[Disclaimer; I don't think this needs saying, but just in case Bathesda gets a stick up their ass, I do not own Fallout or affiliated materials in any way shape or form. I am merely borrowing them for my own amusement.]
I jumped up from my couch, bathed in sweat, the scream that must have been ripping threw my throat only leaving a raw reminder in its wake. I spun around in circles. My living room was all dirty and rusted… holes everywhere. I didn't understand what was happening. I wanted to call out for Nick, but my voice caught and I couldn't force it out. When I spun to look down, what had been my hall way, a man without a shirt, wearing dog tags, and sharing Nate's eyes, was looking back at me. And for a moment, I believed it was him.
Without thought I look half a step forward, my dead husband's name on my lips, before I remembered the truth… remembered the man standing before me. Reality hit me then, and I suddenly remembered the last year of my life. I remembered the nightmare that taunted me with images of the face of the man that had been everything to me. And I remembered that he was dead… And this thing, standing in my hall way, looking at me threw Nate's eyes, was not him. Nate was gone… and this man… he was simply here to haunt me. A reminder of all that I had lost.
I snapped out at him then, "What?"
The poor man just dropped his eyes, replying firmly with, "Nothing," before vanishing back the way he had come.
I truly hadn't meant to be so cold to Danse, but his eyes. Just that look he could get in his eyes was so like Nate it felt like a sharp knife, twisting into what little remained of my heart. They where different men, I knew that, but those eyes.
I instantly felt guilty about snapping and rubbed the back of my neck. It wasn't like it was the Paladin's fault I had nightmares, nor his fault he reminded me of my husband. It was just, really hard to deal with first thing in the morning. I wanted to apologize instantly, but found I didn't have the words. He wouldn't understand, and I didn't expect him to. I didn't expect anyone to understand.
With a shake to my head, I wondered over to my kitchen table and began clearing off the mess of papers I had left behind. I was silently sorting them into two piles when the Paladin emerged once more. Thankfully he was wearing a shirt, and didn't seem in the mood to talk, so I just continued working, doing my best to ignore him.
Jun stopped by about an hour latter, bringing me breakfast like always. "I always know it's dawn, cause I wake to the sound of Winifred screaming," he joked, trying to ease the utter silence he had walked into. While I had been around the man and his fellows for long enough for it to be a joke around here, the Paladin simply quirked a brow and looked at me. He was startled enough to wake up to it one morning. I could only imagine what he was thinking this trip with me would be like. Hell of a way to wake up everyday.
"Thanks Jun," I said, flashing the man a smile. I wanted to wring his neck, but Long was jumpy enough without me trying to kill him. Leaving enough food for two behind, the Paladin and I where once again left to our silence. I had managed to pack away the maps and gear we would need to traverse the glow.
Placing my, very full pack, on the ground and taking a seat at the table to begin eating, I glanced over at Danse. He just remained sitting on the couch, staring at the food like he was starving, but making no move toward it. I mentally remarked on how rare it was to find someone with manors in this day and age before calling out to him, "Help yourself. I can't eat all this."
A look of utter shock crossed the man's face but the smallest smile touched his lips, "Thank you."
I found myself smiling, despite my best efforts not to, and extending my hand the chair across from me, "Have a seat."
Slowly, as though weary of a wild animal, the Paladin crossed the room before taking the chair I had offered and grabbing a few slices of the cooked Tato and Muitfruit. While Brahman meat was considered some of the best food out there, I still hadn't quite adapted the new taste of cow this world had created and slid the plate to the side, helping myself to more tato. The oddest… food, but quite tasty. Danse seemed to figure this meant he could have some of the meat, and happily he dug into it.
We ate in silence, but not uncomfortably, mostly just enjoying the feeling of a full belly. Lots of travel meant light meals and it really wasn't often someone in the Commonwealth had enough food to fill their bellies. Even someone like me, General of the Minutemen. Sure, I could probably demand to be fed better, and no one would argue with me, but I never did. I was given enough to live on, and occasionally enough to be full. That was more then good enough when plenty of others where starving.
