Chapter 1: Lonesome Road

>This isn't what you imagined when you left Nellis
>You imagined Riches, women,power and most of all, big guns
>Instead you were trudging through the Mojave heat hunting Super mutants and centaurs for bounties
>Fucking hell, the sun could go and kill itself for all you care
>And you swore if you heard another NCR Soldier wish for nuclear winter you were gonna blow his fucking head off with your Gun
>Checking your Pip-boy showed no enemies nearby, but there is a cave nearby
>Maybe you could rest there till the sun went down
>Broc flower cave? Stupid name but whatever
>You alter your course and head for it quickly
>The faster you were out of the sun and in the shade the better
>You are Anon, Born a boomer on Nellis Air force base
>The Base was just too small for you though, How could you stay when there was a whole world out there
>So you left to see everything else the world had to offer
>So far it was just a bunch of people trying to kill each other, people trying to kill you and Mutated things trying to kill or eat you
>Not what you had in mind that's for sure
>The cave opening is in view so you speed up a bit and duck inside
>Glowing green fungus lines the walls as you head deeper inside
>Not bad so far, even if your Pip-boys Geiger counter clicks a bit
>You draw out your riot shotgun, better to have it ready just in case some Junkie viper was in here or some weird creatures like those big ass flying wasps
>A noise to your right and you turn and find a pair of glowing eyes
>And attached to those eyes is a Giant fucking rat
>You raise your shotgun and fire it, obliterating the rats head
>Well now, looks like you had dinner
>Being raised on nothing but legumes sucked, and when you finally got real meat it was paradise
>But you still needed to find a safer area to eat it, just in case there were any of its friends hanging around
>A quick survey showed a small ledge leading up and winding to the left upwards
>Might as well follow that
>You grab your kill and heft it over your shoulder then trudge up the winding ledge
>Not a bad haul for a random cave, you got some shade AND a meal
>Following the narrow ledge you go up over the main area of the cave and see something that catches your attention
>A small chamber with light pouring out
>Light meant people
>But who in their right mind would live here
>You enter the small room and look around
>Basic amenities, a generator, lights, a cooking stove, a cot and a water purifier
>As you walk in you look around, seeing no one 
>Huh, odd
>You notice a rifle leaned against one of the boxes so you set down your kill and pick it up
>Silenced, night vision scope, fairly good condition
>Who would just leave their rifle behind
>A Noise causes you to turn quickly, raising the rifle
>Nothing? That cant be right
>You rush to the entrance of the room
>Except you bump into something that's not there
>Someone using a stealth boy?!
>You prepare to hit whoever tried to sneak up on you with a punch only the person you bumped into is on the ground already
>It, She, is on her back, tongue flopped out, eyes closed
>Did you knock her out? What the fuck?
>But also something is off
>She's not human, looking more like the weird coyote things that tried to eat you 
>Scaled head and down her back were black and orange scales running all the way to her tail
>An anthro? How rare, you had seen anthros in freeside
>You poke her with the barrel of the rifle
>"Hey you ok?"
>Silence
>Ok then she's out cold
>You set down the rifle and go to pick her up
>You grab an arm and try to hoist her up only to have her pull herself back down into an even more dramatic pose
>What the fuck
>"Uhm, I know you aren't unconscious or dead, so might as well stop pretending"
>No response
>Fuck it, leave her there
>You go to the cooking stove and fire it up and begin cooking a chunk of the rat
>A few little spices from around the wasteland and your meal is cooking and smelling great
>The snakedog lady is still laying on the ground, but you can see her eyes open a few times to eye the food as well as her forked tongue shoot out of her mouth
>"You can drop the act lady, if you do I might be willing to share my meal"
>You watch her hesitantly sit up and look you up and down
>"You're not here for me mister?" she says, finally 
>Sitting down on the cot, you watch her as she stands up and goes to the stove, sniffing the meat
>"Why would I be here for you? I'm not even sure what you are"
>You stand and toss another chunk of the rat meat onto the stove
>She watches as you turn over the first piece 
>"Uh, I'm a Nightstalker, a Mix of a red wolf and a Hognosed snake"
>Nightstalker? so that's what they were called? sounds like a 13 year old named them
>"Uh huh and why would I be looking for you?"
>You turn off one of the stove burners and look around, a plate is sitting near the water purifier so you grab it and place the meat on it
>"I escaped from a Place called the Big MT, I thought they would send people to hunt me down, that's why I've been hiding here"
>You scratch your head
>Big MT? escaped? what?
>You hand her the plate of rat meat and grab the second piece off with your hands and eat it like finger food
>What do you care about manners?
>"And uh the whole playing Opossum thing? Whats with that?" You say as you chew your food
>She kicks a rock out the rooms door casually before answering
>"Uh I dunno, whenever I get startled or scared I just play dead, even though I can turn invisible"
>You cock your head in confusion as you eat your food
>"So lets get this straight, you can turn invisible and instead of just going invisible to run; you play dead?"
>She huffs at you in anger
>"Yes! I don't Know why! It's totally involuntary"
>What a weird girl
>You use you pip boy to magic up a machete a to cut another chunk of meat off the Rat
>It's been a while since you had fresh meat and the last time was from a radroach in the Freeside sewers
>Ugh that place reeked and was infested with ghouls
>As you toss the rat steak onto the stove you look the nightstalker up and down
>No hair, reddish fur that complemented her black and orange scales
>The fur on her Small chest and tummy is whiteish 
>Shes wearing torn up rags that barely covered her
>"How long have you been here uh.. sorry whats your Name?"
>You forgot to ask after her whole playing dead thing
>She looks down at her footpaws
>"I uh..I Don't have one actually, the scientists that created us never gave us names"
>You blink hard a few times in confusion
>Scientists? Created? This girl was confusing
>"Uh ok...What would you name yourself then?" you as as you poke the rat steak on the stove burner
>She looks at her scaled hands and arms, then her footpaws then her tail
>"Uh.. I don't know any names, can you help me with that?"
>Disbelief washes over you
>You just met her and shes now asking you to name her
>Whatever fine
>"I'll give you a name but in exchange I want this rifle; it's pretty good"
>She shrugs, "Fine, I found it here anyway with all this other stuff"
>So someone was living here before her? how odd
>either way you rack your brain while fidgeting with the rifle
>Your head settles on the Name your grandfather had used for his Gun
>"Uh How about Gracie?"
>She puts her paw (Hand?) to her chin she she thinks while looking at you
>As she contemplates you notice her eyes
>The right one is bright blue and has a round pupil, the left eyes is yellow and has a snake like pupil
>That's pretty neat
>"Huh...Gracie.. I Like it! Thanks uh..."
>"Anon, but most people just call me Boomer"
>She looks you you up and down
>"Boomer? That's dumb, I'll just call you Anon"
>Doesn't matter to you after all you weren't sticking around long
>You sit silently as you take apart the Rifle noticing the name "RatSlayer" etched into it
>Pretty good condition and having a silenced gun could be handy
>You feel a little extra weight on the cot and look over to see Gracie eyeing you and the rifle
>"Is that gun good? Why would you break it?"
>You start putting it back together as you answer
>"Not breaking, taking it apart to check its condition, who ever left it here kept it in good condition"
>She watches you with interest as you finish and snap the magazine into place
>You pick up you machete once more and pull the rat steak off the stove and begin eating it, ignoring the stare from the nightstalker
>"So why are you in this can Anyway Anon? I thought it was out of the way enough to not be found"
>Chewing your meal slowly, you wonder what her deal is
>Not that you disliked the friendliness, but most people had an agenda
>"I was hunting a pack of super mutants that have been kidnapping people"
>She cocks her head to the side
>"What's a super mutant?"
>You raise your eyebrows
>"Big ass green fuckers that eat people"
>She stares at you for a moment
>"I can't tell if you're joking or not"
>You finish your meal and look at her 
>"I'm definitely not joking"
>She pokes the dead rat 
>"So why are you in this cave though, and can I have some more meat?"
>You cut off a leg of the rat and pull the skin off expertly as you answer
>"It's hot out, I wanted some shade so I can let it cool down outside and ambush the Mutants, with this rifle I can take them down at night"
>You set the meat on the stove and sit back down
>Gracie watches the meat cook as you dial through your pip boy inventory
>Riot shotgun, check. Light machine gun, Check. 10MM Submachine gun Check. Gobi campaign scout rifle you found near Cottonwood cove, check
>You had used to to kill of a bunch of those legion assholes too
>Using it might be good against the super mutants, but the ratslayer was silenced and had a night vision scope
>You yawn involuntarily and stretch
>Might as well take a quick nap while you wait for the sun to set
>Would Gracie try anything? Eh maybe, but you had guns and she had nothing
>"I'm gonna catch a nap, you can have the rest of the rat if you want"
>You lean back against the wall and close your eyes
>Sleeping in a sitting position for a combat nap is always good because you can get up quicker
>It doesn't take long for you to fall asleep to the sound of Gracie's meal sizzling

Chapter 2: Follow

>You awake to an unpleasant weight on your thighs  
>God dammit everything below your knees feel like white noise because of it
>You look down as see Gracie laying on the cot using you as a pillow
>Unceremoniously you push her off causing a yelp of surprise
>You start massaging your calves trying to return blood flow to them as she looks at you rubbing her head tenderly
>"What was that for!? I was comfortable!"
>Her eyes focus on you rubbing your legs
>"what's wrong Anon?"
>You scowl and continues trying to return the feeling to your legs
>"You cut off the blood flow to my legs and now they're numb, also I'm not your pillow"
>She looks at you with her odd colored eyes
>"Oh... you were just so warm and your legs looked comfy"
>You frown and kick each leg out bit by bit, regaining control and feeling in them
>Although a nap is all you wanted you feel like you slept much longer than a few hours
>A quick check of your pip Boy showed it was 3 am
>Perfect
>"Well Gracie it's been fun, See ya later"
>You weren't going to see her later but it felt better than just saying "bye don't die"
>A quick check through your things showed you that you were ready
>Gracie stares at you as you stand
>"You...uh.. you don't have to leave Anon! I can share the cave with you! it's safer in here"
>You smile a bit and nod
>"Thanks for the offer, but I can't just hide away in a cave while the world is out there, I've already hid before and I'm done with it"
>You turn and walk out of the chamber and down the ramp to the entrance of the cave
>No need for long goodbyes, no need to drag out the inevitable
>As you pass through the mouth of the cave you breath in the dry Mojave air
>When its night time it's not too hot out at least
>Your boots stir up dust as you walk swiftly through the desert, checking your pip boy occasionally to make sure you were going in the right direction
>West of the abandoned ranch, North of New Nipton
>There are supposedly caves around here full of coyotes and and non-anthro night stalkers
>Not what you were hunting today, or any day really; no point in kicking a hornet nest 
>As you skirt the craggy outcroppings of tall, you spot the place you were heading
>Jack Rabbit Springs, the info from Mojave outpost was true to its words
>Brownish steam was the tell-tale sign of where it was
>You stop and kneel down, scrolling through your pip boy inventory
>Rad-x, definitely don't want to get radiation poisoning
>A sound behind you causes you whip around pointing the ratslayer in the direction of the noise
>A soft thud is heard and a bit of dust is kicked up from a falling body
>But you hadn't shot yet
>You wave aside some of the dust and spot the perpetrator
>Gracie
>She must have followed you 
>You sigh and lower the rifle
>"Gracie what are you doing here?! Go back to your cave"
>A moment passes before she opens an eye at you
>Again with this bullshit
>"Get up!" you snap, causing her to squeak in surprise and scramble to her feet
>"Uh Hi Anon! fancy meeting you here!" she says rubbing a hand over her scaled head while avoiding eye contact
>You frown
>"Gracie what are you doing here?"
>She looks up at you 
>"I uh, I don't want to hide anymore, like you said there is a whole world to see"
>"And what does that have to do with me?" You say turning from her
>You scan the hills for anything that might have heard you
>Nothing so far, which is good
>"You're the only person I know that hasn't tried to kill me, so I uhm, I followed you. Is that ok?"
>You rub your face, traveling alone had its drawbacks, and she hadn't tried to kill you
>"Fine, but-"
>Your words are cut short by monsterous yelling
>"GAAAH WHERE'S THAT NOISE COMING FROM!!?"
>From over the nearest hill comes a Green super mutant and several Centaurs
>Ugh those things gave you the creeps
>A flash of fire zooms overhead, telling you the mutant had an incinerator
>But he can't see you in the pitch dark of the night, the fact he's firing wildly tells you that much
>Again you hear the soft thump of a body hitting the sand
>You look back to Gracie and see She's playing dead again
>"God dammit Gracie now is NOT the time for that!” you say sidestepping and aiming down your scope
>The ratslayer is your only silenced weapon, and silenced weapons aren't quite your thing
>But it had a night vision scope letting you see the mutants face
>And letting you see the bullet hole you put between his eyes
>As the mutant falls his incinerator goes off one more time, lighting one of the centaurs on fire
>the screeching sound it makes as it burns will haunt your nightmares
>You stash the rat slayer and draw out your Light machine gun
>No need for the night vision anymore, the burning centaur showed you right where the other ones are
>Controlled bursts of gunfire, bright flashes from the muzzle of your gun
>The smell of gunpowder and burning flash
>This is what you lived for
>They fall quickly, without their super mutant master to guide them, they can only meander slowly towards you
>Blood runs in small streams down the hill, and you stand with a smile on your face
>Well that's a good payday, hopefully you get paid enough to compensate the bullets you fired
>You hear gracie stirring as you walk to the super mutant  
>How the pip boy's devil magic works, you don't know, but it lets you carry so many guns and gear
>You disappear your LMG and draw out a machete and hack off the mutants hands
>"Gracie get up we're going"
>Gracie sits up and looks at you as you pick up the incinerator and place it into your inventory
>"Ew why are you talking the hand? you're not gonna eat it are you"
>The thought makes you shudder a bit
>"Need proof its dead , they won't trust me just at my words"
>She gags a bit as you toss the hand to her
>"EW EW EW! GROSS!"
>You look her up and down more intently this time
>Wide hips, very wide hips, and small breasts
>God damn this snakedog  brings a whole new meaning to "child bearing hips"
>But she is still just wearing rags
>Hm maybe you have something
>As she wipes mutant blood off herself you scroll through your pip boy
>A Merc Cruiser outfit is the only clothes you have, Plus a Vexillarius helmet to hide her scales
>If people think she's just a wolf anthro there shouldn't be much of an issue
>"Here put these on, hurry up we got places to go" you say tossing the cloths to her
>She fumbles the clothes a bit and drops the helmet all together 
>"Wha? Why?"
>You motion to her
>"You're practically naked and that helmet should hide that you're a night stalker"
>She sniffs the coyote head and makes a disgusted face
>"Smells like someone died in this"
>You smile as she pulls it on
>"Someone did die in it, come on, we're heading to New Nipton"
>You start walking quickly and hear her stumble a bit to catch up with you
>"New Nipton? What happened to old nipton?"
>you frown thinking about it
>News from it had even reached you on Nellis
>The Legion came and crucified the whole town, holding a lottery of who would live and who would die
>Now the town was run by ex-fiends, ex-vipers and ex-legionaries 
>After that courier showed up out of nowhere and murdered Caesar most legionaries joined raider gangs
>Some stayed where they were and forms mini slave camps
>Cottonwood Cove is- was one of those
>As soon as you got your Gobi Campaign scout rifle you took them all out
>Slavers were worse than super mutants
>"Hurry up! I want to get to new nipton before the sun rises"
>"Why what's the rush Anon?" she says as she catches up with your quick pace
>As you walk you check your pip-boy and stop
>Drawing out ratslayer, you hand it to her
>"Look down that way, and you'll see why we need to hurry"
>You point in the direction and she moves the scope back and forth a few times trying to get it to focus
>"I see just a lot of sand"
>You grab the barrel of the gun and slowly move it, using the pip-boy as a compass to the threat
>"I don't see an-"
>She gasps loudly
>"What are THOSE!?"
>You pull the rifle away from her and look down the scope
>Radscorpions; dozens of them, some small, some bigger than a deathclaw
>"Those are radscorpions, they must smell the blood from the centaurs and want a free meal, and if they see us, we're on the menu"
>You start walking again, 
>After 40 minutes of walking you see the outskirts of the town
>The sun rises in front of you as you walk quickly
>A quick resupply in town then back to camp Mccarran
>You check the time
>7 am, you had made good time
>As you walk through the town, you can almost feel the uneasiness
>A Human wearing blood stained leather armor with a bomber jacket, and what to them looks like a wolf anthro wearing a legion helmet
>Not a pretty sight for these guys and gals, you probably look like the grim reaper
>A sign on one of the buildings reads "general store"
>You push the door open and head inside only to have a double barrel shotgun in your face
>"What's your business here outsider?!"
>The man holding the shotgun is trembling as he eyes you
>He looks over to Gracie, eyes wide as he looks at her helmet
>Just the chance you need
>You grab the shotgun and pull it out of his hands
>"Rude, I was just here to resupply before leaving"
>Popping open the shotgun you pull out the shells and hand him the unloaded gun
>"Uh, yes of course, sorry. I'm afraid we don't have anything here, the NCR folks from Mojave outpost bought all our goods"
>You frown at that
>Well there goes that plan
>"Anywhere we can stay for a bit and cook up some food then?"
>He shakes his head
>"Sorry stranger, people around here aren't too keen to let outsiders in. There's a cave behind city hall with a door and a lock on it, if you can get into that you can stay there safely"
>You hear Gracie groan behind you
>"Ugh another cave"
>You sigh and leave, pulling Gracie behind you
>"I know another cave isn't the ideal situation but if it has a lock it’s somewhere we can rest up for a while and eat"
>She grabs your arm as she looks around
>"Anon this place is scary, why did we come here anyway?"
>You had to agree it was a bit scary with all the stares you were getting, this place had seen better days
>"I had hoped to get a few stimpaks and some bullets before heading to the strip"
>As you leave town you head directly behind city hall
>Checking your pip-boy , the location of the cave is highlighted on your screen
>About a mile from town, and hidden in a rocky outcropping
>You walk with Gracie still latched onto you,
>At least she didn't play dead in town
>The door to the cave is hidden well enough 
>Lucky you had learned a fair bit of lock picking from your limited time in freeside
>"Watch my back"
>You kneel in front of the door and pull a bobby pin out of your pocket, jamming it in the lock and twist it around looking for the sweet spot
>After a minute of 2 and a few curses thrown at the lock you're able to open the door
>Inside is a a small cache, lanterns and a radiation suit
>No bed or anything but you can make due with your bedroll
>In the cache there are just a few cans of cram, and some sunset sarsaparilla
>Eh not a perfect meal but food is food
>You recall hearing about a herd of wild bighorners north of Novac, maybe you should hunt some
>Opening a can of cram you hand it to Gracie and open one for yourself
>You dig in, eating with a hunting knife while Gracie just uses her long tongue to scoop out chucks on the meat paste
>While you had slept a fair bit earlier, you were tired, walking about 15 miles and killing a mutant takes a lot out of you 
>Clicking through your pip-boy you find your bed roll in your inventory and magic it up
>Gracie watches you as you unroll it near one of the rock walls
>Lucky you had a pillow
>You sit on the bed roll and lean back against the stonewall , your back and head supported by your pillow
>"You're going to sleep sitting? That's weird" Gracie says crawling over to you
>You stifle back a yawn
>"Yea, it's just how I am"
>The last thing you do is pull out your LMG and set it next to you
>"And you sleep with your gun? I'm not gonna interrupt anything am i?" Gracie says in a teasing voice
>You grunt in annoyance as you charge it
>"If anyone or anything decides it wants in, I would rather have it ready"
>You motion to the door that's directly across from you, your back against the wall so you can face it directly
>"Oh..Yea, that makes sense" 
>Gracie scooches a bit closer, eyeing the long unused part of the bedroll
>"Ca-can I use the bedroll too Anon? and use your legs as a pillow again? I promise not to make your legs go numb"
>You sigh
>"Yea fine, just roll up your shirt or something as cushioning"
>She slips her jacket off and folds in up placing it on your lap before laying her head down
>"Goodnight Anon"
>You put a hand on your LMG and the other on Gracie's side
>Maybe having someone to talk to wasn't so bad
>You should give her a gun too
>But that's a thought for another time
>"Goodnight Gracie"
>You can already hear her hissing snores as you drift off to sleep

Chapter 3: The Other side of Paradise
>Wind blows by, causing the door to the cave to rattle gently
>The noise wakes you from your sleep
>The soft weight on your legs tells you Gracie hasn't moved
>Your eyes open to seeing sand and other debris blowing outside
>The door isn't exactly solid but it would slow down most would be attackers long enough for you to mow them down
>You gently place a hand on Gracie's shoulder
>"Hey wake up, Gracie, we gotta get going"
>She eyes slowly open and she sits up, wiping a small bit of drool from her lip
>"Wha? What time is it Annnnnonnnnnnn?" she says your name though a yawn
>You check your pip boy for the time 
>2 PM
>A decent nap but you had a lot of ground to cover 
>During your travels you had met a Brotherhood of steel paladin, Sato
>During your trades, he gave you access codes to the Brotherhood bunker, saying you were trustworthy enough
>Ever since the war for hoover dam the Brotherhood and the Boomers had been shaky but friendly allies
>Who would have thought two reclusive, gun crazed fanatical groups would be such good friends?
>If you recall correctly their bunker was to the north
>You dial in the coordinates on your pip boy and get up with a small stretch
>Gracie pulls back on her jacket as you stash your gear and bedroll in your inventory
>"Where are we going anon?" Gracie says as you push the cave door open
>The fact that someone took the time to make a door for this cave and didn't use it for anything blew your mind
>Not your problem though
>If it were closer to the strip you might consider using it as a base
>"We're headed to meet up with some allies Gracie, keep that helmet on though"
>No need to cause a panic with her unusual appearance
>The sunlight blinds you temporarily as you blink away the brightness
>Another day in paradise
>"Ugh it's too bright anon, can't we wait till night?"
>You start heading around the rocky hillside, there should be a canyon you can head through to the northeast
>"The place we are going has a defense system active at night that we don't want to be caught in"
>You walk through the barren desert, leading Gracie
>Dust billows around the both of you as the desert sun beats down on you
>Ugh fuck you sun, you big fat ball of cancer
>The growl of your stomach pulls you away from your scorn for certain celestial bodies
>As much as you want to get to the hidden valley fast food was needed
>"Gracie are you hungry? We could hunt something here "
>You turn to her and see her panting and tired
>"I'm...*pant*.... Starving Anon" she gasps out
>You frown
>"Are you OK? And if you were hungry you should have told me, I tend to get distracted"
>She shakes her head
>"I'm, just not *pant* used to how fast you walk, and you seemed so determined I didn't wanna distract you"
>A twinge of guilt hits you
>She really was trying hard and you were being a hardhead like always
>"Alright Gracie, let's slow down and see if we can hunt up something to eat"
>Instead of walking in front of her, you walk next to her letting her set a pace
>You keep your pip-boy up and scan the wastes
>Geckos frequent these areas, and they can be quite tasty
>You're looking down scanning the screen of you pip-boy when Gracie jumps on you, bouncing up and down while pointing
"OH OH OH! LOOK A GECKO! LETS GET IT"
>Pushing her off, you look to where she was pointing and see a group of Geckos in a circle, feeding on something
>"Nice, Lemme get one"
>She tugs your arm earnestly
>"No No! Let me! I wanna get one! I saw them first!"
>You look at her and she looks up at you expectantly with a happy smile
>"Pleassssseeeee!" she begs looking over to the geckos in the distance
>As clingy as she is, she can be quite cute
>In an annoying sort of way
>"Fine, shoot one and lets get a meal"
>She looks down at her feet, shuffling them a bit
>"Uh can I use one of your guns? I don't have one"
>Derp, you mentally facepalm from the oversight on your part
>Nearly everyone had a gun so it was second nature to assume she had one, even when she clearly didn't
>"Alright, I'll let you use the ratslayer, and I'll use my campaign rifle, score 2 kills"
>You draw out the ratslayer and hand it to her as she bounces excitedly on her feet, her tail wagging in a flurry behind her
>"Alright this is how you use a gun" you say as you pull out your Campaign rifle
>You silently kneel and start telling her the basic of using a gun
>How to load it, shooting posture, the basic rules of a firearm
>After about 10 minutes of explanation, she loses her patience
"Whatever! Teach me later! Hungry now!"
>You sigh and look down your scope
>"Fine but don't press the scope directly to your eye or you'll-"
>The soft *Twhip* of a silenced round is heard followed by Pained screaming From Gracie
>Quickly, you dive down onto her 
>Where did the shot come from? You don't see any blood from a gunshot wound on her
>Stupid! She said she was being hunted! How could you let your guard down
>You pause a moment to look at Gracie, only to see her grasping her right eye
>She didn't, did she?
>"Stop Gracie, STOP! Let me see"
>Gently prying her fingers away from her face your suspicions are confirmed
>She held the rifle scope right up to her eye and became a pirate
>Well, rather she now had a black eye from the recoil driving the scope into her eye
>Gently, you sit her up and look at it while she whimpers, following you with her swollen right eye
>You sigh, "Alright, no more scoped guns for you for a while"
>Grabbing a stimpak from your inventory, you pull the cap off it
>"Stay still, I don't want to accidentally jab your eye"
>You think back to the first time you shot a scoped rifle and how you made the same mistake
>A painful memory to be sure
>Your your right hand holding the stimpak and your left holding her head softly, you gently stick the needle into the bruised area around her eye
>"Shhh it's ok, it'll be over soon, I got you" you whisper gently, rubbing her head with your thumb as you push the medicine in
>She whimpers and keeps her multicolored eyes on you 
>Was her fur always this soft? Where her scales always so smooth?
>After a moment you pull the needle out and rub the spot gently
>"It'll heal pretty quick now, but you'll be sore for a while"
>You stand and help her to her feet, as she rubs the spot gently with her paw
>"Did I at least get one?" She whimpers
>Right, you were hunting geckos, you had forgotten between teaching and healing Gracie's eye
>You pull her paw from the bruise as you look
>"Don't touch it, it'll hurt longer"
>Sure enough there is a slumped over corpse of a gecko
>The rest must have scattered from Gracie's screams of pain
>But one is enough for now
>"Yea you got one Gracie, good job"
>She gives a pained smile
>"Thanks Anon, I don't think it was quite worth it though"
>You give a sympathetic smile
>"If it makes you feel better I've done that a few times, it happens"
>It only happened to you once but she doesn't need to know that
>As you walk to the body of the Gecko, you see what the group was all huddled around
>A half eaten human body
>Gracie gags and covers her mouth
>"Oh god, they killed him!"
>You kneel next to the body of the gecko and pick it up, completely ignoring the body of the human
>"It's a raider, a Viper junkie that died from an overdose looks like"
>You point out the empty psycho canisters littered around the body
>"Probably got super high and died, the geckos just got a free meal"
>Hefting the weighty gecko over your shoulder, you carry it into some shade
>"You got a big one Gracie, we'll have some food for a while"
>You set the gecko down and grab a machete, and go to town on a nearby bush for firewood
>Normally lighting the plant life on fire would be an issue but the super mutant you killed solved that problem
>You quickly pile all the sticks and leaves in a pile and pull out the incinerator you picked up
>Within moments the sticks are a roaring fire
>You pull out your hunting knife and sit, then begin gutting the gecko
>"Where did you learn all this Anon?" Gracie says watching you cut bits of meat off the gecko 
>"Trial and error mostly, and a few pointers from some rangers after I fixed their guns"
>You set the meat directly onto the embers 
>"What can you do Gracie? I know you can do that invisible stuff, but you don't know how to use a gun and apparently cant clean a fresh kill"
>She sits down on the sand next to you
>"Uh, I'm good at sneaking and stealing! I would sneak into towns and take cans of food to eat, and those raiders are dumb! I would wait till the were high on chems then steal their food!"
>That explains that
>"Well if we're gonna travel together we need to get you a gun, without a scope, and if you are as good at sneaking as you say, silenced"
>You pull a piece of meat off with your machete and let it cool for a moment before giving it to Gracie, which she takes and juggles from paw to paw gently, letting it cool down
>It's cute enough to make you smile as you pull another piece off and take a bite right out of it
>Not the best tasting meal but it's better than cram
>"Where are you from Anon? Tell me about you" Gracie says between bite of gecko 
>Gah, being asked about yourself is always weird
>You knew yourself better than anyone else but it still felt weird talking about yourself
>"Uh how about we trade info about each other?"
>Her eyes light up, even through one is swollen 
>"Sure! that'll be fun!"
>You start out answering her first question
>"I'm from Nellis Air Force base to the north, my Tribe, "The boomers" live there"
>Gracie cocks her head to the side
>"I thought you said most people call you boomer"
>You give a pained smile
>"I was the only boomer that decided to leave the base, So most people just call me boomer, after all I'm the only one they've met"
>You think for a moment for your question, Chewing your chuck of meat
>"You said you were from the Big MT, What's that?"
>She fidgets nervously
>"Uh The Big MT is a place where a bunch of scientists live, they created a bunch of hybrid animals and a few anthros like me, I hope my sisters escaped too"
>That peaks your interest
>"Sisters?"
>She nods
>"A bunch of us were made, not born, different species mixed with different species, all Canines and snakes to create nightstalkers"
>You contemplate for a moment
>A Place that made hybrids of animals for what? for fun? seemed cruel to create something for no reason other than you could
>"MY TURN! How are you so good with guns?" Gracie says bouncing closer to you
>God damn her wide hips made an imprint on the sand
>You cut a few more pieces of the Gecko off and throw them on the fire
>"My people are from a Vault, big pre-war bunkers, we believe guns are a right for people to have, so I was raised around them, and taught how to use them early on"
>Gracie is now right up next to you, tail wagging softly in the dirt
>"And you left? Why?"
>You shrug
>"My people hid from the world, trading only with a few people and killing everyone else, I didn't want to stay on that base, and now I doubt I can ever return"
>She stares at you for a moment
>"What do you mean never return anon?"
>You sigh; do you really want to get into this? Might as well
>"I-I was the only boomer to leave, when I decided to leave they told me to never come back, said that I was as bad as the savages outside the base"
>The whole idea hits you again, your home, your family, shunning you
>You can't help but bow your head and sigh 
>Is it so bad to want to see what was out there and return with new knowledge?
>According to everyone else, yes
>A scaled and furred arm wraps around you
>"Well you have me now and I'm not going anywhere Mr. Boomer!"
>You aren't sure if you should be happy or annoyed
>Happy, you guess
>"Thanks Gracie"
>You pull her into a half-hearted hug
>She's not what you had in mind for company but she's at least interesting
>Stories of far away lands you may visit, science that you once thought was magic
>At least you knew that if you asked she would be be to tell you something new
>But now isn't the time for that
>You stand from your sandy resting place
>"We better get going Gracie, unless you want to be caught in a sandstorm later"
>She hurriedly stands
>"What about our food?"
>You smirk and use your Pip-boy's devil magic to collect the food and the rest of the gecko meat
>Better to have it and not need it that need it and not have it
>You stomp out the fire then begin walking 
>"Can I have a gun Anon? Maybe one that isn't scoped?" Gracie asks catching up with you, her footpaws kicking up a bit of dust
>Right she doesn't even have shoes
>You make a note of this, maybe the BoS will have some that will fit her
>As you walk you look through your Inventory at the guns you have
>Laser rifles, laser pistols, a funky plasma gun, your riot shotgun, a 10mm SMG
>a SMG? that's perfect; For now at least
>You pull it out and hand it to her carefully
>"Alright so this is a full auto gun, so be careful when you use it because it eats through ammo quickly"
>You hand her a few magazines which she slips into her pockets
>As the both of you walk through the sand you teach her how to use the gun properly, how to clean it and how to take care of it
>"This is your Gun Gracie, if you take care of it, it will never let you down"
>She stares at it in her paws for a moment before looking up at you and smiling broadly
>She then pounces on you in a hug, causing you to trip and tumble into the sand
>"THANK YOU THANK YOU ANON! ITS THE BEST GIFT EVER!"
>You spit sand out of your mouth
>"You're welcome but get off me! And be Careful with that!"
>You point to the barrel of her gun which is currently in the sand
>"Oh! Oops!" She says cheerfully
>She gets up off you and dusts the gun off, leaving you to stand up on your own
>"Come On, let's go" you say , annoyed at the previous events
>You walk next to her, still heading north towards the valley
>As you walk together, she tells you more about herself and you tell her about yourself
>She is apparently good with hacking computers, learned it from trial and error at the Big MT
>Her favorite food is bighorner steak, cooked medium rare
>You tell her of your travels
>How you went to Lake Mead, Camp McCarran, Novac, 
>Along the way you point out edible plants too, teaching her what foods you can find
>The Mojave, although still a wasteland was never directly hit with a Nuke, so plant life it more abundant here
>Banana Yucca, Agave, Jalapenos, and coyote Tobacco; all great to eat, cook with, and sell
>The sun is setting to your left as you pass a chain link fence 
>"Anon, what are those?" Gracie says pointing to some creepy crawlies
>"Bark scorpions, not as hostile as Radscorpions but still dangerous. Pretty tasty though"
>Gracie points to one scuttling closer
>"Let me get this one! I wanna try my Gun!"
>She unholsters it and takes aim
>"Line up the sights, focus on the front sight and use the the tip of your finger" You instruct as you stand behind her, following her movement
>She pulls the trigger and fires a short burst of about 5 or six bullets
>Surprisingly she only misses 1 shot, the rest find their target
>"Good job Gracie, we now have some extra food"
>She jumps up and down in excitement
>"Yay! I did it! This is awesome!"
>You smile as you inspect the body of the scorpion
>A small one, but there should still be good meat in the claws, plus the venom glands sell well
>You quickly chop it up and stash the parts for later
>"Look around Gracie, there should be a bunker with a tree stump on top, that's our destination"
>You look around, seeing various bunker doors, one broken in, one welded shut
>"There anon! Look!"
>Gracie points to your left
>Following her pointing finger, the Bunker you were headed to is in clear view
>"Nice, lets go"
>You hurry to the door as the sun crests behind a mountain
>"IN! IN! IN! Gracie, that Bark scorpion wasn't alone I bet"
>She hurries in and you follow, pressing the button to close the heavy sliding door
>On the other side of the room is another door with a keypad next to it
>You hook your pip-boy to it and punch in the access Code the paladin gave you
>"Sierra, Alpha, Tango, Oscar, Indigo 6 5 4 1" you mumble as you punch it in
>A light above the Door blinks green then the door opens
>You're met by a man Wearing power armor, pointing a Laser rifle at you
>"Who are you and how do you know that code?!" He barks angrily 
>You raise your hands calmly
>"Paladin Sato told me it, I'm a boomer from Nellis, looking to trade and maybe get as shower and a place to sleep tonight"
>He keeps the rifle trained on you
>"Knight, fetch Sato, I want to see if this Boomer is telling the truth" He calls to a man standing behind him, who instantly rushes away
>Gracie shuffles behind you nervously
>"Are people always this Hostile Anon?"
>You nod and answer her, keeping your eyes on the rifle and your hands up
>"People want to protect themselves and their people,The Brotherhood of Steel is no different"
>The Man looks past you to Gracie
>"Is that an Anthro? I haven't seen one of those in years, come out from behind him, no sudden moves"
>She nervously slides out from behind you, trembling and looking at him
>"Huh interesting" 
>He points the rifle at her and steps towards her, eliciting a gasp
>you have your eyes locked on him but you hear it
>the soft thump of her hitting the ground
>"Whoa is she Ok!? I didn't even do anything!"
>Just as he says that you hear yelling from within the bunker
>"RAMOS STAND DOWN! I REPEAT STAND DOWN!"
>a Bald man in power armor rushes out of the door
>"Boomer is our ally! I gave him th-"
>Sato's eyes fall to Gracie laying on the ground
>"YOU IDIOT! YOU SHOT OUR GUEST!?"
>Ramos backs off, raising the rifle away from you
>"Whoa I didn't do anything, she just Fainted!"
>You turn and kneel next to Gracie
>"hey get up Gracie, it's ok" you whisper, Rubbing her ear gently
>She opens her eyes and sits up, holding your hand that rubbed her ear
>"Sorry anon, he spooked me"
>Sato Lets out a sigh of relief as you help Gracie to her feet
>"Boomer! It's great to see you! Come on in!"
>Ramos frowns
>"I wish you would have told me you gave your access code out Sato, how can I be head of security if I don't know about stuff like this"
>Sato laughs and leads you past Ramos
>"Just keeping your job more interesting!"
>Sato leads you down a long flight of Stairs 
>"Welcome to the Hidden valley bunker, Boomer!" Sato says as you walk
>Gracie is latched to your arm as you walk, you can feel her trembling as she eyes the various people in power armor
>"It's ok Gracie" you whisper to her
>You follow the paladin into what appears to be a throne room
>"Elder McNamara, a Boomer from Nellis is here" Sato says motioning to you
>Before you sits a blonde haired man, who looks you over carefully
>"I didn't think Boomers left Nellis, what are you doing here?" he finally asks
>"I left the base to see the rest of the Mojave, I came here to trade, and maybe get a shower and a place to sleep for the night" 
>His eyes fall to Gracie, who is still holding your arm while trying to hide behind you
>"And what is she?" he asks with an amused smirk
>"She's just nervous, she's never seen power armor before and is spooked by it"
>He laughs at that
>"Fair enough Boomer! Since Sato is vouching for you, you can come and go as you please, the Boomers in Nellis have been a valuable ally to us, trading pre-war tech with them has proved valuable"
>you nod
>"Thank you, any place we can shower and sleep?"
>Sato steps forwards
>"I'll show you Boomer"
>He leads you to an Area with several cots 
>"You can sleep in here, showers are down the hall, I'll let you and your friend explore, also feel free to use the shooting range, I know how you guys love shooting stuff"
>"Thanks Sato" you say as you find an unoccupied cot next to a wall
>You pull out your bedroll and lay it down
>Gracie looks around nervously, people walking by stop and stare at you both
>"Are you sure we're safe here Anon? People are staring!"
>"We're fine, they just aren't used to outsiders much"
>After you finish smoothing out he bedroll you stand
>"Come on let's trade some of my extra gear and maybe get some ammo and caps"
>You extend a hand to Gracie "It's OK, I promise"
>She takes your hand and you wander the bunker for a bit 
>After a little while, you find their quartermaster in a large room next to the shooting range
>"Hey there! You're the boomer? Elder McNamara gave me the OK to trade with you, I'm Knight Torres" She asks as you approach
>"That's me, I got some laser rifles, laser pistols and an incinerator to trade"
>For the next 15 minutes you trade your extra weapons for caps and ammo
>Gracie watches with interest as you do
>When you finish you turn to her, looking into her mismatched eyes
>"Alright Gracie, Lets shower and head to bed"
>She clings to your arm as you lead her to the shower area
>It's literally a bunch of stalls with showers in them, curtains cordoning off each area
>A pile of towels are neatly folded at the far end
>"Ok Gracie, go ahead and shower"
>She lets go of your arm and looks at the pipes as you turn to leave her in peace
>"Wait! Anon! Don't leave me! I'm Scared!"
>You turn back around
>"I'm not going to shower with you Gracie"
>She looks disappointed, her ears folding down
>"Then uh, Can you just sit outside the stall for me?"
>You sigh
>"Fine, I'll keep watch for you"
>She smiles at that and pulls the curtain closed
>A shuffling sound is heard along with a few zippers unzipping
>"Hold my Cloths!"
>She shoves her clothes into your arms, being careful to stay hidden behind the curtain
>You take the bundle of clothes and set them on a bench near the door
>As you walk back to the stall you hear the sound of running water and Gracie humming
>"Oooo this is nice! They even have little soap dispensers!"
>You lean against the solid wall and scroll through your Pip-boy as she showers
>A sound at the door of the shower room catches your attention
>Knight Torres is there carrying 2 bundles
>"Call it a hunch but I think you both might want to sleep in something besides armor, here's some sleepwear on the house for our guests"
>She hands you the bundles 
>"Thanks Torres" 
>She smiles and nods before leaving
>You hear an angry Huff behind you, and turn to see Gracie poking her soaking head out from behind the curtain
>"You aren't even trying to peek at me Anon? And your flirting with that lady? How rude!"
>A frown crosses your face
>"No I'm not going to peek at you, you Snekderp! And I wasn't flirting, I was being polite"
>She lets out a slight Hiss then retreats behind the Curtain
>"Can you grab me a towel at least Anon?"
>As you walk to grab 2 towels, the water turns off and a scaled arm reaches past the Curtain
>After handing one to her, you begin Stripping your Jacket and Leather armor
>Gracie pushes out of the shower past the curtain, wrapped in her towel
>"Where are those Pj's?"
>You point them out and slip into the stall then remove the rest of your clothes
>You set them and your towel right outside the curtain
>Quickly turning on the warm water, you feel relaxed
>For the first time in a long time actually
>This was one of the Most secure areas in the wasteland, you were safe here
>You stand and think about those other bunkers, Maybe you could used one of them as a base
>"OoooH Nice Anon"
>You turn quickly and see Gracie Peeking around the Curtain
>"Oi Fuck off!" you shout as you pull the curtain shut
>"Just because you didn't peek doesn't mean I won't!" she calls in a singsong voice
>Well that ruined the relaxation
>You quickly finish showering and grab the towel 
>It felt good to be clean 
>You pull on your new Pajamas and step out of the shower stall to a waiting Gracie
>"So you don't carry those big guns to compensate, that's good to know" She says with a fanged smile
>"Shut up you pervert" 
>As flattering as that was you didn't like being spied on
>"Come on let's go to bed, we have another long day tomorrow"
>You gather up your armor and lead her to the sleeping area 
>A few members of the brotherhood are already laying in cots, the lights dim and soft snoring fills the air
>You fold your armor and help Gracie fold hers
>A pillow is already waiting on the cot for you
>As you yawn and feel Mr Sandman coming for you, you grab your own pillow from your inventory and lean it against the wall
>You sit down and pull the Cot's pillow into your lap, already anticipating Gracie's question
>"Come here, you snekderp" you say as you pat your lap
>She lays down and places her head in your lap
>"Goodnight Anooooonnnnn" she yawns to you
>"Goodnight Gracie" you whisper, rubbing her furred head
>Sleep takes you into it's warm embrace with the sound of soft hissing in your ears
>So far it's the best lullaby ever

