Fallout: Wild Horses (Started, Open)

[Generic NPC 22]

The Rabbit Hole: Mercy

The Youngest of the Rabbit sisters sat still as her Sissy V's hologram brought a ghostly and glowing hand up to her cheek and touched it, not figuratively, not metaphorically but very much quite literally, causing the Burnt Bunny to wince a bit as the increased power of the Holographic Hare's holographic projection unit cause a barely noticeable puff of smoke to rise from area where the hand touched her cheek.

"Thank you Mer-Mer," the little eyebot said, syncing the hologram's lips with her words, "You... have no idea how much that means to me... to hear you say that."

V's words were quickly followed by a fond nuzzling that Mercy had come to enjoy very very very much.

There was still the matter of the pain that the Holo Hare's projection had caused the Burnt Bunny, a pain that took the form of a minor 1st degree burn that was starting to become noticable in a small mirror that Mercy kept near by to see who was behind her when she was working at her workbench.

"Vera. Your hologram, it burnt me. That's - that should have been impossible." The Amazed Rabbit whispered to her Amazing Rabbit Sister. From Vera's perspective, she could see cogs spinning inside of the Tiniest Little Bunny's mind, like some sort of gGant Super Mutant Rube Goldberg Machine, whoever this Rube Goldberg was.

"That means that if we can somehow tune or adjust your holographic projector and the power settings, maybe, just maybe we can make it so that your holograms can interact with physical objects. It'd me far better than your multitool and if we keep going, maybe we can make it so that you can feel everything that you hologram's interacting with!" The Boisterous Bunny said in a voice that got louder and louder and more and more excited.

"V. This could be the most important breakthrough of the century and it's all because of you, you genius you!" She exclaimed giving the Bunny Ball of Fun a wet slobbery kiss on the face plate, her mind excited to start experimenting. There was one teeny tiny problem. Her mind never quite worked right on an empty stomach. Time to fuel up.

As a child, well more so than she was now, Mercy loved to experiment in the kitchen and often subjected her parents and friends to her creations. She soon discovered she had quite the knack at cooking, well sort of a knack.

Grabbing a cutting board, a knife and some fresh vegitables and meat, the Boiling Bunny was soon hard at work creating what should have been a nutrious soysauce stir fry that consisted of brahmin steak, cut into thin strips, and stir fried vegetables. Should have.

----------30 minutes later----------​

Looking at the greyish sludge in front of her, the Recipe Rabbit decided that the dish was done and that it looked ediblish, even though it smelled like warm boiled socks mixed with Rad Away and Blamco.

Spooning a pile of the grey goo into a bowl, the Hungry Hare took a small, experimental bite - and gagged. If the smell was any indication of the taste, the reality was quite a bit worse.

Spoiler: NEW PERK!!!

Mercy's Nutricious Sludge: No matter what the ingredients and no matter their quality, Mercy's cooking will always produce a foul smelling, fouler tasting BUT quite nutricious sludge.

The Rabbit Hole: Vicky

"V. This could be the most important breakthrough of the century and it's all because of you, you genius you!" The Youngest of the Rabbit sisters said in an excited fashion that caused the Tall and Pale Undertaker to smile as she sat there observing the Rabbit Family in their natural habitat. As she swished the pale green Absinthe in the glass the rested in the palm of her hand, Victoria's body informed her that it was time to get up and stretch her limbs. She had been seated for too long and her aching muscles, sore from the wounds that she had sustained, needed to be exercised.

"If you'll all excuse me." The darkly dressed woman murmured as she stood up and headed for the door and eventually the nearby ruins some burnt out buildings, grabbing her holoplayer as she left.

Standing in the shade of the blackened walls, the Undertaker place the earbuds in her ears and started stretching as she heard a symphony orchestra tuning their instruments and as the music started the Undertaker was transformed into a ballet dancer.

 

[TheDoctor455]

The Happiest Place on this Blasted Earth: The Rabbit Hole.

Vera immediately started playing the child screaming 'Sorry' when she realized that she had burned her wonderful little sister. A few moments later, the little eyebot was completely floored (almost literally), when Mercy's face became animated as she described possible improvements that could be made to her hologram projector.

"Feel it?" Vera repeated, stunned, "How could that be possible?"

Vera was still feeling a bit guilty about causing even very minor harm to her little sister, so she resolved to make up for it later... somehow.

"V. This could be the most important breakthrough of the century and its all because of you, you genius you!" The Ego-Boosting Bunny said before giving Vera a big wet kiss right on... where her nose would be if she were human.

Vera couldn't think of what to do except float there, staring at her amazing sister as she prepared a meal for herself. The little eyebot couldn't help but watch, somewhat jealous, even of the pile of gray sludge... as Mercy started eating. Love ya 'dad', but sometimes, you really were an asshole. Like when you programmed me with memories of what eating is like! Gah![/b]

"Umm... excuse me, Mer-Mer," the iBunny said slowly and politely edging herself out of the room, "But I uh... need to go do something real quick."[/b]

-----

Elsewhere in the Rabbit Hole.

Vera floated into the blackened room to find Vicky... dancing. With unbelievable grace and finesse. Vera watched as Vicky practically did a rehearsal of Swan Lake right in front of her. If she had hands, the little eyebot would be applauding... as it was...

"Wow, Vicky." she blurted out, "I can see why she likes you."

Before Vicky could respond to that, Vera starting whirring and sparking as she tried to resist another hacking attempt. It was in vain though. And soon enough, an all too familiar gruff monotone broke through.

"So," the voice said through Vera, "You have chosen your path, Undertaker-Assassin. Didn't expect you to reveal yourself to them so quickly, but... its certainly worked in... our favor, hasn't it? The prize I promised you is still on the table if you want it. All you need do is heed my warning: the Legion has returned. It comes to bring stolen fire to the Khans and their holdings. Cheyton won't be left out of the coming war for long. It won't last long either. Be ready."

Finally free of his influence.

