I am so truthfully sorry about how long this update has taken. The reasons, however, are almost entirely related to the story however. A friend of mine mentioned that Shattered Illusions (Part 1) was rife with spelling errors. I checked. It was. I felt bad about that and have been painstakingly reuploading the chapters bit by bit, but with the errors fixed. Then that same friend was reviewing my story notes and such for parts 3 and 4. She decided I needed to change part 4 or write a part 5. Guess what I picked? It was- HA! Surprise, I'm not going to tell you. Not yet at least. But with the edits almost out of the way and my rampant new round of story boarding I've been busy. I'll try to keep more regular updates for you fine, fine audience. Two questions this chapter.
Q: New Ava seems to lose control less often than the old Ava. Is this because she's growing as a person, or because of the lack of chems?
A: Growing as a person. If you recall, the drugs actually managed to have a stabilizing effect for her psychosis.
Q: Who is Knox allied with back in Vegas?
A: Can't reveal that just yet. However, this chapter should provide a little more insight into the topic.
Beyond that, no more questions. If you have a question, please message it to me. If you like the story, please favorite. If you have something you'd like to see or think I could do better, please leave a review.
May 5, 2280
19:00
New Mexico
Hills Outside of Los Alamos
"So that's Los Alamos?"
"Yep."
"Is it always on fire?"
Knox flashed an irritated look at Ava, but she ignored it. "No, Ava. It isn't always on fire. It's actually quite nice when it's not being overrun by what looks like a very nasty tribe of raiders."
Knox and Ava where laying down on one of the hills overlooking the city. Knox had pulled out his binoculars and was surveying the situation. Surprisingly well organized raiders were occupying the town. However, Knox had noticed a pocket of the original inhabitants holding out in an old fort. Raider corpses littered the outside. They'd been taken out before they'd even reached the worn stone of the fort's walls.
"Any survivors?" asked Ava. Knox pointed to the southern part of the settlement at the fort.
"They're holed up in there."
Ava propped herself up on her elbows and folded her hands above her eyes to cut off the glare of the sun. She thoughtfully chewed on her tongue as she pondered the situation. She could easily navigate the city in her newly repaired stealth suit, but to what end? She couldn't do much to help anybody.
"What do we do, Knox?"
Knox pulled the binoculars lenses away from his eyes and met Ava's eyes. "Well, I can certainly get us around Los Alamos. I was hoping for a resupply here, but if we drop south we can probably scavenge in Albuquerque, but..." he trailed off.
"But what?"
Knox brought the binoculars back to his face. "But then we'd be leaving Los Alamos to the raiders."
Ava buried her head in her arms and groaned. This whole being a good person thing was way more trouble than she'd have ever thought. "We're not going to leave Los Alamos to the raiders," she admitted.
"That's what I thought," replied Knox. "So what are we gonna do to save it?"
Ava began absentmindedly playing with the dirt before answering. "Why do I already feel like you have a plan?"
"It's in its infancy. Humor me. What do you think we should do?"
Ava reached over for the binoculars. "Let me have a look."
Knox handed her the binoculars. Ava brought them up and looked down into the city.
"Well, first we need to get to the fort, meet up with the survivors. Right?" Knox nodded. "Main street looks like it has the most cover, but also the most raiders. I could get through, but not you."
Ava started looking for alternate roots. The main street wasn't the best option, but the alleys were narrow without anything to hide behind. However they weren't occupied. Unfortunately, she noticed the raiders were smart enough to put sentries on the rooftops. They'd be able to pick anyone running through the alleys off at their leisure. But... if there were no sentries, well, maybe it wasn't so unfortunate.
"What about the back alleys?" she asked Knox.
"Covered by the sentries," he countered. "Unless... you've got a solution?"
Ava kept looking at the streets laid out before her. "Maybe. If we move fast enough. I can cover you from the roof. I'll take out the sentries, keep them from raising the alarm. If we hurry we can make it to the fort before anyone notices."
"That's a workable plan. I also think it's our best bet. You think you can-"
"Hang on a minute," Ava interrupted, noticing something with the binoculars. "Uh-oh."
"What-oh? What do you see?" Knox asked urgently. "Ava, what is it?"
"Shh! Quiet," she commanded. "We've got a third party involved."
