Two years have passed since Courier Six, the Girl with the Blood Red Hair, the Red Blade Witch, Layla, took over the Mojave, and despite the peace in which she finds herself, darker parts of her being still call out for blood. On the horizon a storm is brewing, and with it a new scheme to take away everything Layla loves. Lured 2000 miles away, she encounters a soldier from the past, both of them pawns in a new mastermind's scheme. At the same time, a vengeful serpent, a relic of Layla's past, rises up, seeking vengence. As a great war brews, enemies appear on all sides, and loyalties are tested, the fates of the Mojave and the Commonwealth lie in the hands of witch and soldier, but between snake, steel, synth and spy, will either survive the hardships to come? Sequel to The Girl with the Blood Red Hair. Contains bloody violence, strong language, adult themes, OCs, diversions from canon, lesbians, and gratuitous, anime as fuck fight scenes.

Hi, my name's Red Slayer, and welcome to the sequel to The Girl with the Blood Red Hair, a story with a terrible title that I spent 8 years writing. Allow me to present: Red Blade Reckoning, another story with a terrible title that might take me another 8 years to write. Writing Blood Red Hair was one of the most difficult, but rewarding experiences of my life, and I can't wait to get this sequel that I've had in my brain for ages, out into the world.

Disclaimer: If you haven't read Girl with the Blood Red Hair, I wouldn't recommend reading this one just yet. You won't know who the characters are, emotional bits won't have the same impact, you won't know what's going on etc. Yo, it's a sequel, like who the fuck goes in and starts a series with the fucking second one? That's like those dickheads who went to see Avengers: Endgame without seeing any of the others and were like 'Yo bruh I have no clue what's going on.' Yeah no shit dumbass, you missed out on like TWENTY FUCKING FILMS. *Clears throat.* Sorry, pet peeve.

Anyway, without further ado, let's begin our tale. And we'll be starting off in a rather...unexpected place. It's time for...

A Whole New Life

October 23, 2077

On a beautiful sunny day, in a lovely home in the picturesque suburbia of Sanctuary Hills, a woman woke up screaming.

Sitting up in bed, she frantically cast her eyes around the room, taking a moment to remember where she was. Scenes from the nightmare played out again, just as clear as they'd been when she was asleep. Her heart pounded roughly against her chest, and her vision began to blur as tears ran free. Slowly, she lay back down, curled up into a ball, and started to cry.

The woman had no idea how long she stayed like that, hiding in bed, sobbing quietly, but it could only last for so long. When the tears passed, and the pain unearthed by her dreams turned back into a dull ache, she got up.

First things first: trembling hands reached for the bottle of pills and glass of water always kept at her bedside. She took a pill, and after looking at it for a few moments, put it in her mouth, then sent it down with a gulp of water. After a few seconds of deliberation, she popped a second pill. My mind needs all the help it can get. She thought bitterly. Once that important morning ritual was done, the woman took stock of the situation.

The bed was empty beside her, so after getting dressed, she exited the room, out into a corridor. On the right side of the corridor, a door was slightly ajar. Steam was coming out, accompanied by a familiar voice cheerfully humming. Managing a weak smile despite everything, she stepped through the door.

A man was looking into the mirror, seemingly fresh out of the shower and clad only in a towel. Somehow sensing her approach (He'd always been sharp), the man chuckled.

"Well, good morning sleepyhead." He said playfully. His voice was warm, rich, and brought more comfort to her than he'd ever know. "Or, afternoon." He started to turn, and panic froze her in place as she remembered too late what she must look like right now. "I was wondering when you'd..." As soon as his eyes locked with hers, the man froze. Now that he'd moved slightly, the woman could look past him and see her face in the mirror. Or perhaps the more accurate statement would be 'She could see the state of herself'. Her eyes were big, bloodshot, red from crying, and sporting thick, black bags beneath them. To be frank, she looked like a wreck. "Another nightmare?" He asked, his tone harder to read. Beyond 'worry', she couldn't get a bead on his emotions at all. Not feeling up to speaking just yet, she nodded, before stepping forward to get a better look at herself in the mirror...and soon wishing she hadn't bothered.

His shower must've been a hot one, as the mirror was fogged up to hell. It was rapidly clearing though, and she could see her state with far less clarity than she really wanted. Her shoulder length raven hair was a mess, her green eyes were red and puffy, they sported dark bags thick enough to pack luggage in, and her skin was tired and pallid. To be brutally honest, she looked like death, though the reaper himself would probably find the comparison insulting.

"The nightmare...was it the same one?" Fighting to urge to start crying again, she clutched the edges of the sink tight.

"No...yes...sort of." She shook her head in a vain attempt to uproot all the anxieties that were clinging to her mind like limpets "I've had it before, but...different."

"...Which mission was it?" She gulped. He knew all too well the nature of her nightmares. She didn't dream about her teeth falling out or running late for something important. She dreamt of her time in the army. She dreamt of the things she'd seen. The people she'd killed.

"The last one." The mission right before their tour of duty had ended. The one that had nearly killed them both.

"Oh." He replied simply. Sensing his worry, the woman turned to him, and grabbed his hands.

