CHAPTER 25: PARADISE'S RAID.

"Paradise was made for tender hearts; hell, for loveless hearts." -Voltaire.

March 28/2296

Six days passed since Inez and Asimov joined with the wanderers. They had just left the county of Roscoe and into the very border of Pennsylvania. Above them was an endless sky of various grays that cast a tense gloom on the group. But Inez kept her spirits up, after learning about their self-appointed mission, she was giddy about finding a forgotten place filled with prewar tech. Louis explained to her that was simply one of the possible theories at the end of the signal, but it didn't stop her from holding on to hope.

"So what will you do once we find this place?" Inez just couldn't stop asking him questions.

"I don't know..." Louis had been wondering that himself. "We need to find out what it is. That's the first task at hand."

Doug held a folded map in his hands plotting the next best route through the state. Everyone kept point to guard each other and rotated their shifts. For some reason the barren land kept them on edge, maybe it was the endless gray overcast, or that there was no signs of any civilization for days. The state might have suffered more decay from the Great War, not even a radroach had crossed their path. Whatever the cause, their hands stayed close to their holsters, ready for any surprise that sprang up.

The old road beneath their feet crumbled with each step. And the land was practically barren with barely a dead hedge or bush to be seen. Any towns they saw in the distance looked stripped down to almost nothing. Cracks ran across the bone dry ground, as if the land hadn't have a drop of water for over two hundred years.

Joe especially didn't like the feel of this land. Places like this were filled with horrible stories or things that sounded supernatural and bizarre. It made his bones ache the further they got. "I really don't like this place. Something about it is making the few hairs on the back of my neck stand on end..."

Wayland nodded. "I miss the sun..."

"This cloud cover does seem endless." Asimov spoke monotone as ever. "It's possible that the fallout of the Great War caused this unusual weather pattern."

"Louis, are you sure you're reading your Pip-Boy right?" Chloe asked, the gloom started to drag her down.

"As I said before, yes." he answered while checking the screen. "I don't like this place either. So let's pick up the pace to get out of this area quicker."

"It's only two hours before noon, yet it feels like night is close." the endless gray clouds threw Doug off his sleep cycle. "That reminds me, what's our sleep situation? Because I don't want to sleep in the open again, no matter who's on guard duty."

"Unless we come across a decent enough building, we're ruffing it in the open again." Louis knew he was right about the dangers of sleeping outside and wanted to keep moving to find a place for shelter.

Victoria looked ahead for signs of something different against the endless gray sky. And soon she stopped in her tracks upon seeing a glow of pale orange and yellow in the distance. "Guys, hold on. Look at that." she pointed them towards the light.

Soon everyone spotted the glow several meters ahead. With caution they pressed on as the light got brighter the closer they got with the sounds of throbbing, voiceless music. And soon the trek up the steep hill revealed what laid before them three miles ahead, an oddity they could have never expected.

A barren town, stripped down to nothing but its frames and foundations. There was nothing of value to find, it was a nameless place long forgotten. But that was not the source of the light and pounding music, at the very south end of the town laid four factories lined in a row. Spotlights and neon shined upwards, the only source of light against the murky gray. They could see people coming and going at the entrance which seemed to be once the employee parking lot. All around and in between each factory appeared to be structures made of any materials that could be scrounged up, giving the place a vast perimeter that fenced off the outside and turned it into a well covered shanty town. Above the entrance hanged a long neon sign of flashing colors, they couldn't really make out what it said from the distance.

"What the hell is this place?" Louis asked to break the silence.

"And what's with all the lights and music?" Victoria wondered next.

"This reminds me of the things I've heard about New Vegas." Joe stroked his chin. "Always wanted to go to Nevada..."

Chloe also felt at odds with the place. Everything about it felt like a red flag. "Perhaps we should pass this place up. I got a bad feeling about it."

"It's the only place we've seen in the last few days. We can see if they have places to sleep." Inez suggested.

"She is right." Asimov stepped forward. "And we can get better directions from someone."

"You know, I think we should check this place out." Louis looked at the place like a vacation destination. "In fact, I think we could all use a break. Who knows, this place might actually be fun."

Cavall barked with excitement, wagging his tail and patting his front paws around.

