CUBE
Ben strolled along his shelves. His supplies were in decent shape considering he had just started his adventure in the Mojave. He had an entire shelf of water and another of food. His clothing options were limited but he didn't think anyone would really notice. He had a lot of ammo to keep going until he could scavenge some along the way. What he needed was a better weapon. The lever-action was great for the aesthetics, but it lacked the rate of fire he wanted.
The most common calibers were 556, 9mm, and 10mm. Shotguns were usually in either 12 or 20 gauge. It wouldn't be a bad idea to gather some 357 for the local revolvers. It turned out that 45 caliber wasn't as wide-spread as expected. He would need to rely on his supply rather than finding more out in the wasteland.
A sharp snap echoed through the Cube.
Goodsprings, Mojave Wasteland, USA – 2281Sunny Smiles House - Bedroom
Ben woke up spooning Sunny. He wasn't sure what woke him. Nothing happened for a few minutes. He kept an ear out as he settled back into cuddling Sunny. She hadn't even flinched in her sleep. If she wasn't worried, then he wasn't either. Sunny had more experience with these sort of things. He smiled a little as she wiggled back against him. It was probably a gunshot. They were pretty common considering the Powder Gangers were roaming around the area.
A gunshot. His eyes widened. It looked like the plot had started. Or someone took a shot at a coyote. He would find out in the morning. A quick look outside told him it wasn't dawn yet. It wouldn't be worth it to go back to sleep.
Now he needed to figure out what he was going to do. Letting the Courier go through everything from Goodsprings to the Lucky 38 would be easy and he could just et things play out. Leaving things to chance didn't feel right. He didn't want the Courier to fall to some random thug, or worse the Legion. Worst case scenario is that they align with the Legion. He couldn't chance that happening.
Ben placed a kiss on the top of Sunny's head before he slipped out of bed. He left his rifle propped against the dressed sticking with his revolver and pistol. From what he could remember there were three people that he would need to handle.
He walked out into the street leading to Trudy's Saloon. It had been a while since he had played New Vegas. If he had put some more thought into this he would have played through it again before stepping into this dimension. Well, that would have dragged him into potentially a hundred or so hours of gaming. From what he could recall, Benny and a couple of Khans would stop over at the saloon to try to bum a few free drinks to celebrate.
Ben froze mid-step as he turned the corner heading to the saloon. The trio were strutting down the other way, inadvertently creating a face-off straight out of history. It wasn't so much seeing the three of them that made him pause. A young Matthew Perry in an ugly checkered suit made his brain misfire for a moment. He hadn't expected the man to look like his voice actor. It did make him wonder who else he would recognize. He would need to be prepared for that for future encounters.
A jolt of energy passed between the trio and Ben. It wasn't high noon, in fact, it was barely sunrise. If he was going to do this, he was going to do this right. He tapped the edge of his hat with one hand while pulling back the side of his poncho to expose his holstered revolver. Maybe it would be a good idea to swap his poncho to a jacket.
"Hey, hey, hey," Benny said stepping out in front of the two Khans. "Calm down there cowboy. You don't need to roll the dice on this."
Ben shook his head, "Six bullets, three targets. I'd say you're outnumbered."
"What's with all this hostility?" Benny asked. "We don't know each other from Elvis."
Ben tilted his head to the side ever so slightly. His hand snapped to his holster, pulled his revolver, and snapped off three shots. Benny was partially successful in dodging. A bullet caught him in the shoulder, spinning him in the air and clearing the line-of-sight to the two Khans. They were already raising their weapons. The one saving grace being that the guns looked like they had been taped together then tossed down a rocky hill.
He stepped to the side to mess with their aim. The street was clear of anything to use as cover. Though he wouldn't trust a vehicle with the propensity to explode. The motion ruffled his coat enough for him to draw his 10mm holstered in the small of his back. His left hand wasn't as accurate, but it wasn't necessarily meant to be. He sent a couple of rounds toward the Khans. They kicked up pieces of sun-bleached asphalt in the general direction of the Khans. It was enough to give them something to worry about.
