Chapter 31 - Monsters


"Well, hopefully this will be all we need to get this facility up and running." Jaune murmured, as he and Ruby walked through the narrow maintenance tunnels towards the facility's pump controls.

"Yup, same here." Ruby agreed with her friend. "I'm starting to get sick and tired of fixing electronics and replacing fuses."

It had been a week since they'd found James in Vault 112, and three days since he'd returned to Rivet City.

Three days since he'd rallied Dr Li and Rivet CIty's science team, and convinced them all to join him at the Jefferson Memorial, to go back to Project Purity.

And for Jaune, it had been a week of enduring harsh glares and pointed questions from James, as well as three days of feeling utterly lost and over his head (well, more so than usual).

After all, he'd never been a scientist or an engineer. He knew they were doing good work, here at Project Purity, and he truly did admire and respect it! But... but this just wasn't work for him. The first day had been a nice break, but he'd been starting to feel restless as time had passed, and he'd been relegated to more manual (and menial) tasks.

He'd run away from home to learn to be a Huntsman, to fight monsters and save lives. Sure, he knew Project Purity could save many lives... but there wasn't any place here for him.

"Listen, Ruby..." Jaune awkwardly began. He'd already made up his mind, but that didn't mean this conversation was going to be easy.

"What is it, Jaune?" Ruby asked, turning to her friend.

"I've been thinking... maybe it's time to move on..." Jaune tried.

"Okay, sure." Ruby answered coolly, to Jaune's surprise. She was taking it a lot better than he'd been expecting. Or maybe he'd presumed too much of their friendship. "What's the plan?"

"Well, Moira's book still has a bit of research left... after that, who knows?" Jaune shrugged.

"Yeah, that sounds like a good plan." Ruby nodded. "So, when do we leave? After we get the GECK for my dad?"

"We?" Jaune echoed, lost.

"You and me, duh." Ruby said, like it was a given. "When are we going?"

"Ruby..." Jaune was confused. "Why would you want to go with me?"

"What do you mean?" Ruby was equally confused. Why wouldn't she want to go with her best friend (and didn't it say something, that he was a better friend to her after three weeks than any of the other Vault dwellers had been after eighteen years...)? What else would she do in the Wasteland, who else would she travel with?

Wait, no, was this his way of subtly telling her he didn't want to travel with her? Ruby began to freak out. Had she done something wrong? Missed a cue? Said something offensive? Did the person she considered a friend not feel the same way?

"Ruby, we've found your dad." Jaune pointed out, rubbing the back of his neck, oblivious to Ruby's internal dilemma.

Ruby nodded, still unsure as to where the conversation was going.

"And that was your goal when you left the Vault, right?"

"Yup."

"So why wouldn't you stay with him, instead?"

"Oh..." Ruby finally realized what he meant.

"It'd be safer for you here, you'd have access to food, water, and shelter, and you'd be with your dad." Jaune continued on, listing all the reasons why she shouldn't go with him.

"So why are you leaving?" Ruby challenged, as an unfamiliar feeling of anger shot through her. She honestly didn't know why she was so upset; Ruby knew that Jaune wasn't wrong, logically speaking. But somehow, the idea of her best friend leaving her behind, like her dad had in Vault 101... maybe she was just concerned for the guy who'd been there for her since she'd left the vault, who'd saved her life many times during their travels, who'd showed her both how to survive and how to be a hero. At least, that was how Ruby tried rationalizing it to herself.

"Well... what is there for me to do here?" Jaune asked, looking down. "I can barely even understand what's going on. Half the time I'm in the room, I'm not even sure if they're speaking plain English, you know? And, well, I'm also pretty sure your dad doesn't like me hanging out with you, for some reason..."

"Really?" Ruby hadn't noticed any signs of her father disapproving in her choice of best friend, and he'd always told her she needed to get better at socializing.

"Uh..." Jaune was at a loss for words, realizing Ruby really was that oblivious, as he recalled his previous interactions with James Ironwood.

"So, Jaune, what exactly is the nature of your relationship with my daughter?" James had asked Jaune one night, as he'd kept watch while Ruby had slept.

"Uh... we're friends, Mr Ironwood?" Jaune had been utterly confused.

"And that's why spent two weeks bringing her all around the Capital Wasteland to find her father?" James had countered skeptically, knowing how "altruism" worked in the Wasteland.

"Uh, yeah? We're friends; that's what friends do for each other, right?"

"And you were friends when you first met, and helped her out against the raiders from the school?"

"Well, my mom always said that strangers are just friends you haven't met yet." Jaune had explained, not seeing the problem.

"Well, perhaps you could stand to be a bit less friendly with my daughter."

"Huh? Wouldn't it be better if we became even closer friends, deepened our relationship, all that kind of stuff?"

"If there is any "physical closeness" or "deepening of relationships", I will fry your seminiferous tubules with a microwave beam and feed them to a Deathclaw."

