Wow, people are actually reading this now. I just have to say, thanks so much to all those of you who are reading this! I hope you enjoy this chapter.
The dinosaurs Six encountered include: Styracosaurus, Ankylosaurus, Kentrosaurus, and Apatosaurus.
The piggy ones he tried to eat are Protoceratops, like Bix from the books.
Bethesda/Microsoft owns Fallout, James Gurney owns Dinotopia
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Silence reigned over the beach for what felt like hours, but what was in reality likely only a few seconds. "Raul?" Six asked, staring straight at the little, apparently sentient dinosaur. "Yeah boss?" Raul replied, still holding the nuke launcher and also staring at the creature. "You heard it talk, too, right?" "Yeah boss." "Ah, just checking." The little thing's face contorted in what looked like disgruntlement, and it stomped its foot in the sand, "Not it. She." Six, snapping out of his amazed stupor, managed a reply "Right, sorry. Didn't mean to be rude. Just not very used to talking dinosaurs. Not very used to dinosaurs period, actually." The little dinosaur, now identified as a she, seemed to find this an acceptable apology, and with a little smirk replied "Thank you. My name is Vix. What might yours be, sir?" "Courier Six.," Six replied after a second, having to process the fact that she seemed to have a British accent of all things, "But you can just call me Courier, or Six, whichever works for you." "Very pleased to meet you, Mr. Six." Vix then turned to Raul, "And you might be?" Raul, having been watching in stunned silence, managed to reply "Raul, señora." Vix seemed especially pleased now "Ah, español. Soy fluido." If Raul was stunned before, he was outright dumbfounded now. Six was also even more confused now, given this talking dinosaur on an isolated tropical island not only spoke English with a British accent, but apparently was also fluent in Spanish.
Vix, fortunately, seemed to sense their confusion. "This must be very confusing for you all, but I can explain your situation perfectly. First things first, though, are you in need of medical attention sir?" She turned to Raul. Raul, confused, replied "No, señora, I do not believe so." It was Vix's turn to be confused, "Ah, but sir, are you aware that, um... you are lacking a nose?" Raul realized what she meant "I am a ghoul, señora. It's a medical condition. I'm just fine." Vix, for her part, did her best to look apologetic, "Oh, I'm sorry. I did not mean to be insensitive." Raul just shrugged, "Esta bien. I'm used to it." Six, sidelined for a moment, piped in, "Excuse me, not be rude or anything, but what in the hell is going on?" Vix replied, "Yes, I suppose you both would like some answers. But firstly, might you put away your firearm, Mr. Six, and your... catapult? señor Raul?" Six and Raul, having just realized they still had their very much loaded weapons out, made to put them away, with Six simply bolstering his pistol, and Raul putting the Fat Man down very slowly onto the sand.
Richard took this opportunity to squawk up, most likely about when they would be eating. "Not now, Richard, we're in a very important meeting." Vix seemed somewhat pleased by this interaction, "Oh, I see you've already made a friend. Lovely!" Six, preening at the praise, replied, "Oh, yeah, me and Richard are like two brothers from opposite sides of the evolutionary family tree." Vix then stated, "Right, best to get back on track. Do you two know where you are?" Raul just shook his head, and Six replied, "Well, I figured Fiji, but last I checked they didn't have talking dinosaurs. Admittedly, I've never been to Fiji, but still." Vix replied, "You would be correct, Mr. Six. You have both been stranded on the shores of Dinotopia, where dinosaurs and humanity live together in harmony. You have arrived here just as all humans have, as dolphinbacks." Six, listening intently, did a double take at that last bit, "Woah now. I know I was a bit rude at first, what with trying to kill and subsequently eat you, but that wasn't personal. No need for name calling." Vix, realizing her mistake, replied, "Oh nononono, I meant no insult! That is simply our term for new arrivals, as they are carried to shore on the backs of dolphins." Hearing this, Six did recall grabbing onto something in the water before he woke up on the beach. Hearing splashing, he turned around to find a pod of dolphins splashing in the surf, waving their flippers at him. Six, waving back, called out, "Hey thanks guys! I owe ya! You ever need some spare caps, just ask!" Raul just smiled and waved, given offering monetary compensation to dolphins was perfectly in character for Six.
Vix made a kind of chuffing sound, which Six took to be her clearing her throat, and said, "They do appreciate displays of gratitude. Now, I'm certain you have many more questions, not all of which I can personally answer. It is best we head to the hatchery. It is the closest civilization to us, and it is run by some dear friends of mine. It will also be a good place to rest, and get some food. Given you seemed willing to go hunting, I'm certain you must be very hungry Mr. Six?" At that last sentence, Vix gave Six a half kidding, half reproachful glance. Six, despite having stared down deathclaws and gunned down cazadors, found himself feeling fairly sheepish under her gaze. Rubbing his neck, he replied, "Yeah, again, really sorry. Just when I find a new place, it's kind of a tradition for me to go find out whatever's edible." Vix, looking somewhat like a parent who has been proven right, gave a curt nod and replied, "Apology accepted. Though my brother will likely still be rather sheepish around the two of you, don't take it personally, he's always been far less bold than I. And rest assured, there are many new foods and drinks for you to try here."
