Silver huffed loudly and she impatiently tapped her foot as Comic, the one singular person responsible for her being there, ransacked the corpse of a trio of raiders they'd just killed the moment prior. "C'mooooooon Comic, hurry up!"
"Just one second…aaaaaaand–AH-HA! Gotcha!" The ranger excitedly proclaimed as she produced a small pouch from one of the raiders' many pockets. Comic shook the pouch, and the angelic clanking sound of metal made it clear that its contents could only be one thing: CAPS! Comic let out a sound only a gremlin - or whatever they were called - could make. Silver only ever read about them - could, as she counted the number of caps of the pouch.
Silver will not lie she cringed a bit at the sight of her superior's actions.
"Oh, only fifteen caps. Eh, worth it." Comic shrugged. "Don't ya think Rammy?" Both Comic and Silver turned to the one ranger that hadn't dismounted the Sleipnir. Simon Ramirez, call-sign Wraith, and "Rammy" to close friends - that being Comic - momentarily took his eyes off the broken radio he was fiddling with to look at his CO who proudly presented the sack of caps.
The tall dark-skinned man only responded with a shrug.
Seeing Wraith's utter disinterest, Comic dejectedly got up back on her Sleipnir. "Comic it's literally just fifteen caps." Silver deadpanned.
"You don't get it, Silvy. " Comic rolled her eyes. "You should always be excited about finding money."
"Is it because we're not paid?"
"..."
Silver face palmed and with a heavy sigh, climbed up on her Sleipnir. "I can't believe my commanding officer is so poor that she gets excited over a handful of caps."
"I'm not poor, okay?!" Comic snapped back. "I'm just not that financially stable."
"Maybe you should actually start accepting reward money from towns then." Wraith's Sleipnir trudged up to Comic's so he could nudge her with his shoulder. "Oh right, I forgot. You're too good of a person to do that." He chuckled.
"At least I didn't cry after hearing that old radioplay of Hamilton."
"HEY!" Even though Wraith had his helmet on, Silver could feel the redness in his face. "Hamilton is an emotional masterpiece and I will not take shit from the likes of you! Especially when you cried hearing Les Misérables!"
"You're supposed to cry hearing that!"
Silver sighed once again her two superiors, who were ranger veterans bickered on and acted like children. "Aren't you two in your thirties?"
"Yeah."
"Your point?"
Silver didn't even bother finishing what she wanted to say. Instead, the silver haired young woman simply sighed and clicked her tongue twice. The signal for her Sleipnir to start trotting.
The three rangers resumed their journey to Vegas, trudging along Route 95 across the Nevada desert. The area had been roughly pacified over the last couple decades, roughly being the keyword as there were still a million-and-one gangs of raiders and bandits, though not as dangerous as the ones the Rangers had spent years fighting and eradicating. The Grabbers Gang had been destroyed three years prior, the Ripperult and Bloodletters had been driven out to the northern reaches of the region and Utah where the 80s would probably kill the rest.
Of course among the million-and-one minor gangs still roaming around you had some noteworthy ones like Kaga's Boys, but they operated all the way north in what was once Eureka County. Truthfully, bar these minor -pitiful really- mugging attempts, they had nothing to worry about.
The only possible, real threat, and that stretching it, were the Skybound . Now those, those were some dangerous people, or so Silver was told. Old legends spoke of the Skybound having access to pre-war aircraft they piloted and used to patrol their land. Legends Silver didn't believe in. I mean, c'mon, tribals with planes? Really?
That's why she was excited to go to the Mojave. There were tons of raiders and hostile tribals to shoot there. Not to mention she could check out the Sin City, or what was left of it anyways. Silver wondered if it was anything like New Reno. A sudden victorious gasp from Wraith made her snap from her train of thought. It seemed like he'd finally fixed that blocky old radio. At the very least now they'd have some sort of entertainment.
It didn't take long for Wraith to get a signal, weak as it sounded, and the three rangers were graced with some Bing Crosby. Ah, classic.
A noise caught Silver's attention, quiet as it was, she couldn't not hear her CO humming and mumbling the lyrics of the song. It was…somewhat upsetting, knowing just how well Comic sang. Call her jealous and petty - because she was jealous and petty - but was there something that that childish, laidback, easy going person couldn't do? Wasn't being the youngest person to ever become a fully fledged ranger enough?
