"Wraith, do you really think this is a good idea?" Silver recoiled slightly at the sight of the 'disguises' Wraith had procured for them during the night before. "I don't wanna wear that."
"What? What's wrong with them?"
"Yeah I'm with Silvy on this one man. I am not wearing that. The gas mask reeks." Comic threw hers back on the bed of the single bedroom apartment they were renting out in Westside.
A day before actually reaching the area surrounding Vegas, the three rangers had come to the somewhat obvious conclusion that if people dressed in ranger armor were to waltz their way into Freeside, Rider was bound to learn of it and possibly skip town -though Comic protested Rider wouldn't do that, she was still outvoted two to one. So when they arrived in Westside, Wraith went out to search for some disguises for them to use while the girls handled accommodation in the town.
"I still fail to see the issue. This is premium dumpster clothes and whatever shit I could buy from the general store that wouldn't put us in the red." The only man in the group shrugged.
Silver grabbed one of the shirts that happened to have a rather big brown smudge on it and pointed at said big brown smudge. "This shirt literally has a shit stain!"
"So?" He shrugged.
"The fuck you mean, 'so'? I'm not wearing something with a shit stain on it!" Silver stomped her foot and threw the shirt at Wraith, who easily dodged it.
"It's not that bad."
"YES, IT IS!" Silver shrieked.
"Fine." Wraith rolled his eyes. "You find your own disguise. And no Comic," he turned to Comic "you're wearing that."
"But-"
"No buts! Rider knows how you and I look. So we need to be covered. End of story. 'Mkay?" He stared at Comic, waiting for an answer.
Comic, a grown ass woman, pouted and reluctantly nodded.
"Good. We don't have all day, so let's get this show on the road."
Six slowly felt her senses coming back to her. Last thing she remembered was hitting something, something really hard. As if on queue, a jolt of pain shot through her entire body as she made the smallest of movements. Well, at least she was fully awake now.
She repressed back a scream, and elected\ that punching the ground really hard -with the machete in hand that she surprisingly hadn't dropped- was a better option than giving any legionary the satisfaction of hearing cries of pain. It took her a couple of moments to drag herself up, and she needed to lean on the arena's wall to stabilize her feet.
"Still alive? Interesting." The low and droopy voice of the monster that moments earlier had flung her halfway across the arena and echoed from right beside her.
Six's natural instincts demanded her to turn quickly and assume a combat position. What said instincts didn't account for, were the litany of broken ribs Six now had. So when she rapidly turned, she ended up stumbling backwards and groaning in pain.
Mongollon, for his part, didn't do anything. The thing was just casually leaning on the wall. Almost as if waiting for her to get back up and fight him. "You either have a really strong body, or you're too stubborn to die. Maybe both. Not many have withstood my punch. I applaud you for that. A shame you don't have aura, it would've made for a great fight." He sighed as if disappointed.
He slowly closed in the distance between the two and rocked his arm back. Six wasn't moving and using her free hand to hug her injured right side. The pain was probably too much, he mused. After all, a regular person couldn't shake off a punch like his, not just the physical part, but mentally speaking too. It was a shame really, Mongollon had some hopes for this woman, but alas. At least all would be over soon.
He swung his fist and…he missed?
What? Impossible! His fist was right where the woman was, but she was an inch off to the side. How? No matter.
He swung again. And again. And again. And again. None of the punches hit their mark. How did the woman have enough strength to dodge all this?! And he was barely noticing it! The Grimm let out a low growl and rocked his arm back out but with an open palm this time. Screw punches, he'll just mince her to pieces with his claws!
He swung again and missed too. Yet, this time, the woman's machete has a black ooze on the blade. He looked at his palm where a cut leaking the black ooze now laid. He'd been injured, it was something trivially minor yes, but someone had made him bleed.
For the first time in fifteen years, Mongollon smiled.
Six was heaving. Thank fucking god she bought those implants from Usanagi. Because if it weren't for the GRX Upgrade pumping Turbo into her veins and the probability calculator helping her think where to do her small dodges, she'd have been dead by now. She couldn't keep this up though, eventually her doses of the implant-made Turbo would run out or her body would give out on its own.
This thing clearly outclassed her. But what was this thing?! It clearly wasn't human or any form of mutant she knew of. Six racked her brain for a way to at least get him to slow down as she continued to do her small dodges, now on her second dose of Turbo. Then she remembered something.
"Uh no? Like Huntsmen? As in the people that hunt and defeat the Grimm? …Those big black scary monsters that attack Humanity?"
Grimm…yes! Grimm that was it! This thing was one of those Grimm Ruby mentioned. The Courier snuck a glance to the VIP seats on the ridge, and sure enough Ruby was staring in utter disbelief at the big black furry monster.
Another punch sling beelined for her just as the second dose of Turbo ran out. "Wait!" She shouted - which somehow, surprisingly worked. "You're a Grimm right? From Remnant?"
