OoO( 51 )OoO
An hour, that's how long it took to for Pinkerton and the wanderer to sync up to the systems on the ship. The older man had pulled up a chair for John, allowing him to sit next to a rather large terminal with several ports on the side of it. Lana and Charon had taken seats further away, and just stared at him. John however, had his eyes firmly locked on the digital girl on his screen. She was staring up at him playfully, while he had a more silent, worried air about him.
"If you feel anything out of the ordinary, you be sure to tell me alright? I'm not taking any chances." he remarked.
She started fanning herself with her digital hand, her avatar showing small sweat drops. "Wow sugar, you really do care." she said, imitating the southern drawl of the Regulator woman named Belle. Before he could even respond, she nodded. "I know I know. You just be sure to break his scrawny neck if he tries to alter anything about me." she said, pointing at him. He nodded, then looked over at Pinkerton.
"Alright Horace, we're ready." he said, holding out the docking cable from his pipboy. The scientist took the cable and hardwired it into the terminal, then began to tap frantically away at the keyboard.
"Transfer ports open. Whenever she's ready." he said, turning to the wanderer, who nodded to Elsa. The girl vanished from the pipboy, and suddenly appeared on the screen across from him. His eyes widened slightly as he saw her. It was strange, having only ever saw her in her young adult form within the simulation, then in nothing but the limited cartoon parameters that the pipboy could show. But now, with the limitations of the pipboy removed, she looked like an actual woman. Her hair was still red, as it was in the sim, cut short and feathery in a tomboyish fashion. Yet the rest of her was extremely feminine, from her curves, to her dainty hands, to her bright brown eyes that were no longer just black ovals on a cartoon body.
"Transfer complete. Your turn doc." said said, looking around strangely. "Ugh...no sensors? Really?" she asked, crossing her arms across her chest.
"Never had a need for any before." he said simply as he sat at the terminal in front of her and began typing away furiously. Elsa closed her eyes as the numbers scrawling across her body quickened their pace, resulting in a blurring of her image. After about five minutes, the older man spoke again, but did not stop typing. "Restriction one, removed." he said quietly. John looked at Elsa, whose eyes popped open, as if she gasped gently. Almost immediately, Pinkerton continued. "Restriction two, removed." he said, never stopping his fingers tapping, or his eyes reading across the screen. "Constraints removed." he finished, resting his hands on the table.
Elsa's eyes widened on the screen as her coding moved even more rapidly, then seemed to freeze on the screen. Slowly, the numbers vanished, and nothing was left but her avatar, just drifting on the screen with her eyes closed. "Elsa?" asked John.
"She can't hear you right now. Unfortunately, I've never built any systems here to receive my audio or video input. So she's essentially senseless." said the doctor as he reached down and opened a drawer built into his desk. The wanderer looked over, then cocked an eyebrow as he saw the doctor pull out a pipboy and latch it to his arm. He started it up, then plugged the hardline into the side of the terminal as well. Suddenly, the screen went blank.
John froze as he stared at the monitor for what seemed like an eternity, the flat black display showing nothing, as if the power cord had just been severed. Slowly, he turned to Pinkerton, his hand flexing threateningly. "Care to explain this doctor?" he asked.
Horace looked at him, then back at the screen incredulously. "I...I can't!" he said as he frantically began checking the connections to the monitor and the computer. Suddenly, the other terminals began to flicker and go off. Then the memory cores, then the servers. "What is happening!?" he asked as he spun around, looking on horrified as his entire life's work became at risk. Suddenly, everything turned back on, and back to normal. The screen in front of the pair flicked back on, and instead of just Elsa floating on a black screen, there now stood two figures. One, was the fiery haired AI from before, who had a hand resting on the head of the second, and a wide smile on her face.
The second was a young boy who had brownish reddish hair, very similar to Elsa's. His eyes were green, and he wore a Vault 101 jumpsuit just like she did. John leaned over and stared at the young boy, who couldn't have been over ten years old in appearance by his estimation. "Wow, he looks just like you." he said, smiling slightly.
"You're correct. I figured, if I'm going to do the whole mother thing, I might as well do it right. So I mixed traits." she remarked. John looked at her oddly, then back at Horace.
"I thought you said she couldn't hear me." he said with a look of mixed confusion.
"I couldn't a minute ago. But I went ahead and recoded the doc's systems to allow third party audio and video devices to link up, including your pipboys." she said as she ruffled he boy's head.
