A/N: I am absolutely hooked on the popular web series, 'Red vs Blue'. I would have to say it's the best thing in the world since homemade pancakes. I've seen fanfics for it before, and I must say that the majority of them are rather uninteresting (either that, or yet another dreaded slash fic). So, obviously, I took matters into my own hands and started my own. The basic gist of it is that it's the extensive background of one of the only RvB characters with any sort of notable past: Tex. I suppose that's it, so feel free to leave comments, and enjoy!

Also I would like to point out, this is not a comedy, and this is not in the Halo universe. I like to think that RvB is based within its own universe.

(Side Note: Yes, I'm re-posting this chapter. After leaving it for a while and just now coming back, the chapters I had already written seemed a bit wanting. Hopefully you'll all like the changes I made as much as I do.)

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Disclaimer: I do not own 'Red vs Blue' or anything having to do with it, but I friggin' wish I did.

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Chapter 1: Problem Child

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The sun was nearly five minutes from setting on the scene of the 'Open Arms' - Maximum Security Orphanage. The pavement was slowly growing colder and darker as all of the scattered orphans outside were called in.

"No stragglers!" a woman of sixty screamed from the doorway, "We won't want to have a repeat of last night, now do we?"

One of the children didn't budge an inch - a small girl with dirty blonde hair done up in a ponytail, no older than seven, sitting in one of the corners of the brick wall which surrounded the facility.

"Alice!" the woman screamed. The girl didn't respond. She screamed louder, "ALICE!"

The girl still sat there lost in thought, staring up at the sun setting as it slowly turned the Texas sky a mellow orange. Once all of the other children were inside, the woman marched over to the girl and stood over her. Her hair, done up in a bun, was grey and fried from the sun, and the skin on her face dragged down into folds, like a dog's face would. Her body was a skinny marvel, grossly disproportionate to her head.

"Alice! Who the sam-hill do you think you are? For the last time, when I talk, you listen!"

"...not Alice." the girl muttered.

"What's that?"

The girl's eyes were focused on her now. "My name isn't Alice. It's Allison."

The old woman aimed her jagged, boney finger at the door, which the last of the other children just passed through. "I couldn't care less what your name is! Now get inside!"

"Yes, Mrs. Crouchet..." Allison picked herself up and limped inside, the woman following close behind. "

Don't go thinking you'll be able to try again what you tried last night." Crouchet said, "No child leaves the Open Arms until it's been adopted."

The previous night came back to the girl's thoughts. She had attempted to escape the facility while everyone else was asleep. It would have worked, too - if she hadn't gotten her leg caught in the barbed wire when she tried to scale the wall.

She stared down at her leg - wrapped in an old rag, turned brown by the blood that was spilled on it. 'It's not like anyone is going to take me anyway' she thought to herself.

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Mrs. Crouchet, the Open Arms' "President", as she would call herself, was a flat-out uncaring old woman. All that was important to her was that she was in charge, and that each and every child was following her every order. The children both feared her and despised her, living under her crumbling iron fist. The other heads of the facility had heard of her ways, but never bothered to stop her, or even talk to her about it. Perhaps they needed the money. Or perhaps they feared her just as much as the orphans did. The children could swear that late at night, they could hear her cackling laughter coming from her office.

When Allison entered the facility, Mrs. Crouchet pulled her away to her office by her hair, to give her yet another lecture on proper conduct whilst she's under her "care". Basically, this entailed her repeating, for the umpteenth time, her "3 Main Rules" from the flimsy piece of cardboard hanging from the wall:

The 3 Main Rules:

1. Do not do things that can lessen your chances of being adopted.

2. Do not make trouble for Mrs. Crouchet.

3. Do not try to escape.

It was this piece of cardboard that the old lady would point to whenever she wanted to give an orphan "a good talking to", as she would sometimes call it. Even when every child was behaving perfectly, she just seemed to pick one out at random and take them into her office, she would preach about her rules, how "rules are sacred", and various other garbage like that.

"Do I make myself clear, Alice?" Mrs. Crouchet said, staring down at Allison, who was now sitting in the corner, grasping her injured leg.

Allison stared back at her with emotionless eyes. "Yes."

"Yes what?"

"Yes ma'am."

"Good. Now get out of my office."

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That night, Allison didn't get all that much to eat. The facility's food supplies had been running low this week, and weren't going to be restocked for another couple of days. All she was given was stale piece of bread and a slice of cheese. The pain in her stomach was minimal compared to the pain in her leg, so she tried her best to ignore it.

The Open Arms Orphanage itself wasn't always the horrible place it was. Placed in just about the middle of nowhere, the poor choice of location was the founder of Open Arms' first mistake. Putting Crouchet before he died was his second. Normally, the government would send food and supplies to places such as the orphanage, as that was the custom at the time. Due to the recent war between the Red and Blue armies though, all supplies that would go to the Open Arms was now sent to aid the Blue forces in their fight. Luckily for the orphans, there were fund-raising support groups who took pity upon them and sent food to them on a regular basis. Recently though, supplies had started to become scarce, and had to be rationed amongst the children. They were all still too young to understand exactly what was going on, but Allison knew.