Comic was well and truly a mystery to her. Maybe it was just because she'd only been part of the Angels for a couple months, but even so! She knew the other guys decently well. Like, she knew of Vaquero's days as a Caballero down in Baja, or Moon's…side shenanigans. The only other member of the team that she knew jack shit of was Loudmouth. But that sort of made sense! Quiet plus cold attitude plus sniper equals a person you know nothing about. That was like, basic math. Now, a carefree, childish, thirty year old woman leading a team of highly skilled and dangerous killers? The math wasn't mathing on that one.
Silver hunched her back and leaned more on the Sleipnir. "What even is the point?" She murmured.
"Silvy you good?" Comic asked from her side.
"Oh hum y-yeah. Just thinking."
"About?"
"Just stuff."
"C'mon Silvy, you can tell me if something's bothering ya. It's also like, part of my job."
Silver didn't face Comic, facing the large desert ahead of them instead. Far in the horizon, she could see a bump in the earth, Mount Charleston she supposed. They'd probably make it to the Mojave by day's end.
Silver sighed. "Comic, why are we here?"
Her commander tilted her head. "Whatdya mean? We're here to get Rider and bring her back."
"Yeah but…Why us? Aren't there dedicated people that hun–"
"We're not hunting her." Comic's hands balled into tight fists, clutching the reins harder. Her tone was uncharacteristically harsh, surprising Silver somewhat. Comic paused for a moment, took a deep breath that was audible to Silver and spoke again in a softer, more 'Comic-like' tone. "We're getting her back to rejoin the squad. Then we go back to HQ, and pretend none of this ever happened."
"Comic I'm all for thinking for the best in people but we have to at least consider the possibility Rider won't be coming back with us."
"She will."
"What makes you so sure?" Silver elevated her tone. "I read her file, I know she used to be an Eighty. I might not know Rider on the level you do but I–"
"That's right! You don't know her. I know her. I know she wouldn't leave without a reason. And I know that she'll come back to us." Comic snapped at the young ranger, making her visibly recoil.
Comic took a deep breath.
"If you want to go back to HQ then go. You know the way back." Comic clicked her tongue twice and the Sleipnir accelerated its pace, putting her in front of the group with some distance.
Silver stood almost in awe as their jokester easy-going leader had just lashed out at her. No surprise when she almost jumped off her mount when she felt a hand suddenly touch her shoulder. It was Wraith. "Don't hold it against her. Comic's been going through a lot lately."
"I just–...I dunno. It always looks like nothing ever gets to her. She just laughs it off and moves on y'know?"
"Everyone processes grief differently." Wraith stared off into the distance, to the south. Though his gaze certainly collided with Mt Charleston, Silver could feel in her gut he wasn't looking at the mountain, but past it, to what lay beyond.
"Were you there? When hum, Lich died?"
Wraith didn't immediately answer, taking some more time to stare off into the distance. "No. When we got there he was already dead. But Comic was there…and so was Rider."
"What was he like?"
"Like a cranky old grandpa, but the kind that loved you a lot. At least that's how I viewed him."
"I see…"
"You won't be able to replace him, if that's what you're thinking. You can fill his role, sure, but you'll never replace what he was. No one can replace another person, we just find ways to fit in."
The two silently trotted beside one another, not uttering a single word as the late afternoon rolled in and the sun started descending behind the now towering Mt. Charleston. Silver and Wraith's mounts suddenly came to a stop as Comic's -who they'd caught up to not longer after her outburst- also came to a stop.
Comic pulled out a pair of binoculars and stared at the rocky hills that made up the outskirts of the mountain.
"What do you see?" Wraith asked.
"Light reflecting off a scope, a little over a click out give or take." Comic handed him the binoculars.
"I see 'em. Who do you reckon?" Wraith handed the binoculars back.
"I dunno. Local raiders? Maybe some of Faust's boys that got here before we did?"
"Do they see us?" Silver asked.
"They see us alright. But they won't attack just yet. We're too far for 'em to hit us. They'll be waitin' for us to make camp near the mountain. Probably try to take us out at night."
"Can we push on through? If we push our Slippies we can make it to outer Vegas by dawn." Wraith suggested.
"But then we'd be traveling the road at night with a lot less visibility. Sure our helmets have night vision but we don't know what's hiding out there. Plus, we'd be exhausted by the time we reach Outer Vegas. I might not know the region like you two do, but I heard it's fucked out there." Silver countered.
"It is." Comic confirmed.
"So do we wait for them to come to us? Try to set a counter ambush?"
"No…Silver, put yourself in front of me, facing the hills." Silver raised an eyebrow at Comic -even though she couldn't see it because of the helmet- but did as told nonetheless. Comic handed the binoculars to Wraith once more and took her M24 SWS from its holstered on the side of her mount and rested the barrel on Silver's shoulder. "Don't breathe."