Chapter 4: Give me your war

>Loud Music and the sound of stampeding feet jolt you from your sleep
>Reveille, the sound of bugles calling people to wake up
>You aren't surprised by it but Gracie is
>The loud doots startled her so bad she's currently flopped on the floor playing dead
>Tou leave her there on the floor while you stand up and stretch 
>"Get up" you say to her bluntly
>Her eye peeks open
>"Are we under attack? What's going on Anon!?"
>You supposed you should have expected this
>Military organization like the Brotherhood would stick to an old world military schedule
>"They are all getting up, getting ready for their day Gracie, we're fine"
>She sits up and looks around, watching the Paladins and Initiates getting dressed quickly
>Looking at her, you have to admit that she looks cute in those pajamas
>She didn't quite fill the front but more than made up for it everywhere else
>You shake the thought from your head
>She's just a travel companion, not even your friend
>Just a lost puppy that decided to follow you
>Still you had accepted to travel with her so it's best to be on good terms right?
>You extend a hand to her and help her to her feet
>"What now Anon?" she says as the men and women in power armor dash out of the sleeping chambers
>"We change and get going, we have to head north to Camp McCarran"
>You pull up a Map on your pip-boy and show her
>"We are here, and we have to get wayyyyy up there" you scroll up on the map as you speak
>Luckily there aren't many hill or obstacles on the way, just flat ground
>But it was still quite a distance, a distance you wanted to cover before night fell
>Gracie gawks at it
>"We have to go ALL that way!?"
>You nod and pull your pajama shirt off
>"Yea, we should at least get as close as we can, we don't want to run into any fiends"
>As you pull your leather armor over your head you see Gracie Starting to Shimmy out of her Nightgown
>Instantly you turn around from her, staring at the wall
>"You should probably change in the Bathroom Gracie, Not right in front of me"
>You hear her laugh behind you
>"What? Is the big bad boomer afraid of a little nudity?"
>You frown
>"No, it's just considerate and we ARE in an open Area!"
>You hear a quick squeak in surprise and turn around
>"I forgot there were other people..."
>You can barely see a ripple in the air
>She did say she could turn invisible but didn't have time to study it last time
>After all that was when you first met her
>What actually amazes you is that her clothes also have gone invisible
>You Stare, watching the air ripple and bend around where you think her head is
>"How are your clothes invisible Gracie? how does that work?"
>The Nightstalkers you had seen, the normal ones anyway, could only make their bodies invisible
>But then again you hadn't seen them wearing clothes
>The image of a Feral Nightstalker wearing a t shirt and shorts pops into your head as she answers
>"Uh, I don't know Anon, they just do"
>You watch in awe as her articles of clothing disappear, presumably onto her
>You realize you're still sitting with your shirt off, staring at nothing, at least that's what it looks like to everyone else
>Quickly you put on your leather armor
>Gracie had already seen you naked, so what do you care?
>Quickly you change from your pajamas into your armor
>As flimsy as it, it was all you could afford right now
>The Boomers back on Nellis never needed armor, they used Howitzers to kill anyone that wasn't allowed onto the base
>Because of that they used regular clothing instead of armor 
>The Bullet wounds you suffered from being ill prepared taught you quickly that almost everyone wants to kill you out here
>As such you got the best armor you could afford, occasionally augmented with bits of gecko skin leather to add to the thickness of the armor
>You tighten the last strap of your armor and try to gauge where Gracie is
>It's hard to judge where she is, even when she isn't moving
>"Where are you? You still here Gracie?"
>She slowly uncloaks in front of you, standing and fully dressed, except she still doesn't have any shoes
>"Right you still need shoes, sorry I forgot about those Gracie"
>She looks at you confused
>"Shoes? You never mentioned anything about shoes Anon"
>You stash your bedroll and the pillows
>You'll pay Torres a little extra for Gracie's pillow
>It spares your legs and helps keep Gracie comfortable
>"You'll need shoes where we're going Gracie, Trust me"
>You think of the broken glass, spent med-x needles and barbed wire scattered all around New Vegas
>Her footpaws would be torn to shreds
>That would only slow you down, you assure yourself that's why you're concerned
>Gracie attaches herself to your arm once more as you lead her through the bunker
>Down the stairs, to the Cage where Torres is waiting to serve anyone who needs new gear
>"Hey Torres, Mind if I look around back there for boots"
>Torres looks at your feet and gives you a confused look
>"You have boots boomer, why do you need more?"
>You pull the arm Gracie is latched onto forward
>"This little lady needs some, we're heading to New Vegas, don't want her feet getting torn up"
>Torres looks Gracie up and down quickly and sighs
>"I suppose it can't hurt to let you look around, we might have boots for anthros around here somewhere"
>She opens the cage for you, letting you and Gracie slip behind the cage
>"I've got my eye on you Boomer, don't do anything stupid" She warns 
>You nod and begin searching through Boxes and crates 
>Lots of random shit, recon armor, laser pistols
>You open a box and dig through it only to have a rolled up piece of paper catch your eyes
>Blueprints for something
>Unrolling the paper, you study the paper quickly
>Its for an all terrain vehicle, a heavy duty transport made from things all over the wasteland
>"Hey Torres, what's this?" you call out to the Quartermaster
>You hear her footsteps behind you until you can feel her leaning over your back, looking over your shoulder
>"Oh hey you found the blueprint to the Treadnaugt"
>You stare at the blueprints, treads, BIG guns, and heavy armor
>"Why haven't you guys Made this thing?!" you ask incredulously
>This vehicle is would be the next best thing to a tank, except for explosive turrets it had heavy Machine guns and it was much much faster
>"It's Based on Tech found on a computer terminal in Helios one, stuff we haven't been able to reproduce" Torres says dismissively
>You gawk at it
>This thing had to be built, you had to build it!
>Images of you rolling into Nellis with it float through your head
>How could they Shun you if you rolled up in that?
>"Can I have these blueprints? I might be able to build this up"
>Torres shrugs "Fine they were just gathering dust here"
>You sit and pour over the blueprints as Gracie continues rifling through boxes
>"Found Boots Anon!" She says excitedly after about 15 minutes
>"Oh! Yea, uh huh, great Gracie" you answer distractedly 
>You hear a loud "Hmph" before a boot hits the back of your head
>"OW!!! What the FUCK?!" you snarl as you stand up
>Gracie stands with one boot in her paw
>"We came here to get me boots anon! Not to fulfill your wet dreams"
>You frown and roll up the blueprint
>"With this we could be safe wherever we went"
>She Huffs at you with a small hiss, which you ignore
>Who is she to tell you what to do?
>She followed you and demands a gun, then demands your attention?
>So what if you want something? If she has a problem with it she can go back to her cave for all you care
>But you weren't about to drive her away, not yet at least
>"Whatever Gracie, grab your shit and let me Pay for it" you say turning from her
>"Hey, No! Anon wait!" she calls after you as you leave the cage
>You ignore her pleas and start talking to Knight Torres
>"How much for her boots and the blueprints, plus a pillow?" you ask, ignoring the forming headache from the boot and the Snakedog hurrying to get out of the cage
>"For you Boomer? Let's just go with 50 caps, however if you trade the weird Plasma gun I'll give you 100 caps and everything else free" Torres says flatly
>What did you need a plasma gun for anyway? Yea, you had the idea to mix a regular gun with a Energy gun for something but you had no clue how plasma weapons worked
>"Fine, but we also want breakfast before we head out"
>"Deal"
>You hand over the Q-35 matter modulator, it was cool to have but you didn't exactly trust plasma weapons
>The thought of it exploding and turning you into a pile of green goo kept you from using it
>You leave the Quartermaster to marvel at the gun as you head to the chow hall with the rolled up blueprints in your armpit
>Gracie follows you, trying to grab your arm for comfort, which you keep pulling away from her grabby paws
>She hit you with a fucking boot, she obviously doesn't need your comfort
>If anything she's an annoyance, but one you'll put up with
>"Come on Snekderp, let's eat and get going"
>The chow hall is just what it sounds like
>A large room with a bunch of long table in rows that people are sitting at
>A group of Mr.Handy robots hover behind a counter, piling some kind of food meal onto trays for the Brotherhood members
>You Grab and empty tray and motion for Gracie to grab one as well
>Slowly you shuffle down the line waiting for your meal, the blueprints tucked under your arm
>Eventually it's your turn and the Mr. handy piles a puddle of something onto your plate
>Looking like a mixture of Oatmeal and cram, the meal doesn't look appetizing in the least
>Hell the gecko you had yesterday looked better
>But in the wasteland beggars can't be choosers
>You carry your tray of slop to a table, fully aware of the stares you and Gracie were earning
>How can you blame them? A stranger shows up in a seemingly secret bunker with an unusual anthro
>But you ignore them regardless
>As you sit you unroll the blueprints once more
>Powered by 8 fusion cores, 10 mm Cannons, treads....
>You eat the slop, which tastes like a mix of bland chicken and stale bread
>Ugh how these guys ate this everyday
>You look around calmly and watch them happily eat the slop
>Gross, they must be used to it
>Ignoring everyone else you study the blueprints
>Treads from a robobrain, Force Field generators, parts from a place called "Hopeville"
>This thing was a Madman's dream
>And you guess you were mad enough to try it
>"Hello there Boomer, what's that you've got?"
>Elder McNamara takes a seat across from you, looking at the blueprints
>You take a few spoonfuls of the slop and Gracie uses her tongue to lap it up
>"The Treadnaut? I haven't seen those blueprints since Father Elijah was around"
>A hush falls over the crowd and you feel more eyes on you
>You shrug them off
>What do you care about the sins of someone else?
>"I want to build this thing, and I'm sure with the brotherhoods help I could" you say straight faced 
>Elder McNamara looks you up and down a few times, gauging you
>"I haven't seen such foolish determination since Father Elijah"
>You don't know what that means, but you also don't care
>"Will you help me or not?"
>The elder looks at you, then the blueprints
>"IF! IF you bring the parts, we can build it, and replicate it for ourselves"
>He looks at the staring Brotherhood soldiers
>"Yes, we'll help you build it, but only if you can find the parts"
>Score
>You get a fucking tank and all you had to do was kill some shit?
>GG EZ, in the words of the ancients
>You smile and extend a hand to him
>"Does that mean I can use one of the abandoned bunkers outside too? I need to have a base close by if I'm working with you"
>Elder McNamara Nods and shakes you hand, "Fine, but it's on you to find everything"
>Just find the parts? That's it? Plus you get a base and get to use a free shower every now and then?
>Score plus one
>You look over the blueprints and shovel the Meat slurry into your mouth as fast as you can
>Better to just eat it and not think about it
>Where is Hopeville? What's the Sierra Madre?
>These Blueprints had notes covering the margins
>Those were the things you recognized most
>Scrawlings of a man obsessed with something
>You eat silently, studying the blueprints while Gracie laps up her meal
>Sato sits across from you, holding a mug of something
>"AAAAAYEE AnNNOon! WWWhat's that ya gott!?" he speaks with a slurred voice
>You guess whatever he has in that mug is alcoholic
>His breath tells you it is anyway
>You shield the Paper from him while showing it to him
>"OOOhhhhhhh that thing, we tried to build it, found where all that parts are an Eeeeerrryyythin, but after a few paladins ad knights died it wasss scrappped"
>He sloshes a bit of his drink on the table as he talks
>This piques your interest
>"Where?" you ask as he gets up and saunters off, spilling more of his drink
>"Vault 11" Elder McNamara answers for him
>You look at him, quietly judging him
"Why didn't you tell me this right away?"
>He sighs and drains how bowl of slop
>"Elder Elijah sent 3 teams there. None of them returned. I don't feel like sending someone to his tomb"
>Vault 11? you hard heard whispers about it
>"Thanks but I'll be fine"
>You shudder as you down the rest of your meal
>Hopefully you never have to eat here again, the food is terrible
>The showers weren't bad though
>You roll up the papers and stash them away
>As much fun as looking over those was it was time to get going, you had a bounty to secure and caps to make
>Gracie is licking her tray clean when you look over at her
>"Seriously? No account for manners I see" you say 
>Yeah you're a hypocrite, discarding manners entirely yet holding Gracie to those same standards
>She looks down at her clean tray
>"I was hungry, we only ate once yesterday" she mopes, not making eye contact with you
>A Twinge of guilt hits you
>You were so determined to get here you ate only once yesterday
>Guess you should think of her health, as well as your own
>Legumes might have been the main protein source of your diet prior to leaving Nellis, but Meat was a rare commodity
>At least it was if you weren't ballsy enough to hunt it down yourself
>And everything in the wasteland was edible to you
>Well besides humans and ghouls
>Scorpions? Cazadores? Nightstalkers? Lakelurks?
>Whatever! You would eat them
>But looking at Gracie reminded you that you were nearly starved
>Sure there were plants that you could eat but those weren't enough
>Those were thoughts for another day however
>You motion for her to follow you
>Quickly you leave the chow hall and retrace your footsteps to the entrance and exit of the bunker
>"Elder McNamara said you are allowed to come and go as you please, against my judgement, mind you. Don't do anything stupid boomer,
or do; then I get to shoot you" Ramos says as you walk by him
>A new person who wants you dead, what a surprise
>You don't even acknowledge him as you leave the bunker
>Stepping into the light from the rising sun, you breathe in deep
>It's surprising how good the air feels compared to the recycled air of the bunker
>You didn't even notice it until you were back in the fresh air
>Gracie stands next to you, scanning the ground
>"Looking for more scorpions Gracie?"
>She nods, still looking around
>"Yea! Plus I guess I have to remind you to eat, so we should have things TO eat first"
>A quick check through you pip-boy lets you know you still have gecko, some bark scorpion and various plants to eat
>Still more wouldn't hurt
>You pull out a Banana yucca fruit and toss it to Gracie, that grab one for yourself
>"Lets go" you as before biting into the fruit
>She follows you as you navigate out of the valley's fenced in area
>Luckily there weren't to many things in the way to get to McCarran
>It was mostly modestly flat ground, a few small hills
>There was that one building you found that had the Q-35 Matter Modulator
>Still getting there should be easy
>For the better part of 3 hours you walk with Gracie,occasionally telling her about things
>The past mostly
>The great war, the NCR, the Brotherhood of steel, The Legion and their remnants
>After that Courier shower up and devastated the Legion, most of the legion fell apart
>A Small faction remains from what you gathered
>Gracie's questions about everything was actually quite cute, and you enjoyed having someone to talk to
>Normally you just wandered around alone
>"Hey Anon I know we have places to go but can we eat again? I'm getting hungry"
>you stop and look at you pip-boy
>So far you're making good time so it can't hurt to stop and relax a bit
>Hell there's even the remains of a road nearby that go all the way north to McCarran
>"Let's get to the road nearby and then we can set up a fire" you say pointing in the direction of the road
>Yyou look at her and see a toothy smile
>"OK anon! Race you there!"
>Before you can even say anything she runs off in the direction you pointed
>Fuck that you aren't running in this heat
>You follow her at a decent walking pace, eventually catching up
>She stands with her paws on her knees, panting slightly
>"Why didn't you race me Anon! That's not fun!"
>"It's hot and we still have a way to go before we reach Camp McCarran" you answer as you survey the area
>a few wrecks on the side of the road
>"You're just afraid you're gonna lose" Gracie huffs at you with a small hiss
>"Whatever Snekderp, what do you want to eat?" you ask as you walk towards a burned out car 
>"Uh can you cook up those Bark scorpion claws?" 
>You nod and gather bits of plant debris from around the area
>Before long you have a fire going next to the car
>Using some stones and a flat piece of metal pried from the car, you make a semi viable stove 
>It's not pretty but it'll work
>You set the claws and a few slabs of gecko meat on the metal piece and let them cook before sitting down with your back resting on the side of the car
>"Have you had bark scorpion before Anon?" Gracie asks sitting 
>You nod as you poke the claws with the hunting knife
>"Yea, they taste ok, a bit like Lakelurk, pretty good with agave"
>Recalling that you have Jalapeno peppers, you set them on the stove as well
>Gecko steak with roasted peppers sounds pretty good
>You sit back against the car, relaxing a bit 
>Gracie slides next to you, close enough her wide hips are pressed to yours
>"Do you think My appearance will creep people out wherever we are going?" Gracie asks, pulling her coyote hood down
>you frown slightly
>"Maybe, keep that hood up when we're there and our sleeve down to hide your arm scales just to be safe though"
>You pull the metal sheet off from above the fire and set it on the road next to you
>Gotta let the food cool
>As you turn back to Gracie you notice your pip-boy
>And the red markers on it
>Immediately you draw your Gobi scout rifle
>"Gracie get ready! we've got company" you whisper firmly
>Her eyes widen at you as you get into a kneeling position and aim down the scope
>"What is it Anon? Who's trying to kill us?"
>You frown as you spot the offenders
>Six Legion assassins
>"CAESAR HAS MARKED YOU FOR DEATH, AND THE LEGION OBEYS! PREPA-"
>The one who was shouting got a mysterious case of bullet to the fucking head
>Fuck them for ruining your meal
>You smirk as the rest of the squad dives for cover
>"Gobi rifle? More Like Gucci rifle!" you say with a smirk as you shoot at another Legionary, hitting him square in the chest
>"That's really Dumb Anon" Gracie laughs from her hiding spot behind the car
>"Yea that was a bad one!" you hear one of the Legionaries call out
>"SHUT UP!"
>The offending legionary has his head turn into red mist as a Hollow point .308 round collides with his face
>"And you could help you know!" you call to Gracie as a bullet ricochets off the car behind you
>You rush behind it and crouch down,
>Enough of this, you stash the scout rifle and pull out your LMG
>"I'm Scared Anon! I don't know if I can!" she calls from her prone position
>You grab her and pull her up to a crouch
>"Go invisible and get behind them! I'll keep them occupied"
>You look into her eyes to the sound of bullets hitting the side of the car 
>She trembles and looks up at you
>"O-Ok Anon, I'll do it"
>You Nod and stand, placing the LMG on the roof of the car
>One of these bullets has their names on it
>And you're gonna keep firing until you figure out which one it is
>You open fire at the closet figure, shredding him in a hail of bullets
>Two left
>You hear full auto gunfire from behind their cover 
>Then a sharp scream
>You heart falls and you run around the car towards the scream
>Is Gracie hurt? Did she just scream from the sight of blood or the thought of killing a man?
>You look the where the scream came from
>The Legionary Stands over a fallen over Gracie
>You hope she's just playing dead this time
>"I've found one Legate, an Oracle!, I've wounded her but she's ali-" you fire a round straight into the back of his head
>You run over to Gracie and kneel next to her
>"Please be ok, please be ok" you repeat as you set down you LMG and scoop up her body
>You feel wetness on your arm as you Cradle her head
>"Gracie come on, talk to me!"
>You shake her gently and look over her body but see no wounds
>"Gracie you better not be playing dead!"
>Her blue eye peeks open and she smirks at you
>"Awww you were concerned about me!"
>You frown and drop her
>"Fucking hell Gracie, don't fucking do that! I thought you were hurt!"
>She rubs her ass where you dropped her
>"I'm ok but uh...I wet myself though..."
>THAT was the wetness on your arm!?
>You frown and shake your arm out trying to shake away the feeling
>"Why did you do That?" you ask as you walk to the body of the Legionary 
>"It's not like I wanted too! He scared me and hit me with one of those Poles!"
>He did have throwing spears on him, he must've whacked her with one
>You search the bodies of the fallen, stripping away their weapons, ammo, caps and Legion denarius and aureus 
>The Legions money is useless but you can stuff it into shotgun shells which in turn shred anything
>You also find a Busted radio on the one that knocked over Gracie
>He had called her a Oracle or something like that and spoke to a legate?
>What could that all mean?
>You look over to Gracie and see her Huddled by the fire pit you had made
>"You Ok Gracie?" you ask as you walk up to her
>She looks up at you with tears in her eyes
>"I'm Sorry I'm such a coward Anon! I got scared and I'm sorry! I'm Not a soldier like you are!"
>You sigh and sit down next to her, looking into the fire
>"It's a hell of a thing, killing a man. You take away all he's got and all he's ever gonna have"
>She looks at you, confused
>"What does that mean Anon? What are you talking about?"
>You begin packing up the food and whatever gear you dropped before the gunfight
>"It's never easy to kill someone Gracie, it's ok to be scared, but out here, in the wasteland; almost everyone wants to kill you, just about every living thing that crawls, flies or squats in the mud wants to kill you and eat you"
>You extend a hand to her
>She takes it and you pull her to her feet
>"You might be scared, and the world doesn't care. But I do, as much as I might not look or act it. I'll help you learn to keep that fear in check"
>You look at your pip-boy and take a location nearby. It should have running water or at least a well
>"I'm not like you though Anon! You have no fear at all! You killed a super mutant! You stared down the barrel of a Laser rifle! You shot and killed those men!"
>You sigh as you start walking
>"I was scared the entire time I did all that Gracie. If you ain't scared when 6 men shoot at you, or when a super mutant tries to kill or you when a gun is pointed right at your face, somethings wrong with you" you say as you scan the horizon
>The building you're headed to isn't too far away
>"But you seemed so calm Anon"
>"If I don't stay calm even when I'm scared I might as well be dead; while playing dead might have worked before Gracie we need to get that habit out of you, because things out here don't care if you're dead. They will still try to eat you"
>You spot where you're headed, an old abandoned farmhouse
>Gracie is silent as she digests what you've said
>"So it's ok to be Scared Anon?" she finally asks
>You nod
>"Just use that fear, it's fight or die out here in the wasteland. To tell the truth, I'm more scared of dying than I am of anything out here"
>Gracie is silent as you walk to the abandoned house
>You push open the door and look around, a thick layer of dust covers everything
>This place has been empty for a while 
>But you had seen a water pump outside
>"Get out of those clothes Gracie, lets clean them up and you as well, then we'll eat and I'll teach you about your gun a bit more"
>You turn and leave the house while she strips
>Luckily this place had a pump that directly into a boiler
>Granted you were going to have to light it so there was warm water but it was better than nothing
>You begin pumping the water, it's a long process but one that would benefit you both
>Warm water for you both to get clean with, plus clean any urine out of her clothes
>The thought of watersports makes you shudder in disgust
>How people liked that kinda stuff was beyond you
>You aren't one to kink-shame but seriously its biological waste; key word being WASTE
>You pump water for a good 30 minutes, getting one hell of an arm workout
>When you finally re enter the house you find Gracie wrapped in a blanket
>"This was in the bedroom, I didn't wanna get pee on my PJ's" she explains when you give her a questioning look
>A quick search around reveals a boiler,which you quickly ignite the pilot light of
>This house must be pre-war, the gas lines work still and the water seemed rad-free
>You mark it's location on your pip-boy, might be useful later
>You find the stove and light it up, at least it still worked
>You throw the food on it while Gracie watches over your shoulder, pressed against you
>While you know it's just innocent curiosity, only a thin piece of fabric between her and you gets you a bit riled up
>But she's not human, and you barely know her
>Before long you pull the food off the burners
>No pans in sight so the food was directly on the metal brackets
>Still it cooked the food up good
>A quick check of the water from the kitchen faucet tells you it's warm enough
>"Ok Gracie, go clean up"
>She nods and heads into the bathroom
>You snoop around the house until you find some old moth eaten towels, a box of Abraxo cleaner and a bar of soap
>The bath is already running when you find it though
>You knock on the bathroom door and wait before you hear a muffled "Come in"
>With your eyes closed you enter and set the towels and soap on the floor
>"Here Gracie, get cleaned up and dry"
>You back out of the room quickly and head to the kitchen
>Those gecko steaks and grilled peppers are calling your name
>Nothing like killing Legion assholes to get your appetite up
>You eat quietly
>They called her a Oracle, and whatever that meant you're sure that can't be good
>You're almost positive they were going to send more of those legion fucks after you
>All the more reason to get the treadnaut built AND get one of those bunkers ready for living in
>You place more meat on the stove, and let it cook
>It's only about 3 pm and you doubt you're going to move from here tonight
>Gracie was too freaked out and her clothes would still be soaked 
>"I'm done! That food smells good!" 
>Gracie emerges from the bathroom, still slightly wet and with a holey towel wrapped around herself
>While you had seen her in nothing but rags seeing her in a towel was interesting
>You shake your head and look away from her
>"I'm gonna get clean too then we can wash your clothes, change into those PJ's you got earlier"
>Quickly you rush into the bathroom and shut the door behind you
>God dammit get a hold of yourself
>You quickly strip and run the bath
>The process for getting clean takes maybe 10 minutes tops
>There is a certain art to getting clean quickly
>When you step out of the bathroom with your own Pajamas on Gracie is sitting at a table, picking bits of meat out of the Scorpion claws
>"Ooooh Anon this is SO good! We need to hunt more of these next time!"
>You smile as you look at her
>Shes cute, sitting comfortably with her tail pushing the skirt of the PJs up a bit, while wagging non stop
>Lucky she had Underwear on
>Or is it unlucky?
>You don't know right now, nor do you care
>"Where are your clothes? We need to wash them"
>She points them out to you, so you grab them and take them to the bathroom
>Another hot water bath, some Abraxo Cleaner, a little elbow grease and they are all clean, hanging from a curtain rod in the bathroom to dry
>Gracie watched over your shoulder as you cleaned them
>You doubt she has ever even seen someone clean clothes
>Hell when you met her it was like she had never even worn clothes prior
>Maybe her seeing Raiders wear them made her wear them?
>A question for another night
>"Alright Gracie grab your gun, we're gonna take it apart and put it back together a few times and clean up our guns"
>She fetches it from on top of her folded jacket and helmet
>You spend the rest of the evening cleaning your guns, teaching her how to take hers apart and put it back together
>Its nearly 9 pm when you eat again and unroll your bedroll
>"Don't you wanna use the bed Anon? There's a mattress and everything!" Gracie motions to the bedroom
>You shake your head
>"Don't know who or what has done what on that thing, cleaner and safer here" you say as you set your LMG beside you
>Gracie looks back and forth between you and the bedroom
>"That actually Makes sense Anon, that thing had stains on it anyway"
>You sit with your back against the wall, a pillow supporting your neck and head
>Gracie crawls over and fluffs her own pillow, then set it on your thighs
>"Goodnight Anon, thank you for everything" she murmurs
>You place a hand on her side and yawn
>"It's no problem Gracie, goodnight"
>You fall asleep with the feeling of warm scales and fur under your fingers

