"Meant creamery," Mason remarked as they walked down the road, leaving the asylum. "Creamery sounds like cemetery, and my brain likes to change cemetery to graveyard."

"What does this creamery look like, Mason?" Curie asked.

"A shack," Mason remarked. "Don't know why they called it one. Doesn't look like it."

Walking up the hill, Mason noticed Heather was shivering and stopped.

"Everything fine?" Mason asked, already digging through his bag.

"Just a bit cold."

"Well, here," Mason remarked, handing her his jacket. "Don't need you catching a cold. Wear this until we get one your size."

Mason turned away as she put the jacket on, listening for any enemies.

"Six enemies to the North," Mason informed them, putting his helmet on. "Sounds like machines. Two on treadmills, one on legs, three are eyebots." Putting his knuckles on, Mason got ready for the fight. "Should be easy enough."

Reaching the creamery, Mason immediately stepped in front of Heather, laser hitting his shoulder, followed by one hitting his stomach.

"Not… nice, putain de mère," Mason growled, Curie backing up as he did. Charging forward, Mason targeted the eyebot that had shot him. Grabbing the nearest one as it tried to shoot him, Mason brought his fist down, slamming it into the ground, breaking its propulsion system. Stomping on it, Mason broke it to pieces, turning to his original target.

Charging towards one that looked like an assaultron, Mason caught its arm as it swung its blade, redirecting it to miss him. Punching it in the back of the head, Mason sent it staggering forward. He used to spar with assaultrons in training, despite the regulations against it. Always kept him on his feet.

"Military should've programmed you better," Mason growled, and the assaultron charged again.

Catching its standard arm, Mason pushed it back, punching its face in the process. It tried to use its laser's on him, Mason forcing its claws close, making it blow them off.

"Thirty years too early," Mason commented, putting his fist through another eyebot.

Starting up its laser eye, the assaultron aimed it at Mason as a bot with treadmills charged at Mason. Jumping behind it, Mason placed his hands on its shoulders, the arms wrapping around his, trying to crush them like a snake as it tried to push him back. Mason's feet dug into the ground, stopping it in its tracks.

The assaultron fired its eye, hitting the bot Mason was holding, the heat of the laser nearly burning Mason's hands through his gloves. Fortunately, there'd be no lasting damage, but his arms did go numb, which wasn't stopping him. With blood rushing through his veins, when the bot he was holding went limp, Mason jumped back as the assaultron charged. Pulling his fist back, Mason slammed it into the side of the head as he went to a knee, his hands feeling like they were on fire.

Taking off his gloves, Mason looked at the damage, taking deep breaths. The skin on his knuckles and fingers had turned red, a few spots bumpy as well.

"Remind me not to piss you off," Heather commented, coming up behind Mason when she noticed his hand. "Damn it. Was it the assaultron?"

"Yeah," Mason groaned as Heather began taking care of the wounds. "Fortunately, just first degree burns."

Looking through her materials, Heather cleaned the wounds, and after wrapping them, injected half a stimpak into each hand.

When Mason looked at the assaultron, he saw the head hanging on by a tube, making an incoherent noise.

"Thanks," Mason said, still wincing from the pain. "Didn't have to do that."

"Would've delayed traveling," Heather stated. "You hate that."

"Fair enough.

"Monsieur, please refrain from such language when around children. We do not want such words to fall on their innocent minds."

"Do it in French for a reason. Kids won't understand," Mason remarked. "Unless I get pissed off, they won't understand a thing."

Drinking a bottle of water, Mason gave the rest to Dogmeat, reminding Heather to drink up as well. Doing a quick check-up on Curie, after Mason made sure the bags were on tight, they turned to go back to the farm.

"Let's get moving. We're heading back to that farm, getting the name, then heading to Malden. We'll do what we can, then rest at the farm for the night," Mason informed them, sticking the bottles into their bags.

While they were walking, they had to move slower than usual, carrying a lot of junk. Reaching the farm, it was nearing five, so they'd only have the time to check the outskirts of Malden. Noticing Lucas Miller sitting by the campfire, Mason grabbed a piece of paper and wrote something down on it before approaching him.

