Making their way around to Vault 101, the trio found that the Enclave was gone from the immediate area. "Alright… We head towards the Vault. They were trying to get in, so as long as my countermeasures worked they should be just fine. But just in case… If they aren't fine, we will need to give the news. Regardless of their condition, Fawkes will stay inside the cave until I come around. Got it?"

It was hard enough being two Brotherhood soldiers escorting a Mutant around, but as long as he was alive they had a chance to explain. Fawkes understood this, as he tried to make note of everything in the Wasteland so far. It was as desolate as claimed, he wondered where all sorts of people were at this point. He would ask later. "I will stay and wait. Do you think you have a weapon for me?"

"Of course, I've got just the thing too. It'll be pretty easy for you to carry, and you'll get plenty of ammo for it. Remember the plan?"

They had spoken of what they would do given the circumstances. "Yes, I will lure out the outer defenses. Once clear, you sneak into the base and find TenTen. After that, I keep the pressure on and wait for you to exit the base. I cover our retreat."

Glad the plan was understood, they moved up. Cross saw the cave come into sight. "That's Vault 101?"

"Its entrance, yeah. TenTen's friend Amata is the overseer now, if she listened to me then the door should be shut and no one should be pulled out yet."

Thankfully, as they got into the cave, they noticed no such tampering. This had meant that the Enclave didn't get the door pried open by force, at least. "Alright… We'll find out what happened after the Enclave is dealt with. Fawkes, take this."

The Meta-Human hummed as the blonde soldier passed him a laser rifle. Seeing this, Cross protested. "That is your issued rifle, Paladin. I have a spare from an Enclave encampment, you will need yours for your rescue mission."

"That wasn't my issued rifle from becoming a full-fledged Knight. It's a modified rifle of my own design using parts I found broken in several other locations. My actual issued rifle, my personal Brotherhood firearm, is even more modified and it's sitting at home." Naruto looked towards the larger of them. "Not like I can stop if someone finds you and starts shooting, but I ask if you find anyone who's not enclave or a giant bug you take out the legs or something, pacify them and not kill them."

"I will do my best, Naruto."

With that, Naruto started off and towards Megaton, Cross in tow. "You are certain it's a good idea to bring him along into the assault?"

"He's the one who wanted in, and he'd have tried with or without me I'd imagine. So yeah, at least this way he's going to be of use rather than getting himself, or us, killed. Report to the Citadel, pronto. Steel be with you and God bless." Racing down the road, Cross kept following it down back towards the first checkpoint she had encountered with TenTen, as Naruto ran up the narrow crevice and saw that the town of Megaton was still standing. Though the Deputy was wrecked alongside the shut wall. Getting to the closed door, he looked up. "OI! Larry! Gonna let a friend in for a minute?"

The Sniper's nest up top had someone aiming at him instantly, before screaming out to him. "Shit, Naruto?! You're always coming through at bad times… I'll get the gate open, Simms would like a chat! We're in lockdown, so don't expect an out so soon!"

"I'm the one who advised lockdown protocols, ya numbskull! I won't be long!" Getting into the doors that opened for enough to let him in, he raced in to find Simms with a militia. "Easy there Sheriff. Situation report?"

"Thankfully, it is a minor setback. The Enclave came with a small squad to try and bully us into letting them in for supplies. When we said we'd only trade outside the walls to heavily armed groups like them, they tried showing force by blasting our deputy. Larry gave them a warning, and they tried taking him out too. Got his leg, but he took a head as payback. I settled things peacefully, telling them if they wanted supplies they would ask for what exactly, and give us payment through the wall and Larry would toss whatever we had. A trade was made. They ordered us to send people to replace who we killed, and we told them to fuck off. At least, most of us did. They took four of us, all volunteered to join them. Nathan, of course, alongside Jericho for some reason, Greg, and Helena. They made their preparations, saw we weren't budging, and left."

All things considered, it was a good scenario so far. 101 looking secure, and Megaton in good shape. "Alright… I sent a friend over, is he still here?"

Remembering the man who came before the Enclave did, the Sheriff nodded. "Yeah, he went to your home. I suppose you gave him the keys. He's been in there for a while, so I assume he's just in wait. What are you going to do?"

"Give the Enclave hell. I'm heading home, grabbing a ton of supplies, and heading out to take them down a notch. They kidnapped someone very important to their plans, I plan to get them back. Have Larry ready to get me out of the town soon. After that, keep in lockdown. As advised, if you don't see any activity from his nest for 48 hours from now, you should be safe to open up again."

With that taken care of, the Brotherhood soldier raced home. He opened the door to find Itachi reading on his couch. "Took you long enough… I see they accepted you back." Noticing the symbol restored on the shoulder.

"Yeah, but we got a lot more problems than we thought…" Giving the entire explanation, of the Enclave, where Sasuke is, and what they were attempting to do, the two sat quietly as Itachi thought about their options.

A moment and a half went by before the former Ranger closed his eyes and sighed. "Alright, we have a couple of options. Knowing the Enclave, we can assume that, once their mission is over, Sasuke may return to Raven Rock. Especially if it's being attacked. So heading to where he is going, which we do not have a specific location, is foolish. I'll help you take Raven Rock, with the two of us we should be able to get in and do some damage. I'll wait for my brother, and finally, bring him home."

