The REALLY Wild Wasteland. (The Fallout RP!)

[maninahat]

"Maybe you want to sleep on your decision? Were you issued a room of your own or do you want to find a place here? Choice is yours Miss Beryl."

Beryl parted her hands in a sign of gratitude.

"That's very generous. I think it is wise to stay here in the company of my friends."

The words were a little forced. It wouldn't do to mention that she had sort of been on he lam since she escaped her store room, and that she needed a place to hide out from those that might come looking for some imposter who claimed to be the President's wife. Unfortunately, that did mean spending the night with that druggy and the kid, and their terrifying skeletons in the closet.

With everyone else tucked in, she decided to follow suit. She crossed her arms and curled up in a chair. She doubted it would be beneficial to anyone if she stripped down for sleep, so she kept the suit on.

She shut her eyes and counted Brahmins, in the comfort that if Sylph's landmine were to suddenly go off, she'd be too dead for her sleep to be disturbed.

 

[TheDoctor455]

Johnny glanced at the mine in Sylph's little hands. Then at Lucy. Then back to the landmine.

Why does she hang onto those things? And... how?

Still, the blue-haired 'menace' did look adorable curled up like that... even if it was with something incredibly dangerous. He stepped his way over the extra mattress over to where Sylph had set herself down, and gingerly reached down to slide the landmine out of the way. To his surprise, he was completely successful at this, and managed to get the dangerous explosive well away from Sylph. However, she also picked that moment to latch onto him instead, nearly tipping Johnny over.

"Woah!" he gasped out, "Uh... Lucy... I could use a hand now... Sylphee seems to have confused me with her... teddy-mine."

With Lucy's help, Johnny was able to ease Sylph into his new friend's bed. He hugged Sylph goodnight, and then he turned around and hugged Lucy.

"You know something?" he whispered into her ear for the umpteenth time today, "You and Sylph are the best things that have happened to me since this crazy adventure started."

He started blushing, so he didn't wait for a response from Lucy before breaking the hug off and heading for his improvised bed. He tucked himself in, and made sure his trusty lever action was handy, just in case the second worst thing to happen to him since this crazy adventure started decided to do something very, very stupid. He fell asleep. Dreaming of nothing more than more time with Lucy and Sylph.

 

[SamtheDeathclaw]

"Hoi, chummer! Which way to Seattle?"
The bunch came out of nowhere, surprising both of Stan's pals. Stan, on the other hand, was quite used to be snuck up on. Maybe the four were a little odd, but who was he to judge?
"Hi there! Seattle is... West of here, and a bit north. A few thousand miles across some pretty terrible terrain. It is not a very fun walk!"
Stan looked at Wayne, and then at Cheekbones.
"Don't you two have those fancy bird-plane-things? Maybe we could loan them one!"
Then, Stan remember his is currently living and has always lived, after the apocalypse. God only knows how he ever forgets.
"Oh, if Seattle is still around. Haven't been out that way, uh... Ever. Never heard of anyone who has, either. So it may not be." Stan did his best sad face. "If you need a place to stay, our friend Cheekbones is leading us to a base of some kind!"

 

[FalloutJack]

The desert... That stretch of wasteland that exists between wasteland and...more wasteland...here in the expanse that was once America. Here, making his way from pit-stop to pit-stop, was a van. 'Twas not any ordinary van, but rather it was marked as a Laughing Fools Ice Cream Truck [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZiJsNtD_WFQ], and it was NOT hauling ice cream. Not by a long shot. For this van was the mobile domicile of the aged man known to some as Dr. Dr. Corvius Madux. A man of two doctorates - chemistry and physics - he was, and quick to remind you of such, it was his fate that he should carry a great deal of explosive-making and generally explosive material in the rear of his van. His van, which was made to auto-lock the doors and the key never to leave his possession because he once locked himself out, and the van had a number of fail-safes against hotwiring...such as mustard gas in the airbag, not starting without a trick in the ignition, and a bad clutch. You don't question genius. Madux was traveling west. He'd heard recently that an old colleague of his - Doctor Donald Q. Bastion (The Q. stands for Mortimer) - was apparently in the Capital Wasteland. The van was now passing an old and dilapidated shack when-

[HEADING=2]SHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMM!!![/HEADING]​

-a blue box shot out of the building like a rocket into space! And in the wake of it, there was some sort of energy vortex heading right for the van!

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Explosion? Explosion? Oh, Frank... You mean, after all you've done, you didn't see this coming? Every time you hijack a damn vehicle, it blows up, usually because you meant it to. Well, after so much bad karma for that one - even though it's all invariably funny - it was high time something went a bit...wrong. And yet, a bit right too. Here, lemme show you. The explosion that didn't happen - yet did - is a bit complicated. You see, Jackson Murphy's helluva-jeep hit the back of Metal Gear Box's leg square in the reverse-oriented kneecap. Dead on. No explosion, though. Jackson's had that jeep for YEARS. He built it to last. That, and the stuff in it was just set improperly. Anyway, here comes the strange bit. Remember when Murphy suddenly disappeared in the rear-view mirror? Suddenly...the jeep was gone to, but that's not the fun part. Here's what it is...

As a result of the impact, the MGB's leg was kicked right through a Behemoth mutant's stomach and it was having trouble staying oriented. When that happened, it began to fire wildly...with its energy cannons. Buildings were severely damaged, mutant caches of mini-nukes and throwable Fatman rounds exploded, and the Behemoths in the area...died of having energy blasted through them. Metal Gear Box surveyed the area, concluded that their defenses were broken, and then turned to the one and only opposition on the field now: Frank Rose, BOS. Vulcan barrels twirled, energy weapons charged up, missles were primed, and there's Frank without a getaway vehicle. It was looking pretty bad for him now, as not even his buddies could reach him right now. And then...


...a strange vortex appeared above and behind the MGB. It came from nowhere, and no explanation. The vortex spat out a large van with the words 'Laughing Fools' on the side. Behind the wheel was a man who had been suddenly scooped up by a random time event and deposited here, where his van would land first on top of the giant robot and then drive off again. On impact, the rear doors of the van came open and a thing came out. It was hard to make out, but it looked like somebody was trying to build a Fatman round from scratch. And if you looked REALLY closely, like with maybe a powersuit's special zoom feature, you could see some writing right on the bomb.

Dr. Dr. Corvius Madux's
Experimental Homemade Fatman Round
Please Handle With Care​

The good doctor had a Fatman in the rear of his van, and he badly wanted to use it some day, but he could never find the rounds, so he tried to build one. It was almost perfected...but alas it flew out of his vehicle and the doors slammed shut...just as it struck the MGB in the face. A mini-nuclear detonation catapulted Madux's van over Frank's head and managed to hit the ground right-side up and remain so, intact, thanks largely to his velocity and airborne self. The MGB, inches from the explosion, was not so lucky. It was flung into a tumble from the force of the blast and rammed right into a Bethesda building, collapsing the entire thing on top of it. Well, doctor... You've reached the Capital Wastelands and surprised a giant robot. What do you do for an encore?

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Stanley had given the group of four some directions to Seattle...sort of. However, there was a severe amount of confusion here as to the nature of these folks. For one, the big guy in the lead - Joe Slayer - was not human. Neither was the even-bigger-guy with one eye, obviously. And them dogs did NOT look pleasant, yet the guy with the tribal markings was petting them like puppies. And as for the elven chick...well...she was obviously elven. Wayne had to ask the next most-likely question.

"Just who... What the fuck are you guys. And what's in Seattle?"

Jonesy: Uh oh. I don't like this, Joe. It doesn't seem we're in Kansas anymore.

Joe: So...New Jersey, then?

Jonesy: No! I think we're off our plain. You know, our existence?

Coyote: What? I thought that only happened in trideos.

Speck: Uhh, tah put it simply, little guy, we're a group of gun-totin' badasses on our way back from a mission...the long way.

"Feeling a little small?"

David: Only in some territories. I think you'd better let me handle this.

"Don't you two have those fancy bird-plane-things? Maybe we could loan them one!"

David: I don't think that would-

"Oh, if Seattle is still around. Haven't been out that way, uh... Ever. Never heard of anyone who has, either. So it may not be. If you need a place to stay, our friend Cheekbones is leading us to a base of some kind!"

David: I don't think either of those things will help these gentlemen. Here, would you follow me a moment?

He took Joe off to the side and spoke low, but those with good enough hearing would find him saying...

David: Listen, the Enclave has had the closely-guarded secret of alternate dimensions, held at only the top level of clearance to know, such as myself. Now, what you want to do is proceed west PAST - and do not attempt to enter - Fort Knox for several miles East, and then look for a building that has men in black armor stationed outside of it. Tell them you would like to enter the Pub and that FalloutDavid sent you. That is the key to your return to Seattle, your Seattle.

Joe: A pub is the key to our safe return?

David: Could be worse...

He shrugged and went back to Stanley and Wayne, leading them North.

David: Come along, you two. We're nearly there. I've told them what they needed to know.

Back with the other group...

Joe: Strange guy.

Speck: So, what'd he say?

Joe: He wants us to go to a Pub of some kind...

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It was here that they had gathered, that the Cult of the Great Wet Ones were in force. Here at...the Dunwich Building. No one of consequence had discovered them yet, amazingly, and the land was quite wet and clammy on a near-permanent basis since the rains began. The pure water had raised many mutant plants into corpses and taught them to walk the Earth to kill the living. But the ghouls...feral and aware alike...were of the cult, and so to was...Dr. Crawver the walrus-man. He, Abe, and the Red Guy had been here...and the High Priest - an exceptionally-strong ghoul in an obscuring hooded cloak - spoke to them often. Lately, Crawver had been seeing what the ghouls see, the cloaked wanderer with the gurgling sounds emitted from it. Sometimes, it was an illusion, or a facade over a ghoul, and sometimes he was even real. Crawver had seen its real face.

