The REALLY Wild Wasteland. (The Fallout RP!)

[RobDaBank]

The beast began to glow before letting out a bright, horrid vomit. His pip boy clicked lightly. The stuff was radioactive but luckily it was far enough in front of him for the radiation to only be minor. Pulling up his rifle he looked down the scope to see the soldier hidden behind cover, he was surprised she wasn't ghoulified by the blast before remembering that those suits of power armor offer some protection against radiation.

What do I do? I'm lost in this damn place. My only guide so far has disapeared and the only other person who seems to know their way around is that smug damsel in distress. Wayne thought to himself Looks like helping her out is my only choice. Besides, brotherhood should have some information about the Enclave. Wayne sighed, a long sigh of disapointment. He just wished he had landed and found a sign saying 'Wayne, go this way you fucking crip!' Of course things were never that easy. You always had to find somebody, and they always needed something doing for them before they helped. And then you ended up repeating the whole process again.

He grabbed his rifle by the barrel, using it as a walking stick and set off after the creature. Luckily it wasn't too fast, not that it was hard to find or anything, and perhaps keeping his distance for now would be the best option, at least until the opportune moment arose.

It was then that a vertibird flew over, firing at the beast before making a suspiciously slow getaway. 'Interesting' said Wayne aloud as he continued to walk. It must have been the soldiers friends, he deduced and set off to find her instead.

 

[SamtheDeathclaw]

Stan had spotted the group of silly armored fellas pointing their guns at approximately jack shit, wandering around looking for god-only-knows-what. Stan was beginning to think these folks weren't as bright as they tried to seem.

"Oi, you lot!" he shouted to them, then jogged over. "There's a giant 'lurk over at the Nuka-Cola factory. It might be coming this way. Just so you know!"

"What, AGAIN?! How many fucking times is this gonna happen?" one of them- the leader, maybe? Stan hadn't the slightest idea- said in exasperation.

Just then, a Vertibird flew over, rather low, heading towards the plant.
One of the BoS soldiers whistled. "Well, I'd say that takes care of that. Good luck with that monster." he said, and the squad moved on.
Stan sighed, and turned back the way he'd come. He watched the vertibird fire at something, then slowly fly off.
A delightfully obvious plot.
Yep. These Brotherhood folks are not nearly as clever as they think they are. It's kind of off-putting. Seriously, these are the good guys? If they're winning, then the Enclave must be run by children and lobotomites. Stan sighed. He was starting to remind himself of his father, being so down on people. Doesn't matter if their plans are so obvious. As long as they get the job done.
He shrugged, and headed after the vertibird. He guessed Wayne would probably chase after the 'lurk. He did not seem the type to leave a fight unfinished, and Stan had no interest in seeing more Brotherhood cunts.

 

[TheDoctor455]

"Huh," Johnny said when the robo-brain flattened the Caravan Master and started its little holo-show, "Did we just win a prize or something?"

Johnny paused to listen to what the hologram was actually saying.

"Oh hell," he said, rolling his eyes, and leveling his rifle at the machine as a precaution, "If it starts ranting about the secret plans to the Mecha-Deathclaw or something, I say we shoot this little Robco reject dead."

 

[Generic NPC 22]

The girl in red had been largely ignoring the situation, having even failed to notice Mysterious Mister Robco Robobrain, who had nearly smashed her into an itty bitty teensie weensie thinner than thin blood patch, as the girl with the ribbons was in the middle of seeing what interesting things were located in Mister Caravan Man's pockets.

"OoooOOOOoooo!! Rad Scorpion Meat!" The girl exclaimed happily as she pulled out a bag of the crablike meat, pulled out a piece and munched down, still ignoring Mysterious Mister Robco Robobrain that was scanning the trio of travelers.

"If it starts ranting about the secret plans to the Mecha-Deathclaw or something, I say we shoot this little Robco reject dead." Said Mister Johnny Shakes, pointing Mister Lever Action Rifle at Mysterious Mister Robco Robobrain.

