinger and gave an approving nod. Cade paid it no heed, only looking towards the Ministerio as they gathered around and congratulated Sawney as the lizard picked his teeth with his claws.

"Behold!" Scorpio began. "A lovely Mojave desert flower!"

The legionaries began to laugh as Rosa just kept staring up at Scorpio's platform. Besides himself, Vulpes, and Duncan, there were two sentries with him. His elite, personal guard, if Rosa were to hazard a guess. Still, she had enough to worry about. Looking around her, she saw the dropped weapons taken away as a legionary approached her with a uselessly blunted gladius. Dropping it before her, the legionaries laughed and jeered her as she picked it up.

"Before you all stands the spawn of the Hostis Publicus. The greatest enemy the Legion has ever known. A gift from our dear friends in the Allied Expeditionary Group," Scorpio taunted. "And while I would love nothing more than for all of you to spend some quality time with her, I have made a promise to a dear and trusted ally of mine, Centurion Valerius!"

A cruel and vicious-looking legionary approached from the crowd, wielding two fire axes in his hands as he gazed hungrily at Rosa. Rosa paid him no heed. Guys like him weren't anything special. Vegas was filled with guys who looked at girls like her with the same desire and intent as those who surrounded her. Hell, she dated a few of them, she thought as she finally turned towards the centurion. When you got past the football pads and the skirts, that was really all the Legion was. Just a bunch of starving animals led by someone who saw himself as a pack leader. Yep, she thought as she shared one last glance at Scorpio. You're just another Duke, only with fancier hair and a bigger gang. You aren't anything special at all.

Valerius struck first, swinging to disarm her as quickly as possible so he could finally collect the reward he was owed for coming so far out here. As he swung at the girl, she swayed back, barely avoiding the strike. Valerius grinned, pulling back as he swung again at the girl as she barely managed to avoid the strike with her iron club. The crowd, once amused, suddenly began to start screaming at and taunting Valerius. The centurion had often boasted about his abilities as a duelist, but having this pampered girl hold her own when he swore that this fight wouldn't last a minute was starting to put Valerius's reputation at risk.

Valerius started to get more and more aggressive, swinging at Rosa while she just ducked and parried and dodged and swayed and silently taunted him.

"HOLD STILL, YOU FABIAN!" Valerius shrieked.

Rosa blew him a raspberry as she dove beside him, smacking him on the leg-greave as she rolled away. Scorpio glared at Valerius as Vulpes held back a laugh. Cade just kept his eyes straight on the fight, getting used to the odd feeling he was unfamiliar with. Every time Rosa dodged and struck at the centurion, he felt proud. He couldn't remember the last time he felt happy for someone else's success.

Valerius's foot came down onto Rosa's half-skirt, nailing her onto the ground. Rosa struggled to break free. Valerius let out a maddened grin as he reeled his arm back and prepared to strike her. Rosa meanwhile used her free hand to dig around inside her shorts. Grasping the tool just in time, Rosa forced her fingers through the grooves as she brought the weapon up and blocked the blow. Valerius stared as Rosa locked the axe in place with what looked like a brass knuckle with a blade extending out from the side.

Sweet, Cade thought with a grin. Rosa has a trench spike too. How did I not notice before? And it looks just like- Cade immediately pawed the side of his pants, unable to locate it on his person. …You bitch.

Rosa swiped at her half-skirt, tearing into it just enough for her to break free. She jumped back, iron club sword in one hand and trench spike in the other. "…Still want to fuck me?" she taunted.

Enraged, Valerius let out a scream. "I'LL FUCKING KILL YOU!" he shrieked as he charged Rosa. Rosa held her club sword before her, motioning to strike. Valerius angrily swatted at the bar, falling right into Rosa's feint. He kept his eyes on the sword, keeping his eyes on it even as Rosa tossed it into the air. His mind only came back to earth when he felt the piercing sting skewer him through his foot. Cade winced as Rosa buried the trench spike into Valerius's foot, while Vulpes looked to Scorpio to see his reaction to the unexpected turn of events. The centurion could only look down in shock as the sensation turned into pain, the man dropping his axes as he let out a scream and pulled at the spike buried in his foot. Rosa, meanwhile, caught the bar as it came back to earth and clubbed Valerius in the back of the head with it, dropping him to the ground. She then pried the trench spike out of his foot as she gave the unconscious body one final kick.

