Fallout: Wild Horses (Started, Open)

[TheDoctor455]

Cheyton Slums

Ulysses steadily climbed up the pipe to reach the roof of one of the sturdier-looking shanties. Once he got up there, he got a pair of binoculars out and surveyed the fruits of his labor. The eyebot on the hunt. The little Rabbit sister running around trying to fix everything around her. The older Rabbit sister chasing after the younger and ignoring the flying Rabbit entirely. If the old Legion scout was satisfied with his handiwork he gave no indication of it.

Then he saw Vera's little pyrotechnic display as it overpowered the feral howls of the Keeper-pets. They fled, as did every Knucklehead that had been in the area. And a bunch of other random thugs. And... another lone assassin. Not The Undertaker that Ulysses had met, but... similar. Who is this? Another group that the Knuckledraggers hired? Hmmph. No matter.

Then Ulysses saw the little eyebot plummet to the ground. Hmm...odd... didn't think a machine capable of that... no matter. It will survive.

Ulysses was about to turn away when he saw a small burst of flame pop out of the shanty that Vera had landed in. And finally, for the first time in decades, an emotion flickered across Ulysses' face. But was it fear... or worry?

Cheyton. A shanty near the Rabbit Hole

That small burst of fire that poured out of Vera and the shanty was the inevitable result of Vera's broken power core sending a random arc towards the fuel tank that held the rum-and-nuka. There wasn't enough left to destroy what was left of Vera's battered frame at this point, but there was enough to send a jet of flame out of every available hole in her body. Setting everything flammable within range ablaze.

Ow. Well, guess that settles it. Looters are sure to come find me now.

 

[Ruedyn]

Markus simply shook his head slowly, burying his face in his palm. He didn't feel like pointing out the cellibate thing quite yet. Then he'd have to tell them he was Legion. And everyone always had some sort of problem with the Legion... Although she also wasn't his type. Though she seemed to be Vicky's type, considering the way they kept looking at eachother. He didn't exactly feel like pointing this out, she was the sort who pulled knives on wedgie victims.

He didn't feel like going out and hunting his fellow man quite yet. Bloodloss made it difficult as was to move, let alone shoot or fight. For now, he'd sit around and think. He waved the crew off as they left, with a smile, and when they were all gone he put on his pants. Very good to know they didn't mind that he was pretty much naked waste down. He emptied out the rest of his backpack on a table, he'd recount for now, until he was needed. It's not like he could aim right now anyways, except maybe with his pistol. He sighed, and began counting with a slightly warm nuka-cola bottle next to him. It was going to be a long night...

He had fallen into a dreamless sleep quickly enough. At least he couldn't remember anything except his old name. Legate Virgil, what a lofty title. He chuckled a bit before freezing, loud noises outside. He unholstered his pistol and stumbled outside, seeing an eyebot off in the distance fall down to earth. It reminded him of the story of Icarus, for some reason. Had Vera the eyebot died? He found himself not caring, but the older sister was already angry and pissed for what seemed like little reason. This would end poorly for everyone.

Markus grimaced, and began moving towards where it had fallen.

 

[TheDoctor455]

The Divide

The fight over, ED-E glanced over at Ulysses, trying and failing to understand that guy. Not five minutes ago, the former Legion scout had been ready to kill both of them, Courier and duraframe eyebot alike. And now... he'd just helped them take out the Marked Men he'd lured here.

What is the deal with this guy?

The Courier snapped her shocked hand away from a console, cursing. ED-E approached, and chirped to ask what the problem was.

"I need to hack this console to stop the nukes, but... I can't do it. The interface is all wrong." The Courier said, punching the console in frustration.

ED-E chirped and whirred a few times, offering to help. Somehow, The Courier understood him, and her frustration turned to frantic worry.

"No! ED-E! You can't do it either!" she raised her voice, as if starting to panic. Then she coughed, and then ED-E saw it. She was hiding a sob. She was trying to keep herself from crying, she knew what he was thinking of doing, and knew what it would cost him.

He played the Ralphie theme again. And again, she understood that somehow.

"I'll... I'll miss you ED-E." Against all logic, The Courier hugged the eyebot, bringing his faceplate to her chest, and kissed the top of his head. He didn't know how to tell her about the back-up he was already running to his 'copy' in Prim.

He hacked the console, and fell to the ground. In his last moments in this frame, he thought he could see both Couriers standing over him. The Courier of the East looked... impressed, despite himself. The Courier of the West though... she looked like she'd just lost a very dear friend... and was still trying to fight back tears... with limited success.

