(No photo this time, sorry. Will add one if I find one.)
Where was home? The Divide? Wolfhorn ranch? Dry Well? Ulysses never truly had a home, but yet he wondered, what or where could he call home? All that's really left is the Divide, but did he really want to stay there? Forever? He lost everything. His tribe to Caesar, his home to the Courier, and the rest to history.
The sun had risen, the fires were almost gone and the general sight of everything had changed. The Mojave looked similar to the weather of the Divide, but with a red coloring. By now, the other 2 were awake. Apparently, they slept together. Ulysses couldn't tell if they were drunk or had actually intended that. Either way, he didn't question it.
Ulysses had more important things to do. He let Arcade and the Courier know that he was leaving for a short time. He walked the hell that became the Mojave, going too far would certainly make going back hard, but he had to know.
During this trip, Ulysses was stopped by the voice of someone familiar. Well, they were rather something than someone. The cold, ruthless voice gave Ulysses a chill. He turned around to see the figure, clad in golden steel armor, with a helmet that only furthered the fear. The armor must have suffered damage from fire, since it was clearly scorched in some spots. It spoke, “Ulysses, long time no see. To see a fellow brother is one of few reliefs that is left in this new world.” the figure pauses then continues, “Caesar is dead, the Legion has fallen. But some of us still hold up in the east, waiting for me to arrive and take control.” Ulysses speaks, “Lanius, I told you the Legion would fall, much like the NCR and everything else.” Lanius gets angry, “The Legion only fell because of the Courier, Caesar is dead because of the Courier. I almost died, but it’ll take more than a mailman with a gun to kill me.” “The west was never meant to be alive, to be inhabited. I finished what the Old World started. Even though we may be brothers in Legion, I can not let you conquer the west.” Lanius understands, but is angered more anyway, “Mark my words Ulysses, when the Legion is at it’s pinnacle, I will lead my army to con-”.
Lanius stops, he looks past Ulysses to see a man standing in the distance. He’s holding what looks to be a gun, aimed at the floor. A second later, the man raises his arm, aims in Lanius’ direction and fires once. The bullet hits the left side of Lanius’ chestplate, in the area where his heart is. Lanius begins to walk toward this new figure, and shouts, “YOU THERE, DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHO YOU HAVE JUST DEFIED? ARE YOU WANTING TO DIE BEFORE MY BLADE!?” The mysterious man walks close enough for Lanius to see him, then raises a hand implying Lanius to stop moving. This new person was also familiar, but in a bad way. They wore some sort of jacket with the letters SLCPD on it, their arms and face wrapped in bandages. They began to speak, “Of course I know who I am defying, that’s why I shot you. I know just the sight of me makes you want to tear me limb from limb, but believe simply my word that that is a bad idea.” Lanius was at the brink of rage, the fact that he was listening to a sworn enemy of the Legion angered him even more, “How so? Killing you would not only bring pleasure to me, but perhaps to Mars as well. Explain your reasoning Graham.” The man of faith did just that, “This world has been abandoned, it is dangerous for the unprepared. We should stick together, put the past behind us, like Ulysses did. Look at us, Lanius, we 3 are some of the very best of the Legion. I was one of it’s founders and first commanders, you are it’s most respected legate, Ulysses is one of the best Frumentarii the Legion ever saw, aside from Vulpes.” Lanius thought it over. Graham wasn’t wrong, but that doesn’t mean anything, not yet. Graham continued, “We each have a road we followed. You still followed Caesar, loyal to Mars. I had found my way back home in Zion, and took up Christianity. Ulysses had made his way through places, with his own philosophy and meanings. And now, now it’s time our roads came together. You may have a bloodlust, but we can all come down to a mutual agreement, right?”.