Doug didn't bother fighting the issue. "Fine, let's check it out." he huffed against the slight chill of the air. "At least here we can't come across any trouble."

"I just want something to eat..." Wayland spoke to himself.

It didn't take them long to walk the three miles, and during that trip they began to see more of the strange location's theme. Near the wide entrance stood dozens of people drinking and dancing around bonfires and barrel fires, evident of the ground littered with empty bottles of all shapes and sizes. At last they stopped ten feet away from the entrance and got a good look at the sign that flashed different colors of bold neon lights.

Paradise's Raid.

"Well...that's an interesting title..." Doug scratched the side of his head, not knowing what to make of it.

Joe just scoffed. "The name sucks."

"Hey, doesn't the people here seem kind of...unusual?" Victoria asked as a few people with metal claded armor passed them.

Louis' eyes widen upon what she said. The people around them were strangely dressed, some with leather armor or metal plating covered in spikes. Others had tattoos or strange patterns painted on their clothes. Another group had Mohawks while another had chains hanging from their suits. The odd patterns and designs went on and on, and at first they didn't see it until another group of people passed them dressed in the common gear of Raiders.

"Holy shit! Guys, we're surrounded by Raiders!" Louis alerted them. "All of these people are Raiders!"

In that instant the wanderers grouped up. They couldn't believe they didn't notice right away, and after they just dealt with a pack of Rust Devils almost a week ago. None of the various Raiders seemed to pay the group any mind other than the casual glance, most were too drunk and having too much fun to notice or care.

"Everyone, let's back away slowly." Joe's hand rested on his Webley. "I don't know what's going on here, but we better go."

"That area to the left is the least crowded," Louis saw a clear opening. "On my signal, we'll make a dash for it. Get ready and-"

"Hey new bros and sisters! Welcome one and all!" a shrill, sharp voice cut out.

The surprises of the strange place just kept coming. A bald man leaped in front of them as if coming out of thin air. But what made him more weird was the fact he only wore a crude leather briefs and ankle high sandals, and boxing tape wrapped around his forearms. A thin leather harness wrapped around his dirty and scraggily chest with three poles poking upwards behind his back, at the ends rested three baby doll heads covered in nails and odd marks.

"I can tell just by looking at you fellas that you're new to this place!" the bald man danced with a crude staff.

It felt like minutes passed as they stood and stared. Their minds boggling with uncomfortable confusion upon seeing this underdressed jester dancing around.

"Aw, don't be like that, bros and sisters! Just step on in to paradise! Where everything you want is waiting!"

"Okay, just stop for a minute." Louis held his hand out before he shot the man where he stood. "You're right, we're new here. So why don't you stop dancing like there's ants in your pants and explain."

"Ahh! For you see, that is my job! I am the official gate greeter of..." he paused for a moment before throwing his arms out and shouting. "Paradise's Raid!" several people around cheered before moving on.

"Yeah, we got that from the sign. So explain what it's all about." Chloe pointed towards it.

"What's it about?! Why, everything!" the bald Raider grinned, clearly loving his greeting job. "Here, Raiders of all kinds come together with traders and people just looking for a good time!"

The group took a better look around, and as the bald Raider said, caravan traders and travelers passing through mingled with the various Raider clans. Even a Brahmin caravan bringing in supplies was welcomed by the people at the gate.

"How...does a place like this even happen? How do people just party with these killers?!" Doug asked, all his life he was told not to trust Raiders.

"Easy! This place has a strict set of rules to follow! Everybody wins, everybody is happy!"

"And the rules are?..." Joe inquired.

"Oh, why spoil the fun?! You guys will quickly pick it up!" the gate greeter started dancing around again to their annoyance.

"I'm probably going to regret asking this," Victoria just couldn't help but ask about his scantily choice of clothes. "But what's with your outfit?"

"I am a proud member of the Naked Ravagers!" he boldly proclaimed.

"I regret it already..."

"We face our enemies in battle almost, if not completely naked! We are born naked, so we'll die naked and free!"

"You'll catch a cold that way." Wayland spoke, he never understood why humans got so personal with clothes.

"Okay, I think we've officially hit crazy town." Inez expected to come across weird things, but not this soon. And being surrounded by Raiders only made it worse.

