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.

18. To The Wolves

Chapter 18: To The Wolves

How many pests had he cut down by now? Twenty? Forty? All he knew was that he swam through wave after wave of cannon fodder. Metal Crabs, gnawbeasts, pincerbeasts, slugs (and their explosive brethren), hounds, Monsters, Defender-4s, Arts Master A1s, Frosts, Scraps, Anvils, Rioters. It was a menagerie here.

Six delivered a roundhouse kick to an armored hound as it lunged at him, throwing it into some barrels. He then toggled VATS and fired a laser at its underbelly and head. The crowd roared as the laser cooked the hound's insides. He hardly had time to celebrate as an Arts Master opened fire on him. He spun behind some old machinery and fired away with the Desert Eagle, reducing the drone to scrap metal.

And yet another metal crab snuck up behind him and snipped at his ankles. Six snarled, kicked it onto its back, and fired at its underbelly. When his motion tracker came up blank, he took a deep breath.

"Well, I'll be damned," Scalper broadcasted. "This guy just cut through some of our broods' alphas like wheat. Guess they'll have to catch some fresh blood later. Neil, bring the hotshot up to the office for a cold one. He's earned it."

"And what about my cohorts?" Six shouted back.

"Them?" the thug chucked back. "They're getting the best seats in the house. Don't worry, you'll be seeing 'em soon enough."

A truck with a crane on the back strolled into the foundry and grabbed Hung and ED-E's cage. Six would've followed them, but a mafioso in an armored suit shoved him up some stairs and along the walkway instead. He led him out of the mill and into a weathered office building.

It wasn't too different from the Old World's bunch at a glance. Paint peeling and cracking off. Decaying furniture and splintered floor tiles. Rust gathering on whatever metal was around. And the occasional remains of potted plants and faded posters.

Yet despite its sorry state, he saw no dust at all. Now that he thought about it, the ventilation system was blowing fresh air instead of something stale. Looks like the Raiders held an iota of concern for cleanliness after all.

He stopped at a Yanese calendar. The current page for it was October 1077. Must be when the facility closed down. Neil reached into a cooler and tossed a water bottle to Six. A quick scan from his Pip-Boy confirmed it was fresh and free of contaminants. He took a sip.

"So…" Neil began. "What's your name, kid?"

"Don't got one," Six lied.

"Alright. Where are you from?"

"What's it to you?" Six asked back.

"Come on, man. We're both Wastelanders, aren't we? Surely, you didn't come here for greener pastures or this mockery of a zoo."

Six paused. "Nevada," he relented. "How did you get here, anyway?"

"I was gonna ask you the same thing."

"You first."

"Nah, you. You strike me as someone with a more interesting story than little ol' me."

Six scowled. "Can't remember," he lied again. "Was looking for shelter from a rad-storm and fell into some cave. Between the impact and all the rads I soaked up, I lost consciousness. When I came to and crawled back out, I noticed that the landscape and sky had changed."

"And you just wandered around since then?"

Six nodded.

"You'd hardly be the first," Neil claimed. "The bosses found plenty of Earthling bones during my time here. They had eggheads use some fancy techniques to figure out their age. They think 'mishaps' like yours have been happenin' for centuries."

"[Science 70] Carbon daring?"

"Maybe? Dunno what they called it."

Six narrowed his eyes. "You just said 'bosses', right? As in 'plural'. Is Scalper not the only one calling the shots?"

Neil paused. "Y-yeah," he said. "Scalper might be this pack's Alpha, but he still answers to others higher up the food chain. Me? I'm technically on loan from one of the higher-ups to ensure that he stays in line."

"Because they consider him a berserker, or to ensure that he doesn't sell y'all out?"

"Both. His buddies, the Pack, abandoned him after fire burned him to a crisp. My crew- The Operators- rescued his ass while we were escaping Nuka World."

"Nuka World?"

"Our old gig. Major raider hub until all the head honchos got whacked."
"Whacked? By whom?"

Neil opened his mouth, but the only noise Six heard was an alarm buzzing. The raider frowned as he checked a fancy watch. Must be another one of those 'smart' devices. An icon was flashing in the corner of its screen.

"Looks like the arena is ready," he announced as he tapped a button. "But Scalper wants me to check your pockets too. Nothing personal."

A drone flew up behind Six. He scowled before raising his arms with a sigh.

[Sneak 50] Neil stripped him of his longarms, along with the MF Hyperbreeder Alpha and Desert Eagle. He missed Sleepytime, A Light Shining in Darkness, Sonic Emitter, a Silenced .22 pistol, and all his explosives. He also didn't bother to take his ammunition or the grappling line either.

"Alright," Neil said, strapping Six's weapons onto himself. "Follow me."

The mafioso led the Courier to the roof. A crude bridge connected it to a series of mill stacks. The center one held a rickety platform above its fiery pits, with bleachers attached to the edges. Six could feel the heat as they climbed up some stairs and took center stage before the crowd. Several drones orbited the first stack, some of which were equipped with cameras.

And dangling above them on a crane were Hung and ED-E. One of the drones darted over to Six and Neil, emitting a holographic bust of Scalper. Several screens dotting the ground level also lit up with his helmeted face plastered onto them.

"Lungmenites! Wastelanders!" bellowed Scalper, echoing across the foundry. "Lowly rodents and big bad wolves alike! Welcome, one and all, to another night at the Ring of Fire!"

Vents opened up around the Courier, spewing out flames.

"We've got ourselves another rat pack scurrying 'round here, but they ain't your common rodents. Nay, they left a bloody trail in their wake. We've found our welcoming committee stuffed full-a lead at the metro station. By our own turrets, if you believe the logs!"

The crowd whispered and mumbled amongst themselves. Those murmurs erupted into a tumult as footage from the station rolled onto screens or from holographic projectors. Six scowled as the cameras showcased him slinking through the shadows and POVs of the turrets as they gunned down their masters.

"And that's only the tip of the iceberg. We've also got confirmed reports of casualties along the old metro. And the ones responsible are a furry-ass brute, an eyebot, and this glorious bastard. The Rat King sent many assassins our way, but I've gotta hand it to him; this is the best brood he's got by far."

The aftermath of Six's handiwork - including the prior arena match- then flickered on the screens, in all its grisly glory.

"He's survived our menagerie, yet he's also drenched in the blood of our comrades. I dunno if I should kiss him, or gut 'im where he stands. What do y'all think? Should we avenge the fallen, or welcome this fuckin' demon with open arms?"

The crowd bumped heads with each other. Some clambered for Six's, others cheered him on.

"Huh, it seems we're a little divided on the issue. How about a compromise? We give the gunslinger here a chance to prove his worth to us. He's proven he can handle beasties and bots, but what about his fellow man? If he gives me ten broken bodies, he'll receive a pardon from yours truly. If he can't pull his weight, then he goes to the wolves. How's that sound?"

The crowd roared.

"Well, alrighty then. Everyone with a bone to pick or a masochistic streak, lay your pistols down and throw down. Bring any melee weapon you can get your grubby claws on. Or go in fists blazing. Y'all's call."

Several thugs stood up and drew out all manner of melee weapons. Blades, bats, pipes, wrenches, axes, hatchets, cleavers, canes, pool cues. Hell, even straight razors. Some of them were modified in some fashion or another. Nails sticking out, buzzsaws strapped on via barbed wires, ends sharpened.

The first three assailants were armed with a pipe, a straight razor, and a pool cue. Seeing as they were fellow Wastelanders, Six didn't feel the need to draw up his Ripper or knives. The first one got their razor shoved into their eye. He weathered the blunt strikes of the pipe-swinger and easily disarmed them. It only took a few punches to clock 'em afterward.

The one with the pole cue leaned more toward a good defense than an offense. Six tried to grapple and disarm the thug, but he was sturdier than his comrades. It took his friend's pipe to splinter his weapon in half, and even then, he just dual-wielded its fragments. Six ultimately resorted to Implant GRX to break his poise and slit his throat with Blood-Nap.

The next asshole to grace the Courier was another Wastelander with a sword and medium armor. Something straight from the Revolutionary War, if his understanding of history was correct. Sparks flickered along its blade as he charged forth. Six blocked his blows with the pipe, but he was rewarded with an electric jolt for every parry. His HUD flickered after each strike, too. Six ended the brawl with a Ranger's Takedown and jammed the sharpened end of the pipe into the Raider's heart.

The fourth one to challenge him was a Lupo Mafioso with knuckle dusters. He was much more spry than his predecessors, relying on hit-and-run tactics. Six initially charged in with the pipe fragments, but this Brawler was made of stern stuff. Not only did he block and parry Six's blows with ease, but his counterattacks were a fucking blur. He lost a good chunk of his HP to the barrage of fisticuffs when he engaged VATS, but it was worth it in his eyes.

