YES I'M DONE! This chapter took forever. I thought I would punch my laptop. I'm glad you all enjoyed my story and I hope you'll take the time to read the sequel to this. Thanks for all your reviews!
The trip from the Citadel, to Metro Central, and then to Pennsylvania Avenue was long and monotonous. All the tunnels looked the same to both Ava and Charon, and if it weren't for Ava's pip-boy, it would have taken them more than a day to get to Pennsylvania Avenue. At least they were walking inside the tunnels and not outside in the blistering heat of the sun. Ava tried to match Charon's long strides; one of his steps was easily two or three of her own. She was very much out of breath while the ghoul pressed forward with unusual resilience. Power armor was not her thing, but Charon had insisted on wearing it for the mission instead of their usual leather armor. After an hour of bickering, Ava convinced Charon to let her go without a helmet. She hated how constricted she felt with them. They both walked up the steps of the metro's exit and Charon pushed open the gates, holding them open for Ava.
"Do you think we gave the Brotherhood enough time to work on the cannon? We should have just stayed at Rivet City for a few more days. I wasn't done with you," said Ava. She took aim at a super mutant standing just across the street from the metro entrance and shot him dead. The look on her face was unusually smug, even for her.
Charon handed her an extra clip and said, "I'm sure they were glad to be rid of us. We destroyed all of the furniture in the hotel room. Cost us quite a few caps."
"Don't forget our 'defilement' of the women's restroom. That was a good one." The pair laughed loudly, remembering the look on Doctor Li's face when she had walked in on them. Ava had laughed even harder then when Charon continued with no attempt to cover himself or her, even when Doctor Li began to shout at them about their indecency.
"That was all you, Smoothskin. You get grabby when you're drunk and I can't say no to you when you're so convincing. You wanted me, and the bathroom was the closest place with a door. That bitch could have just closed the door and went on her way."
"I didn't tell you to break the sink!"
"I needed it for balance! It is not my fault everything on that boat is rusted and falling apart!" Charon said. Shortly after Doctor Li had walked in on them, the sink tore from the wall, sending both he and Ava to the floor. It was high on his list of fond memories with his Smoothskin.
"Yeah, yeah, yeah. Get that super mutant master for me, would ya? This clip doesn't want to go in all the way," said Ava. She pushed the clip into position using palm of her hand while Charon took down the master.
The entrance to the Presidential Metro wasn't too far away and was heavily guarded by members of the Brotherhood. One even patrolled around the entrance itself with a mini-gun.
"Are you guys ready for us?" Ava asked the paladin with the mini-gun. She really hoped they hadn't come all this way just to hear the Brotherhood wasn't fully prepared yet.
"Yes ma'am. The package has been delivered and everything. Good luck," he said. The paladin pulled the cover off the manhole, allowing Ava and Charon to climb through.
"More tunnels. Yay," said Ava, waving her hands in the air. Charon sniffed loudly and grabbed Ava's shoulder before she could step forward.
"Ferals. Lots of them. Put on that mask of yours, I promise I won't laugh too hard. It's a good thing we brought those Stealth Boys. We might need them," said Charon.
Ava rolled her eyes and pulled her ghoul mask over her head. She opened the door into the President sub-level and saw that a door had already been opened. She raised her rifle quickly, gaining Charon's attention. They walked down the steps and into a room with lavish tile floors. Several destroyed statues of former presidents stood on both sides of the hallway. Together, they took down a lone sentry bot that was patrolling a ruined metro tunnel. Busts of various presidents decorated the walls of the tunnel, covered with decades of dust. Charon nudged the skeleton of a long dead police man with his boot. A small .32 caliber pistol was lying near the skeleton and he frowned at the apparent suicide. He followed Ava into the next tunnel where she was already exploring a derailed train car. Seeing nothing of interest, they began their trek down the tunnel. Yet another skeleton hung from the ceiling, surrounded by sparks of electricity. A small stepladder was under its feet, along with a tool box and a clipboard.
"Electrocution. What a shitty way to die," mumbled Ava. Charon nodded in agreement.
After walking through a maintenance room, they came upon another tunnel and train car. Sifting through the debris, Charon found a senator's I.D. card. He pocketed it; it could prove useful further on. At the end of the long tunnel was a set of double doors. Charon lifted his shotgun and pointed the barrel at the doors.
