The mechanized hiss of Power Armor was one of the few sounds to be heard on the blazing hot afternoon in the D.C. ruins. It echoed eerily off the crumbling concrete structures of the once mighty U.S. Capital. The sun was merciless in its shining, baking everything below in an oven of heat. The Pride, Sarah knew, must be melting inside their steel suites, after all so was she, but they knew better than to voice their discomfort. Their suffering would be over soon, as they were approaching their destination.
They were heading to Galaxy News Radio to aid the Paladins there who had sent a distress message. The report had claimed that the place was crawling with Super Mutants, but strangely they had seen very few on their journey. The heat had probably driven them all into hiding. Sarah couldn't blame them. The temperature must be at record heights.
"Stats, Reddin," she said to the young Knight.
"We're about half a mile from the destination and are good on both ammo and med supplies, ma'am. The temperature is 95 degrees exactly." Paladin Kodiak let out a low whistle.
"Damn. That's ridiculous!" Sarah silently agreed.
"The concrete traps the heat and makes it feel hotter than it really is," Vargas put in, "but you're right. It's hot as hell." The others muttered their shared discomfort.
"Come on, Pride," she barked, "We're almost there." They trudged on.
They crossed over a stretch of dilapidated building just past an ancient Metro tunnel entrance, and continued on through the crumbling husk of another. Suddenly, the familiar sound of gunfire crackled through the silent air, coming from behind them. Everyone whipped around as the unmistakable cackle of Super Mutants followed the shots. Guns at the ready, they retraced their steps. Stepping out of the door frame of the old building into an alley, Sarah saw the two hulking, green brutes stomping toward something on the other side of the open space. She took a stance, aiming her trusty Plasma Rifle at the back of one's head when suddenly it exploded with a loud bang. She was surprised for a split second before figuring that one of the Pride had taken it down, and moving her sights on to the next. She locked onto the small bobbing head and pulled the trigger. Bang. The Mutant's head burst in a shower of blood and gore, just like the first. The body hit the ground before her plasma blast even got close. The green flash burst in a rain of neon goo against the opposite wall, but not before she saw someone duck to avoid it.
"Fuck!" An unfamiliar voice yelled. What in the hell… What just happened? She hadn't killed those Mutants, and she was sure none of the Pride had.
"Hey! Someone's over there!" Paladin Kodiak said.
"No shit, Sherlock." Snarled the voice from before. "Thanks for noticing. At least you had the decency to miss." Paladin Vargas stepped forward, gun leveled in the general direction of the voice.
"Reveal yourself! You stand in the presence of the Brotherhood of Steel."
"Yeah, yeah. I know who you are." A Wastelander stood up from behind the rusted shell of a car, a combat shotgun in his hands. "I can't go anywhere without running into you assholes."
Sarah clenched her jaw. One thing she could not stand was trashy Wasters who didn't know their place, especially those who thought they knew. She marched up to the guy, who'd walked out from behind the car and was brushing dust and Mutant blood off his pants, and got right up in his face.
"I don't know who you are, but you don't belong here," she said through a snarl. He looked up at her and for a second she froze, taken aback. The trashy Wastelander was handsome. He couldn't have been older than twenty-two, was a little taller than her and entirely made of muscle. Dirty leather armor showcased his lean, built form and she could see the well defined biceps and triceps of his upper arm under deep-tanned skin. His shaggy dark hair was damp with sweat and slicked down on his forehead. A prominent, curved scar snaked out from under his hairline toward his left eyebrow. A thin dusting of stubble somehow helped accentuate his jawline and cheekbones. His eyes were a deep shade of blue, darkened now by his lowered brow. His nose curved in a perfect point, not too sharp, not too soft, and his mouth was stretched into a thin line to complete his glowering expression.
"I don't belong here?" He asked incredulously. "Then who does? I wasn't aware the Brotherhood owned this particular stretch of useless, crumbling ruins." She found it rather difficult to keep up her hard-ass appearance while he stared her down with those cyan eyes, but she steeled herself and put on her most smoldering glare.
"Look smartass, this place is dangerous, not somewhere civilians should be free to wander." He snorted.
"Really? This place is dangerous? I think I figured that out just a moment ago when you almost blew my fucking head off." Irritation boiled in her chest and she opened her mouth to say that the sarcasm wasn't necessary, as menacingly as possible, but he cut her off.
"Look, I'm just passing through. Let me by, and I'll get out of your hair. Sound good?"
"Can I ask what you're doing wandering here alone?" Vargas asked. "There's nothing of interest down this way." Sarah almost sighed with relief when those piercing blue eyes shifted off of her and onto Vargas.