The last three rounds from his revolver punched one Khan off their feet. They didn't get back up. He had to slow his attack with left hand to make sure he could actually hit something. His flow was interrupted by a punch of impact in his stomach.
Benny had rolled onto his good size to get a shot of his own.
Adrenaline kept him going. He gritted his teeth as he put two rounds into the downed gambler ending Benny's run at the table. The remaining Khan saw the odds shifting against him and played it smart. He turned to run.
The Khans were a go-to fodder for the Legion. He didn't need them gunning for him either. Ben took aim with his 10mm and fired. The Khan dropped. He holstered his pistol then quickly reloaded his revolver. Just because there were only three in the game didn't mean there couldn't be more in reality.
It didn't feel good to shoot a fleeing man in the back. He had a feeling that there wouldn't be the last time he would have to do something less-than honorable.
He walked over to Benny. The Platinum Chip was in his jacket pocket. He continued to pat down the gambler. A few caps, some 9mm ammunition, and a couple of keys for the Tops Casino rooms one of which would lead to Yes Man. Most importantly, there was a Stimpak. There wasn't as much blood as he had expected, but he wasn't going to let the bullet stay lodged in his gut. He looked at the 'totally not magic' Epi-pen on steroids. The needle portion of the thing suddenly looked a lot bigger than it had before. He took a breath and jabbed it into his chest.
Whatever was in the thing felt like gasoline in his veins. He shuddered as he felt the bullet reverse its course and pop out of the now-closed wound. Ben looked down at his shirt, there was a patch of blood staining his lower stomach and part of his pants. At least he looked like a proper Wastelander now.
Ben looked over at the two Khans. He would need to move the bodies out of town to avoid attracting pests.
"What was that about?" Trudy asked.
He jolted at the sound of her voice. Tunnel vision had blinded him to the world around him. That was not a good habit to start.
"They were trouble," Ben shrugged. "Trust me."
Trudy shook her head, "I don't doubt that, but we prefer to keep the gunfire after sunrise."
"I'm going to need to take a trip to Vegas," Ben said tucking the Platinum Chip in his Pocket of Cubing.
All of his pockets were linked to his inventory in the Cube. If someone managed to reach in they would find a normal pocket. From what he could remember it wasn't as simple as taking the chip to House. He would need to infiltrate the Legion camp to activate the army of robots. Ben would deliver the Chip as long as House agreed to make some concessions. He couldn't remember where it was located, but he knew it needed to be done. Tearing through the slaving bastards was on his To-Do list. House should know. He had no interest in running New Vegas.
"What do you want me to do with them?" Ben asked.
Trudy sighed, "We'll strip them then burn the bodies. Goodsprings looks after itself, we don't have a sheriff or anything like that. I recognize a Khan when I see one. No one in town is going to be too upset about them dying. Do you want to sell the stuff we find on them?"
"Probably," Ben said. "I'll need supplies for the trip."
Trudy nodded, "Are you going to let Sunny know?"
"Of course," Ben raised his eyebrows at that. "Why wouldn't I?"
Trudy shook her head, "Manners are rare these days."
Ben carefully patted down the Khans which netted him a few more caps and some more ammo. The most common caliber was 9mm. He was getting the feeling that he had made some incorrect assumptions when he prepared for this trip. Revolvers used .357 not .45 which was a bit annoying. The caliber sounded cool, but it kicked like a bitch and made it rough for extended use.
The sound of approaching footsteps stalled their conversation. He turned to see a half-dressed Sunny with her rifle ready. She was dressed in a long shirt and a pair of boots.
"What's going on?" Sunny asked as she scanned the area.
Ben chuckled, "A disagreement."
"A disagreement?" Sunny repeated.
Ben nodded, "They said they were alive. I disagreed and was obviously correct."