Finishing eating before the Paladin, I stretched lazily in my seat. I didn't really remember the last time I felt so… comfortable, but I wasn't about to question the sensation. Instead, I elected to enjoy it, smiling softly to myself as I thought about nothing in particular. There was a long day of walking a head of me, a few nights sleeping on the hard ground and then a radioactive pit to deal with after that, but for this moment, I didn't feel the need to worry about that.
"I thought you're name was Fred," Danse spoke suddenly. His own belly seemingly full.
"Only Jun calls me Winifred, and the only other person that chose to do so before him was my mother. Fred is shorter and simpler," I replied with a shrug. My mother died long before the war. I've had plenty of time to accept her death, even if it was 200 years latter then it felt.
"I've never heard that name before," continued the Paladin either trying to hold some sort of conversation, or prodding for information. Either way, I didn't really find I cared. It was almost nice to talk to someone just after breakfast, like Nate and I used to.
"It was an old name… even 200 years ago. Not surprising you haven't heard it," I replied with a slight smile. I could tell my answer confused the poor guy more then give him an answer, but he didn't really need to know more. "Besides, I prefer to be called Fred, so if you don't mind Paladin, just call me Fred."
"Danse," he said, just as I was drinking my water. I didn't quite catch his words though and had to quickly swallow to ask him to repeat himself. "My name is Danse," he said with a light smile. "You're not a member of the Brotherhood, so I don't expect you to use my title. Danse is fine."
I didn't want to smile, but I could feel one creep into place just the same. I shoved my cup of purified water in front of my face to hide it from the man across from me.
We set out for Diamond city a little less then an hour after that. While I had grown used to the constant company of Dogmeat, the sound of the Paladin in his armor was something completely different. It sounded much louder, like thud from his metal boots carried for miles. I knew that wasn't true, but with him walking so close behind me, that's certainly how it had sounded. For the first half of the day I had to grind my teeth just to keep myself from telling the man to be quiet. For some reason the sound just echoed in my ears, making me feel like I could hear nothing else. When a radiation storm came in from the south, forcing us to hunker down till it passed, I had officially hit my last nerve and felt like I was biting my tongue in half, just to keep from saying something I knew I'd regret. He wasn't doing it on purpose, I knew that, but if I had to hear the creak of his armor for another second, I was going to shoot Danse in the head, and pretend I'd never heard of him.
We sat in silence as the storm ragged over head causing my pip-boy's built in Geiger counter to give off the occasional click, despite our shelter. Danse had removed his helmet inside the old broken home and leaned back against the wall as he watched the green clouds swim by.
As he watched the storm, I found myself watching him. When he wasn't looking at me with those strong, but tortured eyes, I could see nothing similar between this man and Nate. Danse had a stronger jaw, thicker neck, more scares, and he was far dirtier then my husband had even been. No one was really clean in this world, but I found I liked the distinction. If I could separate the Paladin from my spouse in my mind I might be able to become friends with the soldier.
All to suddenly the man looked back at me though, and all the differences I had found vanished all at once. Those where Nate's eyes. Same color, same shape, same tortured look to them. It ripped at me to look at them, and that irrational hate I had for Danse surged to life all at once. I turned my head, sharply, from the man at once and began watching the sky while he watched me instead. I found the feeling of him watching me almost as impossible to bear as the feeling of looking into his eyes. I could feel the urge to snap at him boil up inside me again, and was biting my tongue to keep it from miss behaving.
"Fred?" he asked, softly for a man that size.
He was trying to draw my attention, but I stubbornly didn't want to give it. Instead, managing to keep my annoyed tone from my voice, I replied, "Yes?"
"Why do you hate me?"