"Perhaps not to you. I have reasons to be here." His eyes narrowed. "Although that's none of your business, is it?" Vargas stiffened. A tense pressure had settled over them. They'd had to put down crazy Wasters before, and Sarah wasn't quite in the mood to do it today.
"Look son, we're just here to keep control." The kid shook his head.
"Yeah, I get that," he said, a sudden change in his tone. "I actually appreciate what you guys do, but," he gestured toward the Mutant corpses, "as you can see, I can handle myself." Vargas was about to reply when a staticky commotion was heard from behind. Sarah turned to see Reddin holding the small radio that the Pride carried with them up to her ear. The transmission ended and Reddin looked up at her.
"They need assistance at GNR, Sentinel. It's urgent."
"Shit." She muttered under breath. "We have to go. Now." She turned to address the Pride, but the Waster jumped in.
"Wait!" She glanced back at him. "Did you say GNR? As in Galaxy News Radio?" She looked him up and down before slowly nodding. "That's where I'm headed, actually. Do you... mind if I tag along?" Sarah bit her lip. Allowing a stranger to come with them could be dangerous to both him and the Pride. Not adding in the fact that she couldn't stand civilian meddling, and this particular civilian was both distracting and a jerk.
"What happened to the tough guy act?" Paladin Kodiak piped up. The dude shrugged.
"You gotta put up a tough front out here. You get killed otherwise. Which reminds me..." He put two fingers to his lips and let out a low whistle.
"What in the..?" Paladin Glade let out a surprised grunt as a surly, silver Australian Cattle Dog sprang from behind a pile of concrete and plodded past them. It sauntered over to the guy and sat down next to him.
"Good boy, Dogmeat." He said, scratching behind the dog's ear.
"Whoa." Kodiak said, eyeing the hound suspiciously. "Is that your dog?"
"Yeah." The dude said with a small smile. "I had him slip around behind you guys incase I needed some backup." How a giant dog had managed to slide by all of them without being noticed was a mystery to Sarah, but a mystery that would have to be solved later.
"We don't have time for this," she snapped. "Pride! Form up! Destination: Galaxy News Radio, let's go! And you," she turned to look back at the Waster. "Don't do anything... stupid." A wry half smile formed on his lips before he gave her a mock salute, blue eyes burning into hers, she almost couldn't look away - almost - before she turned on her heel and marched forward, silently scolding herself. The guy and his dog fell in step behind the Pride and they moved at quickened pace.
They booked it past the decaying ruins of a few more buildings and through a small concrete tunnel before emerging on the other side to find an old office firm, crawling with Super Mutants. Stunned by the sheer number of them, Sarah now knew why reinforcement had been called. The GNR studio stood just on the other side of this building, if their intel was correct.
Quickly and quietly, she ordered everyone to line up, backs to the wall of the building on either side of the front door. For a moment, they stood silently, eavesdropping. Only the usual Mutant banter was heard.
"Hungry... Need something to eat."
"Will eat soon. Waiting for humans in shiny metal to come out." Sarah raised her hand, holding a second before closing her fingers into a fist, the signal to charge. With fierce battle cries, the Pride streamed into the Mutant fort and opened fire.
The floor of the second story was pretty much gone with only a few ledges around the walls and planks of wood laid from one ledge to another to create bridges. Super Mutants railed bullets down on them from above, howling and laughing while others on the ground came at them with super sledges and nail boards.
The Pride split into three groups, taking down Mutant after Mutant. Sarah had just neutralized another when out of the corner of her eye, she saw the great silver Cattle dog take a running leap and latch onto the arm of an oncoming Mutie. It screamed, trying to shake the dog off, but his teeth were buried in its flesh. She turned to help 'Dogmeat', she remembered him being called, but the Waster swooped in out of nowhere and leveled his shotgun at the Mutant's head. It exploded with a bang and a shower of blood. Dogmeat let go of the Mutant's now lifeless arm and they both vanished back into the fray.
The battle was over almost as quickly as it started. The Pride circled the building, picking off any remaining Mutants with ease and looting ammunition off the corpses that littered the floor. Everyone was covered with blood and sweat and as the adrenaline began to wear off, the sweltering heat from before settled back over the group. Kodiak waved a hand in front of his face.
"Hot damn," he panted, "I'm gonna melt."
"Well, you can get some ice-cold Nuka from the fridge at GNR. You've earned it. Good work, Pride," she praised. They all cheered, raising their fists with an "Oorah!" Sarah smiled a little, letting herself enjoy the moment of victory. It was little moments like this that reminded her why she loved her job. Standing a little ways away, she spotted the Waster and his dog. The guy had his arms crossed, watching their minor celebration with a small grin. Kodiak raised his gun in the air and started the march to GNR.
