//------------------------------// // Chapter 5: Trust // Story: A Wilder Wasteland // by Midnight Words //------------------------------// Chapter 5: Trust ------------------------------ Primm, 9:00 A.M ------------------------------ Twilight looked in the broken mirror, her face was covered in dirt and sand, her once perfect face was now full of scratches. Killing still made her stomach gurgle, but being here in the Mojave for almost a week made her realize that it was needed, still it didn't make her feel any better. Daniel laid down on ruined couch, idly holding a .44 Armor Piercing bullet between his middle finger and his index finger. He idly twirled it between his fingers with a bored look in his eyes. "So, how long are we going to stay here?" Twilight asked as he inspected a small gash on her cheek. "Until the sandstorm blows over." Daniel calmly said. He twirled the bullet again. "I wish we were at the Mojave Outpost or something, they had a lot of booze there." Twilight sighed. She didn't have anything to do, no paper or quill, no books to read and nothing to organize. "I'm gonna go play with my magic." She said and flicked her arms up. "Try not to blow anything up." Daniel said and tucked away the bullet, he then took out his lighter and idly flicked it on and off. Twilight's hands glowed a brilliant purple, making the room glow with her magic. Daniel didn't even flinch as he flicked his lighter on and off. What did make him flinch was the loud explosion that happened after. He was rocketed to the other side of the room. He got up and dusted off the dirt and dust. "I said NOT to blow anything up." The Courier dead-panned. "I-it wasn't me, something... happened?" Twilight said as she stared into a bright blue portal. Pictures swirled around it. "Hello?" A voice from the portal called out. "Miss Sparkle, is that you?" The voice had a touch of Trottingham accent. "Uh, Twilight? What's going on?" Daniel asked as he readied his gun. "If Deathclaws start spewing out of that thing, I will be very very pissed." Twilight ignored the Courier's remarks and answered the portal. "Yes, this is Twilight Sparkle. Who is this?" She asked. "Oh thank Celestia. This is Time Turner. Whatever you do, do not, I repeat, do not go through the portal. The portal's a one-way ride and if you tried to cross back, you'll return as a mangled mess. Did you get all that?" Time Turner yelled as the portal began to shrink. "Wait! Are my friends all right?" Twilight called out, but the portal quickly vanished. Daniel lowered his guard. "Well... That's a reason to go out during a sandstorm." He said with a grin. "What do you mean?" Twilight asked, as she tried to open the portal again. "A mysterious voice saying not to go into a big shiny portal is just too tempting for my little heart." He said and picked up his bag. "And besides, the sandstorm's probably done by now." He said and skipped towards the door, and pushed it open. Only to be hit with a stray crate of Sunset Sarsaparilla. Twilight laughed as the storm slowly dissipated. "Off just a few seconds." "Yeah, yeah." Daniel said and stood back up. "So, where should we go now?" Twilight asked. Daniel shrugged. "I dunno. You're the magic expert." Twilight sighed. "I honestly don't know where to go." "Really?" "Really." "Crap. Well, let's go back to our original plan and head to Vegas." He said and started making his way to the road. "But," He said and quickly turned around. "I need to go to Mojave Outpost." "Wait, why do we need to- Ohhh! I see!" Twilight said with a huge grin. "Looks like somebody has a crush." "Pff-puff-wha? No, you must be mistaken, Ms. Sparkle." Daniel said with a small grin. "I just, uhhh, left my, uhhh, caravan deck! That's right! My caravan deck." Twilight laughed. "Whatever you say. Lover boy." "Up yours, Egghead." They shared a small laughed and went on their way. ------------------------------ Mojave Outpost, 10:00 A.M ------------------------------ "-and so I said 'Squirrel Stew? Are you crazy?' and then he said-" "We're here." Twilight pointed out, during the Courier's little rant. "Oh. As I was saying Squirrel Stew as an animal repellant? Talk about crazy." Daniel finished. "Hey," A voice from above called out. "You two, up here." The local sniper called out. "Huh? Can we help you?" Daniel asked and shielded his eyes from the sun. "My name's Ghost, and I got a job for you. Come up here so we can talk." Ghost said. Daniel shrugged towards Twilight. She only responded with a blank stare. "Ghost Ops." Daniel said with another shrug. The two went through the fenced gate and walked around to the building with the bar. Twilight and Daniel made their way to the top of the building. The view was nice, despite the giant statue blocking most of the Mojave. "So," Daniel started and took a seat on the nearby chair, he picked up the Binoculars on the table and peered through it. "What's this job, you want me to do?" "Smoke coming from Nipton, we had a few NCR stationed there, but no one's picking up. I need you to look into it." Ghost said, her stoic expression betrayed little or no emotion. "And you can't leave your post because the NCR would chew you out." Daniel said and turned to look at Nipton in the distance. Smoke