Greetings Wastelanders! This is your savior of words, GODO! Here to bring you another chapter in the life of our duo, Naruto and TenTen. Comin' at ya with the truth, no matter how bad it hurts. And now, for an important PSA! I am deeply sorry for last chapter, as I had promised an updated list for TenTen, the first footnote of her leveling up process... But we shall rectify that by giving you the footnote THIS chapter. I have put in several precautions, and even a friend who will remind me day in and day out until I finally get the thing sorted. So look out for the Footnote at the bottom of the chapter!

Godo, signing off. Enjoy the next chapter of our daring tale...

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After meeting with the nice Ghoul behind the desk of the gun and ammo shop, also known as Tulips Outfitter's, Naruto and TenTen had gotten quite the haul. With the small collection of weapons they had gotten from the raiders in the tunnel, they had managed to get a good assortment of items for their new directive.

Not only did they get a decent amount of ammo, mostly and only for TenTen with a single clip of 10MM and a box of ten more bullets, as well as six more shells for her shotgun, and lastly ten bullets for her rifle, with a single clip packed with five rounds. Not to mention the medical haul. The Ghouls didn't need much medical supply, especially the radiation prevention supplies. They got another full bag of Radaway, two syringe's of Rad-X.

Due to Tulips kind nature, she even threw in Stimpacks, since they were way overstocked with the useless thing, to them anyway. Since the medical supplies were so cheap, and the ammo not as overpriced as in Rivet City, they not only saved caps, but also managed to profit with the metal from the guns they sold, which the Ghouls sorely needed for their statue for some reason.

With a hug from TenTen, which Tulip was shocked from but very welcomed to, she and Naruto walked out of Underworld, prepared for the next run. Although, as they entered the lobby, TenTen had a thought. "Where is Vernon Square? How do we reach it?"

Naruto stopped, making her stop. After a moment, he looked to her and was frowning. "The hard way... It's damn near suicide for most. That side of DC is where the Super Mutants are trying to get to. They've stormed through there, trying to find every last shred of pure human gene's. It's like they expect to find them in the rubble of the city. Whatever they are looking for, they are fighting to get it. And the only way in? Is through the metro. Metro Central Station to be exact, and the only way there from here is through Museum Station. Right under the Washington Monument."

TenTen tensed up at that. The only way forward, was to step back into those tunnels with the Ferals. "There has to be another way.. right?"

Shaking his head, Naruto stepped up, walking forward. "Sadly no. But there's some good news and some bad. Bad news is, they are probably still mad we came into their territory down there, and won't let us pass... Good news is, I might have a plan to get past them. Though that may be a false hope... She doesn't like being bait."

As they went out, Tayuya was sitting there smoking a cigarette. TenTen smiled. "everything calm out here Willow?"

Tayuya scoffed a bit, looking at TenTen in a calm but annoyed glare. "Not your friend, bright eyes. Be glad Naruto sticks up for you, otherwise you'd have not set foot near that door. So, everything set then?"

Before TenTen could talk back to Tayuya, Naruto stopped her, answering instead. "We're off to help some friendlies. But the way we're going is back down into that metro..."

Standing up and flipping the cigarette behind her, she blew smoke as she talked. "that's suicide and you know it. What Smoothskin bastard you need to go find this time? Don't tell me it's a Brotherhood buddy."

Naruto smirked. "No, it's a Ranger. Or a couple really. Last I checked they weren't enemies." Getting a scoff, but no denial, he continued. "Listen. I need to ask a favor. The Ferals down below? I could probably outsmart them and lead them into a trap to kill them, but seeing as the good doctor still has his experiments, it would be a good idea to keep them alive. So in order for me and TenTen here to get down there, and keep those things alive, we need them to not look our way."

The shock on the red-headed Ghoul's face was apparent, skin or not. "You're shitting me right? You want me to go down there as a distraction? The hell Naruto, I like ya, but that's just cruel!" The snarl appeared once more after the shock vanished.

Nodding, Naruto sighed. "I know it's a bit much to ask, but seeing as they don't attack kin, it's not like I am putting you in any danger. Besides, if you wrangle them in an area, the doc can handle it from there. Pretty sure you'll get something for your initiative for helping. Maybe even some more cigarette's."

Thought TenTen wondered what naruto was taking about, with Ferals not attacking kin, she seen Tayuya suddenly start thinking, looking from Naruto to the metro. After a few minutes she sighed, huffing as she crossed her arms. "Fine, but only because I need you to get through with your mission and kill that snake... get suited up, and wait five minutes, I'll wrangle them up and you'll be free to go through, you fucker."

As she turned to walk away TenTen decided to thank the woman for the help. "Thank you Willow. We appreciate the help." Getting a wave off, TenTen just accepted that as the best she could get. Naruto went to get his gear and she turned to him. "Feral's don't attack normal Ghouls?"

Getting each piece set out to put on, Naruto explained. "They are all Ghouls, so it's an instinctive nature. Feral Ghouls lost their damn minds, thus why they are no more than zombies, but their instincts tell them who's friendly or not. Meaning normal Ghouls are friendly, Smoothskins like us are not."

Accepting that, as it made some kind of sense, she just waited for Naruto to finish and for Tayuya's time to count down. It didn't take to long before they started going down, Naruto's Pip-Boy keeping the time for them.

Though the risk was high, they had managed to time it perfectly, as Tayuya had finished getting the Feral's corralled at the opposite entrance. Sneaking past, and down the first set of stairs to the left, they went down the first tunnel they could reach. Tayuya yammered on the Ferals, but seeing as they didn't understand her really all she was saying was directed to Naruto. "Now hurry your asses up before I come beat you senseless! Damn asshole, making me do this!"

TenTen couldn't help but snicker at that, though she kept quiet about it so the Feral's didn't come down to eat them. It didn't take long until they reached a room with a pool table and beds in it, but what was actually surprising was the amount of dead here, an abysmal one.

