Sorry for the delay, but I made this chapter extra long for everyone, along with some action. Hope you enjoy. (Also hope you enjoyed those oneshots, those were meant to just more character, well, to my characters.) ~LilPepoClap
Alex's shoulders shook, his chest heaved and his arms were protecting his face. He let out a scream. "DAD! I'm gonna kill everyone one of 'em. Tear them to bits. Parade the bodies. Revenge. H-"
Sarah woke with start and immediately pulled out the 10MM Pistol in her nightstand. She looked down the night sights at the door, waiting for it to be blown open and Enclave members or NCR assassins sent to take out the Lone Wanderer and the Elder.
Then a weep and a shake from the body lying next to her. She tossed the pistol onto the nightstand, before shaking the body of her unconcious husband. He woke with a start. His usual upbeat and joyful eyes were visibly shattered and glazed with tears.
She wiped the rivers under his eyes and looked at him. "Was it, I-it was your dad right? That's what the nightmare was?"
Alex sighed and nodded his head. "I just want the pain to go away, Sarah. I just want to be truly happy. Every time I close my eyes, the faces of the people I've shot dead flash before me. I… I just want to go to sleep. Real sleep."
Sarah nodded. "Want me to get something for you? A tranq or something?"
Alex shook his head. He took a breath, his shoulders relaxed and he laid down on the bed. He reached out for her hand. "No-no. I... I just. Sometimes I forget you guys are actually here. I don't have anybody but you, Sarah. And now Elizabeth." With that, he got up and padded his way out into the hallway. He opened the first door on the right side and stepped inside. Sarah hot on his heels.
Laying before them in bed, was Fawkes? Alex nearly burst out laughing. He turned to Sarah, who had her right hand covering her mouth. He muttered out a weak, "Shit, sorry. Second door."
This time, 'Beth was laying before them, Her small twin frame considerably smaller than Fawkes' three king sized mattresses. Her small form was under her pink Brotherhood covers, her right hand laying ontop of the left wing. Despite being asleep she still looked full of energy. Alex took Sarah's petite hand in his, intertwining his fingers with hers. "You guys really are real. Shit, even Fawkes."
That earned him a giggle out of Sarah.
This time, when Alex awoke, it was because it was daylight. He nudged his sleeping wife on the shoulder and slid his legs over the edge of the bed.
He pulled on a pair of grey sweats with a black hoodie with the B.O.S logo embossed on the front. He slipped his feet into a pair of ebony combat boots and stood up.
Sarah stood beside him. "God damn. What's the commotion going on in the living room?"
Alex perked up, his senses becoming fully wake. Yeah, he heard voices. He stepped into the hallway and the both of them were in engrossed in a horde of Alex's companions.
Fawkes and Dogmeat first noticed them and soon all of them were assaulting the couple.
Alex staggered back, gripping his temples. "Everyone! One at a time! What the hell is going on?"
Star Paladin Cross was still sitting on the blood red couch. She muttered a single word. "Butch."
Alex perked up. Fawkes and Dogmeat both tugged at him, pulling him in view of the monitor.
Charon was leaning against the wall in the back, cleaning his shotgun. He pointed to the monitor. "Shit is hittin' the fan."
Alex glanced at his childhood tormentor. "Butch? What's your SITREP?"
Butch shook his head. Alex could just barely make out the background. Seems like he was in the transmission room in the new West Wing.
"Dude. We've got more ghouls than ever. Patrol are getting attacked, tension has shot up. But the main thing? Two Vertibirds flew in and crashed. However, they managed to contact us. Here's the recording."
Butch pulled out a USB stick and jabbed it into the monitor.
Alex's eye widened. As the recording was loading he glanced at Sarah, whose brows were furrowed.
RECORDING FROM UNITED STATES OF AMERICA VERTIBIRD [CORRUPTED]
DATE OF RECORDING [CORRUPTED]
LOADING… Please wait.
40%
60%
80%
100%
"This is Courier Six, I repeat Courier Six. From the Mojave Wasteland. We have two 'birds from the Brotherhood of Steel, West Coast. For God's sake we come in peace. Don't shoot us down."
Butch reappeared. "Yeah. You got any idea who those guys are?"
Alex muttered to himself. "Courier Six… Courier Six. Doesn't ring any bells. What happened to her?"
Butch smirked, "This is where it gets crazy! Just like you an' that other guy, Jayden, she's got a shit ton of people with 'er too!"
