The REALLY Wild Wasteland. (The Fallout RP!)

[TheDoctor455]

Johnny was about to open his mouth to apologize and explain when...(1)

(1) I stepped in. It has been a while, hasn't it? Did you miss me, dear reader? You're still a pervert. Reading through the intimate details of other people's lives. To make the change obvious for the newcomer's benefit, I blackened Mr. Truant's eyes, and... lifted his body a foot straight up in the air.

"Greetings, dearie," I said, "It has been a while since we last met. Oh don't bother. I doubt that you would remember. You were very young at the time. But..."

I folded Mr. Truant's arms.

"I wished to clarify something," I continued, floating closer to Ms. Black, "My... client, for lack of a better word, Mr. Truant is well aware of the difference between your beloved Shifty, and his brother, Henry. Thanks to me, he has some idea of what Sylph went through. Thanks to me, he witnessed it through her eyes. I can assure you, all of his anger is directed in the proper place. Though, it may seem that it is... too late."

I pause to look at Sylph.

"Hello again," I said, having Mr. Truant's face beam at her, "I hadn't thought to see you again. Well... don't fret my dear, a little thing like death doesn't necessarily kill your chances for freedom and revenge. Help Mr. Truant find the house, and you will meet your maker. What happens at that point is entirely up to you.

Johnny fell back to the ground, landing smartly on his left knee. He winced and groaned in pain.

"Ow, shit," he said as he picked himself up off the ground, "Sorry about my rant there. Didn't mean to lose it like that. But yeah... I really wasn't talking about Shifty. I know next to nothing about him... but Henry on the other hand... that asshole had it coming."

It was then that Johnny noticed that he was being stared at again, though it seemed a bit different this time.

"Oh fuck me," he said, facepalming himself for a moment before going on, "What did that thing have me do this time?"

 

[Generic NPC 22]

The Enclave Vault: Lucy Black's Quarters

Between Master Johnny Truant's outburst and Lucy Black's outburst, it would have been natural for the Red Menace to have an emotional outburst of her own and yet, she didn't. She stood there and withstood the verbal tirade that Lucy Black unleashed for all the world to witness.

"I have taken a great personal risk to my identity here to let both of you close to me without any sign of gratitude. I will not appreciate either of you speaking ill of those I cared for."

Were Sylphee standing there, she would have done everything that she could to cheer up her Big Sissy Lucy Caboosy. She would have done everything possible to make sure that her Big Sissy Lucy Caboosy was smiling and happy and the same thing with her Daddy Johnny Shakes. Perhaps the Stormy girl had outworn her welcome or perhaps she was uncomfortable around the open emotional scars on display.

Whatever the cause, the end result was the same. Sylph retreated.

Retrieving the choker, the girl aptly clad in grey fastened the jeweled band back around her neck and stood there for a moment and when Sylphee finally emerged she was quite amazed to witness Daddy Johnny Shakes floating in the air speaking to Big Sis Lucy Caboosy and then to Sylphee herself.

"Hello again," Weird Floating Daddy Johnny Shakes said "I hadn't thought to see you again. Well... don't fret my dear, a little thing like death doesn't necessarily kill your chances for freedom and revenge. Help Mr. Truant find the house, and you will meet your maker. What happens at that point is entirely up to you."

"Hey! Hey! Hey! Daddy Johnny Shakes! What're you talking about? Why wouldn't you think that you'd see me again? Hey what's up with your voice? You sound weird! How're you floating like that? Why are you eyes all black? Are you tired or something?" Sylph asked in her machine gun fast cadence as she tried to swing from Floaty Daddy Johnny Shakes' legs which seemed like a good idea at the time until:

*THUD!*

"MOW!MOW!MOW!" Sylphee attempted to say with her face buried face deep in the metal floor before picking herself up when Daddy Johnny Shakes got up.

"Oh fuck me," Daddy Johnny Shakes said, facepalming himself for a moment before going on, "What did that thing have me do this time?"

"Oh! Oh! Oh! You started talking all weird and your eyes turned dark and you floated off the floor for a while and started talking like you were someone else and you talked about a house. Hey Daddy Johnny Shakes are you gonna buy us a house where Big Sis Lucy Caboosy and me can do sleep overs and braid our hair and paint our nails and eat Rad Scorpion Meat all day because I'd really really really really really really like that a lot." Sylphee said before turning to see her Big Sis Lucy Caboosy crying on the bed.