"Nate. Hey." She said in what she hoped was a reassuring tone. "I'm okay. Promise. I took my crazy pills. Just need some Sugar Bombs and a cup of tea and I'll be right as rain." Nate looked at her, clearly uncertain.

"You sure?" After moving her hands behind her back. she began demurely fidgeting, as the words she wanted to say refused to come out.

"I...could also...maybe...use a hug?" She said shyly. Nate smiled, before wrapping her in a gentle embrace. She let out a relieved sigh; there were few things in the world that made her feel safer than feeling her husband's powerful arms around her, the arms of a man who could and would fight anyone and anything to keep her safe. A man who'd probably win most of those fights, handily.

"We don't have to go out, if you don't want to." That man said, rubbing his hands along her back in reassuring motions. "We could stay in, sit by the fire, watch a movie. A quiet night in, just the two of us." She couldn't help but smile. Nate was always so good at recognising when she was overwhelmed, and was always been willing to cancel literally anything, no matter how important, to give her some time to decompress and feel safe. Bless him. But...just the two of them? He appeared to be forgetting someone.

"And Shaun?"

"Okay three of us." She made an amused little noise, before tapping his side to show that she was okay for him to release the hug now. He set her free, and she shook her head to answer his question.

"No way I'm letting you cancel the meeting at the Veterans Hall. You're going." She put her hands on his arms." Me too." Slowly, those hands moved up his arms, to rest on his shoulders. "I want to support you." With some effort, she managed a cheeky smile. "And besides, who else is going to tie your tie for you?" Her husband let out a little half laugh.

"You've got me there."

"Besides, people are looking forward to your speech." Nate shook his head.

"My speech sucks. I'm no writer...which is probably for the best, because if I was, we'd be living in a much smaller house." She rolled her eyes at the quip.

"I've read your speech, and it's perfect, okay?" He looked away, clearly not agreeing. For a few seconds, his wife gathered feelings she usually preferred to keep hidden, and put them close to hand. Then, she moved closer, and wrapped her arms around his neck. "Sometimes...whether the speech is good or not doesn't matter." He turned back to her, and saw the emotion in her eyes. "Sometimes what's important is the one giving the speech, and how much they believe in it." Her green eyes locked with his brown ones, and she made her gaze as intense as possible, to help him realise the importance of what she was saying. "Nate, you've been through the same things as the people there. You know how they feel, what they've experienced. What they need more than anything, is someone who's gone through the same horrors as them and survived, telling them that everything's going to be okay." Suddenly feeling sheepish, she looked away from him. "And...they might not be the only ones." Anxiety walked its fingers down her neck, and she released him from her embrace, stepping back. She didn't get far before Nate's arms wrapped around her waist, and pulled her close to him. His fingers ran through her jet black hair, soothing her, and his head rested on her shoulder.

"Everything's going to be okay." He said comfortingly, into her ear. "As long as we're together, we can take anything life throws at us."

"But...what if..."

"Mara..." She went silent, and just listened. "...even if the world's burning around us, I will never leave your side." The emotion, truth, and conviction in his voice struck her hard, and this time she felt happy tears come to her eyes. She raised her arms, and held him with every last ounce of strength she had.

"...You promise?" Her husband pulled back, and gently kissed the top of her head.

"I promise." Those two words, those two simple words, reached deep inside her, and smashed all her worries and anxieties down like a hammer. Feeling light as air, she gave him a genuine smile.

"...Okay." Mara said in a relieved tone. They stayed like that for a time, simply holding each other, Nate allowing his wife some peace and giving her a chance to calm down, and Mara simply enjoying his closeness, his warmth. Putting an ear to his chest, she listened to his heartbeat, and felt the fear and pain caused by the nightmares fade away. For a few precious moments, she was truly at peace. Eventually, Nate released her from the hug, and gave her a loving smile.

"Why don't you go into the living room, eat some breakfast, and relax? I'll finish shaving and be with you in a minute."

"But...what about Shaun?"

"Codsworth's got him. Just let yourself breathe for a moment." Mara looked blankly at him, a response not forthcoming. She wasn't honestly sure she deserved a chance to breathe. She couldn't help but feel that Shaun came first, that he needed his mother, that she should be caring for him, that at the very least she should go and see if he's alright and if he needs anything, that...

Nate kissed her on the nose, and it all melted away.

"You're allowed to be happy, you know." She looked at him, eyes wide, and slowly, a golden smile appeared.

"Okay." She said quietly, before giving him one last squeeze, and walking out of the bathroom.

She left the door open to help the steam dissipate, which had the side effect of allowing her to perfectly hear her husband singing 'It's all Over but the Crying' to himself, painfully off-key. Nate was a man of many talents, but singing was absolutely not one of them. Smiling, she shook her head, before walking into the living room.

"Good afternoon, mum!" A voice with an upper class British accent greeted her the second she entered the room. Behind the kitchen counter, Codsworth, her robot butler (The idea of that was still so weird to her) was currently in the middle of some task or another, but wasn't too busy to point an eye stalk her way. To be honest, Mara still found Mr Handy robots...a little weird. They were basically metal spheres equipped with rocket jets to float, sporting a trio of hydraulic limbs on the bottom and a trio of rotating eye stalks on top. "I have your coffee and breakfast ready and prepared for you." When they'd first gotten Codsworth, specially ordered top of the line, she'd been more than a little wary of him, and those staring, unblinking eyes had made her quite uncomfortable. In the weeks since though, he'd more than proven himself. Whether it was looking after Shaun, tidying the house, or providing another reassuring presence in Mara's life to help her stay calm and comfortable, he'd earned his place, and she now saw him as an essential part of the household. Hell, he was practically a member of the family.

