Justin had no clue why people were so nervous about this G.O.A.T. thing, it seemed real easy. It was probably just a questionnaire. How anybody could come up with what you're going to do with the rest of your life with just ten questions was beyond him, though.

" I'll show you a real tunnel snake Amata..."

As he walked out of his father's office, he saw the 'Tunnel Snakes' gathered around Amata. He let out a heavy sigh and planted his face in his hand. "Not this shit again…"

"God, Butch, why don't you just leave me alone?"

Justin whistled at the three to catch their attention, and then spoke out to them. "Alright, Butch, what the hell are you up to this time…"

"It's none of your business, kid, get outta here before you get hurt." Butch responded firmly. "If you mess with the Tunnel Snakes, you're asking for it. Got me?"

Justin slowly made his way to the group, popping his knuckles and his neck. "Leave her alone, or you'll answer to me…"

"Pfft, and who are you, her boyfriend? HA!" He pushed himself off of the wall he was leaning on. "Keep talking like that, boy, and we'll send you back to your daddy with a few broken bones for him to fix."

Justin pounded his right fist into the palm of his left. "That's it, butch. You and me. RIGHT NOW." Justin looked Butch in the eyes, not breaking eye contact and never blinking.

"You gotta be kidding me! Come on, Tunnel Snakes, this twerp needs another lesson!" Butch raised his fists up, and soon after Paul and Wally got in a fighting position as well.

"Gotcha, punk!" Wally said as he swung his arms under Justin's and locked his hands on the back of Justin's neck. "Got him in a nelson, have at him!" Justin lifted up his right foot and stomped it down, grinding it hard against Wally's shin and smashing down on his toes. "FFFFUUUUUUUCCKKK!" Wally screamed out in pain and held on even tighter. Justin swung his head back, smashing the back of his head into Wally's forehead. Wally loosened his grip and fell back spread out on the floor in a heavy daze.

"You're gonna pay for that, twerp!" Paul backed up and started a charge twards Justin, his arm positioned back, ready to deliver a hook punch with his left fist.

"No, Justin, you don't have to fight them!" Amata held back Butch in an attempt to slow down the fight or end it.

"Oh, poor Paul. You could have been something better." As Paul swung his first forward, Justin lifted up his right arm and moved it forward. He twisted it to the right and grabbed the underside of Paul's arm, slowing his charge and stopping his assault, then planted a firm, quick jab to Paul's abdomen. He finished up by swinging his right leg around, sweeping it under Paul's and knocking him over. "Every now and then, you showed just a glimpse of your true self. Now, be a good little watch dog and stay down."

"Let go of me, you little daddy's girl!" Butch grabbed a hold of the arms gripped around him and thrust Amata off of him, pushing her to the side. "Now it's just you and me, come and get me!" He charged towards Justin and grabbed a hold of his shoulder. He pulled back, forcing Justin to face him, and then he positioned his arm back to strike.

"Too slow!" Justin said quickly out as he lifted up his hand and planted a firm, full handed slap to the side of Butch's face and quickly withdrew it. Butch stumbled to the side, slouched over a bit. Justin then lifted his right leg up high and planted a full-forced axe kick to the back of Butch's head, forcing him to the ground face first.

"Gahh!" Butch felt up his nose and looked at his hand, seeing a bit of blood. "Okay, okay, you win… Come on, Tunnel Snakes, let's get out of here."

Justin looked behind him and saw Wally being helped back up on his feet by Paul. "Wha… what happened… did we win?" Wally said in a daze.

"I don't wanna see this shit from you again, Butch. Now beat it and get to class."

"God damn, that alarm is so annoying." Justin was sneaking past one of the guards, who was busy fighting off radroaches. He looked behind him, seeing him attacked by a few more. He looked back forward and saw a man in a leather jacket running towards him.

"Justin! Justin! You gotta help me!"

"Uggh, what do you want now, Butch… I'm kinda busy right now, with the whole escaping from the vault thing and all."

"Justin, it's- it's my mom! She's trapped in there with the radroaches!" Bush had a very concerned look on his face, one Justin had never seen before.

"Butch… asking me for help. If you only knew what 'irony' meant…" Justin stood up and at eye level with Butch.

"Yeah, I'm asking you, so what…" Butch was silent for a moment, and then lowered his head in shame. "… Look. I'm sorry for the way I've always treated you. You know I never meant any of it, right? But it's my mom; you can't leave her in there with the Radroaches!"

