Katie woke to find Amata snuggled against her chest, just like when they were younger. She looked up at the ceiling, wondering why she was awake when a low, metallic grind reached her ears, making her teeth grit as the sound tickled her spine. Shivering, she slipped out of her oldest friend's grip and stood stretching out with a yawn. She flexed her arms and noted that, while she was a bit sore, she felt stronger than ever. Glancing down, Katie found that her muscles had gained more definition, giving her the much-vaunted six-pack that the Tunnel Snakes had bragged incessantly about, even though she knew they spent more time looking for grease for their hair than working their muscles.
Satisfied, she strode out of her room and nearly clonked her head on the top of the door. It was a narrow margin, but it seemed she'd grown by nearly an inch. No wonder she had been in so much pain yesterday.
The grinding started again and the blonde shivered, looking down into the main room to find Dare at the weapon table, working on something she couldn't see. Smirking, Katie vaulted over the railing and landed with a loud thump, and was gratified to notice that she barely felt the impact. She looked up and jumped back as she found the sniper pointing his magnum at the center of her forehead.
Recognizing her, Dare sighed and shook his head. "Katie…" he breathed, "Don't do that, I nearly shot you." He looked back at her, his flint-grey eyes examining her quickly. "You're stronger than yesterday."
"Yup!" Katie replied cheerfully, flexing her arms and posing like on of those magazine covers. "My muscles have muscles! And I got a six pack!" She crowed, poking her stomach. "I was already strong, but I feel like I could bench press you this morning!"
He arched an eyebrow at her. "Try lifting your minigun, see how that feels," he offered, nodding at her weapon.
The blonde nearly skipped over to her gun and hefted it up easily, waving it around much like one would wield a broom. "Wow, it's so light now!" Katie marveled, actually bouncing the twenty-pound weapon in her hands. "I feel like I could carry two of these at once!"
"You know what this means, right?" Dare asked, giving her a barely-visible smirk.
"What?" The blonde replied, tilting her head in confusion, a hint of trepidation in her voice.
"You get to carry all of our heavy salvage," he answered, watching her wilt with an amused glint in his eyes. "And with you feeling so strong, we can carry a lot more, too."
"Aw, dammit," she ran a hand through her golden blonde hair with a sigh, then shrugged cheerfully. "Well, I should've seen that coming. It's a good thing, though."
Dare nodded. "Yes." He looked at the weapons on the table gestured at the sledgehammer she frequently used. "Try and break that," he ordered.
Katie frowned at him but complied, picking the hammer up easily and bending the handle. She strained for a second before it snapped with a loud crack, startling her into dropping the pieces on the floor. "Ah! My hammer!" She gasped, kneeling to pick up the pieces of broken handle before glaring at Dare. "Why did you make me do that?!"
He shrugged simply, reaching under the table and pulling the spare Super Sledge out, handing it to her. "Better to have it happen now than in the middle of combat," he replied, watching with amusement as Katie excitedly discarded the pieces and took the sledge in her hands, marveling at the look and feel of the big, tech-enhanced hammer.
"Ooh, this is nice," she said, spinning it easily in her hands. "I can see why Clover likes this so much. That was kind of a dick move though, making me break my old hammer."
Dare shrugged again, sitting back at the bench and taking his materials up. He was holding a saw and an assault rifle, using the former to cut through the barrel of the latter. As he worked the serrated blade through the metal, he became aware of Katie looming behind him, leaning on his back and looking down in interest. "…Yes?"
"What're you doing?" she asked, putting her elbows on his shoulders and fully leaning on him, looking down at his project over the top of his head.
Deciding to ignore it, he cut the rest of the barrel off, leaving a little stub behind. "I'm modifying an assault rifle, making it more compact." He flipped the weapon around and went to work on the stock.
"Why, though?" Katie continued, setting her chin on top of his head, her arms flopping down over his chest in a half-assed sort-of hug, pressing her chest against his back, "I've got my minigun and Clover's got her SMG."
"All of my weapons are semi-automatic," he replied, tapping his pistol meaningfully. "I don't have any rapid-fire weapons, and that can be a weakness if we get rushed from different sides. I can't always rely on you or the others to fill the air with bullets if we're caught in a pincer, and I don't want to add any more weight if I don't need it."
"Oh," she said, watching as he worked through the top part of the stock. "That makes sense." They sat in comfortable silence, the only sound in the room being the grinding of metal on metal. Eventually, Katie broke it. "Are you going to make breakfast soon? I can take over for you, if you want," she offered.
Dare paused, looking down to view the time on her Pip-Boy. "Sure, I'll get started on breakfast. I'm sure the others will be awake soon enough." He set the tools down and stood, Katie still with her arms around him, even as he turned around to face her. "Are you going to let go, or what?"
The blonde smiled, their noses nearly touching. "Maybe in a bit," she replied teasingly, happy to note she only had to lift her eyes a little to meet his gaze. Katie fully wrapped her arms around him, leaning into his shoulder and letting out a quiet, comfortable sigh.
Dare, not minding the embrace in the least, returned the affectionate gesture with a bit of confusion. "You're acting a bit strange," he stated plainly.
"Sorry," Katie shrugged, not moving, "I'm just a little excited. We're going to start looking for my dad and that little shot made me a lot stronger without mutating me…I think." She backed away and ran her hands up and down her body, squeezing and feeling every inch of her frame, even pulling her shirt and shorts away to look at herself. All in front of Dare. "Nope, no mutations."
The sniper nodded slowly. "Well, a positive attitude is good to have at the start of your day," he said, stepping around her and heading for the stove.
Still feeling perky, the blonde sat down at the table and took up the saw, quickly cutting through the stock thanks to her increased strength and distaste for the sound. Finished, she looked down at the shortened weapon and tilted her head, gazing at it narrowly. An idea struck her and she looked around, finding a small end table near the couch. It wasn't being used for anything, so she knelt down next to it and pulled the drawer out, her eyes locked on the sliding parts, wondering why she was fixated on them.
"Aha!" Katie whispered to herself, taking the drawer out fully and stripping the matching metal struts from inside of the end table. Taking her seat again, she took part of the assault rifle stock and bent the metal strut around it, welding it securely before attaching it to the rifle itself. Then, she took the other struts off of the drawer and drilled a pair of holes in the new stock, bending the struts into the desired shape and taking a pair of bolts, filing them and sticking them through the stock and the struts. After that, Katie used a length of wire to wrap around the bolts, attaching the wire to a piece of the rubber shoulder pad of the stock.
The former Vault-dweller held her creation up to the light. Squeezing the handle, the bolts slid out and she pulled the stock back, extending it to full size. Gripping the handle again, she pushed the stock back into a folded form. Unable to contain a triumphant smile, she turned around to show Dare what she accomplished, and froze.