"Fucking asshole!" she screamed, "You know... I still remember the first couple of times he did that to me... well... ED-E. Its... I don't know if there's a good human analog to what its like. Its... like all of your resistance to it is irrelevant. No matter how hard you try to fight back against it... some asshat that knows how to hook a radio into a computer can just..."

She let the sentence hang there as she started to go into a series of angry, somewhat hysterical sobs. Then the little eyebot coughed.

"Sorry," she said, "I didn't mean to intrude. I... understand if you don't want me around right now. I'll... just go..."

 

[Generic NPC 22]

Cheyton Hares' Quarter:

The Tall and Lithe Undertaker could barely believe her accursed luck as the voice of the twice accursed Ulysses (Once cursed for getting the drop on her and twice cursed for mussing up her favorite dress) was piped through the artificial Rabbit sister's voice box or what passed for a voice box on an eyebot. It had passed Vicky's mind that Ulysses was able to keep track of her movements and actions somehow and yet, it had never occurred to the Professional that he could be using his designated target as his eyes and ears in the Rabbit Household.

The thrice accursed Ulysses was getting almost as annoying as the - well better off leaving ITS name unsaid. It had been years since she had heard ITS voice and it was definitely best not to draw ITS interest once again.

The friendly neighborhood Undertaker could only stand there and watch coolly as the EyeBunny, as Vicky could imagine Tessa or Mercy designating their sister, went through a rather interesting spectrum of emotions before starting to wander off.

"Vera. Wait a moment would you?" The Undertaker of Wyoming asked as gently as she could. Despite the obvious difference between the two individuals standing in the middle of the burnt out building, there was one common thread that the two shared.

"You're right. Ulysses is an asshole and someone that I would like very much to rid the world of." She continued as she sat down on a bench shaped piece of rubble, the sunlight that sneaked through the cracked walls causing the woman's skin to glisten as it danced off beads of sweat.

"I might now know much about your history or who you are but the fact that we share a common dislike for that - asshole - is good enough for me. But, there is one thing that I can already tell that we're going to argue about one day -" The Undertaker said with a rather serious expression on her face, one that meant business, one that had placed a lot of thought into her next sentence.

"- We're going to argue about who gets to send Ulysses to the after life." Vicky said as her expression transitioned into that of a smile.

"Now that business has been discussed, you sounded as if you wanted to discuss something, something that I can assume involves Tessa?"

 

[TheDoctor455]

The Dark Room.

"I..." the eyebot sort of choked at first, "I don't know what to say. I, really don't know if I even really want him dead exactly... I just wish he'd leave me alone."

"Now that that business has been discussed, you sounded as if you wanted to discuss something, something that I can assume involves Tessa?" the Morbid Honorary-Bunny said, cutting right to the chase.

"Um..." Vera struggled to regain her composure, "I just kind of... noticed how close the two of you were getting, and um... well, she's my sister so... I just wanted to warn you..."

She coughed.

[Terrifying Presence] "You hurt her, and you answer to me," the little eyebot said, sounding oddly like Tessa in both phrasing and voice, "Understand?"

 

[Generic NPC 22]

The Black Room:

[Terrifying Presence] "You hurt her, and you answer to me," the little eyebot said, sounding oddly like Tessa in both phrasing and voice, "Understand?"

Sitting on the piece of rubble that was conveniently shaped like a bench and looking at the EyeBot and absorbing the warning that it had just thrown at her, the Morbid Swan was having a bit of a difficult time in that she wasn't sure whether the correct reaction towards the Artificial Rabbit sister would be "Awwwwww" or "AWWWWW!!!"

Knowing that Vera Rabbit was attempting to intimidate her, the Black Jack Rabbit made a show of visibly swallowing the fear that would have been there had the EyeRabbit truly terrified her.

"I understand little Vera Rabbit." Undertaker McGee said gently as she regarded the curious floating robot in front of her. It wasn't curious that the EyeBot would be displaying such fierce loyalty towards its "sister," any programmer worth his caps could mimic that, but what was curious was how intricacies that the Rabbit sisters had to go through in order to gain the EyeBot's loyalty. The two Rabbit sisters had displayed genuine affection towards Vera Rabbit and in return the little Floating Robot Rabbit was mirroring the affection back towards the sisters. It stood to reason that whomever had created Vera's personality had modeled it on someone they knew intimately, inside and out.

"It's quite admirable that you would stick up for your sister like that and in that way, I envy." The Undertaker admitted as she stood up and began stretching out her sore muscles once again.

"Don't get me wrong, my parents were quite protective of me, a bit too protective at times but I sometimes wished that I had someone else in the picture that would also be as protective of me as you are over your sisters. The only thing that I had growing up was a cousin whose sole purpose seemed to be terrorizing me." Vicky continued as she remembered the day that her cousin and her Uncle had shown up on the family door step. Blinking to herself, The Tall and Pale Black Swan realized what she was saying and added a hasty.

"Well - All that's in the past." She murmured before returning to the original topic.

"I would never fault you for burning me to a crisp should I hurt Tessa's feelings. In fact, I would encourage you to do so should I ever act to foolishly as to hurt her in any way, shape or form."

 

[TheDoctor455]

The Black-walled room of the Rabbit Hole.

Vera listened patiently to Vicky's story about her family life. She listened with rapt attention to it as the Black Swan continued, as the tale was the first real opportunity the little eyebot had to compare her current family life with the Rabbits with... anything else that was even remotely similar. Vera was kind of surprised at how Vicky's family life had been like... she'd expected some kind of neglect or abuse to make someone an assassin, but the biggest surprise came at the end of the story.

"I would never fault you for burning me to a crisp should I hurt Tessa's feelings. In fact, I would encourage you to do so should I ever act to foolishly as to hurt her in any way, shape or form."

"I...I wouldn't go that far," Vera stammered before she regained her composure, "I mean, I'd still think of you as a friend regardless, but, well... gotta look out for my sister, so I'd have to put you out or scare you away with as little physical suffering as possible."

Saying all of that really made Vera feel... weird. She decided to nuzzle Vicky.