"Beep-Tweet-Boop-Bzzzzt!" Mysterious Mister Robco Robobrain Beep-Tweet-Boop-Bzzzzted before something or someone got between Mister Lever Action Rifle and his target.

"Hey Mister Lever Action Rifle! Why you pointing yourself at Mysterious Mister Robco Robobrain? It's rude to point you know?" Asked Sylphee, speaking directly into the barrel of Mister Lever Action Rifle, bits of Rad Scorpion Meat flying out of her mouth as she spoke and her foot landing on Mister Johnny Shakes' shoes.

...Huh? What the hell is this?...Huh? What the hell is this?...Huh? What the hell is this?..."

"For an alien, Mysterious Mister Robco Robobrain, you sure do talk strange." She said turning around sniffing Mysterious Mister Robco Robobrain.

"Hey Mysterious Mister Robco Robobrain, did you know that you smell like Nukacola? Like really bad? Like you've been bathing in it? Is there Nukacola on your spaceship?"

 

[TheDoctor455]

Though he certainly didn't mean to, due to his incredibly fast-acting allergy to everything Radscorpion, Johnny wound up chewing and swallowing some of the meat that had landed in his mouth; which in turn cause Johnny to start spasming uncontrollably and randomly. This culminated in Johnny accidentally pulled the trigger on his rifle when his hands clenched in pain.

"Fuck!" he yelled, "Sorry! Whoever I hit! It was an accident!" (1)

Ohh... man... this is going to suck if I hit Sylph or that cold ***** over there. Might be fun if I hit that piece of Robco trash though. Not saying it might not be useful or valuable or anything... but... if it happened to fall into the Potomac and someone just... happened to throw an EMP grenade in after it. Well, there are worse things that could happen.

(1)No it wasn't.-Ed *

* Yes it damn well was! Who can aim at anything after having their feet stamped on! (2)

(2)Mr. Truant, as has already been demonstrated by his ability to hit and take out multiple opponents with his lever action rifle while suffering from a number of drug withdrawals... could easily aim at something while suffering the relatively mild pain and distraction caused by an annoying allergy. -Ed **

** 'Annoying allergy'? Just whose side are you on anyway? (3)

(3)My amusement. -Ed ***

*** Fuck you!

 

[Generic NPC 22]

Things happened rather quickly, as they always seem to when the girl in red was trying to have a conversation with inanimate objects such as Mister Lever Action Rifle. One moment the girl with the ribbon wrapped pony tails was pointing out, gleefully I might add, that pointing at Mysterious Mister Robco Robobrain, a robot sent from a spaceship or Heaven or something, the next moment Sylphee saw a glimmering object on the ground.

"OOoooOOoo" The smiling girl said as she bent over to retrieve the glittering blue bottle cap that had caught her attention.

The next moment, she found herself on her back. This was a decidedly uncomfortable yet familiar position that she found herself in that she hadn't experienced since her before her release into Wild Wastelands. The unfamiliar part was the burning sensation she felt in her back.

"Ooowwww!!!" She cried out with tears in her eyes, her voice trembling as she felt some sort of liquid spurting onto the dry desert-like ground underneath her.

[hr]

From the Robobrain's heightened perspective, he saw things pan out rather illogically, his sensors, though damaged from the long distance drop caused by Nukalurkzilla, was still able to record things in sequence.

Time Code - Subject - Action

0:00 - Human Female 1 - Bends over to retrieve bottle cap
0:01 - Human Male - Discharges fire arm due to increase in histamine levels, unknown cause
0:02 - Human Female 1 - Is struck by discharged bullet.  Location: knapsack
0:02.1 - Human Female 1 - Bullet strikes object identified as fragmentation mine, destroying primary detonation mechanism but discharging small primer charge before ricocheting into a bottle of Heinz 667 Ketchup.
0:02.2 - Human Female 1 - Falls onto back due to strike from bullet, small fire inside knapsack is extinguished.

[hr]

It took a moment for the shock to wear off but Sylphee eventually picked herself up off of the ground and brushed herself off before checking what it was that had caused the pain in her back.

