Disclaimer: I do not own Fallout or Sword Art Online or any of the two franchises characters.
"Speech"
"Thoughts"
Chapter 10: A Sense of Hopelessness
For the first time in a few days, Gray had finally stood on his own two feet. While his legs sustained no major injuries in his bout with the squad that had attacked him, he found that his lower body was having a hard time keeping him upright. Gritting his teeth, he could tell that he hadn't healed completely yet, but he didn't want to spend another day in that god forsaken cot. He had to walk, he had to…
"What are you doing?" Thalia's sudden entrance disrupted his focus, causing him to stumble forward where he collided with the wall. The green haired beauty stifled a giggle when she heard his annoyed grunt and moved over to help him in his troubled state. Wrapping one hand around his waist and offering her shoulder as a support, Thalia helped Gray off the wall and over onto the cot. "That bad, huh?" she asked as she took a seat next to him.
"No. Just a little sore is all. I should be fine after today." He admitted. Glancing over, he saw that Thalia had gotten a change in outfit since he'd last seen her. She abandoned the black t-shirt from before in favor of a black corset that stopped above her belly button and swapped out her ragged jeans for a new pair of brown leather pants that dipped into her boots. Her right arm was covered with heavy leather as opposed to her left, which was moderately protected with medium leather armor. Her right leg was strapped with a holster that was carrying a weathered looking M1911 and her left leg was sporting patches of metal armor. Her appearance wasn't the only thing that had received an upgrade, as she'd modified her pipe pistol into a rifle with a marksman stock, scope, and a screwdriver bayonet. "Looks like the group's been hard at work since I've been out. Damn. Why am I always behind?" he thought to himself.
"Really? Well that's good to hear. The doctor said you'd be in here for at least the rest of the week."
"No, I talked to him earlier today. I should be good by tomorrow." Gray informed her. He left out the other details concerning his real meeting with the doctor, as he didn't think the results of the tests would change anything. Thalia was the only person so far who'd seen his 'blue' synthetic eye. After speaking with the doctor about it, the only look Gray got was one of confusion. He should have figured as much, given the man was by no means a professional doctor. As far as he was concerned, the only answer he'd find in regard to his eye would be in tracking down that guy that they'd fought in the raider hideout, if he was still alive that is. Either way, he didn't like the thought of coming face to face with that crazed killer again anytime soon. "Maybe Big Blue will know something about it."
"Did you? You must really want out of this cot then, huh?" she joked, earning a chuckle from Gray.
"I do." He admitted with a small smile. "So, how did the lead turn out?" he asked.
"Oh, yeah I almost forgot—we picked up on a trail of slavers heading toward Silverfort from here. A lady we went to go meet said a couple of them stopped by and made some trouble here in a town not too long ago. I guess they have her daughter, and she wants us to help get her back. Says she'll pay us too. Rias was planning to leave in a couple of days, but now that you're better I'm sure that we'll be heading out tomorrow." Thalia informed.
"I see. Well, I'd be happy to help that lady out, with or without pay. I cannot imagine what she must be going through seeing her daughter taken from her."
"Yeah, I know. It's pretty crazy seeing how many players actually play video games with their parents these days. It just sucks that this game didn't quite turn out the way they had planned." Thalia commented.
"I hear you. So, how's everybody else doing?" he changed the subject. For someone who didn't have parents around for most of his life, he didn't really want to hear about other people's parents that much. It wasn't so much that it bothered him in the sense that it made him jealous, but rather that it made him uncomfortable because he couldn't really relate to most people.
"Rias is doing fine. She seemed happy that we finally got a good lead on something, so hopefully she'll have forgotten all about your fight with each other tomorrow." At the mention of his 'disagreement' with Rias, Gray shifted uncomfortably. He'd seen her lose her patience with Ash before and unlike how it is with him, she didn't seem like she wanted to break his bones. She was just upset and for Gray, that was a whole lot worse than a broken arm. "Rachel and Kota are in the same boat as Rias. If she's happy, then they are happy. Ash is well—doing well I suppose. He had another 'fight' with Rias today over the subject of authority and how he deserved it. As you can imagine, Rias won and Ash was left with well, another broken arm. He said he was going to stop by here later after he got something to eat."
"Good to know. Well I'm glad that everybody is doing okay. Just wish I was out there helping you guys—instead of well sitting here." He complained.
"Yeah—Oh! I almost forgot, I have something for you!" Thalia exclaimed excitedly.
"For me?" He said as he watched her pull up her Pip-Boy. She turned the dial until she found the item she was looking for and pushed down on the nob. There was a distinct 'click' and a small pack materialized on Thalia's lap.
"Here you go." She smiled as she handed it to him. With a raised eyebrow, Gray reached into the pack and pulled out a leather leg holster that actually had his name on it. "There's more." She informed as she took the holster to hold while he reached for the second item in the pack. Immediately, by the feel of the object he knew it was a pistol. After all, it only made sense given the holster she'd gotten him. Pulling it out, Gray saw that she'd gifted him a custom Colt M1911A1.
"Thalia, this is—how did you get your hands on something like this?" He asked after seeing the craftsmanship that went into the firearm. Now Gray really didn't know much of anything about weapons, but he could tell that the weapon he was holding wasn't the average M1911. The first thing that Gray noticed was the 'ring hammer', a design that replaced the standard spur hammer and made the ignition system faster. A long-type trigger had replaced the standard version and had three holes drilled into the trigger shoe to reduce bouncing from the recoil. The iron sights had also been modified to a high profile 3-dot sight system that featured an enlarged front sight, giving it greater target sighting capability.