"And?"
"And," Ava replied, annoyed, "I have no idea who they are."
Knox reached for the binoculars. "Inhabitants or outsiders? Here, give me the binocs."
Ava elbowed his hand away and kept looking. "Red clad, all of them. Looks like they've got a flag."
"Ava, give me the binoculars," Knox asked again, more insistently. Ava continued to ignore him.
"The flag's a... bull? Knox! Like Rhombus said."
Knox snatched the binoculars out of her hands and rammed them against his eyes, trying to find the group Ava was looking at. After a few moments of frantic searching he settled on them.
"Ah, FUCK," Knox swore angrily. Ava resentfully glared at him while rubbing her hand from where Knox had slapped the binoculars away.
"Care to share? That's the Legion, right? That's what you said back in Texas, isn't it?"
Knox lowered the binoculars and dropped his head into the dirt. "Yes. It's the Legion, Ava."
"Don't get short with me," she snapped in reply, "just because you've got your panties in a twist. Now tell me what the hell is happening."
"Now look whose panties are in a twist," he muttered. "The one of us who actually wears panties," he answered for himself. Ava flicked him in the side of the head, knocking his hat askew.
"Newsflash," she retorted, "I don't wear panties."
Knox got to his knees and stowed the binoculars on his belt and chambered a round in A Light Shining In Darkness. "Oh, I'm aware. You have some sort of perverse fascination with wearing nothing, but your underwear in combat zones."
"Hey! Fuck you!"
As the two bickered and readied themselves, they failed to hear the trio of footsteps behind them. "Hello, profligates." While they may have not heard their approach, Knox and Ava both froze upon hearing the voice.
"Fuck," murmured Knox.
Ava was slightly more proactive. She whipped around with Clarity in a brutal double handed swing at the approximate head height of whoever had spoken. To her surprise her blow was halted with a clang of metal. The speaker wasn't alone. His two guards had their short swords crossed in front of him. They pushed back and Ava stumbled next to Knox.
Whoever these three were they meant business. Each wore crimson shirts and leather skirts. Their chests were armored with what looked like reinforced football pads. The guards wore facewraps and helmets. Their swords were held at the ready, pointed at Knox and Ava. The man in the center, however, was dressed differently. His armor was bulkier and looked almost scrapped together. He wore a coyote head atop his head and goggles covered his eyes. A flag rose from his back, a flag bearing the bull standard. His arms were crossed and he examined Ava and Knox thoughtfully.
"It is unfortunate luck that you would be found this near to the den of cowards," the man stated calmly as he motioned to Los Alamos below them.
"Bad luck indeed, Vexillarius," Knox replied. Ava's eyes flicked to him in surprise. He knew this guy? As he stood, Knox maintained eye contact with the man, but surreptitiously motioned for Ava to not do anything rash with his hand.
"Ah, so you are familiar with my rank in Caesar's Legion?" Okay, so not a name. A rank.
"Who the fuck is Keye-Sar?" asked Ava bluntly. A pained expression crossed Knox's face as the Vexillarius turned his gaze on Ava. He motioned to one of his guards.
The guard strode forward, preparing to backhand Ava across the face.
"Silence, whore," was as much as he got out of his mouth before Ava drove Clarity's pommel up and into his chin. The Legionary stumbled backwards, grunting in pain as his jaw clamped down on his own tongue.
"How very disappointing," the Vexillarius sighed as his man was repulsed, "to be injured so quickly by a woman." He turned back to Ava. "And I commend you, profligate whore. To strike a Legionary so easy is no mean feat. That being said, to strike a Legionary is also a punishable offense for a slave."
Ava bristled. "I'm no one's slave," she spat. She shifted her weight, one foot forward and raised Clarity in front of her. The Vexillarius's hand strode towards the grip of his own blade as he stared down Ava.
"Let's everyone just calm down for a moment," Knox interjected. Ava glanced at him in irritation, she was spoiling for a fight. The Vexillarius silently appraised Knox.
"I think there's something you should see." Knox reached into his pocket and pulled out the same large, silver coin he'd had on Clinton's train. Knox flicked it towards the Vexillarius. The three Legionaries watched the disk flip through the air. The Vexillarius lifted his hand off his sword to catch it on instinct.
