In a dark and cavernous place, the High Priest of the Cult addressed his followers, standing before a bonfire, arms raised high and voice filled with ragged excitement. Ragged, yes... He was a ghoul. They were all ghouls. Several of Morgan Bloom's employees were here, as was Forest the ancient army ghoul and a number of ferals with lobotomized super-mutants and Nightkin. The Cult of the Wet Ones had made its call to the wasteland, and it had answered in kind. Now, their priest spoke.
"BROTHERS! It has come to pass! The titans of the land have come, but they are but food for our masters. The Great Nuke One has fallen and passed on his seed with the many of the dead, and we who have felt his passing are not diminished. Long has our wait been for this day. The rains have soaked into the land and found the dead. They shall rise again with new life as once more the sky shall weep for the future! The Wet Ones are at hand! They shall claim this world as their own!"
Clouds began to form over the wasteland once more. By this time, many territories in the old U.S. have heard of the pure rainfall happening in these eastern states. Is it hope or dread that they feel as they see this now? For the land, pure and untarnished water is a miracle, but whom is it a miracle for?
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David wasn't feeling very David-y right now as he walked through the sewers. The BoS woman had blown up his way-cool plot armor, the high-performance custom-made powersuit that makes already-awesome characters even better. Number One described it like that. Jack called hax on it. David Davidson never really worried about it. Right now, though, things were a bit drafty without the climate control. Good thing he packed a coat... Wayne was talking about Arcade Gannon. The truth is...everyone in the Fallout Sector knew where the stragglers were, except for the EU...and Dr. Kane. But they knew that he and a few others were in New Vegas. He had merely obsfucated and said 'retired' because he figured someone was looking to carve an Enclave man up. Well, the story David was hearing now sounded less like a man looking to kill another man. Just then, Wayne knocked out a trap that he almost stepped into.
"Looks like we're not alone down here fella'."
David: Indeed, that was rather careless of me.
"Hey! A beartrap. Who was trying to hunt yao guai down here? Those things only live above ground, and up in the hills. What would they be doing in a secret tunnel?"
David: Believe you will find that it is, in fact, a mantrap cunningly disguised as a trap for bears. I suggest we take care of anything dangling on cords or, in fact, overturned baby carriages. Beartraps mean that someone is keeping out ghouls and animals while being unscrupulous bastards inside. Or, in short, raiders.
And in truth, this was the reality before them, because there were indeed a number of traps ahead along several tunnels and, in a series of utility rooms, actual raiders who were lying low from all the mutants, robots, and other stuff going on.
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"Tell me m'boy, what horrors have you witnessed? What daemons possess you? Are you trapped in a never ending nightmare in which your very soul screams out for aid?!"
Hayes seemed to be trying to pry information out of Evan, but the young man was a little freaked still, so he was reluctant to say anything more at the moment. He did shake the man's hand after it seemed that Hayes had found some reason not to look at them in a paranoid light. Evan did, however, say this before they got back to preparations...
Evan: I don't need Fixer, or any drugs at all. I'll explain later... I need to get focused for a minute.
A few minutes later, they were in transit and Evan had actually passed out some shortwave radio-mics he'd been working on while waiting on William. They could never have used them for him. These were concealable versions of the stuff in BoS powersuit helmets.
Evan: I'm not a drug-freak and I'm not insane, and as Dudley knows I am a former Vault Dweller. I was once a denizen of Vault 106, which had - for some reason, had a hallucinegenic gas pumped through the air at varying levels. Somehow, this group survived generations, long enough for me to be born and raised, at least. But...it was not pleasant. There was a book I read once, about controlling people through chemicals distributed by the government. When I saw this as a boy, I realized for once what was wrong with everything around me, why my life didn't make any sense. So, I resisted. I focused solely on learning things, figuring that a mind improved is a mind strong and I could fight the drug. That was when the Vault physician, Mason, caught wise...
The dude with glasses looked very pissed off as he glared at the road ahead.
Evan: Mason subjected me to medicinal compounds, experimenting with the limits of human resistance. He believed that we should be lost to the grip of the drug instead of trying to get out, but I knew that they were all insane. He did this with me strapped to a table, sessions at a time, until one day I just reached for whatever was near and jabbed it through his head. I don't remember everything, just that I flipped out and made my escape in a mad frenzy while barely in my teens. I had to step over friends and family to break out, wandering the wasteland in a daze until the Brotherhood found me...naked, apparently.