"Do you like it?" she asked shyly. While Gray didn't know much about guns, Thalia did. Being the only girl, Thalia's father wanted to make sure his daughter could defend herself and fire a gun properly. Her dad was a total gun-nut and she was no stranger to firearms. When she came across the custom M1911A1, she almost had to do a double-take. She couldn't believe that someone could create such a beautiful weapon in a videogame. She had to have it.
"I don't know what to say. I don't know much about weapons, but I can tell that this weapon was modified and taken care of. Did you make this? It's amazing." He asked.
"I wish! If I could craft something like that, I might as well just open up my own shop! I found it at the marketplace. A vendor was selling it. I'm glad you like it." She finished with an earnest smile.
"You got this at the market!? But how? Everything in the entire market is ridiculously overpriced!" Gray said in disbelief.
"That's because you're shopping all wrong." She commented.
"Huh?" he asked.
"While you've been, recovering, the rest of us have been quite busy in this little town. While Rias made it her personal mission to track down your assaulters, she made us run some jobs to put some caps in our pockets. Naturally, Rachel led us to a local town bar with all kinds of job requests. The first few were pretty simple, like finding a lost cat or doing some general clean-up in a certain area of town. As you can imagine, those didn't pay very well and we started tackling some tougher jobs like clearing out an area infested with radroaches and repairing some of the buildings around town. When we came back to cash in our completed jobs, the bar owner didn't pay us in caps. He paid us in drugs."
"What? Like meth and—" Gray said, a little confused. The whole process had yet to register in his mind and believe or not, he was still adapting to the fact that he was trapped in a video game.
"No." she shook her head. "Haven't you played Fallout before? Jet? Buffout? Mentats? Psycho?" She listed.
"Oh—chems!" Gray mentally slapped himself for not putting two and two together sooner. Regardless, something wasn't quite adding up just yet. Good thing Thalia wasn't done explaining herself.
"Yeah. So, at first we didn't know what to do with them. As a matter of fact, Rachel almost took down the bartender that gave them to us. Luckily, Kota was able to reason with her and we left without making much more of a scene. That still left us with one problem and that was what to do with the chems? Rachel's first idea was to throw them away, but the rest of us weren't too fond of the idea of all our hard work going to waste so Kota proposed another idea. To make a long story short, we started selling them to the vendors who all turned out to be hardcore chem junkies. Some of the vendors even offered to trade certain items for their 'much needed' fix, like that M1911 you've got there."
"Well, that definitely explains the high prices. It also explains what that guy came in and held up the shopkeeper for. He must've been looking for chems." Gray said.
"Do you think the guys that attacked you were chem addicts too? Dealers maybe?" Thalia asked.
"There's a possibility, but I doubt that they were dealers. The guy that came in wasn't looking for payment. He was looking for some sort of supply. Maybe the shop keep was some dealer and ripped the guy off." Gray replied.
"What if they were trying to stop the chem trade?" Thalia threw out. As someone who traveled with a slaver, she knew that there would be a couple of groups that were opposed to bringing down these sort of businesses. After all, chems were similar to real world drugs and could pose a major issue for a lot of these players struggling to cope with the fact that they may never see the real world again.
"There's that option too, but I don't think that is likely. Unlike the real world, these drugs aren't illegal. Besides their addictive qualities, they do provide in-game benefits to the people that use them like damage absorption and mental enhancements. If anything, they are just another tool for the player to use. Even so, I guess that isn't going to stop the morally righteous from trying to put a stop to it." He commented.
"Hm. Oh well, no use worrying about it now is there? It isn't like we are going to ever run into them again anyways." Thalia said.
"I sure hope not." Gray replied softly. As much as he wanted to believe that this would be the last time he ever saw anyone of Leon's squad again, he couldn't fight that feeling that their paths were destined to cross in the near future. He had to get stronger before then. "I have to." He thought as he and Thalia sat in comfortable silence.
"Well, you've still got some stuff in that little bag of yours. Nothing major though, just a new outfit with some leather armor for protection and some ammo. We did our best to try and get you properly equipped but we only had so much chems to go around." Thalia explained.
"Thank you, Thalia. I'll be sure to thank the others tomorrow." Gray nodded his head in appreciation.
"You bet. Be sure to thank Kota for that custom holster. Never would've thought the big guy could be so crafty with his hands. You couldn't even tell that he pieced that together from some scraps of leather he found in one of our clean-up jobs."
"No kidding? He did a really good job." Gray remarked as he turned the holster over in his hand. Slipping his newly acquired pistol into the holster, Gray gently placed it onto the bedside desk and emptied out the rest of the contents in his bag. As he was rifling through the rest of the items, Thalia leaned back and took a deep breath.
"It's now or never…" she thought. "Hey Gray, can I ask you something?" Taking a pause from his rummaging, Gray looked up to face the green-eyed girl.
"Of course." He answered simply.
"I know that this is going to seem like a dumb question, but if you had an opportunity to get back home right now, would you take it?"
"Well, yeah. Why wouldn't I?" he said.