Two more Lupo Mafiosos stepped up to challenge him, both wielding batons. They tried ganging on him, but Six wasn't gonna let 'em box him in. He bounced around the makeshift arena and parried their blows, throwing the occasional kick. The first to fall was caught up in a leg sweep and was impaled through his throat. Six slipped behind the second after Crippling his arm and backstabed him.

Then a pair of hoary brutes stomped onto the scene. One of them had shields mounted on their forearms. The other wielded a sledgehammer. The first one bolted toward him like a freight train the instant they made eye contact. Six spent a good chunk of time dodging the Bully's charges while his buddy hung back, throwing a swing whenever he drifted into his orbit. Six found himself backed toward the edge of the ring, hissing as a scalding current brushed against him.

The Bully charged at him again. Six waited before kicking in Implant GRX again, sidestepping at the last second. The mafioso ran over the edge and straight to the fiery pit below. The crowd bellowed before rolling in the aisles as his screams echoed from the mill's belly. Hung winced as his ears flattened.

The Bully's partner didn't take this too well. The Fanatic went berserk and started swinging his hammer around like a whip, forcing Six onto the defense. He ducked, weaved, and rolled around each swing, cutting away at his legs. When he finally Crippled one of them, he lunged at him and jammed both knives into his eyes.

The Fanatic howled in agony as he was blinded, dropping his sledgehammer. He grabbed the Courier by the throat and hoisted him into the air. Six tried to break free from the stranglehold, but this bastard had an iron grip. Strong enough to rival a Night Kin's. He could faintly hear ED-E and Hung call out to him as the world faded…

[Nerd Rage!] …and flooding back with a second wind and a howl. He chomped off the Fanatic's thumb, forcing him to release his prey. He reached out for his sledgehammer, but Six was quicker. He toggled VATS and swung away, Crippling him bit by bit. The Fanatic collapsed onto the ground and stared up at the Courier.

"P-per favore," he sputtered. "Abbiate pietà!"

The only mercy Six had for him was bringing the hammer down. The crowd roared as he spun around and delivered a grand slam to the Fanatic's skull. His head soared over the bleachers and onto the ground below.

"Holy shit," echoed Scalper's voice. "I haven't seen anyone's head flying off since Colter decapitated that one Super Mutant with a karate chop. What was his name again? Bertilak? Yorick?"

Six huffed and puffed as he dropped the hammer. He used the opportunity to inject a Stimpak into his system.

"[Terrifying Presence] And who else wants to lose theirs?" Six boasted, pointing at the bleachers. "You? Or how about you?"

The spectators murmured and exchanged glances, putting their hands up.

"How many notches is that on my blade, now?" the Courier continued. "I wanna say nine at the very least. Maybe thirty if we count all your pests and junk heaps, too. Why not just throw in the towel and let my colleagues go?"

Scalper's projection glared at the Courier's bite. Just as he was about to retort, someone else beat him to the punchline.

"Maybe he's been saving the best for last, hm?" said an Italian voice.

A pale-skinned Lupo in an armored skirt, bearing silver hair and gray eyes, sauntered onto the ring. Sheathed onto her side were two Eastern-style swords, but Six couldn't make out their precise make from a distance. They didn't strike him as Katanas at the very least. He also couldn't help but notice the scar over her left eye and the Originium lesions on her legs. And how everyone's hair seemed to rise as she passed by.

"Oh, ho! And look who's finally decided to join the hunt!" announced Scalper. "Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, we've got ourselves a match made in hell. A man with no name and a madwoman with a thousand. The Cackling She-Wolf! The Self-Made Exile! Young Fang! The Specter of the Concrete Jungle! The Platinum Prowler! Lappland Saluzzo!"

The woman bowed and blew kisses at the crowd. Some hollered and whistled, others shivered in disgust. She then turns to Six with an arched brow.

"Is it true?" Lappland asked. "Are you really a nameless man?"

"I've gone by plenty," Six retorted. "But I'm a man of actions, not words. Words mean jack-shit to me."

A coy smile curled across her face. "Then you wouldn't mind if I engrave another on your tombstone, sì?" she asked. "Perhaps something like 'Orsacchiotto'."

She drew out her swords and tossed one to the Courier. He looked back at her with an arched brow of his own.

"What?" she asked. "It's high-quality material. Certainly better than that rubbish everyone else is carrying. Go on, have a feel."

Six narrowed his eyes at her as he knelt and claimed her blade. His gaze bounced between the blade and her, with a mental finger hovering over Implant GRX. Despite the faint fade and weathered texture, it was leagues above most blades he came across in the wasteland. It almost put the Gun Runners' katanas to shame.

But it didn't feel quite right in his hands either. A scintilla of an aura lingered on the blade, leaving an ethereal tingling sensation. It felt like residual Arts in his book, yet he didn't see any Originium. Did she burn out its Arts unit?

Six gave the sword a few swings, alternating between one-handed stances and two. It was certainly heavier than a katana, that much his Pip-Boy confirmed. He found it more comfortable in the latter posture, so he settled on that. Lappland, however, was content with leaving one hand free. She tossed her remaining sword between each one with a bored look.

"Not used to swordplay, eh?" she noted.

Six ignored her question as he took up a stance. "Ladies first," he said.

Lappland shrugged before lunging toward him. Once again, Six was on the defense, parrying and strafing around the mad she-wolf. Her swords had a fairly extensive reach, so he kept as much distance from her as possible. He was tempted to grapple her, but then he realized she'd cut the cable. Or worse yet, use the momentum to impale him.

Six performed a Ranger Takedown on her and tried to drive her blade into her gullet, but she parried that. She kicked him between the legs, but that hardly affected his poise. She rolled to the side to avoid another downward thrust and up onto her feet again.

Now it was her turn to be on the defense. And she honestly did a far better job than Six. She had the audacity to put her hand behind her back as she parried, blocked, and dodged. And she lashed out with plenty of counterattacks.

"Hmm, not bad," she commented as they crossed blades. "But can you do this?"

An amethyst glow slithered from her hand and through her sword. Six cursed and back-stepped as the eldritch power coursed down his blade and into his body. He had been hit by plenty of Arts before, but they were comparable to laser blasts. This felt more like plasma, fucking hellfire even. His HUD flickered as it flashed a message in the corner of his vision.

Warning! Detecting interference with cybernetic implants and Pip-Boy systems! VATS offline!

[Strength 5/6] Six resisted the urge to screech 'Say what!?' before a sudden weight dropped onto his shoulders. Everything started to feel a bit dim or numb. His senses, his vitality, brainpower. He couldn't even maintain a steady grip on the sword.

Lappland cackled as she flung purple flares at the Courier, the Originium tumors on her legs flickering in a similar color. Six had to drop the blade and pull off all sorts of acrobatics to dodge them. He almost broke a sweat from this stunt work.

He popped some Buffout and Med-X before he retrieved the blade and retaliated. Lappland had a mischievous glint in her eyes as their blades clashed. Once more, she channeled her Arts into him, but the Buffout compensated for that. Yet Lappland stood proud in their dance to the death, gracefully gliding across the arena like a ballerina.

"Do you feel that?" Lappland taunted.

"What? The sting of your blade, or the hellfire you're breathing?"

"Well, maybe those, too. But I was referring to something more…"

She shoved her blades against him as she pressed forward, almost leaning against him. She gave him a quick whiff before she flashed an impish grin.

"Mmm, electric. Oh, and that smell. You absolutely reek of iron. It's enough to drive a Lupo girl insane!"

Lappland threw her head back and laughed like a hyena. Six's response was to kick her back and swap out her sword for A Light Shining In Darkness. The interference had worn off, so he was free to use VATS. Unfortunately, he didn't anticipate an intervention. A drone fired a grappling line and yanked the pistol out of Six's hands.

"Hey!" Six shouted, firing his own hook at the drone as it flew off.

Another of the machine's kin dove in and took the bullet. By the time Six spun around and flung the second drone back, the first had already vanished. The holographic projection of Scalper caught the missing pistol in its hands soon afterward.

"Ah ah ah," taunted Scalper as he waved his finger. "We've got rules in this house. No guns allowed at fight club. Shit like this breeds all kinds of weakness."

Six glared back at Lappland, anticipating another swing from her. Instead, she merely pointed her sword at the one he sheathed.

"Well, you heard the man," she quipped. "Are you going to pull another peashooter from your pocket, or will you fight like a man?"

Six sneered. He was tempted to draw another sidearm, but a new wave of hook drones flocking to the arena made him reconsider. He opted to conjure up two power fists from his Pip-Boy's subspace storage: Salt-Upon-Wounds', and Greased Lightning. He let them do the talking from there on out.

Lappland cackled as Six brawled away. Even as the salt brick on the first power first rubbed its contents into open wounds, she still cracked a smile and a giggle. It was as unnerving as it was annoying. She didn't bother to retrieve her other sword either. What the fuck was she, a masochist?

