KP:
Fallout
5: The Skulz
"GET DOWN!" Kim shouted as Gizmo and his large bodyguard quickly drew their weapons and began to open fire. As Lars and Killian dove behind a few crates in Gizmo's large office, Kim was able to pull off a few shots while Ron flipped over a bookshelf for cover for him and Kim. Two Junktown guards rushed in with rifles ready. As soon as they began to aim their rifles, Gizmo and his bodyguard both put a bullet through one guard's skull before Gizmo shot the other in the thigh before putting another bullet through his neck.
"Something tells me I should have stayed in bed," Ron said to himself as the bookshelf splintered from the various bullets hitting it.
"No shit." Kim said as one bullet punctured through the old wood of the bookcase that was close to the tip of her nose. Too close for comfort. "Remind me to kick your ass for this." Kim said as she reloaded her gun. "If we get out of this." She finished and fired three more shots.
EARLIER
Killian's smile was so broad that it almost made his whiskered face look like rubber. He handed the cassette player that held Gizmo's confession to the guard that stood outside his shop and sent him back to the guard HQ to get the others. In the mean time, Ron was sitting on the floor in a bare corner of the shop, scratching the head of the mutant mole rat he had recently befriended. Kim sat across from the blonde and eyed the mole rat.
"What is that and where did you find him?" Kim asked him.
"From what I understand, he's a giant mole rat. His owner lived in a shack not too far from Gizmo's place."
"So why's he with you?"
"I dunno. Maybe I remind him of his owner." Ron said as he continued to rub the animal's head.
"Or he really likes you. So what's his name?"
"I didn't think to ask. I've never had a pet, but I did have an imaginary friend once. What do you think of the name Rufus?" he asked the creature. The only response was the mole rat stretching and laying his head in Ron's lap so it could take a nap. "Guess he likes it."
"We're all set." Killian said as he walked to the two. "We're fixing to head down there and take down Gizmo once and for all. I owe you one, kid." Lars said and shook Ron's hand as the young man stood back up. "You want to come along with us, Kim? I know you've got a grudge against Gizmo as well."
"No thanks, guys. I think I better get Ron out of Junktown while I can. Once you have Gizmo, the Skulz will probably come after him." Kim said.
"I'll come." Ron said as Kim looked at him in disbelief.
"Say what?" she asked him.
"It's the right thing to do, KP. I'm not going to run and hide from a bully." Ron said.
"Kid, he's probably not going to come without a fight. If there's a fire fight, you're probably going to have to kill again. Are you ready for that?" Killian asked him. Ron thought about it for a moment. These people in the Wastelands barley had anything to their name. The last thing they needed was someone like Gizmo trying to take everything for himself. And every time he remembered looking at Gizmo, he kept thinking of all the villains he had seen in movies and all a lot of the bad people had had read about in history books.
"Just give me a big enough gun so I won't miss him.." Ron said.
"I doubt you can miss that gut of his. But the biggest gun I have is a double barrel shotgun and shells." Killian said.
"I'll take them." Ron said.
"Ron, are you sure about this?" Kim asked him.
"I'm sure, KP."
"Then count me in. Someone's got to watch your back."
GIZMO'S
"Remind me to kick your ass for this." Kim said as she reloaded her gun. "If we get out of this." She finished and fired three more shots.
Ron quickly loaded the shotgun as several more bullets either embedded into the bookcase or shave several more splinters off of it. He was starting to think that coming along to take Gizmo down wasn't such a bright idea after all. This was nothing like in the movies or facing Radscorpions.
"NOBODY DOUBLE CROSSES GIZMO! YOUHEAR ME, YOU FUCKS!" Gizmo screamed as he fired two more shots.
"Cover me. I'm taking a shot." Ron said. As soon as he heard either Gizmo or his guard reloading, Ron rose and fired in their general direction. Both barrels blasted buckshot with a thunderous echo before Ron quickly ducked back down again. Ron could hear a small ringing in his ears as he ejected his spent shells and began to reload again. "Please tell me I hit one of them." Ron asked.
"Let me check." Kim said.
Kim quickly slid out from cover and took several quick shots at the bodyguard and Gizmo. Gizmo himself was trying to hide behind his desk while the bodyguard wasn't taking any cover at all. One of Kim's shots hit the guard in the right ankle and saw him shout through clinched teeth. As he tried to keep himself steady, Kim could clearly see several of Ron's buck shot had hit him in the upper shoulder and his thick body armor. "You grazed him." Kim said as she took cover again.
Ron came around with his double barrel shot gun and again unloaded both barrels. Ron saw the shots had almost completely severed the bodyguard's left leg at the knee as blood splattered the walls and floor behind him. The bodyguard went down hard against the wall as he screamed in pain while Gizmo took another shot at them. As Kim and Ron took cover again, Ron saw Killian take a bullet to the leg and fall to the ground behind the crate.