"You are an idiot," Sunny chuckled. "Did they have anything worth looting?"
"Ammo mostly," He replied. "You can look them over if you'd like."
Sunny raised her eyebrows, "You wouldn't mind?"
"Go for it," Ben motioned to them. "I grabbed the caps and ammo. Anything else is free game."
Sunny rested her rifle on her shoulder as she moved closer. She rolled Benny over with her boot.
"His suit is ruined," She sighed.
Ben shook his head, "Why would you want it?"
"It's a nice suit," Sunny shrugged.
Ben chuckled, "I'm going to need to take a trip to Vegas."
"I guess this is goodbye," Sunny shrugged.
Ben swapped to a casual tone, "I was going to ask if you wanted to join me."
"You want me to come with you?" Sunny paused mid-loot.
He nodded, "If you want. Thought it was obvious that I liked you. It's not like I sleep with any lady along the road."
"Really?" Sunny turned away to hide her the heat in her cheeks. "That's nice."
Ben smiled, "Did you want to come?"
"I would, but I shouldn't," Sunny sighed. "Goodsprings needs someone here to keep the critters and ghouls under control. Those geckos multiply faster than you'd think."
Victor arrived carrying a woman with rich, golden-brown skin. She was probably decent looking when she had her entire head. A patch of her skull was exposed to the air. Somehow she was still breathing.
"Damn, Victor," Trudy gasped. "What do you have there?"
Ben spoke before the robot could, "That's the courier they tried to kill. The gunshot woke me."
"Right you are, partner," Victor said. "Do you know this little lady?"
Ben shook his head.
"Well," Victor groaned. "I've got to get this little lady over to Doc's place."
The trio watched as the robot carried the Courier to Doc Mitchel's place. Ben smiled at Sunny once Victor was down the road.
"I would like to see you again," Ben said softly. "It's going to take me a bit with the main road out of commission."
Sunny nodded, "When are you leaving?"
"The sooner the better," Ben replied.
"Do you have time for breakfast?" Sunny asked.
He nodded.
Ben followed her back to her place.
Sunny was a decent cook. She made some Bighorner sausage, cowboy coffee, and some roasted pinion seeds. He made a mental note to grab a few things the next time he was in the Cube. That meant getting some uninterrupted sleep. A short nap to refresh his energy and let the worst of the heat pass sounded like a good idea. Sunny was nice enough to allow him to use her bed. She charged the fair price of doing the dishes.
He smiled as she settled into bed to cuddle.
CUBE
The thing to remember about traveling in the desert was that the nights were colder than most people expected. It meant he needed a versatile coat if he was going to change from the poncho. He had no idea how long his body in Goodsprings would be asleep and needed to move fast. The replacement coat was the easiest part of this trip. He went with a tan canvas duster jacket for the natural camouflage. Ben also grabbed a leather version for the traveling at night.
The Walking Dead dimension was a treasure trove of weaponry with all of the overrun military locations. It turned out that the zombie didn't bother him now that he was a god. They would react to the sound he made, but they treated him like he was just another piece of scenery rather than a person.
Ben loved the idea of walking around the Mojave Wasteland with a revolver on his hip, but aesthetic wasn't worth his life there. He snagged a classic Beretta 9mm as a replacement. His rifle wasn't as versatile as he had hoped. It was another piece of Wild West that wouldn't work in practice. The fact that it used a common caliber was a nice touch, but he needed something with more than seven shots. A rifle that had a magazine was his best bet. The real issue was finding something that wouldn't look out of place in the setting. He settled on an Assault Carbine as it was basically the Service Rifle the NCR troopers used. His personal rifle was in better condition since it hadn't been spent in the Wasteland.
It didn't take nearly as long as he had expected. The weapons and ammo were set on the shelves that connected to the Pack of Cubing. He didn't have a timer or some large clock counting down to track how long he had left.