The question was so shocking I flipped my head to look at him before I had a chance to consider just what that might do to me. He was obviously confused, I could see it written all over his face but there was something else. I wasn't sure what, I thought I knew those eyes, but I knew it was something, "What?"
"Why do you hate me?" Danse repeated, now looking at the ground, like I had shammed him.
Without those eyes to tear into me, it was easier to form a reply, "I don't hate you… presay. Just… your eyes." My admission seemed to surprise him almost as much as it did me. His eyes snapped back up to mine, tearing into me again. I was the one to look away this time. "They… Your eyes remind me of someone. Someone… I lost a while ago. I really don't mean to be so… difficult. You can just be hard to look at. I'm sorry for that."
I thought I saw the Paladin nod, but couldn't risk looking to be sure. Those eyes had power over me, and my even letting him know that was a big mistake. He could affect me, and out here in the world that I now lived in, that was a dangerous thing. It could easily get me killed some day. If not today, then another day.
Danse was shifting slightly, and when I looked over, he was putting his helmet back on. I thought, for a moment, he was doing it to be kind, when I realized my pip-boy hadn't made a sound in a while, and he was really just getting ready to leave. I felt the blush threaten to color my cheeks, but smacked myself in the leg as I pushed up from where I was sitting so the pain could force it away instead. I was the General now. General's didn't blush like school girls.
In an attempt to forget my revelation, I called out to the Paladin, "We need to find a place to cross the river and then make our way east to Diamond city. If memory serves, there's an old broken overpass spanning the river another hour south from here."
"Sounds about right," he answered, his voice altered by the helmet shoved over his face. "Why Diamond city?"
I began leading the way once more as I answered his question, "A man there by the name of Nick helped me track down my current lead. Before we go traipsing threw the glow I wanted to speak to him and make sure I had all my facts right."
"Understood," Danse called before we once again fell into silence.
I hated wondering threw the ruins of Boston. The towering gray masses that used to be the hub of economics and commerce where simply shells of their former glory, housing raiders, ghouls, and super mutants. From every dark corner an ambush lied in wait. No matter how quite or careful one was you ended drawing attention to yourself. Raiders wanting your gear, ghouls simply wanting to destroy you, and the super mutants who wanted to eat you. They poured from the allies and broken buildings like a flood of chaos and your only choice was to run. There where too many to fight, and the sound of your trying would only draw more. How Diamond City managed to thrive in the center of this hell was a mystery to me.
The moment the towering structures came into view, I began skirting south. An old farmhouse with a view of the city would give me a chance to get my guns ready, and spare ammo within easy reach. I wouldn't be able to avoid some of the fighting, and I knew better then to try, so I wanted to be ready for when it happened.
Danse just trialled me in silence. If he wondered what we where doing, or why we were going so far south before heading into the city, he gave no indication.
Slowly, I inched my way towards the farmhouse, tucking my shotgun into the pocket I had made for it in my pack in favor of my pistol. I had cleared this place of farrels a while back, but like the raiders of the commonwealth, for every one you killed, two more seemed to take their place.
Crouching low to the ground, I turned to the Paladin and simply held a finger to my lips. His silent nod was all the confirmation I needed before slowly beginning my forward momentum. I didn't hear any movement but ghouls where known to remain inactive until they sensed movement. As quietly as I could manage, I swung the front door open and scanned the ruined living room. There where corpses in various states of decay strune about the place. The only ones I was sure where not farrels where the bodies that had decayed to only bone. Every other one I scanned and made mental note of as I wondered slowly forward.
That was when the ring of Danse's laser rifle caught my ears, rousing a few of the bodies. I cussed heavily as I leveled my 10mm and aimed for the heads of as many of the moving corpses as I could manage. Apparently there where even more of them up on the second floor as three more ghouls began running down the steps, coming for me, forcing me to back out threw door, firing as I went. When my back collided with something large, and cold, I almost shot the Paladin spinning around to put more distance between me and the people eaters following me.