Wraith looked through the binoculars again. "Twelve degrees."
Comic adjusted her scope.
"You sure you can take that shot?"
She shrugged.
Comic peered down the scope and lined down the shot.
She took a deep breath.
Hold
Everything was quiet.
Hold
Silver was unmoving as a rock.
Hold
Comic gently squeezed the trigger.
The loud shattering sound of glass jolted Six awake from her sleep. She snapped her head from side to side, momentarily forgetting where she was. However, the extremely bright light that was currently slapping her in the face and the curses her back was throwing at her in the form of rather uncomfortable pain, made her realize she was still in the cocktail lounge of the Lucky 38, in the exact same place she'd been sitting the night prior.
"Argh, my back." She groaned.
She groggily rose from the chair, nearly falling to the floor due to stumbling in one of the absurd amount of bottles surrounding her. Though the pain of planting face first on the floor would've likely been a lot easier to deal with compared to the alcohol induced raging headache she had at the moment. To rub salt on the wound, she didn't even fulfill her objective from last night. She still remembered everything. Westside, the refugees, those two pigs…Ruby. She really dropped the ball with that one. Yelling at a kid of all things?
Congratu-fucking-lations, you lady, hit a new low. You've managed to become an even shitter person.
Six hopped the bar counter of the lounge and took a sunset sarsaparilla from one of the fridges under the counter. For some reason these always helped with her hangovers. She rested her elbows on the bar counter, going over the happenings of last night. Replaying that particular image over, and over, and over again. Those eyes, of a scared little girl getting ready to flee an enemy, from her.
Six drank the rest of the soda with a blur, hitting the counter with a loud thud and even slightly cracking the bottle's glass. She stood like that for a moment, with her teeth gritted and limbs unmoving. "Get a grip. Just breathe. In and out." She mumbled to herself. She listened to her own advice, taking long and slow quiet breaths as her heartbeat slowed down into a more normal beating speed.
With her composure regained, Six entered the elevator and headed for her suite. She had taken a shower last week, but she really needed one right now. Not because the odor she exuded was particularly horrible - though no one there sans Veronica and Ruby didn't smell like shit - but those luxuries tended to be relaxing. For as much as Six was crass, rude, and a big asshole, she was still a woman.
The lack of noise inside the presidential suite came as an odd yet welcoming surprise. The shouting matches between Arcade and Cass would really not help with Six's headache. Still, it didn't…feel right. Then again, things used to be like this so the likelihood of something being wrong was minimal. Everyone was most likely out and about.
Before she could head to the bathroom and take her much awaited shower though, her stomach growled with the intensity of a hungry deathclaw.
Ah right. I didn't eat anything last night.
The shower would have to wait as Six's stomach demanded immediate nourishment.
It was by stepping inside the kitchen/dining area that Six received the confirmation that she was not the only one inside the suite, as Cass sat on the table sipping her 200 year old morning coffee whilst she read a book.
"Morning." Six greeted, but only getting a half-hearted hum in response.
Six didn't really care what she ate as long as her hunger was satiated, so she ended up just grabbing a random collection of food and drink from the cabinets and fridge and calling it a day. It could hardly be a hangover cure. She sat on the chair opposite to Cass and began silently eating.
"Where's everyone?"
"Out." She coldly answered without taking her eyes off the book.
"I knew that much. I mean where."
"Arcade's probably at the Followers'. Veronica's doing one of her supply runs for the Brotherhood. Raul said he needed to get something from his place and brought ED-E with him. And Boone took Ruby to do some training. Not that you'd care." She took another sip from her coffee.
Six leaned back in her chair and brought a hand to her face, in a vain attempt to hide her cringing expression. "Ruby told you, didn't she?"
"Told us what? That you yelled at her for no reason? Or that you sounded this close to getting violent? Yeah it was a bit hard to not notice since she wouldn't stop crying." Cass remained awfully composed despite the apparent anger in her tone. She wasn't shouting, nor cursing. She simply stared at Six with a cold disapproving glare. That somehow made Six feel worse.
She preferred that Cass was just yelling at her.
"I'm surprised you haven't started swinging at me."
"Oh I'd love to. But I promised her I wouldn't Because guess what? Despite you being horrible with her, she still took your side. Me and Veronica were itching to go upstairs and beat the shit out of you for what you did. Even ED-E sounded angry and he's a robot." Cass took a deep breath.