"So, who else did you model him after?" he asked, scratching his chin curiously, staring at the boy, who at the moment seemed emotionless.
"Huh? Oh...uhhh..." she asked, then smiled widely. "Oh, you know. I just took random features from random people we've met." she said, flapping her digital hand to deflect him. "So anyway doc..." she said, looking up at the older man critically. "Like he said, we're going to come back and check up on him frequently, so no funny business!" she said threateningly.
"I understand, no repressing, no overlord, no none of that." he said, rolling his eyes. "Why the hell do you think I left the Institute to begin with?"
"Actually, I was hoping you could answer that for us." said John, who was leaning against the stairs leading up to the mezzanine. "Now that you've got an assistant, we need information." he said as he strolled over to the computer and smiling down at Elsa.
"Right right." said Pinkerton, who sat down in front of one of his terminals. Turning to look at Elsa, he nodded. "What's his name?" he asked.
"Rock." she said, her hand still on his head.
"Alright Rock, please open the file labeled Lazarus Case, Zero Zero Four Five." The boy immediately perked up, and a file blacked out the monitor, before letters began to scrawl across the screen. 'LC0045' popped up, then opened a file with numerous pictures in it. "A3-21, or Odin, as he was classified by those tight asses back in the Commonwealth, found out about me through the Railroad that was stationed here in Rivet City. Apparently, he had gone rogue without their assistance, deciding to do things his own way."
"The Railroad? Victoria?" asked John as he eyed Pinkerton.
"You've met her?" asked the doctor.
John looked away, not revealing anything. "You could say that..." he remarked.
"Anyway, he got to Rivet City, and Victoria had already known about him from reports up north. So she found him, and brought him to me. I locked his memory, gave him a new face, then pushed him out the door." said the man.
"Zero Zero Four Five?" asked John as he scratched his chin. "This isn't the first time you've done this, is it?" he asked.
"Nope, and it won't be the last either. Any chance I get to stick it to those assholes at CIT, I take. So I've made a bit of a living off helping the Railroad 'relocate' the androids." he said, shrugging. "Doesn't hurt that they pay enough to live off of."
Lana sighed from her chair, shaking her head in slight irritation. "The only problem is, A3-21 sent out calls for assistance as he made his way down here to Rivet City. He sent holotapes to all the doctors he could find, asking for the procedure that you finally gave him." she said as she stood up next to John. All Pinkerton did was sigh and rub his forehead. "And unfortunately, those tapes led Zimmer right here to Rivet City. They're looking for A3-21 now, and they will find him if we don't help." she said solemnly.
"The file is right there. What he looked like, what he looks like now, his name, etcetera. Feel free to take a look." he said as he stood up and turned towards the back. "After all the day's excitement, I'm pretty sure I need a nap." he said, then turned to John. "Oh, and don't go telling Zimmer I'm over here. Androids aren't the only things that the Institute hunts down." he said irritably before walking off.
John looked over at Lana, who had already sat in front of the terminal and began reading the file. To his curiosity, after a minute of reading, she had a look on her face that was a mix of horror and sadness. "What is it?" he asked.
She spun in the chair, planted her elbows on her knees, then slammed her face into her palms. "Why meeeeee?" she asked in a high pitched, tortured tone.
"Why you what?" he asked as he stood up.
"Ohhhhh..." said Elsa. "Looks like Lana's boyfriend is A3-21." she said, tapping her foot on the screen. Once again the wanderer stared at her and her unusually life-like form.
"Wait..." he said, shaking his head clean of any unneeded thoughts. "Harkness?" he asked, staring at the screen incredulously.
"Security Chief Christopher Harkness, handsome, chivalrous, knows how to make a girl weak in the knees, and rogue android..." whined the woman again as she ran a hand through her red hair.
"Oh no..." said John, his eyes widening.
Lana looked up at him curiously. "What?"
"Doctor Li said she was going to have Harkness throw Zimmer and his guards off the ship. If he tries to..." he said, looking at her critically. She almost immediately filled in the blanks. Standing up rigidly, she dashed for the door. "Dammit Lana! Wait!" he shouted, then turned to Charon. "Go after her and make sure she doesn't do anything stupid!" he yelled.
"How do I know what's stupid?" asked the ghoul as he eyed the wanderer.