The monster cocked his brow. "You know of Remnant?" He growled. "I suppose the child-huntress would tell you. It matters not."
"But how'd you get here? I thought Grimm were murderous monsters that didn't think, much less talk."
His fist lowered slightly. "You want to know my story? When you're at the gates of death?"
"What can I say? I'm a curious gal." She shrugged.
The Grimm retracted his arm. "Fine. I will satiate your curiosity. And then I will kill you."
"I first came into this world in the year one thousand nine hundred and three of your calendar, in Arizona." Wait…that would make him almost four hundred years old! "Back then I already had a few years in me, but I was still a young Grimm, hellbent to complete my only meaning in life, kill humans. I just had a little bit of self-preservation. Grimm are attracted to negativity you see, and the air was filled with it. I could feel negativity across the entire world, more so than I ever felt in Remnant." He licked his furry lips, like a hungry beast would before pouncing on prey.
"I was spotted by your kind a couple days after arriving. They were but simple poachers, and I would've killed them were it not for the town nearby. It's funny really." He chuckled. "Even the smallest towns here, safe from all threats, were more armed than the ones in my world. And so the legend of the Mongollon Monster was born. I eventually just accepted the name. After all, I was more than any of my lesser kind."
"How so?" Six questioned while examining Mongollon up and down for any sort of soft spot.
"Grimm are wild beasts, their only thoughts are about killing humans. However, with age, we get smarter. Know what fights to pick and so on. But none of them can talk and read like I can. None of them have seen empires rise and fall like I did. Only I, among my kind, witnessed the birth of the atomic bomb!" He excitedly shouted and stretched out his arms looking to the sky. "It was then, when I peered into the blinding light of destruction did I come to an epiphany!"
"Humanity in this world will destroy itself. Here they are far more greedy and far more warmongering. And when they did, I would fulfill my purpose and kill those that remain." He lowered his arms and bore his cruel gaze upon Six, who in turn could barely see his wide toothy grin under all that fur. "And as you can see, my prediction came true. So I will kill and continue to kill, until your kind is no more."
"That is my story, woman. Now, I will put an end to yours." Despite all of Six's cybernetics, the turbo was pumped into her bloodflow a second too late. Six took a straight punch from the Grimm on her guard -which she thankfully was able to raise- and was flung several feet back.
Fortunately, this time she didn't black out when she hit the floor. But fuck did her arms hurt. She got back up just in time to start barrely dodging Mongollon's claws again. To her credit, even a veteran huntsman would have a very hard time dealing with a Grimm as old as this one, so Six was fairing extremely well given she had no aura. Still, she was getting her ass whooped. Despite his size, Mongollon moved freakishly fast and got into his rhythm even faster.
Mongollon however, had a tendency to forgo strategy when he entered said rhythm, acting as nothing more than a mad beast. Six was able to explore these opportunities, getting a slash here and a stab there. But nothing strong enough that could seriously hurt the Grimm.
Six's GRX Implant allowed her to produce five doses of turbo a day, and right now, the last one had just been pumped into her bloodstream. Fuck fuck fuck fuck! I need a damn opening! I can't fucking do anything! Right then and there Six made a very risky executive decision.
Screw defense.
Right as Mongollon was about to swing his claws again at the Courier, she threw herself at him. Swinging the machete she hacked, slashed and stabbed at the creature, forcing Mogollon into the defense for the first time in the entire fight , and it was working. She was putting pressure on him, some of her attacks were even hitting his body.
Die die die DIE DIE DIE YOU PIECE OF SHIT! Six made a swing, mustering all the strength she could. It hit his block but threw him back, staggering the beast and leaving him wide open.
She swung at its neck, she was going to finally kill this thing. Victory was at her grasp—
She swung at nothing. He dodged? No h-he couldn't! N-Not unless he…He set her up.
Then agonizing pain spiked from her back as a giant collided with her spine and sent Six crashing to the floor. By some miracle, her spine didn't break then and there. However, she couldn't move, she could barely breathe due to the force of impact on the ground. She tried tightening her grip on the machete, but ended up only tightening her fist around nothing.
Painfully, agonizingly, she raised her head from the rough hot sand floor of the arena. The machete was in front of her, on the floor, just out of her reach. She was on her last legs, barely able to keep herself awake and able to form a coherent thought, yet she didn't give in. Six couldn't walk, so she crawled, if she could get just one good hit, maybe this would all end.
As soon as she grabbed the machete, more pain ensued as Mongollon's large foot stomped down on her hand, the force of impact so strong it cracked the blade in half. She held a scream back, Six wasn't going to give this thing that satisfaction.
"You're…better than the rest." Mongollon spoke with an almost surprised tone. "But still vastly disappointing." He raised Six up by her left forearm. "You humans break too easily." Without even having to put much effort into it, he broke the Courier's arm. Yet, once again, Six only let out a muffled painful grunt.