Six and Raul, having been focused on Vix the entire time, now looked up to see the other, spikier version of Vix hiding behind the leg of the long neck. "Yes, that is my twin brother, Rix. He's quite the sensitive soul, you know, and a rather talented poet if I do say so." Vix stated. Rix, peeking out at Six and Raul, timidly waved one of his front limbs. Six and Raul waved back, with Six replying, "Hey pal, sorry I was gonna shoot you!" Rix just meekly backed away behind the titanic leg of the long neck. Vix cleared her throat again, "Now, shall we be on our way?" Six replied, "Yeah, sure, I just have to grab a few things first. I just need some food, medicines, y'know all the basic supplies." Vix gave a nod of approval, and replied, "I don't see why not. It always pays to be prepared for anything. At least that's what grandmother used to say, and she would know! In addition, I must say your ship is in remarkably good shape. Most which wind up on our shores are nothing but flotsam." Raul replied, "Eh, it was a pretty bad storm, but what really got us was the reef." Vix nodded, and replied, "Yes, the reefs have been the doom of many ships over the years." Raul, nodding agreeably, made his way into the hull to check on Six and grab some supplies of his own.
After carefully stowing the Fat Man, grabbing some of his tools, a couple drinks, and a few Fancy Lads for good measure, Raul asked Six, "Hey boss, should we bring ED-E? He's probably itching to get floating again." Six, who had been stuffing his bag with assorted snacks, drinks, and chems, stopped, looked at Raul and replied, "We brought ED-E? I though I left him with Yes Man?" Raul shook his head, and replied "Nah, boss, he refused to leave you. Then when we got on the boat he started going loco, so we had to shut him off for a bit. Recuerda?" Six shook his head rapidly, and then yelled, panicking, "Oh shit! Is he ok?!? Did he go overboard!?!? Little buddy, where are yah!?!!??!?" As Six was frantically searching the hold, Raul just sighed, reached down, and he pulled the little eyebot from under a pile of snack cakes. Six breathed a sigh of relief, walked over, and reactivated ED-E. The little robot burst to life, and, after a few seconds of curiously surveying his environment, beeped questioningly at Six. "Yeah, little buddy, we're not on the water anymore." ED-E gave a beep of relief, and then beeped questioningly once again. "Yep, we wrecked. Tropical island, talking dinosaurs, you know the drill. By the way, this is Richard, our newest noisy flying companion." He held the indifferent bird up to ED-E, as Richard was munching on a Fancy Lad at the moment. ED-E was mostly indifferent as well, though he gave a confused beep when Richard flapped his way onto ED-E's head(?). After a moment, the little robot decided to pay the bird no mind, and Richard decided ED-E was a nice place to sit.
As the motley group exited the ship, Vix and the other dinosaurs all had their eyes on ED-E. "Um, excuse me, sirs, but what exactly would your new companion be?" Vix asked, wide eyed. "Oh, this is ED-E. He's an eyebot, I fixed him up." Six replied proudly. ED-E gave a proud beep as well. Vix, somewhat less wide eyed, replied, "Ah, yes, I am familiar with the concept of metal creatures, though I have never seen one personally. Is he dangerous?" Vix and the other dinosaurs remained somewhat tense, especially Rix, who currently looked even meeker than he had appeared before, if that was even possible. "Not unless you plan on smashing him, me, or Raul. He'll defend anyone to the death, but he's a softie otherwise." Six replied. ED-E then gave the friendliest sounding beeps he could muster.
Vix and the others appeared far more relaxed now, though a few dinosaurs still appeared tense, including Rix. "Well, now that you have everything you require, shall we be on our way?" Vix asked. "Yeah, probably. Nobody's gonna come steal our stuff from the boat are they? Because I should tell you right now that I've booby trapped the whole thing, bow to stern." Six stated casually. Raul turned to look at Six in shock, "Mierda, boss, when did you have time to do that!?" Raul asked, surprised, especially given the fact he had just been wandering all over the ship and could've triggered any of them. "Well, when I was drunk, clearly." Six replied. Raul, having known Six long enough, realized this was probably the case. Vix piped up, "No no, you've got nothing to worry about. If it makes you feel better, I can ask a few of the Apatosaurus to haul it up to the hatchery if you like?" Six looked at Raul, who shrugged, and then replied, "Yeah, sounds good. ED-E, deactivate the traps will you. They're all hooked up to your mainframe." ED-E beeped affirmatively. Vix seemed pleased, "Wonderful! Speaking of Apatosaurus, my friend here, Bala, has offered to give you a ride to the hatchery. She was worried you may be fatigued after your wreck." Six, curious, asked, "Alright, which one is Bala?" Vix just pointed with her front foot at the long neck, who was currently staring down at them curiously. Six, realizing he would get to ride a dinosaur, gave the only appropriate response: "Oh hell yeah."
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Well, that's chapter three! The next one should be up within the week. I've just got finals and such, lots of things to do this time of year. Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter, and stay tuned for more!