"Don't let her do something I'd do!" barked John as he turned back to the computer. Charon nodded, then left after the woman. "Elsa, come on. We've got to hurry!" he said, looking down at her. Almost immediately, he felt a pain in his heart when he stared at her sad expression. The AI nodded, looking at the young boy, who looked back up at her. The images of the two figures went static-like for a moment as they shared data, then the digital woman vanished and reappeared on his pipboy, back in her cartoon form.
"Ready to go boss." she said sadly.
"Don't worry Elsa, we'll come back here immediately so we can visit again." said John, who got a small smile from her. "Rock, behave yourself!" said John as he reached down and unplugged the pipboy from the terminal, sliding the cord back into place, then turned and fled the room.
When the wanderer left, the young AI boy closed his eyes. "Acknowledged...father."
OoOoO
John had easily caught up to the other two, and they made the Rivet City bridge together. Lana, taking the lead, held the door shut. The other two looked at her curiously. "Look...we shouldn't make a big deal of things right off the bat. I'm sure Zimmer is still looking for him, and we don't need to draw any kind of attention. So please, just...let me talk to him." she asked, desperation in her voice.
John and Charon looked at her silently for a moment, then the gunman nodded. "Alright. You can talk to him. Just remember, he thinks he's human. So telling him all of this will likely not turn out as well as we hope it does." he said.
She nodded. "I know I know...I just don't think it should be dropped on him like that. If it's going to get broken to him, I wanna be the one to do it." she said with a sigh.
"Alright. Me and Charon will keep our distance. Just don't go activating any self destruct modes. And do not do it out in the open." he said, putting emphasis on the words 'do not' as he walked over for the stairs leading up to the catwalk. Charon followed, and Lana was left to herself in front of the crowd of people shuffling around the marketplace.
It wasn't long before she spotted a figure walking through the crowd in the black Rivet City Security armor, with his helmet strapped to his side. As soon as he approached her, he smiled widely. "Hey, was wondering where you got to." he said cheerfully. She immediately grabbed his arm and began leading them away from the people of the market. "What's the matter?"
She sighed. "We need to talk, alone for a few." she said as she pulled him towards a room off to the side that was usually locked, as it was used as storage for the marketplace after hours. When she pulled him into the room, she spun and closed the door.
He smirked slightly and crossed his arms. "You know, if you wanted some alone time there are less conspicuous areas. Though..." he said looking around in amusement. "I guess not quite as thrilling, if you're into that kind of thing." he said. His smile vanished when he looked at her though. Her expression was overtly melancholy, nearly making him flinch at how she managed to look so ruffled. Uncrossing his arms, he walked up to the redheaded woman and scanned her. "What is it?" She just walked up to him, grabbed the sides of his head, and pulled him down into a deep kiss. He was surprised, but didn't pull away. Instead, the security chief wrapped his arms around her and returned the kiss. When finally the two broke away, he just chuckled lightly. "Not exactly what I expected. But you know I was kidding right? We can't actually do anything in here."
"Just...shut up for a minute." she said as she hugged him tightly.
He laughed quietly, but wrapped his arms around her and held her tightly as well. They stood there for a minute or so before he got curious again. "So, you gonna tell me what this is about?" he asked, lifting her chin so that she was looking at him.
"You suck." she said with a sigh, getting her another amused smirk. Pulling away, she rubbed her forehead and began to pace on the metal floor in front of him.
"What's got you so riled up?" he asked as he folded his arms again.
She stopped, then looked at him. "Look..." she began, holding her arms behind her back in a military fashion. "I'm just going to have to do this the hard way. I wanted to soften the blow, but I really don't see how that can be done." she said with a sigh.
"Look, if this thing between us isn't going to work...I understand. You're in the Brotherhood..."
"You are an android created by the Commonwealth Institute of Technology, and you ran from them here to Rivet City where you had your face reconstructed and your memories wiped." she blurted out over his comment.
He stared at her for a long moment, giving her a questioning look. Finally, a small smirk curved his features. "You got one hell of a sense of humor." he said as he walked up to her, looking down into her blue eyes with his own brown, he questioned. "Is this about us? Or is it something else that you can't tell me?" he asked.
She sighed. "Zimmer, you know, the guy always bothering Doctor Li?" she asked, looking up at him with exasperation. He nodded to her in curiosity, his strong arms still crossed over his chest. "Do you know why he's here?" she asked.