Asimov didn't need to read her facial cues to know she was distressed. "Perhaps we should circle around this location. It will take longer, but it's better than wandering into unknown territory."

"Oooh, no can do, metal dude!" the Naked Ravager wagged his finger. "That's one of our most strict rules! Nobody is allowed anywhere outside other than the entrances! There are guards posted all over the walls and towers! People and critters always try to break in!"

Louis looked to the Pip-Boy, and as he feared, the signal was pointing straight through. "Then we have no choice. The signal is pointing straight through." he looked back to the bald Raider. "How safe will we be inside?"

"As safe as you want, as long as you have the caps, bro!" he wiggled his brows.

"Stop saying that!" the Vault dweller's fists clenched.

"The point is, follow the rules, don't piss off the High Lookers, and most importantly...always pay back your debts." he warned while leaning forward. "Other than that, you'll have a great time!" he backed up with a smile.

"Alright, whatever." Louis muttered and checked his backpack. "Secure your gear, guys. Just in case..."

"And here I thought I've seen it all..." Joe said while lighting up a cigarette.

The wanderers paused at the gate, the buzzing lights welcomed them from high above. Yet it felt more like a twisted trap waiting to go off as soon as they stepped in. But regardless of the danger by passing through, they didn't want to take the chance going around if the bald Raider was telling the truth about guards.

Once they entered, their eyes squinted to the light shining on them after days of being in the shadowy gray. High above hanged light bulbs, florescent lights, and even burning gas lamps helped illuminate the ceiling made from canopies and metal supports. They couldn't help but be amazed at the work put into the place, stores and shops lined up on both sides and seemed to stretch on forever. Wires and cables ran across and dangled from the metal and wooden struts, providing power from hidden generators. A brick structure started to become visible, it was the first factory ahead. In another feat of restructuring, a large section of the lower wall had been torn open to allow more space and compensated with metal beams to keep the ceiling from collapsing. Catwalks hanged under the makeshift ceilings, they couldn't see where they began or ended. It seemed like they just stretched on forever out of view.

Hordes of people and Raiders filled the dirt and concrete covered ground, nearby shopkeepers called to any random person to buy their wares. Groups of people wandered aimlessly, a great deal of them either drunk or partying like it's their last day to live. They identified several different groups of Raiders, each with their own unique styles.

One group had rainbow colored Mohawks, another with clothes made of leather straps and belts, others with metal spikes covering their armor. Two people were seen arguing in front of their groups, one man with animal bones woven on his leather armor, the other had the front part of a human skull covering his face above the mouth.

Shops weren't the only thing lining the path, prostitutes of both gender stood around to draw in customers with skimpy clothes that left little to the imagination. Some even wore what looked like bondage gear for customers with special taste.

"Just about every prostitute you can imagine is here..." Victoria grimaced, yet she also felt sorry for them. She had seen many people being sold off as sex slaves, and those were the more lucky ones.

"It can't be helped." Chloe said as a male prostitute winked at her. "Places like this prey on the desperate just to get through the day while selling their bodies piece by piece."

"All the more reason to get out of here." Louis looked around for any sense of direction. "There's got to be directions somewhere in all this clutter."

"If directions is what you all need, I'd be happy to help..."

A new man stood beside the group, wearing a black suit and fedora, holding a clipboard against his chest.

"Oh, goody, it's...this guy..." Joe pointed with his smoke.

"My, are you the comedian we've been waiting for? I was told he's a Ghoul..." the black suit man jokingly asked.

Inez looked him over, even his shoes were nicely polished. "I have a feeling you're not a Raider, are you?"

"My goodness, I'm afraid not. I am known as an Itinerary Man." he held the thick clipboard forward to show. "Men and women, yes, we have Itinerary Women, we help direct people and tell them about current and upcoming events."

"I suppose that makes sense." Asimov stated. "This place is a maze."

"It can be a little crazy if you don't know your way around." the Itinerary Man smiled a crooked grin. "And if you don't mind me saying, you people are probably the strangest newcomers I've ever seen. And that's saying something..."

"Great, we're the weird ones..." Louis said as Cavall nudged his hand, to which he petted him in return. "So if you know things, then tell us the story about this place."

