The Honeymoon Period
This is another Fallout 2 onehsot, starring my Chosen One Catori. This is set before the events of 'Day In A Diner', so heads-up on that. Anyway, I hope you guys and gals enjoy this because I absolutely love writing about Fallout 2!
I do not own Fallout, it belongs to Bethesda.
As the sun blazed up ahead in the clear sky, gazing down at the Californian wastelands, a small camp had been set up towards the east. A campfire had been set up and food supplies unpacked, with a parked Highwayman resting nearby. The group of travellers were to put it mildly, an eclectic bunch, currently composed of two women, a scruffy looking teenage boy, a robobrain and a mysterious hulking figure in a brown robe.
One of the women, a young red-haired lass in leather armour, was currently sitting on a pile of rocks staring out into the distance. The small town of Modoc could be seen in the distance, although you'd have to strain your eyes a bit to see it. A small sigh escaped Miria's lips, as a sense of sorrow enveloped her. She had always wanted to leave that dingy town, to see the world and all that junk, but it still felt bad to leave it all behind. Having to say goodbye to Modoc, Uncle Biff, Dad, and Davin …. It really hurt.
"Missing them already, huh?" A feminine voice inquired.
Miria turned around, to face the only other woman in the group of travellers. The woman had dirty blonde hair that was tied up in a messy bun, tanned skin and blue eyes that sparkled with humour. Her nose was slightly crooked, suggesting that it had been broken sometime in the past. The woman wore a set of scratched power armour, with a Ripper and the Solar Scorcher holstered to her waist, and a sniper rifle strapped to her back. This was Catori the Chosen One, from Arroyo.
A small smile quickly appeared on Miria's face, as she found herself facing her new wife. Things had just escalated so quickly, from sleeping with this woman, to being forced to being married to this woman at gunpoint by her father, to having to leave Modoc for the first time in her life, all within the span of two days.
The wedding ring on Miria's hand felt so restrictive, which was probably an idea of what her future would be like, given that being married usually meant sticking to only one person. The thought of that felt weird to the Modoc native, only having sex with one person for the rest of her life, or at least the rest of this marriage. But Miria could be thankful for small mercies; after all, Catori was kind of cute, even if she had more muscles than all the men in Miria's family.
"It's just weird, is all." Miria admitted. "I mean, I always assumed I'd get married one day; my dad has been pushing for me to do that ever since my boobs started growing out. But I'd never expected that I'd marry a woman, especially a traveller."
"Is me being a woman a problem for you?" Catori inquired, eyebrow raised.
"No, course not." Miria answered, a smile on her face. "Otherwise I wouldn't have slept with you, silly. But then again, we didn't do much sleeping that night…"
A faint blush appeared on the Chosen One's face, as she quickly set about to fixing up her hair bun. Miria couldn't help but chuckle at that, as she leaned over and patted Catori on the hips. The good mood between the two was soon ruined, as Miria's eyes focused on that creepy Myron boy. The young chem genius had a perverted smile etched onto his pale face, his eyes focused on the two women. A small shiver went down Miria's spine, as she looked away. The Modoc native wasn't ashamed to admit that she had slept around a bit and met plenty of guys, and a few girls, in her life but this Myron…he was definitely the creepiest bastard she'd ever seen. There was just something off about that little rat, and Miria was definitely not comfortable with the idea of being asleep with him around. Catori seemed to pick up this nervousness, as a frown soon appeared on her face.
"Heya Miria, what's the matter?" Catori inquired.
"That Myron kid is staring at me. Again." Miria responded. "Can you get him to like, I don't know, stop staring at your wife or something?"
"I can get him to stop, no worries there; just need to threaten him a bit, maybe have to show off my guns." Catori answered. "But listen…do you really see me as your wife? I mean no offence, it wasn't like we had much of a choice, given your dad pointed a shotgun at us."
"Well I mean yeah, that did happen." Miria admitted, twisting her wedding ring. "But it still counts, right? Like, we can't just act like these rings don't mean anything when they do."
"Honestly, they don't mean much to me." The Chosen One responded, shrugging her shoulders. "My people didn't use rings or attend a church when they married, so I don't get the importance."
A frown appeared on Miria's face, as she heard this. But before she could say anything to Catori's admission, the robobrain let out a series of high-pitched static sounds. Everyone quickly turned around, wondering what on earth was happening. Skynet very rarely made a spectacle of himself and when he did, it was usually because something very big was about to happen.
"Human called Myron, you must move immediately." Skynet announced. "Preferably 2 metres to your left."
"Why should I listen to you, you bucket of bolts?" Myron snarled, a scowl on his face.
