Claws of the Wastes Chapter 25: Dreadful Melodies, a fallout fanfic

Chapter 25: Dreadful Melodies

I was practically bouncing up and down from pure excitement. "Myles! We found it! The location of the Enclave Base we have been searching for so long for!"

I didn't even care about my wounds, the excitement was far too much. This is it, Finally! The information we, I have been searching for so long to find.

Myles finished putting the terminal back into position. "We should tell Maxson immediately!"

I gave him a nod, and we quickly made our way back to his observation room at such a fast pace you would think we were on the run from something serious!

My feet' talons clanged against the metal flooring. We didn't run into anyone at all during our trek through the lowest bowels of the Prydwen. We arrived at the staircase right up to the same floor as his observation deck but something was off, yelling I heard yelling. Stopping Myles just before going up the steps to his room with an index claw against my mouth to silence him.

"I thought I told you to keep your scummy, machined ridden trickeries off my Prydwen! How did you even get on here?"

"Arthur, you don't think I would come here on my own accord, do you? Nate came to me and insisted that I come to you, and ask you for a report. He also has me to inform you that some survivors of The Institute have been doing experiments with creating... Synths. I'm not talking about humans either. They have been making synthetic Wasteland creatures, too."

"Damnit, Danse! I told you to never return to my Prydwen! I don't care what Nate told you. Why don't I shoot your sorry ass off now?"

I peeked through the doorway. I saw Maxson looking down at a scruffy-looking man in a shambled suit of power armor. It was broken in all parts and essentially useless.

I knocked on the wall with the back of my claw. This made Danse turn around with unnatural haste, and Maxson seemed annoyed. He noticed me first, even though Danse turned around first.

Danse reached for a hidden pistol under his suit. "Arthur, get down!"

Maxson was going to grab the gun, but I darted into the room and had almost forgotten to duck down through the doorway, and would have busted my horns on the top of it!

I shoved Danse with the entirety of my body and grabbed his arm gently enough to not hurt him. I disarmed the gun from his hand as Myles came in as well and helped me subdue him.

"Do you mind, Danse? They already shot me at once a few days ago. I would much prefer to not be basted again, even by your pretty pea shooter."

Myles was about to say something before Maxson stopped him. "Despite what it might seem, Danse, this deathclaw has helped us quite a bit," he looked at me and frowned, "although he doesn't seem to have a concept of waiting to interrupt me yet. Barging in at the worst of times!"

Myles let him go. "This is the Synth, Danse I heard so much about?"

I saw Maxson give him a nod.

Danse went off. "Damn it, Arthur! I was trying to tell you they are experimenting on Deathclaws and Yao Guai specifically." He pointed at me with enough fury you would think I had wronged him personally! "There is no way that thing can talk normally!"

Maxson's glare went from Danse to me in an instant. His usual callus and judgemental look turned to pure hate in an instant.

Oh, dear…

"John...you better, better not have been trying to fool me and my entire Brotherhood this entire time! Are you a Synth? I will have you hunted from here forever!" he was even angrier!

I backed up with my arms up and tried to calm this down. "I don't even know what a Synth is! I haven't done and trudged through all this crap with the Enclave for you just to betray me because you think I'm some... Machine!" I lowered my arms and aggressively approached them both. I'm not having any of this crap! "We are so fucking close to finding the Enclave! I know the location of their main base! You fucking kill me here and now you will never know it!"

I looked back at Myles to ask him to not mention anything; he understood instantly. "Myles would know!" Maxson pulled out his knife and tossed the gun back to Danse. They got ready to launch at me.

I backhanded Danse, just enough to knock him over. I grabbed Maxson by the collar of his coat and raised him into the air, choking him. Myles kept Danse occupied.

"Arthur Maxson, my name and Johnitan Lambert. I was hatched. Do you hear me? HATCHED in Vault 522 in Nevada on April 5, 2262!" I let him go with a throw to the ground, making him fall over, "You can't be fucking serious with this whole thinking me a Synth, bullshit!"

I turned around, not even listening to Maxson. "You, Danse! Making fake claims to Maxson just because you are a damn machine yourself. Not fair at all. I am an effect of F.E.V, not some machinery!"

Myles kept his grip on Danse. "This will help none of us if we argue and try to tear each other apart. I know John isn't a Synth." He turned to Maxon and released his grip on Danse. "I ask you, Maxson," he trailed on.

"I've been loyal to you and this Brotherhood since you recruited me. I have earned your trust to listen to me one time. John has done nothing for you to distrust him, especially not because Danse says so. He's saved both me and your life already. What reason do you have to not believe him?"

Before any of us could make a reply that a recruit came barging into the room and halted at the scene before him, he nearly panicked, looking up at me and then down to Maxson. "Umm, Maxson, sir. We have an emergency. Megaton is under attack by the Enclave. They are trying to haul people away and they don't have the numbers or firepower to defend themselves. It's our duty as the Brotherhood to-"

Maxson stood up rather aggressively, pushing me aside. "Thank you, Recruit. We will head out shortly." He looked back at me. "We will continue this later!"

"Well, that was awfully convenient. I'll grab my Bumper Sword and make my way to one of the Vertibird."

I quickly dashed my way past everyone and nearly knocked the recruit over, going through the door.

Synth…

What on earth even is a Synth?

Danse is a Synth. He and Maxson have a history. I'm going to have to dig deeper into this.

Me... a machine? I looked down at my hands, making my way to Myles' room. That can't possibly be correct. I remember growing up; I remember the Vault; I remember my parents teaching me how to speak, read, and write. Also, how to function normally, but that was a given.

The walk back to Myles' room was uneventful. A few soldiers here and there getting ready and geared up to go take back Megaton.

As I entered his room, I could only think about Cat and Mike. I hoped they were okay. Megaton is just a town looking to survive the harshness of this Wasteland like everyone else. They don't deserve this.

Besides, they showed me kindness I never would have expected. I am going to save them off that alone. I was quick to grab my blade and left the robe behind. I'm not hiding anymore.

I strapped it to my back and darted out of the room, closing it up again, and made my way to the Vertibird landing pad.

I saw everyone boarding the various Vertibirds and flying off with Maxson, Danse, and Myles waiting on me.

"About the time you got here, we almost left without you!" Maxson said before boarding the Vertibird with Myles and Danse following.

I ducked down and entered the Vertibird. Everyone settled down and looked at me.

"I, uh... cannot take a seat. I don't know if any of you noticed that I'm larger than a human." I leaned against the wall of the interior, away from the door. "I'll just be over here."

"Right...so Megaton is under attack. We are going there to help them from getting destroyed. We are going in and killing every Enclave soldier we see! As well as save as many residents as possible." Maxson said while sitting down, checking his gear.

Myles was checking his gear and Danse kept giving me dirty looks every so often. The trip was mainly silent aside from the blades of the Vertibird spinning and the engine.

I looked over the Bumper Sword and it looked like it was an acceptable contribution. I sharpened it on both ends, using my claws.

Apparently, the sounds triggered something in Danse. "Why do you even need a sword? You are a literal tower of death and destruction. Your claws should do more than enough."

I just gave him an annoyed sigh. "I had a good friend in Nevada teach me how to make and use this sword." I held it up sideways, at the same level as my head. "I made it in a time of desperation, my escape from an Enclave Base. This blade was more than a weapon. Other than that, I don't want to dirty my claws. Do you have any idea how difficult these are to clean?"

That answer didn't seem to satisfy him. "What about your species? You look more like the deathclaws back at the Commonwealth rather than the ones here in the Capital Wasteland. Those in Nevada look more akin to those here at the Capital."

I leaned back against the wall of the Vertibird and set my blade down, leaning against the same wall. "I don't know how to answer that. I know there are other subspecies of Deathclaws, of course. The ones here in the Capital Wasteland and Nevada differ from my kind. I have never been to the Commonwealth. For example, everyone in my Vault was like me. Not like any of the wild ones I ran into there and here."

Maxson stood up and prepped his Gatling Laser with a Fusion Core. "We are almost there, get ready everyone!"

Myles got his assault rifle prepped. "Ready when you are, Maxson. We will follow your move!"