"But Ruby convinced us to not do it. Said you were going through 'stuff'. We all know you don't like talking about yourself, even less than Boone and you don't trust us with the slightest bit of information. Damnit Six, yesterday was the most we ever learned about you in a single go and it was trivial shit. I won't lie, we all have theories about your past, who you actually are. And we even have a little bet going on."
"We all have bullshit to deal with that we don't want to talk about. You helped me deal with mine and I'm genuinely thankful for that. But that doesn't excuse your behavior. She's just a kid! Yeah she'll have to grow up, she'll have to learn to deal with all this." She gestured around. "But the least we can do is help her."
Cass took the last sip from her coffee and stood up. She put the empty mug in the sink and walked out of the kitchen. Though for a moment she stopped at the door. "If you ever do something like that again, I will leave you bloodied and battered in the soulless shell you call your armor."
Six was left alone in the room with her half eaten breakfast.
But she wasn't hungry anymore.
"So, how did I do? I think I did pretty good." Ruby smugly proclaimed as the elevator doors to the presidential suite opened.
"You did…okay."
"What?! Come on! I hit all the targets. Even that gecko that was running around!"
"And how many bullets did you use?" Boone deadpanned.
Ruby answered with a pout, crossing her arms in indignation. She did good though! What if she used a tinsey bit more mags than what Boone wanted? Wasn't the whole point of shooting just hitting the targets? She'd show him next time. Yeah! Next time she'll do so great Boone will be all like 'Oh my god Ruby, you did so great!' She couldn't help but smirk as she nodded at her own thoughts.
Boone gave her a weird look, but didn't say anything.
Ruby's daydreaming came to an abrupt end when Six came out of her room. Everyone stopped for a moment, none daring speaking up or moving. This gave Ruby ample time to give the oldest a good look.
Six wasn't wearing her trademarked armor and helmet. She, instead, wore a simple t-shirt and baggy cargo pants. Had she not seen the short towel around her neck or the damp looking dark orange hair, the simple fact that Six didn't smell like every known trash in the world so that in itself was indicator enough the woman had actually showered. She also noticed Six had tape around her left wrist. It felt weird seeing Six dress so casually, so…normal. It felt even weirder to be able partially see the tattoos on her arms.
Six was the first to break the ice. "How was training?" She almost mumbled it out.
"Good." Boone answered dryly. "She's getting better."
"That's good."
"Yeah."
The three fell back into silence. Boone stood besides Ruby, glaring daggers at Six behind his sunglasses. The Courier stood her ground, being as unmoving as the sniper, but for some reason she looked…smaller. Not the height type of small, Boone's 5'11 build definitely beat Six's 5'7. It was more of a…aura feeling. However, unlike Boone, Six's eyes darted from side to side. Ruby knew what the Courier all too well, Six was debating with herself. Thinking of all possible outcomes and variables. AKA, Six was overthinking.
"Ruby are you…tired?" She finally mumbled out.
"Not particularly." She shrugged.
"Cool…Then hum, we're leaving in fifteen."
Well I wasn't expecting that. Even Boone cocked an eyebrow. "Like, the two of us?"
"Mhm."
"Like on a mission?" Ruby wouldn't lie. This excited her a little.
"I suppose so."
The teen was silent for a moment, then showed the Courier a big smile. "Awesome! Ok I'm just gonna eat something because I. Am. Star-ving!" She declared before running to the kitchen.
Six let go of a breath she didn't know she was holding when Ruby disappeared from view. Her attention was brought back to Boone as he had taken a few steps closer to her. His angry frowning had been replaced with his regular frowning.
"Don't fuck it up." Was all he said before entering the kitchen as well.
"Here we are." Six declared as she and Ruby stopped in front of a building in the middle of Freeside with a big plaque above the door with -supposedly- the name of the place. "What does it say?" She pointed at the plaque.
Ruby squinted her eyes and stared at the plaque. "R-Ra-Ran-d-dall, a weird eight–"
"That means 'and'."
"Oh. Okay. R-Randall and…A-A-Ass-..."
"Associates. Good try. That's pretty good progress I'd say." Ruby couldn't see Six's expression behind her helmet, but that praise felt genuine.
"Thanks…What's Randall and Associates then?"
"I suppose you could call it a bounty hunting guild."
"Bounty hunting?"
"Mhm" Six nodded. "It's one of the quickest ways to earn caps here. Provided you know how to do it. Let's go."