"Ready when you are, Smoothskin."
Ava grunted as she kicked the doors open. Two turrets stood on either side of a large computer terminal, but they did not shoot.
"Warning! Unauthorized access to the Presidential Metro! Please approach the workstation and identify yourself," said a voice. Ava stepped forward and tapped a key on the keyboard.
"Warning: Due to a major security breach, this system is on code red alert status. Prepare for security check," announced the computer.
"Shit, we won't pass this. I've never hacked into something this secure before," said Ava. Charon lowered his gun and stood beside his Smoothskin. His mind quickly went to the senator's I.D. card he had found.
"Attempting to identify local access user…Identification: failed. This access point is restricted to only to authorized personnel. Please identify yourself."
Charon reached into his pocket and held out the card to the computer's miniscule camera lens, making sure his fingers covered the picture on the I.D.
"I'm a United States senator. Here's my identification," Charon said coolly. Ava gaped at him in amazement. Apparently, she was not the only silver-tongued devil in the room.
"Identity verified. How may I assist you today?" asked the computer.
"First off, deactivate all security bots," he said, remembering Ava's hatred of most machinery.
"Negative. Security must remain active. However, upon properly accessing this system, you have been marked as a friendly and the security units will no longer be hostile."
"Good enough, I guess," he said to Ava. "All right, I need some information on the security breach."
"Information is available on that subject. Please specify."
"Just tell us what the hell the breach is all about before I unload this clip into your screen!" Ava snapped. Charon clamped his hand over her mouth to silence her. The girl really needed to learn some patience.
"Very well. Internal visual sensing equipment is detecting numerous unidentified persons in the southeast tunnel area. The individuals have damaged metro equipment and refused dialogue with our security units. They are also giving off lethal levels of radiation. In accordance with U.S. Security Statute A567/B, the use of deadly force has been authorized," the computer announced.
"Ferals. I can smell them from here," said Charon with disgust. "Has anyone used the tunnels to get to Adams Air Force base?"
"The last recorded person to use that line was approximately two hundred years and eight months ago."
Ava logged them out of the computer and said, "So, senator, guess I'm keeping the ghoul mask on. How many ferals?"
Charon shrugged and inhaled deeply. "Fifteen…maybe twenty…fuck, it stinks so bad. You don't smell it at all?"
"It smells moldy and dusty to me," she replied. Most wastelanders were not only frightened of ghouls because of their appearance, but also found that ghouls gave off an awful stench of rotting flesh. Ava could never really tell the difference; every one smelled pretty bad to her, including herself. She remembered the first time she ever met a ghoul. Gob didn't frighten her at all. If anything, she was completely fascinated that he was alive and older than she was by more than a hundred years.
Charon leaned over to Ava and sniffed the top of her head. Ava swatted him away. "What the hell, Charon?"
"You smell like us," he said with a grin. He had never realized this until this moment, and it gave him an idea.
Ava lifted her arm to her nose and sniffed before saying, "All I smell is…well, I guess I smell like leather. Dried blood too."
Charon's grin went wider and he pulled Ava through the second set of double doors. Ava clutched his arm, startled by the screeching of feral ghouls and the sound of machine gun turrets.
"I have a theory, and I want to test it. I will not allow anything to happen to you, so you'll have to trust me," said Charon. Ava nodded and followed the ghoul out of the room. Almost immediately, they were surrounded by twelve strange ghouls that Ava had never seen before. They had a greenish haze about them and were almost the same height as Charon. They sniffed at her, making quiet little grunts every few moments. She looked up at Charon, who looked absolutely horrified.
"What are they?" she whispered. A smaller feral ghoul flinched at the sound of her voice.
"We call them Reavers…they are vicious and extremely difficult to kill. I did not expect to find them down here," he said. He waited for the Reavers to scatter before he whispered, "Take off the mask."
Shakily, Ava pulled the ghoul mask off her face and slowly reached for her Blackhawk. The smaller feral ghoul peered into her face with its milky white eyes and grunted loudly. Ava held her breath and saw Charon lift his arm up, preparing to snatch her out of harm's way. The feral ghoul grunted once more and plodded off into the dimly lit tunnel.