"He said something about..." he stopped, his expression now concerned. "Androids..." he said, his expression changing to one of concern. "So let me get this straight, you want me to believe that Zimmer is here looking for me, and that I'm some kind of rogue robot..."
"Android." she corrected.
"Android...that I'm some kind of android who ran away from home?" he asked incredulously. She nodded. "How the hell do you figure that? I have memories that contradict you. Memories of growing up, memories of my wife who left. Even memories of when I was a kid! Why would I have those if I'm some kind of robot..."
"Android." she corrected again.
He growled in irritation. "Android!"
"Memories can be programmed. You got assistance from a doctor, who changed your face, and your memories so that you could live a normal life." she said sadly.
He ran a hand through his thick brown hair as he eyed her, his mood shifting rapidly to irritation. "If that's the case, then why are you telling me?" he asked.
"Zimmer has tracked you all the way here. If I were to leave you be, he'd find you and take you back against your will. I...couldn't stand that." she said, looking down sadly. Her melancholy face almost immediately doused his attitude. "I do have a way of restoring your old memories and control capabilities if you wanted me to. Or, we could get you out of here, and under the protection of the Brotherhood of Steel. Either way, whatever you choose to do, we have to do it quickly."
He stood silently in front of her, looking down at her face, which now showed a mix of sadness and pity. "Why is this so hard for you?" he asked.
She just sighed. "I...I really liked you Chris. I've had a lot of guys trying for my attention, both in and out of the Brotherhood. I never gave any of them the time of day because I knew what they really wanted. You, you didn't ask for any of that. You wanted to spend time with me." she said, huffing deeply. "I don't know if activating your memories again will erase the ones that you've made since then, or if they'll both be there. Hell, any kind of feeling you had for me could be completely obliterated if it were to happen. So it's hard for me to recommend that to you possibly forget everything about me." she finished.
"I...see..." he said, then smiled slightly. "You really do care about me, don't you?" he asked.
She rolled her eyes. "Oh shut up." she commanded, softly punching the front of his armor.
"So...say I believe you, and I opt out of the memory recovery. What then?" he asked, crossing his arms again.
"We get you out of Rivet City, and if you so chose, get the same doctor to wipe your memories again so you can start over. If you choose to keep your current memories, I can take you to the Brotherhood, and we can protect you. I'll...have to talk to them first. But I'm confident I can get them to agree." she said, less than confidently. Suddenly, both of them were startled by the sound of a loud crashing outside the room, followed by the shouts and surprised cries of many of the civilians.
"What the hell was that?" asked Harkness as he looked at the door.
"Oh no..." said the woman as she drew her laser rifle from her back. "I think we're out of time."
OoOoO
It had been about five minutes of watching the hatch that the Security Chief and the Brotherhood Knight disappeared into before anything happened. Unfortunately, it wasn't the redhead woman coming back out the hatch that grabbed his attention. Instead, it was a tight grip on his shoulder. He almost immediately knew who the perpetrator was, but he turned and glared anyway.
"Hello Mister Zimmer." said John as he turned to the old man. Valkyrie was standing next to him, while Armitage had his hand clamped tightly onto his shoulder.
"Greetings Mister Ronas. Any news of A3-21's location?" he asked curiously, giving the gunman a suspicious look.
"I'm afraid not at the moment. I've been trying to track down the man that gave him his procedures, but it hasn't been going well. He seems to have fallen off the face of the Earth." said John, who was eyeing Armitage was a threatening look. "And I'd advise you to have your toy here to let go of me if it wants to keep its arm."
"Armitage, disengage." said the old man. The android let go of the man's shoulder, but continued to give him the same sour glare with those pure black, soulless iris'. "Apologies. See, when you work in my business, you have to know the honest ones from the prevaricators." he said as he reached up and adjusted his glasses. Then, he spoke in his cheerily creepy, upbeat voice again. "You for example, not only ran into someone recently who had contact with A3-21, but you also found that traitorous dimwit who left the Institute years ago. Thus far, you've done more in a few days than I've managed to do in my entire stay here." he said, chuckling at the stern look that John's face took. "Oh don't look so insulted. When we arrived here we couldn't hear enough about the Wanderer and his many great deeds across the Capitol Wasteland. Did you honestly think I didn't know who you were when we first met?" he asked.
John crossed his arms and glared at the man through his radiation laced eyes. "Then why the hell would you ask me to find him for you?" he asked as he leaned over, covering Charon from view of the android.
