Cain flung himself backwards as he emptied his pistols into the oncoming mutants, growling in frustration as he cast the two weapons empty weapons aside before driving his knife into its breast, twisting furiously as it shredded its lung, causing it to spew bile over its would-be prey.
He crawled back, stumbling to his feet as he rolled his shoulders back, getting his rifle at the ready. It was like the Old Man said… Blood, flesh… it was all dripping off of the walls. To think that Necropolis was destroyed to make place for this fuckin' nightmare.
Cain turned back, now fully stocked, only to find himself face to face with the Vault Security Chief, Patty. He was under the impression that she had evacuated this shit hole, some time ago…
"You... it's you! I followed you... to make sure the mutants would never use our research... as a weapon against humanity..."
"Well fuck, that was a mistake." Cain pointed out as he sighed.
"Where were you going? Why didn't you leave with the others?"
"I was... going to the emergency decontamination center... but this thing caught me... it's... it's eating me alive..."
"Emergency decontamination center? What's that?" The Ghoul asked, he didn't entirely get why it mattered, Attis was dead, this time, hopefully, for good. He observed Patty, noticing how she was being restrained by this large, gluttonous pustule, being consumed at a rather inefficient rate.
The fucking thing holding her was an abomination, that much was for certain, it should not have ever existed. None of this fucking shit should have ever existed, this place was a charnel house, made only to produce insults to creation itself.
If he had any left, Cain's skin would be crawling…
"The emergency decontamination center... from there, we can initiate extreme safety measures... in case of an accident, or an invasion... or both...
You must go there... destroy this creature before it grows larger..."
"It'll take something big to destroy this thing. What do I have to do?"
"Start the countdown... once it begins, you won't have much time to get out... before everything inside the vault is destroyed..." Patty seemed rather frantic, not for her own sake as most would but to ensure that she got Cain to do her work for her. He could almost respect her drive for duty, it confirmed that she was one hell of a woman.
She reminded him of his own girl… how long ago was that now? Time just blurred together, in a human mind. Truth is, Ghouls don't really remember the time before the war… not unless they're fixed on it. They remember snippets, the stuff they want to remember but the stuff that they want to forget? That goes… at some point or another, if you don't hold onto it, it's gone. He couldn't even remember his wife's name anymore or his kid…
Was his kid a boy? A girl? Fuck knows… It was just a scorch mark on the streets of Baker's Field now. It's Daddy was a twisted corpse, too stubborn to die but too unfocussed to find a purpose in this cracked, dry, dusty world.
"Destroy everything in the vault... all right." Cain confirmed, looking around for a means to do that, it would be around here somewhere, he didn't want to bother her with his lack of sense, when it came to direction.
"I'm on my way."
"Please..." Patty whispered, almost desperately.
"Before you go... kill me... don't let it eat me... alive..."
How fucked up this situation was… He'd never heard such a request before, a request that could only be uttered, because of this fucking monstrosity, holding her captive.
"There's got to be a way to beat this thing."
"The monorail... it'll take you to a secure location in the mountains... miles away... but you can't leave until you destroy everything in this place..."
Her deflection more or less answered for him… There was no way out of this, no magic bullet, no…
No hope at all…
"I'll take care of it." Cain assured her, slowly raising his rifle.
"Goodbye, Patty."
He took the shot, effortlessly, for the first time, since the war, he felt something… something that was almost alien to him.
Hesitation…
The shot fired off, tearing through her forehead and eventually her brain, throwing her head back before it went limp again, falling forwards and gently leaking is contents down the front of her jumpsuit and onto the floor.
Cain watched, unable to move for a brief moment as the reality of the situation sank in…
Necropolis was for nothing…
Cass' trigger finger slithered furiously as it searched for something to latch onto. It had a mind of its own now but only raw instinct to work on. His fist clenched, like it was forming into rock, ready to break it open on someone's face.
He was awaiting his turn, watching as Sulik stood awkwardly by the terminal, peering over a young woman's shoulder as she scrolled through the list of slave names.
"Mary… Mary… Quite contrary…" Cain dithered to himself as he slowly rolled his shooting hand around in its socket, relishing the clicks and cracks of bone, rubbing against bone and centuries old tendons straining from overuse.
"Ah… When I first saw her, she was just a stroppy teen with eyes bigger than her underfed belly." The Ghoul explained, seemingly without provocation. Cass remained silent, he had been in this throne room for well over three quarters of an hour now. His joints ached, from being knelt down for so long…
"Now she's an accountant for the West's biggest slave outfit. Such a big step up." John observed, glancing up to Cain, who seemed rather amused. It was obvious that he wasn't used to being talked to like this. Sure, he could punish Cassidy for it but why would he? It would take a lot to break him and that would be a crime.