The dead Raider was not mutilated, but he was bitten into quite a lot. The room was closed off, no doors outward. Looking to her blond companion in armor, she frowned. "Where to? This place seems like a dead end..."

Looking to her, the armored blond came up to a yellow device on the wall, and looked to her to his right. "You might want to step to the side a little."

Not understanding too quickly, the bun-haired Vault girl looked to the button and then under her, and seen the floor was different. After a moment, she realized it wasn't a floor, and stepped to the side, as requested.

Naruto pressed the button and the floor came to life, opening upwards before sliding the metal doors into hidden slots, awaiting to be activated again. Naruto started down the stairs. "Come on, we better hurry before the Feral Ghouls decide to come back around this way. We gotta close the door too."

Quickly, TenTen jumped down and followed the blond through the passage, stopping to watch him close the hidden passage doors again with the other side's button. Coming through the small passage, they opened the door next to what seemed like a maintenance room for workers.

Coming into the next area, the two were met with little resistance, Naruto still on guard for anything. Same was said for TenTen, who was looking behind them as they walked through the tunnels. The threat of Feral Ghouls was still high, after all, so they kept to the shadows and watched their step for any empty cans or bottles, shattered glass and more.

With the duo being as silent as they possibly could, they quickly noticed that they were not alone. Sounds from above as hissing and grunting were heard. Naruto looked to the brunette, pointing up and whispering the instructions. "We need to go up..."

TenTen wasn't liking the fact they would have to run past more Ghouls, but seeing as it was run past ghouls or face Super Mutants, she would rather risk running at that point. Besides, it was quicker running this way than running the high route.

Sneaking to the right side of the tracks, they climbed the broken escalators to the top railway that ran perpendicular of the bottom rails. The blonde noticed they had enough room from the seven Ghouls in the room to just sneak into the tunnels they needed to go into.

Being lucky so far, the duo snuck into the darker tunnel, hoping to quickly get into the doorway ahead. Getting there was easy enough, but as they got into the doorway, Naruto stopped them. "Alright... give me the med kit and your arm..."

They had talked about this. Inside this room, and around the corners ahead to enter Vernon Square, were large barrels of radioactive goo, vats of pure radioactive chemicals. They would need to use their Rad-X compounds to safely pass without averse effects. Giving him the needles, Naruto quickly shot himself up as she put the rest of the kit away.

Giving her arm, Naruto held it softly, looking to the brunette. "Close your eyes, and think of something that gets your blood pumping." Closing her eyes, TenTen thought of her dad, of what he would do and why she needed to do this. She had to, for her sake, Reilly's sake and her dad's sake. She needed to be stronger, for everyone.

Feeling Naruto tap her arm, she looked down to see him putting the gauze on. "Alright. We run, don't look back. Anything in front of us will either be mowed down or shot down. Keep your legs quick and your hands swifter."

Nodding to the Blonde, TenTen grabbed both her shotgun and pistol, ready. Naruto twisted the door hinge in, the bars of the door opening. Sliding the door open, Naruto ran in, TenTen swift behind him. Seeing the small room filled with barrels, the young woman could feel the heat of the radiation, the stink of it, and had to shield her eyes as she focused on the door ahead, Naruto opening it roughly.

Getting in, the two stopped for Naruto to close the door, slamming the lock closed, but not permanently. Looking ahead with her guns forward, TenTen seen nothing ahead yet. "Clear."

Leading them over a bridge to what looked like a rather well equipped area, the brunette looked back to the blonde. "This a safe house for you?"

Shaking his head, Naruto stopped her. "I've been around the Wastes enough to know what's what. Tunnels are just trouble. Building any kind of bunker in one will just enclose you. Whoever was here is either dead, or managed to get lucky and escape to the surface."

Looking down, Naruto noticed the traps in the corridor that had no ceiling, five of them with four activated, and feet chopped off in the tripped ones, with two Feral ghouls dead down there, one missing a leg. "I'm guessing the latter, if they were smart enough to put traps."

Moving forward when Naruto pointed, TenTen soon came around the corner to see a dead man, and looked saddened. "Or the former... Poor guy... Even his dog..."

Coming around, Naruto seen the man who once lived her, his dog mutilated beside him, but in his arms, as he himself had bled out from rather serious injuries, three Ghouls around him and dead. "The wastes are unforgiving..."

Bending down next to the man, TenTen looked at the final face of the man, although half ripped, looked in grief. He hadn't the will to live after his dog died. Even when there were plenty of medical supplies here.

Hearing a box open, TenTen looked to see Naruto opening one of the crates on the shelf. "What are you doing?"

Looking to the young woman, Naruto sighed, grabbing a module of some kind. "One of the rules of the Wastes, never let anything go to waste. Whoever this guy was, he was obviously trying to live in safety and solitude, just relax and not have to deal with the many burdens out there. I don't know how he got his supplies, but he rationed them out well it seemed. He could have lived here for another month before going to the surface again to hunt. He was slowly building a barricade too. But little good it did him to the Horde unleashed by those Raiders. If we don't grab what we need, we'll likely fail later."

Putting the module in his pack, he came up to TenTen, offering a hand. "We need to grab what we need and can carry, then let the man and his dog rest in peace."

Looking to the man once more, TenTen sighed. She didn't feel right taking what he built to survive. But Naruto was right. If they didn't grab some of these supplies, it would either go to waste or be used by others, who might have ill will in their hearts. Standing on her own, TenTen turned to Naruto, wiping the tears she had in her eyes for the man and looked hardened. "We take only what we need, leave the rest for any other survivors passing through."

Getting a nod from the Blonde, the duo made a quick sweep of supplies. The man had a limited supply of Ammo, however it was enough for TenTen and Naruto. Getting three more 45 magnum rounds and a full box of 10mm bullets, 20 rounds in total, their handguns would be better off in the long run, with a box of 12 shotgun shells, luckily in TenTen's range.