ED-E was profoundly touched by the sight. The Living Goddess of New Vegas... who had stared down death in a myriad of forms and laughed... was trying not to cry, over a little eyebot like him.

Ex-Military Compound outside of The Boneyard

McNamara told me that Father Elijah wanted to see me. What he didn't tell me is that when I got to the Elder's office... that Christine would be waiting for me in there... and looking closely at her face, she seemed to be fighting off angry tears.

"Now child," Father Elijah said, gesturing first to Christine then to me as he continued to speak, "Tell her what you've told me, as we've discussed."

"Ver-Ver... umm... Initiate Santangelo," Christine said as she turned to face me, her eyes were suddenly completely dry, "Its time we ended this... foolishness between us. Its... its just a phase. I'm about ready to grow out of it, and you should too."

"W-what?" was all I could say. The rest of the scene seemed to unfold without any input from me. Christine was reassigned to another cell within the Brotherhood... and I stayed with Father Elijah, all I had left now that my folks had been sent on long-term missions away from home.

 

[RobDaBank]

I-25 Mass Grave

Kaiden stood after receiving the all clear. The dust had all settled and the only thing that remained was the smell of smoking barrels, seared flesh and disturbed earth. He looked around, making sure everything was safe, trying to control his breathing and lower his heart rate as the last of the drugs ran their way through his system he looked at his shaking hands. No drugs were pleasant, they all had side effects and caused addiction, he preferred to stay pure... or as pure as an FEV mutated human could be.

"So, we meet again." The doctor said as he approached, visibly still wary of any further attackers as he kept his hand at his laser pistol. "I thought you said your settlement was east of here."

Kaiden decided it best to swallow his pride and admit he had made a mistake. "As you may have noticed," He began, "I am not from this place, and may have gotten lost. I was goi..." *Gargle gargle, cough cough*

A strange noise came from one of the bodies on the floor. Kaiden looked at the doctor, before turning his head and body toward the noise and investigating. A man lay on his back, clutching the side of his neck, a pool of blood slowly grew underneath him. He had obviously been shot through the neck, and was choking on his own blood. He looked at Kaiden with fear in his eyes, fear of death? Fear of the mutant? More than likely the former. He changed his gaze to look at the doctor, tears beginning to stream down his face as his expression changed to one of desperation. He reached out his hand.

Kaiden looked to the doctor. "How humbling an experience to face ones own mortality. This man sought to destroy you, to use your possessions to his own end, he fought without honor, should I end his suffering?" He asked as he raised his boot and rested it on the side of the mans head, waiting for the doctors decision.

 

[ImSkeletor]

Dr Booker Mcgrath was a tall lanky man with a pair of coke bottle glasses that he had since he was 15 years old. Without these he was legally blind. He had quite the love for writing, robotics, and writing about robotics. While he gave the impression of a man who was calm and collected his mood fluctuated wildly from moment to moment. This was not one of his best. The good doctor had a long claw mark down the back of his once relatively in shape lab coat. This was splattered with a mix of Brahmin, human, and deathclaw blood and had several burns in it. He was limping awkwardly due to a bullet wound in his knee. There was a long series of cuts and bruises up his body. It had been one hell of a trip getting here. He had a newly develope plasma shotgun in hand and was muttering incoherent swears as he hobbled forward. Plasma Shotgun...Possibly the single slowest weapon in existance, but one of the most powerful. He probably will only get one shot, but it will count for a lot. Suddenly he saw a deathclaw fighting two people in the distance. This was a freakish creature. A rather muted grey and it was rather larger than the average deathclaw. Booker was pumped full of enough anger and frustration to last a life time. He aimed his plasma forward and moved as quickly as he could towards it. "All this for one freaking RoboBrain." By the time got close the deathclaw had knocked the two down. He saw that the deathclaw hadn't noticed him yet. He aimed his weapon at the creature from about ten feet away and pulled the trigger.

 

[Souplex]

A place. At a time.
The Deathclaw had avoided Joe's kneecapping, and would be upon him in seconds. No time to reload, but time to plan.
[Survival 90/85]Since the knees weren't an option, what was? The Deathclaw would probably expect the limbs. There were a few parts of a Deathclaw that was just as soft and squishy as a humans, and most of them were much bigger targets than on humans.
The Deathclaw had leaped into the air to lunge at Joe. Perfect.
[Unarmed 50]Joe wasn't the best unarmed combatant around. He was far from a power-armored martial-artist can of whoopass...
[Ranger Takedown]...But he was good enough. Rangers were extensively trained in how to down someone in melee range to give themselves enough breathing room to reload.
Joe fell to his back as the claw came at him, hooked his feet into it's gut, and kept it moving. It didn't matter how heavy it was, the claw's lunge would provide all the necessary force. Joe just had to redirect it.
A cluster of plasma flew over where the Deathclaw would have been if Joe hadn't moved it.
Since the plasma was aimed at the Deathclaw, this was either a friend until the claws were dealt with at which point he'd be a raider, a friend for realzies, or a terrible shot.
No time to ponder that now.
[Agility]Joe leaped up, and reloaded.