High Priest: Our master is a Wet One from beyond time and space. He was taken past the great door and forced to endure eternity while extending his mind into the world to find receptive beings. Through strange eons, he has found himself able to hold to this world in flashes, instances, and influence it. Your escape was his doing. Our great message is his doing, and soon...his great return to the flesh will be OUR doing. But first, I am to instruct you in the ways. Your drunken friend can wait. Come.

And thus, the education began...

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Total madness, that's what it was, but Hayes was clearly a man of action and not too shabby either. He'd thought it would take all of them to take that ghoul. Heh, ghoul... As if 'Rotty' could be considered as such. He was a vegetable, literally. He was an animated corpse taken over by a violent rad-plant to look like that Scarecrow it really seemed like. Another thing, something they hadn't noticed before, but ummm...it could spit wads of energy, like laser-fire. The way it was tied up on Hayes' car, it could only shoot up, but still...it was disconcerting. Also, the other one that had had the smashed head. Before they'd gone, Evan had looked at it for a moment. The plant started to grow more, to find something to complete its body or to grow into something else. Fortunately, it was slow now and they weren't going to be in danger, not having left. But now, they were in front of...well...a trap. A trap of piled cars. Of piled-

Evan: Well now...

He grinned, pushed up his glasses, and backed up even further, pulling out his laser rifle.

Evan: Guys, this here's the variation on a Frank Rose maneuver.

So saying, he began to shoot the cars...and the Heads - smart raiders - who were behind the wall and lying in wait, suddenly went "Oh shit!" as the cars began to smoke and BOOOOOOOOOOOOMMM!!! Car parts would be raining from the skies soon and the remains of the wreckages that was once comprising that wall...was all on fire.

Evan: Check for stragglers?

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Say... That Larry Hatchet, he's got an idea. Damn good one, in fact. Take an Eyebot, repair it, and return to sender. Have it loaded with explosives, and BOOM! There must be a million Eyebots out there or something. That's a plan that could work, yo. John went off to get Sheriff Simms in regards to regards to the whole Eyebot thing.

Lucas: I dunno what you boys wanted them all for. I just said to let us repurpose a few for our own needs and you can mess with 'em to your heart's content. Now, what can I do for you here?

During this time, however, we should point out...a newcomer at the gates. Deputy Weld was, of course, on duty, when a stranger appeared - looking at him ramrod stiff - and addressed him.

"Howdy."

Deputy Weld: Howdy, stranger. Welcome to Megaton.

"Howdy."

Deputy Weld: Are you feeling okay? Scans are inconclusive at this time.

"Howdy."

Okay...the whacked out body-contortions 'Howdy' man was here. How the fuck did that happen?!

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Danielle went to find Sara Lyons and - presumably - so did Marlon unless the weapon-maker had something better to do. In either case, they would find her talking with a load of the Paladins in the meeting room. She noticed this and made the indicator to sit down. She had news, and it wasn't pretty.

Sara: This meeting is to discuss the situation regarding the recent events with thhe mutants, the Enclave, and all. Since the Enclave's 'coming out' party, there has been a huge rash of incidents. Aside from their direct attacks and interferences, we have had...

An increase in raider activity, especially from a group called the Heads, who were driven out of Kentucky.
Bizarre ghoul activity, leading both ferals and non-ferals to act in a cult-like manner for reasons unknown.
The further mutation of super mutants into the large Behemoths that were created by this mad doctor.
A sudden and unexpected change in the weather, pure rain, which has raised plants to take over corpses.
The awakening of a giant monster responsible for Nuka-Cola bellyaches and rampant damages all over.

Sara: ...and so on. We need to get to work on this people. Rivet City is still calling for help. The Behemoths there are pounding on the ship because they won't come out and 'feed' them. There are vegetable zombies roaming the wasteland. There are ghouls in cloaks acting worse than Hubbologists. We need information on this stuff, and we need to clamp down on it and hard.

She looked them all over carefully before pressing a button and continuing. A viewing screen came to life behind her.

Sara: We need to work fast to tame the wasteland, because this bit of intelligence has been decoded from the files of that Enclave operative we had here. It is NOT good.

It was an image...from space! It was a satellite, had to be. The file was simply marked as RED in the top-left corner. What they saw was light on Earth go to dark as the planet passed between the satellite and the sun. On the night side of the planet, somewhere on the Eastern side of that pair of continents, there was something there. It was not like the lights of cities you see at night from orbit on a clear day. Not exactly. It was a bit more faint, and all of it was in red. The satellite focused on it, and then went to a thermographic reading. Hot spots, a large amount of little hot spots, all of them red. If there was a rad-scan, would it show up there too? Because it was clear what they were all looking at, at least that was what Sara suspected the Enclave had learned.

Sara: Dad always wondered what became of our enemies after the war. Were they like us, beaten down and trying to survive? All of them dead and gone? We don't have contact with the rest of the world like in the pre-war days. The Enclave had access to this satellite and figured it out themselves. It looks to me like there are a million Glowing Ones over there. Red ghouls, everyone. We've seen Chinese remnants over here. They survived here, they survived there. And if they still hold to the old orders, they'll start to wonder if WE survived.

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As William was musing to himself about his future - a future that remained in question so long as he was in this base - he came to the place he was looking for. Ummm...shit. This wasn't going to be easy. You see, unlike the previous hub, this data hub was better-protected, more resticted. For instance, it had a nice longish corridor with a good ten guards - five on each side - standing still and holding Super Sledges. His powersuit's HUD identified them all as Replicants. Ahead of him were three Tesla Soldiers armed with Tesla Rifles. Yes, that's right. Lightning bolt guns. Give it shurikens and the only way to make 'em cooler is if they had tits and were on fire. Anyway, they stood in front of a sealed armored door, and the only thing they were interested in was clearance.

Tesla-118: Either show me proper authorization or buzz off.

Before he could switch on exterior sound, though, Alice chimed in.

Alice: You don't want to start a party like this. If you're going for the command hub, you'll be facing ten wholey-robotic soldiers at once and you don't want that. I suggest you either think of something clever...or come back. The information you have by now should be enough. We need you to get your asset out of there alive to be of any use, after all.

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And so, here we are...once more...in the dark place.


Number One's eyes lit the interior, and then the lights rose from dark to dim as his other highlights became active. He sat in his seat, looking to his report from several of his subbordinates. So far, it was FalloutJack, FalloutBob, and FalloutGreg...but he was expecting more.

"We are ready, then? You may proceed."

FalloutBob: So, I checked over my suit logs and it looks like the Brotherhood got the information recorded on it while I was captured. Is...that good?

"It is, actually. You see, I was planning to leak information on our problem in RED from the start, but I couldn't actually think of a way that was trustworthy. So, they seem to have solved the problem for me...or rather, YOU HAVE."

FalloutBob: Uhh, glad to be of service?

FalloutGreg: We have a problem with the Box. The mission appears to be over, but it was nuke-blasted in the face. And we're not sure, but it appears to be under a building right now. Analysts are working on it, but I think it'll need a field repair job.

"I believe that's Mr. Scott's expertise. He's still out there, after all."

FalloutGreg: I'll send him a wire. Pretty sure he'll pick it up, having GNR's dish and all.

FalloutJack: We have a proposal from Lucy Black regarding a mission regarding the EU, with a team of her own, apparently.. My secretary told her I'd look into it tomorrow, but contacted me immediately. Considering the gambits we're running around here, I wanted to ask to make sure... Is this one of yours?

"Not mine. Could it be all her own idea?"

FalloutJack: Possibly. I want to believe she's trying to fit in, but I don't know. Personally, I'd rather we focus on BoS things right now. Speaking of which...do we HAVE any plans for the Outcasts?

"Pffft, no. Have you heard the reports from the Mojave? They all but wiped themselves out there from rash action and the Outcasts are a similar breed. Let them trip themselves up. Oh, and let them in from outside. I've been expecting this."

Jack does as he's asked and in walks who else but Technicians #818, #954, and #3000...with a smashed previously-runaway sweeper.

#818 and #954: We're the Maintenance Brothers!

#3000: And the Maintenance Sister.

"I see you caught the sweeper. Good work."

#954: I hit it with a big shiny mallet.

#818: You know, sir, I...don't think those new people are any good. Seems like alot more things are breaking and getting confused down here.

#3000: Such as a few of the listening bugs. Even then, it's kinda' obvious there's some weird stuff going on there.

"Yes, I know. I've been keeping track of things. Okay, you can come out now."

Disengaging a Stealth Boy, the pink-haired form of Natsuki Manriki appeared to the right of everyone from a shadow.

#818 & #954: HELLOOOOOOO, DICLONIUS NURSE!!

#3000: Boys...

Natsuki: Hey dad.

FalloutJack: Sup, kid? Did you...take care of Lilith?

Natsuki: Yeah, she's out of the vents for now. I scolded her.

FalloutJack: Good.

Natsuki: So anyway, there's been some issues. I dunno how long you guys are gonna let these people waltz around like they own the place, but we have some bodies floating around here. Shouldn't be too hard to put two-and-two together and come up with our new 'friends' causing it, especially since the Beryl woman broke out of her cell with that sweeper and pranced around, calling herself the First Lady to boot. Also, they just found a dead body in R&D, but nobody from the Black party's been there. We may have to assume someone's lost a suit. Now, what are we doing about all this?

"We're going to discuss this plan with Miss Black. I want to see what she's up to."

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In the morning, Lucy would receive word that she will be directed to a room for discussion of this plan of hers.

((OOC: Yyyup, that's one-on-one scripting, Rip.))

 

[Souplex]

Frank was pleased to see that the robot got what it deserved for thwarting his plan to drop a building on it earlier.
He had a new associate to say hello to, but priorities.
Frank had to make sure this thing was dead.
"From hell's heart I stab-"
It would seem that the good doctor had seen to that before his retreat though. While Frank didn't know it, the building was filled with explosives to prevent the Enclave from taking any of its sensitive contents. A lot of explosives.
A large explosion came from the building, followed by a much larger more nuclear explosion from the robot.
How was Frank going to survive this one?

Spoiler: With science of course!