Danse grumbled. "I haven't fought by your side in so long, Arthur."

Maxson opened the door, looking at Danse. "Don't get used to it, Danse. I only dragged you here because I don't want you on my Prydwen."

He couldn't even reply before Maxson charged out, joining the rest of his Brotherhood. I followed behind Myles and Danse. The rest of the Power Armor-wearing Soldiers flooded in a line at the entrance to Megaton.

With some hand signals, a few of the leading men charged us in. I squeezed my way up from the back with some kind of "Excuse Me," and "Pardon Me," to the frontline troops.

I held my sword up and gave them a nod, and we changed in all at once.

The town was.. barren. No one was out, but it didn't look like there was a fight here.

"Well, that was anticlimact-"

I couldn't even finish my sentence before an absolute wave of both plasma and laser came from all directions. It blasted nearly everyone behind me and I sustained more fire myself. I took cover on the right side of the town. Leaping over to avoid the shots, and landed on my side.

I was pretty okay, all things considered. Quickly getting up. I assessed the losses of our soldiers and it seems that 3 out of our I would assume 20 got killed. The rest seem to have scattered.

Fucking great.

I crept around the building rather than go back to the entrance. The shots came from above. I was going to go up to their ramp and get those bastards.

I heard shots at me as I went up, sword in hand. I charged up the ramp, passing Moria's store. I'm pretty sure I would go up to the purifier.

They didn't even hear me coming, surprising given that my talons weren't exactly quiet against the metal ramp.

I crept up behind one of them and jammed my sword right into his back, right at the fusion core, and kicked the other one down before they could even turn around. Falling with a scream through his helmet.

Twisting the blade, I forced it upward and twisted with all my might. The agonizing screech that came for her was something else.

Using my other hand, I wedged my hand under her helmet and sliced her throat open. Her pained screams turned into a bloody gurgling. She died quickly, and I leaned her against the railing, removing my blade from her spine as I left.

So much for being quick and quiet. The sun was just rising, as this was all going down. It looked like a war zone below me. They needed my help.

Leaping down from one section to the other, I landed on one of the Enclave Soldiers, impaling them with my sword and knocking them down with the force of my body.

"Hello, it looked like you needed help," I said to Maxson, as he scoffed at me.

"I didn't need your help, but I can't deny the effectiveness. Let's go get the rest of them." I gave him a nod and followed behind.

Stopping Maxson as we went outside Mike and Cats' house. "Maxson, are you going to be fine on your own? I have to check on some people."

"You have to ask me that? Yes, I'll be fine. You insult me with such a question."

He went off in the opposite direction as me shooting at some Enclave in the distance. Nervousness washed over me as I approached their door. It was closed and locked.

I knocked and said quietly. "Mike, Cat. It's me, John! I came here to help you defend against the Enclave. I'm with the Brotherhood, very sudden. I know." I waited for a moment, no response. I was a sitting duck waiting out here. Deciding to barge into the room, ramming into the door with the force of my body. It didn't stand a chance.

The room was quiet. Nothing looked like there was a scuffle in here. Creeping up the steps to their room, I slowly opened the door while standing away from it, using my sword. Keeping myself out of the opening completely and was met with multiple strands of gunfire, which sounded like a 10mm pistol. That wasn't Enclave weaponry.

I heard heavy, nervous breathing from the other side and I spoke up. "Mike, Cat. It's me, John! I'm here with the Brotherhood to help you take out the Encla-"

Unable to even complete my sentence, Cat practically jumped me as she shrieked with joy, jumping on me in a big hug. "John, John! Oh my gosh, I can't believe it; we were hiding and heard the shots." Her excitement turned to tears. She embraced me even harder.

Mike now addressed me by putting his gun away with a shaking hand. "John, ou-our daughter has joined the Enclave. That is where she left. She left to keep us safe. She came here to warn us about the approaching fight."

I let go of Cat as a sinking feeling struck me. "I... killed a woman in power armor on my way here. I hope it wasn't her."

Mike didn't even seem to care. "If it was or wasn't her, I don't care! She is dead to me, attacking her hometown like that!"

"How could you say something like that about your daughter?! She came to keep us safe."

That's right. "Okay, I wanted to make sure you two were safe, relock your door and don't open for anything, you understand?"

They stopped arguing and agreed. Getting back outside was no hassle, it was all the firing that worried me. I didn't take that long, did I?

The gunfire was something else entirely. It sounded like it was coming from one side, screaming of panic and rage ran through the town. Ground, the ground was shaking and not from explosions.

Going down from Mike and Cat's house, I could see what all the ruckus was about. Another goddamn Behemoth. Where are they getting all these?

I was pretty annoyed at all these Behemoths. "This is some kind of the last line of defense for the Enclave or something?"

With an annoyed growl, and darted past the Behemoth and stopped in front of him, the platoon of soldiers behind me, and were cornered. I drew my sword from my back and stood sideways, pointing it at him. "You are an abomination!" Holding it up with two hands, sideways at my shoulders, "Get out of here, Brotherhood! I can handle this one!"

The Behemoth did the typical roar and mindless charge, missing me with his fist and he grunted in pure rage.

We were backing up dangerously close to the bomb at the center of town. At least I could see everyone was safe.

They all do the same thing... they can't even mutate them to be smarter and faster. You know what? I don't need my blade to take this fucker down.

I jammed the tip of my blade into the ground below me and sharpened my claws together with a quick cross of both my hands before roaring out and charging at him.

Avoiding a punch and giving a wide slash across his ankles, running under his legs, I practically crippled him there. The gashes were large and gnarly, bleeding excessively, and felled him upon his knees.

It's almost like they aren't used to others fighting back, receiving pain. His leaning down was just enough distance for me to grip him by the jaw on both sides and quickly grip the insides of his mouth, tearing it open from the inside with all my strength. Horizontally maiming his entire mouth and jaw altogether, dislocating it about halfway through with a wet and nasty crunch, the sides of his mouth leaked so much blood it covered my arms and the ground below me. I didn't stop. I kept tearing till nothing more than a sorry flap of skin held together his mouth when I finally let go.

Backing up as he collapsed onto the ground with a thud. It was so loud, shaky, and forceful that you would have thought it had been an earthquake if you didn't know any better. I almost lost my footing.

Flicking both of my hands to get the globs of flesh and blood off me as everyone cheered around me. That must have been it.

The Morning sun rose beyond the metal walls and revealed the carnage. Multiple Enclave Soldiers littered the ground but not so many Brotherhood. I only think those, in the beginning, are the only ones who died. I used a bottle of water to clean my hands and claws the best I could. I noticed a familiar face looking at me from the bar near the bomb, sitting down and drinking. It was Harden.

I continued to wash my hands as I approached. "Glad to see you still kicking, Harden. This attack was sudden for everyone. Did they take anyone anyway?"

He gulped down an entire bottle of whiskey, slammed the empty bottle on the table, and turned to me. "No, sir! The Brotherhood came just in time. They were getting ready to storm our buildings and take everyone. They dropped the Behemoth in from a Vertibird that picked up the remaining Enclave that wasn't killed off. No losses on our end, it's kind of amazing! Not to mention you standing up to the Behemoth all alone so the rest of the Brotherhood could recover, ballsy."

I turned around to pick up my Bumper Sword. "It was nothing, not my first time taking out those big, green pricks. Are you going to be alright cleaning up here?"

He got up and made a gesture with his hand to send me off. "Yeah, yeah, I can get some people to help me here. It was good to see you again, John. I'll tell the doc you are alive and well."

"It was good to see you again too, Harden. Do me a favor and say goodbye to Mike and Cat for me."

A lot of the Brotherhood had already left and carried out the wounded. Maxson and Myles were at the front gate.

"You seem to have a thing for killing Behemoths. Our boys didn't have enough firepower."

Danse joined Myles, and everyone looked okay. "I seem to be good at that... I don't know why."

"You are just good at killing things in general. It's in your name, after all. You aren't called Deathclaws for nothing."

"Gee, thanks."