 

[FalloutJack]

Malkos, McGrath, Martin, and Joe... THEY'RE COPS!

McGrath had a bit of a problem. He'd only focused on one Deathclaw, the one in motion. He'd kinda' missed the fact that Malkos had a friend in the ring, so to speak, which was one of the reasons the two guys had been having such a problem. After he shot at the gray Deathclaw and missed - as per the Joe maneuver - the regular Deathclaw had been slightly winged by the cluster and Joe jumped up right into its face, since Martin had taken a tumble away from it The creature was...unsure of who to go after for a second, but it was probably going to go for Joe. The only thing about that was...he was REALLY up in its grill right now, in the right-in-front-of-it spot that is difficult to claw-swipe, although there is a mouth.

During this time, Malkos was propelled down the hill. Serious vaulting had occurred. Joe had mananged to send the gray Deathclaw into a roll that pretty much went "Ow. Ow. Ow. Ow. Ow. Ow." as he rolled down there in a somersaulting fashion. He eventually landed in a bush, on top of something fox-like that tries to ambush things. He heard it screeching under his body, trying to get out because he was driving it out of its little mind. Malkos got up, picking up the critter by the scruff of its neck and looked at it. He could eat it, or...hmmm... Five sseconds later, a screeching White Tail was hurled through the air at a trajectory that would land it on Mcgrath's head..

"Ragh! I missed!"

You know darned well who he was aimming for.

 

[EmperorZuma]

I-25 Lootapoolza

Jacob looked at the dying man, and his injuries, with a rather blank expression. Then, with a shake of his head, he waved Kaiden away, taking the man's wrist himself. Reaching into his coat, the doctor pulled out a syringe filled with a purple liquid. "I'd prefer something less...messy." Pushing the needle into the man's arms, Jacob only injected a small portion of the fluid into the man.

However, what little he put in appeared to be enough, as the raider seized his last breath, then lay still. "A cocktail of the most lethal poisons in the Wasteland, coupled with strong painkillers to mute their toll on the body." Jacob spoke absentmindedly, knowing that most people ask what was in the syringe. "I use it only for euthanasia, gives me an excuse not to change the needle."

With a weak chuckle, Jacob looked back at the Super Mutant. "Indulge a curiosity for me? How long have your people been in Wyoming? What drove them up here?"

 

[Anti-American Eagle]

The wastes of Wyoming

Time was slowing for Martin or atleast the drugs made him perceive it that way. The pain from the tumble evaporated and the only sensation he got from the claw wound was a slight burning sensation. He looked at the alpha, it seemed to have just tossed a whitetail at something, it must have botched its leap.

Martin aimed his rifle, emptied his lungs, and unloaded the rest of his clip on the deathclaw. Taking the briefest of moments with the first shot to try and hit its eye, and having the other two shots aimed at its center of mass.

He dropped the rifle after that, then grabbed his machete in one hand and his revolver in the other. He wasn't going to let a claw take him like this.

 

[Souplex]

Wyoming
Joe was staring down a Deathclaw.
The stupid kind.
Or rather, the relatively stupid kind.
He was too close to it for it to get in a good swing, but he was also too close to get in a good shot.
[Ranger Takedown]Of course, nobody's that close to a Ranger for long. A quick leg-sweep followed by a palm strike sent the Deathclaw tumbling in the direction of the albino, but not before it nicked Joe's left shoulder with one of its horns. [As your secondary arm's condition goes down, Shoot to Wound has a chance of failure equal to your lost limb condition.](Limb condition 75% If I attempt to use [Shoot to wound] I will flip two coins, and if they both come up tails the perk fails)
An unfamiliar creature was thrown by the albino.
[Animal Friend 1]Even had it not missed, it would not attack Joe.
[Guns 85][Gunslinger][Cowboy][Shoot to Wound]While the albino was in the open from the throw, Joe lined up a shot on its left eye. Joe cocked the hammer.
[Survival 90/80]A Deathclaw's eyes were just a soft as a human's eyes, but a lot bigger. While may Deathclaws adapt to blindness over time, they weren't an immediate threat when blind.
*Bang*

 

[Soviet Heavy]

Cheyton Outskirts, Eastern Side

The radio buzzed and crackled. A small dust storm was interfering with the broadcast. Shinty gave the box a good kick, and the channel suddenly came through crystal clear. The wiry old man with an enormous white beard settled back down in his rocking chair, listening to the news. Popping another bottle of Nuka Cola and straightening the old beach umbrella offering shade, Shinty strapped on his sand goggles, and let the news play out.

