Chapter 16: Truth and Reconciliation

Date: Unknown. At least one year since the Second Battle for Hoover Dam.

Location: Vault 21

Time: Sunrise(?)

Vaults. Every Wastelander's heard of those at some point. Some regard them as sanctuaries for the rich and lucky. Others saw them as mass graves where unspeakable atrocities were committed. It's been said that if you saw one on the surface, they were either on a mission from God or banished from Eden.

Many of Vault 21's residents were forced into the outside world after Robert House flooded the lower levels with cement. He would've destroyed the entire Vault were it not for the Weintraub siblings, who appealed to his sense of business. At their suggestion, the upper levels were converted into a hotel, allowing customers to get a taste of life underground. And right now a certain VIP was sharing a bed with its manager.

Six's eyes fluttered open to find Sarah lying next to him.

"Morning, monster," she greeted with a smile and peck on the lips.

Six kissed her back. "Morning, blueberry," he replied with a stretch and groan.

Sarah giggled as she rolled off of him. "Really?" she snickered. "Out of all the pet names you could've picked, you went with a critically endangered species?"

"Some populations might not be nuked to hell and back. And it's more creative than 'blondie' or 'Goldilocks'."

"True. But then again the berries might've been harvested to extinction by desperate survivors."

"But at least you're smarter than Goldilocks."

Sarah laughed. "Ain't that the truth?"

Both of them jumped upright and stretched some before heading to the restroom. They took turns at the sink and shower, then returned to the bedroom to dress back up. Sarah giggled as she noticed the crimson dye running off of Six's hair.

"Do you always have to dye your hair when you come down here?" she asked.

"I'm a VIP, remember?" Six replied. "I'd rather draw as little attention as possible."

"Are the sunglasses and hat necessary for every trip down here, though? I mean it's stylish, sure, but…"

"It's for your protection. Can't risk you getting associated with me topside."

Sarah frowned. Even after he booted the NCR and Legion off of Hoover Dam, both factions sent out spies back onto the Strip. The ones from the former were at least courteous when unmasked. The latter's though… not so much. They'd rather try to take down the Courier then and there than fail their overlord. And they didn't care about collateral.

Six was disappointed when he heard that Caesar made it outta The Fort before the Securitrons reduced it to rubble. They reported seeing injuries on him, but that was about it. Injuries can be treated and healed. But egos? Some people have a harder time patching those up than their own bodies.

Caesar sent many of his men to an early grave since then, trying to overwhelm the Securitrons and local militia with sheer numbers. To make matters worse, some Frumentarii have used these attacks as smokescreens to infiltrate New Vegas. One spy managed to cause a mass poisoning at the Gourmand last week, and not all of his victims lived to see the sunrise again. The bastard slit his own throat shortly after his dishes were delivered.

That frown flipped a 180 as a more positive thought crossed her mind. "But you still drive down to my pod anyway," she noted.

She wrapped her arms around his shoulders and locked her lips with his. Six deepened the kiss as he wrapped his arms around her waist. She squealed as he gave her ass a good squeeze.

"Seriously?" she teased as she broke off the kiss, playfully slapping his arm. "I only just got my strength back."

"Sorry," Six teased back. "Couldn't resist that look on your face. Or that sound you make."

Sarah smirked before returning the favor. Six grunted as she pinched his cheeks back, then growled as she left a hickey on his neck.

"Don't forget that I know your weak points too," reminded Sarah.

She loved the sounds he made in and out of bed. How that big brain of his had an animalistic side. Most people found them intimidating, but she personally thought they were adorable. And sexy in the right context.

"How long have we been dating now?" she asked him.

"Officially?" Six replied. "Hm… I'd say three months now."

"You've actually been keeping track?"

"I don't need a calendar for that."

"With everything you juggle with, I find that doubtful."

Six laughed. While they have been sexual partners since before Hoover Dam, they've only started entertaining a more serious relationship recently. Though Six personally preferred someone who could hold their ground, he wasn't one to look down on those who couldn't. It was inevitable that not everyone he'd meet was a born fighter like he was. He didn't mind playing the guardian angel, though. After all, the role provided him some dopamine for the thrill seeker within himself.

"How're Carlitos and Joana?" she asked.

"They're fine," Six replied. "Still learning the ropes around farming, but they're making process. Of course, it's a little difficult when one of them's pregnant."

"You're not one of the fathers, are you?" she teased.

Six snorted. While Six slept with many women (and experimented with some men on the side. And maybe a robot...), he had a soft spot for Joana in particular. He felt a sort of… kindred spirit with her. Someone he sympathized with. And yet he went out of his way to defy fate and reunite two star-crossed lovers.

"[Perception 6] I haven't shared a bed with her since her daring escape," Six reminded Sarah. "And I used protection when we first met. It's definitely Carlitos' kid."

"Mhm. And what about Red Lucy? You two still in touch with each other?"

Six paused before nodding again. "She's taking care of the kids if that's what you're asking," he replied.

"You two never really hit it off, right?"

Six shook his head. "She's hot, and as much an animal in bed as you are," he admitted. "But we never felt a spark between us. She wanted an heir to her throne, and only the strongest could plant the seeds in her garden. We merely obliged each other."

"But you still drop by when possible?"

"Only to see the young'uns. I'm still surprised that she gave birth to twins."

"Goes to show what that lady's made of. What did you two name those little sand devils again?"

"Artemis and Apollo."

"Aren't those Latin names?"

"[Intellgence 7] Greek, actually. Artemis was the Goddess of the Moon and Hunt. Apollo was the God of the Sun and healing, among other things."

"Huh. So she wants one of them to pick up the torch, right? What about the other?"

"Honestly, she'd probably care less about what they would do with their lives. Me? So long as they're not slapping Slave Collars on anybody's necks, I can concur with her."

Sarah nodded in agreement. "Well, at least you two are on the same wavelength when it comes to kids."

Six nodded back. "Speaking of wavelengths, you still in touch with your brother?"

"Yeah, we still text each other from time to time."

"How long has it been since you two saw each other."

Sarah shifted slightly. "Didn't I just say that we talk?"

"You know what I mean."

Sarah sighs, breaking and turning away from Six. His response was to pull her into a hug. He bent down and rested his head atop hers.

"Sarah, it's been years since you've seen him in person," Six recalled. "Don't you at least want to see how he's doing?"

She didn't respond. Six sighed. He was well aware of the sibling's agoraphobia, but from his understanding, Sarah's case wasn't actually the most severe. Perhaps it was more of a fear of his enemies than the great outdoors?

"This isn't about my brother, is it?" she asked.

Six frowned slightly. "Okay fine, I wanted to take you out sometime. Maybe do some star gazing."

"Star gazing? In Vegas?" Sarah snorted. "That's sweet but if my brother's assistant is to be believed, you can't see them with all the light pollution in town. And I'm not setting foot outside of Vegas. No siree!"

Six bent down and pecked her on the check. "Babe," he started. "You don't have to worry about the outside world. Not when I'm around."

Sarah turned to face him. "Aren't you worried about someone seeing us together?" she noted.

"Hey, I'm a master of disguise, remember?" Six retorted. "And even if I wasn't, only an idiot would dare take me on. I won't let anything happen to you."

A soft smile crept up on Sarah's face as she placed one of her hands over his. "I know," she replied. "I just… so much has happened in the last couple of years. With you at the center of the storm. I can't help but feel overwhelmed at times."

Six squeezed her hand back. "Same," he confessed. "I've been juggling politics, training militias, and warding off assassins since I filled in House's shoes. Your room's one of the few places I can consider a safe haven. I can't thank you enough for that."

Sarah rested her head against his chest plate. "And I can't thank you enough for everything you've done," she added. "For keeping Vegas free and safe."

She ran a hand up his arm and against his cheek. Six nuzzled against her palm before she broke away from his bear hug.

"Well, I've got a hotel to manage, and you've got god-knows-what on your schedule," she said.

"And my offer?" Six asked.

"I'll… consider it. You're right about one thing. It has been some time since I saw my brother. I at least want to make sure he hasn't lost too much weight these days."

"So it's a date then?"

"I said I was considering it, Casanova. Don't get your hopes up."

"I was hoping to raise yours."

Sarah giggled. "Beleive me when I say you already have," she said. "Have a good day, tiger."

Sarah then sauntered off. Six sighed. She was born and raised in this Vault. This was her Eden, her haven. Six, however, saw it as a prison. A gilded cage. And as far as he was concerned, no human being should have to spend the rest of their lives in one.

Six exited the room and began walking back to the surface. Or at least he thought he was. He hadn't come across the cafeteria or atrium. He hadn't even stumbled across the parts of the Vault buried under concrete.

Something was wrong. Six brought up his Pip-Boy to look at the local map, but it glitched like hell. His HUD flickered away before he could check the motion tracker. Six drew out the Mysterious Magnum and winced as that damned audio cue played in his head.

Out of all the guns I have, why this one? Six mentally cursed.

He slowly crept through the Vault, overclocking his senses with each step. Part of him always wondered how Vault Dwellers could even stand living in a place like this. Living like rats in a maze, their lives dictated by the whims of an Overseer.

His ears picked up a sharp echo bouncing off of the walls. An explosion, from the sound of things. And voices too. Laughter and… crying? He silently sped down the hall and into-

Wait, a cell block? Yeah, a cell block. But Vault 21 didn't have anything of the like last he checked. Not when all disputes were settled at the roulette table. Even if someone had gotten violent, the offending party would just face exile into the great unknown. Where the hell did this come from?

He froze up as he noticed one of the cells' occupants. Or rather what was left of them. A headless corpse in rags was lying on the floor, blood still oozing from where the head once sat. Around the body's neck was the remnants of a Slave Collar.