The bulk of the blast would be absorbed by the robot's shell, and the building.
Frank weighs about 500 pounds in total. 280 pounds of Frank, 170 pounds of power armor, (A minigun weighs 85 pounds in real life, and 25 weight units in Fallout. A full set of power armor weighs 50 weight units, and therefore 170 pounds. Every weight unit in Fallout is therefore about 3.4 pounds) 50-ish. pounds of miscellaneous junk and extra weight from his modifications to his armor.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minigun
http://fallout.wikia.com/wiki/Minigun_(Fallout:_New_Vegas)
http://fallout.wikia.com/wiki/T-45d_power_armor_(Fallout:_New_Vegas)
As we've just seen, in the right circumstances if you're in a sturdy enough metal container, within the right weight range, and just plain hardy enough (10 endurance, Toughness Rank 2) it's perfectly survivable.

Frank sailed through the air with a S, SE bearing like Indiana Jones in a fridge in his third best movie. (Seriously, Temple of Doom is so much worse)
Although Frank didn't know it because of the blinding deafening nuclear explosion, an ice cream truck was also flying along a similar trajectory.
[Quest complete: Un-boxing]

 

[The Hund]

As Madux landed several thoughts were rushing through his head:

Did I just fly through a vortex?

Where am I?

What just happened?

Madux took a moment to gather his bearings. It appeared he had flown through a vortex, and inadvertently dropped his makeshift mini-nuke on a gigantic robot. Madux was torn, on one hand his mini-nuke that he had been working on had just been destroyed. On the other hand, he just dropped a mini-nuke on a gigantic robot. He was leaning on the side of that was awesome!

As he pondered his feelings on the matter he saw a large group of dead super mutants with various types of wounds, some even looked explosive. Surely the robot had not done this alone; that's when he noticed a fellow in power armor. Madux though to introduce himself to this fellow, who he assumed shared his utter hatred for super mutants. Perhaps he was even a fan of explosives such as himself.

"Hello friend, are you in need of-"

"From hell's heart I stab-"

And with that the two flew into the air.

"Not again!"

 

[Generic NPC 22]

The Red Menace was standing in some sort of town that felt like it was far far far FARFARFARFARFARFAR away from where she thought she was, in fact she didn't quite know where she was, or even who she was as she noted that she didn't quite feel like herself. She sorta felt kinda smarter, especially since she seemed to be walking through town with Mister Big Book o' Science in her arms and while she never thought she understood exactly what was contained inside of Mister Big Book o' Science, she felt like she could open it right there and right then to any of Mister Big Book o' Science's pages and recite what was written word for word for word for word.

"Hi Mister Double MooMoo Brahmin Heads!" Sylphee said happily to a Mister Double Moo Moo Brahmin Heads as she hopped through the town, people seeing her and saying something about bunnies or something and how Sylphee and her friends had made things safer in Shy-Town. She must've said something wrong since the people who were talking about Sylphee gave her a look like she had said something really weird.

Shrugging to herself, the Blue Haired Red Menace, continued hopping until she reached a shack that almost literally told her was her home that she shared with Daddy Johnny Shakes and Big Sissy Psycho Lucy Caboosy. But before she opened the door, she saw something cute on the roof of the shack, a Mister Bunny-Turret or some sort of Mister Turret that was Bunny Shaped.

"CUUUUUUUUUUUTE!!!!!!!" Sylphee squee'd as she headed to the side of the metal shack and climbed up onto the roof and gave Mister Bunny Turret a hug, Mister Bunny Turret Squeeing right back at her as it shot a couple of Missy Bullets.

Satisfied with the huggles, Sylphee dropped down from the roof. which had been strangely decorated with a lawn chair and umbrella, and walked into her house, excited to see Daddy Johnny Shakes and Big Sissy Lucy Psycho Caboosy.

"Hi Hi Hi HI HI HIHIHHIHIHIHI!" Sylphee exploded as she entered the door and saw the people she knew to be Daddy Johnny Shakes and Big Sissy Lucy Psycho Caboosy, though they kinda sorta looked different. I mean Daddy Johnny Shakes didn't have look like he had a body and Big Sissy Lucy Psycho Caboosy had lots and lots and Mister Sharpy Knives on her and though Sylphee thought that there was something wrong with the picture, she just ignored it. If it was important, it would keep bugging her.

*BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG* said Mister Door as someone on the other side of him started *BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG*ing away. Even though Sylphee had answered Mister Door a million billion times, she felt nervous about answering Mister Door this time since the person on the other end was wearing what looked like a top hat, and had pale skin and knew how to use shovels.

*BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG* said Mister Door, the stranger on the other side of the Mister Door went *BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG*ing once again.

Reaching out to Missus Doorknob, Sylphee pulled open the door and found herself blinded by the outsides.

The Enclave Vault: Big Sissy Psycho Lucy Caboosy's room

The Red Menace opened her eyes suddenly and looked around the room and saw Daddy Johnny Shakes, Mommy Meryl Barrel and Big Sissy Psycho Lucy Caboosy sleeping.

Grabbing Mister Landmine and wrapping her arms around him, Sylphee went right back to sleep.

 

[Souplex]

Spoiler: As Frank sailed through the air he put on a song.

Unfortunately all he heard was a ringing in his ears.
He really hoped this wouldn't be permanent.
On the plus side; Level up!
Frank reached his level cap, and skill points were divvied.
New perk: [Alloyed Soul] By coming to peace with his father figures, Frank can unlock special inherited perks from them.
Frank realized that Gilford was most likely vaporized in the explosion. This saddened him deeply. Paladins Russell and Grey might be alive, but he had no idea if they survived.
Nothing he could do about it now.
[Perception]His vision was returning though, and he saw something very odd. An icecream truck was flying with him.
Frank was seeing some strange shit as of late, and he was pretty sure he was either insane or under the influence of a potent hallucinogen.

 

[Rip Van Rabbit]

Lucy woke up earlier than any of her guests, unable to shake the uneasy feeling that being inside the Enclave itself brought.

Moodily, she grabbed her clothes and went about her business in the locked bathroom. While her armor, undershirt and undergarments were shoved in an auto-wash, she took her time in the shower.

More clean and fresh-smelling than she had felt in awhile, Lucy waited nervously while her clothing was being dried, she didn't know what to expect today.

As if her thoughts were being monitored, a red light next to an intercom symbol flashed above the closed bathroom door.

Hearing the auto-wash power down, Lucy quietly tip-toed across the room in her towel towards the flashing intercom.

"I'm here." Lucy replied in a hushed tone.

"Asset Black. You'll find an escort waiting outside your quarters. This involves your mission request."

"Thanks."

Lucy hastily retrieved her clean clothing and armor, getting dressed while she mentally prepared herself for whatever was to come. With her armor, gear and two loose pigtails secured, she made her way to the table in the center of the room, leaving behind a note for the group to read upon her absence.

It simply read: "Gone out to pitch the mission idea. Wish me luck! *a smiley face was inserted here*...Don't break anything! *a frowny face was inserted here.*"

Finally, Lucy quietly left the room of sleeping occupants and nodded towards the two Enclave soldiers standing by her door. Without a word, Lucy was guided down a severely twisted route that she lost track of.

Before she was ushered into a dark room, her escort nodded at her rifle and warned her firmly, "I'm not gonna take it, but I'd think twice about firing at HIM." suddenly, the doors shut behind her.

[hr]

Why did they always keep these rooms so damn dark? Locating a nearby table and chair, she could barely see a couple of feet beyond it. Lucy would have expected to hear from Jack about now, but instead there was a deeper voice...a darker voice that came out of nowhere...

"Sit down, Miss Black."

A tingle ran through her spine, this entire situation suddenly had her on edge. Something she did not appreciate, especially not after yesterday's shenanigans they had pulled on her. Regardless, she cautiously took her seat and sat with her arms crossed. Glaring into the dark nothingness ahead of her.

"Good morning to you too!"

Red eye-lights switched on, followed by the red highlights on the power armor. Judging from Jack's armor, this meant that he was someone important. The fact that his black powersuit seemed somehow sleeker, more advanced, and about a foot taller seemed to solidify that fact. Who was this guy?

"I am Number One. I believe you had some concerns regarding the tertiary splinter group known as Enclave Underground."

Number One calmly sat down across from her and his suit-fingers criss-crossed as he spoke.

Lucy thought Jack and Bob were intimidating, but this brought about a whole new level of fear just by the mere presence of this man.

Towering over Lucy, even while seated, she would have opted to make hasty apologies on any other day and bolted...but this man was no other than Number One himself, head of the Enclave. Considering how closely he was involved with her father, her emotions were spilling into her words.

"Ha! So I get a face-to-face with the Queen Bee of the Enclave...interesting."

Lucy held back any further words and focused on calming down before addressing his question.

"The Enclave Underground. I have reason to believe that's where Amy Kane defected to. You know of her, don't you?"

Lucy's stated this very bluntly while keeping her arms firmly crossed.

Number One didn't seem particularly phased by her opening comment. He just pressed on.

"Naturally. She was a research scientist. We considered it possible that that's where she went. Obviously, she did not feel safe among us while we were harboring ill-intent towards Isaac."

Perhaps it wasn't wise to anger or undermine the man at the top. That was easier said than done of course, Lucy had to bite back every scathing insult she wished to hurl at Number one.

"Well if I know my Mother, it's that there is one thing she loves more than me or Dad...herself."

"She would visit me whenever she could find an opening in my Dad's schedule. During the last few visits, years ago, it could not have been a coincidence that she always told me I would be 'safe underground one day'."

Of course, this was a lie, her mother never said such a thing. Lucy uncrossed her arms and leaned forward with her hands open on the table.

"I thought she was just referring to how Vaults were intended to keep people safe, but it all adds up now that I've eventually gotten most of my questions answered."

Lucy straightened up and looked directly at Number One, "Which makes me think, they're hiding from all you...but would they hide from me?"

Number one changed rubbing the chin of his helmet, contemplating what her words.

