"OPEN FIRE!"

Sarah didn't need to say it twice and the squad were more than willing to obey. She brought her laser rifle into the air and had only taken a single shot, striking a super mutant dead in the chest, before the others followed.

Vargas was at the front, aiming with precision and disposed of two mutants and seriously injured another one, all of which were carrying sledge hammers. The one he hadn't managed to kill fell to it's knees, using the weapon for support, and clutched a huge hand around oversized ribs. It growled in pain and looked up only to meet a bullet which struck the head and dropped dead to the ground.

Colvin didn't waste any time and turned his sights away from the mutant's corpse and fired off four more shots, three hitting each of their targets in between the eyes while the fourth dug itself into a mutant's throat, gurgling on it's own blood. Wrapping a hand around it to try and stem the bleeding, it was quickly cut down along with two more mutants which were behind it by a stream of lasers.

Glade dragged the unrelenting heat of his weapon across a line of mutants and discarded an additional four of it's members, steam coming off of their burning bodies as they fell. As he ran out of ammo, inclined to do some more damage, he severed an arm of a mutant which was carrying an assault rifle. It dropped the fallen weapon along with it's limb to the ground, blood leaking out. Before either could do anything else, a bullet to the head quickly ended it's miserably existence.

Dusk, coming up on his rear, wasn't wasting anytime counting up her kills with each bullet that struck. A super mutant holding a nail board went down first, dead before it even hit the ground, one. Next, a pair with assault rifles tried to bombard her with bullets but before they could even pull the triggers, two shots cut through the air almost simultaneously before they too drooped dead on the ground, two, three. Then, above the mutants' advancement was an arm suspended in the air, a grenade grasped in hand. A devious grin crossed her face as she took aim at the small oval shaped object, which appeared no more than a blur in the crowd, and took the shot.

Super mutants, left, right, and centre went flying into the air, four, five, six, seven.

Screaming to the top of her lungs at her small victory, barely cutting over the sound of battle, Dusk failed to notice a super mutant coming up her rear. It had come out of a nearby alley, flanking the Brotherhood party who appeared too preoccupied at the force in front of them. The mutant, armed with a shovel, was about to make short work of the now panic struck woman, who turned just in time to see the weapon coming down upon her head.

The blow knocked her clean off her feet and dropped to the ground, her weapon clattering after her. Her helmet absorbed most of the blow and barely felt a dull ache in her head, probably due to the adrenaline coursing through her, she reasoned. Looking up, the mutant was about to deliver the killing blow, weapon over head, and she threw her arms up to protect herself.

It never came.

Kodiak, who had hung back until now, swung his super sledge with an al mighty strength upon him and struck his enemy right in the face. The mutant, having not expected the sudden attack, flew backwards and landed on the ground with a loud thud. Dusk lowered her arms and caught the end of her brother's valiant rescue, watching as he pulled a laser pistol out of nowhere and unloaded the entire clip into the mutant as it rose it's head to greet him.

The threat, now over for the moment, turned back to his sister in arms and offered a hand, which she gratefully took after gaining ahold of her weapon again. She wanted to thank him for his rescue and apologize for her reckless behaviour but as soon as she was on her feet again, a couple of super mutants managed to break through and charged at them, weapons raise.

Both were temporarily fazed at their sudden appearance but before either could recover and retaliate, the mutants were quickly turned into a pile of ashes. They turned to see their sentinel, aiming with deadly precision, taking out another two mutants before her rifle clipped empty.

"There's too many of them!" she roared over the ongoing battle, replacing a fresh clip into her gun before taking fire again, Kodiak and Dusk now at her rears.

Despite having killed over twenty of their opponents in the initiate attack, the stream of super mutants seemed never ending, and Sarah briefly wondered if they had even made a dent within the force. Her question was answered as a mixture of bullets and lasers shot out on the ground before them and ricocheting off their armor, forcing them back.

"Retreat!" she yelled as the Brotherhood party starting backing away from the advancing force, shooting as they went "Fall back and regroup!"

Though this wasn't the first time Lyons' Pride have fought overwhelming odds, coming out on top every time, this was by far the worse they have encountered. Usually, the super mutants would track in smaller packs then this, sniffing out and cornering their prey before they pounced. Even when she remembered the time they faced super mutants overrunning the Galaxy News Radio station, not to mention the additional force of a Behemoth on their side, never had their been this many together at once.

Sarah decided to lead them back towards the building they had previously set up base camp in and hold out until every single one of those god damned super mutants were sent back to whatever hell they came from. Or so she thought.

