Thank you WitchWeaver and Makai-Rahl for your reviews! Glad I can bring out emotion with words. I'll be updating much faster, since I don't have to be writing boring crap.


Willow hung her arms around Charon's neck, but his mind was elsewhere as always. He really needed to stop drinking; it was clouding his judgment more and more as the weeks passed by. Weeks. It had been weeks since he had seen Ava, the hatred in her eyes when she left him. Days blurred into each other since his arrival at Underworld. Charon found himself surrounded by women who tried to help him forget his Smoothskin, but the only one he found solace with was Willow. There were days when they would both sit on the rooftop of the museum and not say a word to each other. Charon would stand guard outside the massive doors to Underworld by Willow's side, silent. Even when he lived in Underworld before he met Ava, Charon would never speak to Willow unless he was called upon to assist her outside if there was an intrusion. The only times they would really speak would be when he was wasted. Charon would talk her ear off about Ava, and Willow would sit and listen. It all led up to a few nights ago when Willow unexpectedly leaned in to kiss him, and he did not push her away. Charon just sat, unresponsive, as she pressed her eager lips to his. Willow sat down and did not utter another word. That same evening, Charon retched into a toilet for hours, partly from his hang over, but also for the disgust he felt for allowing the kiss to happen.

Nowadays, Willow would spend most of her evening inside with Charon, sitting at a table at Carol's Place. She rarely showed him any sort of affection, and he preferred it stayed that way. He could not shake the feeling that he was somehow betraying Ava even though she had made it quite clear that she wanted nothing to do with him. The ghoul sighed and Willow tightened her hold around his neck, mistaking his sigh of frustration with one of satisfaction.

"I'm glad you came back, you know," said Willow.

Charon shrugged and took a gulp of his drink. It seemed like it would be a long night. He absent-mindedly picked up a handgun that lay on the desk in Winthrop's old room. The old ghoul insisted Charon take his room ever since Charon began making weekly visitations to the clinic for what Doctor Barrows insisted was "severe alcohol poisoning" and of course, the fact that the restrooms were only a few feet away so that Charon could worship the porcelain gods in peace rather than throwing up all over the place. Winthrop had joked that he was tired of cleaning up puke, but Charon knew the truth. The ghouls pitied him, and the very thought made him sick.

"Somehow, I always knew you would turn into a bloody fuckin' drunk," Charon heard a voice say. He looked up and saw a very familiar form standing in the doorway.

"You should go," Charon said to Willow. She frowned and gave him a tentative kiss on the cheek before hopping off his lap and leaving the room. Charon was about to take a drink when the bottle was snatched out of his hand. Desmond finished off what was left and tossed it on the desk.

"I am going to guess that you and Ava are planning to have some freakish threesome with that ghoul bitch…I want in. Three's a crowd, but four's a party," said Desmond Lockheart with a wide grin. He had given up wearing a suit and instead chose a heavy black overcoat over leather armor.

"Ava's not here," said Charon. If there was one thing he hated most, it was that he had to explain to every single person who had ever known about them that she was gone. It forced him to relive their argument over and over inside his head.

Desmond cleared his throat loudly and whispered, "Does she…uh, know?" He pointed at the open door and looked over his shoulder, half-expecting Ava to be standing behind him.

"She left me," Charon said. He opened a drawer in his desk and pulled out another half-empty bottle of vodka.

Desmond cackled loudly, and he even went as far as slapping Charon's shoulder in amusement. "So wait a fucking minute: You went from that gorgeous, piece of ass to the ugly ghoul bitch? Oh that's fucking rich. A fucking downgrade if I've ever seen one."

"You think I don't know that?" Charon snapped.

Desmond wanted nothing more than to remind Charon of the deal they had made over two years ago; the deal that if Charon ever broke it off with Ava, Desmond could scoop her up. He thought better of it when he noticed the pissy look on Charon's face.

"Are you going to tell me why you're here?" Charon asked.

"I have finally…FINALLY killed the last of my enemies. So I figured I'd stop by the Capital Wasteland and see how things were going. I need a place to live, since that fucking cunt blew up my house," explained Desmond. "Do you think I can shack up with the two birds upstairs? I may not be fond of our women, but I need some fucking attention and if they need some dick, I will gladly provide my services."

Charon laughed and said, "They aren't interested. Trust me."

"Why, you tried to fuck them too?" Desmond asked.

"No. Carol and Greta are together. They could give a shit less about your dick," Charon said with a smirk. He took a few sips from the bottle in his hands and drained it before tossing the bottle in a corner of the room.

"Then they definitely need some. They don't know what they're missing," said Desmond.

There was a loud rattling outside the door and someone screamed. The sound of scattered gunfire caused Charon to stand up with concern.

"What the fuck was that?" Charon asked.

"I don't bloody know! This place is supposed to be safe! This is fucking false advertising, Charon!" Desmond shouted.

"If you aren't going to help, then get the hell out of my way!" Charon snarled as he shoved Desmond aside.

He picked up his shotgun off the desk and they ran out towards the rotunda. Greta lay in a pool of blood, her hand shaking as she pointed at the men and women standing in front of them. Charon stood in front of her protectively and bared his teeth at the intruders. Desmond stood beside Charon, holding two mini-SMG's in his hands. They had been concealed under his coat.

A woman stepped forward from her companions and smiled. "My name is Sonora Cruz and we're the Regulators. We're here to rid the world of the evil you bring upon this land."

"We…have done nothing to deserve this," Greta croaked.

"Ghouls have become a blight on this earth. May the Lord have mercy upon your souls," Sonora announced.