The guild wasn't packing with people, but it also wasn't deserted. A few people that Ruby could now easily recognize as mercenaries, meandered about, looking at a big bulletin board on one of the walls. Six ignored the board and the group of people entirely and made her way to the main desk, where a man wearing a cowboy hat, a pair of shaded goggles and a facemask typed away at a typewriter. The moment the man noticed Six he immediately greeted her.
"Well call me blind in case mah eyes deceive me, but if it ain't mah best hunter that just done comin' through those doors."
"It's good to see you Randall."
"Good indeed mah friend. Haven't seen you here in so long I thought you'd given up on the bounty huntin' business after gettin' a job working for the Big Man himself. But dontchou worry, I have some good high-risk bounties here that'll rake in a pretty penny for the both of us. Let's see…" He grabbed a handful of folders. "I have an Eighty road-warrior on the loose, a group of NCR deserters–Oooh, there's this fiend named Cutter and–"
"Actually" She interrupted him. "I was looking to grab one of the more lower-risk ones."
Randall stared at Six for a long second. "You? Lower-risk bounties? Is your age finally catching up to you?" The man tilted his head.
"One, I'm not that old. Two, I can't exactly take her to fight a deranged Fiend." She pointed at Ruby, who by the way, was LITERALLY STANDING RIGHT NEXT TO HER!
Randall let out a quiet 'Oh', finally acknowledging Ruby's presence. "Didn't know you got a kid." He said flatly.
"I don't." She responded almost immediately.
"...Sooooooo…like an apprentice then?"
Six sighed. "Sure, yeah. Anyhow, Randall, this is Ruby. Ruby, this is Randall"
Ruby waved at the man who tipped his hat at her. "It's good to see you passin' on yer knowledge to this youngin here." He leaned over the counter, getting closer to Ruby. "Did ya know, this bundle of sunshine here used to take on mah most dangerous bounties?" His whispering was more for show than anything. Probably to poke fun at Six, Ruby reckoned.
The Courier unamused groaned quietly as Randall got back on his seat. "Can you just give me the bounty?"
"Yeah yea." Randall waved her off and pulled out a different set of folders from under the counter. After a quick scan through them he finally landed on a folder. "Okay, this should be easy enough. Target's a city schmuck named Jackson. File says he used to run with a small time group here in Freeside. Pissed off the Pharaohs over at the Luxor after scamming one of their made men."
Six hummed. "Where was he last seen?"
"It says he was goin' south after leaving Vegas. Jackson's probably holdin' up on those hills 'round Boulder City an' tryna wait this thing out. The Pharaohs might not be one of the Big Three, but they still carry relevance."
Six nodded. "Seems easy enough."
"Mhm" Randall hummed. "You know the drill. Kill the bastard and bring me the finger as confirmation."
Ruby, who up until this point was really only half-listening to the conversation, froze. Six wasn't going to make her do that right? S-She wouldn't do that right? Of course not. She was just going to teach her how track people. That's a thing bounty hunters did right?
Ruby noticed a severed head on top of the counter, smiling at her. She stumbled back as the head grew larger, casting a dark shadow over her. The guild had disappeared. Six and Randall were gone. It was only her and him.
It's not real, it's not real, it's not real, it's not real, it's not real.
The head opened its mouth. It slowly closed down on her, ready to swallow Ruby whole. She couldn't move, she tried with all her strength but her arms and legs wouldn't budge. She couldn't even scream for help.
Pathetic
Coward
Weak
You're nothing but–
"Is the bounty a dead or alive?" Six asked.
"I huh, I mean, lemme check. Y-Yeah? It's what it says here. Why do you–"
"Thanks Randall." Six turned to Ruby. "Let's g–You okay?"
Ruby wiped the sweat from her face. She was still standing up. The guild was still there. Six was there.
It wasn't real.
"Y-Yeah. I'm good." Six nodded and the two exited the guild back onto the packed streets of Freeside.
Quest Started: A Complicated Profession
It didn't take long for them to be freed of the claustrophobic streets of the ghetto and be back to the familiar desert of the Mojave Wasteland. Fate seemed to be in a happy mood today as the two didn't face any trouble from the Fiends when leaving Outer Vegas, and needed only to deal with a rogue pack of mongrels looking for their next meal. It always felt sort of freeing to leave Vegas. Ruby found herself going out - or rather asking to go out - to train with the others. Vegas just felt so suffocating at times, like being cramped in school all day without being able to go out and train with Uncle Qrow. But this? An empty all-encompassing desert of death and misery? For as ridiculous as it may sound to any other rational person, it felt better. It felt free.