Chapter 5: Give me your Truth
>You wake up slowly and peacefully
>No rattling of doors in caves or bugle music waking you
>This time just quiet hissing from Gracie's snoring
>It's actually quite nice and refreshing to not be woken up by loud noises or something trying to kill you
>You try not to wake Gracie as you check the time on your Pip-boy
>9 am huh? Guess you needed the sleep
>Luckily you didn't have to travel as far today, you might actually be able to take your time
>You check how much food you have left, after all you needed to eat
>A few banana yucca fruits, a little bit of the gecko
>You frown, not much to eat
>Looks like you were going to have to hunt something while heading to McCarran
>Hopefully it won't become an issue
>Your hand is still resting on Gracie's side so you gently shake her
>"Wake up Gracie come on, let's go" you say softly
>Her eyes slowly open and she lets out a yawn while sitting up
>"Mornin' 'non, what time is it?"
>You stretch and stand up
>"About 9ish" you say with a slight yawn
>"MMM I slept good 'non, you're a good pillow" Gracie says and she leans forwards, stretching her back and tail
>The feral nightstalkers you had seen all had rattles at the end of their tails, but it looks like Gracie doesn't
>Might be handy for her sneaking
>You ignore the compliment, it's not one you really thought you should have
>Who wants to be a good pillow? That's a weird goal to have in life
>You walk over to the stove and turn it on
>Gecko kebabs sounds good, minus the sticks you make them 
>You toss the last of the gecko meat on the stove and set the rest of the banana yucca on the counter
>"Gracie go check your clothes and if they are dry put them on, we have to get moving after we eat"
>You watch as she skips off to the bathroom
>Heh, she must be in a great mood to be skipping
>After a few minutes she emerges wearing her now clean clothes
>Maybe you can get a higher rolling bounty to get her some recon armor from Torres
>Light armor seems more her style
>You tend to the food on the stove while Gracie grabs one of the Fruit and starts munching on it, watching you poke at the meat
>"How much food do we have left 'non?" she asks between mouthfuls
>You motion to the food on the stove
>"This is all we have left"
>She frowns at that
>"Guess we're hunting today, that sucks"
>You nod
>If you don't find anything both of you would have to tough out no food, at least for a bit
>Or at least no real meals, you're sure you could find bits of plant life to scavenge and eat
>"Can I have the gecko meat? I like mine pretty rare" Gracie asks eyeing the sizzling meat
>Medium rare? What a champ
>You pull the meat off and she takes it into her paws and bites into it like finger food
>Might as well follow her lead
>You turn off the stove and grab a piece of meat 
>Pretty good, although you wished you had some spices or something to liven it up
>Maybe get some gecko eggs next time too, make a big ass omelette
>The thought of a gecko meat and jalapeno pepper omelette would make your mouth water if you weren't already eating
>It doesn't take long for you and Gracie to finish the food 
>"Help me pack up and we can get going" you say wiping your hands on your pants
>She nods and helps you pack up the bedroll, pillows and pajamas
>Occasionally her tail whaps you as it wags furiously behind her
>Someone is in a good mood
>After everything is packed up, you do a double check of the house
>Anything useful? Any food? 
>Unsurprisingly you find nothing
>This place has been abandoned for a while, you don't know why nor do you care
>But you know it was useful last night
>"Let's get going" you say to Gracie as you walk to the door
>She appears from the bathroom with a smile on her face
>"Why are you so happy?" you say and you open the door and hold it open for her
>"I get to use my gun again today! I'm excited about it that's all!"
>Well you can't disparage her wanting to shoot her gun
>The sun is steadily rising as you step out into the wasteland
>Another day in paradise
>You pull up your pip-boy and plot a course
>North and a little westward
>Should be an easy day! There are even paved roads heading that way
>Granted they weren’t maintained roads, but roads nonetheless
>You start walking with Gracie
>No need to hurry today, even if you couldn't find something to kill and eat McCarran would have food
>"Anon do you think we can find one of those things that make guns quieter for my SNG?"
>"SMG Gracie, the part is called a silencer" you correct her "And I'm pretty sure we can, I know some guys that would have one, or be able to make one for you"
>The Gun Runners were a close ally of the Boomers
>Having a gun crazed society as a client was great for them
>The Boomers on Nellis traded Almost exclusively with The Gun Runners
>The rest were with the Brotherhood, and very shaky trading with the NCR
>After the NCR tried to force the Boomers out by shutting off the water flow to Nellis, the boomers responded with heavy shelling; times with the NCR had been shaky ever since
>And while they didn't trade with him, The courier was a strong ally of the boomer
>He was the only man to get past the howitzer shells
>He Controlled the strip after the battle for hoover dam
>You tell all this to Gracie as you both walk
>She tells you about Big MT
>There were Robo-scorpions that wandered around
>How the "Think Tank" would catch people who wandered in and remove their brains, leaving their bodies as husks that wandered and attacked anyone
>That there was a former concentration camp from the great war full of ghouls
>Some of the things she tells you defy belief
>Skeletons walking around in suits, metal that can cut through steel
>Its amazing and terrifying to think she escaped that place
>Every once in a while you feel her tail wiggling against you
>It's definitely not like a normal wolves tail
>Maybe it's more prehensile? More vertebra? Whatever the case she has a lot of control over it
>You check your pip-boy for the time and to see where you are
>11am? Time has flown by during your talks with Gracie
>Plus you"re almost a third of the way there
>Red markers on the bottom of the screen give you pause
>If another Legion assassin squad was after you, there was no cover to get behind
>you stop walking and grab Gracie's sleeve, stopping her as well
>"We got company, Cloak and get your gun ready" 
>Her eyes widen and you can feel her tremble slightly
>"O-ok anon, I'll try not to get hit this time"
>You nod and kneel as she disappears like magic
>Quickly you pull out your Gobi scout rifle and aim down the scope
>"Anything Anon?" Gracie asks apprehensively
>"One sec" you respond as you turn towards the red markers
>A small group of Large red ants meander around looking for an easy meal
>Several worker ants and three soldier ants as protection
>"We're ok Gracie, uncloak" you say, keeping your scope trained on the ants
>You assume Gracie uncloaks behind you
>"What are THOSE Anon?" she mutters, resting her chin on your shoulder
>"Lunch, dinner and then some" you answer "Cover your ears"
>3 shots ring out and the three soldier ants go down, leaving the workers scrambling
>Ha stupid bugs
>"Those are red ants Gracie, they like to swarm and the soldiers are big,and some can breath fire"
>You fire two more shots and down two more ants before the worker ants can scramble into their holes
>Not a bad haul at all, those soldier ants have a lot of meat
>You put away your rifle and draw out your LMG
>"Come on, lets get that meat Gracie"
>You walk slowly towards the bodies of the ants
>These things were big as hell when you get up close
>You put down your LMG
>"Watch my back while I get this meat" you say as you pull out your machete
>You got this Machete from a legionary, it was easy enough to kill the idiot who charged you while wearing sports equipment
>But you weren't very good with hand to hand combat, nor melee weapons 
>You could swing them around like an idiot, but why do that when you could blow a hole through someone's chest with a shotgun?
>It was more of a tool for cooking with and carving bodies of animals you killed for food than a weapon
>You take the legs of the ants plus the abdomens, storing it all in your devil magic wristband
>A sudden burst of gunfire behind you causes you to drop your machete and grab your LMG
>You turn around and see Gracie holding her SMG with a smoking barrel, pointed at another dead Ant
>"I GOT ONE!" She cries joyously
>You set back down the LMG and pick back up the Machete, wiping dirt off it with your pants
>"You did get one, good job. Just warn me next time you see something, ok?"
>"Ok Anon, sorry I just got startled"
>You carve up the body and stash the meat away
>"It's fine, you're still learning this stuff; I just want to know if you see a threat before you shoot at them"
>You stand up and look at her while putting your Machete away
>Gracie is standing in front of you, doing a silly dance
>It's actually kinda cute
>"You got us some extra food Gracie, But let's get out of here before reinforcements show up"
>She stops her dance and looks at you "reinforcements?"
>You motion to the hole the ant Gracie shot came out of
>"There's probably a whole colony down there, we don't want to be around if they swarm"
>She stares down the hole like she's going to see an army of ants swarm out
>You pick up your LMG then put a hand on her shoulder, getting a startled squeak
>"Come on snekderp, we're almost there"
>You lead her by her shoulder gently to follow you
>Her tail wags furiously as you do so
>"I didn't even Play dead! Even though I got scared of the ant!" she says happily as she grabs your arm
>"Did I do good anon?"
>You nod and smile
>"Yes Gracie, you did well, good job"
>You can feel her tail whipping against you harder as you walk
>It's slow going because she's hanging onto you happily
>But it's only about 1pm and you can see the walls of Camp McCarran
>As you walk Gracie recounts how she killed the Ant over and over, with so much excitement and enthusiasm that it's contagious
>She did what you told her to when you needed her to watch your back
>1 hour later you're at the doors to Camp McCarran
>As you walk up one of the Guards wave you down
>"Hey Boomer! My rifle is acting up again, can you look at it real quick?"
>You pull your arm from Gracie and take the rifle and inspect it
>"You haven't cleaned it, there is sand and carbon build-up. That's what's causing it to jam" you say as you hand it back
>The guard looks at you sheepishly "Right, I'll get on that"
>One of the other guards looks Gracie up and down
>"Who's your friend Boomer? Never seen you travel with anyone before"
>Gracie hides behind you
>"This is Gracie; she's shy, don't take it personally"
>The guard laughs a bit
>"None taken, the major is probably waiting for you"
>You nod and enter the camp with Gracie latched onto your arm, pulling it behind you as she also tries to hide from the soldiers gazes
>"Gracie that hurts, stop" you say pulling her forward so she's next to you
>"There are so many people anon! You didn't say there would be so many people! They're all staring!" she whimpers to you
>She tries to pull herself back behind you, still wrapped around your arm
>"Stop it" you hiss, pulling her back forward "They aren't staring"
>There were a few staring at her, but mainly because she was trying to hide behind you
>You pull her into one of the tents and meet a bearded middle aged man with tanned skin
>"Major Dhatri, I fulfilled that bounty with the super mutant" you say pulling your right arm out of Gracie's clutches to shake his hand
>He shakes your hand firmly
>"That's good to hear Boomer, I assume you have proof?"
>You nod and hand him the super mutants hands
>He sets them on a table nearby then grabs a sack of caps
>"Thanks Boomer, we were getting reports from Goodsprings and New Nipton of that Super mutant terrorizing people, here's 500 caps; you can count them if you want" 
>You take the sack and stash it away "I trust you Major, got anymore bounties for me?
>He nods solemnly
>"I think you can handle this next one, and it's a biggie"
>He hands you a holotape which you pop into you pip-boy
>"we'll handle it"
>He shakes your hand again and you turn to leave
>As you walk to the camp door, you read over what was on the holotape, Gracie behind you trying to read what's on the screen
>Leaving Camp MCcarran, you wonder why the NCR ever let this kind of trash live near their only real fort in the wasteland
>you scroll through the bounty on your pip boy ,frowning
>500 caps dead, 3000 alive huh? 
>Gracie follows closely behind you
>"What's wrong Anon? Didn't get paid enough? They didn't let you have their big guns?" She teases
>Your frown deepens as you read about the man you're about to kill
>"Cook-cook"
>Dumb name but that's not what was your problem was
>The man was a psychopathic Pyromaniac rapist 
>According to Major Dhatri's holotape, he even raped one of their Snipers
>And he was literally less than 5 miles from their gates
>Granted The Raider gang known as the Fiends had placed mines around, but who could miss them? They have a red light on them
>you're able to disarm them easy enough before Gracie can stumble on any
>"I got paid fine Gracie, but they asked me to hunt someone real nasty" you say as you disarm a mine
>"ohh is the big bad Mutant killer Scawed?" 
>you frown
>"He's a rapist Gracie, seems he like to catch people, rape them and then light them on fire"
>Her teasing tone immediately goes away
>"People out here really are terrible huh?"
>You nod as you draw out your light Machine gun
>The 200 round magazine isn't just for show, this was going to get loud and this was going to get messy
>Stealth can sometimes work but you doubt it would this time
>But as you slowly approach the ruins something feels off
>There isn't any banter or voices from within the Hideout
>You carefully push through the rubble attempting not to make a noise
>God dammit Gracie made this shit look easy
>Still no voices, did Dhatri give you bad info?
>A sickening smell hits you as you push through a door
>Burning flesh, hair, B.O. and overcooked chems waft through
>Bodies lay before you, torn apart from shotgun fire
>You move through the sea of dead bodies, Machine gun raised and ready
>No one in the Mojave could have done this besides your people, or the Brotherhood of Steel 
>Too precise, too on point for some NCR rangers
>A brahmin mooes in the background as you round a final corner to a man 
>A man Standing over Cook-cook, who had a pieces of rebar through his hands and feet, pinning him to a concrete slab
>Godammit! That was YOUR bounty!
>You can barely hear Cook-cook's whimpering pleas for mercy over the crackle of a fire
>Studying him quietly, you try to figure out what faction he is with
>He has to be at least a foot taller than you and wears old riot gear
>Steel grey hair covered his unprotected head
>Well at least you know where to aim if he isn't friendly, and judging from the body count, he isn't
>The Man talks quietly, so soft you can't quite hear what's being said to cook-cook
>But it's enough to cause the raider to whimper for mercy
>"Anon, look next to the fire! His gun!" Gracie whispers to you
>Your eyes flick from the man to the 12 gauge lever action shotgun and back again
>A Gadsden Flag engraving with a clutch of eggs in the center of the snake's coiled body breaks the smooth steel of the receiver
>Writing? Is that American cursive? You had never seen it before but you were American enough to know what it said
>As nice as the Shotgun was you didn't have time to stare
>You needed this bounty, needed the caps
>Granted you could collect all these raiders weapons and sell them to the gun runners but still the extra 500 would be great
>"Anon, I'm gonna grab his gun" Gracie whispers
>Before you can stop her she's cloaked and moved away from you
>Goddammit you aren't used to picking up her shimmers yet
>"Gracie you fuckwit! Get back here!" you Whisper Yell to the air
>You groan to yourself and move to a better vantage point behind the man
>The Shotgun lifts off the ground and within a moment disappears into Gracie's stealth field
>The man doesn't react, still speaking to cook-cook before looking up and staring into space
>You watch him as his head moves a bit but then he goes back to stabbing a new piece of rebar through the fiends forearm
>A slight shimmer tells you where Gracie is
>God damn, she actually pulled it off and got his gun
>You're about to beckon her closer to you when you see the man carrying a rebar club, usually wielded by super mutants, in just one hand
>His other hand has been replaced by a large hook
>He walks slowly towards the shimmer that you assume is Gracie
>"It isn't polite to take another man's Property"
>Cold, deliberate words 
>You watch as Gracie uncloaks shivering in fear, holding the shotgun out to the man
>You frown and act
>God dammit! Gracie might be clingy as all hell but she's your only real friend out here and this man would probably shoot her
>You move from your concealment, training your LMG on him
>Who gives a fuck if he took out all these fiends, you weren't going to let him hurt Gracie
>To your surprise, he takes the shotgun quickly and points it at you in an instant, moving in between you and her
>You slowly sidestep keeping your gun trained on him, and him keeping his Shotgun trained on you
>"Get away from her you freak" you call out
>He smirks at you
>"Not gonna happen Scum"
>You frown as you keep sidestepping, moving partially behind the slab on concrete Cook-cook is pinned to
>"Please don't hurt my friend" you hear Gracie beg as she tries to pull him away
>"Slavers ain't friends little lady" he says gruffly, pushing her off him with a shoulder
>Why does him pushing her make you so mad?
>You want to pull the trigger, you want to unload all 200 rounds of your LMG into this man that would push her
>Why?
>You frown to yourself, He's in front of her, if you fire at him you risk over-penetration
>The bullets would rip through him and into her
>You barely catch what Gracie murmurs
>"Why do you smell so familiar?"
>Her attempting to push past him and having him shove her back snap you back
>"You should know the difference between a Slave and a friend!" she yelps as he pushes her back again
>Anger
>Fury
>Why? She's just a clingy Snakedog! Why do you care?
>You train your sights between his eyes, one round would take his head off
>But the man looks away from you, eyes now focused on Gracie
>Big mistake
>You sidestep swiftly to get a new position
>To your dismay his shotgun sights follow you
>He puts his hook onto Gracie's shoulder delicately 
>"What is this man to you Little stalker? I promise not to hurt him if you tell the truth"
>You can see Gracie shivering, the telltale signs show she's about to play dead
>But she keeps it together for once
>"H-he's my friend"
>Your gun is trained on his head, a scowl painting your face
>Godammit if he wasn't right in front of Gracie you would have fired already
>But you don't have to it seems
>He lowers his shotgun and holsters it, totally ignoring you
>You lower your gun but stay vigilant, ready to raise your it and fire if needed
>"Tell me what he is to you" the man says in surprisingly compassionate tone
>Its weird to hear such a voice from a man so scarred and muscular
>Gracie stands up straighter and looks into his eyes
>"He's my friend!" She says Much more deliberately and confidently
>The man Nods calmly
>"Ok then"
>He looks to you
>"Move away from that raider scum, I have business to attend to with him" 
>You hesitate and frown
>"Fine, but I need his head in tact at least" you say shaking your machine gun slightly, causing the bullets to rattle
>He ignores you, walking slowly to Cook-cook
>"Last warning Scum, Tell me where they are"
>They? Who is he talking about?
>You can see the panic in Cook-cook's eyes as the man slowly approaches
>Panic you've seen before, the kind of panic a person has when he knows he's going to die
>A panic you had caused in many many people
>"VAULT 20, VAULT 20! JUST LET ME LIVE!" Cook-cook screams out
>The man smiles and Nods
>"Thank you, I'll let you live"
>Cook-cook sighs in relief, well as much as one can while pinned to a concrete slab
>"But I don't think these two will"
>He nods to you and you crack the butt of your LMG against the raiders temple, knocking him out cold
>Fuck rapist scum and fuck raiders
>With that the man turns from you and waves to Gracie before disappearing into the ruins
>Gracie bounds over to you and grabs you into a hug
>You wrap your left arm around her, holding your LMG with one hand
>"Anon Did you see?! I didn't play dead! I was able to help you!"
>You wouldn't exactly call her running off to grab a gun helping, but she did help defuse the situation
>"Also I don't think that man is a bad man, he wanted to protect me"
>That bit disturbs you a bit
>Not only was he able to track Gracie when she was invisible, he wasn't even bothered by it
>Still he just handed you a huge payday
>All these raiders guns you could sell, ammo you could use, and supplies that would be useful
>You let go of her and push a hand under her hood and give her a few head scratches as she beams up at you
>Her tail swishes furiously and her arms are still locked around you
>"Come on, let's gather up these guns and stuff and get this fucker back to McCarran"
>Moving Cook-cook was going to be difficult, you hadn't planned on keeping him alive
>Still from the looks of it, that man made the raiders arms just about useless
>Several pieces of rebar are stuck through his arms and and legs
>You break Gracies Death grip hug and put away your LMG
>"Gracie, start gathering up these raiders weapons and ammo, plus anything you might want"
>"Ok!" she runs off to the nearest body and collects weapons 
>You turn to Cook-cook and grab one of the pieces of Rebar and attempt to pull it out
>None of them even budge when you pull on them
>You aren't weak by any standard but these pieces pierced the concrete like it was made of foam
>how strong was that man to do this?!
>Looks like you're doing this the hard way
>You begin grabbing each limb and pulling them away from the slab of concrete, sliding the rebar spikes through the holes in his flesh
>Ugh, he smells awful
>When you finally get him off, you turn and see Gracie in front of a pile of guns 
>"Look! I got a bunch of ammo too!" 
>She must have found a bag of some sort because in the bag are all kinds of bullets 
>9MM, 10MM, 12 gauge shells 5.56mm rounds
>All useful and valuable
>"Good Job Gracie, did you find any rope while searching?"
>She puts a padded finger to her chin and looks up in thought
>"Ummmm YEA! One sec!" she says before rushing off 
>After a moment she comes back to you with a rawhide rope
>You take it and Cook-cook around the wrists
>"Where was this rope Gracie?" you ask as you finish up
>She's looking at the knot you tied up
>"It was holding one of those Cow things" she says pointing absentmindedly in the direction she ran off in
>"Brahmin" you correct as you gather all the weapons into your devil magic wristband
>You look around, looking for anything to use to move him
>unfortunately there isn't, looks like you're gonna have to drag him
>You grab the rope and begin to drag the raider behind you
>"Gracie, Grab your Gun and stay ready, I need you to cover me while we drag this asshole"
>She draws her SMG and holds it close
>"Why? what's wrong Anon?"
>Ugh he's heavier than he looks
>"I would rather not get caught with our pants down"
>That elicits a giggle from Gracie "I caught you with your pants down at the bunker"
>"Shut up Snekderp!" you say with a laugh
>You had to admit she's grown on you in the short time you've known her
>She's good company and great to talk to
>You think back to when the man had pushed her back
>You had called her your friend, your only real friend
>Who would have thought you would be glad to have her follow you that day
>For the better part of 3 hours she walks ahead of you, SMG drawn
>Along the way you had to gag Cook-cook, didn't want his screams of pain drawing any unwanted attention
>Eventually you're at the gates of McCarran, the guards dumbfounded at the sight of you dragging a Fiend leader to the gate
>Major Dhatri has about the same reaction when you drag the struggling raider into his tent
>"You actually got him alive?! I was expecting a bullet riddled body not this!" he exclaims as he looks at the raider
>"Still a bounty is a bounty!, one sec"
>He walks off into the main building and is gone for about 10 minutes before reappearing and walking back to you
>"3000 Caps for one very alive Raider, kudos for maiming him though"
>He hand you a sack of caps, which you stash away
>This was a major payday, you could get Gracie and yourself anything you needed 
>"Anywhere we can shack up for the night? Or at least somewhere we can set up camp and make dinner?" you ask, noting the setting sun
>the Major Motions all around the camp
>"Find a spot, set up and you can stay there, you've done a great service for us here, we aren't gonna turn our backs on you"
>You nod and lead Gracie out of the tent
>"Gracie, if I give you our bed stuff can you set it up near a wall? you know how I sleep"
>She nods "Yea! I can do that, but what are you gonna do?"
>You smile and point to one of the fires with a grill set up over it
>"I'm gonna make us dinner!" you say with a smile
>Her eyes light up as you hand her your bedroll and the pillows
>"MMM YOU GOT IT!"
>She rushes off to a far away corner of the camp while you set the legs of the ants over the fire
>Grilled ant legs, a bit like crab legs of old but with more meat!
>Plus a few of the NCR troopers trade spices for 9mm ammo
>you don't use 9mm ammo ,too tiny for your guns
>so you got some nice flavored ant legs to bring to Gracie
>salt, jalapeno, barrel cactus and some brahmin butter
>Plus you has some spices to spare for later!
>you might be a gun nut but you like good food
>When the food is done cooking you gather it all up and thank the troopers, then find Gracie already in her Pajamas
>"Ohhhhh, that smells good Anon! gimme gimme" she says with outstretched grabby paws
>you smile and waft some of the smell towards her
>"it's gonna be good! ant legs with spices!"
>You sit on the bed roll and eat in silence, watching Gracie chew hardily on the exoskeletons and using her long forked tongue to get the last bits of meat
>"Don't eat the exoskeleton" you warn as she attempts to chew it to pieces
>She spit out the chucks of ridged chitin
>"Now you tell me"
>You pull out your LMG and set it besides you as you settle onto the bedroll
>"Not gonna change Anon? and still with the gun?" Gracie asks looking over your tattered armor
>"I don't trust most people Gracie, here we might not have to deal with creatures, but people are worse" you say motioning to the few troopers looking your way
>You had heard of Legion troops infiltrating the NCR and you weren't going to risk it
>Gracie gets into the bedroll and cuddles up, resting her head on your legs
>With a small content sigh she whispers "Goodnight Anon"
>You rub her ears gently
>"Goodnight Gracie"
>She falls asleep quickly, her hissing snores sending vibrations through you
>you watch the troopers all go to their tents before you even try sleeping
>Gracie's snores lull you to sleep as you sing to her softly
>you're not much of a singer but she won't ever her this in the waking world
>"Sleep on me, feel the rhythm in my chest, just breathe"
>"I will stay"
>"so the lantern in your heart won't.....fade"
>The world goes dark as you fall asleep, gently petting her smooth fur and scales


