A/N: ALRIGHT GUYS! Some of you MAY notice a bit of a change in our sweet little Aimee darling... She's got some claws on her in this chapter, and I hope some of you may find it a little refreshing- maybe even a little shocking- when some of you might be quite used to her being so sweet and innocent in all her Lone Wanderer nicey-niceness!
I actually kinda liked how this chapter came out. The next one's gonna be even better, though! I LIKE WRITING AIMEE'S WILD AND BITCHY SIDE- sue me =_="
Anywho- happy reading, happy writing- all that jazz and good stuff!
~Konfessionist out!~
Aimee turned the lock on the door that led to the main sector of Vault 101 with Elaine, her little 10mm SMG, removed from her holster and held down at her side. The cold metal contact against her thigh sent a jolt through her- not just because it was cold, but because it reminded her that it had been a while since she'd been out running-and-gunning. But it couldn't have been that long- could it?
She grimaced with thought as she tried to process when she last was outside of Megaton's walls. Two weeks since I was last out in the Wasteland… Almost one full year since I was last in Vault 101. The latter thought of her parts didn't make her too happy, and she shook her head with irritation.
With another sigh, she picked her feet up over the doorway and stepped through, gripping the door handle so she wouldn't lose her balance. Her feet clapped down on the other side and she continued on, stopping to glance up at the buzzing reactor- licking blue strikes at her with the familiar crackle as it lashed out. The room almost always smelled of tarnished metal and something burning from what she remembered as a child, and as she took a deep inhale to see if it smelled just as she recalled, her nostrils caught a faint fume of it. The smell of the Wasteland dust and the musky beaten leather scent of Charon clung to her, thickly slathered over the smell the reactor placed in the room so her nose could barely sense that it was there at all.
I wish Char-bear were here… She frowned a little, looking down at the gun in her hand. I feel so stupid believing that I was strong enough to do this all on my own...
Aimee shook her head clear of the thought.
No! I can do this! I just need to clean the place up- get in, get out- hopefully fast enough to escape the welcoming party.
She gave a quick glance around the disheveled room.
If there is a welcoming party…
"Well, first things first…" She murmured to herself, in hopes of getting herself back on track. "Find out what on Earth happened here."
"Stop right there." A voice hissed in her ear as a quick hand grabbed hers, the one that held Elaine, and maneuvered it so it was bent in- her fingertips grazing the underbelly of her arm. Her arm was then twisted around so her elbow was facing her assailant in an awkward angle. Elaine slipped from her grasp as another hand latched onto her jut out elbow, pushing down into it to riddle pain all up and down her arm. She fell to one knee, like a man would do if he were proposing to a woman- but with his arm sticking up like a ship's mast as it was in the iron grip of another man. The assailant's elbow was then pressed into her shoulder, keeping her in the knelt position she was in. She couldn't move her arm at all! It hurt too much.
Damnit! She cringed as the man applied more pressure to her shoulder, forcing his hand into her elbow a smidge and making her feel as if it would snap in half like a toothpick. Great- only away from Charon for five freaking minutes and already I'm playing damsel. Fuck- what do I do?
"I don't know how on Earth you got in here, but I'm gonna knock you on your arse and toss you back out there!" The harsh voice barked in her ear.
Knock… Knock-knock… A broad grin spread on her face. That's it!
"Uh- hey! Before you do throw me back outside like I was a sack of garbage, Mr. High-And-Mighty-Get-The-Hell-Out-Of-My-Vault, wanna hear a joke?"
"And no funny bus- what?"
Aimee twisted her chin to her shoulder, trying not to cringe again and show that it hurt. "Yeah, a joke. C'mon! It's really funny! I bet you haven't had a laugh for a while now, am I right?"