—
Arcade and the Courier are still at Canyon Wreckage, Arcade speaks, “Sooo, where exactly did he say he was going?” The Courier, who has no clue whatsoever replies, “How am I supposed to know? He painted a blue flag on a rock, told us he was going on some journey to figure some shit out, and then left. He’ll be fine, I’m sure. If he can live in the Divide without issue, the Mojave won’t be any different.” Arcade thinks to himself for a bit, he blushes slightly and starts talking again, “Do you want to… Talk, about last night?”. Courier replies, “What, first time?” Arcade blushes more and starts breathing a little heavier, “I uh… I don’t exactly let my guard down like that, you know? I’m a member of the most vilified group in all of the world and I’m gay. With the NCR around and their opinions of that kind of stuff, It’s just dangerous to be yourself in an area filled with people who’ll kill you if you say the wrong thing. I joined the Followers because they were good people and I wanted to help make things better, and Mormon Fort happened to be just out of NCR jurisdiction which means I could actually breathe without fear. And thanks to you, Ulysses and that schizo guy, the west side of the United States has ended in fire and toxic clouds, and there’s nothing left that could harm me. And even if there is, you wouldn’t let anything hurt me. Yes, I have the Remnants, but I don’t want to lock myself away in a government bunker/refueling station.” The Courier was a bit shocked to here Arcade opening up like this, nonetheless they tried to comfort Arcade, “Hey, it’s alright. If anything harmed you, I’d kill everyone on this damned planet. I already took care of the West coast it seems.” they both laugh, Courier continues, “It’s ok Arcade, I mean it. In a hell where you can’t trust nobody but your gun, it’s really something special to put trust in someone you know. Though, we don’t just know each other…” Arcade finished that sentence, “We love eachother. Right?” the Courier smiled with a slight laugh, “Yeah, we do. So, want more beer?” Arcade replies, “Are you serious? We just got drunk last night and ended up sleeping together. Just a minute ago, we became a couple. You eager to find out what happens if we get more drunk? Please, lets go slow for now. Besides, I don’t feel like vomiting my guts out again.”
—
“So be it. What do you propose, Graham?”, Graham replies, “Head east if you want, find the remaining Legion in Denver. Or stay here, though you’ll certainly die in this calamity. I will stay in the Mojave a little longer, then head back to Zion. Fortunately, Zion has not been harmed by Ulysses’ missile launch nor the Cloud. At least not yet. The Sorrows and Dead Horses will need me. Even though they could handle themselves after I taught them the art of war, the tribes could be overwhelmed without a commander. And Ulysses, I assume you’ll stay here in the Mojave?” Ulysses looked at the Burned Man, and spoke, “No point in going anywhere else. Everywhere from here to New California was bombed. Though, after all of this, even with my own philosophy I could not find an answer because the answer had not yet existed. But it does now, I asked the right question, or rather asked by doing. The bombs were a representation of my curiosity, their detonation was my answer. My home is here, now, at the ending of things. The whispers of the Old World had not been silenced. Elijah, the Think Tank, and myself, perhaps others, had heard these cries of history. Those whispers made me their voice, they spoke their pain and wants through me. By giving the Old World mercy, I had allowed myself to finally be free.” Graham seemed happy to know that Ulysses found peace, Lanius comprehended little of it but understood to some extent. Lanius thought about killing them now, but he knew well that both Ulysses and Graham are powerful men. They all were Legion, their own beliefs reinforce that strength. Lanius spoke, “If neither the Mojave or the West can fall under the Legion banner, I wish a slow painful death to it. I shall make my way East and rally together the remaining Legion members. Graham, live what's left of your life to its fullest. Same to you, Ulysses. I have a feeling we all will meet again on the next battlefield.” Lanius began to walk away, slowly fading into the red cloud. Graham looked at Ulysses and asked, “What happened to your tribe?” Ulysses responded, “Same as all the others, destroyed by the Legion.” “Why didn’t you take your revenge on Lanius?” “I thought about it, but decided not to. Killing him wouldn’t change anything, and Legion doesn’t hurt Legion.” Graham was confused, “Is that so? I was Legion and Caesar lit me on fire and tossed me into the Grand Canyon.” Ulysses explained, “You failed Caesar, and failing Caesar is failing the Legion. You were punished for such disappointment. I left the Legion, had not done anything to anger them. Either Lanius or I could try to harm one another but it’d go against what he stands for, what I stood for.” Graham says one last thing before heading back to Zion, “You carry the memory of the Twisted hairs and the Twin Mothers. Don’t let them die with you, honor their history and spread it. You’ve done us all good, Ulysses. I wish you luck.” The Burned Man handed Ulysses a .45 auto pistol, “And while you're at it, carry ours as well. Consider it a remember me gift.” Graham walked away toward Zion.