"I had a feeling that would be the reaction. You smell like us, so now they take you for one of us," said Charon.
"That makes things a lot easier," she said.
Ava and Charon followed the large group of ferals down the tunnel, using the Glowing Ones as their source of light. Sentry bots and Mister Gutsys came out of a set of doors and began to blast the feral ghouls away. Charon and Ava made sure to step out of the firing range and waited for a few moments while the security units finished their attack. Just past the doors was an intact train sitting on the metro tracks. Charon pressed the buttons on the control panel, but they did not respond.
"Damn. No power," he muttered.
"I saw a fuse box when we walked in. Maybe I can mess around with it, bring the power back," said Ava. She sifted through a desk underneath the power box and found a large fuse that was similar to the ones on the power box.
"Careful," Charon growled. Ava shushed him loudly and pushed the fuse into the box.
The lights in the control room brightened immediately and Ava whooped loudly. They walked into the first train car and Ava pulled the lever towards her. The doors closed and the train began to move forward at a rapid pace. Charon sat down on the small bench, eager to take the weight off his feet. He could see more feral ghouls battling sentry bots but within seconds, they were far behind them.
Ava felt Charon's arms wrap around her waist as he pulled her towards him. She sat on his lap and leaned into his shoulder.
"We should get some rest before we get there. It'll be a couple of hours," said Charon. Ava nodded her head in agreement and her tired legs welcomed the break.
Charon felt himself begin to doze off when he heard Ava murmur, "You know, I'm not afraid for us. I really feel like we'll be okay…that we'll get through this."
The ghoul pressed his face into the crook of her neck and allowed himself to taste her skin. Ava sighed quietly, bringing a smile to his face.
"As do I. To me, this is just another adventurous tale for the children," he said. Ava curled up close to his body and soon, they were both sound asleep.
Ava eyes began to open as the train slowed to a stop. She shook Charon awake and stood up, stretching her arms far above her head. Charon scratched at his side and cracked his neck noisily. Ava cringed as she heard his bones crack.
"That is so fucking disturbing," she whispered.
"You should hear when I crack my back," he said as he put an arm around her shoulder. At the top of the staircase, Ava held out a hand and placed it on his chest to stop him.
"Wait. Someone else is here," Ava whispered.
She could hear footsteps from adjacent room. They picked a lock to the door beside them and slowly walked into the hallway. Ava stuck her head out for a moment and saw a couple of Enclave soldiers. She looked back at Charon and saw him typing into a computer. The ghoul looked up at her and smiled widely.
"Turret controls," he said. Charon pushed a few more keys and pressed "enter." The turrets activated and killed the Enclave soldiers. He waited a few more moments before turning the turrets off completely and stood up.
"You learn fast," said Ava. Her ghoul was impressive, to say the least. There really was no one better to have by her side. The conceited look on his face actually made the ghoul look handsome in his own way.
Charon bent down and kissed her, relishing the feeling of his mouth on hers. "You say something and I listen. Shall we keep going?"
Ava pushed open a set of doors and they found themselves standing out in the fresh air. She was more than relieved to be out of the musty smelling tunnels and she was eager to get her hands on the Tesla Cannon. Just outside of a small building was a wooden crate with the Brotherhood of Steel symbol burned into it.
Ava shook her head and said, "Could they not be any more idiotic? Everyone knows this is their symbol!"
"What do you expect? We work with a bunch of morons," he growled. He tore the wooden lid off the box and chuckled when he realized what lay in the straw.
Ava shoved him aside roughly and said, "I want to shoot it first! Get out of my way!"
Charon growled and snatched the cannon from her small hands. "I'm shooting it first! I called it back at the Citadel."
"You did NOT!"
"That look I gave you when Paladin Tristan mentioned it? That was my, 'The second we find it, I'm shooting down the first helicopter we see' look," he said.
"Ladies first!" she insisted. She reached for the cannon once again but Charon stood up and held it well out of her reach. Ava punched him in the gut as hard as she could and as he bent forward in pain, she tore it from his hands with a laugh.
"Remind me why we're together again?" he gasped.
Ava looked over the weapon carefully and said, "Because I'm crazy fucker like you and you love me."
"Sounds about right," he said with a smirk. "What are our orders?"
Ava pushed the holo-disk into her pip-boy and it began to play the message.