The two were now only a few hours away from Boulder City as the late afternoon rolled in. The base of the western hills were in sight, a 40 minute walk from where they were, Ruby presumed.
"Soooooo. It's getting pretty late. Are we going to make camp and continue tomorrow orrrrrr?"
"No. We should be able to get to him a little after nightfall."
Ruby raised an eyebrow. "And how do you know that? Do you have a magical map marker that tells you where to go?"
Six stared at her.
"Kidding, kidding. But really, how do you know that?"
"Randall said he was a city boy. Meaning he rarely, if ever, stepped foot outside Freeside. Which in turn means he's not an outdoorsman. The fact he tried to scam a Family from the Strip also means he's an idiot, so he probably lacks any and all common sense."
"Meaning?"
"He won't hide his tracks well and will set up a fire at night."
"Which gives his position away." Ruby murmured.
"Correct."
Ruby looked back to the hills. The plan was sound and Six made a lot of good points, but she couldn't help but be a little skeptic. Even if this dude didn't go out often, she was still from this world. He should have some semblance of common sense right?
Like, what were the odds of this Jackson guy leading them right to him?
Turns out, the odds were pretty high.
Ruby and Six stood before a tied up unconscious Jackson right in the middle of his camp.
"That was…"
"Kind of pathetic?"
"I was going to say easy." She deadpanned whilst making sure the rope used to tie Jackson up was tight.
Six hummed. "I stand by what I said." The Courier turned around and quickly scanned the camp. It was small on a rocky outcropping on one of the many hills in the area with a decent view of the road a few dozen yards below. A pretty good place to lay low for a couple days, were it not used by an idiot.
"Are we staying the night?"
"Don't see why not. It's a good place."
Six sat down by the fire their quarry had set up - only making the quietest of groans in the process - and took off her helmet. It was time for a smoke and a drink. Ruby also sat down by the campfire, just on the opposite side. The two quietly observed the expanse below under the uncovered light of the full moon.
"Six, I have a question."
Six took a long drag from her cigarette. "Shoot."
"Why didn't you just kill him?" Six turned to Ruby with a raised eyebrow, yet she did not look back at her. "Why did you ask Randall if the bounty was a 'dead or alive' thing?"
"Because it was in the bounty? To bring him alive–"
"Or dead. You asked specifically if it was an 'alive or dead' bounty. Meaning you could've just killed him. Normally you wouldn't care if he was important or not, you'd just shoot them. So why?" Ruby finally looked at the Courier.
"Why waste bullets on him?"
"You don't need bullets to kill a person."
"It'd just be too much effort for something this easy."
"It'd be less effort to just carry a severed finger."
"..."
"So?"
Six sighed and flicked the cigarette away. "Because you don't like killing people. And this was supposed to be a lesson. There ya go, happy?"
"A lesson on what?"
"Gee I dunno, what are we doing right now?" She exclaimed to the heavens. "Tracking, bounty hunting, making money. Y'know, important things you need to learn in order to survive out here?"
"Six is something wrong?"
"What makes you think that?"
"Well, for starters, you're more irritable than usual. That and you normally don't care about my stance on killing. So what gives? Don't tell me you just wanted to spend some time with me." Ruby smiled teasingly.
"How do you do that?" Six whispered.
"Do what?"
"How do you just keep smiling and talk to me like nothing's happened? I yelled for no reason, I almost-...Why are you not mad at me like the others?"
"Oh…it's about that." Ruby hugged her knees. "I supposed that thing bothered you a lot, and when I saw you at the bar you looked so…sad."
"So pity?"
"No. I…" Ruby bit her nails and took a deep breath. You can do this. "My mom, she died when I was little. She was my hero, everything I ever aspired - that I still aspire to be. But when she died my dad, he…he didn't take it all too well. He started drinking, a lot. Barely got out of his room. It's like he wasn't even there. at least that's what I'm told. I was too young at the time to remember anything. But I remember looking at him, directly in the eye and seeing it. How miserable he looked. When I saw you, it reminded me of him. I didn't want you to feel like that."
The two fell back into silence.
You had to make it awkward Ruby! You know Six doesn't like touchy-feely stuff. Now she's never gonna say anyth–
"I wasn't born in the best place." This took Ruby by surprise. So much so she snapped her head up. "I was born in a farm ways north Elko, it'd been all fine and dandy were that place not controlled by raiders. They did whatever they wanted, whenever they wanted…with whoever they wanted. I…I never met my father…When I was growing up I used to think he'd died standing up against the raiders. It was easier to think that. Children are meant to be a product of love, right? Even if fleeting. " She brought the flask to her lips.
