A Wilder Wasteland

by Midnight Words

Chapter 3: Which Way Was the Detour?

Chapter 3: Which Way Was the Detour?

The sun had already set, and the howls of wolves or what seemed like wolves echoed through the night.

Twilight examined her surroundings, old worn signs, a few broken lamp post and cables laid across the road. Twilight had to admit, she wasn't in the best of shape. Her legs hurt and each step took more and more effort.

"How much farther?" She groaned.

"Quit your whining, I can see Primm right now." Daniel said as his bag rattled with the weapons and armor he took from the Powder Gangers.

As the two approached, a pair of NCR soldier blocked their path. "Primm is off-limits." One of the troopers said.

"Easy now, we're just passing through on our way to Vegas. We don't mean to stay long." Daniel replied.

"Sorry, off-limits. You can take it up with the CO if you want, sir." The other trooper said, slightly muffled by his face-wrap. "Just head on straight, and you'll get to the camp."

Daniel nodded and walked pass the two guards and made it to an intersection. The Courier headed right.

"Hey! Wait! Didn't he say to head to their camp?" Twilight asked and pulled the Courier back with her magic.

The Courier sighed. "I know these NCR types, unless you want to file a shit-ton of paper work that they're gonna probably use for firewood, be my guess. The road to Primm's wide open." He said and pulled up his Pip-boy. "By the way, you're giving off some major radiation, doesn't seem to be spreading but it's there."

Twilight thought of the giant piles of paper work, she was way too tired for that. "Let's go, but if we get into trouble-" Twilight walked towards the makeshift bridge and a high pitched beeping sound. Daniel quickly pulled back Twilight and watched as a large explosion rocked the small bridge.

"This is why I lead the way." Daniel said to Twilight with a small smile. He carefully approached the next Frag Mine and quickly disarmed it.

"Do you think that the guards heard that?" Twilight asked as Daniel went for the next Frag Mine.

Daniel flashed a quick smile and disarmed the last Mine. "Oh please, these NCR types got so much rules and paper work shoved in their ears to do any actual work. They won't be coming here unless someone asked them, or if one of the patrols find a dead body."

Twilight sighed, the royal guards wouldn't have put up with this.

"Don't get me wrong. The real NCR are just beyond control and power. NCR Rangers are the best, and the black armored ones are the best of the best. They got the greatest scientist, and just about everyone you would need to run a great army." Daniel said with a small hint of pride. He then gave a large sigh. "But their leader is a fucking idiot, the Legion's building up power across the river, and NCR's trying too hard to control everything, spread too thin, and just when you thought these idiots can't do anything worse, they fucking put the best sniper team on fucking standby!" He grew angier and angier as they walked on.

"I assume you don't like their leader very much." Twilight said.

"A retard in a fucking suit."Daniel face-palmed.

A shot flew pass the Courier's head. He quickly pulled out his 9mm pistol and took a shot. The shot missed by a few inches.

Twilight ran behind the Courier and pulled out her rifle. She aimed and had a clear line of sight from the shooter, but she still couldn't pull the trigger.

Daniel aimed and pulled back the hammer of his gun. He shot and the bullet flew right through the shooter's skull.

Daniel looked at Twilight, she had a frown on her face. He patted her on the back.

"Don't worry about it." He said. "Why don't you use that fancy magic instead? Hole them in place or something?" Daniel said with a smile. "Oh, and we still haven't talked about that, maybe you can teach me how to do that?"

They walked in silence for a few minutes, looking at what was left of a large city. Twilight wished that she could see the town when it was in it's prime, or at least not destroyed.

Daniel stopped, he saw a dead body lying next to a moderatly intact house.

"Nick?" He said, and walked over to the body. The body's eyes were wide open. Daniel pressed his fingers on his neck to check for a pulse. "Shit..." He silently muttered and closed the body's eyes.

Twilight remained silent, and watched as the Courier picked up a necklace around the dead body's neck, a small locket. "Was he a friend of yours?" She finally asked.

"Yeah... I was at the low point of my life, no caps, no job, and a hell of a temper. Nick gave me a few caps and a job to set me right, he always looked out for me when I was starting out. Heck, he was almost a brother." Daniel opened up the locket, it held a picture of Nick and two young girls. "Shit, I hate bringing the bad news to relatives..."