She couldn't see the man's face, hidden behind his helmet visor in the corner of her vision. She couldn't recognize the man's voice at all, either, as she searched through the databank of memory that went relatively untouched since she left the Vault. The Aimee that walked out of the Vault that day, almost one year ago, was an Aimee that was different from the Aimee that she was today. Back then, she aspired to be an artist with a pencil and paper. Now? She was an artist out in the Wasteland- a different kind of artist. She was painting murals with the blood of the unjust to give to the good and unfortunate of the Wastes, replacing the fear that they carried with hope.
"…Sounds like they need you." Charon's raspy voice echoed in her head.
The Aimee of today wasn't going to let some security guard be the end of her- especially since, knowing her gruff bodyguard like she knew him, he'd come barreling down there looking for her if she didn't come out in a few hours like she said. He heard what the password was, he knew it was Amata's name- he could come in whenever he damn well pleased!
So I had better get this over with quickly... Because if he comes down here? Shit- these people better sing their praises, like Jericho should have done.An image of a battered and abused Jericho came to mind- even though she never saw the ex-raider after Charon was done mutilating him, she could still imagine what he came out looking like when her ghoulish bodyguard was finished.
The security guard didn't answer her question, so she took the liberty of assuming that it had been a while since he had a good chuckle. She continued on with her plan. Without taking her eyes off of his visor, using her free hand, she slowly moved it towards Charlie- her combat knife- on her thigh. The one she wasn't kneeling down on.
"So… You like knock-knock jokes?"
He didn't answer, just continued staring at her blankly. She still couldn't make out his face!
"Oh c'mon, now! Don't be shy! You might as well have a good giggle fit before you throw me back outside!"
"I'll get all my "giggle fits" out when I throw you out and seal the door after you." He replied callously.
"Aw! So hostile! Alright, I'll just assume you like knock-knock jokes!" He hadn't thrown her out yet, so she must have caught his interest somehow. Or, maybe, he didn't recognize her and was intrigued that a "specimen" from the outside world had gotten herself into one of the last sealed Vaults in the entire Capital Wasteland. Her hand was on Charlie's handle now, slowly wrapping her fingers around him, and using a flick of her pointer finger she undid the clasp that kept him tied down.
"Knock-knock!" She cried with the fake smile still plastered onto her face.
The security guard gave a shallow heave of a sigh. She could imagine that he was rolling his eyes behind his visor.
"Who's there?" He asked reluctantly.
Gripping Charlie's handle firmly, she ripped him from his binding on her thigh, nicking her pants leg in the process. Looking up over the arm the guard had a grip on, she stabbed him in the arm- above his elbow, which was pressed into her shoulder to keep her pinned. He cried out, releasing some pressure on her as he stumbled back, startled by her attack and the jagged blade jutting out of his limb. She yanked Charlie back out, placing the bloody blade between her teeth so it stained her lips, chin, and cheeks crimson as she hooked her leg behind the knee that was bracing the man above her. Using the leverage, she got up from her bent knee and swung herself to the side, launching him forward. He landed on the ground, face first, his visor making a loud smacking noise as it connected with the metal flooring and he let out a low groan of pain.
Aimee grinned as he rolled onto his side, then his back, and she lunged at him with an enraged howl springing forth from her throat. She was on top of him in seconds, straddling his hips with each of his hands pinned under her knees. She removed Charlie from her lips, revealing the gruesome smile he painted on her face with the officer's blood and pressed the jagged edge of the blade to the hollow of the man's throat.
"Me. With a fucking knife to your throat, that's who." She spat, glaring down at him with her other hand pinning down his shoulder. "Anyone ever tell you not to let strangers into your home, mister?"
"Get off me!" He cried, thrashing his legs underneath her, struggling to wriggle his pinned hands out from under her knees.
"Take off your helmet first." She demanded.
"I can't when you're on my hands!" He pointed out acidly, turning his head to look back up at her.
"Then I'll do it myself." With Charlie still at his throat, she grabbed for the visor, smearing blood across it as he turned his head away. "Stop your tantrum for two seconds! You got pinned by a girl, so what?"