Chapter 6: Something Just Like This
>Loud foot falls startle you awake, causing you to grab your LMG and Aim towards the noise
>Adrenaline courses through your veins as you look down the sights
>A few NCR troopers Stop what they are doing to look at you, fear painting their faces
>"Calm down Boomer, Standard drills" you Hear Major Dhatri's voice to your right
>You look towards it and see him walking towards you
>"Sorry, should have warned you last night, but I suppose we're lucky you don't have a missile launcher or a fat man with those reflexes"
>Gracie has woken up as well and cloaked, although you can still feel her weight on you as well as a few trembles
>You sigh and lower your LMG, setting it down carefully
>"Drills? against what?" you ask as you stretch 
>"Anything really, just because we're near the strip doesn't mean we can get complacent"
>You set a hand on Gracie's cloaked head gently
>"Tell that to the gate guard who can't figure out how to clean his rifle" you say with a frown
>You had been sleeping so well, but there was no way you were going to fall back to sleep now
>Too much adrenaline, too much activity
>The weight of Gracie's head disappears from your lap and you watch a shimmer in the air appear before you
>Looks like she's getting dressed
>Your mind wanders to her wide hips and....Assets
>You shake you head of these thoughts and stand up
>your armor creaks a bit and so do a few of your joints
>This wasn't the most comfortable place to sleep
>Concrete on top of concrete with a bedroll doesn't make the best bed, but it was better that out in the wastes
>Gracie uncloaks next to you
>"Can we leave here Anon? These guys are too noisy and keep staring at my butt"
>You had noticed that too
>NCR Troopers staring at Gracie, not only because she was an anthro, but because she was "Extra thicc" 
>You had heard that in passing at some point
>"Yea Gracie, Let's get out of here" you say as you begin packing up
>A quick rumble of your stomach reminds you to eat before hitting the road
>Were you above stealing food?
>Nope.jpg
>You beckon Gracie close with a finger
>"You think you can cloak and grab us some food Gracie?" you whisper into one of her long ears
>She smirks and disappears from view
>"One sec" you hear a quiet whisper in your ear
>The shimmer that is Gracie moves quickly, but eventually you lose sight of it
>How that man yesterday was able to track her so well is beyond you
>You continue packing up, no need to stare
>Gracie said she used to rip-off raiders before she met you so this wasn't too different
>The NCR weren't your friends by any means
>They were a means to an end, a stepping stone
>You finish packing up and lean against the wall, waiting calmly
>A tug on your sleeve and a short hiss surprises you
>"I got some food, Lets go, I'm gonna stay cloaked"
>You nod silently and head towards the gate
>So far so good, no one notices anything odd as you slip out the gates
>"HEY BOOMER!"
>You scowl and look around
>It's the inept gate guard who can't keep his gun clean
>"What?" you say annoyed
>"OH uh.. Where's your friend? The cute Anthro?" he asks looking around
>"She went ahead of me to scout out another bounty, I'm gonna meet her there" you lie through your teeth to him
>"Oh.. Well put in a good word for me to her, she's a cutie!"
>Why does that annoy you more than it should?
>"Uh huh yea, can do" you say as you leave
>You walk and follow the walls of the camp then east as soon as they let you
>"Come on out" you call to the sands
>Gracie appears before you with a pleased grin on her muzzle
>"I got some good stuff!" she touts, handing you 3 MRE's
>She holds an open one, eating the contents with her paws
>"It's good! it says meal on the bag!"
>You smile
>MRE's were great for food, high calorie count; perfect for travels
>You stash 2 and pull open the 3rd
>Pouches fill it plus a water activated heater
>Water is too much of a resource to use to heat the food so you use the plastic spork to eat the "tort-a-lee-ne" whatever that was
>Tastes good regardless
>"Good grab Gracie" you say in between mouthfuls
>You see her tail wag frantically 
>"Thanks Anon! Where are you off to now?"
>You look at the screen of your pip-boy
>"The Gun Runners will has a silencer for your gun, I'm sure. We're headed there then to vault 11"
>She smiles and you both walk, eating your MREs
>Lucky this area is patrolled by the NCR after the battle of Hoover Dam
>It makes travel fast and easy, plus paved and maintained roads help a ton
>Before noon even hits your passing the Sharecropper fields, grabbing the occasional fruit or veggie
>They know you well enough to let you grab a few crops
>Gracie watches as you point out each crop and explain what they are used for
>Corn, Mutfruit, Barrel cactus, and Agave
>As you're explaining how to use honey mesquite pods when you hear loud sniffing
>"Anon! D-do you smell it!? It's.... It's her!"
>Her?
>Before you can ask Gracie runs off shouting back to you
>"She's Here Anon! She's really here!" 
>You don't know what she's talking about but you know you're near the Gun Runners booth
>You run after Gracie, hoping for answers
>When you finally catch up to her you're out of breath and she's looking around, sniffing wildly
>"I-I smelled her! She was here! Sister was here, I KNOW she was! But where is she!? I was so sure!"
>You look around with your hands on your knees, panting slightly
>No one is around except the Gun runners Protectrion 
>You swear you hear a "Order confirmed" from it over Gracie's Sobs
>"Payment accepted"
>No one is there though
>But that isn't what bothers you
>Gracie has fallen to her knees, tears pouring from her eyes
>"I-I thought I found her! I know that smell! W-w-w-here is sheeeeee?"
>She breaks down crying
>For the first time in a longer time than you remember, you feel your own heart ache
>Not since your Grandfather died, since you left Nellis
>You don't know what she's talking about, you smell nothing
>But seeing the usual happy-go-lucky, clingy Gracie reduced to tears
>That breaks your heart, more than you ever thought it would
>You Wrap your arms around the Crying Nightstalker, pulling her closer than you ever have before
>"It's ok Gracie, it's ok... I don't.. I'm here" 
>How do you comfort someone when you don't even understand why she's crying?
>You try your best, you guess
>She sobs into your shoulder, hugging you tight
>"I-I-I Wanted to meet her Anon! I know her smell! But s-s-she's not here!"
>"I'm sorry Gracie, I'm here though, I'll always be here"
>Are you willing to make that promise now?
>Feeling her tears soak through your armor, tell you yes, you are
>You've felt this same sadness
>On those lonely nights when you realized you can't ever return home, when it hit you harder than normal
>Both of you are kneeling, in front of a booth and protectrion
>As you try so hard to console her, you feel something
>Wind? A dust devil? Sand?
>It gently wraps itself around you both
>You don't know or care though
>All you care about is her, making her feel better
>"I'll be watching"
>A voice you don't recognize, as faint as the wind blowing grains of sand
>So faint it might be the sand
>You feel Gracie's ears twitch against your cheek
>What was bothering her, you might never know, but you don't care
>All you know is the tears and the sadness
>"It's Ok Gracie, it's ok, we'll find her" you tell her, pushing her hood down and running your hands down the scales on her head
>The only audience you have for this spectacle is a robot, what do you care!?
>She needs you now
>You feel her cries slow and a few hiccups
>"I've got you, I've got you, it's ok" you coo, rubbing gently
>Before long you feel her pull you in closer, her tail wrapped around you as far as it can
>"Thanks Anon" you her her murmur
>You pull away slightly
>The tears fall slower from her eyes
>Slow enough for you to wipe away with your thumbs
>"I've got you, Gracie, I've got you"
>Her mismatched eyes look at you; blue and yellow, round and slitted, looking into your own boring normal eyes
>You manage a pained smile
>You might not know what she's talking about, but you know what she's going through
>And you can try to help make her feel better
>A few hiccups and sobs later, Gracie is still wrapped around you, albeit a little less tightly
>"T-thanks Anon, I thought I smelled one of my older sisters"
>Older sisters?
>You had enough trouble dealing with one Snekderp
>But that's not on your mind now
>You stand with her in your arms
>"We'll find her someday Gracie, I promise"
>It's a promise you aren't sure you'll be able to keep, but one you'll still make
>She runs her forked tongue across your cheek
>"Thanks Anon....I'll find you soon ZX-13"
>What does that mean?
>Doesn't matter  
>You hold Gracie's paw and lead her to the Gun Runners booth
>"Lets see if we can find you a silencer or something"
>She holds your arm as you sell the Fiends weapons you picked up as well as unusable ammo for you
>As well you sell all the chems you found from the fiends that Gracie picked up
>Fuck Chems and fuck people who made them
>Finally you can start looking at their wares
>No silencers but there is a 10mm SMG that is silenced
>"Sleepytyme" it's called
>"Gracie want to trade your Gun for a silenced one? I'll cover the caps for the extra"
>She puts a pad to her chin and thinks a moment
>"It'll make bad guys not be able to hear my shots?" she asks, looking at the Gun
>You nod "yea that's the idea"
>"Ok! I'll keep it safe!"
>You give her the gun then buy some ammo for you and her to use
>"Alright Gracie, time to move on to Vault 11"
>Her sadness seems gone as she bounces along next to you
>"Ok! I can't wait to see what humans used to live like during the war"
>You check your pip-boy, luckily the brotherhood had told you where vault 11 was
>South from where you are now, but north of Helios 1
>There are roads there for the most part anyway
>The walk with Gracie is quick and peaceful, her telling you about the Big MT
>She wandered it for years, gathering food, learning how to hack computers
>She told you of plant men, weather control and a mini deathclaw
>You told her of your travels
>How you went to vault 34 where your people were from
>Told her your run ins with the Legion, how you decimated Cottonwood cove
>All the while she stayed right next to you, her paws occasionally gripping at your sleeve to point out various plants 
>Some of them were edible, some were poisonous, a few were just tumbleweeds
>You point out a group of Bighorners, and she jumps for joy
>"OH! Lemme get one Anon! This'll be great!"
>Before you can say anything she disappears
>You watch her shimmer move around
>Gotta admit having a partner that can go nearly invisible is really handy
>You hear a few silenced shots and the bighorner bull collapses with a loud "MAHHHHH"
>Unfortunately the rest of the herd scampers
>Gracie uncloaks, leaning against the body with one paw and a huge smile on her muzzle
>"I got the biggest one!" she boasts
>You smile
>"You sure did, I can already taste the Steaks we'll have tonight!" you say 
>After about 10 minute of carving you have enough steak to last for a while, plus a big pelt
>Could be useful
>You start walking again, and motion for Gracie to follow you
>"Why are we going to Vault 11, Anon?" Gracie asks as she reloads her gun
>She should have done that as soon as she was done shooting the bighorner but you let it slide
>"There is supposedly a Robobrain there, we need it's treads to build the Treadnaut"
>You still had you mind set on building that, it was a better goal than wandering aimlessly
>"Do you really think we can get it built? It would be nice not have to walk everywhere" Gracie says as she kicks up a bit of sand
>You nod, "I'm sure we can, together I'm sure of it"
>She grips your arm, a smile covering her Muzzle
>"I'm glad you found me in that Cave Anon"
>You put an arm around her waist as you walk
>"So am I Gracie"
>The sand beneath your boot crunches as you walk onto the dry lakebed in front of the Vault
>How were people supposed to get to this vault before the war?
>Its set on the edge of a lake, hidden in a cave
>High rollers only maybe?
>Leave the rest of the population scrambling and dead?
>You had no clue how the rest of the world fared
>Maybe the US was devastated and the rest of the world survived
>Leave a whole continent as a memorial to a war, believing everyone was dead
>Meanwhile they could be in space, traveling the stars
>The thought doesn't bring you any comfort as you walk through the vault door, left permanently open 
>Close quarters
>Shotgun time
>You pull out your riot shotgun and begin walking through the vault
>"Be ready Gracie, no idea what's in here"
>The sound of fluttering wings tells you that you aren't alone
>A few flashes of green in your peripherals 
>You turn and fire your gun, earning a loud squeak of surprise followed by a dull thud as Gracie hits the floor behind you
>She's playing dead, you could clearly see you hit a Giant mantis with your buckshot
>"Get up Gracie, its ok, we got more food now"
>Her blue eye peeks open at you
>"What is THAT Anon?!" she says as you pull the legs off the mantises body
>"Giant praying mantis, good with salt and butter" you say holding up the legs
>They were actually quite good to eat
>You help Gracie to her feet
>Paws? footpaws?
>It's hard to tell what to call them
>"Stay on your toes Gracie, those bugs might be small but they swarm and can overwhelm you if you aren't ready"
>Gracie draws her SMG and follows behind you
>The vault is like a maze, everything looks the same 
>But there are bodies; skeletons holding guns and other makeshift weapons
>More than once you had to stop Gracie from walking under a grenade bouquet 
>Jesus fuck, what happened here?
>Posters line the walls for elections, for a new overseer
>People; no not people anymore, barricaded into rooms
>Starved to death from the looks of it
>All the while you walk through, killing Giant mantises and giant rats
>What happened here? this was supposed to be a place where humanity survived
>Instead you find more bodies that you can believe
>Gracie holds your arm with one paw, her SMG with the other as you walk room to room
>Eventually you find the Overseer's office and a still working computer
>Cue Gracie, who forgets her fear for a moment
>"OH! I'm good at computers one sec!"
>She rushes to the desk and begins tapping away at the computer, muttering to herself while you stand with your shotgun ready
>Her tapping gets faster and faster while you grow more and more impatient
>Fuck this computer, you were ready to shoot it
>"Got it!"
>A tunnel opens as she hits a button on the computer
>You're actually impressed, you thought she was bluffing about the computer thing
>Shotgun raised, you go down the tunnel
>At the end is a room and a projector and a chair
>Gracie Immediately sits in the chair, much to your annoyance
>A slideshow starts, talking about life and one's role in it
>You frown as you watch an listen to the voice drone on
>This gives you a terrible feeling so you put away your shotgun and draw out your LMG
>Too much talk of life and death
>"Close your eyes now and imagine what joys await you in the next life - the afterlife. Can you see them? Good." the voice over says
>As it finishes you hear whirring behind the walls
>"GRACIE GET DOWN!" you call to her as walls lower revealing several RoboBrains
>You open fire while moving constantly, dodging lasers while Gracie disappears, adding more bullets to the walls of lead your firing
>In the end you stand panting, a laser shot has burned through your left arms armor, leaving a bad burn to the bone
>As well a bullet from an automated turret has hit your thigh, making it hard to maintain your balance
>Gracie uncloaks near you, looking at the robots
>"We got them! I knew we coul-"
>Her words are cut off when she turns to you and her eyes go wide
>"A-Anon are you ok?"
>You attempt to wave away your concern with your left hand but find it unresponsive
>"I could use a bit of help Gracie" you choke out through the pain
>She walks to you as you slump against one of the robobrains
>Your left arm falls uselessly as you attempt to use your pip-boy
>"Hold my left arm up, I need a few super stimpaks"
>She hesitantly grabs your hand and forearm
>Pain washes over you as she holds it up for you to see
>Put on a brave face, she doesn't need to see you in pain
>You ignore the searing pain and use your right arm to get a super stimpak and a regular one
>"Use this on my leg" you say handing her the normal stimpak
>Feels like the bullet fractured your bone
>A quick look at your status on the pip-boy confirms that
>She looks confused, looking at the wound and the stimpak
>"What do I do Anon?"
>"Stab it in the hole and inject it all" 
>You grit your teeth as she stabs it in
>Almost instantly you feel whatever is in those things working
>With your good arm you stab the super stimpak into your arm and squeeze the liquid in, the burned flesh peels away quickly and new, scarred skin forms
>The scar would fade in time
>Maybe
>It takes a moment for the pain to subside and for you to stand back up on your own
>"Good job Gracie, we got them" you say with a smile
>She stares at your arm and leg; worry painting her muzzle
>"Is that normal Anon? Do you always get hurt?"
>You sigh 
>"Gracie, you've seen my body, you know the answer to that"
>Your body is covered in bullet wounds and burns from lasers
>She looks at her own body 
>"Will that happen to me too?"
>"If you use the Invisibility intelligently, no it won't"
>You've already begun working on grabbing the tread system off the nearest robobrain
>Gracie sniffing you intensely jerks you away from your work, you turn to her and see her flustered, paws covering her face 
>"I-uh Anon, I-"
>You move closer to her, worried
>"Gracie, what's up? Were you hit?"
>You attempt to get closer to her only to have her back away from you
>I- uh- I need to go!"
>With that she runs out of the room, leaving you dumbfounded
>You can't run quite yet, so you follow her at a much slower pace
>"GRACIE?!" you call out after her
>As you emerge from the tunnel you hear bones rattling and then a door Shutting and locking
>"I need to be in here for a while Anon! Please don't try to come in!"
>"What's going on Gracie?!" you call through the door
>"I'll tell you later! Just please trust me!"
>You frown and lean against the wall nearby
>"Promise you're ok?"
>"I-I'll be fine Anon"
>You sigh and head back to the robobrains
>Guess you're gonna be here a while


Chapter 7: Home is whenever I'm with you
>You've been wandering around vault 11 for about a week now
>Gracie had locked herself in one of the room and hasn't come out for anything
>You had been leaving food outside the door and it HAD been disappearing so you guess she was eating
>In the time wandering around the vault you had found out just how horrendous Vault-tec was
>This vault was a whole social experiment
>They were told on the day the vault door closed that each year they would have to sacrifice one person
>Elections were held for overseer, who would be the person sacrificed
>Politics took over, groups formed which held power over who would be sacrificed
>After a while a bloody civil war erupted, hence the traps and corpses
>And in the end there were 5 survivors who went to kill themselves
>Only to find out if they had refused from the start to kill anyone, the vault would open and free them
>Fucked up to say the least, but there was no time to lament
>It truly cemented how awful people were, but then again who are you to judge
>You had picked the place clean, tons of 10mm ammo, well preserved food and lots of giant mantises and a few bark scorpions
>When Gracie locked herself away, you were worried at first
>But as time went on you grew more annoyed
>Not annoyed at her per se, more annoyed that she wouldn't tell you why
>Who locks themselves away for a week with no explanation?
>It's about time to leave some food out for her, so you navigate through, the light of your pip-boy guiding you
>You had learned the ways through the vault, nearly 7 days alone with nothing to do but loot and explore gave you time to learn the way around
>The room you had chosen to live in for the time being was once a bedroom
>In the center you had built a firepit and used parts to make a makeshift BBQ 
>You found preserved butter in the vault along with a variety of other spices
>As heinous as vault tec was they had great tech for food storage
>You were grilling up the claws and legs of a bark scorpion and cram for you and Gracie
>As annoyed as you were at her you weren't going to let her starve
>The thought had crossed your mind to starve her out, simply not give her food until she came out
>But you weren't that mean 
>You place half the food on a plate and get a food tray to carry it plus a sunset sarsaparilla
>The room you picked was next to where Gracie stayed, you hoped she would open up sooner rather than later
>You set the tray on the floor and knock a few times, hoping she'll answer
>She hadn't so far at all, but maybe she would this time?
>Doubtful
>"Gracie food"
>You wait for a bit by the door and sigh
>Guess she's staying in there for a while longer
>Still the food smells good, and your portion is calling your name
>You go back to you room and sit next to the fire
>There had been plenty of old magazines and books all around, so you sat and read while eating
>You aren't sure how accurate these magazines are, after all they are 200 some years old
>But they kill time, after all you had killed everything that dared move near you, you had taken apart and cleaned ALL you guns
>Hell you even repaired every old weapon you found
>You found a maintenance room and used everything to make repair kits
>But even guns had their limits of entertainment for you
>It had been barely a week and you were going stir crazy
>The first day you had taken apart and stored the Robobrain parts you needed
>The second day you found the paladin and knights Father Elijah had sent
>They had some recon armor on them so you grabbed it for Gracie, a little more protection and much easier to wear 
>After that you just explored
>You crack open a Mantis leg and pull out the meat and you read a magazine about energy weapons
>The stuff is a bit confusing but you get the general gist of it
>"A-anon?" you weakley hear Gracies voice
>The sound of Gracie's Voice causes you to jump and drop the bit of mantis you were gnawing on
>"Gracie! Are you ok?!"
>You get up quickly, knocking over a bit of your food onto the floor
>It doesn't even bother you right now
>She needed you and you need answers
>You scramble out of your room and into the other one for the first time in a week
>The first thing you notice is all the bedding has been shredded and made into a large nest 
>The second is the smell
>Wet, heavy, and musky; the air feeling humid and hot
>In the corner was Gracie, trembling and staring at you as you looked around
>"Gracie? What happened? What's going on"
>She walks a bit closer to you, giving you a small sniff
>"Oh uh, I didn't want to do something stupid Anon"
>You take a step closer to her slowly
>"What do you mean Gracie?" you ask slowly
>She looks down and kicks at a bit of the nest she made
>"I uh, I went into Heat Anon, for a while I was able to stay calm but after getting all close to you when you were hurt, plus watching you take 
down those robots just...it was too much. so I locked myself away for a while so I wouldn't do anything stupid"
>You sigh and rub your face
>Heats, right; that was an anthro thing you had forgotten about.
>Or were you just blissfully unaware?
>You want to say the former
>"You Ok now then Gracie?"
>She looks at you with worry in her eyes
>"You still ok to travel with me? I mean I might slow you down! So much! We would have to stop like once a month!"
>She was right it would slow you down, but this might be a blessing in a way
>"We'll make it work, just tell me when you feel it coming so we can get somewhere more inviting"
>She takes a step towards you carefully, still sniffing
>"Th-Thanks Anon, thank you for bringing me food as well"
>Eventually she's in front of you and she pulls you into a hug
>You smile and pet the top of her head
>"You're welcome Gracie"
>You lead her into the room next door and begin packing you stuff as she watches
>After that you stand and lead her out of the room
>"Let's get out of here Gracie, I'm sick of this place"
>She looks around
>"Uh which way is out?"
>You point
>"This way"
>She reaches for her SMG but you stop her
>"No need for that, I've been busy here"
>She looks sheepish as she moves her paws from her gun to your arm
>"Sorry Anon, Thank you for not just leaving me"
>You wave aside the apology and lead her out of the vault
>As you walk out, you see 4 more skeletons, all will bullet wounds in their skulls
>Guess you know what happened to the survivors
>You walk out of the vault and the sunlight blinds you for a moment
>Sitting in the darkness of the vault waiting for Gracie really made your eyes more used to dark
>You look at you pip-boy and look for a route to the brotherhoods hidden bunker
>Lucky there looks like there is a small pass through the mountains
>"Come on Gracie, we're going to back to the bunker and setting up a base to live"
>Her grip tightens on your arm
>"Together Anon?"
>You nod as you lead her south towards the pass
>"Unless you would rather we didn't, I'm sure we could find you a place to live al-"
>"NONONO! I think we should live together! plus you're a good pillow!"
>Again with being a good pillow
>Whatever could be worse
>You can feel her claws on your skin as she grips your arm
>The hole that was burned through the leather armor is still there, you didn't have anything to fix it with 
>You need to replace it at some point or get things to fix it
>The sun beats down on the sand but you're able to stay relatively cool in the shade as you walk around the side of the mountains
>Along the way a few cave openings held their mouths open as if to swallow you and your curiosity, but you had a place to go
>One of the major parts of the treadnaut was in your possession
>Granted it was the easiest to locate and get but it was still a part that the brotherhood wasn't able to get
>They said they could make more of it once they had the parts, but getting the parts was difficult
>You walk up to the pass and look at you pip-boy
>Yea this is it
>Scorpion gulch
>You can see the red ticks on your pip-boy screen already
>Lots and lots of scorpions, hence the name you guess
>"Gracie do you want more of those scorpions to eat?" you say as you draw out your LMG
>Leh LMG's are perfect for solving any problem
>Gracie eyes your gun for a moment then draws her own
>"How many are there Anon?" she says before disappearing from view
>You smirk, She's learning
>"A lot, watch my back"
>You walk slowly into the gulch, gun raised and ready
>"Don't shoot me in the back" you whisper back to gracie
>"I won't!" she hisses
>Bark scorpions and radscorpions emerge from their hidey holes all around you
>Slowly and methodically, you move through the gulch, shooting each scorpion as it appears
>Occasionally behind you the sound of silenced gunfire goes off as Gracie covers you
>As annoying as the bugs are you aren't worried as each one falls to a barrage of bullets
>You reload the belt fed system of your LMG and look around
>Corpses of scorpions lay scattered around, a few twitching awkwardly
>Your pip-boy doesn't show any more enemies so you put away your LMG and begin harvesting the bodies
>Food would be plentiful for a while!
>You motion to Gracie to follow you and you lead her back into the "Hidden valley"
>It doesn't take long until you've entered the bunker of the Brotherhood
>It takes an even shorter time for you to open the bunker doors and stroll past Ramos, who glares at you
>Fuck that cuck, he's just mad you're able to come and go as you please and he has to stay on guard duty 
>You head through the halls with Gracie once against latched to your arm
>People all around with varying types of Power armor walk by
>You don't remember the differences between all the types but they work so what do you care
>When you walk through the door to the Elders chambers he almost looks surprised
>"Boomer! I thought I had sent you to your death" he says
>His eyes fall on the burn on your armor,
>"I see you didn't come out unscathed"
>You nod and hold out 3 holotags from the paladin and knights you found
>"I found these on the bodies, I'm sorry"
>He stands and takes them from you, looking at each one
>"Thank you Boomer, they will be given full honors, I assume you found what you were looking for?
>"I did, we had to take a detour along the way but we are here now"
>He nods to you, "alright, go to Knight Nickson, he'll be in charge of this project, paladin Neil will lead you there"
>As you turn to leave you feel a hand on your shoulder
>"One last thing, the northern bunker is usable and if you can clear out the entrance, its fully functioning but only suited for about 4 people, it will be perfect for you and your Anthro friend"
>You nod and thank him before leaving
>The paladin leads you to a newer part of the bunker, you can tell its newer from the metal of the walls
>It looks like they had begun expanding the vault, housing more gear and weapons
>As well it looks like they've begun building a ramp out of the bunker
>Heh guess the only one way in and out wasn't great, plus they must have contact with other chapters of the Brotherhood
>"There's Knight Nickson and his new apprentice, they will help you with your farfetched project outsider" the paladin says with a bit of disdain
>You frown as he stomps past you
>No one asked for his opinion so he can shove it
>In front of you is a man in Recon armor talking to a young Anthro coyote
>"Alright Rusty, this is how we weld things together"
>He demonstrates to the coyote who mimic the movements
>You tap the Knight's shoulder to get his attention
>"Hm? Oh who might you be?" he says as he looks over his shoulder at you
>He stands and shakes your hand as you introduce yourself
>"People call me Boomer, this is Gracie. Elder McNamara said you were going to help us build the treadnaut?" you say, perplexed
>The Knight is tall and fit, he doesn't look like the kind of guy to build a vehicle
>But then again who are you to judge
>The Coyote, Rusty, looks over at you and gracie, who waves to him excitedly
>He waves back shyly
>Knight Nickson looks you over
>"So you're The infamous Boomer eh? Not what I expected, but if you can Bring everything we can build it"
>You look at the coyote as you get the treads out of your inventory 
>"I didn't know the Brotherhood had recruited Anthros often"
>The knight looks at the young coyote
>"We found him wandering, starving and alone around the valley. We weren't going to leave him to die, we may be wary of outsiders but we aren't monsters"
>The coyote smiles a toothy grin
>"He doesn't talk much though"
>You smile at him and give a small wave
>"Anyway yea these will do perfectly! You must've aimed well to not hit the treads, we can definitely reproduce these"
>You nod as the Knight circles the treads and points out things to the coyote pup
>"We can start making the Chassis and stuff following the blueprints, I assume you know where to get the rest of the parts"
>You don't know for sure but you knew someone who would and these two look like they are already giddy to start building it
>Gracie grips your arm as she watches them work
>"Aww thats so nice to see Anon!" she croons
>You smile and lead her away from the two as Nickson instructs the coyote on tools they will need
>They would need time to work and you didn't need to bother them
>You needed to find Sato and ask where the "Sierra Madre" was
>Gracie is still holding into your arm as you walk around
>Not as tight as before but still on you
>But this time you don't mind it
>As you walk through the halls you occasionally ask passing knights and paladins where he might be
>Most just told you to check the chow hall
>Easy enough
>You quickly head in to the chow hall and find Sato nursing a drink as per usual
>"Hey Sato, I got a question for you"
>He looks at you with droopy eyelids and is a little unsteady in his seat
>"Heyyyyyy Booooomer,whasssssup?!" he says with his breath stinking of alcohol
>Ugh, you liked Sato but really wish he would stay sober enough to have a good conversation with you
>"Do you know where the Sierra Madre is?"
>The chow hall goes almost silent
>"I know where to find the Sierra Madre, We all do; we've heard of the legend, the curses. Some foolishness about it lying in the middle of a City of Dead. A city of ghosts. Buried beneath a blood-red cloud"
>you're stricken by the sudden soberness of Sato's words
>The way Sato speaks, it's like a whole other person pushed through to speak to you about it
>It almost send shivers down your spine
>It's like he's controlled by some otherworldly force, He grabs your arm and pip-boy, dialing in a location easily despite your struggles to escape his grasp
>"That place will be your Grave Anon" He says glossy eyed
>He then slumps over onto the table and begins snoring, leaving you dumbfounded at what just happened
>A check of your pip-boy shows you a location to the south
>But you have reservations suddenly
>Tearing yourself away from the map on your pip-boy, you focus on Gracie
>"Anon? You ok? That was... Intense"
>You nod and offer her your arm, which she grabs onto 
>"I'm fine, I just didn't expect that"
>You can feel her worried eyes burrowing into you as you lead her out of the Bunker
>"Peace fuckboy" you call to Ramos as the bunker door closes behind you
>The muffled yelling you hear from behind the door makes you smile
>The sun is setting as you walk towards the northern bunker door
>When you find the bunker, it's door is still in decent condition, so you press the open button 
>It opens with a loud squeal as metal grinds metal
>Jeez this place needed work
>A large room is in front of you, another metal door is opposite you, rocks and dirt block the way further in
>Guess you now know what the elder meant
>This would take a while to clear out, but you had explosives to break up the rocks
>But for now it wasn't a priority, food and sleep was
>You have some leftover Grilled mantis legs so you give some to Gracie and sit down on the ground
>She sits next to you and crack open the exoskeleton of the legs
>"So this is our new home Anon?" She says in between mouthfuls
>You nod
>"Yep, we'll clean it up and use it as a home base"
>She leans against you, eyes searching around the room
>"It's not very much is it Anon? is there more past those rocks?"
>You take a bite out of the Mantis meat and look around
>She's right, it's dirty, and just a room, but the Elder said there was more beyond those rocks, a small bunker built for a family
>"There should be more, we can spend a bit getting it nice and comfy"
>You watch as her eyes light up
>"Can i decorate how i want!?"
>You feel like you might regret this but whatever
>"Sure Gracie, you can decorate as long as you help clean up"
>She smiles a toothy grin and eats the rest of her meal in silence, looking around
>Looks like she's already planning it out
>before long you finish your meal and stand up slowly
>You lock the bunkers door with the press of a button then pull out your bedroll and unroll it in a corner
>"I've missed snuggling up to you Anon, you're the best pillow" Gracie says as she Changes into her Pajamas
>You don't want to admit to her that you missed her too so you change in silence
>There is no privacy here yet so you change quickly and sit down on the bedroll and get both pillows ready
>One behind your back and head, one in your lap for Gracie's head
>She crawls over to you and curls up on the bed roll and wraps herself in it, gently placing her head on your lap
>You gently pet her fur and scales as you drift off to sleep
>This was your new home, and you were determined to make it a good one with her
>A New home with her, Your favorite Snakedog
>Well the only Snakedog you knew
>Her hissing snores lull you to sleep as you think about it
>Finally a home


Chapter 8: a Hopeful Reunion
>In the time since you moved into the northern bunker you and Gracie have been cleaning it up and making it more livable
>You used a few explosives, to help break up the rubble blocking the path to the rest of the bunker
>Carefully though,  you didn't want to cause a cave in or anything
>So small amount of dynamite was used at the base of the rock pile
>No need to cause more damage to the bunker than time already has
>Gracie helped all along the way, cleaning, working on the power system with you and getting everything livable again, you had to replace the fusion cores and kept the old ones on you
>But one thing that threw you for a loop was the day after you moved in 
>You woke up to Gracie holding an egg, asking you to make in an omelette using some of the various scorpion meat and veggies
>Of course half awake you accepted and cooked it right up
>It wasn't until after you split it up and ate your half that it dawned on you to ask her where she got the egg
>"Oh I laid it this morning" she said cheerily, licking her plate clean
>You had a mini internal screaming session before calmly saying ok and going about your day
>If she wasn't going to make a big deal about eating her own egg neither would you
>This is a whole new weird world of confusion dealing with a snakedog, best to just roll with it
>The bunker wasn't nearly as big Elder Mcnamara has said
>A kitchen, a bedroom, a bathroom, a utility room and all the maintenance stuff
>Small but livable
>There wasn't much in terms of livableness though
>You had bought a lot of things like plates, dishes, soap, and other things usually taken for granted during survival
>As for you and Gracie things were great,she was a great friend to have around
>Sure she was a bit aloof and you had to stop her from doing certain things, like trying to "talk to" a feral coyote
>But she was fun and had a lively attitude you hadn't ever seen before
>Excited about everything you both were doing together
>It was refreshing