"... what are those?"

"I'm sure he's fine with you, Jaune." Ruby simply waved away Jaune's concerns before he could reply, before continuing on: "And I thought you would approve of Project Purity!"

"I do, really!" Jaune defended. "Ruby, your dad's project, it could change the Wasteland and help people. But let's face it, I'm not exactly the most... science-y guy around."

"But... but..." Ruby racked her brain, trying desperately to find something to say, to convince him to stay just a bit longer. "What about your safety?"

"I didn't leave my family to be safe, Ruby." Jaune laughed sadly, once again recalling running away from home with the family heirlooms, two lifetimes ago. "I left because I wanted to get out and help people. And while your dad's project will definitely help a lot of people in the long term... I can help a lot of people, right now, by getting back out there."

Ruby just looked down, wondering why her eyes felt so warm and wet. For some reason, a part of her was tempted to insist on going along with Jaune. She wasn't that smart of "science-y" either, compared to her father and his team of scientists. But, at the same time... she had run away to join her father, hadn't she? Not just because she wanted to make sure he was safe, but because joining up with him had been her best bet for survival, back then. And sure, by the numbers, Project Purity would definitely do more for the Capital Wasteland than one man ever could. But still...

Jaune didn't let her stew it on for too long. Instead, he reached down and ruffled her hair, before reassuring her: "Hey, cheer up, Vomit Girl. It's not like we'll never meet again! I'll still drop by to say hi from time to time."

Ruby forced a smile, though she couldn't meet his eyes, couldn't shake off the feeling of disappointment. Turning away, she forced her voice to remain level, as she said: "Hey, can you help me check on the blockage? I, uh... gotta go help my dad make a few minor repairs in the control room."

"Sure, no problem." Jaune said, waving as Ruby turned away and briskly walked down the maintenance tunnel, wondering why he felt like he'd messed that conversation up.

Really, this was the safest place for her, wasn't it?

He hadn't figured it out by the time he'd gotten to the pump controls, and checked on its readings. Yup, it said that a single intake pipe wasn't taking in any water.

Jauned walked over to the pipe in question, in a tunnel that had been damaged and exposed, and squinted at it, studying it. He tried the valve. Huh, no wonder it wasn't taking in any water! The valve hadn't even been opened!

Huh... something felt off to him. If the valve had been closed the whole time, then why had they only received a notification about a blockage now?

Suddenly, a sound he could only describe as blades chopping through the air could be heard above him, and he immediately looked up at the sky, through the hole in the tunnel.

Bullheads with rotors at the ends of each wings were descending from the sky, touching down all over the memorial above him. As they landed, side doors opened, and figures in black power armor jumped out, before running across the landing site towards the main building.

Power armor? Was it the Brotherhood? Were they expecting company or something?

Unfortunately, once again, James made Jaune's life more difficult than it should have been.

"Everyone, it seems we have some visitors. I don't know who they are or what they want." James's voice came out of the tunnel's intercom, barely audible over the sounds of the aircraft. "Please remain in your assigned areas while we get this sorted out..."

The noise attracted the attention of a nearby squad of power armored figures, who moved to investigate, to ensure the security of the perimeter.

As they looked down, they saw a blonde wastelander in a damaged tunnel staring up at them, shock in his eyes.

There was no hesitation as they raised their plasma rifles, and fired at him.

-PROJECT PURITY CONTROL ROOM, FIVE MINUTES AGO-

"Ruby?" Doctor Anna Holt couldn't help but ask in disbelief, as the door to the room opened to reveal James's only daughter in front of her. "I thought you were clearing the blocked pipe with Jaune?"

"Jaune's handling it, Dr Holt." Ruby replied politely, far more calmly than she felt. The walk up from the maintenance tunnels had done little to clear her head, and she still felt as troubled as she had when Jaune had told her his plans. "I just need to talk to my Dad for a bit."

"Oh, uh, well... don't let me stop you." Anna made way, and Ruby stepped past her with a grateful nod, before walking on ahead while she left the room.

James looked up from the console he'd been working on as he noticed his only daughter walk up towards him with a troubled look on his face.

He discreetly looked behind her.

He wasn't with her. That was both relieving and disconcerting. Relieving, because he couldn't help but dislike Jaune, and disconcerting, because in the week he'd seen them travel together, he'd never seen Ruby willingly leave Jaune's side.

"Hey Dad, can I talk to you?" Ruby asked, snapping him out of his thoughts.

"Oh, sure. What is it, Ruby?" James replied automatically, turning his body away from the console to give his daughter his fullest attention.

"It's about Jaune..."

James's disconcert suddenly evolved into full-blown horror. Oh god, was she pregnant? Was he going to have to give Jaune a talk with a railway spike?

"And what about him, honey?" James forced out through gritted teeth.