*SPROING!*

"Hey! Hey! Hey! Big Sis Lucy Caboosy? Why ya cryin'? Did someone hurt you because if you want I can hurt them! I've got a voodoo doll somewhere I think. Does your eye hurt? Is that why you're cryin? You know that you shouldn't cry because every time you cry, a kitten dies. True story! Someone told me that once and showed me a dead cat and said that it died the last time she cried. I don't believe her though since it looked like one of those Wrinkly Mister Mole Rats. Oh! Big Sis Lucy Caboosy! Would you stop crying if I gave you a a Wrinkly Mister Mole Rat? Thems are the cutest!"

 

[Souplex]

Frank took a moment to look in the rearview as he drove off, expecting to see Jackson looking angry, only to see him vanish.
When I say vanish, I mean that literally. There one second, gone the next.
"I am not prepared for this level of strange."
Frank chose instead to focus on the goal ahead of him. That goal being a giant robot.
The robot was currently wrasslin' with a trio of Behemoths. Just the opening Frank needed.
[Piloting 28/25]Frank was a little better at driving than last time, this being his second time driving.
[Perception]The corpse of one of the previously defeated Behemoths would serve as his ramp.
[Piloting]Frank floored the gas, and headed straight for his target; the left reverse-knee-joint of the machine.
[Explosives 50/50]Frank activated the MicroFusion greanades, with five seconds to spare.
Frank dove out the door of the vehicle before impact.
"I've got bigger balls than any 60 foot robot."
Frank was launched away by the force of the explosion.

 

[nuba km]

The responses larry was getting weren't good, though they honestly didn't surprise him as trust was a trait that often got people hurt and killed in the wasteland.
Rick was getting increasingly annoyed 'An adventurer only hurts vile monsters and villians, so if you worried about me hurting you which are you?'
Larry quickly responded 'he's neither, he's just cautious as these eyebots just attacked the city so you would understand why he wouldn't trust you.'
Rick: 'why would my people be attacking this city, tell me that'
Larry didn't have an answer.

 

[maninahat]

Beryl had been wandering the corridors for some time now. Every time an Enclave member popped up, she had to duck out of sight around a corridor or behind a random piece of machinery. After what seemed like the thirtieth time it happened, she gave up and walked straight past the next patrol she saw.

"Hey!"

"WHAT?!" she shouted.

The two hulking metal men both took a step back.

"This place is off limits to everyone," one of them stuttered.

Beryl scowled.

"Everyone including the first lady?"

The two enclave looked at one another. The lie was told with such a supreme conviction. Could this be the Mrs John Henry Eden? Was he married? And wait, wasn't he long dead? Before they had a chance to get their political history straight, Beryl had already marched right up to them and pulling rank once again.

"Now please listen carefully," She said, wagging a finger. "I may have made a silly mistake and left something in the munitions room. Could you two, exceptionally well dressed men point me in the right direction?"

The two couldn't oblige her any quicker.

"That way Ma'am. Do you require an escort."

Beryl considered it for a moment. Imagine the look on mother's face when I storm in with two armed guards, and ordered her execution there and then. Such idle fantasies were no good though. She couldn't have these two lugs wandering around, telling everyone they meet that she was the President's wife. Someone with even the most basic education and common sense would spot the gaping holes in her story.

"No...thank you. Be on your way."

They both tried to offer a clumsy salute, but she had already turned and strided away. They stood awkwardly for a minute, still saluting until she was out of sight and around the corner. Then they rushed off to the canteen to tell everyone the news.

Beryl reached what looked like the entrance to an armoury. She had to order another idiot enclave to open a vault door, just to get to it, so it must have been important place. Luckily, the enclave on guard barely looked up from his magazine, and blindly followed the command without looking up to see who was giving it.

Now she was outside the door, she had to figure on a plan of action. Peaking inside would be a dangerous tactic. It would like mighty suspicious to any enclave inside. She put her ear to the door. She heard somebody on the other side. Somebodies. Males and females? Whoever they were, one of the females was shouting an awful lot. Something about rats?

Shit, better be audacious. Still impressed by her previous luck with the best the enclave had to offer, she decided to go double or nothing and knocked on the door as loudly as she could.

And then she waited.

 

[TheDoctor455]

Johnny had been about to apologize to Lucy when someone knocked on the door. He briefly considered heading straight for the door but... decided whoever the fuck it was could wait a minute. He took a bit of a risk, and gently put his hand on Lucy's shoulder. Knowing that she could probably break his arm off and beat him to death with it... he did it anyway.

"I'm sorry Lucy," he said, squeezing her shoulder gently for a moment before letting go, "I don't know anything about your friend... but I'm pretty sure I wasn't talking about him... uh... I don't really know how to explain it. But... I guess that thing covered that. Ehh... I'll understand if you don't want me hanging around after finding out about him. For whatever its worth coming from a shitty person like me... I'm sorry."