"In other news, there has been no word in recent days on the whereabouts of Vincent Hastings, assumed wanted by the Great Khans. Hastings was last seen last Friday, when he brought in the bounty on Khan member, John Ackerman. We can only hope that the Red Eyed Reaper has moved on, guy gave me the creeps. (wait, I'm not allowed to say that out loud on air? Fuck you Bert, it's my radio station, I can say whatever the fuck I want!... Oh yeah, you walk away, see if I care!)

... Moving on. Violent crime in Cheyton's residential areas and slums has taken a sharp rise in recent days. Witnesses claim that several gangs have begun open warfare in the town streets on the west end. Citizens are advised to avoid contact with any members of the gangs known as the Knuckleheads and the Twisted Hares (or Feral Rabbits, or whatever they call themselves).

...There has still been no contact with Fort Laramie following disturbing signs of smoke rising from the Great Khan capital. Reports are still incoming from eyewitnesses. Well, that's all for now, ladies, I'm Flint Darrel, leaving you with another commercial free classic rock block, starting now!"

Shinty took a huge swig of Nuka, gasping a contented sigh. It looked like the dust storm was settling. Fresh (well, cold fusion) cola, good music (even if Darrel only had one holodisk of Rolling Stones music), and the best view in the wasteland (across a barren, featureless desert). This was the life, or at least, the only one that Shinty had found acceptable to his likings.

The shifting sands sank back to the ground. But a line of black specks stayed floating around Shinty's eye level. Squinting through his goggles, he realized that the specks were actually... nightmares? No, not those death horses, they were too big. Oh, wait, no, those were just the riders. But the only people Shinty knew who rode nightmares were the Great Khans. And they only came through Cheyton once a month anyways. And only a few at a time. Not several hundred, stretched across the horizon.

They didn't look like the Khans he remembered. Dirty, yeah, that was the same, but so was everybody in Wyoming. Dust and dirt were the only things in abundance that weren't trying to kill people. The Khans passing by looked different somehow. They were drawn, ragged, and exhausted. Nothing at all like the proud, confident bullies that he'd met. Several of the horses were laden with wounded people, others with the dead. A young Khan with a red bandana stopped beside Shinty's sunbathing spot.

The boy was finished, bent double over his horse. He pulled a handful of caps out of his vest pocket and tossed them at Shinty. "Can you answer a couple questions?"

"Sure," said Shinty in a squeaky voice. "But you might not like the answer. I don't like to talk about my nether regions to strangers." The old man pointed a scolding finger at Ollie.

"That's.... that's not what I was going to ask you. Like, at all."

"Oh, well, my apologies, then. What did you want to know?"

Ollie leaned over his saddle, glancing from side to side. "Have you seen any groups of people moving around out there? At night?"

Shinty shook his shriveled head. "Nope, not much to see out there. Just the way I like it."

"Well, if you do see any, let one of my buddies here know, okay? There are bad people out there."

Shinty started sniggering. "If there's bad people out there, what do you think you'll find in here?" he said, sticking his thumb at the fenced gate to Cheyton's interior. "It's a bloody warzone inside, sonny."

Ollie kicked at Allegre's sides, catching up with the rest of his friend. "It'll be a lot worse soon enough."

 

[RobDaBank]

I-25 Vulture's paradise

Kaiden watched as the man's eyes closed as he went into a peaceful and eternal slumber. It was a good way to die after his suffering, which prompted Kaiden to think that maybe he was being a little savage. Looking like a brute in front of all these people would do nothing to improve peoples image of his people, especially in an area they were new to.

. "Indulge a curiosity for me? How long have your people been in Wyoming? What drove them up here?" Asked the doctor.

"My people and I have been here for just 4 months, though this is the first time I have wandered these wastes since I moved here, so... So it was likely I would get lost" Kaiden answered, slightly embarrassed. He let out a loud laugh straight after, "Haha! But luckily I bumped into you again friend!" He patted Jacobs back hard. "Not many people are so willing to help a Super Mutant, most would kill us on first sight..." He sighed, his tone a little more serious again, "That is why we moved here, we peaceful Mutants came to establish a relationship with the locals based on trade and good will, to finally live without fear."