"Considering that she was destined to be mutant food? Yeah, pretty big fuckin' leep here." Cain agreed as Sulik stepped away.
"She not be here! De Brotherhood took her!"
"Oooh…" Cain murmured, his expression turned sly, he calculated furiously to try and figure out what kind of advantage could be gained from this. Sulik didn't need a third party spirit to know that he was knee deep in serpents, in this throne room.
"She's out of my jurisdiction then, I'm afraid… She's a prisoner of war."
"You mean 'she was liberated?'" Cassidy asked, detesting Cain's attempt to make it sound any other way.
"That remains to be seen… For all I know, she could be some initiate's plaything. Wouldn't that be shitty?"
"Do you know where she is or do you just intend to waste our time?"
"She was liberated at… Jefferson? Must've been when Wolfe hit Eastern Dalas the first time." Mary explained as she tapped her fingers against the table, scrolling through the seemingly never ending stream of data.
"Could be like… A lead?"
"Could be…" Cain shrugged, looking back to Sulvis, with a sudden suspicious glare.
"If this was the first time that your people had crossed with mine? I'd be lettin' you walk on outta here, might've even given you a few stims to support ya. However…
You owe me, big!"
"We owe you nothing." Cass said, firmly, Cassidys always settled accounts and nothing had been agreed between himself and this monster.
"That's where you're wrong, dipshit!" Cain growled, marching over to Cass and booting his chest, knocking him straight onto his back and pinning him down as he loaded his pistol.
"Y'see… If you ain't willin' to square our little debt? Then there's only one other way that I can claim it… Trust me, y'don't want that." He assured him, leaning closer as one eye seemingly grew larger than the other and practically popped out of its socket.
"You really don't want that."
"Erm… Cain?" Mary asked, timidly peering out, over his shoulder.
"I think I know where she is."
The Ghoul paused, turning his full attention to her and staring her out, despite knowing that she was least likely to be beaten to death, it still unnerved her.
"Go on…"
"Do you remember the reports? The ones on Woolf?" She asked, picking up some holodisks and slotting them into the side of the terminal.
"How she always had a tall, stoic, dark skinned woman, by her side?"
"Kurisu…" Sulik whispered, one of few times that Cass had ever heard him give a simple one word answer.
"Huh…" Cain observed, leaning over and reading the report for himself as he left John to think on what he'd said.
"Looks like ol' Woolfy got herself a new pet."
"If Sis be in danger, you be doin' yourself a major disservice, keepin' me 'ere." Sulvis insisted, he seemed to have forgotten his position or perhaps he no longer cared.
"Debts incurred can be squared after!"
Sulik found himself stopping, pausing as he stepped back. Confrontation was in his nature, but brashly making demands… this was a new one.
Cain and Mary simply stared at him, seemingly in disbelief at first but slowly, an unsettling grin crept itself onto Cain's face.
"You got my attention, bone nose… Best make the most of it."
He slammed his nail-bat into the palm of his hand, glaring at Sulik with mad eyes.
Kurisu sat at her desk, finding herself lacking purpose. She examined some papers before sitting back and looking up to the ceiling, with a disheartened sigh.
She wondered how the Elder was doing, knowing her as long as she had done, she knew that something would be wrong. Still, she remained tentative to her duties, knowing that that was the best thing that she could do for her.
The Elder's generosity knew no bounds, at least when it came to Kurisu. Kurisu was not oblivious to the fact that the Elder had some sort of attraction to her, not feelings, surely. She knew that the Elder had a lover once, long ago… It cost her a lot and they haven't been on good terms since, for reasons that Kurisu wasn't entirely sure about.
From what she understood, the one that the General sometimes referred to as 'Farsight' was more loyal to Woolf than to the Brotherhood itself, this wasn't exactly something that pleased Woolf.
Now Woolf was looking to Kurisu for some sort of way to fill the void, something that Kurisu just wasn't able to do. It wasn't that she wasn't willing but… The Elder was a woman, she had no such desires, when it came to the Elder. Hell, the thought of her being looked at, that way, made her skin crawl.
Brother Sulik's friend, Cheyenne, she looked at her in a similar fashion. From what she gathered, it was her darker skin and build that drew most of the attention, plus that naïve little tribal thing that a lot of people liked. In truth, she found it a little insulting, how she was looked at as some sort of thing to exploit but she understood the benefits of being underestimated.
