Stan could only laugh. The impossible man looked like a marionette controlled by a drunkard. Wayne and Sgt. Cheekbones began firing at it, uselessly. Stan had to sit down from laughing. He knew he looked positively nuts- well, nutser- but the whole day/week/month had been too absurd for him to deal with. Giant nukalurks, disappearing ghouls, Enclave gentlemen who were the prettiest but could still punch apart doors in a handful of ticks, and now a marionette-man. He hacked and coughed, and finally got himself under control.
"Gents, I think we've finally found something neither of you can possibly deal with." He stopped and stifled another giggle. "With all due respect, Sgt. Cheekbones, I think we should probably run. Like the wind, if at all possible. On down the tunnel, away from this... Thing. Guy. Unfortunate, soulless abomination. Whichever fits, I guess."
With that, Stan turned, and headed back down the tunnel at a quick jog. He immediately set off three pitching machine traps, two swinging brahmin-skulls, and narrowly avoided a landmine. Providence favors the fools, indeed. He was unsure if Wayne and Dave were following, and at this point, he was terribly close to not caring. He would probably be better off going back to couriering, or even just scavving. Weird things hadn't started happening until Wayne had showed up. Maybe they would stop happening if Stan got way, way away from him...
He doubted it, for some reason.
The tunnel was beginning to tilt up, and traps got scarcer and fortifications more common. One more raider hole before they were out.
Stan loosened his pistol. The other two seemed to still be a ways back, if they were following at all. This one was his, apparently, to do his way. Here goes nothing.
He strolled up to the stairs to the platform, his posture as unthreatening as possible. The raiders were clustered around a table, taking hits of jet.
He cleared his throat.
"EH-hem. Sirs andslashor madams, I bid you good... Eeeevening, maybe?" One of the nearby raiders of indeterminate gender looked blearily up from the inhaler, and instinctively reached for xir shotgun. Stan promptly kicked it away. The others sat back, startled. A startled raider is a dangerous animal indeed.
"Now, no need for all that. I- and my companions- just want to pass unharmed. Well, without harming any of you, anyways. Your friends back yonder-" he gestured back down the tunnel- "were quite willing to let us pass, after a small amount of persuasion."
"Who you?"
"Why, a simple traveller. With deadly armaments and not a whole lot of patience for pointless questions, mm? Tell your buds to let me and my pals pass, or tell me who can give that order."
"Back up tunnel. With door. Doctor. Boss-man." Regardless of hir gender, xe was an exceptionally ugly and brutish specimen, barely capable of forming simple words and phrases. Ze seemed to understand Stan well enough, however.
"Oh, well then! As you can see from the fact I'm here unharmed, he let me pass. Isn't that good enough for you? Or do I need to go drag him over here just so I can pass? He'll probably be pretty peeved. I'd hate to see what he would do. Maybe put you in that room?"
"Mm. No room. You go. Friends go. Not take things, not shoot. Get."
"Good to hear, pal! My other pals will be along shortly, I hope. Don't shoot them, or else boss-man will be angry. We made a deal with him."
"Hnmh. Talkyman has word."
Stan strolled away, and breathed a sigh of relief. He leaned near the stairs up, waiting for Wayne and Sgt. Cheekbones. He gave them twenty minutes before he left for Rivet City.
Wayne didn't want to run, at least not for appearances sake, but once the strange man began to phase back through the wall and a FalloutDavid also began o run, it was obvious thy had no choice.
Luckily avoiding traps wasn't a problem as Stan had set most of them off, one of which came in handy.
"How..." His creepy greeting was cut short by a burst of baseballs hurtling into his face. "How.." Thud "How..." Thud "How..." Thud, and so on. The man standing there, taking each hit.
The duo rounded a bend and climbed a hill, seeing Stan at the tunnels exit the pair picked up the pace, which was easier said than done for Wayne who was suddenly remembering about his 'condition'. To their amazement there were a group of raiders just standing by. Being in pain and chased by a seemingly invincible entity was enough for Wayne to just let this one slide, apparently Dave thought the same. "Thanks guys" Said Dave as he passed them.
The trio had gotten out, though it was up to Stan and Dave to figure out where they had gotten 'out' though. From behind the familiar voice sounded again, "Howdy" followed by a chilling orchestra of screams and gunshots.
"Let's not hang around guys" panted Wayne hurriedly as he tried to catch his breath and give his leg a rest.
The Enclave Vault: What's the difference between Lucy and a mosquito? The mosquito will stop sucking after you slap it.
The formerly melancholic Lucy had truly brightened for the first time since the loss of her eye and subsequent arrival at The Enclave Vault. Apparently, it was Sylph's turn to take Lucy by surprise.
Ironically, Sylph was just what Lucy had needed in her life. The recreation of a 'family' was an aspect that Lucy still fantasized about.
For this to become a reality to Lucy, her new idea of a 'family' was now no longer limited to blood-relatives. If Sylph truly had the potential to stay, then this could be the turning point of her life.
"You're right, Sylphee." Lucy started to confess, still cringing slightly at the nickname. "I've spent so much time in my head over the years, believing that I was volatile and better off alone, lest I hurt someone. Which is a really stupid thing to believe - "
It took her a moment to realize that she had actually laughed at herself there, nevertheless, she continued with her confession.
"Truth is, I get scared, that's all...which isn't something that's going away any time soon, but it's about time I start taking some chances." Lucy smiled her first genuine smile at this point. "And - um - I think that my Super Little Sis Sylphee is a great place to start...- "
With little hassle, Lucy had suddenly wrapped her arms around Sylph in their first 'sisterly' embrace to whisper the following into her ear.
"Thanks for - all this - it means more to me than you'll ever know . I'm new to this sister thing, but I'll try my absolute best."
Breaking off eventually, Lucy noticed that she had garnered a few stares from passing soldiers. She had also noticed her appearance in a reflective surface. Eyepatch, cracked lips, various unhealed scratches along her face. Despite her relatively small build, Lucy actually looked somewhat...intimidating.
Clearing her throat, Lucy's voice filled with mock authority as she laid one hand on her hip. Her appearance, by default with the black eyepatch, seemed to be aiming for immediate intimidation and maturity, but her inability to keep a straight face had betrayed this visage.
"We have to make a promise. The deepest kind of promise. Stronger than Blamco Mac & Cheese itself! None other than: a pinky promise!"
Sheepishly, Lucy extended her pinky finger towards Sylph.
"Always look out for each other, okay? Cross my heart and hope to die, stick a deathclaw in my eye...Don't worry, we'll find you some awesome clothes, but nothing too awesome...I am meant to be the stylish one here. Just have a look at this leather... "
Lucy was having way too much fun teasing Sylph in this sister role. However, it was endlessly pleasant to not have to put up a front with someone.
[hr]
While Lucy welcomed it, she was also curious as to how she would adapt to the pre-choker Sylph. Which version was the primary personality? Or was Sylph actually a complex but ultimately fragmented individual? Was the pre-choker Sylph even aware of what's going on right now?
Even though Lucy was paying attention to every single detail that this girl revealed, she was still a mystery...
For now, it was Lucy's joy to be part 'sister' to one side and job to aid the other side. She had to adapt. To honour Shifty's wishes.
[hr]
Walking down the hallway, Lucy peered into the various labs with reinforced glass panes serving as the walls. Stopping to take a closer look at anything that caught her attention.
One lab had a lone scientist working around a cooking pot. Lucy watched the man pour in what looked like sugar, spice and finally he emptied a bag full of delicious looking treats labelled "everything nice".
Something had gone wrong when the scientist broke a nearby container of black liquid, seeping into the cooking pot, the lab turned a nasty shade of red when the alarm went off and steel frames encased the lab. Perhaps it was best that Lucy hadn't seen the aftermath, since an explosion could be heard behind the quarantine.