He continued to thrash underneath her, struggling even more so to get free until she pressed Charlie's jagged teeth even further into the hollow of his throat- making him gag with surprise.
"Stop fighting me. Or I will cut you- from ear, to ear." She grinned. "Cracking a joke isn't the only way I can make you smile…"
Aimee could see the man's Adam's Apple bob against Charlie as he swallowed hard, finally laying still beneath her.
"May I? Thank you." She smiled triumphantly as she yanked up his helmet, looking down to a familiar face. Dark hair matted to a sweaty forehead, blue eyes bloodshot from lack of sleep and sunken into his sockets, and there were more wrinkles imprinted in his tanned skin than she last remembered- creating frown lines around his thin lips and on his sweaty forehead.
"M- Mr. Gomez…" She muttered in surprise, easing Charlie back a little, but not enough where he could get up.
"You want to look me in the eyes before you kill me? Go ahead! But I hope you know you're killing a man who's going to be leaving a son and wife behind him!"
"I'm not going to kill you," She sighed, looking down at him under hooded eyelids. "If I didn't kill you back then, I'm certainly not killing you now. And besides, Freddie's old enough to take care of himself. Your wife is more than capable enough as well. It's not like she's a vegetable or something..."
"Wha- What? What do you mean "back then?"
"It's me, Mr. Gomez- Aimee. Aimee Carter?" She looked down at him, removing Charlie from his throat so he was held between the two of them, and she released her knees from his hands so he could prop himself up on his elbow and look up at her.
He looked like he still couldn't recognize her.
"…Aimee Carter? You know- Dr. Carter's kid? James Carter?" His eyes finally widened in shock and his jaw dropped to his chest. "So you do remember me! Er- I mean, us."
"A- Aimee? How- How did-?... What is going on? How on Earth did you get in?" He cried exasperatedly.
"What other way is there to get in and out of this place? I came in the same way I left- by way of front door?" She replied in a scalded tone, getting to her feet and sheathed Charlie back on her thigh. She walked over and plucked up Elaine from the floor as Gomez completely sat himself up to gawk at her- as if he had seen the ghost of his grandmother, or something.
"I- I'm not exactly surprised that you got in, but I'm surprised that you came back… You have a lot of experience with that door- well, more than the rest of us ever have or could have." He shook his head. "No one's allowed near it."
"I saw the signs posted out front, next to all the dead bodies." Aimee answered in a matter-of-factly tone as she checked Elaine over and held her at her side. "What's going on? I got Amata's message."
"Amata's message?... I don't know what you're talking about, but I think I can certainly tell you what's going on. The Vault has gone south since you and your father left- the radroach infestation seems to have boomed overnight, fires and explosions are still breaking out everywhere, and with people getting injured there's no one to take care of them since the Vault doctor is gone and his assistant was killed by some radroaches that night."
"Jonas? Killed by radroaches?" She barked, spinning around to glare at him. He tensed up where he sat on the floor, cringing at the wound she gave him and grasped his arm with his face contorting into agony. "Who the fuck told you that load of Brahmin shit?"
"Brahmin what?" He wheezed, looking back up at her. "I don't know what that is, but the Overseer was the one who told us when people were asking for medical attention that night. He said the best he could do was put Andy in charge of medical because none of us had any medical experience to qualify as even half a doctor."
"That is a lie!" Aimee spat, gripping Elaine tightly in her hand- so tightly, her knuckles were bone white and her fingers twitched angrily. She needed to shoot something. Anything. "Jonas died because the King of Bullshitters sent his guard dogs after him! They thought he'd give them information on my father! When he didn't, they beat him to death with their fucking fists! Jonas was murdered and Alphonse is a fucking liar! He's a fucking psychopathic cunt of a murderer!"
"Al- Alphonse?... Aimee, you've got it all wrong. Alphonse wasn't the one that told us Jonas was dead."
"He- He didn't? But you said-!"