"He says that he's planning on leaving soon. By himself." Ruby explained, not noticing the expression on her father's face.

"Oh..." James immediately calmed down. "Did he say why?"

"Yeah... he says that there isn't much he can do here, so he wants to go out and help people who need it, and work on Moira's Wasteland Survival Guide. But he wants me to stay here, where he says I'll be safer."

James nodded in grudging approval. Honestly, in the week he'd known Jaune, he'd had to admit, Jaune hadn't seem like a bad sort. He and Summer had met many swindlers and charlatans as they'd travelled across the former America, but Jaune had possessed a sort of earnest idealism that had reminded him of... well... him, when he'd been at that age. He at least trusted that Jaune wanted what was best for Ruby. His only problems were that he didn't know a thing about Jaune, his past, where he'd come from (and the boy had evaded his every line of questioning), and he didn't know whether Jaune's best intentions translated into what really was best for Ruby.

"So, what's the problem?"

"I don't know..." Ruby admitted, looking down. "I just... it just feels weird and funny, when I think about him leaving."

"I'm sure you'll be fine. It's not like he'll be gone forever." James reassured his daughter, even as he swore once again that he would be cornering Jaune and having a proper talk sooner or later.

"But what if something happens to him, while he's out there?"

"I'm sure Jaune will be fine." James replied easily, having seen the Wastelander in action. As odd as a sword-and-shield combination were in this day and age, Jaune was undeniably effective with it. Hell, the boy was practically untouchable in combat, and wasn't that just a stroke of luck, that he couldn't pass anything off as an unfortunate accident, even if he'd been so inclined to try. "I'd be more worried about anything that encounters him, out there."

Ruby chuckled in agreement with the statement. "Hah! And Jaune thinks you don't like him hanging out with me, for some reason."

"Now, what could have ever given him that idea?" James murmured. He hadn't been that bad, had he?

"I will fry your seminiferous tubules with a microwave beam and feed them to a Deathclaw."

"Do anything funny with her, and I will give you a capsaicin enema."

"If you make her cry, I will put a pneumatic projectile through your occipital lobe."

... okay, maybe he had been.

"That's what I said, too." Ruby giggled, ignorant of her father's thoughts at that moment.

James looked down at his daughter, and sighed. He really had been unfair to Jaune, hadn't he? He could just see Summer laughing at him from the afterlife right now, seeing as how he'd had the exact same problem with Summer's father, but to be fair Jaune was just a Wastelander he knew absolutely nothing about!

James couldn't help but wish Summer were still with him. She'd have known how to handle this. As it was, all he could do was swear to sit down with Jaune as soon as possible and force an honest answer out of him, as he decided to put his daughter's happiness over his own protectiveness.

"And what do you want, Ruby?" James asked, already regretting it as the words left his mouth.

"What do you mean?"

"What do you want to do, Ruby?" James elaborated. "What do you think will make you happier?"

"I... well..." Ruby stuttered, as she thought about it. Thought about growing up, about the man who'd raised her. Thought about travelling through the Wasteland, about the man who'd been there with her when she'd needed it. "I want to help people, like you and Jaune. And Project Purity, it could change so many lives! Free, clean water for everyone... it could change the entire Capital Wasteland!"

James felt a sense of pride, listening to his only child understand the ramifications of Project Purity... of the dream that he and Summer had shared. But he also knew a "but" was coming...

"But... well... it just feels weird. Jaune's been with me ever since I left the vault." Ruby admitted with a frown, and James was once again torn between paternal pride, that his daughter had made friends with a stranger on her own, and paternal protectiveness at the fact that his daughter had made friends with a stranger on her own. "What should I do?"

James rubbed the back of his head, wondering what the best course of action was. Finally, he decided to pass the buck to someone else. "Well, Ruby, I think you should discuss it with-"

"James!" Madison Li interrupted the family moment, as she burst into the room. "We've got contacts, landing all over the memorial!"

"Landing?!" James echoed. He didn't know of any factions in the Capital Wasteland that even had access to powered flight! Rushing to the broadcasting system, he quickly announced: "Everyone, it seems we have some visitors. I don't know who they are or what they want. Please remain in your assigned areas while we get this sorted out..."

"Attention, squatters in the Jefferson Memorial." The radio suddenly squawked. "This is the Enclave. You are trespassing on government property. Remain where you are until security arrives to apprehend you."

"... the Enclave?" James was shocked. He hadn't seen what the Enclave had done at Arroyo, having only been a teenager in Vault 21 in 2242, but news of what they'd done, and the subsequent war between the Enclave and the NCR-Brotherhood coalition, had spread to Nevada from California when he'd left. But they'd been destroyed, after the destruction of their oil rig and the fall of Navarro, and more importantly they'd been on the West Coast, on the other end of the continent! "What are they doing here?"