Another lab was centred around something more horrific: an armoured Deathclaw. Blinking a few times to make sure she wasn't hallucinating, Lucy could definitely confirm the existence of a living Deathclaw, passively laying on it's side with black power armour framing its body. Meanwhile, numerous scientists were fixing strange headgear onto the Deathclaw.
[hr]
Eager to get away from the labs, Lucy proposed an immediate distraction for the both of them.
"Let's go play with some guns!" Lucy declared as they entered a firing-range with various energy weapons aligned on racks, along with a few conventional weapons to her surprise.
Now that Sylph had surprised her with the Kitty-cat scope, Lucy got to work fixing it onto the custom frame of the rifle. Peering through, the pink cat face reticle was now glowing a lot brighter now that it was powered.
Smiling at her absurdly cute scope, Lucy stepped into one of the firing ranges and handed the rifle to Sylph. "Try it out, it should be lighter than that...thing you brought into my room."
The Enclave Vault: What's the Difference Between Lucy and Mother Teresa? Nothing!
Enclave Unit #556 was having a rather nice day. He had recently been put in charge of the firing range, a promotion that he had been gunning for since Enclave Unit #223 had been "terminated" from his employment with the Enclave and his first day on the job had been rather nice, he reflected as he sat down at his desk, removing his helmet for his usual coffee break that subsisted of doughnut holes, a sandwich, some brahmin tartar and an unsweetened black coffee (he was watching his weight after all).
The black armored Enclave Unit #556 wasn't what you would call a skinny or lean man by any means, in fact, he was quite the opposite, corpulent and flabby. The fact that he had made it past basic training was a testament more to his skills in Bullshittery than his physical fitness.
Still, Enclave Unit #556 was definitely having a rather nice day, a fact that was emphasized by the sigh he he emitted as he looked down at his "snack" before he was interrupted by an unfamiliar pair of voices that came from a pair of women that entered the Firing Range.
"Let's go play with some guns!" said the taller of the women, who was dressed in non-standard Enclave issued clothing as she handed what looked suspiciously like a non-standard issue Gauss Rifle to the shorter one with blue hair poking out of her standard Enclave Grey clothing bandanna.
"(Assets.)" The thought entered Enclave Unit #556's head after having burrowed through multiple layers of fat and clogged arteries.
Enclave Unit #556 had never been a strong supporter of the Asset Program, you couldn't tell where the loyalties of the Assets lay but seeing the two women in front of him gave him a whole different perspective on the Asset program. The massive legs that carried Enclave Unit #556 heaved for a moment, mustering up enough verticle lift for the massively overweight firing range supervisor to prop himself against the metal table and kick his legs underneath him.
Taking a large lung's worth of air, Enclave Unit #556 prepared to hike the 20 or so meters between him and the ladies, or rather he would have if it wasn't for:
*GRUMBLE!!!*
The Enclave Unit's true master, his stomach, voiced its displeasure at being forgotten, especially with the man's "snack" already laid out. Sitting back down, Enclave Unit #566 watched as shooting lesson between the two women.
"Try it out, it should be lighter than that...thing you brought into my room." Said the taller one looking down at the shorter one, who was struggling to shoulder the Gauss Rifle, despite it's apparent lighter status.
"Hey! There's a Missy Miss kitty in Mister Scopy, Big Sissy Lucy Caboosy!" The shorter one almost shrieked at her sister as she peered through the Gauss Rifle's Scope before squeezing off a shot.
*PEW!* *PWING! PWING! PWING! PLOOP!*
Enclave Unit #556 almost had a coronary from his laughter as he saw that the shorter of the two assets had missed the target entirely, the fact that the range's bullet catch didn't seem to be functioning right didn't immediately strike him as off.
*PEW!* *PWING! PWING! PWING! CHUNK!*
"Awwww! I missed again, Big Sissy Lucy Caboosy!" The Short one lamented, though Enclave Unit #556 wasn't really paying attention to the two at that moment. What he was paying attention to was the fact that his Mole Rat Molasses Sandwich had jumped a little bit. Cautiously Enclave Unit #556 took a bite out of sandwich and:
CRUNCH!
Bit right into the Ferromagnetic Gauss Bolt that had landed inside his Mole Rat Molasses Sandwich, chipping a couple of his teeth as he bit down.
*PEW!* *PWING! PWING! PWING! CHUNK! CRASH!*
"(Oh the horror of it all! Damn those two women!)" Enclave Unit #556 thought to himself as he watched his bowl of Brahmin Tartar get knocked off the metal table and crash messily on the floor. That was the final straw! He could tolerate stupidity! He could tolerate bad shots! The one thing he couldn't tolerate was people messing with his food. Preparing himself to give the two Assholes a piece of his mind, he chugged his coff-
"*HURK!!!*" Went Enclave Unit #556 as he started choking on the first Ferromagnetic Gauss Bolt that had landed in his coffee. Panicking, Enclave Unit #556 started trying to administer the Heimlich maneuver on himself using the metal table, not really noticing that his armor was damaging the table more than the table was assisting in dislodging the Bolt from his throat.
"*HURK!!! HURK!!! HURK!!! HURK!!!*" The power armored man continued as he started to black out before finally settling back in his seat, his face resting peacefully on the metal table in front of him.
[hr]
The Enclave Vault: Control
"Sir! I've got another flatline alarm going off in the shooting range." Reported a technician who was in charge of monitoring the statuses of all of the Enclave Units.
"It's Enclave Unit #556" She continued as she pulled up a video feed of the range, displaying the corpulent firing range supervisor on the screen.
"Looks like he finally ate himself to death." Enclave Unit #411 muttered as she continued focusing on a video feed of her own, one that displayed Enclave Asset Lucy Black at the firing range with some unknown.
"Have a few of the replicants pick up #556's corpse for disposal."
"Ma'am!"
[hr]
The Enclave Vault: The Firing Range
Looking down at Sylphee, Big Sissy Lucy Caboosy would have noticed that her lil' sis was concentrating very, Very, VEry, VERy, VERY, VERY hard, as was denoted by the fact that a) Sylphee wasn't talking much while she was concentrating and b) Sylphee seemed to be gnawing lightly on her tongue as she continued to contentrate on shooting Missy Miss Kitty, who wouldn't stop moving around the inside of Mister Scopy.
"Tricky Missy Miss Kitty! Tricky tricky tricky!" Hurricane Sylph chortled as she squeezed the trigger on Lucy's Gauss Rifle PLUS! again.
*PEW!* *PWING! PWING! PWING!* *DING!*
This time, it seemed that The BOORRRRING Menace had managed to hit the target that sitting in their firing lane, the shot registering that the Poor Mister Target Silhouette would have suffered some sort of shoulder booboo.
"I got it! I shot it!" The Blue Haired Wonder cheered as she wheeled around proudly, forgetting about shooting safety as the Mister Gauss Rifle PLUS! swung around with her, causing Big Sissy Lucy Caboosy to duck or get smacked in the face with the barrel of her very own Mister Gauss Rifle PLUS!.
*PEW!* *PWING! PWING! PWING!* *DING!*
The targeting computer registered a hit once again, this time the Poor Mister Target Silhouette would have suffered a catastrophic injury to his face dome.
"Hey Big Sis Lucy Caboosy! What're you doing down there?" The Disasterous Red Hurricane asked as she peered down at Big Sis Lucy Caboosy.
"I like Mister Gauss Rifle PLUS! But I think you should have him back since Missy Miss Kitty a bit too tricksy for me." Sylphee said as she handed Mister Gauss Rifle PLUS! to Big Sis Lucy Caboosy.
Standing there, The Red BOOOOORING Menace beamed brightly as she realized that it was really REALLY awesome having a Big Sis Lucy Caboosy and that she would do everything she could to keep her Big Sis Lucy Caboosy happy.