"Mister Lever Action Rifle!! You ruined a Smiley Missy Miss Landmine!" The Blue eyed girl said as she pulled out the ruined Smiley Missy Miss Landmine and tossed it on the ground, where it was inexplicably detonate later once the group was far enough away. However, she did enjoy the taste of more Rad Scorpion Meat covered in Heinz 667 Ketchup.

"Om nom nom nom nom nom nom!"

 

[maninahat]

Luck was a peculiar quality in the wasteland. The Caravan Master had the tremendous luck of being in the only place in the world where he could be crushed by a falling Robobrain. Then Sylph was somehow still alive, despite God throwing every possible weapon in his arsenal at her. Even Johnny managed to survive a ravaging hoard of ghouls.

Beryl didn't feel very lucky. Least of all for being stuck with these halfwits. Her bony hands formed into fists, and her clenched teeth began creaking under the pressure. She could hear her own blood boiling. Vivid images flashed up in her mind. She thought about slapping sylph's idiot face until her ears met in the middle, and about burying "Trigger Happy Johnny" to his neck in dirt and using his head as a golfing tee. Then she thought about stripping naked and doing a haka on their poorly maintained graves.

"When everyone has quite finished shooting each other..." she said, the words coming out as a growl.

The Robobrain let out a depressed sounding series of beeps. Beryl gave it an angry kick, only to become yet more angry as her toes crunched against the steel robot chassis. She stormed off, stamped the pain out of her foot back into shape, and returned.

"Let's just crack this fucking thing open and figure out what happened."

She didn't know much about robotics, but there was probably some kind of black box or recording or something inside. Anything that might explain why it was raining robots would do. Selecting the right tool for the job, she thwacked the Robobrain in the abdomen with the 9 iron until the front plating came free. Then she battered it some more, if only to feel better in herself.

"I don't suppose either of you know much about science?" she finally said, gesturing to the others with the golf club.

 

[Rip Van Rabbit]

"So, Miss Lucy. A cap for your thoughts?"

"Parental abandonment and it's effects on the individual's developmental state..." she mumbled out loud in an autonomous response. If her eye's weren't buried under a thinker's frown, you'd think she was asleep judging her tone. She snapped out of her state and managed a half-hearted smile up at the familiar and tall figure nearby.

"Sorry about th- Woah!" she exclaimed as she actually got a good look at Shifty, "Leather armour, it definitely suits you."

She motioned towards the seat next to her, she reckoned they had some time to kill. After all, she doubted whether the rest would ignore the opportunity to grab some better equipment before heading out. Lucy did notice something about the Undertaker's expression, yet she couldn't quite put her finger on it. She decided to take a stab anyway.

"So how does it feel to be locked into a mission on an organisation's whim?" her voice failed to convey any sense of confidence, which was unnerving for her, "Better yet, how does it feel to be thrown in together with a team that largely seem to be at odds with one another?"

She did enjoy the ability to stretch her vocabulary when she was around the now Tall and Daunting Undertaker, a passive collection of knowledge spent reading in the past. She missed her favourite pastime, she's barely had any time to herself lately.

Lucy knew that the entire "conversation" with FalloutBob earlier had shook her very foundation and she had no reason to really doubt his words, especially since he believed her to be on his side. In this moment however, she didn't know how to discern the truth from lies at this point. She was wary of everyone, to the point where she wanted to push the very world away until she found her motivation again to move forward.

It frustrated her to no end and she realized that this was no attitude to have when walking towards a very threatening situation soon. She needed to know someone else was on her side. She could take comfort in that at least.

"FalloutBob..." she uttered loud enough for him to hear. It had taken her a moment before continuing.

"Sorry, please remember-" she took a deep breath and sighed heavily, "-...I'm trusting you."

And with that, she slowly started to confide in the trusted Undertaker. Describing her long-overdue meeting, glossing over the history bits for context, detailing her cover identity and the effort it took. Finally, she described everything in detail. Who her father really was, the answers to his murder and how her image of him was shattered beyond repair.