"You deliver notes?" Mason questioned, walking up to Lucas.

"Depends on the location and if you have the caps."

"Sanctuary," Mason told him, already pulling out the caps. "Hundred caps if you deliver, fifty if you need to hand it off, the other fifty for the trader who can."

"Got it. Can't make the full trip, but Carla should be able to make it there."

"Don't who that is. But if the message gets delivered, it's fine."

Unloading the junk by the workbench to lighten the load, Mason made sure to leave a note with the weapons to make sure they got delivered to Sanctuary. Walking to Malden when they finished, Mason noticed a foul stench as they neared a sinkhole. Mason was thankful for the helmet, dust getting kicked into the air as they climbed down. Would've had a sneezing fit without it. Reaching the bottom, Mason was going to lower Heather before hearing a snarling noise.

"Oh merde," Mason growled, a deathclaw charging from a fallen building. Pulling out an aluminum bat, Mason gripped it as it came. As the deathclaw charged, it began swinging its arms around Mason.

PING!

Swinging the bat, it connected with the deathclaw's face, sending it reeling to the right. Mason wasn't holding back this fight. Mason ordered the others to stay on the ledge and got the bat ready, deathclaw charging again. Catching its claw with the bat as it came down, Mason pushed it to the side before swinging again.

CRACK!

Hitting it across the face, Mason sent the deathclaw flying to the right, staggering. Looking towards the others, he saw they were in a position that made it hard to get a good shot. Charging forward, the deathclaw roared, its breath smelling like the bathroom after his old man had used it. Leaning back as it swung its claw, Mason kicked up, hitting it in the jaw, forcing it shut, dazing it.

While the creature was confused, Mason swung the bat with both hands, planting both feet on the ground.

PING!

The deathclaw went reeling to the left; the bat now dented. Dropping it, Mason put his knuckles on, the burn wounds having healed. Grabbing it by the arm, Mason knew the creature was heavy. But Power Armor was heavier. And it wasn't a competition.

CRACK!

Punching it square across the jaw, Mason dislocated it, preventing the creature from closing. Mason was already bringing his foot down when it turned to try to roar. Slamming its face into the ground, the creature's snout got crushed, back of its skull cracking.

Grunting, Mason began flipping it as the creature tried to grab the ground, lifting by the tail.

"AARGH!" Mason yelled, flipping it onto its back, nearly snapping its neck. Kicking its stomach, Mason knocked the wind out of it as he brought it down with all his force, foot ankle-deep in. He'd hold back in most fights, preferring not to kill unless the opponent gave him no choice. Deathclaws got no mercy. Stomping on its face, Mason understood one thing; they never fought against a strong opponent. Heather and Curie began firing at its stomach as Mason kept it in place, jumping back when he needed to.

Breathing heavily, Mason fell to a knee, hand on his chest, feeling like he'd gone twelve rounds with someone in Power Armor. Seeing the look of surprise on Heather's face, Mason sighed.

"This… happens… when I… have a challenge," Mason stated, slowing his breathing. Taking off his helmet, Mason grabbed a rag, wiping the sweat off his forehead. Stretching his neck as he wiped it, he noticed Heather staring at him, offering him some tea when he did.

"Sure," Mason stated. "Few more seconds." Pulling something out of his bag, Mason used it to clip his gloves to his pants, putting the knuckles in his bag.

"Forgotten what tea without much sugar tasted like," Mason remarked, almost spitting the tea out as he drank it.

"How much are you used to, Mason?" Curie questioned, hovering down.

"More than this," Mason remarked, swallowing the tea. "Didn't normally make it. I just know it had more sugar than this."

Handing the cup back to Heather as he finished the tea, Mason put his gloves back on and picked up the bat. It was pretty useless as a weapon now, but as scrap, it'd be useful. Mason walked over to a hole in the small lake and began to climb down when Heather asked what he was doing.

"Seeing if anything's down there," Mason stated. "If there ain't a way back up, I'll climb back, throw a rope down, and pull you up. If you follow me down. Cure, need you and Dogmeat to head back to the top and wait for us."

