Ruby has been to Vale once or twice with her dad and Yang a couple years back. She couldn't quite remember the reason for them to do so, but she remembered just how big Vale actually was. Like, a huge mega city surrounded by its equally tall fortified walls. The big discerning memory Ruby had, was of being completely agape at the sheer magnitude of everything in front of her. Up until now, New Vegas hadn't quite inspired the same feeling with her. Sure the city was big, but most of it was just a decrepit ghetto called Freeside. Not exactly the shining oasis in the middle of the desert she was told of. Well, that was until she entered the Strip.

"Wooooooaaaaahhh." Ruby gawked at the sight before her. Tall buildings, loud jazzy music being blasted from speakers, and lights, so many neon lights! This was nothing like the endless ruins she'd seen before, or the small settlements like Goodsprings and Primm, and much grander than Freeside. This, this was an actual city, and the strangest part, it all looked like it was on a single strip of road.

"Ruby Rose," Six placed a hand on her shoulder, whilst keeping her (kinda broken) helmet strapped to her belt "welcome to the New Vegas Strip. The biggest den of crooks, thieves, prostitutes and gamblers in the West Coast. Nothing but vibrant unsleeping sin for four miles of road." Six flashed her a smirk, which rapidly disappeared and a serious expression took its place. "Stay close to me. This might not be Freeside, but it has its own dangers."

Ruby nodded, sticking close to Six as the two paroused through down the single well-kept road. The Strip felt sort of familiar to the teen, not because she'd actually been to a place like this before - Brothers forbid her dad ever found out she'd step foot in such a place, familiar in the sense that it didn't felt like she just walked through a half rotten city and a desolate desert of death and misery. It actually felt like home, or at the very least like the Vale she remembered. Her eyes darted from one corner to another, gazing in awe at all the bright neon signs and advertisements that paved the way, the people dressed in fancy suits and dresses coming in and out of buildings and, mostly curiously, NCR soldiers. "Six, you said Vegas was independent right?" Six responded with a positive hum while taking a sip from a canteen with the number 13 on it. "Sooooo, why are there so many NCR soldiers here?"

"MPs, not soldiers." The Courier corrected.

"Okay, why are there so many em-pees?...Also, what's an em-pee?"

"MP, not em-pee. It stands for military police, and well, the MPs are here to police soldiers on leave. Make sure they don't do any dumb shit."

"Does it work?"

"Nope." Six answered, popping the 'P'. "But, it's the NCR's way of making themselves think they have any control over the Strip. Fake it 'till you make it I suppose." She shrugged, sipping on the canteen again before storing it inside her duster.

"And the robots? Saw them at the gate and there's more just roving around. They don't look like they belong to the NCR."

"And they don't. The securitrons belong to Mr. House, i.e. my boss, and owner of the Strip. Arguably the toughest 'bots you'll find that aren't straight up military, but even shit like sentry bots and assaultrons would have a hard time taking on those five-o faced tin cans." Ruby took a hard look at one of these 'securitrons' that happened to be rolling by the duo. It didn't seem all that dangerous, kinda funny looking actually. But, on the other hand, Six had never lied to her so she just had to take Six's word for it.

"Sooooo, changing subject, are all these buildings here just casinos or are there more things here?"

"Casinos, bars, restaurants, whore houses, hotels, you name it. If it's morally depraved it's here. Sure you have shit like the old museums nobody goes to and the neon factory, but people don't haul their asses across the desert and through the ghetto for that." She brought a cigarette to her mouth, her fourth one today which made Ruby frown, and lit it. The Courier took a deep drag and exhaled the cloud of smoke. "People come here to make their fortunes. Buncha fools and idiots if you ask me." She shrugged

"Why? Shouldn't people try to make their fortune if they have a chance?"

"Lemme tell ya somethin' Ruby–The house always wins. Remember that. No matter how much money you think you make, you'll always end up losing it and more when you play by their rules." The older woman said in a more serious tone.

"So I take it you don't gamble then?"

"Oh, no. I gamble. Quite a bit. I just usually win."

Ruby burrowed her frow. "I thought you said you'd eventually lose everything."

"I said if you played by their rules you would. Now if you cheat." The Courier smirked. "That's a different story." Ruby rolled her eyes, electing to not grace Six with a response.