"Excellent, I love giving telling people about the history of this place." he cleared his throat and fixed his fedora. "These four factories were once the pride of this forgotten town. Almost everyone back then had a job here. The first one was a steel mill. The second a food processing plant. The third a vehicle factory. And the fourth a power plant. The details of why each factory was built so close to one another are sketchy, but a lot of people believed it was to cut down on costs of making the foundation and travel for the workers."

"People tried all kinds of things to use less resources..." Joe finished his smoke and flicked it. "Fat lot of good that did..."

"And as you all know, the bombs dropped and the world went to shit. The factories stood dead for a few decades. Then about a hundred and thirty years ago, a big caravan came across this place. And over the years and generations, the factories that were once a safe place to live grew into a hub of trade and pleasure! The people that found this place managed to hire a roaming group of Raiders as bodyguards. That's how Raiders today can enjoy this place without hurting anyone. They even stripped the town throughout the decades for materials to expand this marvelous place. Now everyone can eat and drink, sleep and party, gamble and enjoy the pleasures of the world before! That's our motto in Paradise's Raid."

"Yeah, I'll bet guys really like the pleasure part..." Victoria scoffed, places like this were built to attract sick perverts.

"Oh, no, we would never cater to just men. We offer a wide range of sexual activities in our Red Light District. There's working women for men, working men for women, and vice versa, specialty rooms for every kind fetish you can imagine and some you might have never thought of." the Itinerary Man looked through the pages of his clipboard. "In fact, if you ladies are in for something quick and efficient without much mess, there's always a Mr. Pleaser around."

"What the hell is th-" Inez began to say.

"Look! There's one now! Mr. Pleaser!" he waved to it.

A Mr. Handy quickly floated up to them. "Hello, how can I be of service?!" it asked in its usual chipper tone. "Seems like I have three lovely customers."

Before they could even say anything, the reprogrammed Mr. Handy lifted its three arms. And attached at the ends of those modified arms, three long green and red and black dildos connected to metal bars to pump the sex toys up and down.

Their jaws felt like falling off, Asimov almost couldn't process it, Joe dropped his newly lit cigarette, Wayland just looked at the toys confusingly, and Cavall tilted his head, sensing everyone's awkward mood.

"I have a multitude of setting! For ten caps each I will please you ladies with whatever you like!" the Mr. Pleaser raised its arms higher. "The most popular function to date is...the jackhammer!" all three dildos started reciprocating until they began to blur just like a jackhammer head.

"Alright, that's enough! Just stop! For the love of god, just stop!" Chloe shouted in disgust. She had to hold her wrist to not grab the plasma pistol at her hip.

"If you change your minds I am always around this section." the Mr. Pleaser lowered its arms, not even picking up on their offence. "Ah, if you'll excuse me, I have a regular waving for me!" it turned and floated towards its next customer.

"I feel...very disturbed..." Victoria shivered, that image won't be leaving anytime soon.

"I suppose I sprung that on you all." the Itinerary Man casually flipped through the pages, clearly he had seen everything in Paradise's Raid. "Most newcomers are hesitant at first. Give it some time and you people won't want to leave anytime soon!"

"Actually, we're just passing through." Joe picked up his smoke and blew it off. "And the sooner the better..."

"I understand. Just keep heading straight and you'll eventually find the way out. Paradise's Raid is full of winding paths that could take a few hours." he looked towards Wayland. "And we don't mind the robot, but just be sure to keep that...thing...on a short leash. Wouldn't want any of the High Looker with an itchy trigger finger to have a reason to shoot it. So, goodbye!" he waved before turning around to leave.

Louis' fist curled, he was about to reach out and stop the man to give him a piece of his mind. Wayland quickly grabbed him by the shoulder to stop him from doing something that will get them all in trouble.

"It's fine, Louis..." the Super Mutant whispered.

The Vault dweller calmed down, no point in wasting words on a shady man like him. Joe also took heed to the warning and slowly turned his eyes upward to the catwalks. He spotted a burly man looking down from up above wearing clean black clothes, a bulletproof vest with pads and sunshades. Strapped to his back was a long gun case packing a strong firearm. The man scanned the crowd for troublemakers and focused on the group.

