Back In The Saddle

"What was that" Yoruichi snapped towards Trudy the second Joe Cobb was out of earshot!?

"Don't even get me started" Trudy sighed and bent over to start cleaning up the shattered glass off the floor. "That was Joe Cobb and just like he said he's the leader of a small band of Powder Gangers operating out of the old Jean's Sky Diving building just south of town. He showed up in town a day or two before we found you up at the cemetery and demanded we bring him a guy named Ringo.

Apparently, Ringo is... was in charge of a small caravan that had just picked up some supplies at the border of the NCR and was transporting it back to New Vegas when Cobb and his men stopped them. They threatened Ringo to pay a toll to pass otherwise things would get messy. Of course Ringo refused, shots were fired and all of Ringo's Caravan and most of Cobb's men were wiped out in the firefight."

"And now Cobb want's revenge" I finished.

"You got it" Trudy nodded "Though things are slightly more complicated than that, that's the gist of it."

"So, the question is" Yoruichi gave Trudy a look "Is Ringo actually in town or not?"

"He's hold up in the abandoned gas station on the north side of town" Trudy shook her head "He hasn't taken a step out of the place since he got here a week ago, too afraid of being seen by Cobb and his men."

"Really" I raised my eyebrows "And no one in town has ratted him out yet, that's actually really impressive."

Trudy puffed her chest out "Of course, we might not be the best and brightest here in Goodsprings but, if there's one thing, we aren't it's cowards. Everyone here knows that being friendly with the Powder Gangers is a bad idea of course they're not really too keen on helping Ringo out either. Most just want to stay out of this and let the mess sort itself out but, after what just happened, I don't think that's an option anymore."

"You'll either have to fight the Powder Gangers or give Ringo up" I clenched my fist.

"My votes for fight" Yoruichi punched her hand "You can't trust scum like that! Even if you do give Ringo up there's no guarantee they'll leave the town alone after learning you really did have him all this time."

"She's right" I frowned "Even if the Powder Gangers don't mess with Goodsprings now there's no guarantee they'll leave it alone forever."

"It's not that I don't agree" Trudy shook her head "But, like I said most of the people in town want nothing to do with this. When Joe Cobb and his gang come, they'll just hunker down in their homes until this all blows over. That's how you survive out here, you don't get involved in something dangerous like this unless you absolutely have too."

"Well, we'll just have to convince them" Yoruichi grinned.

"You can try" Trudy huffed "Either way I'm with you, that Joe Cobb rubs me the wrong way."

"Yeah, we got this" Yoruichi threw her arm around my shoulder and let out a savage grin!

And I shivered after seeing the look in her eye because it remined me of the face she made earlier at the cemetery. I guess everything that happened with her mother gave Yoruichi a massive grudge against anyone she perceived as evil.

It was honestly kind of worrying.

It hadn't even been a day since she woke up and I was already getting massive Sasuke Uchiha vibes from her which was not a good thing. But, I guess this was still better than her being a complete ass and siding with the Legion so there was that.

'Hey wait what' I just realized something!?

"What do you mean by WE" I stared dumbfounded at Yoruichi as her grim smile morphed into the more fun-loving smirk, I was use too from her? "Why do I have to be involved with any of this" I asked stunned because I really hadn't made up my mind about helping yet?

"Of course, we're involved" her smirk became even bigger "After all the town did save both our lives, so it's only fair we return the favor!"

"I-" I struggled to find a way to refuse her but, she just stared me down with that same arrogant look as if she was daring me to say no. "I'll help you" I eventually sighed.

"YES" she fist pumped while Trudy giggled at how easily Yoruichi bullied me into helping.

"I'm back" a distant voice called followed by the barking of a dog.

"Sunny" Trudy smiled "How'd your hunt go? Did you catch any foxes?"

"Yeah" Sunny grinned back "I managed to bag a couple of the bastards out east by the Yangtze Memorial. Of course, there's probably a few of them still out there so I'll keep an eye on the chicken coop overnight just in case anymore show up so there should be any more problems."

"That's great" Trudy handed sunny a drink "Because I needed some good news after what just went down."

"What happened" Sunny narrowed her eyes?

Trudy sighed and explained to Sunny about what just happened.

"That bastard" Sunny slammed her fist down! "Does he think he can just swagger into town like that and start making threats without any consequences!"

"Yeah" Yoruichi screamed and shook my shoulder "Scum like that need to be put in their place!"

"Knock it off" I struggled out of her grip in embarrassment!

"Hmm" Sunny widened her eyes as if she was seeing us for the first time "Oh, you two are finally up and about that's good. Glad you're both okay."