He stood in front of the stove, shirtless, washing himself with a rag dipped in hot water. Rivulets of moisture ran down the hard, lean planes of his muscles and his face, usually tight in focus even outside of combat, was relaxed and smooth. Katie was forcibly reminded that, as mature as he was, Dare was only a few years older than her, and despite all the jokes Tunnel Snakes made about them, Amata was her best friend and only that.
In short, Katie liked what she saw. She liked it a lot.
Dare, feeling her blatant stare, turned and gave her a blank look. "…Yes?"
The blonde shook herself out of her ogling and held her creation out for the sniper to examine. "Look!" She exclaimed, showing him the way the stock could be collapsed and extended at will. "It's an extendable stock! I remembered reading about these in Guns and Bullets, though they were still being prototyped before the War. It had a description of how they worked and I managed to make one out of a few drawer parts."
Impressed, Dare took the shortened rifle from her and tested it out himself, feeling the weight and stability it added to the weapon. "I was thinking of making something like this, actually," he admitted, collapsing the stock and handing it back to her. "Though I wasn't sure how. This will really help, Katie. Thank you."
"No problem," she smiled warmly in return, "Glad to help." She looked over his shoulder, noticing the lack of breakfast. "Speaking of; want me to help you make breakfast?"
His lips curled slightly, and he nodded agreeably. "Sure, I'd like that."
…
The others eventually awoke when a delicious scent filtered up to their rooms, and descended to find plates of murky green eggs waiting for them. Though a bit cautious of the color at first, the Wastelanders ate every bit after their first bite, finding the flavor of the eggs to be a bit salty, but delicious and filling.
There were no complaints from Dogmeat, of course.
When they were finished, Katie and Clover helped each other strap their metal armor on while Amata put on her newly-acquired combat armor, the black paint scrubbed away to reveal the tan-colored plates underneath. Dare secured his pouches and pistols, followed by his pack and sniper rifle. His SMG was hanging from his side, a strap made from spare leather going over his shoulder to carry it.
They filled their canteens and brought along a few spare bottles of water for their guests, along with a few cans of food. "I need to stop by Moira's before we leave," Dare announced, popping a piece of gum in his mouth, "She has my hat."
"Alright, we'll start heading for Rivet City," Katie replied, knowing full well Dare would catch up to them before they even passed the Super Duper Mart. They waved to Stockholm in his nest above the gate and greeted Deputy Weld outside, slipping through the rocky terrain and keeping an eye out for ambushes, however small the chance might be.
"So…" Joan started, her assault rifle leaned casually on her shoulder, twirling a length of her dark red hair with a finger, Brian leaning against Dogmeat as they walked. "Dare…is he…seeing anyone right now?"
Clover shrugged, an unlit cigarette in her mouth. "He's a sniper," she answered blandly, restraining a smirk, "He sees a lot of people. Usually right before he shoots them in the head."
Katie chuckled softly as Joan flushed. "You know what I meant!" She muttered, her eyes scanning the horizon. "You all seem close to him, and you in particular slept in the same bed last night. I was just wondering if there was something going on between you. I mean, he's a guy in a house with three women, if he's not sleeping with one of you he'd have to be gay."
"Definitely not gay," Katie and Clover said simultaneously, pausing to give each other a look, and their pooch yipped affirmatively. "We've slept together in all meanings of the word," the former slave continued, "But I wouldn't say we're together."
The redhead picked up the subtle disappointment in her tone. "Why not?" Joan asked, before glancing at Katie and Amata questioningly. "Is it because of you two?"
Clover sighed heavily, scratching the bridge of her nose. "It's got nothing to do with them…" she paused, "Well, maybe a bit, but not why Dare and I aren't together. He and I aren't together because, despite all the help he's given me, I don't feel like I deserve it."
"Why?" Amata was the one to ask, that time, her hazel eyes curious.
"You know my history," the former slave muttered in reply, her eyes falling. Dogmeat whimpered, pushing his nose against her leg comfortingly. "I'm way better than I used to be, but I don't think I'll ever really feel clean or whole ever again, and I still don't remember who I was before Paradise Falls. Dare deserves someone better than me, more able, less broken and used." She nudged Katie meaningfully, grinning sardonically. Behind them, Brian looked at them in confusion, the entire conversation going over his head.
"You know I don't think of you that way," a male voice suddenly spoke up, making the group jump. Clover yelped in shock, swinging her hammer at the space next to her. Dare ducked the blow, the head barely missing his hat. "What was that for?" He asked calmly, though his face was tight with irritation.
"Dare!" Clover said, her face red from embarrassment. "When did you catch up?"
"Since Joan said, 'You know what I meant,'" he replied evenly, adjusting his hat. "And you know I don't think of you how you think of you, Clover. You're stronger than you think."
"Yeah, well, not strong enough," she murmured, taking in his form. "You look different. I thought Moira only worked on your hat?"
True to her words, the faded brown of his leather duster had been replaced by a mix of brown, off-white and light grey in a somewhat mottled pattern, with it repeated on his hat. The camouflage made him blend into the background rather well, looking somewhat like a large rock from the back. It had certainly worked on them, since he'd been walking next to them for a few minutes.
"She did, but she had some more prepared for my coat," Dare said, his sharp eyes picking across the landscape before he glanced at Joan. "Anymore questions about my relationship status?"
"E-er, well, I guess…" The redheaded Wastelander stammered, flushing, "do you w-want to get a drink with me when we get to Rivet City?"
The sniper hummed in thought. "I wouldn't mind, but I don't think I'll be able to tonight. We're heading downtown after we reach Rivet City, and it's possible we'll be camping there." He glanced at the disappointed woman, giving her a small smile. "We'll no doubt visit again, so I'll look you up then. How does that sound?"
Joan shrugged, feeling a tad bit better. "Better than nothing, I suppose."
Behind them, Amata frowned to herself and fingered her laser rifle in thought.
Their path took them passed the Super Duper Mart, and while Grayditch had stopped burning a while ago, the smell of smoke still lingered in the air. Brian sniffed sadly, gazing over the ruined buildings at the distant remains of his home, Amata patting his shoulder for comfort and Dogmeat licking his face.
Checking to make sure the mirelurks weren't going to be a problem, they crossed the bridge to the Anchorage Memorial and strode past the super mutant camp, which had Joan shuddering in remembrance and hiding behind Katie until it was out of sight. Dare made note of a squat hotel they passed, a crude, misspelled sign outside of the entrance warning them to keep their weapons holstered if they came inside. They hurried passed when the sounds of moan and grunts filtered out through the boarded up windows and continued on.
Dare suddenly stopped, holding up a hand to halt the others as Dogmeat growled. They tensed upon hearing the sound of laughter and shouting, most of it insane, a clear sign of Raiders. Hugging a low wall, he crouch-walked below the lip to the edge, leaning out to check. "Raiders," he announced quietly, somewhat unnecessarily since they could clearly see a trio of bandits in scrounged-together armor, a pair of them playing cards at a three-legged table while the other slammed her head into a bloody wooden plank, screaming her head off.
