(???)

"AHHHHH!!!"

"SHIT!"

"FUCK!"

"OW!"

"MOTHER-!"

"SHIT FUCK!"

"BITCH!"

"DAMN IT!"

"WAIT! NONONONO!"

Falling down onto one of the mutated trees the Courier hissed in pain after slipping on the cliff and hitting every rock on his way down. Pushing himself down he hit the ground with a thud...

If it wasn't for the metal-laced bones, splicing, and all the cybernetics he would most likely be dead.

Again.

"Are you alright?" The burned man asked who was currently sitting underneath the tree that Six fell on top of.

"Whhhhhhhy meeeeeee," Six hissed under the pre-war helm.

Turning his head from his most prized book, Joshua couldn't help but chuckle at the Courier's misfortune.

"Perhaps it's the father punishing you for going into his caves," Joshua's dry humor made Six chuckles slightly even though he was hurting.

"Please don't say that around the tribe... they'll think I'm cursed and avoid me like the plague," Flipping onto his back the green-eyed helmet look up at the fire-colored sky of Zion.

Turning back to where he left off Joshua began to read through one of his favored verses in the good book.

As the two just stayed there in each other's own company for a few minutes the man who cheated death at Goodsprings spoke.

"Josh?" Not turning from the book Joshua gave a hum to which the courier proceed with his question. "Have you ever had that feeling when you remember something but you don't know what it is?"

Interested in this question Joshua marked his spot in the book before closing it.

"No can't say I had the feeling... explain it to me,"

"It's... Well," Placing a hand on his armored chest while the fire color of dusk slowly became darkened by the night sky while many of the stars began to reveal themselves. "I don't know how to explain it... but I feel like at some points that I remember something don't know what it is but... once when I saw this poster in the Mojave about Ice cream, then I get this cold phantom taste and my mouth waters but I never had Ice cream before,"

"Interesting what else?"

"Well, another time when I was about to drink some Nuka-Cola I pictured the smell and taste to be... different more like corn syrup than the fruity taste of Nuka, or another time I found myself waking up in my room in the sink thing 'where the hell am I' or something," Six told the man covered in bandages.

Josh began to think for a moment.

"Perhaps you thinking of your past like... before you became what you are today... before Benny put you at the doorsteps of judgment... maybe the Lord wants to make sure you don't truly forget who you were," Joshua stated. "Sometimes even science can't explain everything... sometimes you just have to faith that you will one day find out who you were before that your meeting with Benny,"

Six pushed himself up before slightly scooting back against the tree next to Joshua.

"Maybe your right... a little bit of Faith goes a long way right?"

Joshua turned to the courier.

"Can't expect God to do all the work,"

(Present day)

(The Abyssinian lands AKA Abyssinia, Catton Castle)

"Calm yourself my subject... take a moment and gather yourself," Abyssinia's king spoke in a calm voice at the chopper-colored Abyssinian that looked like he could have died from exhaustion the moment he barged into the throne room.

King Damion knelt down at the green-eyed Abyssinian before him.

"Take a moment," The king told his subject. "Just breathe,"

Usually, the royal guard would have tried to stop anyone from barging into the castle's throne room but this wasn't just anyone. This was Capper the Abyssinian who helped Equestria's Princess of Friendship defeat the Stormking, he didn't really care for Equestria and how they treat his people seeing them as a bunch of backwater savages. Yet the Stormking was close to declaring war and invading his home, even though he distrusted the ponies his subject before had a hand in slaying one of the biggest threats to his kingdom.

From what his advisors told him Capper was a swindler and con-artist but the look in his eyes was pure fear and horror...

Plus his words.

"Capper... Slowly tell me... what happened?" Damion spoke.

"Thunder... it came from the lights and then fire! Goddess, I wasn't quick enough to warn them!" Capper reached out to the King.

"Thunder?" Damion thought for a moment. "I thought the storm king was dead,"

"No sire! This was different... the thunder! There weren't any clouds in the sky! The lights! We thought it was a settlement in No-man's land!" Capper nearly shouted through his dry throat.

"What? A settlement in No-Man's land? That's impossible,"

"There were warning signs! I saw them but before I could the second thunder came with an explosion then the rest came!" Capper's words became more and more panicked. "Those that survived the first wave of explosions that rain down from the sky tried to make a run for the lights but then the explosions came from the ground! It killed them all!"