"Thanks for saving me" I bowed my head remembering what Doc said about her finding me passed out from dehydration.

"No problem" she waved it off "That wasn't the first time I've found someone half dead out in the desert, and it probably won't be the last either."

"So" Yoruichi began "You hate the Joe Cobb guy too, right. That's great because we were just talking about how to convince the rest of town to help us deal with him!"

"I know I definitely won't say no to more help" Sunny crossed her arms.

"Well" Trudy rubbed her chin "I have a bit of pull in town and might be able to convince a few people to help. But, we'll need to convince a few others if we want to do this right.

For starters we could use some body armor if we're going to be getting into a fire fight so you might want to try and get Chet on our side. He's the owner of the General store just next door he's got crates of old leather body armor just lying around. If you can convince him that armor would go a long way to making people feel safe enough to help us. And on that note, you might want to stop by Doc Mitchell's too since we'll need some medical supplies in case anyone gets hurt."

"It might also be a good idea to check with Easy Pete" Sunny spoke up "He's that old coot who spends all day sitting in that rocking chair out front. He used to be a prospector and I know for a fact that he's got a load of dynamite buried somewhere that's just begging to be used. It would be fun to turn the tables on the Powder Gangers for once."

"Why are say all this like you expect us to do it" I blinked in confusion "Isn't this your town? Wouldn't they be more likely to help if you were the ones asking?"

"You'd think that" Trudy sighed "But..."

"We have a sort of reputation" Sunny finished and bitterly smiled.

"Yeah" Trudy blushed "Me and that money grubber Chet haven't gotten along since I sucker punched him after he sold me some bad whisky. So, he'd definitely refuse to help if I was the one asking."

Sunny awkwardly scratched her cheek "And Easy Pete has refused to let me anywhere near his stash ever since I tried using his dynamite to try and open that old safe in the school building."

Yoruichi laughed her head off after hearing that and stared at them blankly for a moment before just shaking my head and deciding to just roll with it.

"Alright" Yoruichi stopped giggling and jumped off her stool "I guess we'll go get on that then, since it's not like we have anything better to do."

"Actually" Trudy stopped her "You don't need to be in such a hurry Joe Cobb and his gang probably won't attack until tomorrow night. The Powder Gangers aren't exactly elite forces, so it'll take him a while to rally his men and as cautious as that man is he'll probably wait until evening to attack anyway. So he can escape under the cover of darkness if anything goes wrong, so don't worry about that for now because I actually have something else for you to do."

"Really what" Yoruichi tilted her head?

"Don't take this the wrong way" Trudy raised her hands "But, the two of you were basically half dead yesterday so before anything else, I need to make sure you can handle yourselves. I want you two to go out with Sunny for a while so she can show you the ropes."

Yoruichi hesitated a moment before nodding "Okay, that sounds like a good idea."

"I'm in too" I agreed since it seemed smart to get advice about surviving in a desert from someone who actually knows what they're doing.

"Allright" Sunny said "Meet me back behind the Saloon in ten minutes I just need to pick up a few things then we'll get started."

After that she left to do whatever it was she needed to do while me and Yoruichi waited at the Saloon. We sat in mostly silence finishing up the last bits of our orders and only made the occasional light conversation. Yoruichi still seemed a bit out of it but, at least she was trying to be a bit more upbeat. Though I wasn't sure if that was a good or bad thing yet.

Either way not long later the two of us were out behind the Saloon with Sunny Smiles. Yoruichi was having fun petting Sunny's dog Cheyenne while the woman herself demonstrated the basics of shooting with a beat-up old Varmint Rifle.

And even though my system already gave me the knowledge to use any weapon I got my hands on I still listened to Sunny's explanation without interrupting. Since I was curious how what she was teaching would differ from what the system taught me. Besides Yoruichi was already barely paying attention and it would be super rude if I didn't listen to her either.

"Here you try" Sunny tossed me the gun after she finished her lesson and gestured to the row of tin cans lining the fence.

"Alright" I get serious and leveled the rifle before taking aim.

I was actually kind of curious how quickly I could knock all of them down without using VATS. Would my system make me a better shot too or would I have to practice and get better on my own?

"BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!" I fired off five shots in quick succession emptying the magazine while trying to be as quick and accurate as possible.

"Hmm" Sunny rubbed her chin "I'll give you an A+ for speed and a B- for accuracy. You hit all five cans but, only barely you only grazed a couple of them. That being said you get a passing grade for now but, the real test is still to come."

"My turn" Yoruichi bounced up making Cheyenne bark!