She tossed her remaining sword aside and caught both power fists with her bare hands. Six blinked in disbelief as she channeled her power straight into them. Six yelped as the energies shorted out both mechanized gauntlets. He pulled them back into subspace and threw his fists at her.

Though he was much taller and broader, she was the swiftest between 'em. Not as fast as Lyudmila, but enough to keep a considerable distance from him. Her strength certainly surpassed theirs, judging from how she handled her blade. She also took advantage of his size, grappling and throwing him over her shoulder. Any attempts to return the favor ended with her breaking free.

"C'mon! C'eri quasi, tesoro!" Lappland teased after slipping through his fingers yet again.

Six snarled. He drew out Chance's Knife and Blood-Nap and hacked away. She parried nearly all of his strikes and ignored the cuts he did leave. After a minute or two swinging daggers at her, she caught his arm and ripped Chance's knife from his hand. She jammed it into his back and flipped over him, reclaiming her sword from him and bolting off to retrieve the other. He growled as he injected a stimpak into his body and yanked the knife off. He swapped out both blades for his Ripper, just in time to catch Lappland's in its teeth.

"My, oh my, what big teeth you have," Lappland taunted. "It would be a shame if someone were to chip them."

And yet again, Lappland poured her power onto him. The Ripper shorted out as her incandescence flowed through Six's being. Thankfully, his Pip-Boy hasn't suffered the same fate thus far. And he still had a couple more cards up his sleeve.

And one of those was She's Embrace. As a Yao guai gauntlet, there wasn't any tech for that bitch to short out. It didn't pack as much punch as a power fist, but given the situation, it was the best alternative. Lappland fell back onto the defense again, blocking Six's slashes and kicks. He left more than a few tears on her coat.

Six fired his grapple line and yanked a sword from her hand, tossing it behind him. She lashed out with a charge attack, but he parried her other sword with She's Embrace. It left him open for an Arts-charged palm to his face. Lappland ripped the yao guai gauntlet off him and fired his grapple line toward the sky. Then she sprinted around and tied him up with it. While he struggled to break free, she dragged him as she reclaimed her missing weapon. Once they were back with their rightful owner, she stomped on Six and pointed a blade at his face.

"Mmm, such beautiful eyes," she purred. "They would make fine gems for a necklace. Ahahahah!"

Six's eyes widened as the blade drifted over his pupil, then to his neck.

"But beauty is ever so fleeting. Every dance must come to an end at some point. Tell me, Orsacchiotto, what would you like engraved on your tombstone?"

Six glared at her for a moment before shifting his gaze to ED-E. The eyebot emitted some somber tunes while Hung had a pleading look on his face. Six took a deep breath before locking his eyes with Lappland's.

"My associates," he replied. "Can you guarantee their safety? That they'll walk out of here alive and intact?"

Lappland arched an eyebrow and cocked her head. She glanced up at the cage dangling above them before shrugging. "I… can at least appeal for their case," she finally said.

Six didn't break eye contact as she swung her sword. All he felt was a sting across his cheek. He blinked as she released his grappling hook's cable and stepped off him. It retracted back into its launcher as he untangled himself. He pulled out another stimpak and injected it into his body as he rose back up.

"I concede," Lappland announced.

The crowd gasped.

"The fuck?!" bellowed a mafioso. "That freak skewered my friend!"

"Your friend?" jeered another. "He gunned down my sister. And this bitch wants us to bring this monster into our fold?"

"Why not?" Lappland replied. "I killed plenty of your crew to get here, didn't I? And you all welcomed me with open arms."

"You only culled the weak that day," retorted Scalper's projection. "And paid your blood-debt afterward. He hasn't. He's just one body short of a pardon."

"And what about my colleagues?" Six asked. "Are they part of the package, or must they have their own trails? Hell, are you gonna give them the same chance as her or me?"

There was a brief pause. "You've still got one shot to save yourself, don't you?" Scalper replied. "Why not take it?"

"I would," Six replied. "But I don't see any more volunteers here. Maybe I should start pickin' some out."

"Think you can take on all of us?" boasted a goon.

"I can at least try. I've got plenty of bullets and chems."

"And they've got a good reach," a grunt retorted as he motioned at the drones.

"And even if they didn't, any kills with your sidearms wouldn't count," Scalper added.

"You mean if you plan on keeping your word," Six quipped back.

"You're playing with fire, boyo. I'm only going to say this once; either I see one of you two drop dead, or I'll feed y'all to the pack. Now, which is it?"

Six's gaze glanced between Lappland and the crowd. Everyone was already raising their weapons against them, melee and ranged. The drones hovered above, blasters and grappling hooks primed. Before either of them could make a decision, they heard something groan above them.

Everybody glanced up to see the cage being lowered onto the ring.

"The fuck?" cursed Scalper. "Get that crane's operator on the line!" A second later, the holographic projection caught a smartphone. "Hey, asshole, who told you to drop the bait?"

All he got was static. And standing atop the cell was a certain princess.

"I did," said Yühsia.

"Who the hell is that?" asked a grunt.

"It's the Rat-Bitch!" called out another. "Open fire!"

Sand flew from a canteen and transmuted into a Glass Barrier surrounding her. It deflected the gunfire while she shattered the cage's window with a wave of her wand. After ED-E and Hung bolted out of the cell, the shards flew over to her and started orbiting around her shield.

"撞甲板!" called out Yühsia.

Lappland pulled Six onto the ground as a storm of glass enveloped the Ring of Fire. The goons howled and screeched as the glittering hurricane flayed them alive. Drones chirped warnings as they were sucked into the maelstrom and spat out. ED-E's tractor beam struggled to keep its operator anchored to the Ring. Bullets, arrows, bolts, and other projectiles flew through the whirlwind, but none hit their mark. When the winds finally died, scraps of armor and gore surrounded the heroes.

Hung resisted the urge to vomit while Six whistled. ED-E meanwhile beeped out some irritated chirps at Yühsia, eliciting an arched eyebrow.

"Did your drone just swear at me?" she asked the Courier.

"More or less," Six replied before he strode off to loot the recently departed. ED-E emitted another chirp at Yühsia before joining its master. Both kept their ears to the ground as they scavenged away.

Lappland snickered as the dynamic duo walked by. "Wouldn't be the first mechanical swearaholic I've met," she added before turning to Yühsia. "What took you so long, Principessa?"

"I was cleaning up our recent beachhead. And where were you?"

"Oh, you know, keeping my finger on the pulse, passing along whatever breadcrumbs I scrounge up to your father. I guess I got a bit distracted by the recent hubbub, too. I certainly didn't expect Signor Ko here to be among their latest catch of the day."

Hung frowned. "You couldn't have warned us about the trap door?" he asked.

Lappland cocked her head. "Trap door?"

"Yeah. Mr. Argonaut and I walked right on top of one just outside the subway station. Landed on the same floor as the medical bay. You didn't know about that?"

Lappland shrugged. "Sounds like one of the emergency entrances to a Catastrophe bunker," she speculated. "The Famiglie in Siracusa are infamous for retrofitting those systems into booby-traps for their rivals. I'm hardly surprised that this gang's borrowing a page from that devious book."

She then leered at Six. "Speaking of deviants, who's this savage beast?"

"Our newest client," said Yühsia. "Calls himself 'Jason Argonaut'."

Lappland narrowed her eyes before bursting into laughter. "Seriously?" she asked. "That sounds like something you'd name one of those Columbian superheroes. Where did you find him?"

"Wasteland," Hung replied.

"Ah. That certainly explains his bite."

The man of the hour walked back to them with a frown. "Did anyone happen to see where Neil went?" Six asked.

"Neil?" Hung asked back.

"The guy who patted me down. He took a few of my weapons. I'm getting them back."

"What's wrong with the ones these bastardi have?" Lappland asked.

"These have sentimental value to me. I ain't losing 'em again."

"Again?"

Six grumbled under his breath for letting that slip. He was about to give her a brief half-truth before Yühsia spoke up.

"Do you still have those maps?" she asked Lappland.

"SÌ," Lappland replied. "But I don't think the outdoors is the best place to display my collection. Why don't we talk inside?"

Yühsia nodded in agreement, leading the party over the bridge and back into the office. Unsurprisingly, a welcoming committee was waiting for them, but Six and Lappland quickly dispatched them. The latter rolled out a handful of maps onto a desk.

"Alright, we're here," Lappland said, pointing at the office between the foundry and mill stacks. "And the don's office is right over here."

She moved her finger to the center of the platform's schematics. "This was where the brains of the plant were before they pulled the plug on it. I'm willing to bet that our boy's hunkering up top."

"And if he's not?" asked Yühsia.

"Then one of his lieutenants. Maybe that Neil fellow, if Il lupo cattivo is lucky."