"Thanks, Codsworth."

"Of course, mum!" With that, Codsworth floated off to return to his duties, and Mara sat down at the table, where a perfectly brewed cup of coffee and a bowl of sugar bombs waited for her. Mara knew they'd rot her teeth, but to be honest she didn't care; without a cup of coffee and injection of sugar in the morning she'd never have the energy to do anything.

"Pardon me, mum." Codsworth said from the other side of the kitchen. "My audio receptors may be on the fritz, but...did I hear a dying cat coming from the bathroom?" Mara couldn't help but snicker. Sometimes she couldn't tell if Codsworth was being genuinely innocent, or if it was some masterfully subtle form of passive aggressive British snark.

"That's Nate. He's...singing." The bot gave her as blank a stare as a machine without a face could manage.

"Oh dear." He said dryly, causing Mara to giggle. At that moment, Nate walked in. Trying to hide her smirk, Mara returned her attention to her cereal, while Codsworth gave the lord of the manor a 'Good morning, sir!" Before getting back to business. Seemingly unaware of the ribbing they'd just been giving him, Nate turned his attention to the paper. In less than a minute, Mara felt the sugar and caffeine giving her the energy she needed to face the day. Meanwhile, Nate tutted at the paper. "Good news?" Mara quipped. Nate chuckled, before giving a small smile.

"Food and medicine rationing, riots in the cities, World War 3 any day now. You know, the usual." Mara furrowed her brow, looking over her shoulder at him.

"I thought the Chinese were pushed out of Alaska?"

"Yeah, but now our troops are marching on Beijing." He shook his head. "There's no way this'll end well."

"Does it ever?" Mara turned back to her cereal. "It's like the boys in the unit used to say."

"War. War never changes." They said at exactly the same time, with exactly the same intonation. That earned little laughs from both of them.

"They really loved that one, didn't they?" Nate asked as he put down the paper. Right on cue, Codsworth deposited a steaming mug of coffee on the counter top just next to him. He smiled and nodded at the bot, before taking a sip.

"It's ingrained in my memory for life." Mara replied dryly. On the other side of the house, Shaun started crying, but before she could even feel concern, Codsworth flew off to deal with it. Worth every penny. Left alone with her food and her thoughts, she couldn't help but reflect.

Mara Miller's journey had been an...odd one, to say the least. Born into an upper class family with a long legacy, she'd never really wanted for much. Well, apart from one thing. From the moment she'd entered the world, her parents had had her future planned out. She'd get the best grades, go to a good school, marry the son of a wealthy business partner, pop out an heir, and secure more power for her family as well as a continuation of their legacy. A future set in stone. The one thing Mara had wanted, more than anything, was to set that future aside. She wanted to be free. So, after graduating high school, she fled, leaving her home, her family and her planned life far behind.

Surviving had been tough, naturally, and any attempt to find work was fruitless, especially in the 'difficult' economic times. Struggling and destitute, every day was a fight to get by...until a fateful occurrence. While squatting in an abandoned house, she'd seen it. A poster advertising the military. She'd never really thought about joining the army before, but at that moment, it seemed perfect. A job, purpose, family, and a chance to make her own fate? How could she pass such an opportunity up? Plus it wasn't like she had anything to lose. With nary a second thought, she joined the US military...a decision that would mark her for life.

Training had been, as expected, brutal, but Mara was smart, determined, and scrappy. She learned quickly, and after a rough start, passed basic training proudly. In times of doubt, she remembered that moment, the feeling of triumph, of knowing that she'd actually accomplished something. It was one of the few things she could call on to pick herself up.

Unfortunately, the next few months gave her things that she'd recall in her darkest moments, and visions that would cause her to wake up in a cold sweat for the rest of her life. She'd seen things, done things, felt things...things she wouldn't wish on anyone. The only reason she'd gotten through, was a mental state she'd developed that she called the Calm. When her life was in danger, the Calm would descend, and she'd turn to ice. Emotions, fears, doubts, anything that wasn't fight or flight or relevant to the task at hand would shut down, and she'd tear through her enemies without remorse. She'd only defrost once her life was safe again, and as the bottle opened, all the emotions she'd stored within would pour out. It was...probably less than healthy. It still chilled her to the bone, the fact that she'd had to practically brainwash herself just to get by.

There was only one reason she hadn't left, punishment for desertion be damned. One reason she didn't regret joining the army to begin with, and he was currently sat at the kitchen counter, drinking his morning coffee. The head of her unit, Nathan Miller. In her darkest days, Nathan...or Nate as he demanded everyone call him, was the light that got her through. From the start, he always supported her, offering advice, helping her train, and providing a friendly ear when her anxieties got too much and she had to spit them out at someone. In hindsight, it was obvious he'd been sweet on her from the get-go, but it had taken her an embarrassing amount of time to realise the same. They'd fought side by side, helping each other through thick and thin, and when their service ended, and she allowed herself to feel again, she'd realised that she didn't want to be with anyone else but him. Years later, she was Mrs Mara Miller, and she'd never been happier.