Grabbing a few cans of food, they also grabbed the Stimpacks that were unused beside the man, three of them. As Naruto went down the stairs, TenTen noticed an inhaler. It had red inside the tube. Looking at Naruto, then to the Jet, she grabbed it. Even if Naruto didn't want her to have it, she knew one thing. It had helped stave off the horde back in Museum station. If there were any more Ghouls, they needed to have every edge they could get.

Pocketing it quick, she followed Naruto down. Seeing the blonde at a medical box, through what looked like a generator room, she seen him take some supplies. "Anything good?"

Pulling out a few items, he nodded. "Not much. But I found one more Morphine, and another brace, with a roll of Gauze. No Stimpaks, must have brought it all to the top." Putting the supplies in her pack, the brunette followed the blonde further through the halls. They passed by a staircase up, and went into the room with the traps, under the bridge they crossed. Coming to the open doors, they both seen the sewer had some radiation vats. The slight green tint to the air was there.

Turning to TenTen, the blonde gestured to put the face mask on. "Try to breathe slow and steady, We're going to walk fast, but not try and run out of breathe."

Giving a nod, TenTen slipped her helmet on, taking a deep breath of fresh air whilst it lasted. With that, Naruto started a light jog, stepping in rhythm as he entered the tunnel. TenTen swiftly followed, shotgun in hand.

Running right and through the tunnel, the duo's luck finally ran out. Turning the corner, with several more vats of radiation and goo, were two Glowing Feral Ghouls, and about seven normal ones, two of which had some armor, black with a white emblem on them.

Quickly aiming, Naruto blasted two into a Glowing Ghoul, tearing one arm off, and then opening a hole in the heart. The Ghoul fell as his brethren started quickly giving chase. Behind him, TenTen quickly took a shot of Jet, time slowing to her eye as she aimed up for the closest Ghoul, firing into him with a single slug.

Seeing the Ghoul being knocked back by the shotgun blast, Naruto chose the closest target and fired three into the brain, taking the head clean off, but running out energy on the fusion core. "Reload!" Ejecting the smoking and hissing energy core, he slapped another in just in time to see the Ghoul coming to his right was blown back by TenTen. "Reload!"

To Naruto, that sounded like a pretty fast way to say it, but he left it to them needing to hurry as he blasted the farthest Ghoul with a single shot to the neck, the concentrated laser cutting clean through,. Rearing back, naruto knocked the Glowing one back and into the wall, running forward to kick the next Ghoul onto the ground.

TenTen reloaded quickly, her mind seeing every move perfectly. Grabbing her pistol, she fired into the first Ghoul Naruto knocked down, and then into the next Ghoul jumping up on him, taking three shots on that one instead of two in the chest for the first.

Only two remaining, Naruto had to chuck the one that landed on him off, only to be hit by the last one standing, almost being tackled from the force it tried to use to knock him down. It grabbed into his arm and tried biting into the metal, only for TenTen to shoot it's head with a single shot, shoving Naruto aside and slicing it's head off. She had put her Shotgun away and took her newly owned sword in hand.

The last living Ghoul started trying to scramble away, only for TenTen to quickly close in and slice it's legs off, then it's body, effectively killing it. Naruto looked at TenTen, who stood there, catching her breathe. "You're learning... A little too quickly, but I guess your dad raised you to be open minded."

Looking behind her mid-sentence, she just listened the slow speech before nodding. "He told me I wouldn't have him around all the time, so I needed to learn to adapt to any situation I found myself in. I'd say a live or die survival course is something to adapt to quickly." She took a short breathe and stopped. They were still in the sewer filled with radiation. "We need to hurry out!"

That got the blondes attention as well, and he started running, TenTen sprinting in front of him. He could swear she was moving quicker than normal, but with the situation he left it up to investigate later. The two got out of the sewer in a hurry, and when Naruto closed the door, they were safe to breathe.

Getting some fresh air in their lungs, TenTen started to feel the effects of the Jet slowly dissipate, things starting to speed back up. Looking back to Naruto, she smiled. "Wasn't too hard."

Huffing, the blonde laughed a bit at that. "Oh, it gets harder sometimes. They were in a narrow corridor in a well lit sewer, and it was only about half a dozen, not two dozen in a large exit hall. We should get moving. If there are more we need to get ahead of them, not behind them."

Agreeing, the brunette Vault dweller slipped her mask off her face. It was good for protection, but in this dank and slightly darkened metro it was hard enough to see. Climbing up the stairs, they came up to another bridge, which was over a sewage plant of some kind, as it had a lot of irradiated, and gunky, water. Naruto pointed to the right. "The way out is this way, I think."

Looking back to the blonde, as they walked forward, TenTen had to ask. "You didn't know about that guy and his dog down here, did you?"

Tilting his head in confusion, Naruto shrugged. "Not really, no. I mean, there's several places I've been before that are either now inhabited, or have been briefly, before I got the chance to walk through them again. Though I tend to avoid the larger traffic areas, like Metro Central and Freedom Station, which we are in right now."

Climbing more stairs, TenTen hummed at that. "So, you avoid this place, but you know how to navigate so well..."

Stopping the woman in front of him, Naruto took his helmet off, sighing and looking at her, eyes locking. "I've been roaming the outer DC ruins for a good several years, when I was cast out of the Brotherhood I had to survive and navigate on my own, in ways and directions that didn't go by protocol. This, and several other Metro tunnels have been my ways in and out if I was ever needed. I tend to use the north end to get in and out quick, as I've cleared it of any ghouls, and it isn't in the way of more from around the area."

Coming up to meet her eye level, the blonde took a deep breath. "I've had to navigate tunnels to avoid several dangers, and I've downloaded the maps of all the Metro stations on my Pip-boy. I've created several hard paper copies to help people like those in Rivet City and Megaton. If I don't know where I am going, I tend to follow the maps I have made and my compass to lead me. Vernon Square is Northwest of The Mall, and we've been going that direction ever since we started this journey. Freedom Station is only open to Vernon Square and Pennsylvania Avenue, both of which are heavily inhabited by Super Mutants. So I tend to avoid it. But I know from the maps I have made that the way we are going is the best and safest way. As well as having to roam through Metro Central a few times to know about the barrels filled with Radiation, both in that small room, as well as in that sewer below us."