Realizing that Big Sis Lucy Caboosy probably needed more Gauss Rifle PLUS! bolts to shoot, Sylphee decided to go grab some for her Big Sis Lucy Caboosy the best way she knew how, the way Mommy Meryl Barrel taught her. She hopped over the bench into the firing lane and started airplaning her way down the range.
'don't worry I will' said larry before asking 'also are you in charge here? if yes I have a deal you should consider, if no then who is?'
Weld: You'll be wanting Sheriff Simms, him...over there.
(The robo-deputy pointed out Lucas with a swaying mechanical arm, then got back to work. Well now... A black sheriff? Eh, worked in Blazing Saddles...
Larry headed over to sheriff simms and waved at him 'sheriff, I have a deal for you that you might want to listen to.' Larry also was making sure that rick was sticking close to him.
He turned and regarded the man, and then his unusual tagalong.
Lucas: Keeping in mind that I've had a trying day, tell me what's on your mind.
'well I am an expert in turning scrap into useful weapons, with the amount of stuff the enclave threw at you guys I will be able to create a set of weapons that will make anyone regret trying to attack you in the future. Now of course nothing in the wasteland is free so in return I would expect to get a couple of the weapons I make, get supplied with some food and water while I work on them, and if we salvage enough to get a working set of power armour Ill get the first set even if we only get enough to make one set.' larry put his hand out offering a handshake 'so we got a deal?'
Lucas: Well, right now, we're using the town armory and the weapons cache of a former resident. Also, we opened up a deal with a guy called Marlon Van Graff a while back. I'll let you hash out things with him when he gets back, but otherwise I don't see a real problem with us on that. You might wanna have a word with the Brotherhood boys in town about powersuits.
If Larry had noticed anything about the scattered remnants of material from the Enclave attack, though, it was this: Alot of stuff exploded. A close inspection would reveal that there weren't any powersuit generators at all, because they exploded. That didn't leave much, but at least he was getting an in here.
Larry started looking for a place to set up his stuff as well as telling people about the deal he made with lucas.
The Room Formerly Inhabited by an Audrey II Wannabe.
After politely waiting for the strange girl's response... sorry, but Johnny felt the need to put it out there. He didn't think she was a bad person per se... just... well... something really strange seemed to vibrate its way through her and around her. And given his current run of luck so far, Johnny decided it was in his best interest to part her company, lovely as he genuinely thought it was.
"Umm... listen," he said, smiling amicably while backing slowly towards the door, "I kinda got separated from a friend in here. Well... I say 'friend', but I suppose she's more like a kid I've sort of adopted at this point. Or... maybe she adopted me. Anyway, I kinda need to find her. She's a sweet girl, most of the time... but I should probably find her before she gets into trouble. And please... if she's broken anything or anyone here... umm... please don't hold that against her; she doesn't really seem to really get what she's doing most of the time. I think... anyway. So yeah... I'd better get going now that I'm no longer needed over here."
He edged more towards the door. Now that he had a chance to think about it... Johnny had to admit that this girl wasn't the strangest thing he'd seen. Hell, even the giant plant monster didn't come close.
One thing that did come close well... let me put it this way:
Solving the following riddle will reveal the awful secret behind the universe, assuming you do not go utterly mad in the attempt. If you already happen to know the awful secret, feel free to skip ahead.
Let's say you have an ax. Just a cheap one. On one bitter winter day, you behead a man. Don't worry, the man was already dead. Or maybe you should worry, because you're the one who shot him.
He'd been a big, twitchy guy with veiny skin stretched over swollen biceps, a swastika tattooed on his tongue. Teeth filed into razor-sharp fangs - you know the type. And you're chopping his head off because, even with eight bullet holes in him, you're pretty sure he's about to spring back to his feet and eat the look of terror right off your face. And no, he's not a ghoul or a super-mutant or anything like that as far as you can tell. He's just a guy. With a swastika on his tongue. Anyway... On the last swing though, the handle of the ax snaps in a spray of splinters. You now have a broken ax. Congratulations, now find a coconut. What was I talking about? Oh right. So, after a long night of looking for a place to dump the ax head, you take a trip into town with your ax. You go to the hardware store, explaining the reddish stains as barbecue sauce. You walk out with a new handle for your ax.
The repaired ax sits undisturbed in your garage until one rainy morning, you find in your kitchen a creature that appears to be a foot-long slug with a bulging egg sac on its tail. Its jaws bite one of your forks in half with what seems like very little effort. You grab your trusty ax and chop the fucker into several pieces. On the last blow however, it strikes a metal leg of the overturned kitchen table and chips out a notch of the blade. And that's one reason I was kicked out of Rivet City ladies and gentlemen.
No wait... it wasn't. That's a different story altogether. Where was I?
Of course, the chipped head means yet another trip to the hardware store. They sell you a brand new head for your ax. As soon as you get home, you meet the reanimated body of the guy you beheaded earlier. He's also got a new head, stitched on with what looks like plastic trimmer line, and it's wearing that unique expression of "you're the man who killed me last winter" resentment that one so rarely encounters in everyday life. Even in the Capital Wasteland.
You brandish your ax. The guy takes a long look at the weapon with his squishy, rotting eyes, and in a gargly voice he screams, "That's the ax that slayed me!"
Is he right?(1)
Johnny didn't know if he'd said that little inner monologue out loud or not, but whether or not he did was irrelevant as far as he was concerned. He'd made it to the door without any trouble as far as he could tell, and he was still in one piece. Upon getting to the door, he called out to the strange girl in a friendly voice, "Nice to meet you! Really would have loved to stay and chat some more. You seem like a great person to hang around with, but... I really need to find that adorable little... daughter of mine before she hurts someone."
With that, Johnny ducked out the room and started running through halls, calling out Slyph's name as he went. After what seemed like an age, but was probably barely half a minute really; Johnny came across a door that looked like it might lead into a janitor's closet or something. Seemed like a good place to hide anyway. He opened it, stepped through, and closed the door behind him. That's when he found out it was really a shooting range. Fuck me.
As he looked closer though... he saw Slyph, and was so happy to see her again that he ran straight towards her calling out her name, and again, didn't mind his surroundings as well as he should have. He tripped on a wire as he drew close, and barreled right into Sylph and her new friend.
"Sorry about that. Who put that wire there?" Johnny stopped himself as he saw her, "Sylph! I'm so glad to see you again!"
Johnny leapt up to his feet and gave the curious little terror a big hug, smiling. As he did so, he noticed Slyph's new friend.
"Huh," he said, after the hug with Slyph was over, "You look familiar... have we met?"
It took him a moment, but he remembered, and when he did, he blurted out it out:
"Oh yeah! You were that cute girl with one eye that I passed in the hall a while ago when the guards were dragging me to go fight the Audrey II wannabe."
Then Johnny realized what he'd just said.
"Umm... sorry... didn't mean to define you by your former handicap there but um... you are cute, you know. So... umm... my name's Truant. Johnny Truant. What's yours? And... how do you know Slyph?"
(1) Largely an excerpt fromJohn Dies At The End by David Wong; Editor of Cracked.com. No really.
And so it came to pass, that the prophet Crawver was cast unto the waters of the Ancient One; by the will of a demagogue and false prophet. There he held counsel of the mind and body with He Who Is In the Water, and was born anew.
And it came to pass that the Ancient One decreed that the prophet Crawver be a conduit for His flow upon the barren, dessicated world. And Crawver emerged from the waters, and of dread magnificence was his visage.
And Crawver said unto his followers, "Pray before the Wet One, and he shall provide."
And to the meek, his disfigured communion, he said, "Friends. Follow not I, for I am only a prophet of His flow. Come unto the water, and you shall be justly rewarded for your unselfish faith!"
And to the warlike, their leader, he said, "Red Man. Relinquish your leadership and your followers, for a greater cause awaits you in the waters! Come!"