"Of course, monsieur."

Mason sighed when she called him that. He'd never been one for nicknames unless he was close friends with them. Otherwise, he preferred his first or last name. Rank when in the military. Mason helped Heather down at the bottom, preventing her from slipping on some rocks. Noticing a raised portion of the ground, Mason walked up to the edge, pulling himself up. Stepping forward, two radroaches started attacking.

"Fair enough," Mason muttered, taking care of the two radroaches.

Noticing an old hat lying on the ground and a magazine on a cooking pot, Mason put both of them in his bag. Continuing down the path, Heather wasn't far behind him, the ground turning to concrete soon, leading to a basement. Surprisingly, Mason found the door unlocked, walking up the stairs after opening it.

Reaching the main level, they began looking for anything useful. Heather found a Mr. Handy canister, a typewriter, and some other useful junk on the first floor, Mason finding some ammunition and drinks.

Putting the stuff away, Mason took the chain locking the front door down, exiting it to find Curie and Dogmeat by the sinkhole.

"Let's head back now. Almost dark, and only source of light right now is the Pip-Boy," Mason stated.

Looking over the plans as he kept watch while the others rested, Mason noticed a flaw, needing to leave a second exit in the case of an emergency. After finishing the redesigns, Mason put the plans back, lying down with Heather as he closed his eyes for the night.

Mason could feel a cold front coming in the following day, and he knew it wasn't due to it being dark out. Handing Heather his jacket, Mason saw it was three forty, extremely early for most, but they weren't exactly normal. Heather had gotten used to his schedule, Dogmeat seemed to be awake most of the time, and Curie… she was a machine. Just needed a check-up every once in a while. After making sure their armor was strapped on, they moved out.

"Don't think they're friendly," Mason told Heather, crouching down as they saw people wearing armor ahead.

"There's raiders, but the armor is too heavy for either," Heather remarked, already pulling out her rifle.

"Okay. Stay here with Curie. It's just three of them, so I'll take care of it," Mason said, already putting his helmet on. Telling Dogmeat to stay with them, Mason used the dark to his advantage, crawling on the tips of his fingers and feet. Reaching them, Mason quietly put his knuckles on, standing up as he finished.

When one of the men saw him, they backed away suddenly.

CRUNCH!

"Fuck!" one of them yelled, their friend's skull caving in as Mason punched it into the side of the building.

Rushing towards the one rushing to pull out his gun, Mason grabbed him by the face, knocking him to the ground, slamming him onto his back. Pulling his fist back to finish the guy, a bullet bounced off Mason's shoulder, deflecting into the guy's leg. Glancing, the man that'd shot him notably paled as Mason grabbed his friend by the front of their shirt.

"AARGH!" Mason yelled, launching the guy's friend as a bullet bounced off his armor, one bullet going through his sides, narrowly avoiding any arteries. Standing, Mason charged forward, one of them getting up, trying to shoot Mason.

"Die fucker!" the man yelled, the bullets bouncing off Mason's armor and helmet.

As he got in his guard, Mason hit the guy's gun and arms in opposite directions, knocking the gun from his hands. Before the guy had time to react…

CRUNCH!

Mason backhanded the guy, tearing the jaw off in the process. Turning, Mason saw the last guy had gotten up, already preparing to fire his pistol. Rushing forward, Mason grabbed the guy by the wrist, aiming the pistol away from him. Uppercutting the guy, Mason wrenched the pistol from the guy's grip, throwing it to the side as he moved forward.

"Mother thucker!" the guy yelled, thrusting his blade for Mason's neck.

Blocking the guy's arm, Mason drilled his fist into the guy's face, breaking his nose. Not giving the guy time to recover, Mason threw a hook, breaking bone and skin. Mason looked at him as the guy fell, knowing they were dead.

Looking behind, Mason saw the others were already checking the body of the other two.

"Anything special?" he questioned, surprised he didn't have to tell them.

"Besides you throwing one guy into another, not really," Heather responded. "Just some .38 rounds and pipe weapons.