—
Arcade spoke, “Do you think we could use Big M.T to establish contact with the Enclave?” Courier replied, “I’m sure that’s possible. The Think Tank can think of something. But the Enclave might want to take over Big M.T once they find it. I don’t want to let it fall into bad hands, do you know anyone in the Enclave that is responsible enough?” “Yeah, I know of a guy. When I was at Navarro, I heard some talk about an Enclave scientist and his son. I don’t know the scientist’s name, but I know his son was called Augustus Autumn. They both lived on the Oil Rig before it got nuked. The Rig got some sort of message from the east coast, D.C I think. The scientist and his son, along with a number of other Enclave personnel flew to Raven Rock to meet this new ‘President’. Though, some say about 4 years ago that Raven Rock was destroyed by the Brotherhood. If Autumn is still alive, I bet we could contact him somehow and bring him back to the west.” The Courier asked, “Ok, but how do you know he isn’t bad?” Arcade replies, “He actively and openly opposed the power of a president of the United States. I mean, Eden was downright evil just like Richardson. Autumn wanted to help people, not murder them. He was a loyal member for the Enclave, but he wouldn’t stand with Eden. That’s how I know Autumn is a good man.” The Courier wonders how they can get a man from D.C to Nevada, “So How do we bring him here?” Arcade looks at the Courier as if they were stupid, “We go to Big M.T and try to establish contact. But for now, let’s wait until Ulysses gets back. Both of you know Big M.T better than I do.”
—
Ulysses arrived at the Divide’s entrance, he started to walk up the hill. It was very dark, although it was dark all day and night now. As Ulysses made his way up to where he and the Courier made camp, a strange voice in the darkness caught his attention. “It’s not over, Ulysses. You might not agree at first, but we both know you won’t truly rest until you’re covered in my blood.” Ulysses felt a rage build up within, “I thought you died, how are you here?” The person walked toward Ulysses and stopped near him. The person was wearing a torn Legion uniform, it looked sort of scorched, perhaps from the bombs or the fire afterwards. Their face was slightly burned, and they wore some sort of fox head which also seemed scorched to an extent. It was Vulpes. “I nearly did. When I saw the first few detonations, I escaped to House’s Securitron vault. After the noise settled, I made my way back to the surface to see The Fort destroyed and burning. I’ve been wandering ever since then.” Ulysses thought to himself for a moment, then spoke, “Maybe you’re right, I do want to watch you die. But not right now. I suggest you go away, and get as far as you can. Because I’ll find you and make you regret ever stepping foot in Dry Wells.” Vulpes chuckles and backs away, “I’ll be waiting…”
Ulysses reached the camp. The Courier asked, “Well? What took you so long?” Ulysses didn’t know where to begin, but he tried to explain as best he could. “Wait, did I miss something?”, the Courier looks at Ulysses confused then understood, “Ah, well… We’ve all had an interesting day.” the Courier looks at Arcade then down to the floor, “It’s late, I think we can continue this in the morning.” Arcade and Ulysses agree. After some time, Arcade said goodnight and fell fast asleep. The Courier and Ulysses sat by the campfire, the Courier asked, “Are you alright? Something you want to talk about?” Ulysses hesitated, then spoke, “Lanius and Graham are alive.” Ulysses’ voice grew colder, “As well as Vulpes. He paid me a visit Just before I got here. Judging by his appearance, he didn’t fair well when the missiles fell. I thought I could rest, but I was wrong. In the future, our score will be settled. But for now, I need to rest again.”
The Courier made their way to bed, laid down next to Arcade and slowly fell asleep. Ulysses grabbed a transmitter he took from Big M.T and broadcasted a message that would repeat. “We’ll settle this at the Silo, deep within the Divide. Come alone, Vulpes.”. Ulysses then signed it as Courier 6. He grabbed a flare gun out of his pocket, aimed it at the sky and fired.
Ulysses whispered to himself, “Only one of us will walk away alive. I’ll avenge my tribe or die with honor…”