"If he even listens." Seeing Itachi slightly slump his head, the blonde chose to ignore what he said in favor of proceeding with the plan. "Three of us, actually. Remember I mentioned having met a good Mutant? Fawkes is his name, and he's waiting for me to bring him ordinance enough to give the big base a good pounding whilst I sneak in. So if you want me in, you'll play nice with this one. Got it?"

"Rare to find a 'good' Mutant in this part of the wasteland. I wonder how old Marcus is doing these days…" The two shared a smile, knowing that Mutant in particular. "Sounds like we have a strike team. Fawkes bombards their defenses, giving us time to sneak in."

"Correction, I'll sneak in through the front door. I'll need you to take out any of the troublemakers who might take Fawkes out. Once he's in a good position to keep them pinned, you follow in. Besides, you want your brother. You need to make sure he arrives in his Vertibird, before anything else."

Seeing the logic, the raven-haired Ranger stood. "I'll accept that. Your butler is quite 'Handy' it seems. He got my weapons fixed up and ready to go. Let's get ready to go."

"Need to change first, and grab the ordinance. If you want, wait for me by the gate." With that, Naruto went to the arsenal room he had, as Itachi went to the gate.

Waiting for about half an hour, the Ranger saw as Naruto was coming up with no small amount of gear. Wearing a pitch-black Chinese Stealth Suit, with a big backpack and a large weapon that looked like a Gatling Laser, as well as his one pistol and what looked like an extremely modified laser rifle, the man had eyes glowing red. "Heavy gear?"

"Shut it. You know it is." Looking up to the sniper nest, the man shouted. "LARRY! Open up!"

With that said, the turbines churned and the gate opened for them to leave. As they ran for Vault 101, they hoped they were not too late.

XxX ~48 hours later, Raven Rock~ XxX

Groaning, TenTen was slowly coming to. "I feel like a groggy mess. Still, feels like I've slept off that fatigue. Don't exactly feel like I'm in a soft bed though, even if I feel rested." Lifting her head, she noticed she was inside some sort of metal base, pristine almost, and she was being held up by a hangar or something inside a force field of some kind. "Where… Where am I?"

Just as she gasped, understanding what she last remembered, the door opened to the good Colonel Autumn. "Well, our guest seems to have made a recovery. You were mostly unconscious for a couple of days."

With a growl, she tried moving, to find she was bound by restraints. "You MONSTER!"

"No, you'll find that you would be the monster here. As much as you look human, you've been mutated. Sure, you don't have the FEV in your veins, but the radiation from the outside world, after being born a pure human, has turned you into quite the anomaly. Your body went into shock the moment we caught you, and it took everything to keep you from choking on your own contracting throat. No matter, all mutations will soon die out, be it the Mutants, Ghouls, or creatures who have changed into monstrosities in size and shape. I'm sure you'd agree the world would be better with a lot fewer Radscorpions."

"They may be monstrous in size, but they are still just creatures that were changed in this new environment. YOU are a monster for murdering my father and that woman just to steal their work! No better than a Raider…"

"Your father killed himself, I'll remind you. His trap was set off on purpose, to kill me. It was unsuccessful, but I'll applaud him for being creative about it." The Colonel grabbed his gun. "We, the Enclave, are here to bring order back to the chaos that is the Capital Wasteland, the chaos that you no doubt witnessed throughout your travels. To bring that order to others, we're being very strict. We do not murder anyone who listens to our orders, only kill those who oppose us. Just as you would, which would make you a Raider as well."

Seething, the brunette woman was glaring daggers. "You can believe your bullshit, but we didn't want you here… Your order has too many strings attached. Many settlements cooperate, have peace and order through kindness, and are only strict to those who are hostile. We were not, and you killed just to push your agenda! Your way, or death! So sorry if I am less than cooperative. I'd rather die than be under your command!"

"That is quite enough back-talk from you. If you want to die so badly, that can be arranged. But not until you answer my questions." Pulling it, but not aiming it, he walked up close to the girl. "The Purifier. Your father was quite thorough, having made sure nothing can bypass the 3 digit code to make the thing work properly. Now, of course, I still assume the chamber will be gassed the moment it's activated, but as long as it works, we will have control of the only water purifier that's working on the east coast. We cannot find the code, so the only ones who would even know the code now are some of the Brotherhood, or you."

"Then why not go to the Brotherhood, why pick me?"

"We're not stupid. We know exactly what they have hidden in the basement. No doubt they are keeping it as their ace in the hole, so we're keeping ourselves nice and distanced from their military power. Well, at least until our project to counter it comes online. But enough talk… You will tell me the code, and you will do it now."

"Fuck you… You're not getting the code from me, so just kill me!" Spitting at him, it was her act of defiance that was not very effective, as her saliva caught on the force field and was evaporated.

Shaking his head, Autumn calked up and turned the field off. Not long after, he smacked her hard with the gun in his hand. "Don't you get it?! Without that code, the purifier is lost! And without the purifier, there will be many people still suffering in this god-forsaken wasteland! We're the good guys here, and we've won! Whether we get the purifier or not, we'll show the country we're here and we will make this wasteland safe and peaceful again!"

Chuckling, TenTen didn't even dare turn her head back. "Oh, Brotch… I hated that lesson… 'History is written by the victors', huh?" Glaring through her bangs, the woman kept her defiance. "Write this down when you re-write history, Colonel… 'We beat a victim of the wasteland senseless to show our power to be the so-called good guys.' You'll never activate the purifier because I'll never tell you the code."

