CHAPTER 23: BOT DRIVER.

"Once we no longer have the intellectual upper hand, then we quite literally, by definition, cannot outwit our successors. So unless we are absolutely sure that the machines we are building right now are not going to eventually become our new robot overlords, prudence is called for." -Robert J. Sawyer.

"You're lying," the good side of Spark's face sneered. "You cannot control those Sentry Bots with that Pip-Boy!"

Louis turned the screen towards him. "Then what do you call this?" he turned it back and raised the small mic just under the screen near his mouth. "Let's see...how about...spin upper body around ten times!"

()()()()()

The stationary Sentry Bot did as told. Its legs locked in place and spun its upper body around ten times before stopping.

()()()()()

"See?! Even you cannot deny it now!" Louis gave him a view of what was happening on screen.

Spark stepped back in terror. The unthinkable had happened, something he almost couldn't wrap his mind around, one of his own bots out of control. The Rust Devil leader was moments away from throwing a full on tantrum over his loss.

"Gears! Gears, where are you?!" he shouted down to the floor below with desperation. "Get your ass over here!"

With a pained groan, the second in command woke up and pushed himself off the cold floor. The throbbing pain in his head only got worse thanks to his leader's grating voice hitting his ears.

"There you are, Gears! This Vault dweller has control over one of my Sentry Bots! Get to the terminal and shut them down before that asshole turns it on us!"

Gears grinded his teeth and slammed a fist on the floor. That was the last straw, he had tolerated his leader's shit for too long. It was time for a change in leadership, Spark was simply an unfit psycho and played with weapons like toys. So he got back up and grabbed the assault rifle with a plot forming in his mind.

Spark pulled the blades back into his hands and curled two fingers over the brake levers. "You won't have control for long!" with a flick the blades lit back up. "Gears will shut them down while I hack your arms and legs off. But hey, thanks for activating that control thing on the Pip-Boy for me! It will come in real handy when I make it the centerpiece of my collection."

"Use it?" Louis scoffed. "You look like you have a hard time working a light switch."

"Who told you that?!" Spark screech and shot forward.

Louis could only take a step back as the blade struck his left side where the armor was weak. The fire burned the leather holding the metal plates together. More pieces around the stomach clattered to the floor, leaving only a few strips of leather dangling to the side. Another slash burned with pain through his body just like fire. The Vault dweller cried out and turned around to get away with a hand on his side. Even with control of a Sentry Bot, he still stood defenseless on his own while unarmed. He turned left on the forked catwalk, trying to get far enough while thinking of commands to use.

Several bullets hit the rails in front of him, creating little sparks against the old metal. Louis stopped dead and turned to the source. Standing on another section, Gears pointed the assault rifle right towards him.

"And my day just got better..." Louis sarcastically sighed.

"Good job, Gears!" Spark stormed down the catwalk near the turn. "Hold him in that spot. I'll chop his arm off and get that Pip-Boy!"

Gears didn't respond, instead he turned the rifle and fired a burst towards his leader. The bullets hit the rails near him with bright flashes that made the Rust Devil leader dance around in sudden terror for a moment.

"You got shit in your eyes, Gears?! The Vault dweller is over there!" he pointed with his flaming sword.

"I have a feeling he isn't here to help me..." Louis said to himself.

"Just shut the fuck up already!" Gears shouted, his finger shaking over the trigger. "This has been a long time coming! I hate those idiotic names you make us use! Do you think you're being clever because we use machines?! My name is Alden! And I'm gonna put a bullet in your head!"

"You dare turn a weapon to me?" Spark's grip on the hilts tighten. "After everything I've done for you?! I made you my second in command! And this is how you repay me?"

"Clearly you forget," Alden looked down the sights. "A second in command's purpose is to take the leader's position if needed."

Spark turned off the small valve on the right blade to let the fire go out before sheathing it behind his back. "Not until the current leader is gone..." he reached behind his waist and grabbed a handgun in its holster. "Looks like I'll be getting a new second in command!"

Quickly, he whipped the handgun out and unloaded at Alden with a rage filled scream. The traitor responded with a few curses and returned fire in full automatic. The catwalks echoed from their pounding footsteps when they began running to get a better bead on each other.

Louis left them to their quarrel, hoping they will finish each other off while looking around for stairs and found none nearby. He then looked down and spotted a long table with tools scattered on it. The quickest way was straight down, as much as he disliked the idea. Louis gripped the rails and leaped his legs over and planted his feet on the edge with a clank. He took a deep breath to ready himself before dropping down. His hands firmly held the edge as his body dangled and swayed, the armor he wore only added to the weight. But a sudden stab of pain in his forearm and side weakened his grip and slipped off. He landed on his back with a hard crash from the eleven foot drop, the tools on the table flew off from the impact.