[Medicine 60] Six couldn't help but notice all of the bruises and bent fingers on the body. Blemishes from cuts and fisticuffs were littered across the corpse, along with what appeared to be a burn mark. Whoever this person was, their death wasn't a swift one. If anything, the collars going off might've been an act of mercy.

The voices came back. More laughter, more crying. The former was far more sinister now, almost like a raider or Legionary. The latter sounded like a plea. Before Six took a step further, the scene changed.

A crowd appeared before him, laughing and howling like a pack of coyotes. Some of them were combat armor, others blue-and-yellow jumpsuits. All of them had the infinity sign on them for some reason. Some of them were pounding away at something on the ground while the rest stood guard.

That something turned out to be a child. One with another Slave Collar.

Six's blood boiled at the sight. He didn't bother to ask what the fuck was going on. He just pulled out Blood-Nap and slashed the throat of the closest asshole. The first one to respond to his transgressions had his eyes slashed before he was put down. The second one had his teeth knocked out and-

Wait. Where'd his glove and sleeve go? Suddenly he felt a weight being lifted off of his shoulders. Six glanced down at himself to see his attire replaced with a medic's coat. He shifted his attention back to the goon in time to sidestep his charge. Six tripped him over as he sped by and then fired a couple of bullets into his skull. He can worry about the change in wardrobe later.

He then capped the kneecap of one of the brutes picking on the kid, eliciting a howl of agony from them. He grabbed his submachine gun and fired at him, but Six used one of his buddies as a meat shield. A shot from the Mysterious Magnum ripped through his shoulder, causing him to drop his gun. Six slit his hostage's throat before throwing the dying fool into one of his friends and scooping up the SMG. Then he gunned down its owner.

The tell-tale click of an empty magazine caught his attention. He tossed the empty gun at another jackass and capped his skull with the Magnum while he was dazed. One more got the rest of the magazine stuffed into his chest cavity. Six reloaded his gun and-

Someone tackled him to the ground, knocking the Mysterious Magnum out of his hands. A guard pummeled away at Six's skull before he broke free and spun him around for a backstab. As he drew his combat knife off of the recently deceased, he noticed something off about his hand. It seemed more worn, wrinkly even. Six blinked.

He didn't have time to process this before someone pinned him to the wall. It was a douchebag in combat armor, with a smug grin lurking beneath his helmet. He couldn't see his eyes through the sunglasses, but he could feel the malice burning behind these lenses. A dark chuckle slithered through his lips as he stared down at the Courier.

"Well well well," he snarled. "I was wondering when you'd finally show your true colors."

"And you showed yours beating on a defenseless kid," Six retorted. "What's the matter? Raiders too much of a challenge for you?"

The man sneered. "Waste disposal dumbass," he growled. "First Citizen's orders."

"First Citizen? Don't you mean Overseer?"

The man snorted "Hell naw. We did away with Overseers ages ago. Did you forget history class or something?"

"I wasn't aware that slaves were allowed in Vault 21."

The man tilted his head. "21? That ain't our Vault's number. Shit, are you old geezers finally going senile?"

Six's response was to bite down on the asshole's hand. Hard. The bastard yelped and punched the Courier, but that cost him his thumb. He snarled as he tried to pick up his gun with his dominant hand, but it always slipped out of his hand.

"You… you goddamned piece of shit!" he bellowed. "HOW FUCKING DARE YOU LAY YOUR HAND ON THE CAPTAIN OF THE GUARD!"

Six cocked his head. "Captain? What kind of captain sulks in Vaults, away from the real action?" Six scuffed.

The jackass could only stutter before he went berserk. He pummeled away at the Courier before gunshots sounded off. The captain slumped over Six, with fresh holes in the back of his skull. Six struggled to throw the recently departed before he climbed back onto his feet.

There, standing before him with the Mysterious Magnum, was the child. Most of his face was blurred, but he could make out dark hair and-

Six did a double take as he registered their eyes. They were a rich shade of green, just like his own. At first, he thought it was one of the twins, maybe Apollo. But then their face started to change shape, remold itself.

Six took a step back. The child was wearing his face now.

"What the fuck…?" was all he could utter before the boy- clone?- tossed the gun aside and bolted past him.

"Wait!" Six called out.

He was about to give chase when his face fell upon a cracked window. The face behind it was that of an elderly man, wearing the same lab coat as he did. There was a blue shirt with a yellow strip tucked underneath it, stained with fresh blotches of blood.

Six reached out toward it. So did the man. The elderly medic and Courier exchanged handwaves before taking a step back. This wasn't a window. It was a mirror.

And the face in it was not his own.

Date: October 12th, 1099

Location: Grinkhorn, Southern Ursus Border

Time: Morning

Six awoke with a jolt, head swiveling as he scanned the inn room. He sighed in relief as he checked the time on his Pip-Boy. 8 AM. ED-E floated over to him, chirping some concerned tunes.

"I'm fine, buddy," Six assured him. "Just had another crazy dream is all."

ED-E emitted some inquisitive beeps.

"Maybe later," he added as he looked toward Lyudmila's bed. "Where's she-wolf?"

ED-E emitted some puzzled beeps at the Courier. Six exited the Pip-Boy's 'app' and shuffled through several more before he found the tracker. Her phone was at the farmlands at the eastern edge of town if he was reading it right.

Six yawned and stretched his arms out. It's been days since their misadventure with the Cirmson Troupe. Since he told Lyudmila and those wandering medics the truth about himself. The four women have bombarded him with questions each night since then, and he returned fire with his own inquiries. The experience had been… illuminating for both sides.

All of them were stunned by his tales of the Old World's downfall. What sort of anarchy plagued it and what followed suit after the end of civilization. The three medics- the Followers (not of the Apocalypse, mind you)- were baffled by his medical history in particular. Surviving two consecutive headshots was one thing, but being experimented on by a group of floating brain jars sounded ridiculous. The only reason everybody believed him was because Liz sensed all of the alterations done to him. And even she was baffled by how any of that was possible.

Margaret was appalled at groups like Vault-Tec and the Crimson Caravan. She expressed mixed feelings about the Brotherhood of Steel, especially after Six played recordings supposedly made by their founder, Roger Maxson. The story of Robert House was intriguing to her, though she expressed no love toward him either. The tale of Joshua Graham and Six's efforts to keep him from giving in to his darker desires brought a smile to her and Shining's faces. All three Followers expressed sympathy for those of the Apocalypse and furrowed their brows when he brought up the Fiends.

Lyudmila was unsettled by his descriptions of New Reno and the Van Graffs, expressing surprise when he brought up Cachino and the Omertas. She showed discomfort when he regaled the Khan's bloody feud with the NCR and the Master's dreams of forced evolution. Her eyes narrowed as he recounted the Powder Gangers, Boomers, and the White Legs. And she was downright sympathetic to the backstories of his companions.

Just about everyone shared his disgust toward Ceaser's Legion, Mortimer's attempts to reintroduce cannibalism to the White Gloves, and the discrimination against post-human races. They all went wide-eyed at the atrocities of the Enclave on both the Eastern and Western Coasts. They were also rather surprised with the tale of the Remnants Six encountered, though he pointed out that surviving cells might not be so empathetic. Everyone expressed horror at the effects of the atomic bomb and the experiments of the Vaults he explored.

The Followers couldn't help but express some level of admiration for the New California Republic. Even when he showed nothing but contempt toward its Warhawks and expansionism, he held some respect for its soldiers and civilians. Six admitted that had he not seen the bigger picture- seen the infection eating away at the top brass and the cost of stretching themselves thin- he would've handed the Mojave to them on a silver platter and signed up with the Rangers.

Six himself found the similarities between Kazimierz's oligarchies and the corporations of Old America disconcerting. He sympathized with Margaret's struggle to bring change but was frustrated by Shining's cryptic sidestepping of his inquiries about her and Liz's past. When the Followers weren't around, Lyudmila would recount her time in Reunion and Siracusa to him. She expressed shock when he told her about what he discovered in Peterheim Middle School. She knew that Mephisto was mentally disturbed, but for him to go that far… she concurred with Six when he said that he'd kill that bastard on sight if they ever bumped into him.

She was also the only one to hear his story of Ulysses and the Divide. About his role in the settlement's destruction. Six admitted that his memories of the place weren't perfect, but he recounted feeling a sense of deja vu while exploring its ruins. How he was wave after wave of emotions crashed against his soul as he trekked deeper into it. And he mourned ED-E's counterpart after recounting its sacrifice.

Six shook his head and rubbed his eyes. He had better things to do than get lost in thought. He grabbed the cauldron and went outside for some water. Once it was filled, he dumped it into the drum barrel in the room and took another hot bath. These people had a working faucet outside. Couldn't they scavenge the plumbing from Rouilleton or the manor?

Would they even have enough for every house in the village? A part of him thought to himself. Or workers skilled enough to pull it off?

Six let out a disappointed huff as he finished washing off. He redressed himself and hauled the drum over to the window. Before dumping its contents out, He checked to ensure there wasn't anyone below. He didn't want a repeat of his first day here.

He went downstairs, ordered breakfast from the tavern, and then bolted back up to eat it. He still refused to show his face to the locals. If what Margaret said about the Troupe was true, any of their assassins could've survived the slaughter-fest and infiltrated the village during the chaos. Chayka assured him that they rooted out and executed all the spies after that night, but Six wasn't going to take any chances.

With his tank filled, Six ventured back into the village. The past few days have been blissfully uneventful. Some odd jobs here, some reading there. He had even gotten to do some polearm training with Margaret as part of a lecture for the locals. She kicked his ass in the ring more times than he could count.

