Let Nothing Fall to Chance

by Chronicler of Unseen Stars

Years have passed since the liberation of New Vegas, and the Courier's itching for a new adventure. Duty has bound him to Big MT and the Mojave, unwilling to let either out of his sight. When a certain satellite goes missing, Six leaps at the chance to break free from his prison. But he gets more than he bargains for and trades one wasteland for another. Crossposted on AO3.

15. Skeletons in Our Closet

Chapter 15: Skeletons in Our Closets

Date: October 8th, 1099

Location: Biovin Manor, Southern Ursus Border

Time: Evening

A curtain of tension descended upon the table as Shining took a seat at Karine's left, beside Liz and facing Gieszler. Micael flinched as the Sarkaz sat down, while the Spire Caster's trigger finger twitched ever-so-slightly. Karine and Paulina, by contrast, were all too happy to have her on board and started passing plates around. Only then did the men relax.

Understandably the guests were wary of their meals. Six frequently scanned the food for chems with his Pip-boy, but each time it came up blank. Liz was the first one to take a bite. A nod from her was more than enough to convince Shining to join in. Six and Lyudmila passed a glance at each other before selecting their meals as well.

It all tasted like something from the Gourmet. Fresh, juicy, warm. As much as he admired their craftmanship, he always loathed its atmosphere. He hadn't been to that place since a Frumentarii infiltrated the kitchen staff and tried to poison his last meal there.

Despite the immaculate cuisine, the guests didn't really cotton with the hosts. Shining's gaze bounced between Liz's shock collar and the senior hosts. Paulina had been casting a glare at Lyudmila, and Micael was trying to avoid looking Six in the eye. For some reason, the Nuncio seemed nervous towards him. Granted, Six tended to have an intimidating aura at times, but this didn't feel like a fear of him, though.

Karine had shocked Lyudmila plenty of times for her table manners during the feast. Six less so. Paulina showed her the proper posture, but the wolf-girl wasn't so receptive to her. Six mentally -and begrudgingly- thanked Marjorie for teaching him 'proper etiquette' during his visits to the Gourmand.

Karine cleared her throat and turned her attention to Shining.

"So, I trust zhat your journey here was bien?" she asked.

"You left enough breadcrumbs for me to follow," Shining replied. "Though your welcoming committee hadn't given me exactly the warmest reception."

Six snorted in agreement. Karine cast a glare at him before Micael butted in.

"Yeah, some of our staff haven't had the best experiences with Ursus or Sarkaz. It's only natural for them to have itchy trigger-fingers. They need people like Gieszler and me to keep 'em from strangling our guests. And each other."

"I'm surprised to find a Nuncio like yourself this far north. What brought you to Ursus?"

"I thought that I could enlighten the locals with the Law's blessings. Bringing them into its resplendence was a bigger challenge than I anticipated."

Six rolled his eyes. I wonder why? He thought to himself.

"Speaking of enlightenment," Karine said. "Gieszler here was wondering if you had any to offer him, Ms. Shining."

The Elafia let out a short huff.

"We could be having un proper conversation back in my laboratory," he retorted. "Vas it really necessary to drag me from my research?"

"Of course! We wouldn't want you to pass out from hunger again, would we?"

"What kind of research, if you don't mind me asking?" Shining asked.

"Psionics," Gieszler replied. "Karine and her guild have a vested interest in ze field. And from what vhier sources tell me, your clan has some experience vith zhat."

Shining didn't respond. When Gieszler spoke again, it was in a different tongue. It appeared to be a mixture of Latin and… something else. Something Six was unfamiliar with. He wasn't even certain if it was a tongue from the Old World.

The corners of Shining's mouth twitched into a faint frown. "Where did you learn those words?" she asked.

"From my academic days. His Majesty inspired his subjects to explore all avenues of Arts. One of mien professors studied and taught Sarkaz culture to us during my youth. Some of ze nobles turned vhier noses at your people's history and contributions, but not Herr Himmel. Nien, he saw potential vithin your people's tribes."

He continued his conversation with Shining in that alien tongue from here on out. While Six couldn't understand most of it, one word did crop up frequently- Noosphere. That was Earth's theoretical informational field, according to some ancient magazines from Big MT. A lot of people laughed at the notion in their scientific journals back home. Did Gieszler believe in that sort of thing?

Whatever it was, it certainly got under the pearl-haired Sarkaz's skin. The gestures he made towards Six and Liz weren't doing him any favors either. Shining also flinched slightly as the stag-man formed a halo with his hands at one point.

"-wo meet-?"

Six shook his head and turned towards Paulina.

"Sorry, did you say something?" Six asked.

"I said 'How did you two meet each other'?" Paulina explained.

Six narrowed his eyes. "Why the sudden interest?" he asked.

"It's uncommon to see a man such as yourself traveling with an Infected maiden," Karine explained. "Most people tend to steer clear of zhem."

"Magic rock cancer is the least of my people's problems," Six claimed. "We can't exactly be picky about our partners back home."

"You still haven't answered my question," Paulina pointed out.

Lyudmila shot a glance towards Six. He didn't need to be a Psyker to read her message; 'You handle this'.

"Tatiana was out laying a vigil for her dad in a necropolis," Six claimed. "I came across the ruins in search of shelter. Some vultures were looking to loot her pa's grave and we made a deal. I poached those assho-"

Six's collar shocked him yet again. Lyudmila snickered at his rotten luck. He grumbled before continuing.

"I poached the parasites in exchange for her guidance through this side of Terra."

"And what, praytell, brought you to our side of the globe?"

"Need-to-know basis."

Paulina frowned and turned to Lyudmila. "Ton père- ah, your father… how did he die, if you don't mind me asking?"

Lyudmila swallowed before answering. "He was caught in the Catastrophe that wrecked Chernobog."

"You mean when Reunion attacked?" Karine asked.

"...yeah."

A small 'hmm' escaped her lips. "Were you living there when it fell?"

"No. I left before that shi-"

Now it was Lyudmila's turn to get shocked. She caught Six smiling, indulging in Schadenfreude. She growled at him before clearing her throat.

"I left that cesspool behind before Reunion showed up."

"Hmm. And what exactly made it a 'cesspool' back zhen?"

"Political strife. That's all I'm going to say."

"Notzhing about ze Infected?" Karine asked, pointing at the obsidian scars on her arm.

Lyudmila Instinicvey flinched and covered her scars up.

"Do not worry, child," Karine said. "We harbor no ill will towards ze Infected. Not like ze savages up north."

"Really? I can't but notice how so many of your sla-"

Zap!

"-' Servants' are afflicted with Oripathy."

"Yet we also have non-Infected personnel among zhem," Karine pointed out. "Zhat portion of our workforce always complain about sharing rooms with ze Infected, but I do not pay them any mind. You must prove yourself if you are to rise through ze ranks in this house. Barking about your problems won't get you anywhere."

"But you must also carry conviction," Paulina added. "Something certain groups lack."

She cast a glare at Lyudmila. "Like Reunion."

"Paulina…" Karine cautioned.

"What? Am I not allowed to point out ze hubris of ze self-righteous? Zhose radicals proclaimed zhat zhey wished to end ze cycle of oppression for ze Infected, yet zheir methods suggested otherwise. Zheir hearts were filled with wrath and envy, and ze fires within only further fueled zhose around zhem. Zheir lack of faith made it easy for ze Ursus's Pale Dragon to exploit zhem."

Pale Dragon? Six thought. Why did that sound so familiar to him? He brushed that thought and her rant aside.

"Is this leading somewhere?" Six asked. "If so, just spit it out already."

"Salvation only comes to zhose with piety. Reunion fell because it was a band of heathens."

"Oh really?" Lyudmila retorted. "Where was your Law when Infected Sankta prayed for a chance to return to your homeland? Where was your Law when Liberi children were beaten to death by their neighbors and classmates in Iberia? Where was it when people were being rounded up by the Ursus as 'indentured servants' for their Originium mines and buried alive when those ran dry? Where was your Law when my mother was torn apart between famiglia crossfire in Siracusa?!"

Both Sankta flinched as Lyudmila's rant ran on. Six could be imagining it, but he swore he saw something in Micael's eyes. Was it shame? A frown formed on the young angel's face while his counterpart looked down.

"Ze Law works in mysterious ways," Paulina claimed. "It offers solace for zhose with Oripathy, but it doesn't meddle in ze affairs of mortals."

"Your churches suggest otherwise."

"What ze churches do- especially zhose outside of Laterano- is zhier business. Not ze Law's."

"Then what is the business of the Law? What's the point of worshiping your god if it allows the Infected to be dragged kicking and screaming to a living hell? Why should the Infected look up to something that allows all sorts of atrocities to be committed right before its eyes? Do you even know what it's like to be Infected? Do you!?"

Everyone jumped as Lyudmila slammed her fist onto the table, throwing her food and drink around. She was glaring at Paulina, huffing and puffing like the Big Bad Wolf. The false angel shook off the shock and rose unto her feet and lifted her skirt to the side.

There- festering above her ankles like tumors- were scraps of Originium. The Sankta girl cast a glare of her own towards Lyudmila.

"Enough to know how you and your Reunion amis nearly dragged two empires- if not half ze world- into open war," the false angel hissed. "And leave ze Infected as scapegoats. But zhen again, Reunion was founded by Ursus citizens. By barbarians. All you northerners do is salt ze earth and burn everything you touch. You know nothing about faith or loyalty. Only deceit and bloodshed."

"I wouldn't say all of ze northerners are savages," Karine said. "But zhey are far from innocent. I've seen zhier Infected Patrol units and what zhey do to zhier people. Yet no one stood up to zhem. Zhey just watched their friends and family be dragged off into the night. Watched all of zhier belongings and records be thrown into pyres. I know what's like to lose everything, especially your home and freedom."

You're one to talk about freedom. Six thought to himself.

"Tell me, who among our guests have heard of ze word 'Gaul'?"

Everybody's hands rose, one by one.

"Hmm, perhaps ze world hasn't forgotten about us yet," the mistress mused. "Almost seventy years ago, many regarded it as ze beating heart of Terra. Ze font of inspiration for all nations. But zhen Corsica I ignited a campaign of expansion, clashing with neighboring nations. It came to a head in 1030 when zhey united against him. Within two years, zhey devoured Gaul. Gorged on its remains and divvied up its territory amongst zhemselves.

"Ma mère was forced to marry an Ursus noble in the aftermath to salvage her prestige. Our property became ze Empire's overnight. And as the years went on, Gaul and its legacy began to disappear from ze minds of everyone. All zhat remains of Gaul are our arts, among other relics. Our culture, history, and language have been consigned to oblivion."