Six rolled his eyes at her smirk before walking to the nearest window. He could see dozens of mafioso and their goons taking positions. Glints of sunlight in the windows and on rooftops flickered in the corners of his eyes.

"They've got a sizable army on the ground level," Six observed. "And some lights reflecting above in some old buildings. Could be snipers."

Six scowled. He could mow 'em all down with heavy weapons, but he'd rather not show his trump cards or waste ammo.

"What about under the surface?" Hung suggested. "Could we take a detour through there?"

"Maybe," Lappland replied. "But it can be awfully cramped down in this plate's guts."

"I've managed," Six retorted. "But only because I prefer keeping my distance. Dunno about the rest of y'all. So what's the game plan, princess?"

Yühsia scowled at Six for the nickname before closing her eyes. "We take the low road," she replied. "Mr. Argonaut, if you be so kind as to take point."

Six nodded with a grunt. The group snuck back into the foundry and were greeted by a horde. Maifiosos, drones, and beasts charged forth like a tidal wave. But as luck would have it, there was a busted container filled with sand. Probably for casting. Whatever the case, Yühsia had discovered a force multiplier. And she did not hesitate to wash the enemy away with it.

With a wave of her staff, the sands burst forth and swallowed the enemy whole. Before they had a chance to dig themselves out, the grains transmuted into a wall of glass. The crew ran over to the elevator, but it was unresponsive. Hung tried splicing the panel to force it open, but it had no juice. He had to pry the doors with his bare hands.

Unfortunately, the actual car was nowhere in sight. They had to climb down to the fourth level via ladder. There wasn't enough ledge for Hung to safely pry the next door open, but Six had an idea. And some C4.

Some colorful raiders were waiting around the corner when Six blew the doors off. Hung offered cover for him while he returned fire with a homemade rifle. Lappland skewered any pest that got too close for comfort while Yühsia provided the occasional Glass Barrier.

Once that squad was dealt with, Lappland took the lead. And she was by far the most aggressive woman Six had ever seen. Ladies like Cass and Lyudmila were headstrong, but they at least tried to keep a cool head. This chick, on the other hand, reveled in carnage. Almost as much as Lily during her berserker episodes.

At least she's not a psycho like Violet. Six thought to himself.

So far… added His Brain.

Eventually, they came across another elevator. The car was inoperable, so they had to climb atop it and up another ladder. Once again, Six had to blow the doors open with C4. Some goons were waiting behind 'em when he detonated the charges. They got trapped underneath the steel barriers as the team scrambled inside.

"Scusateci," Lappland said to the goons.

All the grunts could do was gurgle as they were crushed to death by the combined weight. Half a dozen more mooks awaited around the corner. Three Wastelanders with those homemade rifles, a caster, and two armored mafiosos with automatic crossbows. Another six stood further behind, carrying shields and melee weapons. Six threw a grenade at the first crowd, forcing them to scatter before it detonated. He and ED-E fired away while Lappland flung her Arts around.

Once the first wave fell, Lappland pounced on the second one with Hung covering her. One of them tried to tango with Yühsia, but her personal bubble and a glass sword kept 'em at bay. Six and ED-E hung back, not wanting to risk friendly fire. Once the way forward was clear, Six took point with Lappland.

The she-wolf led them to yet another inactive elevator. Unfortunately, the ladder beside it had been torn down long ago. They had to take the stairs. It was crawling with mafiosos and raiders, most of them wielding handmade rifles. And standing at the top was Neils.

"Looking for the boss?" he taunted. "Sorry, but he's not in the mood for visitors."

Six's response was to fire away with the handmade rifle. Neils and his party, in turn, returned fire. Yühsia was the first up the stairs, granting everyone a Glass Barrier as she bolted forward. Plenty of thugs tried to gun her down, but her shield held up. Each one got hacked to pieces by her and Lappland. The offworlders stayed behind with Hung to collect as many weapons as possible.

They heard a distinct beeping sound right as they closed in on the fourth floor. Just as Yühsia spun around to shout a warning, several explosions went off. Portions of the stairway were blown to bits, splitting the team in half.

Six narrowly grappled onto the next floor and caught Lappland mid-fall. Hung and ED-E were not so lucky, finding themselves back at the bottom. Hung groaned as he and the eyebot shook off some debris.

"Everybody alright?" he radioed.

"We're fine," Yühsia radioed back. "Are you?"

"Yeah, not the first time I've tumbled down some stairs. Augh, though it's certainly the most painful thus far. Which floor are you all on?"

"Five," Six radioed. "Is ED-E with you?"

ED-E's beeps assuaged Six's worries. "Oh, thank Newton," Six murmured. "Can either of you jump or float up to us?"

"Negative," Hung radioed. "I don't have any fancy climbing equipment like you. And I don't think your robot can actually fly."

ED-E's somber tunes confirmed the latter issue.

"I suppose it's up to the three of us then," said Yühsia. "Hung, try to regain contact with my father and your agency while the rest of us press on. And while you're down there, try to restore power to the elevator."

ED-E then radioed some inquisitive chirps.

"Watch over Hung until we get back to ground level," Six instructed ED-E.

ED-E emitted some acknowledging beeps before it signed off. Six and the ladies ascended onward, using grappling lines and hyalokinesis to climb up. More raiders waited ahead on the top floor, guarding another makeshift armory. Yet something felt off about this one.

"Anyone else feel a tingling sensation?" Six whispered.

Both women nodded. "I've got a bad feeling about this," Yühsia whispered back.

"Really?" Lappland whispered. "'Cus it's giving me pleasant goosebumps."

Six checked his Pip-Boy's Geiger counter. No radiation as far as it could tell, but his HUD was flickering faintly. Residual electromagnetic waves, perhaps? He could at least still toggle VATS.

What worried him were the weapons in the thugs' hands. They were all some model of laser rifle or pistol, ranging from the Wattz series to the AEP family. Yühsia arched an eyebrow.

"What kind of weapons are those?" she asked.

"Some kind of directed-energy weapons," Lappland observed. "I've seen the don's bodyguards carrying them, but I don't recognize any of those models."

Six's brows furrowed. He spied Neil standing guard before an office door with a card reader. He bet that was where Scalper was hunkering down. But he could've sworn he heard something from the other side of the door. Something muffled.

"This is it, ladies," Neil announced. "We're the last line of defense."

"Have to admit, this ain't my idea of Valhalla," said one grunt. "It's been one hell of a ride, but dying in a rolling city run by mutants wasn't on my bingo card."

"Still, they have some fine babes," chimed another.

"Babes?" snorted yet another. "They're all fucking freaks. You saw what that silver wolf did to our guys when she first joined up?"

"Yeah, that was awesome," said a raider in those colorful garbs. "I dunno whether to be aroused or terrified. What's that phrase the locals use?"

"Scaroused?" suggested the second mook.

"Yeah, that. She'd fit right in with the Pack."

A mook in an armored coat snorted. "Fucking Darwinist," he grumbled under his breath.

Lappland grinned at the compliment. Yühsia, however, scowled when they brought up the word 'mutant'.

"There's that word again," Yühsia grumbled. "Mutant. What is it with these people and mutations?"

"Have to admit, I find that a bit puzzling too," Lappland admitted. "Some of the gangsters here look at the slum-dwellers all bug-eyed. It's adorable."

Six wasn't paying attention to either woman. He was too busy scanning the enemy with VATS. He settled on center of mass with a dash of a headshot before opening fire on Neil. He coughed and gurgled as the bullets pierced his chest and throat, futilely suppressing the crimson geyser erupting from the latter.

One of the raiders swore as they returned fire. Lappland flung her Arts at them while Yühsia provided shielding for everyone. The laser rifle of one grunt shorted out as soon as the purple energies collided with it.

"The fuck?!" shouted the afflicted party.

They gave it several technical taps before it came back online. By then, however, Lappland had already cut down their friends. They joined the rest of their crew shortly afterward. While the mad Lupo admired her handiwork, Six was looting Neil's corpse. To his relief, all of his stolen gear was with him. That only left A Light Shining in Darkness.

Six was about to unlock the door when he heard something. Voices. The glass window was too opaque for him to properly see inside, but his motion tracker did pick up two IFF markers. He pressed his ear against the door.

"And you're certain that they're not the General?" inquired a monotone voice.

"Positive," Said a more familiar voice. "That guy had a different build and accent compared to the fucker."

"Define 'different'."

"I dunno. I've heard traveling traders from out west with similar accents. Maybe he's from the same region as they were? He seemed taller and bulkier compared to him, too. Didn't get a good look at his Pip-Boy, though. Where the hell did the old geezer find that guy?"

"Where indeed…"

"So, are you gonna get me outta here or what?"

"No."

"Ex-fucking-cuse me!?"

"Wyath has proven herself a valuable asset, but you continue to disappoint my masters. I cannot fathom what the other parties see in you."