I addressed Maxson directly as he was checking his gear before getting ready to leave. "Maxson, sir. I have a request from you. I need a Vertibird. I need to do this alone, too. I can't tell you why, you wouldn't understand, but just know that I'll be back at the Prydwen before the day is over. I can only tell you after I have done it because I don't even know if it will work." He let me finish what I was saying. "No, I will not take on the Enclave on a suicide mission. I need to return somewhere and I only know how to get there from the air... if that makes sense. I ask you, Maxson, please! I will return with the Vertibird, I promise you!"

He set down his Gatling Laser and crossed his arms. "Why do you need to do this alone? The Brotherhood does everything together if you haven't noticed. Do you even know how to operate a Vertibird?"

I gave him a quick nod. "Yes, yes, I do. As for why I need to do this alone, I don't want to risk anyone else. I'll be fine, I just need your "okay" I won't be gone for more than a day. Haven't I earned your trust? I am not going to just fly away with it. I just need to reach my destination quicker."

"Can you at least tell me where the Enclave base is before you go?"

I shook my head. "I don't have time for that. Just give me a Vertibird and Myles can tell you."

He thought for a long moment before deciding, picking up his Gatling Laser and leaving out the front gate. "Fine, fine, but I swear you cross me. I will hunt you down."

I agreed with that completely. "Yes! Hunt me all you like if I fuck this up. Just give me at least a day at most. I'll return to the Prydwen between the afternoon and tonight."

He glared at Danse and Myles, who had been quiet, and then at me. "I'll tell everyone to not shoot at you. You may take the furthest right one. I'll see you in a day."

That was more of an order than a message of luck, but I didn't care! The rest of the soldiers boarded their respective Vertibird and left me all alone, outside Megaton with my Vertibird.

I gave the straggling one a wave before boarding the cockpit of my own. I can only just barely fit into here. I have to lean down uncomfortably, but that is a sacrifice we make to do these things.

I started the engines and began adjusting the position to turn it around completely. I took to the skies with ease and made my way back to the Enclave base. I was going back to The Click.

Knowing how to get there from the air, simply go over the Jefferson Memorial and follow the shore till you reach a rock face. It's just beyond that cliff. A feeling of anxiety and dread as I saw it in the distance washed over me. How long has it been since I escaped here? From the sounds of things. I was unconscious for about a week since I arrived at the Prydwen once again.

The trip took no time at all. It was pretty close, all things considered, and took me less than an hour to arrive.

The existential crisis I suffered internally as I landed right in the open field to where all hangars were. Everything was quiet. All the doors were still closed, and the place looked as dead as I left it. One might think I would be suicidal coming back here. Why? Why would I come back here?

It would be too hard to tell Maxson and Myles that I came back here to bury Emma. She deserves that, at least. I had it in my head that no one would have come here the whole time I was out.

I stayed in the Vertibird much longer than I wanted to admit. I.. didn't want to go back in there. This was a suicide mission. Not only that, I don't want to see that massacre again.

Eventually, after not getting shot after sitting there for god knows how long, I left the Vertibird and attached the keyring to one of my horns.

My first stop was the hangar where Emma took her life. That be... the one on the left.

It was an open field of concrete with three hangars altogether. The furthest left one led into the base that I escaped from, and the right side held all vehicles. Couldn't help myself but pause before entering the hangar. Gathered every ounce of bravery I had and quickly opened the large set of double doors, the rusty clunking and screeching of the door echoed throughout the interior. My eyes adjusted to the inside, and I scanned the interior. It looked the same.

I decided not to enter the middle one. Something compelled me to check it, though. The left side was much harder to open. Not because of the door, no, this was all me. Here goes absolutely nothing.

With the blade in one hand and the handle of the hangar in my other, I rushed into the room... I was so quick that I didn't even see the inside before charging in and ran directly into a rundown vehicle.

Mistakes like that will get me killed! I checked myself for injuries and determined it hurt my pride more than my body. I might be a walking tank of scales and death, but running full force into a large metal vehicle still hurts.

I gathered myself and crept through the place. The place didn't look like they cleaned it at all since the slaughter.

Judging from the dried blood stains and.. absolutely awful smell as I drew deeper and deeper into the hangar.

I attempted to hold my breath. I was close to where Emma shot herself. It was right at the door to the base itself.

Believe me, I was beyond aware of what I was going to find. Her body would have started to decompose. I knew what was going to happen. No matter how much I tried, I couldn't sugarcoat what was inevitable.

I debated turning back. I didn't have to do this. I also couldn't just leave her here... Going beyond a broken van of sorts, I saw it. The two soldiers I killed on my exit and Emma's body, right where it was before.

I just… felt my heart sink, and I froze and just... stared at the scene before more. She looked awful.

Okay, okay... I just need to pick her up and... carry her away from here.

It took me a few tries, mainly because I couldn't find it within myself to pick her up.

I found myself a tarp in the hangar, as incredibly difficult as it was. I wrapped her in a tarp and tied it together with a metal wire.

The silence aside from the buzzing flies and shifting of metal in the room was.. unnerving, to say the least.

Not wanting to stick around long, I carried Emma past the hangar, past the Vertibird. Up the rocky slope. There was a clearing with a single dead tree.

I set her down by the tree and began digging a hole. My laws made it pretty easy.

Using a bit of the sword too, like a shovel. I can't believe it. I would not look around for a proper shovel. It took me some time to dig into this tainted ground. But I pulled it off. The hole was large enough to bury her properly.

It felt sad… that was all I can describe it as. The air was heavy, and the feeling was very similar to when I buried everyone in my vault.

I carried her from the tree and placed her into the dugout hole. Making sure to turn her away from the Hangar.

"Nobody will cry for you, so I will."

"Nobody will mourn you, so I will."

"Nobody will miss you, so I will."

Tears began to fall. I noticed a necklace around her neck as I put her down. It was a deep blue color. It had 2 beads with a heavy, almost see-through gem at the end, a still blue circular shape.

I decided to gently take it from her. I wasn't stealing it, this was more of a momento. I placed the tip of my blade on the ground and wrapped her necklace around the handle and hilt of my blade. Keeping the gem against the handle and attempting to grip and swing it, it was more of a decorative addition.

"I hope you find your family again, Emma. I hope you will find peace. You didn't deserve your fate, but I... understand. I almost took my own life multiple times after losing everything. Part of me wants to be mad at you for giving up. You deserve better than that. You saved me."

I cried as I buried her. I know I barely knew her, but I saw parts of Sophia in this woman, the selflessness and compassion. She suffered a great loss like me. Emma gave up everything to save me. I didn't deserve that.

I cut off some bark from the tree and made a cross out of two pieces. Sharpening the bottom to properly stick into the ground.

'Emma'. I carved it into the bark and placed it at the top of her grave.

It is done. I wiped my tears and took my blade from the ground and left the hill, back down to the hangar.

Instead of going back to the Vertibird, I went back into the Hangar, where she took her life. My feelings went from sadness to rage. I wanted to make someone pay! Recklessness washed over my usual caution. I charged into the hangar with a newfound fury. Not hitting the line of vehicles again.

No fear, no worry. I wanted blood.

I wanted blood…

I found blood, but not in the way I wanted.

I re-entered the halls where countless people got massacred. The stench of rotting bodies and blood filled my nostrils and nearly made me recoil out of disgust when I opened the door.

No idea what went through my mind... I should have thought, All the bodies are still here, no one is here.

Your mind gets clouded by rage and anguish at the worst of times.

The place just got worse and worse as I went through, flickering lights. The stench grew more and more.

I shouldn't be here.

Another stupid thought came across my head. I can finally figure out what they did to me here while they drugged me out. Did... did I want to know?

The halls got more and more bloody, and the pile of bodies grew more and more as well.

As I went through, I saw... flashes of my Vault. My vision took me back there for a moment as I turned a corner. Just...red painted walls. You couldn't even tell the blue stripes anymore.

This caused me to recoil back and have a minor panic attack. I looked like a deer in headlights. I stood there against one of the bloody walls, arms spread out, gripping it with my claws like my life depended on it, and panicked. I couldn't move. Every fiber of my being wouldn't let me.

Trauma is a hell of a thing. Strikes you when you need it not to. The room was dark and gritty. I didn't even know where I was in the grand scheme of things. Did I move at all? I didn't even know at this point. Okay, okay... it's fine.