lifted up from the ground. He could see some people, but he was unsure if those were NCR. "Spot on." Ghost replied. "I just need a status report, not a firefight, if things get hairy, I suggest you leave and head back here." "We'll get it done." Daniel replied. "Mind if we take this?" He said and pointed to the Binoculars. "Not at all, we have a lot of spares." Ghost said. Daniel and Twilight nodded and went down the ramp. Daniel made a bee-line towards the bar. "Cassidy!" Daniel called out. A bottle of empty Whisky flew right towards his face. "Never call me that again." Cass said with a bemused expression. "What do you want?" Daniel picked himself up from the floor. Mentally counting the times he got hit by something today. "Do you want to go traveling? Beats staying here all day." Cass sighed. "My caravan papers are keeping me here, even though my caravan got burnt to the ground." "Actually," Twilight started. "I fixed all that yesterday. You're free to go." Twilight stated. Cass raised an eyebrow. "Really now? Still, I don't know where to go." "Still better than here, right?" Daniel smiled. Cass thought for a moment. "Yeah, I've got someplace I want to visit, if we have time." "Sweet! The more the merrier!" Daniel grabbed Cass and Twilight's arms and bolted out the door. "Hey!" "Whoa!" The trio quickly made their way towards Nipton. Daniel singing "Jingle Jangle Jingle" as they walked. ------------------------------ Nipton, 1:00 P.M ------------------------------ "Oh my god..." Cass groaned, as she followed the singing Courier. "Please just stop singing..." "-And they sing. Oh, ain't you glad you're single!" Daniel sang(more like choked) as they walked. "You'll get used to it." Twilight shrugged towards Cass. "Yeah, but he's been singing for three hours straight!" Cass tried to drown out Daniel's voice. "I could really use... anything really." Daniel stopped, the smoke from Nipton had an odd smell along with it. Daniel shushed his two companions and sniffed the air. "Flesh, old burning flesh. Stay close." Daniel pulled out his revolver and crouched towards the town. "YEAH! Smell that air! Couldn't you just drink it like it was booze!" A man dressed as a Powder Ganger cheered to the air. "OH YEAH! I just won the lottery! Who won? Me! That's who! WOOOO!" He cheered and bolted off to god-knows-where. "That was... weird." Cass whispered quietly. Daniel shushed them and sneaked their way into the ruined town. Bodies were littered everywhere, blood painted the streets and houses. Most were burnt, or cut up, or crucified. Twilight was about to vomit, when Daniel pressed his hands on her mouth. "Legion. Stay quiet." He ordered and the two nodded. He peeked around the corner, seeing nearly a dozen armed Legionaries with shotguns, spears, and machetes patrolling the area. Daniel spotted their leader, due to his ornate clothing and wolf headwear, a Vulpus. Daniel turned to his companions. "Cass, cover fire. Twilight, make some cover with that magic of yours. I'm going to flank them." "Wha- magic? I thought that was just a little parlor trick back there." Cass said and turned to Twilight. "It's real, now trust me." Twilight said and raised her hand. A low glowing purple wall erupted from the ground and made cover for the trio. "Now." Whispered the Courier as he went behind a ruined general store. Cass pulled out her Caravan Shotgun and started firing. Twilight raised her hands and shot concentrated bolts of magic at the Legionaries. Daniel moved from the right and pointed his revolver. A Legion Mongrel jumped him before he could fire his shot. Daniel used his arm to hold off the dog's biting, he pulled out the rusty knife from Goodsprings and gave a stab right at the base of the dog's neck. The Mongrel went limp and rolled off to the side Daniel saw the blood and bite wounds on his arm, he couldn't feel it. Legion melee fighters came rushing towards Daniel. The Courier saw that he was being circled by four Legionaries, and with his left arm limp, he was in a major disadvantage. "I'm fucked, aren't I?" He questioned and clenched his knife tighter. A Legionarie lunged at the crippled Courier. Daniel parried the blow and gave a swift kick to the groin. He shoved the Legionarie with his shoulder, making him drop his machete and stumble backwards. He grabbed the machete in a backhand stance. A Legionarie threw a spear towards the Courier. Daniel didn't notice the spear before it lodged itself on his side. The Legionaries rushed in for the killing blow. "Nice try." Daniel said and revealed that he had an unpinned grenade in his dead hand. The only thing that held back the explosion was his hand. He dropped the grenade and threw it to the group that was firing at Twilight and Cass. The grenade exploded and made several Legionaries into a bloody paste on the ground. Daniel rolled back and distanced himself from the Legionaries. "A little help here!" He called out. Cass jumped over Twilight's barrier and gave Daniel as much covering fire as possible. Daniel dropped the machete and pulled out his revolver, six shots rang out and six more dead bodies fell to the ground. The Legion was quickly cut down, each having a quick death. A merciful death. The Courier thought, he noticed that Vulpus