"Lars!" Ron shouted and pointed to Killian.
"I'm on it." Lars said as he began to tend to Killian's wound.
"You're a dead man, Darkwater! When I'm done with you, I'll dip your nuts in bronze and hang them outside my casino to show everyone who the real boss of Junktown is! I'll even charge people five caps just so they can take a piss on them!" Gizmo shouted.
"You're so fat, I bet you forgot what your dick even looks like!" Killian shouted as Lars finished putting a make-shift bandage on the wound. "Shit! I'm out of ammo." Killian cursed to himself.
Ron risked a glance over the top of the book case to see what was happening. The guard was starting to look pale as he tied a strip of cloth from his shirt tightly above his injured knee. He was still screaming and moaning as the mangled wound of shredded meat and muscle pumped blood onto the filthy wooden floor. Gizmo was still taking shots at everyone with his 9mm Mauser pistol as he saw sweat almost completely soak the collar and armpits of the large man's shirt. Part of the bookcase exploded and almost shot splinters into Ron's eyes, making him duck again. Making sure he could still see, he saw that the bodyguard had his gun in hand and resumed shooting.
"We need to take out the bodyguard." Ron said as he ducked down and placed two more shells into the gun.
"If you've got any bright ideas right now, I'm listening." Kim said as she checked her ammo clips. "Damn it. I've got two clips left. What about you?" She asked him.
"Two, maybe three shells left." Ron said. When he heard vicious snarling from outside the office, he looked up to see Rufus rushing into the office. He ran in a serpentine pattern to avoid the hale of bullets before he leaped over Ron and Kim and the bookshelf they were hiding behind. "RUFUS, WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" Ron shouted as he and Kim looked and saw the mole rat leap onto the bodyguard.
The man screamed in horror that quickly became gargled and wet as the mole rat began to sink his teeth into the man's exposed throat. They couldn't see the man's face because of the mole rat standing on top of him. Both grimaced as they heard the man's screams take on a more wet tone as the walls and mole rat were soon being coated with chuck berry red blood from massive arterial spray. It almost looked like the mole rat had bit open several cans of pressurized soda.
"You giant rat bastard!" Gizmo shouted as he aimed his gun toward Rufus' head.
"NO!" Ron shouted as he stood and fired his shotgun again.
Gizmo's hand exploded in a mist and shower of flesh, bone, and blood as his hand was shattered like a giant fleshy ice cube. The fat man grasped his wrist and screamed in horror and pain as blood sprayed from the massive wound on his arm. That's when Kim and Lars stood and unloaded all the ammo they had into Gismo's fat stomach and chest. Each bullet hole making the man's shirt look like a Jackson Pollok painting that had been made for Charles Manson. The fat gangster fell back into his chair and started gasping for breath with a sickening wheeze. Kim and Ron joined Killian and Lars as they stood in front of the dying man as he clung to life and began so spit out wads of spit and blood from his throat.
"You're still a prick, Killian. I built Junktown into what it is. ME! Junktown is mine!" the fat man wheezed.
"Then it's under new management." Killian said as took Lar's pistol and shot Gizmo in the forehead and causing the back of his explode. The back wall was coated in a thick coating blood as chunks of Gizmo's brain as it briefly stuck to the wall before it either fell off or slid down like bad jello. "Burn in hell you fat bastard." He said as he dropped the gun.
Ron felt the contents of his stomach churn and begin to rise up his throat again as he saw the bodies of both Gizmo and his bodyguard. Ron ran out of the office and fell onto his hands and knees as he began to vomit up what little food he still had left in his stomach. Each time he saw images of their bodies flash through his mind he began to heave and vomit again until his stomach was void of any food all together. As Ron gasped fro breath, feeling like his lungs had deflated like party balloons, he felt a hand gently pat and stroke him on the back. He wiped his mouth on the sleeve of his jacket as he looked up and saw Kim's concerned face looking down at him.
"You've actually done this before?" he asked her. Kim said nothing but slowly nodded her head yes. "How do you get used to it?" Ron said.
"You don't, really. Taking a life takes a heavy toll on you. But somehow, you seem to build up a tolerance to all the violence."
"Here's hoping I don't." Ron said as he gasped for breath one more time.
"So do I." Kim said and patted him on the back one more time. "Are you all right?" she asked him.
"I think I've got it under control." Ron said with a small smile. That's when he saw Rufus sit right beside him nuzzled him a little. Ron turned and saw the mole rat's mouth and blood still coated with a thick amount of blood that was dripping off of him like water. "I was wrong." Ron said and began to heave again.