"I still don't know how she did it. How my mother looked at me every day and just, just smiled. She loved me even though the mere sight of me must've been torture. A painful reminder of what she had to endure."
"Sooo…to answer your question. I get pissed off when I see stuff like that. Like, really angry. I sort of just go into autopilot. And act without really thinking." Six took another sip from the flask.
"Six that's" Ruby choked back a sob "…that's—"
"That's life." She shrugged. "Bad shit happens. You learn to deal with it."
"But that's horrible…" Ruby mumbled, hugging her knees harder sto mask the fact she was crying. "You can talk about it with us. W-We can help you. Or at the very least try to not make it hurt as much. But you need to let us in."
Six sighed. "It's not your burden to bear Rub—"
"It's not about being a burden!" Ruby shot her head up to look at Six despite her face being stained by her ugly crying. "It's about me caring and wanting to help you! You're my friend! Yes you have bad habits, you're rude and mean sometimes, but I know you care."
"If you didn't you wouldn't be here with me. If you didn't care you would've left me in Freeside with the Followers. If you didn't care you'd have left me stranded in the middle of the desert where you found me." The teenager stood up and placed herself right in front of Six.
"I'm not asking you to talk to Arcade, or Boone, or Veronica, or Cass or Raul about this. Or even a therapist. I'm asking, begging you to tell me what makes you hurt."
"So please Six, let me in!"
For a few moments, neither Six nor Ruby spoke. The former stayed sat on the floor whilst the latter stood with tears still trickling down her face. Six finally responded by tapping the ground next to her.
Ruby hesitated for a moment, but sat down. As soon as she did so, an arm scooped her closer to the older woman, in the most awkward one-arm hug she'd ever been in.
"I-…Just-…Okay."
Ruby couldn't look at Six's eyes. But she heard the Courier's shaky voice. She felt her eyes swell up again and returned Six's awkward hug with a proper, two-armed - and basically a tackle - hug. Minutes flew by as neither broke the hug. This was the longest Ruby had ever hugged Six for.
It felt really good.
Six eventually broke off the hug. "R-Right. Hum, I-I supposed this is as good time as any to give you this." Six reached for her satchel and pulled out something wrapped in cloth before handing it to Ruby.
Unfolding it wrapped cloth revealed a gun, a revolver to be exact. A revolver with a black cylinder and barrel with engravings in gold, the hammer and trigger guard were of a dark silver color, and the handle an ivory white with the symbol of the suit of clubs etched in middle of it.
"I got it when we swung by Primm a couple weeks back. There was this safe I couldn't pick the first time I was there. So I took a crack at it again."
"S-Six, it's beautiful." Ruby said in awe of the weapon.
"Well, engravings give you no tactical advantage whatsoever. But yeah, it's a pretty revolver. 'Sides, I know you like flashy things." She paused. "I know why you haven't been carrying around weapons. You're afraid of hurting people aren't you?" Ruby hesitated, but nodded. "I know that must've been a huge shock, to kill someone for the first time. But you can't be held back by it forever. We do what we need to do to survive Ruby. I don't like the thought of you going outside defenseless."
Ruby remained quiet.
"Tell you what. When I'm free, I'll teach you some revolver tricks. How does that sound?" Six brushed her shoulder against Ruby's.
A small smile formed on Ruby's lips. "That sounds pretty cool."
"Get some sleep. We gotta wake up early tomorrow and give Jackson to Randall."
The two exchanged a nod and huddled around the now diminishing fire for the last bits of warmth before it went out. Ruby held the revolver in her hands, brushing her thumb gently against its engraved frame and barrel.
"Lucky."
"Hmm?"
"I'm gonna call it Lucky."
Major Dhatri absolutely hated having to wake up at 5 am everyday. But alas, the troops in McCarran weren't going to train themselves and the Fiends wouldn't magically disappear overnight. He sighed as he looked over the reports in his tent's desk. Yet another batch of bounty hunters sent after the Fiends' leadership found dead just outside their territory.
He leaned back in his chair with a groan. "They're just taunting us at this point."
He swept the reports to the trash bin next to his desk. After all, what he was doing, while sanctioned by the Colonel, was illegal as they didn't have permission from General Wait-And-See to hire bounty hunters.
"The NCR doesn't need outside contractors that will suck us dry of our resources when our military is perfectly capable of handling it."
That's what Oliver had said in his oh so 'rousing' and 'inspiring' speech weeks back before moving to the Dam.