"But, really," she said, "I'm glad that out of all of the crazy wastelanders out there that Tessa could have found... I'm glad it was you. Heh. If it goes far enough, might end up being a part of the family. Hell, you're already as much a part of the family as I am."

Just as this touching heart-to-heart concluded...

Same room, but a different perspective

A red-haired man with a scraggly beard, torn up pants, no shirt, and long, looping earrings that extended his lobes down a few inches suddenly appeared in the room and tumbled face-first to the floor as though he had been thrown in from the portal that had opened and closed behind him.

"Goddamned Enclave!" he shouted before taking in his surroundings. He looked at Vicky, who seemed to be staring at him for some reason, "Umm... sorry, but do I know you? Umm... oh crap. You wouldn't happen to be exactly 17 years old, would you? No? Oh good. There's that bullet dodged at least."

Then the strange man noticed the eyebot with a red-and-white paintjob and a little green ribbon.

"Huh," he said, pacing through the room while still looking at Vera, "I think I've seen that ribbon before. It belonged to this woman I... uh... knew around Wyoming or New Vegas. I don't really remember which. Umm... gotta say, you are one sexy eyebot. You have a name?"

"Umm... Vera... Vera Rabbit." the little eyebot replied dumbly.

"Vera... that's a cute name," he said, "Sounds like a name I'd thought of if I'd ever settled down and had a kid... sort of."(1)

(1)
Step aside, Mr. Truant. Turn the eyes completely black. And... hollow out the voice a little. Curl lips into a cold smile as I regard the Undertaker-Assassin.

"Good to see you again, Victoria," I say, in a voice she should recognize instantly, "What have you been up to since last we met? You followed your biological father's footsteps, eh? Became an Undertaker-Assassin. Hmm... I don't think Shifty would have liked that. I know that Mr. Truant would be disappointed with you. He never wanted a violent life for you. All that effort he went through to 'raise you right'... hmm... did it go to waste, I wonder? I guess we'll have to see how this tale progresses to see how that particular thread turns out, won't we?"

I turn Mr. Truant away for a moment, and paw at the walls as if examining them, then I quickly turn his head back to face Victoria.

"See you again soon."

I float Mr. Truant's body into the air and chuckle as the portal re-opens behind me and swallows us back into the past, and the Enclave lab-cell.

 

[Generic NPC 22]

The Darkness:

"But, really," Vera Rabbit said as she nuzzled the Friendly Neighborhood Undertaker "I'm glad that out of all of the crazy wastelanders out there that Tessa could have found... I'm glad it was you. Heh. If it goes far enough, might end up being a part of the family. Hell, you're already as much a part of the family as I am."

Now it would have been nice to say that the conversation ended with an understanding that was passed between the Undertaker and the EyeBot, however, it wouldn't quite be the interesting scene if that were the case. No, most definitely not.

As the two participants in said exercise of heart warming conversations prepared to leave the ruined hulk of a burnt out building, a seemingly familiar man was ejected out of a portal and into the room. Familiar in that Victoria McGee knew the man that was sprawled out on the ground, only the person that she knew was quite a bit older than the Dad that landed in front of her.

"Umm... sorry, but do I know you? Umm... oh crap. You wouldn't happen to be exactly 17 years old, would you? No? Oh good. There's that bullet dodged at least." Younger Dad said as Vicky could only stand there dumbfounded by what she saw standing in front of her, his appearance in the middle of the room and his appearance as someone quite younger than the Dad that she was used to seeing had sapped the very words from The Undertaker's mouth.

It wasn't until IT started speaking to her that the confusion that the Black Veiled Bunny was experiencing was broken as she started reaching for Milly, only to find that she had left the Silenced 10mm Pistol back at the Rabbit Household.

"See you again soon." IT said before disappearing into the past where IT belonged causing the Black Swan to bathe in the feelings of relief and confusion.

"Dad?" The Young Woman dressed in black muttered as something about the whole scene struck a chord in the back of her mind as being oddly familiar before the answer struck her in the head like a shovel.

"Vera, you'll have to excuse me for a while." The Undertaker said as she started heading for the Rabbit Hole or more specifically started heading for her bags.

----------Inside the Rabbit Hole: Tessa's Room----------​

Vicky was sitting in the middle of the floor as she took the pack that had once belonged to her cousin and turned it upside down, allowing the contents to spill onto the floor. Once upon a time, it had held countless "treasures" but now, it only held a large stack of comic books, more specifically, The Adventures of Gauss Girl and Manic Red by J.T.

Pulling out Issue #0, Vicky flipped through the comic book until she found just what it was that was bugging her.

Looking over the colorful page, Vicky McGee stared at the single panel that had bugged her for the longest time. It showed the comic series' illustrator and Vicky's dad being ejected from a portal and into a darkened and ruined room that was occupied by a young and pale woman dressed in black and an EyeBot.

"He - he was telling the truth?" The Young, Pale and Tall Woman murmured as she stared at the page, trying to remember if her Dad had any more incidences of time travel in the comic series.

 

[TheDoctor455]

"Vera, you'll have to excuse me for a while." The Under-Bunny said as she dashed out of the room.

Worried about her friend, Vera slowly followed Vicky. Careful to not be seen, she floated closer until she could see the comic that the Black Swan was reading.

Upon seeing the scene that they had just been in, the little eyebot ran a quick diagnostic on her visual scanners. There had to be something wrong with them, what she was seeing on the comic was impossible. The diagnostic finished, everything was working just fine. Somewhat disturbed by the possible implications... Vera decided to ignore that detail for now. Right now, her new friend was disturbed, or possibly hurt. So...

"Sorry Vicky," she said, "I know you wanted to be alone for a minute, but... I had to make sure you were okay. So... are you? Is there anything I can do to help?"