Kaiden walked back to his cloak, pulling it over his shoulders, leaving the hood down this time. He walked back to Jacob, placing a hand on his shoulder. "I am in your debt for helping me so much friend, and I intend to return the favor, but first I must get back to my people. Tell me where you are headed and I will find you and I will pay you back"

 

[Soviet Heavy]

Cheyton Streets
The street goers promptly receded to let the massive column of Khans pass by. Three hundred weary riders pushed their way through the winding roads, shoving aside anyone stupid enough not to move. The Khans were friends with Cheyton and the other members of the Local Federation, but they were the power in Wyoming, and nothing would get between them and what they wanted. A dozen of the biggest, toughest members of the group threw the doors of the Followers Clinic wide open, forcefully vacating the premises. The protesting Followers were subsequently thrown out on their asses, while the Khans liberated several gurneys, wheeling their wounded comrades through the building.

Harland grabbed one of the doctors and pinned her to the wall. "Where the fuck do you keep the chems? Tell me, or I swear to god, you'll be the one needing a dose of Med-X!"

The nurse, June, was unimpressed with Harland's threats. "The Med-X is in the storage cabinet at the back of the Auto Doc room. But if you want that machine to run without killing the person you shove inside it, you'll need our help."

"Then fucking do it! I don't care what it takes, get that fucking thing running."

June held up a wrinkly finger. "Not so fast, buddy. If you want my help, you and your thugs have to bring all the people you just launched out the front doors back in. I am not going to offer aid to someone who has no regard for others."

Harland was huffing angrily, growing redder by the second. "Fine," he spat. "Fine, we do things your way. Where can we put our boys? I don't think we have enough room." Harland let June down, pocketing the knife he had discreetly been drawing.

June gently pushed him aside, and immediately changed into her business face. "All right, when you're done moving my patients back in, get as many of your friends to line up the wounded. We need to make a triage center. I'll ask Mander if we can use his garage for some more space. Do any of you have medical experience?"

Harland was rather confused, still angry, but at least rational enough to work with the Ghoul. "Yeah, uh, I mean, yeah, yeah we do. Jack and Melissa were running the chem lab back at Laramie. They had a sorta school thing going on. A few of us know how to treat injuries. I don't think we have any surgeons though. We just use chems.

"Leave the surgery to our doctors," said June, grabbing a clipboard and jotting down notes. "Just work with me, and I can save your people."

"All of them?" asked Harland, a hint of desperation gnawing at his voice."

June simply stared at the Great Khan. "I make no promises, son. I'm a doctor, not a liar."

 

[Generic NPC 22]

The Twisted Hares' Turf: War Zone

"Goodbye, Mer-Mer..."

The sounds were a gunshot in the Youngest Little Rabbit's ears as Vera's words, possibly last words, fell upon them and caused the Plasma Bunny to jump out of her hiding spot and start the short sprint towards the Brawling Ball Bunny's crash site.

"OhGodOhGodohGod, what've I done. VERA!!!!" Mercy called out as she raced into the building, heedless of any danger that might have been signalled by the explosions or gun fire, or howling, heedless of the Keeper that had spotted her and was now fast on her heels as she raced towards her stricken sister.

"VERA!!!! VERA!!!!!!" She called out as she rounded a corner and came to skidding stop as she saw exactly what it was that she saw.

The electrolitic fluid that pooled up under Vera's "body" was reddish in the dimly lit room and resembled blood, despite the little eyeBot's robotic nature. The sparks that coursed all over the Beleaguered Bunny's exo-frame made her spasm as if she was siezing but none of that was caught by Mercy's panicked mind. Instead, she was focused on one singular objective: Saving Vera.

"Vera. I'm sorry. I'm - so - sorry." The Youngest Bunny said as she knelt next to her sister to examine the damage that had been sustained.

"Your aux power core's been breached, V. Your Main power core's almost completely drained. I need to get your hooked up to some power." The Builder Bunny said as she looked around the room in desperation to see if there was anything that could be used to repair the Baller Bunny and saw absolutely nothing. She could have routed power from the wall outlets to Vera but that would keep Mercy from moving her back to the Rabbit Hole.

Checking herself, she could only find one thing, her Plasma Pistol.

CRACK!!!

That was the sound of the grip of Mercy's plasma pistol being ripped away from the frame as the Repair Rabbit exposed the electrical leads that lead to her plasma pistol's primary and secondary ignition switches.

"Alright V. Don't worry. I'm gonna save you. I'm gonna help you, sis. Don't worry." The Youngest Bunny said as she attached the plasma pistol Vera's chassis using the flame thrower's mount point.

