Disclaimer: I own nothing other than Hikari and Mei. And a new laptop that isn't really new anymore.

Chapter 12 It's Now or Never

I can't say that I've ever really been this scared before. Not even when going to take back Project Purity. Then, we had Liberty Prime, the giant robot that was able to take out most of the forces before we even got to them. I was delusional and sick and have a hard time remembering what really happened. No, this time, I'm completely and fully aware of what we are about to attempt. This will be far more dangerous than the last time we engaged the Enclave. This will be a full-on war.

But it's not me that I'm worried about. It's the two people sitting next to and across from me that mean more to me than my own life, that I live for every day. I couldn't bear it if something happened to either one of them. Unlike me, they don't have the ability to heal - if they get shot, the wound won't pop out the bullets and seal itself closed. I knew that I would do everything in my power to make sure that they lived through this, even if it meant that I wouldn't, but I'm okay with that. Better that they live on without me than I live without one of them.

I glanced out of the window of the Vertibird that the Outcasts have required, which was a huge mistake that I instantly regretted. I saw the ground, so far down below me, and my breath hitched in my throat. In the brief moment, I saw a couple of raiders that were the size of a pre-war ant that I once read about, and it registered just how far up we were. If something were to happen with our Vertibird, if a bullet were to somehow graze the propeller, if there was a malfunction in the engine, if-

My thoughts were cut off by a hand on my shoulder and I look up to see the one man that could calm me right before the storm we're about to fly into. Charon gave me a wry smile, and I returned it, placing my hand over his rough, warm one. Across from me, Mei stared out the window, not making any eye contact with me at all. She's been far too quiet since we boarded the bird, and something about it rubs me the wrong way. Perhaps it's because she was always so vocal about what's running through her head, and it makes me feel uneasy. I wish she would say something, anything, to ease the awful silence.

"We will be all right, Hikari," Charon whispered, his hot breath tickling my ear. "I assure you that you will come out of here alive."

I shook my head and responded, "It's not me I'm worried about. I can't... I can't lose you. Either of you."

"Come on Kari," Mei finally said, "since when do you need to worry about me or Charon? If anything, I'd keep an eye on yourself. Charon and I can take care of ourselves. You know this. You need a clear head going into this battle."

She was right, but I didn't want to admit it. Charon and Mei were much better shots that I was, and they were better in combat than I was. But they still couldn't heal like I could. I took a deep breath as the Vertibird swooped down and my eyes slammed shut. I felt Charon's arm pull me close, almost into his lap, as we descended, and it made it a bit easier as we landed.

"Everybody out!" I heard someone shout, and I followed Mei down and out of the aircraft, thankful to have the solid ground underneath my feet, though my knees wouldn't stop shaking and I had to lean on Charon until I regained my balance.

Up ahead, I could hear gunshots and the firing of energy based weapons. We were dropped right at the entrance of the Citadel, and the war against the Enclave was now beginning. I stuck close to my sister and Charon, firing at any and all Enclave soldiers I laid eyes on, but I didn't have to do much in the way of firing, since the other two did most of the work for me.


~Mei's POV~

Most of the bullets bounced off from the armor that the Enclave soldiers wore, but with the combination of Charon's shotgun and my assault rifle, they didn't stand a chance. Even Kari's plasma rifle was doing a bit of damage, eating away at their armor and allowing for other bullets to penetrate them. We had the element of surprise, as well, so we were able to catch the Enclave off guard and we hit just after the sun went down, so they were probably exhausted from a day's worth of... whatever it is the Enclave does in their free time. Still, it didn't stop the hard resistance that we were hit with, and it caused us to lose a lot of soldiers on our side, as well as theirs; we knew it was going to be a hard fight, but not as hard as this.

I lost track of how long we were fighting, but soon, the resistance was starting to let up. We must have been doing quite a bit of damage with the combined forces of the Brotherhood and the Outcasts, even though they still had more numbers than we did. Still, I wasn't going to stop firing my gun until the last enemy soldier fell, and I didn't. Once the courtyard was mostly cleared, the Sarah, Gunny, Charon, Hikari, and I made our way into the A ring to try and find their leader.

There were very few soldiers posted inside, so we were able to quickly shoot our way around the ring, and determine that whoever was leading them was not in the A ring, so we made our way into the B ring. This ring was more heavily guarded, which Sarah felt the need to point out.

"Thank you, Captain Obvious," I muttered as I sent out a spray of bullets from my assault rifle, taking down an advancing Enclave soldiers dressed in Tesla armor. "I didn't see them shooting at us behind their bulky power armor."

She shot a quick glare in my direction while Kari and Charon took down another hostile.

"Well you were slow on the uptake, so I figured I'd give you a heads up," she shot back.

"I wasn't slow on the uptake, you just state the obvious!" I shouted.

"At least I-"

We were cut off by a loud, ear-splitting explosion that knocked us back several feet.


~Hikari's POV~

I was about to open my mouth to stop Sarah and Mei from arguing – after all, this wasn't the time for this – but all that came out was a strangled cry as Charon quickly stepped in front of my and held my body close to his. I had only a fraction of a second to glance up at his face, which was staring down at me, an almost melancholic smile across his rough lips. Everything moved so quickly after that that I can't really remember everything that transpired. I vaguely remember flying back and hitting my head on the wall, and I remembered the burning sensation that came with it. I remembered sitting up and holding my head in my hands as I tried to figure out what just happened, only to be pulled back down to the ground by Charon, who used his body as a shield once more.