"What the hell does he think he's doing!?"

Gallows, however, had a different plan of action in mind.

At his retreat from the mutant party earlier, thankfully not within their line of sights when they opened fire, he crossed past them and immediately dropped to one knee, turned, and joined in the fight. He had positioned himself where he was practically in the middle of the street and picked them off like flies, one by one. As Lyons' Pride made their retreat and backed further and further away, he had yet to even move from the same spot he had resided in.

"Gallows!" Sarah practically roared with rage "I said fall back and regroup, soldier!"

He didn't listen. Instead, he pulled a grenade out and tossed it towards the ongoing wave of super mutants which threatened to run him over. As soon as it hit the ground, an explosion filled the air and brought the mutants to a temporarily halt, which he took the chance to bolt down towards a side street.

"Gallows!" she called out to him but didn't give the slightest indication he had heard her and disappeared into the distance.

She cursed that man for his incompetence and made a promise to knock that man in two once this was all over before she ordered everyone to follow him, Sarah in the lead.

"Where the fuck does he think he's going!?" Glade spoke at the rear, turning back ever now and then to immobilise of any mutants that threatened to get too close.

"Who cares! That son of a bitch is going to get us all killed!" Dusk's voice was laced with venom as she spotted an nearby alley in the passing with a mutant hidden inside, disposing of it quickly with her rifle, glad she didn't make the same mistake again.

"Save your breath!" Colvin paused mid-sentence and took a shot at a mutant carrying a missile launcher from behind, killing it quickly before it could fire on them "We have bigger things to worry about!"

Sarah silently agreed and focused on her surroundings as they passed, in hot pursuit behind their seemingly crazed comrade. The street appeared thinner than the one they had been fighting at only mere moments ago and was littered with vehicles of the past. Though their wasn't much space for them to maneuverer about, it most certainly did slow the pace of their pursuers.

But so it did their own.

"Incoming!"

They turned their heads back in time to see a super mutant had retrieved his fallen comrade's missile launcher and took aim towards them before the flying projectile began soaring though the air, getting closer and closer with each second. Fortunately, it's aim was way off and flew right over their heads but they still instinctively lowered their forms as it passed, hitting an old car further up the street which went up in flames at the contact.

Then, as they passed the demolished vehicle smoking in flames, an idea struck Sarah's mind.

Acting quickly, she reached into one of the hidden compartments of her suit and pulled out a grenade. She stared at it for a second, turned to see the mutants gaining ground on them, and shouted out a warning. She tossed the firebomb, not aiming directly towards the mutants themselves, but the vehicle in passing which landed directly on it's hood.

Now she just hoped their was still some, if any, fuel left inside that wreck of a car to explode!

Thankfully, her question was answered in the response of a fire ball going up into the air. The vehicle, now engulfed in flames, flew up into the air where it remained suspended for a second before crash landing back onto the ground. Some of the most unfortunate super mutants who got in it's way, looked up at the flying object over their heads, their screams cut short as it came tumbling down again.

Sarah allowed the smallest of smiles to cross her face as the squad praised at a job well done before moving on.


For the next few minutes, the chase turned into a game of brahmin and deathclaw; The Pride tried to out maneuverer their pursuers while the super mutants followed with an urge to get ahold of their prey and ripe their inside out. Having been too preoccupied with the super mutants from doing what they so desired, had lost visual of Gallows during all of the commotion.

"Does anyone see him?!"

They searched desperately for their comrade, wondering if the super mutants had somehow gotten ahold of him, before they had no choice but to move on from the still advancing horde upon them.

"Now what are we going to do!?" Kodiak inquired, taking pot shots at the mutants with his pistol, the super sledge strung across his back.

"Keep moving and don't stop!" Vargas tone was both firm and fierce as he spoke "We're exposed out here!"

Sarah had to agree, they were indeed exposed out here on the streets of D.C with no cover, no back-up, and nowhere to hold out in sight anywhere. Though it pained her to leave one of her men behind, she had to think of her squad and their safety.

Up ahead, there was a street breaking off into two different directions. The left path, which appeared to be an old highway, was covered with rubble, debris, and old run down vehicles. Though it looked clear of any hostile inhabitants, it would prove to be difficult to navigate through. On the right path, however, was clear of any such obstacles. She was just about to announce where to head towards next but was cut short as more mutants appeared, blocking their path.

Cursing out loud, they had no choice now but to turn the other way and hope for the best.