Six had tangoed with many of the locals by now, but Margaret was a different animal. With her reflexes and strength, she almost resembled a super-soldier from one of those Old World sci-fi novels. It was hardly a wonder she inspired so much awe in the villagers and fear in Lyudmila.

Note to self; don't piss off the Kuranta paladin. He thought to himself.

Speak of the devil, and she shall appear. The knight stood guard outside the tent while Liz and Shining were tending to the ill and wounded. She was reading the copy of Tæles of Chivalrie he loaned her yesterday.

"Six," Maragert greeted. "Sleep well?"

"I've had worse," Six replied.

"Another nightmare?"

"Hard to say. I didn't wake up in a cold sweat or anything this time, so I guess not."

A small hmm' slip plast Margare's lips. "And how is Crownsl- ahem, Lyudmila doing?"

Six shrugged back. "She's still breathing," he said. "Heard she netted some bounties while I was taking lessons from Shining yesterday."

"That's not what I meant."

Six paused. "We've had a couple of chats about her past. Apart from that, nada. Guess she's still shaken by you-know-who."

"And you?"

"They're dead. We're not. I think we're good."

Margaret shook her head. "In my experience, such villains are like a hydra," she retorted. "Chop off one head and two more take its place."

A hydra… Aelius used the same word to describe his group. Nobody in Grinkhorn had heard of the Diavoli Neri, but that didn't mean that they weren't a front for some bigger organization. Someone like the Crimson Troupe or one of the 'Dodici Famiglie' Lyudmila spoke of.

Six tried to dig around in the manor's ruins for intel, but most of the texts he found were in French (or Gaulish as the locals call it). Chayka spent the last several days translating the one he brought. So far nothing major has come out of his work.

"And what about you and Lyudmila?"Six inquired. "You two ever speak to each other outside of storytime?"

Margaret shook her head. "She keeps her distance from me," she said. "Can't say I blame her, given our… superiors' relations. I'm not surprised by her decision to sever ties with hers either. Not after having her faith abused."

Six nodded in agreement. Faith was a volatile thing in his experience. When it's broken, people often find themselves at a loss. Some of them take a step back and analyze the situation before adapting. Others either spiral into despair or reject reality and double down.

"Your homeland, it was like Kazimierz and Columbia before it collapsed, right?" Margaret asked.

"Maybe?" Six replied with a shrug. "A lot of old terminals I hacked into certainly implied that it was well on its way to becoming an oligarchy. But I haven't seen either country yet, so I can't really draw a comparison right now. Especially since I was born long after the ashes settled."

"Right…"

Margaret reached into her pocket and pulled out a couple of cards. As soon as his fingers brushed against them, it scanned and downloaded them into its database. One of them was a business card for 'Lee's Detective Agency'. The other just had an address. Six tilted his head.

"That's a business card for a private detective agency in Lungmen," Margaret explained. "Well, officially they are one. Unofficially, they handle a lot of things in the gray zone. Rhodes Island- My old employers- had a partnership with them before I left."

"You think they can help me?"

"They at least understand that loose beaks cause leaks. And Mr. Lee's savvy enough to realize where those can lead. If anyone can get a lead on your… 'quarry', it's them. Who knows? Maybe Mr. Lee will make you the latest addition to his family of misfits."

Six snorted. "They can't be any worse than the one I made back home," he replied. "But what's the address for?"

Margaret glanced around before leaning into his ear. "My family estate," she whispered.

Six blinked. "Come again?"

"Kazimierz is as ripe with corruption and conspiracy as it is beautiful. If you find yourself in her nomadic cities, you will need sanctuary from the oligarchy. I'm offering you a place in mine."

"Why?"

Margaret put a hand on Six's shoulder. "Because we're kindred spirits," she explained. "You're the sort of person who wanders the world and drinks in all its glory. The kind of soul who doesn't sit on the sidelines and let evil flourish. An incandescence yearning to usher in dawn in a world of dusk. Someone… someone that wants to be the tides of change and wash the doubt away."

Six's gaze shifted away from Margaret for a moment. "And what about Lyudmila?" he asked. "Is she welcome as well?"

"If she truly wishes to walk a new path, then my doors shall also be open to her. However, should she return to her sinful ways, the doors will be the least of her worries."

"It won't come to that."

"Is that a promise, or a fact?"

"She watched my back for nearly two weeks. I doubt she'll sweep in to stab yours."

"Do you expect her to follow you into Lungmen? Or the local Infected to welcome her with open arms? Even after all this time?"

"No."

"Then how can I take your word when her only light in this world leaves her?"

"She's a grown woman. She doesn't need me to babysit her."

"But you're the only person keeping her grounded right now. Once Oripathy claims a host, very few people stick with them. She's had the misfortune of losing her guiding lights at a young age."

"Then shouldn't you or Shining be that light?"

Margaret furrowed her brows. "The Infected will only accept salvation from those they trust," she pointed out. "And my relationship with her is… complicated. Yours is more simple, honest even."

"And just what the hell do you expect me to do? Be her Prince Charming?"

Margaret paused. "Just… let her lean on your shoulder before you go. Set a fire in her heart and stoke it one last time before you return home."

Six lowered his head, processing her words. "Would she be willing to hear me out?" he wondered.

"She hasn't put a knife in your back yet, has she?" Margaret replied with a smile.

A soft chuckle fizzled through his helmet's vocoder. "I should get going," he said. "She's probably waiting for me."

"Hold on a minute. I got something else for you."

Margaret pulled out a book from her inventory. The cover was azure and ebony, with a rook chess piece on it. The title of it was "The Cycle of Oripathy; The Infection of the Human Body and Spirit." The author's pen name was rather cryptic, though.

The Doctor.

"It's a medical book written by one of my… former superiors."

Six couldn't help but notice something swirling behind her eyes. Something he hadn't seen much of since his arrival here. Nostalgia. Admiration.

Hope.

"They weren't just your employer, weren't they?"

Margaret shook her head. "No," she confessed. "They too are a guiding light. Even after leaving the company, I continue to follow in their footsteps."

"Why did you leave then?" he asked.

"To not besmirch their good name in my activities back home. I have already drawn the ire of the oligarchs there. I don't want to drag h- them into the murk of Kazimierz."

Six added the book to his inventory. "Well, knowledge is power," Six said. "And I could use all the firepower I can get. Thanks."

"You're welcome," Margaret replied before placing a fist over her breastplate. "May the light guide you through hardship and darkness."

Six offered her a curt nod and mirrored the gesture before departing.

The farm wasn't that grand from where he was standing. Sure it was sitting in a sea of green, but then again so was the rest of the region. It consisted of a small shack, barn, ranch, and a few fields of crops. No silos or windmills, but he did spy a couple of tractors and some bovine creatures pulling a rake along.

He found Lyudmila digging some potatoes out at a far corner of the field. Her wolf ears perked up as she heard his boots walking across the soul. Her face tilted up and she squinted her eyes as his feet came into view.

"Izvrashchenets," she curtly greeted.

"She-Wolf," Six greeted back.

"Why do you insist on calling me that?"

Six snorted. "Ain't it obvious?" he asked. "You're literally part wolf."

Lyudmila narrowed her eyes before shaking her head. "Hyena, actually."

Six shook his head. "Come again?"

"Hyena. I'm a Reproba, not a Lupo. What, you've never seen a hyena before?"

Six shook his head again. "Only in old nature books," he admitted. "They were on another continent before the Great War. Probably extinct by now. Wolves and coyotes are still abundant back home, though."

"Hmpt. Suppose I can't blame your ignorance in that case. Still made yourself look like an idiot either way."

Six used the eye-roll gesture. "At least I'm learning," he retorted. "Not everyone has the balls to admit that they've made mistakes. Speaking of learning, when are you gonna give me a translation of that word?"

Lyudmila scoffed. "You're really that curious, huh? Fine, it means 'pervert' or 'freak'."

"You're still pissed at me for patching you up back in that necropolis?"

"Not as much these days. But you do need to bite that silver tongue of yours from time to time."

"What's the matter, never had anyone compliment you?"

"Your flirtations are obnoxious."

"[Ladykiller] I can't help but admire a kick-ass woman."

"Especially one who kicked yours?"

Six growled. Lyudmila giggled.

"So what did you want?" she asked. "Some singing advice?"

"Just wanted to check on you is all," Six replied.

Lyudmila snorted. "I'd thought you'd be playing hero right now," she noted. "Or Ladykiller with the Followers."

"Nobody needs saving or killing right now. And frankly, I'm not in the mood for dating anyway."

"Ah, what's the matter? Afraid that Shining or the Radiant Knight will turn you down? Or are you still licking your wounded pride after the latter floored you in front of the village?"

"They have their hands full as is," he retorted. "And I don't think a romantic stroll through the woods is a good idea right now."

"So you do have a brain buried beneath those hormones," she teased. "And here I thought you were just a himbo. So, you're not dying of boredom then?"

Six shrugged. "Everybody needs a breather from time to time," he said. "And I at least get to practice my shooting and medical skills here. What about you? Are you feeling bored right now?"

"Nyet."

"Really? 'Cus I never took you as someone interested in farming. Especially after recent events."

"Moya mat' taught me some of the basics."

Six cocked his helmed head.

"My mother," Lyudmila sighed.

"Ah. Wait, you two owned a farm?"

"Nyet. We worked at one owned by a Famiglie."

"Shit. Is there anything sacred in Siracusa?"

"If you ask a wise guy, it's 'honor'. But that's just a hound-whistle for 'obedience'. Your homeland has similar issues?"

Six nodded. "Some people try to live like the mafias of old," he said. "But it's just window-dressing for tribes one step away from becoming raiders. Or already had roots in raiding."