THE CRASH HOUSE
Ron opened his eyes slowly and yawned so wide that he though he would unhinge his jaw for a minute or two. He sat up in bed and took a deep breath to steady himself. For thanks in helping taking down Gizmo, the owner of the Crash House laws letting them stay for long as they want for free. Ron ran a hand through his hair as he took a deep breath and tried to come to terms with what he had done the other day. Violence in the video games and simulators at the Vault and violence in real life were two completely different things. Every time he thought about the man he killed or the wounds he had inflected to Gizmo and his guard kept making him sick to his stomach and almost all want to move or get out of bed seemed to try and leave him.
"How are you doing?" Kim asked him as she sat at a near by desk, doing over several items.
"I don't know." Ron said as he took another deep breath.
"Don't worry. I didn't peak this time." Kim said, referring to the fact that Ron was laying in the bed without any clothes on.
"Right now, I don't care." Ron said. "Killian is a good man, right?"
"Of course he is."
"And Gizmo was a bad guy, right? He was a real gangster?" Ron said, trying to come to terms with what he had done. Kim bit her lower lip for a minute before she turned to him.
"Gizmo's goons tried to kidnap me when I was a kid. Gizmo was taking people and selling them into forced slavery to places like the Hub and several of the gangs in the Wasteland, and I was going to be part of his local shipment. Thankfully, Uncle Slim taught me how to fight. So I busted the feet and shins of the guys who grabbed me and ran into the nearest shop for cover. The shop owner happened to be Killian Darkwater, still new to the sheriff's position. I told him what happened and he put an end to Gizmo's slave operations in Junktown. Gizmo had it in for me ever since." Kim told him.
"And you've been toting a gun everywhere you go?" Ron asked her.
"No. I've been carrying a gun since I was six. The reason I didn't have it that day was because the gunsmith was fixing it. Remember Ron, the Wastelands are dangerous. The more you know about defending yourself, the better chance you stand of making it alive through the day." She said.
"So what are you looking at?" Ron asked, wanting to change the subject.
"I raided Gizmo's after Killian shut it down. We've got more than enough caps now. A couple of gun magazines, survival stuff. And Gizmo's gun. It's pretty accurate if you now how to shoot. I thought the bullets for it were made out of gold, but I was wrong. The damn things are just painted gold." Kim said as she looked at her haul and noticed Ron getting dressed in the mirror.
"Shows how cheap he was." Ron said as he slid his coat over his Vault 13 shirt and hesitantly put his gun belt back on. "I'm really starting to hate this thing." Ron said to himself.
"So what are you going to do now?" Kim asked him.
"I'm going to the Hub." Ron said as he checked his shotgun and saw that Killian had given him several more shells for it.
"What in the world would you want to go to that place for?" Kim asked him.
"My Vault needs water and I can't go back empty handed. I remember you or someone else had mentioned Water Merchants. Maybe I can get them to send my vault some more water. Or maybe start a bartering relationship. Just something for me to do so I can try and find a water chip." Ron said.
"Ron, that Vault we went to was gone. What makes you think you're going to find a water chip somewhere?" Kim asked him.
"Because there at least three more Vaults that are out there." Ron said.
"What?"
"Including my Vault and Vault Fifteen, there were five Vaults in this area by the time the bombs fell and nuked the world. It doesn't matter if they're still functioning or not. If the water chip is still salvageable, then there's still hope for my Vault. So until I'm dead, I've got to keep looking." Ron said.
"Ron, are you listening to yourself? Do you even know where these Vaults were?"
"Only that one Vault was directly beneath one of the cities that used to be here. Now that the terrain has changed, I don't know where it is. For all I know, there could be nothing left of it."
"So you're just going to searching the Wastelands aimlessly, not knowing anything about the people or cities here. The wastes are filled with bandits, raiders, mutated creatures you've never seen, and areas that are still radioactive. You're going to be looking for three vaults that you don't know where they are nor do you know if they're still in one piece. Can you even hear yourself talking? That's suicide!"
"I've got no choice! Everyone I know and love needs me and I'm their only hope! Did the Overseer make the wrong choice in picking me out of everyone? Probably! But I can't just let everyone die, KP. If our roles were switched, would you let everyone you care about die? If Shady Sands needed you to save it, would you?!" Ron demanded.
"All right! I get the point!" Kim said as she took a deep breath to calm herself down. "Ron, you're going to die in the Wasteland. You barley survived life in Junktown. How are you going to make it?" Kim asked him.
"I'll get another guide. Given what kind of people blew into Gizmo's place, I'm sure I can find someone who can lead me through this God forsaken place." Ron said as he loaded the shotgun and made sure his pistol was loaded and the safety was on.