With an utterly blank face, and the cool precession of someone who'd spent their life firing a gun, he dispatched the ghouls filing out the front door with a few pulls of his trigger. I would have thought the display impressive if I wasn't utterly annoyed with him being the reason I was overwhelmed. "Do you not do quiet?" I nearly screamed at him, spinning on my heel to head back into the house. "Trigger finger, go check the second floor," I barked, angrily yanking my pack from my back and slamming it down on, what remained, of the rotting couch.
Danse said nothing, and simply forced his large, metal clad frame up the stairs. I heard a few extra pops of his rifle as I began digging for the extra shells and clips I would need to have within reach. The vest I had picked off a gunner I killed one of the first few months I spent out in the wastes had more pockets then I ever thought I would need. Well, I used to think it was too many. Then I began filling those pockets with bullets and found myself wishing for more.
The thud of his heavy boots was all the warning I had that the Paladin had returned. Even with only a day of travel together under our belt, I was getting a feel for the man. He didn't like to talk unless he felt the need, and he never talked unless it was to learn something new. Idol conversation did not seem to be his forte. He was an experienced, and gifted killer. The Brotherhood was lucky to have him working for them, even if they dismissed his ability under a word like duty. He was a dangerous enemy to have, and I was secretly glad he wasn't mine. At least for now.
I tossed him some brahmin jerky I'd packed for the road, and munched on a few tatos. The sun would begin sinking below the horizon soon, and while darkness made it harder to see your enemy coming, it also made it harder for them to see you, and I preferred getting to Diamond city with as much ammo as possible.
Avoiding looking at Danse's face, reviled since he removed his helmet to eat, I pulled out one of the maps of the glow and began programming my pip-boy with some of the data points I would need upon first entering the area as I ate. Multitasking was one of the few skills I had acquired before the war that I found useful even after.
"We'll make for Diamond city after nightfall," I said, more to myself then the Paladin. "If we're lucky we'll avoid the bulk of raider and super mutant attention. We can rest there for the night, and stock up on a few things before turning south and heading into the glow."
"How long do you think we'll need to wonder the glow before getting to where we're going?" Danse asked, speaking for the first time since the radiation storm.
I cast a quick glance in his direction before returning my attention to the pip-boy, "No idea. I haven't really wondered around that area before. If my information is correct, probably two or three days. Depending on the trouble we run into as well. Rumor has it that a number of deahtclaws roam that region." The man may be a walking tank, but I saw even him react to the mention of deathclaws. Anyone with a lick of sense in this world knew to fear the deathclaw.
My sharp tongue and joking manor got the better of me, a smirk lifting my lips as I said, "Don't worry Paladin, I won't let the big lizards eat you."
"They're more likely to enjoy the taste of the lightly armored female with a big mouth," he replied, catching me completely off guard.
My eyes where wide as I stared at him in shock. "Why, Paladin, did you just make a joke?"
Those haunting eyes turned to me, the smallest of smiles lifting his lips, "Members of the Brotherhood don't joke. We kill."
I laughed slightly, despite myself, shoving the last of tato into my mouth as soon as it was safe. While this trip, so far, had been nothing but tension, it felt a little eased just then. Despite knowing he was, it was nice to have it confirmed that Danse was human, and capable of more then spying and killing.
"How long have you been with the Brotherhood?" I asked, still fidgeting with my pip-boy. I found I didn't really want the silence to come back, now that we seemed to actually be speaking.
"Well over 10 years."
"A carear man," I said to myself, clicking in a few extra reference points to the glow on the mini map that came standard on my useful wrist accessory. The device, itself, auto mapped the world as I wondered threw it. If a location was special, I just attached a tittle to it, and bam, perfect record of where I had been, and how to get there again. Say what you will of Vault-tech, they knew how to make useful equipment when they wanted to. And when they didn't want to experiment on you.
"How long have you worked for the Minutemen?" Danse asked in return.