"We HAVE tried to find them with a few tricks like that, without result. The trouble I see is that if she somehow knew you'd end up here, why would she lead you to the EU? She might be the one who believes it all to be a trap. And of course, the members of the EU are no schlubs themselves. They trust nobody. They're so hidden that I'm fairly certain the BoS didn't even know they existed...'till recently."

Number One returned to the original position.

"So, in brief, it is your intention to use yourself as bait and hope for best. Do you have any idea where you might even begin, should I consider such a plan viable?"

Dammit, she had hit a dead end. She had assumed the Enclave would have rough estimations of a location at the very least. Lucy was a little lost in frustrated thought before answering Number One.

"You may have tried in the past, but have you ever had a carrot like me to dangle? Amy Kane is not completely heartless, she should budge for her only daughter, there was a reason she kept going on about preparing me for the future." Lucy paused, "You said without result? If they suspect it's a trap, I'm pretty sure I'll be executed on the spot...that's your guarantee that I either succeed or die trying."

Lucy addressed him firmly, "I was hoping you would have something more substantial in terms of locations, known associates - that kind of thing. You must have sent your previous attempts somewhere? I was hoping you had the information to point me in the right direction because I'm a great angle to use."

"Unless you have other intentions for having me here...I'm just proposing a mission idea here."

Number One flipped open a part of his suit's left arm near the wrist to reveal a keypad of some kind. Sounds of something sliding from the wall were heard, and then rapid-motion laser-light projection created an image suspended in mid-air which Lucy recognized as a Pipboy 3000 map of the wasteland encompassing their area, the Capital Wasteland, points in between, and an area to the west with the label of "Legion Territory" on it. Marked on it were presumably all the known towns and locations, plus a series of Vaults which were either discovered or unknown...Another button-press and red X's appeared over all of those locations.

"What we have is extensive knowledge upon where they are not. They are not in any town, nor any Vault. No location that we have a record of has turned up any signs of having been inhabited by Enclave personnel. It is possible that they managed to elude us and the Legion to make it into NCR territory, but some evidence of this would have come to us by now. It is clear to us that they have found somewhere to hunker down long-term, with or without assistance. They do not move. They are exceptionally well-hidden. We could formulate a series of locations to 'dangle' you in."

"However, I think it's obvious, Asset, that you are of value and should not be 'thrown to the wolves' so casually. What possibility of not dying do you attribute to this plan?"

Lucy studied the information before her, or as fast as she could read, considering Number One had filled the map with crosses to rule out all the locations on the map. They really had made a tremendous effort to find the Enclave Underground.

With this new information in the light, she felt considerably less unique as far as having any angle would go.

"If I were to embark on this mission, I wouldn't do it alone. That being said, I would not have made it this far if I couldn't have handled myself." Lucy paused briefly but continued against her better judgement. "The recent stragglers that have been picked up, they seem to have found me. So I made a few friends: Johnny Truant, a capable and loyal man. Sylph, an even more fearsome companion. And finally, Beryl, a recent acquaintance of that merry trio."

Lucy nodded with conviction, "I know they would fight on my behalf." She also added. "I wouldn't ask to be doing this for fun, I have a reputation here, cleaning it up by working on something seems like a good start."

"I see, and thereby clearing up their reputations as well, correct?"

Number One pulled out a sheet of paper with detailed information regarding the very trio she had just mentioned.

"Let's see...Johnny contains an eldritch abomination from beyond that takes him over every now and then. Sylph has attacked a number of guards and caused damages. Oh, and this one's fun. Beryl badmouthed one of our intercom people - who is her mother, apparently - and then escaped from her cell by making an auto-sweeper go rogue somehow. With people like that, I'd send Jack with you if he weren't on a mission."

"Exactly." Lucy replied and suddenly grew a little worried at the sight of that unexpected paper. She did however laugh a little when she found out about Beryl's origins.

"And ever since they met me, they stopped going rogue and stepped in line. I wouldn't be a good leader otherwise." Lucy paused for emphasis, "Johnny won't leave Sylph and I suspect he likes me a little more than a friend, I know of his other side and 'it' meant me no harm. Sylph thinks I'm her sister and absolutely adores me. Beryl will go wherever Sylph goes...you see where I'm going with this."

Lucy looked at Number One directly and for the first time, calmly and confidently stated, "They go wherever I go. They all inevitably follow me. I know how to keep them in line and I can continue to be a good influence. The more people you can spread around, the better, with the bonus of not being Enclave Officials."

"Interesting. Where would you deploy? Convince me of your leadership skills and show me a good 'fishing spot'."

Lucy studied the map a little more, she couldn't shake the feeling of the locations her dad used to use as 'trading' routes.

"Isaac used trading routes, they were very specific...Museum of History, Rivet City, GNR plaza...same general area...Amy would argue with my Dad about covering for him about shipments..." She was thinking out loud and unfiltered. "I was always reminded about those locations from my Dad as if they carried more importance than just trade routes...can't shake the feeling it's significant somehow."

Lucy straightened up and nodded towards the map, "I wouldn't cross out Rivet City so soon. There's a lot of people going in and out, it's also an information hub for 4 unique individuals to work in, while functioning like a team. I would re-examine Rivet City on a social level then work my way up the map to GNR plaza...between the people, the metro system, ruins and information...There has got to be something a small but concentrated team can dig out."

Lucy shrugged, "That would be my first move."

"Brotherhood territory? Pffft, I dunno about that. They may have left, but they're still Enclave of a sort. They still don't like the BoS, OR the Outcasts, in my opinion. Frankly, if they're in that territory, then we have an even bigger problem than before. We simply WON'T lure them out so damn close to the Citadel. Not until the Brotherhood makes their move."

Lucy mulled over Number One's thoughts on the matter. He made an excellent point.

"Makes sense, unless the Underground is simply so savvy that they would hide under the Brotherhood's nose. Either way, information gathering is never a bad thing...Like you said, it would be a bigger problem...unless...- what if they were hiding under your nose?"

Lucy hesitated, "How big is this Vault and can you account for every single soldier here?"

Number One's tone indicated that this thought had him intrigued, be he shot it down anyway.

"No no, not down here. I have full schematics. I or someone else would know if something was being used improperly. The Enclave built the Vaults. They wouldn't slack off about records like that, and the EU didn't come into play until I started the purge of the old regime. I worked here for years before then. So, not down here...but maybe elsewhere..."

Lucy's mind was working over various little ideas. At this point she was just brainstorming.

"Maybe elsewhere? Do you have any other suspicious Vaults in mind or areas you'd like me to look into then?" Lucy continued, "What about additions to the existing Vaults? You might be able to cover a lot of ground, but you can't be everywhere all at once, just thinking out loud here."

Lucy frowned as she couldn't let something go, "To be safe, I would order a lock-down of this vault anyway. Look out for anything out of the ordinary, anything strange happening here? Besides for Sylph's...umm...antics..."

Lucy sighed in frustration, more at herself than anything else. "I'm out of ideas without giving me some planning time. But you do know that I'm willing to go wherever you send me, there must be a few places that could do with a status update?"

"There are a few places that I could send you, yes. And worry not of suspicious activity in this base. We're on top of it."

Number One indicated towards the piece of paper from before as proof.

"Perhaps looking into Vaults and the general area would be merited. Obviously, I'm not going to send an armored operative into the open if you want to get 'caught' while investigating things. That would be counter-productive."

Lucy smirked a little, although she was disappointed she wouldn't be getting her neon pink armor.

"So no power armor, not a deal-breaker...the four of us would blend in as Wastelanders or any cover identity that can be improvised. How would we make contact about our findings? Eyebot or personal report?"

Leaning forward slightly, "Is there any chance that we can be restocked and re-armed upon leaving? I know that Beryl was complaining about a golf club or something..."

"If you had any Enclave technology on you upon being found by the EU, they would suspect the trap and probably kill you. No radios, no eyebots. Report back here. And for criminy's sake, this is a weapons development plant. We could probably give her a club that hits straight. You may restock in terms of your personal weapons from our stores. Nothing overtly Enclave or the jig is up."

Lucy was a little surprised at Number One's attitude, she was even more taken aback by what she said next.

"You know, you guys are a whole lot more accommodating than the Brotherhood. And funnier...you'd expect the opposite." Lucy laughed a little, "Don't worry, as far as weapons go, the rest of them like to keep it conventional. As for me..."

She peered over her shoulder at her Gauss Rifle Plus, "I'm the only one that can explain my equipment, plus my identity should help if we're ever caught."

Lucy sighed with relief, "It feels good to have some plan of action. When do we start?"

"Oh, make no mistake. We're an organization of power, control, and high technology. We ARE the conspiracy. You're doing us a favor for the mere compensation of guns and ammo, the thing we have in excess. I suggest you begin preparations within the hour. We have very many things to take care of before the big one."

Lucy weighed his words with attention and care. Nodding as she received her instructions.

"One last thing...Shifty Mcgee, the Undertaker - yesterday - I was forced to...dispatch of him. Why me? Has his body been disposed of?" Her voice broke at the mention of his name.

"You vouched for him and he did not clear. We will be keeping an eye on him. And by that, I mean keeping him immobile and incarcerated."

Number One finally stoop up, indicating the conclusion to their conversation.

"If there are no other confusions, I have a base to run."

Lucy cleared her throat, biting back her screaming thoughts of rage and extended her hand towards Number One.

"No further questions, sir. Thank you for giving me this opportunity...and I apologize about being so rude earlier."

Number One merely uttered a dismissive "Meh." regarding her rude comment. The mere act of a handshake caused Lucy to almost panic as her hand felt like it was being crushed. It didn't seem deliberate, although that made Number One all the more intimidating as she rubbed her pained hand.

[hr]

Leaving the room, her escort was ready to take her back to her quarters. She was silent throughout the entire travel, her mind was in overdrive...Shifty was incarcerated, not dead. Beryl had escaped imprisonment, a detail she never mentioned. Number One knew everything about Johnny and Sylph, even down to the details of their last actions.

