Twenty-Five Years Ago
"You're worried about the girl."
Darcy felt the stroke of his fingertips glide along the snow-white skin of her back, tracing a line down her spine.
"Are you so enraptured with her because she is a twin, such as yourself?"
A small exhale left her rosy lips, but she didn't answer.
"We can stop the testing-"
"No." Her voice was shaking, and she finally rolled over in bed, wiping at her eyes. "No- we can't-all of our work, Liam-"
He sat upright, the thin sheet waterfalling off his chest. "Let us be completely honest, for a moment, what are we doing?! Carol said it herself- the world is gone! There is no Vault-Tec, there is no government- we have been down here for nearly five years! And for what? What progress can we hope for-"
She licked her lips, tasting the salt from her tears. "We knew the potential outcome of-"
A terse sigh, and he leaned over and kissed her firmly. They broke apart with an audible smack, and his dark thumb wiped across her wet cheeks. "There have only been two successful strains- do you really wish to watch her grow under a microscope any longer?"
"Liam-"
He kissed her again, and her heavy breathing was washing over him. "We can leave, we can take the girl, and just go. The other subject can remain with David- he can continue his work, and we can just live, again, don't you want that?"
Her artic eyes softened, and her lip quivered as her face grew melancholy. With a shaky nod, she began to cry.
Scratch scratch
Carol paused as a lock of brunette hair drifted down from her scalp to the clipboard she was holding. Dainty fingertips stroked against the soft curl as she simply stood there, silent. This was not the first time.
Crinkle crinkle
In a fit of sudden rage, the entire sheet of her morning data recording was crumpled, hiding away the evidence of her mysterious decline. The door then opened, and she quickly tucked the ball of paper into the pocket of her lab coat.
David did not so much as give her a glance as he went to stand before a terminal, clacking away at the keys. When he spoke, his tone was neutral, but it somehow tightened her already high-strung nerves. "I am going to reassign you to X-17, beginning now."
Carol's bob waved as she spun her head around and blinked. "Sir, isn't that Darcy's subject?"
"Not anymore." His eyes drew themselves up to submerge her in arctic waters. "Liam will be taking over your sector."
A head nod was given in response, and when the door closed behind her, the breath she had been subconsciously holding came out as a shaky sigh.
The Present
"Guh!" Penny cried out, stumbling backward as she clutched at her abdomen. She drew her hand away momentarily and glanced down- it was dark with blood.
"I swear to fuckin' God-" Cross swept the rosy ghoul into his arms, drawing her safely inside. "It's that damn fuckin' blue ass-" He nabbed at the medkit strapped to the backside of her waist and began to tear away her uniform. The armored vest was unbuckled and gingerly lifted over her head, and he snugged her shirt upwards to perform first-aid. "This probably ain't what you had in mind."
Despite the pain, she let out a garbled laugh.
Charon equipped his shotgun immediately, and a blur of motion flew out the door before him.
"Wait!" Evelyn drew her tongue out to the side of her mouth, reaching inside the cup of her bra as one hand was held up in surrender to the blue ghoul. His pistol was raised, ready to take the shot, but a momentary flash inside of his mind held him at bay.
Charon gave her a stunned look. "What are you-"
Her fingers wriggled inside of a cut pocket in one of the cups, and a tiny, folded, crinkled piece of paper was produced. "Ta-da!"
They simply stared at her as she gave a winning smile to Roman; he lowered his weapon and cradled his blown shoulder instead.
"Wha-oh, hell no." The half-naked merc was suddenly at her side and clicked back the safety of his gun.
Evelyn jumped in front of his preemptive shot with her hands on her hips and a scowl set on her face. "Don't you dare! I will crack your fucking skull if you blow a hole through him- it's not his fault-"
"We are not keepin' this one," Cross snarled.
"Evelyn, no." Charon took a step forward, his eyes hot, burning coals. "I do not trust him."
"Why?" she asked dumbly.
A barking laugh: it was humorless and harsh. "You cannot be serious."
She huffed. "Shouldn't you understand his situation better than anyone?"
A crack. The ferryman had clenched his jaw so tightly that there was a new fissure in a back molar. "I do. He will not accompany us." His murderous gaze then snapped to the quiet ghoul awaiting his new set of orders. "Let me end his service."