I steadied myself; I don't know what eventually caused it but regained control.. that was weird to say but I was walking through these halls but only saw my Vault.

With a quick shake of my head and a sigh, I continued through. Got to be stronger than this. You won't know the truth if you can't break the past.

I found a hallway that wasn't completely going under a new paint job. This place looked somewhat familiar. I remember seeing bits and pieces of this area while I was under their sedative.

There were a few rooms on the side at the end of this hallway. I peaked through a few of them and one was an office room, nothing that I saw of interest.

One of the other rooms was a multiple terminal and recorder sort of set-up and a glass observation room in front of them.

It looked kind of like my holding cell. Emma mentioned the wall was a one-way observation room.

You can see it, but whatever you are watching can't see you watching them.

I felt strange being on the opposite end of this now. Also awfully convenient that the room I find is mine or one similar.

I stared at the terminals and debated if I wanted to know what they were doing to me. It would all be on record here after all, right?

I held my blade up and thought long and hard about destroying the whole row of machinery. Whatever happened to me won't be known to anyone.

But... I have to find out. I have a feeling of dirtiness like they violated me, inappropriately while they drugged me under.

It's no secret they would try to use me to make them a new army of intelligent deathclaws for their nefarious purpose. I want to know if my suspicions are correct.

I powered on all three thermals at once and waited for them to boot up.

I closed the door behind me, gently, and crouched down at the terminal.

I browsed through the many documents and it wasn't anything on me at this one. It was mainly files of all the soldiers, citizens, and their survival rates... I'm assuming that was for the purge.

Okay, off to the second one. This one was still booting up. Great.

Guess I'll check the third one.

This one was more records, more status reports, and mission ops. Not what I'm looking for.

The second one took a few more moments to finish, so I impatiently waited for it.

The clacking of the terminal was the only sound I heard at the moment, the jingling of the keys attached to my horn. The only light within the room was from the terminals.

This one was looking promising, with records of various captured creatures and animals. They were organized by species and gender. From the looks of things, they were trying to breed various creatures and train them from birth to fight for their cause.

It's much easier to send an army of loyal creatures than train a whole army of people.

They got the most deadly ones you would expect, Deathclaws, Yao Guai, Ghouls, and Super Mutants.. some minor considerations like Bloatflies, Dogs, and Radscorpions.

They weren't breeding Ghouls and Super Mutants... I fucking hope not, at least!

I didn't dig deeper into that one.

I browsed through the Deathclaw section of the folders and found multiple records on various ones from all over, from the East to the West Coast, from younglings to adults. Seems they were trying all their efforts with Deathclaws.

Most of the ones that they currently hold are female from the looks of it. That's a rather odd thing to specify, wouldn't you think?

I couldn't find any record of myself. No Intelligent Albino to be found. That doesn't mean they did not experiment, does it?

There is absolutely no way in hell they didn't get me to mate with one of the matriarchs while they drugged me. Or they got an unwilling... sample from me. Especially if they were going to kill me, which I know they sent me here for me to die.

I just want to know... I don't know why, but I do.

I searched every single file. Nothing at all on me. I determined they were breeding Deathclaws and taking the eggs from here, probably to Crow's Perch.

I spent enough time here anyway, probably best I don't know. Jamming my sword into the screen of each terminal and cutting the wires in the back so they would all be permanently unsalvageable forever.

I can't say I was glad or disappointed, just indifferent. Just one last thing I need to pursue.

Finding my way out was easier than entering, just following the trail of blood and bodies to the exit. Nothing worthy of note came from me getting back outside. I skipped all the rooms and didn't dare look at anything.

This place needs to be forgotten, maybe even blown up. I'll see if I can't convince Maxson of that.

I haven't been so happy to see the sunlight once I reached the Hangar once again. I didn't have an existential crisis on my way out as I did entering.

Wasting absolutely no time, I boarded the Vertibird and took to the skies in record time. I just wanted out and away from here.

I did what I set out to do. I couldn't just leave Emma to rot or be eaten by the savaging dogs that would inevitably find their way here. That rotten stench travels much farther than a human can smell.

The Prydwen was visible in the distance. I couldn't wait to return there and get something to drink and have a decent sleep. A sleep, finally without wounds or drugs to keep me out.

I never even realized how tired I was till I thought about it. I was going to have Myles sleep on the floor tonight, with no arguments.

Soon we would take on the Enclave at their base. I'm beyond ready and yet not at the same time.

Everything has led to this moment. I won't be backing out. You can imagine my surprise when I could approach the Prydwen without getting shot, right as the sun was setting. I didn't think I took that long.

Maxson was waiting right on the landing pad, and probably spotted me from a distance. "You made it back. I didn't expect it so soon, if at all."

I locked the Vertibird in place and exited right onto the pad, leaving the keys inside. They can handle that I'm sure, "I thought I would have returned sooner. I still made it within the time frame."

He gave me a nod and turned around to return to his observation room. "Indeed, you did, we. We prepare to take on the Enclave tomorrow. Get rested up."

I wasn't even able to question him before he left. Alright then. There is always tomorrow, off to Myles' room then.

Taking the route of the lowest part of the Prydwen has become a common practice for me at this point. I used to take the upper portion where all the airbags were, but the lower section leads anywhere from anywhere.

I don't have to follow twenty hallways to reach his room. I'm just at that section if I follow a few flights of steps. Kind of amazing.

I came upon Myles' door but noticed something completely out of place. There was a damn Super Mutant at his front door! This one looked different. A torn Vault Suit is what this one wore rather than the typical rags and sacks the other ones call clothing.

I think I can see the number. It's 87. I know nothing about that one, never even heard of it.

He didn't see me as I leaned against the corner just outside of the room. He was waiting for something, someone.

Surely enough Mia and some other woman came walking from the other end carrying boxes of things I couldn't tell from here. She and the other lady talked to the Mutant before entering the room.

Okay, so she knows him. Glad I didn't decide to kill him there. I thought about doing exactly that, too.

I knocked on the door and heard the barking of a dog, wow I haven't heard an actual dog in forever.

I leaned myself down to be at eye level with whom I thought was going to be Mia, but the door was answered by a blonde-haired woman instead. She wore a pink overall dress and had a scar alongside her neck. I startled her at first and then regained her composure. "Mia! There's a damn Deathclaw at the door!"

"That must be John. Let him in!" I heard from across the room.

She looked at me and shook her head. "Something tells me I shouldn't..."

I just grumbled at her. "Listen, Miss. I have had a hell of a day. I don't want to sit here and argue with you. Step aside or I'll move you myself."

"You can talk?! And no, I won't be moving! You wouldn't dare put your hands on a lady...?"

She didn't budge still, so I grabbed her gently by the arm and spun her around, ducking under the doorway and we swapped places. "There now you are the one who is outside, toodles!"

I turned back around, making sure not to hit her with my tail as I entered the room.

I'm surprised everyone Mia brought could even fit in here. "John! So glad you could make it! Myles said you went on a solo mission. How did it go?"

Here I was in a room with a Ghoul, a Super Mutant, a Dog, Mia, Myles, and that other woman.

"First of all, I'm not the most out-of-place thing here anymore, secondly I would like to tell you tomorrow. I am much too tired."

She gave me a nod and went down to pet her dog. "Understandably, I brought some friends along to help with our attack on the Enclave tomorrow. This dog right here, Dogmeat, helped me take back Project Purity.," She was petting him with both hands across his face and letting him lick her too."Yes, you did, boy! Yes, you did! We took out those bad men and women, didn't we? This dog means the world to me. The first kind soul I came across when I left the Vault who wanted to join me. He wouldn't leave me alone once he started chasing me."

I removed the blade from my back and leaned it against the cupboard. "I met some pretty amazing dogs in my travels, too. This one seems special."

She stood up and approached the Ghoul leaning against the wall in the corner. He wore a decked-out suit of leather armor with metal straps and arm guards, leg guards, and shoulder pads. "This is Charon. He believes that because I hold his contract that I am his master, but he knows he's free to do whatever."

He spoke up. "You are my boss. I am bound to whatever you do or want. The contract says that. Much better than that Ahzrukhal bastard."