"This is Paladin Tristan. If you are listening to this, then you've made it through the Presidential Metro and Adams Air Force base is all that stands in your way. Our scouts report that the fire controls for the orbital missile satellite are located in the main tower of the Enclave Mobile Platform. The only way into the platform is by way of a ramp that lowers from a watch post the Enclave set up in the old air traffic control tower. When you opened the crate it triggered a beacon. We'll pick up the signal and start the assault to cover your entry. Good luck, and Godspeed."
"Here goes nothing," said Ava, turning her pip-boy off completely.
They snuck past a blue force field identical to the ones used at the Purifier and ducked behind an old Army supply truck as a small group of Enclave soldiers walked into the area. Ava elbowed Charon and signaled for him to use the sniper rifle to take them out. They didn't have much ammo for the Tesla Cannon and Ava wanted to save as much of it as she could. Charon carefully set up the rifle over a pile of debris and aimed for the soldiers. He pulled the trigger and the bullet tore through the skull of one soldier, sending his lifeless body to the ground. The other soldiers did not even notice their companion had been shot until Charon killed another soldier. They began to shout in a panic, trying to pin-point where the shots had come from, but were silenced by three more of Charon's shots.
"If someone had told me that one day I would be freed and I would be infiltrating a base with my Smoothskin companion, I would have shot them in the face and laughed," Charon said quietly.
Ava looked up and grimaced. "Do you see how many turrets there are? We can't get past them all unless we get rid of them."
"Use the Cannon. It's effective against machinery if its purpose is to bring down vertibirds," he suggested.
Ava shook her head and whispered, "There's no sight on this. I can't see too well, it's too dark."
Charon sat and thought for a few moments. "All right. Can you see this?" He turned on the laser aim on the sniper rifle and pointed it at a turret. Ava nodded; even in the darkness, she could still see the tiny red pinprick.
"I'll aim for you. You just point and pull that trigger," Charon said. Ava pulled the trigger on the Tesla Cannon and was surprised at the amount of kick back it had. The turret was obliterated in one shot and her mouth fell open in surprise. They cleared the area of several turrets before running over to the cover of more buildings.
"I cannot wait to blow up some fucking vertibirds!" she said happily. Charon followed her up a set of metal stairs up to the roof of a large building. They crept amongst the air conditioning structures until they reached the other side. A vertibird was landing on the roof top across from them. Ava handed Charon the Tesla Cannon.
"Give 'em hell, honey."
Charon glared at her for a moment but softened rapidly. She was giving him the chance to destroy the vertibirds first, and her gesture warmed his heart in the strangest way. He aimed and before the Enclave soldiers could even open the door to jump out, Charon annihilated the vertibird in a fiery blast.
"Did you SEE what this did to the vertibird? I think I may have just found the love of my life," he said with heavy breaths. The ghoul had never held anything so powerful in all his life.
"Hey!" Ava said loudly.
"Yes, Smoothskin. You have been replaced."
"Well, you can fuck the gun for all I care!"
"There's room for both of you in my heart," he said. The ghoul aimed for yet another vertibird and it exploded. If the Enclave wasn't aware of their infiltration, they were now. Ava pulled the Cannon from Charon's hands.
"It's MY fucking turn, asshole! I'm not letting you have all the fun!" Ava targeted a group of grounded vertibirds. The blast killed at least thirty Enclave soldiers that stood nearby and shook the rooftop itself.
Ava looked back at Charon and stared at him incredulously. "You may have a point…I think I love this more than you!"
The area in front of them was a massive air field, peppered with hangars. Most of the metal ceilings had caved in from decades of neglect. Various Enclave camps had been erected around the hangers, but most of the soldiers were now dead. Ava walked into the closest airplane hangar and felt a searing burn in her left shoulder. She had been shot by a plasma rifle. Charon's head snapped up and he saw a group of Enclave soldiers running towards them. Ava yelped as another shot hit her just above her knee.
"Take cover!" she yelled, but Charon ignored her, choosing to stand his ground and marched into the fray. He unloaded shell after shell and didn't notice the plasma shots melting bits of his armor away. Ava crouched behind a smaller building inside the hangar and picked off the soldiers from her position. Charon grabbed the closest Enclave soldier and threw him with incredible force into the brick wall. The soldier's body slumped to the ground and a stream of dark, red blood began to trickle from beneath his helmet. He did not get up again.