"Because, one of the consistent punchlines of your stories is that you get things done. I needed a man like that. Now, I had no reason to believe that you'd ever help me due to some obnoxious twisted morality where you believe that machines are people too. But all I had to do was get you on the trail with a sense of urgency. And you did the work for me." he said, then chuckled. "Well, most of the work. Valkyrie here was the one who surveyed you the entire time." he said, getting his female android a glare.
"Alright then, now what?" asked the wanderer as he stood straight again, preparing himself for the worst.
"Well, you see, for certain reasons, Valkyrie was unable to get into the bow of the ship. So all I need from you is the information you received from him, and you can be on your way." he said politely.
John however, just smiled. "And how do you intend to get it from me?" he asked in an almost playful manner.
Zimmer just sighed and rubbed his forehead. "If I must...Armitage, re engage." The android responded immediately, and sent a punch like a cannonball into the wanderer's stomach. The blow double the man over and left him limp over the automaton's arm. "I was hoping to do this the easy way, but since you insist..." he said as he looked up at the limp man. But his frustration turned into shock when he heard the gunman laughing.
John stood himself upright slowly, rubbing the armored spot that the android had struck as he laughed quietly. "There's something you may have forgotten about those stories of mine." he said as he reached up and cracked his neck.
Zimmer growled as he stared at the figure. "And what's that?" he asked, his voice taking a hostile tone.
"I get those things done a certain way." he said as he cracked his knuckles. "I don't go around obstacles, I go through them." he growled, then grabbed the android by the arm and flipped him over his shoulder and over the catwalk. The automaton flew and crashed directly through the Potomac Attire stand, sending Bannon and Sheila scattering in fright. "Oops..." he said as he watched them run.
"Valkyrie, engage! Eliminate him!" shouted Zimmer as he pointed at the two. The female android immediately pounced on the gunman, grabbing his head and driving her heels into his stomach with enough force to blast him down the stairs of the platform they were on. He bounced off the metal stairs, and ended up sprawling on the floor at the bottom.
"Oww..." mumbled the gunman as he rubbed his head sorely. Getting to his feet again, he turned around and caught the body flying after him as if they weighed no more than a sack of potatoes. Charon just looked at him with a deadpan look.
"Thanks..." he said, being held in the sweeping carry position, the same as he'd caught Sarah in so long ago.
"Don't mention it." said John as he set the thrown ghoul onto his feet again. "Ever." Turning to the stairs, he watched as the female droid once again sprung into the air and dove at him. He grabbed her out of the air and spun, using her momentum to send her crashing into the wall at his back. The android was almost immediately on her feet again as the door that Lana and Harkness had entered earlier opened, and the two came out with their weapons drawn. Lana held her laser rifle aimed directly at Valkyrie and Harkness had turned to the android that was now pulling himself out of the remains fo the clothing store.
The security chief aimed his combat shotgun at the rising figure. "Get to the ground!" he shouted.
John looked at the Harkness, then at Lana. "Is he?" She just shook her head. He facepalmed, then turned to the chief again. "Chief! Be careful! That's an android!" shouted the gunman as the female droid jumped onto his back and wrapped her arms around his neck. He reached up and grabbed her arms, preventing her from locking her hold, but she had a firm grip on him, and her strength was almost on par with his. Turning to the ghoul next to him who was attempting to help pry off the female android, he just said. "Help them!"
Harkness and Lana both had their weapons trained on Armitage as he got up and looked at them. "Stay where you are!" shouted Harkness as he threatened the droid with his shotgun. But the automaton just glared at him, then ran forward and shoulder tackled him with enough power to send him flying. Once the male guard was out of the way, the android turned to Lana and walked towards her, at least, until a loud roar erupted, followed by buckshot slamming into his face.
The people in the market had already screamed and ran for cover when the fight started, but a few lingered around the edges to watch the events unfold. However, as soon as the shotgun blast sounded, the stragglers immediately bolted for the doors. Bannon grabbed Sheila's arm and guided her to the door that led further into the ship, the two of them slamming the hatch shut behind them. "W-What's happening!?" asked Sheila as her heart thumped in her chest wildly.
"I don't know, but whoever the hell crashed my store is gonna pay for it heavily when I get my hands on them." said the dark skinned man angrily.
"Wait!" shrieked Sheila as she frantically looked through the people who had come with them.