"Why the bravado? You think I don't enjoy this regardless of the screams?" He chuckled and hucked Six against the wall.
"SIX!" Ruby cried from the stands, her tearful wail barely audible over the laughs and cheers of the other legionaries.
"R-Ruby…" Six whispered.
"Don't worry, human." Six could hear the smile on that thing. "The Child-Huntress will be reunited with you after I tear her limb from limb. Have solace in knowing you were killed by the mightiest Grimm and not some lowly, random soldier." Mongollon raised his right arm high, his obsidian black claws glistened against the sunlight before swinging it down.
I'm sorry kid. "What a joke." Six mumbled and closed her eyes, waiting for the grimm to strike her down.
Except it never did. Mongollon's right hand was motionless, with the longest claw poking Six's neck. "What did you say?".
It took a second for the gears in Six's head to start turning. "A joke. I called you a joke."
Mongollon clenched his teeth and growled even louder, grabbing Six by the neck and raising her high. "HOW DARE YOU?! NO GRIMM IS AS POWERFUL OR SMART AS I AM! I could kill EVERYONE in this camp should I want it!" He shouted, echoing across the arena.
"If you're so powerful, why are those chains around your neck, huh?" Six smirked weakly. "You're nothing more than an attraction for them. Cheap entertainment meant for laughs."
The Grimm's eyes flickered between an all consuming rage and doubt. He turned to the audience that was demanding and commanding him to kill the Courier. None of them were scared.
"You say you could kill us all? Then why don't you do it?"
"I-I-" he stammered.
"I'll tell you why." Six raised her head and her eyes met Mongollon's. "You're scared."
"What? No…No, NO!" He squeezed her neck harder. "Grim can't feel fear!"
"Yet you do." Six gasped for air. "That's the reason why you didn't kill those poachers. That's the reason you stayed hidden for hundreds of years. That's why you were captured." She gasped again for air. "You are different from your kind. Because unlike them, you're terrified of dying."
Mongollon's eyes widened, his surprise was such that he even lightened his grip on the Courier's neck. "No…" he whispered. "That can't be…" His frown burrowed again, enraged by the thought that HE would be a coward.
He tightened his grip again and brought Six close, inches away from his face. "THAT CAN'T B—"
The sound of bones cracking and the squelch of flesh being stabbed made its way to Mongollon's ears. His vision was…blurry? Why was it blurry? He released his grip on the Courier and took a couple steps back. His head hurt. It hurt so much. He reached for the focal point of the pain and…there was something there. He took it off and saw what was causing him this pain. A machete, with a half broken blade.
"How did you…"
His vision went blurry again as a fountain of black blood squirted out his now open wound. The ancient Grimm tried taking another step, but stumbled to the floor. He couldn't move anymore.
Then, he felt himself disappearing. Was he dying? He didn't want to die. No…No! He didn't want to die! He couldn't die! He…couldn't…
Six groggily stood up as the ancient Grimm evaporated into a black dust, leaving no trace of its existence behind. Everyone in the arena was silent. Not even a single boo could be heard.
Six dragged her feet to the middle of the arena, taking a moment to glance at Caesar and Vulpes' stunned expressions, and Ruby -who was crying happy tears. The hat brought a smile to the old Courier. With ragged breaths, she dragged her half-dead body across the area and back through the west gate.
"Holy shit, you're alive!" Stella ran over to Six, which was quite convenient, since Six was about to collapse on the floor. Stelle held onto the Courier and helped her sit down on a chair. "God you're a mess, how are you still alive?"
The Courier shrugged. "I think I'm about to pass out." She groaned in pain and pointed to the pile of her pouches she'd left behind before the fight. "Get me the sewing kit it has-" Before she could finish her sentence, Stelle was already stabbing her with two super-stimpacks and two doses of Med-X.
"How did you…" Six frowned. "You went through my stuff."
"You can't blame me for wanting to have plan B in case my knight in shining armor got herself killed. 'Sides, I figured you'd have some medical supplies with you and needed a pick-me-up to not be in pain all the time." She gestured to her legs.
"Fair enough." Six relaxed a bit on the chair as the pain slowly became less agonizing. Thank fuck to whoever invented Med-X.
"Now, take your shirt off."
"W-What?!" All sense of relaxation was sent out the door.
"Take. Off. Your. Shirt." She said more slowly. "Do I need to draw it for you?"
"Why?"
Stella deadpanned and wiggled the roll of bandages in front of Six.
"Oh…yeah that -hum- that makes sense. Yeah."
Six took off her shirt and the tank top underneath, leaving her body from her waist up completely exposed. And holy shit, did she have a lot of damage. Not just from the fights she'd just have, but scars and signs of injury with all kinds of age. Cuts, stabs, bullets, burns, you name it. Even for Stella -a damn ranger- this was a lot.
"I know I'm beautiful, but you don't havta gawk."