"No matter what you had to do? You'd still take the opportunity?" she asked. Gray sat back and thought carefully for a minute. His immediate answer would have been yes, but as he turned the question over in his mind he began to think of what he'd be willing to do to get back home. Thalia patiently awaited his answer, as her mind started to work against her. Although she didn't show it, the guilt behind Brett's proposition was starting to eat her up. Truthfully, she didn't know what she was looking to gain from Gray's answer. Maybe it was the comfort that he'd think along the same thought process that she was or that he'd somehow be able to change her mind. Unfortunately for her, Gray's answer brought her no form of solitude and only made her decision that much harder.
"As much as I want to say that I would take the opportunity, until I know what's at stake I can't say that I'd take it. Why do you ask?"
"Uh—no reason. Just curious." She answered somewhat awkwardly. Gray noticed that something was off about Thalia, but before he could question her she rose hastily and made to leave the room. "I'm sorry—but I have to go." She said as she quickly left the room. On her way out, she bumped into Ash whom was sporting one of the biggest grins on his face.
"Hey! Thalia! How's it going?" he said in good cheer.
"I have to go." She said, her voice void of any emotion. She sped past him and left, leaving both Ash and Gray dumbfounded.
"What the hell man? That's the second girl that you send running off in a mood. You got a problem with beautiful girls or something?" Ash remarked sarcastically.
"Shut up." Gray directed a harsh glare towards Ash, whom raised his hands defensively.
"Hey, I'm only commenting at what I'm seeing dude." He replied with a smirk.
"Yeah, yeah, what do you want?"
"Wow dude, just let me know how you really feel. Here I come, bearing food for my friend and you're just being a total douche nozzle." Ash huffed in mock pain.
"Is it poisoned?" Gray joked.
"Yeah, my plan was to off you so that I can have all the beautiful ladies to myself." Ash said playfully. After making brief eye contact the duo erupted into hearty laughter, a sound that had come to be extremely rare in the Grand Wasteland. Once the laughter subsided, Ash deposited one of the two cups that he had been holding on Gray's bedside desk. "I sure hope you like noodles man. It was all I could afford." He said as he pulled the paper top off his cup to reveal a healthy cloud of steam.
"Thanks." Gray said as he reached for the cup of noodles. The foam cup was surprisingly hot to the touch, reminding Gray of the countless number of insta-ramen meals he'd had in the real world.
"No problem! You've been out for so long, I figured you must be starving." Ash noted.
"Yeah. The nurse gave me a couple of meals throughout the day, but nothing that would fill a belly. As a matter of fact, I think this is my first real meal in the Grand Wasteland."
"No shit. Well, I've been eating like a god damn pig. It's nice to actually have some recognizable food for once. None of that radroach bullshit. Ew." He shivered at the thought of the large cockroach meat.
"True that." Gray saluted with his cup, a gesture that was reciprocated by Ash.
"So, Thalia gave you the gear we collected for you I see." Ash said after a long silence.
"Yeah. I almost forgot to thank you for that." Gray replied in between bites of his delicious ramen soup.
"It ain't nothing. I think everybody was just happy to help out. Don't take this the wrong way or anything, but you getting beat up really brought all of us closer together you know? Seeing you that day, just pissed everyone off. I'm serious man, we ever run into those guys in the future…oh-ho! I'm talkin' a major ass whoopin'!" Ash vowed with a clenched fist.
Gray laughed at his teammate's antics and shook his head. "Yeah, let's just focus on the issues we are facing right now. One problem at a time Ash." Gray said in an effort to steer the subject away from Leon and his gang.
"Way to be a buzzkill man." Ash said shaking his head. "Still though, I get ya. We do have a major problem on our hands, with all these slavers and what-not. It just trips me out man. Like how can someone do something like that to another person you know?
"You are absolutely right. I haven't really been able to wrap my head around the things that have been going on here either. I thought video games were supposed to be a place where people can just have fun and not have to worry about the troubles of real life. Now it's the complete opposite. We have an organization that has completely taken over the game and nobody knows why. Then you have a bunch of people auctioning off other people like this is the 1800's. It's insane."
"Well, maybe this is just one sick bastard's idea of fun and here we all are, tagging along for the ride." Ash commented on the harsh reality of the situation. It then dawned on both of them that this whole ordeal could in fact be someone's twisted version of fun. As someone who played role-playing games, Gray couldn't deny that being the bad guy was fun at times. He'd never thought about the possibility that this was all just some role-player's fantasy. All of a sudden, the most dangerous terrorist organization had just become a group of everyday video game fanatics. What made it all even crazier, was that neither Gray or Ash—or anyone for that matter could decide what was worse.
Meanwhile…
The small city of Kirkland was thriving. Its citizens were beginning to produce a healthy number of crops and the townsfolk had cobbled together a sizeable militia. Raiders dared not tread anywhere near the city limits and makeshift turrets kept the ghouls away. All of this success could be attributed to the leadership skills of Ian Gregory. A famed military vet in the real world, Ian was no stranger to the mechanics of combat and when shit hit the fan—he was the one everybody followed. After a successful counterattack on the group holding the people of his vault hostage, 'General Gregory' led his people 20 miles through the miraculously untouched and radioactive free Colorado wilderness to an abandoned town just a few miles north of Denver.