Looking at his Advisors who were confused by the mad-cat's rambling, Damion turned to the former swindler.

"How did you survive?"

"I didn't cross the warning sign," Capper stated to which the king blinked, Damion has seen a ton of liars and fools who tried to trick him into something.

But this?

Damion knew one thing that would always be with the truth in someone's words.

Fear...

Yet what Capper said couldn't be true could it?

It was impossible for any civilization to set a settlement in No-man's land, if it is the advanced magic of the ponies or the skilled nature of his allies the Zebras, the solid sand ground was too solid to dig into to reach down to any water. Yet here was a terrified cat in total shell shock rambling nonsense, yet Damion had a feel...

"Capper?" The green-eyed cat looked up at the king of his homeland. "Where is this settlement?"

"EAST! It's right in the heart of No-Man's land! We were on our way here from klugetown," Capper answered. "I ran straight here!"

Looking at the crazed-cat the King rose up before waving his guards to take Capper to see the royal doctor, standing there silently all awaited what the king would say.

"Reece," Damion's most trusted Advisor stepped forward.

"Yes my king?"

"Ready a small party of my finest scouts with enough water to drown a whale and send them to find this 'settlement',"

"Damion, do you seriously believe him? He's clearly dilutional even if he wasn't a swindler why would believe him? The heat could have tricked his mind," Reece stated.

"Old friend... It does sound like desert-madness but I wish to only be sure and see if what he saying is true... if there is a settlement out there we must know their intentions," Damion said, to which the advisor to the grey-colored cat nodded.

"But if what he says is true... how we will learn of their intentions? Mr. Capper clearly stated there were warning signs of some kind... perhaps to warn those to not approach this settlement,"

The panther king turned his royal robes and covered everything below his shoulders leaving the scarred face of the old cat to look at his most trusted friend. He nodded before the king placed a hand on his sword before looking out a window to his kingdom below, a king's duty was to his people, and if this settlement was home to powerful beings that could bring forth cloudless thunder that caused an explosion and the very ground to explode?

The last thing he need was to trade the stormking for an equally or more powerful new enemy.

"Reece... this is our home... if there is a potential threat laying in the no-man's land right outside our doorsteps would you wish to know what it was?" Damion asked to which the grey cat sighed before nodding.

"I would my king,"

"Then please... send the scouts," Reece bowed his head with a hand over his chest before moving out of the throne room leaving the king in the throne room with his guards and... the Equestrian ambassador.

Not turning his head from the window overlooking his kingdom Damion spoke.

"I am to assume your leaders didn't know if this 'settlement' either?" Damion asked to which the white-coated pony shifted.

"No, King Damion, but I would like to inform the princesses if that is alright with you? Equestria must know of this settlement as well..."

Damion didn't say a word but raised his hand signaling him he was allowed to do so but seeing the ambassador's reflection disappear from the window and a door shut the king quietly to himself.

"Years ago Equestria didn't give a dung beetle's shit of what happens down here but now that they have territory down here they must know every little thing," Closing his eyes he then looked down at the palace ground seeing the lastest troops training. "But the last thing we need now is a war,"

(Six's base)

Six whined holding his head while tossing in his bed.

It felt like his entire body was on fire as if he had been injected with enough Dark datura to kill an entire pack of Deathclaws and his head... don't get him started there.

He could hear his brain cursing to itself thinking of returning to its body and it should have stayed in the jar back in the big empty with Mobius the 'mad' brain.

ED-E whined in worry for his friend, he had never seen Six in this much pain before...

And that was saying a lot.

Buzzing at the Auto-Doc MK. III that the courier built out just in case he either broke something or got addicted to Wine and Vodka again. This wasn't the same hyper advance Auto-Doc back at the sink so it was a little slower and was having difficulty finding a diagnosis of the sick courier's condition.

Sweating like a Big horner the courier laid there only dressed in his trunks and pip-boy, the medicinal device grabbed his head before shoving a cotton swab down his nose to test to see if he was infected with some disease.

But the implants wouldn't allow him to ever get sick or to be infected with any disease or virus...

ED-E flinched shaking in fear.