With a bearing to go on, the wanderers pushed forward through the ever growing crowd. Suddenly, the people shifted forward in their direction, which forced the wanderers to pick up the pace or get trampled. The crowd only grew in size as they lost their direction thanks to being herded like cattle until coming to a stop somewhere inside the first factory. Just like all around the outside, the inside had been added on to the point of almost being impossible to recognize what it once was before.

High above rested an open balcony made from wooden planks and concrete. The crowd looked up to it and waited while talking to each other. The wanderers could barely move in the crowd to meet up in the center. Before they could say a word to each other, the crowd started cheering as someone stepped out from the dark opening.

A man in a sharp suit and sunshades and black hair combed back and held firmly by gel. He stood near the edge and placed his white glove hands on the concrete rails and looked down on the people and smiled while removing his shades.

"It fills my heart with joy to see so many people in paradise!" he spoke to the crowd who cheered upon his words. "For almost a century and a half, this slice of heaven has provided for travelers and Raiders alike! We have everything you can think of and more!"

The crowd ate his words up, the group thought to themselves that the man above must run the place. Or at least one of the people that do. No way one person could manage so many locations by himself.

"We have built this community from nothing! It is people like you all that have helped this place grow and prosper!" he extended his hands out, the people only got more stirred up. "We run this land! We have more food, clean water, booze, and trade than anybody else for hundreds of miles all around! We have more security and civilization than any backwards settlement! Caps flow through these grounds, we even have more places to gamble than New Vegas! I sometimes wish the Three Families were still around so they could be envious of our wealth!"

Applause and cheers drowned the area as the man reached down and picked up a sack of caps. He jingled it around to confirm what's inside to the people, the wanderers felt this was going to get way out of hand very soon as he opened it and reached in.

"So enjoy your time here, both regular and new comers! And have a couple of rounds on me!"

A handful of caps rained down on the hands reaching up. People slugged it out or crawled on the ground just to get a few caps. The man tossed a few more handfuls until the bag was half empty. The wanderers got swept up in the tide of bodies and separated from each other. Louis was pushed the farthest away from his friends and got turned around, it was like swimming against a current. So he pushed his way out and hoped his friends had the same idea as more people filled in.

The man on the balcony turned away and fixed his tie as the smile on his face turned to a scowl. "Fucking animals. Crawl around in your filth."

Several minutes passed until the crowd moved on with handfuls of caps while some laid on the ground unconscious. Doug spotted Inez and Victoria and waved them down. Wayland, Asimov and Cavall rushed up, and finally Joe and Chloe pushed past a staggering drunk that was in their way.

"Has anyone seen Louis?" Doug asked frantically.

"I was hoping you have." Victoria answered.

"You guys don't think someone took him?" Inez worried while looking around.

"I doubt he would be taken without a struggle." Chloe commented.

"Should we split up to find him?" Wayland suggested.

"That is not a wise idea. We're still new to this place." Asimov spoke.

"Hold on, I got an idea..." Joe kneeled down in front of the large canine. "Listen up, Cavall. We need you to find Louis. Can you do that? Come on boy, sniff Louis out. I know you can do it."

Cavall perked up to hearing Louis' name. The hybrid started sniffing the ground to find his trail, everyone felt like Joe's plan was going to work as Cavall walked a few steps forward. But he came to a stop, they thought he lost the scent for a moment until his tail started wagging. Cavall turned his head to it and began chasing it around and around.

"What the hell are you doing, dog?! Find Louis!" Joe threw his hand up and through his hair. "Why did I think this would work?!"

()()()()()

Louis walked aimlessly through the dimly lit corridors, not knowing how he could have gotten so far away from them in the commotion. He tried asking a few people he passed for directions, but they either responded with drunken mumbles or too busy having fun to notice. Cheers fell upon his ears, the noise came from a hallway with a bright light at the end of it. The Vault dweller decided to chance it and see if his friends were there.

But to his disappointment, none of them were found. Instead, dozens of people gathered in the area that was once one of the factory's work floor. Everything once there had been stripped away with only impressions left behind from what Louis could see in the crowd of people.

Spread out on the floor stood six fighting rings in the shape of hexagons with chainlink fences in said shape. Spotlights shined down on the arenas, putting the focus on the fighters in each cage. Small announcer stands and betting boards covered with names and numbers were placed near each ring.