I knew he was likely fishing for information, more because he had to then because he wanted to, but turn about was fair play, so I shrugged off my urge to make a snarky remark, and answered him, "A little over a year now."
"They made you General after only a year?"
"Well, when I joined, there was only one other Minuteman. Some kind of infighting killed off the rest and made the few that where left scatter to the winds. It was before my time, though, so I don't know the details. But when I started helping out, Preston decided that I was better in charge then he was, so he made me General, and since there were no other members to argue the appointment, General I became."
The Paladin looked at with a mix of disbelief, and confusion, "But the Minutemen are everywhere."
"Now," I replied, half laughing. "It wasn't easy to unite all the small farms, but with the numbers we have now, we're more like an army then a band of farmers."
"Do your farms come standard with artillery, or was that something you added?"
I looked into his eyes then, trying to see his intention. It took a lot of effort to ignore the way those eyes made me feel, "I don't think it much matters. We have them, and we use them to keep people safe."
He was now scrutinizing me, digging for some hint in my eyes, "You have enough fire power to conquer the commonwealth."
"Then I suppose everyone should just be grateful that ruling the world has never been one of my ambitions."
I could tell he didn't like my answer, but he seemed to be learning that my snarky attitude was a defense mechanism and didn't push the issue. Just burned a hole in my soul, holding my gaze with his, trying to find the answer buried in my hazel orbs.
"What about your Brotherhood? You've come in like an invading force, with more then enough men, power armor, and ships to make a good push at taking the Commonwealth. Why the display?"
It was his turn to turtle up. His job was not to give me intel, but to get his own, and I could see him weighing the different things he could say in his mind, before he shut completely down. I could read the stubborn refusal to speak easily in his eyes. Nate had had that look in his eyes once or twice.
"Tell you what," I said, pulling my eyes away after a long moment, "you keep your secrets, and I'll keep mine. I don't know why the Brotherhood is here, and you don't know just how much fire power the Minuetmen have. Just know, the people of the Commonwealth will die to keep the few freedoms we've managed to obtain."
I didn't wait to gauge the Paladin's reaction, and instead pushed up from the rotting couch I was seated on, throwing my pack over my shoulder. The sun was in its last moments of setting, and by the time we reached the broken buildings that made up the bulk of Boston's power before the war, we would be bathed in darkness.
We sprinted from ruined building to ruined building, trying to keep out of sight as much as possible. Fortunately a sudden rain storm was masking the thud of the Paladin's boots, meaning we had reached the main gate to the city with little, to no shots fired. A few dead mongrels, and one unlucky raider where all that we had come across. The guard knew me at once, and despite casting Danse a suspicious look, let us right in with out so much as a greeting.
I led the man, quickly, threw the dark, make-shift ally ways, until we came to Valentine's door, and pushed it aside, ushering Danse in before casting a look back the way we came. I wasn't sure the Institute was watching me in Diamond city, but I figured, if they where smart, they had a few of their, cleverly disguised synths keeping tabs. Other then taking my son, and having my husband murdered, the bogyman of the Commonwealth had yet to interfere with my actions. But that didn't mean they weren't watching.
When I finally entered Nick's place, the Paladin had his gun pulled, and pointed right at the mechanical man. "Whoa!" I yelled, jumping between the barrel of the Paladin's gun and my friend, "What the hell are you doing?"
"He's a synth," Danse replied, his helmet altering his voice and keeping those dangerous eyes from view.
"A broken, discarded model, yes," replied the detective, flicking the cigarette he had been smoking. I doubted Nick really had lungs, and always just assumed he did it because the man he had the memories of used to do so.
"He's my friend!" I said to the soldier, moving with the Paladin as he tried to get a clear shot on Valentine. "I won't let you shoot my friend!"
Whatever Danse was thinking, I couldn't tell, but the jerky way he lowered his gun, but didn't put it away told me he was at least not going to start shooting. "You can't trust him," he said to me, so softly I almost didn't catch his words.