"Why do you need my help, anyway? Afraid of a few Radroaches?"

"Well…" Butch said as he crossed his arms, "…yeah. So I hate radroaches. So what? I tried to go back in to help her, I swear, but I just can't do it! So I'm begging you, please help her. I don't know what I'd do without my mom…"

Justin raised an arm and put a hand on Butch's shoulder. "You're big. They're little. Just go back in there and squish them! Be a hero!"

Butch raised his head and moved his shoulders back, standing tall. "You know what… you're right! They aren't anything I can't handle! Tunnel Snakes RULE!" He spun around on his heel and reached into his jacket pocket, pulling out his old switchblade. He then sprinted back around the corner and into his mother's room. "Yeaahhh!"

"Gah… better make sure he doesn't get himself killed." Looking behind him, he saw the security guard strike a finishing blow to the last Radroach. Knowing he'd be found soon, he followed Butch into the room. He closed the door behind him and looked into the room Butch ran into. He saw him holding up a squirming radroach, a knife plunged it into it. He thrust the knife down its body, slicing it open and killing it. Two other radroaches were behind him, on the floor, cut open as well.

"I did it! I finished off the Radroaches! You're the best friend I've ever had, man!"

"Wow… impressive, you took them out quite fast!"

"Look… I owe you a lot, from being a jerk to you for all these years and for saving my mom. How about I help you out by following you out there? Ya know, out of the vault? You said you were escaping, right?"

"You? Following me out into the wastes? Hah…"

"No, I'm serious! I've always wanted to go out there, and I'm…"

They were interrupted by the door opening. "I heard everything you two said. You're both coming with me!" The security guard pulled out his baton and readied himself for a strike.

"Officer Kendall, you ain't gonna stop a Tunnel Snake! You can't cage one forever, ya know!" Butch held up his pocket knife and made a quick slice across the armor of the guard. It struck deep enough to make a gash in his chest, making Kendall draw back in pain.

"Gah! That hurt! You're gonna pay for that you little brat!" He swung out, aiming for the side of Butch's torso, but was stopped by his hand being hit hard by the firm wood of a baseball bat. "FFFUUU- My hand!" Kendall dropped the baton on the ground and gripped his hand in agony.

"You're not gonna stop us!" Justin yelled out as he followed his strike by bringing the bat down on top of Kendall's head. The guard fell to his knees, and then landed face first on the ground.

"We're in trouble now!" Butch picked up the baton and wiped the bug guts off of it. "Let's get outta here! No turning back now!"

"Um, do you think they're…?" Butch said as he kicked one of the guard's limp body.

"Dead? No, but they'll wish they still had a doctor around here." Justin peaked around the corner, down the hallway to the Overseer's office and the jail. "Hey, follow, I just heard something."

He crouched down and snuck under a window to the jail area, followed by Butch. They raised their head a bit and peeked in.

"He's my friend… what does he have to do with all of this, anyway?" Amata said, squirming around in her chair.

"Probably nothing… which is why we have to find him, so I can talk to him." The Overseer said to his daughter in a reassuring tone.

Officer Mack caught a look of Amata reaching for something. "Watch out, sir, she's got a gun!"

Amata got up out of her seat and held her gun at the two of them, backing up slowly. "Amata, where did you get that gun?"

"Just get away from me! I don't want to shoot you, but I will, I swear I will!"

"How DARE you threaten me… and with my own gun!" The Overseer crossed his arms and stood his ground. "I'm your father, damn you, and you'll show me some respect…" He sneered and spat these words at her. "Officer Mack, don't just stand there!"

Officer Mack pulled his baton out and crept over towards her. "Don't make me take that gun way from you, girly, just hand it over, nice and easy now…"

Amata backed up, still pointing the gun at him. She kept shaking her head. "Noo! Get away from me!" She fired two shots into his chest, ripping though his heart and dealing a fatal blow. He fell to the ground on his knees, and Amata unloaded another three shots into his back.

"Oh my god… Amata, what have you done?"

Amata holstered the gun and sprinted past her father and opened the door. She sprinted out and down the corridor, not even noticing the two.

"Holy shit, did you see that? That was brutal! I didn't know she had that in her!" Butch hit under the window to hide from the Overseer. "She kept shooting after he was dead! Wooah!"

"Oh jeez… Come on, let's go meet up with her. I don't think she was happy about doing that." Justin got out of his crouching position and ran down the hallway the directing Amata went.