 

[Ganado_Headshot]

Along Route 59
5 Miles North of Cheyton

Oooh, Brahmin! Stew licked his lips as he confirmed what his sight had hinted at earlier. He had been following the herd for a while now catching a glimpse over the horizon every now and again, but now they had come to rest where a stream passed under the highway. A bridge over the expanse used to stand, but had long since toppled into the water below. A caravan of Brahmin grazed peacefully on what little scraps of grass they could scrounge. At the head of the column three humans sat wasting time waiting for their herd to recover. Stew approached them hesitantly, aware of how intimidating he can look.

The trio started for a moment as one of the ranchers reached for his repeater as soon as he glimpsed Stew coming up on the group.

?Please, no trouble?? Stew trailed off waving his hands in the air, palms out in a sign of peace. The man cocked an eyebrow and lowered his weapon ever so slightly, still wary of the fact that an almost half-ton killing machine stood before them. ?Humans? care to trade??

?Would you get a look at this sumbitch, Rick. He?s biggern? hell, but he can still talk, weird? hehe? One of the ranchers remarked, spitting a huge wad of chew out of his mouth, his smile showed particles of the tobacco still stuck in his teeth?

?I only ask? to trade humans? you have brahmin? yes??

?Get rid of this fucker,? one of the hands remarked, I don?t like the looks of him. Besides we gotta get this merchandise to the slaughterhouse, before that rancher?? The man silenced with one look from the third gentleman, his icy stare froze the man?s tongue in place and he didn?t say another word.

[Sub-Brick] ?Merchandise?? Stew mused, ?All I see is?. brahmin?? [INT2/4]

?Stolen merchandise you half-wit!? The man with the chew said between spitting.

The third man finally spoke up ?Either of you two say another goddamn word, I will shove a rad-roach so far up your ass?? He glared angrily at his two companions as a calm silence fell upon the odd group of cattle rustlers and one lonely super mutant.

??Stolen?? Stew finally said at last ??Stolen??? He puzzled again.

The light finally clicked on in Stew?s head, and a sense of understanding crept across his face followed by an ill-attempt to hide the truth he had uncovered.

?Shoot this ugly sumbitch!? The cattle thief with the chew hollered. He began to raise his repeater to Stew?s chest

Stew was miles ahead of them as he drew the club on his back, and smashed it into the man?s head with such a ferocity that made sure his friends would cry identifying the body. Brown brackish liquid flowed from his mouth as the club connected squarely with his cheek knocking him off his feet. His leg twitched once and he passed from existence.

?You? were rude to me..? He said to the two companions as they stood with bewildered looks on their face. The leader drew his pistol, albeit too slowly as Stew?s club connected with the hand, shattering it into about a thousand pieces of bone shrapnel. ?Dumb human?? he said blankly. Stew watched as the third rustler did a full 180 degrees and ran in the opposite direction. He let him go, there was no use ending his pathetic life. The leader had been brought to his knees and was softly whimpering, clutching his ruined mess of a hand. Blood stained his clothes and the ground at his knees.

Stew shoved his face into the dirt with minor exertion from his massive arm, he wept aloud. Stew rolled over the man?s accomplice and collected the satchel around his neck. He looked through it and a small pile of caps sat in the bottom, he stuffed the caps into his rucksack, and watched in amusement as the leader began to inchworm his way out of Stew?s sight, clutching his stump. Stew allowed this man to crawl away with his life, but his dignity was thoroughly diminished?

He glanced around at the herd of brahmin and thought this place would do just fine for tonight. He knew what he was having for dinner... I'm sure the farmer these belong to won't notice one or two missing.

 

[Soviet Heavy]

Cheyton: Lucky Loser Lane
"Are you sure this is the place?" asked Ollie. "It doesn't seem like the place where a person would go to hide."
The trio of Khans stood at the corner of Lucky Loser Lane, the so-called "high society" district of Cheyton, for what it was worth. The older Khans had talked about places back in Nevada; The Strip, New Reno, and talked about how fancy they were compared to the average settlement. The road was nowhere near as fancy as the places they had described, but compared to the rest of the town, it definitely stood out from the run down, half repaired buildings.

"According to the Bounty Office, yes, this is where Vincent hangs out," said Harland. He pulled out his pistol, popping in a fresh clip, chambering the first round. "Time to collect on a debt. Let's go."

Anna, Harland and Ollie strode brazenly down the street, brandishing their weapons. Ollie had the Govenator in one hand, and his hatchet in the other. The rich denizens retreated into their houses, slamming the doors shut and shuttering their windows. They came to number 53, Vincent Hasting's house. The front yard was littered with used syringes and Jet inhalers. Hastings was a particularly notable customer of the Great Khans, but he had broken their trust when he had killed Jon. The Khans would repay him in kind.

Cheyton: Tolliver's Road
Melissa grabbed the Rattler by his scruff and threw him into the pavement. Four burly Khans surrounded the tribal, delivering vicious kicks and punches to the man. The other Khans and shocked onlookers watched the brutal beating continue for minutes. Melissa watched impassively. Why should she feel pity for scum like this? Every Khan had taken their licks for their initiation to the clan. The Rattlers branded their own with venom burned tattoos. He was getting off easy. They still needed him to talk. "Pull him up," she said.

The Khans hauled the Rattler to his feet. His face was unrecognizable, both his lips were split, his teeth were knocked out, and intense swelling around his eyes only served to pool blood into his eye sockets. The Rattler's breaths were ragged, and he winced with each inhale, evidence of several broken ribs. Melissa grabbed the man's hair and pulled his head up. "Where are you headed? The raiders have been moving west for months, why? Answer me before I give you back to my friends."

The Rattler offered a half toothed grin, spitting his bloody teeth at Melissa. She responded with a punch to the gut that knocked the wind out of him. "I'll ask again: where are you heading, and why are you working with the Legion?"

"You really think we are working with those freaks?" said the Rattler. "You've got it backwards. That Lanius fucker might think that he's the toughest shit in the Wasteland, and he might be. But the Legion has nothing on the rest of the alliance. If you saw what we've been running from, you would side with anybody."

"That's a nice answer with no information," sneered Melissa. "Did you know about the attack on Laramie?"