Twilight looked at the body and back to Daniel. "I'm sorry." Was all she could say.

"Anyway, let's get to the Vikki and Vance Casino, get a drink and maybe rent a bed or something." He said, trying to smile away the problem. Twilight could see that he was straining.

"Alright, you lead the way."

Daniel went to the opposite building to the one they found Nick's body.

Twilight opened the door and saw several patrons all aiming their guns at the two.

"Whoa! Friendly! Friendly!" Daniel blurted. "We're just staying for the night."

An old looking man came walking up. "Wrong place, wrong time, newcomer. Primm's gone to hell ever since those Powder Gangsters came 'round."

"Huh? We just saw some NCR outside, couldn't they do anything?" Twilight asked. "Isn't that what they're suppose to do?"

"Ha!" Daniel laughed. "I told 'ya that the NCR can't do anything right."

"I hate to say it, but he's right. Ever since the NCR came along, they can't seem to do anything right."The old man said, he lowered his gun."Name's Nash."Extending his arm in a handshake.

"Daniel." He grabbed Nash's hand and gave it a firm shake.

"Twilight."

"Daniel? Wait, your one of those guys that had those 'odd' jobs." Nash said and pulled out a short list. "Yup, right here on the ink. I'd thought you'd be in Vegas right now."

Daniel shrugged. "Someone took my package, I'm trying to track it down." He jiggled his bag still filled with clothes and weapons. "Do you trade?"

"Sure, if you need a place to sleep, the Steve Bison Hotel has... bearable accommodations, but it's filled with convicts, you're welcome to sleep on the couch if you want." Nash said and took the bag. He handed over a handful of caps to the Courier. "The bar's open if you want anything."

Daniel took out some caps and gave them to Twilight. "I'm gonna turn in early. Wake me up when something explodes." He said and went off.

Twilight went off to the bar, she was feeling thristy and tired.

"Hold up." Nash called out. Twilight turned around to face the old man. "I know this is sudden, but Primm's gone to hell without law, our Sheriff was killed recently and the Deputy's been kidnapped, the NCR wouldn't do anything about it, and we don't have the man power to rescue the poor guy, there's gonna be caps in it for you."

Twilight scoffed. The NCR didn't even try to rescue the Deputy? She thought to herself. "Sure, I'll go after I get a drink." She said and went to get some water from the bar.

She brought several bottles of water and placed them in her own bag. She took out one of the bottles and quickly drank it. She heard Daniel snoring in the other room. She was going to be quick about it, no need to disturb him.

She ran out the door and saw the large building with an old worn rollercoaster going around it. She gulped and entered the hotel.

The smell of burning flesh and beer burned through her nose, several dead bodies littered the lobby of the Hotel. Twilight winced and covered her nose and mouth. She stepped over the bodies and made it to the hallway.

Several guards saw her and opened fire. Twilight instinctively raised her hand and made a magical shield.

"Stop! I just want to talk!" She yelled, but they just kept firing, only stopping to reload. Someone even threw a stick of dynamite that cracked her shields. She knew that she wouldn't be able to hold out much longer. There was no cover she could run to. Her shields were failing, any second and she would be exposed.

Her shields exploded in a dim purple light. Three loud bangs sounded as her shields went down. The three guards all fell dead with a small hole in their heads.

Twilight looked behind her and saw Daniel, holding a smoking .44 magnum revolver. "You alright?" He asked as he scanned the room for more guards.

"Y-yeah... Thanks." She said and got up.

Daniel turned to look at her. "Don't you ever wander off without me again." He said in a calm tone. He raised his gun and shoved Twilight out of the way. A shot rang out and another body dropped to the floor.

The other convicts must have heard the gunshot and now a lot of them came running. With little to no cover, the Courier had little choice. He pulled out his last stick of dynamite and chucked it at the cluster of convicts. They scattered away, giving the Courier and Twilight enough time to get away.

Daniel emptied the chamber of his gun and reloaded. "Get out of here! I'll hold them off." He yelled and a large convict wearing a welding mask and carried a large Flamer shot a ball of hot fire towards the Courier. Daniel got hit and crashed to the floor.