"Scrap metal," Mason remarked, bending down to check the one he just killed. While looking through what they had, he found an assaultron blade. "How much would you say this is?" Mason questioned, showing the weapon to Heather.

She looked at it for a minute before saying, "Fifty caps. From an assaultron, so a lot of traders would spend caps to get that."

"Take it," Mason said, placing the blade in her hands. "Don't need it. If I want caps, I'm certain we got plenty of junk."

Heather was a bit surprised, then she looked down.

"You're bleeding!"

"Well aware of that," Mason remarked, already taking his armor off. Setting it to the side, Mason pulled up his shirt, letting Heather take care of the wound.

"Lucky the bullet went clean through," Heather stated as she wrapped it.

"I know," Mason remarked. "Otherwise would've had to let ya cut me up."

Groaning as he stood up, Mason put his shirt and armor back on, shouldering his bag and grabbing his helmet.

"Let's get goin'," Mason announced, turning to the middle school. "May be some provisions in the basement."

Despite Heather and Curie telling him he needed to rest a bit, Mason walked around the place, surprised by the opening he found.

"This is… interesting," Mason thought aloud, Heather giving him a questioning look. Mason didn't know if this was a northern or military thing, but he didn't recall schools having gates except on sports fields. And he doubted it was northern. He wasn't surprised to find the gate was locked, but the lock was easy to pick.

"Be on the lookout," Mason told the others, stepping inside the gate. "Doubt there are enemies here, but better to remain vigilant."

Mason pulled out Overseer's while he opened the door and stepped into the building, finding it dimly lit. While he was walking, he heard the sounds of a turret whirring, gesturing for Heather and Dogmeat to slow down, Curie staying where she was. Following the wall to where some crates were, he looked to his right, seeing a vault entrance.

"Shouldn't be surprised," Mason muttered. "Vault-Tec loves their experiments." Putting Overseer's away, he pulled out the rifle with a recon scope, using it to see how many enemies were ahead. After looking and counting what there was, he walked back to Heather to inform her of the situation.

"A turret and two Gunners," Mason told her, keeping his voice down. "Based on the pattern they were walking, there's a third nearby. Heather, watch my back. Dogmeat, stay with Curie."

After getting back to the crates, Mason pulled Overseer's back out, aiming at the turret.

BANG! BANG!

The turret exploded after Mason shot it, pulling the trigger twice, surprising the two in front.

"Mother fucker!" one of the Gunners yelled, the explosion sending some debris into his legs.

"What happened, dumbass?" the woman near him asked. "What'd you do this time?"

"I didn't do anything, you damn broad!" He yelled at her. "Someone shot at the turret and blew it up. Get me a stimpak so I can find the bastard!"

"Damian, get out here!" the woman yelled to someone behind her. A boy came around the corner, approaching the woman. He was probably barely in his twenties.

"Here," the kid said, handing the man a stimpak. "I'll go take a look. You wait here and drink water after taking the stimpak."

As the boy exited the vault, he pulled out his pistol, a mistake he would regret. Shouldn't have a gun out while looking for someone. Makes it easier to disarm him. As the kid searched the area to Mason's left, he started to come up the stairs beside the crates, walking in front of where Mason crouched. Reaching over, Mason grabbed the kid by the shirt, lifting him off the ground. Slamming the kid down, Mason wrapped his arms around his throat, cutting off the kid's airflow.

"Let… go…" the kid struggled, trying to pull Mason off him.

"Can't… do that," Mason stated, holding the kid down. Unfortunately for the kid, Mason was six-five and three hundred pounds. Add on the armor, and it was hard to stop him.

As the kid stopped struggling, Mason had Heather pull out some rope. Pulling out duct tape from his bag, Mason tore off a strip, wrapping it around the kid's head. Using the rope, he tied the kid's hands and feet together, preventing him from moving if he woke up.

"Damian, hurry up! We don't have all day!" the woman yelled, Mason trying to think of a way to get her to look away. Picking up a small rock, Mason threw it as hard as he could, hitting the door behind them with a resounding CLANG!