The Rattler shook his head. "That wasn't one of ours. Lanius had his own little grudge to settle, that was his idea to attack you. Most of the guys I know just want to get the fuck out of the Dakotas. Honestly, letting you shits deal with that would have been better than burning the place. Would have slowed 'em down at least."

"Slowed who down?" pressed Melissa.. "Who is out there, and what is going on?"

The Rattler grinned evilly, even as blood continued to pour from his ruined face. "Everybody. Every fucking person in Dakota. They've changed, and they're coming."

 

[Rip Van Rabbit]

Freeside: Feral Rabbits. Seven months back.

"It's happened again. The scout you trained to investigate was killed."

Tessa groaned in response. "Dammit, we stop trying to reach him immediately, put the word out. Is this guy on our side or not? Do we know anything about him?"

At this point, Tessa was confidently leading thieving parties on the confirmed corrupted members of the NCR. Crippling the NCR's supplies, bolstering their own and spreading the Rabbit's territory.

Freeing Freeside of their clutches would be her ultimate goal.

The Feral Rabbits operated on principles that complimented the Followers, mostly by targeting corrupted NCR soldiers and offering protection to everyone else of Freeside. Eventually the Rabbit's numbers grew to the point of combatting any competition with malicious intent in Freeside. This allowed the Followers, unknowing allies under their protection, to extend their influence and benefit the community.

"Every time we're in danger, he targets everyone except you. Every time we try to make contact, our scouts are burnt to ashes. Maybe he's trying to send a message? Trying to intimidate you, maybe?"

"No...if he wanted to send a message, I'd be dead already. As long as he keeps helping, then he's contributing to our goals. We wait for him to come to us."

"Are you sure it's still a good idea for you to be leading groups of your own? This guy might snap and turn the crosshair on you..."

"This is not the NCR. I will not sit on my ass while my people risk their lives for my ideals. We work together, no matter who goes down. They'll have to kill every Rabbit before we stop trying, understand?"

This was most definitely not the last time that they heard from the mysterious energy weapon wielder.

This was the very person that allowed Tessa to break free of Freeside on that desperate and horrific day. The day where the Feral Rabbit's died.

[hr]

Meow Meow: Wakey Wakey Tessa

Tessa was most certainly daydreaming, for an extended period of time it seemed.

Where was she? The living room/kitchen/the main room of the house. More, accurately, the couch.

What was she wearing? Her full combat gear. Adorned with one of the elegant jeweled throwing knives in her hair.

What was she doing? Well, she had frozen when she realized she was absentmindedly sharpening her clean knives while glaring at the whiteboard.

Apparently Tessa was lost so deeply in thought, that she had changed outfits and started the cleaning and maintenance of her weapons while glaring up at the white board full of rough plans.

Something had sparked this level of determination and focus.

"I'm sorry Tessa. I'm so sorry. I think... I really did put this family in danger. BSODding damn it! I should have picked up on it sooner! I'm such an idiot! If I'd only been paying more attention then... dad... the Van Graffs... they might all still be alive... they're dead because I was too stupid to see it!"

...now it was coming back to her.

Tessa had wordlessly agreed with Mercy's following sentiment about protecting Vera earlier, but she never actually said anything.

This lead her to recall the very beginning of the betrayal and downfall of her Feral Rabbits. A harsh memory that made Tessa empathise with Vera's torment. That's probably where Tessa went on wordless autopilot.

Ulysses would be buried, one way or another. For the sake of this family first and foremost, but ultimately to end Vera's torment.

Which lead to why Tessa was glaring at the plans to start their assault on the Knuckleheads. Ulysses had just moved up to the top of Tessa's destroy list. How would they pursue him? Unless it was more wise to continue with their original plans and gain some breathing room.

Tessa's gaze was diverted to the belled hat that she was wearing earlier.

Gifts. At a time like this. How had she grown so complacent? This was not the time to be wasted on frivolous activities.

Rather, it was time to reassure Vera of her intent to aid her to the bitter end. So she wandered off to the sound of Vera's pleasant voice coming from her bedroom.

Knocking on her door to indicate her presence, Tessa noticed Victoria and Vera in her room. "Not bothering anything, am I?"

Tessa had once watched her previous family die. She was now hell bent on the destruction of anyone interfering with her real family.

 

[TheDoctor455]

The Rabbit Hole

As soon as Tessa came into the room, Vera started to float towards her sister to launch a sneak-attack tackle-nuzzle.
But then... the Bladed Bunny opened her mouth...

"Not bothering anything, am I?"

Vera couldn't resist an opportunity like that.

"Oh nothing much, just... your girlfriend over there trying to flirt with me." the evil little eyebot said while pitching her frame up, around, and down in her best approximation of a human rolling their eyes. "Kidding! Just kidding Tessa!"

Vera nuzzled her sister apologetically.

"But... umm... seriously though, you might want to talk to Vicky when you get the chance," she said, whispering into Tessa's ear, edging her voice with concern, sounding more like herself again.

"And... Mercy and I had an awesome idea for a new weapon for you, just for you, Tess." she said, "Before those raiders showed up. Umm... we should go find... Mercy... umm..."

Vera trailed off, trying to contain her excitement. There was no way Tessa would know what was coming.

 

[Ruedyn]

Rabbit Home

Markus stayed on the roof for awhile... he didn't exactly know why. Anticipation? He had a day or two before he could begin feeling that. It was most likely that he didn't want to be shown kindness again, it was too damned much for him. Still, they were as close to friends that he had in a long while. He sighed, and went downstairs, to see if they needed anything.

Voices were coming from Tessa's room. Hadn't he been told as a child he shouldn't go into girl's rooms? He shrugged, and noticed Tessa on the other side, looking at Vera and Veronica.

"And... Mercy and I had an awesome idea for a new weapon for you, just for you, Tess. Before those raiders showed up. Umm... we should go find... Mercy... umm..."