She gaped at the hostile intent he emanated. "Jeez, Charon. You will do no such thing." She stowed the contract back inside of her lingerie, giving a turn to the newly serviced ghoul. "Roman, right?"
A nod, and his black eyes flitted to her face. He appeared wholly uncomfortable.
"Can you help us?"
Another nod, and she triumphantly turned back to the towering ghouls.
Cross rolled his eyes. "That don't mean shit-"
"Well, I don't see you coming up with anything!" she snapped at him, waving her hands through the air. She then stomped past and grabbed the rest of her clothes, turning to the rosy ghoul. "Sorry, are you okay?"
Penny winced; the emergency stim she had kept in her pack was continuing its course. "Don't worry about me, I'll be alright." She began to redress herself, curiously wondering as to why the blue ghoul had so abruptly decided to switch sides. What was the value of such a worn piece of paper?
Roman stepped forward to keep a visual on his new employer, but a warning growl from Charon made him hesitate. Blood continued to seep between his fingers from his gunshot wound, making a steady drip drip drip to the floor at his feet. No thought was given to his past employer- it did not matter, anymore.
"Where's Thomas, and the rest?" Evelyn wiggled into her shirt and then reached for her newly acquired Pip-Boy.
"Upstairs- we should make our way to them." Charon bent down and swept the collar of her jacket with his fingertips, holding it gingerly for her to take. Her fingers brushed against his, and he clasped his index and thumb over her own for a moment, giving her an intense stare. "I advise you make wise decisions, from this point on." A gentle squeeze and he released his hold.
She blushed madly, distracting herself with the clasps of her straps. "Roman needs medical attention, as do you-" She then turned her head to catch the merc wincing as he shrugged into his own jacket. "I guess Cross does too…"
Cross grumbled irritably. "You're goin' to fuckin' make this up to me."
A roll of her eyes. "Never mind, he's fine. Roman-" The blue ghoul snapped his head inside the doorway. "-is there a medical wing?"
A nod.
"Can you take us there?" Another nod, followed by a terse sigh from her lips. She finished dressing and scowled at the ferryman. "I think he's worse than you."
The mercenary placed his hat atop his head, bumping the smaller ghoul awkwardly. "Hey, you good? Can ya walk?"
Penny nodded, avoiding the merc's hazy eyes assessing her. It may not have been in an intimate way, but it was still familiar enough to make her thoughts drift to previous encounters. She stole a glance at the smoothskin as they began to make their way out, and at how the bounty hunter automatically drifted to her side. There was a small twinge of jealousy, but she blew out a sigh to wash it away.
The blue ghoul took the lead with his contracted fellow bringing up the rear, his shotgun cradled in his hands.
Twenty-Five Years Ago
There was no customary knock on the door to his private office- it opened with a whish, presenting a very angry twin.
"What the fuck do you think you are doing?!" Darcy practically shrieked, stalking up to the front of her brother's desk. "I cannot access any of the files to X-17, and Carol-"
"Is clearly a more suitable candidate to continue with the research." David clasped his hands together in his lap, leaning back slightly in his chair. He was completely unfazed by his sister's theatrics. "It is rather obvious you have become attached to this subject, dear sister. I cannot have your emotions jeopardize this evolution."
Darcy swept an arm out over the topside of his desk, flinging everything to the floor in a clattering racket. "There is nothing to jeopardize anymore, dear brother. So the first testing stage is successful, who are we to report that to?"
He inspected a clean, clipped fingernail. "To the government, of course."
A hollow laugh echoed around the room. "Government?"
"Indeed." Now his eyes flit up to meet her own. "There is something I need to inform you of...I suggest you take a seat."
The Present
The merc held the crumpled contract in his hands, twisting it every which way. "How many of you fuckers are there?" It was the exact same lettering as Charon's; his faded, hazel eyes narrowed at the blue ghoul.
Evelyn was rummaging through medical drawers containing an assortment of supplies, before coming to stand beside their new follower with a stimpak in her hand. "Here, you could really use this, I'm sure," she said amicably. "Do you need some help? I'm pretty good with a pair of tweezers."
Charon muttered something unintelligible under his breath at her statement.