When their fight was over, Charon exhaled loudly and allowed himself to catch his breath. Ava leaned against the door of the small building, pushing a stimpak's needle into her skin when a great claw lashed out at her head. Ava screamed and ducked but she could not escape the claw completely. It tore into the back of her armor and she could feel its razor sharp edge cut into her skin.
"Fuck! Ava!" Charon shouted. He held Ava in his arms and looked up. A deathclaw had stuck its arm out through a broken window where Ava was standing. It struggled to break free of its confinement, but the walls were strong. Ava whimpered in pain as Charon examined her injury.
"Just a flesh wound, Smoothskin. I've got you," he murmured. He used up four stimpaks on Ava's back and watched her skin begin to knit.
"Can I have some Med-x too? Just one, enough to numb up my back a bit," she asked. The ghoul complied and injected the Med-x into the muscle on her back. Ava stood up, her knees shaking, but she stood on her own two feet without Charon's assistance. Ava looked around the hangar as Charon injected himself with a few stimpaks and poured dirty water over the lesser injuries.
"Ready?" Ava asked.
A unit of vertibirds landed on the opposite side of the blue barrier and much to Ava and Charon's surprise, they were full of not Enclave soldiers but Brotherhood of Steel members. The Brotherhood had kept their word and provided a much needed distraction for the Enclave.
"Hopefully, we can find a way to bring down these barriers and get inside the mobile platform," said Ava as she pointed past the barriers to the massive structure.
They snuck past a group of guards guarding another hangar and disabled a set of turrets, allowing them to get to the air traffic control tower without further incident. Inside, the building appeared to have taken heavy damage at some point during the war. Ava scowled as she heard the sound of wheels coming towards them.
"Fucking sentry bot," she muttered.
"Stay, I'll get it," Charon said.
"Go ahead, I'll look around for supplies before we head up." Ava walked away from the sound of the sentry bot while Charon snuck towards it.
The robot had its back to him and its combat inhibitor was fully exposed. The ghoul tore the combat inhibitor off the robot, as well as its fission battery. The robot slumped forward and Charon kicked it down a set of broken steps. Ava appeared at his side, clutching a handful of stimpaks and a few bottles of dirty water. They walked upstairs and into the control tower.
"We might have to hurry after we open up the hatch. The Enclave will try to close it again. We'll have to run," said Charon. Ava was looking over the controls and found another first aid kit.
"I think it's time for the Stealth Boys. Running across that airfield without them just seems like a fucking stupid idea," she said, handing one Stealth Boy to Charon. Ava looked out the window just in time to push Charon down the stairs. She threw herself after him as a missile bombarded the tower.
Charon coughed up dust from his lungs and felt around blindly for Ava. He felt her arm and pulled her up. "Are you all right, Ava?"
He patted the dust off her back as she answered, "Yeah, I'm good. You?"
"Never better."
"It was a dogfight between two vertibirds. One of their missiles missed and I saw the smoke trail coming towards us. Let's get the hell out of here," she said. She lowered the ramp on the platform and gave Charon a second shove down the steps. "Move! Move!"
Outside, Charon activated his Stealth Boy and leapt to the ground from the rooftop. Ava did the same and they ran as fast as they could, past Enclave soldiers and Brotherhood members alike. Ava opened the heavy metal door and they were inside the mobile base just before the Stealth Boys deactivated.
Inside, Ava and Charon immediately face a blue repulsion field. Ava took Charon's shotgun from his hands and smashed the butt of the gun into control panel. The repulsion field flickered and died. They walked under a sign that read "Repair Station" and they saw three inactive robots. Ava let out a sigh of relief. Her relief was short lived when she saw a man stand up from behind a generator. Charon stood in front of Ava and a deep growl rumbled from his throat.
The man threw up his hands to surrender and shouted, "Please, don't hurt me! I just work here!"
"What the hell are you doing here?" asked Ava.
"I…uh, work on the robots. I fix 'em up. I saw what you two did before you entered the base…you're not gonna hurt me are ya?" he asked timidly.
"Don't give us a reason to hurt you," said Charon.