And to the shattered body of the mad penitent, he said, "Come, Abraham! He shall set your bones anew, and your faith shall meet a great reward, and you shall be as his left hand!"
And to the steer, he said, "Come, Udders! I shall not forsake my oldest, and most faithful companion!"
And it came to pass that Crawver and his disciples, beneath the unearthly groan of the Wet One, entered his waters.
Which way? The exploding collar wasn't doing anything at the moment, actually not a bad sign then. Still, William needed some guidance of which way to go, it seemed blind luck was the only option right now. He wouldn't go back, so far nothing looked useful to his mission so turning back would be a waste of time.
Left posed all sorts of problems, it could lead anywhere, somewhere he might get more lost in. Straight ahead was simpler, William would be able to find his own way back if things got too bad. Then again, right seemed the RIGHT way to go, some sort of intuition was pulling William to the right.
Why can they not put huge maps on the walls to indicate where everything was?
Right did seem the right way to go. As soon as he headed right things started clicking into place... maybe. The rooms William passed were different, still not what he was looking for but less scientific and more administrative. Other personnel he passed were a diverse mix of troopers and non combatants, William strode with as much purpose as he could muster so as to blend in. Look like you have an important task to do and you must not be disturbed. That was the way to succeed at this sort of thing, very soon however, William might become really lost in the labyrinthine maze of metal.
Evan's recon had proved fruitful, but the news he brought with him was worrying. What were they? A new mutation? Hayes didn't know what to make of it, all due to the onset of this mysterious raincloud. The report over the radio seemed to reaffirm their fears of these rag-and-bone men, and the fact they were apparently humanoid plants. It made no difference to Hayes; a target was a target.
"Heh, plants AND zombies? I had never even thought of that combination..." he muttered almost to himself.
"Shit. There's a bunch of those over the next hill. And if you would like my opinion...I think we'd better just drive around 'em. We waste enough ammo on raiders as is"
Hayes chuckled at the Scribe's remark, "That's the beauty of a knife you see, they don't run out of ammo" he said as he admired his blade in the pale moonlight. "Gun's are also a bit too impersonal for my liking, you don't get to savour all the little...emotions."
Hayes' could tell that his unconventional musings were having the opposite effect of what the group needed to hear, so he decided to get back on topic. "...But that's a different conversation altogether. We can go around or go straight through the fuckers for all I care, but I suppose the easier option would be to avoid them" he admitted almost disappointedly as he kicked the dirt with his boot like a petulant child.
Leaning against the Grasshopper, he flung his head back and gazed at the stars as the travelling pair started conversing about something he had absolutely no idea of or interest in. Until he heard the mention of the Brotherhood.
"So we get back, what then? I 'aint no Brotherhood man, once we get yelled at fer failin' I'm outta there."
"Soooooooooooo... Guys, anyone going to fill in old Hayes as to the 'failure' in question? I hate being left in the proverbial dark."
[Flashback]Frank was disassembling a busted laser pistol in the Citadel Courtyard.
His father was at the target range, practicing with Danielle, while keeping an eye on him.
It would seem that the reason it wouldn't fire was that the wires had worn and frayed. Easily fixed.
Suddenly a cadre of Paladins entered, carrying a Paladin on a stretcher.
"What's happening?"
Frank's father dropped his laser rifle in shock. "Dad?"
"What happened to his legs?"
[/Flashback]
We're not exactly sure how it happened, but it seemed as though the sight of Crawver Senior brought Dr. Crawver to some sort of breaking point. Suddenly, he was adopting the god complex that was thrust upon him by the ghouls of the Wet Ones, they who somehow overcame the super mutants that were pulling Abe over to the transmutation tubes and such. Doctor Bastion saw this and nearly had a fit. Actually, his jaw did a twitchy there for a moment as he watched all of them get into the water with the big Walrex and not get torn to bits. Finally, he threw his hands up and said...
Doc: Right! That's all for me, then. I'll just killing everyone here.
He pulled out a pair of submachine guns and was prepared to shoot them down from his raised platform when...there was an explosion outside. Overcome by irritation, he picked up his radio - which he linked to some speakers and most of his Behemoth friends - and shouted.
Doc: I TOLD YOU TO BE CAREFUL WITH THOSE NUKES!!
"IT WASN'T US, DOC! THE BIG WHATSIT IS BACK!"
Doc: Big Whatsit...? Oh no... Oh shit! I forgot! THE BOX!
Yes, the Box. Metal Gear Box, the super-computer-driven death machine whose mission it was - specifically - to destroy everything in this entire area. Its first act was to fire missles at one of the patrolling Behemoths. That was the ginormous explosion from before. Now, as it came to a stop on its treads, the four-armed and cycloptic machine stood and surveyed the landscape and obstacles.
[HEADING=1]MGB STATUS: GOOD[/HEADING]
ANALYSIS: Three buildings, 24 Super Mutant Behemoths, 18 Super Mutants (3 Snipers), various debris.
ACTION:DESTROY.
All weapons armed at once. Missles, vulcans, energy beams... WELL, not the nukes. No nuke clearance given, and thank god for that. The MGB's main eye scanned all of the oncoming attacks, many of whom were already throwing mini-nukes at him. All targets and trajectories calculated, four smaller hatches that were diagonal to the main eye - surrounding it - opened to reveal four secondary eyes. In primary battle mode, this machine scanned and computed and kept the location of things in mind with all other devices. In full combat mode, it used extra eyes for real-time data-acquisition and targeting. The vulcan-arms went up and shot away the bombs mid-air as the missles were launched at several Behemoths. Several broke ranks to charge with clubs and hammers. The palms of the MGB glowed with energy before firing a pair of beams PAST the posse to hit their buddies that were readying another volley before entering close-quarters with them.
A hammer came down and a metal fist backhanded it away while the machine's pivot-base in the waist thrust its other fist into the stomach of another mutant while the third right in its face was soaking up vulcan ammo from both arms at point-blank range. The fist that smacked the hammer away now pounded into the owner of said hammer and an energy beam fired from the hand thrust into the second mutant while the third was definitely dead. A fourth one actively used the weight of the others to tackle it off of its feet, but the MGB's foot swung up and then stabbed him in the back with the claws and another energy beam attack wiped up what was left there. The robot pushed itself back onto treads and moved aside to avoid some of the incoming mini-nukes while firing back with more missles...and lancing energy shots through the first building.
Inside, Doctor Bastion was now more than a little worried. He has this 'The jig is up!' look on his face. The building that'd been hit wasn't his. It was a mutant barracks, and it was getting quickly reduced to rubble. He decided to call in a Behemoth to come pick him up and get both him and his fabulous Gene Machine out of here! The Behemoths weren't going to last against it... The MGB thrived on big destructible targets! The bigger it was, the easier it was to track with missles, flood with ammo, and sizzle with energy bolts! A wall caved in out of the machine's line of sight and pulled the Doctor's main equipment - and himself - outside to run for the hills! You could already smell the horrible burning of mutant flesh... As for inside the damn pool with Crawver and Crawver and Company, the cultists were chanting, with their sect leader rambling on.
Ghoul Leader: The fury of the world is but a gnat's cry to our cause! Soon will be the coming of the Great Ones, the true lords of the land and sea! Look, Brother Red! It forms even now!
"Hmmm...?"
As the building shook with explosions and impacts around them, rubble falling and yet...none of this harming them, there was a...sortof newcomer. The energies of the Red Guy, plus the rituals, seemed to call forth...something else. Something dark and in a cloak that was perpetually wet. Something with three fingers and black eyes, with dark-green clammy skin and tendrils obscuring its mouth.
Ghoul Leader: They come! They come to deliver us to our destined place! Praised be the Great Ones, true lords of the land! Praised be the GREAT WET ONES, who come from the sea!
The building gave up for ghost, the ceiling and ALL ceilings collapsed, but...suddenly there was no one in the room. They had been moved to the place of the crossing...where all things intersect.