Dare unholstered his sniper rifle and took aim at the pair, carefully shifting himself on top of the wall to get a better view. Taking aim, he pulled the trigger, the .308 special piercing one raider's head before continuing on into the other's, taking them both out. As he turned to deal with obviously high-out-of-her-mind raider, Amata tugged on his jacket. "What?"
"There's something I want to try," she whispered, taking aim. She stiffened and Dare could've sworn her eyes flashed with what looked like green lettering, before the medic robotically swiveled and fired three shots. The first impacted the raider's back, drawing a scream of pain, while the second hissed over her shoulder, barely scoring the tire that made up her shoulder pad. The third blazed through the air and carved a scorched hole in the back of her head, and the corpse slumped to the ground without another sound.
"What was that?" the sniper asked seriously. The way Amata's posture and countenance had changed was a little alarming, though it did remind him of the time his father had shown him their Sniper's Mind in action.
"It's called V.A.T.S.," Amata replied as they scavenged the small but festively decorated camp, small multi-colored lights strung up around the blackened skeleton of a tree, "The Vault-Tec Assisted Targeting System. No one's entirely sure how it works, but it kind of slows down time and lets you pick your shots. It's definitely weird, but useful in some cases."
"Yeah, I can see how," Dare replied, kicking open a box with surprising irritation and policing the handful of clips inside. The medic stared at his back in surprise, wondering what had made him annoyed, but leaving the issue alone as they continued on.
Most of the buildings along the bank of the river were destroyed and collapsed, either due to time or the bombs, and the few that weren't were boarded up, though they heard the rattling and hissing of gunfire and energy weapons in the distance. Dare mentally noted the doors and stairs leading to the metro tunnels, making a note to mark them down on his map later. They continued at decent pace, coming into view of a wide, round building that had scaffolding and large pipes coming out of it.
"That's the Jefferson Memorial," Joan pointed out, her eyes cautious. "There used to be some big project going there, but it got shut down nearly twenty years ago. Now a bunch of muties live there, taking pot shots at anything they can see. We should be careful."
The group went low, winding through the ruins to avoid being seen by the Super Mutants randomly walking along the scaffolding. It was going well, until they came across a camp that had heavy metal and barbed wire topping chunks of concrete as a fence, bloody bags of gore hanging from it every few feet. Barricades made of metal roadblocks had been set up along with three rough cloth tents like the one Joan had been found in, and a large bonfire belched oily smoke into the sky. The deep, raspy shouts clued them on to who they had stumbled upon, exactly, and Joan shivered in fear.
Dare carefully climbed up a section of ruined wall, peeking out over top of it to scout out the area. He saw one Super Mutant emerging from a tent with a cruel laugh, quiet, pained whimpers following it; while another overlooked the only entrance to the camp, and yet another stood guard. Nodding to himself, the sniper dropped to the ground and set his pack down with his sniper rifle, screwing his silencer onto Red Empress.
"You can't be thinking about taking them on by yourself, are you?" Katie asked incredulously, "We've got guns, Dare, we can watch your back!"
He arched an eyebrow at them. "It's not a question of trust," Dare replied lowly, "I trust you with my life. However, it is a question of stealth. Gunfire is going to draw the attention of the mutants at the memorial, and we're escorting these two to Rivet City. The last thing we need is attention, so they need to be dealt with quietly. Could you do that, Katie?" He glanced at her minigun and heavy metal armor meaningfully, arching an eyebrow at her.
The blonde scowled. "No, but that doesn't mean you should go in alone," she rebuked, concern showing through her helmet.
"I'll be fine, I've killed Super Mutants before," the sniper said, patting her shoulder comfortingly, "I know how to handle them."
With that said, he holstered Red Empress and climbed the wall, dropping over it with a quiet swish of his duster. Katie huffed and turned away, setting her minigun by her side, ready to jump out and unleash hell. She noticed that while Joan was pale, both she and Clover were giving her amused looks, while Amata looked irritated. "…What?"
The former slave shook her head with a chuckle and didn't say anything, much to Katie's annoyance.
Dare slipped through the wire-topped fence, hitting the ground with a quiet thud, scanning around to make sure he hadn't been heard. Nodding to himself, he drew Red Empress and snuck through the back of the camp. Hearing the loud footfalls of a mutant approaching, he pressed himself into a gap on the ruined wall of a building, letting his camouflage conceal him from sight.
Once the mutant had passed, Dare peeked out from under his hat and watched the wide, muscled back disappear into a tent. Checking to make sure the sentry was still keeping watch, he drew his knife and followed the quiet yelps of pain and dumb guffaws. Sliding in behind the mutant as it tormented a captive woman with rusty nails embedded in a plank of wood, one of the lower-tier mutants favorite weapons.
With a short running start, Dare leapt on the mutant's back, driving the blade into the mutant's neck and ripping it out forwards, cutting through its trachea. He wasn't done, however; Dare reached up and seized the mutant's nose, yanking its head back and stabbing up through the new hole, cutting through the brainstem and killing it instantly. The corpse fell back on Dare, who grunted under the weight and slowly lowered it to the ground in a spreading pool of thick, dark blood.
The captive, a dark-skinned woman with a mop of white hair, gasped and opened her mouth, the sniper darting forward to silence her with his hand. He put a finger to his lips silently and pointed outside, where the sentry shouted something about stupid humans. She nodded in understanding and Dare drew back, leaving the tent.
He snuck up to the minigun-wielding sentry standing by the bonfire, passing by the mauled bodies of raiders. Another captive, a man with a long mullet kneeled by it, his eyes going wide as he noticed the sniper coming into view. His eyes flicked between Dare and the Super Mutant, this one a bit taller and better armored than the others, wearing a that looked to have been made with pure intimidation in mind.
Making his decision, the man turned and barked at the mutant, "Hey, Mutie! You-" The mutant took its hand off the trigger of its minigun and roughly smacked him in the face, sending him to ground.
"Shut up, stupid human! Your voice grates my ears!" it shouted down at the man, before it caught something out of the corner of its eye.
Dare leaped over the fire, his duster flaring out behind him like a pair of leathery wings, landing on the mutant and burying the barrel of Red Empress in the mutant's throat, firing upwards. The bullet pierced through the mutant's tongue and up into its mouth, flattening against the bottom of its skull. The sniper drew his pistol back and fired four more times, two bullets in each eye, and the mutant hit the ground with a resounding thud.
"Huh?" The last mutant wondered aloud, turning around to find the sentry out of sight. "Hey! Where you go?! You supposed to share food, no sneaking bites!"