"Hey, I've conquered at least half of the slums and brought plenty of free labor and guinea pigs to y'all. I've got people talking, doubting the old man. I've put the fear of the Wasteland into these muties."

"But you only claimed half thus far, and he still lives. You also haven't reached the main city, even with the arsenal we provided for your gang. I suppose that is to be expected from a surface-dweller."

Surface-dweller? Six thought to himself.

"X6-88, ready for Relay to safehouse," droned the new voice. "You are now free from our debt, Mr. Scalper. Goodbye."

The room quaked as a crackling sound erupted from behind the door. Six spied a flash of white light oozing from beneath the door before everything calmed down. When one of the IFF markers vanished, he assumed someone kicked the bucket. But when he opened the door, he only saw Scalper. And he was fuming at thin air before he finally noticed the trio.

"Oh, fuck no!" he snarled, firing away with a laser pistol. "I ain't going down without a fight!"

Lappland had other plans. She sprinted across the room and knocked the pistol out of his hands. She then grabbed his wrists and gave 'em a hard squeeze. Scalper looked in disbelief as the exoskeleton's servos and the bone underneath snapped. Lappland then bashed her skull against his, knocking him out cold. The she-wolf tied him up with some nearby rope and dragged his unconscious body back to her comrades.

"He's all yours," she said as she dropped him.

Six knelt and searched his pockets. He found ammo for the pistol and handmade rifles, keys to the armory's wares, some caps, and LMDs. His lips curled into a smile as he reclaimed A Light Shining In Darkness and sheathed it. He walked into the office and inspected it for additional loot and clues.

He found plenty of papers in the file cabinets and desk, but most of those were in Yanese. Yühsia skimmed through them, but she hardly saw anything worth mentioning. Six eventually discovered a weathered binder in some crumbling bookshelf, its contents written in English. Most of it was just logs for manifests and inventory. There were also details on the people captured and sold to their benefactors. Unfortunately, there weren't any clues to their identities. He decided to check out the armory next.

Whereas their beachhead's caches were stockpiled with traditional firearms, these were loaded with energy weapons. Most of them were of the laser variety: Pistols, rifles, tri-beams, RCW, even a couple of Gatling lasers. They were all of various models; the AER series, Wattz, H . Some designs that stood out to him were a homemade laser rifle with a wooden stock and crank, and various units cast in white plastic.

Several weapons, however, did not fit in that category. Rather, some of them were Gauss weapons. A Rifle, a pistol, a shotgun, and even a mini-gun, to be specific. There was also one of those 'Gamma guns' reportedly carried by cultists. He also spied a pre-war carbine with crude circuitry and a dish attached to it. Six's Gieger counter started clicking when he reached for it, prompting him to close that box swiftly.

One particular weapon caught his eye. He pulled it from the chest's inventory and examined it. It had a similar infrastructure to the Ripper but had two cathodes instead of a miniature chainsaw. A press of a button extended it, while the flip of a switch above the hand guard activated two plasma streams. He had bought one of these from Douglas before- Plasma Cutters.

"Huh," Lappland remarked. "I don't think I've seen that model of beam sword before."

"Beam sword?" Six asked.

"Sì. Channeling Arts as a blade or blunt instrument isn't uncommon in this era. Ms. Lin here is proof of that. That being said, I've never seen an Arts unit as clunky as that before. Is that an industrial tool?"

Six shrugged. Plasma casters were derived from industrial cutters, so it wasn't too far-fetched a theory. He gave the weapon a few swings before bringing it down on one of the fresh corpses. It melted into glowing green goop as soon as the 'blades' made contact. Lappland whistled.

"Perdio," she breathed. "Never seen a sword that could do that."

Yühsia stared at the puddle before shaking her head. "None of this is Sankta hardware," she realized. "Where in blazes did this man get these gadgets?"

"We can ask him that when we get out of here," said Six. "Right now we need to focus on defanging these creeps."

Six helped himself to all the ammunition, then dumped some C4 and the remainder of his thermite into each cache. It was a shame that he had to scuttle these weapons, but he couldn't risk letting them fall into the natives' hands. That being said, he could at least treat himself to some loot. He chose the Plasma cutter as his latest trophy, collapsing and clipping it onto his belt. Something told him it'd be far more practical than a new laser or Gauss weapon.

"Head back to the stairs," Six warned. "This is probably gonna be overkill."

The ladies heeded his advice and followed back to the stairway's remnants. The floor shook as a blinding fireball erupted from the armory with a thunderous roar. Poor Lappland and Yühsia couldn't decide which set of ears to cover as they recoiled from the clangor. Once their ears stopped ringing and the world returned, everyone feasted their eyes on Six's handiwork. The whole room was covered in soot and fresh slag, with hints of ozone in the air.

"Hmm, a shoddy fireworks display, but it gets the job done," Lappland commented.

"I prefer function over form," Six replied. "Still need to deal with the snipers, though. Why don't you two head down with Scalper while I ascend to the heavens?"

Lappland put a finger to her earpiece. "Is the elevator ready, Mr. Ko?" she asked.

"Yeah," Hung radioed. "Power should be back online."

The she-wolf pressed the call button on the destination control panel. The elevator rolled up with a soft 'ding!' soon after. Lappland dragged Scalper inside while Yühsia fiddled with the panel inside. Lappland waved at Six as the doors closed back up.

"Good hunting, Orsacchiotto," she teased.

Six rolled his eyes as he walked out onto the roof and took position, drawing up Scout's Rifle. He surveyed the surroundings as he swapped the pellets for bolts and pumped some air into the rifle. Then he brought a hand to his earpiece.

"Argonaut to Yühsia, I count at least four snipers. Permission to engage?"

"Granted," radioed Yühsia.

Six grinned. He peered through his scope and locked onto his first target. One shot Crippled their arm before they noticed him. He was about to lock onto the second one when Lappland burst out of the office lobby.

"Lappland, what the hell are you doing!?" called out Yühsia.

"What does it look like?" Lappland radioed. "Baiting the prey."

Six scowled as she barreled across the battlefield without any regard for her welfare. The others rushed to the Lupo's side while Six provided covering fire for them. Lappland at least had the brainpower to use meat shields and reflect sunlight off her blades to disorientate the enemy. Unfortunately, those fancy Arts of hers had a short reach before dissipating. And she was too impatient to wait for Yühsia to bless her with another Glass Barrier or first aid from Hung.

Snipers weren't the only things Six had to contend with, though. Drones and grenadiers also cropped up from the ruins, looking for a piece of the action. ED-E handled the former while the Courier eliminated the latter. The charging brutes were a hassle to gun down, even with VATS. Fortunately, Hung would step up to catch and block them long enough for someone to get a clear shot.

The ground below was soon littered with the battered and the dead. When the last IFF marker on his HUD disappeared, he gave the world a minute to throw out another surprise. When none sprang up to greet them, he finally made his way back to the ground level. The grappling hook was a lifesaver, letting him swing onto platforms or lower himself onto the next one.

More bodies awaited him, along with some ash piles. Some thugs were tied up or cuffed in a corner of the lobby, including Scalper. He briskly searched their pockets and dust before grabbing the marauder and marching outside. Hung was busy tending to Lappland's injuries while ED-E had engaged its scavenger protocols. Whatever armor-plating Lappy had on was gone, and her coat lay in tatters on the ground. Judging from her wounds, she also caught a bullet or three. He almost forgot how tough Terrans can be.

"Ms. Saluzzo, please hold still," Hung instructed. "I can't patch you up if you keep squirming."

"Scusa. Just haven't had a good stretch in ages," Lappland replied.

She tried to stretch her arms out, but she flinched in pain. She pouted.

"You really should consider looking before you leap," Hung suggested.

"I did," Lappland replied. "But what use was caution once my cover was blown?"

"You could've at least let Ms. Lin or Mr. Argonaut handle the gunslingers."

"But dancing on the razor's edge is so much fun. It's not every day we get to fight gunslingers. And the few I've seen usually have some halo over their precious faces."

Hung sighed as he bandaged her up. Six furrowed his brows before walking up them.

"Need a hand?" Six asked as he set Scalper down.

"Not unless you have medical experience," Hung replied.

"I might have something better."

Both natives blinked as Six injected a Stimpak into Lappland's arm. Lappland writhed a bit from the sudden boost toward her recuperative functions before straightening herself.

"Woo, that's one hell of a pick-me-up," the Lupo commented.

"I'll say," Hung remarked. "Where the heck did you find something like that?"

"Wasteland," Six claimed. "Handy but rare as fuck in these parts."

Lappland arched an eyebrow. "And by 'wasteland', you mean 'Columbian laboratory'?" she added.

"Whatever helps you sleep at night," Six lied with a casual shrug. "That stim wasn't exactly designed with Lupos in mind, let alone Infected ones. Monitor her condition a little bit longer before you release her from your care."

Hung gave a curt nod as Six slung Scalper back over his shoulder and walked to Yühsia and ED-E. The former had just gotten off a fancy cell phone.