"Oh, fuck..." Louis moaned and twitched. "I think...I landed on a wrench..." he reached under his back and pulled out said item. "Ow...that's gonna leave a bruise."

Slowly with more pain, the Vault dweller rolled off onto his feet and limply dashed away. His eyes fixed onto the screen again to get an idea of what was going on through the Sentry Bot's vision.

()()()()()()()

The five bots fired away at the wall of the fort, leaving burning red holes that melted through the concrete with each shot. All the group inside could do was stay away from the windows, their guns were useless against that kind of military weapons anyway. The wall in front of them started to get warm like a pot of water beginning to boil. No matter where they went, the Sentry Bots would follow them every step of the way and turn the fort into a tomb.

Doug fell forward and slid face down in the sand. A shot to the back of his right leg ended his run. Pain burned through his entire leg while the soreness from running for so long only made it worse.

"Goddamn it! Those bastards!" Doug cursed while looking down at his leg. It baffled him for a moment why they weren't finishing the job, he was laying on the ground completely defenseless. But a sudden dark realization washed over, something he had heard from other people. "I see now. They want to tear me to pieces while I'm down on the ground." a small grin of indifference spread across his mouth. "Sorry guys, I didn't think it would end this way."

The grim situation only mocked him more as a loud rumble fell onto his ears. He turned his head upward to see a Sentry Bot steam rolling right his way.

()()()()()()()()()()

No more test drives, it was time to take command. Louis planted himself behind a concrete column to rest with a smile on his face. Deep down he loved the idea of controlling a rolling tank of destruction like a toy.

"Okay, let's assess the situation." he raised the Pip-Boy up. "Um...turn towards the other Sentry bots."

The video feed turned a few degrees to the right and zoomed in on the bots many feet ahead. They continued to pelt the fort with red lasers that could punch through any moment.

"Shit! That must be where they're hiding. I suppose Inez hasn't caught up either. But where's Doug?" the screen flashed an indicator pointing to the left. Louis figured its motion sensors was detecting something. "Turn left towards signal."

The screen turned again and locked on to what entered its proximity range. Louis' eyes sunk upon seeing Doug on the ground with the remaining Rust Devils moments from coming down on him.

"Fucking shit!" Louis cursed. "They'll rip him to pieces! Get in front of that man on the ground!"

()()()()

Doug gave in to his fate and laid on his back and chuckled weakly. "Just be quick..." he shut his eyes tight as the robot reached him.

He expected to be blown to pieces, or burned to ashes by lasers. Yet nothing happened, the bot maneuvered around and stopped several feet in front of him like a personal bodyguard. Doug's eyes flipped open and saw the back of the towering machine standing ready.

"Uh...what's going on?" Doug's puzzled look ran deep.

()()()()

"Open fire on that crowd of people and robots!" Louis ordered firmly. "Protect the man on the ground!"

()()()()

The Rust Devils watched the Sentry Bot pull in front of the intruder and come to a halt. They questioned each other why it wasn't doing anything. Red light suddenly glowed from Sentry Bot's visor, it had received its next orders. Kill all the Rust Devils. Both arms aimed sharply, the laser cannons charged as the missiles loaded. Fear flooded over the Raiders, their hairs standing on end as they stared down the barrels of demise. Triple lasers fired in rapid succession, missiles launched one after the other, and even the remaining ammo in the front leg turrets unloaded on the screaming crowd.

A massacre followed, bloody bodies crumbled to the ground in heaps one after the other with burning holes that melted through their rusty armor. Limbs and organs flew everywhere from missile explosions, a horrible sight that sent them all into a panic when the chunks of flesh splattered them. The last few robots went into action and charged or floated forward, how lucky they were to never know fear. But the attempt was pointless, they faced the same fate and collapsed. Electricity flickered from the laser holes as oil slowly leaked out to stain the ground.

In only a minute, all remaining Rust Devils laid dead on the dirt. Their faces twisted in horror, at least those still in one piece. Only a few were still alive, gasping and moaning while trying to crawl away for their lives. But they soon joined the rest in death and left in the open to rot with only the occasional critter to come by and feast on them.

()()()()

Louis took a deep breath and slowly exhaled, his arm trembling with remorse. What horrible machines these Sentry Bots truly are. It only made the Vault dweller glad they never got to see the light of day up until now, the ability to kill so many in such a short time was madness. Even if he didn't directly pull the trigger, the mass murder was still on him.