"Knock yourself out" I handed her the gun after changing out the clip.

"BANG!BANG!BANG!BANG!BANG!" the rifle sounded like a machine gun as her rounds landed on target!

"Whoa" Sunny gaped at the skill displayed!

"Bark" Cheyenne agreed!

"I don't know what else I was expecting" I sighed.

"How was that" Yoruichi turned to us with a shit eating grin and gave me that same look she did earlier when she found out her Special stats were higher than mine?

I did my best to grit my teeth and ignore her because I knew that any reaction I gave would just egg her on.

"Geeze" Sunny adjusted her hat and sized Yoruichi up again "That was some of the best shooting I've ever seen. Did you used to be an NCR Ranger or something?"

"I have no idea what I was before" Yoruichi deflated "I lost my memory after getting shot."

"Shit really" Sunny cursed "I'm sorry I didn't know."

"It's fine" she sighed handing me the gun and bending over to start petting Cheyenne again.

I was worried I'd have to deal with yet another awkward silence but, thankfully Yoruichi decided to ask about something that had caught her attention.

"By the way what's an NCR Ranger" she asked while rubbing Cheyenne's stomach?

"They're an elite group of soldiers working for the NCR. They're the best of the best and are considered the greatest shots in the entire wasteland. Oh, and before you ask NCR stands for the New California Republic a newfound country that's expanding into the Mojave" I answered.

"Got it" she nodded "And... we're in the Mojave?"

I was about to answer but, Sunny interrupted.

"We can catch you up on everything later" she whistled causing Cheyenne to jump up and run to her side. "For now we need to start heading over to the Goodsprings Source. It's where the town gets all of its drinking water from but, it also attracts all of the local wildlife too. So I normally head over there every other day or so and clear it out. But, this time I'll leave it up to you two it'll be a good chance to see your skill in a real combat situation."

Sunny then led us to the springs south of town. It surprised me to find out that the springs were actually more than an hour away but, that was fine since it gave us plenty of time to catch Yoruichi up on all the important groups and people in the Mojave she'd need to know about.

I may not have known everything about this world but, I knew enough from the games to answer most of the questions Yoruichi had and Sunny filled in whenever I didn't know the answer to something.

I wasn't really sure why I felt the need to be the one telling her all this stuff since I could very easily have kept my mouth shut and let Sunny deal with it. But, I guess I just wanted to help her out since I knew she was going through a tough time.

Anyway, after a decent walk we finally arrived at the springs and Sunny motioned for Yoruichi and me to follow the path ahead of us and clear out all three wells by ourselves.

We nodded at her and went ahead whole Sunny followed a small distance behind us in case something went wrong.

"Do you want a gun" I asked motioning towards the Varmant Rifle and the 10mm in my holster?

"No thank" Yoruichi refused "I realized it when I held the rifle earlier but, I don't like guns that much."

"Could've fooled me" I raised an eyebrow thinking about what she did to those cans earlier.

"Just because I'm good at something doesn't mean I like it" she clarified.

"Okay then how are you planning to fight" I asked "I know your good at hand to hand but, there are plenty of monsters out here in the wastes that you definitely don't want to try that with."

Yoruichi held her chin for a second to think "I guess something like a knife would work but, I don't have anything like that, whoever shot me in the head took literally everything I own."

"Hold on a second" I stopped and pretended to reach into my backpack and pulled out the Machete that I'd just pull from my Inventory. "Will this work" I asked?

"Hmm" she pondered weighing the blade in her hand and gave it a few test swings before grinning at me "It's a bit big for my tastes but, yeah it'll work."

"Great" I grinned back. "Now that that's settled let's talk about how we're going to tackle whatever's waiting for us up ahead. Since You're using that Machete, I think it would be a good idea if I used the Rifle to try and take out as many enemies as I can from range and let you deal with anything that gets close. How's that sound?"

"Fair enough" she nodded.

"Just don't get mad when you don't get a chance to fight" I laughed.

"I won't" she giggled back "I've seen you shoot so I doubt that'll be a problem."

"I'm gonna make you eat those words" my competitive side kicked in!

"You can try" she let out feral grin!

I just hmphed in response.

"Hey how about we make this a bit more interesting" she asked after thinking of something?

"What do you have in mind?"

"Loser owes the winner a favor" she smirked!

"You're on" I stuck my hand out.

"Just don't cry when I win" she teased as we shook hands making me roll my eyes!

As we continued forward, I secretly opened and closed my fist a couple times and zoned out for a moment thinking about something.

"My hands are really soft aren't they" Yoruichi spoke making my face turn bright red.