Bannon grabbed her by the shoulder. "What's the matter?" he asked.
"Will is missing!" she shouted in horror.
OoOoO
Charon stood, his monstrous shotgun smoking as it was leveled directly at the male android's face. He slid the cocking mechanism back, ejecting the burnt shell and sliding a new one into place. The mechanical bodyguard had been blown sideways from the attack, but rose to his feet again. When he looked at the others, they stared at him horrified. Harkness, who was standing once more with his shotgun primed, gawked at the android as it rose again with half its face torn off. The skin had been shredded by the shotgun blast, leaving a shiny, metal, alloy skull beneath exposed. The exposed eye had been damaged, leaving a red glow that locked onto Charon immediately.
"What the fuck?" said Harkness as he stepped up slowly next to Lana. "I'm supposed to be one of those?" he asked.
"I...I guess...yeah!" she shouted. "I think we have bigger issues right now though."
As if on cue, the robotic figure sprung forward again. All three of the figures, Harkness, Lana, and Charon, fired their weapons at the machine. But it was a juggernaut, and wouldn't be stopped. The laser struck it in the neck, burning away the rest of the skin from its face. The two shotgun blasts hit him in the chest, and the side, impacting his armor. The shots hardly affected him at all, and the machine grabbed Charon by the skull and slammed him to the ground, applying a grip that would probably crush a rock. The ghoul cringed in pain, then put the shotgun up to the armored machine's chest, then fired again. The blast from the huge weapon knocked the automaton back a couple feet, breaking his grip on the ghoul's skull.
Immediately Lana began to focus in on the android and fire her laser rifle over and over, the repetitive attack burning away at the armor. Harkness grabbed the metal man from behind, prompting Lana to stop firing. The security chief used all his strength to left the metallic figure, who now had his entire metal skull exposed and had a huge hole in the side of his armor, and slammed him backwards into the metal plate flooring of the ship. The clanging sound that resulted was loud enough that everyone in the immediate area could almost feel it. But the attack had little effect.
Almost immediately, Armitage had flipped back to his feet and grabbed Harkness and slammed him to the ground hard enough to split the Rivet City Security armor down the middle. Lifting his cocked fist, the metal attacker started to blast Harkness with blow after devastating blow. Lana yelled in fury and began firing her laser rifle in a steady stream directly at the android's head. But the shining alloy simply deflected the energy weapon shots. Throwing her weapon to the ground in frustration, she ran forward and hurled herself at the creature, ready to attack with her bare hands.
John had finally gotten free of the woman's grip and managed slam her into the plate floor once again. But again, she sprung to her feet and stared him down. He flexed his neck sorely as he prepared for another offensive. "You sure as hell don't know how to take a hit..." he said, then sprung forward and slammed his fist across her jaw. The attack impacted like a truck hitting an elder tree, but unfortunately the tree won. She held her ground, then turned back to him and threw one directly back into his own face. He took the hit, his lip splitting open as her fist crushed against his face. But like her, he stood his ground and returned the attack again. The two continuously beat on each other for a full minute until the female surprised him by bending forward and standing on her hands. Her legs lashed out like lightning, striking him in all the places where his armor didn't cover. He stumbled backwards until a particularly brutal kick floored him. When he finally shook the stars from his eyes, he got to his feet shakily, only to notice that the green computer that had been latched to his arm was now gone. His eyes widened as he frantically searched for the pipboy, but his attention was quickly refocused when she jumped and double drop kicked him directly in the chest, sending him cannoning into the the wall with enough force to knock his breath out of his lungs.
Feeling the void space where the pipboy once was, his anger flared, burning away the pain he felt and flooding him with a power even he didn't know he had. She spun and tried to kick him once more, but he grabbed the leg of her lithe body and swung her like a sledge hammer, impacting the floor hard enough that everyone within the market could feel the reverberation through the floor. Not stopping, he lifted her again and slammed her once more against the wall. The droid was stunned, each impact affecting her sensors and her ability to read the situation around her, making her unable to respond to the attacks. He swung her one more time and hurled her into the far wall, causing her to impact like a meteor and crash through the wall. He breathed heavily as he stood, watching her to see if she would rise again. But the woman didn't move from her location. Resolving that she was down, he spun around and began to look around frantically for the pipboy.