"Oh, right, sorry." Stella shook her head and started cleaning and bandaging up the bigger wounds that would take longer to heal. "That was quite the show, you know? How did you pull that thing off? The healing thingamajig."
"You know Usanagi, in the New Vegas clinic?"
"Yeah?"
"They sell cybernetics if you have the cash and are a 'trusted friend' of the followers." She flinched and grit her teeth as Stella disinfected one of the few slashes Mongollon was able to get on her.
"Sorry…Can't imagine that it didn't cost a pretty cap. How were you able to afford it?"
"Gave them a bar of gold." She responded nonchalantly.
The Ranger had to take a double take of the absurdity of what Six had just said. Gold was extremely valuable, especially since the Brotherhood raided the NCR's gold reserve a decade prior. After a second she went back to work. "That…is certainly something."
The Ranger finally moved on to the worst of the damage, the broken left forearm. The beast Six had fully broken the bone in two pieces, and now the arm sat at a bit of an angle. Stella was no doctor but all rangers had to go through field medic training for situations such as these. She took a spear from a barrel with a dozen of them and snapped it in half twice. Now with two decently sized sticks, she could use them as a splint to keep the arm in the correct position as it healed.
As she wrapped the bandages around the arm and sticks, she couldn't help but to have her eyes drift up and all but stare at Six's now very visible tattoos. The one on her left arm was weird. It looked like a weird red snake with four that circled around and ended right at where the arm met the shoulder and the pectoral with its mouth opened. All around the weird snake were other symbols she couldn't recognize for the life of her. All except for one. Why? Because that symbol was on the door of every Shi bank across the NCR.
"You're staring again."
"Sorry…" An air of awkwardness fell as Stella finished the splint and Six stared off into nothing.
"Go on." The Courier sighed. "Ask whatever it is you wanna ask."
"You have a Shi tattoo."
"Mhm."
"But you're not from the Shi."
"Damn, I didn't know NCR rangers were this perceptive." She rolled her eyes.
Stella frowned. "Okay, smartass. How did you get it?"
"Like any outsider. Learned martial arts there. Got the tattoo after completing my training and before leaving."
"That would explain those flashy moves you pulled." She mused out loud and handed Six her clothes. "Still…there's something that I don't get."
"And what might that be?" Six asked after putting on her tank top, followed by her long-sleeved shirt.
"The tattoo on your other arm." Stella gestured to the tattoo on Six's right arm. A flaming tire on her shoulder on top of a wide road that went down to her elbow. "Why do you have an Eighties tattoo?"
Six wordlessly put on her armor -except for her left arm as to not damage the splint. Finally, she grabbed her helmet and stared for a long second at it. "Isn't it obvious?" She slid the black helmet in and turned to the ranger. "I'm an Eighty."
Ruby anxiously tapped her foot on the ground. Six's fight had ended over fifteen minutes prior and she was still nowhere to be found. It also didn't help that she was literally standing between Vulpes and fricking Caesar, as well as half a dozen guards.
"Maybe the profligate died of her injuries?" One praetorian whispered -even though Ruby could very clearly hear it- to the other guard to his side.
"Surely." The other agreed.
No! They were wrong. Six was still alive! It takes a lot more to take her down. Just breathe Ruby.
Another five minutes flew by and still no sign of Six.
It's fine. It's fine. It's fine. Everything's fine Ruby Rose.
Caesar let out an annoyed grunt, as he continuously rhythmically tapped his finger on his throne's arm. "Where is that woman?"
"Perhaps it is as the guards mused my Lord." Vulpes leaned in next to Caesar while keeping eye contact with Ruby at all times, to make sure she saw his venomous grin. "The profligate is dead. Even if she didn't have any visible injuries, the internal bleeding alone would be enough to kill her."
"She's alive!" Ruby interjected. "I know she is. Six is just resting a bit."
Vulpes' grin didn't waver at the comment and he approached the young girl. "So you're telling me she's deliberately keeping the mighty Caesar waiting? Such disrespectful behavior."
"But she almost died!"
"So? If the Imperator says she is to come before him after the fights are concluded, then she is to come immediately. I don't particularly care if she crawls or walks." He turned his back to the Ruby and walked back to his position at Caesar's right. "Ultimately, if Courier Six cannot stand before Caesar, the deal is moot. So why don't you–"
"Don't get your panties in a bunch, Vulpes."
At that moment, all eyes in Caesar's tent -minuses Vulpes and Caesar's- widened at the sight of the Courier standing -mostly- straight and very much alive before them, with Stella beside her to lean on.
"Six!" Ruby tackle hugged the Courier, almost making all three of them fall to the ground.
"Ow, ow, ow! Ruby, pain."
"Sorry!"
"You're alive." Caesar was the first to interrupt the moment between the two. "I see you brought the Ranger with you."
"I needed something to lean on." Six remarked.
Caesar didn't respond, merely gesturing to Lucius to hand Six a small stack of papers rolled with string. "The deeds of ownership of those three slaves. They're yours. Your other two new slaves will be waiting for you at the camp's gate."