As she assumed so before, it proved difficult for them to move through the street and if it wasn't for their power armor which they wore, might have tripped over the passing obstacles. Forcing herself to focus, Sarah looked towards the vehicle directly in her path and, without bothering to go around, jumped on top of the roof and lurched forward. She landed as gracefully as her armor would allow her to before heading down the road, the horde trailing behind.

Fast approaching, a bridge overhead appeared on top of their heads and, as they passed under it, saw what Sarah presumed was some sort of abandoned checkpoint in front of them. An old military truck remained stationary behind a blockade of sandbags, cement blockades, and a few skeletons wearing old army wear. Past this lead them towards a tunnel where they could seek sanctuary.

"DAMN IT!"

If the entrance wasn't covered with cars and rubble, blocking their path and trapping them in place. The super mutants, realizing they had trapped their prey at long last, approached through and over the rubble, eager to get their hands on them. Sarah looked back towards the horde fast approaching, cursing their luck, with a single thought in mind.

They had nowhere left to run.

Now, it would be a fight to the death.

"Spread out and find cover!" quickly taking control of the situation, she ran facing towards the mutants and fired upon them "We're making our stand!"

Just as Sarah ran out of ammo, she threw herself back first into the cement blockade with Vargas and Kodiak by her side. Glade hung back a bit, however, taking cover at the rear end of the truck where he could move more freely but still kill anything from getting too close. That just left Colvin and Dusk, who had decided to set up near the mouth of the collapsed entrance, using the vehicles as cover.

"Lord, have mercy..." Colvin mumbled a quick prayer, silently hoping for a miracle.

So it began.

Fortunately, most of the super mutants appeared to be carrying melee weapons such as boards and bats with the odd one carrying super sledges every now and then. As they grew closer and prepared to charge through, they were shoot down from a distance by Sarah and Vargas, holding down the fort. Those lucky enough to have gotten arms length towards them were quickly beaten to the ground by Kodiak, smashing their skulls in, before returning to position. With his trusty old laser pistol in hand, he helped fend off the mutants from getting too close, making every shot count.

Despite this, there was still a significant large number carrying weapons, both ballistic and advanced alike, such as assault and laser rifles. Any who tried to fire upon the three at the front, Glade quickly came to the assist, mowing down the mutants before they could inflicted any real damage. Those which he couldn't kill were momentarily distracted, more than enough time for the front runners to take them out.

Some among the horde carried explosives and heavy artillery though they were quickly taken down from two Colvin and Dusk's part, who had started off a bet on who can kill the most mutants, easing the worry slightly of being overrun at any moment.

"That's twelve so far!" Colvin shouted over the intense battle, ducking behind cover to reload his rifle. Just as he loaded a fresh clip into his gun and popped back out to take the shot, Dusk beat him to it, stealing his kills.

"HA HA HA!" Dusk cheered "seventeen more kills for mama! Better step up your game, old man!"

"I would like to point out that-" he said, taking a shot with his gun mid-sentence "-cheaters never win but in this case, I'll let it slide this time!"

"WHO ARE YOU CALLING A CHEATER!?" she screamed with sudden aggressiveness, taking out another three mutants "SEXIST PRICK!"

Unaware of the conflict occurring between the two sharpshooters, Sarah quickly ducked behind cover again, unloading a used clip with laboured breath. So far, they have held off the fast approaching numbers of mutants from overwhelming them but she knew it was only a matter of time. They were just too many of them with too little ammo to go by.

At risk of having her head blown off, she peaked out of cover and assessed the situation. The waves of mutants she found on the other side greeted her and though their size had barely withered, they were slow going. The terrain covered with piles of brick and concrete bided The Pride a few precious seconds just to keep the ongoing force at bay.

However, that was the least of her worries at the moment.

While Sarah swept her eyes around the area for a possible escape route, glancing up high on the bridge, a lone figure stood above. Squinting her eyes to get a better look at the said figure, she noticed it was carrying something big and heavy looking on it's shoulder. Holding it with two hands and facing down towards the end of the road, it's gaze appeared to be focused on two things...

Colvin and Dusk.

Before she could turn and shout out a warning, a laser beam out of nowhere hit her full force in her face, knocking her to the ground.

"SARAH!" Glade screamed to the top of his lungs, eying the super mutant overlord responsible. Consumed by rage, he focused all of his attack on the beast in his sights, ammo running dry and mutants pouring in.