Frankly, David Davidson didn't have any problems with leaving. Let a a REAL scientist handle that room, AND its strange occupant. He, Stan, and Wayne ascended to the surface. It was after a minute or two that David got his bearings.
David: We're due south of the Empire of Me. All we have to do is walk up there and it's soldiers, vertibirds, and thou.
There were some gunshot sounds and shrill cries of horror trying to overshadow a rather haunting call of "Howdy" back down those stairs... Wayne advised leaving as soon as possible, but he was not really in the state to do so. That man really needed a cyber-leg. However, David also heard some unexpected other noises. Explosions and lightning and...some really haunting howls. What was going on doing there?
A short while ago...
The really-weird-room was never silent, thanks to the bodies. Mr. Howdy seemed to take his victims there and phase them through the matter somehow, where they'd waggle around endlessly as though shaking like a baby rattle. But apart from that, all was quiet, until...VOIP!! A strange portal, a gateway of some sort, opened in the middle of the room. Immediately, something came through. No, several somethings! Looked like two men, one woman, three dogs (AAAAAAAAAAUUUUUUUUUUOOOOOOOO!!!), and a big burly something that was chunky like a super mutant...but was no such thing. The last of the group was backing into the place with a BIG machine gun blazing away.
"Jonesy, where the hell are we?"
"A cave! I dunno! Something feels off..."
Well now, this looks confusing. Let's take a peek at who we're dealing with here.
NAME: Joe Slayer
RACE: Orc
CLASS: Street Samurai that went Bear Shaman.
DESCRIPTION: He's known as a blue-collar runner, the guy that's got a job to do and hasn't got time to worry about too many consequences. Some toes need to be stepped on in his line of work, and he ain't afraid to wear the heavy combat boots. Joe's a good guy with black hair, tanned orcish skin, increased lower-canines, and a hat with goggles on 'em. General badass kind of dude who started up a run on a Dead Man's Switch and ended up in league with James Telestrian III. He takes it seriously enough, but every now and then, he's gotta take a run.
STUFF: He's a little cybered-up, but not much because he's gone the way of the Bear Shaman, and therefore knows some magic. However, he's also a Street Samurai, so he carries guns and ammo, cyber-spurs and a well-made katana. He also makes use of some tough combat armor and armored clothing while on the run or even when he's out to get a drink. Doesn't matter to him.
NAME: Coyote
RACE: Elf
CLASS: Street Samurai
DESCRIPTION: A young and sometimes brash and reckless elf with a tanned appearance and dark dreadlocked hair, sporting an old scar on the left side of her face. Coyote is a girl that bit off more than she could chew with a man and his hellhounds, and they bit back. Between her rough nature and elven appearance, though, she's still quiet the looker, and her insistance in keeping the scar as punishment for her foolishness just makes her cooler. She's exceptionally motivated towards putting shitheads in their place, and has to do runs to pay off a longstanding debt.
STUFF: Coyote's immaculate with a shotgun, knocks just about anything on its ass or puts it out of its misery. Aside from that, she carries blades and grenades as well. Also, one of her arms is a cyber-arm, replaced from the Hellhound debacle. She's generally the badass tough chick, and naturally armors herself up accordingly.
NAME: Jonesy (AKA: Jonesy The Jonesarian, Jonesy The Handler, Jonesy The Traveller, and Shadow Moors.)
RACE: Human
CLASS: Dog Shaman (Sub-Class: Bogie Shaman)
DESCRIPTION: You see a strange-looking fellow walking down the street, looking maybe a bit small for his longcoat and wide-brim hat. That's Jonesy. He's a man of deceptive cleverness and especially magic, seen to have blue eyes and short black hair almost like a Doberman. Though he has some longstanding Euro-ancestry, his calling has made him acceptable to Amerindian people, sporting a number of tattoos on his back and some on his arms. He's a fairly-strong man, in reality, just slouches alot to fool people. His coat often smells of dog hair.
STUFF: Jonesy is further along in shamatic followings than Joe and he has less cyberware in his body...like none. Ergo, he is more powerful than Joe, but not strictly the direct action man either. So, then, he might seem like he's a squishy wizard, but his clothing's toughened up and he's got a vest. And then, he also has three Bogies [http://i107.photobucket.com/albums/m315/MagnusReaper/Bogie.jpg] whom he found and domesticated.
NAME: Speck (or Sparticus, or the Shirt-Mask)
RACE: Cyclops (A form of Troll)
CLASS: Street Samurai
DESCRIPTION: You know those really big guys that are called Tiny or Shorty or Junior or something like that? Here's a big hulking one-eyed creature that's a divergent species of the troll, a big ole' cyclops they call Speck. His real name is William and he's actually fairly-sophisticated. Not so much that he doesn't slam things around or anything, but highbrow enough to regularly take the piss out of himself. He's got to be taller than some super mutants, with almost rhino-like skin, bald with no horns, and big lower-canines you could call tusks.
STUFF: He's a frigging tank and he knows it. He wears heavier armor and fires bigger guns, and generally he's an ox-body kind of guy. He has both guns and a rocket launcher, which can fire anti-tank rounds. He also has more cyberware than Joe and Coyote, though most of it is internal. For instance, you can see his eye is a cyber-eye, something to help with aiming and depth perception. He also has retractible blades...
Right... On with the show!
Coyote: Are they following us?
Speck: Nah, and it looks like this thing's closin'. What's the word? Go or stay?
Joe: We stick around. We flubbed the works on 'em. That's what matters.
The gateway closed...leaving them alone to wander out. What sort of place was this? Some old mining facility? Where? They began to wander, and heard up ahead someone say "Howdy". That's when they saw the contracting man.
Coyote: What the hell is that?
Joe: Nevermind what it is! Frag it!
He said so because someone else was screaming and shooting as well. Speck took a suitcase with a hidden rocket launcher ("Just like James Bond!") off of his back...
And, back to now...
The situation down there seemed to escalate...and then go quiet. Then, after that, David thought he heard a unfamiliar voice go "Whoops" and someone else (female) go "He looks...ewww...". That was when the four runners appeared, Joe Slayer in the lead, looking around before saying...
"Soooooooooooo... Guys, anyone going to fill in old Hayes as to the 'failure' in question? I hate being left in the proverbial dark."
Evan looked at Dudley, who just shrugged back at him. The Scribe adjusted his glasses with an "Alright" and started talking.
Evan: We were on a mission with a guy called William Knight, who was hired by the Gentleman Ghoul to get some intel on the Enclave base, the Fort Knox base. We discovered a secret old way in that they might not know about that he was going to use while we did a more public lookout by acting as weapons traders and such. You know, the sell-to-anyone kind who don't care about allegiance. I gave him my Pip-Boy... I should've gone with him.
He paused, then...
Evan: We don't know what happened to him. A guy called FalloutJack found us in no time and drove us in for pr- Uhh, to basically interrogate us. He twigged right away that I was a Vault Dweller, but I don't think he knows that I'm Brotherhood. Dudley, I think he just messed with. We were put into something called their Asset Program. I think they're trying to force us into acting as agents for them. We don't have a lack of information for the Elder, but it's not what we were sent for, not nearly as much. William was going for a whole lot, and now he's probably dead...
This was in theory, only. They weren't aware of the EU, or that they had put a bomb collar on him, or that he was currently lost in the super vault, walking around in a powersuit. Evan sighed, then said...
Evan: So, what do you say, Hayes? Think we can capture one of these things alive and tie it to your car? It'd certainly help US.
((OOC: BTW, Joker. You may notice, but I don't mind people pushing the plot along for a bit if they want to. I tend to just adjust to them.))
The door opened for Danielle as a Scribe passed along the information they'd gotten from Bob's suit to her. This was heavy stuff. Bob was a bigtime enforcer, but he knew alot of things, secret things that he was actually allowed to talk about because he'd supposedly earned the right. Strange, wasn't it? Well still, that was for Danielle and Marlon to pick over.