Janice Kaplinski looked up from her console, where she'd been monitoring the facility's cameras, and shouted: "They're outside the control room!"

"They're where?!" Horror creeped into James's voice, still being broadcast throughout the facility. Quickly turning to Dr Li, he immediately gave instructions: "Madison, lock that door!"

He wasn't quick enough.

As Madison ran for the controls, the doors to the control room burst open, and five figures walked in. Four were in power armor, but it wasn't any kind of power armor James had ever seen before. They were flanking a fifth man, a grey-haired man in a tan-colored trenchcoat.

As two of the power-armored soldiers stopped where they were, and guarded the doors out of the room, the rest followed the fifth man, as he calmly walked up the steps towards them.

"Nobody make any sudden moves." James instructed the people in the room, as the Enclave men passed through the unsealed bulkhead, guns raised and pointed in their general direction.

"My name is Colonel Autumn." The man in the trenchcoat introducted himself, as he looked around the room at the three scientists and the girl. Quickly running through some calculations in his head, he declared: "By the authority of the President, this facility is now under United States government control. The person in charge is to step forward immediately, and turn over all materials related to this project."

"That's quite impossible." James answered civilly, refusing to budge an inch. If the Enclave wanted to pretend everything they were doing was wrapped in a veneer of legality, well, two could play at that game. "This is a private project; the Enclave has no authority here. I'm going to have to ask you to leave at once."

"Am I to assume, sir, that you are in charge?" Autumn asked, secretly trying to confirm the intelligence he'd received.

"Yes, I'm responsible for this project." James said, refusing to use anyone else as a scapegoat.

"Then I repeat, sir, that you are hereby instructed to immediately hand over all materials related to the purifier." Autumn spoke again, satisfied that he was finally getting somewhere, hoping that bludgeoning the former Vault Dweller with constant authoritative instructions before he could think would pay off.

"I'm sorry, but that's..." James began, before being cut off.

"Furthermore, you are to assist Enclave scientists in assuming control of the administration and operation of this facility at once." Autumn interrupted him, hoping that being allowed to still take part in his life's work would at least sweeten the deal for James.

"Colonel... is it Colonel?" James made a show of double-checking the rank insignia on Autumn's trenchcoat. "I'm sorry, but the facility is not operational. It never has been. I'm afraid you're wasting your time here.

Autumn sighed, seeing that the diplomatic solution wasn't going to work. For the sake of civility, though, he tried one last time: "Sir, this is the last time I am going to repeat myself. Stand down at once, and turn over control of this facility."

"Colonel, I assure you that this facility will not function. We have never been able to successfully replicate test results..." James tried to explain, the irony of him having to admit that his life's work had never actually worked not being lost on him.

Autumn didn't bother listening, instead looking around. James's kid wasn't supposed to have been here; they'd hoped to apprehend her and use her as a bargaining chip elsewhere. Even so, she still had value as a hostage. And Madison Li's knowledge was invaluable to the project.

James was still talking as Autumn pulled out his pistol and shot Janice between the eyes, having deemed her disposable from the start.

As her lifeless body fell, blood pouring out from the new hole in her forehead, the room went silent.

"I suggest you comply immediately, sir, in order to prevent any more incidents." Autumn spoke, his voice still as level as it had been previously, as if he hadn't just shot an innocent woman in the head in cold blood. "Are we clear?

Janice's empty eyes looked up at James accusingly, and he clenched his fist. Another person dead, because of his dreams.

"Crystal clear, Colonel." James forced out through gritted teeth. He so desperately wanted to slug the man in the face, but Autumn's soldiers had Madison and Ruby covered. "I'll do whatever you want; there's no need for more violence."

"Then you will immediately hand over all materials related to this project, and aid us in making it operational at once." Autumn ordered, holstering his pistol once more.

"Very well. Give me a few moments to bring the system online." James said, moving over to the purifier's control console, and making a show of booting it up, buying as much time as he could. As he did so, he couldn't help but curse himself. He was supposed to be one of the smartest people in the Wastes! Surely he could at least-

As he desperately racked his brains, trying to think of something, the doors to the control room burst open once more, before anyone could react.

Jaune charged in, sword and shield drawn, covered in blood, shield blackened and smoking.

He didn't hesitate in smashing his shield into the face of the guard nearest to him, before quickly thrusting his sword downwards, his sword finding the gap between the soldier's helmet and the rest of his armor.

Jaune was already withdrawing his sword from the lifeless body, as the other soldier raised his gun up at the new intruder. He didn't stand a chance, as Jaune swiftly swung once, decapitating him.

While Autumn and the remaining two soldiers were stunned, distracted by both Jaune's sudden appearance, and the fact that a sword had apparently killed two men in advanced power armor Mk II, James didn't waste his chance, and activated the emergency bulkhead, before rushing forward and pushing Madison and Ruby clear of the thick door's threshold.