She let him lead out, following behind the Pride into a plaza with an old, moldy fountain at the center. The Waster sauntered a little behind her, and she could hear Dogmeat's loud panting as they walked. The Galaxy News Radio building stood before them, tall and still in pretty good shape compared to every other building in D.C. Sandbag barricades blocked the front entrance and Brotherhood of Steel knights manned the mounted machine guns on the roof. They shouted elated greetings to their companions on the ground and the Pride responded whoops and calls of their own.
But their heroic arrival was cut short when a bellowing snarl echoed around the plaza. The noise was horrendously loud, but sounded distant, and just as the echo faded, the ground began to shake, little tremors at first, but then the entire area was vibrating. The Pride formed a defensive position, guns drawn, searching frantically for the source.
"No..." Sarah heard the Wastelander say under his breath. "Not here... Can't be here..." She turned to him just as another snarl tore through the air. Not a snarl, a roar, popping her eardrums, causing her vision to blur at the intense decibel. The ground shook violently once more and was still, but only for a second. In that brief second, her eyes locked with the Wasters. His were as wide as plates, blazing with fear, and he whispered one word, which she heard perfectly well in the silence.
"Run."
Her confusion was blasted away by terror as a pile of rusty cars on the side of the plaza exploded. Sarah nearly fainted when the dust cleared a moment later and she saw the three-story, green monstrosity. It had to be a dream. It had to be. Nothing could be that big. It had a small, little head stuck on top of a pair massive shoulders. Veins throbbed on top of bulging muscles, which looked like they would tear right through the thick green skin at the slightest movement. Ropes and cords of all kinds were tied around its torso and on them swung bones and skulls and rotting limbs from various creatures and people, worn like some kind of horrific bead-necklace. A shopping cart was strapped to its back and gigantic boots made of melted tires were stuck on its boulder-sized feet. It held a bus in its hands, one end twisted into a smaller grip hold, like a club, and a ratty loincloth-like thing was the only article of clothing it wore.
The Mutant - for it was a Super Mutant, had to be - opened its giant maw, filled with crooked, rotting teeth, and roared again and this time Sarah fell to her knees. It felt like her head was splitting open and when it finally ended, her hearing was gone, only a high pitched ring echoed in her ears. Her vision was fuzzy and when she looked up, she saw a huge green blur towering over her. She sat and stared at it, ears ringing, not really comprehending, when something slammed into her side, sending her flying to the left. The impact jarred her senses. Her vision cleared and the ringing was gone. She rolled over and sat up, looked back and saw a crater-sized hole in the ground in the same spot she'd been seconds ago. Kodiak sat beside her, heaving for air. The Mutant had swung at her with it's bus-club and he'd shoved her out of the way. How could she have let that happen? She'd almost been killed if it weren't for Kodiak.
The ground trembled as the Mutant took a step and swung the club again, and Sarah watched in horror as it connected with a Brotherhood soldier. The body sailed through the air and out of view. Whoever it had been was most certainly dead.
"Oh shit! Come on, Sentinel, we gotta move!" Kodiak grabbed her arm and hauled her to her feet.
Stars danced in front of her eyes and her head pounded but he was already dragging her away. They stumbled a few more feet before Sarah tripped and fell, latching onto a sandbag wall to avoid a face plant. Kodiak took her arm and half-dragged, half-shoved her behind it. Meanwhile the ground continued to shake and shudder as the Mutant stomped around, swinging at the Pride, who were scattered and confused.
"Holy shit..." She heard Kodiak say. Turning back to the battle she saw Paladin Glade on the ground, desperately trying to crawl away from the Mutant which had targeted her and was raising its club above its head for a strike.
"No!" Sarah tried to stand but Kodiak grabbed her wrist. Her gut wrenched, knowing there was nothing they could do to save Glade.
Suddenly, out of nowhere, Dogmeat dashed out and lunged at the Mutant's leg, sinking his teeth into the thick green flesh as she'd seen him do before. The Mutant snarled and lowered it's club, turning to see what had bit it. Dogmeat let go and bounded a few paces away before turning to howl at the thing, taunting it. The Mutant let out an angry grumble and stomped after the Cattle Dog, leaving Glade to crawl to safety.
Sarah's heart pounded in her ears. That dog had just saved one of her soldier's life. But the show wasn't over yet. Without further ado, Dogmeat bolted across the plaza, the Mutant trucking behind.
"Shit Almighty." Kodiak said. Sarah's eyes had been on the Mutant, but she turned her attention to what Kodiak was staring at, and let out a swear of her own.