Taking that all in was a bit rough on TenTen. Naruto was right, he had been roaming through the Wastes since he was a child, and for several years in DC especially. Not only that, but he's been smart enough to plan ahead for anything. He wasn't an idiot, even if he was an 'all-ahead' kind of guy. Nodding, TenTen sighed a bit. "I just feel you're keeping secrets from me. You want me to trust you, and you've only gotten us into more trouble, and have only told me about dangers when we are in the thick of it."

Striking that cord wasn't easy, but Naruto took it in stride. He grabbed his helmet and looked at it. "Secrets fill my life. And in a way I am sworn to keep a good few to myself. But I can say this. I won't keep anything from you that isn't important..." Putting his helmet on, Naruto gripped his rifle and started ahead. "And what's important, is we keep going. You want to find and help the Rangers right? We can't stay here talking about trust if we want to save them in a hurry.

Climbing the next set of stairs, TenTen smiled. "Thanks, Naruto." She got a thumbs up for that.

Thankfully they only had the sewer full of Ghouls to deal with, as the next bridge and staircase was clear, all the way up to the next closed door. Looking back to TenTen, as the blonde himself grabbed the push bar, he checked his clock. "It's going to be really dark. It's around ten at night. Be swift, silent, and stick to the shadows. If we are coming out at the right place, we can easily get to the Statesmen through the Our Lady of Hope Hospital. Though if we came out wrong, we might need to go past a rather large source of radiation, something that might easily kill us... Let's hope my map was right, shall we?"

Though they just had a talk of trust, with TenTen doubting him, she knew he was giving her all the information now. Meaning he wanted her to trust him. She would continue to do so, as he hasn't steered her wrong yet. "I trust we got it right... let's go."

With that, Naruto opened the door quietly, or as quietly as an old creaking door can open, and with that they slipped out into the open, a dark night had fallen upon Vernon Square. Naruto walked his brunette partner down to street level, and through a small underpass in some ruins. Slinking around the outer wall nearest the Metro, they slipped by the single Mutant in the ruins that was patrolling.

Getting to the far side of the ruins from where they came in, Naruto looked around the corner, but stopped just as he was about to come out, having to stop TenTen from following. "Hold... trap."

The brunette looked by him to see a single mine, and huffed quietly. "That's great. What do we do about that?" Turns out, Naruto was an expert at disarming mines. With little thought needed, he quietly and slowly crept up to it. Getting close, he used a rock from the ground nearby to lift the thing on it's side, and messed with the bottom.

With a single, almost inaudible beep, he set it to the side and stood up. "Come on, we gotta hurry." Just then, there was a soft rumble, an explosive sound coming from up high. Looking up, they didn't see much, but the sounds of debris was heard along the ground around the hotel. "Sounds like they still have some fight in them. Come on."

Collecting themselves, they entered the broken down door of the hospital, into the administrators office. As they came in and opened the next door, they heard noises. Opening slightly and checking, TenTen saw in the darkness a barrel on fire, and around it were two Mutants, and shadows of more walking around. "Shit... this is a base for those things."

Naruto hummed and looked for himself. "Alright... Remember this place is unmapped. For good reason. Although I've been through here before, it was to get the heck out of the range of fire for Mutants, and I never got into one of these places. We need to find the way to the Statesman."

TenTen remembered that the only route Reilly even got out was the hospital. She wondered if they were connected somehow, but they knew they had to try. "Ok... You're our compass right? The Statesman is in what direction?"

Checking his Pip-Boy, the blonde sighed. "Northeast, roughly.. Meaning any door facing north or east is an option. If they had to go through the hospital, they had to have needed to come from the second floor, or else why go that route right? Last I was here, I noticed a large antenna from the hospital had crashed into the hotel, maybe it acts like a bridge?"

That was their best hope, at least to this point. The brunette took a deep breath. "I don't understand why we can't go to the Statesman like this..."

Though the answer was already given by Reilly, Naruto re-iterated. "Reilly said the elevator in the hotel is busted, meaning only way up from the ground floor is not an option. The stairs are gone in that building, at least in several places. The Hotel is a maze, as any would be from my experience."

Huffing, the brunette looked out to see the Mutants by the fire started roaming again. "So, how do we get by?" There was a subdued sound of an explosion, clearly from the Ranger's still fighting. "I don't know how much longer they can last."

Pointing to the hall just ahead and to their left of the door, the blonde took his helmet off. "There's the indirect route... It's probably less filled with Mutants, as it's a narrow not so tall hallway with many doors. If they fit they are cramped, making them less of a hassle and more of a target. They are stupid, but not stupid enough to go through there. If there's any Centaurs, we can hold cover in a room. Or, we can run through guns blazing directly for the second floor door."

Having to think about this for a moment, TenTen knew they had to hurry, but they needed to not draw the Mutants to them. With that thought, she sighed. "If we have the advantage, we take it. Let's run through the long way. It would be faster than going through them straight, and quieter. Besides, you're rifle doesn't make much sound, and I have this."

Seeing the Vault dweller take her sword out, Naruto nodded. He knew they needed to hurry, so he checked his rifle. It had energy. "Ok, so here's what you're going to do. You're going to run into that hall and stick to the corners. See anything, hide behind and wait for me. If it's too close, cut it."

Nodding, TenTen raced out the door when there were no readily seen Mutants in the main room, rushing into the more common area. Hitting the wall, she held the blade close. Naruto soon followed and hit the wall with her as she checked around it. "Anything?"

Looking back to Naruto, the brunette shook her head. "Not for now anyway. Let's go." With that she ran for the hall, quickly slipping through the door. Naruto followed as she got further down the hall. Thankfully no Mutants were there. The two just ran to the far corner, and stopped.

The next hall was the same, no Mutants, so the duo ran through with ease. However, the last one had two at the end of the hall. "What's the plan?"

