A/N: Ha. FF is being stupid and when I went to upload it didn't want to. So. Yeah. I wrote this while watching SSoHPKC(I like him but prefer FPSLetsPlayKyle…) do a play through. Just a warning, it's a long chapter.
LWLWLWLW
Jake slowly opened his eyes. His head was pounding. It was pitch black except for the moon shining on the water. It looked like a lake. Not a lake he knew. It was clear and beautiful.
But what amazed him even more he saw a figure bathing in the water. He felt intrusive but couldn't bring himself to turn away. The lady in the lake turned, arms covering her shapely figure. Green eyes pierced through the darkness.
She.. She was Evelyn.
Jake's eyes snapped open and he quickly looked around. Where the hell was he?
"Evelyn! Charon!" He called out, seeing nothing but pitch black. The smell of a recently put out fire was filling his nostrils. He fumbled for his Pip-Boy light, sleep clouding his mind.
"Hey, it's okay."
Jake gave her a confused look, as to why his head was killing him. His vision cleared and he could see the rising sun. God, why did they let him sleep when he probably had a concussion?
"We were close to a field and a Raider picked up a ball and threw it at your head." Evelyn explained, holding up the white ball as proof. There were a few dried drops of blood on the dusty ball.
"I got taken out by a, Baseball?" Poor Jake asked, incredulous. Evelyn snickered and quieted down when Jake gave her his most withering look.
"I have one thing to say and I'm done. Swear." Evelyn held up both of her hands.
"Fine. Better not make them your last words."
"That Raider girl sure had a helluva arm!" Evelyn giggled and collapsed against the ground laughing. A quick roll let her dodge Jake's fist.
"So what happened after that?" Jake asked, still a little curious.
"Well Charon still had a few grenades from scavenging and took out the Raiders while I dragged you to safety. You really need to lay off the Snack Cakes."
Jake opened his mouth to say something but it got stuck in his throat. His young companion stared at him, green eyes filled to the brim with curiosity. Jake tried to unsuccessfully stand, Evelyn catching his fall. Charon wasn't too far away and quickly made his way over.
"He's fine you over-protective lug. Now go keep look-out for our self appointed Sherriff."
"Simms?" Jake questioned, not being able to see anything past the pitch black except for a few buildings.
Evelyn shook her head.
"Evan King. We're in Arefu. Apparently some weird gang has been attacking the settlement and figuring that'd you be out for a while we decided to play lookout."
"Lucy's parents live here. I have a letter for them."
"Aw, Jake. You're just a regular delivery service aren't you?" Evelyn said with a playful smirk.
"Yeah." The conversation died out and Jake wondered how Evelyn knew every button to push with him. He didn't understand the fact that she could press every of Charon's buttons and never got a clear response other than a grunt. But when she messed with him he got clearly annoyed. But it worked both ways though. He still messed with her.
Jake remembered his Dad explaining to him when he was about twelve why Butch picked on Amata. It was because in reality he liked her. Even though as they got older it got worse and Butch's 'antics' got meaner.
He could only imagine Butch and Evelyn traveling together. Butch would pick at Evelyn just to get a rise out of her, and knowing Evelyn's hot-headed nature that wouldn't be too hard. The hard part would be to keep her from clawing his eyes out.
"Do you want something to eat?" Evelyn asked, looking over at Jake.
"Yeah. So where are the Wests?"
"Dead." She told him, handing him a couple of pieces of Mirelurk meat. He stared at the meat for a few seconds. Lucy's only family was… Dead.
"All of them?" He asked.
"No, we couldn't find Ian's body. King said he had seen the kid hanging around the Family."
"Who're the Family? They kind of sound like a gang."
"They are apparently. They're the people who have been attacking Arefu for a couple of weeks now."
"Well I guess we can take care of them for Arefu. We really need to see if they have Ian too. Where'd King say that they were hiding out?" Jake asked, going over all of the information in his head.
"The Moonbeam Outdoors Theater, Northwest Seneca Station or Hamilton's Hideaway!"
Jake considered all of these options until his stomach started rumbling. He looked up at Evelyn who was disassembling her AK74U and cleaning all of the parts. She loved that thing.
"Where are the Sugar Bombs?" Jake still wasn't used to the Wasteland food despite being out of the Vault for a little over a week now. The steady diet of the same food for years made Jake's stomach weak to harsh and mostly radioactive Wasteland food.
Evelyn handed him the box of cereal and he ate like a starved dog. Speaking of dog's, where was the puppy that Evelyn had attached herself to?
"Where's the dog?" Jake asked. Evelyn whistled loudly and put her gun down on a cleaning rag.
Jake saw a ball of brown fuzz bounding at Evelyn. She oofed when the puppy jumped into her lap. He looked expectantly up at her.
"I named him Dog Meat. Isn't that right, puppy?" Evelyn asked in a voice reserved for babies and puppies.