>Right now you and Gracie were in the bunker making sure you had enough food to last a little while
>You still have plans for going to the Sierra Madre
>The location was highlighted on you map but what Sato did had shaken you
>"That Place will be your Grave"
>It echoed in your head
>"ANON! SNAP OUT OF IT" 
>A fuzzy yet scaled tail smacks your arm
>"Ow what?!" you ask confused
>"I asked if we should bring food with us to the Madre"
>You nod and take account of the current supplies you had
>Lots of bark scorpion
>It was like there was an infinite supply of them in the hidden valley
>As well you had a small supply of field rations from the Brotherhood
>They tasted like cardboard mixed with sawdust so those were back up
>There was a variety of other food too
>Bighorn, gecko, coyote, and a plethora of veggies and fruits
>There were people out there starving because they wouldn't eat a bug
>You had no such reservations, food is food is food
>Although you didn't eat "feral" nightstalkers anymore
>Overall you were good on food for a few days
>But as you checked your ammo and gear you were lacking
>Barely enough rounds to fill the 200 round belt of your LMG, and you were almost out of .308 rounds
>Gracie was low on ammo too, she usually fired a bit too much
>Still 10mm rounds were cheap
>Your 5.56mm rounds were a bit more expensive
>You were going to have to go get more, and then some
>Paranoia was getting the better of you while you prepared
>You check the time on your pip-boy, ignoring the waypoint glowing to the east
>9 AM
>Enough time to get to the gun runners and back before nightfall
>In fact it would probably only be about 4 hours
>That would give you time to rest and head to the Madre
>It was time to stop putting it off and to get it.
>You check your list of things you need
>Forcefield generators and power source  for them
>Knight Nickson had the original blueprints and they had the main parts; you needed to get all the parts that were in these out of the way places
>"You ready to go to the Madre tomorrow Gracie?"
>Her ears flick quickly
>"Are you sure we're ready to go there, I’m scared Anon, Sato creeped me out" 
>You pull her by her waist to your side
>"We're going to be ok Gracie, we have each other"
>Her tail swishes against you as she hugs your side
>She always rubbed her tail against you for comfort aside from holding your arm when near people
>You enjoyed putting your arm around her. the feeling of scales and fur is pleasant beyond compare
>Especially when it was nice and clean.
>You look down at her and she flicks your nose with her forked tongue
>"OK Anon! I need more ammo, Plus I wanna try to use the Ratslayer again too!
>She had been practicing with it ever since she became a pirate
>She was actually ok with it, usually took a 2 or 3 shots to hit things
>You lead her out the door as you walk side by side with her
>"Lets go, the road isn't far and we can get all the ammo we need, got anything you want to sell?"
>She digs through the Gecko leather messenger bag she made out of leather you gave her
>"Uhmmm, maybe my old casings? They buy those right?"
>You nod
>"Dunno how much you'll get, but they'll buy them from you"
>She rubs against you happily flicking her tongue in and out as she makes happy hissing noises
>You know she's been saving up for a while, you both had separate cap stashes; yours was bigger because of the bounties, but hers was growing
>The walk is quick not because of the distance, but because of the company
>She told you about her mom, the nest she grew up with, how she grew up with the smells of her older sisters
>It made you happy to see how much she lit up talking about finally meeting them
>When you arrived at they gun runners booth, you bought plenty of ammo and a few extra grenades for the trip
>Gracie happily loaded up her magazines as you started the walk back home
>All the while she loaded her magazine she was humming the song "Big Iron in his hip" or whatever it was called
>You didn't care or mind
>You check your inventory as you walk and listen to her happy humming
>Good amount of ammo for the both of you, enough food to last a while, and even some explosives
>God explosives are fun to use
>The happiness you feel is quickly sapped when you see 4 red markers dancing across your screen
>Great, just want you needed; more raider flunkies trying to kill you
>"Gracie stealth up, we got company"
>Without any hesitation she disappears
>At this point it was routine
>Some raiders, a pack of Geckos, cazadores you name it 
>You watch her shimmer disappear away from you
>Now to play the waiting game, whoever it was would come to you and Gracie would flank them in silence
>Who would have thought all those years in the combat simulators on Nellis would work so well out here
>You draw out your LMG and keep eyes out 
>What appears over the nearest hill is a legionary assassin squad much to your approval
>An elite one too from the look of it
>"fuck" is all you can say as you open fire
>No need to let those idiots get close and yell their whole bullshit about Caesar marking your for death or whatever
>"GIVE US THE ORACLE AND YOU MAY LIVE" you hear the one charging you with a super sledge shout right before he's torn apart by a barrage of lead
>"FUCK OFF CUNTS" You Shout as you unload bullets towards them
>You hear the quick hiss of silenced gunfire as Gracie fires away striking down the one who looks in command
>You don't know or care how their ranking system works, but you do care about these idiots trying to kill you and Gracie
>Wwait though, the Dumbass who brought a hammer to a gunfight said to give them the oracle
>Didn't that other group call her that?
>Doesn't matter, you fire smart controlled bursts and laugh as the sports gear they use are armor disintegrate from the bullets
>The last one looks around wildly , ignoring you completely
>"Where are you? Come to me me oracle! You belong to the Legate!" he Yells into the wasteland
>You ignore his crazed shouts and fire one last round though his head
>Annoying legion fucks
>You had hoped you had lost them when you killed the last squad all those weeks ago
>Gracie uncloaks next to you
>"They were calling my an oracle again Anon. What do you think that means" she asks as you look over the bodies
>Nothing useful besides those coins again, even their weapons were in crap condition and the ammo was that surplus shit that broke your weapons down too fast
>The super sledge was stupid and you didn't know how to use it anyway
>Might as well leave it for some lucky scavenger to find
>You rub the scales on Gracie's head when you stand up
>"I don't know Gracie, but you don't belong to anyone"
>She smiles and leans against you as you walk
>Leave the bodies where they fall, it's not your problem to deal with them
>But now you wanted to get back to the bunker quickly
>Maybe rig up some mines around the entrance
>Last thing you needed was some asshole getting into your new home
>"I don't want them to take me from you anon, I like being with you"
>You hope she mean just being around you, Not "being with" in a romantic way
>Or do you?
>you put an arm around her
>"I enjoy hanging out with you too Gracie"
>She breaks away from you and walks next to you, reloading her magazines carefully
>You take the chance to reload your LMG
>As you load it up you recall the time when She asked to try and use your LMG
>At first you said no outright, but when she begged and begged then threw a hissing fit
>Eventually you gave in after she refused to eat
>You stood behind her with your hands on her shoulders in an attempt to brace her
>She held down the trigger and totally lost control, falling backwards onto you 
>While it was dangerous it was funny to think about now
>Yea, Small guns are definitely more her speed
>The rest of the walk home is uneventful
>A Strong wind blows by from the west
>Out of the corner of your eye you see Gracie's tongue flicking wildly, smelling whatever is on the wind
>She always did this, she said it was the easiest way to find someone
>You ignore it completely as always, you had the bighorner steaks on the brain
>The sound of running to your right stirs you from your thoughts
>You look over and see Gracie running west following the wind
>"Gracie?!" you call out as you try to catch up with her
>God dammit she’s fast 
>"I CAN SMELL HER ANON! COME ON!"
>The thought of Gracie sobbing again pains you as you chase after her
>You have to stop her, there's no way you can see that again
>As the wind dies down she comes to a stop, giving you a chance to catch up
>Her long tongue flicks out and she sniffs deep, looking around
>"Gracie who do y-"
>Before you can even finish she's running again
>West through the desert sands, following a now steady breeze
>"Her smell's getting stronger Anon! Hurry up!"
>You're trying to keep up but god damn she's fast 
>"Wait up Gracie" you call out to her, only to be completely ignored
>How can she run for so long? it's been nearly 15 minutes of her running away 
>You were falling behind
>You might be a strong guy but your endurance is lacking for sure
>Ahead of you is a road, one of the old highways, although you aren't sure which one
>Gracie was at least 500 meters ahead of you
>"SISTER I FOUND YOU!" you barely hear over your own panting
>On the road is a Brahmin carrying something
>Propellers?
>You watch Gracie tackle nothing but air
>"Sister! I’ve waited SO long to find you!"
>You finally catch up and see Gracie happily crying into not air but a man
>Granted a Very shocked looking man
>The words of that tall man echo back to you from the past
>"Slavers ain't friends"
>He killed all those fiends to find out about slavers and before you is a man smelling like a sister?
>you're about to pull out your LMG when a much MUCH larger Snekdog uncloaks behind Gracie and picks her up off the man
>FUCK
>You're about to panic and grab out one of your guns when that panic is quelled
>"SISTER I FOUND YOU! NOT IMPOSTER YOU!" Gracie cries happily
>Gracie's arms wrap around the Big Snekdog, tears falling from her eyes
>"I found you! I found you! Z-12 I Found you!"
>Tears fall from the much larger snekdogs eyes, as they hold enough other
>You stand awkwardly, watching the two hug it out
>The man that Gracie tackled stands up watching the two as he dusts himself off
>Might as well introduce yourself
>You walk over and extend a hand to him
>"Hey, call me Boomer"
>He takes it in a firm handshake
>"Pip"
>You turn back to watching Gracie hug and cry into the chest of the Much larger Snekdog
>She's petting Gracie's head
>"Shush shush now, its ok Z-14"
>Gracie Pulls her over to you 
>"SISTER SISTER LOOK! This is the guy who has been taking care of me"
>you're face to face with a 6 foot something Snakedog
>"Uh Hi there, I'm Boomer"
>Her amber eyes look you up and down
>Gracie looks back and forth between you and her happily
>"Hi Boomer, My Name isn't Z-12, its Amber actually"
>Heh a fitting name for those piercing eyes
>You extend your hand to her
>"Nice to meet you Amber"
>She takes you hand in her paw and gives it a friendly shake
>Gracie bounces next to you
>"Oh OH! Z-12! I mean uh Amber! He Named me Gracie!"
>Gracie hugs your arm happily with one of her arms
>Amber takes Gracie's free paw in hers
>"Gracie, this is my Mate Pip"
>She introduces Gracie calmly
>"HI PIP! Sorry I tackled you! you smell just like Sister!"
>Gracie has let go of your arm and is shaking Pip's hand frantically
>She stop suddenly, Looking at Pip
>"wait Mate?! Like MATING?!"
>Amber cocks her head a bit
>"Well yea, just like you and boomer here! He smells like you have slept on him every day"
>Gracie's ears fold down and she covers her face with her paws
>"Noooo Boomer is my best friend and my Pillow! We aren't mates"
>Amber smirks at you
>"Yet?" she says smugly
>You feel something in your stomach, hope? joy?
>All you know is you had admired Gracie for a bit, both physically and emotionally
>BUT it's time to change the subject!
>You stroll over to the propeller blades and look them over
>"Vertibird props? Decent condition too. Must've been hard to scavenge these, what are you building?" you ask as you inspect the blade for cracks
>"Well a vertibird Of course, Why else would we need props?" Pip says, patting the parts
>You can think of a bunch of different things to use props for but you keep that to yourself
>Gracie is excitedly talking to Amber about the things you've done together
>"He killed some Legion people trying to grab me and bought me a gun and taught me to use it" She says excitedly to Amber 
>You can see Amber nodding and smiling
>"Where are you guys Headed now?" Pip asks as you watch Gracie
>She had on one of the biggest smiles you had seen in a long time
>"The Sierra Madre, we're getting some pre-war tech there" you say absentmindedly as you watch Gracie
>You kick yourself internally, you hadn't planned on sharing that information with anyone
>Granted this wasn't a "top secret mission" or anything but you didn't want people you didn't know getting in the way
>This catches Amber's attention
>"You're going to the Madre? we were planning on going there later but If you guys are headed there we should team up"
>Gracie lights up
>"YEAH! Let's Do that Anon, 4 people are better than 2!"
>You think for a moment
>That does make sense actually
>You look to pip calmly
>"Mind if we tag along to wherever you're going? Then we can all head to the Madre"
>"Of course we don't, besides I want to catch up more with Gracie" Amber answers
>Gracie bounds over to you and gives you a hug
>"We found her Anon, just like you promised" 
>You hug her back 
>"We did Gracie, we sure did"
>You look up and see Amber smirking at you
>Feeling somewhat flustered, you break the hug quickly
>"Uh yea, let's get going then"
>Gracie skips up next to Amber and you hear them begin talking
>You fall to the rear of this little caravan and draw out your LMG
>This would be a prime target for raiders and you weren't going to be caught with your pants down
>As well if the Legion was after Gracie, they would probably be after Amber as well
>Pip walks next to you, holding an odd looking Laser pistol
>"Odd looking gun you got there Pip, what is it?"
>"Compliance regulator, Stuns whatever I shoot with it"
>You blink and look at it, amazed something like it exists
>"It Stuns them? like paralyzed?"
>He smirks
>"They freeze in whatever position they were in like a statue"
>You're dumbfounded 
>"Can I take a look at it real quick?"
>He hesitates for a moment
>You extend your LMG to him
>"Here, you can hold my gun if you want"
>He nods and you exchange weapons with him
>It's so light compared to your usual weapons
>You had learned a bit about energy weapons from the Brotherhood as well as from all those magazines in vault 11
>You look at the ammo it takes and aim down the sights
>Pip kept it it really good condition 
>"Geez this thing is complicated" you say as you turn it over, looking at each part
>"Where did you find this thing?"
>He's turning your LMG over and looking at its parts as he answers
>"We found in in a place called Zion to the north"
>Zion? You had heard of it but never been
>You hear Gracie laughing and motioning to her eye to Amber
>"Is that where you met her?" you ask motioning to Amber
>He shakes his head ask you hand him back his weapon
>He hands back yours as he explains
>"I had a bounty from the Big MT to remove a collar from her, one thing lead to another and now we're Mates"
>Mates, there's that word again. As well as Big MT
>"What about you and Gracie?"
>You smirk to yourself thinking about such a chance meeting
>"I was hunting a super mutant and rested in a cave, she just happened to be there"
>He nods at that
>"What are you two talking about back there" Amber calls back as your caravan arrives at goodsprings
>"Guns and stuff" you call forward to them
>"Boomer loves big guns!" Gracie chimes in happily
>The brahmin stops to get food and water from a trough as Amber walks into the "Goodsprings General Store"
>You again have a minor freakout
>She's not covering her scales or anything
>People are looking for these snakedog
>Gracie said it when you first met, and the legion is clearly after them
>Pip follows her calmly
>As Gracie starts to walk in you grab her arm
>"Hey wha-"
>"Your Hood Gracie" you say as you put it back covering her head
>She grips your arm
>"Right, sorry Anon"
>You open the door and walk in
>Amber and pip are talking to a man
>"Ih new customers? I'll be right with you" he says looking from you to Gracie
>"They're with us Pete, that's my little sister and her boyfriend"
>You feel Gracie's grip tighten around your arm and she tries to hide behind you
>"Z-12, er, Amber, is he ok seeing our scales?" Gracie squeaks out, peeking out from behind your back
>"Yes Gracie, he's ok to see us"
>Gracie walks besides you and pushes her hood back
>Pete just smiles at her and continues his business with Amber
>You suddenly feel silly for making Gracie put her hood back on
>It takes a bit of mental wrestling to feel ok about it, after all you are just looking out for her
>You leave the building with Gracie still holding your arm, her hood not on her head
>Seeing her not hiding out in the open was refreshing to see
>After a while Amber and Pip leave the building
>"Alright let's go!, we're headed to the Strip" Pip says coolly
>It's like to him it's no big deal
>You hadn't ever been to the strip, all around it yes, but never on it
>These two are full of surprises
>You walk silently, listening to Amber tell her tale to Gracie
>How Her and her sister, Z-11, escaped the big MT
>That she got shot and left for dead, her sister beaten and taken by slavers
>They keep talking as the sun sets, leaving the lights of the strip to guide your way as your approach it
>Gracie tells of your stay with the brotherhood and the home you made together
>How she smelled "ZX-13" near the gun runners
>That seemed to pique Amber's interest a lot
>She talks about vault 11 and how you took care of her while she was in heat
>"Oh he took are of you?" Amber says looking at you with a smirk
>"She locked herself in a room for a week straight and I brought her food" you say with a frown
>"Uh huh I'm sure thats ALLLL you did" She teases you
>"That IS all he did! He's such a good person to have with me!" Gracie says, blissfully unaware of what Amber was implying
>Your group walks to the strip enterance, a place you had seen before but never bothered trying to get through
>Gracie holds your arms tight against
>Pip and Amber lead you and Gracie Into the strip, past group of securitrons
>Gracie looks up and around at everything
>"Wow Anon it's so pretty! Look at it all! It's like the war never even happened!"
>An unfamiliar voice chimes in
>"It used to be a lot nicer before the war, but this is still pretty good"
>You look around searching for the owner of the voice and see a ghoul
>Was he a ghoul? He looks like a human, his skin isn't withered like every other ghoul You've seen
>You gawk in confusion
>Amber whispers to you "He is a ghoul, stop staring and close your mouth"
>Snapping your mouth closed, you look at her
>"What? How?"
>"We'll explain later" she says as Pip greets the ghoul
>You don't hear the conversation because of all the people around but a lot of nods and smiles from both
>"Raul is letting you guys stay here at the Lucky 38 tonight with us, then we can head to the Madre tomorrow" Pip finally says turning from the ghoul to look at you and Gracie
>You walk forward with Gracie still on your arm and extend your free hand to "Raul"
>"Thanks, I'm Boomer and this is Gracie"
>He shakes your hand warmly
>"Nice to meet you, the Facilities of the Lucky 38 are yours to use"
>you smile 
>"Come on you two, Lets get something to eat and then to bed, we have a long day tomorrow" Amber says with a smile, watching Gracie hold your arm
>you nod and follow Pip into the casino and Marvel at how well its been taken care of
>everything looks pristine, like time had never touched it
>you might as well have stepping through a time machine and back to 2077
>"Nice huh? I've been keeping this place running since the Courier took over the Strip" Raul says behind you 
>"Yea... nice" you say absentmindedly as you look around
>"Come on! We'll show you your room and leave you two to have some privacy" Pip says beckoning you to an elevator
>an actual working elevator
>This place really is high end
>The ride up is short and they show you to a room
>As you walk in the first thing you notice is the Fantastic view of the whole strip 
>"Wow! Look Anon! We can see everything!" Gracie ways excitedly as she runs to the window
>Her hood falls off as she bounds and she presses her paws against the window looking out
>"You two have a good night! there is food in the lobby. See you in the morning!" you hear Pip say as the door closes behind you
>You had to admit the view was wonderful
>But a rumble in your stomach tears you away from that
>When you go to the lobby you find a few boxes of Very well preserved Salisbury steak and Blamco mac and cheese
>You grab 2 of each and 2 forks for you and Gracie
>"Food" you call out as you open the door back to your room
>Gracie sits on the bed in her Pajamas, Looking at you expectantly
>"Anon.. Are you my Mate?" She asks
>You nearly drop the food 
>Why is she asking this? Better play it cool
>"Uh, I wouldn't call us mates, we're just best friends I would say"
>She looks at you with her beautifully mismatched eyes
>"Oh, OK Anon. T-thanks for the food"
>You nod and give her a fork and her food
>She scoots right up next to you as you both eat in silence
>The food isn't bad, actually it tastes quite good considering it was over 200 years old
>When you finish you change into your Pajamas
>Gracie had seen all of you before
>And you had seen all of her
>You didn't Peek! But sometimes you would see her in the bunker shower
>Every inch of her body was like a exotic work of art
>One you found on your mind often
>But she was a Snakedog, a nightstalker
>She probably wanted someone of her own species, not some outcast
>That's probably why she asked, to make sure you knew that you weren't her mate
>You climb into the bed and sit with you back against the wall
>Gracie climbs in after you and delicately places her head in your lap
>"Goodnight Anon, Thank you for helping me find Amber" she says with a small yawn
>You gently rub her ears and the scales on her head
>"You're welcome Gracie, Goodnight"
>Her gentle hisses and the feeling of her scales lull you to sleep
>One last thought lingers in the back of your mind though before dreamland takes you
>Gracie and you together like Pip and Amber
>An unexpected hurt


Chapter 9 : Pull My Trigger

>You awake to the Sun in your eyes as it rises over the mountains to the east
>Gracie lays with her head on your lap, her nose pressed against your stomach
>A twinge of guilt hits you since you have to wake her
>Hm Maybe not though
>Carefully, very carefully you slide over, gently moving her head off you
>She whimpers softly as you set her head down on the bed
>Breakfast was calling and hopefully Raul didn't mind you grabbing a bit more food
>Quietly you leave the room and wander around the Lucky 38, taking it all in
>This place was almost magical with how well preserved it was
>As you pull open an working fridge you find several Brahmin steaks as well as garlic bread
>Might as well make some 
>Do Ghouls eat? You don't want to be rude and not make Raul one
>You decide to make Gracie a Steak, you don't know Pip or Amber or Raul well enough to know how they like theirs
>But you know how Gracie likes her food
>Looking around, you find a stove and several pans
>You cook up 2 of the steaks and warm up the garlic bread 
>Gracie is awake when you walk into the room carrying the food
>Her long tongue flicks out of her mouth and she sniffs the air
>"Ooo Brahmin steak and something else? What’s that Anon?"
>"Garlic bread Gracie, its good" you say as you set her plate down
>"Mm Breakfast in Bed Anon, I feel so special"
>She digs in happily as you sit next to her
>"You are special Gracie, you mean a lot to me" you say pulling her close
>She leans on you and eats happily
>You eat silently, savoring the Steak and the garlic bread
>While this isn't breakfast food you didn't mind
>Maybe you could find some gecko Eggs and make a Brahmin garlic omelet
>Or Next time Gracie lays an egg you could do that
>That still bothered you a bit to be honest, but traditional rules are off the table when it comes to Snekdogs
>Gracie finished her food before you and has started changing into her recon armor, leather jacket and her messenger bag
>She doesn't even bother trying to hide her body from you
>Not that you mind but still it was somewhat teasing
>You finish up and change clothes
>Your leather armor is worn and beat up, your Boomer Jacket torn and patched up
>But it's all you have to remember your life from Nellis by
>There's a soft knock at the door 
>"Come in" says Gracie happily as she rummages through her bag
>Amber pushes the door open
>"Oh good you're ready, we should get moving soon" She says with a grin towards Gracie
>You see Gracie's eyes light up
>"YAY! I’m So Happy to be traveling with you Sister!"
>She bounds over happily and grabs Amber in a hug
>"I'm so happy I found you!"
>You can’t help but smile as her happiness, it was one of the few things in the world you enjoyed seeing
>It was right up there with firing big guns 
>It might even be above it
>You walk out of the room, following Amber and by extension Gracie, who was holding her bigger sisters hand and talking about how you made her breakfast
>Every once and a while you see Amber looking over her shoulder at you with a smirk
>Eventually you're lead to the elevator and down to the ground floor
>"Remember Pip, we need a Full Vertibird" Raul calls to him as you all leave the lucky 38
>Pip Nods to him calmly
>"Let's go" he says to your small party
>The roads on the Strip are like new, rebuilt like a the bombs never fell
>The roads outside the strip were torn apart from time
>As the 4 of you walk south to the Madre Vault you picked various plants to eat
>Helping those NCR Rangers had proven helpful time and time again
>You found a Banana Yucca along the way and tossed a few of the fruits to everyone
>Gracie happily bit into hers before latching onto your arm as you walked
>You in turn pushed her hood down and rubbed the scales on her head
>The walk is quiet and peaceful
>You enjoy the company of Gracie, Amber and Pip
>Pip may not speak to you much but that's fine, he's polite and doesn't hassle you
>Amber may be constantly teasing you about not being Gracie’s mate but she’s nice enough
>It seems when there are four people travelling together it deters raiders from attacking
>You also had no doubt that Amber's sheer size was intimidating
>The roads are hot and the wind dusty but you don’t mind it as you walk with your little group
>But something bothers you. Was it jealousy?
>Amber's hugs and affection to Pip as they walked and talked
>Why does it bother you? You have Gracie with you, holding your arm, but its different seeing them have it
>You don't quite understand why it makes you feel upset 
>You shake your head slightly to get rid of the thoughts
>They are mates, you and Gracie aren't 
>You should just enjoy your time with her and she said she wasn't going anywhere
>As you pass through Novac Gracie looks up at the giant dinosaur
>"It's so cool!" Gracie says jumping up and down
>"Maybe on the way back home we can grab one of those little toy dinosaurs Gracie" you say with a smile
>She hugs your arm tight and smiles while looking up at you
>"Promise Anon?"
>You rub the scales on her head and scratch her ears gently
>"Promise"
>You can see Amber smirking as Gracie hugs you, but you ignore it
>Even now you feel that bit of jealousy as Gracie hugs you tight
>Why?
>You break from her hug and start walking again
>Over the hills, sand billowing past, the sun beating down
>It’s all a distraction for you as you check the map of your pip-boy
>You look around for this ghost town covered in red mist
>But all you see is sand
>Where is this place?
>Eventually Pip sees what looks like a storm drain
>Its right were your Pip-boy says the Madre should be
>Pip grabs the grate and pulls it open, then peers down into it
>"There are stairs down here! I think this might lead us there"
>Smart man, you had planned to blow the storm drain open with a grenade or something
>You pull out your LMG
>"I’ll go down first and check it out then call you down when I’m sure it’s safe"
>Pip draws his compliance regulator
>"I got your back"
>You nod and lower yourself into the drain 
>As soon as your feet hit the stairs you raise your gun, a quick scan of the stair well
>There’s a hallway leading into this place
>Is it a bunker? What’s going on here?
>No time for emotion, time to be tactical
>"Stairwells clear, Pip come down"
>You keep your sights aimed down the stairs as you hear Pip drop in behind you
>Slowly you head down the stairs, weapon trained down the hallway
>Its dark and you know feral ghouls like to hide in places like this
>The layout looks simple
>A hallway with a room at the end, no one is in there
>There are 2 hallways off to the left and right
>"You clear right, I'll clear left" you say as you approach the fork
>"Got it" you hear Pip grunt
>You turn left and aim down a hallway to a well-lit room
>Hm looks like someone was living here at some point
>You walk into the room and scan left and right
>No one here
>"Clear left" you call out
>"Clear right" you hear pip call
>With that you can finally let your guard down
>"I’ll get the girls" Pip says as he holsters his gun
>You nod and begin looking around the room
>A bed, a vending machine of some sort, a bunch of half completed weird looking laser rifles
>The vending machine looks a bit odd so you examine it calmly, leaning over it and around the sides
>On the side you see words that catch your eye
>"Big MT"
>If it was made there, then this isn’t a normal vending machine
>"What’s that Boomer" you hear Amber over your shoulder
>"Dunno some kind of vending machine from the Big MT"
>You feel Gracie sliding under your left arm to look at it
>"OH! I know what that is! It’s a self-contained matter transformation device!"
>You look at her
>"It’s a what? And HOW do you know that Gracie?"
>She starts tapping at the buttons on it happily
>"It takes uh" She looks around quickly and grabs a coin like thing of a table “These!"
>She hands it to you
>A Sierra Madre chip?
>"If you get enough of these it'll change them into items!"
>She grabs a bunch of the chips and puts them in them punches a few buttons
>Out pops a can of cram
>You pick up the can and look at it, then open it up and taste it
>It tastes better than any other cram you've had before, you pass it to Pip to try "try it, it's good"
>"How do you know that Gracie?" Amber asks
>Gracie gives a toothy grin
>"I wandered around the Big MT for a long time, I found the Lab they made these things in! They had details on their computers!"
>Makes sense to you
>Pip is the first to leave the room and head to the other room
>"Where is the Madre though?" he asks looking around the other room
>You follow him and frown
>"Dunno, my Pip-boy doesn't tell me anything besides it’s here"
>You see him tapping away at his
>"Same"
>You're stumped and getting frustrated
>Was this a wild goose chase? Did Sato give you bad info? You were so close!
>"Check behind the walls" you hear Amber call out
>She emerges from the other room holding what looks like a journal
>"Whoever lived here says there are secret tunnels behind one of the walls"
>You frown
>Fuck sneaky shit, how were you going to find the switch to open a secret door?
>You look around and see Pip begins knocking on the walls
>"What are you doing?" you ask, feeling your frustration begin to pour out through your voice
>You weren't angry at him or anything but this stuff was annoying
>A pair of scaled arms wrap around you waist from behind
>"Calm down Anon, its ok we'll find it" you hear Gracie whisper to you
>You take a deep breath and wait as Pip taps around the room
>Eventually he stops and knocks on one spot again
>"Here, it’s hollow behind here" Pip says pointing to the spot
>"How will get through that though" Amber says walking up to him and examining the spot
>You know how, plus it would probably calm you down
>Exploding things always did
>"I got some explosives, I'll blow a hole through the wall"
>Pip looks you over
>"You sure about that? You might collapse the bunker"
>Gracie hugs your arm
>"He's a Boomer! And he did that clear out our home! Trust him, he knows what he's doing!"
>Pip looks a bit unsure but relents
>"You guys might want to get into that other room, this could make a mess"
>They all file out of the room while you search through your inventory
>Start Small, you don't know how thick this wall is
>You grab a Grenade and back away to the hallway that leads into the side room
>Quickly you pull the pin from the grenade and toss it to the foot of the wall then duck behind the corner
>The explosion shakes some dust off the walls when it goes off
>You peek around the corner and frown
>The others look too
>The wall is still intact, a small hole blasted into it
>"Oh great job Mr. Demo man" Amber teases you
>You can feel your frustration growing
>Fine they want a big explosion, they get one
>You grab a nearly depleted fusion core and smirk at Amber
>"How about this then" you ask smugly
>You feel a hand on your arm
>Pip has ahold of it
>"You sure about using that?" he asks, eyeing the fusion core
>You nod
>"I know what I'm doing man, I won't kill us or anything"
>He nods
>"But you all should get out of the bunker, just to be safe"
>You head to the room and place the fusion core in the hole that the grenade made
>Everyone else has already climbed out of the bunker as you walk towards the stairwell
>"Gracie, you wanted to know why the Treadnaut had force fields around the power core?" you call up out of the storm drain
>"Yea! Why is that?
>"It’s powered by 8 of these fusion cores" you say as you pull out you scout rifle and take aim at the dimly glowing light of the fusion core
>"And if one gets shot"
>you hold your breath and pull the trigger
>A miniature nuclear explosion goes off, causing the ground the shake and all of the dust settled everywhere to get rattled off
>You can't even hear your own laughter as the ground shakes
>Nothing like an explosion to lighten your mood
>"That happens" you say as the sound dies down
>"Come on down, we're good to go!" you call up
>"Hold up! Gracie's passed out!" Pip calls down to you
>You swear to yourself, you were so caught up in explosions you forgot about Gracie's tendency to play dead
>"One sec, I got her"
>You climb out of the bunker and see Gracie splayed out on the ground
>"Gracie come on, you're ok, and it was just an explosion" you say as you grip her paws
>Her eyes open and she pulls one of her paws out of your hand and swats you with it
>"WARN ME NEXT TIME!" 
>You help her up while you apologize
>"What was that about?" Amber says looking you over
>"Hog nosed snakes play dead when threatened, I guess that instinct got passed to Gracie" you say as you help dust her off
>Gracie's ears go flat against her head 
>"I can't help it sometimes" she says looking at her feet
>"It's ok, we’re working on it, anyway let’s check out the wall" 
>Pip jumps down first, followed by Amber, then Gracie
>You follow quickly after them and look at the wall
>Or rather what used to be the wall
>A smoldering hole where the wall was reveals the tunnel 
>"Told ya I got it" you say with a grin
>You draw your LMG again and take the lead down the dimly lit tunnel
>Eventually it gets so dark that you and Pip have to use the lights on your pip-boys to see
>For what feels like hours the 4 of you walk, but it’s hard to tell, at least it is for you
>But as you round a curve you see dim reddish light and the opening 
>"Oh! Light! Light! Let’s go Anon!" Gracie says beginning to run towards it
>You catch her arm in your hand, struggling to hold your LMG with one hand
>"Hold up, we have to play it safe. Let's all get there at once"
>No need to rush now
>You keep your LMG in your hands and watch as the light gets brighter and the mouth of the tunnel gets bigger
>Eventually you walk through the opening and blink a few times
>Before you there are buildings; villas that are crumbling and decrepit
>And behind them is a giant tower of a building, bathed in red mist
>As you walk you feel the ground is soft
>Like snow, the mist seems to have settled on the ground leaving an inch or 2 of blood red dust on the ground
>What is this stuff? You don't think you want to know, but you think you'll learn anyway
>Your footsteps are muffled from it as the 4 of you walk, looking around
>'It's really here' you think to yourself
>A fountain sits in the center of a plaza, empty with no water but with a few dozen of those chips in it
>Holograms of people flicker lazily as you look around and static cuts through the quiet
>"This place is creepy" you hear Gracie whimper from behind you
>You nod and keep your LMG out, aiming at every single sound
>The static is driving you crazy, like a garbled voice yelling at you
>Silenced footfalls all around you
>Words echo from your memory
>"That place will be your grave"
>A noise to your right caused you to jump and fire at the noise
>Sparks fly as your bullet hits a speaker
>"Geez Boom calm down" you faintly hear over your own heart beat
>There are shapes in the mist taunting you
>"Anon are you ok?" Gracie’s voice cuts through 
>You blink hard and focus on her
>Stay focused on her, let her be your tether
>You hold her paw, gripping your Gun with one hand
>"You ok Boomer?" Pip says 
>"I’m just... I don't know those speakers are getting to me" you cough
>The 4 of you keep walking through the villas
>"What is this Stuff? Why isn't it affecting you?" you ask as you walk through the blood red mist
>You cough and feel your lungs burn
>It feels like the cloud is closing in on you
>"What do you mean Boom?" Pip asks as he leads the group
>"It’s like this stuff is choking me, how are you able to walk through it?"
>To your dismay they keep walking; ignoring your words
>Did you even say anything? Your breathing is so labored your can't remember
>Maybe you imagined it
>You look around at the three of them
>Amber and Gracie walk like there's no problem, like this cloud is nothing more than fog
>Pip seems like he's walking through a bit of smoke, a cough every once and a while
>Gracie has a firm grip on your hand as she walks through the clouds
>But she keeps leading you through the clouds
>Through whatever this stuff is that chokes you
>Each time you have a violent coughing fit
>It burns
>you face burns, your lungs burns and your eyes burn
>Why is it painful to just exist here?
>You cough and let go of Gracie's paw
>How can they keep going like its nothing?
>You have to stop in an area where the cloud has settled, the dust around your feet is thick but the air clear
>Let your lungs clear, try to catch your breath
>You're not out of shape so why is this affecting you so much?
>The others just keep walking
>Static in the air is the only noise you can hear
>But then something else cuts through
>Horrid, ragged breathing
>is breathing though? It echoes through the plaza around you
>Surrounding you
>Where is it coming from?
>You raise your LMG and aim down the sights, turning quickly at each way into the area
>What you see is a shape in the cloud
>A figure, a human shaped figure, carrying something, eyes round and glowing green 
>And it's stumbling through the cloud towards you
>You aim right between those glowing eyes
>"FUCK OFF YOU CUNT" you shout at it
>Your words have little effect on whatever it is
>It tosses the cylinder thing it's carrying at you
>As it flies through the cloud you recognize what it is
>A gas canister, with a small explosive attached
>FUCK!
>You jump to the side and roll away from the impact, kicking up dust
>It hits the ground with an explosion, kicking the dust into the air
>You choke as you get to your feet and aim at the figure once more
>Fuck this guy
>You unload 20 or so bullets into the shambling body, ripping it apart
>Where are Gracie and Pip and Amber?
>Through the mist you see more figures, walking that awful stumbling gait through the blood red cloud
>Fine
>They wanted to come for you, but you were going to go to them
>"BOOMER?! WHERE ARE YOU?!" you hear faintly over the ragged breaths
>Go, Kill them all
>You charge into the mist, gun blazing
>Bodies fall before you as you charge
>Bullets fly, leaving trails through the cloud
>How many of them are there? They just keep coming
>But you don't care though, how many of them have you killed? 10? 20? 30?
>Not that it matters
>Is your gunfire drawing them to you? 
>"ANON! ANON! WHERE ARE YOU?!"
>Only one person calls you Anon
>Gracie
>Her voice is getting closer, you can hear it between the gunshots
>Protect her, kill everyone
>You kneel down and reload, 200 rounds take a little big to reload but you can keep firing for a LONG time
>But you're interrupted, a spear made of a stick and knives strapped to it; stabs into your left bicep
>A scream; Gracie's scream 
>A hail of bullets tear through the humanoid thing that stabbed you
>You're breathing hard, the spear is still in your arm
>"ARE YOU OK!?" She cries
>You hear the gentle patter of Gracie's paws in the dust
>She kneels in front of you
>"I'm Fine" you choke out, your throat burns when you try to talk
>You grab the spear and pull it out of your arm, causing blood to spray into the dust on the ground
>"No, you're not Anon! We have to get you out of here!"
>You stand up gripping your LMG with your right hand, your left arm hurts too much to move
>Fuck, you can't reload it like this
>The breathing of these people, these ghosts
>It surrounds you and Gracie 
>Gracie stands with her SMG drawn, firing at a few of the ghosts
>But you see one holding a one of those gas bombs
>You try to warn Gracie, try to shout but the dust that's been kicked up is choking you
>It throws the bomb right at Gracie
>NO! You won't let her get hurt!
>You rush forward and push her out of the way
>The gas bomb hits the LMG in your hand and explodes, blasting you backwards into a wall
>Pain, so much pain
>You can't see out of your left eye, shrapnel from your LMG being blasted apart is in your legs and chest
>The toxic dust is settling into your wounds, poisoning your blood
>"NO NO NO ANON!" Gracie cries as she gets up and runs to you
>"I'm sorry Gracie, we should have never come here" you choke out
>You can feel your consciousness fading as you look into her teary eyes
>"NO Anon Please! Get Up! You Have to get up!' she cries pulling your arms
>You can't move, your body is limp as she drags you slowly
>It doesn't hurt anymore as she pulls
>"Go Find your sister; get out of here please"
>You cough and taste the iron in your blood 
>she needs to save herself
>>"NO Anon! Please I need you! Please get up"
>"PLEASE Anon! I Lo-"
>Your world goes black and the pain fades
>Sato was right
>This place would be your grave