He sighed.
Evan: So, that's what that was all about. I don't chem up because I'm afraid of a relapse. Last night, I...forgot. Losing William and having a drunken fist fight will do that to ya.
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The siblings Rose were both slightly in error about the missle. The back-mounted ones were the tac-nukes, stored in a rack of four and not able to be fired without some sort of authorization code that the
WOPR MGB did not have. Now, the
shoulder-ports for the regular missles were a different story. You don't fire a nuke at a fleeing jeep, not even under the guidelines of Rule 37. That's just a waste, unless it were out of options. No no, this was a case of normal levels of boom. However, as Dannelle would observe from a distance and that Frank would notice, there was something going on... The MGB was standing still...and then it turned on its pivot to face a point from the west.
[HEADING=2]MGB STATUS - MINOR DAMAGE (EXTERNAL)[/HEADING]
(Repair Systems Engaged)
RECEIVING PRIORITY TRANSMISSION: Doctor Bastion base located. Proceed to uploaded coordinates and engage enemy immediately. Total destruction required. Nuclear authorization denied, though.
Isn't it ironic that although Lucy had been skiing the slippery slope this whole time that she was the one person who actually decided to tell the Enclave exactly where their missing doctor was, even though they knew that they wanted him dead too? The MGB stepped down from its perch, gyrostabilizers informing it as to how to balance on such precarious matter that it compressed with every footstep. It appeared to have other fish to fry. Gilford let out a held breath.
Gilford: So uhhh...listen, Frank. Anyway you can convince the boss-lady that I don't have to pay for a blown-up vertibird?
At least Marlon wouldn't have any problem working on his weaponry. So far, the BoS was very pleased with his conduct. Still, this left them with a few issues. What happened to the transmission? Was Rivet City really under attack? Was Megaton okay?
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Meanwhile, down at the Washington Monument's entrance...
FalloutScott: Yeah, I've actually taken the dish wit' me, base. They blew up mah ride out, so I'm gonna make life hard on 'em now. Don' worry about my location. The wee mutants can't do anythin' about me.
He said this as two spider-drones carved up any mutants in the way with their built-in miniguns as he headed off to...the Smithsonian!
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Larry soundly defeated the Fact Eyebot without mercy, and then headed to the roof to fire an EMP grenade at the retreating vertibirds. However, they were a bit high to actually hit any of them...and so it sailed on, where it hit Wayne's robobrain, who had recently made a recovery and decided to flee Megaton for his own safety. The robot let out a yelp of surprise and deactivated, shouting "ET TU, BRUTE'!" before collapsing. About a moment later, though, as he was going downstairs, he would have heard more shouting from outside, followed by a shadow appearing over him as something shiny and metallic bounced through the doorway to fall towards him.
Rick: DEATH FROM ABOVE!!
Yyyup, somebody just tossedd Rick the Adventure Eyebot at him from somewhere. Dayum, but Oli could throw!
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The girl with the throw had, meanwhile, headed up to Megaton where some of the people and BoS were cleaning up. There were a number of Dogmeat descendants (Radmeat, Horsemeat, Steak, Venison, Menchi, Spam, and Jenkins) patrolling around with people. A heavily-armed Mr. Handy was apparently serving drinks now. At the open door, however, there was the Anger Eyebot suddenly growling at her while hovering at the end of a chain. It looked like...something out of a video game... Deputy Weld stepped in.
Deputy Weld: Whoa, boy... Analyzing subject. Subject not on wanted list. Welcome to Megaton!
What the hell was going on around here?
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The life of the sea was affected as much as life on land. Ten times as vicious was it as before. We have seen the return of the megalodon and creation of new mutants as well. In the irradiated waters, there is also another kind of predator, a creature that is an amphibious mammal, bloodthirst and strong. They have taken to call it the Walrex, a mighty tusked creature whose favorite form of attack is to skewer the foe and tear it open like a can opener getting at a tin of beans. That is what the Doc was keeping in the pit of water in his lab. That was Crawver Senior, the one whose lions Dr. Crawver came from. Doctor Bastion sniggered at the reunion.