Louis rolled his eyes, it didn't surprise him a blood sport like this would be here too. Two people shoved pass him from behind and headed for the cage at the far corner where the crowd was thickest. Despite hating the idea of people fighting for entertainment, curiosity compelled him to see what the big fuss on this match was about.

He moved through the crowd and got close enough to see the fight. A man slammed against the chainlink fence, making the onlookers near it reel back for a moment before cheering again as the man slumped to his side unconscious. At the center of the ring another man fell onto his back, arching in pain as the other opponent loomed over. The crowd got more worked up as the last fighter kneeled to punch the fallen fighter in the face.

The fighter wore only black boxer pants and boxing tape wrapped all the way up his forearms and hands. His tan body showed a very strong build with faded scars all over. His brownish black hair shaved at the sides with the middle long like a Mohawk. But instead of being styled up, the hair reached pass his shoulders. On his back a tattoo of a black and gray dragon's head stretched almost all over the skin. Its horns reached to his shoulders, fangs poked out from its long maw, and its burning red and yellow eyes had a disturbing lifelike look to them. Almost as if the entire scaly head was about to peel off.

The losing opponent rolled off to his side to avoid another blow and slugged his fist outward. The dragon tattoo man blocked with his left forearm and stomped his bare foot onto the other fighter's chest to pin him. The standing fighter reached out and grabbed the man's hair and jerked his head up. The crowd knew the fight was about to end, the Raider paused for a few moments for dramatic effect before slamming his opponent's head against the ring floor and put him out of the fight.

Cheers and boos soon followed, the Raider threw both his fists up in victory to taunt the ones who bet against him. But the fight wasn't over, he forgot about the woman that jumped from behind and put him in a tight sleeper hold. The man thrashed around to throw her off, but the woman held tight and locked her legs around his waist. It seemed like the man was going to lose as he fell to his knees with his head hanging limply. But it turned out he was just showboating for the crowd, his head suddenly flung back and smacked right into her nose. Blood dripped from her crooked nostrils and her grip weakened, giving the man an opening to reach back and grab her by the tank top. She joined the other two on the floor with a loud slam that rendered her unconscious.

The victor threw his hands up again to the sounds of cheers and hateful jeers as a bell rang four times. A number of beer bottles were thrown against the fence and shattered to pieces upon impact. Sudsy beer dripped from the fence as Louis covered his head from the pieces of falling glass. The man in control of the betting board calculated the results of the win and paid the waiting winners. On the announcer stand, another neatly dressed man grabbed the hanging mic and pulled it close to his mouth.

"And the winner of the third round with an impressive three to one knockout...Radcliffe!"

The man ran up to the cage and rattled it, the knuckles of his boxing tape stained with drops of blood. His taunt only pissed off the losers while others chanted and praised his name.

"Yeah! Come on! Shout my name! Shout it loud!" He screamed to the crowd and shook the cage harder.

The chainlink door to the cage opened up, four people came in to drag out the defeated fighters as another placed a stool down at the corner. Radcliffe took a seat as the arena assistant handed him a bottle of water. The fighter took big gulps and swished it around in his mouth before spitting out a mouthful mixed with some blood. He had taken a few blows to the face earlier.

"Hey, can we get some booze in here before the next match?!" Radcliffe asked the assistant.

"You can't get drunk before fighting. Everyone fights sober so they don't have an edge."

"I was talking about giving some to my next victi- I mean opponents so they could have an edge! They needed it!" The crowd near Radcliffe's section laughed with him.

Louis huffed and decided he had wasted enough time and turned to leave. But he saw something odd on the other side of the fence, the announcer was kneeling on his stage as someone else on the floor whispered into his ear. Louis didn't think much of it until the man quickly handed the announcer a small sack, he didn't need to be told it was full of caps. The announcer quickly hid the bribe in his jacket and stood back up to grab the hanging mic.

"Ladies and gentlemen! Our next fight is about to begin!"

Radcliffe stood back up and cracked his knuckles. The assistant took the stool as four new fighters entered the ring. Three men and another woman, all of them glaring death at the Raider. The cage door slammed shut and locked, nobody leaves until only one winner stands.

"There's been a slight change to our final match! The free for all fight will commence with! Brass! Knuckles!"

Radcliffe choked on the last sip of water from the bottle. "Say what again?..."