"Then how about this?" Kim asked as she placed the items on the desk into a large knapsack she had bought from Killian. "I stick with you until you find a new guide. I'm usually a good judge of character. So if we can find you a guide I can trust, we go our separate ways." Kim said.
"I – I guess that sounds like a good deal." Ron said as he looked away from Kim for a moment. "So this is us parting ways. So far, you're the only real decent person I've met in this entire place." Ron said.
"And you're a decent guy, Ron. That's all the more reason why you don't belong out here with the rest of us. So I need to make sure you'll be in good hands before I go back to Shady Sands." Kim said. She didn't want to admit it, but she was breaking one of her many rules. She was getting attached to this goofball. "Ron,"
Kim was interrupted by a loud scream of a woman that was very close. Kim grabbed her gun as she and Ron both bolted out of their room into the large open office of the Crash House with Rufus not too far behind. They could see the lady behind the counter was worried as she grabbed for her key ring and made a bee line to room two.
"That came from Cynthia's room!" the woman said as she tired to find the right key.
"Who's in there with her?" Kim asked.
"One of the damn Skulz! If he's tweaked out on something, there's no telling what he'll do." The woman said as she tried to get the lock open.
"Ma'am, I think we know a quicker way." Kim said as she gently moved the woman aside.
Kim quickly preformed a flawless spin kick against the door, forcing the door to slam open and the lock to break away fro it. Ron and Kim quickly stormed into the room and saw a young bald man quickly grab the blonde woman and pull her close. His left arm kept her in a choke hold while he pointed a large pistol that was in his right hand against her head. The man was wearing make shift body armor with a flaming skull engraved into it while his pants and fingerless gloves seemed to be made out of some crude leather. His eyes were severely bloodshot with large circles under his eyes. His left eye kept twitching while both of his hands had a slight trembling to them.
"Get back! Get back or I'll kill the fucking whore!" he shouted as the young woman screamed in response. "SHUT UP!" he screamed at her as loud as he could.
"You do that, shit heel; then I'm going to put a bullet in your worthless head." Kim said as she kept her gun fixed on the tweaking gang banger.
"Try it and I'll kill the bitch and you, cock sucker!" the banger shouted. This guy was extremely on the edge. Both Kim and Ron could clearly see this guy was a wild card. There was no telling what he was going to do. Ron looked at the girl he was holding hostage and could clearly see how scared she was as tears were pouring down her cheeks. Ron had to figure out a way to make sure she was safe. And right now, shouting at this guy with death threats wasn't going to do any good.
"Just take it easy." Ron said gently. "Take it easy. No one has to die today." Ron said as he lowered the shotgun.
"Easy for you to say when you've got guns on me." The banger said.
"I'm putting it away. See?" Ron asked as he slowly placed his shotgun on the ground. "KP, holster your gun."
"Are you crazy? He's holding a gun to her head!" Kim objected.
"Just do it!" Ron said in a stern tone of voice. Slowly, Kim took her finger off of the weapon's trigger and placed it in its holster. "There, you see? We're backing off. Let's just talk about this." Ron said in an easy going tone of voice.
"Talk? What kind of world do you freaking live in? Everyone kills each other out here, man. Blood flows, blood flows." The Tweaker said.
"We can work this out. Why do want to hurt the girl?" Ron asked him.
"She laughed at me. Everyone is always laughing at me. I'll show them. I'LL SHOW EVERYONE!" He said.
"I wasn't laughing."
"SHUT UP, YOU STUPID WHORE!" The Tweaker shouted as loud as he could as his trigger hand began to shake even more. "Everyone's always laughing at me. All the time, they laugh at me. Who's going to laugh at me now?!" he demanded.
"No one's laughing, I promise. Just look at her, right now. She's terrified. You're in control." Ron said.
"Right. That's right. I-I'm in control." He said.
"No one has to get hurt. You can just walk away right now and everything will be fine. No one will come after you. I promise." Ron said.
"Why should I believe you? You look like a liar and a cheat to me." The bald man said as he began to sweat.
"I'm not. Here." Ron said as reached into his pocket and removed a small cloth bag that held several caps within it. He shook it in his hand to let the Tweaker here its contents before he tossed it to him. The bad landed by his feet and opened, letting a few bottle caps scatter to the floor. "That's about one-hundred caps in that bag. You can take it or leave it. Just let the girl go." Ron said.
"I-I let her go, and you won't follow me?" he asked as he eyed the bag full of caps on the floor.
"You have my word." Ron said.