Chapter 10: I AM Alive

>It hurts, everything hurts.
>Pain? Guess you aren't dead after all.
>You sit up quickly, breathing hard...
>Where's your gun?! They're coming for you!
>What happened? The last thing you remember was Gracie trying to pull you...
>Shuffling noises cause you to look around quickly, although you can't see out of your left eye.
>Where are you? Panic sets in as you observe your surroundings...
>You're in a bed in a jail cell with the bars open.
>What happened? How did you get here?
>So many questions in your mind...
>"Gracie?", you call out as you sit up
>Your throat feels dusty when you talk.
>Hurried footsteps towards you and Gracie appears, peering into the cell
>"ANON! YOU'RE AWAKE!"
>She rushes in and pounces on you in a hug.
>"Oh god, oh god, you had me so worried! I thought you were dead, I'm sorry, we didn't know the cloud was poison!"
>She's talking a mile a minute, hugging you tight.
>It hurts, it really, really hurts as she squeezes you tight.
>"What happened, Gracie? Where are we? Also, you're hurting me."
>She lets go quickly. "Sorry, Anon."
>You reach and pet her head gently.
>"It's OK, what happened?"
>She sits on the bed next to you.
>"Uhm, after you got hit by that bomb and passed out, I bit you and used my venom to slow down your heart."
>She points to your right forearm, where what looks like a bright green 11 marks where she bit you.
>"After that I dragged you to here, a police station."
>You blink hard, processing...
>"You stopped my heart? How am I alive if you poisoned me?"
>She scrunches her face up and looks away...
>"Don't freak out but I, uh, made you drink my blood, my bodily fluids are an antivenom."
>She shows her arm, which is bandaged up...
>You sit and stare at her for a moment, digesting everything she told you.
>"And then Pip, Amber, and I scrounged up chips to get stimpaks to help you heal, but..."
>She trails off, looking at you.
>"But what?"
>"We couldn't save your eye Anon, your left eye is gone."
>You reach up to your face and feel around where your eye should be...
>What feels like a bunch of raised lines are across your face and eye socket.
>You sigh.
>You should be upset, but honestly you're just happy to be alive.
>Gracie scoots closer to you when you look at her.
>"Thank you Gracie, you saved my life and took care of me; you didn't have to do that."
>She beams at you and nuzzles against you.
>"Of course I did, Anon, I had to, you're my mate! You're the only person I want to be my mate! I love you!"
>You stare for a moment.
>"I- you what?", you stammer out.
>She wraps her arms around you and looks into your eye.
>"I love you Anon, I tried to tell you before you passed out."
>What do you feel now? A warmth in your chest, a flurry in your stomach...
>She wants you to be her mate, and she loves you...
>...And you feel the same.
>You've felt you wanted her as yours for a while.
>"I love you too, Gracie.", you say as you wrap your arms around her.
>It hurts to move, but you want to hold her.
>As she nuzzles into your chest, you realize you aren't wearing your normal clothes.
>A holey t-shirt and torn pants are all you're wearing.
>You break from the hug and smile.
>"Where's my gear? Let's get what we came here to find and get out of this place."
>She frowns.
>"Your gun got destroyed and your armor torn apart, the only thing that survived was your jacket, and just barely."
>Your turn to frown, your main weapon- destroyed? You could use your shotgun or scout rifle, but those wouldn't work well outside their specific range.
>But wait, this is a police station, they had to have had an armory.
>You stand up shakily.
>They used stimpaks on you, but you were still sore.
>"Is there an armory, Gracie? We might be able to find something I can use."
>She takes your hand, and leads you through the police station.
>"I found this when we were looking for chips, you might be able to use it!"
>On a table is an odd looking rifle, which you pick up and look at.
>Takes microfusion cells, but it's almost like it was thrown together out of spare parts, but it doesn't look like it's working quite well.
>"The armory is over there Anon, I haven't been able to get in it though, the door is locked."
>She points at a door with the word "armory" on it.
>You walk over and look at the lock.
>"Just shoot the lock, Gracie.", you say, stepping away from it.
>She looks at the lock, then her gun, and facepalms.(Facepaws?)
>"Why didn't I think of that..?", she mutters as she draws her gun and shoots the lock.
>You smile and look over the lock again.
>"Yeah, that did it."
>Giving the door a sharp (and painful) kick opens the door.
>You walk inside the armory and look around cautiously...
>A long rifle catches your eye, so you grab it and inspect it.
>Fires .308 rounds and is full auto? God, this thing is amazing.
>But it looks like it's in pretty bad condition.
>You shoulder it and look around more.
>Neatly folded in a corner is what looks like security guard armor and a helmet with an opaque visor.
>You grab that up too and carry it all out to the table where the other gun is laying.
>"Where are Amber and Pip? I haven't seen them."
>Gracie pulls out a chair and sits.
>"They are exploring, said they needed to find the vehicles, they may not be back for a while."
>You nod and sit next to her, then get to work restoring the automatic rifle.
>But, wait...you had wanted to combine a energy weapon and a regular gun...
>The gun Gracie found is easy enough to take apart.
>You smile as you get to work.
>Gracie watches intently as you work.
>"What are you doing, Anon?", she asks, cocking her head to the side adorably.
>"Making a dual fire weapon, Gracie."
>Your time with the Brotherhood of Steel had helped you understand energy weapons.
>As you work, clicking parts together, Gracie yawns and stretches.
>"Want some food, Anon? After we got you healed we still had a bunch of chips."
>You nod as you work, Gracie gets up and heads to a vending machine.
>After a few moments she comes back carrying a few cans of cram and some water.
>She sits next to you and nuzzles against you while you work.
>You smile as she does and stop tinkering with the guns to eat with her.
>How long had it been since you had eaten? You're pretty sure Gracie fed you while you were out of action.
>She opens the cans and hands you one.
>"Here Anon, sorry we don't have forks or anything."
>You smile as you take the can and use your fingers to eat.
>What do you care about silverware?
>She leans against you as she eats.
>Cram might not be your favorite food, but it'll do.
>You finish eating and get back to working on the guns.
>"Gracie, are there any weapon repair kits in the armory?"
>"I have a better idea! You can get all sorts of stuff from these machines! Plus, you can take other stuff and turn it into chips!"
>She bounces to her feet and bounds over to the machine, then taps away at the touch screen.
>After a moment, she walks back over with 3 weapon repair kits and some snacks.
>"Looky, looky! So much good stuff!"
>You look at the vending machine.
>That thing is useful...Maybe you can get one to the Brotherhood?
>A thought for another time.
>You sit and tinker for a few hours, talking with Gracie and getting parts to work together.
>Amber and Pip enter the police station.
>"Oh, hey Boomer, you're awake! Gracie was so worried about you!", Amber says, shaking dust off her body and clothes.
>You nod as you work.
>"She did a great job taking care of me- she saved me, that's for sure."
>"Well, most of you, anyway...", Amber says, looking at your left eye.
>Or rather, where your left eye should be.
>You frown, and cover it with your hand.
>"Sorry...", she says as her ears droop a bit.
>You sigh and uncover your face.
>"It's fine, I gotta get used to it I guess."
>Pip looks over the weapon you're creating.
>"What this? Looks like you found a nice gun here."
>You show him a few of the parts as you explain.
>"Gracie found an energy weapon, and I found an automatic rifle that shoots .308 rounds, I'm trying to combine them for extra weapon penetration."
>He nods and inspects one of the components of the energy weapon.
>"Nice, I think this is a holorifle, this place has been good for us."
>You look at him with a frown.
>"Well, mostly good...", he adds.
>You get back to work and Pip sits down with you, occasionally giving you tips and helping you put it together.
>Amber is telling Gracie about things out around the villa.
>In a lot of places, the dust has settled and the ghost people went berserk, eating the dust; Further driving them insane.
>She tells Gracie about how some have their weapons fused to their bodies.
>Jesus, looks like you dealt with the easiest ones...
>"We found our way into the maintenance area and turned on these giant fans to get most of the dust out of the air.", Amber says with a smile.
>That's good, you won't have to breathe anymore of it, or at least not as much.
>You watch as Amber pulls out a hatchet from her belt.
>"Plus, I found this down there, it's made of some super sharp metal."
>Gracie takes it into her paws and looks it over...
>You know Gracie isn't too good with melee weapons like you.
>"Did you find a way into the casino?" you ask as you run a few wires from the fusion cell port to the trigger.
>"We did, it's pretty deep in there, we're going to go together to get in there, and there might be other things in there."
>You nod and look over your new rifle.
>With Pip's help you got it put together quickly.
>Well, not quickly, but quicker than if you did it by yourself.
>It looks like the basic automatic rifle, but the barrel of the "holorifle" is around the barrel of the auto rifle.
>You had stripped the bipod to get it to fit, but it works.
>A port for the fusion cells is under the ejection port, and wires run from it to the trigger and to the receiver.
>To reload it you have to put in a new magazine AND a fusion cell, though.
>But it will do a LOT of damage.
>It's not pretty, that's for sure- but it'll do.
>"Alright then, let's get to that casino.", you say, standing up and grabbing your new gear.
>Pip puts a hand on you shoulder to stop you.
>"It's too late to go out there, last thing we want is to get caught out there at night, we can sleep here safely and then go in the morning."
>You frown, but nod.
>As much as you wanted to get out there and get revenge, you also didn't want to nearly die again.
>You put your holorifle into your inventory and look to Gracie.
>"Lets get some sleep, then."
>She takes your hand and leads you back to the cell you woke up in.
>There wasn't much privacy here, Amber and Pip must be sleeping in one of the other cells.
>You get out the pillows and Gracie changes into her pajamas.
>After the bed is set up you sit back against the wall and pat your lap softly, inviting Gracie over.
>She lays down and places her head in your lap.
>"Goodnight, Gracie.", you whisper.
>She sits up and kisses you quickly.
>"Goodnight Anon, you're the best mate ever."
>You smile and pet her head, lulling her to sleep.
>Before long, she's snoring softly.
>You drift off to sleep yourself soon after...
 
>You awake slowly and peacefully, a stark contrast to yesterday's panic stricken wake up.
>There are no windows, so there's no way to know if it's morning or not.
>But your Pip-Boy can tell you.
>You check it, making sure not to wake Gracie just yet.
>7AM
>That's a good time to start the day.
>You shake Gracie gently to wake her up.
>"Gracie, time to get up...", you say softly.
>After a moment, she stirs...
>You lean forward and kiss her softly.
>"Come on Gracie, we gotta get going."
>She sits up and yawns.
>"Mornin' Nonnnnnn..."
>You smile and stretch, then stand up.
>She sits on the bed and watches you, still in her pajamas.
>"You OK to go out there, Anon? You were nearly dead earlier..."
>You start putting on your new armor.
>Security armor? It'll do the job.
>You pull your Boomer jacket over it, then pick up the helmet.
>It has an opaque visor, which is good for hiding your missing eye.
>You put in on and look at Gracie.
>"I'll be fine."
>She smiles at you.
>"Lookin' good Anon, let me change now!"
>You watch as she changes, enjoying the view.
>God, her body is amazing.
>A thought hits you as you watch her pull on her recon armor.
>"Gracie, when is your next heat cycle?"
>She smiles at you and presses against you.
>"Ohhhhh, why do you ask, Anon?", She says in a teasing voice, her long tongue flicking your visor.
>You pull off your helmet and kiss her.
>"No reason.", you say with a smirk.
>You hear a noise outside the cell and see Amber peeking in at you both.
>"Not mates, huh?", she says smugly.
>Gracie nuzzles into your neck softly.
>"Things changed, sister."
>Amber smiles at that.
>You slip your helmet back on and look up...
>Pip appears alongside Amber, ready to go.
>"Yesterday we heard something big out there, we should all cloak to not cause anymore trouble."
>You had never let Gracie cloak you, you never were a sneaky guy but something stomping around might be dangerous.
>She scoots close to you and leans against you as you walk to the door outside.
>"Ready?", Gracie asks.
>You draw out your rifle and nod.
>"Ready."
>Your body feels weird, like there is a small yet ever present charge of static that won't discharge.
>You feel Gracie holding your arm softly when you look down.
>Everything is see through, a slight shimmer shows where you are.
>"Let's go."
>You push the door open into the dust filled streets.
>Pip and Amber really did kick whatever fans there were on.
>The clouds around this area are basically gone.
>A few wisps of it float lazily.
>You step out and begin walking around.
>It's weird to see footsteps forming.
>"We'll lead the way to the casino, we can get a vantage point to find the vertibirds.", You hear Pip say.
>You look around...
>Huh, you can see the Shimmer of Amber and Pip easier than you would Gracie's.
>"Follow our footsteps."
>You watch as footprints appear in front of you.
>Nice.
>They lead the way and you follow silently, passing the occasional ghost.
>Some stand twitching in the remaining clouds.
>A few are kneeling, shoving the dust into a hole where they ripped the gas mask section off their suit.
>How bizarre, how did these things function?
>You aren't sure you want to know.
>You feel Gracie's grip tighten around your arm as you keep your rifle ready.
>Would they notice the footprints in the dust? You hope not.
>The dust in the air is not affecting you like it did before.
>Did Gracie's blood work to stop you being affected?
>You can see the casino doors as your group gets nearer and nearer.
>The ground rumbles softly and you all get closer.
>Slow, rhythmic rumbling.
>Footsteps?
>You had thought they meant something like a deathclaw or something...
>...This sounded like something bigger than a behemoth.
>"Jesus fuck, what is that stomping around out there?", you say, imagining the worst.
>The door to the casino opens from someone opening it.
>You can't tell who opened it, and you suppose it doesn't matter as you shuffle in and get inside.
>The difference between inside the casino and outside is like night and day.
>Everything in here is preserved and in great condition, but still worn from time.
>The handrails are crumbled a bit, the doors you can see are still broken.
>The floor is covered in reddish carpet and dual stairwells wrap around the walls to an upper level.
>Between the stairwells you see the casino floor, dozens of tables and roulette wheels.
>Gracie lets go of your arm and you feel the static feeling disappear.
>Freaky.
>"WOW, Look at this place! It's so cool!" Gracie says walking forwards and looking around.
>It was cool, but it was eerily quiet.
>No ghost people, no ragged breathing...
>Just silence.
>It's unsettling that's for sure.
>"Where's this thing you need, Boomer?", Pip says, walking forward through the lobby.
>You look at your Pip-Boy and scan the notes section...
>All those notes on what's his face...Elijah had on the vault in here.
>"The vault, doesn't say how to get there but it says there is a vault."
>You look around calmly, where would a vault be?
>Probably below ground.
>Gracie and the rest of the group have started walking through the lobby.
>Maybe you could head to the elevators? Those would probably get you there.
>You can see some elevators up the stairs.
>"Think we could use the elevators to get to the vault?", you ask more to yourself than anyone else, motioning to the elevators.
>Pip nods.
>"We might as well try it."
>"Should we split up? Gracie and I head down and you two find your vertibirds?"
>Pip nods his head in agreement, but Amber looks skeptical and concerned.
>"Will you both be OK? Last time you wandered off, you nearly died..."
>"I'll have Gracie with me this time, I'll be fine."
>Gracie hugs your arm happily.
>"Don't worry, sister! I'll keep him safe!"
>Amber looks even more concerned now.
>"That doesn't make me feel any better."
>Gracie lets out a short "Hmph", and Pip puts an arm around Amber's waist.
>"They'll be fine Amber, I'll give Boom my Pip-Boy's contact info so they can call us if there's an emergency."
>He lets go of Amber's waist and gives you a piece of blue paper.
>You nod and input the info into your Pip-Boy, then give him a holotape of your info.
>He pops it into his Pip-Boy and looks it over.
>"Got it, call if you find what you're looking for or if you run into trouble."
>"Got it."
>You and Gracie head for the elevators, leaving Pip and Amber to find their vertibirds.
>The fact that the elevators still work doesn't surprise you, this place might not be in the same condition as the Lucky 38, but it's better preserved than most of the wasteland.
>Gracie hits the "B" button in the elevator.
>You give a final nod to Pip while Gracie waves frantically to Amber as the doors close...
>Finally, it's time to find what you need and get out of here.