With that, Johnny rushed for the door to make sure Sylph didn't have a chance to answer it before he did. Once he got to the door, he opened it a small crack, to see who it was. When he saw, he scowled at her.

"Piss off," he hissed, hoping neither of the young ladies in the room could hear him, "You don't want to see me, I don't want to see you. No one in this room wants to meet you. Don't you think you've done enough damage already?"

Before she could answer, Johnny gently shut the door in her face so as not to attract Lucy or Sylph's attention, and promptly stood in front of it for a moment while he hoped Beryl would just go away. He hoped she was like the old lady and the beef... or was it the old lady in the shoe? He could never keep those old lady stories straight. Point is, he hoped she'd take the hint and just plain stay out of his life from now on. Last thing he needed was for Beryl to come into the picture. One irredeemable bastard/***** in his life was more than enough, thank you.

"Er..." he said, trying to come up with an explanation for why he'd shut the door after answering it, "Wrong room number."

 

[Rip Van Rabbit]

"I wished to clarify something," He continued, floating closer to Lucy, "My... client, for lack of a better word, Mr. Truant is well aware of the difference between your beloved Shifty, and his brother, Henry. Thanks to me, he has some idea of what Sylph went through. Thanks to me, he witnessed it through her eyes. I can assure you, all of his anger is directed in the proper place. Though, it may seem that it is... too late."

Under normal circumstances, Lucy would rush for her rifle, but Johnny - or whatever he had briefly become - had frozen her in place. With tear-streaked cheeks, Lucy could briefly try and painfully retain eye contact before her vision was further disrupted by another bout of pain-induced tears.

If Johnny had intended to intimidate her, he had more than done so. He had frightened her. In her current state, she was even more shaken by the addition of fear to the emotional cocktail of anxiety, grief and aggression.

Once Johnny had hit the ground, she had wiped the tears away and fixed her eyepatch back on.

[hr]

Possibly a few minutes had passed, but to the Eyepatched-Girl, the passage of time had no meaning while she had temporarily gone numb from today's overexposure to emotional trauma.

"I'm sorry Lucy" she only registered that she was being spoken to once she felt something on her shoulder. "I don't know anything about your friend... but I'm pretty sure I wasn't talking about him... uh... I don't really know how to explain it. But... I guess that thing covered that. Ehh... I'll understand if you don't want me hanging around after finding out about him. For whatever its worth coming from a shitty person like me... I'm sorry."

".....no..." Lucy uttered despondently, before stopping herself to start actively defying her anxiety regarding Sylph and Johnny. "Today has been a lot to handle and I snapped when I just heard...then you just - ...I don't know what." Lucy looked at Johnny directly, half-expecting another harsh surprise, but she suppressed her fear by her voice growing fiercly. "I would be the biggest hypocrite to judge someone by their past or even for what they are...so I'm going to - accept the original impression I have of you."

Lucy glanced over at the fist-sized dent in the wall. "Passionate." Then at Sylph. "Kind and caring." Then at his hand on her shoulder. "And someone with his heart...in the right place."

Extremely uncomfortable with the physical contact, Lucy got to her feet with an exhausted sigh when a knock at the door was heard. "So I'm sorry - " With her back now turned to Johnny, she managed to utter one last thing as she heard him stride towards the door. "- and stop putting yourself down."

Lucy took the opportunity to quickly check and fix her appearance in the small bathroom mirror. All things considered, she mostly appeared fine. Yet it was clear that she yearned for sleep.

But she had the Enclave to deal with on the other end of that door...

"Wrong room number."

Lucy raised an eyebrow in disbelief and her voice lowered while she slipped back into the Enclave Asset facade. "My private quarters, remember? Whoever is on the other end is my business. Open the door."

 

[TheDoctor455]

Johnny felt torn, a moment ago, he heard something that he hadn't expected to hear from anyone, let alone someone he just met. Someone accepting him as he was... and seeing something worthwhile in him. And he also didn't want to spoil that by letting Beryl in. But... well, what choice did he have? Lucy had a point.

"It's not the Enclave," he said, stepping away from the door, fighting back tears from the very unexpected moment he just had with Lucy, "It's someone much, much worse."

He stepped closer to Lucy, and whispered in her ear, "It's the ***** I told you about. The one that tried to enslave Sylph again. I think... she kind of stumbled onto the right phrase or something. But... if I'd let her have a chance, Beryl would abuse Sylph's... condition. And she probably did before I met them. Its... better if we never let Sylph see her again, and get Beryl to go away. Unless you happen to know the phrase that will stop make Sylph thinking of Beryl as her mommy."