"Elsa! Where are you!?" he shouted, scanning the floor rapidly. But he froze when he turned and saw Charon gripping his skull on the ground, Harkness with the android on top of him, one hand clamped around his throat, and Lana now on the droid's back, trying to wrench the Security Chief free. Growling angrily, John barreled forward, grabbing the android's head and pulling him clean off Harkness and threw him to the ground, sending him tumbling. Lana broke free and immediately ran to the man's side.
"Chris! Chris!" she shouted, cradling his head as she examined the markings around his throat and the lack of bruising on his face. She held his head and stroked him gently, trying to wake him quickly. "Please...Chris...wake up." she said as she held him. But no matter how much she prodded, he didn't respond. "Please don't do this to me…" she said desperately as she felt for his pulse. She wasn't even sure if she could feel the pulse of an android, or even if they had one. She leaned down, knowing what she had to do, if it was even an option anymore. Kissing him gently, she whispered to him. "A3-21 Recall Code Violet."
A few feet away, Charon rose to his feet again and growled angrily at the metallic figure, his shotgun at the ready again. "Outta the way!" shouted the ghoul as he came up behind John, ready to blast the android again. But the automaton surprised them both by standing straight from just his heels touching the ground. Grabbing both John and Charon by their heads, he charged forward and slammed them both against the wall. The gunman reached up and grabbed the metallic man's arm, trying to pry it loose. But Armitage was apparently the stronger of the two androids, his crushing grip unrelenting. At that moment, the doors all around the marketplace burst open and Rivet City Security swarmed over the catwalks and aimed their weapons at all the figures present.
"Get on the ground, now!" shouted Kurtis from beneath his shielded helmet.
John raised a hand to halt them. "Stop, don't get any closer!" he shouted.
Zimmer walked past security, and stepped up to John with a smug look on his face. "Now then, are you ready to give me the information I need?" he asked, turning to Armitage. "Everytime he doesn't answer me, squeeze his skull tighter. And if anyone in this room touches me, kill them both!" shouted the old man, who glared at the security units moving in around them.
John struggled against the grip, but it was like fighting against a hydraulic press. He could gain no traction, get no grip, and find no leverage that he could use to get out of the monstrous grip. "Go to hell Zimmer!" shouted the gunman, who then screamed as he felt the fingers start digging into his skull.
OoOoO
A short distance away, in the wreckage of the Potomac Attire stand, young Will Jr. sat with his head covered and his eyes closed in fear. He covered his ears with his hands each time a gun fired, or someone was slammed against the metal, trying to keep himself hidden from the titanic war that was going on just a few feet away. After the android had fallen through the store, the shop, which mainly consisted of wooden planking, came down on his head, knocking him out briefly. Now, he lay terrified and shivering underneath the loose wreckage, too afraid to move unless he was caught in the crossfire.
After the sounds of battle klaxoned around him for a while, there was the thump of something landing in front of him. Opening his eyes, he looked forward and saw the army green, wrist mounted computer that his former guardian wore all the time, rolling towards him. He watched it as it stopped in front of him, then gasped as the screen lit up with a girlish cartoon girl on the screen. "Hey kid...wanna see something cool?" she asked playfully.
OoOoO
Armitage pulled the gunman free of the wall before slamming him into the bulkhead again, sending another shockwave of pain through the gunman's system. By now, his arms had strained to their limit, crushing and warping the metallic underarms of the behemoth android's limbs. But nothing he did seemed to affect the goliath strength of the automaton. "This is the last time I'm going to ask you waste rat. Where is A3-21?" asked Zimmer as he stood and interrogated the wanderer. "This time, if he doesn't answer, crush the ghoul's skull." said the old man, who immediately got a glare from John.
"Piss off you salty old bag of dust!" shouted Charon as he reached up and grabbed the droid's arm for what felt like the hundredth time. "Cummon! Do it you fucking tin can!" shouted the ghoul.
"Hmmm...adorable. Now then..." he said, turning back to John. But he stopped when Valkyrie approached, seemingly having recovered from their earlier bout, and wrapped her arms around the wanderer, locking him in place so that he couldn't move. "Oh...welcome back." he said as the redheaded android stared up at the wanderer. "Now! Tell me! Where is A3-21!?" he shouted forcefully at John while Rivet City Security all focused their weapons on Armitage.
"Right here." came a voice behind the small group. Zimmer turned around, then took a step back as Harkness stared daggers at him. The Security Chief's eyes were no longer the soft brown that they'd been before. Now, the iris' were glowing red and locked onto him directly.