"What kind of sick person would ever want to make something like these?" he wondered to himself and brushed a hand through his hair. "Once this is over, I'll see to it that these things are scrapped."

()()()()

The Sentry Bot turned away from the dead Raiders and seemed to eye Doug on the ground. A feeling that he was next went through his mind for a moment, but as before the bot went around him and moved towards the others.

Doug let out the breath he was holding and flopped back down to the dry cracked ground. "What's going on in this crazy ass place?..."

"Doug! Doug, are you alright?!" Inez's voice called out to him.

The Wastelander turned his head to see her approach and kneel down beside him. "Inez? How did you get away from that psycho?"

Inez held her hand out. "Louis stayed behind to fight the Rust Devil leader while I got away. He wants us to get out of here and leave him behind."

Doug reached out to take hers. With both hands and effort, she pulled him to his feet and offered a shoulder to lean on.

"Yeah, that sounds like something Louis would do..." Doug winced for a moment and tried to put weight on his right foot. "But why is that Sentry Bot acting weird?"

Inez shifted his arm better to keep him upright. "I don't know. I assume he has control. Somehow. But he can't take out the remaining five with only one."

The two started hobbling forward to the Sentry Bots in the distance. "He's always got something up his sleeve. We just have to trust he knows what he's doing." Doug felt his shoulder burning with pain again from the bullet. "At least I assume he does. I need a stimpak."

The Sentry Bots stepped up their attack, the ends of the triple barrels glowed red as the lasers. Burning holes covered the fort wall and windows. Inside, the group could feel the heat radiating off the concrete. Smoke began to hiss through and fill the area, even the metal door started to give off a glow and warp from heat.

"Fall back! Get deeper into the fort!" Joe waved his arm to follow.

A thunderous bang came from outside before the head of a harpoon bursted through the wall and speared into the wall across. The chain went taut, the wall where the spearhead pierced began to crack around it. Wayland growled with anger, the spear had only missed him by inches and pushed him to respond.

His big green hands reached out and grabbed with all his might. Wayland tugged the chain hard, and actually pulled the Sentry Bot forward a few inches. The bot kicked into gear and started rolling backwards to pull the chain out, but it only brushed up dirt with its jagged treads. Wayland felt the pull and held on tight, the thick chain started bending in his grip.

"Wayland, what are you thinking?!" Victoria asked him. "Let go of the chain before it pulls you out with the wall!"

"If I let go, this section will collapse on top of us!" Wayland strained, his feet slid on the floor. "I have to hold on!"

"Not unless the ceiling collapses on you!" Chloe pointed up to it. Bits of concrete dust fell from the cracks.

"Just go! I'll hold it here!" Wayland yelled with gritted teeth.

The chain pulled him closer to the hole while becoming tight enough to start pulling the spear out from the wall behind. The cracks around the spearhead got larger as Wayland planted his feet firmly, the heels of the boots scooted across the floor. With a strong yell, he gripped the chain tighter and pulled back, his muscles bulged with effort.

Outside, the Sentry Bot kicked into another gear to reel the chain in while driving backwards. The hacked Sentry Bot rumbled to a stop nearby, Louis kept it only close enough to have its long range attacks hit. He knew the odds were against him, five on one was still a huge disadvantage. The controlled bot raised both arms as the shoulder multi launchers flipped open. Louis ordered it to lock on the Sentry Bot at the far right and unleashed just about everything.

Lasers burned the back plating like rain on a tin roof, the missiles tore through layers of armor and down to the fragile parts inside. The Sentry Bots were covered in heavy armor that could withstand almost any attack, but the plating of the maintenance hatch wasn't the strongest section to withstand that kind of damage. At last the attack broke through, fire erupting from the back in a brilliant flame. It only took moments for the barrage to cause a catastrophic malfunction to its system. Its upper body exploded all over the place into heaps of burning metal as the tripod legs slunk to the ground.

Alarms went off in the Sentry Bots' programming and stopped their attacks while rotating towards the aggressor. The scans showed no signal coming from the controlled one, which activated a new order in their programming that warned it has been compromised and needed to be destroyed.

Two bots turned away and sped towards the corrupted one. Louis anticipated this and had his puppet flee backwards to lead them away. But his plan only half worked, two still stayed behind with their attacks focused on the fort.

Wayland pulled more of the chain through the hole with all his strength, now it was a battle of will to see who would hold out. Will the Sentry Bot burn out, or will Wayland's Super Mutant strength fail against a machine? Asimov witnessed the Sentry Bot attack one of its own and it baffled his calculations, one of the bots turning was something he didn't anticipate or even thought possible. Either way it wasn't important to him, now he knew the weakest section to attack.