Time seemed to almost freeze as the tweaking gang banger kept looking at the bag of caps on the ground and back up at Ron. It was like he really couldn't make up his mind as the shaking in his arms began to spread through his whole body. Sweat was starting to form on his head as he started to chew on his lower lip. With a strong and sudden hard push, he shoved the girl into Ron as he grabbed the bag full of caps, and ran out of the room as fast as he could. Ron held the crying woman in his arms trying to calm her down as Kim dashed out of the room in pursuit of the banger. After a minute or two, the woman freed herself from Ron's arms and wiped the tears from her eyes.
"Thank you." She said with a sniffle.
"Are you going to be okay?" Ron asked her.
"I'll be fine. I wish I could say I was used to this by now." She said as she went to sit on the bed.
"This has happened before?" Ron asked her.
"She's one of Gizmo's girls. The Skulz that live in the back are supposed to make sure this doesn't happen. But the only thing they do is get wasted and cause trouble all over town. Not to mention they think they can get their dick wet whenever they want." The woman in charge of the Crash House said.
"I don't know how much longer I can stand this." Cynthia said as she wiped several more tears away as Kim walked back in.
"He kept ducking behind buildings. I lost him." Kim said. "Ron, we've got to go. It won't be long until they find out what you did to Gizmo."
"What do you mean? What did you do to Gizmo?" Cynthia asked them.
"You're hero helped Darkwater finally take Gizmo down." The land lady said.
"Gizmo's dead? So I'm out of work. How am I supposed to survive out here?" she asked out loud.
"KP, do you think your uncle could help her?" Ron asked.
"I don't see why not. If she's got any skills, my uncle can teach her how to survive." Kim said.
"Okay. You tell her how to get to Shady Sands while I go pack up the rest of our gear." Ron said as he grabbed his shotgun and went back to their room.
It didn't take Ron that long to pack up the belongings he had. If he kept collecting items the way he was doing, he would probably have to geta back pack pretty soon. There was so way a normal Vault issued satchel could carry much more in it. Ron had finished packing his satchel ad holstered his pistol when Kim walked back into the room.
"How is she?" Ron asked.
"I gave her directions to Shady Sands. When I told her what the village was like, it seemed to ease her mind. I don't know if she'll stay there though. At one point or another, the larger cities always try to lure you away." Kim said as she noticed that Ron was in deep thought. "You okay?" she asked him.
"Just thinking about something. It's not important." Ron said. "So where do you think we should start looking for a guide?"
"There's one place I know of in the Northern part of Junktown. It's a bar that's called the Skum Pitt. The man who owns it is a friend of my uncle. Hopefully, we can find you someone there." Kim said.
"A bar? You think it's opened this early in the day?" Ron asked her.
"Probably. The drunks have to get their booze from somewhere." Kim said as she walked in the lead with Ron and Rufus following behind her.
THE SKUM PITT
Kim was right. The Skum Pitt had opened its door to the people of Junktown an hour ago and it already had a decent crowd of people gathered. The man behind the bar looked like he hadn't a decent meal in a while, his hair was mostly a dark shade of gray, and his face hadn't seen a shave in about a week or so. He was wiping down a few glasses and kept glancing to what looked like a metal trophy that sat at the other end of the bar, but out of reach of any customers who sat there.
"So which one is your uncle's friend?" Ron asked Kim.
"The one behind the bar. His name's Neal. The poor guy's had it rough for a while."
"What do you mean?" Ron asked.
"Long story, I'll tell you later. It looks like we'll have to wait until the crowd thins a bit before we can talk to him. Might as well have a seat." Kim said as she lead Ron to an empty table. It wasn't long before a pretty young woman about Kim's age came to the table with a small notepad in hand.
"Long time no see, Kim."
"Tara? It's been a while since I've seen you. I thought you got a job in the Hub." Kim asked.
"It didn't turn out too well. Neal was nice enough to give me a job here. I can tell he's got a thing for me, but he's too serious for my taste. Who's your friend?" the blonde girl asked.
"I'm Ron Stoppable." Ron said, shaking the girl's hand.
"Nice to meet you, Ron. My name's Tara. Can I get you anything to drink?" she asked.
"How about two Nuka-Cola's?" Kim asked.
"Sure thing." Tara said and quickly walked to the bar.
"You almost know everyone here, don't you?" Ron asked.
"Not everyone. Tara and I grew up together in Shady Sands. She went to the Hub a couple of weeks ago, and I thought she had gotten a decent job down there. I didn't know she had come back." Kim said.
"Another new face. I guess travelers are a dime a dozen here." A very soft, yet firm, feminine voice said not too far from where Kim and Ron were sitting. Kim's eyes slightly narrowed as they turned to see who had spoken to them. Sitting at a table that was in the corner, with her feet propped up on the table, was a woman with unusually pale skin and long jet black hair. Her clothes looked to be a combination of dark green and black while she wore what looked to be fairly new set of light armor. There was also a slight smug smile with her black painted lips. By her side was a large custom made leather holster that contained a pump action shotgun.