It stomped up the short ramp that made the entrance and Dare watched from the top of the fence until it walked under him. He slid off the top and landed on the mutant's shoulders, pressing the silencer to the base of its skull and firing twice. It fell with grunt, landing roughly and Dare rolled off, kicking it over and putting another brace of rounds through its eye.
Satisfied that his work was done, the sniper jogged up to the far wall and whistled sharply, signaling an all-clear for his squad. Then, he moved back through the camp, freeing the captive woman and the man. "That was brave of you, shouting at a mutant like that," he complimented, handing the man a couple of buffout pills.
"Yeah, well, they were shouting at me the whole time," the mulleted-man replied with a wince.
Katie, Clover and Amata came into the camp and quickly began to search for goods while Joan sat back with Brian and Dogmeat, eyeing the corpses warily. "You cleared them out," the redheaded Wastelander said with a tinge of awe in her voice, "Just like that."
Dare shrugged. "Know thine enemy," he replied vaguely, securing the minigun and ammo boxes for Katie, along with a few more clips for his pistol and revolver.
Clover handed him his pack and he added his goods to it, hefting the minigun on his shoulder. Katie approached him with a grin, holding out a handful of grenades. "Trade you," she offered.
The sniper gave her a small smile and traded her the big gun for the explosives. "When we get to Rivet City, we can take a look at that and use it to repair your own weapon," he stated, tapping the multiple barrels, "Yours might be in better condition, but you can use it to reinforce the metal. Or sell it for caps, if you want."
"Hey Dare, look what I found!" Amata called, striding up to them with a pistol-shaped weapon in her hands. The metal was rusted and dirty, and main body of the gun seemed to be made up of some sort of cloudy glass, metal pumps and thickly-insulated wire. Instead of a barrel, though, the gun had four needles facing forward, the center being the largest. The medic tapped the top, where a dirty slot could be made out under the grime. "It looks like it takes small energy cells, so it must be some sort of energy gun. I don't know what, though."
Dare took the weapon with a curious gaze, examining it carefully. While not a big fan of energy weapons, he knew what most models looked like. "I think…this might be a plasma pistol."
"Really?" Clover asked incredulously. "Those things are beyond rare. I've only seen a few people with those, and they were rich."
"More valuable if it works, which we don't know for certain," Dare replied, handing it back to Amata. "Good find. Curious where super mutants got one, though."
Amata shrugged helplessly and stored the weapon in her pouch, intent on cleaning and repairing it later. Not only would it be worth more, but it might be powerful as well.
The group quickly stripped the camp of useful materials, loading up on scrap metal and discarded weapons, most taken from the dead mutants. Waste not, want not after all, and with them being so close to Rivet City, they could afford to weigh themselves down with a bit salvage to sell.
Once done, the group continued on, passing around a building to find an impressive sight before them. A giant metal ship, the dormant forms of old aircraft sitting atop it, stood out proudly from the backdrop of murky water and ruined hills. The front section of the ship, a full third of the metal bulk had been neatly severed from the rest and was listing forward in dark water.
On their approach, they noted a decently-sized ruined structure made of metal with a sign declaring 'Rivet City.' The climb leading up to a platform at the top was not short, and upon reaching it, they found an intercom, clearly seeing a trio of security guards at the entrance to the ship. Katie tapped the button and opened her mouth; but before she could speak, a strict male voice came over the line. "Welcome to Rivet City. Please wait while the bridge extends."
There was muffled clunk and metallic grinding as a long metal bridge was swung over to connect to the platform, something Dare found clever. Besides the bridge, the only way to reach Rivet City was by taking a swim in the irradiated water, followed by a long climb up the hull, all while the security took potshots at the intruders.
The end of the bridge lined up neatly with the platform, metal meeting metal with a dull thunk. Katie and Amata glanced at each other, then at the ship, then back at each other and shrugged, following behind the Wastelanders as they walked across a bridge to a ruined ship that was also a city.
The Wasteland was weird.
Just before they reached the other side, a stern-faced man carrying a bulkier version of an assault rifle held up his hand. "Hold it right there," he barked, and they recognized his voice from the intercom. "State your business in Rivet City."
Dare gestured to Joan and Brian, who waved nervously, and the other two former captives. "Bringing back a few captured people and a new resident with family here," he answered calmly.
The security guard looked them over, his eyes going wide upon recognizing Joan. "Joan! We all thought you were dead!"
The redhead shrugged, nodding at Dare and his group. "I would've been if it hadn't been for them, Harkness. I'll vouch for them."
Harkness, as he was now known, nodded. "Alright. Keep your noses clean, you hear me?" He ordered with a narrow gaze. His paranoia mollified, Harkness stepped aside and allowed them to access the city proper. Stepping inside, the dark-skinned woman and the man thanked them again, gifting them with a few caps before scurrying off; most likely to drown their experiences in alcohol.
"C'mon, I'll show you guys where Vera is," Joan offered, heading up the steps in the cramped interior, tapping a sign that read 'Weatherly Hotel' with her finger, "She runs a hotel on the upper decks, a real nice place. She even has a Mister Handy to help her keep the place running."
Katie and Amata found themselves comparing the interior of the ship that made up Rivet City to Vault 101, finding that while the Vault had a bit more space (especially in the hallways), the city was much more lived-in, with children running in the corridors, furniture and signs scattered about. All in all, it was much more comfortable than the sterile environment of the Vault; if less clean.
A large sign proclaiming 'The Weatherly Hotel' sat above an opened door, leading into a large room with a rather nice U-shaped desk in the middle. The lighting was a low, pleasant yellow, the wooden desk and neat couch giving it a very homey atmosphere. Standing behind the desk, tapping away at a terminal, was a young woman with messy blonde hair. She looked up with a smile as they entered, a friendly greeting on her lips. "Welcome to the Weatherly Hotel! How can I - Brian?!"
The young boy gave her a sheepish wave with Dogmeat giving a friendly bark. "Hi, Aunt Vera."
The woman rushed around the desk and embraced Brian fiercely, fussing over him and poking at him. "I was so worried about you! I heard about Grayditch on the radio-" she continued to babble for several minutes, before noticing the others. "Oh, I'm so sorry! I'm Vera Weatherly, you - Joan!"
Dare frowned minutely as Vera turned to the redhead and began to fuss over her as well, trading annoyed looks with Clover. "Ahem," he cleared his throat, "It might be a bit redundant, but we were wondering if you would give this young man a home?"
The blonde hotel owner waved him off. "Of course I will! I've got the means to keep him fed and healthy but most importantly, safe. Buckingham, please take Brian into the back room and get him settled in, would you?" she directed at the Mister Handy, who replied in an upper-class British accent.
Brian turned to Katie and Clover with a blush on his face. "Thank you for saving me and bringing me here," he thanked them shyly.
"Aww," Katie cooed, tousling his hair playfully, "It's no problem, kid. Just stay safe and don't make trouble for your Aunt, okay?"