She scrolled through her Pip-Boy to show me. "I bought this contract from a right prick back in a place called Underworld, all the way in D.C. It was Super Mutant territory. Charon here also helped me take out the Enclave and was there when my dad died.."

"Sorry to hear about your father still, Mia. I'm glad you found some friends along the way to help you in your struggle."

She gave me a nod and a smile while sitting down at the table and called over the Super Mutant. "This here is, Fawkes. He played an important role in both helping me retrieve the G.E.C.K. but also was one of the people who helped me get out of Raven Rock and take back the Purifier, letting the clean water flow for all."

Fawkes spoke after Mia.

"Mia, she saved me from the confines of Vault 87. When I was changed into a mutant, my brain wasn't turned into mush. Something enhanced enough for me to know that their mindless bloodshed and making of more Mutants was wrong! So they trapped me in a room for... I don't even know how long. Mia freed me and we wiped out that place of any mutant. Then she got captured by the Enclave. I ran through the Wasteland and followed their Vertibird till I found Raven Rock. There I awaited her exit and secured an escape route. The rest is history."

I gave him a nod of acknowledgment. "I had a Mutant friend in Nevada. Lilly was their name. They taught me how to make that Bumper Sword and use it too. She is a Nightkin. Do you at all remember what you were before?"

He shook his head and thought for a moment. "It's all.. a blur. I remember the Vault and the halls, but not who I was before. I know I was a resident there and was experimented on... It was before the war I was living there when the bombs dropped and were changed after."

She leaned, went behind him, and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Don't go straining yourself, big guy. Your past doesn't matter. What you were before doesn't change that you saved me."

"Thanks, Mia. What about you, John? I have never seen or heard about a talking deathclaw before. What is your story?" Fawkes then asked.

"Well, my species is a product of F.E.V, much like Super Mutants. Except it gives us sentience and allows us to speak. Mind you, I wasn't created by getting dipped in F.E.V. I was hatched from an egg."

That blond woman from earlier came to the table, slammed down a drink, and rather aggressively pulled a chair back. "You forget about introducing me, love?"

"Of course not! I was saving the best for last! John, this is Clover. My lover, girlfriend. Which you prefer to call it. She was a slave in a place called Paradise Falls."

I remembered her! "Yes, you mentioned before when you first told me about her. She was more than just a slave too, from what I understood. I hope you took out all those bastards."

I got up for a moment and retrieved my journal from the cupboard, took my seat back, and wrote about everything that I hadn't the whole time.

Clover asked me, "What are you writing for?"

I continued to write as I answered. "Well, you see. I have my entire journey written in this journal. I decided I was going to get caught up on current events. Just in case I don't make it through tomorrow."

Myles came into the room with a handful of stuff. "Well, that isn't very optimistic! We will be going at them full force! We got this!"

I just had to ask, "What's the plan exactly?"

Myles put the boxes down and continued. "We will scope out the place and then go in, in groups. That way, we don't all get shot down at once and will be essential in squads. Everyone will go in at different times. This is our squad here. We will go in first actually, Maxson decided that since we have all the 'non-humans', our group is the best option for front lines."

Everyone seems to agree with this, but I had to say. "What if I wanted to go alone? My father could be in there and I want to help him?"

Mia answered first. "We all understand if you want to do that, we will be fine. Do what you have to do. Don't feel bad for leaving us, if you need to."

"Yeah, John. I got your back! With or without you being there. If you aren't here as well, we will save Glavin for you."

Clover asked. "Who is Glavin?"

I didn't even look at her to answer. "The man who kills off my entire species, killing my mother, and ruining my entire life."

I stopped writing and decided. "I think it's time I head to sleep. Goodnight, everyone. Myles, do you care if I use your bed?"

He answered. "No, no, not at all. Go ahead. We will keep quiet."

"I appreciate it."

I fell asleep pretty quickly, even with everyone chattering.

Waking up, I found myself in an empty room. I might as well get ready for the day.

No one was here at all. They wouldn't leave without me, right? No, there is no way.

Probably should hurry anyway. I prepared my Bumper Sword and put my journal back in the cupboard, tied within my robe.

I squeezed myself into the shower and decided that I was going to have a quick washdown.

Fortunately, I am expecting instant hot water this time around and can adjust it without getting burnt.

I tried to make this as quickly as possible, mainly focusing on my claws and face. I was very aware this could be my last shower, ever. I know, right? Talk about priorities. I'm not worried about this being my last shower, I'm worried about this being my last... anything!

Yes, imagine how unsatisfying it would be to know my last action before the fight was a damn shower!

This whole situation has filled me with dread, a worry that won't go away. Something is going to happen, something is going to go wrong.

I heard a knocking outside the bathroom and heard a voice. "John? Mia told me to come to wake you up. It's almost time to go. Are you ready?"

I think I knew who that was, not a lot of feminine voices to determine from after all. "Clover? That you? Is everyone waiting for me?"

I heard her creak the door open. "No, everyone is still gearing up. Mia let you sleep. Not like you need to get dressed or anything.," She said with a small laugh. "Do you mind if I come in? I can't hear you."

I turned around in the shower to face her and she entered before I could even answer. "I'm pretty sure you could hear me just fine. Why did you even ask?"

She tried to casually lean against the wall. "Well, I wanted to make sure you weren't standing in here with your dick out or something like that."

I just turned my head and glared at her for a moment. She was very clear about where she was starting. "That is awfully forward of you, very presumptuous and inappropriate. I would much appreciate you being gone, and I'll be out in a moment."

She scoffed as she eventually left. "What's the matter? Big bad deathclaw worried a little woman like me will find them inadequate?"

I grabbed a towel off the wall and growled at her as I left the shower. "That would only be a concern if you had a chance in hell of wooing me. Too bad you aren't that appealing, isn't it?"

She seems incredibly offended. "Here I was going to offer you a good time before we left! You can't just sit here and insult me. Who do you think you are?"

I finished drying myself off and asked her the same. "Who do you think you are? Trying to cheat on Mia with me, of all people? You should be ashamed of yourself! Consider yourself lucky that I'm not tilted enough yet to tell her your attempts to bed me! Now, if you could kindly fuck off, I have a war to prepare myself for."

Her demeanor changed, and she laughed for a moment. "Yo, John. You need to chill. Mia and Myles had a bet based on how you would react to me trying to sleep with you. I wasn't serious at all, but Mia was testing you and she completely expected that you would pass, but you completely shut me down. Props to you, men are much easier to sway, it seems. Myles fell for my tricks once, even!"

I scoffed. "Myles will sleep with anything that moves and resembles a woman. As for Mia testing me, I'll believe that when I hear it from her."

"That's fair. I'll see you at the landing pad."

I gave her a nod as I finished drying myself off and grabbed my Bumper Sword.

Time to face the music.

Leaving Myles' room, I made my way through the lower portion, ending up at the steps to the landing pad

Everyone was already boarding. The whole Brotherhood battalion was getting ready for this.

I saw Myles standing by one of the Vertibird, that must be ours. "Where are Mia and the gang?"

He boarded and said. "It's kind of hard to board a group of soldiers, a deathclaw, and a Super Mutant all in one Vertibird, wouldn't you say?"

I followed him after realizing that. "Yes, that would make sense."

The pilot didn't even wait for us to get situated before taking off. All things considered, the destination wasn't very far at all. Just past the Jefferson Memorial and down the Potomac River till you reach the Ocean.

It took us a very short time to get there. I watched Myles gear up in a new suit of Power Armor with grey paint and the Brotherhood insignia proudly displayed on the shoulder. I had to ask him. "Myles, I want you to promise me. Should I die here, you will take out Glavin for me?"

He wasn't expecting that, putting on his helmet and prepping his gun. "It's only right if you do it. If you should die, I will continue your vengeance, yes. But please don't die."

His please sounded sincere. "I will try, Myles, I will. These bastards are going to pay for the things they did. To me," I held up my sword with Emma's necklace still wrapped around it, "To everyone."

We landed on the shore just off the location of their base. You could barely see it from the sky, it was under the water. Clever bastards.