"Where is Mercy?" Markus asked, making himself more known, from behind Tessa. "And unless the present is a powerful weapon, it should wait. I have Legionnaires still loyal to me coming into town soon, we could launch an attack on the Knuckleheads. Until then, this family needs more training. Only after our enemies are dead can we afford to rest." Markus smelled... something from the kitchen. He growled, and turned around to go check it out.

"... Mercy." Markus looked at the slop she was gagging on. He slipped his pistol back into it's holster, and walked over to see whatever it was. It looked like it was created from Plasma and the broken dreams of young legionnaires. "How did this... happen?"

 

[Ganado_Headshot]

Outskirts of Cheyton... a different perspective.

Ulysses wandered along the outlands surrounding the city of Cheyton. As he did so, he came upon a super mutant amid a herd of brahmin. Odd. Most would just eat the herd and move on. This one... could it really be tending to their needs? Hmm...
"Ho there, Great One," Ulysses said, lifting Old Glory up as a greeting, before going back to pretending to use it as a walking stick, "What paths have brought you here?"
---

Outskirts of Cheyton, undisclosed camp

Stew had driven the brahmin along route 59, until he came up strange green markers with the word Chey...ton. on it, the herd grunted and groaned behind him as they had walked quite the distance in not so great a length of time. He made camp for the night, giving the beasts a chance to rest. He cooked the brahmin patties he had before he came across the herd and settled in for tonight.
He had gone out to feed the brahmin what little straw he could find when a stranger walked into his camp...

"Ho there, Great One," The stranger said, addressing Stew. "What paths have brought you here?"

Stew looked at the person who he made out to be a human after his eyes had adjusted to the dark.
"Ho... there, human" Stew said, trying the greeting on for size, "I follow... these beasts," he said roughly gesturing towards the lot of brahmin. "I'm taking care..." He trailed off, not wanting to spill the beans about the rustlers he had killed, humans didn't like it when mutants killed their own, it gave all mutants a bad name.
"They are mine," he said cutting off. "Why are you here," Stew retorted gruffly.

"Lost my home long ago," the stranger answered, leaning heavily on his flag-pole staff, "Been wandering many paths ever since."

"Many... paths" Stew sounded out, for some reason unbeknownst to himself, Stew felt a great sadness for this wandering stranger, if he had lost his home, then he was just like Stew. "Please, share fire with me..." He said to the man. "Plenty of meat?" He smiled a toothy grin, folded a brahmin patty in half, and swallowed it whole.

The stranger bowed slightly, and sat down across the fire from the super mutant.

"Thank you, its been a long time since I've had a chance to stop by a fire and stare into the great mystery above us," he said, gazing at the stars. The slightest bit of wonder creeping into his otherwise monotone voice. He slowly got a knife out so as not to worry his host, and used it to cut a small part of the brahmin meat in front of him for himself. "The only name I have left now is Ulysses. What should I call you, Kind Giant?"

Stew watched as the man sat down across from him, and asked him his name. "You may call me... Stew. He caught the man, named 'You-lisses' staring up into the blackness, noticing the stars he asked, "What are those... great lights?"Stew had often wondered how lights could be that far up in the air, puzzled he glanced at the stranger, naiively waiting for an answer to this riddle.

"Them that lived before the war swear that they're all great bonfires burning a long way away from here," Ulysses said, holding his part of the meat over the fire with a nearby stick he'd impaled it on. "Lot of the tribes think its their gods walking with the spirits of their ancestors up there. One lunatic I met thought the stars were old gods, all glaring down at us, waiting for the moment to finally end it all. Hmmph. I guess he didn't notice that this world had already ended. Of course, this man claimed to be cursed with one of these gods living inside him. Strange man. Still, not the worst I've met."

Ulysses paused to pull his cut of the brahmin cool off a little. "So, Stew. Where do you come from? What paths brought you here?"

"I know not, where I come, spent time with... a family, but I'm not meant for friends," Stew replied with a sad tone to his voice. His speech lacked the common nuances, but he felt like he was getting his message across.

"I traveled, from far..." He paused remembering the savage days of blood lust and anguish, not caring who or what was his next meal.

"Why you seek me, human? Most are afraid of Stew..." He questioned, chewing on a bit or gristle from his second brahmin patty. He was quite the sight to behold, all hunched around the fire, sitting like some stone monolith, ever watchful over his adopted brahmin, who grazed silently around the camp.

"Wasn't looking for you, exactly," Ulysses answered, "As for why I'm not fleeing in terror. I used to serve Kai-Tzar. I've seen much worse than even the most savage mutant. Which, you clearly aren't, judging from the fact that you haven't tried to kill me yet."

Ulysses dropped his brahmin patty and waved his arms in front of him. "No offense meant, Stew. Just... curious."

Ulysses picked up his patty and dug into it with gusto, appearing to have a ravenous hunger at that particular moment.

"Hmm... thank you again, Stew," he said, "Its not often one encounters the true spirit of humanity in the Wastes of America." On 'spirit', Ulysses inclined his head towards Stew.

"Whatever our differences are," he went on, "I believe that we can do more working together than on our own. The last dregs of Kai-Tzar's Legion has returned to these paths. They no longer seek to rule, only to burn it all down with them. They'll burn everything if they can. Me, the other humans, the ghouls, you and your kind. Eventually, themselves. I mean to hasten their demise to spare others from joining them. What say you? Will you help an old man find bring some peace to this shattered land?"

Stew listened to You-lisses' offer as they sat and ate their meals. This group he had served long ago... They seemed downright rotten Stew thought. He wouldn't sit around baby-sitting brahmin while everything around him dissolved to ash. He had to do something!

He didn't know what it would mean to help this man he'd just met, but in his irradiated heart he knew that the man meant well. It had been a long time since he has traveled with anyone, but to put it lightly, Stew was excited to have made a new friend. He extended his arm as he has seen multiple humans do on countless occasion, waiting for the stranger to do the same

With a silly smile across his face he mumbled out four reasonably intelligible words.

"When do we start?"