"Daniel!" Twilight called out. Daniel didn't move, or make any noise. The convict leader smiled under his mask as he aimed his Flamer at Twilight.

Twilight would scream or run away, but she was angry, furious. She raised her hand and forced the Flamer to point up. She used her other hand to grab the leader in a chokehold.

The convict leader dropped the Flamer and tried to remove the invisible force that was holding him up. And suddenly, the body went limp.

With their leader dead, the remaining convicts scattered and ran away. Twilight bent down to Daniel. She removed the burnt Leather Armor and saw that his torso was terribly burnt. The gentle rising and falling of his chest gave Twilight a small sigh of relief.

She used her magic to levitate his unconscious body to a nearby couch. She took out whatever she could find in the Doctor's Bag she brought with her, she quickly treated the wound, but the Courier was still unconscious.

She mentally cursed herself. If I didn't agreed to help, this would have never happened. She thought.

"Hello? Is anybody out there?" Twilight heard a voice call out from deeper into the Hotel. She picked up Daniel's Magnum and causiosly made her way to the source of the voice.

She pointed her gun and saw that it was a man around his thirties, tied down and could barely move. She lowered her gun. "You must be the Deputy?"

"Deputy Beagle at your service, ma'am." He said and struggled with his bindings. "Not to seem disrespectful, but can you please hurry up and untie me?"

Twilight went around behind the Deputy and undid the rope that bounded him.

"Thanks for that." Beagle said and massaged his wrists. "I know it's not much, but I want you to have this. As a token of appreciation." He said and gave Twilight a bag full of caps.

The Deputy nodded and was about to leave.

"Wait." Twilight called out. "I need someone to carry my friend back to the Casino on across the street."

"Ma'am," Beagle said with a suave smile. "It'll be my pleasure."

"There." The local doctor said with a small sigh. "He'll be fine in the morning, but he's gonna need a lot of water, and we don't have much of that."

"Is there anything I can do? Maybe I could go find some clean water?" Twilight suggested.

"Sorry, but trust me, we've already searched for any clean water around. Unless you want to drink out of a toilet then those water bottles are gonna have to be enough. Sorry I couldn't do anything more." The doctor said with a sigh. Twilight handed a bag of caps to the doctor.

Twilight sat down next to Daniel. It was weird for her, being in an alien world, fighting to survive, and having a complete stranger risk his life to save you. She knew that her friends would do that in a heartbeat, but nothing like this has ever happened. The Changeling invasion was one thing, but right now she felt like she couldn't do anything.

She stared at Daniel's body, wrapped in several bandages. "Sorry." Was all Twilight could say to Daniel. She started to tear up.

"Heh.What for?" Daniel asked. Twilight rubbed her eyes and saw that Daniel was smiling. Daniel forced himself up. "It looked like I was the one that needed saving." He smiled.

"Sorry I got you into this mess." She muttered.

"I got shot in the head. Having a few burn scars aren't going to keep me down." He laughed, and then coughed. "I'm fine, don't worry about it."

"I shouldn't have helped, I shouldn't have gotten involved." She muttered.

"I would have done the same thing. Trust me, you're a good person to have helped out, not many people do that these days." He said and got up from his makeshift bed. He stretched his arms, and popped back a few joints.

"You shouldn't be up..." Twilight said softly, her gaze dropped down to the floor.

Daniel stopped and looked at Twilight. "Hey, look at me." Daniel said. Twilight looked up at the Courier. "Stop beating yourself up. If I blamed myself for every little thing that happened, heck, I would have never gotten anything done."

"Still..." Twilight began. "You should probably rest." She said and got up.

"I'm just gonna go get a drink, then I'm hitting the hay. You should too." Daniel went out to the bar, he took a seat on one of the stools and ordered a bottle of Whisky.

"I'm telling you, Nash, we need a new Sheriff."

"Deputy, we don't have anyone else."

"What about Mayers?"

"He took the law into his own hands, and he paid for it."

"Those people got what was coming to 'em. Rape and murder aren't light cases."

"We could always get the NCR."

"Marshal Law doesn't sound fun."