A bullet tore into his leg, and he grunted in pain as he collapsed onto the floor by the command console.

James didn't care, didn't bother looking at Colonel Autumn standing over him, pointing his pistol at him, or the two Enclave soldiers in the sealed chamber with him.

He only spared a look at Madison, his old friend, before turning to Ruby.

Whispering an apology to her, he reached up, and hit the activation button, starting the process of filtering the water through the purifier.

Without the GECK to purify all the radiation, however, all the radiation that had been absorbed into the Tidal Basin was now being filtered out of it, with nowhere else to go.

As extreme levels of radiation suddenly flooded the chamber, the system's failsafes immediately kicked in, halting the filtration process.

It was enough, though.

The amount of radiation within the chamber was lethal to an unprotected man in mere moments.

Colonel Autumn didn't waste time, and immediately injected himself with a triple dose of Rad-X as soon as his Geiger counter started clicking, before he slumped to the floor, unconscious.

The two power-armored men with him, unable to inject Rad-X into themselves through their suits, were less fortunate.

The power armor shielded them slightly from radiation.

Paralyzed, it took them agonizing minutes instead of seconds before they finally fried.

James didn't care about any of that.

Instead, as his body began shutting down, the radiation cooking his body instantly, he had two final thoughts.

Firstly, that Jaune had better keep Ruby safe.

And lastly, that he would finally see Summer again.

-PROJECT PURITY EVACUATION TUNNEL, THIRTY MINUTES LATER-

"I think we're clear, for now..." Jaune said, halting the small group, and immediately the scientists and engineers around him dropped to their knees, panting desperately for breath.

Ruby couldn't blame them. It had been a hectic thirty minutes of running for their lives, after all, as energy weapons had been discharged at them, and they'd been chased by the Enclave goons through the tunnels in a deadly game of cat-and-mouse.

She still had difficulty processing what the hell had just happened.

She remembered staring in horror as James had fallen to the floor, before screaming her father's name.

She remembered Dr Li whispering his name in horror.

She remembered Jaune running up to the bulkhead, sword in hand, ready to cut it open, before being stopped by Dr Li.

She remembered the finality in her voice, as she told them that it was too late, that James was gone.

She remembered having known it too; her Pip-Boy's Geiger counter had been ticking even despite her being on the other side of the chamber.

She remembered Jaune cursing, looking away sadly.

She remembered Dr Li saying that had to escape, as heavy footfalls had begun sounding from the corridor.

She remembered Jaune saying that the Enclave were everywhere, and more were landing around the memorial every minute.

She remembered Dr Li explaining that there had been an old tunnel, connecting them to "someplace safe".

She remembered Jaune nodding, and grabbing her as she'd continued blankly staring at her father.

She remembered herself snapping, breaking down, babbling incoherently.

She remembered Jaune hugging her, tears in his eyes, as he told her they had to go. As he promised her that they would come back for her father ("Arc's promise. And an Arc never goes back on his word."). As he reminded her of the first day they'd met.

She remembered forcing herself back to reality, as Jaune had called her Vomit Girl.

She remembered running through the memorial, past corridors filled with dead Enclave soldiers, all bearing wounds.

She remembered Dr Li pointing to a manhole cover, and Jaune lifting it single-handedly, before they'd all climbed down into the sewers.

From there, though... all she had was bits and pieces.

Of flashes of green plasma and red lasers narrowly missing them, illuminating the unlit tunnels.

Of heavy footfalls echoing above and through the tunnels, as more and more Enclave had descended upon them.

Of finding a small group of people who had escaped.

Of Jaune leading them through the tunnels, taking point. Even if the engineers and scientists knew how to move quietly (which they didn't), their group was just too big to be stealthy, and their attempts to sneak past had quickly turned into them rushing through the tunnels, trying to lose their pursuers in the maze of corridors.

Ruby spared a glance back at Jaune. Somehow, he wasn't even breathing heavily. Was he just not fazed by all this?

Jaune noticed her staring at him, misunderstood, and quietly asked: "You okay, Ruby?"

Ruby couldn't answer, as his concern instead triggered the emotions she'd been fighting to detach from. She just nodded her head, as she forced herself not to think about her father for the time being.

Jaune knew Ruby was faking it, but he couldn't call her out on it, not now. Right now, he needed her to be able to function, to run, to survive. Because, if he didn't, then he'd have to babysit the group of scientists and engineers all by himself.

Instead, he said: "Dr Li says that we're about ten minutes away from reaching her safe area."

"I hope she's right." Ruby replied with a frown.

"You don't think so?" Jaune asked.

"Jaune... even if we do make it, we'd still have these power armored goons all chasing us." Ruby pointed out. "We'd need something like a Vault door if we want to stop them from actually chasing us."

Jaune nodded in agreement, though he said: "Well, let's leave that problem for when we actually get there."