In three days he'd managed to get everyone situated, outfitted, and positioned accordingly. His people never questioned him and he dared not to lead them astray. When the first Raiders came, his fellow settlers showed them what happened when others try and mess with the 'good people' of Kirkland. When the army of ghouls threatened to break through the barricades of the town, it was General Gregory's tactical wit that allowed them to hold their precious city. To say the accomplishments of the people of Kirkland were impressive would be a massive understatement. Everything that they had done was nothing short of a miracle. And it was all in thanks to General Gregory.
"All is clear. Returning home." The radio cackled in Gregory's office. Ian breathed a sigh of relief, finally hearing from the scout team that he'd sent to investigate sightings of a Deathclaw lurking around. He knew first-hand the sheer terror that Deathclaws presented. He'd lost twenty people in their voyage through the Colorado wilderness to one Deathclaw. It was pure chance that his knife brought the beast down, but not before the guilt that twenty people were dead had settled in.
"Thanks boys. Get back in one piece alright?" Gregory called over the radio.
"Will do General." One of the scouts said before cutting the chatter. Leaning back in his seat, Ian's mind began to wander back to his family back in the real world. He'd just returned from his third tour around Ukraine to see his beautiful wife and equally beautiful three-year-old daughter, only to end up trapped and away from his family again in the world of Fallout: Online. She was only a month when he was called to his third tour, as the Russian Federation continued to show signs of invading Ukraine and its neighboring countries. He'd seen many things in his time on the Asian continent, including some events that almost brought upon the Third World War. Luckily for him, the United States show of power was enough to keep the Russian Federation at bay. For now, at least.
He was beginning to doze off when he heard panicked chatter and gunshots on the radio.
"What the hell is that thing! Everybody get to cover, now!" he heard an officer say. Ian scrambled over to the desk and picked up the transceiver and barked into the radio:
"Boys! What's going on out there?"
"Sir! Something came out of the woods! It took out-GET DOWN!" The sound of super-heated laser blared on the radio, followed by several screams of agony.
"What's your status Sergeant!" Anger and worry present in his voice. No answer. "SERGEANT!" he had begun to lose hope and figured that the entire scouting party had been wiped out. "No—no—no—how could I let this happen?"
"G-al—" The radio was full of static. Hearing the sound of his one of his men breathed some life into the distraught General as he responded as quickly as he could.
"Sergeant! What's your status?" he repeated.
"The entire-wiped out—machine—you've got to warn the others!" The soldier's warning message was followed by the sound of a large mechanical screech and then—silence.
"Sergeant! Hello! Does anyone copy? I repeat—does anyone copy!" Even with the static, General Gregory understood what had happened to the scouting party. "DAMN IT!" he roared in frustration. "The others…I've got to warn the others!" his mind raced, as he bolted out of his office and climbed up to the roof. He'd made his mind to set up shop in the town church, that way if he needed to get anyone's attention all he would need to do was ring the bell.
The bell's roar summoned everybody in the small town of Kirkland as they all converged on the center of town to hear the news. Everybody already knew this was going to be bad, as the two other times they'd used the bell it was about an invasion.
"People of Kirkland! Something has wiped out one of our scouting parties to the north of here! I don't know what it is or what they want, but they will not take our town! I need all the able bodied men and women to take up arms! To the women and children who won't be participating in the fight, you know where it is that you need to take shelter. You all know your positions! MOVE!"
The people scattered in every which direction as they raced to their respective locations. Ian descended from the rooftops and ran back to his office to oversee radio chatter and guide his militia to victory. He opened the window to his office as somebody ran in with a hunting rifle and took position. "Awaiting orders, Sir!"
"Sit tight. Look out for anything out of the ordinary. I wish I could say I knew what we were up against, but sadly we're flying blind. Whatever it was, it made quick work of the scouting party so as soon as anyone sees anything. Let me know." He announced over the radio and to his personal sniper.
"Sir, all the woman and children have been successfully evacuated to the 'Shelter'. Moving to join the South team."
"Roger. Stay vigilant." Ian replied.
"Acknowledged." The civilian said as he signed off. General Gregory knew that he wasn't dealing with real soldiers here, but in the short time that he managed to amount a militia he was proud of their ability to function like a military force. It was the only reason that they survived this long. For what seemed like an eternity, everything was quiet. Too quiet.
"Anything?" Ian asked, hoping that whatever it was up and walked away.
"The East Barricade is clear sir!"
"Nothing on the North! All clear!"
"I don't see anything hear on the Southside. We're clear!"
"All I see on the Western entrance are trees and an empty road. Nothing to report."
"Nothing in all four directions. Where did it go?" The General wondered. "Keep watch! We don't know when this thing might show up." He ordered.
"Roger!" all four checkpoints called in unison.
Running a hand through his thick beard, Ian fell back into his chair and waited for the next report. Minutes went by as silence had enveloped the whole town of Kirkland. It was beginning to drive Ian mad. "Private, see anything?" he called to his personal sniper.
"No sir, nothing as of ye—" The sniper would never finish his sentence as a bullet sent his gray matter all over the walls.
"PRIVATE!" Ian roared as he caught the body of the now dead civilian. To make matters worse, the radio kicked to life as the Eastern team reported in.
"Sir! We've lost contact with the North team! Sounds of gunfire can be heard from their location! What are our orders!"
Remembering his duty as the leader of his people, General Gregory laid his fallen comrade down gently and broadcasted his voice over the radio.
"Hold position for now. We don't know how many of them there are yet and we don't need another breach because an area was left defenseless. I'll make contact with the North and update you from there." He said calmly.
