Chapter 4

Parental Advisory

Richard sighed and walked out of the room.

He heard a long droning cry from the room. 'This isn't happening. This is just a nightmare, and I'll wake up soon.'

Then he heard the door being bumped. Then the noise got louder and louder. Richard's eyes grew wide as he heard the sound of wood cracking.

"Sweet Jesus…"

Then the door gave way and hit the floor. The small hybrid had knocked the door off its hinges. Richard was frozen in shock.

"…"

Eve Looked over the shoulder of the miniature deathclaw boy and whistled.

"That's something else. Well, you got your supersoldier." Richard sighed.

"Well, I guess it needs a name." He thought for a minute, then said the first, most generic name he could think of. "Alphonse. You know, because he's part alpha deathclaw?"

Eve rolled her eyes. "That is the dumbest name I've ever-!"

"A…al…" The young being began to repeat the word he had just heard come from Richard's mouth. Richard put his hand on his chin as the boy struggled to repeat the words of his creator.

"It's intelligence is above the norm. At least that part is as planned."

"Aaaaalphooonzzzzeee." Alphonse had already almost mastered his own name.

Eve had a bit of a scowl on her face and was glaring at Richard.

"What?" Richard was unsure of what he had done to infuriate her.

"Quit calling him an 'it'!"

Richard leaned against the wall. "Because if I refer to IT like a person, I might get attached, and that would negate the entire purpose of making a weapon out of it in the first place. In fact, I-!"

"Alphonse!"

Richard blinked in surprise. "I-it actually said its name…" Richard's ice cube opinion on Alphonse suddenly melted, his kind-natured personality, shining through. "You're right, Eve. Treating him like some sort of animal would just lead to disaster."

Richard got down on his knees and got on eye level with Alphonse. "That was good, Alphonse. Now, come with me."

This was going to be diffcult...

After a few attempts, Alphonse finally managed to pronounce Richard's name in proper. Sentinel Lyons soon arrived in response to the sound of the door crashing down.

"What's with all the- eh?" She noticed Alphonse.

"S-sentinel Lyons! I'll explain the it all in the report. It'll be on your front desk first thing tomorrow morning."


Judas stood next to an albino scorpion. "You smell it too right? Something's coming. Something big."

The monstrous being clacked its claws and hissed.

"Yeah… it's a deathclaw. Oddly though, I sense no hostility."

The scorpion shuddered in anticipation.

"Let it come. I shall retrieve our friend Eve and see if she can find out what it is doing in our territory."

The Scorpion hissed loudly and Judas kicked it in the side. "Don't. Attack. It."

The scorpion lowered its tail and bowed. 'Yesss… My king…"

Judas began a full speed sprint to the Citadel.

When he arrived he ran into poor little Alphonse. "Gah! Watch where you are going, you little-!" He then noticed that Alphonse was, in fact, not human.

"What the-!"

"Alphy! What did I say? You can't just stand in one place like that!" Richard ran over to Judas. "Sorry. He'll be less of a handful in a few days, once the growth acceleration process ends. What do you need?"

"Eve. Now." The hybrid-in-question appeared around the corner.

"Judas? What's up?" He grabbed her arm.

"You're preventing a war between the local deathclaws and my Albinos." The two took off at inhuman speeds towards Rockopolis.


Meanwhile the two monstrosities stared each other down, both tense. Soon, Eve and Judas arrived. The deathclaw immediately looked at Eve.

"Eh… I don't like this…" The two then realized that this deathclaw was shorter than Judas; it was just a baby.

"Mommy?" It sniffed Eve.

"Eh? I'm not your-!" Her mind flashed to memories, memories not her own…. Those of the Mother Deathclaw that was a part of the experiment that made her what she was now…


The mother deathclaw had just laid her first clutch of eggs as pack mother. She was young, but had been born into this role.

She proceeded to leave the eggs to the Alpha deathclaw. He would fertilize them, they would hatch, and she would care for them until they grew old enough to fend for themselves.

Then the Dark Ones arrived. The defeated the entire pack with their Death Bringers and captured her.

She woke up from sedation behind a semitransparent blue wall, staring at an attractive young woman shackled to a table, and an older man in a labcoat. The girl was screaming in horror and fighting at her shackles. The massive abomination began to panic… before being injected with a powerful sedative. Its vision went blank, its last sight the girl who would soon become cohort to the Messiah of the wastes.