"Hello, Shego." Kim muttered.
"I know you. You're that prize fighter I saw at the casino." Ron said.
"And you're the guy that put me and several others out of a job." She said as she took a swig of her beer. "I don't whether or not I should thank you or beat the living shit out of you."
"Give it a rest, Shego. You hated fighting for Gizmo as much as everyone else." Kim said and noticed how Ron started to relax a little.
"That's what I really don't like about you, Princess. You're always trying to spoil my fun." Shego said to her.
"Your idea of fun is usually,"
"YOU STUPID BITCH!"
Everyone turned to see a tall grungy man back hand Tara as hard as he could and sent her to the ground. He gave a swift upward kick to her face and pulled out a large Bowie knife before he knelt beside her. Grabbing a handful of her curly hair, he lifted her head up as blood poured from her now swollen nose and nasty cut right above her left eye.
"You spill booze on my jacket? I think I'll use your fucking scalp to clean it up with, you little bitch." He growled as he brought the knife to her hairline.
Kim and Ron were going for their weapons as the bartender, Neil, pulled out a large gun of his own. "God damn punks!" he shouted as he cocked a bullet into the chamber and fired. The bullet entered the back of the man's head and caused his forehead, eyebrow ridge, and the upper part of his nose exploded. The force of the bullet's exit sent the man's body flying forward and slid to a stop right in front of Ron and Kim's table as blood quickly began to pool around the man's head like a leaking water pipe. Ron began to turn a very deep shade of green and was barley able to keep the contents of his stomach in as he looked at the dead corpse.
"IF ANY OF YOU EVER PLACE A FUCKING FINGER ON HER AGAIN, I'LL KILL EVERY FUCKING ONE OF YOU! NOW GET OUT!" Neil shouted as loud as he possibly could while keeping the gun trained on the other members of the Skulz that were in his bar.
"All right, old man. But we won't forget this." One of them said as they began to leave. As they did, one young woman with dreadlocks looked at the old bartender and drew her finger across her throat and pointed at Neil. As soon as they were gone, Shego, Ron, and Kim made their way to Tara and helped her into one of the chairs.
"Is it bad?" Tara asked while Neil brought a couple of towels over and a first aid kit.
"The nose is broken, but I can fix it. It's going to hurt, though." Shego said.
"Do it." Tara said as Shego placed her hands on Tara's face.
"On the count of three, okay? One." Shego said and quickly reset the bone with a loud snap. Tara gave a mild scream of pain as Kim opened the First Aid kit and quickly bandaged the rest of Tara's wounds. "Why did you have to come back here, Tara? I thought you had a good thing going in the Hub."
"It was those damn Children." Tara said as she let her tears fall.
"Children?" Ron asked, looking to Kim for information. Kim merely shrugged her shoulders. Apparently the red head had no idea what the blonde was talking about.
"The Children of the Cathedral. They're some sort of new religion or cult in the south that's been gaining more followers like crazy. The guy I was working for had a decent shop going when they blew into town. They wanted to convert his place into some education center. To teach people what they were about. He wouldn't budge at all, but they kept hounding him. So he went down to their headquarters in the Hub to give them a piece of his mind.
A few hours later, he comes back and tells me he's sold the shop. He kept saying how they made him see the light and how great they were. He gave up everything he had to join them. It freaked me the hell out, so I came back here. I would have stayed in the Hub, but the man I was living with lost his home to a bunch of raiders." Tara said.
"Gangs, cults, and organized crime. This new world doesn't sound that much different from the old world." Ron said to himself when he noticed Neil wiping down the strange trophy he had seen earlier. Ron made his way to the bar and took a seat to take a breath and to mainly get away from the sight of so much blood. He had a feeling that he was going to see the Vault Councilor for years when he got home. "Can I get a soda?" Ron asked.
"Sure thing." Neil said and had an open bottle in front of Ron before he could blink. "By the way, thanks for taking care of the slime ball. I just wish something could be done about the damn Skulz." Neil said.
"Are they usually this bad?" Ron asked.
"Sometimes worse. A lot of the time, they're worse. I'm just glad my wife isn't alive to see how bad things have gotten." Neil said as she tried to caress a side of the trophy. Now that Ron was closer, he could see the words engraved into it. He realized that it wasn't a trophy, but an urn. He had heard stories about some people burning their loved ones and keeping the remains. They didn't do that at the Vault. The dead were either burned and the remains disposed of, or the bodies recycled. For what use, Ron didn't want to know or ask. Not since he saw the old movie "Soilent Green" when he was younger.
"They didn't kill her, did they?" Ron asked.