Karine rose from her seat. "I sympathize with ze Sarkaz and ze Infected. I really do. I lost my home when I was a little girl. I cling to what little of my heritage I can in modern society. And I would kill to see it all restored. We have more in common zhan many of you zhink, Madame Shining and Lyudmila."

Lyudmila and Six froze up at the last word. Beads of sweat rolled down the Lupo's forehead as a dark chuckle slithered out of Karine's throat.

"What? Did you zhink you fooled anybody here? Ursus and ze rest of ze world may have forgotten about you, but not the local Infected. Oh yes, many of Reunion's troops flocked to my doors in the aftermath of Chernobog. Some were looking for sanctuary, others in search of a new purpose. You left a sea of forlorn souls in your wake, Crownslayer."

There it was again. That name.

The next thing Six knew, Lyudmila was standing before Karine with her knife at her throat. Yet she didn't use the opportunity to slice it open, though. Or rather, she couldn't. She was paralyzed just as Six was earlier today. The shard on Karine's mechanized gauntlet was glowing blood-red.

Six and Liz rose onto their feet and opened their mouths, but their bodies too froze up. All any of them could do was stare (or growl, in the combatants' case). Karine cackled as Shining bolted off her chair and glared daggers at the Vulpo mistress.

"My my," she taunted. "You're just as swift as your former underlings say. It's hardly any wonder Talulah made you her right-hand woman, Crownslayer. Or do you prefer to go by 'Lyudmila' these days?"

She walked over to Six and brushed the back of her armored hand across Six's cheek. His hairs were standing on their ends as he sneered at her. She giggled at his reaction.

"Monsieur Grant, were you aware that you were traveling with ze deadliest assassin in Ursus?" she asked. "Or that she was an ex-terrorist?"

Six blinked as he processed her words. An assassin was one thing, but 'terrorist'? He didn't believe her words at first, but then his brain started compiling everything together.

It replayed faint memories of exposition from Croissant while on the road. Recounted the dead bodies and discarded garbs in Chernobog. Conjured up that poster of the horned woman- Talulah- in the city ruins. It recalled Chayka's talk of revolutionaries and Reese's banter with Lyudmila before they claimed the latter's head. Patriot's power armor loomed over Kovalenko as he regaled Six of Chernobog's downfall. All that data conflated with this dinner's revelations into a singular truth.

With a flick of a finger, the shackles of paralysis were lifted from everything above Six and Lyudmila's shoulders. The Courier turned his head to face his companion. A thousand questions swirled under his skullcap but his lips settled on one.

"Lyudmila…" Six finally asked. "Is it true?"

The wolf-girl just stared back at him. Her silence further fueled the maelstrom within.

"That militia you joined up with years ago. The one that Patriot merged his with. Was that Reunion?"

With the flick of Karine's finger, the paralysis field holding Six in place dissipated. He wasted no time in rushing towards Lyudmila and throwing her against the wall.

"Answer me dammit!"

Her invisible shackles were soon lifted as well. She pushed Six onto the table and bolted towards the exit. A crimson wall of light blocked her way, throwing her back and giving her a decent dose of volts along the way. Karine let out another cackle, clasping her hands together.

"Oh non non non," she teased. "No one is leaving zhis room. Not until I say so. It's been a long time since we've had a proper drama under zhis roof, and I'm in dire need of inspiration for my scripts. So go on ahead, mes petits oiseaux. Lash out."

Lyudmila rolled away in time to dodge a stomp toward her chest. As soon as she was upright, she unleashed a fury of kicks, punches, and chops onto the Courier. He managed to block and weather through the barrage of fisticuffs.

Thank House for that Stonewall perk, Six thought as he grappled with the wolf girl. "So… this all a 'yes' then?" he groaned as he struggled. "That everything I heard about them is true? That they're terrorists who drove Chernobog through a localized apocalypse? That they nearly started a world war? That they forced kids to kill each other? To eat each other?!"

Karine was writing through a notebook as Six ripped into Lyudmila. The lupo kicked him in the groin, but all she got out of him was a subtle flinch. Her sword, on the other hand, did force him to hop back and draw his own. Six parried his blade against hers with each swing, waiting for the chance to disarm her. When that opportunity finally came, he legswept her and ripped the sword from her hand. He had his to her throat as he pinned her onto the floor.

"Alright, let's change the subject then. Who were their intended targets? The police? Army? Civilians? Non-Infected? Other Infected?"

She managed to break her legs free and threw him off of her. He lost his sword during his brief flight across the room and barely had enough time to search for it. Not when the she-wolf pounced on and pinned him against the wall. She was holding him down with one arm and reaching for his throat with the other. It took all of his strength to keep her mitts away from it.

"And what about you?" Six hissed, staining under her might. "Where do you fit into all of this? What was your role? Assassin? Sabatour? Spy? Executioner? How much of the city's blood is on your hands? How much did you allow your buddies to spill? What did you even hope to accomplish? Were you really trying to improve the lives of the Infected, or was it all just an excuse for vengeance?"

"You don't know anything," Lyudmila snarled back. "You're just like those pompous aristocrats. You don't know what it's like to be thrown to the wolves. You don't know what it's like to be reviled because of some rock-cancer. You don't know what it's like to be betrayed by your loved ones or manipulated by some ambitious sociopaths."

"I'm a Wastelander, honey. I've been backstabbed, strung along on puppet strings, and forced to contend with all sorts of lunatics and monsters since I clawed my way out of my god-damned grave. And I've met at least a dozen people who've been put through similar hells and back. What makes your case any different from ours? What the hell compelled you to-"

"Enough!" cried out a third voice.

Both travelers felt a faint breeze rush towards them before firm hands separated them. It was Shining.

"She may have concealed her past from you, but has she ever led you astray?" Shining asked. "Has she done you any wrong since you two started traveling together?"

Six didn't respond immediately. Her angle was fairly obvious, but he couldn't deny the logic. "...how long has it been since Chernobog fell?" he asked.

"Almost three years," Shining answered. "Plenty of time for her to reflect on her sins and atone. And I wager that you have your share engraved on your heart."

"But nothing like killing inno-"

Six's jaw froze up as a couple of memories flooded back to him. One of them was hazy, as if from a dream. A small box branded with an E surrounded by stars. Hellfire erupted from the earth while the winds flayed people alive. And a man from wells run dry glaring down at him.

The other memory emerged from the depths of a certain vault. A sadistic choice lay before him. Sacrifice a group of survivors for some crops. Or the opposite, dooming those who relied on the produce of the fields to survive. Anyone looking at this would've considered it a war between objectivism and compassion.

But neither one factored into his final decision that day.

Six lost the strength to keep his head up. Shining was right. As much as it pained him to admit it, he and Lyudmila were not that different. And from the look in the Sarkaz's eye, she had some skeletons in her closet as well.

"And his share of secrets too, I bet," said a gruff voice.

Everyone glanced at the crimson barrier to see a certain Sankta walking through it, sans helmet. The middle-aged man cast a sneer towards the Courier as he drew closer. It was then that Six noticed some of his own guns holstered around the man's armor. The irises in his eyes shrunk as he realized where this was going.

"Ah, Monsieur Larsson!" Karine greeted. "I was wondering when you'd arrive. Have you finished your-"

Larsson ignored his mistress and shoved Shinging and Lyudmila aside, paralyzing the latter for good measure. Six tried to resist the false angel, but he was swifter than he looked. His body from the neck down froze up and he was thrown against the wall by the brute.

Larsson then drew the MF Hyperbreeder Alpha and fired at the cake on the table. It erupted into an orange sheen and crumbled into dust. The party's attendees jumped at the sudden display of fireworks.

"Mon dui!" exclaimed Karine. "What is ze meaning of zhis?"

"Call it a tech demo," Larsson replied. "Where the hell did you get this?"

"I told you, Blackst-" Six gritted his teeth as the man kicked him in the abdomen.

"Bullshit. Blacksteel may have some advanced tech, but nothing as compact as this. And even if they did, they would've at least incorporated Originium into it. Micael and I haven't found a single strand in any of your gear. Not the energy weapons. Nor in the guns, let alone bullets. So let me ask you again, punk…"

The false angel gripped the younger lad's throat and gave it a not-so-subtle squeeze.

"Where in the Law's name did you find all these weapons?" he demanded.

Six's jaws clamped up as he thought of a cover story. "[Speech 80] From the ruins of some Columbian lab," he lied.

"Where in Columbia?"

"From the wastelands. There're at least a dozen abandoned sites with those babies."

"Bullshit. If that were the case, there'd be an arms race."

"There ain't because they're locked up tight. I managed to hack into their vaults, but I couldn't recover the data. I also changed their passwords to the front doors as a precaution while I was at it. Nobody else has been able to get inside since."

"So you have no idea how the gunpowder or batteries are made?"

"Nope. The machines just spit it all out."

"Did those same machines grant you cybernetics?" inquired a new voice.

Everyone's head turned to Liz.

"Come again?" Micael asked.

"He has cybernetic implants within his body. I thought I sensed foreign materials and currents when I examined him earlier. And something else. Remnants of a phantom sickness, right down to his core. I want to say it might've altered him to some degree, but I've never met someone like Mr. Grant before."

Six blinked. She was able to sense his cybernetics with her Arts? And 'phantom sickness'? Was she talking about gamma radiation?

Liz slowly rose from her seat and walked over to the Courier. Larsson put himself between her and him, sneering at the Sarkaz.

"Back off, devil," he said. "This is between me and the defiler, not you."

"This involves my patient," Liz replied. "I have every right to be part of this conversation. Mr. Grant, where did you get your implants?"

"From the labs," he lied. "There was an automated personality running a medical facility. She offered them in exchange for Columbian currency."

"Did it also filter out all of the Originium in your blood?"

"In my-? I'm not Infected, if that's what you're implying."

"I'm not. But every living creature has some semblance of Originium in their bodies. In their blood. Even their… what's that phrase scientists use?"

"[Science 40] Which one? Genetics? DNA?"

"Something like that. Yet you don't have a single milligram of Originium in your body."

Shining's jaw shifted slightly at this revelation. Lyudmila and Paulina, by comparison, nearly had their eyes pop out.

"Mr. Grant, you are unlike anyone I've ever encountered," she continued. "You resemble an Aegir, yet you do not suffer from dry skin like most would. Nor do you possess the physical attributes of any other race. You claim to be from the Western wastes, yet you're devoid of any originium in your system. And despite your medical skills, you never realized that that same substance resided within all of us?"

"Maybe my sources were severely outdated," Six countered. "Or maybe certain factions and countries omit such facts from their texts because they're afraid of it challenging their status quo."

"Even a nation as brutal and stagnate as Ursus wouldn't conceal such information from their people. Not when certain groups like the Infected Patrol Unit rely heavily on it."

Liz walked past Larsson and looked Six straight in the eye. "Mr. Grant, are you even from this world?"