Clearly growing unhinged after that, her tone and expression indicated her disillusioned state. Some part of her was clearly screaming out for help, asking for someone to give her some motivation or at the very least calm her maelstrom of thoughts.

She touched on mere thoughts at this point, "To top it off, I have no idea where my mother is. The supposed skills I've used to get to this point, I-..."

Dammit, she was slipping.

"I don't know who I am any more."

 

[TheDoctor455]

Johnny Truant is unconscious. (1)

(1) More accurately, he writhed in pain for several seconds, alternately muttering and screaming incoherent nonsense like 'Gah! It burns it burns!' and 'The knuckles! The horrible knuckles!' before finally blacking out. Once Mr. Truant was out of the picture (for now at least)... I decided to step in. Fill in for him, as it were. To that effect, I slowly and carefully clambered back to my feet and strapped his... ungainly and noisy lever action rifle onto Mr. Truant's back before walking over to The Red Princess's side and starting to treat her minor wounds with Mr. Truant's exhaustive supply of Med-X and Stimpacks. Before turning my attention back to that cold ***** and that damned robot, I retrieved a green ink pen from Mr. Truant's satchel and wrote a quick little note on The Red Princess's hand:

'Terribly sorry about that. Mr. Truant either has an awfully convenient allergy to Radscorpion meat, or... the toxins from the beast's body simply didn't interact well with his usual hmm... cocktail of Psycho, Mentats, Jet, and Buffout. Once again, I apologize for Mr. Truant's rather... appalling lack of decorum, and I hope you do not hold it against him, as he really is quite stupid. -Ed.'

Without a single spoken word, I made my way over to the disgusting robobrain and fetched Mr. Truant's... 'lucky' hammer. This little hammer is one he typically used to crush especially hard ingestibles into a more manageable paste. I mouthed the words 'for Cazadores' at the cold ***** before silently hammering away at the robobrain's sensitive spots that would open it up post-haste.

 

[RobDaBank]

Wayne was making ground, following the beast as it lay waste to the various cars, overpasses and other assorted obstacles one would find on a road strewn with cars positioned in a way that showed nothing but the desperation of the occupants as the bombs fell all those years ago. Of course, he had to be careful of these cars, not only were they prone to exploding, they also released a fair amount of radiation when they did.

His leg was slowly acting up again, even with the aid of the makeshift walking stick firearm. A hit of Med-X and RadAway wouldn't go amiss right now. His supply of said items were, however, god knows where. With the goliathan crustacean occupied with the vertibird, Wayne decided now was a good time to set his Robobrain back to follow. He punched in the command to his Pip-boy, knowing wherever it was it would find him, eventually. All he could do was pray to whatever twisted deity that let the world get this way that it wouldn't attract the attention of any undesirables.

Scanning the area as he hobbled he realised he had lost sight of the soldier. "Great, on my fucking own again" he muttered to himself. At the best of times he could at least find solace in talking to his Robobrain. Forcing himself to believe that the 'unique' brain Arcade and Julie Farkas kept banging on about could hear him, and better yet understand him. He subconciously tricked himself into believing it had become an extension of himself, not only was it capable of helping him to carry objects and his own tired, pessimistic, crippled ass, it could also carry the burden of Wayne's thoughts.

He pushed on, determined to find some damn help so he could find his friend and get back to more familiar territory, not quite realising that the beast he was following may as well have been a giant turd moving ever closer to a big ass fan.

 

[SamtheDeathclaw]

Stan stepped lively- the damn beast was fast- and followed along a parallel street. He crawled over rubble and broken cars, but at least he was out of the way of the debris that thing was leaving behind.

He scanned the area again, looking for any sign of Wayne. Nada. Not even that robobrain he had trailing him. Stan figured he'd think to follow on a parallel street, but the man's leg might preclude him crawling over rubble.

Stan sighed, and resigned himself to getting on the same street. They went a few more blocks, nearly out of the city at this point, before Stan found a cross street he could traverse quickly.
It was, of course, inhabited by raiders. They seemed to have ducked in the sidestreet to get out of the Goliath's way, and put themselves directly into Stan's. OOPS.