The four fighters reached into their pockets and took out a pair and slipped them on quickly. They smiled while clicking the weapons together to get him on edge.

"Hey! Hey hold on a second! I don't got any weapons here!" Radcliffe shouted to the announcer as loud as he could over the noisy crowd. "Let me out! I didn't sign up for this! Let me out! Now!"

The announcer just shrugged his hands as if he had no control over the fight. And he didn't bother to hide his snickering grin and just ignored Radcliffe's shouts. "Place your final bets! And remember, once you enter the ring, we're not responsible for any injury or death!"

Four loud rings from the bell signaled the fight to start. One fighter with dark skin took the first plunge by charging forward. Radcliffe only had enough time to turn and block with his forearm on instinct. The blow hit hard and broke through the boxing tape and skin, leaving a rough cut that started bleeding. He used that opening to swiftly kick the fighter in the chest and knock him down.

The second fighter with a bandanna around his head used the first fighter's distraction to close in while throwing his fist. Radcliffe received a blow to the pecs and another to the collar bone. The Raider ignored the pain, failure to focus will only get him beaten. He caught the next punch with his palm, which broke his skin and drew blood again. But he got his payback and socked the bandanna fighter in the nose to throw him off. The female fighter came in from the side and punched Radcliffe in the ribs and again in the side of the stomach. Radcliffe had enough and got himself out of the corner with the three other fighters following close. The last fighter with a deep scar across his stomach bided his time, his knuckle dusters had four spikes on each one.

The crowd couldn't get enough of the fight, everyone wanted to see more blood as the ones who bet on Radcliffe began to panic and shout insults at the Raider to fight better. The odds were stacked against him, and it would be a big payoff if Radcliffe lost from what the numbers showed on the board.

"This isn't right! Those fighters are working together to beat that man!" Louis said to himself over the screaming watchers.

Even if the man is a Raider, four against one wasn't right. But he didn't know what to do, and it was unlikely he could get the fight to stop. And then it hit him, he remembered the knuckle dusters he found at the fort and searched his pockets. He found the weapons and quickly fished them out. Louis had to hurry, the crowd cluttered around him tight because everyone wanted to be as close to the fight as possible.

Radcliffe took another blow to the chest and hip that caused him to stagger. Bleeding bruises started to swell up all over his body, the four fighters started to surround him to cut off his retreat. The one with spikes on his dusters finally sprung into action by attacking from behind. Radcliffe heard the fighter coming and turned around to protect his back. With a heavy swing the fighter raked Radcliffe across the chest on the right pectoral and made four deep cuts. The attack made him stumble back and fall to his rear, the four fighters started closing in like a pack of wolves on prey.

"Hey, isn't this suppose to be a free for all?! Beat the shit out of each other already!" Radcliffe started crawling backwards towards the fence. Despite his cocky demeanor, he began to panic on the inside, the last thing he needed was to lose this fight.

Louis finally stood in front of the fence where Radcliffe crawled towards. He only had one chance before the fighters pounced to attack. The Vault dweller didn't know if this would be of any help, the man was still outnumbered, but it was better than nothing. He stood on his toes and shoved the dusters through the opening close to the floor.

"Hey! Take these! Hurry!" Louis shouted to get his attention.

Radcliffe heard the clatter of metal against the ring floor. The weapons were like a godsend, and he didn't question why the man in the blue jumpsuit and black trench coat gave them to him. The Raider rolled towards the dusters and scooped them up. In moments he laced his fingers through the holes and grinned, now it was their turn to know what being punched by knuckle dusters feel like. Something he intended to do tenfold.

The fighter with the bandanna got too cocky and dashed ahead of the others to get Radcliffe while he was down. A mistake he will pay for immensely. Radcliffe kicked outward and into the fighter's knee. A crack was heard upon impact, even over the screams of the crowd. The man wailed in agony, which made the crowd cheer for more. The bandanna fighter fell onto his back and gave Radcliffe the opening he needed to flip back onto his feet.

He wasn't done with the fallen fighter, Radcliffe's hands reached out and grabbed the fighter's ankle tight. In one swift motion he pulled the fighter towards him, the man tried to crawl away or fight back. But Radcliffe's fist slammed right between the man's eyes, the duster broke the skin deeply and left blood trickling out onto the floor. The fighter went limp from the blow as Radcliffe dished out several more heavy punches to the fighter's face until he was sure the man was out for the count.