"Woah, wait up, loverboy!"

When Justin found Amata, she was sitting down with her head in her hands. "Oh god, what have I done…"

"Amata, you did what you had to do."

"I... I just don't know anymore. Here, take the gun, I don't want it anymore." She took the gun out and handed it to Justin. Justin took it and nodded to Amata.

"Yo, Amata, you alright?" Butch spoke out as he peeked his head around the corner.

"… do I even want to know why Butch is following you?"

Butch adjusted his jacket a bit as he came into the room. "I'm just making sure this twerp doesn't die out there in the wastes."

"Oh, can it, Butch. He's helping me out so he can pay off his dues."

"That's… weird. Anyway, I'll meet you at the vault entrance. Go!"

"I'm on it." Butch said as he dug into his pockets for a bobby pin. He stuck it into the lock on the side of the door and pushed a button on the side.

"Damn, that was quick, Butch. Alright, let's get going. See you later, Amata." Justin closed the door to Amata's room and crossed the hall and though the door to the Overseer's office. He started up the terminal and was met by a log-in screen.

"Now, let's see… What would the password be…? Ah, I got it!" He bent over and typed in a few keystrokes. "Amata… got it." With a clicking sound, he was allowed entry to the database. "Alright. Hold up a sec, Butch, before we go, I see something we should check out."

"What could be so important on that thing?" Butch said as he peaked over Justin's shoulder.

"Well… it's a scouting report of the outside."

"But nobody's ever left the vault!"

"Could have happened under a previous Overseer. It says that there are only a few pockets of radiation, but hazmat suits are not needed for general exploration."

"English, please?"

"It means that there are small areas still affected by the bombs, but we can walk around from place to place without being exposed as long as we avoid them."

"Doesn't the Pip-Boy have a measure for that?"

"Yeah, a Geiger counter. It'll tick a lot when we're in a bad spot. We just gotta keep an eye out for that. Also all water is undrinkable."

"Then what the hell do we drink?"

"Probably that water followed by medication to counter the effects, or we find some clean water somewhere." Justin pressed return to go to the next page. "… well, looks like roaches aren't the only ones that got big. The survey team came in contact with a few overgrown ants."

"That sounds like a pain."

"They still can't take a bullet, though. They brought back a dead one." Justin scanned though the text more. "Woah hang on… there's a settlement nearby!"

"Well that's good news if I ever heard any. There's still life out there."

"They seem to be doing well, too. They call the place 'Megaton'. Strange name, huh? They call the remains of the D.C. area 'The Capital Wasteland', as well. It seems dangerous out there." Justin pressed return once more. "This was written by Anne Palmer." He exited out of the entry and brought up the pictures. "There's the giant ant…"

"Yep, that's an ant. Doesn't look that big."

"… and here's Megaton."

"Looks like a pile of scraps."

Justin exited out entered in the command to open up the tunnel. "Let's get outta here."

Butch opened the frail wooden door to the outside world and winced at the bright light. "Fuuuck! My eyes! Damn that's bright!"

Justin tossed a riot helmet to Butch. "Put this on, it'll protect our eyes a bit." Justin put one on himself, and took a step outside. "Woah… I gotta admit, it's not what I was expecting."

The Butch followed him out and took a whiff of the air. "It… smells different. Not bad or good, just… different." Butch shielded his eyes from the sun with his hand and scanned the landscape. "Damn… what a dump… Hey, wait a second, I think that's the junk pile town we saw on the computer!"

"Yep, that's Megaton. Let's get down there, my father probably went there." The two descended the small hill and down to the road. As they walked through the ruins of the town, they saw a shining, silvery ball heading towards them, making a strange fast clicking sound .

"Hello, you're listening to Enclave radio, and this is your President, John Henry Eden." The small ball said as it neared the two.

"Justin, this thing thinks it's the President!"

"No, dipwad, it's just a flying jukebox." As the robot passed by them, as if ignoring them, a whistling tune came on. "See? It's playing Yankee Doodle. Let's go, I'm sure we'll see it again soon enough."

The two made their way up the hill, passing by a sign pointing them towards the town. As it came into sight the fan above two diaganol metal sheets started to turn. They drew closer to it, and the sheets of metal started to slide away, reveling a gate into the town.

"Wow, that's pretty cool!" Butch said as he neared the entrance. "I think this place is made out of air planes, weir-"

"Welcome to... Megaton. Please enjoy your stay." A robot they were passing by that had previously stood completely still lit up and turned towards them. It greeted them as they walked past it, scanned the horizon, then went back into hibernate mode.