The Assaultron turned to the Ghoul, despite not having any normal facial features, Joe could tell he was up to something. "Listen to me Joe, there's something I want you to do for me..."

"I don't like where this is going, Asimov..." Joe grumbled in concern.

"Please, just tell Inez...I'm sorry..."

Asimov stood up and shoved the door open and ran out before anyone could stop him. His self-destruct was primed and ready with a target locked on straight ahead. The lone Sentry Bot detected his approach and turned to attack, firing a volley of lasers right towards him. Asimov calculated the trajectories and dodged the beams as best his damaged body could, but three managed to strike him in the chest, hip and side of the right leg, adding to the damage. Once the Assaultron was close enough, he threw his body forward and slid across the ground. The Sentry Bot aimed its laser arm down, but Asimov anticipated this and raised his left knee as he slid. The kneecap popped open and fired the last missile directly into the bot's chest.

He knew it wouldn't cause any significant damage, all he needed was an opening as the smoke blocked its vision. Asimov slid right under the tripod legs and came to a stop behind the Sentry Bot and quickly got up. He climbed the leg and grabbed onto a bar handle near the shoulder plating as the Sentry Bot registered a threat on its hull. It started spinning and shaking around to throw him off, Asimov's grip tighten as he grabbed the hatch handle and pulled with all his hydraulic strength. The hatch flung open and revealed the vulnerable pieces inside.

Asimov primed his core, the Sentry Bot still tried to buck him off like a wild horse as it rolled towards the other bot that was still in a tug of war with Wayland inside, it was what the Assaultron counted on. A hum emitted from Asimov's body, the backup fusion core in his back began to go critical. His first fusion core was almost out of power from damage to his body, meaning this will be his last attack.

"Goodbye...Inez..."

"Stop! Asimov!" Inez's scream cut through to his sensors.

He deactivated his self-destruct and looked to her position. Inez stood close to the front of the hangar with Doug's arm draped over her shoulder.

"I know what you're going to do! And I won't let you!" she yelled with a scolding look. "You're smarter then those bucket heads! You can defeat them without blowing yourself to pieces!"

"I am almost out of power! This is the only course of action I can take!" Asimov said as he was almost flung off again. He quickly held tight and planted his feet back onto the hull.

"Stop fighting just for me! There are other people here that want to help!" Inez released Doug from her shoulder and let him flop to the ground. "You have to trust them! Now fight and survive!"

"He's getting tossed around like a rag doll on that thing..." Doug said to himself while holding the back of his shot leg.

Asimov nodded in confirmation. There was no point in arguing with Inez once her mind was made up. There was one option left in his arsenal, the most deadliest weapon of his robotic kind. The red visor slid up, revealing the lense that shined a red glow. His head laser charged with a loud buzzing hum, there was only enough power for one shot.

"I calculate your parts are not as strong as your armor!" Asimov shouted.

He quickly maneuvered in front of the hatch as the Sentry Bot rolled backwards a few feet and began spinning its upper body to throw him off. Asimov held tight against the gravitational pull and locked his limbs. At last his laser beam reached its full charge with a beep over the hum and fired everything he had left into it. Being so close to the opening of the body sent laser sparks flying like a welding torch cutting metal, all the mechanical pieces and circuits within the beam melted into red hot slag.

The Sentry Bot slowed to a stop from its spinning. Its view crackled with countless warnings and alerts boxes before going completely black. Asimov's laser beam died down, the last of its energy trail faded into nothing. His limbs unlocked to let go and hop off, but what came next hit him harder then he could imagine. Without warning the Sentry Bot exploded, its core ruptured from the laser blast damage and sent Asimov flying through the air and slamming into the ground with black scorches all over his chest and faceplate. Pieces of the Sentry Bot laid scattered on the ground, burning just like the last one.

Asimov tried to push himself up, but his body was barely responding. His audio receivers could barely pick up Inez's screams calling out to him. "Alright, everyone, finish this for me..." he said to himself as his head hit the dirt.

Wayland almost lost his grip again, the Sentry Bot seemed to keep changing gears every time he pulled the chain back. Blood trickled from his giant palms as the chain slipped again. Wayland felt the chain cutting into his hands, so he wrapped it around to get a better hold. His teeth grit to the point of breaking as his anger intensified under the strain. If Louis was standing next to him, the Pip-Boy would begin ticking away from the radiation spike. The veins in Wayland's body glowed bright green, just like when he went berserk and slaughtered his so called kin. The boost increased his strength tenfold while battling with himself to keep his strange ability in control. He worried his rampaging state would make him bring the area down on them.