On the other side of the Plaza stood the Wastelander, a Fat Man hefted on his right shoulder. Dogmeat crouched behind him, just next to a dead Brotherhood soldier.
"Hey Asshat!" yelled the Waster. "Eat this!" He launched a Mini Nuke right at the monster's head. The little round bomb exploded with such force that the sandbag barrier which they'd been hiding behind fell over and Sarah was knocked to the ground. A wave of radiation washed over the plaza followed by silence.
Slowly and painfully, Sarah pushed the sandbags off her legs and shakily stood up before looking around. What she saw left her slack-jawed. The enormous Mutant corpse lay in the middle of the plaza on top of the old fountain. It's head and most of its torso were gone and blood spilled from the thick trunk, pooling beneath the body. Everything in radius of the Mini Nuke had been blasted back. The entire plaza was a disaster. But the Mutant was dead and her squad was safe. She saw them scattered around, slowly staggering to their feet and looking around, wide-eyed with shock. She swallowed with difficulty and felt her muscles shaking with loose adrenaline. Having the shit scared out her was an unpleasant experience.
A little ways off she saw a pile of sandbags shudder before the Waster emerged from underneath them. His hair was blasted back against his head and he was soaked with Mutant blood. Dogmeat appeared and trotted up to him, wiggling excitedly. The guy laughed and kneeled down to hug the canine.
"We did it, bud. We did it."
The Pride had assembled near the stairs of the GNR building, staring at the Mutant corpse with wide eyes. Kodiak stood, rubbing his head and groaning.
"Holy shit..." He looked around, "Holy shit! Are you fucking kidding me?!" He said something else but Sarah was already walking towards the Waster, who'd stood up and run his fingers through his hair to return it to its scruffy state.
"Who the hell are you?" She demanded once she'd reached him. This guy had to be specially trained. Who did he work for? Talon Co.? The Enclave? He looked at her quizzically before wiping the blood off his face with his sleeve and clearing his throat and saying,
"I would have started off with a thank you, but I keep forgetting that common courtesy is a rare thing out here." She was taken aback.
"What?"
"News flash, Blondie. I just saved your ass." She opened her mouth to retort, but he shook his head. "I was kidding. Don't get yourself all worked up." He looked down and shook his left arm, which she noticed for the first time was adorned with a clunky device. Blood droplets dripped off it and the screen flashed different colors. It was strange, she swore she'd something like it before, maybe vaguely.
"Ah," he said, "I'll fix it later." He turned his attention back to her. "And to answer your question, my name's Daniel. Daniel Anderson. And you already know Dogmeat." He stuck out his hand. "Nice to meet you, Sentinel..." He let it drag out in the form of a question. She stared at him for a moment. This guy had walked in, killed a gigantic Super Mutant almost single-handedly, and was now standing there talking to her as if it was nothing. She was still a bit shocked, and unsure of whether to trust him. She looked him up and down once more, hating herself for being attracted to him, and even though all of her training and common sense screamed at her to tell him to scram, she couldn't shake the feeling of there being something special about him.
Daniel was about to put his hand down, discouraged by her lack of response when she reached out and shook it.
"Lyons. Sarah Lyons. That was... impressive." Daniel grinned. "I'll say. I don't know what the fuck a Behemoth is doing down here, but it's not good." She looked at the corpse.
"A Behemoth..." She turned back to him. "You mean there's more of these things?" He nodded.
"Oh yeah. They've got one chained up in Evergreen Mills. And I had to kill one up in Takoma Park, but I didn't think they'd get this far into the city ruins." Sarah shuddered at the thought of more of the enormous monsters. She'd barely been able to survive one. And this guy had already killed one and seen another.
"Well, I guess I should thank you. You did save my ass. I suppose you can handle yourself." Where were these compliments coming from? Sarah Lyons didn't compliment anybody.
Daniel smiled and Sarah found her stomach fluttering a little, even after all that had happened.
"You guys don't fuck around either." He said, motioning to where the Pride stood.
"I'll take that as a compliment." He nodded back at them.
"I think they need you for something." She glanced and saw Kodiak motioning for her to join them, a grave look on his face.
"You're right, I've gotta go," she slapped back on her hard-ass demeanor, "So beat it." He smiled again.
"Nice to meet you too. Maybe I'll see you around, Blondie." She was about to tell him to not call her that but he'd already turned and was heading for the GNR building, Dogmeat at his heels. She watched for a second, before heading for the Pride, thinking that it wouldn't be too bad if that were to happen. After all, it had been quite the introduction, how interesting would a second meeting be?