"But they don't last too long, do they?"

Six shrugged. "Beats me," he said. "The only families I know of are a pack of cosplayers and a cell from out west. The Van Graffs supposedly filled in a vacuum left behind by another family before expanding to the Mojave. Their representatives… got whacked on their way back to their don."

"Hmm…"

Six broke off from her momentarily to speak with one of the farmers. To her surprise, he joined her not long afterward. Six chuckled at her bewilderment.

"What?" he said. "You think you're the only one who knows a thing or two about agriculture?"

"Where did you-?"

"[Survival 40] Aside from books? I visited some farms before I became lord of New Vegas. And managed to sneak back to them on occasion afterward."

The two of them worked under the sun for the next few hours. Gathering crops, tending to livestock, a little maintenance work. It was grueling as hell with the Slave Collars on, but without them, it felt… oddly therapeutic. It offered a nice breather for the pair after everything they went through. Not as exciting as hunting or exploring, but it was a refreshing change of pace.

Six's motion tracker picked up movement. He drew a Light Shining in Darkness and pointed it toward the woods as some brush rustled. Lyudmila bolted upright and reached for her blade in response.

"What is it?" she asked. "Company?"

Six narrowed his eyes. "Hard to say," he said. "Cover me."

Six slowly approached the bushes, drawing out his Ripper. He poked and prodded at the brush with it, keeping an eye on his motion tracker. Nothing. He motioned for Lyudmila to do the same. No response either. Maybe it was just a pest?

Six grew impatient and revved up the handheld chainsaw, waiting for a reaction. The marker hadn't moved an inch. Everybody jumped as Six began hacking and slashing away at the shrubbery, demolishing it before their eyes. Only then did the marker shift. Or rather, vanish.

[Perception 5] Six and Lyudmila knelt and combed through the leaves and branches. All they found were some tracks. From the looks of things, they belonged to a canine.

"Just a fangbeast," Lyudmila concluded.

Six finally breathed as they rose back up. Someone whistled at them not long after. Both wanderers turned to see Morozov gesturing toward them.

"Boss wants to see two of you," he said.

The duo glanced at each other before calling a farmer over. Lyudmila chatted with them in Ursine before he nodded and waved them goodbye. The two of them followed Morozov back to the Black Death and into Chayka's office. The corpulent Liberi was sipping some coffee when the pair entered.

"Ah, good afternoon," he greeted. "Enjoying nature's bounties?"

"Not until recently," Six replied. "A part of me still can't fathom all this green."

"Hmm, left your heart in the wastelands, eh?"

"More or less. Is my ID card ready?"

"Almost. Just need a couple more details. Your photo and your new name. I've had the files on my computer for a while, but after recent events, I figured you two deserved some R&R. What did you want your new alias to be again?"

Six paused. The original plan was to go with 'Theseus Vela', but after his run-in with the Crimson Troupe, it might be best to go with something else. Six gave his list a brief reread before he made his decision.

"Jason Argonaut," Six replied.

Chayka furrowed his brows before nodding at him. He motioned for the young man over toward the camera as he prepared for the photo-op.

"Smile," said the eldest man.

Six gave him a subtle, cocky smile. His vision went white in the flash, prompting him to rub them. He growled as Lyudmila giggled in the background.

Chayka meanwhile bolted over to his computer and quickly typed something into it. He returned a moment later and handed them some sort of data pad and a… pen? Or was it a wand?

"Just sign your new signature here," he said. "You do know cursive, right?"

Six nodded as he grabbed the smart pad. It felt a bit awkward 'signing' something into a digital space, but after a few tries, he got a decent signature on the screen. The man gave the Courier a nod and fiddled with his laptop. A moment later a printer whirred to life and out came his new ID. When Chakya handed it to him, Six's Pip-Boy scanned and added it to its database.

"There you go, Mr. Argonaut," he said with a smile. "One free pass into society, two for every bar on Terra. Prices may vary. While I'm at it, would you like some licenses for your weapons?"

"License, for my weapons?" Six asked. "You're kidding me right?"

Chayka shook his head. Once again, Six growled.

"[Sneak 50] I can sneak plenty of weapons in," he retorted. "I don't need a damn license for them."

"Can you sneak those in?" Chayka retorted as he pointed at Christine's and Scout's rifles. "Or that one?" he added as he pointed at the Riot Shotgun. Then he turned his attention to Gehenna 2.0. "And that one?"

Six's scowl grew beneath his helmet. He could sense Lyudmila smirking behind him as the man sighed.

"Lemme ring up some templates for you," he said. "I can at least file some paperwork for them. How many do you have?"

"Probably at least a dozen," Six admitted.

Chayka's eyes nearly popped outta his skull as Six laid some of them on the table. He shook his head.

"Let's stick with up to three," he suggested. "Any more and we'll have to smuggle the rest in."

"I have ED-E for that," Six replied.

"And you're certain your buddy won't set off any metal detectors or rile up hounds and Beckbeasts?"

"Metal detectors? Like the kind that scans for coins and salvage? Or the handheld models used by pre-war police?"

"'Pre-war'?"

"Erm, 'civilized'."

"Hmm… Not quite. Certain people tend to carry weapons with them in the city, so various businesses have some metal detectors installed around the entrances. If the device's scanners detect any of such weapons, they'll ring an alarm. Unless you've got a coat that can conceal stuff from the sensors, I wouldn't advise going shopping."

"Then let's test one out and see if my coat fits the bill."

The man grunted in agreement as he took something from his desk. It certainly resembled something he'd scavenged in old police stations. The device didn't start beeping until he moved it toward ED-E. The eyebot emitted some agitated chirps.

"Well, both seem to have some shielding," he said. "But that outfit still makes you stand out like a sore thumb. Luckily our fixer's gonna provide a disguise for you anyway."

"Hold up, you already reached out to someone in Lungmen?"

"Of course. After everything you've done for Grinkhorn, it was the least I could do. Don't worry, you don't owe anything on my end. Our fixer's, though… well we'll discuss that after you sign these papers."

Six didn't like the sound of that. He pointed at the weapons he wanted licenses for and the middle-aged man popped them out. One for Scout's Rifle, one for Gehenna 2.0, and one more for the bow (which he dubbed Quincey). Six quickly signed all three of them, relaxing as he sheathed each weapon across his person.

Chayka pulled out the pin with his feathers from a drawer and handed it to Six. "Still want these, kid?" he asked.

Six nodded before pocketing it. "Just as a last resort," he said. "Anyone asks about my feathers, I'll just tell them it's a genetic defect."

"Family history?"

"Environmental pollution. Mutations and health complications are a cap-a-dozen among my generation."

"Cap?"

"Bottle caps. My community's fairly isolated."

"I see. Well, try not to go overboard with the drinks, alright? You don't want to embarrass yourself in front of your ferrymen."

"When and where are we meeting them?"

"Tomorrow morning. At an abandoned Originium mining facility on the outskirts of Lungmen territory. Lemme jot down the coordinates real quick."

Chayka took out a sticky note and wrote some numbers down. As soon as Six's fingers brushed up against it, it scanned and downloaded them into its database, adding a new marker on the World Map. He couldn't help but notice Lyudmila's eyes widening as she glanced at it.

"[Barter 45] You said that I might have to repay our client," Six noted. "But you didn't mention a particular price. I'm guessing they're not looking for monetary compensation?"

"Pretty much. They need a little favor from you while you're in town."

"Such as?"

"Helping the Rat King solve a problem."

"The Rat King?"

"The dai lo of Lungmen's Slums. The official translation is 'big brother', but these days it just means 'Mob Boss'"

"Mob-? Are you fucking kidding me!? I already had to fight my way through a horde of Siracusan wise guys last week. I ain't in the mood to put up with another mob."

"Don't worry. Mr. Lin is nothing like the Grey Hall and their thugs. He might rule with a firm hand, but he has a heart buried beneath his fancy coat."

"Did they say what sort of problem he had?"

"Nope. His representative is supposed to fill you in on the details."

His brows furrowed as he processed the information. He wasn't entirely sold on the Rat King, let alone taking a deal without knowing the full details. But then he reminded himself that people Cachino and Cachino exist. Plus, he can always steal another car and drive off if things go south.

"I guess I'll take your word for it," he relented. "But who exactly am I going to meet?"

"Our fixer didn't identify themselves on the call. Probably scared of the Yanese Censors listening in on us. Can't say I blame them."

"Did they at least leave a clue?"

"We did entertain the idea of cryptography during our calls. I came up with a riddle for you two to recite at first contact. Lemme find it real quick."

Chayka scrounged through the papers in his office for a bit before he found a small paper. Just like those before it, the Pip-Boy scanned it as soon as it found its way into Six's hand. Chakya cleared his throat before continuing.

"The first must ask 'Where do you hear the dragon's roar'? The other must reply with 'at the gates of paradise'. How'd I do?"

"Snazzy," Six snorted. "But why not hell?"

"Because the Lungs aren't as greedy as the Dracos."

Six cocked his head to the side. Chayka sighed.

"Dracos. One of the two races that ruled Victoria until two decades ago."

"I'm assuming that they're part dragon."

"The fire-breathing kind, to be precise. One of their houses was reputed for their avarice and caused a bit of a stir before they all vanished."

"And the other race making up the ruling class?"

"Aslans. Lion folk. Some people think they're just a royal family of Felines who regard themselves as a master race. Word is they were involved in the Draco's disappearance and were overthrown by the nobility afterward."

"As retribution for the Draco's demise?"

"Ha! For daring to raise the aristocracy's taxes and not the common folk's. But enough about political strife. You should make a beeline for the mines ASAP. Shouldn't be any Caststrophes any time soon, and there's plenty of shelter still standing last I checked. I'd grab a tent just in case, though."