To be on the safe side, Johnny walked over to Sylph, who... seemed to have found something else to play with.

"Hey sweetie," he said, a warm smile crossing his face, "Watcha ya got there?"

 

[Generic NPC 22]

As The Enclave Vault Turns: Big Sissy Lucy Caboosy's Room

"Hey sweetie," Daddy Johnny Shakes said, a warm smile crossing his face, "Watcha ya got there?"

Truth be told, Sylphee had absolutely no idea what it was that she was looking at in her hands, all she knew was it was frustrating the stuffing out of her. Responding with a big, big, big, bigbigbig shrug, The Red Grey Menace showed the object to Daddy Johnny Shakes.

It was a Mister Cube that had been divided into 27 small cubic slices with various colors on each of Mister Cube's faces. As Sylphee fumbled with the object, Daddy Johnny Shakes could see that each of the sides of Mister Cube could be manipulated as to mix up each of the colors, at least that would have been the case had Sylphee not discovered her very own dilemma.

"I can't stop it from being one color on each side!!!" Sylphee squeaked in annoyance as she flipped Muster Cube's faces several times, mixing up the colors for a bit before showing Daddy Johnny Shakes Mister Cube once again, and once again, each of the sides of Mister Cube had one color.

"GRRRRR!!!!" The Grr'ing Menace Grr'd as she attempted to mix up the colors once again and once again she ended up matching up the colors on each side of Mister Cube. It occurred to the Blue Hair Genius that perhaps she could pry the stickers off each of the smaller Missy Cubes and mix it up that way but it seemed a bit like cheating to Sylphee so she quickly disregarded the idea and attempted to mix up Mister Cube's colors once again - and failed the attempt.

"Stupid Mister Cube!" The Frustrated Girl in Grey said as she threw Mister Cube in a fit of annoyance. That should have been the end of Mister Cube except Mister Cube seemed to have a mind of his own as he bounced off one of the walls, then another, and then off of Mister Bed and through Mister Door BONKING whomever it was that was at the door in the forehead.

"MOMMY MERYL BERYL!!!!!" Sylphee squealed as she saw Mommy Meryl Beryl at the door. Had this been some sort of cartoon, Daddy Johnny Shakes would have been looking at a cloud that looked exactly like Sylphee did before dissipating, only this wasn't some sort of Cartoon. Instead Daddy Johnny Shakes watched as Sylphee rolled backwards and landed on the balls of her feet, pirouetted and started sprinting at Mommy Meryl Beryl like a Mad Brahmin.

"MOMMY MERYL BERYL!! MOMMY MERYL BERYL!! MOMMYMERYLBERYLMOMMYMERYLBERYL!!" The Flying Menace yelled as she flew through the air intent on hugging her previously missing Mommy Meryl Beryl -

*CLUNK!!!*

and missed.

 

[wilcoblackflame]

The Outcasts. Otherwise known as effectively the same scum sucking goons as the brotherhood out west with a paintjob. The expression on Marlon's face made it very clear that he sure as hell did not care for the notion anymore than Danielle or Lyons.

"Is that the kind of truce where we shoot them in the back when we're done with them or the kind where they shoot us? Cos I gotta say, I'm not a fan of the second one."

But then again, if the upside of this plan was to get a good look at the Outcasts, what their tactics, numbers, equipment and so on were like...maybe this'd be worth it. All the easier to put them in the ground later. It didn't seem likely that Danielle wouldn't have contemplated the same upside, given how much distaste she appeared to share for them.

"Ah hell. In for a penny..Fine. Let's go talk ceasefire with those bastards. Maybe we'll get lucky and they'll get wiped out enough for us to finish them off when it's all done."

 

[TheDoctor455]

Johnny's fears had been realized. Sylph had seen Beryl. Goddamnit. Why does nothing ever turn out like it should?

Spoiler: That reminded Johnny of a song...

Which was now stuck in his head. And probably yours now. You're welcome. -An Ed.(1)

Spoiler: And that song reminded him of another one...

Again. You're welcome.-An Ed.(2)

Mr. Truant was so distracted by his own recursive reveries that he failed to notice at first when Sylph flew right at him and knocked him to the ground. Snapped back to reality, he couldn't help but notice that Sylph's face had landed right on his crotch. Rather painfully at that. And his ass had somehow landed on her hands. Seeing an opportunity...

"Hey, little miss Sylphee," he said, gently nudging her with his knee to see if she was all right... and to get her off of him, "You need to ask permission before doing that sort of thing..."