"I'm gonna hook up your Auxiliary Power first, that way when I hook up your main power, I won't lose you." The Engineer Rabbit said as she pulled out the electrical leads from the aux power core and hooked it up to the secondary ignition switches. Checking the the power subsystems, she saw the aux power reading go green as Vera's body accepted the "transplant."

Pulling out the main power leads was a bit more complex since they were so heavily embedded in Vera's chassis.

"Almost done, Ver-Bear." Mercy muttered as she hooked up the positive electrical lead to the primary ignition switch and positioned the negative lead to be hooked up.

"Okay, V. Good as -"

The girl's words were cut off as a hand silently clamped down on the her mouth and dragged her off, leaving Vera on Aux Power and one lead short of main power.

[hr]

The sound of barking woke Mercy up as she found herself inside a cage.

"[small]oh no[/small]" The Trapped Rabbit whispered as she found herself in the tender care of the Keepers.

 

[EmperorZuma]

I-25, Where Dead Men Lay

"That's hard to tell..." Jacob rubbed the back of his head as he thought about where he would actually be over the course of the next few days. "I guess New Wheatland would be the safest bet, but I'm with the caravan, and it moves around a lot." With a shrug, the doctor pointed down the highway. "Yeah, okay, if you want to repay me, then meet me in New Wheatland. If we miss each other, then I'll just write off the debt."


Follower's Clinic/Jacob's Hospital (YOU DECIDE!)

June glanced over the injuries of the wounded that kept passing her as they moved those on the brink of death into the Auto-Doc operating rooms near the back of the clinic. "Quite the battle..." The nurse muttered to herself as those riddled with bullets, mauled by dogs, and sliced open wheeled by.

Then, she remembered the letter that Jacob had sent her, detailing the destruction of Fair Wanderings by the Last Legion. Turning to speak to the still-distressed Harland, June calmly asked for confirmation. "Was it the Legion?"

 

[Rip Van Rabbit]

A Rabbit's disgust

Between the blood loss, the effort of recollecting her weapons and enduring her pain. Tessa had plenty of time to be left alone with her thoughts, horrified with her actions, reflecting upon the way she had treated those around her. Specifically with how her paranoia, over-reliance on instinct before thought and selfishness had alienated and hurt those she had began to care for and some even love.

[hr]

Tessa was no doctor but she could feel that the stimpacks were surely winning in the battle of blood loss, they did nothing, however, when it came to the fact that her body was aching. She had truly spent the capacity of her energy fighting...no...murdering...in order to save her conflicted life.

Enter the Angel of Death, Victoria, to aid her weakened body along the rooftop.

"Ow ow, oh that really hurts...Thank you Vicky. Your timing couldn't...ahh...be more perfect." The Broken Bunny winced as her body pulsed with pain and discomfort after each major step.

The sounds of more of those murderous children could be heard, howls split her ears and thrashing could be heard nearby. Tessa was in no condition to fight, however, Vicky showed the opposite while unfolding a rather large and elegant rifle.

Gently placed down, Tessa half-observed the Undertaker's actions. More attention was paid to Vicky's face and movement, something was different, the way she carried herself seemed to reflect her own feelings: regret and sorrow. But why?

"I'm sorry Shifty."

Moving to gain a better view and to make sense of the Undertaker's words, it was very easy to conclude: The raging brahmin. Tessa had realized that this was the same brahmin that accompanied Victoria upon their first meeting and having its presence outside the house.

It wasn't long before the brahmin was no more. Vicky, however, could be heard losing a part of herself through the muffled weeping. Tessa had lost her pet Molerat, although that was an accident. Vicky had sacrificed something she loved in order to survive.

Laying her hand on Victoria's shoulder, Tessa squeezed lightly, reassuring her that she was not alone. "I'm really sorry."

"Let's go. It looks like your sister and her eyeBot sister are in trouble."

Although it wasn't mentioned, Tessa had noticed what could only be Vera's fiery handiwork before the loud crash was heard during her fight.

Standing on her own volition, Tessa gently took the hand of Vicky with the intent of helping her up. Stopping to nod towards the fourteen scattered bodies of children on the rooftop, she hadn't let go and delicately turned the motion into a full hug.

"What the hell have I become? This isn't me!"

Tessa was many things: a prideful thief, con-woman, opportunist and a show-off with a blade, to mention a few. However, a murderer...of children?! She only ever fought in self-defence or for the protection of a loved one.

"...kids."

With tears of her own, Tessa felt purely disgusted with her actions. She enjoyed a fight, but not killing. There's a reason she avoided it all costs.

"I'm so sorry, Vicky. For how I treated you. For how I've acted. For everything...for so muc-!" Choking on her last word and clutching the Undertaker tightly, she eventually let go before looking away in shame of herself.