Another slap of the gun, causing her to spit blood this time. "Stubborn bitch! You'll tell me, or you'll see many more suffer in front of your eyes! Do you think we'll give you a quick death? We'll drag anyone who might be close to you right in front of you and make you watch as we maim and kill each of them!"

Through a pained laugh, the woman raised her head to stare at the ceiling. "Funny… Do you think I have anyone left… The man who helped me through the wasteland is gone, and no one from my Vault even cares about me enough to want to be my friend. Who do I have that's even close to me anymore? Even if you bring every single person you can find from the Brotherhood, the Vault, or Megaton… I'll never tell you the code."

Autumn had a fake ace up his sleeve. She didn't know anything after the knock-out. "It's been a few days since we brought you here, things have changed… We've caught many who came into contact with you. Including those children from the caves. We'll make sure to torture them in this room, so you can witness their torment. Maybe that will cause you to change your mind."

"Not likely." That caused the man to wonder why she was so calm and collected suddenly. "You either killed them, or you're training them after having a good number of losses to your forces. If you are training them, you cannot afford to kill them even if it's in front of me. And if you do torment them for the show, they will hate you enough to want death, even if they do so whilst taking you with them. You've got no leverage…"

The man growled and was about to hurt her again when she smirked. "713… Try that one. No, wait, how about… 758? No, no… OH! 343! That has to be it!" The Cheshire grin on her face showed she was just messing with him. She bobbed her head a little. "One of them HAS to be the right one! Just give it a try, I bet you'll figure it out."

"You can shut up!" Slapping her again with his gun, he knocked her head and caused the side of it to bleed a little. "You want to play that game? Fine… Tell you what, I'll try one of the codes… I know you're just stalling after all. Give me one that has at least a single correct digit, and I'll try it. Just to show you how much I am willing to sacrifice for this."

Her head down, TenTen just kept in thought a moment. "Like I know the code? Jeez, there's no way I know the damn code, my dad never told it to me after all. A three-digit code? Has to be my birthday or something." Her eyes lit up for a moment, in sudden realization. "Wait!... What was that bible passage? Dad never shut up about it, it was mom's favorite. What was it… Oh, dad…"

Lifting her head, she chose to show just how much she hated Autumn for what he did. Glaring hatred at him, she sneered her answer. "The one of the three that has a correct digit? 758." As wrong as can be, just to make him suffer.

Autumn smirked wide. "Nice try… But all three codes you gave had a single digit in common amongst two out of three of them. So, knowing you, it would be one that didn't match two of them so you can make it even harder. Thank you for your cooperation." He turned to the terminal in the room and activated it. "Try the code, 343. The 3 has to be one of the digits."

Hiding her smirk behind his back, she was glad it worked out that way. He chose the one that had NO correct digits. After a minute, the other end called it a bust, and the Colonel came back up to her. "Now, how to get the rest of the code from you…"

"You won't… I'm done talking." Before she could get hurt again, bracing for the pain, the intercom called out in a familiar voice.

It was one she had not heard in a long time, only when the one Enclave bot passed by with a report. "Colonel Autumn. I would like a few moments of your time, it is in regards to our new guests as of late."

"I'll be with you shortly, Mr. President. I have no time for other matters at this time."

"Now, Colonel." The tone of voice made it clear.

As Autumn reluctantly holstered his weapon and turned away from the girl, TenTen was quite confused about the exchange. In fact, she was wondering how the top of the food chain was getting lip from the Colonel when it was supposed to be the leader's decision.

She had little time to think about it. The officer in question left the room and started walking out. Looking around at her surroundings again, TenTen had noticed that the room was quite barren. Thankfully she was still in her armored Vault Suit, but the rest of her gear was taken away, including her other armor layers. The room itself had her, in the prison field, alongside a Terminal in the corner, and a large footlocker. It being slightly open, she noticed the green of the combat armor inside.

A few minutes passed, and the intercom in her room spoke up, it was the President. "Alone at last. Do not worry, Autumn is currently heading to another room to talk to some other prisoners a level down. He's quite the collector of individuals ever since we started operating in the Wasteland in force. An attitude I wish to fix if he was not so stressed recently over current events unfolding in a less than productive manner to his eyes."

"That's saying something… He's still an asshole."

"Necessary evil, in this current endeavor. Still, I do apologize for your treatment. In fact, if you would permit me to speak to you freely and peacefully, face to face, of course, I will free you from your cell and you will be allowed to walk freely in the base. Limitedly in the direction of me, technically."

It was an offer that sounded pretty good, but nothing was ever so easy when it came to others. TenTen was not about to blindly trust this situation. "And what exactly is going to happen, you think? I get out, am led out a little bit, and then Autumn kills me for escaping because obviously, he didn't want me free. There's no real way for me to freely come see you in the flesh with all my armor and weapons ready for battle without a dozen armed individuals ready to blow my head off."

"Trust is always hard to earn, especially given a group's intentions left in the hands of certain, potentially toxic, individuals. Autumn is my military hand, but I am not opposed to a diplomatic one either. Rest assured, you will be free of this cell and be brought to me, and peacefully. There will only be a single individual keeping guard, as you would suspect for safety reasons. What do you say?"