"Dog Meat? Where in the hell did you come up with that name? And did you give the dog a bath?"
"I don't know.. It's a story my Dad told me a long time ago about this kid named the Chosen One. He had a dog named Dog Meat. I'm not the best with choosing names so I gave him a simple one. And he likes it. Don't you boy?" Evelyn cooed and the dog happily licked her face.
"And yeah, Dog Meat got a bath. I wasn't going to let him run around and stink like he did." Evelyn took the Mirelurk meat Jake neglected to eat. She held it up and the medium sized puppy looked happily up at it. Evelyn told him to sit and placed a hand on his rump until he sat. She praised him proudly and gave him the cooked meat.
LWLWLWLW
"Evan King told us you were talking to Ian. Where is he?" Evelyn asked, clutching the envelope tightly in her hand. For once she was doing the talking. And Jake decided to let her keep talking.
"We cannot let you see him. He is being kept in a mediation room." Vance said coolly, stony face unwavering. Evelyn growled and headed down the stairs. Jake and Charon followed suit. Evelyn leaned onto the counter where the shop keeper Karl was standing. Jake couldn't help but notice Evelyn was showing her cleavage off.
She had found out the hard way that Ian was being locked in the room by a terminal. There was no way in hell she could hack it. She figured that everyone that were trusted by Vance would have it. Her best bet was the shopkeeper and then she would figure out what to do if her charming didn't work.
"Oh Karl," Evelyn purred. "I really need to see Ian. His sister Lucy really misses him. If you would happen to have the password to the terminal then we could see him and tell his sister that he's okay." Evelyn batted her long eyelashes. Karl's eyes darted from her cleavage to her eyes.
"What's in it for me?" He asked, still unconvinced.
Evelyn leaned in closer and stroked the side of his face.
"I'm sure I could come back here and make arrangements with you. But I have to talk to Ian first."
Karl flushed and handed Evelyn a piece of paper with the terminal password sprawled on it.
"Thank you, doll." She said, giving him a man-eating smile. Evelyn pocketed the password and headed up the escalator.
Luckily for the trio Vance was talking to his wife, back turned to them. She was smiling and looking at Vance adoringly. She wouldn't notice them as long as they were quiet.
They snuck past the married couple and Evelyn entered the terminal password, stuck in her mind were the instructions Jake had given her at the Washington Memorial.
In the middle of the room sitting at a table was a skinny boy with short brown hair. He looked up at them, sadness and surprise written all over his face. Evelyn stepped forward.
"You're Ian right?" Evelyn asked softly.
Ian nodded.
"You're sister is worried about you." Evelyn sat down the envelope and he grabbed it. His long fingers grabbed the envelope and opened it. He read the piece of paper, a single tear rolled down his cheek.
"What I did was terrible.. You know don't you?"
Evelyn bit her lip and gave a slight nod.
"You must think I'm some kind of monster then." Ian muttered looking away from Evelyn.
"No. I don't. I think you're a lost kid that misses his sister."
Ian didn't say anything. He got up and let the letter fall from his hand. He threw himself in Evelyn's arms and cried audibly. Evelyn blushed and awkwardly reached her arms around Ian.
"She misses about me enough to send someone to find me. I think I should go back to Arefu." He wiped his eyes and nose and let Evelyn go.
"I think that would be a good idea Ian." When Ian turned away from her she started her way out of the room. Jake watched her carefully. She was assuming a leadership role and to be honest he didn't mind.
Vance turned to her and Evelyn knew he knew. She didn't completely understand how he knew but he did.
"It seems like we have a lot to talk about the young one don't we?" He asked, voice silk and words carefully articulated.
"Yes we do. But first there's the matter of Arefu at hand. You can't just go praying on them everytime your hungry."
Vance chuckled.
"I think you should try blood packs. It's the same as drinking from a human." Jake interjected.
"Hmm. I survived many years ago by drinking blood packs scavenged from hospital ruins."
"Yeah so why don't you protect them in exchange for blood packs?" Evelyn proposed excitedly.
"Very well. Go to Arefu and return with their decision. I thank you for showing me that your kind can be trusted. It is a lesson that I will not forget. Now what of young Ian? Tell me of his decision."
"He wants to go back to Arefu."
Vance's face fell for a second before he regained his mask of composure.
"It saddens me to lose one of my flock but I believe everyone has to follow their own path. All I was attempting to do was guide him but it seems that responsibility has gone to you. I hope you will be more successful."
Vance unsheathed his sword and held it out to Evelyn.
"Please, I want you to take it. Consider it an apology for all the hardships you had to endure to find this place. Goodbye, human. I find our time together rather…" Vance grasped for the right word. "Educational."
Evelyn took the sword and examined it.
"What is it?" She asked.
"It's called a Shishkabab. It's a sword that uses flamer fuel to work. It has a switch on the side there that turns it on. I ask that you wait until you are out of the Metro to try it out."