 

[RobDaBank]

Redstone Camping Ground

Kaiden found himself in the only building of Redstone Camping Ground. The old but converted maintenance shack Caleb used as an office, headquarters and home. He sat on an old chair, designed for humans before the war, as Caleb sat on a large, much more fitting chair on the other side of a desk.

"Caleb, I must confess... I have been having strange visions. Visions I believe of my previous life." Kaiden said, his head bowed slightly, as if talking of his previous life was an insult to the new life his people had created. He didn't notice Calebs eyes twitch at this mention, nor did he see the intrigue this brought about. "They have only started since the Doctor helped me, I must find him to learn why they are happening, and try to stop t.."

"You are worried I will be angry, if you try to learn of your previous life?" Interrupted Caleb. He leaned back into his chair, relaxing and giving a comforting smile. "You don't have to hide your intentions friend, what good would our new life be if we took away our freedoms? If it is answers you seek, go. But be warned Kaiden," Caleb leaned forward again, he leaned his elbows on the desk and clasped his hands together, "You may learn who you were, but you cannot lose sight of who you are. The path forward is the one that counts most friend."

"I promise Caleb, I seek only answers as to why these visions are happening. I also owe the doctor a favor, so perhaps I may kill two Deathclaws with one frag mine, so to speak."

"Then I insist you take one of our dogs along with you" Kaiden stood out of the uncomfortable chair and headed to the door, "And Kaiden, good luck"

Leaving the shack Kaiden headed straight for the enclosure the dogs were kept in, seeing Julius once again tending to the dogs inside. Kaiden studied the dogs for a moment, he knew how to control them, but had nothing to do with their breeding, or training. He knew nothing of which dog would serve him best.

"Here Kaiden! This one does just fine! He's called Abel, take him if you want." Julius called, pulling a dog along clumsily by the collar. The dog did its best to keep up with the brutish Mutant, not once snapping at him. Julius passed the dog through the gate. "So, New Wheatland eh? Guess we won't be seeing you for a few days eh?"

Kaiden knelt to the floor, petting the dog and offering it some food from a nearby bowl. It sat still and ate it like it had not been fed for days, before looking to it's new master for its next job. "Yep," Kaiden finally replied, "Don't worry though, I'm sure you will keep this place in order without me" He said, trying to show Julius he had worth. Since his arrival, Julius, though clumsy, had done his best to prove his worth with the other mutants. He was not the most intelligent of beings, but his scouting abilities and compassion for others made him a valuable asset. "So long friend" Kaiden finally said, as he made his way back to the road, signalling with a flick of the wrist for Abel to follow alongside.

 

[ImSkeletor]

Despite the stimpack related aid from Joe; McGrath was worn, sleep deprived, and physically broken even though the Stims did help. Then he saw David get smashed brain case first into the ground. McGrath desperately crawled toward David and praying under his breath. He pulled the Robot into his lap. Fluid was leaking from the brain case. It flailed its arms wildly. It said in its sing song voice. " We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence,promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America"
Booker looked toward the Deathclaw, "He was just trying to protect me you Monster"

 

[FalloutJack]

Okay....somehow during the wait, Malkos overturned a rock and found a door to the Meta-Bar. He returned soon after to...

Somewhere in Wyoming...

Malkos did not appreciate Joe's candor, nor did he like him to talk of his ancestor. Of course, why would HE be aware of the hardships in between his pleasant little stories? Even the Vault Dweller only had part of the picture down. Oh, Goris had done alright for the most part, but he was hurting inside. The day the Enclave came and raided Vault 13 would be the first historic sorrow of a Deathclaw, among other things. He did not grow to hate or fear humans, but he did grow more protective of his kind. That was why they left, because all of his accrued knowledge told him the talking Deathclaw would not survive at this rate. It would take many years for them to be truly accepted. That was when Mcgrath spoke.

"He was just trying to protect me you Monster"

"And you were all attacking because I said you were noisy."

He pointed at Martin, who was now pointing a gun at Joe.

"HE gets it, and you're learning the hard way."

And now, he turned his attention to Joe, first apparently flexing his body and...uhhh...some of the bullets wedged in his body fell out. The Deathclaw now regarded the Ranger with his clawed hands to his hips

"That just leaves you. I might consider traveling with humans to better allow the word to get out that maybe some Deathclaws are more than just bloodthirsty, but you haven't given any reason at all for me to trust you. I don't care about non-killing shots. I do not like getting shot AT. It may come with the territory, and I have trained a considerable amount to avoid shots, but it is not something I enjoy. If my ancestor means anything to you, you will stand down immediately."

Malkos saw the way the wind blew in this when he saw Martin before. The tables had turned, and if Joe wasn't going to play ball, he was going to go find the local 'Claws that this fallen fellow they'd killed belonged to...and then things would become unpleasant.

 

[ImSkeletor]

McGrath craddled the wounded cyborg. Malkos responded to him, but it took a few moments for it to get through. "What?!! Thats what this was about? I assumed this was because you and the dumb one were attacking these guys! I met like ten death claws on the way here and they all tried to rip me apart. So I was trying to get the jump on you before did the same thing to me. I didn't even know for sure there were intelligent deathclaws. I only knew of rumors. Shit. Am I racist? Um...Okay if you help me and Dave here stand up we can just call it even. Because I can fix this but not with him on his side." He extended his hand.

 

[Soviet Heavy]

Lucky Loser Lane
(Picture of Hasting's house)

Ollie kicked the door in seconds before Harland tossed the hand grenade. The two hugged the side of Hasting's doorway, anticipating return fire. When none came, the two pushed into the hallway, peeking around corners into the kitchen and dining room. All over the place were empty Jet inhalers and mountains of used stimpacks. Ollie could smell the antiseptic in the air. Some of these were still fresh, which meant their red eyed reaper was still home. The bottom floor was empty, and Harland tossed a second grenade into the basement for good measure. This wasn't good. Hastings was in the house with them, but there was no sight or sound of him. It was eerily quiet following the two blasts.