"No. Pneumonia killed her. I remember when we first came to Junktown, and it was actually a nice place. Then Gizmo came and started using the Skulz to muscle in and take over everything he could. That was when everything started going to hell." Neil said as he remembered the past.
"How long have they been giving you trouble, Neil?" Kim asked him.
"Kim Possible? I swear you look more like your mother every time I see you." Neil said as he marveled at Kim. "They've always given me trouble. They threaten to burn down the bar and what not since I don't pay protection money. This is the first time I've actually had to kill one of those bastards. That probably means the Skum Pitt's days are probably numbered. A shame too. This bar is all I've got left." Neil said.
"There's got to be a way we can help him." Kim said as she turned to face Ron.
"Can we go to Lars and the rest of the Junktown guards?" Ron asked.
"What can they do?" Shego asked as she joined them. "They might be the local law enforcement, but their ranks are pretty thin. Now that Neil's given them a reason to get mad, the Skulz going to come out in full force to take him out. Those hop heads love to get even with anyone that crosses them."
"We can't let that happen, Ron." Kim said.
"What are we going to do? Take on the whole gang? Not counting Rufus, there's only two of us." Ro said.
"Make that three." Shego said, causing Kim to look at her with a raised eyebrow. "What? Did I say something funny?"
"I know you, Shego. You never do anything unless you get something out of it in return. What are you up to?" Kim asked and earned a annoyed growl from Shego.
"My brothers, okay?"
"Oh." Kim said.
"Huh?" Ron asked.
"Shego has four brothers that Gizmo blackmailed into working for him." Kim said.
"Hego and Mego have gone missing. The Wego's are being forced to work for the Skulz. If I can take them out, my little brothers are free. Now can we figure out how to get rid of these assholes? The only way we're going to take out the gang is to try and eliminate the leader." Shego said.
"Take out the leader. You mean like cutting the head off of a snake?" Ron asked.
"In a sense." Shego said.
"But won't they just choose someone else to lead them?" Kim asked.
"Are you kidding? These guys are so hopped up on drugs that I'm surprised that they can still take a piss without any help. Gizmo was the only one who chose who would lead the Skulz. Now that he's gone, they'll fall apart without a leader." Shego said.
"Great idea. There's just one problem. We don't know who the Skulz leader is." Kim said.
"You could always ask them, little miss perfect." Shego said.
"I'm already on their shit list. Can't you find anything out? You were Gizmo's prize fighter." Kim retorted.
"They know I won't have anything to do with them. Not to mention all the times that I've beaten the shit out of most of them in Gizmo's fights. They have less reason to speak to me than you." Shego said.
"What about me?" Ron asked as both women turned to look at him.
"Are you crazy? You're the one that helped bring Gizmo down." Kim said.
"But they don't know it." Shego said.
"What?" Kim asked.
"They know someone helped kill Gizmo and who his name is, but they don't have a clue what he looks like. I've overheard them talking in the Skum Pitt for the past several days. All they know is that a giant mutant rat hangs around him. If he leaves that – thing – with us, he can get in." Shego said.
"But how is he supposed to find out who the leader is?" Kim asked.
"They just lost a guy. Maybe I could say I'm looking to join." Ron said.
"That's never going to work." Shego said.
THE CRASH HOUSE
The member of the Skulz that sat by the door took a deep drag off of a strange looking cigarette. While the tobacco inside was a combination of light and dark browns, the paper it was rolled in was yellowed with age and covered in fine print. He held the smoke within his lungs as long as possible until his face started to turn blue. After several moments, he slowly let out a small strand of green smoke as his eyes glazed over and a wide grin spread across his face. He began to giggle with a high pitch to his voice as he leaned back and hit his head against the wall. The sudden impact and feeling of pain only made him laugh as he smelled the aroma that came from his cigarette.
"That's some good shit." He said with a laugh. When he heard someone knocking at the door, his eyes widened. He quickly threw on a vest that was made of thick layers Brahmin leather and grasped a crude knife as he opened a small slot in the top of the door. "What do you want?" he asked.
"Um," Ron said as he spaced for a minute. What was he supposed to say? HE wished they had covered this before they went through with the plan. "Take me to your leader?" Ron asked.
"No doing. No one sees Vinnie." The man said.
"Why can't I see Vinnie?" Ron asked.
"How do you know Vinnie's leads the gang? Who told you?!" the man behind the door asked.
"You just told me."
"Damn it! Not again!" the man behind the door moaned. "Vinnie's going to kick my ass again. Why do you want to see Vinnie, anyway?"
"I want to join your crew." Ron said.
"You?" the banger asked, trying not to laugh as he took a good look at Ron. "You're as skinny as a toothpick. Besides, how do I know you ain't a goody two shoes cop?" he asked as he chuckled and took a quick drag from his homemade cigarette. When he looked back, he was greeted with the barrels of Ron's shotgun.