"Get back unless you guys want to end up looking like me!" Joe stood in front of the group to make them back away.

"Don't lose control, Wayland!" Chloe called to him, hoping her voice would keep him steady.

The Sentry Bot created a massive cloud of dirt that billowed all around it. Deep treads covered the ground in jagged scars from its struggle to pull away. It went on the attack again by firing lasers at the wall to strike down whoever was tugging on the chain. The cooling wall heated up again, which caused larger cracks to form from the sudden change in temperature. The weakening wall affected the inside, cracks slithered across the ceiling above Wayland's head. Yet the Super Mutant stood his ground, either way that section of the building will collapse if he lost.

"I...won't...let...go!" Wayland growled, his eyes glowing green like his veins.

"Wayland! The lasers are going to burn through the wall!" Victoria pointed to the redden area.

The wall surrounding the chain billowed with smoke that filled the ceiling. Wayland reached his left hand out grabbed on to another section of chain and pulled towards him. He did it several more times and until there was a small pile of chain at his feet. The Sentry Bot was dragged several feet across the ground as it transferred a large portion of power to the laser arm. The increase in power made the triple lasers fire rapidly to the point that they looked like single beams. Its vision displayed a temperature reading that showed heat was rapidly building up. The automatic cool down sequence kicked in to vent before an explosion by overheat happened.

It was a one out of six chance, a gamble Inez made that finally payed off. Electricity surged from the joints, a faint alarm rang from the Sentry Bot's head. Black smoke seeped out from the back near the head, its programming tried to reroute commands to vent, but nothing was responding. The rumbling inside grew louder until it sounded like something rattling around in a can. Its laser arm ceased firing, the barrel ends spewed with bursts of fire from another overload in its fusion receivers. Just like the last two, the Sentry Bot exploded into a shower of burning pieces with only the tripod legs mostly intact.

The chain went slack in Wayland's hands, the sudden loss of force pulling against him made the Super Mutant practically fly backwards into the wall behind him. Slowly, his glowing veins faded away, breathing calmly seemed to help return him to normal. Once he was back to normal, the group felt it was safe to approach him.

"Wayland...you doing okay?..." Joe asked first.

The Super Mutant's fuzzy mind settled enough to be coherent. "Yeah...I'll be fine..."

Cavall walked up and locked eyes with him in a loving manner, his tongue hung out with excitement. Wayland smiled and reached out to pet the large canine on his head.

"Hate to cut our break short, but we cannot stop now." Chloe slung her plasma rifle over her shoulder. "We need to hurry and find Louis..."

"First, let's help Asimov. He took a big hit for us." Victoria said as they walked out the door.

Once the five exited the back entrance, they could hear Inez calling Asimov's name over and over. Doug had his arm draped over her shoulder again as the two awkwardly ran together. Everyone met and gathered around Asimov still face down on the dirt. Inez passed Doug off to Joe who was in the process of getting a stimpak from his backpack.

"Asimov! Asimov, please respond!" Inez gently flipped him onto his back. "Come on, say anything!"

The Assaultron seemed to spark back online to her voice. "I have sustained severe damage." a spark popped from the side of his head. "How are you?..."

Inez sighed in relief, but at the same time she knew he won't last much longer. "We need to get you hooked up to a power source. Wayland, will you carry him?"

"Of course I will..." Wayland kneeled down to gently scoop him up.

Doug injected the stimpak into his leg and sighed in relief as both wounds closed up. "Thank god. You never realize how bad you need a stimpak until you need it." he stood back up and put some weight on his leg. "So it's pretty obvious Louis is controlling that Sentry Bot. I've known him for years and yet he continues to surprise me or find new ways to destroy things. Usually both."

"I'll say. He killed all the other Rust Devils and their robots!" Inez informed them. "I've never seen anything like it."

"Thank god, we needed a break from all this crazy shit..." Joe sighed in relief.

"But does that mean Louis is okay or still in trouble?" Victoria asked.

"I doubt he's okay, like I told Doug, he was fighting the Rust Devil leader before making me leave." Inez answered her. "He wanted us to go without him."

"That idiot..." Joe grumbled and brushed a hand through his hair. "This isn't the time to play hero."

"But there's a lot of us and only that one bad man!" Wayland carefully threw Asimov over his shoulder and held his AK in one hand, eager to go. "We'll stop him!"

They didn't waste any time by saying another word and headed straight towards the hangar door. Night was only a few hours away, and the last thing they needed was to be fighting in the dark. The battle needed to end soon before someone was killed.