Silence fell across the room. The gears in Six's head ground to a halt as it processed her question, paralyzing him. For a brief moment, his brain had forgotten every bodily function. Thought, breathe, movement. A small part of him wanted to let out a nervous laugh, to call her crazy. Another wanted to clock her and run like hell, but he was still trapped here with everyone. A scoff from Larsson got them spinning again.

"Preposterous," he said. "I knew devils were liars, but madwomen? That's a new low, even for her kind."

"I don't know," Gieszler said. "You said zhose veapons had no Originium in vhem. Were you able to identify ze propellent or power sources?"

Larsson shook his head.

"Vhen perhaps ve shouldn't disregard her words so quickly. After all, our eyes and ears have touted her medical prowess when vhey reported ze Followers' presence. And if mein time under der Hexenkönig has taught me anyvhing, its vhat anyvhing is possible."

Larsson scowled. "No," he retorted. "No, it has to be some new propellent from Columbia. Those paranoid meddlers have always been sticking their noses into everyone's business since they left Victoria. They've dedicated many projects to replicating Laternao's holy light."

"Holy light or monopoly?" Six asked with a snort. "That's rather rich, coming from the therocrat whose country merely 'discovered' firearms. Not invent them."

Larsson's response was to clock Six. The impact threw him against the dining table, throwing food and drink all around. It also seemed to have released him from the paralysis field.

"Larsson!" Karine scolded.

A chuckle escaped from Six's throat. "You know, I've always wondered where your people got their guns," he continued. "Did y'all happen across a UFO filled with them, or did y'all 'appropriate' those weapons from another group of people and slap a patent on them?"

Larsson charged at Six, but he rolled out of the way. The Courier let out a laugh as he crashed through the table, burying himself under its debris.

"Silence, graverobber!" Larsson snarled as he wiped the mess off of his face.

"At least I own up to that title. You Laterans, by comparison, strike me as assholes with a messiah complex. You false angels built an entire religion around guns to justify hoarding them from the rest of the world, didn't you? Tech that never belonged to you. Are you sure your people aren't the real graverobbers here? Or do you have a 'morally superior' synonym for such a word?"

Larsson grabbed Six by the collar of his shirt and aimed the barrel of his SMG under his chin.

"Larsson, stand down!" Karine ordered as she marched toward them.

"I've had enough of this defiler's sacrilege," Larsson hissed. "It's one thing to collude with devils. But to lend an ear to such slander, to blasphemy? No. I don't care what plans you have in store for this thief, I-"

Suddenly all the speakers sputtered and failed. Karine blinked and fiddled with some remote, trying to get it to play again. She cursed in French and took out a smartphone. Yet when she dialed a number, all she got was static. Whatever heat the house had quickly dissipated and gave way to the cold of night.

Six, Lyudmila, and Liz felt their collars unfasten themselves and dropped to the floor with a metallic 'thud'! The forcefield that contained the 'guests' twinkled out of existence before they hit the ground. Karine stared at the three of them all bug-eyed as the situation dawned on her.

Six activated Implant GRX and grabbed Larsson's SMG just as he pulled the trigger. Karine ducked under the table as bullets soared past her and the manor's other occupants. The two played tug of war with it until Six heard a distinct 'click'. Lyudmila used the opportunity to fling scolding hot tea into Larrson's eyes.

While he was blind, Six ripped the SMG out of his hands and started punching away at his skull. When he lifted his arms to block the blows, Six just threw him into the wall and then smashed his head against the floor. He knelt and swiped all the weapons that bastard brought with him; A Light Shining in Darkness, his Plasma Defender, and the MF Hyperbreeder Alpha.

To his disappointment, none of them carried armor-piercing rounds. Then again, Larsson's head was already exposed. A few shots from A Light Shining in Darkness with VATS were more than enough to put him down. He barely had enough time to search the body before he came under fire.

A blast of Arts collided with him and threw the Infected gals back. He scowled as he spied a certain Spire Caster charging up another attack. He was prepared to vault over the broken table when a bubble shield appeared out of nowhere and blocked the shot.

Six turned to see an icy blue energy swirling around Liz. He snapped his head back to the enemy as Karine reemerged and threw a bolt of Arts herself, but it only fared as much as Gieslzer's did. Her response was a growl and a charge forward, claw first. Lyudmila rushed ahead to meet her, phasing through her and attempting to backstab her. She caught the blade with her mechanized gauntlet and crushed it in her palm. The ex-terrorist did a doubletake before swerving to the side as the mistress fired another blast from that same device.

Paulina meanwhile channeled her Arts into her blade and clashed with Six. He could feel a sliver of its energy slipping past Liz's shield and onto his body. It carried the same numbing sensation as those dancers from last night. He tried to draw one of his sidearms to shoot her kneecaps out, but she never gave him the chance to do so.

He didn't need to. Not when Shining snuck up behind her and bonked her on the head with the hilt of her sword.

"This isn't the ideal place for a prolonged firefight," Shining said. "We need to leave, now!"

Six nodded in agreement. "Mila, smoke!" he called out.

Lyudmila was taking cover behind the remains of the dining table when Six called out. She shouted back in Ursine over the the gunfire of Micael's blunderbuss before spewing out her smokescreen. The hosts coughed and gagged while their guests made a quick escape. Karine cursed in Gaulish as the gray shroud dissipated.

"Get our defense systems online," she ordered. " I am not losing either of mes Diamants De Sang tonight!"

---

The journey back to the lobby wouldn't have been so long if it wasn't for all the security crawling about. Knights, dancers, and the fanbase in navy blue were all waiting for them around every corner. On the bright side, they were kind enough to provide Lyudmila with a replacement for her sword. On the downside, fighting through them was a total slog.

After cutting through their third or fourth fireteam, their ears picked up a strange 'zap' ahead. Something that the fighters recognized. A familiar metal orb was floating in the entry hall amidst dust piles. It turned to greet them in binary.

"ED-E?" Six said in disbelief. "That really you?"

The construct bobbed up and down with excited beeps, followed by more coy tunes. Six ignored its snide comments and just hugged the robot. The eyebot chirped some somber notes in response and brushed against its user.

"I thought I lost you, buddy," Six said. "They said thier abomination of science scrapped you and I…"

Six shook his head and backed away. "How long have you been online?" he asked.

ED-E chimed back at the Courier in a matter-of-fact tone, glancing toward Shining. Six blinked in disbelief.

"What, Maiden-In-Black here repaired you this morning?"

"More like I speed up its automated repairs with my Arts," Shining clarified. "It and my party have been scoping out the manor grounds before my 'appointment' with the mistress."

Six turned back to ED-E. The eyebot beeped back with positive tunes, followed by more expository ones.

"So you're the one who took out the power, huh?" Six translated. " Looks like I owe you both one."

"And our infiltrator," Shining added. "They mapped out the building and reported the generator's location to us. Hmm, they should have rendezvoused with us by now."

"Think something happened to them?"

"I pray not, but with a company as devious as this one…"

A flash of red and the chime of Arts interrupted their reunion. Another crimson field cut off their exit while metallic shudders slid down and blocked the windows. The hallway was drenched in a red hue as the emergency lights flickered on.

Six stepped back and fired the MF Hyperbreeder Alpha at both barriers. They soaked up all of its blasts. ED-E tried firing with its Tesla Cannon. Same results. Six scowled as he turned back to the party.

"Dammit," he cursed. "Probably gonna need to find a terminal or that field's power source. Did that spy of yours report finding either one?"

Shining shook her head. Six sighed.

"Something tells me splitting up ain't the best idea right now. Where should we start?"

Shining simply motioned for everyone to follow. Their first stop was the ballroom-slash-theater. The emergency lights provided limited visibility in the manor, along with a trail. During the trip, Six requisitioned Gehenna from ED-E. Well, Gehenna 2.0, actually.

He built a spiritual successor to the original weapon based on schematics from the New England Commonwealth. Instead of a showerhead hose linking a lawnmower blade to a motorcycle's gas tank, it was a wakizash with a small propane canister attached to the blunt end. A much more efficient design compared to the original one, in the Courier's honest opinion. The only issue was that he wasn't certain if propane even existed on Terra. Best to conserve it as much as possible (at least until he finds a suitable alternative).

Their destination had already seen some renovation by the time they arrived. All of the furniture and partyware had been replaced with theater seats. The bodies and carnage from earlier had also been removed, but Six could see faint stains here and there. The box seats and balconies surrounding them lacked emergency lighting, cloaking their contents in the darkness. His Pip-Boy hadn't picked up any movement since they arrived, but that hardly put him at ease.

He toggled VATS and it highlighted a plethora of new targets. All of them appeared to be gift boxes, but he was fairly certain they were explosives.

"My Pip-Boy's picking up some funky signatures ahead," Six warned. "Could be landmines."

Shining shook her head. "Not regular landmines," she replied. "Arts Units. I can sense their energies from here."

"Can any of y'all defuse them?" Six asked. "I know my way around explosives, but magic's outside of my purview."

"I can." Shining turned to Lyudmila. "What about you, young lady?"

Lyudmila nodded. She took the left side while Shining took the right. Six and ED-E stayed behind with Liz, the former calling out each 'gift's' position with VATS. The woman, however, stared at him until all the Arts Units were defused.

As soon as the last one was defused, all hell broke loose. First another wall of light flickered into existence, blocking off the exit. Then several of the fanatics in blue shambled from backstage and flooded the main floor. Bolts flew out of the boxes, pushing everyone back to the hard light field.

Six tried to lock onto the hidden crossbowmen, but the only people VATS registered were those on the ground level. He scowled as he and his Companions repelled the Derisive Audience.

"Everyone up to the balconies," Six called. "We'll have the high ground and some breathing room if we take care of the snipers."

Everyone nodded in agreement and ventured up the stairs. Some more of the boys in blue were waiting for them, but they were cut down by blade and laser. That caught the attention of the cloaked snipers and they too joined in. While everyone had to scramble to find cover, the enemy's archery gave away their position. Six and ED-E tried peppering them with lasers, but their beams seemed to either miss or phase through them. And there wasn't a holographic target in sight to dispel their cloak.

Lyudmila bolted from her cover and straight toward the sniper's positions. Six called out to her, but she didn't heed his warnings. Shining channeled her Arts toward the Lupo, deflecting as many bolts as she could. To his surprise, their cloak failed as soon as she got close.

The snipers were goons in white masks and Ghillie suits. The same type of masks he saw in the ruins of Chernobog. Lyudmila let out a cry of 'Predateli!' as she cut the first one down. The team circled the balconies after her, with the offworlders providing covering fire against the Derisive Audience while she went on a hacking spree. She flicked off the blood after the last sniper- now coated in two shades of red- fell.

"Is that all of them?" Shining asked Six.