Maxson gathered everyone up and announced as we left our Vertibird. "Brothers, Sisters. This is it. This is the end of the Enclave. We all have all trained and suffered for this moment right here. This is for the entire Wasteland! We will make them all bleed, no mercy, no survivors. We made the mistake of leaving remnants of the Enclave alive before. We won't be doing that again. Ad Victoriam, Brotherhood!"

Quick and to the point well done, Maxson.

I rubbed both my hands against my head and found Mia. "Here goes nothing, huh?"

She leaned against me and said, "I've already done this once. We will be fine. I thought you would have been more excited to finally take them on. It was you who found the place, after all."

I just sighed. "I feel my destiny draws me here to die. This is where my story ends."

She pulled me closer for a moment. "Listen, John. I saw you survive things that should have killed you 20 times over now. If you died here, it would be a damn shame. For my sake, I won't be able to sleep for plenty of nights seeing you die. Please, for my sake and everyone else, make it out of here alive."

One scribe came by our group and gave us a rundown of the situation. "Okay, listen up. Their base seems to run on a cycle of 32 seconds. What I mean is there is a small opening that happens every 32 seconds, a platform to run on, and everything. The only issue is that once the timer is up, the platform dropped and anything on it that doesn't make it through is lit up by not even exaggerating, like 50 turrets. It's way too far for any man to run on without getting pumped full of lead."

He flipped through his notes and continued. "We don't have any land vehicles narrow or fast enough to get speeds that fast within the limit. We can't fly Vertibirds in because it's all underwater. They must have some kind of internal mechanism that allows them to fly Vertibirds in and out."

I strolled my way to the shore, and he pointed out the walkway and the opening. "You see that, don't you? It's an automatic system. That must be how they get in and out without getting their base out of the water."

Someone volunteered to do the run, but I stopped them. "I can do it. I would be the fastest here after all. Crossing an entire body of water in 32 seconds? I probably could pull it off."

Maxson spoke up over everyone. "You sure? You realize if you fail, you are literally dead in the water?"

I gave him a confident nod. "I am very aware of that fact. Someone has to do it, though. I don't want to see your troops sacrifice themselves when it's something I can most likely do."

He put a hand on his chest and gave me a little bow. "Your sacrifice won't be in ve-"

I kindly stopped him. "Maxson, please. I don't intend on this being the end for any of us. Save the honors for then, when I'm laying dead."

Mia and Myles both came up from behind me and hugged me.

"Please don't turn yourself into shredded parmesan!" she joked.

"Yeah! What she said. Good luck, John."

"I'm going to need much more than luck, you two!" I shouted back.

I heard and encouraged bark from Dogmeat and Fawkes, and Charon and Clover all gave me encouraging words that were mainly along the lines of, "Don't die!"

Yeah, thanks guys, "Don't die," will really stop those bullets.

I watched the opening, the walkway, and the water. One of the many soldiers watching asked, "Is there anything you want to say before you go?"

I shook my head. "Anything I want the world to know, and not know, would be in my journal."

Timing the cycle for myself was indeed 32 seconds, exactly.

"I'm going on the next rotation. Get those bastards if I die here."

Everyone gave me a cheer, and my heart sank. It drew closer and closer.

You just have to run, that's it!

I heard the mechanism of the platform rise before the door opened and hesitated.

"Wait, wait. Everyone, you probably didn't hear that, but the machine that lowers and raises the platform is right below us in the water here. I heard it."

"What does that mean?"

"That means I can run early when I hear the gears strain."

I raised a hand and counted down early.

Right when I heard the gear turn, I ran! Ran like the fucking wind. I was so damn quick that any pre-fired bullet went right by me.

The only problem with being so quick is that I couldn't stop. I crashed right into the opening but on a good note; I was in as it closed up behind me.

I heard some faint cheering in the distance behind me before... silence.

Silence is unnerving for me. Something has to be going on at all times everywhere, right?

The dark brown walls of the slightly lit interior looked unimpressive. This was supposed to be a hidden entrance. I do not doubt that.

I did the only thing I can do, move forward. Creeping ever so silently through these tunnels, I saw nothing out of the ordinary. It looked like a normal pre-war facility.

No rooms, just hallways. Lots of hallways. I got confused about directions. Nothing was on the walls. They intended this place to lose you if you don't know the layout. Definitely.

I took hallway after hallway, with nothing at the end of either. Okay, I still have options. Let's exhaust all directions before we panic.

I backtracked pretty far, far enough to where it split into 6 directions, minus where I came from and minus the 2 directions I already checked.

I had an idea. I scratched the sides of the wall to mark where I had already come from. There, now I can't get lost.

Going down the hallway, I saw that one of the other sides looked different. I had never been so happy to see the absolute ugly color of yellow that adorned the hallway.

Looks like this way led to a doorway which… led to a room, finally!

The room itself was dimly lit, and I snuck into it. Make sure to scan it for anyone because...it was empty.

Okay, this was weird. Nothing was in here. It was empty. Completely, not even a speck of dust.

I wonder if this is to thwart any potential intruders.

Quietly I went from room to room, I was looking for a power generator. Cancel their power so everyone else can get in.

Another room, more nothing.

Things were looking kind of hopeless till... I entered a room with a holding pen. It looked very similar to the one they held in me at The Click, except the observation window was on the outside.

I glanced into the window and saw a Dark Coloured Deathclaw laying on his side, fast asleep in this metal prison.

Holy shit, I know who that is.

"Ocrum!? Is that you?!" I couldn't help but shout.

He got up with a jolt and looked at me. His eyes went wide as he noticed me. "John!? There is no way! I thought you were dead!"

He instantly got up and leaned against the glass, getting a good look at me. "You...you are real? I'm not going crazy?"

"Yes, yes! I am real!" I tapped on the glass to show him I was, in fact, real.

"Look at you all grown up, my God."

I leaned my hand against the glass. "Ocrum, you look awful. What happened to you?"

"You can imagine that 30 years of imprisonment would deteriorate my body. They kept me to reproduce with unintelligent females, but none of the eggs came out intelligent. They did the same thing with your father."

Not that I ignored what he said, but I had to know. "My dad is alive? He's the reason I made it out of the Vault, to begin with."

He gave me a slow nod. "Yes, Harris is still alive. He should be just beyond my holding cell. If you can find your way through the maze of a hall, you will find him."

I backed up to look at his door. "What about you?"

"I must confess something to you."

I had a bad feeling about this. "Go ahead."

He stretched out with both arms against the glass. "It's my fault…"

"What... what do you mean, exactly?"

"Our Vault... I let the Enclave in. It is my fault. I got everyone killed."

My joy at finding him instantly was shot down. "You have got to be fucking kidding me! You are the one who let them in?! I thought my whole life they forced their way into our home. I can't believe this! You are responsible for the death of our entire species?!"

He only glared at me. His entire demeanor changed. "You don't know why I did! They were going to force their way in any way. It was that or we all die, anyway!"

I blew upon him. "Oh, so you saved your ass rather than tell everyone what was coming! Too much of a coward to get killed with the rest of us, could you?! I hope your years of imprisonment were full of anguish and torture! Why did you let them in? Why didn't you tell everyone they were coming?! You were supposed to be our leader... not a spineless coward!"

"Our species was doomed from the start! If they can't even survive the attack, they have no reason to continue. We got too soft and should get killed for it. The Enclave wanted to go back and harvest egg cells from the females, but all the bodies were all gone."

I looked at him with disdain. "Yes, that would be me. I came back and buried everyone, EVERYONE! Do...do you have any idea how hard it was for me to do that?! My friends and family are all dead. I carried my mother to her grave, I dug her grave myself. I was only a youngling still, Ocrum! I was fucking 15, and I had to bury my whole species, your children too! While you were just gone and safe. You ran from your mistake...you could have saved us...some Alpha you were. I looked up to you!"

He completely ignored everything I said. "Are you going to let me out?"

I slashed across the glass with one of my hands. "You can go fuck yourself if you think I would EVER free you after that! You deserve to rot in here." I took the sword from my back and jammed the tip into the control panel so no one could come by and free him. "You can die with the rest of them!"

"You will regret this, John! When I get out of here, I will find you!"