Alex nodded and grabbed Sarah's hand. "Thanks Butch, I'll get on the next Vertibird to the Capital Wasteland. See you in a couple of hours."
He went to the Armory and nabbed a Grenade Rifle, his M1911 'Price' and his AER9 'Archangel'. His eyes kept leading him back to a case of rifles. "Uh… screw it, why not?" and took a 20ga Shotgun.
He threw on a B.O.S Combat Armor and opened the door to step back out to the hallway.
Sarah grabbed his wrist and pulled him back to their bedroom. "And you think you're gonna leave without me?"
Alex sighed, "Please don't make this harder than it has to be. I don't wanna leave either, but you've got to stay for the council. If you were still a Sentinel, i'd be different."
Sarah's grip loosened. She blew out a sigh, "Fine. But you've got to come back safe. Don't make any decisions without me there. And for real. Do not get hurt, or else I'm gonna beat you to death. I can not tell our poor daughter that your gonna be gone for another three weeks."
He smiled, "Don't worry. I won't." With that, he stepped out into the hallway, remembering to open the second door on the right.
Butch sighed and grabbed his P90 from the grimey table it was laying on. He pulled a scribe to the side and asked, "Do you know where the crashed Vertibirds are?"
The redheaded woman looked at him and spoke. "Crashed right in front of the White House one of 'em. The other just missed the Washington Monument and crashed somewhere in the trenches. According to reports, that one is very destroyed. It landed two and a half hours ago. A recon team is getting prepared to head to the one in the trenches."
Butch nodded and thanked her. Before he walked away he spoke over his shoulder, "Me, you and the utility closet later?"
He received a finger for his troubles.
Cass clutched her arm. She dozed in and out of consciousness. She let out a groan of pain. Flames were everywhere. Lining the cabin of the VTOL aircraft. She glanced at the closed door of the cockpit. She used her right arm, her good one, and tried using the chair next to her as support.
She managed to get into a crouching position before losing strength and hitting the floor. She let out a grunt and rolled over.
As she dozed, she could feel people moving around her, and screaming. Her eyes opened to Boone lying on the floor next to her, clad in NCR Ranger Armor but missing his helmet. Blood oozed from a wound in his armor.
Cass's eyes gazed at the Courier. Alice was clad in her own set of NCR Ranger Armor and firing her Ranger Sequoia at a ocean of ghouls.
Cass closed her eyes and let out a whimper of pain. She felt herself getting pulled up by someone. She looked up and saw the face of a NCR Trooper gazing back at her. The NCR soldier handed her his Varmint Rifle, a magazine and pulled out his 10MM Pistol.
She felt his fingers grab the back of her armor and haul her out the aircraft. She heard him fire three times and let out a order the remaining crew. She hefted the Rifle up and fired. Her arm ached. Why didn't he get the rifle?
She looked at Six again and saw her firing an entire magazine of 5.56 into a squadron of ghouls moving in on her.
Cass looked back at the mangled aircraft and saw three people walking out with visible wounds. Where was Boone?
The man hauling her around let out a curse and fired into a horde.
Cass kept dozing off before she felt herself get hauled up and hefted onto a shoulder. She let out a gasp of surprise before looking at the amount of ghouls heading towards them.
She raised her rifle and fired hot lead into a Reaver and saw him crumple to the ground in a heap of red.
She fired her entire clip, taking down several walking corpses. She turned her head to look at the man carrying her. "Uh, Trooper? Name? Stop swaying me so much! I'm getting dizzy."
The man looked down at her and spoke softly, "Ben Karamine. Don't have much time, I'm gonna get us into a building. I don't wanna die in enemy territory." He grabbed the Varmint Rifle from her hands and gave her the much less heavy pistol.
Cass nodded and started firing again. She spoke again. "God damnit, there is too many of 'em! Our guys aren't gonna make it! Leave me here so I can kill the rest of them!"
Ben stopped for a second, before continuing on. "And let you get eaten here? I don't want to leave my men but I also don't want to die! You and me are the only people I care for at the moment. God bless the rest of them, but I'm not getting gnawed to death."
Ben had a point. What was she supposed to do with a handful of shots and no scope?
She groaned and clutched her arm. Her stomach slammed a fist into her side, where a wound she didn't know she had, bled more.
Ben kicked a door of a building wide open before running up the stairs. He reached the third floor and opened a door and stepped inside.
He set her down before pulling out his field kit. He tossed aside three MREs, a handful of spare mags, and water. He got to his medkit and pulled out several bandages and antiseptic.