"Skynet does not understand that; I am made from the best materials available, and not from a bucket filled with bolts." Skynet retorted. "And the Human called Myron should move, if he wishes to avoid being hit by gunfire from the approaching enemy group."
The air suddenly grew tense at Skynet's words, as they slowly sunk in. Catori had already un-holstered her Solar Scorcher and had a determined look etched onto her weathered face, as she marched towards the group, with a nervous Miria behind her. The mysterious robed figure continued sitting calmly, while Myron quickly scooted towards the left.
The look of fear on Myron's face was soon replaced by a look of pain, as he collapsed to the ground clutching at his now wounded knee, as someone had just shot him. Fear coursed through Catori's veins, as she rushed to check up on the injured Myron. The chem genius was screaming and wailing in pain, as his pants were soon stained red with blood. Whipping her head up, Catori's eyes widened as a small group of people marched towards Catori and her gang.
A group of three people was walking forward, led forward by a giant of a man wearing a baseball cap and dirty metal armour. The man had a thick grey beard and steely blue eyes, and a minigun in his hands. It was obvious to everyone and their mother that these were Raiders, as clear as the weapons in their hands. The giant man had a feral grin on his dirty face, as he stared down Catori and the others.
"Well well, lookie here." The giant man stated. "Name's Anton, leader of the Red Dogs gang. I'll be simple and to the point; hand over the car, the weapons and everything else, and we'll let all you live."
"And if we refuse?" Miria asked.
"We still gonna take your shit, but we'll kill ya." Anton answered. "Well, maybe just kill the bot and the little bitchy boy. You two though? We'll keep ya alive and pawn you off at the Den. Two women like ya? Definitely will fetch a few caps, even after a few uses."
Miria's eyes widened with fear and her stomach twisted into knots, as she heard Anton's words. The Modoc native had heard plenty of stories of the Den, of how people were bought and sold like animals, of women being used by men and being broken and abused until they become a shell of their former selves. Miria could feel her heart in her throat and a sense of nausea wash over her, as she stared down at the group of Raiders.
"P-please, let me go!" Myron wailed. "I happen to be good friends with the Mordinos, and you'll be sorry if you mess with me!"
"What's that, runt?" Anton inquired, turning to face the snivelling Myron. "You tight with the Mordinos, eh?"
"I h-happen to be their personal chemist, yes." Myron muttered. "I make them their Jet and everything! You'll pay badly, if you kill me."
"Well well well, this is a fine coincidence." Anton stated, a sneer on his happen. "I happen to have a connection with the Mordinos."
"Y-you do?" Myron asked.
"My brother Walden died, cause he got hooked on those fucker's Jet and took too much." Anton growled, taking out a bloody knife. "Been wanting to get even with them Mordinos for a while now, been fucking itching to. And now I've got their precious little chem rat in my hands? I'm gonna rip your fucking head off and send it to Senor Mordino in a gift box!"
Myron's face turned even paler than it usually was, his eyes going as wide as saucepans, as the hulking figure of Anton slowly lumbered towards him. Catori tried to intervene, but found herself staring down the barrel of a gun from one of Anton's lackeys. The Chosen One could only watch, as Myron tried to feebly crawl away from the approaching Anton, trying to think of some escape plan. Luckily for Catori, an escape plan soon made its appearance, as the mysterious figure in the brown robe finally spoke up.
"This has gone on, long enough." The mysterious figure growled. "I suggest that you and your compatriots leave now, before blood is spilled."
"Listen here mutie, I ain't gotta problem with you." Anton answered. "Heck, you can leave right now and we won't bother you. But I've got ten other guys up at my camp, all armed to the teeth; I may not be hankering for a fight with a Super Mutant, but I ain't gonna run tail."
"You believe I'm a Super Mutant?" The mysterious figure inquired, an amused tone to his voice.
"The height's a dead giveaway, boy." Anton explained. "Anyway, no one is gonna cover themselves up like that unless they're a mutie trying to pass through the Wastes safely. I'm smarter than the average Raider son, don't underestimate me."
"You do seem to possess some form of intelligence, I will admit that." The mysterious figure stated. "But you are partially incorrect. While I am a mutant, I am not a Super Mutant. No, I am something far worse."
Before Anton or any of his lackeys could say anything, the mysterious figure finally stood up and removed his robe. Pure silence filled the area, as the mysterious figure showed himself. It was like something that had escaped the realm of dreams and nightmares, a hulking beast made from bleach white skin and rippling muscles. The beast's hands were clawed and spines covered its back, while it bared its yellow teeth. A wide grin appeared on Catori's face, as she saw the terrified looks plastered on the faces of Anton and his lackeys.
"I am Goris, son of Gruthar." Goris stated. "And I put the 'death' in Deathclaw."