"I said the Overseer told us. Alphonse isn't the Overseer anymore- Allen Mack took his place because Alphonse died the night you and your father left. An explosion went off in one of the levels, and he was caught in it."
Aimee's eyes widened as she stared down at Gomez, looking for the truth in his face. Other than the pain, exhaustion, and misery, she saw it in his eyes- a faint glimmer of a jewel. He certainly wasn't lying.
Alphonse was dead, and Allen took his place.
"I changed the door password to my name. If you're hearing this, and somehow, I know you are… Help us. My dad, he-… Just come back and help us… We need you. I-… I need you. I need you, MeeMee…"
Amata mentioned her father in her distress signal, she recalled. Her father couldn't have been dead, right? Amata talked about him like- like he was still alive…
Yeah, but she could have been trying to say that he was dead… Aimee looked on to the door down the hall at her side that led to the Vault atrium. She could have been trying to say that things got worse because Allen came to power…
"I need to find Amata." She spoke as Gomez finally got himself up from the floor, trying not to put strain on his injured arm, and their eyes snapped to meet each other. "You're going to take me to her. Now."
"I can't- the Rebels shoot at anyone that's not on their side if they come within the same floor as their Headquarters."
"You can show me the way without ever stepping foot in their territory." She growled.
"Look, Aimee…" Gomez sighed, still gripping his arm. "I like your dad, and you're a real sweet kid," He let out a small chuckle. "And here I still say that when you stabbed me in the arm!"
"Corner an animal and it'll act like an animal- isn't that what Alphonse always said?" She snapped.
"…What has the outside done to you, Aimee?" He asked in a low, sad tone. "I hardly recognize you anymore! Your hair is a mess, you're caked with dirt, you're carrying around- weapons and talking like- like that! Using all of these curse words, and before you left you never even so much as talked back to anyone! What has up there done to you?"
"It made me grow up!" She bellowed, causing him to jump three feet out of his skin. "Up there, you can't afford to play nice and screw around- because playing nice will get you fucking killed. It's not like down here, the most you have to worry about is a little radroach. Up there? You have groups of people crazier than Alphonse ever was, mutated animals and monsters and-"
Charon flashed into her mind, sitting at her dinner table with his gun taken apart and scattered across the table top. He looked up at her with a hardened look in his face, but his eyes said that he was rather at peace. She couldn't recollect how many times she'd just sit with him in the lantern light and watch him take apart his beloved shotgun to run maintanence and clean it properly. It was one of her favorite things to do...
And then, you have people like Charon… Detached people that are really so kind underneath. Not everything that looks like a monster is a monster…
"…You're not my fucking dad," She finally hissed out. "If you don't like how I am now then tough shit. It won't matter to you anymore after I help Amata and I leave this fucking hellhole."
"Hellhole? It has to be a lot better down here than it is up there from what you've said!" He argued.
"Up there" has a name. It's called the Capital Wasteland, and as shitty as you may think or it may sound, it's my home. My real and actual home… More than Vault 101 ever has been to me… But I guess that makes sense, since I wasn't even born down here. I just grew up here."
"…I know. We know- all the adults, I mean… And after you left, Lucy Palmer told everyone about how her daughter Anne went up there a long time ago, too. So I guess everyone else knows now. That's why the Rebels are fighting. They want to go outside because you and James did it. They think it's a great idea."
"Thanks for telling me, Gomez." Aimee snapped, turning to the hallway to walk towards the atrium door. "I'm going to go find Amata."
"Ai- Aimee, wait!" He crowed, jogging after her. She turned back, staring straight into his eyes- the sharpness of her anger, welling into razorblades in her grey eyes, made him freeze in place with his mouth hung open.
"Don't follow me." She dug into one of her pack pockets. "I can do this on my own. I'll find Amata, by myself, and I'll shoot anyone who stands in my way. Better send out a little memo to the rest of the guards in here- because I will break necks."