The blue ghoul said nothing as he shook his head; his face was passive as he took the offered aid, but there was a small hint of something behind his dark eyes as he stared down at her. His tattered shirt was discarded, and he began to properly assess the damage Charon had dealt to his right shoulder.
The merc grunted. "Can't believe I prefer the damn ferryman over you."
Evelyn took the contract back between her fingers. "You don't even know him." She tucked it within a breast pocket inside of her jacket, observing the blue ghoul rooting around for foreign fragments beneath the ruined flesh. "I'm sure Thomas will want to ask you, like, a bajillion questions. Do you need anything? Any more stims?"
"No," Roman grumbled, rotating his inflicted shoulder despite the pain it caused him. Why was he suddenly so bothered, being around her? Something had registered in the backside of his brain unwarranted…and he could not place as to what it was. A distant memory-?
"Okay, then just hang out with us, I guess, until we figure out what's going on." Another stimpak was produced, and she motioned for the grey ghoul's broken hand, rotating it slightly. "Do I even want to know? Or care to, I should say?" She injected him.
"Ow," Cross mumbled, the bones snapping into place as they began to mend. "Pretty sure some of these are settin' back wrong."
She carefully studied his appendage and shrugged. "That's your fault. You didn't have to fing-" She halted her thoughts from becoming verbal, aware of the present company.
The merc waggled an eyebrow muscle down at her as he reached his good palm underneath her shirt, slightly raising it above her navel. "Next time, we should-"
Charon stole away Cross's mending hand from her gentle touch, and before either of them could register what was happening so suddenly, the ferryman placed his other palm underneath and reshaped the bones properly with a sickening crack.
"Holy fuck!" Cross snarled, wrenching his arm away.
Charon had a slight hint of satisfaction on his face, but it quickly ebbed into disinterest as Evelyn snapped her eyes to him.
"You going to check him for nerve damage next?" Her tone was jaded, and she set her hands on her hips as her mouth drew in a hard line.
He blinked down at her, unperturbed. "I do not care if he does, so no."
An exasperated sigh let loose from her lips as she began to unlatch the merc's fleeced jacket beneath his duster, flipping the flaps open to begin treatment for his cracked ribs. The curled edge of her notebook tucked away in his inner pocket caught her eye, and her fingers faltered. Those sea-blue eyes went soft.
The merc furrowed his eyebrow muscles in confusion at her pause, then gave a glance down. He scratched at his jawline awkwardly. "This the part where we talk-?"
She dropped the stim and leaned heavily into him, drawing up to the tips of her toes to give a kiss. Despite the sharp, jabbing pain he received from her actions, he gladly reciprocated the affection, cupping one hand behind her head to burrow into her wild hair. Her fingers were roving underneath his shirt, and he excitedly began to unbuckle the straps at her waist. Penny gave a quick turn from the sudden heated display, the remnant skin on her neck and face growing hot.
A blue hand immediately latched itself onto the bounty hunter's arm with a warning grip. Cross broke off their kiss and blinked down at the surprising strength the other ghoul had, and the look of shock quickly turned into malice. The fingertips of his other hand were now stroking the butt of his gun.
"Roman, no!" Evelyn panicked, and the ghoul instantly dropped his purchase. Her smaller hands encompassed Cross's before he could free his weapon. "And you should know better."
The ghouls continued their standoff with their eyes, and Cross returned his hands to the sides of her hips.
"Goin' to get a man killed over a damn feeler," he grumbled. His good palm came up and teasingly groped a breast, and he turned his head back to her as she squeaked. He winked.
She slapped his hand away and crossed her arms. "Going to get yourself killed from your own stupidity."
"Makes two of us then," he drawled lowly, reaching inside his duster for his carton of cigarettes.
A harrumpfh as she turned away, jutting her chin in the air.
"He is right," Charon rasped at her, refitting into his own gear after tending to his injury. "This is not a secure location- there are multiple threats that still need to be accounted for. I suggest we regroup above and leave this vault." There was a final click to his buckle. "We will not be coming back, Evelyn. I will not risk your safety for any longer…I hope you have found the information you came searching for."
Both the ferryman and the bounty hunter stared at her, each holding a distinct glint in their glowing eyes with completely different meanings.