I just ignored him as I left. Part of me debated killing him myself, but just leaving him was the best option. When I blew this place up. I could only hope Ocrum would die in the blast.

That is assuming I can find the main power room, not only to shut it down but also to sabotage the integrity of the entire base. I can't say that the news Ocrum gave me had affected me that much. I wasn't surprised. I know, I know. I finally found someone of my kind. Not only that, it was someone I knew! Someone I used to know. The Ocrum in that cell wasn't the same Ocrum I grew up with.

I still have a mission to do. I have to find my dad as well. I don't believe he's here. Until I find him, I will check every single room and corner either way.

The more I wandered, the more I thought about what the Enclave was trying to do. They ruined their chances of using us to build an army because they killed us all off. I doubt that was their original plan, even. Our genetics both saved and screwed us in that case.

There are no intelligent female deathclaws alive. I know for a fact that I cannot produce any young and it seems from what Ocrum was saying, he can't produce intelligent young.

No matter what, they won't have an army of Intelligent Deathclaws under their thumb. Makes me wonder if they killed us all and then thought they could use us.

I am not the last... but I might as well be. Ocrum got us all killed. He should suffer for that. I'm going to kill him on my way out.

Turning a corner, I saw a patrolling gang, 3 total. Two in Power Armor and one officer in the middle. This area looked much different from the maze of hallways I was going through. The ground was more akin to scaffolding and was almost inversely cage-like. It was a floor with various holes strewn across it. The design was intentionally done. It's not a large enough hole to fit anything but a piece of silverware, though.

Narrow, luminescent lights adorned the walls. They were cylinder-shaped and ranged in various colors. From Red to Turquoise.

The walls were jet back with wires and various machinery hooked up on each end of the various rooms that went through this section of the base.

I waited on the adjacent side of the patrolling troops. Not wanting to draw any attention to myself, as stealthy as possible, I was going to wait as long as I could.

They drew closer and closer. Before I could jump out and get them, there was a massive blast off in the distance. Sounds like something went wrong with the internal machinery.

The lights flickered and many of the closed doors just opened, lights went out, and then there was a warning message to everyone.

"Warning, Warning! Compromised power in the Eastern section! Resorting to emergency power. Please stand by and wait for the maintenance teams to arrive."

Well, that is awfully convenient. The patrol team headed in the blast's direction and I trailed them, just slightly. Hallways... more hallways. My absolute favorite.

I crept behind them and snagged the officer from behind a corner right before they turned it.

Covering their mouth with one hand and jamming my claws into their throat, quick and quiet.

I picked the body up just enough to not drag their feet against the ground. I tucked them into a corner quickly and continued to follow the other two. I don't have time to wait for them to separate.

Drawing my Sword I leaned down and charged them both, jamming my sword into the Fusion Core of one and ramming my Body into the other, knocking them over in their big metal suit.

Pushing the first one forward and kicking their gun away with them both on the ground.

I asked them both, "Talking Deathclaw, a Brown one. Not the Black colored one, the other. Where is he?"

They looked at each other, and the second one tried to get up. I jammed my blade into their back, even more going through the frame this time.

The excruciating scream I heard echoed through the halls. I don't have time for this!

"What the hell are you supposed to be?" the other asked me out in a panic.

Glaring at him, I kept the blade on his friend's back. "I am the runt who is going to wreck your entire organization! Now tell me what I want if you don't want to witness your friend get maimed from every side!"

They sat up from their back and told me, "That isn't any friend of mine! Do your worst!"

They think I'm bluffing! Keeping eye contact with the second guy, I twisted the blade as the one below me cried out in pain. Slicing up their spine and through their helmet, cut in half right against the floor.

I pulled the sword from the now gashed floor and flicked the blood from it in his direction. "Ready to talk now?"

They panicked and tried to drag themselves backward. "You..you are a monster! No..no..n, way, I'm helping you!"

I leveled with this poor... distraught man. I pulled off his helmet and made eye contact with him. "I know you probably don't care, but the one I'm after is my father. He's been here for 30 years. Your Enclave killed my Vault 30 years ago. My whole species. My Alpha, my father, and I are the only survivors of that massacre. I'm here to avenge my fallen brethren and find my dad. Just tell me what I want and I will let you go. Where is he?"

He wiped his mouth and spit at me. "I'll be fucking dead before I help a beast like you!"

I sighed. "I thought you would say that."

Giving a wide slash across both his chest and neck, which instantly killed him, leaning against the wall.

Leaving them both to bleed in the hall, I continued through to the direction of the explosion. I arrived at a room, a dead end with four power generators and three of them flashed, broken, and smoking. It looked like a bomb went off in here.

Kicking something, I looked down at my feed to see something, a grenade pin. Turning around, I saw the decimated body of some kind of.. person. Their skin was still sizzling, and chunks of their flesh were still falling and dropping off as they lay there in a steaming pile of death.

I noticed a side room that had a trail of blood leading to it. I was going to just leave till I heard a deep, pained groan.

Quickly turning the corner, I had to adjust to the lack of light.

I saw a massive figure leaning against the wall. It didn't look humanoid.

The figure weakly turned over to look at me and I saw it was a deathclaw!

He spoke up first with a strained voice, "Oh you gotta be kidding me, I just got blasted by that scientist out-JOHN!?"

My eyes went wide, and I dropped my sword right on the spot. It clanged against the ground, bouncing before landing. "Holy shit, no way...dad!"

I ran in front of him and saw that he was holding his stomach, a deep wound from the explosion. I leaned down and attempted to help him stop the bleeding. "Da-dad I...don't even know what to say I...was told that you were here, just I couldn't fathom you being here!"

He gritted his fangs in pain as I tried to help him. "It's fine. Please look at me."

Doing what he asked, I looked him right in the eye as he placed a hand along my cheek gently. "Look at you, all grown up!"

"Dad, please, we can exchange pleasantries when we get out of here."

He just shook his head slightly as I kept the pressure on the wound. "John, I'm not getting out of here. This maintenance room corner is where I die." He looked down and moved his arm from his stomach. "Look at all this blood. I'm not getting out of here alive-"

My eyes began welling up. "No dad, no. You can't...you can't give up now! I didn't find you now just to lose you again!"

I tried to pick him up, but he wouldn't budge. "I'm so, so sorry, John. I can't move."

"You have to try!" I pleaded!

I sat down next to him and hoisted one of his arms around my shoulder. "Keep one hand to apply pressure on your wound. Use me to support you."

"Okay, okay. I trust you, son. Where are we going to go?"

I picked him up and got him on his feet. "I have friends waiting for me outside. They will help you, they will fix you. I just need you alive long enough to get there. Can you, dad, please? I... couldn't live with myself if you died while I carried you."

He gave me a sniffle and a nod. "Yes, yes John. I can do it. With you here, I have to live now, right?"

I tried to hold my tears in. I need to be strong for him now. "I won't forgive you if you die on me now!"

He reached his arm around and wiped the tears coming down my face, gently in such a way that only a father could. "Your mother would be so proud of you, John."

I could barely keep myself together with that, "Do-don't say things like that."

"Why? It's very true."

We passed the two bodies of the soldiers I killed earlier and he asked. "Did you do that?"

I gulped nervously and said. "Yes, it was me."

He looked back at them and scoffed. "Good. They deserve it."

We reached the hallway where I took out the officer. "How are you holding up, dad?"

He was breathing heavily. "Can we stop for a moment? I just need to catch my breath."

Gave him a nod and set him down against the wall gently. I went to the officer. I tucked them away in the corner and shredded articles of clothing off of them and tied them together.

Using his baton along with the rags, I made a bandage of sorts.

I tied them all together and wrapped them around his waist, tight enough to stop some bleeding and buy him some time. "That should be good enough to last you until we get outside."

He gave me a weak nod and let me hoist him back up. "How much longer do we have?"

I looked down the dim hall and had to be honest. "These halls are a maze. We have quite some time till we reach the exit."

He began moving first. "Let us be going, then. They will know I am gone. They will come after me."

I carried him through the halls for a moment before I replied. "Let them. I will kill them all."

We continued through the halls and heard a roar off in the distance in front of us.