Six nodded and bid Chayka farewell, exiting the bar. He and Lyudmila decided to buy some more supplies before they packed up. Some extra ammo for Scout's Rifle, medkits, filters, rations, even a tent. Most of it would be for the hyena-girl. He had plenty of food and water for the trip, and he could always find more in the city.

The Courier dropped by the medical center to say goodbye to the Followers as well. Both Sarkaz women wished him good luck and handed Lyudmila some medicine for her Oripathy. She tried to turn them down of course, but she gave up after some pestering from them and Six. Liz exchanged one last look with them as they departed from the tent. Six had a hard time reading the emotions behind her sapphire eyes. To be honest, part of him bet that she was just as stumped as he was.

ED-E beeped out a greeting in binary as the two fleshlings returned. Six curtly briefed his robo-buddy on the situation as they packed their gear. The eyebot helped carry some of the supplies over to the Boar and tethered itself to the back via tractor-beam. Lyudmila, as always, took the wheel before they all sped off into the distance.

The rendezvous point turned out to be bigger than Six anticipated. He had seen a few old factories on Earth, but this… this towered over even the facilities of Big MT. Just how much Originium did they need to power their settlements? How much resources did those damn things gobble up?

Lyudmila had this wistful look in her eyes as they surveyed and scavenged the area. Something similar to when they first met in Chernobog. With recent revelations still fresh in Six's mind, it almost looked like… regret? Or perhaps grief?

The first place they searched was the barracks. There was hardly anything in them but worn tools, discarded medical kits, and the occasional photo. Lyudmila left them all be.

All except a pair in a pendant. She cleaned off the glass inside as she examined the locket. The first was of an Ursus couple with an infant. The second was of a woman- the same one from the first picture- with a young boy and girl. It didn't take a genius to realize that she knew them.

A blimp cropped up on his motion tracker. Six held up a hand, prompting an inquisitive beep from ED-E. He put his finger to where his gas mask's vocoder as he crouched, then crept along down the hall and back outside. He spied a canine shape sprint off into the distance and gave chase.

It left a trail of smokey vapor toward the local mine. The entrance was sealed shut, but he found plenty of things there. Broken weapons, shields, crossbows. He could faintly pick up an exotic fragrance from some lumps of wax. The remains of candles, perhaps?

Several of those white masks dotted the area. Some dangled from the ceiling, others rested on pedestals or pikes. But one stood out at the center. It was a gas-mask, one resembling the M40. But that wasn't the most interesting bobble among the relics. No, that honor belonged to the MGLs flanking its sides.

[Explosives 50] Six swore he saw those in a copy of Duck and Cover once. It bore some resemblance to a model produced by a company in South Africa. 'Milkor', he believed it was called. Both of them have seen better days, though. While they certainly suffered under the elements, he noticed the telltale battle scars on them too.

The rouge marker reappeared on his HUD. He turned to see a wolf with smokey-grey fur and blood-red eyes walk up behind him. It didn't resemble any specimen from Earth he knew of, pre-war or post-war. He was expecting it to snarl and throw itself at him, but instead it just… stared. It sat down and stared at him like it owned the whole damn world. An ethereal air surrounded them as it locked eyes with the Courier.

"Indossi il mantello della Morte come un distintivo d'onore," echoed a voice. "Ti saluto, figlio di cenere."

Six blinked and swiveled his head around, trying to find the source of the voice. No additional markers cropped up on his motion tracker, nor did VATS lock onto anything. It was just him and-

The wolf and its IFF marker were gone. Six blinked before shaking his head. Dammit. Those fumes at the mansion must've hit him harder than he realized. He was almost tempted to flush it out with Fixer, but he reminded himself that his Pip-Boy hadn't detected any addictions since that night.

Six knelt and hovered a hand over one of the grenade launchers. He could feel the mystical aura of Originium in it, its circuits glowing a faint crimson. He was tempted to pick it up, but he hesitated. He almost lost his fingers trying to study a perfectly functional jetpack. He didn't know what would happen if he tried to dissect something as worn as those MGLs.

Someone called out to him. He turned to see Lyudmila and ED-E coming around a corner and toward him.

"What happened?" Lyudmila asked. "Did you find anything?"

Six shook his head. "Just a stray wolf," Six replied before motioning toward the vigil. "And this. Must've been looking for its pack."

Lyudmila tilted her head. "A wolf?" she asked in disbelief, crossing her arms.

"Yeah. You ain't got any out here?"

"Not this far east. They typically lurk in Siracusa or further out west."

"Maybe this pack got desperate and ventured out here for food?"

"Or maybe you're seeing things. You did get a huff of that bioweapon, after all."

Six glared daggers at her before turning back toward the vigil. "You said that Reunion tried to launch an attack on Lungmen," he said. "Was this place a beachhead?"

"More like a forward operating base," Lyudmila said before shrugging. "The real 'beachhead' would have been the slums. Or at least that's how Patriot would've described it."

"Hmm…"

Six cast a glance back toward the MGLs.

"Don't even think about it," Lyudmila snapped.

"Don't worry, those things look like they'll explode at any moment," Six replied. "Though that wouldn't be the only reason to leave them be, now would it?"

Lyudmila shifted slightly, as did the glint in her eyes. She shook her head before motioning for Six to follow her. She led him back to the barracks, where the furniture was pushed against the walls to make room for their sleeping bags. An electric hot plate sat at the center, boiling some instant noodles. Lyudmila offered some to him. After scanning for contaminants, he accepted.

"How is it?" she asked.

Six shrugged. "It's serviceable," he said.

Lyudmila snorted in agreement. "It beats stale bread and mucky water," she added.

Six snorted back. The rest of the day was spent patrolling or training. During archery lessons, Lyudmila decided to make another bet. She challenged Six to another shooting contest, proposing that the winner take some LMDs. Six readily accepted.

Both of them were using traditional bows, so Lyudmila had the advantage when it came to draw strength. And since their targets were inanimate objects, Six couldn't use VATS. When it was over, he lost to her by three points.

"I guess you Wastelanders aren't at the top of the food chain after all," she laughed as he paid up.

Six didn't know which was worse at this point; her bite or her bark. All he could do was snarl as she sauntered back to their room. He spent the rest of daylight at target practice to blow off his newfound steam before joining her. She gave him a smug look as he sat down before the electric lamp.

Six summoned a couple of sketchbooks and a pencil from subspace and started doodling away. Six had drawn up some things and people from his homeworld to provide a visual reference for Lyudmila and the Followers. She recognized many of them based on Six's descriptions. The Deathclaw, Robo-Brain, Assaultron, nuclear warheads, Super Mutant, Brotherhood Knight, Desert Ranger, Legionaries, Uylesses, Think Tank, cyberdog (she was sensing a pattern with all of those brains), Cazadors, Nightstalker, Ghouls, Robert House.

She leaned over his shoulder as he sketched away. Margaret dressed up in some Power Armor while strange halos hovered above Shining and Liz's heads. The firearms they collected from those Sankta were present on another page, along with a model unfamiliar to her. That was one of those 'SMGs' Six spoke of, right? It certainly looked like Laterano's craftsmanship.

Wait. One of the most recent drawings was of her. More specifically the maid dress she wore at the manor. She yoinked the drawing book from Six and flipped through its pages, eliciting a 'Hey!' from him. There was another drawing of her, a portrait with her normal attire and her face exposed.

"Do you mind?" Six quipped. "I'm trying to jot down some memories while I still have them."

"What the hell is this?" Lyudmila asked, showing him the sketches of herself.

"Uh, memories?" Six retorted. "Just because I have a photographic memory doesn't mean it's guaranteed to last. I already lost my last batch to bullets. I'd like to preserve as many of them as possible."

"Do you really need to draw me in this?" she hissed, pointing at the maid outfit.

"No, but I thought I'd immortalize your cute glare before either of us kicks the bucket."

Cue the glare in question as she ripped the offending page out and tore it to shreds. Six's shoulders only sagged slightly before he snorted.

"Whatever," he said dismissively. "We're both still young. I've still got an eidetic memory."

"If you make another sketch like that, I'll break both of your arms."

Six laughed. "I'd like to see you try," he boasted.

Lyudmila gave him a dirty look, fingers twitching as she huffed. She took in a sharp breath and shook her head. Six smugly crossed his hands behind his head and relaxed some. That only lasted for so long before he turned back to her with a more serious tone in his voice.

"That marker with the gas mask and grenade launchers," Six said. "It doesn't belong to the average grunt, does it?"

Lyudmila shook her head after a beat. "Nyet," she replied. "It… belonged to a couple of troubled kids. You remember Sergei?"

"The scientist that was blackmailed into selling out your dad's research team?"

"Da. That marker belonged to Skullshatterer. AKA Alexander, and later Misha."

Lyudmil opened the locket up and showed him the photos inside. "His own children."

Six blinked and shook his head. She told him about Skullshatterer and Reunion's other lieutenants. About how he was radicalized as a young lad after an Infected Patrol squad beat his mother to death. But she never said anything about him having a father or siblings. Let alone still being a child.

"They were infants when the Fourth Army held them hostage, and when my father sealed the Sarcophagus. They released Sergei's children after the slaughter fest, but he never reunited with them for some reason. I don't know if he feared another kidnapping, or felt too ashamed to see them again, or what. All anybody knew was that he left his family. His ex-wife and children moved to a remote village, where they all contracted Oripathy. Someone ratted them out to the local Infected Patrol and they…"

Her fist balled up. "Misha fled into the wilds while Alex joined Reunion. The latter eventually found me in Siracusa a few years ago, claiming that he had some information on my father. He told me about everything that happened that night and who to blame. And when he spoke of Reunion, I decided to sign up. But Alex wanted me to prove myself first. And he had a particular target in mind."