"But sir—"
"I gave you an order, soldier! I suggest you follow it." Ian barked.
"Understood sir. Sorry sir." The soldier apologized before signing off. He understood their worry over the North team, but now wasn't the time for feelings, it was the time for wit. He needed to make contact with the Northern group to see what they were up against. With any luck the group from the North managed to take the damn thing down and that was the reason for their radio silence.
"This is General Gregory—does anyone copy? I repeat does anyone copy?"
No reply.
"Damn it! This is General Gregory—DOES ANYONE COPY!" he tried a second time.
"Yes! Yes—this is Private Tucker from the North team! Over!"
"Private Tucker what's your status!?" Ian asked, relieved that someone finally answered.
"Sir! We've sustained heavy casualties! We're up against a gi-" The rest of his sentence was cut off by the sound of heavy gunfire. "Shit!"
"What's going on out there!" Ian demanded. Never before had he faced a foe that caused him this much trouble. For the first time in his tenure as leader, Ian was worried about the safety of his people.
"Five more dead! Sir, we our weapons aren't doing us any good! This thing—it's on a whole another level!"
"What thing!? What the hell is it Private!?"
"It's some sort of Giant—"
Static followed as an explosion rocked the entire town of Kirkland. The radio clicked to life again as the three remaining teams reported in.
"What the fuck was that explosion!?"
"Sir! It came from the North! What do we do!"
"The entire Northern Brigade was wiped out! They're all gone! All of them! What the hell are we going to do now!?" Came all three of the panicked replies of the remaining team leaders.
"Alright everybody—keep calm—" Ian began an attempt to bring everyone back to speed on the situation.
"KEEP CALM! ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING! The entire Northern Brigade was wiped out! I knew we should've moved in to help them damn it! My brother was over there! YOU KILLED HIM! YOU FUCKING KILLED HIM!" Came the first interruption.
"Alex! That's no way to talk to the General! It isn't his fault and you know that!" The Southern team leader scolded the Eastern team leader.
"Man fuck this! If you guys want to just sit on your asses and argue then be my guest! I'm moving to engage!" The Western leader said in irritation.
Reaching for the transceiver, General Gregory was going to do his best to try and take control of the situation, but the words of another figure stopped him in his tracks.
"Funny how quickly people lose their trust in their leader the moment things start to go wrong." The voice said. With his senses in full alert, Ian jumped away from the desk and pinpointed the location of the voice. The figure was kneeling next to his dead comrade, gently stroking his face as if he'd known him.
"Get away from him!" Ian barked as he moved to engage the strange man.
"Ah-ah-ah, you'll stay right there General." The man stood up quickly and raised a pistol at him, halting his advance.
"Are you the one responsible for this attack?"
"So what if I am?" The man said, waving his pistol around carelessly. "It isn't like your militia is in any position to stop me." He finished with a wicked grin.
"What is it you're after? My people have done nothing to you!" Ian said as he jerked a finger towards the man.
"I'm after a lot of things General. Knowledge." He paused to move closer to Ian, who was growing more uncomfortable with the man's presence. Something wasn't right about him, but as it was now he was unarmed. One false move and he'd end up like the sniper. A corpse. "Wealth. Redemption." The last one stirred something within General Gregory.
"Redemption? What, you a Raider or something?"
"You mean those low-life thugs? God no. Those miscreants don't hold a candle to me or my associates as I'm sure you could see. I've already got your precious city on the ropes General, or should I say Lieutenant Colonel Ian Gregory."
A chill ran down the General's spine. "He—he knows who I am!? But how? Not even the townspeople know me! Who is this guy?"
"What's the matter Colonel? You're looking a little pale." The man said with a laugh. He had made his way behind Ian and now was brandishing a very sharp knife against his throat. "What's a war hero like you got to be afraid of anyways?" The man said mockingly.
"Get away from me!" Ian roared as he elbowed the man in the gut and followed up by throwing him over his shoulder. The man recovered quickly and assumed a battle stance with his knife facing outward.
"Looks like I hit a nerve. What's the matter Colonel? Do you not like talking about your 'glorified' service to the United States?"
"Shut up." Ian was seething.
"February 28th, Skalat, Ukraine 2015. You and a platoon of men entered the village on 'suspicion that the villagers were Russian sympathizers and were training a militia.' 2:49AM you and your men find members of the Russian Federation holed up in a chemical facility producing an unknown toxin. 3:13AM The firefight begins. By 5:30AM every single Russian Federation member is dead. 1,235 innocent Ukrainians also lie dead. The Russian Federation claims that none of its troops had set foot on Ukrainian soil. The U.S. says none of its operatives went into Skalat. The UN declares the 1,235 innocent civilians dead, the cause of death? A 'chemical leak' at the Urbenov Facility. Do you know what the problem is with that story? Those 1,235 dead—over 676 of them suffered numerous bullet wounds. Does that sound like an effect of the chemical leaks?" The man asked, a hint of venom laced with every mention of the Ukraine civilians.
"So that's what this is about? This is the revenge that you're after. Let me guess, you're after the surviving members of that operation in order to avenge the deaths of your family."
"No. I don't care about the operation or what happened to the Ukrainian people you and the Russian Federation massacred. I was too young to develop any significant emotional ties. Oh no, this is about what happened after the cover-up. About what happened to all the children your governments' orphaned."