The two fell back into a silence the teen had grown accustomed to by now. Walking side by side as they meandered to, somewhere. Huh. Now that I think of it, Six didn't say where we were–

"We're here." Six stopped abruptly, turning to face a tall tower to their side. Looking at the casino, at least Ruby assumed it was a casino, it certainly stood out among the others with a large circular open courtyard around the tower. She couldn't exactly read the name yet, but at least she could make out a couple letters (which in all honestly was a massive improvement to her) and the number 38 . It took a few seconds for the cogs to turn inside Ruby's brain before it clicked that this was the big tower she saw off in the distance when she was in Goodsprings. It's much bigger this close. "You comin' or are you just gonna be gawking at the tower?" Six said with a playful smirk, already walking towards the entrance.

"R-Right. Sorry." Ruby scampered back to her companion, joining Six by her side as the big double doors of the casino creaked open on their own.

The two passed through the doors, which slowly crept back shut, heaving left them in a deserted casino floor. The most bewildering thing to Ruby wasn't the fact the building seemed to be barren of life -though that in itself was pretty weird too-, it was how clean it all was. The floor shun, the machines on the counters appeared brand new. Not even a speck of dust appeared to be allowed to live in this place. "Welcome to the Lucky 38 Ruby, the most exclusive place in all of the Mojave Wasteland." Six remarked while walking to the elevator in the center at the center of the floor. It had one of those securitrons guarding it, but this one was different though. It didn't have that mean looking police officer face. Instead, it bore the face of a smiling cowboy smoking a cigarette. "Hey Vic."

"Howdy partner." The robot spoke with a heavy accent. "You've been gone for a while friend, ya friends up in the suite have been scramblin' around the place tryna find you for the last couple weeks last I heard. And might I add, ya look like a coyote ate and spat ya out."

"Eh. I've had worse." Six shrugged. "Besides, I'm kinda getting used to the pain now."

The Victor let out a 'chuckle' through its speakers. "If ya say so, cowgirl. Still, I personally recommend havin' that doctor friend of yours give you a once over. But where are my manners?" The securitron turned to Ruby, who slightly nudged herself a little closer to Six. "Hello there missy. I'm Victor, a RobCo security model 2060-B securitron and friend of 'Ol Grumpypants here." He declared cheerfully. Six's brow twitched slightly at the nickname Victor used.

"Hey there Victor. I-I'm Ruby."

"Well Ruby, I hope you are feeling fine as a fiddle, especially after traveling with you-know-who. She can be a real handful." Victor chuckled again and Ruby quietly snickered. Six simply rolled her eyes. "But enough dilly dallin', I'm sure Six here wants to pop open a bottle of whiskey and throw herself on a bed, so I won't keep ya. So-" Vic turned back to Six. "Presidential Suite I assume?"

"Right on the money Vic." The two entered the elevator and the doors began to close.

"Oh by the way-" Victor's tone suddenly went lower, more serious towards the mature member of the two in the elevator, "The big man ain't too happy you disappeared outta nowhere... you should go talk to the boss." Six couldn't even respond as the elevator doors closed immediately after. Instead, she sighed and rubbed her temples.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah…Just some bullshit I'll have to deal with later." Six mumbled a few incoherent words to herself.

It took a good minute for the elevator to stop, making a sharp 'ding' once it reached the desired floor. The doors opened to reveal an apartment…and yelling. Very loud yelling, coming from a room off to the right. And Six, somehow, managed to look even more annoyed. She followed behind the courier to the entrance of the room in question. A kitchen mixed with a dining area by the looks of it, the main indicators of such being the long ornamented wooden table that could easily accommodate a dozen people and the actual kitchen area off to the right end of the room that looked like it had any and all appliances a kitchen belonging to someone rich would need. Though, the rather expensive looking furniture and appliances were not the main focus of Ruby or Six. For right in front of them, a tall blond man in a Followers' coat appeared to be in the middle of a screaming contest with a redheaded cowgirl while a ghoul in blue mechanic's overalls, a bald grumpy looking man, a hooded woman and a floating metal ball, stood to the side observing the exchange, and by the expressions on their faces they weren't all that amused.

The first to notice the two was the robot, and it was by rolling her eyes that the hooded woman, who was sitting in one of the dining table's chairs, noticed the robot staring at them, who then noticed Ruby and Six. Her eyes widened, but instead of saying anything, she poked the ghoul. Who upon noticing the duo, nudged the bald guy with his elbow. Who then proceeded to stare at Six and Ruby for a couple seconds. "Arcade?"