Doc: This is hilarious! Oh, and I think your friend is a biiit whacked out, old friend. I'm going to need to analyze his blood and see what I can make of it!
Cue the Doc holding a syringe and proceeding towards Abe.
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Meanwhile, situations were THUS in the Enclave Vault now"
{1} Lucy Black had successfully been restored to binocular vision, an eyepatch lying next to where she awoke in the recovery room.
{2} John Smith had been interrogated and examined, and then they decided to hand him over to the Tesla Soldier, FalloutGreg, to test out his skills and reactions because the game-obsessed dude was clearly a Vault Dweller.
{3} Shifty McGee was currently undergoing some rough interrogation because the Enclave knew that he had been around both Lucy and the BoS alot. They, therefore, did not trust him one bit.
{4} Barry was busy being conditioned by a rather swift and clever Enclave doctor, the results of which we would know later.
{5} Johnny Truant was eventually taken from his room after someone wrote the name "Tyler Durden" on his forehead.
Moving right along...
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Beryl hit a Super Sledge as she ran through the corridor. It had been put in her way by a Replicant standing at an intersection to prevent runners from getting very far. She wouldn't be hurt as much as being slammed by the thing, but it would hurt and impede her progress while the soldiers caught up
#47: Stand down, Replicant.
#53: What was she babbling about?
#47: Claimed to know the announcer. This...I gotta see. Get moving, lady, but not so fast this time.
They were, therefore, curious to know what this was all about.
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After Sylph had gone and dealt with a number of armed soldiers, silent alarms from the powersuits declared their deaths and there was a rapid-response team dispatched to handle the situation. The girl would head down the corridor and find herself looking at an Enclave unit she had never seen before: A Heavy Trooper. You see, there are the Tesla andd Pyro Soldiers whom Greg and Bob came from. There are snipers and engineers that David and Scott came from too. This brand of soldier was where John previously operated. It was a heavier-armored powersuit holding a big Plasma Vulcan. On either side of him? Four Enclave Replicants wielding Super Sledges.
Heavy Trooper: You have not been processed and are trespassing within the Vault. You will accompany me to a cell NOW and remain there or I will reduce you to a glowing stain on the wall. We will not take your shit on our home turf.
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"Natsuki, might want to get back a bit here. Those vines are deadly."
Natsuki wasn't listening anymore. She was glaring ahead with a menacing focus in her glare, like she'd been pre-programmed in case of a stressful situation...or that it was instinct. Either way, she was focused on slicing with her vectors and burning with her flames. The plant was shooting big thorns and venom and pods of smaller hims all over the place! That was when William called out...
"Can we get some more firepower in here? And when I say that I mean FIREpower!"
But, as though the universe was conspiring against him, the Enclave sent in...Johnny Truant. The door locked behind him to allow hilarity to ensue.
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They met in the hallway on their way to somewhere else in the facility.
FalloutJack: So, I've gotten things straightened out with the girl. How goes it with the Editor?
"I'm certain that he is more than a little confused. However, the writer-"
FalloutJack: Hey, don't mention him out here.
"Right, right... Well, the point remains that he'll have to curb his little plans while I'm still around. There will be no interference tolerated... So, you and the girl, then...?"
FalloutJack: I believe we can find the Underground with her. She has, after all, been a wonderful asset so far. What do you say to a powersuit?
"We shall see... I perceive that she is confused and going to be disagreeable with situations doing the line. And if that isn't great foreshadowing, then I don't know what IS."
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The rain had come once more, this time over most of the areas in our little tale. It found its way down deep into the ground and found the bodies of the dead. There, it began, as though it had been sensed out and pushed towards this whole time... New life would come from contact with the dead and gone. In one place, at first, a hand pushed its way out of the ground. It was accompanied by some supporting vines, as the figure rose from the dirt a little wobbly. It was clad in the clothes of a dead man, with a caricature of a human visage with rad-glowing eyes and mouth. This was a plant that had grown from and filled in an irradiated corpse...
There were alot of the dead out in the wastes to spawn this new life, and they were slowly rising from their graves as rad-monsters, Scarecrows. It had come to pass. The dead were walking now, and soon they would feast upon the living...