LWLWLWLW
Evelyn and Jake had returned to Evan King who agreed to the peace agreement. They had gone back to Vance, and had a much easier time going through the Metro now that all the traps and Mirelurks were gone.
"Charon. I want you to go back to Megaton and tell Lucy the bad news. And don't forget to tell her that Ian is fine. Okay? And then stay there until we come for you." Jake handed him the key to his house and about a hundred caps.
"It's not much but we can't spare a lot. Sorry."
"I will do as you wish." Charon replied and started his trek to Megaton.
LWLWLW
"You ready?" Evelyn asked Jake. They had found themselves in another Vault. Vault 112, which had been hidden under a repair shop. Both of them had figured it was just a cover-up since the garage was far enough away from any major city. And Springvale didn't seem to be big enough to bring enough business to survive on.
"No. I'm starting to really resent my Dad for this. I love him and hope he's okay I just can't.. Forgive him that easily for leaving me in that underground shithole. Not that this shithole Wasteland is much better."
Evelyn didn't say anything else. From the side of his eye he studied Evelyn in the Vault 112 Suit. It fitted nicely on her, showing her curves that she normally didn't show off.
They found themselves in a room that Jake called the Atrium. It was a large room with a central computer and about 8 incubators.
Jake was accessing a computer and frowned. He walked to the incubator that was hooked up to the computer and peered inside.
"There are people in here. They're some kind of human preservers. Wonder how long they've been in here. Poor bastards."
Evelyn had no desire to see the poor people in the human preservers. Jake however kept looking through the terminals until he found one that puzzled him.
"Weird. They all had names except for this one." Jake walked to the incubator and pressed his face to the glass.
"That's my Dad!" Jake called out. He slammed his fist at the glass, not even scratching it. He took out his M-14 and smashed the butt of the gun into the glass. Still nothing.
"Fuck." He went to the last terminal and saw that no one was occupying it. He pressed the enter button to open it.
"What are you going to do?" Evelyn asked as Jake took his pack off along with his gun.
"Going to find my Dad. It's a Virtual Reality simulator. He has to be in there. Give me a day, okay? And If I don't come out by then Charon's contract and the house is yours to do what you want to with."
"That's crazy. You're going to make it out." Evelyn wasn't so sure but she wasn't going to let Jake see that.
"Yeah." Jake hugged Evelyn for a moment before stepping into the incubator. He scratched Dog Meat between his ears. As soon as he sat down in the incubator the top closed.
LWLWLWLW
Evelyn sat against the wall staring at that damned incubator. Dog Meat was laying on his belly, ears perked up. She was subconsciously petting the dog's now soft brown fur. His brown eyes were looking around, for any threats that would hurt his Master.
"What is it boy?" Evelyn asked; voice low and soft. It had been a few hours of waiting. Restless waiting. When the incubator hissed and opened slowly she jumped up. Jake got out, on wobbly legs. Evelyn was quick to help him down from the incubator.
She wrapped her arms around him and let out a sigh of relief. Evelyn felt Jake's arms reach around her. She relaxed into the hug, feeling more comfort than she had felt in a long time.
"Ahem.. Jacob?" It was that Russian accent that Jake was talking about.
Evelyn freed herself from Jake's arms and turned to the man. It was like looking at Jake, 30 years later. He had graying hair and warm blue eyes.
"Hey Dad." Jake mumbled hugging him for a second and letting go. Dog Meat whined at Jake's sudden mood drop and rubbed his head against Jake's knee. Jake kneeled down to pet the puppy.
"Dad, this is Dog Meat and Evelyn." Jake grabbed his M-14 and holstered it. He grabbed his bag and Evelyn did the same. He turned to his Dad.
"Why'd you leave?" Jake asked, voice filled with sadness.
"Project Purity. I had to get it working again. You were supposed to stay in the Vault where you had a future." His Dad answered.
"You could've taken me with you." Jake countered. He was fighting to keep composure and Evelyn could see it.
"No. You had a future in the Vault. And your Mother would've wanted you to stay in the Vault."
"Doctor Li told me about how you were working on this before I was born. So what, I was just another obstacle that you had to get out of the way before you went to coddle your damn project?"
"No, of course not. I love you so much Jacob."
Jake looked his Father in the eyes this time. James stared back. He had gotten the black hair and fair skin from his Mother. But the eyes were definitely his.
"I'm going to Rivet City, I would very much like for you to come."
Jake shook his head and handed his Father a shotgun.
"I have no desire to go with you for this project. I'm going back to Megaton. You coming, Eve?"
It was a stupid question.
"Of course."
"Let's go then." Jake set the pace at a brisk walk.
"Jake!" His Father called. Jake didn't look back. Just kept walking, Evelyn and Dog Meat at his side.
LWLWLWLW
Sorry for the emo-ish ending. Was listening to Mockingbird by Eminem. And I don't remember if Vance really gives you the Shishkabab or just the schematics. I really don't care lol.