"To what do I owe the honer of nearly getting killed today?" Nick asked at last. I kept my attention on the Paladin, even as I moved around the room to spread one of my new maps over the table. Boy did that soldier not like me doing that. I swore I could hear Danse growl.
"Thanks to… some new friends, I have maps of the glow, before the bombs," I began while putting some cups down to hold the edges of the southern most map in place, before I began pointing out some caves. "I wanted to check with you before I went running off into the glow, instead of just trusting that these," I said with a tap, "are the caves I'm looking for."
Valentine put of his cigarette in one of the nearby ash treys, before taking a step closer and looking over the map for himself. "South west of the impact crater, which should be… here," he said while pointing out the area, "and the caves Kellog picked out where… here… Well, as long as thees are accurate, it looks like the right place to me. But then again, we are basing this hunch off half the brain of mad man."
"Yeah, a mad man almost as old as me, and with a lot of Institute knowledge in his head," I replied. "I suppose it comes down to whether or not we trust the source of information."
"It's a big risk to take, kid," offered Nick, his synthetic features conveying his worry. "This is not a place you want to get lost in."
"I know, but what choice do I have? I need to get into the Institute, and the man hiding in these caves just may know how to do that."
"I know, Fred, I'm just worried is all," offered the synth, lightly patting me on the back. He was good at being comforting. The real Nick must have had a knack for putting people at ease. "Are you setting out now, or will you bother to sleep for a change?"
I smiled slightly. I loved the detective's sense of humor, "We'll stay at my house for tonight, and stock up on a few things before heading out tomorrow. I know better then to wonder into a dead zone on no sleep."
"Sometimes I wonder about that," Valentine joked, lighting up another smoke while I rolled the maps back up. "Who is your new metal friend, by the way?" he asked, indicating Danse. "I suddenly don't feel so special."
I laughed, "This Paladin brought me my maps. He has his reasons, but it seems the Brotherhood is looking for the Institute. The enemy of my enemy, as they say."
"A dangerous enemy," commented Nick when the Paladin said nothing.
"Don't speak to me, machine," curtly answered Danse, earning a glare from me. His gun was still down though, so I just let it slide.
"Not the friendly sort, is he?" joked the metal detective, before turning back to me. "Just be careful. The Brotherhood isn't known to be forgiving, or to cooperative."
"Thanks Nick," I said, patting him lightly once the last of my materials where put away.
With one last smile, I left my friend's home and made my way back around to the main market area. I bought the house here back when Valentine and I where working together frequently, and it seemed easier to have my own home then to rent a room at the Dugout every time. I never kept anything important in the city, just in case people went poking around when I wasn't here. The city bread thieves, a truth that hadn't changed after the bombs fell, and with the Institute planting fakes in the place of people, it didn't seem wise. I also lent the space out the any Minutemen whom happened to be in the city, so I left nothing I cared about here.
Once we reached home plate, I pulled out my key, flipping threw the massive ring that had become my collection over my travels, and pushed the door aside, using my free hand to gesture for Danse to head on in ahead of me. I couldn't really see his eyes in his helmet, but I could practically see the glare on his face.
The moment the door clicked shut with me on the other side, the Paladin opened his mouth to speak, helmet hurled across the room like it annoyed him, "What the hell are you thinking, showing Brotherhood maps to that… that..."
"Synth?" I supplied, vividly recalling the distaste he displayed for the things back when I helped him get that piece of tech he needed.
"How do you know you can trust it?" he screamed at me slamming one of his metal fists into the table that had been laden with forgotten bottles of booze.
"How do I know I can trust you?" I was angry then, and I shouted back, not afraid to stand up to his, much larger frame. My question seemed to throw Danse, because he just looked at me like I was speaking madness. "That "synth" is the one that led me to this point. I wouldn't be so close to finding my son without him. And then you Brotherhood fucks just show up and demand I share everything I know with you, only offering scraps of paper in return. I've seen that machine take a bullet to save me, and I've seen him risk his mind to bring me closer to the truth. WHAT THE HELL HAVE YOU DONE?"