Knox whipped his pistols out, firing three times. Blood sprayed from the Legionaries' throats as they stumbled backwards. Ava stomped her foot. She hadn't gotten to kill anyone.
"Next time, warn me," she griped.
Knox ignored her and crossed over to the fallen Vexillarius. He plucked the coin from the man's fingers and stowed it in his belt again. The Vexillarius gasped still alive, his eyes fixed on the coin.
"Wh-where did you... g-get the... mark?" he gasped. The Vexillarius coughed blood and his final breath gurgled away.
"Wouldn't you like to know?" Knox smirked as he stood upright once more. He turned to Ava who had her arms crossed and was glaring at him.
"Spill," she hissed angrily. She pointed at the fallen. "How the fuck do you know them? Who the fuck is Keye-Sar? And what the fuck is happening?!"
"Ava, I swear I will fill you in, but right now we have more pressing concerns." Knox pointed at Los Alamos which was still burning away in the background. "I just need you to trust me when I say that this is no ordinary raider attack. It's much more planned than that. It's an... audition," he said slowly, "an audition we don't want to get mixed up in. So if we want to save the people in that fort, we've got to go now."
Ava narrowed her eyes at Knox. She did trust him, but he had too many damned secrets. "Secrets don't make friends, Knox," she reminded him as she took a threatening step forward and raised a hand to punch him.
Knox hopped back as her fingers curled. "Ava, if you break my nose again, I swear on all that is holy, I will shoot you in leg!"
Ava lowered her arm and stuck her tongue out at him. "So what's the plan?"
"Exactly what we agreed it was, when we were so rudely interrupted," Knox said as he started down the hill, stepping over the dead Legionaries. Ava followed, but made a point to trod on their corpses.
"Except, small caveat," Knox continued, "If you encounter Legionaries, do not engage."
Ava snorted in disbelief. "They're not that tough," she protested. "I can take them easily."
Knox stopped and put a hand on her chest. "Not what I mean, Ava. I mean they cannot know we were here."
"Why, Knox?" Ava asked, more than a little confused.
"Remember, how I asked you to trust me? I know this is going to be hard, but I need you to go a little longer without an answer. I swear to you, I will tell you, but not today."
Ava huffed unhappily. "I- Knox- I don't... rrrggghh. Fine," she agreed.
Knox patted her on the head. "Good girl. Let's move, we've got people to save." He trotted ahead of her to the first houses of Los Alamos. "Now, who wants to save the day?" he called back to her.
Knox ran into cover along the wall leading to the first alley. Standing above him on the rooftop was one of the raiders' sentries. Knox laced his fingers together and nodded at Ava. She sprinted at him and planted the sole of her foot into his hands. As she sprang up, Knox lifted with all his might. Ava sailed up into the air directly behind the sentry. She landed without so much as a thud, the stealth suit's shoes dampening any sound. With a quick twist, she swung her leg around and swept the sentry's feet out from under him. With a startled "huh?" the sentry fell backwards off the roof directly into the alley and into Knox's waiting arms.
Before the raider could make a move, Knox knelt on his gun arm and pulled Blood-Nap across his throat. Knox looked up at Ava and tipped his hat before turning and running down the alley.
Ava took a deep breath, readying herself. With a nod, she activated her cloak and took off along the rooftops after Knox.
As Knox approached the first turn in the alley, Ava hurled herself at the sentry stationed above it. She plunged Clarity into his chest and rolled over him. His corpse plummeted down and splatted next to Knox as he tore through the empty corridor. Ava leaped above him onto the next set of rooftops, skidding slightly on the loose tiles.
The next sentries fell to a concentrated burst from Perforator and a well placed kick to the head. The raider she'd kicked in the head stumbled back off the roof and crashed into a pile of crates. He groggily got back to his feet in time for Knox to come sprinting past. Knox took half a second to pistol whip the man into unconsciousness before hurrying on.
Ava called down to him, "better move! Someone heard that!"
And so someone had. The sentries were starting to converge on Knox and an alarm was being sounded. Luckily the fort was within two hundred meters. As the raiders started to sight up on Knox and take potshots, Ava decloaked as she ran at them.
"Hey assholes! Look, I'm a distraction!"