"Well, that was a fun bit of sport." Goris grunted. "I think I can understand now why humans of the Pre-War world hunted down small animals as a hobby; it's truly an exhilarating experience."
The intelligent Deathclaw was currently standing in the middle of the Red Dogs' campsite, or rather what remained of it. The death of the Red Dogs gang had been bloody, violent and ended in a matter of minutes, and Catori couldn't help but think that no-one would really miss them. The Chosen One, Miria, Goris and Skynet were currently scavenging through the remains of the ruined camp, trying to find anything worth taking, while Myron was limping behind and complaining loudly.
"Skynet, you stupid robot!" Myron growled. "You obviously aren't as smart as you thought you were, since you told me to sit right in front of those Raider's line of sight!"
"What the human called Myron says is incorrect." Skynet answered. "Skynet's calculations were not false, rather Skynet lied to the human called Myron. Skynet wished for the human called Myron to be shot, to witness what would happen."
"You fucking sicko!" Myron shouted. "I could have died!"
"Skynet does not compute the term 'sicko', but Skynet will assume that that was meant in a derogatory manner." Skynet answered. "Which Skynet also cannot compute properly, as the human called Myron is also guilty of unethical practices, such as slavery and forcing himself onto unwilling humans of the female gender."
Myron's glare grew even more intense, as he stared holes into the back of Skynet's dome. A small chuckle escaped Catori and she shook her head slightly, unable to stop herself from enjoying the banter between her companions. The moment of enjoyment quickly ended, as Catori caught Miria in the corner of her eye. The Modoc native's face looked quite pale and she was shaking like a leaf, as she was sitting down on an overturned crate. The Chosen One made her way over to the shaken Miria, sitting down next to her.
"Hey Miria, what's wrong?" Catori inquired.
"Your friends, with a Deathclaw." Miria muttered. "A Deathclaw that's pale, can talk and wears a robe. Your friend with this."
"I've known Goris for a while, yeah." Catori admitted. "He's a good guy, if a bit eccentric."
"When were you gonna tell me that I was travelling with a Deathclaw!?" Miria demanded, anger to her voice. "I mean, that's something you should tell a person!"
"I didn't feel like it was my place to tell you." Catori responded, shrugging her shoulders. "Goris wants to keep it secret, so people don't go around and hunt him."
"Is….is he gonna eat us or something?" Miria asked.
"What? No, of course not." The Chosen One answered. "Goris prefers Brahmin or Yao Guai or other big animals, plus he's a gentle giant. Don't worry, Goris is as safe as houses."
"This is, I mean this is so scary." Miria admitted. "Deathclaws, raiders, death….like, my dad worked in a slaughterhouse and all that, but this was just gruesome. I saw men being ripped apart by a fucking Deathclaw or turned into piles of ash because of a robot's lasers and is this like normal?"
"Killing things and fighting is a standard part of my day." Catori answered. "But we do have lazy days, where nothing happens."
"I don't know if I can do this." Miria stated, a nervous look on her face. "I mean, I'm just a ditzy idiot from Modoc. How am I supposed to keep up with all of you guys, when you've got a goddamn Deathclaw on your team?"
"Listen Miria, do you want to travel with us?" Catori asked. "Because I don't want you to feel pressured or anything; you can go back to Modoc right now, and no-one would think any differently of you."
"I do wanna travel with you, I'm just a bit…well, green is all." Miria answered. "Like, I don't know shit about guns or stuff, but I know a bit about knives. Daddy taught me how to handle knives, cause of the slaughterhouse and all that."
"Knives are good, it's how I started." Catori answered. "But you'll have to learn how to handle guns. I know a guy in Vault City, goes by the name John Cassidy. He's a bit…..eccentric, but I'm sure he can teach you."
"You would do that, for me?" Miria asked.
"Course I would, Miria." The Chosen One answered, a smile on her face. "It's important to learn how to defend yourself, after all."
"I…I don't know what to say." Miria stated. "No-one has ever done something this nice for me. I promise, I'll try and get as good as possible! You'll see, I'll make you proud of me."
"Don't need to impress me, Miria. I'm an easily impressed person" Catori answered, a cheeky tone to her voice. "Just try and impress yourself, because the only person's opinion you should care about is your own opinion. Just stick to practicing with guns and gaining a bit of self-confidence and who knows? You might prove to be the toughest member of this team."
"You have a talking Deathclaw and a robot that shoots lasers." Miria retorted. "I doubt I'd get that tough."
"Just have faith in yourself, Miria." Catori grinned. "Because trust me when I say, I believe in you."
And The Honeymoon Period is done and dusted. I'd like to thank HappinessIsBlau and owlaholic68 for all their support and help. Anyway, I hope to see you guys and gals soon!
Love,
The Desert Dancer