Arriving outside her room, her escort left her alone. She hesitated before entering, how much time had passed exactly? That was a rather lengthy meeting...

Regardless, Lucy realized that her personal vendetta was at odds with her responsibilities towards those that chose to stand at her side. It was clear that she was outclassed and outgunned here. One force was suddenly growing greater than the other and she didn't hesitate at making her decision now:

Lucy's selfishness and arrogance of the past had cost her too much already...she couldn't continue her life alone. No matter what it threw at her.

With that in mind, the determined Gauss Girl entered her room.

 

[Souplex]

At the apex of a flight there is a moment where one feels absolutely weightless. It is the moment where your upward force is perfectly countered by earth's gravity.
It is a beautiful wondrous feeling. A single moment not being tethered by the force that traps us on this ravaged post-apocalyptic world.
It is also the last moment before you begin to fall.
[Perception]As Frank descended towards the earth he saw a few things.
First he saw the ocean. He needed to hit that. It was his current trajectory, so that was reassuring. Hitting the ground might be lethal if he hit it directly. If he hit the ground at the right angle he might be able to skip, but the water is what he wanted to hit. It always bothered him how easily the people of the wastes could swim regardless of what they wore. Even full Power Armor didn't seem to impede swimming. He never understood why.
He also saw Rivet City. The bridge to the city had been destroyed.
The third thing he saw was what worried him though. He also saw a half-dozen super mutant behemoths milling about outside along with a handful of the regular sized variety.
Rivet City was Frank's third home. After he left the Brotherhood he spent some time there, working for a repair shop run by a woman named Gabrielle Rothman. It was a decent living, however it didn't feel right, and eventually Frank set off to wander the wastes.
As Frank fell he realized his fall trajectory would not land him in the ocean as he hoped.
[Luck]Frank found himself lodged headfirst in a Behemoth's chest cavity. with his legs dangling out.
Well isn't that just a metaphor for my life.
Frank felt a very large hand grab his legs and yank him out.
Frank was face to face with a very large behemoth holding his lower body and looking quite displeased with him.
Frank realized that he had no way out. His body was beaten and broken from the explosion and impact. His arms refused to move, and his legs were bound.
It was looking like the end of our hero, when suddenly...
A door on the broken bow of Rivet city flung open. An old man with a laser rifle came out.
"Hey stupid, don't throw it here!"
He then fired a laser into the mutant's face.
It then, in order to spite the old man threw Frank at him.
[Endurance]With the last of his energy Frank stumbled inside the bulkhead which the old man then sealed.
When the mutants tried to open it and give chase, they were met with a very large dose of electricity.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Simms: "Now, what can I do for you here?"
Jake: Since you seem not to appreciate it when people handle security threats to your town that aren't immediately hostile, we figured you could handle this suspicious individual.

 

[Generic NPC 22]

Mister Enclave Vault: Big Sissy Psycho Lucy Caboosy's Room

**YYYYYAAAAAAAAWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWNNNNNNNNNNNNNN!!!!!** **CLANG!!** **CRINKLE CRACK CRACK CRACK!!!!!** Went Sylphee as she awoke from the strangest dream ever, dropping Mister Huggable Landmine on the ground as she stretched for a really nice long time and looked around Big Sissy Psycho Lucy Caboosy's room and saw Mommy Meryl Barrel and Daddy Johnny Shakes still off in the land of sleep, causing Sylphee to smile really really big. But what was this? Big Sissy Psycho Lucy Caboosy wasn't anywhere to be found and even Mister *PEW PEW Kitty* Gauss Gun was gone. Now it would have probably been for the bestest if the Red Menace went back to sleep but there were things that needed to be taken care of. For one, there wasn't any food leftover from the last night and the first thing that Sylphee liked to do when she woke up in the morning was get breakfast. She was sure that even Daddy Johnny Shakes and Mommy Meryl Barrel would be happy to get some breakfast when they woke up.

Walking up to Missy Communication Panel, The Blue Haired Psychotic Loony Loon remembered that Daddy Johnny Shakes had said that she shouldn't use it without asking Big Sissy Psycho Lucy Caboosy first and that if she broke it, Big Sissy Psycho Lucy Caboosy would have probably gotten mad at Sylphee. The thought was punctuated by Miss Note that Big Sissy Lucy Caboosy had left

"Gone out to pitch the mission idea. Wish me luck! *a smiley face was inserted here*...Don't break anything! *a frowny face was inserted here.*"

"[small]Oh! Oh! Oh![/small]" The Sky Blue Eyed Girl exclaimed in a soft voice as she now had an idea of where Big Sissy Psycho Lucy Caboosy had run off to. The problem was that it meant that Slyphee wouldn't be able to ask Big Sissy Psycho Lucy Caboosy for permission to use Mister Communications Panel. There was one thing that the Girl Dressed in Red could think of doing to solve this conundrum. Pulling a red marker from her Bag of Treasure, Sylphee carefully wrote a note on Mister Door.

"Went to find Big Sissy Psycho Lucy Caboosy and get food for breakfast! <3 Sylph" The Red Menace wrote before slipping out the room and into Miss Corridor.

 

[nuba km]

Simms gestured at larry and said 'I made a deal with him, he turns our scrap into weapons in exchange for keeping a fraction of what he makes, some food and water and a suit of power armour if he can salvage enough to make one. So this man is not a threat, I know we are all on edge after that attack but just try to get on, until you have a good reason not to.'

At this point Larry let go of the grenade he had his hand on making sure Jake saw him do so he then turned to Simms and said 'thank you' turning back to Jake he continued 'so can you stop insulting me and let me get on with some work?'

 

[The Harkinator]

Wow Evan... that was certainly badass, the Frank Rose manuever was executed with a 9.4 average from the judges and the heads trap was blown to pieces.

"Check for stragglers?"

"Yeah, I don't think there are gonna be any stragglers from THAT. Damn boy where did ya learn that?" Said Dudley, eyes wide with surprise.

"We've got a guy in the Brotherhood who is just the best at this kind of thing. He gives a good reference point for these situations. When in danger ask yourself: What would Frank Rose do?" Said Evan, going misty eyed for a moment.

"Who is Frank Rose? One of your boys?" Said Dudley, motioning to inspect the wrecked ambush.

"You might have met him at the Citadel, custom Power Armour, got his own design on it. It's a rose... obviously. Actually you might not have met him, your bike still works, the last vehicle I saw him touch burst into flames." Replied Evan, moving forward to the wreckage and surveying it with his rifle. Evan wished he still had his Pip-Boy to check how many rads were around, he was sure there was something in the background.

Nothing seemed to be alive, twisted metal and dismembered limbs were all that seemed to remain. Then, under a mostly intact car that had been thrown by the blast there came a groan. One of the heads was crushed under it, his chest oddly compacted, when he saw Evan he tried to scream and move away, though all it achieved was a brief struggle followed by silence.

"Hayes, you found anything still tickin' over there?" Asked Dudley, speaking in an unusually hushed tone.

====================================

"Either show me proper authorisation or buzz off."

This seemed like a bad idea to William, the advice that came through over the collar backed that up. It looks like any attempt at the command hub would have to wait.

"I haven't got proper authorisation to be here, sorry sir." Said William, nodding his head and turning around to leave.

*phew*

Just walk away and don't stop anywhere scientific, nothing that might link to the dead guy.

Turning back down the corridor William retraced his steps, passing through the scientific hub and back into the main complex, deciding to return to the EU and get the data to them. If nothing else, the collar might come off at long last.

As he made his way out he passed a young girl skipping down the corridor past him.

What? You know after Natsuki I'm not even shocked any more, I'm not even going to ask what goes on in this place anymore.

 

[Souplex]

Simms: "I made a deal with him, he turns our scrap into weapons in exchange for keeping a fraction of what he makes, some food and water and a suit of power armour if he can salvage enough to make one. So this man is not a threat, I know we are all on edge after that attack but just try to get on, until you have a good reason not to."
Larry released his grenade.
Larry: "So can you stop insulting me and let me get on with some work?"
Jake: "Gladly. Have a safe day."
Moe: "That ended with considerably less violence than I was expecting. Always nice when that happens."
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Dad always wondered what became of our enemies after the war. Were they like us, beaten down and trying to survive? All of them dead and gone? We don't have contact with the rest of the world like in the pre-war days. The Enclave had access to this satellite and figured it out themselves. It looks to me like there are a million Glowing Ones over there. Red ghouls, everyone. We've seen Chinese remnants over here. They survived here, they survived there. And if they still hold to the old orders, they'll start to wonder if WE survived."
This just made Danielle's decision more justified.
"Elder Lyons, it's become clear to me that we simply don't have the numbers to deal with this situation. We're going to need as much help as we can get. That doesn't just mean taking in random wastelanders and hoping they solve the situation. (Danielle didn't know what Sarah was thinking with that. No war of any reasonable scale could be won by a handful of notable individuals. They could certainly help, but trained members of the Brotherhood would be better than random wastelanders for that problem anyway.) I'm talking real manpower. The Regulators, Rivet City Security forces, every mercenary we can track down, including Bloom's Fat Cats, Reilly's Rangers and possibly Talon Company, and yes; the Outcasts."
Danielle sighed.
"I know you hate them. I do too, but the Enclave is the threat here. We can't let our personal feelings endanger the Brotherhood and the wastes by extension."
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Frank awakened on an operating table, naked, with a strange old man standing over him.
"Zwuh?"
Well we're alive. That's always a good position to start from.
"Good to see you finally awake. You're in my lab. Now to answer any questions you will have; I am Dr. Horace Pinkerton. We're in the broken bow of Rivet City. I patched you up after your little ordeal outside. I managed to figure out your locking mechanism on your armor opened when handled by your gauntlets, so I didn't have to wreck it to get to you. The citizens of Rivet City are alive."
Pinkerton. Frank knew that name. He used to be Rivet City's chief scientist until Dr. Li took over and started Project Purity. He disappeared after that.
"Alive, but not safe I presume?"
Pinkerton handed Frank some Mirelurk meat.
"Eat up, your body will need to replace what it consumed from the stimpacks."
When was the last time Frank ate? ...After the Behemoth siege of the Citadel. Since that time he had spent a day fighting a crab and a robot, and who knows how long unconscious. He was ravenous.
Frank began eating.
"My *Munch* name's *Chew* Frank."
"The Behemoths can't fit inside Rivet city. The smaller mutants get shot up when they enter. It's a holding pattern, which will end when the citizens of Rivet City either starve to death or turn on each other. The mutants will keep themselves fed with the local Mirelurks. They also busted the bridge, so getting food to the citizens would be difficult."
We have to save them.
While the Enclave is priority, that many Behemoths that close to the Brotherhood is problematic. You have to stop them.
"I might be able to figure a way to solve this out, depending on what you have lying around."
"I'm a mad-genius scientist hermit. I've made collecting technology a hobby to keep myself sane. Energy weapons, robotics, computers, cybernetics, medical devices, industrial tools you name it!"
"Then let's get started."