The sound of gunfire and screaming outside told Ian that his people weren't faring very well against the man's attack force. He needed to end this and soon, or else everyone would be dead before he knew it. "Look I'm sorry that you were orphaned at such a young age. Believe me, not a day goes by where I don't think about—"
"SHUT UP! Don't you dare say that you understand the horrors we were put through or that you feel sorry for the pain you caused. Do not insult the dead in such a heinous manner. You returned home and forgot all about us. You didn't try and find a home for the orphans. You left us to face a fate worse than death."
"A soldier never forgets. I may not understand the nightmares you went through, but I had plenty of nightmares of my own." Ian defended.
"Is that so? Why don't we put that to the test then? Let me show you the nightmare you created…" Before Ian knew what was going on, the man vanished into thin air.
"What the!? Where did he go!?" he panicked as his eyes flitted about the room in an effort to find his attacker. When he saw no sign of him, that left only one place…"behind me!" Turning in what could only be described as the 'nick of time', Ian gave himself enough time to get out of the way of the blade that was meant for the back of his neck.
Pivoting on his right foot, he grabbed hold of the man's arm and swung him around into a file cabinet that was next to his desk. With a twist of his arm, Ian successfully disarmed his opponent but left himself wide open for a vicious left hook that sent him reeling.
"I underestimated you General… I assure you, it won't happen again."
Spitting out the blood from his mouth, Ian responded by gesturing for the man to come back at him. With a smirk that rivaled the Devil's, the man lurched forward with a quick one-two punch that Ian managed to block before they hit their desired mark. That was not the end of the combo however, as the General leaped over a low-sweep kick leaving him defenseless in the air as the man rose to a crouch and caught Ian with a full-powered kick to the stomach. Crashing into the long weathered wall, Ian almost was sent flying out of the building as a portion of the wall crumbled behind him and fell into the streets below. Lucky for him he was able to grab on to an old pipe before falling to his death and jumped right back into the fight with a brutal right hook that managed to catch his opponent off guard.
Utilizing everything that he had learned from his military training, Ian followed up with a low kick to the leg that put the man off balance and a good jab to the jaw that sent his foe backpedaling. "Shouldn't have fucked with me!" he roared as he grabbed his head and slammed it into the brick wall. In a daze from Ian's devastating combo, the man made no move to defend himself from another kick that knocked him flat on his back. Seeing no reason to prolong an unnecessary fight, Ian made quick work of his struggling opponent by snapping his neck, effectively making him the victor in their duel.
The sounds of gunfire followed by numerous explosions and the shrieks of agony outside told Ian that there was still another foe to be fought. Rising to check the radio, Ian was hurled across the room when the wall behind him suddenly exploded and sent him crashing into the very thing he was about to check. The radio fell off the counter with a distinct 'clunk' and tuned into some classical radio station.
"And now for all of you Classy people in the Wasteland, La Donna é Mobile!" the radio host said before cueing the next song.
"No, no, no, no!" Ian chanted as he messed with the dials on the radio in an attempt to make contact with his men. It was then that Ian heard something that rattled his core. Every hair on his body stood on end and an icy shiver snaked its way down his back. His breath hitched in his throat and he found that his body was bound to its very spot. "I—Impossible!"
"Shame on you, General. You know better than to turn your back to your enemy." Ian couldn't see his face, but he could practically feel the psychotic smile and blood lust that was directed toward him. Before he had any opportunity to gather himself, Ian was lifted off the floor and slammed onto the table. Having the wind knocked out of him Ian gasped for air but, his assailant would not give him the satisfaction by wrapping his hands around his throat. "And now, this is how you die." The crazed man said as he tightened his grip.
Ian flailed around desperately. He tried to kick at his attacker, but he was off to the right and out of range. His arms scoured the desk for anything that would help him escape the clutches of impending death. The General was holding out as long as he possibly could, but his vision was beginning to fade and he could swear that his eyeballs were going to pop out of their sockets from the sheer pressure his attacker placed on his neck. His movements slowed and he could feel himself slipping away. It would only be a few more moments now before the great General of Kirkland fell in battle.
However, luck seemed to favor the General in this day as his hand came across a sharpened pencil. While it wasn't quite the weapon he was hoping for, it proved just as efficient in aiding in his escape as he thrust it into his foe's neck. Given his weakened state, the attack was not of the 'table turning' caliber, but it was just enough puncture the skin. The man elicited a sharp cry of pain and loosened his hold enough for Ian to break free.
Classical music blared throughout the room, as Ian's lungs took in some much needed oxygen and the man seeking redemption pulled the pencil from his neck. "This has gone on long enough." He said before vanishing once more. Still recovering, Ian was left defenseless as the man reappeared before him to deliver a blow to his stomach. Ian keeled over and wheezed from the hit just as his opponent's knee came up to send him back upright.
Falling back against the table, Ian fought to keep himself upright as a right hook sent him stumbling toward his filing cabinet. Pulling the drawer open, Ian clumsily reached inside for a hidden magnum but he would prove too slow as the man slammed the drawer shut on his hand. The General's cry of agony was drowned out by the music. Hoisted to his feet, Ian found himself pressed up against the brick wall at the mercy of his opponent. The first punch jarred a couple of his teeth loose and filled his mouth with the taste of blood. The second hit came from the left and would have knocked him to the floor if he wasn't being held up.