Then Johnny laughed. He couldn't help it. All that was needed now for their time together to be completely symmetrical was for him to leave with Beryl, while Sylph went to sleep in a random house.

"Ow."

(1) Who the hell is this?

(2) Seriously, who the hell is this?

 

[Souplex]

"Is that the kind of truce where we shoot them in the back when we're done with them or the kind where they shoot us? Cos I gotta say, I'm not a fan of the second one."
[Karma]"If I have any say, it'll be the kind where when everything's done we give each other ten minutes to walk away, and then shoot at each other."
"Ah hell. In for a penny..Fine. Let's go talk ceasefire with those bastards. Maybe we'll get lucky and they'll get wiped out enough for us to finish them off when it's all done."
"As much as I hate what they stand for, it's a touchy issue. I've got family in the Outcasts, as do most of the Brotherhood lifers."
Danielle headed off to see Elder Lyons.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Rick: "An adventurer only hurts vile monsters and villians, so if you worried about me hurting you which are you?"
Larry: "He's neither, he's just cautious as these eyebots just attacked the city so you would understand why he wouldn't trust you."
Rick: "Why would my people be attacking this city, tell me that?"
Sam: [Robotics Expert] "Because they're simple software with a radio receiver. They do as told. They'll even put on a silly personality to trick naive idiots."
Jake (Who had apparently been listening to the whole exchange from upstairs) came down.
Jake: "Eyebots may not be the only method of attack. Sir, where were you during the attack? John!"
John: "Yeah?"
Jake: "Could you go retrieve Simms?"

 

[Generic NPC 22]

The Enclave Vault: Big Sissy Lucy Caboosy's Quarters

The fact that the position that she found herself in was borderline creepy in the sense that she called Daddy Johnny Shakes, Daddy Johnny Shakes didn't really register with the Happy-Go-Lucky-Girl with the blue hair at all. No sir-e-FalloutBob, not one iota of thought was given towards the fact that Slyphee was in possession of two handfuls of two handfuls of Daddy Johnny Shakes' rump. Instead, Sylphee found herself turning a rather pale shade of green when she caught a nose full of unwashed just ran around the Enclave Vault after facing an Missy Miss Audrey II wannabe after being captured by a a bunch of Mister Black Armored Enclave Power Armor Dudes after escaping an invading horde of Floaty McFloater Soccerballs crotch.

"PEEEEEW!! Daddy Johnny Shakes needs a shower!" The Blue Haired Girl exclaimed into the room full of women as she came up for air before sniffing again.

"PEEEEEW!! Daddy Johnny Shakes needs some clean clothes!" Sylphee exclaimed, again into a room full of women as she did what most devoted daughters would do when their Daddy was having hygiene issues. She started dragging Daddy Johnny Shakes towards the shower.

"MISTER DUCKY YOU'RE THE ONE! YOU MAKE BATHTIME LOTS OF FUN!!" The Girl in RED Grey started singing as she turned on the water and forgot that Mister Hot Water Heater still had a bullet sized hole in him.

 

[TheDoctor455]

A hole that Johnny quickly patched up with what was left of his underwear at this point. All he had to hope for now was that this wouldn't cause a fire.

Then, he stared at Sylph, waiting for her to leave the room before he started the shower, forgetting that he was already naked at this point. He didn't remember taking his pants off, but what the hell. Eventually, he gave up on the idea of Sylph being content until he started cleaning himself off, so he got to work washing himself off.

Starting with...(1)

Finishing the shower, Johnny grabbed the most neglected-looking towel in the room to cover himself with.

"Er... any chance someone could..." he stammered, refusing to leave the bathroom in this state, "Call the intercom or something and get me some clothes? Uh... these... kind of..." his pair of underwear was launched out of the hole in the water heater and smacked right into the crumpled pile of pants on the floor, soaking them. "Kind of... wet."

This all seemed like a normal day with Sylph, and Johnny even started to relax, letting out a content sigh once the door was closed again. Then he remembered that Beryl was back in his life now. Fuck me.


(1) Scene removed for decency and time. -An Ed.(2)

(2) Who is this? How did you get here? Why did you come here?(3)

(3) I followed you.

 

[maninahat]

Beryl barely had a moment to register it all. Before she had time to react to the ugly discovery that Johnny Shakes seemed to have found the armoury first, the door was slammed in her face. Then it was reopened. And then a rubix cube struck her head. And then she was assaulted by the second discovery that Sylph was also on the other side of the door.

With nothing further to say, Beryl silently walked into the room, arms folded. A glance at the cosy interior was enough to make it patently clear that this wasn't the armoury at all. That was bad enough. That she had managed to bump into these fucking knuckleheads once again was the real killer. She watched the confused display of Johnny and Sylph, trying to contort themselves into some kind of human pretzel. He then noticed another woman in the room, and gave her a knowing nod.