"Hey there fellas." Stan called, and drew his revolver. Raiders didn't care whether or not you drew your weapon: they were going to kill you. Or try, at least.
"Fuck you! It'll hear you!" one of them practically screamed. Stan stifled a sigh.
[Speech]"You gonna let me through, or am I gonna have to call my buddies in that Vertibird and have 'em lead that big ************ over this way?"
[Success!] "Uh, nah, man. It's your funeral if you wanna go after that thing, this ain't even our territory." one of them called back. Stan walked quickly through, his gun still gripped lightly. He was expecting at least a little trouble, but it seemed that the three raiders had no interest in fighting.

This thing has these assholes more spooked than I thought. Now, let's see about finding Wayne...

 

[Souplex]

Danielle came to the gate of the Citadel.
"Open up!"
The gates opened before her, revealing the Citadel courtyard.
"Home sweet home."
Danielle removed her helmet and carried it under her arm.
[Perception]Danielle saw Scribe Briana Goodman in the courtyard.
"Hey Dan, how'd the situation with those crabs go?"
[Black Widow]"That cleared up weeks ago..."
"Oh, the Mirelurks! Vaporized a bunch of them at the Nuka Cola plant. Unfortunately the plant itself is still standing."
"I know you hate the stuff, but I'm glad that they'll still be around to produce Nuka. I heard they even started making flavors from out west. I really want to try Nuka Cola Victory. It's supposed to be cherry flavored."
"Cherry flavored Nuka? Why would anyone do such a thing!? That's like puking on a pile of shit!"
"Charming as ever I see. Your brother's here by the way. You missed him getting naked and handsy with the Enclave guy we captured though. He even still has that Weird Al Yankovic hair."
"I really should be checking on him, nice seeing you."
"Bye!"
Danielle headed off to the Elder's office before looking for Frank, luckily, Frank was already there. As was the Van Graff and some unknown cripple.
"Danny boy!"
"Francine!"
[Perception]Frank's armor had a hideous new paint-job.
"Your armor's paint-job looks even more hideous than the one you had before leaving the Brotherhood."
Danielle threw her rifle at Frank's head.
"Fix it."
"Yes, sister."
Frank walked off with the rifle, grumbling along the way.
Danille turned her attentions to the Van Graff.
"Hello Mr. Van Graff, I'm sorry our last meeting had to be cut short by Frank. Since you're still alive, that means Elder Lyon's has plans for you. While I respect our Elder's wishes, if you try anything; know that I can shoot your dick off from..."
[Black Widow]Danielle grabbed Marlon's crotch.
[Energy Weapons 100/100][Success!]"...Halfway across the wastes."
"Elder Lyons, I understand you've captured an Enclave big-wig. Mind if I have a crack at interrogating him?"

 

[Pink Gregory]

*alright. Alright alright alright. Right. Ahem*

"Crawver, Doctor, uh, oh damn and blast!"

"I'm just not used to situations evolving at such a speed, my poor dry brain can't quite draw a line from one side to the other. Perhaps I'm just growing old...bah! Old age! What a thing to wrack myself with at such a time! Perhaps I'm becoming too acclimatised to all this nonsense. That's what it is, a lack of sense. Nothing sensible is happening, as a scientist I can't process it."

"I'll admit, I've had no choice but to turn to more of this...survival tonic. My body appears to be more welcoming of it's influence, more so than the first dose. Perhaps...no. Better that Abraham and I are the sole imbibers. I shan't allow such poisons to pass Udders' lips, and as benevolent as our new companions may seem, it would be unwise to share such an unpredictable concoction; though I daresay some of their number seem on the cusp of death. I'm not sure if it's the same ones each time."