On his last leg, Ian threw a wild left hook. He wasn't really expecting much from the attack and rightfully so, as it was easily blocked and countered with a nasty head-butt. His head bounced off the wall and before he knew it he was being flipped onto the old oak table in his office. The wood splintered from the force at which he was thrown down as the whole world around him seemed to grow more and more distant.
"I can't die like this—my family—I need to get back to my family…" Ian subconsciously reached out toward the ceiling as images of his wife and daughter seemingly appeared in his mind's eye. The classical music faded out and Ian heard a distinct 'click' like someone had turned the dial. Mr. Sandman started playing, the infamous 'Bum' 'Bum' 'Bum' 'Bum' of The Chordettes sent chills down Ian's spine as he was dragged off the table and across the floor.
Mr. Sandman, bring me a dream
The General was thrown carelessly next to the gaping hole in his office. He heard the footsteps of his foe, but his vision was far too blurry to make out anything at this point. The only thing he could make out was shapes, as his assailant seemed to be at his filing cabinet. He heard him retrieve something heavy, but he couldn't quite discern what it was and at this point he really didn't think that it mattered.
Mr. Sandman bring us, please, please, please, Mr. Sandman! Bring us a dreeeeeam!
The final line of the song and a gunshot would be the last thing the great General would hear as all semblance of life left his body. His blood stained the walls a thick crimson red as his opponent lowered the smoking .357 and holstered it. As soon as he was certain that the General was dead, the man pulled up his Pip-Boy and tuned the dial to another frequency.
"Was wondering when you'd report in. What took you so long Cain?" a voice said the moment he'd reached the desired frequency.
"The Lieutenant Colonel was much stronger than we originally anticipated. I had to make sure we didn't leave any 'loose ends'." Cain answered.
"Is that so? I take it then that he didn't accept our generous offer?" the voice asked.
"No." Cain said. The Canonical Five member knew that he never made the offer and never really intended to. This fight was personal and while he would acknowledge that Ian Gregory was a great leader, he knew that they'd be just fine without him.
"Well that's a god damn shame. Red isn't going to be too happy about that. He really thought this guy could be what our army needed. With the correct mentality of course, but that's nothing that some good old fashioned torture can fix right?"
"Perhaps." Cain replied.
"Ugh, Cain you're so boring. Don't you know how to hold a conversation?" The voice whined.
"I've got to go. I still have some loose ends to attend to. Speak to Red and have him send me the details on the next target. Goodbye, Five."
"Yeah, yeah whatever. Go have fun with your giant robot already." Five said grumpily before signing off. Cain did the same and walked over to the radio that he'd seen the General using earlier. Turning the dial over, Cain listened for any radio chatter to find anymore possible stragglers.
"There you are." He said with a wicked smile when he picked up on a conversation between two squads whom were plotting an evacuation.
Unfortunately for the people of Kirkland, their General was dead and their 'evacuation' would never come to pass. Their mighty city and military prowess meant nothing to Cain and his diabolical contraption. No one would hear their screams. The mechanical roar of the Crow was the last sound to ever come out of Kirkland, as the great city fell to a man seeking redemption.
Meanwhile…
Thalia knew that she'd stirred up some suspicion by leaving the way she did, but she just couldn't take it anymore. She wanted to tell him about the offer, about how she had a chance to get home, but how could she? "Oh, hey by the way, I can go home as long as I turn you in to Brett. Is that cool?" she mumbled to herself knowing how ridiculous that would have sounded.
The green-eyed beauty would be lying if she said she hadn't thought about following through with the offer and who could blame her? It wasn't like her and Gray were particularly close or anything, and she had an opportunity to get out of a game that had already taken the lives of so many. If it meant that she could see her father again and finally be safe, then to hell with everybody!
Or at least that's what she wanted to feel, but human morality was much more complicated than that and all Thalia was left with was this overwhelming feeling of guilt, and she hadn't even done anything yet! Yeah, of course she didn't really know Gray but, that didn't mean she wanted to screw him over just so she could get a ticket out of the game. After all, it was because of him that she was still alive. Between the few companions that she'd traveled with in the last week and a half, Gray was by far the most compassionate and generous of them. When she started thinking like this, she knew that she wouldn't be able to do it.
And that was what was tearing her apart. She had to choose between a complete stranger and her father, a task that most people wouldn't really hesitate much on. Then again, when asked in a question the answer was much easier said than done. She was living through with this. She was the one who had to make the sacrifice. This was more than just some question. It was a choice, and a very difficult one at that. If only there were a way to make her decision easier. If only…
"Giving him gifts are you? Doesn't seem like to me you're going to make the right decision here." She heard Brett's voice call from her right. Instantly, Thalia went on the defensive and was about to cry for help but realized that she was on the abandoned side of town and it was unlikely that anyone could hear her from this distance. "Woah, woah, hey now take it easy. You and I both know how this fight would play out if you were to attack me. I'm only here for a discussion." Brett said with exposed teeth.
Thalia wanted nothing more than to wipe the smile off of his face then and there, but she knew that she wouldn't stand a chance against the slaver. Besides, if she truly wanted to get home it would be in her best interests not to attack the guy who could help her. "What do you want?" she said in irritation, hands still raised defensively. Although she knew that it was unlikely that he'd try anything, she knew better than to let her guard down around him.
"For you to make the right decision. I wouldn't want to have to come after you if you went and did something stupid now. " He replied with his arms crossed.