Six wordlessly took the rolled up papers and stuffed them in one of her many pockets. Ruby snuck a glance at Stella, who remained with a stone cold expression, though her free hand was clutching her chest while looking intently at Vulpes.
"Now," Caesar continued, "I mentioned earlier I had another task for you. Mr. House, kill him. And don't come back here until you have."
"That won't be a problem." Six mumbled and turned her back to Caesar.
"I will be watching you…Captain." Six's head snapped back to Caesar, who maintained a cold demeanor. "You thought I wouldn't know who I was ordering around? My eyes and ears reach far and wide Captain. Never forget that."
After a moment, Six mumbled out a 'let's go' and the group left the tent.
"My Lord," Vulpes whispered to his master, "I would never question you, but, do you truly think it wise to let that profligate, considering who she is, out without any means to keep her in check?"
"No. I don't believe for a moment that she will carry out my will."
"Then, then why set them free? We could easily have them killed! Or at least threaten to kill the child!" Vulpes raised his tone, but after realizing the grave mistake he had just committed, he fell down to his knees. "Apologies my lord. I forgot my station."
"That you did." Caesar stood up from his throne and walked back to the back area of his tent, where his bedroom resided. "I have my reasons for it. Send word for the Mexican, I have orders for him. Now, I want to be left alone for the remainder of the day."
His guards and trusted advisors bowed and did as instructed. After all, if Caesar had decided to let them go then he had to have a good reason to do so. Perhaps Mars whispered in his ear.
As soon as he was alone, Caesar collapsed on his bed. He could still feel his heart in his throat beating faster than a car on a highway. That woman, that courier. She wasn't a person. That was a goddamn animal hiding in the body of a human. His mind flashed back to the end of the last fight, and how she stared directly at him. Those eyes, he'd only seen eyes like those in one other person.
Him
"No, he's gone. The rumors aren't true. You killed him. New Canaan's gone. He's gone." His leg was shaking, and flashes of a man covered in pitch and fire cursing his name plagued Edward Sallow's mind.
"You will pay for this Edward! I will kill you and burn your entire Legion to the ground. I swear this, God be my witness!"
Edward's leg stopped shaking. "There's no way he survived…but if he did…Those tribals, White Legs, yes. They are more desperate to join the Legion than a whore looking for money. They already destroyed Cannaan, I'll just say they need to bring me his head. Yes…that'll work."
That will work.
"Stella, why are we leaving the fort? You still haven't told me. W-Won't Antony be mad at me?" Melody tugged on Stella's rags as the boat Cursor Lucullus was rowing slowly took them away from the Fort.
"We're free Melody." Andrews placed a hand on Melody's shoulder. "We aren't slaves anymore."
"Free?" The small child asked, almost as if she didn't understand the concept of not being a slave.
"Yes Mel. We're free. We're going home." Stella hugged the child, tears finally forming in the corners of her eyes.
Andrews turned to Six, who had remained oddly quiet ever since stepping out of Caesar's tent. "Thank you, truly. You saved our lives, miss."
"I'm just happy something good came out of this whole situation. What do you plan on doing now? Back to NCR?"
"No. Me and Stella joked that if we ever broke free we'd start a farm and leave military life behind us."
"Won't that make you deserters?"
"We can leave through official channels." Stella said, breaking off her hug with Melody. "I bet even the brass wouldn't force two former enslaved soldiers back into service. That's bad PR Oliver certainly doesn't want to deal with."
"Are you staying in the Mojave?" Ruby asked.
"No. I want to get as far away from this place as I can." Stella grimaced, subconsciously pulling Melody closer to her.
"I have family in Dayglow." Andrews interjected. "They have ties to the Old World Party and mayor Hayes there, so I'm confident we can get set up, even for a little bit."
"I know everything will turn out okay for your guys." Ruby flashed Stella a smile, who replied with her own -albeit weaker- one.
"We've arrived." Cursor Lucullus declared, as Cottonwood Cove came into view. A few minutes later they had docked and stepped into the Legion base. Unfortunately, like last time, a certain centurion was there to meet them.
Centurion Aurelius of Phoenix, accompanied by the same clique of officers as last time, stopped the group as soon as they'd stepped out of the harbor. Ruby and Six however, could not hide their smiles upon seeing that the centurion now had a cast on his nose.
"You again." He said with disdain. "And who are these slaves?"
"Mine." Six responded back in kind. "Won them at the Fort."
"A woman, owning property? That's sacrilege."
"Then call your leader a heretic, because Caesar signed off on it. Or do you wanna read the deeds too?"
Aurelius sneered, then huffed. "That won't be necessary. Make haste and take that bitch child with you out of my camp. The mere sight of all this is giving me nausea." The centurion then turned his back and walked back to his office on the second floor of the main building in the camp.