"Sergei," Six realized. "He blamed his father for everything that happened to them."

Lyudmila nodded. "Among others. I followed his tips and found the old man. He was an empty shell by the time I found him. I asked if he was the traitor who sold out my father's crew and he said 'yes'. I slit his throat immediately afterward."

"You should've interrogated him."

"You think I don't know that?! Alex and I were both drunk on vengeance at the time. If we had bothered with the details- if we simply asked him 'why'…"

Lyudmila closed her eyes as she held back tears. "After Talulah took Chernobog, Alex and I were sent to Lungmen. He happened across Misha and brought her back here. Showed her what Reunion was all about, or at least what we believed in. Even a little lesson in Arts from what surviving foot soldiers told me. Then Rhodes Island and the LGD launched a siege on this place."

"LGD?"

"Lungmen Guard Department. They're the city's gendarmerie."

"You mean Military Police."

"Something like that. Alex and one of Talulah's other lieutenants- W- were in charge of coordinating defenses here while I stayed in Lungmen. That Sarkaz bitch convinced him to make a break for the commanding officer of Rhodes Island and… and…"

The dam was beginning to crack. "He got skewered by Arts," she continued. "By the fucking CEO, no less. His squad mates carried the body back to his sister and she snapped. When nobody was looking, she donned her brother's outfit and masqueraded as him. She did this to raise Reunion's spirits, but she had no combat experience whatsoever. She barely lasted a few minutes on the battlefield before she got cut down too. We didn't even find out until after Rhodes Island arrested Talulah."

Lyudmila buried her face in her knees. "I should've been there for them. I shouldn't have left them with that psychotic devil. She let those kids throw their lives away, and for what? For that dragon to try to ram into Lungmen and start a war between Ursus and Yan? To leave the Infected as the scapegoat for a plot from a military-industrial complex?

"My whole squad got cut down by those Black Coats and I barely made it out of there alive. And just as I got out of the fire, I bumped into another 'traitor' from my father's group."

"There were survivors?" Six asked.

Lyudmila nodded. "One," she clarified. "The head of the Sarcophagus project and my father's mentor. Dr. Kal'tsit. I tried to avenge him, but she kicked my fucking ass. The only reason she spared me was because I didn't know the full truth. After she laid everything out to me, she asked several questions about Reunion's plan for the future. About what we'd accomplish if we took Lungmen too."

"She knew about Talulah's plan?"

"Nyet, the central platform hadn't begun moving at the time. Nobody pieced it together until it did. But even before that, her words got me thinking. Doubting. That was when I decided to sit on the fence and see where things went. And when the dust settled, I was the only figurehead left standing."

"But you passed the torch down to someone else."

She nodded again. "To a woman calling herself 'Nine'," she chuckled. "I didn't think I'd meet someone with as lousy a taste in names until I met you."

Six rolled his eyes again. She giggled before that frown rotated back into place.

"But we lost so many good people back then. Killed some too. And worst of all… I realized that the people I blamed for my pain were just as much victims as I was. I robbed Alex and Misha of their father and left them at Rhodes Island's mercy. W might've sent them to their deaths, but I was the one who left them with her. I… I…"

The dam finally broke. She was too busy crying her heart out to notice Six placing a hand on her shoulder. So he pulled her into an embrace. That caught her attention.

"They were the closest thing you had to a family, weren't they?" he deduced.

Lyudmila looked away. "Them and the rest of Reunion," she admitted. "But I'm not sure I know what the word means anymore. I watched my mother die and never got to say goodbye to my father. I abandoned my mentor to hunt down someone I blamed for the latter's demise, and had to beg for her forgiveness afterward. I abandoned Reunion and watched it collapse from Talulah's betrayal and infighting. And what do I have to show for it all?"

"You survived. You analyzed the situation and stepped down to let new life breathe into your movement. You returned to your mentor and made amends. And above all…"

Six scratched Lyudmila behind her hyena ears. "You helped me survive out here. I don't think I would've lasted this long without you."

Lyudmila blushed as he retracted his hand and looked away. "Well, you are a tupitsa," she cheekily remarked with an aside glance.

"And you're headstrong," Six retorted.

"But you survivalist types love strong women, don't you?"

Both of them chuckled. Lyudmila rested her head against his chest plate and closed her eyes. Her hyena ears could pick up his heartbeat beneath it. It pounded away like a drum, with a faint crackle beneath it. Six assured her that all of his original organs were returned to him, but he admitted that some alterations were made. Perhaps his heart was- what was that term some geeks back in Reunion used? 'Techno-organic'?

Six had a peculiar smell to him too. Ever since they met she couldn't get it out of her head. At first, she was disgusted by it, assuming it to be how disheveled he was. But once he washed off and the Troupe put that cologne on him, she realized that wasn't the case. He was… piquant for lack of a better word.

After the shitshow at the manor, she asked Yaroslava if she smelled anything on him. The Ursus vendor admitted that her nose might've picked up something off of him, but nothing strong. Or at least nothing that provoked a strong reaction.

"Maybe it's the old hag's training," she suggested. "Lupos and Perros are renowned for their sense of smell, after all. I'm surprised you don't make use of it often."

Then Yaro smirked. "Then again, maybe it's just

your nose."

Lyudmila hadn't spoken to Yaro since then. She was not interested in that goddamned casanova. She hasn't even known him for that long anyway. They've only been traveling together for what, two weeks? The most they are is-

That train of thought skidded to a halt. What were they? Colleagues, for sure, but it felt like something more. Companions? Please, they haven't known each other for that long. Friends maybe?

Friends… she hadn't had those in a long time. Ever since her mother's death, it was hard for her to find some. She invested so much time in her quest for vengeance that she almost forgot what the word meant. Yes, Patriot and Talulah were her idols, but that was about it. She got along with Faust and Yelena just fine, but never bothered to get close to them. Not like she could befriend the latter when she was a literal blizzard.

But Six? As much as she hated to admit it, they had much in common. Both of them were survivors brought into crapsack worlds. Both of them had to fight for their freedom and lives on a daily basis. And if his stories about the Divide were true, then he understood just how heavy one's sins can be.

She fell asleep in Six's arms. And for the first time in years, she slept soundly.

Date: October 13th, 1099

Location: Grinkhorn, Southern Ursus Border

Time: Morning

The first sense to return to Lyudmila was smell. Her nose picked up the scent of smoke, but not necessarily of ash or fire. Rather, it smelled like something was recently cooked. She yawned and stretched her arms out as her eyes fluttered open, rubbing them. She smacked her lips as she rose back up and-

She blinked and glanced down at herself. She was wrapped up in her sleeping bag. She spun her head around before her eyes landed on a certain robot. It chirped a greeting in binary at her as she noticed a couple of water bottles beside her. She twisted her head toward the exit as f footsteps echoed outside. Six walked into the room with a paper plate in each hand. It smelled like roast beast and scrambled eggs.

"Morning, huntress," Six said. "Sleep well?"

Lyudmila paused. She considered ignoring the question, but she decided to entertain him. "I have," she said. "No thanks to you."

"Really?" Six teased back. "And here I thought I was the cuddly one."

"I don't see any fur on you."

"But I do have animal magnetism."

Lyudmila rolled her eyes as she accepted a plate from him. Six plopped beside her as she munched away at breakfast.

"Not bad," she said. "But it could do with some seasoning."

"If I see any growing out in the wilds, I'll add it to the shopping bag."

Lyudmila swallowed and chuckled. He got her there. "Has your middleman arrived yet?"

"Nope. It's just us sinners."

Lyudmila furrowed her brows at the comment. Six twitched and cursed as he realized his mistake. The two of them briskly dined in awkward silence, throwing their trash into one of the many bins nearby. She sighed as she and Six returned to their room.

"Six, you know I can't follow you into Lungmen, right?" she said.

"Because of your history with that place?" Six asked.

"And because of my mentor," she added with a nod. "She's not a spring fowlbeast these days. She's expecting me back soon."

Six lowered his head.

"Are you… going to be alright there?"Lyudmila asked back. "You're not dealing with a burnt-out ruin or small town. You'll be walking among civilized folk. Probably people similar to those of your 'Old World'."

Six snorted. "I'm the goddamned king of Vegas, remember?" he reminded her. "I know how to behave."

"In a post-apocalyptic world. Lungmen's going to be nothing like any of your home's cities. You need to watch your back, Strelok."

"Hey, I got ED-E with me, don't I?"

ED-E bopped up and down as it emitted some prideful beeps.

"And 'strelok'? That's a new one."

Lyudmila tsked. "It means 'gunslinger', you rubberneck."

"Gunslinger, huh? Am I sensing a relationship upgrade?" Six teased.

"Don't push your luck, tupitsa," Lyudmila retorted. "Especially in the Rat King's territory. Do you even have a plan for when you step into it?"

Six flashed her the business card for Lee's Detective Agency.

"Where did you-?"

"From Liz."

Lyudmila blinked before shaking her head. "Alright, fine. That's as good a plan as any," she admitted. "But can you really trust them?"

Six shook his head. "Don't need to," he countered. "I just need to be careful with my choice of words."

"How long do you plan on staying in town."

"Until I find another lead back home."

"And if not?"

"Dunno. Maybe a month at most. Why? Feeling lonely already?"

Lyudmila grumbled and turned away from him, shifting her focus to his sketchbook again. Six was about to make another witty comment when she grabbed and jotted something down in it. Six narrowed his eyes and tilted his head as she showed him her portrait. Or rather, the address written underneath it. His Pip-Boy scanned and downloaded it as he stared. Two words stuck out; 'Volsinii', and 'Siracusa'.