"So are we walking here or riding out? Six asked her.

"I just called in a couple of rides," she replied. "They should be arriving any… Ah, here they come."

A delivery truck rolled onto the scene of the crime. And stepping out of it was the rest of Hung's crew.

"I hear we got some new test subjects," laughed Aak.

Waai Fu elbowed him.

"What?" Aak grunted back. "It's not violating ethics as long as no one sees it. And some of them probably would classify as war criminals in some countries."

"At least offer them a chance to repent," Waai Fu retorted.

"And an audience with the Rat King," Mr. Lee added. "We need some alive for interrogation, remember?" He then cast an aside glance toward Scalper. "Especially that one."

Six was about to load Scalper into the back of the truck when Mr. Lee stopped him. "Oh no, kiddo," he said. "Mr. Lin arranged a very special ride for him."

A jet-black sedan pulled up beside the truck. And sitting behind the wheel was none other than the Rat King himself.

"Put the garbage in the trunk," he instructed. "And hop in."

Six dumped Scalper into the trunk and opened the door for Yühsia, offering a teasing bow. "Royalty first," he said.

Yühsia rolled her eyes as she took her seat. Six would've sat beside her, but then a wall of sand blocked him out.

"Not so fast, young man," the Rat King called out. "You're taking the passenger seat."

Six glanced at Yühsia through the grainy screen. She just sighed before leaning into her seat while Aak snickered in the background. The Courier slipped into his and reclined in it. The Rat King revved up the engine as Six planted his feet onto the dashboard-

Only for something to whip at his legs. Six jolted to see Mr. Lin pointing his cane at him.

"Have your parents taught you no etiquette?" the Rat King scowled. "You don't put your feet up on the dashboard. And put your seatbelt on, for goodness' sake. Nobody wants to watch you fly out of the window."

Six cocked his head as he grabbed the 'seat belt' in question. His hesitancy and the time it took to buckle it told the Rat King all he needed to know.

"Ah, I see," Mr. Lin said. "You don't have beauties like this where you're from, do you?"

Six shook his head. He would've said 'Wasteland', but Yühsia beat him to the punchline. Six blinked at this apparent reversal before nodding. The Rat King chuckled.

"Believe it or not, I was not born in a city either. Why, I practically predate this one."

"Really?" Six asked skeptically.

"Truly. Lungmen might be a diamond in the rough, but it is still fresh from the forge. But that is a story for another day."

He slammed his foot onto the pedal and spun the car around. "And right now I'd rather that brute's tale first."

---

Date: October 13th, 1099

Location: Lungmen Slums

Time: Late afternoon

Six and ED-E spent the next several hours at Warehouse 13. Most of which were breaking down weapons and repairing the Courier's gear. The rest were trying to gather information on the Rat King's interrogations. They've seen multiple people walk out of Scalper's makeshift cell, including Mr. Lee and both Lins. The interrogators either returned with incredulous looks or mental exhaustion.

Six perked his head up as he heard the chamber door slam shut. He craned his neck and spied Yühsia stomping out of the room. Her hands curled up into fists while she took in some deep breaths. Six waited for her to calm down before approaching.

"How'd it go?" he asked.

"Not very well," Yühsia growled. "His goons talked, but most of what they said was gibberish. Mutations, weapons of mass destruction, getting the names of countries wrong. It doesn't help that many also sampled their own goods if you believe the drug tests."

"But their leader's the toughest nut to crack so far?"

Yühsia nodded. "Whenever he spoke, it's more or less the same burdenbeast dung as his underlings. We've tried everything on him, but none of our discussions have been fruitful. I'm almost tempted to bring in a friend from the Special Operations Unit, but I don't know if I can trust her to hold her tongue."

I'm not even sure if you can keep your pretty lips sealed. Six mentally retorted. "Why don't I try loosening his lips up?"

Yühsia narrowed her eyes. "And I should trust you with this job because…?"

"[Speech 50] It takes a Wastelander to know one," he replied.

Her eyes relaxed somewhat. "Well, he has been rather curious about you in previous discussions," she relented. "I suppose entertaining him will stir the beans up some. Perhaps you can make him spill them."

She led Six and ED-E to the door, taking out a key. "There is one complication," Yühsia warned. "This man suffers from severe burn damage."

That intrigued Six. "How severe?" he asked.

"Possibly third degree, according to Aak. He has some difficulty moving without that exoskeleton, and he's practically numb because his nerves are fried. We learned this after father introduced him to some… shall we say 'sandpaper'."

Six nodded. Pain was rarely the best motivator for divulging the truth. Torture was more likely to make them sing lies than any real information. His experience with Silus proved that.

Yühsia offered a curt- if mocking- bow as she opened the door for the duo. The Courier tipped an imaginary hat at her as she shut the door. The room was dimly lit, illuminated only by a lone light dangling above Scalper. And he was stripped to his undergarments with a wet bag tied up to his head.

[Medicine 70] Six knelt before the man as he inspected him, while ED-E took position behind him. One of his legs was recently bandaged up, probably from where the Rat King applied some 'advanced techniques'. Judging from how dark the scars were, those burns were indeed third degree. As for their age, he wagered at least a year. Their distribution struck him as the handiwork of a flamer. He's treated patients with similar wounds at the Old Mormon Fort.

He examined the hands next. He could make out faint scars between each finger. Their flesh must've been melted into a webbed formation after whatever hell he went through. Someone was at least courteous enough to cut the 'webbing' off (and maybe whatever nerves survived in the process. Could explain the servos).

He decided to remove the hood. The first thing he noticed was how little hair remained. The second was that his left eye was a robotic one. It was blood-red in contrast to his organic hazel one. The left side of his face was heavily scarred and missing its ear. In place of that particular organ was what appeared to be cyberware. So much of his nose was also missing.

Scalper glowered at the Courier as he wrapped up his medical examination. "Well, well, well, look who finally decided to show his face," the raider laughed.

"[Speech 30] I could say the same to you," Six retorted. "It's hardly a wonder you cover yours up."

Scalper sneered. "I'll have you know that I had the most handsome face in the Pack," he snarled. "And this face brought in more caps than anyone else in my gang."

"Never heard of 'em," Six quipped.

Scalper scowled. "We were the meanest sons of bitches to ever grace the Wasteland," he said. "We had no equals and knew our place. We were one of the three heads of Cerberus at Nuka World."

"I'm from out west. Wouldn't have heard of anything from the other coast."

Scalper glared at Six. "Well, that certainly explains some shit," he remarked.

"But not everything. For example, your burns. Did you piss off your boss or something?"

"Ha! If there's one thing the Pack understood, it was loyalty. I wasn't the strongest, but I at least contributed to the gang."

"Licking your boss's boot?"

"Nah, we had slaves for that sorta thing. Hell, we had a market for 'em at Nuka World. I've occasionally run the main stall myself."

"Emphasis on 'had', I'm sure. Did one of them break free and give you your scars?"

Scalper bared his teeth. "No, it was a goddamned Blue."

"A Vault Dweller?" Six asked.

"Yeah. Supposedly, he was from the Backwhen Times. His Vault froze their people alive, but only he survived. And he was badass enough to make his way to Nuka World and challenge the Overboss."

Six snorted. "'Overboss'?"

"Yeah, the head honcho of Nuka World. He was supposed to turn the place into a major trading hub, but he was more content with one-sided gladiatorial combat. Had a suit of Power Armor that drew power from a bumper-car attraction. It made him damn invulnerable to everything. But the bosses of the other two gangs- the Disciples and the Operators- had a hunch. When the Blue came along, a guy snuck a water gun into the locker room before the main match…"

"[Repair 40] And used the squirt gun to short out whatever shields the Overboss had?"

Scalper nodded. "It worked like a charm. Too bad the Blue had no interest in taking the Overboss's throne, though. When we sent him out to conquer settlements in the Boston area nearby, he smooth-talked settlers into surrendering. Many of us saw it as the first red flag, but Mason and the Blacks- the Pack's Alpha and the Operator's head honchos- thought otherwise. Eventually, the last gang- the Disciples- launched a coup against him. They failed. And not long afterward, he betrayed us."

"So he's the one that torched you, then."

"In a goddamned suit of X-01 Power Armor! Apparently, he found it somewhere in the park and used us as target practice. Hell, he gloated about goading the Disciples into making the first move. I remember watching him torch my fellow Packmates and gun down Mason with his own rifle. I barely survived and had to crawl out of the slaughter fest."

Scalper's fists balled up behind him. "When the Pack's remnants found me, they just spat at me. Left me for dead. If it wasn't for some ex-Oeprators, I would've been. They pumped me with enough meds to follow the remnants of the old gangs out. But I've never forgiven my old crew. The only reason I haven't gunned 'em down was because nobody was in no shape to backstab one another. But then we found some whitecoats and blackcoats. The latter kicked our asses and had us join some science project of the former's."