Frank witnessed Metal Gear Box tearing apart mutants and buildings alike. Their muscular bodies were only capable of soaking up so much of the thing's ammunition, and the death rays or actual punches and kicks weren't helping either. It wasn't over yet for the mutants, but it was obvious that the Enclave had sent the right 'man' for the job. Errr...hey! Is that a Behemoth being ridden by a man in a lab coat while carrying some kind of big contraption? They seemed to be running in a manner out of the Box's line of sight, a building between them.
Yyyup, that went over well enough. However, Rick was talking up a storm now.
Rick: Oh yeah, I'm feelin' pumped! Gonna have it out with this Van Graff guy, once and for all! Or maybe it'll end up as a thrilling buddy-cop tale of awesome, YEAH! And they're gonna clean up the wasteland alongside yours truly!
He didn't interrupt conversations, but he did seem to have no end to his energy.
Rick: Uh-huh, that's what I'm talking 'bout! I- Hey, wait a second...
And...it was about this time that they found the Brotherhood of Steel members, Dannielle's party, tinkering with some of the stuff that dropped out of the sky. Rick's reason for stopping? Some of those things were deactivated eyebots.
Rick: Pharaoh, let my people go! C'mon, Larry! We've got the town's back! Let's do this!
Oh god, he was just two steps from shouting 'Leroy Jenkins' and charging in.
And now, back into the Enclave base, where Barry or whoever the heck he was now was waking up to a certain psychiatrist. However, there was also another man in the room, who sat down nearby. He was in pre-war clothes and a labcoat, seeming rather jovial and yet also business-like. He was writing in a clipboard now to handle things. The shrink was here to help him.
"Hello, I'm Dr. Killpatient from the Enclave medical wing. Please state your name, rank, and how ya feel."
Doctor who? No wait, that's wrong too. Doctor whatnow?
"I guess that's what Number One wants from me. Honestly though, I have no frakkin' idea. All I know is that Number One thought I was worth chatting up for a bit... and now I'm here. Reminds me... I think your guys restocked me. I'm grateful for that but seemed a bit odd. The bullets I understand... but why on earth did they give me more drugs and hooch?"
Natsuki: I dunno. Maybe they did it to make the plant sick or maybe they thought it'd be funny. I'm no chemist, so how the hell would I know?
It was then that they both noticed the spikes sticking out of him.
"Shit... Could one of you take a look at that? Please tell me I'm not infected or impregnated or whatever it is that thing does to make babies."
Natsuki: Pffft, nah... Attack spikes, nothing more. You'll be fine.
A number of her vectors yanked the suckers out suddenly.
"Well, I think you've got this one. I'd better be on my way now, this was fun... sort of."
Natsuki: Don't be a stranger, George!
It was at this point that Johnny Truant started making for the door, trying to explain that since he wasn't needed here, he'd go and look for her. Hmmm... Well, that was alright with her, but the real question was...what DID Number One want him around for? Yeah, he was actually pretty helpful back there, dealing with the plant, but necessary? Nah. Natsuki let the boy go, but he wasn't getting away just yet. Guy needed a shadow, if you catch the drift. Johnny zoned out for a moment, then started to leave.
"Nice to meet you! Really would have loved to stay and chat some more. You seem like a great person to hang around with, but... I really need to find that adorable little... daughter of mine before she hurts someone."
Once he was gone, Natsuki called via her uplink to have the boy's location annoucned to her as it develops, then hoisted her gun. Before she could actually go following, she heard a SHUDDER-SHUDDER-SHUDDER from the air ducts and promptly shot one of her vectors into the ductwork to grab the little so-and-so...who was sort of her daughter. Funny irony, that.
Natsuki: Lilith, did you know that the speed you crawl around in there is actually giving the maintenance guys hell? You're shakin' the parts apart, girl. Take it easy, for god's sake.
So, Lucy dealt with Sylph's rampant hyperactivity [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ih9hH0Z5hGU] while the two of them shared information with each other, and weirdly the blue-haired girl was growing on the not-actually-one-eyed girl. They eventually headed out to mess with guns. Along the way, they passed by some of the stranger experiments going on, and after they passed those, there was an announcement.
"Clean-up in Lab 16. Oh, and 18, apparently."
They made it to the firing range where, apparently, #566 met his end. Somewhere after that fact, a trio of Replicants came and carted him off. Soon after...in comes Johnny Shakes! But while they were talking, a group of Heavy Troopers clanked their way in, talking. Obviously, they practiced regularly too. But then...they did so with their plasma vulcans! Somehow, they were actually audible over this, but the noise made it necessary for their conversation to be anything but private.
HT-23: ...and then she fainted dead away! All the boys escorting her could do was shout "The naked! Why the naked?!". That Bob cracks me up!
HT-41: Hey, I heard something cool from dispatch. The Box found his target and he's carving up Behemoths galore out there!
HT-23: HAH! So much for The Doc! Where are they sending it next?
HT-41: To FalloutScott, first, then they dunno. Could be anywhere. They're debating that now.
"So where can I download Enclave data? Any advice so I can map out a route, you know like setting little markers that I can go to each of them?"
As William continued to get himself lost, his question hung unanswered, but then...he didn't know why that was. On the other end, they were trying to figure out where to direct him and how best to do so without being able to access his helmet system. Finally, Alice called in.
Alice: There's a number of places, really. It's a big base. It's just a bit hard to distinguish where to head without much in the way of direct input.
So, she began to rattle off a few directions and...well, at least part of his wandering had done well. He just had to double-back a little. But then, once he did, he'd find himself in a place with alot of tesla soldiers and Replicants...and his normal armor was gonna stick out a bit.
Frank saw the big robot fighting big mutants. Just the opening he was looking for.
Frank really didn't want to do what he was about to do, but he didn't see an alternative.
Everyone had hopped out of the jeep, Frank had his opportunity.
Frank ducked into the Jeep, and drove at the robot.
Something Jackson said a while ago stuck with Frank. "Fucking faith too much to ask for, smoothskin?!"
"Faith. Fuck faith. Fuck luck. If you're smart enough, strong enough, fast enough, you can overcome anything."
"I don't need faith! I am a brilliant sexy can of whoopass!"
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Rick: Pharaoh, let my people go! C'mon, Larry! We've got the town's back! Let's do this!
John: Great, more of them.
Sam: 'Larry' was it? Could you be a pal and deactivate that thing? It's quite annoying.
The Enclave Vault: Shooting Range Just Prior to the Heavy Troopers
"Sylph! I'm so glad to see you again!" exclaimed a seriously really familiar voice before a pair of arms latched themselves around the BORINGLY dressed blue haired, Gauss Rifle wielding Sylphee, a pair of arms that squeezed her so tight that it caused the BORINGLY dressed menace to start squirming and laughing as she struggled to free herself from the grips of Daddy Johnny Shakes.
"Daddy Johnny Shakes! You're tickling me!" Sylphee laughed and laughed and laughed until she was able to free herself from Daddy Johnny Shakes' welcome hug, especially since Sylphee had made a really really nice new sister in Big Sissy Lucy Caboosy.
Finally after a few minutes of squeezings, Daddy Johnny Shakes let the Blue Haired wierdo and started talking to Big Sis Lucy Caboosy.
"Umm... sorry... didn't mean to define you by your former handicap there but um... you are cute, you know. So... umm... my name's Truant. Johnny Truant. What's yours? And... how do you know Slyph?" Daddy Johnny Shakes asked as he let the Sky Blue Eyed Young Woman go, allowing her to turn around with Mister Gauss Rifle with the Missy Kitty Scope in her arms.