Rosa turned to the audience of gaping legionaries and made a curtain call bow. Despite the direness of her situation, she couldn't help but revel in her small victory over the cross-dressing slaver rapists. After humiliating one of their finer examples of what a warrior was supposed to be, she had demonstrated to these guys that the Mojave flower had thorns. There was even a slow clap behind her. Aw, thank you, Duncan, she thought to herself as she turned around.

Scorpio was smiling as he continued his slow applause. "…I'll be honest with you, I'm surprised you were capable of pulling that off. Valerius is an idiot, but a solid fighter, and you humiliated him. I may very well be in your debt."

"…Then how about you do me a solid, give me a real weapon, and we settle this like warriors?" Rosa said.

"…Tempting," Scorpio honestly replied. "Really tempting. But I think I'll pass. Then again, you know who might take you up on your offer?" He looked over to the Ministerio. "Bishop, is your lizard ready for dessert?"

Cade's eyes widened as Sawney bolted back to the arena. The deathclaw approached Rosa, towering over the woman as he began to salivate. "…This wasn't part of the deal," Cade gritted. "I thought you wanted to keep her alive?"

"…When I force the Mojave to sue for peace, I'll have all the prisoners I'll ever need," Scorpio smiled as Rosa began backing away from Sawney. The lizard watched her in amusement before slapping the iron bar out of her hand. The legionaries began screaming for the lizard that brutalized their comrades to rend this new victim to shreds, while the priests sang their praises as the lizard approached the girl.

Rosa stared into the bloody maw of the beast. Somehow, she kept running into this black deathclaw and kept barely escaping with her life. Now, however, she was out of getaway plans, short on weapons, and was completely alone. She readied her trench spike. At the very least, she promised herself, she would give everything she had left to stab this animal in the other eye. On Joseph's behalf if nothing else. Then she heard a shrill whistle. Looking up, she saw a familiar weapon tossed down from on high. Rosa grabbed it by the covered blade, unsheathing it as she swiped at the beast before it could strike her.

Sawney withdrew his claw, looking down at his now missing digit. He let out a hiss as Scorpio and Vulpes turned to glare at the execution's intruder. Cade just glared back as he drew a pistol and pointed it in the air.

"…Growing soft, Duncan?" Vulpes sneered as Scorpio stood with his halberd at the ready.

"You don't know anything about me," Cade glared as Scorpio pressed the blade against the side of his neck.

"…Any last words, gunslinger?" Scorpio asked.

"…VULPES, NOW!" Cade screamed as he fired the flare into the sky.

"WHAT?!" Vulpes shrieked.

"I KNEW IT!" Scorpio screamed as he immediately turned his attention to his supposed equal. Nemesio, seeing his friend and brother in danger, let out a scream in the distance, several tents erupted in flames. All present except two were confused, and as the fire in the distance continued to spread, Dalton pocketed his detonator as he joined the two "legionaries" aboard the chariot as it sped out to the rendezvous.

"MY BROTHERS!" Nemesio screamed. "DEFEND THE FOX!"

"KILL THE PRIESTS!" Scorpio howled as he swung at Vulpes, who doubled back and tried to break from the melee. After a moment of confusion, the fight began in earnest. The legionaries drew their blades while the priests armed their rifles. Nemesio drew his blade alight as he cut down two legionaries while a centurion ran through the priest beside him before being cut down by the deathclaw. After the initial brawl, all the combatants began to disburse, including a machete-wielding girl and a gunslinging loner, who both quietly cut their way through the crowd in the moment's shock.