"Oh thank goodness. I'm Stiggs. Good to meet ya."
"Could you answer a few questions for us?" she asked.
"Well, I'm glad you realized I'm not one of the bad guys. I'll answer whatever you want," he said in earnest.
"What type of defenses are upstairs?"
"Upstairs is a Deathclaw facility. Most of them are out fighting but there might be one or two left. There's also a ton of robots. They're all connected through the mainframe so if you disable that, they'll power down. There are some military types too, but not nearly as many as before."
"…Why are you so helpful? Are you trying to fuck us? Because I swear, I will hunt you down and let him gut you," said Ava as she pointed to Charon. The ghoul reached for his combat knife for good measure.
"I've been trying to leave for a while now. I've done things for the Enclave…things I'm not proud of at all. But when they found me, I was starving and dying of radiation poisoning. I didn't know they were bad…but I do now and it's time I leave," he explained. The look of shame on his face was enough to convince Ava.
"Good luck out there then," said Ava. The man nodded and walked towards the exit with two robots in tow.
"Deathclaws! Yay again!" Ava said, cheering. Charon shook his head and they climbed up the ladder to the Deathclaw room. The room itself was empty except for a deathclaw standing behind a blue force field. Ava turned off the field and smiled when the deathclaw walked up to her and purred loudly.
"Go get 'em boy," she whispered to the deathclaw. She pointed at the Enclave scientists who had walked in and the deathclaw charged forward, mauling anyone and anything that stood in its way.
"What is it with you and deathclaws?" Charon asked, He bent down and kissed her cheek and smiled warmly as Ava looked up at her with her large, green eyes.
"If I could, I'd have one as a pet. They're kind of sweet when they're…tame like that. The deathclaw stumbled towards them and growled softly. Charon pat its massive head.
They walked into a room marked "Armory" and Ava was almost knocked over by the deathclaw as it ran past her. A well-armored man stood with a gatling laser and began to shoot at the monster. Charon threw a handful of pulse grenades, destroying a sentry bot and all four turrets in the room. After a minute passed, everything thing in the room was dead except Ava and Charon. She frowned as she stepped over the deathclaw's corpse and she broke into the armory. Charon's eye lit up at the large armor cache and he piled their pack full of ammo and spare weapons.
"I want this, and this, and this, and maybe that…hell, I'm taking this too," he muttered. "Ava, the Enclave soldiers are so kind to give us all this."
Ava laughed and they walked through another door labeled, "Mainframe." She couldn't wait to get all the robots off their backs. They had enough to deal with already. She shut down the robots and gave the terminal a good kick out of irritation. Charon chuckled.
"I'm blowing something up after all this crap we've gone through," she said.
A vertibird was attempting to land on top of the base but Ava blew it to hell with the Tesla Cannon before it could do so. She laughed maniacally knowing she was so close to finishing the mission. Charon and Ava ran towards the Enclave soldiers guarding the entrance to the satellite tower and killed them all. Charon a few shots breach his armor and hit his arm, but it did not stop him from shooting his shotgun one-handed. The enemy soldiers tried to retreat but Ava leapt, stabbing an Enclave officer through the back of his head.
"Where the FUCK do you think you're going?" she shouted at the other Enclave soldiers. Charon and Ava backed the two remaining soldiers against the railing and she enjoyed watching them cower in fear of her. Charon snarled, startling one of the soldiers and sent him over the rail. Ava pushed the other soldier over the rail and sent him to his death.
Inside the control tower, they found the satellite uplink terminal and Ava logged into the computer. She loaded the payload and a list of targets came up on the screen: the Citadel, Megaton, the Purifier, Rivet City and the Air Force Base. Ava wavered and she stared at the screen. The Citadel…
Charon could not understand what was taking her so long until he looked at the screen for himself. The Citadel had been highlighted. He gently placed a hand on Ava's shoulder and she jumped.
"I know what you're thinking, Smoothskin…I hate them too. They treat my kind like less than shit and they certainly don't give a shit about you…but think about what you are doing. Right now, the Brotherhood is the lesser evil. Bomb the base. We can deal with the Brotherhood on our own time," he said quietly.
"I want to…I want to kill them…" she whispered. Charon turned her so that she was forced to look him in the eye.