*CLANG!!!*
"'CLANG?!?' Big Sissy Lucy Caboosy? That's not your name! Big Sissy Lucy Caboosy? Hello? Hello ?! Where'd you go?" Sylphee asked looking around for her Ninja-Like Cyclopean Big Sissy Lucy Caboosy. As it turns out, *CLANG!!!* was not the One-Eyed Gauss Girl's name, nor was she hiding from Sylphee's hyperactivity. No, the BORING menace's Big Sissy found herself on the ground with a rather sizable headache caused by the the end of big Sis Loosy Caboosy's Gauss Rifle meeting the back of Big Sis Lucy Caboosy's head.
Lucy was impressed with Sylph's first time using a Gauss Rifle. The fact that she was able to hit her target was merit enough. Lucy had struggled for a good year once, before adjusting to the weight and size of the rifle alone. It was an impractical weapon, she would be the first to admit that, but it held more value to her than every single bottlecap in the Wasteland combined.
Fascinatingly, Sylph's arms rarely struggled under the weight of the rifle, but her stance was off and her grip needed constant adjustment. This was not someone accustomed to the use of a rifle.
Lucy was clearly studying every nuance made by Sylph, eager to know more and occupy her mind after Shif-...after what happened.
"Sylph! I'm so glad to see you again!"
A male voice, very close by, appeared from nowhere and seized Sylph in his arms.
Lucy, arm's length away, crossed her own arms defensively, fixed her eye upon the stranger and cleared her throat as if to say ("What the hell do you think you're doing?")
While the two were hugging and laughing, Lucy ignored the pangs of envy when she realized who this stranger was: Johnny Shakes, Sylph's 'Father' of sorts.
The tattooed, scarred and shirt-deficient man with fiery hair finally stood up when he noticed the eyepatched woman glaring down at him.
"You look familiar... have we met?"
Lucy was about to open her mouth and answer with a swift decline, but she was cut off.
"Oh yeah! You were that cute girl with one eye that I passed in the hall a while ago when the guards were dragging me to go fight the Audrey II wannabe."
Her eye lifted from a glare to wide-eyed disbelief when she heard the word 'cute' being casually thrown into a conversation. That had certainly disarmed her for the moment while she grew slightly flustered. Ordinarily, she would be flattered, and it showed...briefly...before being replaced with dead-eyed stoicism.
This was not the place for her to let her guard down
Had this man seen her? Her cheek still bore a few cuts from a punch she had received not too long ago, her lips were dry and cracked and to everyone but Sylph, she appeared to be deficient in the eye department.
"Umm... sorry..."-------------*CLANG!!!*----------------------- "What's yours? And... how do you know Slyph?"
Forcefully, Lucy was knocked to the ground...by a carelessly spinning Sylph...and her vengeful rifle wielded by the Gray Pain-In-The-Ass colliding with the back of her head.
With an utter groan and a few audible "Owie's", Lucy snatched her rifle back from Sylph before using it as a crutch to get back up on her feet. Using one hand to cradle the back of her head.
"You are damn lucky you coaxed me with my old scope before bringing you here..." muttered Lucy's wounded-pride towards Sylph.
Shooting a semi-serious venomous glare at Sylph and a pigtail falling loose, Lucy addressed what little she had heard from Johnny moments ago.
"Lucy Black..." she extended her free hand to Johnny formally "...and you must be Mister Shakes? Sylph mentioned you after she...wondered into my room, while I was alone, without her favourite choker."
Lucy stressed the seemingly innocuous final few words with a wry smile and a knowing stare.
Pulling her hair loose and wrapping the hair-bands around her wrist, Lucy clapped her hands together. The stare and wry smile never faltered from Mister Shakes for one moment.
"We have so very much to talk about now, don't we? Why don't we go back to my room, it's more private and maybe I can figure out if I can order room-service for us. As umm...exotic...as radscorpion meat is, I could go for some Blamco." This caused Lucy to pause when two hulking Enclave Soldiers entered the firing range. "...if that's okay with your wife, Missus Barrel? Sylph mentioned you two were her Mother and Father."
Last thing Lucy needed right now was to be stuck in the middle of a marital dispute. Like it or not, she was bound to Sylph in order to uphold her promise...she just had to break the news somehow to Sylphs adoptive parents.
Feeling a little guilty about being too snappy with Sylph, Lucy took her hand in her own like before. "I'm not angry at you, I'm just disappointed..." Lucy couldn't help teasing the Gray Menace "...but being the cool one, I'm over it. Just hit me with something again and I'll reintroduce you to another textbook."
Stopping dead in her tracks, Lucy's head snapped up when a piece of conversation between gunfire from the nearby Heavy Troopers caught her attention.
"...That Bob cracks me up!"
"Hey, I heard something cool from dispatch. The Box found his target and he's carving up Behemoths galore out there!"
"HAH! So much for The Doc! Where are they sending it next?"
"To FalloutScott, first, then they dunno. Could be anywhere. They're debating that now."
Lucy's gaze snapped to the floor when one of them looked her way.
"So, shall we?" Lucy hastily offered before leading the way with Sylph in toe.
"Slyph!" Johnny raised his voice, getting eye-to-eye with Sylph, "You need to be more careful, you'll hurt someone... that isn't trying to kill you." Johnny's voice slid into a mumble towards the end as finishing the sentence became a bit... awkward.
"Lucy Black..." she extended her free hand to Johnny formally "...and you must be Mister Shakes? Sylph mentioned you after she...wondered into my room, while I was alone, without her favourite choker."
Johnny's eyes widened a bit at the mention of Sylph without her choker. Oh hell... what did she do now? Lucy Black, huh... that's a nice name...
He was about to chastise Sylph for forgetting her choker when Lucy started talking again. He nodded when she mentioned a lot for them to talk about. He paid much more attention at her referring to him as 'Mister Shakes'. Then... "...if that's okay with your wife, Missus Barrel? Sylph mentioned you two were her Mother and Father."
Johnny visibly cringed at hearing someone else refer to Beryl as his wife. Then his cringe turned into a shiver the more the horrible images invaded his poor, beleaguered mind. Again, he was about to speak when Lucy turned her attention to the two soldiers. What the hell is The Box? And...doc... what doc? Wait a minute... why does this sound so familiar? For the life of me... I can't put my finger on it but... eh.
He followed Lucy when she seemed to beckon him and Sylph. Once they had apparently reached their destination.
"Uh... yeah... let's uh... clear some things up," he said with what he hoped was a pleasant smile, "My name is Johnny Truant. 'Mr. Shakes' is sort of Sylph's nickname for me. I have no idea why."
He leaned against a nearby wall.
"As for the whole... Mother, Father thing..." he said, leaning closer to whisper in Lucy's ear, "We're not her parents. One day Beryl called Sylph a, and I quote, 'retard *****'... and since then, Sylph has been acting as if we were her parents."
He backed away for a moment, covered his mouth, and had a brief, but nasty coughing fit.
"Sorry, umm... don't worry, I'm fine. Just... not quite at my best at the moment," he said nervously, and then as he drew closer to Lucy again, "I'm not sick or anything, okay?"
He waited for a response, and then continued his earlier explanation in the same whispered register.
"Beryl and I are not married, and we are not a couple in any way. Please don't suggest that we are again. Last thing I need to do is picture what the honeymoon would be like."
As he backed away, the image he mentioned came up immediately, and he involuntarily shuddered as it changed into the image of another married couple he'd met... and killed almost a year ago.
"Uh... as for my story well..." he said, trying to distract himself, "Umm... Sylph saved my ass back in Minefield from some crazy ghoul cultists or something. Then we made our way to Megaton where uh... the Enclave attacked... and we fought them off, made a run for it... then took over one of their birds, tried to fly it somewhere else, but they had some kind of automated system in place to make sure it returned to base. They dragged me into a research lab as soon as I got here, and started experimenting on me. Let's just say that... wasn't the best idea they ever had. After a while, some guy calling himself 'Number One' showed up and tried to chat me up for... some reason. Next thing I know, I'm in a room with a giant plant monster... and I helped kill it with bullets, fire, and lots and lots of drugs. And then I wandered here, looking for this beautiful little girl of mine."