Naruto looked through and hummed. "We could bottleneck them. We've got position, after all. But that might attract any from the outside." Though they couldn't sneak past them all. They had to be quick, but careful. "I don't see another option. We have targets, we have position, and we have ammo. Get your rifle, aim for the soft bits."

Grabbing her rifle, TenTen cocked it, ready to roll. With that, she and Naruto rounded the corner and picked their targets, firing into the hall. TenTen having fired her BB gun in the Vault enough, she felt just right with a rifle, and it showed as her first two shots hit clear, one in the arm of a Mutant down the hall, and the other into the lower back, though not as accurate as she hoped as it was way away from the spine.

Naruto, however, fired three into the leg, perfect aim with his Laser Rifle as it cut the leg off, forcing the Mutant to fall and grab into it. This gave TenTen the shots she needed, firing three into the head of the Mutant, although he had a helmet and the first was deflected, the second hitting the neck and the third finally hit the face, blood spurting out. The click of her rifle told her she ran out of ammo. "Reloading!"

Naruto fired into the legs of the second Mutant they were fighting, although there were a few more roars around. They were coming to flank them. "Hurry to the other side!" Firing several shots, he claimed the second Mutant's head, a third and fourth following closely, ducking through the first doorway. "I can handle these guys!" Emptying his power cell, he only made one Mutant drop his gun, which he had fired only to have his bullets deflect off Naruto's armor.

With Naruto fighting on the other side, TenTen quickly moved to the other side, and seen a Centaur and two Mutants closing in. A little TOO fast for her taste, as she grabbed her Shotgun and sword. Waiting for the best shot, the closest Mutant came to the corner, only for her to raise her Shotgun around and pour both barrels into his stomach, and blasting his intestines out.

This only weakened him as he grabbed his stomach and tried to swing his gun around to her, only for her to cut his arm half off. His skin was just to tough to cut clean through. TenTen ducked under his raging swing, backing off and grabbing her pistol, dropping her shotgun. Firing it at his face, she emptied her clip in order to finally hit his brain through his eye.

As he fell, his friend came around with a spiked bat. Roaring as he swung down, TenTen rolled out of the way just in time to dodge it, but he raised it back up and swung down at her. "DIE!"

With sword in hand, TenTen's survival instincts kicked in, and swung hard, thankfully her sword was sharp enough to cut through the wood, but still dull enough to let the force of the Mutant's swing throw it to the ground and bounce behind him.

With his full armor, he grabbed TenTen and lifted her up, slamming her to the wall. "Ranger?" Holding onto the massive arm, TenTen could only stare at the Mutant, feeling helpless.

Thankfully, Naruto was done with his side, as he fired into the Mutant;'s arm, and cutting it off with a few blasts. "GAHHHH!"

TenTen dropped to the ground, holding her neck and coughing a bit. Though she didn't have much time to let herself get air, she had to hurry. She rushed to the sword she dropped and grabbed onto it, turning in time to see the Mutant kick at her.

Raising her sword up, she thrust it into the foot, and that had an intended effect of making the Mutant scream and jump into the ceiling, cracking it with his skull. Sadly, the building wasn't really as stable as they expected, as the whole ceiling collapsed on the Mutant.

TenTen managed to grab her pistol and never lost grip of her sword as she slipped it out of the Mutants foot and held it close, running off as the ceiling fell, but only half the hall's worth. Grabbing her shotgun, TenTen put her weapons away, except her sword, and turned to see a Centaur, it's tongues wagging as it turned the corner.

Grabbing her Jet, she quickly inhaled the chemical, and let the effects save her. Seeing it rear back and then spit, time slowed down just enough for her to start moving. She ducked and rolled out of the wall, swiftly getting on her feet and rushing to the thing. Without a second thought, she sliced into it's chest, but still unable to cut cleanly through a Mutant's skin, even one as heavily mutated as this thing.

Though it did backpedal, clearly in pain as it howled, a groaning slow howl to TenTen. Hacking away at the thing, once it hit the wall and stopped backing away, she finally cut the thing in half, blood spurting all over her and the room.

After the top part of the torso and head fell off, TenTen just stood there, heaving. She barely survived that encounter... If Naruto didn't save her, and she didn't have Jet, she would either be crushed or melted. Running down the hall, TenTen quickly got back to Naruto, who looked her over. "You ok?"

Nodding to the slow question, TenTen put her sword away. "Let's not corner ourselves... if that's ok with you?"

Getting a nod back, she looked as the blonde lead her up the stairs quickly. Though when they got to the door they stooped and briefly peeked in. Seeing a Centaur patrolling the area, and coming their way, they knew it wasn't going to be easy.

Reloading her shotgun, TenTen got ready for a fight, as did Naruto who took his magnum in hand. "Don't miss..." As the Centaur got close, Naruto opened the door and aimed right at the thing's head, firing once and letting TenTen's blast tear his neck, the force of both tearing the neck apart further till it came off almost completely.

That collapsed the Centaur in a heap, but also alerted the other Mutants in the nearby room to their position. Running up past the dead Centaur to the door, TenTen reloaded just in time for her Jet to wear off, and everything feeling sluggish. This was not a good time for her boost to deteriorate, as the door blasted open full force, and the Mutants came through.

Naruto himself jammed his magnum into one's chest and fired until it was empty, making the lug fall back in a heap. The brunette without her boost in reflexes could only raise her shotgun up enough to blast the leg of the Mutant coming at her before it reached her, everything she did feeling slow and unnatural, but the world itself was in normal speed, and blurry, a haze of colors going in and out.

The Mutant tripped upon her blast, and fall on her, tackling the Vault dweller to the ground. Naruto came up and grabbed the Mutant's arm, suddenly tearing it up and behind him, popping the socket and tearing the arm almost clean off. TenTen knew this strength, Naruto was using his mutation.

Turning with his good arm, the Mutant attempted to swipe Naruto off, only to have a boot to his neck pin him, and then a quick succession of stomps flattening his neck until it was a pancake. Huffing, the blonde lifted the Mutant off TenTen, and reached for her. "You ok?"