"Hold up, is that your address?" he asked.

"More like one of my stomping grounds," she replied. "An old coffeehouse I used to frequent."

"So we are stepping things up a notch," Six teased. "And here I was, worried that you hated my guts. So who's paying for drinks this time?"

Lyudmila rolled her eyes yet again. "Coin flip," she said. "So try not to spend all of your lunch money."

Six chuckled. "I'm surprised you're leaving the door open for me, especially given our short time together. Why are you leaving this with me?"

"You said so yourself last night. You wouldn't have survived without me. And I doubt you will after so long."

Six's brows furrowed at her comeback. He could sense yet another smirk behind her mask as she crossed her arms.

"I don't exactly have a phone," Six pointed out. "Am I supposed to contact you in some other way, or am I supposed to sit there like a good dog while I wait for you?"

"Dog?"

"Canine. Hound."

"Ah. I'll probably drop by every other day and give the place a sniff."

Six booped her nose. "That so?" he asked. "You sure that little thing can pick me up in a crowd?" he asked.

Lyudmila scoffed. "Better than your anosmic nose, strelok."

Six snorted back. "Me? Anosmic? As if! This nose has sniffed out danger plenty of times."

"Oh really? Then how did Gieszler and those Sankta evade it?"

"I could ask you the same thing."

Lyudmila growled. Six laughed and was about to make another retort when ED-E blurted out an alert. It pointed toward the window with its blast, beckoning the meatbags over.

There, marching up toward their hideout were two figures in hooded jet-black ponchos. One of them appeared to have a similar height and build to Six, with white highlights on their garb. A duffle bag was slung over their shoulders while a shield rested in one hand. The other person more closely resembled Lyudmila, with royal purple accents on her cloak.

Six could make out tails swaying behind them, but he had to wait for them to move closer for a proper view. The shorter one had a… rat's tail, from the look of things. What did Croissant call the race with rodent features again? 'Zalak'? Their companion had a bushier tail dangling behind them, but they could be any race as far as he knew.

The shorter stranger glanced up toward them. "Excuse me," a feminine voice with a Chinese slant called out. "But I've been told that Lungs have the most angelic voices. Where might I hear the dragon's roar?"

Six and Lyudmila glanced at each other. "Have you tried sitting at the gates of paradise?" Six called back.

There was a beat before the taller one replied in a masculine voice. "We thought about it, but then we probably would've lost our hearing. So you're the problem solver the old fowl sent?"

"I am. And I take it you're his pen pal?"

"Her da- Ahem, our employers are. We're only here on their behalf. Mind if we join the club?"

Six glanced at Lyudmila. She was glaring daggers at the short stranger.

"What's wrong, girl?" Six whispered to her. "You smell something on that lady?"

She didn't appreciate his sarcasm. "There's something familiar about her," Lyudmila whispered back.

Six's brows furrowed. "Friend or foe?" he asked.

"Hard to say right now. But that outfit did bring up a sense of deja vu. Keep your guard up."

Six nodded, hands hovering his hands over his holsters. It didn't take long for the guests to find their way to the room. And for trouble to spring up.

The second that Lyudmila locked eyes with the mistress of mystery, they charged at each other. Six kicked in his GRX implant and drew out his Ripper and Gehenna 2.0, bolting between them. A grain of sand flew toward the woman as she drew up a wand, forming a blade of glass around it. He barely had time to blow their blows, but he was able to keep their swords at bay.

He had a much clearer look at their 'guests'. The woman had the round ears of a giant rat atop her skull, and strands of pinkish hair (maybe silver pink?) flowing out of her hood. Pinkish eyes glared at them, slowly widening as she realized who had just stepped between them.

The other stranger was an anthropomorphic… dog? Six honestly wasn't sure what the hell he was. He at least possessed canine elements in his physiology, judging from the snout and ears (though the horn on his forehead only added to the confusion). He caught glimpses of fur on his arms as he pulled his companion back, suggesting that he was at least mammalian.

"The fuck's gotten into you two?" Six snarled as the burly stranger restrained his partner.

"I could say the same about you," the woman hissed. "Bringing Talulah's hellhound to Lungmen's doorsteps."

"I'm not with her or Reunion anymore, princess," Lyudmila snarled.

"Princess?" Six asked.

"Da, Mafia princess to be precise. She's Lin Yühsia, the Rat King's daughter."

"And you're Crownslayer the terrorist," Yühsia spat back. "Do you know just what kind of grief you gave my father with your stunt?"

"Grief? You're one to talk, selling your father out to the Black Coats."

"I never betrayed anyone. You and Reunion, on the other hand, abused my father's trust. He offered you all an olive branch and you repaid him by harassing the slums and attacking the main city. You drew the ire of the Censors and Shadow Gaurd with your riots."

"And you directed their wrath toward everyone. Not just Reunion, but every soul under your father's protection. Infected and normie alike."

"That's not what happened," the Defender accompanying Lin interjected. "She-"

Yühsia held up her free hand. "That's confidential information, Hung."

Yühsia turned her attention back toward Six. "Tell me, traveler," she said. "Did you know who your companion was?"

"I only learned of her dirty laundry days ago," Six confirmed. "But we've been traveling together for a couple of weeks. As you can see, she clearly hasn't backstabbed me."

"So you'd trust her with your life?"

"We both owe each other. And we've pulled each other's asses out of plenty of fires. Besides, your father ain't looking for a knight in shining armor, is he?"

Yühsia and Hung glanced at each other before both women cooled down.

"You do realize that she's a wanted woman in these parts, right?" Yühsia asked. "Being associated with her can be grounds for life behind bars, or the death sentence. Or an interrogation from Yan's Central Judicial Office."

"Don't worry," Lyudmila assured them. "I'm just a chauffeur for cowboy here. I'm heading back home after I see him off."

Six's head snapped toward Lyudmila as soon as the word 'cowboy' left her throat. She blinked at his reaction for a moment before smirking behind her mask. Six mentally berated himself for exposing his distaste for the word like that.

"You don't know how to drive a car?" Hung asked.

"I'm a wastelander, bub," Six replied. "Barely anyone's got a working set of wheels where I'm from."

"Oh. I can teach you if you'd like."

"That can wait," Yühsia butted in. "My father can't. Give him the bag, Hung."

Hung nodded, setting it on an empty bedframe. Six zipped it open and examined its contents. It was a suit, not too dissimilar from Manto d'argento. The main difference was the scarf and the inside of the coat were blood-red. Not to mention all of the scrap-on pouches, belts, and bits of armor. He could probably recycle one of the suits for raw materials if the other got shredded.

"This don't come with a mask, does it?" Six asked.

"Do you count the scarf and sunglasses as one?" Hung asked.

Six shook his head.

"Then nope, it doesn't. Are you Disappointed?"

"Very."

Hung patted him on the shoulder. "Don't worry. Those are more than enough to conceal your identity. We'll give you some privacy while you get changed."

Hung motioned for Yühsia to follow him as he left the room. The young woman gave Lyudmila the evil eye before they vanished into the hall.

"No peeking," Six said to Lyudmila as he started unpacking.

Lyudmila rolled her eyes for the umpteenth time today before complying. At least for a few seconds. Curiosity got the better of her and she risked a glance. Her face turned cherry-pink as she gazed upon Six's form.

That outfit Six wore at the dance exposed a fair amount of his chest and clung to his frame. She had a rough idea of his build, but seeing him semi-naked- seeing goddamned muscles- was another thing entirely. If it weren't for all the scars on him, she'd mistake him for an athlete. And unsurprisingly he had no tail, tentacles, wings, or any other Terrans bits.

Six had only dressed his lower half when he caught her peeping. He smirked.

"What's the matter?" he teased. "Rad-rat got your tongue?"

Lyudmila stuttered before looking away and crossing her arms with a huff. Her hyena ears twitched as she heard someone snicker. She twisted her head toward the door, but she didn't see anything. She shook her head and grumbled under her breath.

"Y'all can open your eyes now," he called out.

Yühsia and Hung returned as soon as he gave the word. The latter seemed to be suppressing a smile for some reason. Six had three guesses but he had already embarrassed Lyudmila enough today.

"Well, it's got kevlar and armor-padding," he said, admiring his new duds. "That's something. This thing can repel electromagnetic fields, right?"

"Yep," Hung replied. "Just as long as you don't brandish your sword or do anything stupid. You ready to roll out?"

Six shared a glance with Lyudmila. "Just need to grab some stuff from our car before we split," he said.

"You mean the boar?"

"You saw that?"

"Saw it? We packed our technical right beside it."

Hung led the party down their rides. Sure enough, there was a pickup truck sitting not far from the boar. The word 'Antony' was engraved on its grill, while the actual model - Hilltop - was imprinted on the driver's door. But the thing that caught his eye was the gun installed in the truck bed. Or rather, blaster. He could make out a battery where the ammo box should be, with faint glowing veins of crimson.

Six was about to inspect the trunk when he noticed Lyudmila opening the hood up. "What're you doing?" he asked.

"Checking for signs of tampering," Lyudmila replied. "For all we know, some Rusthammer could've rigged it with explosive."

The glare she sent toward Yühsia suggested otherwise. She gave the Reproba an evil eye of her own.

"An astute point," Yühsia replied. "Hung, give ours a check-up before we depart."

Hung let out a nervous chuckle as he went to work. Yühsia stood guard at her car while Six and ED-E guarded Lyudmila's. After a couple minutes of inspections and intense staredowns, both parties found that neither had been tampered with. Even still, Six was hesitant to leave Lyudmila behind. Even if his HUD didn't detect any enemies, even when VATS found no landmines or cloakers, he still lingered near her.