A moment to think about it… TenTen knew her chances of living were nil at best, even if she were to cooperate with the lunatic before it would still be her demise. At least this way, she thought, she might have a chance to fight her way out if things went south. And she'd be able to die without the torment in actual battle. "Alright… I'll accept a talk. But don't expect us to come to a full agreement."

"I'll be waiting. The guard outside has his orders, he will be the one who brings you to me. Do not tarry." With that, the force field that Autumn had back up vanished, and her restraints came loose.

Getting up and looking herself over, she found she was in quite good health. All except the new injuries. Heading to her gear, she opened the locker and found everything was there. Well, mostly. It seemed they took her medical supplies and ammunition, so it wasn't really a way out if she had nothing to shoot. Still, given her situation, it wasn't hopeless anymore. With everything back in place and fitted on, she knocked on the door to open.

It sprang open to a man that looked like his head was a pineapple. "Ready to leave? Eden wants to talk to you. Autumn's not going to be happy about this, so we better hurry up."

"Lead the way. Not like I can fight you with no ammo after all."

"Right, a precaution you understand. What a drag…" Sighing heavily, he turned and started walking with TenTen behind him.

His attitude was jarring. Everything else she noticed from the Enclave so far was too strict to allow such lax behavior. "Raven Rock, right? The base I mean."

"Sorry, girly, but I'm not allowed to answer questions. Just know you're in good hands right now and hope Autumn doesn't get to you before you talk to Eden. As much as the Colonel follows absolute orders, he's one brain cell lacking before trying any funny business against the president's orders. Which, by the way, are not widespread. So let's just get you there before anything bad happens."

That was a surprising thing to hear. But also fairly noted, as she suspected Eden and Autumn were not on the same page. As the two were heading through the halls. The moment they made it into the next area upstairs to level 2, the speakers shot on. "The Prisoner from Vault 101 is loose! She is to be shot on sight, repeat the prisoner from Vault 101 is to be shot on sight!"

"Damn it, Autumn… We gotta move, now! Stay behind me!" Grabbing the helmet on his hip, he slipped it on and ran into the next corridor. As he ran in, he checked around the corners with his Plasma Rifle. "We have to make it through the tech labs. It's lightly guarded for the day… But still, we'll have reports of you coming in with the entire mess hall back below coming on our ass. If we want to get through this, we need to get to the nearest bulkhead so I can buy us an hour or two."

"Can't we just lock down the door behind us?"

"Not an option, lockdown on the base requires a two-factor authentication between Autumn and Eden, and neither will agree on it. Besides, we'd be locked in the tech lab until it lifts, and you need to see Eden." Shikamaru scoffed harshly. "Follow me!" Running quickly, he charged into the lab ahead and made a quick scan of the entire room.

Seeing they were clear for the top deck, he rushed to the next room over with TenTen behind him. Checking their surroundings, it was clear the room was mostly clear of guards. "Keep pace, not too fast or slow. Alright?"

Nodding, the young woman got ready to follow. Getting out of the room, he headed downstairs in a fast walk, almost jogging as he kept them from being seen for too long. Past the main lab was the cry lab, and that's where the bulk of the scientists were. As soon as they saw them, they sounded the alarm. "Troublesome… RUN!"

Sprinting, the two made for the main corridor, running into three of the guards in the labs today. "HALT! The prisoner is to be shot on sight!"

"Eden says otherwise, so stand down!" Shikamaru had aimed at them. "Second in command Captain Shikamaru of the Hellfire Squadron, now put your weapons down and let us through! Eden wants a talk with her, and he's in charge of much further along the chain than Autumn!"

Not really getting the situation, TenTen just kept cover behind Shikamaru, an eye behind them. What happened next was a shock, as suddenly two bangs rang out, and the two side guards had their heads blown off, through their helmets, and the third had no chance before having his neck snapped. The act of such was what made things clear, as the unseen intruder was suddenly visible, wearing a Chinese Stealth Suit, and holding two magnums.

Cursing under his breath, Shikamaru kept aim. "That suit activates again, I'll put one through your head next, pal. You got in without us knowing, but now that you used that stealth field, my visor's going to show thermal to find you. Who the fuck are you?"

"You've got a person of interest to me. I plan on freeing her."

Poking her head out from behind the Captain, the bun-haired individual was in shock. "Naruto! You're alive!"

"TenTen! You alright?"

"Autumn's alive, and he's a fucking asshole! President Eden had Shikamaru here get me out of my cell for a talk, but that damned monster has the base on a kill on sight order. Oh, and I've got no ammo, so I kind of need this guy to cover me."

"As much as I'd love to bring you in to shut that bastard Uchiha up, I got my orders… And I know how things are going to go down if we stay still too long." A moment went by and he put his gun down. "Naruto, get to 1A, and up to the main control room. I know you don't trust me, and I know you'd love to just leave… But hear Eden out. I'll stay right here to give you guys time to talk. I have to close the bulkhead anyway, and I'm the only one who knows how without making things worse."

"This week's been full of surprises… First, a Mutant who's friendly, now an Enclave whose willing to toss shit out the door against his brothers and sisters in arms to get a prisoner and intruder up to see the president, alone."

"No time, your choice blondie. Take her there, or I fight through you and take her myself. Unlike Sasuke, I know you're the honorable and trustworthy one." Shikamaru took a step up, with the weapon still down.