"Was your friend X6-88 among them?"

Scalper's face turned pale. "How…?"

"I might've eavesdropped a little on you before I busted your door down."

"How much?"

"Enough to hear him mention a 'General' and his name. I'm guessing it's that Blue."

Scalper's scowl confirmed Six's suspicions.

"Did he and his buddies say who they were?"

"The whitecoats claimed to be some bogeymen from the Boston area, and the black-coats were their hellhounds. Supposedly some type of android. Well, we and them had a common enemy. Turns out that the same Blue nuked their old base of operations and killed their Alpha. Some of them surrendered and integrated into the new society he was building. Others, like our mutual friends, retreated into the shadows."

"They did not give out their crew's name?"

Scalper shrugged. "They called themselves 'The Fair Folk', but I doubt it was their real name. They claimed to be part of some alliance and needed extra hands. In exchange, they promised us many things. Tech, treatment, a new playground to call our own… and revenge. None of us expected that it'd involve jumping between literal worlds."

Six's brows furrowed. "Did they say who else was part of this alliance?"

"They introduced us to some muties with funny accents after my first trip here. The whitecoats used this world's tech to treat my burns, replaced my eye, and give me an exoskeleton. The muties had me join their fancy gang afterward. Something rhyming with family."

"Famiglie," Six deduced.

"Yeah, one of those. Or at least a network of tribes that answer to them. They've got some fancy name that's hard to pronounce, but I remember the translation; Steel Wolves. They recruited several survivors into their ranks, including me. Hell, their head honcho supposedly came from a mafia gang back on Earth. They wanted me to sell some of their wares for a while, but there's been a change in plans."

"Your war with the Rat King."

"Yep. They wanted us to put the fear of god into those rad-rats. Of course, they neglected to tell us what that fucker was capable of. I had to beg for them to send us better hardware because pipe weapons weren't cutting it against fucking witchcraft."

"Hence all those Old World guns."

Scalper nodded again. "They were rather stingy over their lasers. We only had enough blasters and other weapons for a squad. I saved those for my inner circle 'cus I couldn't trust everyone else to handle 'em. Especially the locals."

I wouldn't trust the natives either. Six privately mused. "Did they say where they got those? Or at least mention their names?"

"Not their clans' names, that's for sure. One of the two other groups might've salvaged the laser guns. The whitecoats refused to answer any questions about those doodads or their partners. They did give me a warning, though; never mention the Van Graffs around the older mafioso."

That piqued Six's interest. "Did they say why not?" he asked.

Scalper shook his head. "Nope," he said. "I'm guessing the older Wastelanders have some personal beef with 'em or something. You seem familiar with that name, though."

"A major gang in New Reno," Six replied. "They used to have a presence in New Vegas, but their representative got whacked on the way back to Reno."

"New Vegas? That's out west, right?"

"Both of them are. You were also selling the locals to your alliance, correct?"

"Among other clients."

"Such as?"

"Anyone willing to pay, duh! We've made a fortune with the talking bears and knight cosplayers. We sold some to some rad-stag freaks with some wacky accents on the sides too."

"Anything different about those compared to the Siracusans?"

"I remember them throwing 'Uber' around a few times. Does that count?"

"Uber- wait, Leithanien?"

"Yeah, that place. The eggheads mentioned having some interest in that country, now that I think about it. Something about 'Homunculi'. Or were they looking at the devil folk? I dunno. I can't make heads or tails outta their shit."

Homunculi? Those were artificial humans if Six's understanding of mythology was correct. It makes sense that someone purporting to build androids would be sniffing around for potential counterparts in this world.

"What about base of operations?" he asked. "Do you have any idea where they'd be hiding out? Or at least some outposts and safe-houses?"

Scalper laughed. "Even if they did divulge that information to me, I wouldn't tell you. Besides, most of our travels consisted of Relay jumps."

"Relay jumps?"

"Yeah, teleporters."

Now it was Six's turn to freeze up. A smirk slithered across Scalper's face.

"The other two groups of this unholy trinity specifically recruited the whitecoats for their expertise in that field," Scalper revealed. "They've been studying these weird obelisks for some time now, but it's thanks to the eggheads that the other hotshots made some actual breakthroughs. Of course, they can't teleport us into moving objects, and they keep bitching about atmosphere inference bogging everything down. My gang and I had to make multiple jumps just to get here."

He then narrowed his eyes. "Say, how the hell did a bastard like you get here, anyway? You don't look like any slave I've caught, and nobody from the Big Three. Who are you?"

Six paused. "...lost my real name to some 9mm bullets," he finally confessed, showing the man his scars. "But you can call me Courier Six."

"Courier Six?" Scalper snorted.

"Yeah, the Chief Executive of New Vegas."

"New Vegas? I thought some republic owned that place?"

"The NCR and Vegas have a complicated relationship, but we ain't part of their empire if that's what you're asking. As for how I got here… one of your raider gangs stole something from me and tried to integrate it into one of your obelisks. It blew up in everyone's faces."

Scalper blinked. "They actually destroyed one of those things? Those fucking dumbasses…"

"So unless you happen to know where to find another one, we're stuck here."

Scalper rolled his eyes. "Didn't you hear me say 'obelisks', as in plural? Or did that fly over your thick skull? We've got more of those things under our belt, but I doubt the bosses will let anyone waltz in. At least, not without a representative."

"And what exactly can you offer me?"

"Aside from a ticket back home? Or a treasure trove of goodies, including your own harem?"

"How do I know you won't slap a collar on me when we reach your bosses?"

"You don't. But what choice do you have at this rate?"

Six pondered for a moment before kneeling behind him. Six pulled out some Pyschojet from his pocket and injected it into Scalper's wrist. Judging from his lack of reaction, he didn't seem to notice this. That confirmed one theory of his. Time to test out another. He pocketed the injector and circled back around.

"My own harem, huh?" Six asked. "Don't suppose you have one of your own?"

"Of course I do," Scalper boasted. "I've got like half a dozen ladies. Real women, not those muties."

"[Speech 40] Real women or one of your bosses's Protectrons?"

"Excuse me?"

"There are some sexbots out west. I've actually acquired one for the Atomic Wrangler once. They call it FISTO these days. From what I hear, it's one of their most popular prostitutes."

"Sexb- fucking Christ, man. I'm talking about fleshy babes, not some tincan!"

"Didn't you say that one of your clients made androids?"

"They at least looked like real humans, though. Got skin and blood like us. I've seen what they looked like on the inside."

"[Perception 5] But you never felt one before, have you?"

"Now what the fuck are you going on about?"

"How long has it been since you saw your ladies?"

"I dunno. Half a year, I guess."

"And have you ever felt any of them?"

"The hell is that supposed to mean?"

"[Medicine 70] Third-degree burns wrecked your nerves, right? Well, ruined nerves don't just impede your motor functions. Getting nerve damage means losing some of your senses, too. I bet you can't feel the warmth of a woman or the cool breeze of the wind in your sorry state right now. Hell, you probably can't even taste or smell after getting a face full-a flames. Don't you miss any of that?"

Scalper glared at him. "I can taste and smell just fine," he said. "And I've gotten laid plenty of times by my bitches."

"Really? Then how about a drink?"

Six took out some Sunset Sarsaparilla from his inventory, grabbed a cup from a nearby water dispenser, and poured the drink into it. He brought it to his nose to see if he got a whiff. Hardly any reaction. He then helped Scalper take a sip from the cup before he spat it back into the Courier's face.

"Tastes like copper," he growls. "How the hell can you stomach that shit?"

"[Medicine 70] Cooper, huh? Sounds like someone's got dysgeusia."

"Dis-glue-what?"

"Dysgeusia. Everything tastes like shit or metal to the afflicted. There's a variety of reasons for this to happen, but I can think of one. Tell me, when was the last time you tasted anything sweet or sour? Or caught a whiff of gunpowder? Can you even enjoy the rush of Jet or the touch of a lover?"

Scalper glared daggers at him as Six bent down again. "When was the last time you ever felt joie de vivre?" the Courier asked with a smirk.

Scalper's eyes turned bloodshot. The next thing Six knew, he was on the floor with the raider pummeling away at him. When the Courier blocked a fist, Scalper tried to bite down on him. Six anticipated the boost in strength, but not this level of ferocity. Six growled as he held the rabid marauder at bay.

"Fuck you!" Scalper snarled. "You know what it's like to live without pleasure? To never savor the juiciest Brahmin steak or all of the different flavors of Nuka Cola? To feel nothing as a whore ran her hands all over you? That fucking Blue took all those passions from me!"

Scalper grabbed one of Six's knives and tried to shove it into his mouth. The Courier caught the blade between his jaws.

"And I'll be more than happy to demonstrate my pain to ya," Scalper growled.