Clover simply patted his shoulder without a word, and with one more word of thanks and hug with their dog, the boy disappeared into the back room. "Thank you for bringing Brian safely here, and Joan too," Vera said gratefully, "I was so worried when I heard that Grayditch was on fire and her caravan had gone missing. Here, I can't really repay you for all you've done, but here's some caps and I'll reserve a free room for you whenever you stop by."
Katie took the pouch of caps with a stunned look, handing it off to Clover. "Uh, yeah, you're welcome," she replied, sharing a surprised look with Amata.
Dare cleared his throat again. "Do you know where Galaxy News Radio is?" he asked, "We're heading there next, and I wondered if it's in this area."
Vera gave them a confused look. "Uh, no, it's not. It's way back up the river. The only way to get to the plaza is through the metro tunnels near the Anchorage Memorial," she explained carefully.
"Really?" the sniper asked plainly, resisting the urge to facepalm.
"Yeah, you guys didn't know that?" Joan questioned, getting head shakes from the group, "Oh. I thought you knew that already."
Dare sighed and palmed his face. "At least we cleared the path back, so we should make a good pace up there," he said with a resigned shrug.
"True," Katie agreed with a nod, hefting the spare minigun on her shoulders. "Let's go get some lunch, then I can take a look at this big boy."
Joan waved as they left. "Thanks again!" She called, "And remember that drink!"
Following the signs, the group went down a few floors, back outside and then inside the Lower Deck, which opened up into a wide, atrium-like room. Several stalls were set up, selling clothes, weapons and sundry, their merchants calling out to the citizens walking by. It was bustling, a true city in the Wasteland, and former Vault-Dwellers looked on in slight awe, having never seen this many people in one place before.
They received a few cautious looks for their armor and weaponry, but no more than that. Following the smell of food and Dogmeat's excited barks, they found an eatery with a few tables scattered around with well-used stools at the counter. "Afternoon!" an older man called from behind the counter, standing next to a hot grill, the scent coming from the meat being cooked, "What can I get you today?"
"Three bowls of noodles with iguana bits, and a squirrel on a stick?" Dare answered simply, the question directed at Dogmeat, who hopped and yipped excitedly, "Squirrel on a stick."
The man looked disappointed for some reason, but nodded and took the caps. "Thanks for the patronage. Take a seat, your meal will be out in a moment," he replied, waving at the tables, where a young blonde-haired woman was sweeping.
The group took a seat gladly, setting their packs aside for the first time in hours and relaxing. Almost as one, they reached into their packs and retrieved a Nuka-Cola, popping the cap and taking a draught of the warm but refreshing soda. "This place is kind of crazy, isn't it?" Amata asked, looking about the inside of the ship with sparkles of awe in her eyes. "A whole city inside a ship…crazy."
"About as crazy as a bunch of people living underground in giant vaults," Dare replied with a tip of his bottle and a small smirk.
Katie chuckled, as did Clover. "About as crazy as a city in the crater of an Atomic dud," she returned with a smile.
"About as crazy as a town in shopping mall," Clover added, and they shared a quiet laugh at how insane their world would seem to someone outside of it, unlikely as that was.
The conversation ended as the formerly-sweeping blonde girl strode up to them with a loaded tray in her hands. "Four iguana-bits and noodle bowls, and a squirrel on a stick," she announced with a pretty smile, setting their meals down along with four pairs of chopsticks and a flutter of her eyelashes, "Is there anything else I can get you?"
"Nope, we're all good," Katie replied cheerfully, dismissing the girl with a wave of her hand, turning to her meal and frowning. Picking up the chopsticks, she tapped them together with a clueless look shared with Amata. "The hell are these?"
Clover glanced up at them with disbelief in her eyes, noodles dangling out of her mouth. "Don't tell me you've never used chopsticks before!" She said around her bite. At their nods, she shook her head and muttered, "What do they teach you down in those Vaults?"
"How to use forks and spoons," Katie replied archly, holding one stick in each hand and poking at her food fruitlessly, "How do you even use these things?!"
Dare clicked his chopsticks together, getting their attention. "Like this. You have to hold the top one somewhat like a pencil and cradle the bottom with your thumb; keep that one still and use your finger to pinch the top to the bottom. That's it." The sniper would never admit it out loud, but watching Katie (who had taken to the Wasteland like a mirelurk to water) struggle with something as simple as chopsticks was the funniest thing he'd seen in a long time.
Amata was a quick study, though she ended up dropping her noodles back into the bowl frequently, while the blonde heavy weapons-enthusiast ended up forgoing the eating sticks entirely in favor of eating directly from the bowl.
Once they had finished their meal, the group found a pair of workbenches near a gun store, and after asking permission, were allowed to set up. "I'm going to let you in on a little secret," Dare whispered, beckoning Amata and Katie to listen closely, "Most people will tell you to strip another weapon for parts, then sell the rest as scrap metal. What I find works better is to examine your extra weapon, find the parts that are in better condition than the ones in yours, then switch them out. See, most people will pay more for a functioning, if weathered, weapon than they will for a pile of scrap metal."
He took the extra minigun and quickly took it apart, doing the same to Katie's weapon, before finding and swapping out several pieces. After examining them again, he put the weapons back together. He'd replaced the grip on Katie's, as well as a few rusting screws and thread-bare belts, which would make it less likely to jam. "You can also use parts from a similar weapon to modify your own," the sniper explained, taking the metal ring holding the barrels together off and holding it up, "For instance, we could add this near the opening of the barrels, reducing the spread of your shots."
"That's useful," the blonde replied, fiddling with the rotation mechanism, "But I think caps are better to have right now. And since there are a bunch of Super Mutants where we're going, we'll have more material to work with."
"True enough," Dare returned with a nod, hefting the minigun on his shoulder and striding towards the gun shop, "Let's sell our salvage and get going; we should get there before night time."
"Why? Big bad sniper afraid of the dark?" Katie teased, playfully punching his shoulder.
The 'big bad' sniper shook his head, setting the weapon down on the counter in front of the shop keepers. "No," he replied simply, giving her a serious look. "Just the things that lurk there."
…
After making a nice profit from selling their salvage, the group left Rivet City and made their way back up the coast, traveling quicker with the prior clearing of the path and lack of escortees. It took them around an hour to get back to the Anchorage Memorial and about half as long to find an entrance to the Metro tunnels. "Be careful down here," Dare warned, checking his SMG and flicking the safety off, "Scum like Raiders and feral ghouls like to lurk in places like these, where it's dark and cramped. Watch the corners and our backs."
The ladies checked their weapons and nodded, Clover moving forward to open the door for them. The interior of the metro station was much like the world above; dirty and ruined. The small amount of visibility came from flickering, filth-encrusted lights, the few that still worked, anyhow. They stepped around a shoddily-made barricade and made their way towards the lobby, passing crumbling walls covered with misspelled and messy graffiti.