The Courier checked his HUD and turned to ED-E for feedback. A positive beep confirmed their findings.

"Of this wave? Yeah. Vitals have flatlined and our trackers are blank. But no telling when the next one's gonna crop up. Let's find the generator and get the fuck outta here already."

Everyone nodded in agreement as they returned to ground level and gave it a sweep. Lyudmila and Liz went to check on the backstage while Six and Shining inspected the stage. The maiden in black walked up to the boxes while Six inspected the stage. ED-E patrolled the area while the fleshlings searched the area.

It wasn't long before he discovered a hatch. Unfortunately, there wasn't a tab or anything to grab onto to open it. He assumed that it could only be accomplished from the other side. He walked around the ballroom until he found a hidden panel in the Opera pit. Six tugged it open and crouched down, then slipped into the darkness.

He expected himself to be besieged by the enemy as soon as his Pip-Boy's light flickered on. To his surprise, he found nothing. No goons or monsters, no landlines, no tripwires or plates. Nothing.

He spotted a crimson glow at the center of the trap room. He slowly crept over to the generator, yet he found no more surprises. Six braced himself for an explosion as he flipped the switch.

Nada. He let out a soft exhale through his nose, but then something occurred to him. If he could easily shut this thing down, then the enemy could just as easily undo his work.

[Melee 50] It didn't take long for him to notice the cables on the floor. Six took out his Gehenna 2.0 and hacked away at them, slicing them into a dozen pieces. He smiled at his handiwork. That should buy them more time.

The Courier made his way over to the hatch and popped back up onto the stage like a bat outta hell. He gave everyone quite the scare as he made his grand entrance, causing Lyudmila to draw her own sword.

"Chert poberi!" she sneered. "I could've lobbed your head off!"

"Nah, I'd dodge your swings," Six laughed as he got onto his feet.

"Have you honestly forgotten our first meeting?"

"You had a smokescreen, bitch."

ED-E emitted some angry chirps as its User recounted that day. Lyudmila snorted and rolled her eyes.

"Did you find at least anything?"

"Found a backup generator and hacked its cables up. Hopefully, that'll bring the-"

He stopped midsentence as his motion-tracker flared up. Two enemy signatures, but he didn't see anyone nearby. Either they were hiding in the trap room or-

He snapped his neck towards the catwalk and was greeted with an orange blast of Arts. Rings of solid light ensnared Six, restraining him. Next thing everyone knew, it was raining cats and dogs.

Well, spotlights and sandbags. ED-E vaporized anything that tried to land on its User's skull while everyone else dodged the debris. The impromptu shower ended as soon as Six broke free and toggled VATS.

Two halos gleamed in the dark. He locked onto the center of mass of their owners and fired. None of the lasers hit their mark. ED-E fared just as poorly with his attempts.

One of the assailants tried to squash him with a plunging attack, but another dose of GRX prevented that outcome. His would-be assassin turned out to be Paulina. She shouted something in French at him before flinging Arts at him. ED-E provided some covering for Six as he dodged her sorcery.

Micael tried pouncing on Lyudmila a moment later, but she dodged his drop attack just as swiftly. His blunderbuss, however, was quick enough to ensnare her in those damn rings. The Nuncio marched over to her and raised ax head above his head.

Something deflected the blade's descent, though. It was Shining. Micael blinked and swung again, but the maiden in black knocked the weapon out of his hands. All without drawing out her blade.

Lyudmila broke free when the Sankta scuttled after his firearm. Six was too busy dodging Artsfire to admire Shining's handiwork. Paulina was howling like a banshee as she flung her Arts, probably throwing all sorts of profanities at him. She tried to move in for a melee with the Courier, but ED-E's lasers kept her at bay. Liz stayed behind and cast her bubble shields on everyone.

That put her in the crosshairs of both Sankta. Paulina fired a couple of Arts Bolts at Liz, stunning her. Shining bolted to her defense, but she and Lyudmila were caught in energy rings. The Infected Sankta moved in to finish the frail Sarkaz off, but Six blocked the killing blow.

Micael reloaded his blunderbuss as he danced around ED-E's beams, then ensnared him as well. The eyebot attempted to blast its way out, but all its Tesla Cannon did was sputter. The eyebot emoted some aggravated bleeps.

Liz slowly rose back onto her feet, still dazed by Paulina's Art's. Micael had reloaded and took aim at her with his blunderbuss, channeling his own into the relic.

Six wasn't about to let that happen. He activated his GRX implant again and disarmed Paulina, then threw her between Liz and Micael. The bitch cried out as the shrapnel tore into her flesh and Arts strangled her. Micael called out her name and ran to her side, dispelling the rings and cradling her in his arms. Shining in turn rushed to Liz's side.

"Are you alright!?" Shining asked.

Liz nodded. "I am, but…"

Everyone followed her finger toward the two Sankta. Paulina was coughing out blood (in an overly dramatic manner) while she wiped the tears off of Micael's face. Both of them were conversing in Latin while Micaela attempted to stop the bleeding. To everyone's surprise, Paulina pulled her face towards Micael's face and locked her lips with his. Though stunned for a moment, he returned the gesture and gently laid her back down.

Her eyes lost their light as she went limp. Micael let out an anguished howl, raging at the heavens. His halo and 'wings' dimmed as turned into a vortex of neutral hues, then splintered into holographic shards. Demonic horns burst from his skull while an impish tail sprouted from his back. Everybody's jaw dropped as the young man mutated.

"What the fuck…?" Six uttered. He looks just like-

Micael snapped his head towards the Courier, glaring daggers into his eyes, into his soul. He reloaded his patron gun and pulled the trigger, yet it didn't fire. He fiddled with the blunderbuss before throwing it aside.

"You monster!" he screeched. "Murderer! You killed her and yet I have to pay for your sins! I'll tear out your soul-!"

Lyudmila wasn't going to let him have his shot at vengeance. She grabbed and slit his throat mid-rant and threw him aside. He gurgled and gasped as he glared back at them, trying to stop the blood from pouring out. Then his gaze lingered back to Paulina, and he embraced her with his free arm. He expired shortly afterward.

Six couldn't help but frown as he stared down at the bodies. It almost looked like something out of Romeo and Juliet. That frown mutated into a scowl as he collected their weapons and knelt to loot the couple's pockets. Shining's hand stopped him.

"Wait," she cautioned. "That woman's Infected."

"And dead," Six pointed out. "So what?"

"When an Infected individual expires, the cell-originium assimilation rate of their bodies escalates. Therefore they become vectors for Oripathy."

She pointed at Paulina's ankle. Earlier the Originium shards on here were more or less flakes. Now they were bulbous as hell, with a faint glow.

"That young man might've scrapped himself on one of those shards," Shining continued. "For all we know, he too could be a vector."

Both Sarkaz knelt beside the recently departed, channeling their Arts into them. Already he could see the black veins and shimmer diminishing under their incandescence. Shining then turned to Lyudmila.

"You have experience in disposing of Infected bodies?" she asked.

Lyudmila gave her a grim nod.

"Then you know what must be done."

"Want me to help?" Six asked.

"Not without proper protection," Shining replied. "Liz can alleviate Oripathy symptoms with her Arts, but they don't grant immunity to infection."

Six respectfully ignored Shining's advice as he dragged Micael by his collar into Lucian's room. Lyudmila followed behind home with Paulina, just as disapproving as everyone else. Shining tore down the curtains and brought those along. Six dropped the Fallen Sankta onto the floor and looted his corpse. He had some keys, a keycard, pellets, and (what Six presumed to be) some type of propellant in a pouch. He was about to add the latter to his inventory when Liz stopped him.

"Wait," she said.

"What now?" Six scowled.

"That propellent might be active."

"Active? As in 'about to explode?"

"Or at least on the verge of burning into your skin. Both scenarios can lead to infection."

Six grumbled as she took it out of his hands and into the wardrobe. She placed it in a compartment and shut it back. Shining and Lyudmila, meanwhile covered the bodies (though not before the latter looted them). Then they covered up all the vents and taped over some cracks. When the party left the room, Lyudmila stuffed some more shreds of cloth into the keyhole and every gap in the door.

"Find anything useful on the Sankta bitch?" Six asked.

Lyudmila flashed several items. A wallet, keychain, some knives, and-

A pistol? It bore a striking resemblance to the .45 handguns of Zion. Odd. Didn't Paulina say she was denied the chance to get her own gun? Maybe she looted this one off of somebody.

Six reached for the gun, but Lyudmila holstered it before he could examine it further. "Haven't you already got enough?" she asked.

"I can always sell 'em," Six retorted. "And I'd like to study that when I can."

"Then it'll be safe with me in the meantime."

Six scowled. If it weren't for the fact that the Sankta were gatekeeping their weapons with magic, he'd be worried about getting shot in the back. Speaking of which, he turned to Shining.

"Did your spy happen to find any armories while they were snooping around?" Six asked.

"Some," Shining replied. "Two outside, at least one inside. Why? Looking to expand upon your current collection?"

"More like reclaiming my previous one," Six replied. "I'd like to find it before we leave this place. And our bounty."

"Bounty?"

"A certain brute's head. Hopefully, it- or at least his dental work- is still intact."

Six led the group back to the lobby, scanning their surroundings with his eyes and Pip-Boy. No sign of the mistress or the stagman thus far, but he did pick up movement on his HUD. Right near the exit. He held up a hand and scoped it out.

The source of the blimps was right out the door. With the security system disabled, he had a clear view of the outside world. Or at least as clear as the night sky and red smog would allow it. He saw shapes weaving through the crimson haze, laughing at the top of their lungs as they swung their weapons at each other. Two of them slammed into the window with a hard thud, trying to choke each other with a mad grin on their faces.

They wore the same rags as he had this morning. And from the looks in their eyes, they were both drugged. The ladies and eyebot arrived on the scene in time to see one of the 'servants' strangle the other with a clothesline while a knight slit his own throat. They all took a step back.

"Well, so much for the front door," Six grumbled. "Anyone any suggestions? 'Cus I doubt we have enough candle wax for wings or gliders. And ED-E sure as hell can't fly or carry a human."

ED-E emitted some offended tunes at Six.

"Aristocrats like Karine usually have a hidden escape route on their property," Shining suggested. "Or at the very least gas masks for situations like this."

Six glanced down at his Pip-Boy. There were still some blank spots on the local map. He was about to pick a spot to investigate when everyone heard something echo in the distance. Something… metallic? Six turned to the ladies, just as perplexed as he was. He motioned for them to follow as they crept toward the source.

They followed the sounds back to the basement. Something was banging away, but they couldn't see what. Then Six's motion tracker picked up a blimp. It was coming from the end of the room, but VATS found nothing. Unless…

Six began feeling around the room, moving and peeping inside every barrel, groping everything from candles to wine bottles. Then his fingers brushed against a loose brick. He yanked it out and discovered a card reader behind it. Six checked around for similar bricks and found a retinal scanner. He motioned everyone over.