Looking around, seeing that the science team had mostly caught their breaths, he called out: "Come on, guys. Let's get moving again, before the Enclave find where we're hiding."

As if to punctuate his statement, heavy footfalls echoed through the tunnels, shutting up any dissent.

After a few minutes of following Dr Li's directions, Jaune suddenly halted the group with a raised hand, and whispered: "Movement. In the room ahead of us."

"Enclave?" Dr Li whispered back worriedly.

"Doesn't sound like power armor... Ruby, mind checking it out through your rifle's scope?"

Ruby just nodded, and slowly crept forward, until she could just barely see beyond the door. Then, she pulled out her rifle, and took a look.

The room ahead was large and spacious, full of catwalks. above their heads.

There was also an Eyebot inside it.

She crept back, and reported as much.

"Damn... just ahead of that room would be the tunnel that leads straight to safety." Dr Li cursed, when she heard the news.

"What are Eyebots?" Jaune inquired.

"They're flying spheres with laser pistols." Ruby replied.

"... do they have any armor?"

"Yup, and it's too thick for my rifle to penetrate." Ruby said, knowing what Jaune was getting at. "But the propulsion systems on the rear are unarmored... if I can get a good shot on those, it should go down."

"Then we have a plan." Jaune nodded, before turning to Dr Li. "Doc, have your team ready to move as soon as we distract it."

Madison Li just nodded, knowing there was no point in expressing concern. She'd seen him in action.

As the group crept up to the doorway, Jaune looked at Ruby.

Ruby nodded back.

Jaune burst out of the doorway, pistol in hand, and spotted the Eyebot, before firing wildly at it.

The Eyebot ignored his inaccurate gunfire, and fired back at him.

Ruby and the science team didn't waste any time, breaking into a wild sprint across the spacious room.

The Eyebot noticed them, and zoomed in. It caught the face of Madison Li, compared it to it's databanks, and found that it had a Priority Capture Target.

Following it's programming, it initiated the Target Capture Protocol, and an alarm began blaring through it's loudspeakers, even as it uploaded the data to a command server nearby.

As the science team kept running, Ruby came to a halt far ahead of them, on the far end of the room, and spun around, rifle in hand, ready to take out the Eyebot.

Instead, she saw the doors to the catwalks open up, and heard the sound of boots slamming on metal echoing above them.

Jaune, still on the side of the room they'd come from, looked above him, as Enclave soldiers began flooding the room, before looking back at Ruby and the science team, at the far end of the room.

He remembered how the green blobs of energy had scorched his shield, that had held firm even against the fiery breath of dragons.

He didn't fancy testing his Aura against that.

He tried making a break for the other side, shield raised, but could only make it to a stack of crates before the sheer volume of firepower forced him to keep his head down.

"Jaune!" Ruby cried out, as she shot the Eyebot out of the sky, silencing it's alarm (not that it mattered anymore).

"Ruby! Make sure they get to safety!" Jaune shouted back, as one of the crates next to his head was turned into fiery splinters.

"But... what about-"

"Just go!" Jaune barked out the order, even as he fired his gun at the figures above him.

There were loud thumps, as more power armored figures arrived, and began jumping off of the catwalks, moving to intercept the group. Jaune's gun clicked empty, and he holstered the useless weapon, before grabbing his sword from his other hand.

The Enclave soldier directly in front of him pointed his Gatling Laser at Jaune, and pulled the trigger before Jaune could charge forward, forcing him to duck behind his shield as laser beams continuously struck it without stopping.

"GO!" Jaune roared, as he saw Ruby hesitating.

Ruby saw the desperation in his eyes, and couldn't disobey. She closed the door, turned, and ran, to escort the science team that final stretch, swearing all the while that she would return.

-BROTHERHOOD OF STEEL SEWER OUTPOST-

"What's wrong, Sarah?" Vargas asked, leaning back against his reinforced chair. "Still thinking about your Wastelander boyfriend?"

"I told you, Vargas, it's not like that." Sarah Lyons just rolled her eyes. "I'm just... concerned, about how quiet it is."

"Hey, I'm not complaining about an easy job." Vargas replied coolly. Honestly, Sarah really needed to learn to relax sooner or later. "And we did thin out the zombies' numbers yesterday, when we cleared out the surrounding tunnels."

"What made them swarm so much, do you think?" Sarah asked, not dropping the point. The sewers were usually a quiet post, between their auto turrets and defensive positions. Which was why they were surprised they were being asked to do it, when they'd returned to the Citadel from Galaxy News Radio.

Apparently, over the past few days, something had stirred up the feral ghouls in the tunnels, and they'd charged their positions in the hundreds, even managing to push back the Brotherhood of Steel in a few key places.

Sarah and Vargas had, naturally, agreed to lead a full platoon of Knights into the sewers, to retake their positions, before the Citadel could be threatened.