Taking her partners hand, TenTen nodded, getting her Shotgun and reloading it. "Any more?" The two quickly peeked into the other room, seeing only the dining room or mess hall. Slowly creeping in, the duo started to the kitchen area in the back.

Thankfully they were lucky as no more Mutants were in the Kitchen, it was too narrow and the doorways were too small for them to patrol through it. Though there was only one direction through the Kitchen, a hall leading to a staircase that lead up. "This must be where they came... Let's check."

Nodding, TenTen followed the blonde as he reloaded his magnum. They came to a door at the top and opened it, to see the darkness of the outside night sky. Naruto closed the door quick before looking to TenTen. "This is it... I saw the bridge... But it'll be difficult to navigate in the dark."

Looking to Naruto, TenTen didn't understand exactly why. "We have lights, right? And if the Rangers could, can't we?"

Sighing, Naruto looked out the crack of the door. "No. We have to rely on the light from the moon, any artificial light would attract the attention of the Mutants at street level. So it'll be more difficult for us. Keep your helmet off for better visibility, ok? That's the best we can do. Slow and quiet..."

Understanding that, the brunette followed Naruto out the door, where he closed it instantly. Thankfully the moon was pretty bright out, but still dark thanks to the cloud cover. Looking at the bridge and hearing the way it creaked under the wind, she looked back to Naruto. "Are you sure there's no other way?"

Naruto nodded at that one. "I am pretty darn sure... listen, don't look down or around, just forward. Just look right ahead of you, right to the end of that bridge in the Statesman... See that spot?" He pointed to the end of the bridge where the moonlight was shining through, there was a very dim light through a door that was barely visible. "Focus right on that door, being careful. One slow and gentle step at a time. I'll be right behind you ok?"

Sighing, shaking from the fact that hit home that they were going to cross such an unstable bridge, TenTen took a first step on it. Thankfully the light was just enough to give her clear vision of the points just ahead, but most of what she could see was down, and she didn't dare look down...

Letting her eyes guide her forward, TenTen slowly started stepping forward, one small step at a time. Everything was silent as she walked, everything but the creaking of the bridge she was on, and she was slowly starting to make progress. Halfway through, the moon's light was taking pity on her, and lit the path more, and with that she picked her step up. Just as she was about to finish her tread, a single bar under her weight broke, and her foot caved along with her body. "AH!"

Quickly grabbing onto anything, TenTen was lucky the whole thing didn't go in, but a good portion snapped off. Clinging to one of the four main legs, TenTen crawled up and hugged it close, closing her eyes. "I can't move!"

Naruto was with her quick enough, grabbing her arm and gently pulling. "Get up, we're almost there. Just a few more steps and you'll be off this bridge, no more dangerous ledges. Come on."

The brunette knew she had to move, knew he was right and it would be over sooner if she just got up and went. Willing her body to let go, she felt herself stand up and let Naruto carry her the rest of the way to the concrete. "There... We're safe. You can open your eyes now."

Opening her eyes, TenTen looked into the reddish eyes of Naruto, his blonde hair flaring a bit from the upwind. Looking around, she had seen the spot she almost fell through, and the moon's light dimming once again. "Thank you..."

The blonde pat her shoulder. "We're not through yet. We need to jump to the floor below us, and through the door, then we're in the Hotel. Think you can handle a one story jump?"

Chuckling a bit with that comment, the Vault Dweller sighed and took a breathe. "I could hardly walk this thing... But if you go first, I think I can handle it."

Getting a nod back from the blonde, TenTen saw Naruto jumped down to the floor below, it wasn't far at all. Jumping with him, they came upon the door behind them, and went inside.

What they were met with was a very rubble filled room, with rubble and collapsed walls all around. There was only one way to go from here, and it was down a floor through a broken floor, filled with rubble from three floors up. Carefully stepping down the slope, the duo made it to the first hall

TenTen looked to the right to see even more rubble blocking the passage. "This got hit hard..."

Looking to the left and moving forward a bit, Naruto hummed in agreement. "Reilly did say they fell for a grenade trap there... Guess we're starting further down. Come on, we better go. We've not heard any rumbles of a fight for awhile."

This was true, ever since the last one when they were in the hospital, there was no sound or shake of anything to do with fighting. Either the Ranger's had finally gotten a break, or they have lost. Moving forward, the Brunette followed the armored partner of hers down the hall, taking a turn and seeing dead Mutants, one under some rubble, two more in the doorway they had to walk through to get around said rubble.

Naruto bent down to pull the cord of a trap, which was already triggered. "Either the Mutants were too stupid to not see their own trap, or the Ranger's used it to their advantage. They were always resourceful."

Moving forward, they found a few more dead through the broken down rooms. There were multiple ways to go, but all they had to do was follow the dead bodies. It was actually quite suspicious they haven't seen a single Mutant in the building that was alive...

As they came through to the hall, TenTen noticed the stairs to the right. "Is that a good way to go? Up?"

Looking for himself the blonde hummed, looking. Quickly thinking, he nodded. "We should give it a shot, it looks like this way leads around the rooms we were just in. If I'm right they just go further to the middle of the building."

Once at the stairs, the two climbed, only for TenTen to stop and look in surprise. The first human casualty they seen in the building, arms ripped off, and head half gone. "Naruto... Is this?..."

Coming up, Naruto sighed heavily as he opened the denim jacket. "It's Theo... Damn it, he always loved going in head first. Little good it did him here." Looking around the body, Naruto noticed the several cases of ammo in the corner, all of which were code locked, and were dented a bit from attempt at breaking them open. "We're in luck."

Seeing her partner go to the cases, and start to put in codes, that actually worked, TenTen came up to him. "Shouldn't we be going up?"

Going through the ammo supplies, Naruto grabbed some Ammo for them. "Remember, the Rangers are running low. If we manage to get them out of here alive, they won't last without something to help them fight the Mutants in the area. We need to bring them ammo."