"Brothers, I hate that guy." Ruby mumbled. "Let's get out of here Six."
"Yeah." The Courier responded, without taking her eyes off the door Aurelius had stepped through.
A couple minutes later, and the group was now at the edge of the camp, where dead people on crosses delimited its border, right next to cliffs that had a great view over the entirety of Cottonwood Cove.
"Yes, that's right. It was my plan that conquered us the city and routed the pitiful Desert Rangers."
Six looked away from the cliffs and followed the group.
"So this is Courier Six, a hag that is nothing better than a cocksleeve."
She lagged a bit behind due to her still very painful injuries, but at least Ruby was having a good time striking conversation with the others. The girl had really come out of her shell recently.
"Take that bitch child with you"
Six tightened the fist on her free hand, hurting herself as her fingers were still injured.
"Bitch. Child"
Six stopped. For a handful of seconds she didn't move, but then turned around and walked towards the cliff.
Midway into her conversation with Andrews, Ruby looked back to ask Six something, only to see her friend walking back the way they came. "Six? What are you doing?" The whole group stopped and turned around, all as confused as Ruby.
Six, for her part, did not respond, merely continuing to the cliff while the others now doubled back to her.
Courier Six stopped at the edge of the rocky cliff, Cottonwood Cove laid below. She could see all of it from up there, the tents, the slave pens and market, the harbor and the main office. Courier Six reached for a decently large pouch she kept tied to her waist, she'd usually just use it to store some useful junk she would come across. Out of it came a…ridiculous looking toy gun. Like something right out of the old pre-war space cartoons. Except, this one had a weird display on the back. The logo for Poseidon Energy
"Six…what's that?" Ruby tentatively asked.
The lenses on Courier Six's helmet seemed to glow more, a dark crimson red. She extended her arm and pressed the trigger on the toy gun and the display changed.
Finding C
Three orange pillars of energy appeared from the sky and started spinning.
C found!
The circle created by these three pillars reduced in size until it was a singular large wide pillar of orange light in the middle of the Legion camp.
Establishing Uplink
"Six what's going on?"
Uplink Established! Transmitting C
A giant pillar of blue light descended upon Cottonwood Cove, shining so bright Ruby had to cover her eyes. And in the next moment, it was gone. When Ruby finally opened her eyes, she couldn't believe in what she was seeing.
Cottonwood Cove, the legionnaires there stationed and the slaves there imprisoned, had been wiped off the map, leaving only a crater in its wake and the burning tents and buildings that had escaped the initial blast. The screams of burning legionnaires and slaves alike climbed up the hills, all the while the Ruby couldn't do anything but watch them roll around in the dirt or throw themselves at the river to put a stop to the flames.
Part of her wanted to throw up.
Part of her though this was horrible.
But another part of her, a thought she wanted to push deep down, rejoiced that the people that put others on crosses for no reason, were dying.
"What the heck was that…" Andrews was the first to break the silence. His face, like Stella's next to him, bore a mixture of awe and terror at the death laser that had just come from the sky.
Six, in turn, responded with a single word. The same accursed words the ones now burning loved to chant at their opponents. "Retribution." The Courier stored the Euclids C-Finder back on the sack and turned her back to the burning wreck. "Let's go home."
With no other reason to stay behind, the group followed after Six as they made way towards the outskirts of -the now abandoned- town of Searchlight. It annoyed Six that they had to even come close to that irradiated shithole, there were always a bunch of stray ghouls that wandered out of the town. And a fight was the last thing she needed right now. But they needed to get to the road, they'd just do a little bit of cross-country to avoid the ghouls and they'd be right on track again.
She fished for another dose of Med-X to inject into her bloodstream. She really needed to start being more careful with fights or she'd be developing yet another combat chem addiction, and those were a pain to go through. For the record, addictol fucking sucked to take. Still, the fact she had implants now meant less visits to the doctor…she reckoned this one would be an exception.
"Hey Six?" Ruby called out next to her.
"Hmm?"
"I have…questions."
There it was, the moment Six was dreading. "Shoot."
"How did you get those implants?"
Great, starting off strong. "How'd you know they're implants?"
"Well, I overheard Caesar and Vulpes talking during the fight and Caesar mentioned them."
Six groaned and rolled her eyes at the mention of that guy. She'd had enough Legion related stuff for the day. "He knows his stuff, I'll give 'em that much. Well, to answer the question, I got them the day before we-" She stopped for a moment. "before we investigated the disappearances in the refugee camp. That's why I was out all night."
At the reference of that day Ruby also went quiet. "That thing, back there…I-I'm still trying to understand what happened, but…was that an 'autopilot moment'?"
Six nodded.
"But there were people there, innocent people that had been kidnapped. They deserve to die."
"...I know. But sometimes, it's better to be dead, than to be treated as an object to be used and discarded. You can't save everyone. I learned that a long time ago. My only hope is that you learn it too." Ruby looked down and the two continued to walk in silence right next to each other. This was going to be a long trip.