"I don't know, but it must have been big." Vargas murmured. "Maybe it was another behemoth?"

"Don't even joke about that." Sarah chastised him, suppressing a shudder. Honestly, she'd rather fight her way through another horde of zombies with just her bare fists, than go up against a behemoth without backup again.

"Hey, it wasn't all bad." Vargas defended. "I mean, after all, you got to- movement."

Sarah immediately snapped her rifle up, at the tunnel. She heard it too. It was faint, but there. Light footfalls, but many of them. "Looks like today won't be so quiet after all."

Vargas walked up next to her, laser rifle also in hand, as they heard the footsteps grow louder.

Finally, a figure rounded the corner.

Sarah and Vargas almost instinctively pulled their triggers, but halted just in time, as their brains processed more details about the newcomer.

The skin was smooth, rather than mummified.

And they recognized the figure.

"Ruby?" Sarah couldn't help but exclaim in surprise, lowering her rifle. "What are you doing here?"

"Sarah?" Ruby recognized the voice, and looked up. Two power-armored figures wearing helmets were staring at her, so she couldn't be sure.

"Holy shit, you look like you've been through hell." Vargas remarked, as the two fighters walked up to examine her.

Before Ruby could answer, the surviving members of Project Purity's science team finally rounded the corner after Ruby, all panting heavily. Dr Madison Li managed a few deep breaths, however, and demanded: "I am Doctor Madison Li. I have people with me in need of shelter. You must allow us access at once."

"Vargas, get my father on the line, now!" Sarah quickly gave orders, before turning to Ruby. "Ruby, what the hell is going on?!"

"Sarah... Jaune... he needs help." Ruby panted, gripping her arm.

"Jaune? Needs help?" Sarah asked incredulously, unable to comprehend the concept. But Ruby didn't seem like she was lying, and Sarah did owe Jaune her life, so she forced down her disbelief, and quickly recovered: "Take me to him."

"Some group called the Enclave..." Ruby explained, as she ran down the tunnels, slow enough for her to recover (and for the power-armored Sarah to keep pace). "They just showed up out of nowhere, at the Jefferson Memorial. Killed my dad. Chased us through the tunnels. Jaune stayed behind to buy us time to escape."

Sarah blinked, as she processed Ruby's words. That was... a lot to take in. The Enclave were here. The Enclave still existed. Ruby's father was dead. And Jaune...

"Oh god..." Sarah murmured, as she picked up speed, pushing her armor even more. She'd been born after the war, but the expedition to the East had included a few veterans of the war. The tales they'd told, about the Enclave's experiments...

Ruby forced herself not to respond to the horror in Sarah's voice, as she ran towards where she'd last seen Jaune. She had to believe that Jaune was still fighting! She had to! She couldn't lose the two closest men in her life on the same day...

Finally, she reached the door she'd closed. Good. It was still closed. And she could still hear the sounds of battle on the other side of the door.

She didn't hesitate, and pulled out her hunting rifle.

Sarah joined her, laser rifle in hand.

They looked at each other, nodded, and opened the doors.

Their weapons almost dropped along with their jaws, as they saw dozens of dead Enclave soldiers scattered across the floor, along with a glowing Jaune pulling off near-superhuman feats of agility, as he leapt from figure to figure, slicing them apart with his sword.

His flaming sword.

His flaming sword that had a blade apparently made of ice.

His flaming sword that had a blade apparently made of ice, and arcs of electricity running along it.

The soldiers on the catwalk desperately kept firing at the monster of a Wastelander below them, as it slaughtered the soldiers that had been foolish enough to descend down to try and capture him alive, watching in disbelief as the few shots that actually hit him seemed to just dissipate harmlessly against the light yellow glow surrounding him.

Jaune grabbed a nearby body and lifted it up, using it as cover, as he quickly did some calculations.

His Aura was definitely in the yellow, at most. His shield was lying somewhere under a body, where he'd been forced to throw it after it had grown too hot to hold. His pistol was out of ammunition. And he didn't know how to use their guns.

Luckily, he didn't need to.

Focusing on the image of an icy slope, Jaune plunged his sword into the ground, channeling his Aura.

A slanted wall of ice suddenly burst from the ground, reaching up towards the catwalk, taking everyone but him by surprise.

Jaune didn't miss his chance, and immediately sprinted up the icy slope, before leaping off of it, sword pointed forward.

He stabbed one through the visor, and used his body as leverage to leap up onto the catwalk, flaming sword raised.

That was their final breaking point, and the surviving Enclave soldiers retreated, firing wildly as they did so.

Jaune didn't bother chasing them, instead using the soldier's dead body as a shield, until they'd all fled.

That... had been close. Closer than the behemoth fight, he'd have to admit. He'd definitely be having nightmares about it, about all the killing, for a few nights.