"The…the mother Deathclaw that was used in making me what I am…This must be one of its offspring…"

Then the scorpion reared into an attack position.

"My King… It isss another…"

Judas nodded.

"Yeah… and I know this smell. It's the Alpha Deathclaw of the Deathclaw sanctuary, with two or three lessers." Judas turned to Eve.

"And he's here for attack!" Judas turned to the massive creature behind him.

"One Of Great Claws, ready an attack force; this deathclaw has invaded out territory once before, and I don't intend on another massacre like that time."

"Of coursssse, my king" Eve looked at him, confused.

"They have names?" Judas shrugged his shoulders.

"More along the lines of titles based on what they are good at. That one was One Of Great Claws, know for his ability to snap a human in half with his claws."

Eve rolled her eyes. "Pleasant."

Then, over a nearby hillside appeared an enlarged set of horns, followed by the Alpha Deathclaw they were attached too.

"Get ready. I don't know how he'll react when he sees you that close to that youngling."

Eve swallowed hard.

The Alpha approached Eve at a steady pace, the other two monstrous creatures eying Judas. The massive creature sniffed Eve then snorted.

"It smells like The Lost One, and yet also reeks of human." Eve discreetly smelled herself.

"Reeks is a strong word, not to mention incorrect."

The youngling looked from Eve to the massive creature. "But she smells like mother!"

Eve began to sweat. 'I really don't feel like becoming lunch…'

The alpha snorted again. "She is not the Lost One. She smells of fear." He turned to his comrades. "Kill her, for I do not wish to dirty my claws with a pitiful kill like this."

Eve's Eyes widened in fear as the other deathclaws entered their offensive stance.


Meanwhile, Richard had been trying to catch Alphonse before he wound up in the Patomic.

"Get back here!" He stopped to catch his breath.

Suddenly, so did Alphonse. He had a concerned look on his face.

"What is it, Alphy?" Alphonse looked at Richard.

"Angry lady is in trouble!" Richard was surprised.

He didn't know whether it was instinct or a sharp nose, but he decided to trust the young boy.

He also knew Eve would not be fond of that nickname.

"Which way?" The boy then began pointing West.

"Hold on." Richard hoisted up the boy. "Let's go."

He then proceeded to run as fast as he could in his Tesla Armor.


Eve dodged another blow from the creature she had been fighting. Judas was in the process of subduing the other deathclaw, although with minimum success.

'This is not going well at all.' Eve thought. 'Where's Richie with that gattling-!'

As if on command, a flurry of red lasers struck the deathclaw she had been fighting.

"About time!"

Richard nodded.

"Sorry, but I had to carry Alphy. That's how I knew how to find you. Boy's got quite a sniffer." Alphonse waved at Eve.

Richard proceeded to vaporize the two deathclaws one by one with his Vengeance laser.

The Alpha deathclaw heard the sounds of the lasers and smelled the charred flesh and turned around. He also smelled Alphonse, and growled.

"The Golden Devil and another alpha? Unforgivable!" He got into his attack stance and charged Richard.

Now, poor Richard was clueless as to the fact he was about to get blindsided, so when the massive hand hit him and launched him back about ten feet, he was needless to say flabbergasted.

"Woah. What just hit…" He saw the massive creature approaching. "…me." He meekly finished.

His gattling laser lie in pieces on the ground where he had been standing.

"Shit…"

He rolled out of the way, but a massive claw slashed his armor, causing it to slide off. Now his only protection was his old Vault 101 Jumpsuit.

"Figures. More hand-to-hand with a deathclaw. Pleasant."

He began to backpedal, turning to run after a while. The Deathclaw caught up very quickly.

"Time to put an end to the Golden Devil, once and for all!"

The Alpha deathclaw began a swing, but it was stopped… by Richard.

"…It's a good thing I'm prepared. You see, after my little tango with the Mother Deathclaw of Old Olney, I figured I might as well find a solution to the problem." He held up an empty syringe. "So I developed a special steroid, A super psycho with a deathclaw twist, if you will. Using my previous research, I concocted a blend of chemicals that allow me to mimic the strength and speed of a deathclaw, with an added bonus of resilience. The trade off, however, is that it sends my adrenal glands into overtime, meaning I can't use but a small dose at a time."

The Alpha brought down its other arm, and it was similarly stopped.

"Do you feel it? The fear that all your prey, primarily humans, feel? I hope so, because you-" Richard grinned like a madman. "-are about to die."