Mason moved forward as the Gunners saw what caused the noise, sliding under a rail to water on a floor beneath the two. Landing with a quiet thud, the water wasn't very high, though Mason's back was now wet. He felt some pain in his side but managed to keep quiet.

Climbing the steps quietly, Mason gestured for the others to get ready as he stood up.

"ACK!" the man yelled, Mason planting his fists into his back. Being sent flying into the woman, both Gunners got knocked to the ground, Mason's companions coming over the walkway. While she was coming forward, Heather shot the woman in the head, Mason grabbing the man by the front of his shirt. Slamming the man into the wall, Mason looked him dead in the eyes.

"How many?" Mason asked, venom dripping from his voice. "Tell me, and you may live."

Seeing the fear in the man's eyes, Mason pulled him forward before slamming him back into the wall.

"Answer," Mason growled, the man almost wetting his pants.

"Twe-Twenty three!" the man stuttered. "There's also a dog, but that's it! I swear!"

"Excellent," Mason said, placing a hand on the man's jaw. "Now join your friend."

CRACK!

Dropping the body, Mason turned to the others.

"You took the boy's equipment, right?"

"Some bullets, a stimpak, and his clothes and gun," Heather responded. "Why're you letting him live?"

"Kids gotta be in his early twenties," Mason remarked, bending down to search the body. "May not be too late for him. Though if he tries to join the Minutemen, Imma keep a close eye on him. Search the woman. I'll finish up here."

"On it," she said, crouching down.

Picking up some plasma cartridges and a rifle, Mason stuck both in his bag before taking the man's clothes, leaving him in his underwear.

"Ready?" Mason questioned, making sure his pistol was secure.

"Yep," Heather answered, confusing Mason with her grin.

Sighing, Mason put his helmet on, stepping up to an elevator. After everyone got on, he hit the button to go down, listening to the elevator music on the way.

"The equivalent of two squads is here. Plus some," Mason told them, stretching his arms and back. "If these were raiders, I'd say we fight 'em like normal. But they're organized, so be careful."

"You should use a stimpak," Curie suggested, the elevator reaching the bottom. "You won't be at your strongest."

"We're against other humans," Mason told her, stepping out of the elevator. "Curie, stay here. Heather, Dogmeat, on me."

Curie would've protested if he hadn't started moving. Mason and Heather hid behind some crates at the cafeteria entrance, Dogmeat staying by his side.

"Damn, did you hear what happened to Larson?" Mason heard a Gunner ask someone.

"You mean the top runner for the Combat Zone finals? I was asleep when it happened."

"Well, he went against the queen of the ring, and she wiped the floor with him. The fight didn't even last five minutes."

"Fuck, why'd he-"

"Quit your yapping!" a third person yelled. "The guards up top aren't responding, so be vigilant!"

"Alright, jeez," the man said before muttering. "Those were the worst we had so we didn't really lose anything."

Looking over the top of the crate, Mason was able to find three people's positions. One up top, two on the bottom. He held up three fingers, looking over at Heather, indicating three people. Holding up two fingers, he pointed at himself before holding up one, pointing at her. She looked like she wanted to rebuke it, but Mason was already moving.

"AARGH!" the man yelled as Heather shot him in the leg.

The woman began to turn, but Mason was inside her guard by then. Punching up, Mason knocked her back into the column, hitting her head on the metal. As she stumbled forward from the pain, Mason threw another hook, following it with an uppercut. The woman fell onto her back, and before she recovered, Mason slammed his fist into her face, killing her.

Leaving the woman's body, Mason picked up an aluminum tray as the one up top shot at him, the bullets hitting the ground beside him. Ducking behind a column, Mason waited for the man to stop firing. When he did, Mason came out from behind and threw the tray like a disc. Hitting the man in the throat, Mason jumped up, grabbing the rails on the next floor. While the Gunner tried to breathe, Mason pulled himself over the rail, landing on his feet before charging the man.