In that time, she'd gone back to school and gotten her law degree (Had never used it and wasn't planning to, but it was another bright moment of pride to look back on, and great to show off to friends and neighbours), Nate had gotten a job in the private security sector (He'd dealt with the military life far better than her; it seemed like he'd been built for it), and they'd made a new addition to their family. Oh god, motherhood. That was a whole can of worms she didn't want to open right now.

Her cereal finished, Mara stood up, picked up her coffee, and went to sit in front of the TV. The news was on, and predictably it wasn't good, but she didn't pay attention, instead sipping her coffee and letting her brain turn off for a moment. It worked quite well...up until the doorbell rang.

For a moment, she was huddled in the dark with her unit, taking cover as something exploded nearby. The pungent scents of blood and gunpowder hit her nostrils, and she heard one of her friends screaming.

Then she was back. Her grip on her coffee was like a vice, probably the only thing that had stopped her from dropping it in shock. She kept a firm hold of it, and tried to calm her breathing, lest Nate notice and start to worry.

"It's that damn salesman again." He cursed. "The one from Vault-Tec." Noticing her reticence, he walked towards the sofa, and gave her a reassuring smile. "Do you want me to..."

"Please." Mara said before Nate had even finished talking. He nodded, and gently touched her shoulder, before walking to the door. Even that brief contact calmed her somewhat, and she sank back into the sofa, before having a big gulp of coffee.

Mara tuned out completely from the conversation between her husband and the salesman behind her, but did do the odd peek over her shoulder out of slight curiosity. The Vault-Tec rep was a gaunt man, wearing an ugly yellowish brown trenchcoat and fedora, and possessing a terrifying amount of energy and enthusiasm. She found herself feeling very, very glad that she wasn't the one talking to him; she probably would've shut down if someone communicated to her with that much vigour. Nate said a few things, there was some mention of a vault, he filled in their details, and the man in the coat thanked them. Nate shut the door on him before he'd even finished talking, causing his wife to giggle.

"Asshole." Nate said succinctly, before sitting down next to her.

"Eh, he didn't seem that bad. A little overeager maybe." Nate smirked. "What did he want?" He looked at her, before clearing his throat and doing a spot on impression of the salesman, complete with the same exaggerated hand gestures that the man had used.

"'I'm here to tell you that because of your family's service to our country, you have been pre-selected for entry, into the local vault! Vault 111.'" He made the last two words sound as reverent as possible, and Mara couldn't help but snicker. "There's a guy who loves his job."

"Still, free access to a vault? That's good, right?" Nate shrugged.

"I guess." He put on his impression of the salesman again. "'In the event of total atomic annihilation.'" He looked dubious.

"Well, like you said, World War 3 is on the horizon. Doesn't hurt to have a backup plan just in case, right?" He smiled.

"Right. If it's for you and Shaun, no price is too high."

"Good answer." They smirked at each other for a few seconds, before more crying filled the house.

"Mum." Codsworth said as he floated back in. "Shaun has been changed, but he absolutely refuses to calm down. I think he needs some of that 'maternal affection' you seem to be so good at." Mara gave him a look. Was...was that sarcasm? She certainly hoped it was. Maternal affection? Her? She barely knew what to do around Shaun, and just thinking about him opened up a whole mess of doubts and insecurities that she didn't want to process.

"You want me to do it?" Nate asked, sensing her discomfort immediately. Mara sighed, before getting to her feet.

"No, no, I'll get it." Nate patted her leg reassuringly, and she smiled before heading for Shaun's room. It's fine. She told herself. No parents know what they're doing when they start out. Learning as you go is part of the point of being a parent. Not totally convinced but in too deep to back out now, she walked into the room.

And there he was. Lying in a cot, cooing as she entered, was a tiny little baby. She didn't see that though. When she looked at him, all the doubts disappeared. Little Shaun was the most beautiful, perfect thing she'd ever seen in her life. She sometimes doubted she even had motherly instincts at all, but when she looked at him, she realised she'd do anything to protect him, and god help anyone who hurt him.

Shaun cooed and gurgled, and when she poked his chest he made a little squeak. She beamed from ear to ear.

"And how are my two favourite people doing?" Still beaming, Mara turned around, and saw her husband leaning against the doorway, trying to look as casual as could be but obviously worried about his wife.

"Well, I can't speak for Shaun..." She poked the infant again, coaxing another squeak from him. "...but I'm pretty good." His lip curled into a relieved smile.

"Good." He said, trying and failing to mask how worried he'd been. "Hey, I fixed the mobile above his crib the other day. Maybe give it a whirl?" She turned back to the crib, and gave the mobile a spin. The little tune it made caused Shaun to gurgle with glee. Mara couldn't help but he filled with joy and affection as she saw the happiness on her son's face, followed by even more love as her husband's arms wrapped around her waist.

"So I was thinking..." He began, laying his head on her shoulder as he did so. "...the three of us could go to the park. The forecast's been a bit...well...shit...but the weather should hold up for a little while." On hearing his words, Mara couldn't help but smirk.