Charon threw his head back and a howl so loud that it echoed all around them escaped from his throat. The Regulators cowered in fear and Charon leapt forward with a snarl. He and Desmond began their slaughter as other ghouls from Underworld joined in, defending their only home from the invaders.

"Charon, we heard you from inside Carol's Place and we knew it couldn't be good! Who are they?" Doctor Barrows shouted. He snapped a Regulator's neck and rushed over to Greta. She looked close to death.

"Regulators! They're here to exterminate!" Desmond said loudly. His guns may have been small but they unleashed an ungodly amount of damage.

"Shut up and kill them!" Charon bellowed. He held Sonora against the cold stone wall and growled, "You made a huge fucking mistake coming into my city when we have done nothing. Who sent you?"

"We will aid the Brotherhood of Steel however we can. If it weren't for them, the world we live in would be bleak," she said. "You must die."

"What are our crimes?" Charon demanded.

"Your crimes are that you all live and breathe air that is meant for unstained souls, beast!" she spat.

Charon struck her face and continued until her head was only mangled flesh. He dropped the corpse to the floor and surveyed the damage around him. Spent bullet casings littered the tile floor around his feet, along with the dead bodies of the Regulators. No one had been injured too badly besides Greta. He calmly walked over to her and carried her in his arms to Doctor Barrows' clinic. When he stepped outside of the clinic, the entirety of Underworld was standing before him.

"Why were we attacked? Who did this to us?" Quinn shouted.

"The Brotherhood of Steel sent the Regulators after us. I don't know why; all the woman said was that…we were a blight to be eliminated," said Charon with disgust.

"What do we do?" asked Winthrop.

"We need a leader," Charon suggested. "If they want something to fear and hate, we should give them a good fucking reason."

The ghouls of Underworld huddled together. Some wept openly. Some screamed at nothing. Some stood silent and angry. They had always been peaceful and now their very lives were threatened for no proper reason. Ghouls have always been hated, but never like this. Charon and Desmond walked out into the rotunda once again, killing off any Regulators that still clung to life. Quinn walked out the doors holding his assault rifle tightly.

"Where are you going?" Charon asked.

"I'm going to warn as many ghouls as I can. Tell them to hide," said Quinn.

"No. Tell them to go to Little Lamplight," said Charon. "We will be safer in a large group."

"Or we could be a bigger fucking target," said Desmond. A growl rumbled from Charon's chest as he narrowed his eye with anger and Desmond took a step back. "Or we could be a fearsome army. Perhaps you have a point."

Quinn nodded and marched out of Underworld. Charon and Desmond began to drag the dead bodies outside of the museum, leaving them for the super mutants to toy with at night. When they returned inside, Willow was waiting for them, hugging herself in shame.

"Are you hurt?" Willow asked Charon.

"You should have been at your post! If Greta dies, it will be your fault! None of this would have occurred had you not been trying to get me into bed with you. I have no interest in anyone but Ava, so stay the fuck away from me!" Charon said loudly.

"I…I thought we had something," said Willow with a shaky voice. "I care about you!"

"We have nothing, you fool," he said. Charon glanced over at Desmond and muttered, "I'm going to see Greta and Carol. Make sure no one gets inside unless they're a ghoul."

"And what makes you think that I would enjoy doing that? I just got here!" said Desmond.

"You needed a place to live, right? You can stay with us, but you have to work to keep a bed here, just like everyone else," said Charon. He slammed the doors shut behind him and Willow let out a sob of shame.

Desmond cringed at her tears and looked around uncomfortably. It seemed Willow was not going back inside Underworld for a while. He never expected a war to spring up the moment he set foot in Underworld. The old ghoul felt some strange sort of obligation though. Charon and Ava helped him destroy Professor Calvert, and as much as he hated to admit it, he owed them. Desmond sighed loudly and sat on the ruined stone platform of a t-rex skeleton. He reached for a pack of cigarettes in his pocket and lit one while Willow sat on the platform beside him, sniffing loudly.

Desmond looked her over and tried to smile. She didn't look too bad for a ghoul. Maybe she would be a decent lay, as long as he had her in a dark room so he didn't really have to look at her.

"I'm Desmond Lockheart. What's your name, sweetheart?"

"Willow." She wiped her eyes with the back of her hand and checked her assault rifle.

"That's quite a lovely name…wanna go find a place to screw around? No one's going to attack for a while. The others won't notice," said Desmond.

Willow looked at him with disgust and hopped off the platform to keep watch outside the museum. Desmond laughed loudly and shouted, "Whatever bitch, you don't know what you're missing!"

"Fuck you!" Willow yelled.

"Well now I don't want to. You hurt my feelings!" said Desmond with heavy sarcasm.

The old ghoul laughed to himself and leaned back against the skeleton, blowing out a plume of white smoke. Heavy footsteps shook the platform he sat on and a pair of super mutants walked by. Desmond immediately pulled out his guns.

"Where the fuck do you think you're going?" Desmond asked nastily.

"Quinn told us what has happened when we passed by each other outside the museum. We are here to see if we can help Charon and the other ghouls. Is Ava here as well?" asked the slightly smaller of the two super mutants.

"You know Ava and Charon?" Desmond asked.

"Yes. They freed me from my prison inside Vault 87. My name is Fawkes, and this is my companion, Leo," said Fawkes.

"Ava's not here but Charon's inside. One of the ghouls was hurt badly and he's checking up on her. He should be at the clinic," said Desmond.

The super mutant named Leo carried a gatling laser and Desmond was in no mood to fuck with either of them or that massive gun. He cocked his head in confusion and allowed them to pass without further questioning.

"Jesus, this place is fucking weird," Desmond muttered to himself.