Traveling by foot was one thing that didn't appeal to him. He could teleport in his mortal form and there didn't seem to be any sort of vehicles in common use. It wasn't like he could call a Verti-Bird for a ride. He also didn't know how to get a live animal like a horse to that dimension. It wouldn't be able to get out of his pack. A bike was his best bet though the image of him riding down the street on a bicycle was laughable. Electric bikes would be an option if there was a consistent source of power.
It looked like he would be walking for a while.
A flash of inspiration hit him. He could transfer a motorcycle piece by piece through his Pack of Cubing and assemble it in Goodsprings. An instruction manual would be a good idea too. That could work. He grabbed a stack of cash as he went down the list of places where he could purchase a motorcycle that could be dismantled and reassembled with his limited knowledge.
Goodsprings, Mojave Wasteland, USA – 2281Sunny Smiles House – Bedroom
"Damn," Ben huffed as he woke.
He couldn't be mad at anyone aside from himself for the sudden exit. There wasn't a loud noise or something to wake him. He simply hit his natural limit. A little longer and he could have figured out how to get the motorcycle from his Cube to the Mojave. It would have to be a dirtbike or a similar style for off-road use. The remaining roads were in no condition to be considered actual roads. Merchants and such still used them, but they had been worn down to walking paths.
Sunny chuckled, "That's a good way to start the day."
"Did we sleep the entire day?" Ben asked.
Sunny kissed him on his cheek, "No. We just slept to a normal time to get up."
"It wasn't that early," Ben huffed.
She smiled as she got out of bed. Sunny got dressed in a similar outfit to her standard. Ben hadn't stripped completely for the catnap. He knocked the heels of his boots together before he put them on then got a shirt that didn't have blood on it. Ben folded his poncho and put it away to cover the arrival of the duster jacket.
"Nice coat," Sunny commented as he stepped out of the bedroom.
He winked at her, "Thank you."
"So, this is it?" Sunny stepped closer to him as she spoke.
Ben scoffed, "No. I told you I'll be back as soon as I can."
"As long as you don't get killed," Sunny sighed. "Or snatched by slavers."
Ben pulled her into a hug. He stepped away and opened his bag. She watched as he took his revolver out of his pack.
"I love this revolver," Ben said. "It's a 45 Colt Peacemaker. If nothing else, I will come back for this gun." He held it out to her. "Take care of it until I get back."
Sunny let out a little sound somewhere between a gasp and a squeak. She hugged the revolver to her chest. A small voice in the back of his mind told him it was a good thing he had unloaded before putting it away.
"We just met," Sunny muttered. "Why is this so hard?"
Ben kissed her forehead, "I'm just that amazing."
"Fuck off," Sunny pushed him away with a little laugh.
Ben laughed, "I'll see you later."
He took a moment to check his gear before he set off. Honestly, he was a little surprised that getting shot had done anything. The Lizard folk from the demi-plane were tough. Part of him had thought the bullets would flatten against his skin or bounce off, but it made sense when he thought about it. A Deathclaw could be shot and killed, of course he could. Speaking of Deathclaws, did he want to try to make a run through the quarry? It would be a fifty-fifty shot if he survived. Well, maybe more like eighty-twenty in favor of becoming Deathclaw chow.
The better idea was to take the long way around. Primm needed help, Nipton had been razed by the Legion, and there were a dozen other little side-quests that were waiting. Those two were the plot points that interested him, he would leave the rest unless he stumbled onto them. The Courier needed something to do.
He shook his head as he turned toward Primm.. It was annoying to have to go South to eventually go North to New Vegas. The only reason to start heading South would be to handle the situation at Primm and deal with the Legion in Nipton. It would also put him at the opposite side of the map from where he wanted to end up. Using the backroad out of Goodsprings to circumvent the quarry would lead him through a couple of Cazador nests and a few Great Khan camps. The giant hornets freaked him out more than the genetically engineered murder lizards.
Ben rolled his shoulders as he started toward Primm.