The corridor opened up into the lobby and Clover froze, pointing at a pair of growling, emaciated figures, one hunched over the body of a raider with its crooked fingers digging through the stomach.
Dare drew Red Empress and took aim, shooting the kneeling ghoul in the head. The soft K-chak didn't go unheard, however, and the other ghoul spun to face them with a rattling howl before it charged with its hands out and fingers crooked like claws. Clover put two rounds through its chest as it dived at her, neatly sidestepping the falling body as an answering chorus of cries rose from below.
"There!" Katie called, pointing at the other end of the platform, which had collapsed. The group rushed to the wall of debris, pressing their backs against it as the rapid pattering of bare feet and ragged screams approached. The blonde spun her minigun up as the first feral ghoul came sprinting up the stairs, a hail of bullets tearing through its rotted skeletal frame; red light briefly shining as Amata's laser rifle spat burning lines through the air, reducing another ghoul to ash.
Clover's shotgun barked, ripping a particularly thin ghoul in half as Dare stood a bit behind her, his revolver kicking as he fired on the swarming ghouls. They were coming up from both sides of the platform, though one in tattered scraps of armor climbed up column farther down, charging down the middle. Before the sniper could open fire, Dogmeat barked and dashed forward, leaping on the ghoul and tackling it to the ground, his teeth flashing in the low light as he tore at the radiated creature.
Dare switched his focus back to the ghouls, firing on the ferals as the last of them mindlessly ran at them, a .44 magnum round exploding through its skull to put it down for good. Clover lifted her helmet and cocked an ear, listening in. "I don't hear any more ferals," she remarked, pulling the round clip from her shotgun and loading in a fresh one, "And all that gunfire would definitely draw everything in these tunnels."
"Well, since we cleared them out for the time being, better give it a quick look-through and restock," Dare replied as Dogmeat trotted up to him, holding a weathered pouch in his jaws and dropping it at his feet before looking up with his tongue lolling out. "Aren't you a smart dog, huh boy? And I saw you take that ghoul out, too. Who's a good boy?"
Amata shot Dare an amused look as he scratched the dog's ears and fed him a piece of jerky. "As the medic, I would advise against letting him lick you, Dare. You might catch something."
"It's alright," he replied, rubbing Dogmeat's head, "He's a tough puppy." Dare stood and glanced around the platform, before finding something of interest and heading off to investigate. He stepped down the stairs and came down to the tracks, finding that the tunnel heading east was relatively intact. Given that's where GNR would be, it was a good thing. Though he believed the swarm of ghouls were all the hostiles within, he still drew Red Empress and changed the clip before heading down the tunnel. Before he went around the bend, he whistled and waved at Katie, who nodded in understanding.
He found that the remainder of the tunnel was, in fact, empty, the raiders having stuck to the area behind him before the ghouls came and savaged them. Dare followed the eastern tunnel to the exit, scratching arrows in the wall with his knife to mark his path for the others. Upon reaching the exit, he knelt and pulled his revolver, flicking open the chamber and exchanging spent shells for fresh ones. He scratched Dogmeat behind the ears as the heavy footfalls of his companions reached his ears. "Find anything good?"
"A good amount of 10mm ammo, a handful of shotgun shells and…" Katie paused for dramatic effect, before holding up a weather-beaten comic in the dim light, "Grognak, the Barbarian! Volume sixteen, the Lair of the AntAgonizer!"
"Mm," Dare nodded, tapping the exit. "That's pretty good. I can hear gunfire outside, regular guns and energy weapons; whoever's fighting is well-equipped."
"Should we try to be sneaky again?" Amata asked, cracking open the door to peer outside, the bright sunlight pouring in, "That didn't really work last time."
"If we run in without examining the situation, we could end up with fire from both sides," he cautioned, drawing his sniper.
The medic nodded. "I know, I was just saying," she replied quickly, following Dare's lead as they stepped outside.
Walking up the metro steps, they came into a large square dominated by several surprisingly intact buildings with aged and beaten billboards still exclaiming what a good time it was to pop open a Nuka-Cola and take a break. The main features of the area was a pitted golden globe with a rocket held up as if circling it and twin statues of women clinging to the sides of a building, overlooking the square.
Following the sounds fighting south, the group climbed a ruined staircase to peer over the wall. Katie gasped aloud at the sight that met their eyes.
Super Mutants fought against equally-sized figures clad in armor of metal, but not like what Katie or Clover wore. No, beneath the plates of steel, they could see technology, gears and wires in the place of flesh and bone. Modern knights, their armor powered through nuclear fusion, their maces and lances traded in for super sledges and laser rifles.
Paladins of the Brotherhood of Steel.
The leader, their armor embossed with a lion roaring in front of sword, in place of the cogs, shattered a baseball with their arm, seizing the mutant by the neck and rolling it over their shoulders, slamming it into the ground. The leader stomped on the mutant's neck and fired their laser rifle into its mouth, burning a hole into the ground beneath. "Keep firing!" they shouted in feminine voice, enhanced by an electronic growl through the fierce helmet on her head, "They bleed just like anything else!"
Katie's jaw fell open, her eyes fixed the armor the Paladins wore. "What is that?" she asked breathily.
She was drawn from her reverie when Dare's rifle cracked, the bullet tearing through the head of a mutant. "You can ask later," he replied calmly, his pupils dilating as his Sniper's Mind washed over him. Time slowed and Dare sighted on a mutant drawing its arm back to hurl a grenade. He focused and shifted his aim above its shoulder and fired.
The round tunneled through the air, impacting into the explosive with a quiet clink, before it exploded in the mutant's hand. The explosion tore the head and arm off of the mutant intending to use it, and the shrapnel shredded the back of another standing in front of it.
With the last mutant down, the Brotherhood members turned to face them with weapons drawn…except for one, who seemed more inclined to shout jeers at the corpses.
"Paladins!" Dare called, standing with arms up. "We come in peace!"
Seeing that he didn't intend on picking a fight, the Paladins lowered their weapons, the leader beckoning them down as another turned and told of the jeering one. Dare slid over the wall and landed easily, approaching the leader with the ladies and their dog. "Look, I don't know who you are, but you don't belong here," she said shortly, her fingers tapping at the stock of her rifle.
"Actually, we do," Katie replied, a bit taken aback by the attitude. "We're heading to the GNR building. What're you guys doing out here?"
"The Super Mutants have overrun our brothers at the Galaxy News Radio building, and we're heading there to back them up," the leader answered, nodding at her underlings, who began to move out, "You can tag along if you want, but keep your head down and try not to do anything…stupid."
"Yeah, fine," Katie grumpily replied, following the leader as she took point, "Who are you, anyway?"
The leader gave her a look behind the helmet, her heavy footfalls joining with the others. "The name's Sarah Lyons, Sentinel and squad commander of the Lyon's pride. We're with the Brotherhood of Steel."