[Walker Instinct] Ollie put his hand to the walls and the floor, feeling for any vibrations. Focusing, he felt the slightest creak in the floorboards. Motioning for Harland to stand still, Ollie readied his hatchet. The hallway was flanked by stairs to the upper floor. Vincent was up there, Ollie was certain. He quietly motioned for Harland to come forward, and he grabbed the Khan's last grenade. Creeping ever so carefully up the stairs, Ollie made sure the banister was clear before moving forward. He tested the walls again. Gotcha, he thought.

Ollie lobbed the last grenade through the open bedroom door. The blast turned the pristine white frame to splinters. Rushing through the wreckage, Ollie made for the bedroom, even as the bladed mantis gauntlet swung out of the bathroom. Barely ducking under the swing, the edge of the blade caught his chin, and the wound started to burn. The gauntlet must have been coated in acid, and the pain was searing. [Khan Trick] Ollie rolled out of the way, grabbing a handful of splinters and tossing them at his assailant's face. Vincent recoiled, and Ollie kicked out at him, scrambling to his feet.

The Chem fiend's eyes were bloodshot, his face was blackened with soot from the grenades, and several scars covered his body. But he was still standing. Ollie swung his hatchet at the man's gut. Vincent parried the strike again, laying a punch into the Khan's face. The two bowled into each other, tumbling back down the stairs in a brutal scuffle. Kicking, biting, hacking and stabbing each other, Ollie and Vincent were going to kill each other before one would give up. Fortunately for Ollie, he had friends. Hastings had none.

Harland pulled Vincent Hastings off of Ollie, decking him in the back of the head and sending the bastard tumbling to the ground. Ollie jumped on the man, pulling the Governator from behind his back. He pressed the revolver up to the man's head, finger on the trigger. "The Khans called, we're here to collect. Your head would do nicely, but I think it'd look better on the floor."

Vincent said nothing, his face vacant, but his eyes twitching and darting in all directions. The man was too far gone on a Jet Rush to even understand what they were saying. Ollie didn't care, though. He squeezed the trigger, splattering skull fragments and brain matter over the floor. Breathing free after the bout of violence, he called Anna inside from her watch. "Alright, we're good. That's one asshole less to worry about in town."

 

[Generic NPC 22]

The Rabbit Hole: The Plasma Bunny

"How did this... happen?" Markus McHuggins asked from behind the Plasma Bunny causing her to tip over her bowl of Greyish Wall Paste, which didn't spill out of the bowl so much as ooze its way out of the bowl, while the now Speed Stammering Rabbit scurried to clean up her mess.

"WellIwas-was-thinkingthatitwouldbenicefor-for-forustoallshareamealbutIkindasortaruinedthestewthatIwasmakingandI-I-I-thoughtthatIcouldsalvageitbutitkindatasteslikeoldsocksandbootsandbrahminroadapplesallmixedintoone. Iwouldn'trecommendthatyoutryitatallbe-be-becauseit'skindacrappyandstuff." Mercy said as noted the fact that she didn't even need a rag to clean off the mess as the Greyish Goo sort of just clumped together like so much silly putty.

Taking a deep breath, the young woman managed to calm her nerves a little bit as she looked over at the Burly Bunny who was in the process of holstering his weapon.

"When I was a kid, I had used to daydream about running my own restaurant but you sorta have to know how to cook if you wanna open your own restaurant." She explained as she opened the door to the Rabbit Home and placed the bowl of Grey Molasses on the doorstep, hoping that a passing dog or cat or Death Claw would take a liking to her meal and carry it off. "I thought that maybe since I'm a bit older, I might be a better cook but that stew was worse than what I used to make as a kid."

Looking at the Legionnaire, she couldn't help but notice his eyebrow raise when she mentioned that the dish that she had prepared was supposed to be stew, causing her cheeks to flush in embarrassment once again as she looked out the door and noticed that a stray dog had wandered up to her bowl of Muck, sniffed it and bolted off from whence it came.

"I guess I should leave the cooking to Tessa." She said, clearly defeated by her cooking skills as she sat down at her bench, going back to making the Bunny-clad Bombs that she needed to be working on if the Twisted Hares were going to send the Knuckleheads packing out of Cheyton.

"Did I hear you right? You've got members of the Legion coming here?" Mercy asked, clearly nervous not only by Markus' proximity to her but by the simple fact that members of the infamous Caesar's Legion were on their way to Cheyton.

[hr]

The Rabbit Hole:

"I know you wanted to be alone for a minute, but... I had to make sure you were okay. So... are you? Is there anything I can do to help?" The Rabbit Eared EyeBot asked Victoria as she stared at the very scene that she had just been a party to. The question as to whether or not the Black Clad Undertaker was okay was a bit of tricky question.

"Yes. At-at least I think so." Vicky said as she closed the comic book, turning towards the concerned little Eyebot as she began putting the comic books back into her pack.

"I mean I guess I'm as okay as one could be if one were to have just been visited by a younger version of their father." The Friendly Neighborhood undertaker said as she sighed to herself, leaving out information about IT and other scenes that were likely to happen in the future if the comic books were to be believed.

"Not bothering anything, am I?" Came a familiar voice that brought relief to Victoria's frazzled mind and a smile to the woman's pale facade as she saw Tess entering the room, Markus not far behind.

"Oh nothing much, just... your girlfriend over there trying to flirt with me." the evil little eyebot said while pitching her frame up, around, and down in her best approximation of a human rolling their eyes. "Kidding! Just kidding Tessa!"

The comment cause the Undertaker to smile for a second until Markus mentioned something about more of the Legion coming into Cheyton before wandering off, the news setting off alarms in the back of Undertaker McGee's mind.

"The Legion coming into Cheyton is NOT going to be a good thing. Even if they help us dislodge the Knuckleheads, what's to keep them from taking the Knuckleheads' place?" Vicky commented absently as her mind started going through various plans and dropping almost as quickly as they came until there were one or two that were left in her mind. The plans, however, could wait as the Black Bunny became interested in what Vera and Mercy had planned for their sister and Vicky's Dear Little Rabbit.