()()()

The controlled Sentry Bot looped around the back of the hangar at breakneck speed, its treads dug deep into the dry ground as it turned the corner. The last two robots came charging around a moment later and followed the trail left behind. Both Sentry Bots went on the attack with another volley of lasers and missiles. Louis ordered the bot to serpentine the incoming attacks, but some still hit the mark. As it turned out, the lasers they fired were much stronger than any standard laser weapon. They left deep burns against the armor plating, the bots even seemed to be aiming for the joints to disable it.

()()()

"Dammit!" Louis cursed to himself. The screen on his Pip-Boy displayed four small boxes that warned of the attack against its hull and that most of its missiles have been expended. "I didn't think their own weapons could damage each other that easily. I thought the back was the weakest points. Whoever built these really went all out."

Bullet casings dropped from the catwalk where Spark and Alden continued to fight. The former second in command's rifle clicked empty and cussed, he stood defenseless as his leader closed in with his handgun pointed. The deranged leader took aim with a grin on his face and pulled. But his gun clicked empty too, the Rust Devil felt the hairs on his neck stand on end.

"Fuck! Looks like we're both out." his worry flipped back to sadistic. "By my shishkebob will carve your ass up!"

"Keep retreating. Avoid enemy fire." Louis' voice was heard below them.

Spark looked down to the Vault dweller, who didn't notice their fight had stopped. "Fuck! I completely forgot about what that asshole was doing to my bots!" the Rust Devil leader began to panic.

He heard a mag being loaded into a gun and spun around just in time to see Alden point his reloaded rifle at him. A smile of victory spread on his lips.

"I always knew that one track mind of yours would be the death of you!" his finger twitched against the trigger. "Me being the one to kill you is just a bonus."

Spark stepped back, he stood with no ammo and far form being able to reach with his sword. He felt helpless and cornered, only his brother made him feel like this. And there was nowhere for him to hide or run without getting gunned down. Three sudden gunshots rang out in the hangar, drawing the two's attention to the source. Joe had his smoking revolver pointed to the ceiling before lowering it. The rest of the group stood with guns in their hands, in case there was any Rust Devils left.

"Drop your weapons and put your hands on your head!" Joe aimed for Alden. "I won't tell you again!"

Louis practically sprang from his hiding spot, surprised to hear their voices. "What are you all still doing here? I told Inez to get you guys and leave!"

Doug scoffed at his statement. "Like we were gonna let you be the only hero."

"Oh great! And here's the rest of the asshole brigade!" Spark anguished scream echoed in the hangar. "Can those bots kill anyone?!"

"If it makes you feel better, I used the bot I'm controlling to kill the rest of your people!" Louis called up with the Pip-Boy held high.

"All of them? That's not possible..." Alden felt a cold spike go down his spine.

"It is! I even saw it myself!" Doug spoke up.

While everyone wasn't looking, Spark dashed away in a panic. The walls were finally coming down on him and there was no one left for him to use. The only option left was to take everyone down, even if it meant he had to go down too. He ran across the catwalk towards a stack of wooden crates and out of Alden's range to get a decent hit. Without delay he kicked off the wooden lid and snuffed his blade out while digging through the packaging hay until he found the weapon. All eyes turned to him as he hoisted onto his shoulder a RPG with a rocket loaded.

"Die, fuckers!" he screamed and peered down the scope and fired.

The rocket screamed through the air and flew high over the group and hit near the door at the far back in an explosion that rattled the hangar. Spark's miss was on account of his anger and not taking the time to properly aim at them.

"Spread out now!" Chloe ordered as she returned fire with a few bolts of plasma.

Spark took cover as the plasma hit the catwalk below near him. He grabbed a smaller crate next to the one that had the RPG in it. Once he was far enough, the crate lid was pulled open, inside was an abundance of rockets all waiting to be fired. Everyone ran for any cover they could find, which was difficult since there was almost nothing strong enough to stand up to a rocket. Spark reloaded and looked around for his second in command to give him a present he won't forget.

"Alden! Where are you?! Come out and I'll give you a, what did they call it? A severance package?" he sang out.

But Alden was already on the run after the first rocket was fired. He practically flew down the stairs and headed for the first exit he could find. "Screw this! Screw all of this! He's not worth getting blown to pieces over!"

Louis watched the man flee in terror as he almost tripped over his own two feet. "And don't come back, you coward!" he shouted at the man.

Spark heard him and turned around to his location. He spotted the Vault dweller and aimed towards him. Louis gasped upon realizing he was out in the open and ran behind the concrete column just as the rocket hit it. He only managed to get several feet away as the blast sent him falling to the floor. His ears rang and his vision spun as the controlled Sentry Bot was starting to lose the battle without him at the wheel.