TenTen chose for them. "Keep them off us, we'll get there. Even if you can't trust Naruto… I do, and you can trust me to head to Eden."

Seeing her determination, he nodded. "Then through the door, follow the signs on the ceiling. Good luck."

Running past Naruto, and grabbing his arm, she pulled him through the doorway. As they did, the door closed and they heard a very loud shuttering and clang. The stealth-suited soldier turned to her. "You're not really going to just head through the control room, are you? It's probably filled to the brim with the Enclave. I barely got past a group from the entrance I came through."

"I know it sounds strange, but trust me… Eden's the one who got me out of my cell, and that guy made sure I was safe this far." Looking down, she sighed. "I know it sounds strange, but I'd like to see what the president wants. If nothing else than to learn why this is all happening. Please, let me do this."

They heard a fight break out beyond the door. Seeing no other way, and knowing they didn't have time to stand around it was clear their course of action. "Alright, let's go… Fawkes is keeping the above ground clear, and I got Itachi inside to see his brother. We'll have to leave it to them until we're through with Eden."

"Thank you." Even with the helmet still on, Naruto was shocked when TenTen jumped up to give the screen a smooch before running up the stairs. Making their way up, and through the corridor, they were soon met with two guards, and two large sentry bots, trained on them. The guards were coming up aggressively. "Shit…"

To their credit, they were just about to do as ordered by Autumn, when the sentry bots opened fire first… on them instead of TenTen or Naruto, and soon they perished under the rapid-fire Gatling laser's. Soon after, they turned themselves off and slumped to the ground.

Naruto, weapon in hand, looked stunned. "This… has been a very strange rescue raid."

"Please, come in. There are no other guards on this level, and I promised to speak to you peacefully… Your comrade is also welcome to involve himself in our discussion, seeing as he is a very big deal to several individuals here. He might like to know why."

Hearing Eden's voice was not so jarring to the soldier. But that had to wait, as his charge, fixing her buns on her head after such a crazy day, walked forward and saw the stairs up. "Let's go. We don't want to keep our friends waiting after we finish talking to Eden."

As they walked up the steps, which they noticed went all the way up the room almost five stories, Naruto managed to also notice the tower up was no structure for holding things upright, at least not really. It was a base skeleton to keep the tower standing, but it was a large supercomputer, with processing power on a very large level with wires and such going everywhere.

Making it up to the control panel, finally, the two stopped. TenTen was wondering where the man of the hour was, but Naruto had a very big clue. Turning, she saw him come up to the console. "President Eden, I presume…"

"Yes, I am. Face to face, at last…"

"What do you mean by that? You're still talking to us through a monitor here, Eden." TenTen was not happy.

Though her partner was not one to look at face value. "He IS the monitor… The entire control tower is a supercomputer. Eden is an AI."

"An AI? But… Wait…" TenTen was at a loss. Was the entire Enclave just for show? Were computers so advanced before the bombs fell they had been what took over? Or would have given the manpower?

"You are privy to one of the few secrets our government harbors, and you two are the only other human beings who have seen this room. Colonel Autumn being the only other. If Shikamaru had survived his ordeal, I'd have promoted him and made him a replacement for Autumn within the coming weeks."

That was a shocker. "Wait, the one who helped us get here, he's dead?!" Knowing he was outnumbered, against all odds, she still wished him safe.

"Sadly, he will be. Autumn's men have already severely wounded him. He is still alive, technically, but without medical treatment, he will die within the hour, much sooner than he will be capable of medical attention I am afraid. It was his choice to lay his life down so we could meet, following my orders. A true soldier. I do not shed tears, but I wish I could. It is beyond regrettable…"

"You can't keep your people on a tighter leash?!"

"As much as I'd love to, I cannot. My functionality is limited, and I have only ever shown my real face to Autumn before now. You can see how that backfired, he's been eager to show he's the one in command because I am not capable of presenting authority."

"Makes sense, though. If the one in charge is never seen by anyone, then how does one know they are even really there?" Naruto sighed heavily. He was almost hoping to see the mind behind the Enclave before.

"And the only reason I've heard just the voice 'till now… Damn it." TenTen kicked the floor for a moment.

"Whilst it is an unfortunate turn of events, my men following a madman and one of my most loyal men dying as we speak, we must not dwell on this too far. A Super Mutant is above ground currently attacking the defenses of the base, and another intruder is currently making his way further in the base. If we are to salvage this situation at hand, we must speak about what I have asked you here for. And of course, I did mention giving answers to our friend here who is uniquely gifted by the greatest strain of the FEV to date."

"Then answer that one first." Surprisingly, it was the girl who asked. "What do you know about his mutation? What about all the other projects? Why have them at all?"

"Project's America, China, Egypt, and Greenland were the main research terminals from the beginning years before the bombs fell. America, at Mariposa, was the greatest achievement to date. Wide compatibility with anything alive, it had the potential to create beings that were several times stronger, smarter, and resilient than the average human. Reports show that even highly irradiated people were capable of such, to a much lesser degree, and prone to highly unstable mental breakdowns. I would assume that's why the same virus gives way to the 'first' and 'second' generation mutants in the west. However, as this was the primary strain, there's one drawback that was never fixed."