Shooting over to the Auto-Doc, a small pair of tiny hands moved from the underbelly of the Eye-bot to the medical device before typing to look for a certain pathogen. ED-E gave a beep that was best described as a robotic 'sigh' seeing the results for FEV were negative, yet...

That didn't help in figure what was causing this.

ED-E couldn't do anything...

He could only watch as his friend struggled in the bed.

Giving a sad beep ED-E dropped down onto the side of the bed watching the courier struggle in his sleep...

"/Don't worry ED-E... I'll never leave you bud/" ED-E replayed the courier's own voice to himself while the courier slept.

(The courier's dream)

*BANG! BANG!*

Two white-leg tribals fell down dead while the tribe's chief held his head scared while trembling like a child at the feet of the burned man and the courier.

"We warned you at Syracuse, and you persisted," Joshua spoke with a hint of anger in his usually calm voice. "You took advantage of us at New Canaan to drive us out, and like the dogs of Caesar you are, you followed us to zion,"

Holding his .45 pistol Joshua was ready to put to take his vengeance.

"And now you stand on holy ground, a temple to God's glory on Earth. But the only use for an animal in our temple is sacrifice," Salt-upon-wounds stared in horror behind the salvaged motorcycle visor of his headpiece. "Kale watcha nei conserva oh! You understand me, Don't you? Don't You!"

Joshua's voice was no longer calm but filled with pure malice towards this frightened man before him, Salt-upon-wounds rushed to the courier's feet grabbing his foot.

"Outman! Kuna-man mad! He kill all white legs! You talk! You stop!"

Courier only looked down while wearing his desert ranger armor, this man that he had heard do so many horrible things to innocent people was now begging him to stop Joshua from killing him. This man who killed... no slaughtering an entire village without a hint of mercy, not only butchering the dead but salting the very soil to prevent anyone from growing anything there ever again.

"Mercy? Why should we allow him mercy! Let Joshua have his pound of flesh!"

"This has gone on long enough! There has been enough killing! If Joshua is upset that he has every right to be but if he keeps this up he might as well be Malpais Legate again!"

"Yet this savage has killed Men, women, and children! And for a what?! A cause that is going to die out in a couple of years? Caeser is dead! Yet he still continues on trying to whip out the people of New Canaan,"

"But if we allow this to happen the cycle of violence will continue! We don't need to kill everyone! Yes, some people deserve death. Salt-upon-wounds might be one of them! But completely whipping out an entire culture? We are not Caeser!"

"We are better than this..."

"Don't listen to this... thing! His cries are those of a mad beast caught in a thicket! He gave no mercy to my family, and I will give none to his," Joshua argued ready to end the coward's life that trembled in fear.

"Joshua, You've already won. Look around you! There's no need to kill him," Six word's caused the burned man to lower his sidearm before realizing the words that his champion said were true.

While the two spoke the whole event had a guest to watch, from the cover of one of the cliff sides a midnight-dressed figure watched while the masked warrior and the wrapped warrior let the terrified tribal human run away. Unlike the one is known as 'Joshua' the dream walker could hear the inner thoughts of the dreamer... for the masked warrior had an internal conflict deciding what to do with the killer.

From the battle were the two fights fighting through the waves of tribal humans to the point where they now, defeating these 'white-legs' but instead of whipping them all out. The masked warrior tempered his comrade's rage so as to not commit genocide, unlike what this 'Salt-Upon-Wounds' was planning to do to the wrapped warrior's own tribe.

From the way they fought to the way they acted after the battle... these two would make fine Midknights...

Luna had to see more of this dreamer...

This masked warrior interested her, but something was wrong, it was during the day yet why was this dreamer asleep?

She could sense pain...

His mental pain was overbearing... but controlled but his physical? If she didn't know better it almost felt like he was being torn apart from the inside out.

Author's Note

Sorry for the wait...

My computer took forever to charge and plus my Xbox was stupid...

And I really got downed at one of my stories still collecting dust before it even got a chance to shine.

Still... At least here it is!

Another chapter in the courier's path.

Well, he was mostly asleep, but remembering about his battle-brother (not 40k) Joshua.

Plus if you played Honest hearts you know you at least you fell off a cliff once or twice, don't lie we all did by accident.

So.

Hope you like and hopefully, I get out the next part, peace.