He took off her Kevlar Vest and lifted up her shirt, exposing a gash coming from her abdomen to her hipbone.
He sucked in a breath and cursed. "God, we gotta get you to a medic. Fuck! Look I'm not gonna let you die."
Cass smiled and spoke, pained. "I don't wanna die either. Hold my hand okay? Keep me on this side of the abyss.
Alice gripped her Service Rifle tighter. She fired off another burst before taking two steps back. She held the M16A1 in her right hand and lifted up her M9 Bayonet in her left. Two confident ghouls stride up and took a swipe at her. She sidestepped and stabbed one in the head, facing little resistance from the skull. She fired twice at the other ghoul before pulling out her knife and getting ready for another wave.
Two NCR Troopers fired to her right before a distinct scream hit the air. She turned to see one of the men getting pulled into the horde of zombies by the neck. A ghoul slammed into her side, taking her off her feet. Her rifle flew from her hand and struck another ghoul.
She stabbed the ghoul in the neck with her combat knife and received a stream of blood to the face. She sputtered and pulled the body off her. She pulled herself to a crouch before four more ghouls slammed their rib cages into her.
Four shots rang out. She looked up to see her Boone looking back at her with a rare smile. He was sat on the floor clutching his side with his modded hunting rifle in his lap.
He tipped his beret. Three more ghouls came and grabbed her. Boone himself was in trouble was pulled away from the wreckage and pinned as a pair of claws tore into his combat vest.
Alice let out a blood thirsty screech and threw the ghouls off her. She curb stomped one of them and fired at the remainder. She hefted her Sequoia and let out the remaining bullets into the ghouls tearing at Boone.
She stumbled her way to her Service Rifle before making her way to her lover.
Alex touched down at Six PM. He swung the vertibird cabin door open, and stepped out. His boots hit the decayed concrete of the Citadel. He looked up and holstered his rifle.
His eyes gazed over the crew of his welcoming committee. "Ad Victoriam. I'm here to link up with one of the recon squads to recover the inhabitants of the crashed vertibirds. Butch? Let's go to the Den."
Alex walked back to the dormant aircraft and pulled his duffel bag from his seat and slung it over his left shoulder.
As he opened the door to the Den, where just him and DeLoria both sat. He looked over at him, "You got any recordings on them? Our drones haven't picked up anything?"
Butch nodded and clicked the remote in his hand. Alex glanced over at the crash site in the trenches. From the outside, the Vertibird no longer resembled anything more than a hull of flames and scrap metal.
The drone started moving closer to the craft and started to lose altitude and they could see the detail of the crash.
Alex's stomach churned. His brothers and sisters lay near the craft. Three bodies in scorched Power Armor. He looked at someone stumbling out of the crash.
A woman, wearing T-51B. She spotted the drone and walked over to it. Her armor was stained red and brown. She reached out with her good arm and pulled the drone closer to her. She threw her helmet off.
A brunette woman stood, her nose broken, blood trickling from her face from a gash on her forehead and spoke.
"I am Veronica Santangelo, Scribe for the West Coast Brotherhood, we wish to speak to Owyn Lyons."
Alex saw as she slumped against a wall and stabbed a stimpack in her arm. He turned to Butch. "Guess we are going to go to that Vertibird."
Butch sighed, "The White House one has people still alive. Alot of 'em. They got attacked by a horde of ghouls and some Super Mutants. They are NCR though."
Alex sucked in a breath. "Call for Sarah. Let's get suited up." He got up from his chair and walked to the new West Wing.
Their wing. They finally got to renovating the exterior parts and they received a entire section of the wing devoted to them. Coming with a kitchen, four bathrooms, two master bathrooms, eight bedrooms two of which are the master bedrooms.
They received two spare rooms which they turned into their own state of the art armory. This armory was at least double the size of the one in the Boston Airport. All of his Power Armors lined one wall, with the other wall covered in shelves and cases containing weapons that would make even a pacifist drool.
Then, his T-45 Power Armor. His Medic Prototype that was given the Lyons' Pride treatment. Above it was a cryo case, Alex walked over and cracked it open, making sure it was still at perfect temperature.
That's where he stored, 'Archangel.' He put his hands on the back of the T-45F Lyons' Pride Armor and pulled it open. He stepped inside and was greeted with the familiar green HUD.
He turned to Butch. "Let's go fuck up some ghouls."