"Anyone happen to nab any Sankta eyeballs during all this commotion?" Six asked.

Everyone shook their heads while ED-E broadcasted negative beeps. He sighed.

"Is someone out there?" called out a voice.

Everyone bounced away from the wall and raised their weapons.

Wait a minute. Something about that voice seemed familiar.

"Nunes?" Six called out.

The voice behind the wall stuttered. "Um, yes!" they shouted back. "Squire Nunes, sir! I was perusing our wares when-"

"There's no longer any need for the charade, Margaret," Shining interrupted. "You're among friends again."

Lyudmila froze up as soon as that name left the Sarkaz's lips. Six tilted his head. She hadn't looked that scared since-

The Courier blinked. "Wait, as in the champion of the last Kazimierz Major?"

Shining nodded. "I had her infiltrate the guards' ranks after your friend and I surveyed the manor grounds," she explained before returning to the wall. "How did you get stuck in there, old friend?"

"I was looking for Liz's staff when I saw a Sankta exit from a hidden room," Margaret explained. "And slipped inside before it sealed itself back up. Unfortunately, it turned out that you need a certain key to enter and leave this space. I've been trying to tear the door down from this side, but I've hardly made a dent with this mace or the weapons in here."

"You couldn't have used your Arts?"

"Not with all these munitions and Arts units around me."

Shining allowed a 'hmm' to slip past her lips. "Six, keycards."

Six gave an acknowledging grunt as he handed them over. A green light lit up as she inserted a card into the reader, but nothing else happened. Shining furrowed her brows as she pocketed them.

"It would seem that we're in dire need of good eyes," she concluded. "Stay put while we fetch some."

A chuckle echoed from the armory as the party departed. "And people say you don't have a sense of humor," Margaret called back.

---

Their first stop was the dining hall. None of the hosts- living or dead - were nowhere to be found. They didn't see either of Larrson's eyes either. At Six's suggestion, they decided to search the music room next. While he was leading them to their next destination, his mind wandered back to another Sankta. Or rather, two of them.

Several of Terra's races sported horns but they generally resembled those corresponding to Earth's fauna. Micael's horns, on the other hand, didn't. They looked more demonic, like those of a Sarkaz. The tail he grew only further solidified this. But what intrigued him the most was that he somewhat resembled another Sankta back there. A certain chick with azure hair.

It didn't take long for them to reach the music room. Six's motion tracker wasn't picking up movement, so they had free reign to explore and ransack the place. Then he heard that chime again. He closed his eyes as he shifted all of his processing power toward his ears. He slowly crept through the room as he followed the noise, opening his eyes when the sound was directly above him.

He found himself staring at the end of the hall. He flipped his Pip-Boy's light on and shone it around the area, scanning for any signs of a door or hatch.

[Perception 7] A patch of wallpaper stuck out to him. It seemed fresher in comparison to the rest, devoid of the scars of time. He traced a hand across it, feeling for anything. It eventually found and pressed a hidden button, causing the wall to split open with a metallic groan. An elevator laid itself bare before him.

He turned to see Lyudmila and Shining running towards him. He pointed back to the elevator with a thumb.

"Think it still works?" he asked.

"Perhaps," Shining said. "But I wouldn't be so quick ride in a potential coffin. Let's check the power first."

Six walked inside and glanced at the car operating panel. All of the buttons had a dim glow, while the floor indicator flickered. Six stomped on the floor covering and waited for a moment. Seeing as that the cab hadn't fallen yet, he motioned for the party to step inside. Once everyone was in, Six pressed the button for the next floor. With a slight jerk, the doors slid shut and the cab rose upward.

It was a bit cramped in here. Shining and Six were at the back, Liz leaning against the former. Lyudmila had her back against Six while ED-E hovered over her head. Her nose was drowning in all that perfume and cologne on him. She could barely pick up the stench of iron amongst themselves, let alone their scents. The redhead's wolf tail rubbed against Six's leg, stiff as a log.

At least that's the only stiff thing between the two of us. Lyudmila thought to herself.

Darkness and that chime were the first things to greet them as the doors opened back up. Six held up a hand as he checked his motion tracker yet again, then VATS.

Two souls were up ahead, each in the furthest corners. One on a stretcher, the other in a chair. It was hard to tell if they were strapped in, conscious, or what. At the very least his HUD displayed their vitals in orange, so they weren't hostile.

Yet. He put his finger to his lips before taking the lead with ED-E. His eyes scanned for traps while his ears guided him toward the source of the noise. Eventually, his hand brushed against something metallic. Something thin. A spike?

He scanned the room with VATS again. Again, the John Does were marked as friendlies. He risked turning on his Pip-Boy's light and beheld something pulled out of Weird Tales.

There, sitting on a lab table, was the severed head of Ingra. It was wired into an iron block with an Originium shard, probably an Arts unit. Whatever color his face had was reduced to an ashen gray. His eyes and the corners of his lips gave off spasmodic twitches, yet the former were as dull as stone.

That wasn't the only item on the table. There were jars with preserved brains, chemicals, scattered papers, more Arts units, and some sort of crystal ball. A ball wired into one of those Sarkaz alters. Liz and Lyudmila took a step back and covered her mouth.

"Chto... kakogo cherta?" the Lupo uttered in disbelief.

Six couldn't help but agree with her. He snapped his fingers in front of the grunt's head. No response, or at least changes to its current behavior. Six turned to Shining for answers, but all he got was a look of revulsion. What the hell was that old goat doing? Turning Ingra into this world's version of a Robobrain? Or auditioning for the role of Herbert West?

There was a lamp nearby. Six activated and waved it around, shedding as much light in the room as possible. There was a chemistry set, a sink, a chalkboard littered with equations and chemical formulas, a skeleton-prop of an unidentified race, shelves with more chemicals and brains, and canisters with Originium shards.

The John Does were both strapped to their respective places. The one in the chair was an Ursus goon in blue, yet he didn't seem as gaunt as his colleagues. There was a ring of Originium above his head, bringing to mind electric chairs from Pre-War prisons.

The man on the stretcher had pale skin and pointed ears. He seemed to be malnourished from where Six was standing, but he needed to get closer to confirm this. He also couldn't help but notice the fangs sticking out too. They looked natural from where he was standing.

Six turned back to the elevator. There was a fancy coffin beside it, probably a prop from a horror movie. It appeared to be locked. There was also a sculpture with Bighorner horns flanking the other side.

He set the lamp back down and took a seat at the desk. He picked up some papers and tried to analyze them, but they were written in German. He did notice a couple of words frequently cropping up on them; Sarkaz and Noosphere. The Sankta also received an honorable mention here and there. Shining helped herself to them too, gladly taking each one from Six's hands. Judging from the look in her eyes, she was far more familiar with the dialect than he was.

A few books were lying about. Some seemed to be scientific journals, One a textbook on the Sarkaz, another about the Sankta, and…

Six raised an eyebrow at the third one's title 'Ein Geisterführer zum menschlichen Gehirn'. He was even more intrigued by the symbol on the cover. A rook chess piece within a triangle. There were some words underneath, but they long since faded. He didn't see the author's name anywhere either.

Six flipped through the pages of the book, blinking at its contents. Many of the images in it were brains. Human brains if his understanding of neurology was up to date. Each chapter seemed to focus on the neurology of a certain race.

What was even stranger, though, was the Sarkaz tab. Not only was it the largest chapter of the book, but it was also split into several sections. Gargoyle, Banshee, Goliath, Vampire, Cyclops. Subraces, maybe? There were plenty of sticky notes within that chapter, along with the ones for the Sankta, Oni, and Anasa.

Everyone jumped as the John Does began thrashing about. Shining grabbed the lantern and waved it around. Both lab rats were now awake, with bags under their eyes and agony etched on their faces.

"Poh… pomogi mne…" the Ursus croaked out.

Lyudmila rushed to the Ursus's side, with Shining following suit. Six and Liz turned their attention to the pale man while ED-E stayed where it was. The fanged stranger had these scars on his forehead. They didn't appear to be from bullet wounds like Six's. Rather they looked like-

"Liz, does this look like a lobotomy to you?" Six asked.

Liz nodded and turned to Shining. "Are there any signs of similar procedures on the other patient?"

"Negative," Shining called back. "But this one appears to be in a state of delirium. How's yours?"

Six and Liz glanced back at the Vampire. He just stared at them as saliva dripped down his cheek.

"He's a fucking vegetable," Six reported back.

That was a bit premature on his part. The haze in the Vampire's eyes suddenly dissipated as he honed his gaze toward Six.

"Teeh… Teekaz?" he droned. "Teekaz?"

Both of them jumped back as he spoke. "I stand corrected."

Liz approached the Vampire and leveled her face to his, speaking to him in their tongue. He didn't seem to register her presence as he stared up at the Courier. His brows furrowed as he sniffed toward Lyudmila and arched an eyebrow. Then he turned back to Six and snarled.

"Eindringling…" the pale man growled. "Eindringling!"

Everyone heard a couple of beeps sound off. The clamps restraining both men suddenly sprung open. Each one bolted toward a combatant and tackled them to the ground. The man in blue pummeled away at Lyudmila while the pale one tried to sink his fangs into his neck.

Six could barely hold him back as ED-E flew to his defense and opened fire. Liz took a step back as a crimson glow consumed and disintegrated him. Six coughed as he bounced onto his feet and whipped the dust off.

Meanwhile, Shining managed to pry the man in blue off of Lyudmila, allowing her to slit his throat. Like the attendees at the earlier party, he went out with a smile. The she-wolf and Sarkaz grimaced for a moment before shaking it off.

"Everyone alright?" the pearl-haired woman asked.

Everyone else nodded. "Who the hell let the mad dogs out?" Six asked.

"Dogs?" Lyudmila asked back.

Six's brows furrowed. "You know, hounds?"

Suddenly the lights flickered to life. The Courier and assassin scanned the room for hostiles, or at least the hand that flipped the light switch. Then they heard stones grinding and spun their heads towards the sculpture. It stomped its way between the party and the elevator as the coffin door swung open.

And out the box waltzed Gieszler. Six held a hand up as ED-E chirped in an alarmed tone.

"No disintegrations," he mouthed to the eyebot.

"You kept me vaiting, Dame Confessarius," he greeted. "I vas vundering if you vould ever show."

The two sinners turned with confused looks, then to the Sarkaz. Shining's brows had furrowed.

"That word means nothing to me," she coldly retorted.

"Your tone suggests otherwise. I vas hoping zhat I could give you un tour under… better circumstances."

"It's a cesspool of atrocities."