 

[Generic NPC 22]

Mister Enclave Vault | Mister Sparkly Shiny Corridor

"La lala lala lala lala." Sylphee lala'd as she skipped down Mister Sparkly Shiny Enclave Corridor looking for either Big Sissy Psycho Lucy Caboosy or Miss Kitchen filled with food since she was still on a quest to find breakfasts for Daddy Johnny Shakes, Mommy Meryl Barrel and Big Sissy Psycho Lucy Caboosy if she ever found Big Sissy Lucy Caboosy in this place or if she found Doctor Enclave Petting Zoo.

"I haven't got proper authorization to be here, sorry sir." Said Mister Talking Neck Man before walking away from someplace that was filled with Super-Sledge-a-mah-hammer Guys and ZapZap Guys. As Mister Talking Neck Man started walking away, he gave the Red Menace a strange look as she paused in her skipping to look at him with big round blue eyes.

As Mister Talking Neck Man walked down Mister Sparkly Shiny Corridor, there was *T-Tap T-Tap T-Tap* noise behind him that seemed to get closer and closer and closer and closer and when he turned around to look to see what the noise was, Mister Talking Neck Man didn't see anything but of course that didn't make the noise stop as he kept hearing the *T-Tap T-Tap T-Tap* sound behind him regardless of what direction he turned.

This, of course, was Sylphee, who was peering at Mister Talking NeckMan's neck at Missy Miss Talking Neck. She could have sworn she heard Missy Miss Talking Neck talk, which was pretty neat since Sylphee's neck never spoke to her.

And that's when Sylphee said hello to Mister Talking Neck Man in typical Sylphee fashion.

"HIMISTERTALKINGNECKMAN! THATSUREISANEATTRICKYOUCANDO! DIDYOURNECKTALK? ITHOUGHTIHEARDHERTALK! HEY,YOUHAVEN'TSAIDHELLOYET! DOESYOURTALKINGNECKTALKFORYOU? I'MSORRYYOULOSTYOURVOICE! DOYOUKNOWWHERETHEKITCHENIS? ORTHEPETTINGZOO? ORMYBIGSISSYPSYCHOLUCYCABOOSY? ORTHEPLACEIORDERFOODFROM? DADDYJOHNNYSHAKESSAIDTHATISHOULDN'TUSEMISTERCOMMUNICATIONPANELWITHOUTPERMISSION! BIGSISSYLUCYCABOOSYTOLDMENOTTOBREAKANYTHINGANDDREWABIGFROWNYFACEONHERNOTE!CANYOUMAKEYOURTALKINGNECKTALKAGAIN?" [footnote]"HI MISTER TALKING NECK MAN! THAT SURE IS A NEAT TRICK YOU CAN DO! DOES SHE TALK? I THOUGHT I HEARD HER TALK! HEY, YOU HAVEN'T SAID HELLO YET! DOES YOUR TALKING NECK TALK FOR YOU? I'M SORRY YOU LOST YOUR VOICE! DO YOU KNOW WHERE THE KITCHEN IS? OR THE PETTING ZOO? OR MY BIG SISSY PSYCHO LUCY CABOOSY? OR THE PLACE I ORDER FOOD FROM? DADDY JOHNNY SHAKES SAID THATI SHOULDN'T USE MISTER COMMUNICATION PANEL WITHOUT PERMISSION! BIG SISSY LUCY CABOOSY TOLD ME NOT TO BREAK ANYTHING AND DREW A BIG FROWNY FACE ON HER NOTE![/footnote]

It was at this point that Sylphee remembered to breathe, allowing Mister Talking Neck Man a chance to talk if he was planning to talk.

 

[Souplex]

The Brotherhood was an organization dedicated to technology. Or they were until they became dedicated to helping the people of the wastes not die.
But the love of technology remains.
All technological progress came from attempts to overcome limitations.
Need to kill that animal? Spear.
Need to not freeze? Clothes.
Need to cook the meat of that animal and not freeze? Fire.
Need to upgrade your stone tools and weapons? Metallurgy.
Need to kill the guys with metal spears? Guns.
Need to not be killed by guys with guns? Power Armor.
Need to ram into things and blow them up? Cars.
Frank needed to get to a place that could not be reached by foot, and reach the vulnerable points of foes much larger than him. He had needed that second part for some time. Similar to how one instinctively knows their life would be easier with a third arm when doing certain activities, Frank knew what to make.

Spoiler: He suited back up into his armor and put on a song.

Frank began disassembling his displacer glove.
He then took out the spare parts for his displacer glove.
Two emitters, and the electronics. The glove part was not needed for what he had planned. It would come later.
Frank and Pinkerton began affixing the emitters to Frank's boots.
"The theory is sound, but something feels off."
"No guts no glory."
Frank moved to a relatively clear part of the lab, and activated his new 'Spurs'.
"Let's try 5%."
Frank was launched up yes, but he was also launched back.
"Oh! We should have positioned them at your heels instead of your toes."
Pinkerton and Frank re-positioned the 'Spurs' and got back in position.
"Once more, with feeling!"
Frank was again launched upwards, but not backwards this time. As he landed, the sensor modules detected he was hitting the ground, and another shock from the 'Spurs' cushioned his impact. It felt like landing on jello.
"Well that was novel."
"I'm still going to need a primary weapon."
Frank put the glove part of his displacer glove on the workbench while Pinkerton gathered plasma weaponry.

 

[The Harkinator]

"HIMISTERTALKINGNECKMAN! THATSUREISANEATTRICKYOUCANDO! DIDYOURNECKTALK? ITHOUGHTIHEARDHERTALK! HEY,YOUHAVEN'TSAIDHELLOYET! DOESYOURTALKINGNECKTALKFORYOU? I'MSORRYYOULOSTYOURVOICE! DOYOUKNOWWHERETHEKITCHENIS? ORTHEPETTINGZOO? ORMYBIGSISSYPSYCHOLUCYCABOOSY? ORTHEPLACEIORDERFOODFROM? DADDYJOHNNYSHAKESSAIDTHATISHOULDN'TUSEMISTERCOMMUNICATIONPANELWITHOUTPERMISSION! BIGSISSYLUCYCABOOSYTOLDMENOTTOBREAKANYTHINGANDDREWABIGFROWNYFACEONHERNOTE!CANYOUMAKEYOURTALKINGNECKTALKAGAIN?"

...help? William was suddenly approached by the young girl he had just passed and a flurry of words flew from her mouth to his general direction. What was she talking about, kitchens? Petting zoo? Lucy? Talking neck? Johnny?

Wait hang on a minute... Lucy and Johnny! Could it be Johnny Truant and Lucy Black? This girl could lead him to them, perhaps they had been captured by the Enclave and they needed his help. Either way, sticking with this girl would be his best chance of finding them.

"Excuse me young lady, I don't know where your friends are. But I can help you look for them, if I do you have to promise me one thing." William leaned in and whispered conspiratorially, "You have to keep my talking neck a secret to everybody. Can you do that for me?" William hasn't realised the collar might have been making some noise. Nobody in the Enclave seemed to have picked up on it but this girl must be more perceptive than they were.

William extended his arm to take the girls hand, "Take me to the place you last saw your friends and we'll look for them from there. By the way, what's your name?"

The chance to find Lucy and Johnny Truant again filled William with hope. He might finally have a friend or three in this horrible place.

 

[Souplex]

Frank and Pinkerton went to work on their separate projects for the sake of the people of Rivet City.
Frank would be making a hot fist of plasma.
What Pinkerton was making is a surprise. He would have an easy time of it though, as he would be working from schematics Frank had already developed.
The RepConn and Winchester models of plasma weaponry had a common feature: The plasma comes out of sharp bits.
Frank planned to weaponize this feature of plasma weaponry.
He'd had the idea kicking around in his head for quite a while now actually, since back when he was still a full member of the Brotherhood. The key difference being that this would be a fist weapon as opposed to a spear.
Frank got to work, developing something of a hybrid of the displacer glove, spiked knuckles, and plasma weaponry.
"Done!"
"Good for you, but I've got a bunch more of these to make. Head out that door and test it on the Mirelurks that live in here. It'll give you a chance to test it, and me time to finish. Just be wary; I've set up a buttload of traps out there."
"See you in a bit."
Frank went through the bulkhead, and into the ankle-deep water and sealed the bulkhead behind him.
A pair of Mirelurks saw him and began to charge. One was gotten a by mine and rigged shotgun. It was limping. The other one was still charging him though.
[Unarmed][Piercing Strike][Bonecrusher]An uppercut met the beast's face. (They lower their face when they charge, so a straight punch or jab would hit shell) As the beast fell limp, it twitched from the plasma in its brain as it slowly turned to a a pile of green goo.
[Survival][Energy Weapons]Frank had a sad realization: nobody could ever eat this mirelurk. Plasma rendered meat unsafe for consumption.
Frank vented his frustration on the wounded lurk, kicking it in the gut, causing the Spur to knock it on its back.
Frank then stomped on the beast's face, killing it.
"These will do nicely."
New weapons:
Plasma Glove. 85 base damage. (With heavy handed it comes to 102, not counting the abstract damage bonus from Frank's homebrew perks) ignores 10 points of DT. (Stacks with [Piercing Strike])
Spurs: 50 damage. (per foot) Special jumping bonuses. Negates fall damage if landing feet-first.
Frank decided to do some testing on the rest of the lurks on this floor.