Richard released the arms and delivered an uppercut to the monster in front of him. He followed this by several punches and kicks. The Alpha was soon on defense, only able to guard against the onslaught that was Richard. Then Richard drew his .44 Magnum revolver.

"I'll be merciful and make this quick and clean.." He place the barrel on the monstrous creature's forehead. He began to squeeze the trigger when…

"Father!"

the youngling rammed Richard and sent the handgun spinning into the air.

"Oof!"

The small creature stood over Richard. 'Shit I forgot about this one!' He kicked the creature in the chest and it flew backwards.

"Now I need to waste a bullet on you." He retrived his handgun, and was about to fire when…

*SLAP*

Eve slapped Richard's hand, causing him to drop the weapon.

Here eyes could almost be described as animal.

"Don't. ." Richard blinked.

Eve had just slapped his hand. Kept him from shooting what would become one of the most dangerous creatures in the wasteland.

"Why?"

"She… she doesn't need to get involved."

Richard was now severely confused.

All the time Richard had been shocked, the Alpha had recovered. It began its approach to ambush Richard, but Eve pointed the handgun at the Alpha.

"You too. Both of you are acting stupid." She sighed. "Deathclaw or human, I guess men are all stubborn." Richard and the Alpha had a similar reaction.

"Wha-?"

"Such incsolence!"

Richard then noticed something.

"I-It spoke!" Eve punched him in the arm.

"Idiot. It's that crazy drug you took. Of course Deathclaws communicate, just not in a language humans can understand."

"Oh."

"Then he can understand that I wish to decorate these rocks with his entrails!"

"Dully noted, thanks." Richard was very displeased.

Eve growled.

"Don't you get it? All that fighting brings is agony." Eve threw the revolver to Judas, who caught it with superhuman ease. She proceeded to put her arms around the young deathclaw in front of her.

"Just because I'm part human doesn't change the fact that I'm also part deathclaw, and that part cares about the safety of her offspring. In a way…" She placed her forhead against that of the youngling's. "I guess I am her mother."

Both parties were more than a little surprised.

"…well, that settles that, right big guy? Thanks for taking her off my hands." Richard shrugged his shoulders. He proceed to walk away, with Alphonse in tow. He tugged on Richard's jumpsuit.

"Where do babies come from?" Richard's expression became one of immense shock.

"Uhh… I'll explain it when you're older. Much older." The alpha placed the back of its hand in Richard's path.

"With what she has become, I belive the pack will think of her more as food than a parent. Also, seeing as humans do not lay eggs, it would be unwise for our pack's survival. Would it not be more wise for her to be the mother for your pack instead?" Richard and Eve looked at one another and turned a deep shade of red.

"T-that's not how humans work…" Richard managed to spit out.

"Your species only has one mate? That does not seem like a strong plan for the survival of a species." Richard looked away.

"W-well… Females in our society who, ehhm… 'mate' with many men are looked down upon. And I don't really know Eve well enough to call what we have a true 'relationship'…" The large creature snorted, as if dissatisfied with Richard's response.

"Either way, she would be better off with humans, am I correct?" Richard sighed.

"I…Guess… but, what about that youngling? It seems rather attached to Eve." He nodded to the youngling in question, who was affectionately rubbing against Eve's arm.

"A valid question. Perhaps you could do to her what you did to him." The Alpha looked at Alphonse with what could only be described as a scowl.

"You know, that's actually not a bad idea. Just leave the scorpions alone, and we have a deal." The massive beast was silent before he grunted out a

"Deal, human."


After a long day, Richard sat in his chair, continuing the book he had began to read and started reading again. Alphonse had been discreetly moved to Megaton, and was on the floor playing with an old toy car. Eve had decided to stay at the citadel with the youngling, so it was relatively quiet. He soon sent Alphonse to bed, and relaxed. Things were finally going his way…


An enclave officer walked through metal hallways lit from below. He opened a door and saluted.

"Sir! We have unconfirmed reports of-!"

"Now, lieutenant, what have ah told you about speculatin'?"

"My apologies," The chair the powerful figure sat turned around, revealing… "President Autumn."


END CHAPTER 4

As mentioned last chapter, I edited out the "Daddy" and "Mother" parts of the story that involved Al, changing when he said "Mother is in danger" or whatever to "Angry Lady is in danger", and ommiting an entire section about the term "father".

Kept the "Where do babies come from" part because it was funny.