"No. Not now. Enclave first," he said firmly. Ava sighed and hugged him tightly. Charon highlighted the Air Force base option and pressed enter before Ava could change her mind.
An alarm began to go off and Ava snapped her head up in fear. "Fuck! How are we getting off the base?" she shouted.
Charon slapped his forehead and yelled, "We better start running! Ignore the soldiers and don't stop running! Go! Go!" They barreled out of the door, completely unsure of what to do. Panic rose in Ava's throat.
"We might have to jump!" Charon bellowed over the sound of explosions in the distance.
"Are you FUCKING NUTS? We'll be killed!" said Ava. Charon looked over the railing and pointed to the lower levels of the mobile base.
"We could try to get to the lower levels if we hang from the rails and drop off! I don't know what else to do!"
"That's the stupidest fucking plan I've ever heard!"
"Then you think of something! It better be fast, or we're dead!"
A vertibird flew near them and landed quickly. Charon and Ava lifted their guns in unison, ready to kill whoever stepped off the aircraft. It was too close for them to use the Tesla Cannon. Ava held her breath and felt her arms shaking wildly. They weren't supposed to die that day.
A blonde head poked out from the door of the vertibird and Ava saw Sentinel Lyons' face appear with a pained grin.
"Lyons!" shouted Ava.
"Surprised to see me?" asked the Sentinel. Charon lowered his gun and his shoulders relaxed instantly. They were going home, and all he had to do was put up with the Brotherhood for a couple of hours before he never had to see them again.
"We want to get the fuck out of here!" Ava said.
"I'm here to get your asses on this vertibird before it goes up like a nuke. Let's go!"
Charon shoved Ava past Lyons and the other Brotherhood members and ushered her onto the vertibird. Ava gripped his hand tightly, fearing he would somehow be left behind. The others climbed in after them quickly and the vertibird lifted off.
"I don't know about you guys, but I feel like watching some fireworks," Ava shouted above the noise of the aircraft. Charon smiled and squeezed her hand.
The pilot agreed and set the vertibird down a safe distance away from the mobile base. Ava jumped out of the aircraft and was hopping up and down in excitement. Charon stood stoically behind her with his arms crossed and watched the night sky light up as hundreds of missiles plummeted into the mobile base. The building shook beneath them and it caused the old ghoul to give the faintest of smiles. All of this, because of his Smoothskin. God damn, she was crazy.
"We annihilated those fucking bastards! Do you think my father would be proud?" Ava asked as she pressed herself into his arms.
"Of course. For what it's worth, I am proud as well," he said. A gust of wind from the explosion blew past them, lifting sand, dust, and papers from the ground below them. He never expected any of this, the fighting, having Ava, any of it when he first saw her outside of the Ninth Circle. Grateful wouldn't even begin to describe how he felt.
"I couldn't have done it without you, as corny as it sounds. You've had my back since we partnered up. I don't regret a thing," she said before kissing him.
The vertibird landed inside the Citadel, and Ava saw Elder Lyons approaching as she and Charon stepped off.
"When I first met you some time ago, I was leery of your motivations and even more concerned with your methods," Elder Lyons began.
"Pretty sure that's not the first time you've heard that, huh Smoothskin?" Charon grunted. Ava elbowed him and the ghoul clenched his teeth to fight off a fit of laughter.
"At the Battle of Project Purity, you proved yourself…and any doubts I had about you dissipated on that very day. Now, with the Enclave in ruins and you to thank for it, I'm almost at a complete loss for words. I promise what you've done here today will be recorded by our Scribes as a historic moment. On behalf of the Brotherhood of Steel, I thank you," said Elder Lyons.
"Anything you want to say?" asked Scribe Rothchild.
"Yeah. I need a smoke, and I need a beer. I can keep the Tesla Cannon, right?" Ava asked.
"Why…uh…certainly," said Elder Lyons.
"Great. We'll be going now. Thanks for the Cannon!" said Ava. She looped her arm through Charon's and they walked out of the Citadel without another glance.
Elder Lyons hugged his daughter and stared at the retreating backs of the ghoul and the Vault Girl. "Peculiar young woman, isn't she?" he asked.
"Yes…we'll have to keep an eye on her," said Scribe Rothchild. A girl who cavorted about the Wasteland with a ghoul as her partner would surely be trouble.