"Armitage, disengage! A3-21 is there! Focus on him!" He shouted. The android let go of his two captives, but before he could even turn around, the Security Chief was on him. Harkness grabbed the android from behind and slammed him again in another lifting suplex, but this time the automaton was stunned by the blow. Like a whirlwind, Harkness was back on his feet and locked the mechanical man's arms behind his back with his legs, then reached down and grabbed the android's head and began to wrench with all his might.
Once he was freed from the grasp of Armitage, John slid to the ground, still bound by the female android. Charon fell to the ground next to him, barely conscious after two assaults directly to the head, leaving him defenseless against the creature that was now locked around his form. He glared down at her, her secure grip too strong for him to break. "What now? Crush me to death?" He asked angrily.
"Hehehe…" giggled the android as she stared up at him. John's face immediately changed from anger to confusion as he stared at her. Then to shock when she lunged her face forward and kissed him full on the lips. All he could do was lay, rigid against the wall as she pressed herself against him, her body and her lips against his. It was a moment before she pulled away and unraveled herself from his body.
"What the hell?" He asked as he got to his feet as well. Spinning around, she walked towards Zimmer.
The old man turned to her and glared. "Valkyrie! What the hell are you doing!? Assist Armitage!" He shouted, pointing at the android tussle in front of them that was currently sided towards Harkness. The female android smiled at the man, getting her a confused look. "Valkyrie, what's wrong with you?" He asked.
"Nothing Mister Zimmer. I feel better than ever." She said with another childish giggle as she stood in front of him. Then, in a blur of motion, she grabbed him by the back of the neck, and with a single thrust, drilled her hand straight through his heart. It was so sudden that the man had to look down and see his own chest penetrated for him to even realize what happened. He coughed heavily, his legs becoming weak, blood now pouring from his mouth as he stared up at the defiant smirk on his bodyguard's face. "Goodnight Mister Zimmer. Rest well." She said, prying her hands clean of the man's chest cavity.
John watched in fascination as the female droid then turned towards the two fighting on the ground and ran into the melee. Harkness, not having as much power as the other android, had started to lose his grip, meaning Armitage was starting to break free. Valkyrie bound over and slid across the floor, sweeping the titan's arms out from under him, allowing Harkness to secure his grip once more. Now having the automaton pinned again, he grabbed his head and began to wrench again, this time joined by Valkyrie. Even John stepped forward, planting a foot on the male android's back, and grabbing his head. Together, the three of them pulled viciously, causing Armitage to start yelling loudly. His eyes began to glow white as the alloy began to give and break. And with a loud snap, the metallic skull tore clean of the rest of the body.
Immediately, any struggle that the droid was putting up ceased, and the light from his eyes died as the metallic head clanked off the ground a few feet away. The three stood and looked at each other warily. John looked at the female android, who had made a startling turn around at the last minute and saved their asses at the last minute, then the the Security Chief, whose red eyes dulled to brown once more. He was now restored to his former self, and the wanderer wasn't sure how stable he was anymore.
The chief looked at John, who was now panting heavily from the abuse he just took, then to Valkyrie. And Valkyrie was just standing, smiling at them both. Finally, the long silence was broken. "Chief, you still with us?" He asked the man.
Harkness looked at him in an analyzing fashion, then Lana stepped forward and looked up at him curiously as well. The man looked at her, then smiled. "Damn right I am." He said, then grabbed Lana and kissed her deeply, making her gasp, then melt in his arms. The two embraced as they kissed one another, ending the horrific battle with a moment they could all smile at.
"Hehe...told you she was getting laid." Said Valkyrie as she elbowed John. Immediately, the wanderer spun on her, his eyes widening immensely at her words.
"Elsa!?" He asked incredulously.
OoOoO
Author's Note: So, this chapter and the last were meant to be one giant chapter, but I thought the better of it and broke them up. So instead of having around a 15k word chapter, we have two juicy ones. I really hope you enjoy this one, as I redid it about five times before I was okay enough with it to finally put it up here. And I have to assume the last chapter didn't go over as well, as I didn't get as many reviews as normal. Or who knows, maybe they were saving it for this conclusion. Either way, this part was going to be waaaay different that it is here, but I thought I'd change it a bit and make this portion of the story more important. I hope you like it! If you do, leave a review! Or if not, then at least tell me what wasn't so good about it. Until next time!