Chapter 11: Blood Machines

>The elevator moves quietly and without so much as a hiccup, further increasing your amazement on how well the inside of this casino was preserved
>The majority of buildings you've been to in the wasteland had their elevators collapsed and crushed into heaps of unusable scrap
>This place was different, well preserved, but still worn a bit from time
>The majority of the damage seemed from bullets and energy weapons though
>even as you stand in the slowly descending elevator, you can see a few laser blast marks on the back wall of it
>perhaps someone was here before you
>was it that one guy? Elijah? You don't know or care, you just needed that force field generator 
>Gracie holds your arm desperately as the lights grow dimmer and dimmer as you descend
>When at last the doors of the elevator open with a unsettlingly pleasant *DING* a few things greet you
>Darkness
>The odd sickening sound of static with indecipherable voices intermittent
>More bullet holes and laser marks
>And layers of blood red dust
>This place was so far down that the dust had been settling for decades, maybe centuries, leaving it piled up like sickening snow
>"Anon, I don't know about this" Gracie whines softly, tightening her grip on your arm
>So far no threats could be seen, just...dark
>"We'll be fine Gracie, it doesn't look like anything has been down here for a while" you say, flicking on your pip-boys light
>The blood snow shows no signs of disturbances at all, like the freshly fallen snow of the north
>If there was anything lurking here, it would either have to be able to fly in the pitch black darkness or somehow not leave footprints
>Both were impossible of course
>Sure cazadores plagued the wasteland, but they couldn't fly by night, they relied on their vision
>Even so, you put an arm around Gracie, pulling her forwards so she isn't dragging behind you, rather right next to you
>"Look" you say pointing at the gridded walkway that you both are walking along, "nothing has walked here for years, we're perfec-"
>A loud "Voosh" noise cuts off your sentence and makes you look up to see...
>A something to make you eat your words
>A shimmering yellow person who is oddly transparent stares at you
>You go to grab your rifle only to have Gracie stop you
>"No! Don’t! It’s trying to see if you're a threat" she whispers to you
>Staring at the shimmering man, you feel helpless with Gracie stopping you, but eventually it turns blue and begins wanking off
>"What is that?" you ask, hand still slowly moving to your gun
>"It's a hologram, a holographic security hologram" Gracie says, still keeping a paw on your hand, keeping your gun at bay
>"They don't rest, the don’t stop, they can't be killed" she says with a frown, trying to put you between her and it
>You study it for a moment, watching it as it looks around, all the while noticing others walking around
>"I get it, they recognize me as security" you say finally, walking forwards into one of the holograms fields of view
>It turns yellow for a moment, then goes back to a placid blue color
>"What? Why? The Big Empty computers said they attack any and all intruders" Grace Whines, shrinking behind you further
>You tap your new helmet with a finger
>"I’m wearing Sierra Madre security armor, albeit with a jacket, but I think they see me as someone authorized to be here" you say confidently, leading Gracie through the mobs of holograms
>"What? Why don't they shoot at me then?" she whimpers, scooching closer to you
>This makes you pause, but as the various holograms blaze yellow then back to blue it hits you
>"They don't register you as Human Gracie, so you aren't a threat, I guess" you say as one walk right through you, leaving your body with the odd feeling of white noise
>Bolstered by that, Gracie lets go of you and waves her paws in front of one of the holograms, which doesn't react at all
>"Soooooo you mean I’m DOUBLE sneaky?" she says with a happy grin
>You continue walking through the vault, countless stairwells, inches of dust being kicked up, yet you have no problem breathing now
>"What do you mean double sneaky?" you ask with a smile as you jump over that looks like a gap in the walkway that was melted by some kind of plasma blast
>"Well, I can go invisible PLUS they don't even register me! So double sneaky!" Gracie says grabbing your arm again
>Snekdog logic you guess
>"Whatever works for us Gracie, for once nothing is trying to kill us" you say with a sigh, pulling your arm from Gracie's grip, only to put it around her waist
>She giggles slightly as you pull her next to you
>"Ohhh the big bad Boomer as a soft spot that isn't for guns?" she teases, her long tongue flicking your helmets visor as the blue lights of the holograms dance around you
>"Only for you" you say calmly
>You want to pull off your helmet and kiss her, but would it set off the holograms? Not a thing you were willing to risk
>As you traverse deeper into the vault, you notice less and less dust around your feet
>How deep was this place to escape that sickening blood-red cloud?
>Plus it seemed you had sheer luck on your side this time, wearing armor the hologram recognized and didn't instantly try to kill was a definite benefit
>Could you have avoided the shattered femur in vault 11 by dressing up like the residents? Doubtful
>How about the ambushes from the legions leftovers? Yea, but only to be attacked by the NCR
>No one likes the legion after all
>But none of that matters as you intertwine your fingers with Gracie's padded paws
>"Let’s go Gracie" you say with calm confidence, leading her further to your goal
>Well, your shared goal
>Once this vehicle was built, you could travel anywhere safely, get supplies, transport supplies, and do bounties
>The possibilities were endless
>You note how her paw and your hand disappear in her stealth field
>A nervous tick? If it was, it wasn't one you had seen before
>But maybe that's because you hadn't held hands like this before, it was always her grabbing your arm for safety
>Now it was you leading your mate through to safety, to a goal where you could go anywhere
>The static is still heard from speakers, hologram flow past you and Gracie like rigid ghosts, while providing you with a little bit of light to compliment your Pip-boy light
>The stale air hangs heavy as you traverse through the vault, getting deeper and deeper
>Was that guy right? Would the force field generators be here?
>Gracie whimpers besides you, the light from you pip boy glinting in her eyes as she looks around at the ruins
>"How far down does this Go Anon? I want to get back to Sister and Pip" she whimpers softly as a hologram silently walks past, flickering occasionally
>"I don't know Gracie, but I’ve lost too much to give up now" you say confidently, squeezing her paw gently
>You look at her and smile, but realize she can’t even see you face behind the helmet visor
>"Its ok, we're ok" you say finally
>It should be a touching moment, but you walk straight into a closed door, which makes Gracie let go of your hand and burst out laughing
>"AHAAAHAHAHA! You walked into a door!" She giggles, pressing a paw to her face and she laughs at you
>You shake your head to get rid of the slight buzzing some hitting it, sure you had on a helmet, but still walking full force into something will rattle someone
>"Yea yea, very funny. Why didn't you warn me?" you say as you press the button to open the door
>"I thought it would be fuuuu-" she starts to say, but stops, her mouth open and her voice trailing off
>Blue flickering light illuminates her, as she stares at what's beyond the door
>You look in and see what she's amazed by
>It's a huge room, filled with generators that occasionally throw off bolts of blinding blue electricity
>Turrets line the walls, and in the center is the vault itself, the "safe room" from Elijah’s notes
>Speechless, you look in awe at the sight
>"We found it Anon?" Gracie asks quietly
>You take her paw into your hand, and step forwards 
>"We found it"
>Slowly, the two of you walk along the catwalks; she stares at the generators, you watch the turrets
>Would they decide to mow you down? Did they even work anymore? Maybe to both questions
>"Should we split up Anon? Just to look around here? We might find something useful" Gracie says with a smile
>You nod quietly and feel her paw slip from your hand as she walks away, looking left and right for whatever would catch her eye
>The force field generator would probably be attached to one of those generators, at least that's what you think
>As such, you look at one and begin following wires to where ever 
>One would lead you to it right?
>You search in vain, following cable that lead to nowhere but walls or turrets, which point their gun barrels at your face with no hesitation
>No mercy from machines huh?
>"Hey Non! I found a something!" you hear Gracie call out from behind some additional pylons
>You follow the sound of her voice and find her crouched next to a cube which glows blue, that is plugging into the wall
>Cables run into it and it hums slightly, looking more like some sort of alien tech than something made by a human
>But the more you look at it, the more you know, this is what you were after
>"What is this thing Anon, it's pretty!" Gracie says, poking it cautiously
>You're actually dumbfounded for a moment as you look at her and it
>She found it by sheer chance, while you tried to use logic
>Hm, maybe you should let her take the lead a bit more often
>"Gracie, this is what we came here for" you say, kneeling down to inspect the cube
>You see a few cables lead off of it to a nearby door, which had a glowing blue wall of light blocking it
>Easy way to test this theory out 
>Kneeling next to it, you carefully pluck one of the cables leading to the door out of the cube and watch as the force field vanishes
>Gracie's eyes widen at that and she looks at you
>"You mean we found it?! We can get out of here and go home!?" she says, excitement filling her voice "We can go back to grilled bark scorpion and barrel cactus fruit?!"
>You nod as you carefully unplug each cable from this cube, which is no larger than a lunch box 
>Did humans really make this? You turn it over and see a note stuck to it that had been in between the wall and the cube
>The paper says "Packing invoice" on it in large letters
>Shipper: Moonie Inc.
>Receiver: Big MT
>"Gracie what's Moonie Inc.?" you ask, staring at the invoice
>"How should I know Anon?" Gracie says, draping herself over you while looking at the still glowing box in your hands
>"You seem to know about all the weird tech here Gracie" you say as you stash the box away for safekeeping
>Gracie nuzzles against you in the pale blue light of the arcing generators
>"Now we can go find sister and go home?" She says as her tail wraps around you
>You rub the side of her muzzle and then stand up
>"Let's call Pip and your sister" you say clicking through your Pip-boy menu
>Sure enough, a function you had never used was there, the "communicator" section
>You mash the button for your one and only contact, and wait for a second before Pip's voice echoes through 
>"Boomer? Everything ok?" 
>You nod and mentally facepalm upon realizing he can't see you
>"Yea we're good, we found what we are looking for, find your vertibirds yet?" you say calmly as you put an arm around Gracie
>Feeling her pressed against you was amazing, and you can only imagine how it will feel when you don't have this heavy armor on
>"We found them on the outside terrace, sending you the way point" 
>He hangs up, and within seconds a marker on your Pip-boy appears, showing you where to go
>Getting out of these depths will be easier than getting into them was
>After all nothing was after you, you had a marker of where to go, and you could just follow your footprints in the blood red dust back
>With Gracie hugging your arm and nuzzling against you, you both leave the vault
>Sure, you could explore the main "safe room", but for what? Nothing was in there that you wanted
>"Let's get out of this pit" you say to Gracie, reaching over with your free hand to rub between her ears, earning a satisfied hissing bark sound
>Honestly you have no idea how else to describe the noise, but it was cute either way
>"Ok 'Non! Let’s go!"
>Together, the two of you retrace your footsteps out of this forsaken darkened pit
>This place was someone's grave, and you had no desire to make it yours as well
>Death had already tried to claim you here, and you didn't want to give it a second chance
>As such, you and Gracie walk together, through the darkness and holograms
>Blood red duct scatters at your feet and holographic memories of the old world walk past, looking for a threat that may never come
>This place could have been your doom, instead it was a pathway to your deliverance; another stepping stone to you dominating the wasteland 
>The Courier had done it before you, shaped that path of history through sheer anger and thirst for revenge
>You didn't want to change history, you just wanted to live; not survive like everyone else
>Truly have all you needed, and all you wanted
>Right now, as Gracie hugs your arm happily, you knew you had found part of it
>A mate, a partner, a love; someone who you could share your life with
>Everything else would come in time
>At last, you find your way back to the lobby of this mythical casino
>The clouds, which at one point had nearly choked the life out of you, were a welcome sight in comparison to the collapsed scaffolding and inches of bloody snow
>The constant static is replaced by the ragged breathing of the things that called this place home
>You walk through the lobby, noticing for the first time the skeletons of people from long ago
>Like a ghost through a battlefield, you walk with Gracie, carefully avoiding the fallen dead
>Leave them where they lie, no point in trying to deal with them or get rid of them
>Towards the way point Pip sent you, with your mate by your side, through a place few would ever walk through
>Before long, you find a door, a portal from the casino to the outside world; returning you to the collapsed buildings that were the legendary Sierra Madre
>The asphyxiating cloud has settled, allowing you to see the sunlight once again
>For once you greet that big fat ball of cancer instead of scorn it and its unbearable heat
>Before you is a helipad, with 2 vertibirds parked, beaten up by time, but still looking in decent condition
>Pip and Amber sit, looking over the one that looks in better condition
>Fewer rust patches, a bit of corrosion from the cloud because it was above the main bulk of the cloud
>"Sister! You found your whirly birds!" Gracie cries, letting go of you to run to her sister
>You watch as Gracie pounces on the much bigger Snekdog in a binding hug
>Pip sits in the cockpit, looking at his pipboy then pushing buttons in the vertibird 
>The look on his face concerns you heavily
>You walk forward to him and sit next to him in the co-pilot seat of the aircraft
>"What's wrong?" you ask calmly, looking over the buttons and switches and circuit breakers
>"I followed the start-up checklist but it won’t turn over" he says, clearly frustrated, looking from his pip-boy to the buttons
>As you look it all over, you see so many familiar switches and buttons
>You are...were a Boomer
>Every boomer had trained for untold hours in flight simulators
>You were no different
>As you looked at every popped circuit breaker and every warning light, you knew automatically what was wrong
>"The dust has settled in the engines, you keep restarting the startup checklist...You need to keep doing the final 5 steps to get the dust out" you say calmly, pointing at his pip-boy
>"How do you know that?!" you hear over your shoulder
>Amber stands behind you, with Gracie hanging off her
>"I've been trained to fly a ton of stuff" you say calmly as Pip begin cycling the final few steps
>Before long a mechanical "Cough" can be heard from the engines and a big cloud of the dust flies out
>Ambers eyes grow wide at that sound and Pip smiles in satisfaction
>You step out of the beaten up vertibird and leave pip to do his thing
>"Good call Boomer" Pip says, restarting the cycle once more, earning a louder cough 
>Gracie now pounces on you and a happy hug
>"YAY! Let’s get out of here!" she says, nuzzling against you
>You pull off your helmet, allowing you to breathe the "fresh air"
>She nuzzles close, pressing the fur and scales of her cheek against yours as you smile
>Too long had you missed out of these sensations, denying them to yourself like some arbitrary rule
>"Thou shalt not touch the Snekdog"
>That was the self-imposed rule, even though you wanted to snuggles her
>Now it doesn't matter though, as you hold her close
>But that fuzzy bliss is distorted when you feel something beneath your feet
>A rumble
>A methodical, rhythmic rumble
>Like footsteps
>The rumbles slowly get more intense along with deep roaring; or was it screaming?
>"Pip! Get that thing going!" Amber cries as he restarts the startup cycle once more, clearing centuries of dust bit by bit
>"TRYING" He yells
>Better to have 2 going at once right?
>You jump into the more beaten up of the vertibirds and begin the start-up sequence, remembering it like a far off dream, guided by muscle memory
>This one sputters as the rumbles grow louder and louder
>"What IS that?!" you hear Amber say over your start up attempts
>No time to focus on that, just enough time to get this fucker going, even as you see Pip abandon the other vertibird and prepare his weapon
>The rumbles, the footsteps, the screams, and the new threat keep getting louder and closer
>"BOOMER WE NEED YOU HERE" You here Pip call
>For a moment, you peek out of the cockpit of the aged vertibird; what greets you is something you haven't seen before
>Different from the "ghosts", this thing is easily 3 stories tall and bright red, stomping loudly
>"Holy FUCK its Bigger than a behemoth!" Pip shouts, firing away at the thing
>"What the fuck is a Behemoth!?" you call out, flipping switches and trying to start the engines
>"Picture this thing but smaller and green" Pip says, jumping out of the way of a tossed boulder, then shooting at it with his gun
>It occasionally freezes for a moment, no, less than a moment as the shots from the compliance regulator hit it
>You recognize the silenced shots from Gracie’s gun as she shoots at it and it roars angrily
>"BOOMER!" Amber calls out, as a fist slams into the raised concrete
>"ONE SEC!" you yell as you flick one last switch, causing the vertibird to roar to life; even if just for a moment
>This vertibird was too damaged to fly, at least not for long, but it would serve as a good ram 
>You flick the autopilot switch and jump out as the damaged vertibird roars to life and flies forwards like a bat out of hell, smashing into the face of the red monster
>As you roll from it on the helipad, you hear a loud explosion and a deeper pained roaring from the thing
>"How is it still standing?!" You hear Pip call out in disbelief 
>You look up from you position in the ground and see the behemoth, covered in deep gouges from the props and 3rd degree burns covering its face and torso
>Yet still roaring and trying to crush you and your friends
>It was time then
>You are an engine of war, you always had been
>And you lived for the gunfire from your weapon
>And this gun in your hands was the proof of humanities devotion to warfare as you open fire, each shot tearing chunks of flesh from the frenzied behemoth
>The blue cubic projectiles melt the things skin and the 308 rounds tear through the open wounds
>"Gracie! what kind of venom do you have?!" you barely hear over the roar of your gun, the fire you were born for
>War is in your blood, you were born to kill these savages
>You smile as you watch each shot vaporize and tear away flesh from this monster before you
>To survive a direct hit from a vertibird and all your gunfire; this thing, whatever it was, was a threat to everything if it ever left the Sierra Madre
>"Uhmmmm... I think the thing said I have Z-12 class venom?" you hear Gracie call out as her small caliber gun shoots at this undying monster
>"Give it to me!" Amber calls
>You don't have time to look as you reload and begin firing anew, aiming at the shoulders of this monster, only to see it regenerating quickly
>The shots from your gun, the craters in the flesh of this thing; they all quickly heal, so do the gashes from the vertibird collision
>"Here sister!" you hear from behind you as you jump to the side, dodging a crushing fist from the blood red behemoth
>a large amount of blood splatters the helipad, which cracks beneath your feet
>What was going on? You don't know, nor have time to care as you unload another magazine into it
>Regeneration would have a limit, at least you hoped it would
>A fist smashes the ground next to you into gravel as you jump out if the way once more
>Pip's shots from the compliance regulator slow its movements, allowing you to draw its ire but dodge it
>Keep shooting, keep trying, otherwise you wouldn't escape, Gracie wouldn't escape and find her other sisters
>You promised it to her
>"BOOMER! Cease Fire!" you hear Pip call as a fuzzy blur runs past you
>Reluctantly you do, as Amber Runs to the edge of the Terrance and jumps off, sinking her hatchet deep into the chest of the red monstrosity
>It screams loudly and tries to grab Amber, only to have her push off from it with her foot paws and flip backwards, then land gracefully on the helipad once again
>The monster stumbles, grasping at his heart with a confused look
>Was it confusion? Was it pain? Was it alarmed? You don't know
>But it collapses backwards, kicking up a cloud of dust with a pitiful whine
>If it hadn't been trying to kill you, you would feel sorry for it as it moans sadly, grabbing its chest
>The world would never end with a bang, but with a whimper
>Even this thing that tried to kill you and your friends, large as a building, laid on the ground crying and trying to stop the pain as venom spread through it
>"What does Z-12 venom mean" you ask, looking away from the sight of a giant writhing in pain
>"Her venom is one of the deadliest, you’re lucky she never bit you Boomer" says Amber, Panting heavily and kneeling on the ground where she landed
>Thoughts flashback to when you Met Gracie
>She played dead rather than bite or attack you
>Her odd and  sometimes annoying instinct saved your life then....
>You push that aside for another time though
>"Well then, at least this thing is dead, can we get this other vertibird going?" you say, stowing your gun, satisfied with its performance
>She wasn't pretty, but she did damage
>Pip gets back into the cockpit of the remaining vertibird and continues trying to kick on the engines
>Gracie pounces on you in excitement 
>"Oh Man Anon! You were so cool! Dodging that monsters fists and still shooting it!" she says nuzzling against you once more
>"What was it that you and amber did with your venom?" you ask, pulling her into a hug
>She snuggles into your chest and the vertibird sputters to life
>"Sister coated her hatchet with my venom, its REALLLL potent" She says looking up at you, mismatched eyes glistening in the sunlight
>Her venom killed that thing; that survived being hit with a vertibird, in less than a minute
>"You're saying that your venom is strong enough to kill anything?" you say, looking down at her in disbelief "And you chose to play dead instead when you met me??"
>She shrugs and flicks her long tongue against your face
>"It's a habit, but I’m glad I had it when I met you" she says happily
>you smile and hug her close
>"I’m glad too"
>"Hey uh, Boomer" you hear from behind you
>Your hug breaks and you look at Pip, who sits behind the flight controls of the vertibird
>"You said you can fly? Wanna take over for me here?" he says with a pained smile
>He wanted to fly it, you could see it on his face; but he realized you were a better pilot
>"Sure Pip, but I need a co-pilot" you say walking over to the vertibird
>He slides over to the co-pilot seat and buckles in as you sit down in the pilot chair
>"Engines on"
>"Temperatures good"
>You look over the systems one last time
>"Good to go" you say finally
>Carefully, you pull the yoke towards you, lifting the vertibird off the ground, scattering dust everywhere
>"Heading is North by northwest, fly us home boomer" Pip says from his seat beside you
>Gracie and Amber sit behind you, as you pilot the vertibird over the Sierra Madre grounds
>You don't even look down at it as you fly above it
>Letting go of the anger you felt towards this place, was for the best
>Because of the loss of your eye, you knew you never could
>Gracie hums happily with your helmet in her lap as you steer the vertibird, leaving the most dangerous place you had ever been behind 
>But as you flew away from it, to the glowing spotlights of New Vegas
>You knew you would never really need to forgive it, it was a place after all
>You go what you needed, you paid the price
>And you were alive, and you now had a love, a mate, a woman who wanted only you
>Thinking about it, your eye was a small price to pay for the love it brought you
>And that's all that mattered

Chapter 12: Phoenix

>Piloting a Vertibird was MUCH easier in the simulations, the problems happened one by one and only one at a time.
>Right now you were piloting with one engine, a pneumatic overheat and half the circuit breakers were popped, freezing various systems.
>Pip was running various checklists to fix the issues, shouting instructions to Amber and Gracie, who were both pushing buttons and shoving circuit breakers back in place as you pilot.
>"100 meters' you call out over the din.
>The lucky 38's helipad was in view and you would be damned if you crashed this close to the goal.
>"Just fuckin' put us there!" you hear Amber cry out to you as the remaining engine sputters in dismay.
>You arch the vertibird up and climb about 100 feet above the helipad.
>"What are you doi-"
>The engine dies, cutting Amber's question short with a sputtering cough.
>Right as it dies, you push the button, allowing the vertibird propellers to auto rotate.
>Auto rotation allows gravity to push air up into the propellers, making them spin and slow down a fall.
>The vertibird fell, slower than gravity would permit but faster than you wanted.
>"HOLD ON" you cry out, glad the seatbelts still worked.
>The vertibird smashed into the landing pad with a sickening crash, then skidded along it until coming to a stop on the very edge of the pad.
>It takes a moment for you to realize you aren't about to tumble off the top of the tower, then you give a slight sigh of relief.
>"We made it guys" you say with a grin, looking around.
>Pip looks like he might throw up, Amber has her face buried in her paws and Gracie is playing dead in the seat she is strapped to, her tongue lolling out dramatically.
>"I thought you were a pilot Boomer" Pip says weakly, looking from his pip-boy to you.
>"I am! You try piloting a vertibird that has had no maintenance for 200 years while buried in a corrosive cloud, then get back to me!" you say defensively.
>Pip grimaces as Amber pukes out of the side of the vertibird while you motion to the vertibird, half eaten by rust.
>"Ok, fair enough" he concedes, unbuckling himself and getting out of the half crashed aircraft.
>You unbuckle yourself and then rouse Gracie.
>"Aye, Gracie! You’re alive, quit playing dead" you say as you unbuckle her and shake her softly.
>Her eyes open and focus on you, then she wraps herself around you, arms legs and tail binding you.
>"Aye aye! I'm gonna-' is all you can say as you fall over painfully, Gracie landing on top of you, but not without your body squishing her tail painfully.
>She gives out a pained hiss, then uncoils from around you, allowing you to roll onto your back and give a sigh of relief.
>You did it.
>You survived the Sierra Madre.
>No one in your group was dead or maimed; well no one besides you.
>That was a trade you were willing to make.
>Sure you didn't really know Pip or Amber that well, but they seemed like good people, and good people on your side was a thing that was rare in the wasteland.
>So a scar and the loss of your non-dominant eye was worth it, after all Gracie got her sister back.
>The image of Gracie doubled over, crying still plagued your brain, and it never lessened with the passage of time.
>It was a scar in your memory now, something that would always remain sharp and clear regardless of the passage of time.
>Your precious Snekdog, crying because she wanted to find her family, only to fail.
>You knew the feeling.
>How many times had you stood at the edge of Nellis, just outside the range of the howitzers, staring at a home you could never return to?
>"What a surprise! Everyone came back alive" came a familiar voice that you recognized as Raul's.
>The semi-human looking ghoul walks over to the tangled mess of you and Gracie, then offers you a hand up.
>You take it and are yanked to your feet by his inhuman strength, despite the Snekdog wrapped around you.
>"Someone here to see you Boomer, although I told him you might not survive" Raul says, motioning over his shoulder to the walkway.
>Another ghoul stands in the doorway to the lucky 38, leaning casually and without malice, but rather with cold interest.
>You fish your helmet out of the half crashed vertibird as Raul goes to talk to Pip and Amber, then tuck it under your arm.
>Walking towards the ghoul, you don't get a feeling of threat from him; years in the wasteland had taught you when someone was going to attack, and this ghoul just didn't have that body language.
>He wore a type of clothing you don't recognize, but looks similar to a Mexican cattle driver, with two 10 MM revolvers attached to a belt of leather that looked like it survived the last Great War, only to be treated with leather fixer.
>Whoever this guy is, he is old, probably from before the war, and old means dangerous from experience.
>He looks at you with a calm smile.
>"Jesus kid, I thought my face looked bad, compared yours I consider myself lucky" he says with calm non-threatening tones.
>You frown and shove your helmet on in response.
>"A Knight in shining armor is someone who has never had his mettle truly tested" you respond, adjusting the helmet to you can look at him unobscured.
>He gives a soft chuckle, then extends a gloved hand to you in a pacifying gesture.
>"My Name is Paris, Raul tells me you have connections to the brotherhood chapter here" he says with a smile; it looks odd without a nose and cheek muscles.
>You take his hand, his gloves acting as a barrier to his semi decayed skin, and shake it warmly.
>His hands feel...Squishy. Like the flesh isn't quite solid, yet not a liquid.
>You have enough allies around you to know if this guy wants to be a threat, they would drop him.
>Hell, Gracie's venom, the Z-12 class venom; whatever that meant, killed a monster with less than a cup of it.
>If she wanted she could bite this guy and he would be dead, ghoul or otherwise; fuck, from what her venom did to the monster, it could kill everyone standing on this helipad.
>"I know the brotherhood, we have a mutual interest and work together" you say with a smile.
>You recall the opaque visor and realize he can't see your face but he nods knowingly regardless of that fact.
>"Don't get too comfortable with them, but do you know Sato?" He asks, his eyes focused on you, as if looking for a lie on your shielded face.
>You nod slowly.
>"Sato gave me access to their new stronghold, I trust him with my life, the others maybe as far as I can throw them" you say calmly.
>Paris smiles sadly, then digs into his bag.
>"Trust him, but maybe not with your life, give him these for me please though" The ghoul says calmly, passing you a few items.
>Two bottles of something called "Bawls", a holotape, and a necklace with a white fang.
>"Gracie, can you carry this stuff for me?" you call to the half invisible Snekdog, who was trying to hide behind you.
>She jumps suddenly as you call her name, like she didn't think you knew she was there.
>"Oh uh! Yes!" she pulls open her gecko skin bag and makes room for it all, but as she reaches for the fang you gently grab her paw. 
>"Don't touch that" you say as you take it; you wrap it in leather, then stuff it into a pocket of your pants.
>You don't know why, but that fang gives you a bad feeling, one you would expose to yourself rather than Gracie.
>You look at Paris and nod.
>"We will gift your items to Sato, I swear it" you say calmly, earning an appreciative nod from Paris.
>"Thank you. Tell him it's from "Ol' Paris from Lone Star"" he says with a grin, "Good vibes to you and yours, farewell"
>The ghoul walks away without another word, his handguns clinking against his hips as he walks, but otherwise no other sound betrays his presence.
>"Raul, I have overstayed my welcome, I will see you downstairs" he says before disappearing into an elevator.
>You frown after him.
>Who was he? What is this fang you have and why does it fill you with dread?
>You mentally shrug it off and focus instead on Pip and Amber.
>Your friends need you, everything else was moot.
>"Everyone ok?" you say, walking across the helipad to the small group.
>Pip gives you a small smile and Amber looks like she might throw up again soon.
>"Good news is the majority of the vertibird parts are good to go, bad news is you made Amber airsick" Pip says, motioning to the vertibird and the still throwing up Amber.
>You recall her making fun of your lost eye and focus on the feeling you had at that point in time.
>"Oh no. Amber is air sick? I wonder what the pilot could have done what I did with 2 good eyes instead of one" you say dryly
>Gracie swats you across your helmet and you grimace, even though it couldn't hurt you.
>"What? She can dish it out but can't take it?" you say defensively, dodging away from Gracie's swipes.
>Normally, you wouldn't care about Gracie's little smacks of protest, but...things have changed.
>You dodge away out of fear, fear she might bite down and kill you with her venom.
>Venom strong enough to kill a giant mutant. What would it do to your body?
>Amber sighs and regains her footpaws then grabs Gracie about the waist.
>"Calm down little sister, your mate is scared" She gently cooes, holding a struggling Gracie.
>Upon hearing the words from Amber, Gracie freezes.
>Gracie looks back at the much larger Snekdog, questioning her sister.
>"Scared? What-?"
>"Look at him! Your venom just killed a behemoth! And now you're swiping out at him..." Amber says coolly, holding the smaller and younger Snekdog.
>Gracie looks at you with her mismatched eyes for a moment and you look back at her, almost instinctively in a defensive crouch.
>"Are you really scared?" she murmurs, still looking at you.
>How do you answer your mate? No matter the answer it was bad news
>How do you say "Yes I’m terrified, your venom could kill me in a second", or "no, I’m fine that you can kill me without a second thought"
>Wait! Compromise!
>"uh...I’m scared that your venom will kill me...But I still want to be your mate" you say carefully, picking each word.
>Gracie gives an impatient huff, then squirms out of Amber's hold.
>She grabs your right arm and shows you the Green "11" from her previous bite.
>"You're immune to me dummy" she says, smacking your head
>Hm, weeks ago she wouldn't be willing to do such a thing.
>You feel the embarrassment in your face as Gracie hugs you close.
>You hug her back and regard Amber as Pip talks to her in a hushed whisper.
>Only a boomer with your training could have gotten this vertibird back to the lucky 38, well maybe the enclave, but they were gone.
>If pip had tried, you're almost sure it would have crashed on the trip.
>That wasn't an insult to Pip; not by a long shot!
>He was capable of reading off the issues while you piloted and fixing the problems as they occurred with help from Amber and Gracie
>That meant if he piloted, no one would have been flying the aircraft and it would have crashed long ago.
>Yet, you were not delusional to think that you could have flown this vertibird alone, or even just you and Gracie.
>Too many problems, too many things to fix alone.
>Fuck, the 4 of you barely got the vertibird here.
>You sigh and run your fingers through your hair.
>Except they run across the smooth surface of your helmet.
>Breathe.
>You made it
>Gracie made it.
>You do what comes best, be an honorable person.
>"We did it, we got what we needed and survived the sierra Madre" you say extending a hand to Pip.
>He takes it up right away, a fire in his eyes that only humanity could have and shake it heartily.
>"We did it!" he repeats.
>You then extend a hand to Amber.
>"I did my best to protect your sister, and I did my best to protect you" you say, weariness running through you.
>Instead of a handshake , you get a hug from the large Snekdog.
>"I'm glad my sister found a mate like you! You nearly died to protect her!" She says happily, nearly crushing you with her unchecked strength.
>You try to return the hug, although you're quite out of breath, but you have a question before they go.
>"Hey, how do you deal with the Heat cycles? It looks like you've been with Maggie for a long time, how do you avoid having uh.... pups?" you ask calmly, thinking about Gracie's heat.
>As Amber breaks the hug, Pip Looks at you somberly, his expression cold and concerned.
>"Why?" he asks, ice in his voice.
>you blink and look at them.
>"You've been with Amber for a long time, I just wanna know how to avoid unwanted babies" you say, furrowing your eyebrows in confusion.
>"Boomer.... Amber is impotent... Gracie is too probably" He says matter of factly
>You blink and look at the Snekdog and Pip; neither meet your gaze.
>"If you ever want to have offspring with your mate, we need to go to the Big Empty" Pip says calmly.
>There it was again. The Big Empty, what was it?
>"What?" you ask, your voice full of confusion.
>"The big empty, be ready to go there; we have to go" Pip says with a calm smile.
>They walk off despite your confused sputtering.
>"Big empty? Offspring? What?"
>No answers; the two of them disappear into the elevator leading out of the lucky 38, holding hands.
>"We'll call you, be ready" Pip says as the door closes.
>Well FUCK
>You stand, both annoyed and confused, then reach a hand to out Gracie, who takes it in her paws happily.
>"We going home Anon?" she asks happily as if she didn't just see Amber and Pip say she was barren.
>You sigh and decide to focus on her instead.
>"Yea, we're going home" you sigh thinking about the walk back. It wouldn't be hard, but all you wanted was to snuggle with Gracie and to fall asleep.
>Again, you try to run your fingers through your hair, only to have them slide over your helmet.
>You grasp Gracie's Paw and lead her to the elevator.
>A quick push of a button and you're on your way home.
>The walk back to the hidden valley takes a few hours, You and Gracie make a few stops in the NCR controlled territory to eat and get strength back.
>The sun is nearly setting by the time you reach the hidden valley of the Brotherhood.
>You don't want to give Nickson and Rusty the parts right away, but you would rather do it now and relax a few days before setting out again.
>Besides if you were right in your time keeping, Gracie's heat would hit soon.
>All the more reason to stay inside.
>You reach the bunker and input the code you were given to open up the bunker of the brotherhood of steel.
>The only issue is you're met with a laser rifle to your face. 
>AGAIN
>"Who are you? And why are you using Boomer's Code, did the fucker finally betray us?" Paladin Ramos demands, shoving his laser rifle against your helmet.
>You can't see Gracie as you stand, hands raised in surrender to Ramos.
>She hisses angrily, going semitransparent and slinking around, drawing her submachine gun.
>Atta girl.
>As soon as his eyes dart away from you, you push his rifle aside with your left arm.
>He reacts too late, firing the rifle into the wall behind you as you swing your right fist into his face.
>While you aren't very skilled with hand-to-hand combat, you have strength enough to at least hit hard. 
>Your armored fist makes contact with his nose, and you feel it crack beneath your fury.
>Ramos never did wear a helmet, power armor covered every other inch of his body.
>Pride goeth before the fall.
>Your first drives him back and downwards, slamming his head into the floor.
>He was out cold before that part, but you don't care.
>He was more likely to shoot you in the face because you now had scars over letting you in.
>You stalk into the bunker, heeding Paris's words.
>"Don't get too comfortable with them".
>Most of the brotherhood avoid you like you had the plague just because you were from the "outside"
>Whatever.
>You and Gracie stride through the bunker and you feel her stealth field engulfing you periodically as she eyes the Paladins and knights.
>Most steer clear of you as you make your way to the one place you knew Sato would be.
>The cafeteria.
>You find him at a table, eating the ration loafs like they are gourmet food.
>"Paladin Sato, it's good to see you again, didja miss us”, you say as you sit down at the table across from him.
>The paladin looks up from his meal to look at you and then to Gracie.
>"Boomer? I thought you were went to the sierra mad-" he stops when he sees the badge of your armor that says "Sierra Madre Security"
>"Y-you actually went to the Madre? And are still alive" He asks, looking as though he dreaded the answer.
>You nod and pull your helmet off, he flinches back upon seeing your remaining eye and the scars on your face.
>"Mostly alive" you answer calmly.
>As you set the helmet down on the table, you become dimly aware that a lot of eyes are on you and Gracie.
>"We went to the Madre, survived it and got what we needed" you say as you fish out the force field generator.
>Sato's eyes go wide at the sight of the blue cube and he looks from it to you.
>"You actually did it... We all thought you would die there..." he murmurs, the light from the cube shining in his eyes.
>"We also have some other things for you,"Ol' Paris from Lone Star" gave them to us to deliver to you" you say and you stash the cube away.
>Gracie fishes in her bag for a moment then pulls out the holotape and one of the bottles.
>Sato stands quickly
>"Not here, follow me" he says and stomps off, his power armor clanging hard against the floor.
>You shoot a look at Gracie, who shrugs, grab your helmet and start off after the paladin with Gracie not far behind you
>As you catch up to Sato, you hear him muttering to himself and he enters a room where they teach initiates about whatever, however the room is empty now.
>"Ok, give it to me" he says to Gracie, turning around and looking shaken.
>"A-are you ok?" Gracie asks as she hands him the holotape and one of the bottles.
>He pops open the bottle with a thumb and chugs the whole thing, then sighs.
>"I'm...Alright...Just amazed that someone came for Me." he says finally.
>You carefully dig into your pocket and produce the fang given to you by Paris, still wrapped in a bit of leather.
>"He also gave us this" you say, extending the bundle to him.
>He takes it gingerly, then opens the bundle and picks up the fang.
>"Chupacabra..." he mutters and then promptly puts the Holotape into his power armor and plays it
>The message is short and in Paris's voice.
>"The creature this belongs to tried to follow me to Nevada. You're lucky I stopped it. I'll be at the Lucky 38 for a week. Let's talk partner." 
>Sato’s eyes go wide and he looks like he's done just about every drug out there.
>Then, like a madman, the throws the fang to the floor and stomps it into dust, denting the floor beneath his foot.
>He looks up and the grabs you about the shoulders, shaking you
>"DID YOU TELL ANYONE ABOUT THIS?" he yells at you, looking crazier by the second.
>You push him away with a sharp shove.
>"Back off Sato, we didn't tell anyone" you growl.
>He wheels about to Gracie, who has the other bottle in her paw, terror painted across her muzzle
>He grabs her in turn, shaking her slightly and she instantly collapses, her tongue lolling out of her mouth and dropping the bottle, which bursts on the floor.
>The sound seems to snap Sato out of whatever trance he was in, you rush to support Gracie as he lets her go.
>"I-I'm sorry, I need to take some time off, I'll be seeing you." he says, then promptly leaves the room.
>You stare after him, then stir Gracie gently.
>"Come on Gracie, he's gone" you whisper to her, rubbing one of her ears.
>Her eyes open and she hugs you, then looks around. 
>"What was that about?" she asks as she gets her feet under her.
>"No clue, let’s just go drop off the Force field generator and get home." you say with a sigh.
>Gracie nods and takes your hand; together the two of you walk through the bunker, earning more stares then before because of your removed helmet.
>When you finally reach the bunkers now Garage; Knight Nickson and Rusty the coyote are working on wiring for some lights.
>Rusty jumps slightly at your approach and nearly drops the voltmeter he has in his paws.
>Knight Nickson whirls around at Rusty's jump then sees you and Gracie.
>"Jesus Kid, what the fuck" He says with annoyance and confusion.
>"Sorry to sneak up on you guys, but I have something for you" you say with a smile.
>You pull the Generator out of your stash and extend it to Nickson, who stares at it for a moment, his eyes wide.
>"Is...Is that the force field Generator?" he asks as he takes it into his hands, his fingers shaking slightly.
>You nod and watch as he holds it like it was the Holy Grail, inspecting the device with a furtive Gaze. 
>"R-Rusty, Fuck the lights, we got work to do" he says finally, then he nods to you.
>"We'll get it done!" he says before basically running off, holding the generator with great care.
>Well then, that’s that you guess.
>"Let's go home Gracie" you say calmly, smiling at the Snekdog.
>She nods once and smiles.
>"Can we get a bark scorpion and grill it? I’ve craved it since we left"
>You nod once and head home.
>You're finally home again with your mate, and things couldn't be better.
>Through the Bunker you and Gracie go, back to the surface.
>As you leave, you see Ramos still laying on the ground where you had laid him out and he groans unhappily as you step over his form.
>Once you're outside, you breathe in deep, smelling the cool Desert air and listening to the sounds of the desert.
>Gusting wind, Coyotes howling in the distance, the scuttling of bark scorpions
>"Oh Oh! I smell some barks! Lemme get them!" Gracie says excitedly, bouncing in joy then disappearing.
>You wait for a moment then hear the silenced SMG Gracie carries go off a few times, no louder than a whisper above the wind.
>After a moment she reappears next to you with 2 bark scorpions, both very dead and being held by their tails.
>"I got 2! Let go home and then can you cook them up for us?" She says happily, as you begin walking to your own bunker.
>"Sure thing Gracie, I miss having a nice good meal" you say as Gracie starts skipping besides you.
>After a minute of walking, you reach the door to your bunker, unlock it, and head inside.
>Its the same as when you left it, although a little bit dustier.
>Gracie goes to the kitchen while you get out of your armor, folding it neatly.
>"Get outta the Kitchen and take off your armor, we need to wash it all to get the cloud residue off our gear" You call out, into the kitchen.
>"OK one sec!" came Gracie's voice, then the sound of rustling.
>Gracie emerges one second later, totally nude and carrying her clothing.
>"I needa shower! I smell like those ghosts! You cook!" She demands, tossing the armor next to yours then walking right up to you.
>She wraps her arms around your neck and looks up at you, then gives you a kiss, her long tongue sneaking its way into your mouth.
>You feel her stealth field begin surrounding you  and her, then it oscillating and wavering, like an odd sort of trembling.
>You break from the kiss to see parts of you and her shimmering and disappearing as you hold her.
>She smiles and then pushes away.
>"Shower and dinner first!" she chides, walking away with an exaggerated sway of her hips.
>She looks back at you, and begins to slowly raise her tail, then right as you're about to see her nethers, she disappears into a shimmer.
>"You should have seen your face!" comes Gracie's teasing voice.
>You frown as Gracie laughs and hear the shower turn on.
>Sure, you've seen her naked, but its different now that you're her mate. 
>You sigh, and walk through your bunker with a only a t-shirt and your undergarments then prepare the bark scorpions for dinner.
>You can hear Gracie singing badly as you begin seasoning and grilling.
>"BIGGG IROOONNN BIG IROOONNNN!" she sings happily.
>She is very off key and her voice is silly as its distorted by the shower.
>After a about 10 minutes the scorpions are ready
>As if on cue, Gracie appears next to you wrapped in a towel and gives you a gentle lick on the cheek.
>"Your turn~, I promise I won't peek this time!" she hisses softly.
>You smirk and head to the shower, then get in and clean yourself thoroughly.
>No need to get the cloud residue in your bed.
>As you shower you think about what Pip said.
>"We need to go to the Big MT, be ready"
>The Big MT....from what you've heard about it, its dangerous. 
>Of course you were never one to shy away from danger and a possible horrible death.
>You turn off the water right as it starts to get cold and leave the shower, drying off quickly.
>You leave the bathroom, and find Gracie, still damp from her shower, sitting at the small table and happily eating a claw from one of the scorpions.
>Her long tongue darts into the crack chitin and scoop out a bit of the cooked meat.
>With a content sigh, you sit next to her, and begin eating yourself.
>She leans against you, and you both eat in silence, savoring both the food and the company.
>You both finish eating and then you take Gracie's paw and lead her to the bed.
>Shes already yawning and rubbing her eyes.
>Its been a long day.
>Got a pre-war Artifact, killed a giant mutant, flew and crashed a vertibird.
>One of your more busy days, that's for sure.
>You get into the bed, still naked, and Gracie slides in next you you, placing her back to your chest and making you the big spoon.
>"Goodnight Anon, I Love you" she murmurs, half asleep and woozy.
>You kiss the top of her head and pull her close.
>"Love you too"
>Together, you drift off to sleep in your own bed, with your perfect mate.