"oh, yes. Our companions. Doubtless you will have heard their...oratory, yes that's the right word, oratory; I have made my first field recording of unusual phenomena, the subject being them. A more bizarre mutation of the human being I have never seen. I'm categorising their condition under the disappointingly vague title of 'radiation', for now. Hideously scarred and - dare I say it - melted as they are, there is...there is a warmth that pervades the washboard scrape of their voices. It is a rarity indeed. Perhaps that is enough to dissuade me from suspicion. Perhaps."

"Abraham is keeping very quiet. I plan to make a thorough examination when he finally decides to sleep, not that I care for him and his survival, but..."

"No, I may find myself in need of this tonic in future. As for our future, as fortunate a bounty as we have been blessed with, supplies don't quite stretch between the group; and, well, it's already been doled out, I'm a gentleman, after all. A gentleman. For now, at least. More supplies will be needed."

"Sometimes I wonder where I'd be, without the need for supplies. Probably best not to think about it."

"Don't know why they insist on addressing me as 'Wet One' anyway, I'm not remotely wet. I wish I was, but we can't all have the things we want."

 

[Generic NPC 22]

The girl in the red dress was not happy though, the smile on her face never ever EVER betrayed that particular fact. Whether is was the fact that someone had shot her stuff or the fact that Mister Hammer Ed/Mister Johnny Shakes was in the process of hammering away at Mysterious Mister Robco Robobrain or simply the fact that due to the greasy mess on her hand, Mister Hammer Ed/Mister Johnny Shakes' message was smeared, we'll never know. What is know is that Sylphee was definitely not going to be sitting idly while her newest friend in the Wastes was about to be hammered to death by Mister Hammer Ed.

"Hey Mister Johnny Shakes! You stop it right now!" The girl said loudly (a true lady never screams, she just says things at a louder volume) as she leaped onto Mister Johnny Shakes' back her hands covering his eyes. Given her rather flighty attitude and ability to stay on track, the mere act of covering Mister Johnny Shakes'/Hammer Ed's eyes prompted another loudly worded question.

"Hey hey hey hey hey, Mister Johnny Shakes! Guess who?" She asked as she tried to keep herself stable on Mister Johnny Shakes' back.

"Shhh! Mysterious Mister Robco Robobrain! He can't know that it's me!" She said quietly to the hammeree of Mister Hammer Ed's hammering.

 

[TheDoctor455]

Johnny Truant is still unconscious. (1)

(1) I decided not to dignify whatever it was that Sylph had gotten into her head to do to me with a vocal response. Instead, I simply attempted to shrug her off by running around in a circle for a few moments, to build up momentum, and then I ducked down onto my knees as quickly and sharply as I could, planted my face into the dirt, and tried to launch Sylph off of my back.

 

[Generic NPC 22]

Round and round we go, where Sylphee lands no one knows! At least that's what should have been said. Instead, from Missus Meryl Barrel's perspective, things went rather awry as Mister Johnny Shakes/Mister Hammer Ed gave the red dressed girl a circular piggy back ride.

"WeeeEEEEEEEEEeee[small]eee[/small]eeeEEEEEEEEEeee!!!!" Came a rather ecstatic cheery from the girl whose pitch wavered as she traveled too and fro on Mister Johnny Shakes'/Mister Hammer Ed's back due to the doppler effect on her voice.

All would have gone well had Mister Johnny Shakes/Mister Hammer Ed remembered just one simple thing: The girl known as Sylph had just eaten a grip of Rad Scorpion Meat.

"I... I... I... don't... feel... so... *BAAAAAARF*" Sylphee said and barfed before she was thrown from Mister Johnny Shakes' / Mister Hammer Ed's back, sending her tumbling through the dirt and coming to rest at Mysterious Mister Robco Robobrain's treads.

"Scuse me!" The girl said, embarrassed by her actions, especially the part where she puked on Mister Johnny Shakes'/Mister Hammer Ed's pants. Looking up at Mysterious Mister Robco Robobrain, she wondered who the hologram was; so she asked.

"Hey Mister! Who are you?" She asked the Hologram, waiting for an answer.