The arm with David's Pip-Boy was held up, and she stroked her fingertips along the surface of the screen. "…this should be enough." She then caught the merc's stare and hesitated in continuing her train of thought, before pursing her lips together and giving a shrug of her shoulders. "Let's get out of here."
She gave a turn of her heel and began to walk away, Cross's fingertips reaching out to grab at her shoulder. He missed by an inch, and they hovered in the air for a moment, before curling into his palm and coming back down to his side.
Charon crossed his arms and just shook his head at the bounty hunter's indecisiveness, exchanging a telepathic message with him.
What are you so afraid of?
THUDTHUDTHUD
A failed experiment slowly turned its massive head into the open doorway, and Evelyn froze in step, a mere few feet away. The glowing eyes of the deformed experiment snapped onto her face, and she felt her heart pulsate from her chest.
"Evelyn-" It was Charon's voice, and for the first time in their entirety together, it was frightened. "Do not move."
The merc whispered loudly, "if ya squint a little, you can mistake it for Campbell."
You absolute fuck. An obnoxiously loud chortle escaped her lips, and she slapped a palm against her mouth before a full-blown laugh could erupt.
Charon's head pivoted on his shoulders like an owl, nearly cracking his spine as he glared at the bounty hunter behind him.
The monster froze from the movement and noise, and its maw suddenly opened dangerously wide, hot saliva dripping to the floor and steam curling around rows of jagged teeth.
Fwing fwing! The bright flash from a laser weapon shot from the side, burning a hole through the hardened skin of the creature. It whipped its head back out into the hallway and gave an ear-piercing shriek, before suddenly being barraged by a multitude of rapid gunfire. There was a slump, and it twitched before lying still.
A familiar glow came down the hallway, and Evelyn had to stop herself from rushing at the irradiated ghoul. "Thomas!"
"Thomas!" Cross mimicked in his unusual, high-pitched voice.
"Am I late?" the head of security asked, stepping inside the room.
"Very." Penny gave a relieved smile, striding forward to embrace her lover.
"What happened?" Thomas gave her a concerned once over, gingerly touching the blood-soaked area at her abdomen. "Are you alright?"
"Very." They exchanged a brief kiss.
"Hey there Cazador." Campbell blew at the end of his barrel, giving her a wink. Lydia was at his elbow, a pistol wavering in her hands. "Don't worry, the calvary is here."
Evelyn crossed her arms, mildly annoyed. "I was honestly hoping to not see you again."
"You're goin' to shoot someone's damn eye out, holdin' it like that," Cross growled, coming before the young woman and flicking at the tip of her ear. "What the fuck I teach ya?"
"Evelyn." Thomas's voice made her snap her attention to him. "Where is David?" His eyes flit to the blue ghoul standing awkwardly to the side. "Why is he not in handcuffs?"
A bite of her lower lip, and she sighed. "I guess I should just show you."
"Jesus." Cross flicked the tip of his brim back, scratching at his forehead as he considered the synth on the floor. "You really laid into him."
A shrug of her shoulders, her expression peeved as she stood in the corner a safe distance away from the glowing ghoul rummaging about. "He pissed me off."
"You're always pissed off," the merc muttered under his breath.
"What did you just say?"
"Nothin', nothin'."
"Hmm." Thomas stroked at his chin, regarding the files in the cabinet behind the desk. "I honestly wished you had…refrained, yourself, Evelyn-"
She scoffed loudly and rolled her eyes.
"-synth or not, he would have been able to provide valuable intel-"
She held up the Pip-Boy strapped to her wrist and shook it erratically at him.
"-and now we are trapped inside this vault until someone can guess his six-digit code…I do not suppose he told you what it was, before you decided to put your arm through him?" He gave her a pointed look, and she threw her gaze to the side and rocked rhythmically on the heels of her feet.
"…no."
"Does your new acquaintance know?" She paused her swaying motion before stepping out into the hallway. Thomas gave a terse sigh. "You did not even ask him?"
"Hey Roman, do you know the code?" The blue ghoul was suddenly dragged inside by his forearm, and she pointed excitedly at him. "Guess what?! He knows it!"
Charon shook his head at her childish elation.
Thomas rubbed at his eyes.
Cross blew out a breath. "Thank Christ- ya'll were drivin' me fuckin' nuts down here."