Vargas, shocked at the downfall of their Sentinel, recovered just as quickly as it came and ordered Kodiak for a status report while he cover fired for him. Ducking low to prevent the same fate their fallen leader had obtained to befall on him, he crouch walked towards her and pulled her back against the safety of cover. As Kodiak went to remove the now half-burnt, half-shattered helmet which she wore, her own hand reached up and yanked it off her head.

The moment that hunch of scrap of a helmet was off and tossed to the side, now showed the face of a beautiful woman who looked like she walked through hell and back. Mixed with her blond hair and blue eyes, her face was covered with grim and sweat though Kodiak wasn't sure it was from the on-going battle or her near death experience just a minute ago.

But knowing Sarah, she was probably just really pissed off right now!

Before any words could be exchanged, the figure from above which turned out to be a super mutant carrying a missile launcher, fire a shot directly towards the two sharpshooters off in the distance. Glade, taking cover behind the beat up old truck once again after having dealt with the overlord, saw the missile flying over his head and towards his comrades.

"GET DOWN!" was the only thing he could say as the missile hit their target.

Having noticed the missile upon them, Colvin and Dusk dived for the ground as it hit the tunnel's collapsed wreckage. Though having avoided that, the towering pile of concrete exploded into the air and, having little to no time at all to react, the pair were immediately covered by the piles upon piles on rock. Having witnessed all of this and again consumed by a burning fury, Glade attempted to shoot the mutant above them down but it was a lost cause for the low range weapon which he carried.

Without Glade's weapon keeping the mutants at bay and the loss of their sharpshooters, the mutants regained their footing and drew closer to the remaining members of the Pride.

Temporarily fazed from the blast, Sarah shook her head out of her trance and watched the chaos unfold before her. Kodiak was by her side, popping out of cover every now and then trying to fend off the massive horde with his pistol. Vargas was doing the same, only with his laser rifle, and as if realization had hit him, Glade snapped his attention back to the horde, swearing loudly as he saw his weapon was out of ammo. She search for Colvin and Dusk off in the distance but came up with nothing other than a huge pile of concrete which now resided where they had been before.

Watching the events unfurl, the mutants almost upon them and what's left of The Pride trying to oppress the oppressors, there was only one thought that came to her mind.

She failed.

She failed herself as leader and Sentinel of Lyons Pride. She failed her men, her comrades, her brothers and sister. She failed all the people back at the Brotherhood, people who looked up to them and admired. She failed the people of the Wasteland, people who relied on her to protect them from the very beasts which we about to slaughter them all.

And most of all, she failed her father.

She wondered what he was doing at this very moment; tending to the duties as the Elder of the Brotherhood, writing off reports, checking up on various projects, and discussing with Rothchild the repairs on Liberty Prime? Or was he preoccupied of the well-being of his daughter, thinking about her where he sat, unknown to him that she might be ripped open like a can of cram at any minute?

Knowing him, it was both.

She chuckled at the thought, finding difficultly at this small action, and took in a laboured breath. Her eyes averted to her weapon laid on the ground and reached down to grasp it in her hands. As soon as it did, she fell back against the concrete blockade, crumbling with every shot and laser fired upon it. She checked to see if it was fully loaded and, with the last of her ammo snapped into her rifle, let out the last breath she would every breath.

Or so she thought...

Above her, the mutant now having set it's sights on them with the missile launcher, was about to take aim and fire when suddenly it was knocked off it's feet and pushed to the side. At the same time, it's finger gripped the trigger and fired downward towards the passing mutants below. It screamed, plundering down after the missile and the mutants realized too late what was happening before an explosion filled the air.

Super mutants went flying up high in the air, some flailing while others remained still, before they all came crashing back down to meet their fates.

At that moment, everything, including the very air went still. Both the super mutants and Lyons' Pride looked up to see a silhouette standing above them, the sun to it's back. It showed the outline of a man, holding a gun Sarah had never seen before, standing by the very edge of the rail without a care for his safety. Though it was hard to see, she could see he was wearing a duster flying with the wind and a stormchaser hat concealing most of his face.

If Sarah wasn't at the verge of being ripped apart from the super mutants, she would have thought the scene to be badass.

Having recovered from the sudden appearance of this stranger, the super mutants started shouting insults like "stupid human" and "stupid little man" up towards him and took aim from below. It was at that point when Sarah Lyons, for the first time in her life, ever agreed with the super mutants and hoped to be the last.

Without any hesitation, he jumped off the rail and plunged straight down towards them with what Sarah thought to be the biggest grin she'd ever seen on his face.