 

[TheDoctor455]

Well I'm done with this for now.-Ed

Johnny Truant woke up to a horrible surprise. He groaned in disgust and irritation, muttering something about 'why is always ME?' and set about getting a rag out of his bag to try and clean the noxious stuff off of his pants. Fifth time this month. I've gotta learn to stay away from the girls with 'sensitive' constitutions. Wait... what the hell happened anyway? Doesn't look like I killed anyone... this time. So I guess there's that. Yeah me... or whatever.

 

[RobDaBank]

The maze of previously destroyed, and recently re-destroyed buildings the creature was being led through only helped to confirm that Wayne was definitely lost. He watched as raiders and wastelanders ran for cover as they saw the hulking crustacean bearing down on them. Some were stupid enough... or drugged up enough, to attempt to fire on it. One even had a missile launcher, and it did cause some damage. Damage that was promptly healed again as Lurkzilla barfed on him. Every time its attention was diverted, the vertibird fired another volley at it to get its attention back, continuing to lead it to God only knows where.

Looking at his Pip-boy he could see they were heading north. Surprised that his Robobrain hadn't caught up yet he began to fear the worse. It was either destroyed, in the wrong hands, or much further away than he anticipated.

His leg was on fire. He would have to stop soon if he didn't get some Med-X in his system, and the last thing he wasnted to do was stop here, with all those raiders hidden in every nook and cranny. Wayne had been lucky in that he could walk out in the open, just a short distance behind the slow moving, hulking gargantu-crab, without anyone daring to fire at him for fear of what they may attract. He winced, gritted his teeth and decided it best to just endure the pain. He drew out the 10mm pistol though, just in case.

 

[The Harkinator]

"On second thoughts, could you give me a few more instructions on how to get somewhere I can access the Enclave files? Talking too much might get me discovered. And get you nowhere." Said William, still waiting at the second grate. He was careful to remind them that just killing him was a waste of their time.

William took a moment to look at himself, his shirt was dirty and creased, a bloodstain beneath the collar on the left side from where his mad assailant had scratched him. The tie was red though and the blood didn't show so much, but William knew it was there. The waistcoat seemed, for the most part, untarnished. The dusts of the wasteland clung to it slightly but with the recent time spent indoors most of it had brushed off. His boots were tough and survived well, thankfully.

Waiting alone in the dark, William waited for the voice on the other end of the collar to tell him where to go.

 

[Souplex]

Frank placed his sister's rifle on the workbench in his old workshop.

Spoiler: Frank put on some music

[Perception]Screws were melted, just going to have to brute force the frame open.
[Strength]Frank tore off the left panel of the rifle frame.
[Repair 100/75][Success!]It looked like none of the modifications were damaged, just the regular laser rifle components.
Frank grabbed some spare laser rifle parts from a drawer, and placed them on the left side of the workbench.
Frank then began methodically removing the melted parts and placing them on the right side of the workbench.
Frank then began replacing the removed parts.
[Maintainence]Frank then took some scrap electronics and set up an inhibitor switch for the breeder on the handle of the rifle. This would enable the rifle to be shot without consuming the breeder charge while the breeder still built a charge. This would also enable the rifle to be shot with max charge cells without destroying it.
[Jury Rigging] While considering the shortcomings of the rifle, Frank thought about how it wasn't ideal for close-range combat, and there was a way around that.
Frank grabbed some more rifle parts, some scrap electronics, and a prism lens.
[Energy Weapons 85/50][Repair 100/50][Success!] The back half of a laser rifle is where most of the electronic bets were stored. The front half was mostly focusing lenses. what Frank had planned was perfectly possible.
Frank swapped the regular final lens of the spare rifle with the prism lens, detached the back half, of the spare rifle, bolted the front underneath Danielle's rifle's barrel, wired it into the rifles electronics, and installed another switch on the rifle's handle. The rifle could now switch between sharpshooting and shotgun roles.
Frank closed up all the open parts, and put in some finishing touches.
Some might say the rifle was bulky, over-designed, and unwieldy. Frank would say it fills all roles, and that was worth the weight tradeoff.
"Pretty damn good if I do say so myself!"