"What, Boone?" The blond doctor asked, very much annoyed. Boone, as apparently that was what the bald guy was called, pointed at the doorway. The doctor and the cowgirl joined the collection of flabbergasted and wide eyed stares at the Huntress-in-training and the Courier.

And the room fell to a complete silence.

"SIX WHERE THE FUCK HAVE YOU BEEN?!" Of course Arcade had to be the one to start shouting first. Six grumbled inside her head as the rest of her companions followed suit after the good doctor in a loud cacophony of shouts and beeps. All except Raul. Raul merely leaned on the opposing wall and drank from a bottle of tequila, looking at Six with a smirk. That asshole!

"Okay okay Jesus!" Six raised her hands in a surrendering motion. "One at a time please, you're gonna give me a migraine."

Her companions took a step back, having stopped yelling over one another. Arcade was, of course, the first to ask questions. "Six where have you been? We've been searching for you for weeks! You just, just vanished!"

"You talked all that shit with us for you to just leave without warning?" Cass added angrily. Is that…Yup. She stinks of alcohol. Fuck I need a drink.

"Not to mention you look like you were dug out of a shallow grave, again." Sighed Boone.

"#$%#$#$$%$$$#!" ED-E beeped angrily.

"You better have some good ass gifts if you're seeking appeasement from us!" Veronica chirped in.

They almost once again started talking over each other, but Raul, ever the voice of reason, pointed out an important subject, or rather, an important someone, that no one appeared to have noticed yet. "Before you chicos murder Six-" The old ghoul began. "What's with the niña boss?"

Her companions once again fell silent as all eyes befell on Ruby, who slightly hid behind her and awkwardly waved at them. (Which was not adorable at all. Uh-huh. Zero.) "Explain!" They all said in unison, minus Raul.

Six opened her mouth to speak, but she ended up simply just sighing. They were not going to stop nagging her until she gave them some sort of answer, which if she were to be completely honest, Six wasn't sure they'd even accept her explanation. Accepting her fate with yet another tired sigh, Six brushed a hand through her messy hair. "I need a drink." She made way to one of the fridges and pulled its door open and grabbed the first bottle she laid her hands on as well as a Nuka Cola. Huh, Pinot. Looks like we're drinking fancy today. She thought to herself as she closed the refrigerator's door, feeling the hardened gazes of her companions drilling at the back of her head. She casually strolled to the dining table, hucking the Nuka Cola at Ruby while she pulled up a chair and sat.

The kid looked confused as she glanced back at the bottle she'd just caught, then looked back at Six. "I thought you said–"

Six raised a finger, shushing Ruby as she effortlessly bit down on the cork, popped it off and spat it out, and took one long, hard, continuous gulp from the bottle, downing almost half the wine bottle in one go. No one appeared to have liked that, but who gave a shit anyway? She placed the bottle on the table, contorting her face as the taste of the wine was still in her mouth. Six wasn't one of those fancy, smart-ass wine connoisseurs, she didn't even like the drink that much. But a drink was a drink at the end of the day. She looked at Ruby, whose expression bore a mixture of concern and confusion, while still holding the closed bottle. "You can drink it."

"But you said–"

"It's fine." Six's eyes turned back to her companions, who still patiently -but still, ever so more impatiently-" awaited their answers. "You might want to sit down for this one."

Six was pretty much done with the bottle by the time she finished detailing the happenstance of her meeting with Ruby, to the point they were now. To the surprise of literally no one, Arcade was pacing back in forth mumbling some incoherent nonsense to himself; Boone and Raul were staring dumbfounded at her; Cass had really said 'fuck it,' and joined Six in drinking (from her own bottle of whiskey of course); Veronica was now enthusiastically conversing with the superpowered interdimensional being known as Ruby Rose; and ED-E was just kind of floating as he normally did. All and all, not as horrible as it could've gone.

"Alright, so let me get this straight-" Arcade stopped abruptly in his tracks. "You stumbled upon a thirteen year old kid who is from another dimension, brought her to Goodsprings where you spent a week training her, got ambushed by Legion assassins who nearly killed you." She pointed at Six. "She got captured by the Brotherhood, who nearly dissected her." He pointed at Ruby. "No offense Veronica."

"Whaaaaaat? My technology hoarding family that constantly isolates itself from the rest of the Mojave and constantly tries to take anything valuable apart with caring about the broader consequences? They could do something like that? No waaaaay." She sarcastically waved him off. "None taken though, Hardin's an ass sometimes."