The guy with the Gatling Laser had pinned him against a corner, and if he hadn't gotten over-confident and taken another step forward, Jaune wouldn't have been able to chop his weapon in half without getting hit by a few dozen laser beams.

Oum, he really was just too used to someone like Yang or Pyrrha watching his back, wasn't he? Jaune looked at his Aura shimmering and flickering around his body, as he just imagined Yang's reaction to that fight.

By the Divines, Vomit Boy, that was fun! Let's go get a drink!

He was just about to imagine Pyrrha's reaction to seeing him go up against an army of fighters with power armor and energy weapons, when the sound of something dropping echoed throughout the room, getting his attention.

Immediately he raised his sword and channeled Aura into it, looking around wildly.

He spotted Ruby and Sarah staring at him, mouths agape, Sarah's helmet rolling on the floor where she'd dropped it.

"Uh... hey guys?" Jaune tried.

No response.

"I guess I have some explaining to do?"


Author's Note: Uh, yeah... apparently "a long while" is less than two days. The reason why this chapter was supposed to take a long while was because it was going to be a long one. Hell, it was originally part of the previous one, but I figured introducing James and killing him off in the very same chapter wouldn't go over too well.

So, uh... it was kind of awkward, reading all the comments saying they wanted to see more over-protective James Ironwood, when I was planning to kill him off the very next chapter, and hadn't actually planned any interactions between him and Jaune... then again, I don't actually plan out anything in advance...

Also, before anyone gets in arms about Jaune leaving Ruby... why wouldn't he? As far as he knew, Ruby had completed her quest (find her father), and she was safe. Why would she continue adventuring? Him, on the other hand... why would he stay?

In the base game, Anna Holt is just a scientist who gets kidnapped by the Enclave when they take over the Jefferson Memorial. After being brought back to Raven Rock, their main base, however, she defects to the Enclave after the seeing the kind of technology they have, believing that they are the best bet for helping the Wasteland.

To me, however... isn't it just a little bit coincidental that the Enclave arrive just when James finally makes a breakthrough on Project Purity? And the Lone Wanderer gets called away from the Project Purity Control Room and asked to head to a remote tunnel far away from everyone else, just as the Enclave arrives? To turn a simple valve that should honestly have been opened the whole time? Almost like it might have been coordinated and planned, eh?

... well, it is a Bethesda RPG, so I'm sure it actually is coincidental.

And it is a Fallout tradition, to use a high Medical and Science skill to make fun of people. Unfortunately, I haven't touched my medical and science textbooks in over 5 years, so I shall have to resort to more... crass terms. Take it as James both dumbing himself down to speak to Jaune and using his advanced vocabulary to mock Jaune's lack of scientific knowledge at the same time.

Also, a note on Jaune's sword. If he just floods Aura into it without thinking, the Chaos enchantment activates fully, but wildly. The sword bursts into flames, the blade becomes coated with ice, and electricity arcs down the blade. Powerful and deadly, yes, but uncontrolled. If he wants to do something like, say, activate only a single elemental effect, or create an ice wall, he needs to actually have a mental image in mind; he needs to be able to concentrate and focus. Right now, he's not yet experienced enough to be able to call up ice walls on the fly in the heat of battle (and with Alduin, he actually planned what he would do, before doing it).

As for why the Enclave know where the team would be heading to... assuming they don't have a spy, they still do know about Project Purity's ties to the Brotherhood of Steel. They also have maps of Pre-War America, and they have Eyebots to do reconnaissance. It's not hard to extrapolate from there. And here... well, they know the team's fleeing to the Citadel, and they're not ready to assault the Citadel head-on (yet), so they may as well use their Vertibirds to get ahead of them, while flooding the sewers with alarm-equipped Eyebots and patrols to flush them out.

And yeah... Jaune is strong, sure. But he doesn't so much dominate combat as he just has a very aggressive fighting style (thanks to DovahYang). In an area where most people use guns, their close quarters combat skills would naturally be weaker, and so him charging straight at enemies generally allows him to overwhelm them.

But plasma bolts are a whole different story from lasers and bullets. Sure, Jaune's shield is apparently fucking indestructible, from everything RWBY throws at it, but it's still metal in the end. Sure, it's not going to melt unless he tosses it into the sun or something, but it's still going to get too hot to comfortably hold if you fire enough lasers and plasma bolts at it. If they'd actually hit him more and not his shield, they'd have probably been able to finally break through his Aura; it was a wide open room with limited cover, after all. The room was perfect for an ambush.

Yeah, in this story, there's no enemies between the catwalk room and the Brotherhood outpost in the tunnels (because Sarah and Vargas cleared it out the day before). But Jaune and Ruby don't know that. No one does. It's an old tunnel they haven't used for decades. It could very easily be filled with Feral Ghouls, Super Mutants, or Raiders.

Don't expect the next chapter for a while (this time I really mean it). It's not that I'm burning out, but work is going to be really busy this month for me.