was sturggling, his leg was blown off from the grenade explosion. "Pray to your Gods, you murdering asshole." Daniel, reloaded his revolver and pulled back the hammer of his gun. A loud shot rang out and Vulpus' body went limp. Daniel grunted as he pulled the spear from his abdomen. He turned towards the two girls, both of them had concerned looks on their faces. "Ready to go." Daniel said in his usual up-beat tone. "You had a spear in your guts!" Twilight yelled, she pulled out her Doctor's Bag and started sorting out what she needed. "Let me guess," Cass said with a small smile. "He does this often." Twilight nodded. "Getting hurt to the point he shouldn't be alive. Yeah, he does that a lot." "You're getting really good at this, being a medic and all." He laughed. "I pegged you for the sciencey stuff." Twilight sighed. "If only you didn't rush into things so much." "You saw my scores on the Vito-matic. I've got the luck of a guy with thirteen black cats on a Friday." Daniel said and saw that Twilight was finished with her stitching. "I'm more likely to meet a Deathclaw on the road to Vegas than anyone." Daniel scratched the back of his head. "Let's head back, I've got a few questions for you." His tone turned deadly serious. "There's something not quite right about you." Twilight tensed up. She didn't know what he meant, he was being very friendly with her up until now. Now she felt like she was being examined. ------------------------------ Mojave Outpost, 2:00 P.M ------------------------------ It was a quick run back to the Outpost, much to Cass and Twilight's displeasure in running. No singing or sightseeing, just a silent sprint towards the Outpost. "What?!" Ghost cried, surprised. "Legion? This far out west? Huh, gives me a reason to stay sharp. Thanks for making the trip, even if it was bad news." Ghost sighed and handed a small pouch of caps to Daniel. Daniel nodded, clearly something else in his mind. Twilight was waiting inside the bar with Cass. "So I heard your caravan burned down. How'd that happen? The reports said that you were attacked by bandits." Twilight said and took a swig of her Sarsaparilla. "I honestly don't know." Cass' voice was strained, she recalled what happened. "We were out, delivering some water to Mojave Outpost from Vegas. We got jumped by some thugs with laser weapons, a lot of laser weapons, they torched the caravan and burned it to the ground, they didn't even steal my cargo, they burned that too." Cass took a large swig of her Whisky. "That must have been tough." Twilight said with a small nod. "Losing one of the last things your dad gave you." "How'd you know that?" "It was filed in the report." Daniel bursted through the door. He lunged towards Twilight and pinned her up on the wall by the throat. Cass picked up her gun and pointed at the two, she didn't know what was going on. "Wha? Dan! Drop her." Cass said and pointed her gun at Daniel. "Tell me who you are. You are not fooling anyone with that amnesia bullshit." Daniel pulled out his machete and pressed it against Twilight's neck. "Think about what you’re going to do next very carefully." Cass slowly said, her hands tensed as her grip tightened on her gun. "The 'you remind me of a friend' thing back in Goodsprings? I could believe that, but the little quips like not knowing how to shoot or fight. You could have been one of those Vault Dwellers, never been out in the sun for over hundreds of years, but I thought that a Vault Dweller would be wearing a Vault suit and at least know what a gun was or know how to fight." He tighten his grip on the machete. "But do you know what took the cake? The portal back in Primm. You acted like you remember everything. What the hell are you hiding?" "I don't-" Twilight choked. "Don't bullshit me! Who do you work for?! The Brotherhood? The Legion? Did the NCR finally think they need one less loose end?" Cass needed to stop this. One way or the other, but what would she choose? A loud gunshot rang out, a body crashed down on the floor, a small puddle of blood spread over the dirty tiles. ------------------------------ NCRCF, 8:00 P.M ------------------------------ Sombra laughed as hundreds of criminals ran around like headless chickens. The illusion worked like a charm, some of the Powder Gangers tried fighting back, but found their weapons to be useless against the illusions and Sombra's shield. "This will be your final warning." Sombra said calmly behind his shield. His soldiers mounted weapons across the shield, they were ready to fire on Sombra's word. "Submit or die. That is your choice!" "Fuck you!" A Powder Ganger said and threw a stick of dynamite. Sombra caught the dynamite with his magic and shoved it back into the Powder Ganger's mouth. "They are a stubborn lot, aren't they?" Sombra said to the soldier on his right. Sombra's coat fluttered in the late desert wind, the flame illusions looked as if it had burned through the metal gates, giant Deathclaws and Cazadors went around and caused mass panic. Sombra smiled, his plan was coming along perfectly. Most Powder Gangers that were attacked or "burning" fell unconscious, ready to be round up later. The moon made the show much more exciting, the light glow from the fire and the moon