"I should have expected him to make his move soon enough," she said to the stranger, gesturing towards the bizarre, lascivious looking display going on between Johnny and Sylph. "Did he mention the time he chained me up and made out with my unconscious body? It was only a matter of time before he found more prey."

As the two rushed off to shower together, Beryl became conscious this had been a somewhat unorthodox way to say hello.

"Hello, by the way," she said, "my name is Beryl. Your place?" She put her hands in her pockets, remembered she was out of cigarettes, and began scanning the room for anything that looked like it was capable of being smoked.

 

[TheDoctor455]

"Is that what you call trying to save your worthless life!??!" Johnny yelled, opening the door wide open, momentarily forgetting himself. Though thankfully not enough to forget keeping his towel in place, "Next time you're out cold, and stop breathing, I'll remember to just watch you die, you evil, manipulative *****."

Taking a moment to inhale deeply, he turned to Lucy.

"Please, whatever you do, don't let Beryl talk to Sylph." he said, then, thinking on it a bit, he leaned closer to Lucy and whispered, "Better yet, try to get her to leave while making sure Sylph doesn't try go with her. Trust me, its for the best."

Finally, his self-consciousness caught up with him, and went back into the bathroom, shutting the door behind him.

 

[Rip Van Rabbit]

Lucy didn't have much to say about Sylph and Johnny's antics, mostly due to how tired she was getting, so she was rather relieved when the duo made an exit to the bathroom.

"I don't know how you put up with it." Lucy remarked in response to Beryl, tossing her rifle on the bed and finally shifting her hands to her hips to survey the 'infamous' Mistress Beryl Craw from Johnny's account.

Beryl had a stern look about her and despite the elderly appearance, she carried a tremendous presence in the room. It was in the eyes mostly, that sharp-minded scrutinization that Lucy would always recognize.

Just like Mom...

With that similarity in mind, she couldn't help the smallest of smiles as she put her hand on the nearby food trolley from dinner.

"Lucy Black...and welcome to my recently invaded room." Lucy started to introduce herself politely.

Lucy nodded towards the food trolley with just enough leftovers of everything to fill another plate. "Hungry? Help yourself, we just finished eating." Adding politely, "Anyway, despite what I've heard, I make up my own mind about the people I meet."

While smelling strangely fruity, a barely concealed Johnny Truant had made his presence known by whispering in her ear.

"Better yet, try to get her to leave while making sure Sylph doesn't try go with her. Trust me, its for the best."

"I'll do no such thing." Lucy replied out loud flatly. "There's something I wish to discuss with my guest and the timing right now is a little crucial." Lucy turned around to forcibly push Johnny back into the bathroom, making sure to fire a fierce glare before following with a reassuring wink of the eye. Which non-verbally conveyed a ("Trust me.")

Lucy had a theory, but better yet, she had a dangerous idea.

Content that Beryl and Lucy were as alone as they could possibly be. "I'll get straight to the point. Explanations are in order though..." Propping herself on her bed. "I owe a substantial debt to a friend to oversee Sylph's continued protection and safety. Mister Truant recently made some of her more...complicated attachments known to me. Sylph believes that you and Johnny are her parents or masters, depending on whether the pretty choker is on..."

Sitting up, Lucy propped her arm on her Gauss Rifle. "From what Johnny tells me, you kind of...activated her mommy-mode with a particular phrase." Looking directly at Beryl with a sense of ferocious responsibility. "I'd like to know exactly what the phrase was. I can take over the responsibility of the Red Menace and these two won't be a hassle in your future."

Walking over to the intercom, Lucy decided it was time to get Johnny some clothing and a surprise for Sylph. Before finally turning to Beryl. "If not, then the four of us will be seeing a lot more of each other...so what do you think?"

[hr]

"Yes, Asset Black?"

"Can I have two sets of clothing sent over?"

"Miss Black, you already hav-"

"- it's...not for me. I have guests."

"At this time of the nigh-...oh...ohhhh!"

"Small size, something red, for the female. Something large, don't care what color, for the male. Is that fine?"

"Oh wow...at the same time?"

Giggling could be heard over the intercom.

The giggling was interrupted by a more stern, male voice taking over from the other end.

"We'll send something right over."

Lucy turned around to face the room, rather flustered after that very loud conversation.

 

[Generic NPC 22]

The Enclave Vault: Big Sissy Lucy Caboosy's Room

"I should have expected him to make his move soon enough... Did he mention the time he chained me up and made out with my unconscious body? It was only a matter of time before he found more prey.