[hr]

The emotionally wounded pair made their way back to the ground and moved towards the estimated location of Vera's crash.

Tessa was thankful that Vicky occasionally aided her movement when the pain from her knee grew too great. Tessa made a mental note to make Vicky breakfast in bed again.

"I need to get to my sisters. Both of them. This is all my fault."

Hoping that Vera and Mercy was safe by this point, the pair rounded the corner and discovered a ruined structure marked with electrical sparks.

"VERA!?" Inside, Tessa caught a glimpse of a green glow and sparks of electricity, despite the pain, she rushed inside to her spherical sister. "I'm here! Your sister is here!" Tears were once more streaking down Tessa's face as she inevitably blamed herself once more.

 

[Ruedyn]

Markus made it to the crash site of the pet robot, but not first. He stayed in the shadows, with his pistol drawn as Mercy came in. She panicked, -of course, emotional investment and all that- and began working. Markus was impressed she managed to break her pistol, but stayed silent. Perhaps too silent, as he noticed the keeper come in and take her.

Markus was about to take the shot... but thought better of it. This was an enemy, and if they were kidnapping her... He could find their base, destroy it, and take out a particularly nasty thorn in their side. He was about to take off, but the others soon arrived. The Undertaker, his savior, took out her pistol, and offered a mercy killing. MArkus couldn't stay for the result, he was off to track the lug that had taken her.

The guy was good, somewhat. He covered his tracks, or at least tried to, this made the ground he had treaded more distinct as there was simply a path of nothingness. This might've actually been easier to track... Regardless, he came to their encampments a moment or two after them, though he had to take care of security...

It took a moment, but he had made his way to them quietly. No gun, yet, so he had to do this the old fashioned way. His ice ax lodged its way into the first ones neck, and as he gurgled in surprise, Markus moved to the second one. He moved his arm under his chin, and choked the man against the wall. He, to, gurgled. Markus sighed, and snapped the bastards neck. He turned to look, the base was fortified but he hadn't been caught yet. He looked at the guards, they had armor... and dynamite. Markus grinned. The destruction would be quick.

Markus armored up, a new pauldron and chestguard, much like his old Legion stuff. Also a pair of kneepads and some unlit dynamite in his pockets. He began moving to key points in the camp, making an exit strategy as he went. He only had to kill a few more, but not pairs or groups. He placed the dynamite as he went, and lit it. Luckily he moved fast enough that by the time the explosion wrecked something, he was already onto his next target.

Finally, he made it to where they kept their true weapon. The kids. Several cages littered the area, and Markus looked into each one.

"No her... No her... No her... Ah, there you are!" Markus smiled as he unlocked the cage, "You weren't here for too long, right?" Markus drew his pistol as he waited for her to get out. This was the penultimate place that had yet to explode, so it was only natural guards would flood the area soon...

 

[Soviet Heavy]

Follower's Clinic/Jacob's Hospital (YOU DECIDE!)

June glanced over the injuries of the wounded that kept passing her as they moved those on the brink of death into the Auto-Doc operating rooms near the back of the clinic. "Quite the battle..." The nurse muttered to herself as those riddled with bullets, mauled by dogs, and sliced open wheeled by.

Then, she remembered the letter that Jacob had sent her, detailing the destruction of Fair Wanderings by the Last Legion. Turning to speak to the still-distressed Harland, June calmly asked for confirmation. "Was it the Legion?"

"Looked like it," said Harland. "By the time my group got to Laramie, whoever did this was long gone. There were definitely Legion among them, crucified khans, lottery executions. But I don't think they were alone. Way too many tracks for just the Legion. Have you seen anything strange in town, miss... sorry, I missed your name. Miss?"

[hr]

Ollie sat in the clinic's back room, watching the whirring Auto-Doc in next room over work its magic. But some things just couldn't be fixed. Regis lay dying on a bed, surrounded by mourning Khans. When they had found what was left of Laramie, Papa Regis had been nailed to the side of the main building, forced to stare down at the butchery that had befallen the Great Khans. Hundreds had been killed in the huge fight, but losing Papa stung the hardest.

Jack and Melissa knelt beside his bed, grasping Regis's trembling hands. The Auto-Doc's surgeon protocol had mended the wounds, but the Khan's internal bleeding had been too great. He had minutes to live. Gripping Melissa's hand even tighter, Regis spoke, his voice still firm in the face of his mortal wounds. "Mel, I know you and Jack are happy together. Right now, you two represent the most senior Khans in the tribe. They need their Mama, and they need a Papa. I can't do anything more for them now. I leave it up to you. Make me proud."