Doug stepped out from behind a stack of concrete bags he hid behind. With his 9mm in hand, he fired to get Spark's attention. "Hey, Louis, hurry up and stop those robots outside! We'll distract the leader!"

On cue the wanderers emerged from their hiding places, they heard Doug's plan and pitched in. Gunfire filled the hangar, along with bullets pinging off the catwalk. Spark loaded another rocket and blind fire again, he had no particular target in mind other than to hit someone.

Louis stood to his feet, a sharp pain stabbed in his head. His skull must have hit the floor after being blown over. But he could deal with that later, only the Sentry Bot could withstand a rocket and get close enough. He looked to the screen once more with a quickly cobbled together form of attack. "Stop retreating! Charge forward at full speed and ram into the closest Sentry Bot!"

()()()()

The Sentry Bot came to a complete stop despite the lasers striking its body. It targeted the closest one as commanded and started revving its treads for momentum. Dirt and rocks sputtered through the air before it charged at full speed with a ground shattering rumble. The two bots screeched to a stop after realizing their target coming right towards them and continued blasting away. Each shot hit dead on, slowly burning holes into its armor the closer it got. But the attacks did nothing to slow it down as the one on the right was struck dead on in the chest area. The metal crumbled upon impact, leaving a sizable dent that damaged some of its internal parts. The Sentry Bot toppled over onto its back and cracked the ground upon impact. Louis' theory paid off better than he hoped, the Sentry Bot seemed unable to get back up as it flailed its arms and tripod legs around.

Now that one was incapacitated, Louis gave another command that was unexpected by the last bot's processors. The controlled bot stretched both arms outward as the legs locked at a certain angle for stability. Its body spun like a propeller and only gained more momentum until the upper body started to blur.

Louis ordered it to ram the last Sentry Bot while spinning to damage its arms and disable it. As Louis' bot closed in, the remaining one went all out with its attack. Lasers burned and missiles exploded on impact against the Sentry Bot turned spinning top. Warning signs flashed on Louis' Pip-Boy screen, the bot wasn't gonna hold out much longer against that kind of point blank attack as the very attacker backed away.

But the Vault dweller had no choice but to press the bot on and ordered it to go all out. The Sentry Bot speeded up again, its upper body covered in burn holes and damaged plating as smoke started to puff out. The suicide charge finally hit its mark, the spinning arms swatted the enemy bot's arms and then its chest with a thunderous clash of twisting metal. Once more Louis' risky attack paid off, the Sentry Bot's arms ceased firing as sparks sputtered from the joints. It tried to retaliate but the arms didn't respond to any commands, they hanged limply and leaving it almost defenseless.

The panels of the Sentry Bot's shoulder multi launchers flipped open and locked on. However, Louis figured that was what the Sentry Bot was going to do next, and he already had his bot's shoulder launchers primed. All nine mini missiles on both sides fired, the roaring explosions covered the enemy bot all over. The smoke cleared and the Sentry Bot stood motionless for a few moments before starting to sputter again, a lot of its armor plating was warped and cracked, both launchers were blown to pieces and only added to the damage since the missiles inside exploded as well.

Louis commanded his bot to finally finish it. The Sentry Bot raised its laser arm up and fired at full power directly into its faceplate until the beams burned all the way through and slagged its main computer parts. With nothing left to guide it, the Sentry Bot powered down with what was left of its head glowing red hot. Only one remained, the one that was toppled still flopping like a turtle on its back. The Sentry Bot finished it off the same way as the other, blasting its head with lasers until it melted into hot slag.

()()()()

It was over, Louis exhaled all the air in his lungs that he held. All that remained was the Rust Devil leader who continued to pop off rockets at his friends. But someone else was picked up on his Sentry Bot's sensors. Its view turned to see Alden running for his life. The Vault dweller frowned at the screen, he couldn't let him get away, the Wasteland didn't need another Raider running loose. There was only one missile remaining in its left arm.

"Blow that man up."

()()()()

The Sentry Bot kicked in on command and gave chase. Alden reached the side gate booth, panic pounded in his heart as he slammed the gate button. The chainlink fence rattled open as Alden squeezed through the gap, not even waiting for it to fully open. But soon a rumble reached his ears and he turned to see the Sentry Bot hot on his trail. Alden tripped over himself and quickly scurried back up, he had no direction in mind. He only wanted to get away as the Sentry Bot came rolling out through the opening.