"The park? What, want me to get pregnant again already?" Nate made a choked little laugh, but before he could fire back, Codsworth's voice pierced their moment like a harpoon through a whale.

"Sir? Mum? You should come and see this." Getting a very bad feeling, Mara left the room, and headed for the living room. When she looked at the TV, and saw the horrified expression on the news announcer's face, she realised something was wrong.

"Followed by... yes, followed by flashes; blinding flashes, sounds of explosions..." The terror in the announcer's voice was palpable, and it turned Mara's blood to ice. Oh no. Nate came into the room, carrying Shaun, and his expression soon matched hers. "We're...we're trying to get confirmation, but we seem to have lost contact with our affiliate stations." He paused for a moment. The room was utterly silent. Mara probably could have heard a pin drop. "We do have coming in... confirmed reports...I repeat, confirmed reports of nuclear detonations in... New York and Pennsylvania...my god." With that, the signal went dead, and the screen became a mess of static.

"Nate, what's going on?" Mara asked. She turned to him...and froze when she saw the expression on his face. He was terrified. No...no that couldn't be right. Nate was never terrified. He was her rock. No matter how bad things got, he always persevered, nothing fazed him. Nothing...

"We have to go, now!" He said, frantically heading for the door. It was still unlocked from the salesman's visit, so he managed to get it open with his foot, before looking over his shoulder at her. "The vault. We have to get to the vault!" Fighting the terror building up inside her, Mara nodded, before turning to Codsworth.

"Codsworth...stay safe." Despite the situation, despite the fact that he was essentially being left to die, the robot kept a metaphorical stiff upper lip, and replied calmly.

"And your family as well, mum." With a last, lingering look, she ran out the door.

The next few moments passed in a blur. Following Nate, and soldiers pointing the way, she ran out of Sanctuary Hills, and down the nearby forest path. The whole way, she saw people panicking, heard chilling screams, and realised that this was it. The world was about to end.

They soon reached the gate leading to the vault, and after checking their ID, the soldiers outside let them in. The others waiting, including the Vault-Tec salesman from earlier, weren't so lucky.

Fighting not to let her anxiety take over, Mara kept pace with Nate, following one of the soldiers up the hill, to where a circular elevator was waiting. The couple ran onto the platform, panting with exertion and fear.

"Mara, look at me." Nate said as soon as they came to a stop. Using his voice as an anchor amidst the dread flooding her mind, she looked. "It's going to be okay."

"But..."

"I promised, remember?" Her bottle green eyes looked into his coffee brown, and as she saw the conviction there, she nodded.

And then everything was torn asunder.

In the distance, a huge explosion rocked the world, a colossal ball of fire from which a mushroom cloud sprouted. The elevator beneath their feet came to life, and started to move them down, but the shockwave from the explosion was gaining, moving their way as if eager to spill their blood. Mara felt her heart stop, certain that this would be it...

...when the elevator abruptly sped up. After an initial jolt, it took them downwards at high speed. As the shockwave passed overhead, the hatch above them closed, leaving them in darkness.

-O-

"This can't be happening." Mara muttered to herself as the elevator descended. "This can't be happening. This can't be happening. This can't be happening." She realised that she was hyperventilating, and felt like she was going to pass out any moment. "This can't be..."

"Mara." The single word snapped her out of her trance, and she turned around to see her husband and son looking at her with concern. "It's okay."

"How is it okay?!" Mara found herself snapping hysterically. "We just watched a fucking nuclear bomb explode! Our home is probably gone, along with god knows what else! I left Codsworth to die! HOW IS ANY OF THIS OKAY?!"

Shaun started crying.

As everyone else on the elevator backed away from them, and Shaun bawled his eyes out, Mara suddenly felt terrible. Oh god, what's wrong with me?

"...Sorry..." She said quietly, sheepishly, while Nate gently hummed to their child. Gradually, Shaun calmed down, and started smiling happily at her again. Once he'd made sure their son was alright, Nate looked at Mara, and took a hand off Shaun to put on her shoulder.

"You're okay. I'm okay. Shaun's okay." He looked directly into her eyes, and gave her one of those reassuring smiles that she knew all too well. "We're okay. We made it." Sure enough, the smile did its work. Mara felt herself fade away, the panic weakening, becoming easily manageable. She let out a relieved sigh.

"We did." She said, rubbing her cheek against the hand on her shoulder. "I have no idea how, but we did."

"The world might be gone, and we might have to spend the rest of our lives down here, but we'll still be together." Nate moved the hand from her shoulder to her waist, and pulled her close against him. "I'll keep my promise. I swear." Face turning red, Mara smiled from ear to ear, and put both arms around her husband, holding him as tightly as she could. Somewhere in the middle of their hug, Shaun babbled happily.

"Welcome to Vault 111!" The moment was quite handily ruined as they reached the bottom, and some gentlemen wearing blue jumpsuits welcomed them to their new home. "Just step off the elevator in an orderly fashion, folks. No need to rush, no need to worry about a thing! Just step through this door and we'll get you situated in your new home!" Then the men said the same thing at the same time, as though they'd rehearsed it many times before. To Mara, it sounded like a slogan, and not a particularly good one. "Vault 111! A better future! Underground!" I feel like living in my house with my family was a good fucking future, but whatever. She mentally snarled, before smiling as she realised her snark was working. That was a good sign, right?