He felt a lump in his throat. His brain knew that this was the part where they bid farewell, but it practically forgotten how. The only thing it could recall was how much he hated the word 'goodbye'..

Lyudmila scowled at him. "What are you gawking at me for, zasranets?" she asked.

"I… er…" All Six could do was stutter. Why? They hadn't known each other for that long.

But you do trust her. Answered His Brain. She's the first person who hasn't abused it thus far. Lin and Hung are still unknown variables.

Lyudmila crossed her arms and tapped her feet impatiently for a moment, but then her mask crinkled slightly. "Don't tell me the rat's got your tongue?" she taunted.

"You can say that," Six admitted.

Yühsia glowered at the pair.

"I just… don't know what to say."

"Don't know, or don't want to?" asked Hung.

"..."

Lyudmila took a deep breath. "Well, I've got a thousand things I want to say to you," she said. "But we don't have the time for a sass-off, so…"

The next thing Six knew, he felt a pair of slim arms wrapping themselves around him. He glanced down to see Lyudmila ensnaring him in a bear hug. She shifted her grip onto his shoulders and stood on her tiptoes, then ran a hand behind his neck and angled it down toward her.

She gently felt the scars on his forehead before resting on his cheek. Six froze up as she leaned toward his ear.

"I'll give you three months to meet at the rendezvous point," she whispered. "If I don't see you by the end of January, I'll assume that you either made it home or died trying."

Six blinked before shaking the shock off and chuckling. One of his arms wrapped itself around her to return the hug. The other reached for her hyena ears and scratched around them. This elicited a growl from her.

"Please, I got better things to do than die," he whispered back. "And even if I do find a way back, I'd at least like to stop by and visit my guardian angel before I go."

Her eyes widened at this before narrowing again. She gently freed herself from his grip and took a step back

"J-just take care of yourself, okay strelok?" Lyudmila said.

Six cocked his head in a coy manner and gave her a two-finger salute. "You too, huntress," he finally said.

ED-E chirped its own farewell to her in binary. Lyudmila nodded back before climbing into the boar. She was about to speed off when Six called out to her. He handed her a couple of strange syringes. One of which had a strap around the needle.

"What are these?" Lyudmila asked.

"Stimpaks," he said. "They boost the human body's healing capabilities. They're primarily used for postoperative care, but they're handy for sealing up cuts and bullet wounds."

He pointed at the smaller of the two. "This is the regular dosage," he said before gesturing with a larger unit. "And this is a Super Stimpak. Far more potent chems, especially useful for dealing with chronic damage. But it can leave a nasty after-shock and numb the hell outta you. You might also feel a bit of fatigue and dehydration, so I'd advise against using it in the middle of combat. You Reprobas seem to handle the normal stimpaks just fine, but the Super variant? I honestly don't know how you'll react to it. Use at your own risk."

Lyudmila stared at the stimpaks before pocketing them with a brief 'Spasibo'. As soon as he stepped back she revved up the engine and finally sped off into the horizon. She couldn't help but stare at his reflection in the rearview mirror as she drove away. Her attention bounced between him and the road ahead until his silhouette disappeared entirely.

A hand hovered over her chest before balling it up. She never put much stock in prayer, especially what happened to her mother. But just this once, a small part of her turned to it. A small voice prayed that whatever powers that be watch over Six. To protect the first friend she ever made in a long time.

Six didn't budge until her car vanished into a dust cloud. A concerned chirp from ED-E convinced him to climb into the back seat of the Hilltop. Hung took the wheel while Yühsia sat in the passenger's seat. ED-E floated over beside its master. Once everyone hit the road, she pulled her hood down and turned her gaze back toward the dimensionally displaced duo.

"I suppose now is the time for introductions," Yühsia said. "I am Lin Yühsia, daughter of Lin Gray. And this is Hung."

"Nice to meet you," Hung said with a wave.

Yühsia's brows furrowed. "Your fixer never did mention your name," she recounted. "What should we call you?"

Six paused. Part of him contemplated going with just that, but he didn't know if he could trust either of them.

"You can call me Jason Argonaut," he finally said. "This is ED-E."

ED-E issued a standard greeting in binary.

"I'm assuming that is merely an alias," Yühsia noted.

"It is," Six confessed. "Now that we're acquainted, can you tell me what my end of the bargain is?"

"That can wait until we rendezvous with my father."

Six glared behind his sunglasses. The paranoid part of him was worried about getting shanked, but then the rational part reminded him that would've done so by now. Still didn't make him feel any better, though.

Something gleamed ahead in the distance. Six squinted his eyes for a moment before they got closer. His eyes nearly popped out of their sockets when he finally got a good look.

There, up ahead, was a city on a roving platform. He had already seen Chernobog, but that place was just an urban ruin. Lungmen, however, was very much intact and mobile. And despite this, all those buildings- all those skyscrapers- still stood proud. Anyone attempting to pull this off on Earth would watch everything topple over like dominos.

He had a hunch that this world's physics differed from his own, but seeing those laws in action… Someone like Arcade would pull their hair out from the major shift in logistics. It was already driving him mad from the calculations he was running.

Hung chuckled as he glanced up at the rearview mirror. "First time seeing this place?" he asked.

"First time seeing an intact city," he confessed.

Both Lungmenites arched their eyebrows. "Truly?" Yühsia asked. "Where are you from?"

"The wastelands."

"Ah."

The technical darted underneath the industrial beast. Yühsia picked up a handheld radio and spoke to it in Yanese. Someone on the opposite end responded in kind and a ramp descended from the colossus. The car drove up it and into the urban jungle, parking inside of a weathered garage. It was far smaller than the ones he saw in Chernobog, housing only a handful of vehicles. Not to mention in far better condition, for obvious reasons.

Yühsia led the party up a flight of stairs and into a warehouse. Some more Zalak in grey suits waved at and greeted her in their native tongue as they walked by. Some of them froze up as they laid eyes on Six, though a wave from Hung often alleviated their anxiety. And as soon as they got outside, Six's jaw dropped.

If House were standing here with him, he would probably go mad from envy. While Vegas fared better than most cities, it was still very much a ruin, Lungmen showed no signs of degradation or a nuclear holocaust whatsoever. It- or at least the district they were in -had far more lights than the Strip. The architecture was unlike any he had ever seen before too. In the flesh or from the pages of Pre-War books.

"Welcome to Lungmen, Mr. Argonaut," Hung said, stretching his arms out. "First stop; downtown."

A/N:

And here we are at last. After all these chapters and years, we've finally reached the gates of paradise. But all is not well in the dragon's den, especially in the rat's nest. What could be ailing the Rat King, you may be asking? Well, you'll just have to wait and see.

So first of all, the exposition dump. I didn't feel like typing all of that up and just put in the previous party's reactions. Arknights has a lot of shady groups, but I think a lot of us can agree that Fallout has far worse ones, by comparison. Even before the apocalypse.

As for the Followers themselves, it's safe to say that he's made some of his first genuine allies. People he feels he can really trust. The info they've given him on Kazimierz is gonna be a lifesaver if he ever makes his way there. I already can imagine him going butting heads with Mlynar and Whislash, and bonding with Blemishine over their interest in technology (though her name might put him off a bit initially). Hell, the latter in particular could give him some input for his Power Armor if their friendship's strong enough.

And while we're on the topic of friendships, let's talk about Crownslayer. Honestly, she wasn't my first choice for shipping with him when I initially drew up the outline for this story. But as time marched on and some of y'all posted reviews, I started contemplating it. Apart from her animal traits, she'd blend right in with a crowd back on post-apocalyptic Earth. For now, though, I want to leave the door open for other possible suitors.

Would a relationship with anyone interfere with his quest to head home? Absolutely. But as with real life, not even romance is eternal. Doesn't mean that he can't give it a shot, of course. Even if a breakup does occur, both parties can use the time they spend together to improve themselves and gain the experience needed to maintain a relationship.

What about harems or polyamory, you might be asking? I don't have much exposure to the former, and I'm not sure if I could pull off the other organically either. And frankly, Six's Charisma probably isn't high enough to form a very big pool either. At most, he'd probably hook up with and maintain three or four love interests in that scenario. And I doubt he'd want to pursue that route because he's probably seen harems and love dodecahedrons collapse into bloody messes back in the Wasteland.

So yes, I do plan on exploring the chemistry between him and some more potential suitors, but that doesn't guarantee that any of them will form a genuine romance with him. A healthy relationship takes time and trust to build. A one-night stand, though? Well, the Courier can bed with multiple people in New Vegas, yet none of those really lead to anything romantic. The Sole Survivor can also have one with Magnolia too, if my memory's correct. So we might see one down the line. Might.

Next chapter, Six navigates his way through an urban jungle. Rats, cats, wolves, and devils, oh my! And unfortunately for him, the latter breed is one he's all too familiar with. Since he hasn't really gotten to know any of the major players in Lungmen yet, the chapter titles I listed off last time may still crop up.

Of course, there're some new contenders as well. From rat-related puns like

Rat-Trapped, The Rat Pack, The Rat King, Rat's Wrath, and Cornered like a Rat, to canine-based ones like Lone(ly) Wolves and A Hound in The Boiler. For the musically inclined, Machine Gun, Keep Some Faith, We Walk on Broken Halos, Robots in a Dream, Neon Red, City of Night, Night on Fire. Oh, and ye old Concrete/Urban Jungle.

Dammit, so many good ideas! I guess we'll just have to see where the digital pen goes from here.

PS: I just realized that I posted this around 810nicle day. Huh. Well, happy belated 810nicle Day, everyone.