Or so she thought.
Suddenly, the group could see, off in the distance, a small cloud of dust that appeared to be moving. As the cloud came ever closer to them, so did what sounded like a roaring sound. Ruby's eyes widened when she could see what was causing the dust cloud.
A truck.
An honest to the gods' working green transport truck.
Ruby instinctively reached for her sidearm -something that had become second nature to her in the past month thanks to Six's constant drilling- but, out of all people, it was Six who gestured her to relax.
"Don't worry. There's only one group in this entire region that has access to trucks like those."
As if on queue, the truck's side became visible as it parked a couple feet away from the group and Ruby could see the NCR flag on its door. A moment later, a squadron of 10 NCR soldiers and a patrol ranger came out of the truck, securing the perimeter around the area. Upon laying his eyes on Six, the ranger relaxed slightly and a small smile appeared on his face. "Well, well. Didn't expect to find you here. It's a little ways away from Vegas. Six, right?" Ranger Bryce Anders extended his hand for a handshake.
And Six took it. "Yeah. Your leg's better."
"The doctors at McCarran did their magic. Now if I may ask, what the hell are you doing out here? Especially with-" Ranger Anders tilted his head to see the two ex-slaves that were behind Six, only to widen his eyes. "Stella?!"
Hearing her name, the other ranger perked up and also widened her eyes. "Bryce?"
Without giving Stella time to react, the taller ranger scooped her into a bear hug. "You're alive! Holy shit, you were pronounced dead." He broke off the hug, it was then when realization hit him like a freight train. "Your clothes…"
"Yeah…" Stella averted his gaze. "But they broke us out." She gestured to Six and Ruby.
Anders turned to Six, absolutely stunned. "You broke them out of Cottonwood Cove?"
"More like the Fort." Andrews spoke up.
Anders back and forth from Andrews to Six. Then he broke out laughing. "First you waltz into Vault Three like you own it and massacre every Fiend inside, and now you sneak into the Legion's primary base and rescue NCR soldiers? You are full of surprises, Miss Six." Ruby, Stella, Andrews and pretty much all the other soldiers looked at Anders like he'd just grown a pair of horns. "Why is everyone looking at me?"
Six put her head on her hand and sighed. "Because they didn't know."
"Oh…I uh well, l-let's get loaded up on the truck. I assume you need a lift?"
"That would be appreciated." Six nodded and walked to the truck alongside him. "Speaking of the truck, what are you guys doing here?"
The ranger frowned. "After the Legion hit Searchlight, a small contingent of the garrison was out patrolling so they survived the attack. They were told to stay put until reinforcements could relieve them. After you pulled that stunt with the Fiends, Colonel Hsu had free men, so he sent us to reinforce them. But…"
"They were already dead."
"Yeah. Then we saw that bluelight coming from the sky and came to investigate. I'll go out on a limb and assume that has something to do with you?"
"I blew up Cottonwood Cove. What wasn't blown up is currently burning itself to ashes." Six responded nonchalantly.
The ranger looked at her for a moment before sighing and entering the passenger's seat of the truck. "Why does that not surprise me?"
"Shouldn't you still go reinforce that position?"
"Already did. We brought two trucks. Plus, I think I should deliver this news to the Colonel personally."
Six shrugged and hopped on the back of the truck. Was this going to cause a lot of trouble later on? Possible. Knowing the NCR, they will likely try to get their hands on the C-Finder and question Six to hell. So from now on she'll leave it back at the 38 and avoid the NCR for a while.
Nothing too incredibly difficult.
"Urgh!" Comic groaned. "I hate this gas mask. It reeks!"
Freeside was as lively and as without law as ever. The streets were filled with the dregs of society, raiders, mercs, tribals and regular people alike. Stalls and shops of all kinds sold items of questionable origin all around and street brawls would break out in moments, leading to quick entertainment and bets happening on the spot.
Comic hated it.
"I don't see the appeal." Silver, the only one who wasn't wearing a mask and actually had a cap to her name to buy a not rotten disguise, recoiled slightly at the sight of the dirty town. Even having to side step being hit by two raiders having a fist fight.
"It's called the city of sin for a reason, I suppose." Wraith shrugged. "'Sides, the big attraction is the Strip and that Mr House guy. Who, or whatever, he is."
"This city needs order, and an actual semblance of civilization." Silver grumbled. "The NCR should just move in already."
Comic rolled her eyes behind the gas mask. "There we go again."
"I'm serious Comic! At least they'd bring some good to this place. I–"
"Yeah yeah I know." Comic waved her away. "I'm a ranger because I want to kill bad people. Politics are out of my repertoire."
"So, what now?" Wraith asked. "We've already checked with that King guy you know. The Followers were a bust. That bounty hunting guild refused to tell us anything. What's our next move?"
"Walk around I guess?"