"Science is neither clean nor messy. It simply is. Ze Troupe vanted to streamline zhier indoctrination process. Or at least imprint zheir scripts into ze actors' brains."

"Troupe?" Six asked.

"Ja, ze Crimson Troupe. Zhey vere initially hitmen for hire, masquerading as un traveling troupe. But when His Majesty declared war on Gaul, zhey sided with Corsica I instead. Why? I cannot say. Perhaps zheir leadership had political ties to ze Gaulish Emperor. Regardless, zhey and Gaul lost ze war. Among other zhings, judging from zhier obsession with Gaulish culture zhese days."

"I'd say you lost your marbles if you thought I would ever work with madmen like them," Shining sneered. "Especially after they tried to use Liz as a bargaining chip."

"And you're naive to zhink you can bury your clan's legacy. Zhere's so much to be gleaned from all of zhis, from her."

Gieszler motioned at Liz.

"Zhink of ze advancements in communications, nay, in evolution!"

"Communication?" Six snorted. "It looks more like you robbing people of their will and knowledge. What the hell are you doing with Ingra's head, anyway? Reanimating it?"

Gieszler seemed to be arguing back, but Six's focus was elsewhere. While that man was bantering with Shining, he was bouncing in and out of VATS. And right now he was locking onto the biggest threat with said system. The Pip-Boy guided Six's aim toward the old man's arm. A few lasers were more than enough to Cripple it.

Lyudmila dashed toward him, phasing past the Mass-Produced Colossus before it could squash her. She grabbed his staff as it fell to the ground and knocked Gieszler off his feet. Then she smashed its head against the floor, rupturing its Arts unit. She tossed the broken device at the golem, bolting back to the gang as it exploded at its feet. The giant stumbled back and spasmed, stunned by the blast.

Six and ED-E opened fire on its legs. As soon as both limbs were Crippled, Its lower half crumbled into dust. Gieszler made a break for the elevator as the construct crawled toward the enemy.

Six bolted past the drone while Lyudmila and ED-E handled the golem. The Courier tackled and pinned Gieszler to the back of the cable box.

"You- your people…" he croaked. "Are you… Übermenschen?"

Six scowled. "Some of them certainly believe themselves to be," Six snides before decapitating him.

Six glanced back at his party. The golem had already crumbled away from the combined might of blade and laser. Six claimed Gieszler's and went back for Ingra's. Hopefully, both will last long enough in subspace storage for him to collect their bounties.

Everyone huddled back into the elevator and toward the room. They crept back to the basement, keeping their eyes peeled for traps. Nothing of the sort reared their ugly heads. It was almost a relief as they used Gieszler's head and keycard to unravel the hidden door.

Stone and gears groaned as the wall split open and slid out of existence. There, waiting on the other side, was the champion of Kazimierz herself. Surrounding her was a treasure trove of weapons, armor, and other armaments. Many of which were his.

Six wasted no time in reclaiming his gear and ammunition. Margaret offered everyone a smile while he looted some bolts and additional weapons for bartering down the line. ED-E chirped a greeting toward the knight as it ejected her sword-spear(?) from subspace storage and into her hand.

"It's good to see some friendly faces again," she said. "And to finally ditch that helmet."

One face wasn't too thrilled about seeing the knight though. Margaret noticed a flash of red behind Shining and walked around her. She blinked.

"Crownslayer?" Margaret said in disbelief. "What in the world is she doing here?"

"That's none of your business," Lyudmila sneered. "And for your information, I don't operate with that name anymore."

Margaret's grip on her weapon tightened, but Shining held her hand up.

"You need not worry about this one," the Sarkaz assured the knight. "She has absolved herself of her sins with her companionship to this man."

Margaret shifted her attention to Six with arched eyebrows. "She's really your partner?" the blonde asked.

Six's gaze shifted back to Lyudmila for a moment. The second their eyes locked together, he sensed a whirlpool of negativity. Mistrust, regret, shame, fear, even some embers of fury. Part of him couldn't help but wonder if he was staring into her soul, or seeing a reflection of his.

Six turned back to the knight in shining armor and gave her a nod. "I only just learned about her dirty laundry," he confessed. "But I'm willing to hear her side of the story… after we leave this fucked up dollhouse."

Six glanced over to the back of the room. There was a stairway leading down into… somewhere. Six descended down the steps and shined his Pip-Boy's light into the abyss.

He could make out training dummies, wooden swords and arrows, practice targets, and punching bags. Didn't take a genius to realize that this was a training room. Probably for the Troupe's assassins, he wagered.

Six removed his Pip-Boy and set it on the ground, still lighting the surrounding area. He swapped out his suit for his usual garb before strapping it back on. He climbed back up to find everyone strapping gasmasks onto their belts. Lyudmila had changed back into her camo-outfit and added some armor to it.

"Are we ready to depart?" Margaret asked.

"Not yet," Six said. "We still need to deal with Karine."

Margaret furrowed her brows. "The Mistress?" she asked. "What about her? We don't have to waste time on relics like her. We can just go."

"What about the slaves, though? Are we just going to abandon them?"

"They've probably already left. Without the collars restricting their movement, they can just run for the hills."

"And the ones that haven't or couldn't…?"

Margaret paused. Shining stepped up.

"This isn't about them, is it?" the Sarkaz observed. "This is about vengeance."

Six didn't speak up for a minute. "Maybe," he admitted. "The only good slaver's a dead one, in my book."

But then he shook his head. "[Speech 50] But that's not the only thing on my mind. Karine doesn't strike me as the type to let go. She has plans for me and Lyudmila, and she's tried to blackmail Shining with Liz here. Who's to say that she won't send out hunting parties for a do-over?"

Everyone's brows furrowed as they processed his words. Shining gave a reluctant nod of agreement.

"An astute argument," she relented. "Women like her are not the type to relinquish their prey. So long as she lives, she will send her hounds after us again and again. Very well then, stranger. It's open season."

A wolfish grin grew under his helmet as he reloaded his weapons. He and ED-E took point, leading everyone back to the entry hall. And waiting for them were a dozen hostiles.

Some of them were lightly armored, others rogues duel-wielding swords. A couple of Casters and Heavy Defenders were on the stairways, both in a color-scheme of black and red. But the thing that caught Six's eye was that most of them bore the same masks he found in Chernobog.

And sitting on the railing of the foyer's balcony was Karine, with a smug smile and a hand under her chin.

"Well well well," she chimed. "What do we have here? Two little birdies trying to fly ze coop with a couple of demons and…"

She feigned a sniff as she turned her gaze to Margaret. "I zhought I smelled a stinkfowl amidst our ranks," she noted. "But to zhink zhat we'd be graced by ze Radiant Knight herself. I don't know whezher to applaud you for your subterfuge or to gut you for your interference."

"What makes you think we're running?" Six retorted.

"Oh? Have you two considered our invitation?"

Six's response was to draw out the All-American. Karine let out a snobbish laugh as she glared down at the party.

"So forward," she taunted. "Solitaire used to be more coy back in ze day."

"Solitaire?"

"Oui. Our guild's prodigy. Le diamant de sang, or 'Blood Diamond' in your tongue. As charming as he was deadly. But alas, he decided to part ways with us ages ago. And he left a vacuum in our talent pool as he made his grand exit. None could compare to him or ze agents we lost… unto you two stepped onto our porch."

"You want us to replace your runaway assassin."

"You two would make decent successors to Solitaire. You both put up as much of a fight as he did and have enough intelligence to appreciate art. With furzher refinement, you two would be a proper gentleman and lady.

"Ze Crimson Troupe and I can offer you many things. Wealth, fame, power, debauchery. With you two's prowess, we can become lords. Become legend!"

"Those things mean jack-shit when you're tangled up in puppet strings. I'll pass."

A disappointed frown slithered across her face. "Zhen I suppose some disciplinary action is needed," she concluded. "Rough up la coppia di battaglia and Confessarius. Dispose of ze rest."

Several Light-Armored Soldiers charged forth shields first and blades out. They were smart enough to cover their fronts but left their legs exposed. Six switched to his Riot Shotgun and shredded those, then their skulls. ED-E was swift enough to flank and disintegrate them from behind. The dual-swordsmen fell even quicker, charging at him with their sword-arms stretched out.

Lyudmila danced around her opponents, barking in Ursus at each of them as she dodged their swings. Six didn't understand her words, but she seemed to have an earnest look on her face. No, not just earnest. Her tone of voice almost seemed like she was pleading with them. Most of the grunts didn't register whatever she said to them. The few that responded didn't carry any emotion behind their words.

Shining stayed back with Liz, deflecting any blade or arrow that came her way. She'd throw a kick or a bop from her sword's hilt for anyone who got close, but she never drew the blade itself. Let alone take any lethal action against them. Why the hell was she holding back? Did she have one of those 'AoE' tricks like Leonhardt and wanted to avoid friendly fire?

Margaret was taking a similar approach to Lyudmila. Six could hear her trying to reason with the grunts, but the few responses she got were just as empty as Lyudmila's bunch. Were they all indoctrinated? Were any of them in control of their actions?

Six shook those thoughts aside. If none of the locals can get through to these brutes, then they are beyond salvation. Survival must come first.

As the last swordsman and soldier fell, the Heavy Defender Leaders tried to box them in. Shining and Liz shielded everyone from Arts bombardment as the Senior Casters waltzed down the stairways. The 12 gauge flechettes from Six's Riot Shotgun tore through the formers' shields and armor, carving openings for Margaret and Lyudmila to exploit. Any Caster that came down the steps had their barriers torn open with grenades, exposing them to the heroes.

Karine scowled as she stared down at the carnage below. While she was far from a slouch, neither was that damned knight. And with the young man's arsenal back in his hands, her chances of climbing up the Troupe's ladder practically vanished. Unless…

She pressed a button on her gauntlet, causing the originium crystal to flash neon purple. Just as the last henchman fell, the ground started to rumble. The heroes froze up as they tried to locate the source of the quakes, each one more intense than the last.

Suddenly the manor's doors were sent flying towards them and Karine. Everyone rolled to the side as the barriers crashed and exploded into splinters. Crimson mists flooded the manor, forcing everyone sans Six to hold their breaths and don their gas masks. And stomping their way through the smog and dust was the Lost Colussus.

"Oi!" Karine shouted. "Who told you to wreck ze place?"

The golem just stared at her. The mistress cursed under her breath as she pressed her fingers between her mask's lens.

"Crush ze knight," she ordered, pointing at Margaret.

The golem charged forth, bringing its fists down on the Radiant Knight. She rolled to the side, slashing at its limbs with a faint golden shimmer in her blade. The construct tried swatting and stomping at her, but she strafed gracefully around each strike. If it weren't for the situation at hand, Six would've thought she was a ballerina.