At that last bit, he hugged Sylph again and pinched her cheek gently.
"Well... actually yeah... I guess I kinda did become her dad in a way. Heh." he said more to himself than anyone in the room. Then he remembered something important, "If Beryl does turn up, don't let her tell Sylph what to do. Beryl isn't... well... just don't trust her. She's... sorry... I can't really say anything bad about her in front of Sylph... at least not..."
He shut up, set his back on the wall, and sat down on the floor, holding his knees close to his chin. He looked up at Lucy and smiled.
"Yeah, I've had a weird and somewhat painful time since meeting Sylph, but... I wouldn't trade it, you know?"
Admittedly the scribe wasn't speaking to him per say, but being only a few paces from Danielle meant he heard the whole thing anyway and the information did nothing to make him feel any better about Bob's escape.
"So..we had one of their top goonies under lock and key and missed our chance to put the clown in the ground before he got out of here with that little weasel...Or hell, maybe 2 weasels if you're right about the Black girl."
He frowned. "The other thing that bothers me is what someone so far up the ladder was doing here. Seems weird to risk one of their best on an attack like that. I mean if they'd really wanted to knock the place over you'd think they'd have sent more goons. Sure it wasn't exactly kiddie gloves but I'd think maybe it was more about seeing what kind of fight the Brotherhood was gonna put up."
Marlon shrugged. "I hope so anyway. Otherwise that means he was here for a reason we don't know about. What's our next move from here?"
It was a point of pride for Wayne that he was so perceptive. He found it to be his greatest strength among his many weaknesses. He couldn't run far or fast, he couldn't fight hand to hand well, he could lift great weights and his intelligence left much to be desired... But when he entered a room, he could count the occupants in a second, and he could memorise their positions once he turned his back on any of them. It was no surprise then that he was gob smacked when the Freak-tastic Four came running up behind him as he caught his breath without Wayne getting a read on them. Wayne was so caught off guard, he didn't even raise a weapon to the potential hostiles.
"Hoi, chummer! Which way to Seattle?" Said the lead man.
Wayne turned to look at the Foursome. A truly strange sight even in these times. A mixture of skin colours, pointed ears, overgrown teeth, eye positioning and mechanical limbs set the group apart from each other. "Just who... What the fuck are you guys" he said bewildered. "And what's in Seattle?"
He then turned to David, it was hard to tell what he thought about the situation, but was sure to be just as confused too. "Feeling a little small?" He joked, hoping the Four wouldn't get aggressive, they weren't the lowly raiders or lakelurks Wayne was used to.
Beryl sulked as she was dragged down the corridor. She could walk fine but didn't feel like cooperating with the two sniggering meat heads, so she just acted as a dead weight in their arms. Beryl wondered what their mothers would say if they knew they were working for the enclave.
"Here you go!" Said one of them, opening a prison door and shoving her in to the darkness within.
Beryl staggered and turned to give them a parting finger, but the steel door had already shut in her face.
She sighed and leant against the door. She retrieved a cigarette from her pocket, but fumbled and dropped it before it managed to reach her mouth. She sighed louder. Beryl couldn't see shit, and probably wouldn't be getting the cigarette back. Looking around, she thought she could hear the distant thud of gunshots. It didn't sound like a gunfight though - too infrequent, and only one kind of noise. A sniper? Underground?!
It suddenly occurred to her, glancing into the dark, that she might not be alone in her cell. As her eyes adjusted to the dark, she thought she could make out a glint of something out in front of her. She stared into it. Her hands instinctively moved towards her pockets to reach for a weapon. All they found were cigarettes and golf balls. Shit. The darkness dissipated further, and now she could make out a shape before her. Whatever it was, it was big, jagged, and hunched right towards her.
Beryl weighed up her options. If she was going to be stuck in here with a bear or something, she'd better take the necessary steps to keep alive. What did that rotting old magazine say about bears? It was either play dead or shout at it. Beryl didn't want to pick the wrong one. As she frantically tried to recall the contents of decades of ephemera she had scavenged through, another thought occured to her. Whatever that thing was, it was totally silent. It must be asleep. Beryl gave one last, extra long sigh, and made a decision. If she got the drop on the brute; give it a real violent shock, perhaps she could startle it into submission. Even as she readied the golf balls in her hand, she knew it was a bad idea. Then again, what was the alternatives? Wait for the bear to get hungry, wake up, and then notice her? She gulped, held her breath, and lobbed a golf ball straight at the beast in front of her.
There was a plunk and the ball ricocheted straight back into her chest.
"Son of a *****!"
As she shouted out, a light flickered on. Standing opposite her was a broken down, pre-war street cleaner machine. [http://images.wikia.com/fallout/images/a/a5/Fallout_3_Derelict_Street_cleaner.png]
Beryl stood still for a couple of seconds, and then retrieved her cigarette. She then climbed into the rusty, metal chair of the street cleaner, reclined, and sat listening to the occasional gunshots.
Lucy had stayed quiet for the duration of Mr Truant's speech, choosing to pay close attention while buying herself time as she fought with her instincts. Could she trust this man though? Obviously he was no friend to The Enclave if he was subjected to experimentation and an audience with Number One.
Sylph's arrival, as unexpectedly welcome as it was, had...put Lucy in an uncomfortable place for her campaign of deception and revenge against The Enclave. Lucy had the fortune of knowing Sylph's misfortune, so her allegiances were clear. Lucy just wondered if the Darker side was willing to have her around.
Lucy was tired, emotionally drained, angry and a myriad of other emotions...but she opted for the unbridled truth anyway.
"I suppose -...it's my turn..." Lucy sighed before propping her rifle in front of her, while she laid her hands on top.
"I am Enclave Asset Unit-08, Lucy Black, or rather...that's what they have been lead to believe."
Her eye fixed on Johnny fiercely. "They took my Father from me, forced me into their Asset program, destroyed the only homes I have ever known, Megaton and Springvale. Finally...earlier today, they made me kill my close friend, partly because I had to prove my loyalty...but mainly because I failed to give him a proper cover-identity." Lucy closed her eye as she uttered that.
Leaning against the wall opposing Johnny, she looked at Sylph with a frightening amount of responsibility and uncertainty. Before snapping back to Johnny with her voice gaining an edge.
"We have one thing in common, we want what is best for that girl over there..." Lucy uncharacteristically softened for the conversation regarding Sylph. "I can't tell her story, not all of it at least, it's not my story to tell."
"But I can tell you some: My friend from earlier was an Undertaker. His brother, Henry, took Sylph as a slave from a very young age. My friend, Shifty, killed Henry upon learning about Sylph." Lucy paused for breath before continuing. "Years went by and we met not too long ago, but once he told me, well - it was going to be our job to make up for past mistakes and make sure that Sylph is safe...I forgot this in a moment of blind opportunity, deceived my way here and he stupidly followed me. He gave me that choker and made me promise to look after Sylph before - what I had to do to him..."
Lucy clenched the stock of her rifle tightly as her hair fell over her eye. At this point her voice was weary and worn out from painful overexposure. These were events that she wished never to discuss again.
"She is all I have left..."
Lucy gritted her teeth and almost growled the next sentence.
"And I made a promise to myself and a dear friend to stay by her side...so I can't leave her."
Although here's where the conflict was for Lucy.
"...but I did NOT go through hell to leave this place without leaving these people crippled! Not after everything they have taken from me! FalloutJack was the one that let it all happen. So he will lose his daughter, Natsuki...just like how I lost a Father! Besides for this place as a whole...that daughter is the target!"
After a good minute of pause, Lucy visibly shook with pent-up anger after her outburst.
Slowly, she uttered despondently, "So, Mr Truant...your thoughts?"
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