"You're joking, right?" Silver deadpanned. Comic simply shrugged. "You can't possibly believe that'll work right? I mean, Freeside is massive! Not to mention the ruins around a-and we don't even know if Rider's actually still–"
"Is that Rider?" Wraith shook Comic's shoulder.
"You gotta be kidding me."
Sure enough, further down the street, there was a person dressed in a customized ranger attire walking side-by-side who looked like a kid.
"Yup, that's her. Let's move."
Six was glad Anders had had the courtesy to drop them at Freeside's gate near McCarren before going to deliver his report to Hsu. At least she could worry about NCR related stuff later. Though, right now, all she wanted to do was crash on her bed and sleep for the next week. And judging by the way Ruby was dragging her feet, so did she.
Freeside was as bustling with life as ever. However, it didn't seem like they were going to be jumped today. It seemed like the small-time gangs had finally learned to not mess with the Courier. Though, seeing as Ruby was greeting and waving at a lot of people as they walked through the city, made Six think otherwise…only a little bit.
As they were about halfway through to the gate to the Strip, Six noticed a flash of silver out the corner of her eye.
"Ruby, look alive."
"What's up?"
"Don't look back." Six was using -according to Ruby- her 'super serious voice'. So Ruby immediately tensed up.
"What's wrong?"
"We're being followed. Rangers."
A look of confusion overtook Ruby. "Rangers? I didn't see any rangers. What do they even want with us?"
"They are disguised, and I don't know. But I do not want to take chances. We're gonna lose them in the crowd."
"Got it."
The two accelerated their step, trying as much as possible to walk through the highly dense areas.
"Shit, she's walking faster." Wraith cursed.
"Do not lose sight of her." Comic barked quietly.
The three rangers maneuvered through the crowd. Though with much difficulty and tactically shoving some people aside. They were able to keep up with Rider and whoever the kid was.
Suddenly she turned to an alley with a lot less people.
"Is she trying to lose us in the alleys?"
"No, I don't think she's spotted us yet." Comic shoved a homeless person high off his jets to the side. "She's going into one of those abandoned buildings. Spread out and cover the exits you can."
"Roger." Both Wraith and Silver responded at the same time.
"And-" Comic grabbed Silver's arm "do not kill her."
Silver nodded and entered the wrecked building through a hole in the wall.
Six clicked her tongue seeing they hadn't shaken the rangers off. Looking to the side, she saw an old, abandoned, small apartment complex and an idea sprung up. "Change of plans. We're gonna set up an ambush in that building and knock them out."
"A-Are you sure?" Ruby asked nervously. "I don't think I can deal with rangers Six."
"Do you trust me?" Ruby nodded. "Atta girl. Stay close and stay quiet."
The two left the busy main street of Freeside to an off to the side alley. The door to the building was boarded up but the giant hole right next to it left for a pretty easy entrance. Once inside the two quickly ran for the interior of the building, using the collapsed walls and ceilings, alongside the unblocked stairs to go further up the apartment complex. Once at the top floor, Six put her back against the doorless frame coming out the staircase and drew the Mysterious Magnum that Drifter had given her.
Well, not exactly the best place to use it, but beggars can't be choosers.
Ruby hugged the other side of the door frame, also with her revolver, Lucky, in hand.
They waited for a couple minutes and there was nothing but silence. No talking, no stomping of boots or breaking of glass. Nothing. Did they lose them outside? No. These were rangers, even the patrol ones were well trained. Something was wrong.
Six peaked her out to the stairway and still nothing. Maybe they did los–
Click
The cold cylindrical shape of a barrel pressed against the back of her head.
I seriously need to stop being sneaked up on.
"An abandoned building? Seriously? Didn't know you got stupider with your old age. It wasn't a good move, you know that?" The voice of a loathsome person spoke out from behind Six.
Six looked to the side and saw the other two rangers had their guns trained on Ruby. Twice in two days. Perfect, just fucking perfect! "And you're a huge cunt, you know that?" She let go of her revolver, it only being held by the trigger guard before being taken by the person behind Six.
"Is this the way you treat an old friend?" The ranger then turned Six and the eyes of the two met. "Is it, Comic?"
Jessiva "Silver" Mayweather asked with a grin on her face.
AND THAT'S A WRAP!
HAPPY LATE FALLOUT DAY FRIENDS! This fic is officially ONE YEAR OLD! HURRAY! Well, technically it's one year and one day old. I meant to publish this yesterday but got stuck on editing. cough cough Surge cough cough. At any rate, you have NO IDEA how long I've been waiting for this twist! I hope the hints I left since chapter 7 were good enough to leave you guessing if Six was actually Rider or not.
Worry not my faithful readers, all your questions shall be answered!...eventually.
Stay tooned for the next one!
See you all next time space cowboys
Surge here. Still Rockin' and Rollin'. Didn't put it in before, but one of the characters that have appeared is mine. I'm literally just stealing content here, but have fun guessing which character it is! :D