The other survivors stepped off the elevator, and began to mill around the room in a daze. One couple stood in the corner, staring at the wall with thousand yard stares, while everyone else gradually made their way up the stairs and through the massive, open vault door. Mara stayed still, uncertainty rooting her to the spot, until her husband grasped her hand in his. She looked into his eyes, and he nodded. Filled with energy and assurance, she stepped off the elevator, and the two headed up the stairs, hand in hand.

"Remember folks, don't dwell on what happened up above! That life is over now! Instead, focus on your new life, and the wonderful future that lies ahead of you, in Vault 111!" Despite having a lot of personal experience not thinking about bad stuff and recognising it as sound advice, and being something of a junkie for positive assurance, Mara couldn't help but find the Vault-Tec staff somewhat...unnerving. They seemed...way too happy, all things considered. Both the men wore smiles that were far too wide, and behind their eyes she saw...something. It was almost like they knew something that they weren't sharing. Passing through the door, and into an entrance plaza with several more staff, she saw that they shared the pattern. There was something off about every person working here, and it made her skin crawl.

"I don't like this." She whispered to Nate, only to immediately feel silly doing so. It wasn't like they had any other option, was it?

"They're just being...peppy." Nate replied calmly and rationally. "Have to put on a positive face for the customers, right?"

"Even in the face of nuclear Armageddon?"

"Considering they sell fallout shelters, I think they have to be extra peppy in the face of nuclear Armageddon." Mara couldn't help but smirk.

"Touché." They passed through a processing area, where a cheerful man recorded their personal information, before proceeding to the right, where a woman with a very warm, motherly voice gave them a blue jumpsuit each. Vault suits, she called them.

Once they'd both gotten changed into their suits, a man in a lab coat led them down a corridor, to a bizarre room lined with unusual pods. Then he told them to each get into a pod, and Mara's 'I have a bad feeling about this'-o-meter started going crazy.

Right on cue, Shaun started crying. Guess I'm not the only one who has a bad feeling about this. Turning to her son and husband, she took Shaun for a few moments, and started fussing over him.

"Don't worry sweetie, I'm here."

"What are these pods for, exactly?" Nate asked the doctor, clearly have a little bit of a bad feeling himself.

"These are decontamination pods, designed to remove outside bacteria and make sure you're clean and ready for your new life in the vault." The scientist said, in a speech that sounded rehearsed, while wearing a smile that had way too many teeth. Again...not like we have a choice. "Your baby will be fine in the pod, don't worry." After looking at Shaun for a few moments, Mara decided he'd be safer in more...stable hands, and passed him to Nate.

"I won't be going far honey, just over there." She said reassuringly, calming her son down somewhat. Nate took him from her, and gave her a smile.

"See you on the other side." He said, before getting into the pod. Mara smiled, and climbed into her own pod.

It wasn't exactly comfortable, but then again she supposed it wasn't supposed to be. It also smelled weird, and seemed weirdly cold. One thing in particular struck Mara though.

The pod didn't have any scanning equipment. Certainly nothing that would make it a decontamination pod.

Before she could ruminate on this, the door closed, and the temperature began to drop rapidly. As her breath appeared in front of her, Mara looked out of the pod's window, across the room, to Nate's pod. He put his hand on the glass, and gave her a reassuring look. She tried to smile back. Swallowing her fears, she forced herself to relax, and closed her eyes.

"Well..." She said to herself as the cold started to become unbearable, and her grip on the world started to slip. "Time for a whole new life."

-O-

From white, came colour.

The whole world seemed to come into focus at once, and the first thing Mara heard was her own strained breathing. She began to panic, wondering where she was, what was going on, and why it was so damned cold. Shivering, she hugged herself, and tried to calm down. Memories swiftly returned. Vault 111. The pod. Nate. Focusing on her surroundings for the first time, she noticed that the window on the pod appeared to be partially frosted over.

"This is the one. Here." A female voice said. As she looked through the window, a figure clad in white came into view. It looked to be a woman, but beyond that, she couldn't tell. Her vision was too blurry, and her head hurt too much.

"Open it." A gruff voice ordered, and a man walked into view, standing next to Nate's pod. He was bald, and clad all in black. The woman pressed a button on the outside of the pod, and as Mara watched, it opened, revealing her husband to the world.

"Nate!" She banged on the glass, trying to get his attention, but it was no use. He seemed to be just as out of it as she'd been not long ago. He began to cough, and Shaun started crying.

"Wh...what's going on?" Nate asked groggily.

"It's over." The man said in a tone that was tipped with honey...but concealing poison. "You're safe now. Everything's going to be fine." While Nate struggled to regain his bearings, the woman reached for him. No, she was reaching for Shaun. Mara punched the glass with all her strength, letting out a feral scream of primal, motherly rage.

"GET AWAY FROM HIM!" She roared, but nobody reacted. They couldn't hear her. Forced to watch, Mara saw Nate wake up slightly, and resist the woman's attempts to take Shaun.