"The what?" Amata asked curiously.
"You never heard of the Brotherhood of Steel?" a younger woman questioned, her incredulity clear even through the speakers. "What, you been living under a rock or something?"
"Sort of," Clover said, "They're from a Vault."
"Oh," the knight replied sheepishly.
Sarah glanced back at them over her shoulder as they walked around a building, another Knight peering around the corner and firing on a mutant while a brother lay on a blood-soaked mattress, his armor rent around the stomach. "Hold the chatter for now," she ordered, "We're heading into battle. Report!"
The kneeling Knight downed the mutant with a well-placed shot before standing and saluting. "All clear, Sentinel," he reported with an oddly cheerful tone, "Five mutants released from their torment. The rest are keeping their heads down."
"Good," Sarah nodded, looking to who seemed to be her second-in-command, "Jennings?"
The Paladin shook his head slowly, rising from the body after retrieving a pair of dimly-glowing tags. "Negative."
The reporting Knight glanced over at the group, his shoulders perking up. "New recruits?"
"Just a few strays we picked up," Lyons denied, readying her weapon, "They blundered into the Uglies on 42nd."
"Welcome!" the Knight greeted them warmly, saluting them with a fist over his heart.
The Sentinel sighed inaudibly, turning to her squad. "Alright, it's the usual drill. Reddin, you just do whatever Paladin Vargas says and keep your mouth shut." She took point, leading them out into the open.
"I feel so inspired," Katie muttered blandly, hefting her minigun as they moved.
"My Brothers may be a little gruff," the cheerful Knight interjected, "But they would lay down their lives for you in a heartbeat! Speaking of…"
Rough voices called for blood as Super Mutants fired on them from the doorway of what looked like a school. The knights opened fire as Katie spun up, a stream of rounds punching through one mutant while another took cover beside a window. Dare nudged Clover's shoulder, pointing at relatively hidden section of wall with an open window on the second story. Nodding in understanding, the former slave dashed across the open ground with the sniper close behind.
She hit the wall and pressed her back against it, kneeling slightly and lacing her fingers. "On three," Clover stated, before counting up, "One, two, three!"
On three, Dare stepped on her connected hands and jumped up as she pushed, latching onto the wall and climbing up quickly. He pulled himself into the room and drew Justice, diving behind a pillar as he saw three mutants, all wielding hunting rifles and firing down at the group below. Switching his revolver to his non-dominant hand, Dare equipped a grenade in his other, pulling the pin and holding it for a scant second before swinging out from cover and tossing it at a mutant and opening fire on another.
The grenade landed at the feet of the Super Mutant and exploded, shrapnel ripping through it even as the force threw it into the air. A pair of .44 rounds impacted into the other's skull, making it yell in pain but not killing it, and Dare rectified that by charging into it and pressing the barrel against its chin, adding another hole to its head. He used the thickly muscled body as a shield as the last mutant on the second floor fired on him, waiting for the shots to impact before peeking out and shooting.
The three bullets hit the mutant in the chest, nearly killing it, and Dare flipped the rifle belonging to the body he held up, slipping it under the arm firing again. That shot pierced the mutant's throat, and it grabbed feebly at its neck before limply tumbling to the ground below. The sniper reloaded the rifle with a handful of bullets scavenged from the corpse, picking across the mostly-collapsed second floor and taking potshots at the mutants below, clearing a path for the others.
Once the former school had been cleared out, Dare dropped to the bottom floor, joining up with the rest as they exited the ruined building. It could've been his imagination, but the sniper believed the Knights and Paladins looked on them with at least an iota of respect; after all, most other Wastelanders would've let the heavily armed and armored Brothers face the mutants alone.
They emerged into a plaza of sorts, the GNR building stand tall amidst the rubble, with a dried fountain in the middle and surrounded on most sides by collapsed buildings. Bodies littered the plaza, though the number of mutant corpses outnumbered the dead Brothers ten-to-one. The front steps were lined with sandbags and concrete barricades, with more power armor-clad Brothers emerging from behind. Lyons waved at them and approached with the cheerful Knight, the initiate and the second-in-command staying behind for an after action report.
"Sarah, that you?" the lead Brother of the GNR team called.
"Who else? You can always bet that my father would send the best," the Sentinel replied proudly, shouldering her rifle.
"Well, glad to have you backin' us up," the Knight replied, "We've had a hell of time."
Sarah snorted. "You're tellin' me. Felt like we met up with half the Uglies in downtown on the way here."
The Knight looked over her shoulder, spying the Wastelanders looking up at the building or around the environment. "Pick up a few strays on the way here?" he asked sarcastically.
She glanced at them with a half-shrug. "Apparently they were coming here already, probably fans of Three Dog. They've held their own so far, but-"
Dare held up a hand as Dogmeat began to bark loudly. "You hear that?" he asked Clover quietly. She cocked an ear and narrowed her eyes in thought.
"Sounds like…something really big…coming from…" she pointed at a crumpled bus blocking an area between two buildings, a loud, deep clanging coming from behind it. "Oh shit! Look out!"
The second-in-command shouted at the initiate by the bus. "Reddin! Get out of there! Behemoth!"
The initiate cried out in panic and sprinted away from the vehicle…right as something huge charged through it, setting off the decayed nuclear engine inside. The blast hurled her through the air like a rag-doll, and she hit the front steps with a stomach-churning crunch of metal and bone.
A giant stepped over the remains of the bus, wreathed in smoke that scattered as it roared, revealing itself to the world. It was over thirty feet tall, like a Super Mutant super-sized, its skin mottled and pitted with age and the scars of combat. Severed heads hung around its neck and waist, with a door that had been torn off a truck strapped to its left arm as a shield, while it wielded a length of thick pipe ripped from the ground with a fire hydrant still attached to the top. A cage was attached to its back, and they could see the bodies of dead humans shaking around inside.
"Open fire!" Sentinel Lyons called. They could hear a tinge of panic beneath the calm, even over the volley of hissing lasers and cracking bullets. Katie opened fire with her minigun as Amata joined in, and Clover switched to her sidearm as Dare took up his SMG and fired. At that range, it wouldn't do much, but the behemoth was large target.
The combined fire from the Wastelanders and the Brotherhood would've annihilated a smaller creature, but all it did was piss the super-sized Super Mutant off. It released an enraged bellow before reaching down and ripping a chunk of concrete out of the ground, hurling it at a Knight.
Dare ducked behind a barricade and pulled his pack off, reaching inside and pulling out three ingredients; a bottle of vodka, a half-full can of turpentine, and a dirty rag. He popped the top off the first one and drained a measure of it on the ground, before refilling it with part of the second and stuffing the third down the neck, wetting it with flammable liquid. Dare flipped open his lighter and lit the makeshift wick, pushing himself up behind the barricade and tossed the flaming cocktail at the Behemoth.