My outburst either shocked the soldier, or my words hit home for him, because he backed away a step and looked down at the ground, as if he felt shame. I glared at him for a few moments before slamming my pack down on the table and pulling out my notes. I kept a full record of events on my pip-boy as well, but something about paper just made me feel better. Probably due to nostalgia for the days I would poor over old text books, copying any old law or case that seemed to matter. If I only knew how useless that knowledge would be now.
I heard the decompression of his armor as he released himself from its trappings to better maneuver in the much smaller space. While my home in Diamond city was rather large for a dwelling in the city, it didn't really take power armor into account. The low ceiling and narrow stair case would have made it almost impossible to move around in such a space.
I was still angry, however, and refused to look at him, even when he joined me at the table. He brought over his laser rifle and several instruments he would need to clean it, but was making no move to do so. Instead, he was just watching me. Watching me write things on paper, file them into my pip-boy, and then repeat the process with the next set of information.
"The Institute took your son?" he asked suddenly, jarring me from my thoughts. I hadn't realized I had been screaming about that until just then. It wasn't something I was really trying to hide, but for some reason, his knowing made me feel much more vulnerable.
With a deep sigh, I sunk into the chair sitting there for use, burying my face in my hands. I didn't really want to talk about this, but I was the one that brought it up. He knew one way or another now. "Yes," I sighed out at last, doing everything in my power not to look him in the eyes. I really didn't want to see Nate in them right now. "They murdered my husband in front of me, to take my infant son out of his arms. The man who pulled the trigger is now dead, but the Institute still has my son, and I will stop at nothing to get him back."
A few moments of silence ticked by at the Paladin absorbed what I told him, before asking the next question, "Do I remind you of him? Your son?"
I glanced up at those fucking eyes of Danse's. I didn't see much of Nate now, but I could see how easily I drew that comparison. "No, not my son."
The Paladin was blessedly quiet for a few moments. He had picked up his rifle and was absently going threw the motions of cleaning it. An action he had likely done so often it was engrained into his muscle memory.
"Why dose the Brotherhood want to find the Institute?" I asked at last. He knew my reasons. I felt it was only fair I knew his.
Danse glanced up from his task to stare at me for a few moments. He seemed to be trying to decide what to say. "To destroy them."
"Why?" I asked, leaning back into my seat and leaving my mess of papers where they lie.
"They're creating machines that perfectly mimic humans. Their abuse of technology is apparent, and their motives unknown. They are a danger."
I stared into those eyes, trying to find the lie. I could spot it in those eyes any where. Nate always said he couldn't get away with anything with me. He tried throwing me a surprise party once, I had to act surprised for it because I could see his plan in those perfect eyes. Whatever the truth was, the Paladin believed what he was telling me to be true, at the very least. After a slight nod, the soldier returned to his task, his gun already in pieces as he cleaned the individual parts.
[A/N; I don't normally like to do these, but if I feel the need, this is one of the best ways to talk to all you lovely people following my… well, I call it an addiction, but don't tell people I said that. Anyway, I just wanted to inform all you beautiful people that I am a terrible speller. I also don't have an editor, I can get cranky about things when people mess with my work, so me and editors don't really get along, so the only person proof reading this is me. Again, I can't spell. Not my strength in life, so you will find errors. Let me apologize in advance for any you may find. If you want to send me a message, letting me know I messed something up, feel free. Constructive criticism is appreciated, as long as it doesn't mess with my story, but for spelling I do take advice. I hope you have all enjoyed so far, and keep liking and following. Also, I did get one review, so thank you to whomever that was. I would name you, but you where simply titled guest, so… Anyway, the next chapter will be up as fast as my fingers and brain can get it down, and please review!]