"ED-E, Anti-Material," Six ordered.

ED-E issued some acknowledging beeps, popping out his GRA-issued Anti-Material Rifle. Six inserted a magazine of explosive rounds into it and bolted up the stairs. Karine fired some blasts of Arts at Six, but a boost from Implant GRX kept him ahead of the game. As soon as he reached the top, the first thing he locked onto was her center of mass.

Karine tried to block the bullets with her gauntlet, but the explosions crippled her arm. It soon proved a horrible idea when fissures appeared on the originium crystal. Before she could remove the gauntlet, it exploded into a hail of Arts and shrapnel. The middle-aged woman howled as her arm disintegrated and collapsed onto the floor, clenching the charred stump.

Just as Six brought VATS back up, something slammed into him. It was another goddamned mudball. By the time he shook off the stars orbiting his skull and dug his way out, Karine was already behind him. She unfastened his helmet and ran off with it, taunting him in French. Six held his breath and bolted after her.

Arts Gaurds and Casters stood between him and her, but he gunned them all down. Unfortunately, he was forced to draw in some breaths on occasion, taking a hit in his health bar. He also felt a faint pressure building up beneath his skullcap. Something akin to a shot of Psycho.

[Chem Resistant] Whatever it was, he managed to suppress it. Eventually, he caught up to and cornered Karine in her bedroom. His helmet was nowhere to be seen.

"Toi... espèce de bâtard," Karine hissed as she leaned against her bed for support. "I offered you two a new beginning, and zhis is how you respond!?"

"New beginning?" Six snorted. "There's no future in chains."

Karine charged him with a rapier, but Six sidestepped and blew off her leg. She howled as she skidded past him and back into the hall. She tried to hoist and balance herself upright with the sword, but Six blasted her other arm apart too. The woman howled and gritted her teeth.

"And what about ze past?" she snarled. "Isn't zhere some baggage you'd like to discard? Regrets to forget?"

Six's eyes narrowed. "Every memory is precious to me," he replied as he switched back to the MF Hyperbreeder Alpha. "And I won't let anyone take them from me ever again."

Karine raised an eyebrow and was about to say something before Six disintegrated her. The only things that survived the laser's beam were her skull and her belongings. Six shifted through the ashes and dug out some goodies. Some antique coins, LMDs, a skeleton key, and her gas mask (resembling Earth's ANP M51).

Six quickly donned her headgear and injected a stimpak into his systems. The mask was hardly in mint condition, but it will do for the time being. While his HP ticked back up, he rummaged through her room and discovered some more loot.

Once he pillaged it, he grabbed her rapier and gave it a few swings. It felt a little bit flimsy in his hands. Must have been designed as a badge of office instead of a proper weapon. Still, could fetch a decent price with the people of Grinkhorn.

Suddenly he heard a beeping sound. Six turned to see a yellow light flashing in Karine's ashes. He shuffled through them again and discovered a small piece of hardware. It bore some resemblance to the heart monitors Ingra's gang bore, albeit smaller and more compact. Judging from the faint crimson stains, it must've been surgically implanted.

The next thing Six knew, a stone hand ripped through the floor and grabbed him. The Lost Colussus stared down at the Courier before chucking him through the nearest window. Six's body flew into the red mists and bounced across the cold earth, crashing into and toppling over a jet-black jeep. Luckily it didn't pin him down like Ingra.

Six groaned as he slid off the wreckage, rubbing his forehead-

[Luck 4/5] Only for Karine's mask to crumble into dust. Six cursed before holding his breath again. A screech from the crimson mists and a set of crimson rectangles on his compass demanded his attention. He turned to see ebon arachnids, some with magma-orange highlights, some with blood-red. Infused Originium Slugs, like the ones in that abandoned mine.

Six drew out the All-American took a few steps back and toggled VATS, locking onto them. One bullet was more than enough to detonate them. With a little precision and baiting, he managed to bunch some up and score a few chain reactions. Then their Caster masters entered the field, firing Arts at him. Thump-Thump was his response.

Then the goons brought in artillery. Six danced around mortar fire and Arts, returning fire with That Gun and his Plasma Defender. Things got even worse when someone decided to make a beeline for him. Someone with a flaming sword and-

Six's eyes widened in disbelief. No fucking way! He mentally cursed.

Charing right toward him was Vulpes Inculta. The spymaster of Caesar's Frumentarii, the destroyer of Searchlight and Nipton, and by all accounts, a dead man. Last time Six saw him was when he tried to assassinate him after the second battle for Hoover Dam. He left that bastard's head and dog-hood on a pike in The Fort's ruins.

Six drew out his Ripper in time to block Vulpes's blade. Sparks flew as the handheld chainsaw's teeth ground against the fiery blade. Was this another hallucination?

Maybe. He had a crimson IFF marker on the HUD's compass, so he was a physical threat. Six couldn't lock onto him with VATS for some reason, though. Maybe this fog was interfering with his Pip-Boy's systems?

"Well, well, well," snarled Vulpes's ghost. "If it isn't our favorite Courier. Did you miss me?"

Six's response was to kick Vulpes between the legs and back-step, firing a shot from A Light Shining in Darkness.

"Hmph, I thought not," Vulpes grunted. "So how is Red Lucy these days? Have you two finally mended bridges or-"

A slash across his arm was the only answer he received. A dark chuckle slithered out of his throat.

"I'll take that as a 'nec' then," Vulpes commented. "And what about Sarah? Is she walking again or are you content with leaving her bound to a wheelchair?"

Six slashed across the Legioanry's leg next.

"Hmm, I suppose even the Omniscient Courier cannot repair one's spine," Vulpes taunted as he parried another blow. "Especially if it was sliced in half by a .308 round. And what about Joana and Carlitos? Still nice, warm, and snug in their-"

Vulpes snarled as a .45 auto went through his boot.

"Did you really think you could protect those two?" he snapped. "Their delusions of happiness lasted for, what? One year? Two? And then it all went up in literal flames. The Omerta at least met a swift end, but his pet whore?"

Vulpes spat on the ground. "Her descent was slow. We could've provided security for the Mojave, and yet you decided to stick a knife into Caesar's back. We pardoned you for your crimes and you repaided Caesar's generosity with a horde of metal demons. You razed the Fort to the ground, and with it, Caesar's hopes and dreams!"

Six's trigger finger twitched. He knew he shouldn't open his mouth in his current predicament, but his fury compelled him to.

"Hope?" he retorted. "Since when the fuck did slave collars and cages give anyone hope?"

"They provided the Proflorgates with purpose and order."

"And yet they robbed people of their goddamned souls. You ain't gonna find purpose or order if you've got nothing but empty husks wandering about. Especially with so many of your warriors breaking Caesar's tenets behind his back anyway."

The Legionary's blade flared up. Six had to break away from the Frumentarii to avoid being incarcerated, injecting another stimpak into his skin while he had some breathing room.

"You always thought so highly of yourself," Vulpes snarled. "Come. Let me reunite you with the exile and his whore."

It was a dance of fire and bullets between the vengeful assassin and the Courier. The flames of the katana flew at the Courier, but he dodged and weathered through them with ease. Eventually, he sawed off the bastard's hands when he attempted a vertical strike. Vulpes howled and ranted at him in Latin, bearing his fangs and prepared to pounce...

…only to get crushed by a giant green fist. Six glanced up and beheld the tallest super mutant he had ever seen. Many of the ones he encountered were at least a couple of heads taller than him and twice as broad, but this one made them look like dwarves. He had stories of these specimens out East, 'Behemoths' if memory served.

Six swapped out the Ripper and .45 pistol for the riot shotgun and some Drago's breath. He dodged the abomination's fists, feet, and lumps of debris as it stomped after him. Blood gushed out as he chipped away at its legs. One of them was eventually Crippled, causing it to crumble into dust clouds and gore.

The beast roared as it collapsed onto the ground. Six swapped the shotgun out for Gehenna 2.0 and the MF Hyperbreeder Alpha, opting to conserve his remaining rounds. He compensated for this with a dose of Pyscho before charging forth. He howled back as he slashed away at its arms with blade and laser, drawing out more blood.

It tried to swat him away like Bloatfly, but he blocked each of its strikes. The most they accomplished was pushing him back a few inches. So it decided to lower its guard and allow him to throw a few more swings. While he was distracted, the 'Behemoth' dropped a mound on top of him.

Six snarled as he clawed his way out yet again. He was in for a bigger shock when the beast grabbed him and began to squeeze the life out of him. His armor cracked and groaned from the pressure as he tried to wriggle his way out of its iron grip. Between this and the toxins surrounding them, Six's life was fading.

By the time his Nerd Rage kicked in he was barely conscious. He had just enough cognition and strength to squirm his way out before being flicked into a tree. The world spun as Six rose back up and wasted yet another stimpak. He reached for his Shishkebab and recharger pistol but found neither on his person.

Shit. Six thought to himself. Must've dropped those in the mists.

Six reloaded his riot shotgun and aimed at the 'Behemoth" as it crawled to him. Someone pounced on the giant's back before he could pull the trigger. Six didn't believe in angels, but he knew a knight in shining armor when he saw one. A Brotherhood Knight with a Plasma Glaive, to be specific. They dropped onto it like a wrecking ball, impaling the glaive through its back. And the person donning the suit of T-51 Power Armor was-

Six blinked. A part of his brain wanted to shed a tear. He resisted the urge.

"Veronica?" he croaked out.

The battle cry that came out of her mouth wasn't hers. It was deeper than the soft voice that the Courier remembered.

"O sun, bow to me!"

The 'Behemoth' was consumed in a golden incandescence. It reached back toward the knight, but it crumbled into dust before it could grab her. 'Veronica' slid off its dustpile and walked over to the Courier. Se raised her suit's servos up as he aimed his shotgun at her.

"It's alright friend," 'Veronica' assured him. 'You're safe."

Six wasn't so entirely sure. Just because his HUD registered her as 'friendly' didn't mean she'd stay that way. That was until a floating eyeball floated over to him. It spoke to him in gurgles, but something about them felt familiar. And in its tendrils was his helmet.

Six carefully reached for his headgear and checked his Pip-Boy. It was real, alright. Six donned his helmet and waited for a few seconds. His HP had stopped ticking away. He allowed himself to take in a sigh of relief as clean air seeped into his lungs.

Vulpes morphed into one of those swordsmen with flaming blades. 'Avengers', Lyudmila called them. Verorinca, to his disappointment, morphed into Margeret.

The eyeball darted around the battlefield for a bit while Six's brain flushed out the hallucinogens. It- no, ED-E- returned with Gehenna 2.0 and the MF Hyperbreeder Alpha. He reclaimed those without hesitation.

"Thanks for the save," Six said to Margaret. "Where's everyone else?"

"Right here," Shining called out.