Daniel got up, a bottle of Whisky in his hand, and walked up to the two men. "I couldn't help but overhear your little problem." Daniel said and took a swig of his bottle. "I may be able to help."

"Sorry, but you look like more of a travelling type than someone willing to settle down." Nash said.

"I wasn't talking about me. I might be able to get the NCR or this Mayers guy for you." Daniel said with a smile.

"No you're not." Twilight said and came out of their small room. "You need bed rest." She said and dragged the Courier into the small room.

"Let's talk tomorrow!" He yelled before the door magically shut.

King Sombra's small empire was coming along nicely. Trade routes and deals were made, weapons and food were high and slave labor skyrocketed through the roof.

The king watched over the slaves being rallied out on the courtyard. He loved the night, the crispt air, the nightly sounds and the fact that his power feeds off of darkness.

"My liege." A young man wearing recolored purple Legionnaire’s outfit with a dark crystal insignia on his chest, bowed to one knee. "We need more soldiers, we have reports that Legion forces have been preparing for an all-out assault."

"NCR?" King Sombra pondered. "No, they won't make it, and I hate having an unpaid debt." He looked over to his small force of ex-traders and ex-caravaniers. "I was too arrogant that one time, thinking I could have fought two goddesses at once, I will not make the same mistake again." He said. "Rally everyone! We are leaving! We are finding a much more defendable area for our base!" He yelled to the crowd.

The dark crystals soldiers that were in the crowd bowed and rallied the slaves.

They packed up everything they could carry, some of the Crystal Soldiers left armed mines around the camp.

Food, water, weapons, and ammo were all loaded onto several caravans and Brahmins, each looked as bloody and beaten as the next.

"My liege." A Crystal Soldier bowed. "Mind my asking, but... Where exactly are we going?" He said in a worried tone.

"My king." Another soldier bowed. "May I suggest the NCR Correctional Facility, it is a very defendable place, and we can make trades to the nearby towns of Goodsprings, Sloan, and Primm."

"Supplies and a place to defend? How about on assault? Can the area be used as a forward base of some kind?" Sombra asked, a small malicious grin spread across his face.

"No, sir. But if we take Primm and Sloan, we would have a good tactical advantage to the NCR and Legion." A Soldier said. "We can also find one of the Vaults, but it will be very dangerous and no way to escape if things go south, my liege."

"Or we can go north to Vegas, having the NCR so close would make a great deterrence to the Legion and supplies would be high." The other Crystal Soldier said.

"We can try and take Hoover Dam?" Another voice from behind King Sombra and the other two.

"That's insane." The first Crystal Soldier deadpanned. "The NCR would see us as a threat, and that would make us look like a target for the Legion, and we would be sandwiched between the two most powerful forces in the Mojave!"

"Silence."Sombra said and the area went quiet. "I think I found the perfect place." Sombra took a deep breath. "Defendable and with good trade routes. I believe this 'Nipton' would be our new home."

"Sir.Nipton is filled with people, are you saying we should attack and take over the town?"

"No, send a crier and spread the word, we need more bodies. Anyone who does not accept my rule shall be killed or be a slave, the choice is theirs!" Sombra yelled to the crowd.

"The last of the Legion scum has been taken care of, my liege." A Crystal Soldier said and bowed.

"We make camp for now, we move when it is night."

A Crystal Soldier bowed. "Sir, scouts have reported that Nipton was razed and sacked by the remaining Legion in the area."

Sombra paused, a small smile on his face. "Are there any other factions in the area?" He asked.

"Sir, there are Powder Gangers to the west of Nipton, ex-convict that have broken out of their prison, they are wild, but they are also negotiable."

"Hmmpth."Sombra huffed. "Go with the original plan, but instead of sending a crier to Nipton, send him to meet the Powder Gangers." Sombra said.

"Yes, my liege."

"This will be interesting. The Legion and NCR are dueling to the death, and us, being the one with the knives to their throats." King Sombra laughed. "The NCR will lose if we don't interfere, but when all of this is done, they will both be under my rule!" Sombra laughed much more loudly than the previous one.

A Crystal soldier coughed. "My liege, you were thinking out loud again."

Sombra stayed silent for a short while. "Where is Aurelius? I need my punching bag."