The raiders turned their guns on her as she pirouetted through the air, holding Clarity aloft. The sword cut through armor and flesh alike. The raiders split their attention between Knox and Ava as she began dismembering the sentries nearest her and Knox began to fire at any raiders dumb enough to follow him into the alley.
"Hey, Ava," Knox hollered at her, "time to get out of here!" Knox dove forward, twisting in the air. He landed on scrap metal covering the ground and skidded forward. His back plate cast up sparks as he slid along the ground. Wielding A Light Shining In Darkness and his .45, Knox fired into the raiders' midst, covering Ava as she jumped from the rooftop.
He rolled backwards onto his feet and stumbled around to keep running. Ava landed and rolled neatly next to him. The duo sprinted for the fort's gates. Bullets whizzed past them from the raiders giving chase.
Sniper shots cracked out. Knox peered over his shoulder and saw raiders dropping like flies.
"Haha!" he laughed, "this plan is working out after all!"
"Oh yea of little faith," Ava scolded him. "It was my plan. Of course it was going to work."
Knox rolled his eyes and kept running until a rifle shot from the fort slammed into his chestplate. Knox flew back, slamming into the ground. He gasped trying to catch his breath. It felt like he'd run headlong into a wall.
Ava skidded to a halt. "Knox!" she screamed. Knox tried to tell her he was fine and to keep moving, but all that came out was a gasp. Ava hurried over and knelt next to him. "Knox, come on, you've got to get up! Oh no, no, no!"
Again Knox merely wheezed as he tried to tell Ava to keep moving. "Ava-" he gasped, trying to warn her, but it was no good. Another sniper shot sang out. Knox couldn't possibly see the shot, but he did see Ava's eyes widen as it tore through the soft sides of her stealth suit. The suit was tough (probably tougher now that it had been repaired by the Brotherhood), but it wasn't designed to stand up to a sniper shot.
Knox watched her side explode in a bloody shower, but he didn't see an exit wound. The bullet must have ricocheted back into her stomach off of one of the harder plates in the front of the stealth suit. Ava collapsed on top of Knox. He rolled her over and curled his body over her protectively, using his form to shield her.
"Son of bitch," he cried. "Ava, girl, you've got to be okay! Because," he grunted as he hauled her onto his shoulder. "I haven't," he stuck Clarity in his belt and grasped Perforator in his free hand. "Been paid yet!"
Holding Ava in an awkward fireman's carry, Knox stumbled for the fort's front gate. Raiders had stopped following them, but that hadn't stopped them from shooting. However, it was the snipers who couldn't differentiate friend from foe that Knox was more worried about.
Almost in time with that thought another shot slammed into his shoulder plate. Knox spun three hundred and sixty degrees, but didn't fall. He regained his footing and hauled ass for the shadow of the fort's walls.
As he neared the fort he started shouting, "HOLD FIRE! HOLD YOUR FUCKING FIRE! WE'RE FRIENDLY!" He skidded to a halt in front of the door and gingerly laid Ava on the ground. Checking her pulse he said to her, "You're going to be fine, Ava. You've been through too much shit not to be. How about this? You wake up and we go beat the hell out of the trigger happy dick head that shot at us. Sound good?"
Her pulse was weak, but she didn't respond. "Arrggghhhh," Knox growled. He stood up and began hammering on the doors of the fort. "OPEN THE FUCKING DOOR, YOU PRICKS!" He slammed his fist into it harder. "COME ON!"
The door groaned open a crack. Knox stumbled back as it swung all the way open. A crowd of armed men and women stood with their weapons drawn. A grizzled, old man in the center stepped forward and leveled his shotgun at Knox's head.
"I need some fucking medical aid. You shot my package! And my friend too!" Knox pointed his finger at Ava's unconscious body.
The old man cocked his shotgun. "I'd suggest you get some manners real quick, son."
Knox grinned wickedly and brought his pointing hand to bear. He lowered his pointer finger and raised his middle, taunting the old man to shoot. "And I suggest you get me my damn medical aid, so I can tell you three things. Who's coming to kill you all, why you have no chance, and how I'm your only hope of getting out of here."
And boom goes the dynamite. This is going to spring board us into a little bomb I've been waiting to drop for a while. Isn't that exciting? Anyway, see you next time for the fallout.
Ha, double entendre.