"Aimee…" He murmured as she pulled out a Stimpak from her backpack and underhanded it to him- hitting him square in the chest and it clattered on the floor at his feet.
"That's for the stab I gave you. Put it in right and it should heal up just fine." Aimee spoke as she shrugged her pack back on and continued walking down the hallway. "No time like the present to teach yourself something."
"W- Wait! Aimee, if Allen knows you're here, he's going to send all the guards after you and get you killed! Don't you realize that you could die?" When she kept walking, ignoring his words, he called again. "Aimee!"
"Thanks for the heads up, but I can take care of myself just fine. You think that I'm going to be worried about Allen if I've fought all those things that I mentioned and lived?" She replied tersely as she slapped her hand to the door console and the door shot up in front of her, allowing her to walk into the atrium. Gomez's cries were cut off as it closed behind her and she continued on, giving a weary sigh.
Well. That could have gone better… But fuck him for telling me what to do! He's not my dad!
Of course the man wasn't her father- he could never amount to the great man her father is. It saddened her to think like that, knowing that she was down here yelling at a father while not even being able to confront her own… It made her a little empty inside.
She let out a sad chuckle and a shake of her head as she continued walking as a trembling voice cried out. She snapped her head up to find Officer Taylor behind a barricade of tables a few feet from her out of the hallway with Freddie Gomez farther away, donning a-
Her eyes widened in disbelief. That looks like a Tunnel Snakes jacket!... Oh boy…
"Stay- Stay back! I don't want to shoot you, Freddie!"
"Like hell you don't want to shoot me, you old geezer! You're with the Overseer! The Overseer kills for shits and giggles!" Freddie yelled back, pointing at the hallway where Aimee stood. Both seemed unaware of her presence. "Now, you're going to let me walk through that door!"
"Stay back!" Taylor cried again, pulling out his gun from the holster on his thigh and pointed it at Freddie. "I'll- I'll shoot!"
"Go ahead! Shoot me! I dare you!" He spread out his arms as if they were wings, bracing his feet on the floor. "I double dog dare you!"
Aimee let out a disappointed sigh at the two going back and forth with each other- dishing out threats faster than they could blink, but neither carrying out what they said they'd do. She dropped her backpack on the floor at the mouth of the hall, pulled out her baseball bat, Bethanie, from the lip of her backpack and holstered Elaine as she walked back over to Taylor. Freddie saw her before the elderly man did.
"Ho- Holy shit!" He cried, pointing at her as he took an uneven step back, falling flat on his arse.
As Taylor turned on his heel to look at her, Aimee swung Bethanie up- knocking Taylor's gun out of his hands. She then swept back with the bat, low to the ground, knocking his legs out from underneath him so he landed flat on his back. The sound of his head connecting with the floor made a sick noise, and he let out a moan of pain before passing out. She shouldered Bethanie, turning to grab her stuff and tossed it onto her other shoulder by the strap, walking towards Freddie.
"You certainly are a Tunnel Snake- you talk more than you walk." She smirked mockingly.
His ears seemed to perk up on the sides of his head, and his eyes widened. It looked like he didn't recognize her face, but he had recognized her voice.
"Ai- Aimee? Is- that you?"
She nodded, looking back at Taylor, who was obviously still unconscious on the floor.
"…You gotta show me how to do that." Freddie quipped, looking up at Aimee as he stood up from the floor and dusted himself off. "He's gonna be okay though, right?"
"The hell do you care?" She looked back at him. "You were planning on, and I quote, "shoving your foot so far up his ass he'd need to get it surgically removed."
"Yeah…" He rubbed the back of his neck. "Don't tell my parents I said that. The Vault may have gone to shit, but they'd still chew my ear off."
"Just don't tell your mom I stabbed your dad in the arm and you've got a deal." Aimee nodded as she walked past him, dragging Bethanie at her side across the floor.
Freddie stood stock still, blinking with thought as he tried to decipher what she meant. Once he understood, he spun around and called after her;
"You stabbed my dad?"