 

[TheDoctor455]

Lucy saw what happened to Beryl upon arriving last night, so in order to be prepared for whatever might be thrown her way by the Red Menace, she entered with her arms guarding her face. Lucy just hoped to Blamco himself that the landmine was not going to be flung her way...

...and her wish granted. For only a sleeping Johnny and Beryl occupied the room, with no Sylph in sight. Although a peculiar note fell from the door and landed on her shoe.

The note read: "Went to find Big Sissy Psycho Lucy Caboosy and get food for breakfast! <3 Sylph"

Goddamnit Sylph...this was the last thing she needed.

With a frustrated sigh, Lucy walked over to the sleeping Johnny, got onto her knees, lightly shook him by the shoulder and whispered into his ear for a change. "Johnny...wake up. I need you."
Doc: Unfortunately, Johnny seemed to be deep in the middle of a night-terror. His forehead was pouring sweat by the bucketload, and he was muttering to himself in his sleep. After Lucy addressed him directly, his voice seemed to get louder.

"Look, he's your boyfrien... husband... whatever, so he's your friggin' problem. If he's really such an asshole, leave him." he seemed to say to no one in particular, as his fists clenched.

Then, he snorted.

Now that Lucy was leaning by his side, she grew worried in that moment for several reasons.

Most importantly: It was Johnny and that look of anguish, coupled with his appearance worried her. Secondly, she did not want Johhny's demon to manifest. Thirdly, she really didn't want to wake Beryl if she could avoid it at this moment.

But that was a whole other can of rotten Blamco...

"Oh that's rich!" his voice gaining a cruel edge, "That's just rich coming from the woman that used ant pheromones to 'seduce' her future husband." Johnny laughed.

Lucy knew what would wake her if the roles were reversed. Sofly and quickly, she put a hand over his balled up fist, put a finger to his lips while sofly hushing him, "Sssshhh, Johnny...come on, wake up...Johnny!"

Moving her hand from his fist, she gently placed her palm to his sweating forehead, making sure he could feel her touch.
Johnny went completely silent for a moment before his eyes finally flitted open. At first, he felt a twinge of familiar panic as he was waking up in a strange place, but then his vision seemed to clear, and he tried to give Lucy his best winning smile. At least, that seemed to be the intention. The execution was a bit... disconcerting.

"Sorry," he said, unconsciously taking the hand that Lucy had put on his lips into his burned palm. "Bad dream."

He didn't get up however; he seemed to enjoy having Lucy kneeling over him.

Allowing herself to exhale with relief, Lucy gave Johhny a small smile of reassurance.

"Welcome back, a-are you okay?" Lucy stammered as she begun to notice that her face was inches apart from his. Her hand didn't move from his forehead however, "Y-yo...ahem...you're running pretty hot."

OH! She could talk down to Number One and the Enclave Elite, but something like this would fluster her. She wasn't even sure why she had gotten so physical in the first place...

...Lucy had just seen Johnny in trouble and that's what her mind told her to do...

A few seconds had passed...

Lifting her hands from him as gracefully as she could, she pulled up the nearby note between two fingers and frowned, allowing Johnny to read it.

Finishing the note, Johnny half flipped, and half-jumped himself upright. Grabbing Lucy's hand, he ran out of the room, obvious worry creasing his face. "Shit, shit shit!" he said once they were out of Lucy's quarters, "Why does she always pull this kind of stuff when my guard's down."

After apparently realizing that he'd kind of dragged Lucy along, he stopped, and slowly let go of her hand.

"Sorry," he said, noticing that he seemed to be spending a lot of his time apologizing to Lucy lately, "I'm just worried about her. Sylph's a tough little girl... but there's a lot of weird shit in this place. Man-eating plants that pop out faster than bunnies, a strange girl that could tear Frank Horrigan and Legate Lanius in half with a single thought... and... well... me." He paused, to catch his breath. "I just don't want her getting hurt... or worse... the Enclave figuring out how to control her..."

He shivered at that last possibility.

Being yanked by the arm, dragged across the room and into the open hallway sounded like fun, but it wasn't.

"Hey hey, slow down...why don't I go try out the intercom, have their people find her on camera and we track her down..." Lucy offered as a solution, she was anxious as well, but losing her head didn't seem like it would help.

Lucy brought her hand to chin and drummed her fingers on her thigh in frustration, almost cursing herself for her negligence. "I don't know how long I've been away though...30 minutes, maybe more...it was a long time with the Queen Bee of the Enclave."

Lucy heard Johnny's frustrations and her own welled up at the same time, it just manifested a little differently... "She's more than a match for those guys...but...if anything happens to her, I'm using Beast-Mode to cut through anyone that touched her." The eyepatched girl growled.

"So, intercom? Or do you wanna rush it? Because we don't have a lot of time...I'll explain on the way." Lucy offered again hastily.

"Yeah, let's try the intercom," he said, calming down a bit, "You're right. But it would be a lot better if we found her first. If they could get her to sit still long enough..."

He let the rest of the sentence hang while he followed Lucy to the nearest intercom.

"Oh," he said, trying to bring his voice back to more casual tones, "Congratulations on getting the mission approved. I didn't know you could put on such a good cold mask."

Making her way back to her quarters at a hurried, Lucy slammed on intercom button.

"Asset Bla-"

"Yeah, listen, there's a young girl with blue hair in a red military dress that left my room sometime in the past...hour or so. I need you take a look at the camera's and tell me where she is."

"Listen Asset, we are not your - "

"This is for Number One's team that's leaving in an hour. FIND HER!"

There was a small delay and then they answered back.

"Sector 34, Command Hub C...she's currently with an operative. Since you don't have a suit, the directions are..."

Lucy focused on remembering all the twists and turns that was mentioned before abrubtly hanging up. Walking over to the table, she scribbled on the back of her note for Beryl to find. ("Mission approved. Leaving in an hour. Stay here. Restocking at armoury.")

Walking out of her room and closing the door behind her, Lucy described the sequence of directions in case she forgot.

A little preoccupied, Lucy slowed down while she walked with Johnny past the labs. "Sorry...just a lot to deal with."

She gave an exhausted smile that didn't quite reach her eyes at the compliment over the mission. "Thanks, it's not ideal, but at least we're getting out of here and able to clear our names...Hold me."

She said the last part with conviction as she leaned into Johnny, whispering so only he could hear. "They know everything about you, Sylph, Beryl. Every movement. I don't know if they're monitoring what we're saying, but keep your voice down for me..." She broke off and smiled.

"Wait...ho- how did you know?" Lucy asked quizzically as it had flown over her head in her panic over Sylph.

Johnny sighed, muttering a curse at himself. Then, he held Lucy close to him again as he whispered in her ear.

"The same reason I knew that it wasn't your friend that brainwashed Sylph when she was only a child." he took a deep breath, "The same reason that the Enclave tried to experiment on me. The same reason they've been chasing me for years."

He brought his forehead to Lucy's lightly. "That... asshole in my head."

Johnny went quiet for a while. His face adopted a pensive expression, as if he was struggling to remember something.
He shook his head, "I... don't really know how to explain it. Its... not like I'm seeing vision or anything. I just kind of... know things I shouldn't sometimes. You know how some people can read a situation as if everyone in the room were an open book to them? Well... I can kind of do the same thing without wanting to... with situations I'm not even present for... sometimes with people I haven't met before. And I know that it has to be his fault because it only started after I found that damn manuscript."

Lucy looked into Johnny's eyes fiercely. Seething at the Enclave's brutal treatment of another person in this world, let alone the person right in front of her.

"Bastards!" She hissed under her breath, "That's why it's easier for me to fling as much bullshit into their eyes as I can. Whenever I can. I didn't embrace being an Asset for family loyalty, I'm here to abuse the hell out of it...or at least that was my plan"

Lucy's voice had fallen to a level that matched Johnny's pensive expression, "So...you heard everything?" She panicked a little inside, still trying to comprehend it all, but she needed to explain her position fast. "You have to believe why I said those things. Why I act a certain way with them."

Breaking away slowly, she spoke softly while they turned down a corridor as she remembered. Lucy had quickly grown despondent as she looked down, "But I want out for now...I've risked too much and it was selfish."

The self-loathing was evident in her tone and body language. For a few moments, she no longer held herself with the measure of defiance she put up from her start here.

Johnny gently brought his hand to Lucy's cheek, and gave her a sympathetic, knowing look. "Yeah, I know. I just... I don't know. They play themselves up to be saviors, but they've burnt a lot of ground, and taken a lot from just about everyone that doesn't have an army backing them up. Heh. I have hard time telling the difference between the Enclave, the Brotherhood, and the Legion at times. They all want different forms of the same thing... and all of them find ways to justify attrocity after atrocity..."

Johnny shuddered as he seemed to notice how hollow and far away his voice sounded for a moment. "No you don't, you little bastard!" he hissed, "I refuse to be your puppet again!" Johnny backed away from Lucy, and clutched at his head. "Just... gah! Just fuck off already!"

Then, another voice spoke through Johnny. "Now now, Mr. Truant... watch your language, or I'll have to wash your mouth with..."

"GAH! Just... just shut up already!" Johnny seemed to be breaking through, but his voice still seemed so far away. "I've had it with you! You have done nothing but screw up my life! Just go away and leave me alone!"

The other voice in Johnny laughed, and fixed his now blackened eyes on Lucy. "Oh, don't exaggerate. I haven't made everything in your pitiful life worse. Or... do you really think you would have met her, or that... menace to all that is sane if not for me? Tell me, why were you in Minefield to begin with? Why were we in that Enclave vertibird which had just so happened to have been set to return to base as soon as someone turned the engine on?"