It was nearing lights-out, and all of the children were crowded around an old television that Mrs. Crouchet had found. Allison had managed to squeeze herself into a spot between a few kids and caught view of the screen. It was a news report, talking about the war between the Red and Blue armies. "The Blue Army has suffered a new loss today." the female reporter stated, "Over half of Planet Sidewinder has been taken by the Red Army now, with their most recent victory over the Blues." All of the children began to boo and scream at this news. Texas was currently Blue territory at the time, and any news of the war was taken rather seriously.

Allison ignored the screams of her fellow orphans, lost in thought again. She was thinking about her mother now. She didn't know much about her, except the reason she left her where she was. The day she was brought to Open Arms, her mother left a note for her to read once she was able to:

Dear Allison,

I am sure that by the time you read this, you understand where you are and why you are there. I just want you to know that I'm sorry. You see, I was enlisted in the Blue Army when I had you. Let's just say your birth was not exactly planned. Please believe me, if it were up to me I would have left the army to raise you myself. There was nothing I wanted to do more than that, but I suppose I couldn't bring myself to so quickly betray what I believed in. I won't ask you to forgive me, but know this: Even though we have never truly met, I can tell that you are going to grow up to be very special, and I love you very much. Don't ever let anyone tell you what you can't do. I'll never forget you.

Love,

Samantha Beth

'Love' - That word kept repeating in her head. If she really loved her, how could she leave her there? It didn't make any sense to her.

The war footage on the television intrigued her. All of those people working together for the same cause, battleships flying through the air, soldiers in protective armor running everywhere; it was like nothing else she had ever seen. Not to mention her mother joined up with the army as well. She couldn't help but think about it since she first read that letter. Was there really something so deep to being in the army that had the power to make a mother abandon her own daughter?

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Her dreams that night were not entirely surprising. She had finally climbed the outer walls and escaped the orphanage. Originally, she didn't even really know what she would do once she got away. Now she knew. Her mind was fixated now. She would join the army, and perhaps even find some answers about her mother.

Another night, she would dream she was on a wide battlefield in the raining darkness. There would be flashes of bombs everywhere and bullets taking out stray soldiers, both red and blue - it was a massacre. She was wearing the blue forces' armor as well. When she looked to see who was firing the weapons, she saw old Mrs. Crouchet. "No stragglers!" she screamed. Soldiers were falling left and right, and when she tried to help them she fell to the ground as well. She tried to pick herself up but couldn't - her injured leg was gone, possibly amputated.

"Here!" A female voice called out from behind her. When she turned herself around, she saw a woman clad in blue armor reaching out to her. Allison could just barely make out a face from beneath the woman's visor. She grabbed her hand and was pulled back up to her feet. "You're injured!" the woman screamed out of her helmet, trying to beat the noise of the explosions, "I'm going to get you out of here! Let's go!" Allison complied and grabbed onto the soldier's hand.

They had only gone so far, when a nearby explosion threw Allison off balance and she fell to the ground again.

The soldier was about to help her up when a voice called out to her. "Samantha! We need your help over here!" Allison couldn't believe her eyes. Was this really her mother in front of her? She wanted to say something, but nothing came from her mouth. The soldier looked back and forth between the soldiers in need and Allison. "Wait here!" she shouted, "I'll come back for you!"

Once she ran off, Allison finally managed to yell out, "Wait!" Another nearby explosion made the ground shake, and then suddenly break apart. The last explosion had caused a landslide. Allison fell for what felt like forever, and finally hit the ground with a powerful thud. She was face down in a pool of rainwater and blood. When she managed to push herself up and wipe the mud from her visor, she saw her reflection - her armor was damaged badly. A crack ran up her visor, and some translucent red water had seeped in. Dirt was pushing her down, and more was piling on. She tried her best to pull herself out, but the weight of the upturned earth and was too great for her. Her face was soon pushed down into the bloody water, and her helmet started to fill. The water quickly covered her mouth and nose, and she could not breathe. Whatever happened now, she could not be helped.

Just as soon as her dream self lost consciousness, Allison woke up, breathing deeply as though she was actually drowning in reality. Once she caught her breath, she looked at the clock above the door - only three in the morning. She was afraid to go back to sleep, in fear of having that dream again. She thought back to that soldier, the woman who had tried to save her. She had never actually met her mother, so she could never truly know if it was her, but she couldn't help but think if that voice had actually belonged to her.

Allison's nightmares came and went, but her dreams did not stray from the army. She was endlessly intrigued by the entire concept of it, and despite her nightmares, she still wondered about joining it herself.

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After another year in that orphanage, Allison had grown moodier, more resentful of those around her. Her constant thinking about joining the army had turned her into somewhat of a tomboy, getting into fights with other orphans and stealing extra rations from them whenever food was low. She never really cared about the others anyway. She saw them as just a bunch of jabbering fools. Granted, they were only children, but she had to look out for herself.