"Is that what you call trying to save your worthless life!??! Next time you're out cold, and stop breathing, I'll remember to just watch you die, you evil, manipulative *****."

*SLAM!!!!!!* Said Mister Water Closet Door as he SLAM!!!!!!ed shut in the wake of the argument that was ensuing between Daddy Johnny Shakes and Mommy Meryl Barrel outside in Big Sissy Lucy Caboosy's Room. This was followed by Mister Water Closet Door emitting a gentle *click* as Sylphee locked herself in Mister Water Closet, determined not to see what was going to happen in the next few moments as she sat atop Miss Porcelain Goddess rocking back and forth while hugging her knees against her chest.

"[small]Don't kill Daddy Johnny Shakes Mommy Meryl Barrel. Don't kill Mommy Meryl Barrel Daddy Johnny Shakes. Don't kill Daddy Johnny Shakes Mommy Meryl Barrel. Don't kill Mommy Meryl Barrel Daddy Johnny Shakes.[/small]" The worried girl with the blue hair whispered as quietly as a gang of moldy mole rats could whisper as she sat there waiting for the winner of the Argument to the Death to call for her and coax her out of her hidey hole.

Sylphee always felt better in closed spaces like Mister Water Closet and to ensure that she was safely tucked away in her hiding spot, she turned off the bright overhead lamp leaving her alone in the darkness as she waited and waited and waited.

*Squiggle Squiggle Squiggle Squiggle Splorch SquiggleSquiggleSquiggleSquiggle* Went Mister paint brush against Missus Wall causing the Blue Haired Painter's smile to grow even larger. Turning her head, she allowed Mama Sarah Bear to see how happy this little art project was making her.

"What're you painting Sylphee Pie?" Mama Sarah Bear asked with a genuine bonafide whitest of the white smile. Even though Mama Sarah Bear didn't need to ask, since the painting was clearly Sylphee's idea of what a Super Mutant with a Sun Flower for a head would look like, Mama Sarah Bear liked talking to Sylphee and Sylphee liked talking to Mama Sarah Bear.

"It's a Mister Supa Mutant with a Sunny Sun Flower for a head!" The Red Dressed Painter responded excitedly as she placed the finishing touches on Mister Supa Mutant's pink fingernails.

*SLAM*

"Daddy's home!!!" Sylphee exclaimed excitedly, unable to wait to see Daddy's expression when he saw Sylphee's masterpiece.

"What the bloody hell is that?!" Daddy said loudly as he came into the living room where Sylphee was drawing as Mama Sarah Bear looked on.

"Sarah, was this mess your idea?" Daddy asked Mama Sarah Bear, his voice getting slightly louder.

"Yes Henry. It was my idea. The least that I could do while your gone is bond with your daughter." Mama Sarah Bear responded, patting Sylphee on the head.

"This mess is your idea of BONDING? If you were happier living in that run down shack where I found you, you could have told me instead of fucking up my house." Daddy said, giving Mama Sarah Bear the stink eye.

"You know what Henry? I don't know what crawled up your ass today but I don't have to take it. You've been gone days at a time and you expect your daughter and me to just sit on our asses doing nothing but wait for you?" Mama Sarah Bear said as she started walking off towards her and Daddy's room.

"Just where do you think you're going?"

"I'm leaving. There's only so much I can take and the fact that you've never given me an ounce of respect is one thing but the fact that you've continually treated Sylphee like a piece of property is another. Not allowing her to be a girl her age - Henry you're just an ass and I'm going to take Sylph with me." Mama Sarah Bear said as she started throwing stuff into a bag. As Mama Sarah Bear did this, Daddy walked up behind Sylphee and placed a finger on the choker.

"I don't think so, Sarah my dear. I don't think you'll be going anywhere soon you worthless *****." Daddy said before there was an audible *CLICK!*

The next thing that Sylphee remembered was seeing Mama Sarah Bear on the floor, covered in blood. Daddy said that Mama Sarah Bear had been attacked after Sylphee passed out and whomever did it must have really hated her because there with parts that had been cut off of Mama Sarah Bear. Mama Sarah Bear was really nicest of the Mamas that Daddy had brought home but it all ended the same. Daddy and the Mommys would get into an argument and the Mommys would get stabbed up. It made Sylphee feel uncomfortable and not so happy when it happened and she hoped that nothing like that would happen now that Daddy Johnny Shakes and Mommy Meryl Barrel were arguing.

 

[maninahat]

"Lucy Black...and welcome to my recently invaded room...Hungry? Help yourself, we just finished eating."