"Because this is my boom stick, and it's got a hair trigger." Ron said. Ron was starting to get an idea how things began to work in the Wastelands, and did enjoy the look on the face of the man behind the door.
"Sounds good enough to me." The banger said as he closed the hatch and opened the door. "Follow me. I've got to warn ya. Vinnie's been in a bad mood. His best girl left him, and took his whole stash of good booze with her." The banger said as Ron followed.
The inside of the building looked more like a frat house. Various posters were on the walls. Some new that promoted gangs and raiders while others were older and somehow had survived the nuclear blasts of the last war. Of course, most of them were of cars and women in bikinis. A lot of the gang members that weren't working on their weapons were either getting drunk while listening to music on various old tape and CD players or smoking strange homemade cigarettes. Ron wasn't sure if the cigarettes were all that healthy since the colors of smoke ranged from gray to green, and some even had a shimmering blue tint.
In the back, drinking down a bear like a thirsty man gulping down an endless supply of water, was Vinnie. He was tall with long greasy and unwashed hair. He had no shirt, showing his body was covered in various tattoos and images that had either been branded or carved into his skin deliberately. The center of his chest had a flaming skull tattoo with human eyes that had blood for tears. One girl who only wore leather pants and a half assed leather top was carving the image of a cobra into Vinnie's shoulder and dabbing at it with a wet cloth to wipe away blood. When Vinnie looked up, his blood shot eyes showed that he probably hadn't had a full night's sleep in a long time.
"What the fuck, slime? I said no one comes in!" Vinnie said and threw the beer bottle at the ganger's head, barley missing it by an inch.
"Sorry, Vinnie. But this guy says he wants to join." The Ganger, Slime, said.
"He wants to be a Skul?" Vinnie asked as the girl carving his shoulder scoffed.
"Looks like a fucking pebble to the head could take him down." She said and wiped more blood away. When she looked up, Ron immediately recognized her. She was one of the gang members that had been at the Skum Pitt hours ago. She was the one that made the slit throat gesture when Neil forced them out after he had shot one of them. Ron felt a knot begin to form in his throat and started to praying to God that she didn't recognize him.
"Piss off, poser." Vinnie said as he hissed from the woman's blade cutting into his flesh.
"I'm serious, I want to join!" Ron said. "Let me prove it to you. Give me something to do, and I'll do it."
While Vinnie looked like he was getting pissed of Ron's presence in their place, it looked like the girl with dreadlocks had an idea. She quickly leaned her face close to Vinnie's ear and began to whisper something. That knot Ron felt earlier began tightening as he saw a smile that formed on Vinnie's face that exposed his yellowed teeth. He whispered something back to the girl and used his whole hand to firmly grasp part of her ass as he turned back to Ron.
"Okay, punk. You want to prove you're good enough to be one of us? Here's what you can do." Vinnie said.
It almost felt like hours since Kim and Shego sent Ron to try and join the Skulz. Kim couldn't help but feel like they had made a horrible mistake by doing this. However, if Ron could join the Skulz; he could find out when they were going to attack the Skum Pitt. With that knowledge, they could plan a way to keep Neil safe. But it was this waiting game that was driving Kim nuts. Shego just sat on the edge of the bed and kept petting the mole rat's head like he was some kind of overgrown puppy. She couldn't tell what the hell the pale green woman was thinking.
"He's dead. I know it." Kim said to herself.
"He's not dead, princess." Shego said.
"How do you know?" Kim demanded.
"IF they killed him, we would have either heard a gunshot. Or we would have heard a lot of commotion coming from the back of this place if they were beating him to death." Shego said.
"You're so not helping." Kim said.
"Well, I know for a fact he's still alive." Shego said.
"How?"
"Because this thing is waging its tail like an excited puppy." Shego said as she stood and walked to the door. As soon as she opened it, a very stressed Ron stepped into the room. "Told you so."
"How did it go, Ron?" Kim asked him.
"Well, they didn't want me at first. But, they gave me a chance to prove myself."
"That's better than nothing." Shego said.
"So what do you have to do?" Kim asked him.
"You're not going to like this." Ron said as he lowered his voice, and then closed and locked the door tot heir room. He sat on the bed and waved for them to both come closer as he kept his voice low. "I have to steal an urn." Ron said.
"An urn? Ron, are you telling us?" Shego asked.
"Yeah. In order to join the Skulz, I have to steal the ashes of Neil's wife and bring it back to them." Ron said.
Author's Note(s): Sorry it's been so long since I've updated this one. I'm still working on my other stories. It's just that ideas comes and go. Hopefully, I can update my next story sooner than later.