Chapter 13: Something About Your Love

>You sigh in annoyance as you jot down the blueprints of the gun you and Pip made together at the Sierra Madre.
>Turns out the Brotherhood was so interested in it, they wanted to make copies of it; and maybe even improve on its design.
>So they asked for you to make a blueprint of it for them to use.
>Sure they offered a fuckton of caps and ammo for it, but making it was just so.....mundane.
>Going through each part, how it interacted with every other part and then sketching it all out was a chore.
>Seriously, this took ALL the fun out of guns!
>That shouldn’t even be possible! It’s like trying to go down a flight of stairs and getting hit by a vertibird! How do you even do that?!
>It has been about 6 days since you returned from the Sierra Madre with Gracie, Amber and Pip; and you have been at this for 4 days straight, sketching and making notes.
>Ugh, why do they need every measurement to be so...exact...
>Like to the nearest millimeter!
>You sigh as you think about gunsmithing and assembling weapons.
>Everything needs to be exact and quantifiable to create exact reproductions.
>You and Pip got lucky it seems when you were assembling this bastardization of a weapon you now have. 
>A bastard of a weapon that would murder everything in the wasteland.
>You smirk as you got to the top of the blueprint where a ton of erased scribbles are.
>For the last few days you've struggled to find a good name for the gun.
>"The Bastard"
>A mix of energy and ballistic weaponry.
>A name good enough for you.
>As you jot down the name, you hear the bunker door open.
>Gracie must be back from her hunt in the valley.
>Her "hunt" is usually her gone for 2-3 hours, so she can kill some bark scorpions and gather random herbs or spices for you to cook her favorite meals.
>But it might NOT be her as well, not like this place was super well hidden.
>"Gracie? That you?" you call out as your hand rests on your riot shotgun that lays on the table next to the pieces of your "Bastard".
>"Yea yea yea! I got a bunch of bark scorpions! and some agave!" comes Gracie's cheerful voice from the entrance of the bunker as you hear her boots thudding against the wall as she kicks them off unceremoniously.
>You sigh as you think of the wall and how scuffed it will be.
>Wait.
>NO.
>You rebuke yourself at the thought of being annoyed at scuffs on a wall.
>That shouldn't bother you at all; after all you've slept in the same room as a human skeleton.
>Comfort might be making you soft.
>But as Gracie enters the combined kitchen and living room from the entrance of the bunker, you forget about all that.
>She has a happy grin on her muzzle, her paw wrapped around the tails for 3 or 4 bark scorpions.
>"Looky looky looky! I got a bunch! Let’s cook them up now!" Gracie says excitedly, thrusting the dead arachnids into your face.
>Who would have thought having a mate who can go invisible and carry a silenced weapon would be good for hunting?
>Regardless, you nearly fall backwards as a handful of dead animals are pushed into your face.
>You push them away as gently as you can, given the circumstances.
>"Good job Gracie, I’ll cook them up later" you say as you look at her and give her a smile.
>To your chagrin, Gracie's ears droop as she looks at you.
>"Did I do something wrong?" she asks, her tail starting to tuck between her thick thighs.
>You're quick to reassure her.
>"No! No no no Gracie" you answer quickly, waving your hands at her to reassure her.
>"I'm just...Preoccupied with this project from the brotherhood" 
>She gives an aggravated huff as she places the bark scorpions on the counter.
>"They think they can just..." she starts as she begins preparing the scorpions for cooking, murmuring under her breath so you can't hear.
>As much as you're annoyed with this current "job", you know once you get it done you'll have a huge payday.
>The sound of her breaking the limbs off each scorpion hits your ears.
>this goes on for a while, Gracie's grumbling stops as she takes out her frustration on the poor dead bugs.
>you ignore it and keep drawing and writing notes, determined to get this done.
>As you sketch out parts and create diagrams, you feel an awkward tug at the hem of your shirt from behind.
>You sigh and look back to see Gracie tugging your shirt with her mouth, looking up at you with an almost pleading look.
>"Gracie, what are you doing?" you ask in slight annoyance.
>She looks up at you defiantly, softly growling.
>Your loving Snekdog gives a heavy tug, making your shirt tear a bit.
>"Gracie! Wha-?!" 
>She literally pulls you out of your seat, causing you to crash onto the floor.
>As soon as you hit the ground, she's on you pinning your arms with her absurd Nightstalker strength.
>"P-pay attention to me! You're my mate! I need you!" Gracie pleads, letting go of your shirt and pinning you with her strong paws.
>"What?" is all you ask as she holds you down.
>Despite her being smaller than you, she pins holds you down with easy, although you aren't struggling much.
>"My heat hit three days ago! I NEED you" she pleads, grinding her wide hips against you earnestly.
>Your mind wanders to her rubbing against you at night.
>The subtle hints of kisses and gentle licks.
>And how you were so oblivious to her messages.
>"Please... I need you" Gracie pleads haplessly.
>You see her fidget and squirm as her nostrils flare; filling themselves with your scent.
>You frown, not at Gracie though; but at your own sheer stupidity.
>Sure, you had wanted to know when her heat would hit when you were at the Sierra Madre for...reasons.
>But when it actually did hit, you were so preoccupied with guns you forgot about her.
>Forgot about your MATE.
>Literally the only being she wanted to be with and you had fucked it up.
>You would punch yourself but you can't easily move.
>"Let me up Gracie" you say calmly, locking your eye with the pleading Snekdog.
>Her ears droop again as she lets you up.
>"S-sorry-" she begins only to be interrupted by you wrapping your arms around her and pulling her down.
>"Don't be sorry Gracie, I’m the one who should be apologizing to you, and I shouldn't have neglected you and your needs" you whisper apologetically.
>She wiggles her face to yours and gives you a kiss, grinding against you with her hips.
>"You get so focused on your work, I knew you wanted to finish this but...I-I can’t stand it anymore" Gracie purrs as she breaks the kiss.
>I'm sorry Gracie, how about we get off the floor and continue this elsewhere?" you ask calmly, nuzzling her nose with yours.
>She quickly climbs off of you and helps you to your feet, then leads you to the bedroom, firmly gripping your hand in her paw.
>You allow yourself to be led by the now happily skipping Snekdog, her tail wagging furiously.
>She lets go of your hand as soon as she pulls you through the door, stepping to the control panel and pushing the "door close" button.
>With that, she looks back at you and for the first time you see a look in her eyes you've never seen before.
>A longing gaze, full of lust but also needed fulfillment.
>"I've wanted thisss for a long time Anon" she whispers, barely loud enough for you to hear, slowly gliding to you.
>You take her into your arms in a soft embrace, kissing her deeply.
>Her long slender tongue pushes past your lips and coils softly around yours as your hands begin unbuttoning her jacket and pulling it off her.
>She in turn, breaks the kiss and grabs your shirt by the hem and pulls it up over your head.
>You pull her shirt up and off her, revealing her small breasts. 
>As you gaze at her, she shies away oddly, trying to cover herself with your paws.
>"What’s wrong Gracie?" you ask as you wrap your arms around in her and pulling her to you.
>You feel her shivering slightly as she melts into your embrace.
>"I-I’m n-nervous" she stutters "I-I don’t know w-why".
>"We can take it slow If you want" you reassure her, hugging her tight.
>She nods against you, then you feel she shimmy out of her pants.
>You follow suit and gently lead her over to the bed.
>"Lay back Gracie" you say assuredly, gently guiding her to lay on her back.
>Her tail curls around you as you lean over her, sliding one hand down her body.
>You don't have any real experience with women, be it human or anthro.
>In fact, the only experience you have is from your gramps giving you a bunch of nudey mags when you were young.
>With that and basic biology, so you knew...kinda how it worked.
>Your fingers slowly glide between her thicc thighs finding her slit already sopping.
>"Mmmm that’s good" Gracie moans as you slide one finger slowly into her.
>Her breathing is slow and full of short happy moans as your finger rubs and caresses her insides.
>You feel around dumbly for a moment with your thumb until you find the spot you were looking for
>Her clit is smaller than you thought it would be, but then again you have no real frame of reference.
>Gently you rub and press against it, drawing small circles with it.
>Gracie’s moans get louder as you feel her hot wet insides, tighten and convulse in pleasure.
>One of Gracie’s paws snakes its way down your body, coming to rest in a gentle grip of your member.
>The softness of paw pads is surreal as she begin stroking your member and you gasp at the sensation.
>Her free paw pulls your face to her and she kisses you once more, as your fingers explore within her while she strokes you.
>Gently you slide one more finger into Gracie’s wetness, earning a satisfied and surprised moan.
>You feel her hot insides tighten once more and her body shivers as she breaks away from the kiss.
>"A-anon... I w-want this in me...Please" Gracie says meekly, rubbing your shaft with a little more vigor.
>Nodding to her in answer, you pull your fingers out of her slowly, eliciting more gasps.
>You pull your hard shaft away from her soft pads; missing the warmth but welcoming the gentle hot wetness that is Gracie's slit
>It would be a lie if you said you hadn't wanted her from the very start, at least a little.
>Meeting her in that dank dark cave, seeing her naked and vulnerable.
>And even beyond that.
>The cave where she used you as a pillow to start, her showering in the brotherhood bunker.
>The two of you in Camp McCarran, sleeping together.
>All that patience paid off because now Gracie was wrapped around you, her tongue partially out as she pants heavily.
>Her eyes are locked on yours as you push slowly into her.
>She gasps at the sensation and squirms away from you, her paws on your chest.
>"L-lay on your b-back, I-I...I’m scared...Let me go my own pace” she half moans; half whispers.
>You nod silently and lay down next to Gracie.
>Your beloved Snekdog straddles you and places on paw against your chest while using the other to position your member against her wetness.
>Slowly she lowers herself onto you, letting your hard shaft penetrate her wet folds as she gasps and falls forwards onto you, her chest pressed against yours.
>"I-it feels g-good" Gracie moans as her wide hips meet yours.
>Your hands glide to her waist and grip her gently as her tail flicks across your legs.
>Her long tongue flicks out gently licks your lips as she begins to raise and lower her hips on you softly.
>You feel her hot wetness around your member, tighter than you thought it would be.
>Gracie’s paws trace your sides as you help guide her hips against yours, feeling the hot dampness that is her slit leak against you.
>Her low moans are accompanied by long sensual licks from her serpentine tongue.
>You feel her paws trace along your body as she sits up, her paws pressed to your chest as she looks down at you, lust and love filling her eyes.
>A pang of self-consciousness hits you as you remember your scarred face, so you turn your face away from her.
>But as you do, one of her paws guides you to look at her once more.
>"It's just you and me Love" Gracie Purrs to you in a long moan, dropping her hips against yours.
>You stare up at her, savoring the feeling of her body meeting yours.
>Her slit is tight and hot, her breathing rapid and steamy.
>She leans forwards once more; and kisses you, her arms around your neck as her hips wriggle against you like a snakes would.
>Your fingers dig deep into her fur and hold her soft plump ass tight as you begin to thrust up into her.
>Gracie moans into your mouth as you do, and you feel her body react.
>Sharp convulsions of tightness against you, her claws digging into your sides.
>You feel her pace speed up as her heat drives her, letting her lust get the best of her.
>you hold onto the thiccness of her ass and guide her frenzied rhythm, bringing her to a gasping orgasm.
>Her full weight falls on you as her arms and paws go limp, while her insides convulse madly; trying hard to wring out your seed.
>You feel her fangs bite into your shoulder has she grinds against you slowly, moaning deeply and sending those reverberations into your body.
>For just a moment you panic, thinking about her venom; only to see the deep green eleven on your arm, showing where she bit you and rendered you immune to her poison.
>After seeing this reminder, your hands grips her wide hips and guide her body.
>Gently you continue moving her hips, grinding them against yours as you slowly buck up into her.
>Slow and steady wins the race in this case.
>The gentle buildup of her tightness continually rubbing against your sensitive member is overwhelming. 
>She leans her full weight against you, nuzzling your neck.
>Gracie's hips tremble as you guide her; her long tail wrapping around you both like a loose bandage.
>Your arms stay wrapped around Gracie as you feel your limit approach.
"G-Gracie! I-I'm gonna-"
>In response she heaves her hips hard against yours, digging her nose into your neck and snuffling deeply; savoring your scent.
>Your arms tighten around her body, the same body you snuggled against for so many nights.
>Well no, the same body that used you as a pillow that you were happy to accommodate.
>This was different though. this is a mate's touch; the loving feeling between two lovers.
>Not the touch between strangers like that first night in the cave.
>You erupt, filling Gracie as she moans quietly in your ear, feeling her body on yours and the sensation of her insides milking you.
>Gracie snuggles against you though, keeping your shaft deep within her folds as she lays on you.
>You feel her fangs slide out of your shoulder and she nuzzles her snout into your neck.
>"Mmmm I’m so happy Anon~" she moans softly, still making her insides twitch around you.
>You smile and carefully pull covers over the two of you, dinner forgotten.
>"I'm happy too Gracie, I’m sorry for neglecting your needs" you whisper softly, rubbing your fingers through her fur.
>She moves her face to yours and boops your nose with it long snakelike tongue.
>"It's ok! Just don't let it happen again mister!" she teases, baring her fangs at you in a grin you think is supposed to be intimidating.
>Honestly it looks more silly than scary.
>You smile and act scared away.
>"Y-yes ma'am" you fake stutter out, much to Gracie's amusement.
>"Good!" she hisses with a happy smile before nuzzling back into your neck.
>You breathe deep and bask in your lovers embrace, as Gracie slowly drifts to sleep.
>Heh, this isn’t how you usually sleep, but you aren’t going to argue with it.
>You drift off to sleep yourself, thinking about nothing other than the lovely snakedog in your arms.

Chapter 14: Déjà vu

>The back of your head hits the headrest of one the of chairs that the brotherhood has in its conference room.
>You scowl to yourself and wonder WHY.
>WHY does this group need a fucking conference room
>Elder Macnemeria sits with Paladin Ramos, paladin...whatshisface;  and a few others you hadn't bothered learning the names of.
>You sit around discussing your gun.
>"I'm just saying that no other person has successfully melded an energy weapon with a kinetic weapon! and somehow a random scavenger did?" one of the paladins you don't know the name of retorts, frowning and pointing at your gun.
>You frown at him and correct him. 
>"I'm not some random scavenger, I'm a Boomer; and I know more about guns than you do about your pecker" you retort with an annoyed scowl; wishing you weren't part of this conference.
>"Hey I-!" He begins.
"Shut! up! Its not two guns melded of fused or whatever, its literally 2 guns built onto one frame" you explain with fierce calmness.
>The paladin goes silent and stares at the bastard; a look of realization on his face, while another paladin speaks up.
>"Two guns built onto one frame...One trigger pull, 2 shots...And both guns need to be reloaded independently" He says calmly, looking over your gun.
>"Yea, it packs a punch but needs to be reloaded twice; if you only load one, it'll mangle the other due to heat, now can I go? I gave you the blueprints and shit". you say with an annoyed sigh.
>This meeting had gone on for far too long; a few hours of these BoS (More like PoS) people looking over the gun you made.
>You just wanted to get back to Gracie and make dinner.
>She is out hunting bark scorpions so you could make her favorite meal for her.
>As long as she grabbed agave and some banana yucca at the same time, you could make a masterpiece of food for her.
>"Look, I'm leaving this meeting; I'll give you two weeks to look over everything on my gun so you can maybe remake it or improve it" you say as you stand up from your chair.
>Where did they get comfy revolving chairs?
>You shake that thought from your head.
>"H-Hey! This meeting isn't been adjourned!" interjects Paladin Ramos, attempting to rise from his seat.
>"Fuck off Ramos, unless you want to explain your black eye" you retort as you casually stride out of the conference room, flicking him the finger.
>You're sure he hadn't told his superiors that you had given him the black eye from when you punched him.
>He wasn't supposed to have his helmet off.
>And at the same time, you put your helmet back on.
>The opaque visor of the Sierra Madre helmet made members of the brotherhood part before you like schools of fish avoiding a shark.
>But at the same time, it hid your face, now deformed and missing an eye.
>They didn't need to see you like this, especially now. 
>The Brotherhood Of Steel is not a force to be taken lightly; even now in their huddled form they were a force that could challenge the Courier, and maybe even present a small challenge to him.
>Which is not speaking ill of the brotherhood.
>You saw no need to expose your weakness to them.
>The courier was someone you knew NOT to cross.
>Pip and Amber had some sort of alliance with him to use the lucky 38; and you were not going to allow the BoS to use you as ANY kind of leverage against any of them.
>The Courier was a predator, finding weaknesses and using them to exert power.
>The BoS were Predators made prey, looking for a way back into the sunlight.
>You were their path back into the sunlight.
>Of course, you are not a willing participant in this path but you could recognize it .
>They get what you gather from places they failed at.
>Treads from a forgotten vault.
>A Forcefield generator in a dead city covered in a blood red cloud.
>And next a gun that can devastate in a nuclear wasteland.
>You stride out through of the bunker, annoyed you had to sit through a stupid meeting like that.
>Sure you left them your new gun, but they would need it to reproduce it; if they could.
>As you emerge from the bunker into the sunlight, you take note of the suns position.
>Based on where it hangs in the sky, its maybe a little past 2; Gracie might be out for another hour or 2.
>You head back to the bunker and begin preparations for her arrival.
>She would have 3 or 4 bark scorpions and would expect you to cook them up for her.
>Or course. you don't mind because she would reward you with...well, she would reward you.
>It only takes a moment for you to get everything together to make Gracie's favorite meal.
>>Now it is just time to wait for her to come back.

>Annoyedly, you check your pip boy.
>It's been 3 hours since you returned to the bunker; your preparations sitting out.
>You fidget awkwardly with the strap of your shotgun, debating what to do.
>Did Gracie just have a slow day?
>She might have gone after a bighorner or something to impress you...
>But what if she was in trouble?
>BUT! If she wasn't in trouble and you searched her out she would be annoyed...
>You frown and stand.
>Screw her annoyance, you are worried about her.
>Keeping your shotgun at low ready, you stride out of your home; ready for anything to leap out at you.
>Nothing does and you begin to scour the desert.
>Sure, the hidden valley is a big place, but you already knew your way around it; even in the sandstorms.
>There is a notable lack of scorpions as you search the valley, maybe she went a little father than normal?
>As you search a glint of light to your left catches your eye.
>Can't hurt to check it out right.
>Mou march over, your shotgun at port-arms; ready to bring it to bear on any threat.
>Instead of a threat, you find 2 dead legionnaires, a few dozen spent casings, and blood.
>What happened here?
>You recognize Gracie's boot prints in the fine sand. 
>Following the boot prints; you follow Where Gracie went.
>She must have gone invisible and flanked them. only for a few of the legionnaires to break off and flank her..
>There is no blood near her boot prints meaning...They got her, but there is no body...
>Those past legionnaires had called her an oracle...
>Fuck..
>FUCK.
>You should have never let her off on her own!
>Now...Now it looks like the legion had her captured!
>But how could you have known...You think to yourself and you review the scene.
>How could you save her?
>The legion was based on the eastern shore of the Colorado river, a full encampment on fortification hill.
>The Courier had let them stay there provided the didn't fuck around to much; and this wasn't really enough to get him involved.
>So, now it was you against an army of legion soldiers. 
>You would need an army for get her back.
>No.
>Not an army.
>Someone equivalent to an army.
>Your mind flashes back to a man with a hook and and a shotgun,fiercely protective of Gracie.
>You need him.
>But how to get to him? You din't even know his name.
>Again in desperation you mind flashes to what he said.
>"Slavers ain't friends"
>You frown and sweep the area one last time.
>Gracie trying to sneak around...
>A few of them getting hit with a bullet spray of her gun.
>And a convergence; then heavy foot prints toward cottonwood cove.
>Hatred fills you as you look at the boot prints trailing away from you.
>They ambushed her, knocked her out, and carried her away.
>Those fucking legionnaire BASTARDS.
>Cowards to attack her while she was alone.
>No.
>Lucky that they found her alone without you.
>Again the words echo in your head.
>"Slavers ain't friends"
>Whoever he was, He cared about nightstalkers.
>You grimace and head toward Freeside, adopting the pace you had before you met Gracie.
>Quick, almost a jog.
>No time to waste.
>After an hour you reach Freeside and look around.
>This place is what you had always observed from Nellis.
>A Fucking ghetto.
>But a ghetto you could pass information through.
>"HEY KID! Come 'ere" you call to a small child, who was running after another kid.
>"What'cha want mister?" he says, clearly reluctant to cease his chase of his friend.
>You pull out a bag Gracie had made of gecko skin leather.
>Inside is 500 caps.
>You open it to the child and smile at him, rattling the bottle caps for emphasis.
>"These are yours; all you have to do it tell EVERYONE in freeside that someone is buying Nightstalkers in Broc flower cave" you say with a smile hold the bag out to him.
>He looks from you to the sack and nods with a smile. 
>"That's all I gotta do?!" he exclaims happily as he takes the bag then runs to the nearest adult.
>You give a pained smile as he runs off. 
>Would the giant listen? Would he respond? All you knew is he hated slavers.
>Hopefully this is enough to reach him.

>It's been a week.
>You've sat in Broc flower cave; the place you met Gracie, for a week now.
>You don't mind though.
>He will be coming, you're sure of it.
>You're loading legion coins into shells for your riot shotgun when you hear a pained squeal from a giant rat.
>Setting aside your guns, you wait.
>It doesn't take long for him to appear before you.
>All 7 foot something on him iin riot control gear and his engraved lever action shotgun.
>As he strides into the cave, you raise you hands in surrender.
>"I am not your enemy"  you say as he raises that engraved shotgun right in your face.
>"Anyone show sells noodles is an enemy" he growls in his gruff voice.
>"I'm not selling anyone, I need your help" you reply, slowly pulling your helmet off.
>As you pull off your helmet and show the man you face, his eyes widen for just a moment, then his grip tightens on his gun as his eyes focus further on you.
>In that moment, you know recognizes you.
>"Where's the lady who called you her friend?" He asks peering around quickly, his finger on the trigger of his shotgun, ready to pull if you answered wrong.
>You stare at him unafraid.
>"The Legion; they took her while I was busy, they called her an oracle' You respond, showing him your hands, outstretched in front you of with the palms up.
>A sign of surrender.
>If you meant him any ill will, you would have such a hard time taking him down with your palms outstretched in front of you.
>He lowers his shotgun, his hook making a slight hissing sound as it slides down the barrel of his gun.
>"What do you want" he rasps, holding his gun at the low ready position.
>"I want help" You explain "No, I NEED your help, the Legion took Gracie and I don't know why, fuck I don't even care why; I just want her safe"
>the man looks you over for a moment, his grey eyes looking you over.
>"You've been to the sierra madre? You wear the armor of the security there" he asks as if he wasn't ready to blow your head off.
>You look down at your armor. It DOES say sierra madre all over it.
>"We were there together along with another nightstalker and human, they helped us"
>"Another..." the man says absentmindedly, looking away from you.
>He snaps back to you in a second, a neutral look on his face. 
>"What have you been doing this whole time she was gone" he asks, frowning at you.
>You motion your arm around you.
>"Preparing"
>For the last week, you had been stuffing Legion coins into shotgun shells.
>You have dozens of rounds ready
>The man looks at the stockpile, one of the corners of his mouth ticked up.
>"What's the plan which these?" he asks as he tucks he shotgun away under his coat.
>"They took Gracie, I'm gonna buy he back with these" you answer gently tossing a shell full of legion coins to him.
>He catches the shell and looks it over, nods; then tucks it into a pocket of his NCR ranger jacket.
>"The legion think nightstalkers gals are oracles, the "shamans" of the legion smoke their venom with tobacco" the giant rumbles.
>"Gracie said she has z12 vemon and that it is deadly, why would the legion smoke it?" you ask as you stand and begin putting the prepared shells into you pack.
>you don't object as the giant packs away a few for himself.
>"It wouldn't kill them but would give them one hell of a trip; They think it gives them future sight, that they can use different nightstalkers to predict the future" he grumbles.
>Thinking about it made you scowl.
>A group of legion fucks, forcing Gracie to give them venom.
>You don't know how it works; but it makes your furious regardless.
>"What should I call you, I cant just keep calling you "you""" you ask the giant, loading coin filled shells into your riot shotgun as you follow him.
>"Hm?...Oh...I suppose you can call me Ray" he answers as the two of you leave Broc Flower cave.
>You picked this place specifically because if is close to cottonwood cove.
>"And what do I call you, "friend"? Ray asks with a bit of annoyance in his voice.
>Just from his emphasis on the word friend, you knew he preferred to work alone.
>You had been there before.
>Before Gracie.
>"Boomer, you can call me boomer" you answer as you jog slightly to keep up with him. 
>God is this what Gracie felt when she was with you?"
>You owe her an apology.
>"Boomer? like those hermits on Nellis?" Comes a surprised Rasp
>You nod.
>"I'm from there. Why? Did you trade with them?"
>Ray stays quiet for a moment, a moment where you aren't sure he would answer your question.
>"I didn't trade with them; but I respected them for their absolute control and mastery of weapons" he responds, giving to a side eye looks of re evaluation.
>You silently nod at him then pull out your Gobi scout rifle, loading it and checking the sight.
>"Cottonwood cove has some serious baddies, maybe I should handle it" Ray says calmly, as he scans the terrain.
>You chamber a .308 round into the scout rifle.
>"I took care of most of the "baddies" a few weeks ago, the NCR has kept the Legion at bay" you respond casually, adjusting the sight of your rifle.
>Only a slight uptick of the corner of his mouth betrays his reaction.
>"Nice job then, they probably will only have a few legionaries guarding the dock" he rasps as you both make it to the crest of the hill.
>You can see the building and the dock the Legion has been using as a waypoint from their camp to the rest of the Mojave.
>"Probably" you answer as you take a knee and aim down the sight of your rifle.
>Ray waits patiently as you scan the area.
>"They've only got 4 guards down there, but the might be a centurion inside though" you report as you begin picking the guards off.
>Your rifle isn't silenced, but you are far enough away to just hear the shoots echoing.
>"Nice shooting, leave one alive" Ray grunts.
>An armored centurion runs out of the second floor of the building and is about to run down the stairs as you shoot his right knee.
>He falls over, writhing in pain and probably screaming, but you're too far away to hear it.
>You smile as you lower the rifle, then stand up calmly "Lets go see whats been going on with the legion"
>Ray nods and being trekking down the slope towards cottonwood cove, with you following along behind him, keeping your rifle at port arms.
>After about 100 meters you begin to hear the centurions pained grunts.
>Fucking legion idiots don't use stimpaks still? He must have used healing powder or something because he should be screaming.
>In another 200 meters you and Ray making it to the building and follow the groans of pain up the stairs to the downed centurion.
>"I'll handle this one" Ray growls, looking in disgust at the downed legionnaire.
>You shrug and step back as Ray grabs the "collar" of his arm and lifts him bodily with just one hand.
>The centurion struggles against Rays grasp, attempting to pry his hand off at first, then resorts to trying to hit Ray.
>In a flash of metal Ray's hook lashes out, swiping through armor and flesh like they were butter.
>The centurions gives out pained cry before Ray shakes him hard.
>"Did a Nightstalker come through here?" Ray snarls, shaking the helpless man like he was a ragdoll.
>"S-screw you Seeker! That oracle belong to legate Nero!" he groans out between the shakes.
>Ray stops for a moment.
>"So one did come through then" he replies with satisfaction.
>With how pale the guys face was, you were certain no more blood could have drained from it.
>But when he realized what he had said it did.
>"WAS SHE HURT?" you interject, stepping toward Ray; who extends his clawed arm to you to stop.
>"I will handle this" he says calmly and slowly.
>you nod slightly and step back.
>"But a good question none the less" he rasps softly, focusing back on the still struggling man.
>"Was your "oracle" hurt?" 
>The now soft tone he was using is off putting to say the least.
>It was like a deathclaw having human hands, its just...odd.
>"S-seeker, you will not intimidate me! I am Centurion De-"
>Ray interrupts him by digging the point of his hook into the gunshot wound you made with your rifle.
>"Was. She. HURT!?" Ray all but screams the last word and you swear for a moment his eyes turned Red.
>The false bravado falls apart in the centurion and he slumps.
>"S-she was unharmed, legate Nero decreed they must not be harmed"
>"Good" Ray says before tossing him off the second story.
>You eye him curiously.
>"Seeker?" 
>"They take nightstalkers as slaves, I take them back" he says simply.
>Why does he have such an interest in Nightstalkers? a question for later perhaps.
>You head to the dock with Ray in tow, walking casually past the centurion.
>"Letting him live?" you ask as you pull out your shotgun and check the drum to make sure its loaded.
>"He was of use to us and he will tell others" Ray responds.
>Makes sense you guess.
>Regardless, you don't push the issue and get intro the boat that will take you and Ray to Fortification Hill.
>Ray gets in and shoves off, taking you one step closer to saving Gracie.
>Closer to Saving your mate.