"ACK!" the man yelled, Mason's knuckled fist going into his stomach. As the man hunched over, Mason brought his fist down, hitting the man's back, forcing him to the ground. Grabbing the Gunner by the neck, he dragged him to the rails, lifting him up. Mason placed a hand on the back of the guy's head and slammed it into the rail, breaking his nose.

"FUCK!" the Gunner yelled, grabbing his face as he fell back. "GOD DAMMIT! YOU-"

Already in motion, Mason spun as he kicked the man's head, snapping his head to the left, breaking his neck. After checking for a pulse, Mason stepped up to the railing, giving Heather a thumbs up.

"You're pretty handy without a gun," Heather commented, Mason coming back down after searching the Gunner.

"Curie, it's good now!" Mason yelled before turning to Heather. "Comes in handy when you have no ammunition. Could use a teddy bear. If I had to."

"That'd be a sight to see."

"Wouldn't the bear tear before it killed someone?" Curie questioned, coming up behind Mason.

"I said use, not kill. Though I've done that before."

Heather looked curious about that, Curie's receptor's widening.

Bending down, Mason searched the woman's body, getting some fusion cells and a laser pistol. Stuffing the clothing he got from her in his bag, he found it getting full and pulled out two duffel bags, putting weapons and armor in one, handing Heather one so she could do the same.

"There's twenty people left and a dog," Mason remarked, bending down when he heard Dogmeat whimper. "Not you, bud. This one belongs to the Gunners."

Looking around the place, Mason found clothing in some suitcases vault suits in the lockers, though found it odd the suits had no numbers. Putting them away, Mason looked around and found stairs leading down. After setting his and Heather's duffel bags by the elevator, they began to head down, Curie staying a bit further back. Mason reached a room with a building in it and noticed a computer terminal nearby. Skimming through it, Mason found something to start a simulation, hitting start as he ignored the notes. Moving forward, they stayed silent.

"What the fuck!" a Gunner yelled, the blue silhouettes alarming them.

"Wasn't me, asswipe!" Another Gunner yelled. "Guessing Andrews and Bolivia's teams got wiped! Be careful! Whoever did it may be in the building!"

He wasn't wrong. Mason was in the building, though he was on the first floor. Looking at Heather, Mason pointed in the direction of the second voice before pointing at her, then pointed at the first point before pointing at him. She got the message, crouching behind a table while he got by the stairs.

Looking around the corner, Mason saw a table between him and the Gunner, something he could use. Crawling up to the table, Mason knocked on the table three times, getting the Gunners' attention.

"What the- Gah!" the Gunner yelled, table getting slammed into him.

Before letting him recover, Mason grabbed the top of his head and SLAM! Smashing the guy's head into the table, Mason pulled his fist back, punching him in the face, sending him reeling back. Mason heard a cracking noise and looked over the edge, seeing the guy had broken his back on the railing below.

Turning back to the room, Mason looked through a tool case, finding an access card. Guessing it was for the door across the one from this room, Mason pocketed it, searching for anything else. After finding some ammunition and useful junk, they headed back to the room, Mason using the card to open the door.

Quickly ducking behind the wall as they were met with gunfire, Mason waited for the firing to stop. Taking a quick glance, Mason noticed grenades hanging with a tripwire on the ground. Pulling out his pistol, when the Gunners stopped firing again, Mason shot the nearest grenade, setting off a chain reaction. Staying behind the wall, they waited for the exploding to stop.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

Looking around when they entered the room, Mason turned to Heather after looking at the damage.

"Not doin' that again," Mason stated, looking at how damaged the bodies were. "Think we destroyed their guns."

"It's good. It's too bad about the caps we could've made, but better than letting gunners have them," Heather stated with a grin.

Moving forward, they collected some bullets off the remains, Mason noticing some turrets and Gunners ahead.

"Safe or loud and proud," Mason stated, taking out a stimpak. "Play it safe at first, and when bulk are dead, loud and proud."

"Sounds good."

"Curie, stay here," Mason commanded, cleaning his knuckles before putting them back on. "Don't need blood on your arms, so you'll remain here."

And Mason didn't know why, but he had a feeling there were more enemies than usual.