mixed into something beautiful. Sombra couldn't help but smile at his art. Some Powder Gangers threw down their weapons and lay in a fetal position, shivering uncontrollably. The last of them lay there, alive but unconsious. The illusions dissipated, and everything was back to normal, the few unfortunate Gangers that were caught in friendly fire or Sombra's return throws were little more than bits of blood and gore on the sands. Sombra motioned to his two guards. "Round them up in the courtyard, make sure to bind their hands and feet." The two soldiers bowed and ran off with a small squad to help carry the bodies. Sombra noticed one person, a young black man held up his pistol in fear. "Y-you're- l-like her? How?" He asked and gripped his gun tighter. Sombra raised an eyebrow. "Her? Hah! It seems I am not the only Unicorn here." He laughed, he pointed his finger to the gun and flicked it off to the side. The Powder Ganger yelped in surprise. "Tell me, who is this 'her' you speak of?" The Powder Ganger stammered. "T-Tw-Twilight!" He yelled. "Don't hurt me!" Sombra frowned. "Humpt! Twilight Sparkle? She should be easy to deal with, she has never seen the true powers of dark magic." Sombra pointed his finger at the Ganger's head. A small thin blast erupted and bore a hole through the poor man's head. Twilight? Easy enough. Without the Elements, or the Crystal Heart, she is nothing more than a pawn. He thought and dusted off his cape. ------------------------------ Camp Forlorn Hope, 9:00 P.M ------------------------------ The legion had moved back in, this was bad for the NCR. The good news was that the brief respite gave them enough breathing room to resupply from the other nearby bases, like Helios I. Pvt. Dunn, silently cleaned and repaired his rifle. Everything is fine. He kept telling himself. But why do I feel like something's wrong? Dunn was knocked out of his thoughts by a rough hand on his shoulder. He turned around and saw his parther, Cpl. Cole. Cole's rifle had been long overdue to be repaired. "How's it going, Dunn?" Cole asked and sat down beside him. "Still having those weird dreams?" "Every night." Dunn replied coldly, his gaze never left his rifle. "Still the same Sombra guy and his creepy hand on my head. I don't know, maybe I need my Psych checked." Dunn said and placed his rifle on the table. He picked up Cole's rifle and started cleaning. "You don't need to do that." Cole said. He had a concerned look on his face. "Yes I do... It keeps my hands busy and my mind from wandering off..." He said and picked up a broken rifle and stripped it for parts. "Do you feel like something's wrong? Like something's in your head, rewriting what you know?" "Nah, can't say I have. What this about?" Cole asked. "I dunno... I just feel... Wrong, somehow?" Dunn placed back Cole's rifle on the table. Cole screamed as he clutched his head and fell off his chair. "Cole?" Dunn moved over to his friend's screaming body. His head began to spin, and a searing pain shot up from all over his body. "Wh-What!?" "Hmmm... It seems you're stronger than I thought. No matter, tell your Commanding Officers that a fugitive by the name of 'Twilight Sparkle' has gone loose, she is extremely dangerous and unstable. If she is dead, find her body and bring it to the NCRCF. If not, kill her. She may be traveling with a man known as 'the Courier', kill him as well. Goodbye, do not fail me." "Yes, Master." Both of them said and headed to the Command tent. ------------------------------ Everfree Forest ------------------------------ It's been a day already, Rainbow Dash couldn't wait, she slipped on the device Turner gave her. She was determined. Flying at an insane speed towards the portal, Rainbow Dash couldn't hear the yells from her friends to slow down or stop. Rainbow Dash saw Time Turner poking the portal with a stick, even throwing a few rocks in it. She dive-bombed the portal, each second seemed to slow down, a flurry of magic brushed off her coat and wings. Her face started to hurt, she was going fast. Fast enough to make a Sonic Rainboom. Time Turner rolled back and saw Rainbow Dash fly into the portal. "NO! YOU IDIOT!" He yelled and looked over to the portal. "The portal wasn't fixed on Twilight's position! You could land anywhere! RAINBOW DASH! COME BACK!" Rainbow Dash heard every word, but she couldn't reply, her voice was drowned by the unending pain. She felt like warm blood started pouring down her ears. The portal swirled and started to open up to a new world. She felt herself falling... the blue sky, the sound of seagulls... She could hear it. It was by pure luck she heard a voice call out beside her. "HEY! ARE YOU ALRIGHT!" A man wearing a blue jumpsuit yelled. Rainbow Dash could barely register the voice or the creature that was beside her. Without warning the creature grabbed her and wrapped his long arms around her. "HANG ON!" He yelled. "Guys! I got an unexpected passenger!" The creature opened the chute and both of them drifted down slowly to the ground. "Wha..." Rainbow Dash tried to talk but felt that her throat was dry as bones. "You'll be alright." The man in the blue jumpsuit said. Another man wearing a red Jumpsuit floated down next to them. "What the hell, Jason!?"