My father was the first to react. "Ocrum, Ocrum is free. He's going to kill us, you know?"

Taking a deep breath. "I can't say I am surprised. If we run into him, I will kill him."

He stopped me. "I don't know, John. He's got a thirst for blood. Unlike anything I've ever seen. He does everything they tell him to! Killing us on his escape is probably a part of that order."

I pulled him gently, and we continued through. "Listen, father. I am not that defenseless runt you knew growing up. I have survived out in the Wasteland on my own for 30 years! If I see Ocrum I am killing him for letting the Enclave in our Vault."

I heard his voice off in the darkness. "Is. That. So?"

Dad went into a small panic as I set him down. "Goddamn it, Ocrum! Haven't you caused enough damage?"

I heard him scratch alongside the wall as he approached. "Tsk, tsk, Harris. Your son just directly threatened your alpha. Aren't you going to do anything about it?"

I stood with my back facing my dad, arms out, ready to strike. "You stopped being our 'alpha,' when you got us all killed!"

"You are a disgrace, John! You weren't supposed to survive that night! Now lay down and die like the runt you are!"

Ocrum charged out of the darkness and tried to slash my throat. I grabbed his wrist and twisted it, pushing him back and keeping myself in front of my dad.

I pointed at Ocrum. "You aren't getting to my dad without going through me!"

He just smiled and attempted to dart past me. I dug my claws into his back and tossed him back into the darkness of the hallway.

"Gah, you are such fucking annoyance!" he Hissed

I could hear the drips of blood from the holes I had put into his back as he approached.

He was... too quick this time. Ocrum knocked me onto my back and held me down.

"Ocrum, please.. take me instead! Let John go! He doesn't know what he's doing."

"Shut it! This disgrace to our species shouldn't have lived this long! I should have crushed him in the egg before he even had a moment to hatch!"

He was wrapping his claws around my neck and choking me out while digging slightly into me in the process.

I tried to grab his wrist, but he had me held down in such a way that I couldn't move. No matter how hard I struggled, he was stronger than me…

He gave a long, sloppy, drawn-out lick across my chest and stared me in the eye as he tightened his grip. "Go ahead and struggle, John. I don't need you alive for this. I'm going to enjoy watching the life drain from your eyes, though! Your father will be next!"

I caught a glance at my dad, who was trying to get up to help me, but... couldn't. He was far too hurt to do anything, and all he could do was watch in horror. He struggled to get any form of standing, but wasn't at all able to.

Ocrum released his grip slightly around my throat and pushed his body against mine, spouting nonsense. "Look at you, so weak, so defenseless. What a sorry excuse for a deathclaw you are. If I had known you would be this easy to submit, I would have done this long ago!" He gave another, longer, possessive lick across my chest, up to my neck, and stopped at my chin. His breath smelt something awful. Like something had been living down his throat and had died recently.

I heard my father plead. "Ocrum, please! You don't have to do this, not to my son!"

He looked over at my dad and just snarled. Now might just be my chance to get out of his perverted grasp.

I attempted to twist his wrist and then kick him off of me but he didn't even budge.

My feeble attempt to escape him only angered his grasp on me. He tightened his grip so hard I felt my blood seeping down my neck. His grasp was threatening and horrific.

I was terrified.

"I am surprised you held out this long, for a runt!" He continued to squeeze and gradually dig his filthy claws into my throat.

He was making this slow and drawn out on purpose. All I could do was look up at him with the rage and fury one can't even describe.

My efforts were waning. I was going to lose consciousness soon, and the eventual blood loss as he dug further and further into my throat. The tightening of his grasp would not bode well for my livelihood.

I heard my dad struggling to get up. I heard the ringing of my ears like a grenade had just gone off on top of me. It got blurry and all I could see was Ocrum's horns as he gave me a much more aggressive lick.

From my stomach up to my chest, it was methodical in the worst way imaginable. This was possessive and dominant. He repeatedly licked on my neck before going all the way up and swirling around my snout.

He pulled our bodies closer and rubbed himself against me... intimately.

The action nearly made me gag. It was disgusting. I could feel the strands of saliva run down my neck. My eyes widened once I realized what he was going to do to me.

I didn't even have time to panic. He hardened his grip with his left hand and raised his right, gradually leaning in along my face and dragging his index claw on the backside down the side of my face, all while saying. "It's time I show you what an Alpha is capable of, John! I should have had my way with you ages ago. I probably could have gotten away with it too," He continued to slowly cut into my scales, stopping back at my neck and making sure I saw which hand he was talking about. "I spent many a night pleasuring myself to the very thought of putting you in your place. I'll also be killing you with the same hand! Don't worry, I'll be taking care of your dear old dad too. I hope you will enjoy the ride, John. It's the last thing you will experience! Assuming you behave. I don't need you alive after all. I just wanted to humiliate you before ending your miserable existence."

I can't believe it. I got out a few words while his other hand was off me. "I wasn't.. aware our esteemed Alpha had a thing for males! Sorry, Ocrum. I don't swing that way."

All he did was smile. It was a fang-filled smile and if evil and treachery could have been physical things, it would surround him. "Oh dear, John. I don't care if you want it or not. I want it and that's all that matters. You will be dead soon, anyway. You can at least get one last feeling of the power you never had before your final moments. Or I can just kill you now. I would rather you be alive for this. I will enjoy it more that way."

He completely missed the irony in my statement. He pulled us closer and rubbed himself against me, more and more. As terrible as this felt for me and I imagine my dad, helplessly watching it gave me an idea.

This would not be the end of me.

I wrapped one of my legs against his back and hoisted myself up. This action was enough to make him lower his guard and grip on my throat. He probably thought this was me submitting, which I kind of banked on.

I twisted and contoured myself to when my leg would allow me enough grip to swap places with him. That was difficult, seeing as his body was right against mine.

I had one chance at this. I turned myself slightly over, opposite of the direction I planned on flipping him over. Just for the extra momentum.

With shaking arms, I flopped myself forward with all the might and power I could muster! We were practically in the air for a moment before we crashed back down on each other. I swapped positions with him and unhinged his grasp from my neck. The tumble made him scratch down to my chest, but I'll worry about that later.

I was panting heavily, trying to get the oxygen back into my lungs. I couldn't even say anything before Ocrum struggled.

I can't let him live.

As I sat upon his chest, holding him down, he tried to swipe at me. Missing both times.

I took a deep regretful breath and just dug my claws into his gullet, the gurgling and spouting of his blood down my talons only to be matched with the panic in his eyes.

He is a monster. He needs to be slain. I kept clawing and slashing long after he was dead, hell I was scratching through the fucking ground. I went through my neck so much. He was completely decapitated by the time I was done.

His head rolled down the hallway slightly, leaving a trail of blood until it came to a full stop. The same look of panic and pain on his face as in his last moments.

Still sitting on his chest, I was breathing heavily. Shaking like mad for a moment before I regained steady control of myself. I stood up and tried to flick the copious amounts of blood off my hands.

The claw marks I made on the ground were now filled with blood from his neck and overflowing along the floor.

I felt disgusted with myself... I did this! I knew him!

My heart sank when I turned around and saw the look from my dad. "I-I am sorry you had to see that, dad."

I stepped off what remained of Ocrum completely and turned around completely to face my father.

He shook his head and reached out an arm for me to pick him up. "I'm sorry you had to do that. He can't hurt anyone anymore. You did the right thing."

Turning myself to the darkness of the hallway, I replied. "He was still one of us. I hope you are right."

"You know what he was going to do to you, right?"

I didn't even turn around and tried to avoid making a glance at his head. "Ye-yes, I do."

I looked at my bloodied chest and couldn't determine what was mine and what had splattered on me while I was decapitating Ocrum.

I tried to wipe the strands of saliva off but it just mixed with blood and now was above a thousand times worse. Fucking great.

I turned back around to my dad and couldn't look him in the eye. "We should get going. Ocrum is our worst obstacle out of here."

He reached out an arm, and I hoisted him back around my shoulder. "You did what you had to do. Whatever demons he was fighting, he let them win. It wouldn't be right to let him wander the wasteland and, literally, murder, pillage, and rape. I can't even tell you it would be in that order."

End Chapter: 25