Knowing full well what that was, Naruto interjected. "They are infertile… Their transformation causes their bodies to change into a single shape, and completely removing all reproductive organs."

"Correct."

"Wait, so… There's no reproductive nature to any of the Mutants?" TenTen was not exactly understanding why that was. Though if she recalled, she never saw a 'female' mutant.

"Correct." Eden continued. "Since the mutation changes them to a base form, both male and female subjects turned into a single form, that resembled mostly male. To counter this, Project Brazil was created. Its entire goal was to find a way to give a future to, at the time, the future form of Humanity. Without reproduction, the Mutant race is eventually doomed. The project was started a few months before the bombs fell, and it was never found again."

"Though it was obvious you were looking for it back in California…" Naruto had some first-hand experience with that knowledge.

"Reports show that it's completely vanished. Vault 18 was where we found it, one of your fellow dwellers there happened to have a clean and cultivated strain. I had sent the two diluted strains there as a way to smoke them out. Commander Bragg, and his sister Chevy Chase, were clones of the original Project Brazil. They died, presumably alongside all evidence of the project in question. With it gone, the Mutant race will eventually die out as it stands now."

"They were… clones?" Trying to wrap his head around that, was mind-boggling.

"Yes, though they did not have anything resembling the original subject within them. Chevy had the original appearance we found out, but we can no longer confirm if anyone like that exists now. Project China was a sister project to Project America. It was never completed, we suspect whatever happened at Mariposa wiped that project from existence. It was to do to renewable food supply what we were doing to humanity, make it even better and more resilient. If we could grow crops on the same level as before the war, through the highly irradiated soil we have now? It would be like the bombs never dropped. All links with that project vanished, however, there are reports of vegetation and plant life growing and thriving east of the base. We've never found an entrance to the area, and we fear it's highly polluted. One theory is that somehow the project had made itself manifest here of all places, but it's been debunked through logical means."

Noticing the two were digesting the information, Eden knew he had to summarize the rest. "Denmark, originally from Nebraska, had another plan altogether, create Mutants who were more scientific or with high IQ's. It was a failure, as it only gave the subjects higher IQs but didn't give them scientifically inclined natures. Egypt, within the Capital Wasteland, was a testament to brute force, a way to create loyal and extremely tough to defeat foot soldiers and shock troopers. It had worked, for a time. As we monitored the area, we found that things took a turn south when their strain started to show degradation, and the reason was that the hostilities that insured due to mental instability made the degraded mutants stronger and more resilient, which pushed out the smarter subjects and any new ones from Vault 87 were eventually too dumb to do anything but fight head-on. France showed promise, however. The Commonwealth Institute of Technology worked well into the days the bombs fell, hidden underground and giving progress updates. Seeing how Egypt was fairing, they noticed that the transformation also erased memories of the subjects, which is where the mental instability started forming. France eventually stopped reporting in, though we've had reports of strange Mutants coming from the north that suggests things may have gone the way of Vault 87."

"So this is Egypt… and north is France." Now the biggest question was to be asked. "What about Greenland?"

"It seems to have been a success. You standing before me is a testament to that very observation."

"So my strain was a Project… And I'm Greenland?"

"Yes. Time is of the essence, but I will answer quickly, to the best of my ability. Greenland was a promising project, but it had no success. It was the epitome of failure. Every subject died. The goal was to create, in human form, someone capable of the same level of enhancement as America's strain. Of course, this deems you a failure in that regard, as you do not have the same level of intellectual prowess, strength, or agility. That is not to say it's a complete failure, you do still have increased attributes, and are also resilient on all fronts. Immune to Radiation, poison, pain if you wanted. You are the only success, much like Brazil was until they perished completely. You hold the key to the true future of humanity in your blood. And it is this that Major Sasuke is currently looking for. He was given a cocktail of FEV strains that failed to mature, and a harsh reality set in that his body is killing itself with the virus' inside him competing to kill him and each other first. You would be the only one able to save his ever-decreasing lifespan. Whilst he's been Autumn's greatest asset, the Colonel and I have both agreed on a certain course of action… One that would benefit the majority of the wasteland. I will give you a moment to think about this, as I am sure this is a lot to take in."

The duo looked at one another, and both were shocked to hear the truth.

XxX ~xxx~ XxX

"Brother…" Growling in hatred, Sasuke stared at Itachi, who had managed to find him in the lower levels of the base. "You're alive."

"Yes… And I am here to take you back from the Enclave. You will only be used and thrown away. I can save you, save you from the ever-burning mutation that they forced upon you."

"You know NOTHING! They promised me salvation, a life! They gave me everything! Power, authority, and they will give me the one thing that will save me! Naruto will bleed, and I will be saved by his death!" Producing his firearm, Sasuke fired, several shots managing to connect as his brother Itachi kept moving forward.

As the gun clicked empty, with Itachi continuing his walk, Sasuke chucked in another cell and fired the energy pistol again, seeing blood splatter across the ground. Again, until empty, he fired and saw that his brother was not stopping.