"No..." He said. "No...I've got him!"

"Let the boy go." The man growled, raising a large revolver. "I'm only gonna tell you once." Nate, brave as ever, didn't hesitate for a second.

"I'M NOT GIVING YOU SHAUN!"

"Nate!" Mara beat against the pod, punched the glass with all her strength, but no matter what she did, it wouldn't open. "NATE!" She shrieked.

"Mara...even if the world's burning around us, I will never leave your side."

The gunshot was deafening.

For what seemed like hours, the world was utterly still, and silent. She simply stared, mouth open, body and mind unable to react. A dark red spot appeared on Nate's chest. Eyes wide, he fell back, letting go of Shaun. The people in white left with her baby. Her husband stayed still. Mara couldn't speak. Couldn't move. Couldn't breathe.

"...You promise?"

The man with the revolver looked into her pod. As they locked eyes, her mind sprang to life. She saw everything. Every line, every mark, every faded bruise or cut, the scar through one of his eyes; in the second or so that he looked into the pod, she scanned everything, and committed it all to memory. There was no way in hell that she would ever forget that face.

"At least we still have the backup..." The man said. Mara punched the glass in front of his face. Then she punched it again. And again. And again. Even when her hand ached and her knuckles were cut and bloody, she kept punching again and again, letting out every ounce of her fury. The glass didn't even crack, and the man who killed her husband scoffed, before walking away. As he vanished, a familiar cold came over Mara. The pod whirred back to life, and her scream of defiance froze in her lungs as everything went white.

Her husband pulled back, and gently kissed the top of her head.

"I promise."

October 23, 2287

Cold. She was so damned cold.

Mara coughed and spluttered, suddenly awake and aware of a horrible beeping.

"Critical failure in cryogenic array." A robotic voice said from somewhere. Before she could figure out what was going on, the door opened, and she was flung back into her own personal nightmare. The memories came back thick and fast, and as she saw the pod across from her, Mara jumped to life.

"Nate!" Moving faster than she ever had, she ran to the other side of the room, and grabbed the lever on the console outside Nate's pod, before pulling it with all her might.

"Come on come on!" Mara said frantically, hammering the console and begging the machine to work. Slowly, it registered her command, and the door began to open. Mara stepped back, staring helplessly as her husband was revealed, and all her fears were proven true. His body was still partially frozen, there was a large red blotch on the chest of his jumpsuit, and his eyes had no life in them. They probably hadn't for a long time.

"No..." Mara said weakly. She stared into her husband's lifeless eyes, unable to turn away, and felt something inside her shatter. The entire world felt like it was fading away, like she was vanishing into darkness. Her hands clenched into fists, nails digging into her palms and drawing blood to match the state of her battered knuckles. As emotion filled her up, drowning her, she did the only thing she could think of to do.

She screamed.

Letting out every last drop of pain and anger, Mara screamed at the top of her lungs. The noise echoed in the small space, hurting her ears as badly as it was tearing her throat, but she hardly cared. When she could scream no more, she staggered forward, and almost fell into Nate's pod, only staying standing by hanging on to the sides. Looking down at his lifeless body, unable to quite process what was happening to her, Mara could only think of one thing to say.

"You broke your promise." It felt so stupid to say, but by god it was true, and for some reason it made her angry beyond words. A heavy sob wracked her form, and she found herself shouting in her dead husband's face. "Damn you, you broke your promise!" Lunging forward, she weakly punched his body, bloody knuckle colliding with his chest. "You said you'd never leave me!" She punched again. "You said you'd always protect me!" And again. "You...you..." With that, the floodgates opened. Mara only managed a single step backwards before everything hit her at once, and she collapsed to her knees.

She cried.

She cried harder than she ever had in her entire life.

For what seemed like hours, Mara Miller knelt on the floor before her husband's corpse, weeping, sobbing, bawling her eyes out. It was too much for her. She'd lost her home, her world, her son, and now her husband, in what felt like a single day. It was too much. Unable to process it, she just cried harder, collapsing and punching the floor in grief and frustration.

Her mind, ever the sadist, decided to replay the scene over and over again. When she closed her eyes, she felt herself standing in front of Nate's pod, watching the man shoot him. Over and over again. She relived Nate's death what seemed like a thousand times...until, on one of the replays, she noticed something else. She saw the woman that had accompanied the man, taking her son.

I haven't lost Shaun. The sobs died in her throat, and her body went still. They took him. They have him. Her hands once again clenched into fists. I...I can't let them...Fighting through the agony, Mara reached deep down, to a part of herself she hadn't used in a long time. A part of herself that she used to survive. A part of herself that helped her fight. Mara reached deep down, and found an old friend.

The Calm descended, and Mara rose.

Forcing power and drive into her emotionally exhausted body, she stood up. A defiant scowl on her face, she wiped away the tears, took her husband's hand, and looked deep into his eyes. "I'll find them, and I'll get Shaun back." With every ounce of strength in her body, she squeezed his hand tight."I promise." After allowing herself a few seconds, she slipped the wedding ring off his finger, and closed his eyes. Taking off her own ring, she put both into a pocket of her jumpsuit, and gave Nate one last look, before walking away.

"Hang on, Shaun. I'm coming."