The other three fighters stepped back, they didn't expect anyone would come to his aid. Radcliffe grinned and started clicking the dusters together, eager for one of them to make the first move. He had a reputation for fighting savagely when pissed, and being beaten all over made him seethe.

"What's wrong? You guys had no problem ganging up on me before! I only have a pair of knuckle dusters, not like I got a gun! So bring it!" Radcliffe dared them eagerly.

The three looked to each other with fear in their eyes. Nobody was allowed to quit the fight in the last round, either defeat or death was the only option.

"Just get him! He's still outnumbered!" the one with spiked dusters shouted.

The other two snapped out of it and ran forward and split up to hit Radcliffe from both sides. He dodged the first swing from the woman and sidestepped from the other man who overreached his punch and stumbled forward. Radcliffe took the opening and gave a swift punch to the ribs and twisted for good measure. The fighter fell to his knees holding his side, at least two of his ribs were cracked. Radcliffe balled his fists and landed two blows to the sides of the fighter's head at the same time. He fell over to his side holding his bruising head, the woman fighter sneaked up and gave Radcliffe three hard hits to the back.

That made him mad, it pissed him off when someone attacked him from behind. He stumbled for only a moment before spinning around with a flying fist that connected to her jaw. He felt her teeth click upon impact, the pain made her scream with blood dripping from her lips. She bit her tongue deep thanks to that punch, leaving her dazed and vulnerable for an uppercut to the chin. The fighter fell back with an arc of blood flung up into the air, to which the crowd cheered as it splattered on the floor. The last fighter's arms trembled, his partners out for the count as Radcliffe stood waiting for him to make the next move.

"Don't got much balls when your buddies are down, eh?" Radcliffe said before spitting on one of them. "But hey, I'm a little soften up from all your attacks! So come get me, you just might get lucky!"

The spiked duster fighter threw caution to the wind and charged forward screaming. He lashed out wildly, forcing Radcliffe to keep his guard up and back around the hexagon ring. His uncoordinated strikes left cuts and scrapes on Radcliffe's arms and chest, the bruises on his body made it uncomfortable to move and hurt even worse when one was hit. In that moment he came up with a plan that most would find risky and downright foolish, if not stupid.

Radcliffe suddenly left himself open to an attack. The fighter didn't think, he just went with it and threw his right fist. Pain shot through Radcliffe's left pec near the armpit, the crowd's cheer stopped for a moment, the one inch spikes of the duster punctured his skin. But that was the opening he needed, Radcliffe's right hand suddenly grabbed the fighter's wrist and held like a vice. The fighter panicked and was about to throw his other fist as Radcliffe's free hand collided with the man's vulnerable elbow. He felt the joint crack through his knuckle dusters, the fighter screamed and pulled his arm back. It hanged limply and crooked, and he couldn't hold back the tears falling from his eyes anymore.

Radcliffe looked at the four bleeding holes on his chest that started to bruise and wiped some of the blood away. He closed in to deliver the final blows and end this crooked match. The crying fighter let go of his arm and weakly threw his good fist. It was slow enough for Radcliffe to catch it under his arm and held tight. With one arm broke at the elbow and the other held firm, Radcliffe socked the man four times in the face. One in the eye, the nose, the cheek, and the last right into the forehead. Radcliffe let go and watched the man fall to his knees and gave a hard knock to the top of the head for good measure before letting the fighter fall to his side.

The bell rang, the crowd went wild, even the people who betted against him couldn't help but lightly applaud the good fight.

"Holy shit, he won..." the announcer's voice lightly echoed from the speakers. He heard his voice and fumbled with the mic and changed his tone for the audience. "I mean, shit! He won! The winner is...Radcliffe!"

Radcliffe leaned against the fence as the door opened. The attenders did their tasks and dragged out the fallen fighters, he took the dusters off and held them in his palm while trying to look for the blue jumpsuit man that gave them to him. Radcliffe spotted him near the exit of the room, the Raider figured he didn't want to stick around in case someone figured out he interfered. Which only made him wonder why a complete stranger helped him out.

"Who is that guy?" he asked himself and held the dusters tight.