The other laughed again.


Lucy listened to Johnny in silence as they rounded a corner, he seemed to harbor a lot feelings towards the Wasteland's most major factions as a whole. Although just like Lucy, he had experienced and seen too much of the Enclaves atrocities to ever back their cause.

That's when Johnny shouts and pained grunts had started. Grabbing him by the shoulders, Lucy had Johnny backed up against the wall, trying to stabilize him - let him know she was there - anything...but only blackened eyes met hers in return.

Recoiling slightly as the very air she breathed grew cold, her skin tingled and she tried to counteract the sensation. With Johnny's pained shouting still ringing in her ears, she grew aggressive and spoke directly to the demon for once.

"Crawl back in whatever hole you came from!" It was a brave face, but she was scared and her hand was on her rifle for comfort.

"Ah. So she does speak. Good. I was beginning to wonder if Mr. Truant had more unsavory fetishes than even I was aware of." The other voice said calmly, as if it hadn't even noticed Lucy shaking its host, or didn't care. "You have my attention, my dear. So, what do you want to talk about? And you DO want to talk, as anyone else would have tried to shoot Mr. Truant by now. Though I would sympathize with you if you changed your mind. He can be such a downer at times."

It was taunting her and that was enough for her anger to override her fear for the most part.

"Oh, I speak and can you cut out the cheap scare tactics?!" Lucy snarled before backing off slightly, "What the hell are you? Do you even have a name? And why the hell do you have to hurt Johnny in the process?"

Johnny's eyes... flickered for a moment.

"Ah, he continues to surprise me. Hmm... oh, don't start thinking of ways to use our... connection to your advantage just yet, Sister Black. Mr. Truant only knows what I wish him to. For instance, he doesn't know what has befallen his beloved hometown, Rivet City."

Johnny's face twisted into a cruel parody of a smile, and looking into his eyes was like looking into an inky abyss... it seemed that there would be no escaping them if they took an interest in you.

Then it's face shifted into what was initially smile but quickly descended into something more incomprehensible and disgusting. Lucy's hot-blooded attitude plummeted at that mere display.

"A-are you going to kill me? If not, w-why...haven't you?" She uttered uneasily.

"No. You're more interesting alive." It said, instantly removing all trace of facial expression from Mr. Truant's face. The effect was so abrupt that you could almost think that Mr. Truant's... JOHNNY'S face incapable of expressing emotion.

"You're lucky I'm not a witch of the crossroads, bound to only answer three questions. Otherwise... you've wasted two fo them. My name is not your concern. But, if you really need some label to cling onto well... my function still serves well enough. I am an... editor. And since you're new at this, I'll give you a freebie. I'll answer the question you failed to ask despite my somewhat less-than-subtle prompting."

"Mr. Truant is from Rivet City originally. He ran away half a decade ago due to some... unfortunate circumstances." The Editor made Johnny's face grin, a simple, almost human grin this time, but still not pleasant to look at. "Currently, however, Rivet City has a new... occupant. I knew well in advance of course, and my original intention with my... involvement with Mr. Truant was to evaluate which of the... previous occupants of the fair city were worth... salvaging."

Johnny's body stepped closer.

"In the end however, none of them were worth the bother, as far as my... associates were concerned. No practical use to anyone. I was... instructed to simply let them all die. But, I saw some potential in Mr. Truant, so I... 'nudged' him into leaving Rivet City well before its new... occupant arrived, and the previous residents had to be... forcibly evicted. That's all I have to say for now. But... I do have a question for you to consider, and I do expect an answer the next time we have a heart-to-heart like this: Why do you care what happens to Mr. Truant? You only met him scant hours ago."

Lucy bared her teeth as her lip curled upward with equal parts defensive disgust and fear as it stepped closer to her.

"Gee, thanks for the afterthought." She replied callously, "I thought we should get the basics out of the way." Lucy eyed it coldly, "What happens if Johnny reaches this occupant? Will that make you leave him alone? Think about that, Editor."

Johnny's eyes went back to normal, and he slumped forward.

Her eye fixed on the Editor's smile with a glare, "Until next time then. You'll get your answer."

And just as easily as the Editor had arrived, the Editor was now gone. Lucy caught sight of Johnny's eyes before leaning beside him...she was wary about getting too close...but after a few moments, she spoke once more. "Johnny?"

Lucy's voice was still roughly edged in icy defense. Despite her demeanor and tone, she was visibly shaking and staggeringly close to tears as the Editors presence shook her to the core.
Doc: "You dropped your eye-patch," he said, bringing an empty hand to her, as if trying to return something. Then his eyes refocused, "Oh... uh... whoops. Sorry. I... went... somewhere else for a moment."

Then, as if seeing right through her, Johnny hugged Lucy close to him for several moments before giving her a brief kiss on the forehead. "I'm back. Now... let's go find Sylph. Heh... shouldn't be too hard... just follow the sound of power-armored idiots fleeing in terror."

"How did..." Lucy remarked as she was handed her eye-patch, but it certainly explained the sudden surge of pain when exposed the corridor's bright lighting. "I -..."

Lucy was cut short by an affectionate Johnny, her body stiffened at his hug. Maybe Johnny had grown somewhat accustomed to the changes, but Lucy hadn't. "It's difficult for me to just...adjust to the - switches so easily. I'm sorry."

Her shaking hadn't stopped and she balled her hands into fists. "We have an hour before the four of us get shipped somewhere in the Wasteland. We're investigating questionable Vault's in order to find the EU. We have an hour to get restocked with anything in the armory. Just keep it conventional and bring as much supplies as you can."

It was all Lucy could do to calm her nerves, refocus on the task ahead by stating their mission. They rounded several corners and found themselves at 'Control Hub C. Looking around for numbers ranging in the 30's. Her defiant stance and attitude had returned around other soldiers.

"We get to leave this place and take matters from there. I have an idea for a weapon Sylph might like..."

"Yeah... tell me about it," was all Johnny had to say about 'switching', before continuing to follow Lucy through corridor after corridor.

"When this is over... and assuming we're all still alive afterwards..." Johnny said, trying to affect a hopeful tone, "I'd like to take you and Sylph to this great place in the north... where I met this weird human ant-queen once."

Hearing Johnny's ludicrous proposal about visiting a place where ant-royalty was a thing, softened Lucy somewhat. "Heh, I would like that. I think we all need a break...minus the ants. What weapons are you good with, by the way?"

Lucy located Sector 34 by the indicator on the wall, another equally long corridor that seemed to stetch a mile. "Somewhere down here..."

Looking back at Johnny, Lucy broke the silence, "Anything you wanna ask me?"
"I'm great with my trusty lever action rifle... wow, I really need to come up with a name for her... its been about six years since I rescued her..." he trailed off remembering that he'd left it alone in a room with Beryl,

"Anyway, I'm also good with my fists. Learned from the best martial arts cult in all of... Indiana."
He chuckled at that, and rounded another corner just after Lucy did... trying very hard not to be... distracted.
"Hmm... just... how are you so driven all the time? I... wish I was like that." he said, trying to find the walls around them interesting as he tried to hide his obvious embarassment.

"What the heck is an Indiana?" Lucy asked quizzically. "Anyway, you probably guessed that I prefer pew-pews over bang-bangs. And I prefer plasma over laser."

She couldn't wait to see what the armory had in stock for her, she desperately needed a sidearm to compensate for Beast Mode's cooldown.

Slowing down to a more relaxed walking pace down the corridor that Sylph was last reported in. Lucy pondered about Johnny's question, it was strange now that she thought about it. "I wasn't always like this, I'm actually an indoorsy bookworm...or was. Dad was never around much. Mom was...'critical' of me. -...After what happened, I learned that you either let the depression cripple you or you forge your own path."

Looking back at Johnny, "I think you're pretty admirable. Staying by Sylph's side, looking out for me. You have your...inner demon...but you fight it whenever you get the chance." She gave Johnny a small smile before focusing ahead.

"I think I see her..." Lucy pointed at something red in the distance.

Johnny returned Lucy's smile, apparently not quite finished processing her answer. Then he craned his neck to get a better look at where Lucy was pointing. From a distance it could have been Sylph, but... it wasn't moving quite right. "Umm... I don't think that's Sylph." he said, pulling Lucy into a nearby alcove as it came closer. 'It' turned out to be an over-sized eyebot painted bright red, and either it was malfunctioning, or some idiot had actually programmed it to fire its laser in random directions while spinning around and... singing in what sounded like Japanese.

Once it, and the soldiers chasing after it passed, Johnny finally noticed how close together their little hiding spot had squeezed them together.

"Heh... uh... sorry..." he carefully slid out of the tiny alcove, before helping Lucy out of it.

"It's...okay" Lucy commented, more bewildered by the strange eyebot than anything else. "Lets keep going, Sylph has to be here..."

Lucy wandered down the corridor, soldiers passing all around, hoping to catch a glimpse of something red.

 

[Souplex]

Frank had finished clearing out the local mirelurks.
"Well that's some thorough testing."
Pinkerton came to Frank, dragging a small raft through the water with a large duffel bag on it.
"Well, I guess this is goodbye for now. In case you don't make it, it was a pleasure working with you."
"Likewise."
Frank and Pinkerton shook hands.
Frank slung the bag over his shoulder, unsealed the bulkhead that led to the broken-off hallway that connected to the marketplace once upon a time.
Frank was about to put the spurs to some more field testing. He took a deep breath.
"No guts..."
"...No glory."
Frank made a running-spur-jump across the gap.
This feels amazing! This must be what it feels like to have sex with me.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A thought suddenly popped into Elder Sarah Lyons' mind for no discernible reason.
Lots of bouncing, not much genital stimulation?
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Frank landed on the other side.
"You should know; Dr. Li left for up north about half a decade ago. When this is all over the people of Rivet City could use a scientist of your skill."
"Hell no, I'm retired."
And with that, Pinkerton sealed the bulkhead behind him.