"God damn General Wait-And-See." Dhatri scowled. He grabbed his morning brew of 200 year old instant coffee and stepped outside the tent. Oh how he wished to have a single mug of that freshly brewed coffee from coffee beans that weeks of life and not centuries. But alas, he was neither a big shot nor did he have the money to buy that imported stuff from Mexico.
The sun was still rising, so he had time for a morning walk before he had to attend to his duties. Well, at the very least he could enjoy his shitty coffee and not have to worry abou–
"You Dhatri?" The muffled voice of a woman rang out from behind him.
Of fuckin course some fucking thing had to interrupt his fucking morning walk! All he asked was for a little piece and quiet before he had to work. "Listen here lady. I'm trying to enjoy my walk before I need to have random shitheads like you come to me for every fucking thi–" Dhatri choked on his coffee when he turned around and noticed the ranger staring at him. And one of those veteran rangers no less.
Oh he was so fucked.
After a few coughs the Major regained his composure and stood straight and saluted. "M-Ma'am! I wasn't aware of any new rangers in McCarran."
She was a ranger alright. The duster, the scary helmet with the glowing red lenses. Sure it looked a bit more armored and personalized - a bullet hole on the helmet seemed a bit much though. The strangest thing though, was the lack of NCR insignias.
"Right." She responded with a dead, monotone voice. "This for you." She dropped large sack she was holding over her shoulder to the ground.
"Uhhh…what's in the sack?"
"Four heads."
"Oh…Cool…"
"..."
"..."
"...What's this for again?"
The ranger sighed. "You're Major Dhatri, the one handing out and collecting bounties for the Fiends' leadership heads. Do I recall correctly?"
"O-OH! Y-You mean?" The Ranger nodded. "This is huge! I-I have to relay this to the Colon-Wait…You said four heads?" The ranger nodded again. "But I only issued three."
The ranger shrugged. "I swung by Vault Three."
"..."
"..."
"You're telling me, you sneaked inside Vault Three, the Fiends' main base, and killed Motor Runner?" Dhatri knew rangers were a force to be reckoned with, especially the veteran ones. But this? This sounded unreal.
"No." Dhatri sighed. "I killed everyone inside and on my way out. Speaking of which, an injured ranger's probably gonna get here any time now. You should have your medics look at him."
Until that moment Dhatri hadn't noticed, maybe due to his lack of sleep, or the fact a veteran ranger appeared out of thin air, or maybe a combination of the two. But the ranger was caked in blood, especially her hands. He had a hunch that blood was not her own. "R-Righht…So the Fiends' main leadership is dead?" The ranger nodded. "...huh. I…I will report this to Colonel Hsu at once. Thank you for help ma'am, this will save the lives of a lot of men. I'll finally be able to send First Recon to Forlorn Hope."
"Yeah, sure thing, Major." The ranger extended her hand forward, with her palm open and facing the sky.
Dhatri cocked an eyebrow. "Ma'am?"
"The caps, Major."
"I'm sorry?"
"The reward money. For the heads."
"Oooh." He let out a curt chuckle. "I'm sorry ma'am but those are only for independent contractors."
"I know."
The Major's eyebrows furrowed into a frown. "You aren't a ranger."
"Never said I was."
"You're a disgrace to that armor."
Dhatri sneered, but he did as instructed. He pulled out 3 small pouches of 100 caps each and handed them off to the Not-a-Ranger. "Motor-Runner didn't have a bounty on him. So you ain't gettin' a reward for him."
The Not-a-Ranger shrugged. "Fine by me." She turned around and began walking away.
Great, Dhatri's day was now officially ruined. Still, something gnawed at the back of his mind. "Before you go. Gotta ask. Why'd you do it? The money seemed more like an afterthought given your oh so happy demeanor. So why'd you do it?"
The Not-a-Ranger stopped. "Some refugees were nabbed and sold to the Fiends. Was tryna find them."
"Well did you?"
"...I suppose I did."
Heya folks. Midterms are over and I've had my little R&R week before wacky times befall my uni. Now, behold! Something I wanted to show you last chapter! Chah-nah!
/ar_jart/status/1773306096054046891
(listen FFN is doesn't let me post images mkay? And idk what the hell is going on with the cpy n' pasting of the link. But it's on twitter)
But yes! We got art for Ruby's outfit!
But most importantly, you finally get some Six loooooooore!
I hope this chapter was good enough for the wait I put y'all through. Though, I will admit, there's parts I don't particularly like. But it is what it is.
Hope you have a lovely rest of your day.
Tom out.