Six turned to see the Sarkaz and Lyudmila walking through the blood-red mists, still wearing their gasmasks. The shroud soon dissipated, revealing the dead and the fresh ruins of the manor grounds.

"Y'all's handiwork?" Six asked, pointing at the torn-down mansion.

Lyudmila shook her head. "The Colussus did that," she clarified. "It went berserk after you went you chased down the mistress. What the hell did you do?"

"I vaporized Karine and found a heart monitor in her ashes," Six explained. "Then that thing caught up to me and threw me like a damned baseball. She must've had a deadman's switch surgically grafted into her."

Shining frowned slightly. "Not too surprising, considering the pack she travels with," the Sarkaz commented. "How re you feeling?"

"A little sore, but nothing I can't sleep off," Six said with a shrug.

Six scoured the property and bodies for valuables for a few minutes, Pipboy lighting the way for him. The women looked at him with some disapproval, but he ignored them. He and Lyudmila- assuming that she hadn't lied about her childhood- had to scrounge for resources to survive back home. Those three women, on the other hand, struck him as 'civilized' folk. People who know nothing about survival. Know nothing about hardship and the cruelties of the world.

Six dug up a jadestone, a jewel box, first aid kits, Hemostatic agents, a damaged revolver cylinder, a round shield, coins with the number 777 on 'em, and a rusty hammer. He also found a Joker card in a songstress's pockets, with an unnerving smile in its artwork. He always entertained the idea of adding cards to his helmet like some NCR soldiers. Perhaps something like a Joker or the Fool tarot card.

But this card gave him bad vibes. He tossed it back onto its owner's corpse and returned to the party with his loot in hand. He handed the medical supplies to the healers.

"Here," he said. "The locals need these more than I do."

"Have you checked these for contaminants?" Shining asked.

Six nodded. "Pip-boy's scans didn't pick up any harmful materials, and they seem clean. Probably wouldn't hurt to give the instruments an extra scrub anyway. Everybody ready to leave this dump?"

The women nodded while ED-E chirped in positive tunes. Six wasted no breath and motioned for everyone to follow him back to Grinkhorn. The sun had already begun its descent into the horizon, leaving the world in darkness. Six turned on his Pip-Boy's flashlight while Liz conjured up some type of bird-shaped hologram(?) for illumination. The Courier took the front while ED-E guarded the rear.

Everybody was still wound up after today's events. Six most of all. He had walked right into the Troupe's hands and was almost reduced to a fucking puppet. Almost like his 'adventures' at Big MT and the Sierra Madre. If his captors hadn't made the mistake of abducting Liz as well…

Six shuddered. A hand rose to where the collar sat not long ago. Where they and Elijah placed an explosive leash on him.

Never again.

ED-E noticed Six's agitation and beeped some concerned tunes at him. He ignored them as he took in some deep breaths. His motion tracker picked up movement, but none of the markers were labeled as hostile. Most of the culprits were just wildlife, nothing humanoid.

Wait. He saw something in the woods. Or rather, someone. A tall, masked figure with marionette crosses in their hands. Six toggled VATS as he drew out A Light Shining In Darkness-

Only for them to vanish. Six blinked.

"ED-E, you picking up anything?" he asked the eyebot.

ED-E emitted some negative chirps. Six glanced around. Apart from himself, the only other person staring at the stranger's position was Shining. Everyone else was giving them confused looks.

"Is something wrong Shining?" Margaret asked.

Shining shook her head. "No," she said. "Just some beast scurrying about is all."

Six hastily nodded in agreement. He was hit with a neurotoxin earlier. Maybe his brain hadn't fully flushed the stuff out.

Apart from that little distraction, the return trip was uneventful. Grinkhorn had an influx of new visitors when they arrived. Most of them were surviving slaves from the manor, either chatting with the locals or receiving medical attention from them. The rest were the goons bound in chains, being herded into the old bunker. Probably for interrogation.

Nobody paid them any mind, thankfully enough. Both parties ventured back upstairs to their rooms. Margaret and Lyudmila had a bit of a staredown before they parted ways. Six and ED-E follow her into their room, passing a glance at the wandering healers as the former-

Something got caught in the door. Or rather, someone stopped it. Six blinked as he saw a lantern sticking out. He was even more surprised to see Liz forcing her way inside. Margaret and Shining ran after her with bewildered looks on their faces.

"Liz, what are you doing?" Margaret called out.

"Getting an answer," the pale woman replied.

"An answer for what? What's going on?"

Shining didn't say anything as she locked the door. The dynamic trio tensed up as Liz approached them.

"'Theuses Grant' is just an alias, that much is obvious to me," she said. "But what isn't is your reason for being here."

"That's none of your business," Six growled.

"You still haven't answered my question from supper."

"[Charisma 4/7] Because it's crazy. You're crazy. As crazy as those theocrats. Just because I don't have obvious racial traits doesn't mean-"

[FAILED!] Someone slapped him across his helmet's gasmask. Hard. Everyone jumped as Shining suddenly stepped between Six and Liz, glaring daggers at the Courier.

"How dare you," Shining hissed. "Liz is many things, but 'delusional' isn't one of them. I am willing to absolve people for their fear and ignorance, but I will not tolerate such slander against her!"

"So you actually believe her?" Six hissed back. "You really think I'm some fucking spaceman?"

"Her observations do align with reality," Shining replied. "Your arsenal is… unorthodox, even compared to the Sankta. Not to mention how painfully obvious your ignorance of the wider world is. You constantly refer to Arts as 'magic', as if it was the work of fantasy. Something outside the realm of science."

"'Cus it's paracasual bullshit! I can get behind Originium acting as a source of energy. But conjuring up flames and smokescreens? Accelerating the body's healing process? Generating force fields? Inducing fatigue into targets? Altering one's density? It's not just sheer insanity! It defies the laws of nature and mocks my people's understanding of the universe!"

Six's fist slammed onto the table, a web of cracks sprouting from the epicenter of the impact. Everyone else flinched at his rant. Well, everyone but Liz.

"Your people," she began. "They've never had anything like Originium, did they? They've never faced things like Arts, Oripathy, or Catastrophes."

Liz gently shoved her guardian aside and looked Six in the eye again. This time her gaze was much softer, almost like a kindred spirit.

"Today wasn't my first time in a cage," she revealed. "Once upon a time, I was imprisoned in an empty room. I only saw another human being when they either needed my healing or to poke and prod at me."

She placed a cool hand on his arm.

"I know what it's like to be locked in a cage," she continued. "To be strapped to an operating table and tested on like some beast. It's a fate I wouldn't wish upon anyone. Not even my worst enemies. I don't want the same thing to happen to you."

Liz squeezed at Six's arm.

"Mr. Grant-"

"Six," Lyudmila blurted out in correction.

Six cast a glare at the assassin.

"Mr. Six…" Liz reiterated. "Why are you on Terra?"

Six stood silent for a moment. He was already running a hundred different strategies and plans in his reinforced skull. Strategies on how to escape from this interrogation. How to take down the locals. From where he was standing- in a cramped room with xenos capable of harnessing a seemingly mystical power- his chances of success were slim. Getting out with all of his limbs attached even less so.

Even if he accomplished both of these without a scratch, the commotion would certainly alert the rest of the village. They'd probably destroy his ride before he'd reach it and he'd be forced to face them too. Walking on foot and potentially into another Catastrophe was not on his bucket list either.

Tell them… pleaded His Brain.

What? Six mentally shot back.

Tell them the truth.

The truth? That I'm a xeno from a dying world with advanced technology? Technology and resources that my species wasn't mature enough to handle? You're asking me to paint a target between my fucking eyes!

If you retaliate now, you'll lose all hope of survival. Of returning us home.

How do I know that this isn't some trap? How can I trust them when Penguin Logistics tried to rob and lock me up? How do I know that they're any different than Gieszler!?

If Shining were anything like him, she wouldn't have orchestrated our escape. She would've left ED-E to rust and us in chains.

…

Six closed his eyes and took in some deep breaths. His HUD wasn't picking up additional IFF markers on the compass.

"ED-E, you picking up anything outside the window?" he asked.

ED-E emitted some negative beeps.

"Close it and stand watch. Make sure nobody tries to eavesdrop."

The eyebot chirped in acknowledgment as it followed its orders. Six grabbed a chair and turned it 180 degrees before sitting in it.

"Grab a seat," said the Courier. "And maybe a barf bag too if your stomach ain't made of iron. This is gonna take all night."

---

A/N:

And here we are. Finally got the second half of this misadventure up and over with. Sorry it took so long, but things happened. And also writer's block. I swear I'm more active at night than I am during the daytime. Am I a vampire or something? Bah, anyway, onto the Notes.

First of all, is the Reunion bombshell. Honestly, Six kind of had his suspicions, but no evidence to confirm anything. While I certainly intended for him to go berserk toward Crownslayer, I also wanted to touch on his own sins. His role in the Divide's destruction and… maybe a certain Vault. As much as he hates to admit it, he's not as innocent as he claims to be. He has his issues and phantom pain.

And second, Nightingale's interrogation. This was an idea I've had on my mind for a long time now. Nearl's probably a supersoldier compared to Six and Shining's background as a Confessarius would probably make her just as dangerous, but he could at least fool or deflect attention from them.

Not Liz, though. As awesome and terrifying as it might be to see Ms. Nearl and Qui'saršinnag in action, Liz might be the Follower who scares Six the most. Not because of her skill in combat or her demeanor, but her keen eyes. She can see through Six's bullshit and that scares him.

And as for relationships… well, one sunk after losing its mates, and another's got some holes to patch up. I have considered making Gieszler and Karine an item in early drafts, but I threw those in the waste bin since I already had two angels orbiting around each other.

And speaking of which, Micael wasn't the first candidate I had in mind for Falling. Larsson was the first, but I doubted even he would be quick to gun down his fellow Sankta. At least not intentionally. And after spending so much time in the Crimson Troupe, I'm pretty sure The Law is willing to exempt Paulina seeing as she's been indoctrinated at a young age. Now whether or not she's killed a Sankta before… I haven't really decided and probably wouldn't care too much about that detail right now.

Next chapter's probably not gonna be as action-packed. At least not in the beginning. Six exchanges goodbyes with a fellow bad-luck charm and finally sneaks into Lungmen. What's it called, you might be asking. Either 'Streetrats' or 'The House of Everything'. Depends on who greets him first. Hopefully not someone 'Hungry Like The Wolf'. 'Truth and Reconciliation' is another contender for the next chapter's title, with 'Culture Shock' as another. Okay, that last suggestion would probably be better off as describing the next little arc.

Now if you excuse me, I got a couple of games to try out for inspiration. One with another post-apocalyptic society living underground and one that hasn't been torched but is slowly drowning in neon lights.