Alden reached the rusty and now bullet hole covered tank. He couldn't stop, not even for a moment as the Sentry Bot aimed. The last missile it had in the arm fired with a screech through the air and slammed right into the tank. In an instant, pieces of rusted metal and parts flew everywhere. Age made the entire military vehicle brittle and too easy to destroy with one missile. Louis couldn't see Alden anywhere on screen, he figured the man was blown to pieces. Either way, Alden wasn't a threat anymore. The Sentry Bot spun around and headed back to the hangar.

()()()()

Another thunderous explosion shook the hangar and left another crater of broken concrete. Spark was getting better with his aim, and that forced the wanderers on the defense. And their low ammo and dwindling places to take cover was also an increasing factor. Wayland gently laid Asimov down behind some crates so he could better focus on the fight.

"Die already! Just fucking die!" Spark yelled as he loaded another.

"This guy is completely unhinged..." Joe said to himself from his cover of a overturned table.

Inez crouched next to Doug and Victoria. "He's not even trying to keep me alive anymore!"

Their salvation rolled in on Louis' command. The Sentry Bot came through the hole in the wall that was made earlier. The entire hangar went quiet with the only sound a loud hum coming from the bot.

"Oh, fuck me..." Spark grumbled. He realized then, in a moment of clarity, he had lost.

Louis stepped out from his hiding place, the Pip-Boy raised near his mouth. "Blast the catwalk that man is standing on!"

With a clanking hum, the Sentry Bot turned its laser arm towards said target and blast away with endless red beams. Spark placed the RPG body over his shoulder to fire, but the red lasers melted through the old metal bars and supports holding the catwalk up. The section gave out and Spark fell backwards, his finger slipped on the trigger and fired the rocket straight up. It hit the ceiling and blew a sizable hole that rained concrete and rebar. Both Spark and the catwalk section crashed to the floor in a thick cloud of dust.

The Rust Devil staggered to his feet in a daze, blood dripping from his chin that ran from the side of his forehead. He almost flopped back onto his ass as soon as he stood up. His mind was in a blurry haze with a possible concussion to boot. But the sound of heavy machinery rolling up behind cleared him of his daze. A cold shiver stabbed down his back, he slowly turned and locked eyes with the Sentry Bot pointing its laser arm at him.

Louis came into view and stood next to the bot, his Pip-Boy waiting for a command. The rest of the wanderers came out from their hiding place, Inez stayed behind to make sure Asimov was still functioning. Everyone gathered near the Vault dweller, they wanted to see how this madness will end.

Spark stepped back with queasy legs and chuckled nervously. "Okay. Okay, you guys got me, I give up. Okay? I'm serious, I give up!" he chuckled nervously once more and lifted his hands into the air. "Seriously, I'm done. Look, my hands are up! What more do you people want from me? Do you want me to get on my knees? I'll get on my knees!" he did just that, got down on his knees like a coward. "See?! No need to kill me, I'll give you guys whatever's left!"

Joe scoffed in disappointment. "If I had any respect for this guy...it's all gone now."

"We can't just take him prisoner." Chloe said as she power down her plasma rifle. "He could try to make a run for it when we're not looking."

Victoria turned to the Vault dweller. "Or get reinforcements if there are any. Either way he's still dangerous."

Louis' fist clenched, all he had to do was say the word and the man in front of him would be burned to ash. "It would be so easy to kill you. All I have to do is to give the order..." he looked to the Rust Devil.

Doug raised a brow. "And the reason you're not?..."

"Because it's different!" Louis stated. "I can kill someone who's trying to kill me or you guys. But he's surrendering and on his knees..."

"I can get on my hands too!" Spark suggested.

"You shut up!" Louis snapped before sighing. "The point is, I can't shoot someone who's defenseless. No matter who they are..."

Inez came out of nowhere and walked between them and Spark. A stern frown on her brows as she looked to Spark who looked up with hope that she will save him.

"Inez?..." Louis began to say.

"You don't have to worry about it, Louis." Inez reached into her jumpsuit pocket and pulled out a Beretta M9 she found on a table. "This is personal to me anyway." she aimed it right at Spark's forehead.

"Oh, God! Please don't!" Spark pleaded with tears starting to fall.

"And for Asimov, and the people you've terrorized and killed!" she squeezed, a single pop, and Spark's body crumbled to the floor.

The hangar stood quiet for what felt like hours. It was the first time Inez had ever taken a life, especially in an execution manner. She held the gun in both hands, a twinge of regret pricked her mind as her thumb ran over the slide of the gun.

Louis stepped up to her and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Hey...it's going to be okay. Just give me the gun."

Inez sighed and put the gun away in her pocket until she could find a holster. "I'm alright." she turned to them. "It's finally over. And I for one am glad. Now if you'll excuse me, Asimov needs my help."