Another two clips were spent, his gun to his chest and pointing directly into the bleeding heart of Itachi, as both met eyes. Itachi's single eye going dark as he pushed the gun away and gently hugged his brother, who was in shock at the still walking man filled with holes. "Why…"

"Sasuke… You've been lied to. They were never going to save you. They gave you the power to use you as a blunt instrument, and then once you're usefulness was spent they would toss you aside. They were the ones who gave you the FEV and forced you7 through so much pain, and it will kill you one day soon. They were the ones who gave you this pain, this horrible life… And they will end you, because they have only ever, and will always, try to kill anything that holds such mutation inside their blood. No doubt Eden is ready to deploy, using the Purifier, a virus that kills you and every other mutation in the wasteland."

Shaking his head, Sasuke just stared at the ever calm face of Itachi. "You're wrong… They wouldn't do such a thing to me… They wouldn't!"

"They have." Smiling sadly, Itachi just held his brother close. "And they will… You can still change your life, and be better. Have better… You just have to see the truth and accept that you've done wrong. And strive to become good. I am sure you will find a better life if you strive to be a better person… Brother…"

Head shaking, Sasuke was heaving in shock. A moment passed and he put his arms up to hold Itachi… "You…. You…. YOU LIE! I DON'T DESERVE THIS BULLSHIT!" As rage welled inside him, he pulled Itachi down and broke the hug, then clapped his hands on his brother's face, which was still smiling, and snapped his neck.

The red eyes of hate stared at the one lifeless eye of his brother, and all his hate welled further, pissed off at that peaceful and calm smile looking back at him, judging him. "I have no brother… I am Sasuke Uchiha, MAJOR Sasuke Uchiha! And I will burn anyone who gets in the way of my power! I will NOT let anyone stop me from achieving my dreams of power and immortal authority!"

With that, he grabbed the nearest high-power energy weapon, ammo, and went down into the basement to grab the highest caliber armor he could get his hands on. "The traitors will burn in Hellfire…"

XxX ~xxx~ XxX

"I still can't understand why me… How am I, after almost two centuries, a successful project? My parents weren't Enclave, I was in Vault 18. How did I come into contact with such a strain of FEV…"

"That, I do not know. It is quite a mystery. I promised to explain to you why you are of such importance, and I have done so. We have run out of time, I need to talk about the next course of action, because events have unfolded that have created a crossroads for our country, and the only way forward is the choice we make at this moment in time. TenTen, I have brought you here to ask you a favor…"

Hearing everything was still shocked at the moment, but the woman shook her head clear. "I can't guarantee anything, but… I'll hear you out."

"Good." Eden took a moment before proceeding. "As you are aware, I alone am unable to do anything outside this base, I need proxies. To complete the plan we had for the Purifier, which I am sorely regretting the events that took place there, I need proxies. Between Autumn's betrayal, and the eventual betrayal of Sasuke given the nature of this favor, I thought a third party would be more… amenable. It is a good thing I had spoken of the Projects of FEV, and how each had failed and gave way to the monstrosities of the Wasteland because almost every creature has been at least acutely affected by the FEV at early stages in their evolution to what they are now. In fact, one might agree that the world would be a better place if the Projects never existed."

"You tried that before…" TenTen looked to her partner, who was ever watchful of the monitor. "Back west. Your human descendant of a president back west tried the same thing in the pacific ocean from an oil field. The second-generation Super Mutants were a result of experimentation, found out by the Chosen One, to generate a virus capable of killing anything that was mutated or irradiated in the slightest. Even Ghouls, and the humans who, still human, were considered by the virus to be tainted enough to not make the cut anymore."

"In a way, we formulated a new virus from that data, perfected its design, and made modifications. Unless a mutation has manifested as an active agent, this virus will leave those 'tainted' a little bit alone. Do not toss this favor out of hand, the Super Mutant threat is still very real and very much growing. We of the Enclave, especially at our current in-fighting, have no way to cull the horde. Neither do your Brotherhood of Steel. With the virus I hand you today, you can cull them without losing a man, and the health of the country can eventually be restored at the very same time."

"But it'd still kill Ghouls."

"Yes, anything mutated severely like that will die. But it will not target ANY irradiated or tainted human being without an active mutation."

"So it would still kill me." TenTen looked at the monitor, knowing full well she had something going on within her. "I'm mutated as well… and Naruto dies because of the FEV inside him."

"Now, don't panic just yet. Yes, this man will surely die due to the Project Greenland strain. But you could potentially be saved before use. Now that you are showing signs of a mutation, it may not be too late to get rid of it."

"Am I willing to take that chance? I don't know. And even so, I cannot just kill Ghouls for being different, and not all Mutants are evil! There are Meta-humans like Fawkes who are knowledgable and not hostile to anyone else unless they are the ones attacked! I can't just murder millions just to make sure the bad bunch goes away…"

"That's an unfortunate answer… As much as I can respect your choice, especially in the heat of the moment, I would urge you to reconsider and think about it a lot more before you activate the Purifier. And, I cannot let you leave without taking the vial so if you choose to agree with me you do not have to return and potentially incur Autumn's wrath."

The bun-haired woman was looking at the station open up and present the vial. Naruto gently pushed her behind him. "Eden… You and the Enclave never change. Do you think the world will just fall over and perish from threats? Look around you. 200 years ago the bombs fell and destroyed this country, and we're still here! Fighting! We're more resilient than you think. Humanity has grown and adapted. The Master out west with an organized army of Super Mutants? Gone. Hell, the surviving Mutants became a non-hostile element afterward, even setting up towns that were freely open to anyone no matter their race. Denmark's mutants? Part of a much bigger and organized Brotherhood through the middle of our country and protects settlements every day. Ghouls? Unless they are zombified by becoming feral, any normal Ghoul is just a human by nature, good or evil. So what if they can become 'feral'? Like human beings aren't capable of becoming psychotic raving lunatics? We've been through 200 years of the shit, and still going strong. We'll fight back the threat of any hostile Mutants, to the last man. You can't fathom the truth, humanity is as resilient as a Radroach. We've survived and will keep surviving. You are just a computer, numbers, and code. You're the monster here."