"I reiterate, the Brotherhood of Steel had in their possession an interdimensional being with SUPERPOWERS and nearly dissected her!" Arcade took a deep breath. "And then you brought her here." Everyone quietly looked at Six.

"That's pretty much it, yeah." Six took another swig from the bottle, but her eyebrows furrowed upon no liquid other than a couple droplets entering her mouths.

"How can you be so casual about this?! Do you not understand how big this is? Multiverse Theory is real!" Six shrugged.

"Six I'm sorry to doubt you, but how are we just supposed to believe that? Arcade'll believe anything-" that elicited an indignant retort from the doctor, "but still, that's a pretty hard pill to swallow just like that." Boone made a pretty good point. It took Six herself quite a while to fully believe Ruby. In fact it was really only after seeing her–...

"Hey Ruby?" The teen perked up from her interaction with the Brotherhood Scribe. "Can you do the thing?" Ruby raised an eyebrow. "The really fast petal thing."

"Ooooohhh. You sure?" The Courier nodded. "Okay then!" And in a flash, a red blur all but flew across the room, circling the entire dining table, going to the fridge and then back to where Ruby previously sat, now with a new bottle of Nuka Cola in hand. Everyone but Six stared incredulously at the young huntress-in-training, except for Six. She of course bore a frown at the sight of another soda in Ruby's hands.

Noticing the frown, Ruby was quick to defend herself. "You said it was okay, remember?"

"Yeah, I said it was okay for the one. You know how you get with all that sugar pumping through you."

"Pffffftttt, naaaaahhhh. It's fiiiiiine." That earned a deadpan from Six.

The Courier rolled her eyes, fixing her sight back on Boone. "Believe it now?" Boone nodded. "So, can I go lie down now?"

"I-I guess?" Boone rubbed his eyes. Six got up from her chair and started making her way to the door.

"There's still something that doesn't make sense to me." Veronica chirped, leaning back on her chair to look at Six who had now completely stopped in her tracks. "Even after all these things with Ruby, that barely amounts to two weeks. You were gone for three."

Aaaaaaand they're fucking staring again. THANKS A LOT VERONICA! For the next couple of seconds, Six and her companions -of which Ruby was included- were locked between tense stares. "I don't want to talk about it." Six finally said.

"You owe us all an explanation jefe." The old ghoul placed a hand on her shoulder. His expression was not one of anger like some of the others (cough cough Cass and Arcade cough cough), but one of concern, genuine concern at that. "We were all worried about you. You disappeared without saying a word." She looked back at everyone else, their faces had softened, even Cass wasn't bearing that 'come fight me' look she usually had after Six pissed her off.

Six didn't like that. That expression. Those eyes. The concern. That pity. She hated it. She didn't have to explain herself! They were all adults here, she wasn't forcing them to stay here. They could leave whenever the fuck they wanted. Courier Six clenched her fists and opened her mouth to say something that would make them leave her alone for certain, but then her eyes fell on Ruby. The current biggest annoyance in her life, a naive, stupid little emotional teenager that–...cared a lot about others and wanted to do nothing more than help for the sake of helping, to make the world a better place…

Six sighed, bringing a hand up to rub her eyes. "Listen I just…I was in a very shitty place and I would prefer to not talk about it right now. Maybe next time." She averted her gaze from them, looking down at the floor instead, bracing herself for the inevitable shouts and demands for answers that were surely about to come.

"Okay." Said Veronica.

Huh?

"You should rest." Advised Boone.

What?

"Go on ahead and get to bed. But don't sleep before I have a look at your injuries." Arcade all but commanded.

W-What's going on?

"I'll help you get your things to her room." Cass was already walking down the hallway

Seriously what in the actual fuck is going on?!

"Do you want help getting there?" The old ghoul offered her with a smile.

"I-I-uh. N-No I'm fi-" Six almost fell as her legs lost all strength, but thankfully, Raul caught her. What? H-How? She was fine a second ago. She was fine. She's had way worse before. She just got punched a bit and stabbed. She's just gone a couple weeks with barely any sleep. That was fine. Her vision shouldn't be getting blurry over this. She was fine. She is fine. "I…am…" Six's head slumped down as she fell into unconsciousness.

Happy new year folks. Hope y'all been having a good time. And so we begin the 2nd arc of this fic "That's Vegas Baby!". Hope y'all are excited, because I sure am.

A shoutout to my beta readers for keeping me from posting utter dogshit.