"Since when do you care about what I do? You sold me off to a group of Raiders. You don't care about anyone but yourself." Thalia pointed out angrily.
"That's just the nature of the business babe. Surely, you must know that I was only doing what I had to. Come on, babe. You've got to let that g—"
"Bullshit. I don't want to hear it. Don't act like you ever cared about me and don't talk to me like I'm one of your groupies." Thalia said as she aimed her pipe rifle at Brett who raised an eyebrow at her sudden show of force.
"You dare raise a rifle at me? Do you have a death wish or something, toots?" he teased.
"What the fuck do you want? I'm not going to repeat myself. Either speak now or leave me be." Thalia shot back, ignoring his questions.
"Okay, if that's how you want to play it." He said with a shrug of his shoulders. "I mean I already told you what I wanted. I thought I was pretty clear myself, but since you didn't seem to get my message allow me to make it clearer for you." Thalia didn't even have time to blink as her rifle was shot out of her hands and she found herself pinned against the wall with a bullpup magnum pressed to her forehead. "You WILL bring Gray to Silverfort in two weeks along with your new 'friends'. If for some reason you decide to disobey me I will hunt you down and when I find you I'm going to kill every one of your friends as you watch helplessly knowing that this was all your fault. Then when I get my hands on Gray, I'm going to make him watch as I kill you, slowly and painfully. I'll be sure to get a video of your death to your father too just so he can watch as his precious daughter dies before him and there won't be a damn thing he could do about it. So, I'd suggest you do the SMART thing and be at Silverfort in two weeks. Do I make myself clear?" he said in a low but threatening voice.
Thalia nodded in response as her whole body was trembling from head to toe. Brett released her and backed away as she helplessly slumped down to the ground. He smiled in satisfaction knowing that he'd gotten his message across this time and left before anyone could come and investigate the sound of gunfire.
The green-eyed beauty curled up against the shack wall and let her emotions loose. Her tears left streaks across her cheeks as it began to rain in the Grand Wasteland. She'd never been more afraid and never felt such hopelessness. She was all alone, with no one to help her—and no one would come. So, Thalia just laid there and cried in the rain. Oh, how she wanted a knight in shining armor—but this wasn't some fairy tale. There were no happy endings in this world, just life and death. Now she understood the true nature of the Wasteland and while it terrified her, she knew better than to try and challenge it. The only person she needed to look out for was herself.
And thus, the decision she was having so much trouble figuring out was made up for her. No longer did the well-beings of others take precedent in her mind. If she wanted to survive and get home, she was going to do whatever it took. Surely, the members of Binary Squad would understand her situation. After all, it wasn't like she had much choice in the matter anyways—right?
"Yes, of course they would. They understood that it was survival of the fittest. They would be happy for me. Happy that I made it out. Yes, that is how they will feel. They have to be. How else could they feel? They'd be acting selfish if they took away my chance to be free. Real friends wouldn't get in the way of my chance for survival. If they did, then they'd be just like everyone else-looking out for themselves. Gray will understand. They all will. I'm doing the right thing. I'm doing the right thing. I am doing the right thing." She convinced herself with what little sanity she had left.
Thalia wasn't crying anymore. She didn't feel guilty anymore. All of her conflictions were gone. She had found the solution that she was seeking. All she had to do was tell herself—
I'm doing the right thing.
Ain't that a kick in the head?
A/N: And Chapter Ten is in the books! I originally was going to have this out for you all on Tuesday, but I got into a nasty car accident and had to spend a few days in the hospital. After I got out, I just didn't have the energy to do much and that included the desire to finish off the rest of this chapter. Still, I got the writing bug back voila! Chapter Ten! Can you Wastelanders believe it? We've got ten chapters in this story of mine! WE HIT THE DOUBLE DIGITS! Thank you to all of you readers, who made this story possible. I really appreciate you guys. It's why I continue to crank out this stuff! Anywho, REVIEW RESPONSE TIME!
MaxGentlman1: Yeah, can you believe it? I had no idea I was going to hit ten chapters when I first started this. I honestly didn't even have a plot. Just an idea—lots of blood and stuff. Now here I sit, with an actual outline and characters and—TEN CHAPTERS! No doubt, your contributions have also helped me come a long way in this story so thank you for that and thank you for your reviews! Happy reading!
And that was the one! Hm, maybe I'll get some more next time? Lookin' at you guys. Wink* Wink* Nudge* Nudge*
Haha! I'm kidding, but I do have a very important announcement to make:
Like I've stated before, I started this off of a whim and without much direction. While I am proud that I have come this far, I know that I have left a lot of plot holes and probably contradicted myself more often than not. Kinda happens when you're new to this stuff you know? Anyway, the first chapter is a special little guy, because it was mostly just me writing for the hell of it. Now that I go back and look at it, I will admit that it needs some work—A LOT OF WORK—so I am currently overhauling the first chapter of this story to better suit the story as it is now. If you liked the first chapter, don't worry I can assure you that you'll love the NEW CHAPTER ONE. (Especially if you happen to be Metal Gear and Horror fans!) With that being said, if any of you have any requests or would like to see some other chapters reworked please feel free to let me know.
Other than that I think that I have concluded my spiel here. You guys know the drill by now right? If you have any questions, comments, concerns, or suggestions please feel free to shoot me a PM or leave a review! Until next time Wastelanders, Frosty out!