What rang out for a moment, was a burst of surprised laughter. Eden had found that funny. "You've got quite the mouth on you, a good spirit. Almost a shame you'd die with this virus installed, you are perhaps the only individual to who I would grant immunity if we had the time. But please, how am I the monster then? I have no flesh and blood to become a Mutant or turn into a Radscorpion. Surely that's enough proof to debunk your accusation."

"A monster of science… You're an AI, a computer. Not a real person. You've got a personality index, you feel alive, but you're not a human being. And that excludes you to think about what is best for a race you do not even belong to. How can you choose the best for humanity when you've never lived with it? The people of the Enclave are just puppets, in the long run, your proxies. You cannot fathom how good a ghoul can be, how nice a Mutant can be, or how domesticated the more hostile elements of the wasteland's creatures can be. You're a machine, you cannot know for sure what your calculations say is correct."

"Quite the idea, but nonsense in the long run. It is because I am a machine I am best suited to think for humanity as a whole. Humanity has been in chaos and killing each other constantly, throughout history. It needs a hand, even by force, even with more deaths, to change into something better. Who better than a machine, infallible logic systems, and decades of research and information to calculate the best course of action to save the most amount of people?"

"Except your logic is based off human mathematics, your silicon databanks built by human hands, your entire personality built upon a human comprehension. If you're a machine that is so infallible, how can you be certain you're so perfect? You can't be. Humanity is imperfect, anything we make is imperfect… you were built by an imperfect race, so there is no way you can be anything but imperfect in design. You can be wrong, and you don't know for sure because being programmed by humans to be perfect is illogical. What do we know about perfection? We don't, so how can we make you perfect?"

The silence was met with the terminal for a moment. Eden slowly spoke out how it was processing information. TenTen looked to Naruto. "What's going on now?"

It didn't take long for Eden to come back online. "You've made your point… I do believe you are correct. I cannot be as infallible as I thought, because the logic would be circular. To 'know' I am correct because the reason is 'I know it' due to programming is very illogical. This poses me in a situation I have never been in, never foreseen in any of my databanks."

"Eden… We cannot, and will not, use that vial to kill more people who are innocent of all the things you'd kill them for. And you know the Enclave is doomed. Without your leadership, under that maniac Autumn's leadership, it'll be a bloodbath to everyone in their way. They will kill the very humans you'd want to save. As much as I'd hate to do this… They need their resources taken from them. Send an evacuation order, and blow this base to kingdom come. Do the right thing. Be the kind of president that would sacrifice themselves for the good people of their country."

A moment passed in silence again. Eden was processing the request. After a couple of minutes, he spoke, with authority. "I am the President of the United States, and my duty is to my people. That means, if my forces would betray me, they are to be taken down for treason! I will send the evacuation order and any who are still loyal to me will be asked to escort any prisoners off the base, and I will make sure the cells are open so if none are loyal to me anymore then they can still escape. I still have one thing left to do… To rid the world of this virus."

The console was still open, and the vial started ejecting. "I cannot dispose of it. And if I blow the base with the vial this close to the surface, it can still eventually contaminate the area. I ask you to get rid of it for me. Dumping it into a radioactive vat will eventually cause the formula to become inert. Take the vial away from any who would use it to harm others, and leave this place. I will make sure this base is no longer operational. I will have my sentry bots push a way for you to find the exit. Make it count…"

With that, the monitor shut off and Eden started announcing the evac and self-destruct process, as alarms started to ring out across the base. Grabbing the vial, Naruto looked to TenTen. "Alright, we're out of here. Come on!"

"But what about Shikamaru? The prisoners?"

"We can't save them! We'll have to hope they can get out themselves."

"We can't leave good people here to die!"

"We're not! We're trusting Eden to get the innocent lives to safety, and getting out of here so the Enclave doesn't kill us too!" Seeing her looking back down the tower, he pulled her into a hug. "Listen… The Enclave only took a few prisoners from Megaton, and I already set two free. The kids are safe, Cross and I made sure of it back at Lamplight. The only ones here are those who want to be… Itachi included, he's looking for Sasuke. He won't leave until he sees him, and I trust him to make his exit soon. We need to go before we die trying to save those who don't want to be saved."

With that said, the woman sighed harshly and nodded. The two ran for the door, opening it to see sentry bots starting to cover their retreat. "Let's move!"

XxX ~xxx~ XxX

In the basement, as the base started to rumble, Sasuke was staring at the greatest suit of Power Armor the Enclave had in its arsenal. It was massive, a full four feet taller than Sasuke himself. It was geared with heavy weapons and had enough armor plating to withstand anything. As he got around back, he opened the hatch. The back popped open to show a cockpit to fit in. Climbing in, arms in the arms and legs stepping into the restraints, the suit activated and closed around his body. "Alright, Naruto… Time to find and destroy you."