Understanding, TenTen let her pack down, and they started filing it with boxes and boxes of ammo. Lifting it up after every few rounds, they stopped when it got three quarters filled. Lifting it with a grunt, TenTen put the pack on her back again. Reloading her Pistol, TenTen made sure she was ready for anything. "Alright... Shall we?"

Considering they didn't carry ammo for any of their guns from the case, it was pretty crazy to be carrying anything they couldn't use. But Naruto knew they needed to get something to the Rangers. "This way. It might take a few floors, but we should be able to find a way up. Try not to tire out."

Lugging the bag with her, the brunette followed her partner in armor up the stairs, and in the next area they found. It was a hallway forward, and a broken part to the left, clearly only a single way to go from here as the stairs didn't go further due to collapse.

Moving forward across the dead, the duo found that they were having a pretty easy time, given the state of things. TenTen herself was quite happy to rest, as the effects of the Jet were slowly fading, giving her more control over her movements, unlike earlier when she was sluggish when moving.

Going through the rooms, with collapsed walls, due to the hall's own collapsed blocked path, they still were surprised by the lack of Super Mutants in the building. Though Naruto had a theory. "Reilly said that they locked the elevator down, meaning the only way through is the direction we're heading. If the Ranger's are still holding on, then that means that the Mutants are either stuck somewhere trying to find a way up, or they've already found a way, but there's only enough space for a small group... Maybe another elevator to the roof? One not accessible from the ground floor?"

It made sense, the only reason they were occasionally hearing anything was probably due to the low number of Mutants launching an attack. The silence now was either them grouping up a larger force, or they had won out. TenTen hoped it was the latter.

Seeing another stairwell, they climbed up to find another hallway a story up, one with a Centaur patrolling, and thankfully going away from them at the moment. Getting behind cover on either side of the door through to the hallway, The blonde sighed. "Only a matter of time... I don't know how many we got over there, the range of my pip-boy isn't going to reach as far as that thing is at the moment."

Looking ahead, TenTen saw three doors to go into. Two rather close by. "Maybe we can try another route in one of the rooms ahead? If anything, we could try and get close enough for you to pick up their signatures."

Seeing as the Centaur was coming their way, they stayed quiet, enough time for Naruto to contemplate. As the Centaur turned and went back, Naruto took a look. With little other options that were careful enough for his taste, he had to make a quick choice. "Slowly, move up. I'll follow."

TenTen smiled, seeing as she came up with a plan Naruto liked. Turning the corner, the brunette moved as quietly as she could to the first door to the left. Thankfully it was unlocked, as they easily opened the door and went in, closing it behind them.

Looking through the room, TenTen didn't see a single Mutant. Going further in, they noticed a silent hissing sound. Coming up to the source, on a bed in the far corner of the second room that was accessible form the broken wall between it and the first, there was a tape. It was a Holo Tape. "A working Holo Tape? Here?"

Humming, Naruto took it and plugged it into his Pip-Boy. As the message read, he looked to TenTen. "I think I know who this is for, but I don't know if she's still in Rivet City." Turning on the Radar, Naruto noticed the blips of the Mutants around behind the wall moving. "We'll figure that out later, right now we focus on the Mutants.. In mass it seems, five just behind the wall, one moved to the left and forward, meaning that there's a way through there for something."

Formulating a plan, Naruto turned his Pip-Boy off. "Stay on my tail, We're going to try and distract them, maybe try and kill them without making noise. If all else fails, we cover each other in the hall and bottleneck them."

Being their best plan right now, TenTen grabbed her sword and shotgun, ready and following Naruto with his Rifle out. Opening the closest door gently, they noticed the Centaur with it's back turned. They waited for the opportune moment when it was close, and Naruto opened the door, grabbing the thing's tongues and wrapping them around it's head, tugging until either the tongues fell, or the head popped off. The tongues pulled instead of the desired effect, but TenTen was on it with her Sword, cutting into the chest and forcing the thing up, cutting the head in half, effectively killing it.

Moving forward, Naruto kept his Rifle pointed forward, hearing the grunting of the Mutants talking in words. They were just basically telling each other that they wanted ranger blood. "Nasty Rangers, stupid humans just kill us. We kill them soon, can't stop us all."

Naruto came around the corner and fired into them with his silent but deadly laser rifle, clicking in fierce fire. The Mutants, one having a helmet and the other not as armored, both grabbed their weapons, charging and yelling for his death. One with a sledgehammer, another with a board with nails. "RANGERS!"

Having taken one more hit of her Jet when Naruto was busy firing, TenTen felt the drug hit, and felt better and more in control than she felt even when her sluggish movement went away. Storming in, TenTen aimed for the unarmored one, blowing both shots into it's head, which split open as it slumped against the armored Mutant, who missed his hit. Naruto grabbed his pistol, when his Rifle ran out of energy, and fired into the surviving Mutant's head. Just as it splattered in the helmet, however, Naruto was shot up by a few bullets, though most pinged off.

Seeing two more Mutants come in, TenTen reloaded her shotgun and came up in front of them as they walked forward to Naruto, who had gotten into cover. Firing one barrel into the armored Mutant's leg, he slumped. The other Mutant, with only body armor, had it';s face shot by the next shell, making it hit the wall and try and brush the pellets that hit him off his face, though he was bleeding from the wound.

Taking her sword, the Vault Dweller with souped up relaxes, stabbed the helmet wearing Mutant in the neck and cut down hard, cutting half his head off at the spine. As it slumped, the other Mutant swung for her in a blind rage. Though this was for nothing as she seen the strikes and moved back, dodging them. Naruto finally got around to firing again, one shot missing, but the second connecting when the Mutant turned to him, big mistake as the bullet went through it's eye socket into it;'s brain, causing it to groan in a death wail before slumping in the pile.