Melissa spoke through tears, washing away the dirt from her face. "Don't you worry, Regis. We'll do the best we can."

Regis smiled faintly. "Just what I wanted to hear." Papa Khan stared towards the gathered tribals, before closing his eyes, and letting his grip slide from the new leaders' hands. Papa Khan Regis was dead.

Jack, unusually quiet, and unusually lucid, grimaced, fighting to hold back tears. His face was puffy and red, and the old junkie stood up and left the room. Ollie and the other Khans waited in silence, paying their respects to the fallen Papa, and to all the others caught in the massacre.

 

[TheDoctor455]

Burned-out Shanty

Vera had been about to completely pass out when Mercy cannibalized her treasured plasma pistol. Had Vera been able to power her voice module, she would have begged with the Brilliant Bunny not to save her.

No... Mer-Mer! I'm not worth it! Don't! No... its your pistol... you... love that thing. I can't...

Too late though, her auxiliary power was on and keeping her awake now. And then some asshole Keeper grabbed Mercy and dragged her off. Only then did Vera find her voice.

"You son of a *****! Let her go!" the little eyebot yelled, her fury giving extra volume to her voice, "STOP! Leave her alone! Take me! You can sell me for scrap damn it!"

The Keeper didn't even acknowledge Vera as he dragged Mercy off. Vera tried to turn on her hover jets again, but... nothing happened. Either there wasn't enough power yet... or they were too heavily damaged to be any use right now.

Then Tessa showed up. To the little eyebot's surprise, the Thievius Rabbitus was... apologizing? Vera had thought the girl was too proud for that.

VERA?! the Wascully Wabbit said, tears streaking down her face, I'm here! You're sister is here!"

Without hesitation, Vera shouted the following warning:

"Go save Mercy! One of those assholes with the kids took her! Save HER! GO! DAMNIT GO!"

Vera would be glaring at Tessa and crying right now if she could. She didn't even bother acknowledging the Undertaker's offer. At this point, Vera was too pissed off at Tessa and too worried about Mercy to care.

Halfway between the Slums and the Markets of Cheyton

Ulysses threw his binoculars down in disgust when he saw the Keeper kidnap the youngest of the Rabbit sisters. His fists were clenched so tightly that some of his less well-maintained fingernails were threatening to break the skin on his palms and draw blood. He ran along the rooftops, easily jumping every gap as he followed the Keeper that had grabbed Mercy to its lair.

There, the Courier of the East, took up a great position on a small guard tower (knocking the on-duty rent-a-cop out with a swift punch to the jaw), and readied his sniper rifle.

He aimed at the Keeper's head, and fired. He heard the howls of their pets as they tried to charge his position. Ulysses reached into a pocket, and shot off a flare-gun to signal both the Knuckleheads and the fledgling Twisted Hares.

This town seems determined to make a Jezebel of my history. Even Kai-Tzar never quite managed to be this... insufferable.

Instead of sniping at the kids, he set the rifle down next to the guard, and hurriedly clambered down to the ground and drew Old Glory. In a sequence of smooth, deft motions, he met the howling children's charge and knocked them out one by one with the blackjack-esque end of his staff.

Thus clearing the path for Markus. When Markus appeared, Ulysses slid back into the shadows. Markus ran right past the broken bodies of the children and Ulysses' hiding spot. Once he was sure that Mercy would be safe, Ulysses stepped out of the shadows and drew a flare gun. He pointed it straight up in the air before discarding it.

"You seem... familiar," the Bearer of the Old World Flag said, taking a few careful steps towards Markus and Mercy, "Did we share the same path once? I wonder..."

 

[EmperorZuma]

Jacob's Hospital

"June, Nurse June, Head of Staff here." She was tempted to smile, a bit happier to see a more accepting tone in Harland's voice, but she suppressed it. Getting friendly now would probably just make the rest of the Khan's stay harder. Even at a casual glance, not many of them were going to survive.

Speaking of, another nurse came scurrying down the hallway, her shoes clacking hard against the tiled floor. However, even though her subdued panic was obvious, the lady was smart enough to keep her grim news quiet. Leaning in to whisper, June held her breath, who was their first casualty? "Ma'am, Op-4 has just finished up, but the Auto-Doc couldn't save the patient. Papa Regis, the Khan's leader, is dead."

June sighed at the news, it certainly wasn't going to go over well if delivered poorly, and she'd rather not have her clinic sacked. Taking a brief moment to think, June decided it was best to just bring the two together. "Could you please come with me?" June turned away from the nurse and spoke to Harland. "There's something you should see."