"I have no idea what you're talking about" I tried to defend myself.

"Sure, you don't" she burst out laughing and I knew I was caught!

"I hate you so much" I whispered under my blush making her laugh even harder.

Way back behind them Sunny shook her head a mumbled something about young love.

As we approached the hilly area where the springs were the two of us quieted down and did our best to sneak forward without being seen. Something that I noticed once again Yoruichi was ridiculously good at but, it didn't bother me too much since I knew I'd eventually surpass her with the help of my system and then I'd rub it in her smug face!

Anyway, once the first spring was in sight the two of us hid in behind some dried bushes and took a moment to observe the situation. From what I could see there was a pack of about a dozen Gecko lazing about by the spring occasionally taking a drink of water or washing themselves off. Which was A LOT more than I was expecting way more than in the game but, I guess I should just get used to that and learn how to deal.

Besides it wasn't all bad because if I could take all of them out that would be a massive amount of Exp and might even be enough to get me to Level 3 if the other springs were as loaded with enemies.

"How many of them do you think you can take out before they get close" Yoruichi asked snapping me from my thoughts.

I took a second to think before answering her "With this distance I'd say seven or eight depending on if they go down in one hit."

"I can work with that" she nodded.

"You ready" I glanced over to make sure she was good to go.

"Yeah" she gripped her Machete "You can start whenever."

I nodded and grabbed the Varmint Rifle doing my best to steady the gun and my heart since this was going to be my first real fight and I might really get hurt if I wasn't careful.

Leveling the rifle, I took aim at a couple of closer Gecko that were sunbathing in the clearing in front of us. They were about a hundred feet in front of us and I made sure to practice switching my aim between the two of them so I could pick them off as quickly and cleanly as possible.

"BANG! BANG!" I decided to stop hesitating and fired two shots that hit both of the Gecko in the torse and sent bursts of blood flying out from the wounds!

"RRAAAA" the Gecko alarm call sounded and they all jumped up in an instant and started rushing towards us following the sound of the gunshot!

I threw the rifle to the side and drew the 10mm Pistol and got into a kneeling position activating VATS. Time slowed down to about 5% of its usual speed giving me plenty of time to pick my targets.

The reason I switched to the 10mm Pistol was because the Varmint Rifle had a much higher AP cost, I'd tested it earlier and knew I could only use it to fire three shots while in VATS. The 10mm Pistol on the other hand could fire over six shots doubling my potential kill count.

"BANG!BANG!BANG!BANG!BANG!BANG!" I fired of six shots in an instant all aimed at their chests since I didn't want to risk missing by aiming for the head especially since I only had 3 Luck.

The Gecko fell to the ground with nearly all of my shots hitting their mark with only one not being an instant kill. But, even that one obliterated a Gecko's shoulder completely taking it out of the fight as it wailed in pain.

That left four Geckos left and Yoruichi didn't hesitate to rush out into the fray.

Her Machete glinted in the light as she moved through the remaining Gecko like a grim reaper taking their lives with a single swipe of her weapon beheading them in an instant.

"Damn, she's like a real life anime character" I gasped as their heads flew from their bodies and blood erupted from the wounds.

'Oh, wait she is a real life anime character' I realized as Yoruichi flicked the blood from her blade before turning to face Sunny who had just come up behind me.

Sunny observed the carnage we created and sighed "You two are monsters you know that. I was running over to help the moment when I saw how big this pack was. But, the two of you just went and decimated them before I even made it over."

"So that means we pass right" Yoruichi asked stepping between the piles of blood as she walked back to us.

"Yeah, I reckon you pass" Sunny glanced at the beheaded Gecko and frowned.

"Oh" I perked up and pointed at Yoruichi with a big smile on my face! "By the way! I'm beating you Eight to Four in out bet!

"Nuh-Uh, it's only Seven to Five" she crossed her arms.

"What!? I clearly shot eight Gecko" I asked confused?

"Exactly" she pointed towards one of the beheaded Gecko and I noticed it was the one I'd nailed in the shoulder "You shot eight but, only killed seven I had to finish that one off."

"That doesn't count" I protested "That one was already out of the fight and would have bled out on its own in a minute or two!"

"Sorry" Sunny interjected "But, I'm going to have to side with Yoruichi. A living enemy is dangerous enemy doesn't matter how injured they are. In fact being hurt only makes most things out here fight even harder."

"Dang" I cursed as Yoruichi puffed up in pride! "That still doesn't change anything" I countered "I still have more points than you and have the advantage of attacking from a distance! There's no way I'm going to lose!"