They were not going to rest, as the fifth Mutant, fully armored, came in with a Minigun. "DIEEEE!" Reloading her Shotgun had come in handy, as TenTen had ducked under cover till the Mutant came through. Though thanks to the fully armored Mutant's vulnerability to her fire being so low, she could only injure the lug, who held it's side when her shells worked, surprisingly. Swatting at her, the Mutant tried to hurt her back, but missing her was an even bigger mistake, as he took his eyes off the armored man he was firing at, who rushed him and tackled him to the ground.

Still wielding his magnum revolver, the blonde in Power Armor jammed the eye with it and fired till it was empty, blood splattering all around till it was dead. Looking to the hallway, he saw no more resistance. Standing, he turned to his brunette companion. "All clear, for now... Good work."

TenTen huffed, reloading her Shotgun again. "How many of these things are there left?"

Going to the elevator, Naruto reloaded both his weapons, though found he was short a round for his Revolver's next reload. "Can't be very many left, Thankfully there are only a few floors left, and the Ranger's have fought a good deal. If they are still alive, then there should only be one more squad of them."

Nodding, TenTen followed the blonde to the elevator. Seeing the sign, she hummed. "Restaurant?"

Pressing the button, Naruto noticed the power for the console was off. "The Restaurant is at the Penthouse. It was a selling point for the Statesman back before the war. 'Dinner with a View' as an old sign I saw once had said. So if this elevator goes to it, then it's our fastest way up. Probably fastest if the Mutants couldn't get it to run. Though it's powered off, at the moment."

Grabbing the Sensor module he had grabbed from the underground stash, he wired his Pip-Boy to the power outlet. Static and electricity zapped a bit, causing some lights to flicker, but once plugged in, Naruto had overwritten the power protocols, and the elevator powered on. Clicking the button, Naruto heard the elevator start to work. "There.. Just wait not."

The elevator was empty, thankfully, and the duo climbed in. Though the Power Armored blonde was a little heavy, the elevator still functioned and lifted them up. TenTen looked to Naruto as the elevator climbed rather slowly. "So, how come the rather weak supports can carry you?"

Looking to his Brunette companion form the Vault, Naruto huffed. "Half the weight of a normal suit. Without all the intricate parts of it being a POWER Armor, the suit, just the plating and connectors, are about two thirds the normal weight, at max. Without the cells, the wires, the gears, and shaved down a little bit without a few pieces of armor in place, mine is about half the weight of normal. SO thankfully I can still climb around. But it's still heavily weighted armor, so I am not maneuverable."

Seeing as it made sense, TenTen let it be. As the doors opened, Naruto and TenTen aimed down the sights to any Mutants. Seeing none, they slowly climbed out of the elevator, and walked to the Lounge door, which was clearly labeled to their left. Opening the door, they noticed no Mutants.

It was rather silent for the planned attack on the Ranger's they thought was going down. As they slipped into the Lounge, they noticed a closet with a wrecked Protectron model robot. Coming to it, Naruto checked it's immediate systems. TenTen, however, was shocked he was looting right now, and quietly yelled at him in a harsh whisper. "We need to hurry here! What if they are already dead!"

Naruto pulled something from the body and looked to her. "That's just it. If they are or are not, we need a way down right? There could be two or twenty Mutants coming up from those stairs, we need to be prepared for a quick exit. We need all the tech we can get to fix the elevator going down. Come on, I got something useful, but if the thing needs more than power we might need to jury rig something."

Going upstairs, the two notice the only door out from here was on the other catwalk, that was blocked off form the current one. Going to the other one on the other side of the Lunge, the duo just make it to the door when they hear doors being kicked open. "Shit... RUN!" Naruto knew this meant there were more Mutants here now, ready for a fight, and grabbed TenTen, who's Jet finally wore off, and she was feeling the effects rather heavily now...

Seeing double, and the color around her turning gray, TenTen could only hear a muffled run as her body just betrayed her, not wanting to move. But with Naruto pulling, she willed her legs to follow. The two ran through the door and up the stairs to the metal door at the top, and bursting it open, they were greeted with the night sky and breeze. Following the walls around a bit, Naruto saw a trail of bodies, Mutants, and followed it with TenTen in tow. As they came around to a large stairs up to the top of the wall they were hugging, the very top terrace and view dining area, they climbed up.

Just as they reached the top, a blinding amount of lights hit them, making Naruto cover his face, and TenTen cover her eyes, slinking down a bit. Her stomach was feeling rather weak at the moment. With the lights came no guns, only a surprising shout. "HEY! Hurry over, the Mutant's could be coming up any time!" Their answer was revealed as the lights were pointed away from them and turned off, the Ranger's were still alive.

TenTen lugged the heavy bag over with Naruto coming halfway to one of the Ranger's. She heard them talking, but her vision and hearing was disorientated. She couldn't understand why she was so slow, or why it was so dark. She didn't even see the dead Mutant in front of her as she tripped over it. She felt herself being lifted up, but before she could really say anything, she turned away from any blur that might have been someone and let her stomach discharge whatever was in her system, spilling across the ground. After that, she passed out, wondering if she used too much Jet in too little time.

XxX Level Footnote Update XxX

LEVEL UP! (Level 6)

+17 points to Skills

Perk Added: Toughness; Damage Resistance increases by 10%

LEVEL UP! (Level 7)

+17 points to Skills

Perk Added: Bloody Mess; +10% overall damage, more violent kills

Special Increase: Strength +1 (5)

Skills Increase:

Small Guns +10 (40)

Melee Weapons +15 (40)

Sneak +9 (30)

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX;

Welcome back, Wastelanders, it's Godo! OW! Hope you all are enjoyin' the tale's of our duo from Megaton, the Vault Dweller's trial by fire and her companion's stone faced forward march. Things are getting interesting indeed, as our girl is finding herself growing weaker as the days go by. It's only been a few days, hardly a week, since she left the cozy Vault behind, and she's made progress through the Wasteland that not many survive their first time. What will be in store for her when she wakes up? Will she miss the excitement, or join in even if she can hardly stand? All will be answered the next time we tell the tale. This is Godo, signing off, Keep fighting the good fight.