"I think we're going to see a bunch of those around." Justin said as he and Butch pushed on the gate to move it. "They last forever, so they make easy labor. They were also all over the place way back when." As they pushed the door open wider, they saw a man dressed in western-style clothes heading up the crater and to them.

"Well, I'll be damned, two more newcomers!"

"Hello, sir. Are you in charge here?" Justin said as he took off his helmet and combed his hair with his fingers.

Butch took off his helmet to get a closer look, then giggled a bit at the sight of the man heading towards them. He leaned over to Justin and whispered into his ear. "Did we just walk into an old western flick? Hehehehe…"

"Quiet, let's not offend the locals on our first day…"

The man ascended the makeshift steps. "I'm Lucas Simms, town sheriff. And mayor too, when the need arises." He looked at the two and tipped his hat a bit. "I don't know why, but I like you two, boys! Something tells me that you're all right. So, welcome to Megaton! Just holler if you need something."

"Are you coming on to me?" Butch said, giggling some more.

"Cool it, airhead!" Justin said as he whacked Butch on the back of the head.

"Ouch, that hurt!"

"Fine with me. Anyway, I'm Justin, and this is Butch. Sorry if he offended you."

"Haha, that's quite alright." Simms said, laughing a bit, "A healthy sense of humor is a good thing to keep around here, keeps up your spirits. I think we're gonna get along just fine. You two treat my people nice, and you're welcome to stay as long as you'd like."

"Thank you, sir. Now, I have a quick question…" Justin said to the sheriff.

"Shoot."

"I'm looking for my father. Middle-aged guy. Maybe you've seen him?"

Simms just shook his head. "Nope. Sorry. I can't keep track of every visitor. I'd ask around town, though."

"Holy crap… Is that a BOMB?" Justin checked on Butch, who was behind Simms and was gaping at a large bomb stuck in the middle of town. "Who the hell would build a town around a century old bomb? That's crazy!"

"Hah, well… this place wasn't put up overnight. Been around for a while now, and people figure if it hasn't gone off by now, it never will. I disagree with that, though."

Justin looked at the bomb. There was a panel in the front that probably led to a control panel of some sort. "Indeed. The older it gets the more likely it will go off without a trigger. Don't you think somebody should go about defusing that thing?"

"You think you can? Hmm… Okay. But go easy, look at it first, so you don't blow us all up. There will be 100 caps in it if you get the job done."

"Caps? Um, sure. Remind what caps are again?"

"Hahah, I knew it! At first I thought you got those suits off of some corpse, but now I know, you're from that vault!" Simms dug into his pocket and pulled out some dirty old bottle caps. "Caps are what we use as money. There's old pre-war money lying around, but there's not enough of it left to pass around, so we get old pre-war bottle caps and use them."

"B-Bottle caps?" Butch tried to hold it back, but burst out laughing. "Man, oh man, this wasteland is a weird place... Bottle caps…"

"Silly, I know, but it's what we've been doing for ages. By the way, the best way to get some caps is to check out with Moira Brown. She runs the supply shop. She's a little bit… different, though."

"Oh, I'm sure… What other funny crap are we gonna find out here?"

"Well, there's a cult here who worships the bomb…"

"Wh-WHAT?" Butch spontaneously cracked into laugher at the thought of a bunch of guys in robes bowing before the bomb and chanting. "That's crazy!"

"Oh, they're nuts, no doubt… but mostly harmless. If you need a place to kick back, rest, or get a drink, Moriarty's is up top over…" Simms turned around and pointed at a building up high. "… there. Anything else?"

"No, that's it. Thank you." Justin and Butch turned to make their way up the makeshift stairs and to the shop, but where stopped by Simms.

"Wait! I just remembered something! I do remember a man coming though here. He had a look in his eyes, you know… the kind a man has when he's got a purpose."

"Now we're talking!" Justin said as he ran back down to Simms.

"Yeah, I remember now. He spent some time up at the saloon. Might wanna check with Moriarty. Watch out, though. That man's trouble." He turned to Butch and laughed a bit. "Even more than you, kid."

"How is that even possible?" Butch said jokingly.

"Thank you, sir. Let's get going, Butch."

"Right behind ya."

Thank you for reading. Be sure to review. Sorry to those first readers, the linebreaks didn't upload and it made everything confusing, I bet.