Allison's actions had eventually earned her the nickname "Ruffian". It didn't take long for the name to stick, either. Once adopting parents caught word of her nickname, they would immediately lose all interest in her and adopt another child. Parents would sometimes even hear of her before they even set foot in the orphanage, and make their decision about her right away. It seemed like orphans came and went from that place nearly every day, but Allison's new name and reputation stuck to her like superglue.

One Saturday in July, another adoption day had come. Allison had gotten used to these. No parents were ever interested in taking her with them, but she didn't know why. Eventually, she just didn't care. She would have to be let go once she got old enough, so what difference did it make? She would just sit in the corner on a rickety old chair, while she let all of the other kids be adopted. This Saturday was different though. A young couple in their early thirties spotted her in the corner and asked Mrs. Crouchet about her.

"Excuse me?" the wife said, trying to get her attention.

"Hmm?" The old lady was startled and turned to her. "What can I do for ya?"

"What about that little girl over there?" She pointed to Allison.

"Oh, you don't want that one." she said, grinning, "She's a bit of a problem child."

Allison snapped at this remark. "You're no prize yourself, old lady!"

The old woman glared at Allison when she said that. "Why you little-" "Wait." She was cut off by the young wife. She stared sympathetically at Allison and then whispered to her husband.

The wife seemed nice enough. She had light brown hair down to her shoulders and a few scattered freckles on her cheeks. Her green eyes seemed a bit overly sympathetic towards her, but it didn't bother her too much. The husband seemed a little uneasy. He didn't look like he was from around here - more like a city person. He had slightly darker hair than his wife's, and his eyes were a shallow brown. Not the most content looking man she has ever seen, but he seemed alright to her.

"What do you think...?"

The husband looked hesitant. "I don't know. Are you sure? She seems a little... odd."

"This child is clearly troubled. If she stayed here any longer, who knows how much worse she could get?"

Allison had the urge to say 'You know, I can hear you.' but this may have been the only chance she may get to leave this place, so she kept quiet. She had started to get anxious now. Was this woman honestly considering adopting her - the scruffy girl in the corner?

After some convincing, the husband gave in. "Well, if you're sure about this, then I'm all for it."

The woman looked at Allison again and said, "Little girl, how would you like to come home with us?"

Allison was stunned. Someone actually wanted her. It was a feeling like she hadn't ever felt before. She searched for the words, but it seemed they were in shock as well. "What? Uh, well... Sssure...!" She could actually feel a smile form on her face for the first time in a while.

"What's your name, hun?"

"A-allison. Allison Beth…"

The wife smiled. "Well, Allison Beth, looks like you just got yourself a home."

Allison couldn't contain herself. She just ran over and hugged this woman who she barely knew just for being told she was leaving this deathtrap.

The wife laughed and hugged her back at this gesture. "Well now!" she said, "Your mood certainly has changed, hasn't it?"

Mrs. Crouchet brought the two into her office to sign some paperwork, and Allison was left in the main room by herself. She took one last look around the horrid place before she would never have to see it again. It felt almost too good to be true, but it was true! She was finally being adopted, and she would never have to step foot in this place again.

Soon, the couple and Crouchet walked back out and Allison was greeted again. "It's official!" the wife declared, "You are officially with us now!"

Allison was astonished by the sheer speed which this was all happening. She looked up at this woman who was smiling down at her, confused on just what to say next. "So…" she managed to let out, "… I just go with you now?"

The woman just kept on smiling. "That's right." After the minute it took for Allison's mind to comprehend what she was saying, the three started for the exit.

Just as they got out the door, Allison stopped. "Wait!" she said, I forgot something. Wait here" and ran back inside. She dashed past Mrs. Crouchet and into the bedroom. She walked up to her bed, the one she had slept in all these years, and reached under the mattress to pull out her mother's letter to her.

When she walked back out to the main room, Mrs. Crouchet stopped her. "Alice" she said with a smile, "I want you to know how happy for you I am that you've finally been taken in by a caring family." The uncaring, forced quality of her smile was so unbelievably false, that Allison couldn't help but return the same smug smile.

"Y'know, Mrs. Crouchet," Allison said, "there's been something I've wanted to tell you for a long time now."

"And what's that, dear?"

Allison then delivered a swift kick to the old woman's shin, leaving her holding her leg and swearing when she casually walked out and closed the door behind her.

On their way out, Allison couldn't feel happier. Finally, she could say goodbye to this part of her life. Just as they were about to pass through the entrance arches of the facility, which read "Open Arms", she stopped. "Wait..."

"What is it?" the wife said, "Forget something else?"

She looked at the two regretfully. "I don't even know your names."

She laughed. "Oh, how rude of us! My name is Jenna, and this is Marcus."

Allison smiled, her cheeks glowing from her embarrassment. "It's... very nice to meet you both."

Jenna smiled back at her. "Likewise"

Marcus looked at Allison wearily. He didn't seem all too thrilled to have her along. At least living with Jenna would be nice. She hoped it would, anyway.

The other orphans still in the facility called out to her as she walked away. "Goodbye, Ruffian!" They all cheered and laughed as she got further away.

Jenna arched an eyebrow and looked down at her newly adopted daughter. "Ruffian? What's that all about?"

Allison only shrugged. "I dunno."

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