The bottle impacted the giant creature's chest and shattered, splashing a potent mix of alcohol and turpentine on its skin that blazed to life as the fire from the rag spread. The Behemoth roared in pain and surprise, swatting at its chest to rid itself of the glowing painful stuff.
"Our weapons aren't working!" Lyons shouted, turning to leader of GNR outpost, "We need more firepower!"
Clover popped out of cover, her rocket launcher roaring as a missile burned through the air to explode against the Behemoth, cratering its flesh…and putting the fire out. "Ah, shit!" she cursed, ducking back down to reload the tube.
"Our heavy weapons guy went down two hours ago!" the Knight replied, pointing at the dry fountain, where an armored body lay still, draped over the railing, "We've been fighting ever since!"
"Katie!" Dare called, gesturing towards the body.
Having heard them as well, the blonde heavy weapons enthusiast nodded and shoved Lyons, getting her attention and pushing her minigun into her hands. "Don't break it," she ordered seriously, before slipping out of cover and dashing at the body with Dare next to her.
She hit the ground in a slide, skidding to a stop next to the armored corpse, heaving it aside to reveal a long weapon on the ground. Rusted metal was shaped into a half-tube, the back end heavy with a cluster of pipes with a mini-nuke snugly nestled on a on the launcher. "Whoa," Katie muttered, lifting it onto her shoulder. "I bet you could do a lot of damage with this thing."
"Good!" Dare replied, emptying another clip into the behemoth. "Use it!"
"Right!" She said strongly, kneeling down and taking aim. "Get back!" Katie called to the Brothers near the mutant's feet, dipping between its legs to confuse it. "Fire in the hole!"
She pulled the trigger, excitedly waiting for a massive explosion…only for the launcher to creak and a pipe to burst with sad exhalation of air. The behemoth, drawn by the shouting, turned and threw a chunk of concrete at them. Dare dove away as the rock slammed into the fountain and broke apart, raining small chunks down on his back.
"Shit!" Katie cursed, dropping the launcher to the ground with a disgusted growl. "It's broken!"
"Wait," the sniper said, reaching down and pulling the miniature nuke from the launcher. He examined it closely, pointing out the small yellow flaps on back. "See these? They flip over when the nuke reaches a certain velocity, activating the warhead. Do you think you can throw it hard enough?"
Katie's eyebrows went up in surprise, and he could see the beginnings of a wide grin under her helmet. She took the nuke in her hand, tossing it up and down to get a feel for the weight. "Oh hell yes, I could throw this!" she said with excitement in her voice.
"Alright, I'll give you an opening," he replied quickly, pulling his sniper rifle and taking aim. As the behemoth swung the length of pipe and attached hydrant at the Knights attacking it from below, Dare waited for the perfect moment to strike. As it turned to swipe at the Brothers, the sniper held his breath and centered the crosshairs on the super-sized Super Mutant's head and pulled the trigger.
The behemoth roared in pain as one of its eyes popped, rearing back and clutching at its face as thick, dark blood poured from under its fingers. "Now!" Dare called, and Katie pulled her arm back.
"Fire in the hole!" she shouted, heaving the mini-nuke up through the air, the small warhead arcing through the air to hit the behemoth in its open mouth. There was a brief flash of blinding light and the air shook, nearly knocking her down. She opened her eyes to find a small mushroom cloud rising where the behemoth once stood, the rising fire fading into smoke as her Geiger counter clicked at her.
The smoke cleared to reveal the massive body of the mutant, sprawled limply on the ground, thick limbs twisted at unnatural angles as the stench of burnt flesh permeated the air.
The Brothers cheered in victory, allowing themselves a moment of triumph before moving to secure the area and see to the wounded. "Guess I should be thanking you," Sarah Lyons uttered, stepping up to them as Clover and Amata joined them in the middle of the courtyard, "Well, the area seems to be clear, so you can go see Three Dog now."
Katie took her minigun back, leaning it on her shoulder casually. "We handled ourselves pretty well for some strays who blundered into some Uglies, I think."
Sentinel Lyons let out a soft snort. "You can handle yourselves, I'll give you that," she replied with a nod, "But don't get ahead of yourselves. There's a lot more dangerous things out there, this was just one of them. But I appreciate the help."
The group left her there, heading up the steps to the building proper. They passed Reddin, who was lying on the ground in a heap, moaning pathetically as a medic carefully removed the twisted armor from her midsection, revealing a mess of torn and bloody flesh.
Katie shook the image out of her head, clicking the intercom and hearing the door unlock. "Alright," she breathed, rolling her neck, "Let's go see Three Dog."
…
…
…
A/N: And there you go, the next chapter and the beginning of the main storyline. Quite a bit happened in this chapter, fitting given the length, I'd say. Not to mention all the time between updates. I've been looking for a job, went to visit my sister, played some Destiny and Fallout, got a bunch of ideas for stories. It's been a time.
I always figured there was a chance to mutate with the Ant Might/Sight perk from that quest, but I decided against it for now. And so, Katie has 10 STR, which basically means she has super strength. Now, she's not going to be lifting cars or anything like that, but she'll definitely use her strength to her advantage. Clover's isn't as exceptional, since she didn't have super high Perception to begin with.
And they met the Brotherhood of Steel! I hope you noticed that I made their introduction a little more badass than just a couple of Knights shooting at a couple of mutants then being patronizing. But I also made the Behemoth stronger, since that's something I like to do. Make the main characters badasses, then have them go up against something even stronger.
That way, they don't steamroll over everything in their path, like four people and a dog would've in the actual game. Keeps things interesting, you see. Power fantasies may be the most common, but a fantasy gets boring after awhile. That's why I have elements of realism in my stories, you see. Elements of realism, not necessarily realism, though. Gotta strike a balance between fantastical and plausible. Plausibility in fantasy, I think.
Kurogane7: It's like the late Tom Clancy once said: "The difference between fiction and reality is that fiction has to make sense."
I was tempted to end the chapter before the behemoth fight, but I'm not that much of a bastard.
Kurogane7: Forgiven.
Anyways, I hope you enjoyed the chapter and look forward to more, as more is incoming. Big thanks, as always to NorthSouthGorem and Kurogane7 for editing and being soundboards and all that good jazz.
Kurogane7: You're welcome…though really, all the applause should go to you, Sol.
Why don't you give them a look? I read their stuff and so should you!
Stay Awesome.
~Soleneus
P.S.: "I have been crowned the 'King of Fah Hahbah! You may bow." Love that quote. Just beat Far Harbor and heard that for the first time. Made me laugh out loud.
Also, does anyone here play Destiny? If so, what would you think of a fic involved Mara Sov and a Guardian, eh? And no, it wouldn't be smut, but an actual story.
Think on it and tell me.
Stay Awesome Some More.
~still Soleneus