I sat up once more, only once Charon rolled off me. But something was wrong. Horribly wrong. My first clue was the blood that covered my lower half, which was not my own. I quickly turned my attention to Charon, who was laying and gasping for breath on the floor. Blood pooled around his torso, and the back half of his legs and torso no longer existed.

"No..." I muttered as I moved to kneel next to him. "No, no, no, no, no... Charon, Charon, stay with me. Stay with me! I-I can fix this. I know I can. Just... focus on me. Look at me, Charon. Don't go to sleep. Mei, get some radiated water here, pronto!"

"I'd love to!" I heard her shout as I removed my medical supplies from my pip-boy. "But I'm a bit busy at the moment! This place is still crawling with soldiers!"

"Sarah and Gunny can keep them off us! Go get it, now! I don't have any in my pip-boy and I need to tend to Charon's wounds before he bleeds out!" I yelled back with intensity that frightened me.

She bit her lip in hesitation before giving a small nod and shouting something to the two Brotherhood Knights that I was unable to hear. I didn't look up from my work, patching Charon's legs and lower torso up with the best of my ability, but I could tell that something wasn't right. He had already lost a lot of blood, and he was starting to shake.

"Hikari," he whispered. "Hikari, I'm... not going to make it."

I shook my head adamantly as I pumped another vial of med-x into his system. "No, you're going to be fine. I won't let you go."

"Hikari, you must prepare yourself for the inevitable. I once told you... I would not always be here... to protect you."

"You're going to be okay. I can fix this. I can make sure you live," I insisted as the tears began to form in my eyes. "Just don't go to sleep."

I felt his hand graze my cheek and I leaned into it instinctually. His other hand stilled mine as he shook his head.

"You've done enough. Just-"

The tears began to dribble down my face as I tried to keep myself from crying. This wasn't happening. It couldn't be happening. Was it really only yesterday that the three of us were laying in the sun, in complete bliss?

"Why," I whispered, "did you do that? Why did you have to take the blow? I... would have been fine. I could have healed. I-"

"No, you would not... have been fine. That missile... would have... blown you apart," he replied with gasping breaths. "You would... not have... regenerated... fast enough."

Even though I knew he was right, I didn't want to hear it, or rather, I didn't want to see him like this. I didn't want him to leave me.

"Charon-"

I was interrupted when he used the hand that rested against my cheek to pull me down to him, pressing his lips to mine. I responded as passionately as I could and for as long as I could with his blood and my tears mixing together to create a salty, metallic taste. I didn't stop until I felt him still against me.

"Charon?" I whispered, my heart sinking in my chest. "Charon? Charon! No! Charon!"

I buried my face in his armored chest and let the tears free. I felt hesitant hands on my shoulders and heard Mei's voice in my ear.

"Kari, we have to go. We can't wait sit here and do nothing; Gunny and Sarah can only hold them off for so long," she said softly.

Slowly, I rose to my feet, gun in hand. My sorrow and hurt was quickly replaced with rage and anger, and the Enclave was going to have hell to pay.


~Mei's POV~

You know how I said that if we were to bottle Kari's rage, we'd have a weapon of mass destruction on our hands? Well that weapon of mass destruction could have been single-handedly to blame for the fall of the Enclave. No matter how many bullets, shots of plasma, or blasts from grenades she took, she didn't stop. She shouted in pain many, many times, but never stopped. Not until the last Enclave soldier fell and she was standing face to face with the new general.

"Hands in the air – Now!" she shouted, aiming her plasma rifle at his face.

Begrudgingly, he began to lift his hands in the air, only to stop at his waist and withdraw a small .32 pistol. He raised it into the air and aimed it right at Kari. He squeezed the trigger and a bullet flew from the chamber, burying inside her shoulder, but as quick as he shot, she did, too, sending a blob of plasma right for his face. While he screamed in agony, the bullet popped from her shoulder and clinked on the floor before the flesh knitted itself together. Kari rolled her shoulder before shooting a couple more shots at the man on his knees.

What happened next completely caught me off guard. Kari seemed to go into some sort of rampage, trashing everything in sight with strength I hadn't seen and yelling at the top of her lungs. I had never seen her act this way before. Sarah and Gunny moved to restrain her, but I shooed them away and told them I would take care of her.

"Kari," I called out to her, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Kari-"

She turned to face me, and the fury she had been displaying melted from her face as she threw herself at me, burying her face in my shoulder. Together, we fell to the ground, bloodied and covered in sweat, but together. I ran my fingers through her short, shaggy hair as she just let it all out. I knew she loved Charon, but... I hadn't been anticipating a reaction like this if something had ever happened to him.

"Kari, I... I don't know what to say, but... I'm here for you. I'll be your shoulder, your support, your ear, everything," I told her.

"You've always been here for me," she replied, her voice cracking with each syllable. "That's all I ever needed from you, and it's all I need now."

She latched on tighter as a new wave of sorrow overtook her.


After Notes:

...

Well... yeah... Don't kill me. I love Charon, but I also love sad endings. This is the last chapter, but there will be an epilogue.

As always, feel free to drop a review or PM. Much appreciated, Hikari Mei.