Beryl nodded, more to herself than anything else. For once, it felt like she was meeting someone on a similar wavelength. She knew the right things to say, anyway.

"Thanks for the offer. I am and I will."

For the first time, Beryl realised how hungry she was. Her tobacco intake had been the only thing that had been suppressing her appetite. It took a lot of composure on her part to not dive straight onto the food. As she ate, Ms Black talked.

"I owe a substantial debt to a friend to oversee Sylph's continued protection and safety. Mister Truant recently made some of her more...complicated attachments known to me. Sylph believes that you and Johnny are her parents or masters, depending on whether the pretty choker is on...I'd like to know exactly what the phrase was. I can take over the responsibility of the Red Menace and these two won't be a hassle in your future...If not, then the four of us will be seeing a lot more of each other...so what do you think?"

Though she hid it carefully and fixed her eyes onto the plate in front of her, Beryl was immediately suspicious of the request. Firstly, no one should be so willing to take custody over Sylph. Especially after having a sit down meal with her. Secondly, handing over the phrase would be like handing over the detonator to every last warhead in the wasteland. Sylph is a goddamn weapon, and this Lucy - an obvious enclave affiliate - knows that perfectly well. Through a mouthful of 200 year old powdered mash, Beryl gave an answer.

"Oh, but I couldn't possibly let Sylph part from me."

She swallowed and turned to Lucy.

"I am sure your intentions are the kindest and you'd look after her very well, but Sylph and I, we've grown so close in the short time we've been together. She is worth a lot to me, you know. Very valuable as a friend."

Beryl was careful to emphasise the words "worth" and "valuable". She hoped Lucy had the sense to see what she was getting at.

 

[Rip Van Rabbit]

"I am sure your intentions are the kindest and you'd look after her very well, but Sylph and I, we've grown so close in the short time we've been together. She is worth a lot to me, you know. Very valuable as a friend."

Worth and value. Now those were certainly a suggestive choice of words. The 'property' connotations certainly did not sit right with her.

While Lucy had acquired a small helping of Blamco, she sat for a few silent moments, contemplating Beryl's skilful denial. Once the Eyepatched female stopping swirling the water in her glass, she addressed Beryl in an understanding manner.

It was easier to work with others, rather than trying to work through them.

"Worth a try, you know?" Lucy smiled in relief and filled a glass of water for her guest. "Sorry if that was a little invasive, I prefer to get straight to the point before pleasantries."

To elaborate on Lucy's relief, she was actually pleased that the phrase wasn't given to her. Lucy had no idea how Sylph would actually react to her 'sister' uttering that particular command. Anything could have happened, Sylph may have eliminated Lucy for her hasty decision, perhaps the two mothers would have to fight to the death...or maybe Sylph would explode.

Upon reflection, Lucy wasn't comfortable with any measure of 'control' over Sylph. Regardless of her ultimate intentions, the artificial bond would more than likely undermine Lucy's very reason for forming the bond. More than that, it ultimately served to perpetuate Sylph's life cycle of ownership.

All in all, it was a terrible idea. Fortunately, she possessed another plan - well, more of a guideline - but this was much more of a long-term affair, plus it had the benefit of involving only the natural bond between Lucy and Sylph.

Mentally deciding that this was the best course of action on her part, Lucy finished her plate and posed a question to Beryl inquisitively. "If you don't mind me asking, what brought you here - to the Enclave I mean - friends, family, prisoner, Asset Program?" Quickly and politely, she added. "Oh, feel free to speak your mind."

Most likely due to her waning energy, Lucy found herself more inclined to the pace of Beryl's company. Which sparked an immediate thought. "- just let me know up front if you're carrying a second personality, demonic entity or psychic powers!"

Hmm, Beryl was certainly shrewd, but she did not appear to be anything like the fire-breathing mole-rat that she envisioned from Johnny's fair few warnings about her.

Speaking of which, a knock on the door could be heard, along with a thud against the door.

Getting up to investigate, Lucy discovered a basket filled with crimson clothing for Sylph...and a drab gray for Johnny.

Lucy walked over to the bathroom door, yawned and knocked to announce her presence. "Hey, clothing delivery...socks, gray shirt and worn jeans for the male..." Lucy announced as she picked up each item of clothing. "And..Blamco!"

Sylph crimson outfit was styled in the fashion of a military-inspired dress, complete with long sleeves and presumably a knee-length skirt finish. To top it off, long socks were thrown in. As hesitant as Lucy was, she reminded herself that this was the easier version of Sylph to communicate with.

This was also an opportunity for something positive, which gave her motivation. Actually positive, this time. "Sylphee...heh...you're gonna love your new present."