Knight in Power Armor

Chapter 13: Purifying Purity

A/N: It would appear that most of the reviewers I had when I started this fic have abandoned me. Oh well, their loss.

cally777: Thanks for noticing.

tedsini: You've summed up most of my worries with this fic rather nicely.

Tom-Ato 13: You're the second person to think that Robby speaks with a British accent. I guess the reason for that is that's how I hear him when I'm writing. :)

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It wasn't long after dealing with the outpost when we reached the Jefferson Memorial.

"Perhaps you two should go on ahead. I'll start clearing the memorial of any remaining super mutants." I suggested.

"You sure you want to do that all by yourself?" Kess asked. A little worry showed on her face and voice.

"Don't worry, Gunslinger." She made a face as I called her that. "I just want to run this armor through its paces."

"Alright, just be careful."

"Yes Mom." I sprinted a yard or two to get out of reach before she hit me. Looking back she still had an annoyed face. I turned back to my task. First, there seemed to be two muties outside, and about three inside, if I remember correctly. I rounded a corner looking for the ones outside, and ran smack into one. He clocked me with his hunting rifle, sending me back a few feet, then started shooting. Thanks to the armor, the hit hurt more than the few shots, but all it really did piss me off. I jumped up, drew my sword and raised my shield, and charged the sucker. He got one shot off, bouncing off my shield, before I bashed the rifle out of its hands and jammed my sword into its chest, through the ribcage, and out the back. He kind of stood there dumbfound, then collapsed as I pulled my sword out.

Well, I'll say this for the council, they make good quality equipment.

Then came the bad news. A brute came around the far corner, with a mini-gun. I did say I wanted to put this armor through its paces, but this will probably hurt. Nonetheless, I raised my shield and charged. Getting in a firefight with someone who has a bigger gun than you is usually a bad idea. The torrent of bullets that hit my shield and armor not only stopped my charge, but forced me to kneel to keep from falling down. My shield arm, still sore from the plasma blast it had received earlier, was in some serious pain right now. I reached out with my laser, keeping my head down, and fired as best as I could while in my position. It must've been enough, because the brute stopped firing at me. At first I thought it was just reloading, it didn't start firing again. I ceased firing myself, and slowly lowered my shield to see the brute just lying there, smoking holes here and there. I got up to head inside, sheathing my sword, gripping my shield arm, and grimacing in pain. No real damage, but the force was enough that it'll probably be bruised for a week.

I reached around to one of the pouches on the armor, looking for some med-x. I disliked using chems in the game because of the possible withdrawal symptoms. I disliked using chems now because the game never said anything about non-game related effects, nor long term effects. That and I never used anything like them back home. The whole concept of using drugs was plain stupid in my opinion. That said, however, I still had work to do, and my arm was in no condition to block anything. I found the med-x and stopped by the turret that Robby used before. It was now deactivated, but the area was still as safe as you can get out in the wasteland. I took my shield and left arm armor off, wincing the whole way. No need to act tough with no one here. I took the med-x and was about to administer it, when I hesitated. Another reason I never used drugs back home was that I hated needles.

"Hey, Robby. Just out of curiosity, what are the long term effects of using med-x?" I asked. Giving me an excuse to not stab myself.

"After just one, nothing significant. You should just get on with it and continue clearing the memorial." Exactly what I needed to hear, even if I didn't want to. After another second of hesitation, I jabbed the chem into my arm, outright flinching everything but my arm and the hand holding the needle. I depressed the plunger, and pulled the needle out. Promptly throwing it away afterwards. The effects were slower than I thought it would be, but was enough that I didn't feel any pain once I got my gear back in order.

I continued down to the basement, not feeling as confident as I did when I broke off from the others. Deciding to stick to range, I kept my sword sheathed, but kept my shield up and laser ready. Walking more cautiously, I searched the lower areas for muties. Despite us not having been down here earlier, I only found one. Killed him easily enough, he didn't even notice me, looking at something down the next corridor. Kind of anti-climactic, but I'll take it. I made another sweep through the area, I was sure there was more than one down here. Turns out I was right. In the corner of a room that didn't seem to have a purpose, I found three dead super mutants. All of them had their throats slit. No other mark on them, and still had all of their gear. I scratched my head, or at least tried to through the helmet, trying to figure it out. The only thing I came up with was that someone was here, and killed them. But their bodies didn't smell of decomposition, despite their normal foul smell, so they weren't dead long. Might've just missed the one who did it, whoever it was must've survived and left, as their corpse wasn't here. But why leave their gear, and why leave one alive? Guess that's a mystery that'll remain unsolved. Either way, this seemed like as good a place as any to drag that last mutie. As soon as I did that, I went back up to the entrance to wait for Kess, James, and Lee and her team.

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Super mutants. Disgusting creatures. No place for them in the world they were building. The Shinobi wasn't fast enough, however. The knight killed the last one before she could. Just as well, it had been looking in her direction, limiting her options.

"My Lord. The knight is at Project Purity. His companions have gone to Rivet City to require the old team."

"Maintain your position at Purity. I will instruct Eden to send his forces to take and hold the purifier. Ensure that the knight does not interfere with the Enclave, but do not engage the pawns. Let our own pawns deal with them."

"As you wish, my Lord. You still wish the knight to survive?"

"Yes, he plays a very important part in my plans."

"And what of the girl, my Lord?"

"She will perish when the time is right. Take no action against her until I tell you."

"Of course, my Lord."

A/N: Well, Knight seems to have learned some of his limits, but what is Shinobi up to?