Starting with the heavy emotional stuff right out of the gate, because I might, MIGHT be secretly evil.

Please welcome: Mara Miller. She's...a bit different from any other character I've written, but she's someone I've wanted to write for a while, and her place in this plot is an important one. I won't spoil anything by going into any more detail, but I hope you enjoy her.

Speaking of Mara, you may be thinking to yourself 'Hang on, the female MC in Fallout 4 is a lawyer, so why is Mara a soldier?'. Well, mostly because I think that backstory is fucking stupid. Oh, so male MC's a badass soldier, but female MC is a fucking lawyer? How does that make sense, skill wise? Someone with military training and experience surviving a post apocalyptic hellscape and knowing how to shoot, lockpick etc is much more believable than a penpusher doing the same. Why can't the female be a soldier too? That was my logic going into this, and while I did a little nod to the game version by saying she has her legal degree, I decided I wouldn't let my character be stuck to that shitty set backstory. Some people HATE the forced backstory and family setting you have in Fallout 4, some people like it, I'm mixed, seeing both sides, hating the lack of custom backstory and headcanon potential but generally enjoying the extra investment you get, plotwise. So Mara will be sticking with the set game character story, but in this tale, she was in the military too, her and Nate serving together. At first I thought Mara would've had to disguise herself as a man to get into the military, and I even wrote that into her brief backstory in this chapter, but then I realised 50s America (Which the pre-war America is based on) had women serving in the military, so I just had her join normally. Mara is a soldier so that she can actually survive the Commonwealth, because it makes more sense, and because her being a soldier and having actual military training allows her to contrast nicely with Layla (More on that later).

For those who are concerned, no, I'm not doing a Metal Gear Solid 2 thing where you think Snake's going to be the protagonist but surprise surprise the main MC is a new boi, his name's Raiden, and you're all like 'WAH, WHERE'S SNEK?!". Mara isn't going to be the primary protagonist and shoving Layla to the backseat, no. See, I wanted to continue Layla's story because I love her, but I also wanted to do a Fallout 4 story because I like Fallout 4 (Sue me). As such, I figured it'd be best to have Layla travel to the Commonwealth so we have the perspective of an old character we've grown to like, with all her skills and badassery from her previous adventure, but ALSO include a new protagonist, a fresh faced figure with no post-war experience, who can react to this horrible world, and also be involved personally in Fallout 4's plot, more than Layla, the outsider, is. I also wanted the new protagonist to contrast drastically with the old one. Enter Mara, an uncertain, anxious, PTSD ridden mess (I mean that in the nicest way possible), who hates violence, has military training, fights realistically (ish), prefers long range, has never wielded a sword in her life etc. In trope speak, I'm doing a contrasting sequel main character, minus the 'main character' part. Mara and Layla, rather than duelling for main character privelleges (Though that would be pretty funny), will share the spotlight (At least, that's the intent), serving as co-protagonists...though one of them may end up being a deuteragonist (Secondary MC, just after main MC), depending where things go. I have roughly 60-65% of this plot planned out, but there's a big difference between planning the thing and writing it. Oh, and I have a few other protagonists, not as pivotal as Layla and Mara but still pretty damned pivotal, planned too. Cool? Cool. Yeah, I'm going for an 'epic' again, with many chapters, plot threads, character stories etc. and lots of epic violence, battles, sadness and character development. Fun!

(Also P.S: people (Including me) may have complained about Raiden but the dude became a badass (Metal Gear Rising is one of my favourite games ever), so there.)

(By the way, I know I said that Mara's an 'anxious, PTSD ridden mess', but I don't want you to take that to literally mean that she has anxiety and PTSD. Mara's a complex one, with all kinds of issues, and I don't want to pigeonhole her mental condition/s by setting in stone what she has. I want people to look at her, and come to their own conclusions about what might be plaguing her.)

I'm going to be completely honest with you all now: I was actually really nervous to start this sequel. I mean, I've had this chapter done for months, and I have several more chapters ready to be released over the coming months, but at first I was like 'I'll write a few chapters before I start, then I'll have something to upload and keep people happy while I write new chapters', but eventually I was like 'Okay, dude, you have 'a few' chapters, maybe we should start uploading now?', but to be honest the idea scared me. I'm a very different person than I was 9 years ago; I honestly can't believe 21 year old me had the guts to upload his writing; that seems crazy to me now. But I want to upload this, I really do. Posting this story is like baring my soul; just as there was a lot of me and 8 years of experiences in Blood Red Hair, there'll be pieces of me going into this one too, and to be honest it's scary to show that much. However, I want to show this story. I want people to read it, I want to hear what they think, and I want Layla's tale to continue. So I hope you all enjoy, and please, please review so I can know how I'm doing, hear your opinions and reactions etc.

Right, enough baring my heart on the internet (God I'm going to read that paragraph and facepalm out of embarrassment later), let's get to the point. I have a few chapters already done, not telling you how many because I want that to be a surprise. I'm not sure what the rate I'll be uploading them is, but let's say...either every two weeks or every month. Spoiler: next chapter is not only a Layla one, but a long one too. Please look forward to it.

In conclusion, I hope you guys enjoy reading, please review if possible, and take care. :D