ED-E's Tesla cannon fired a laser at Scalper's head, reducing it to a fine red mist. Yühsia unlocked the door and ran into the interrogation room alongside Mr. Lee. Both of them stared down at the fresh corpse as Six shoved it off of him and spat out Chance's Knife.

"What in blazes happened here?" Yühsia asked.

"Scalper broke free and pinned me down," Six claimed as he retrieved his knife. "If it wasn't for ED-E, he probably would've cut my tongue out."

ED-E chirped some agitated beeps at the two natives. Both of them had a skeptical look on their faces.

"How did he break free?"

"I uh… may have run my mouth a bit," Six confessed. "Didn't think he'd still have enough steam in his systems. Looks like I was wrong."

Lee circled the chair, inspecting it and the rope that bound him.

"Did you get anything out of him before he died?" Yühsia asked.

"He was working for an alliance of Siracusan Famiglie, among other groups," Six revealed. "They call themselves the Steel Wolves. But he didn't know the families' real names or where they got the guns from."

Yühsia frowned. Lee then moved onto Scalper's headless corpse and began examining it. He gave it a few good looks before finally discovering the insertion point.

"Well, what do we have here?" Lee murmured. "Looks like Mr. Scalper had a shot of bottled courage. But we strip-searched him before we started interrogations. There's no way he couldn't hide something while gagged and bound semi-naked. The only people that had access to this place were myself, the Lins, and-"

Yühsia conjured a wall of glass at the exit before he could finish. Lee summoned what Six could best describe as charms and paper talismans, while the mafia princess constructed a glittering blade. ED-E let out some alarmed beeps and charged up its cannon, but Six held a hand up.

"You were looking for an excuse to silence him," Lee deduced. "Why? What's your angel?"

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you," Six retorted.

"Try us," Lee dared.

"Before I do, can I guarantee that this room is soundproof?"

"It is," Yühsia confirmed.

"Then you need to lock that door. Properly."

The natives glanced at each other for a moment. The wall of glass exploded into shards and reformed around Six as a makeshift cage. Lee swiftly shut the door afterward.

"It's secure," said Lee. "Now what's so urgent that it has to be kept behind closed doors?"

Six took a deep breath as he leaned against his prison. This was going to be a long story.

---

Two hours later…

Yühsia and Lee were just as nonplussed at his revelations as the Followers and Lyudmila were. A polluted world without Originium or Arts, a species ravaged by global war, and all the monstrosities that roam the wastelands back home. His adventures and predicament certainly left them baffled, too. At first, they didn't want to believe him, but after letting Yühsia hold a couple of his guns, they realized he wasn't kidding.

"Terra's plagued with dick-measuring contests between empires," Six concluded. "I don't think anyone wants an arms race, either. Especially the nuclear-powered kind."

"I'm not so sure about the latter scenario," Lee mused. "You said that Scalper and his crew were ordered to march into the city once they conquered the slums, correct?"

Six nodded.

"As impressive as your realm's armaments sound, I don't think they hold water against someone as armed and trained as the Shadow Guards, let alone the LGD. If you ask me, their whole operation was a suicide mission. Even if they dragged someone down with them, they wouldn't get anywhere near Wei Yenwu."

Six lowered his head. "You mean their supplier wanted to fail?" he surmised. "For their wares to fall into his hands."

"And that honestly would've been the best-case scenario. Worst case scenario, whatever technology he'd scooped up would be smuggled out to another nation. Places like Ursus, Yan, Columbia, Victoria, Iberia. Things could then escalate into an arms race, especially if Laterano gets involved."

And maybe even Armageddon… Six thought to himself.

His hands balled up into fists. Who in their right mind would want to jumpstart another Great War? What would they have to gain? Or did someone just want to watch the world burn again?

Yühsia and Lee whispered back and forth to each other. They spent the next minute exchanging hisses and furrowed brows before turning back to him.

"Well, seeing as you're the only reliable expert on this foreign hardware, I suppose it's only natural that we extend our contract for the foreseeable future," said Yühsia. "But if you're going to help us deal with further issues, you'll need a base of operations."

"You're offering a roof over my head?"

"Mr. Lee is. Bringing you back to my family estate would raise too many questions. The good detective here already has a reputation for taking in strays anyhow."

"Strays?" Lee laughed. "What do I look like, an orphanage? I take in promising aspirants, not feral hounds."

Six couldn't help but feel a bit offended at the jab. Mr. Lee chuckled.

"Though I'd hardly call you feral," he assured the Courier. "You have a brain under that thick skull of yours. Your stunt with Scalper and your robot is proof of that. You just need time to adjust to modern living. My company and I can help you with that. If you agree to these terms, of course."

Six closed his eyes for a moment. "What about payment?" he asked. "I'm essentially renting from you four, ain't I?"

"Eh, chores are already part of your life skills program," Mr. Lee said with a shrug. "And the kids could use some helping hands with the occasional odd jobs. Just keep 'em to yourself unless instructed, and we should get along just fine."

Six stared down at the yellow-gloved hand before shaking it. "Deal."

Mr. Lee smiled. "Come on, your fellow young'uns are waiting for us back outside."

Mr. Lee led Six and ED-E out the door while Yühsia locked the door back up. As she did so, something flickered in the corner of her eye. She strained her eyes and rat ears as she scanned her surroundings, channeling her Arts into yet another blade. She searched the warehouse up and down but ultimately came up empty-handed. Sighing, she retired to a limousine waiting for her beside the construction site.

Back at the warehouse, an Anaty in black slipped through some pipes in the ceiling. As soon as she approached the cell door, it seemingly opened on its own accord. A Savra in a hoodie appeared right at the entrance, wearing a cocky smile on his face as he shed his camouflage.

"Were you seen?" asked Shirayuki.

"Do you see any laser burns or bullets on me?" teased Ethan. "Thanks for the lockpicks, by the way. I was worried I'd be trapped in there with the ghosts."

"Did you learn anything?"

"Plenty. Half of which I'd rather forget. Some of the Rat King's methods weren't too different from Reunion's."

"You don't think Scalper deserved his fate?"

"He and his gang had it coming, if that's what you're asking me. But 'deserve' it? Depends on if you think he deserves something worse or not."

"And Six?"

"Got a good look at his face. That poster Franka brought back doesn't really do him justice. He strikes me as a real piece of work, too. Maybe not as rough as the Lins or Reunion, but he certainly ain't a teddy bear."

"Deliver your recordings to Amiya. I'll keep watch over the Courier."

"Try not to squirm too much while you're tailing him. Don't want that clunky wristwatch's motion tracker to sniff you out."

Shitayuki's mask crinkled up slightly. "What use is that thing in a crowd?"

---

A/N:

Well, our wayward Courier is certainly making a splash downtown. Making new friends and foes left and right, earning some admirers on the side. This chapter has been in the oven for long enough, so let's cut to the chase.

First up, the Steel Wolves and their territory. The Ring of Fire is based on concept art for Fallout 3's DLC, The Pitt. This particular branch is- or at least was- composed of raiders from Fallout 4's Nuka-World DLC. As for why they're here, well… let's just say there's been a staff shortage in the antagonist department. And they're not that high up the food web. Will we see more of them? Well, one certain chemist is still out there.

Next on the list, Lappland's dynamic with Six. Yeah, it's an inverse with his and Crownslayer's. I thought it'd be funny to give him a taste of his own medicine since the inception of this fanfic, but I hadn't decided who'd be on the receiving end of his Perk and who'd be his Black Widow at the time. Lappy was one of the top contenders for the latter spot alongside W (Some honorable mentions include Blaze and Hoshiguma, and maybe a less-than-genuine Harmonie trying to wrestle some secrets from our hero). Whether she has some genuine interest in him or is just teasing him, though… I suppose we'll have to wait and see. Probably depends on where I Portatori dei Velluti goes with her character on Global servers. I really hope I nailed it down here.

Lappland's Arts was something I mused over for a good while. Ever since I started this fanfic, I just knew that I had to make Arts the bane of Six's adventure. Especially the Silence debuff. I wanted that to be his Kryptonite, but I also wanted to give Six a fair chance with how low his Luck is. Initially, it was just gonna be a blanket effect on all of his perks and his Pip-Boy, including former examples like Nerd Rage. In the end, I limited the debuff to his cybernetic implants, in keeping with the idea that Arts and Fallout tech get along like cats and dogs.

Next chapter's title is a flip of the coin. It's either 'Culture Shock' or 'Civilization'. I'm leaning towards the former given the context of Six's current situation, but the latter's also a fun little Easter egg. I've got some ideas for a bunch of interactions with a bunch of characters on the drawing board, but I'll need some time to iron them out. Which characters would y'all have on a bingo card, if you don't mind me asking?

As always, if you see any errors, feel free to point 'em out. Later gators! No wait, some Archosauria might take offense to that saying. Crap…