"Kurisu?" Woolf asked, getting the Tribal's attention as she rose to her feet, following Cheyenne's footsteps and going into the Elder's office, peering inside.
"Yes, Elder?" Kurisu found herself a little unnerved, it had been a while since she'd spoken to anyone and she hated the idea of making a bad impression of any kind.
"Cheyenne has requested, despite my assurances that we do not have such things, that we provide her with X-series power armour. I was hoping you could check our supplies and see if there are any in stock."
"Sorry, this isn't exactly a great way to start a relationship, with my best friend's sister, is it?" Cheyenne pointed out, with a sigh before forcing her a smile.
"Y'know, I wasn't able to say it but it was so good, meeting you…"
Kurisu paused, staring Cheyenne down, the way that she spoke… it was like she'd known her for years. Perhaps she could make such a claim, Sulik was a driven man, one of great passion and a drive to protect what was his.
"Thank you, Cho-zen. This one appreciates all you done for her and her stupid brother."
"Heh… Did you hear? He got pissed… in both senses, trashed a bar. I had to pay for his release! Something like… $300? He was worth every penny though." Cheyenne explained, chuckling a little, faintly.
"Glad to hear his spirit hadn't dulled, an angry soul is still a soul." Kurisu said, she seemed almost relieved to hear of his misadventure.
"Sulik-Brotha be not botherin' you?"
"Oh no, quite the opposite!" Cheyenne assured her, her surprise turned into a slightly sly grin.
"We're like one big… dysfunctional family, on the road."
"Your words… You say one thing but'chu mean another." Kurisu observed, getting a confused look from Cheyenne.
"That's… Sarcasm…"
"No, even that covers the meaning."
"Erm… Okay, I remember the Herb Gardner talking like this, after doing some powders… you're not tripping on me are you?"
"You mask your pain, with a smile. You hide your struggles with mirth, this has failed you once before but it is all you know." Kurisu stopped, realising where she was.
"Forgive me… Chosen… Channelling the spirits is…" She paused and glanced up to Cheyenne, catching her confused glare.
"Bah, Hakunin used to talk like that, I kinda missed it."
Despite this, Cheyenne did seem rather focussed on Kurisu, being a tribal herself, she understood that some people did communicate with spirits and whatnot. Cheyenne couldn't help but be sceptical about the whole thing but whatever Sulik and Hakunin dabbled in, it would seem that Kurisu's control in the arts were significantly weaker.
Perhaps her former masters wanted to exploit this.
"You are of Tribal origins yerself, yes?" Kurisu asked, she seemed intrigued.
"You could say that." Cheyenne shrugged.
"Most people forget that these days, it's nice not to be called 'tribal' everywhere I go."
"You find it… Troubling?" Kurisu asked, seemingly confused as she'd had few experiences with those from the outside.
"Sort of… Even Cass had a thing against tribals, until I pointed out that I was one. Should've seen his face, it was actually kind of funny."
"This… Name… The Spirits know of him."
"They do?" Cheyenne asked, looking quite concerned.
"What… What do they say?"
Kurisu put her hand out, slowly guiding it along as she closed her eyes.
"We… We see Brotha-Sulik… He stands in chains, the man with little face knelt by his side… A dead one stands before him, his weapon thirsts for blood." The Tribal explained, opening her eyes.
"Time is… Running out for him! For both of them! To Carbon, we must ride!"
"I doubt that Elder Woolf is going to let us leave so easily… I promised to help her win the war, I'd have to convince her that it would be within her best interests to do so."
"Then do so quickly, Cheyenne!" Kurisu insisted, with a faint sigh.
The Chosen One sighed, falling silent. She didn't like the idea of rushing such a thing but still… she understood the necessity.
"I'll… See what I can do." She added, stepping towards Woolf's office, she couldn't believe she was acting on Kurisu's visions but… Suliks were accurate, her's must be as well, right? If time was short, it could not be wasted trying to take Carbon by brute force alone.
It was time for a more… subtle approach.
Cheyenne knocked on the door and stepped inside, by this point, Elder Woolf was sat at her terminal, behind her desk.
"You need something else, Chosen?" The Elder asked, looking up to the Tribal, with an intrigued look. Cheyenne just grinned, awkwardly.
"Well… Change of plan, it would seem, I'm going to be needing to head out sooner than expected. I'll still need my power armour and weapon but aside from that? I'm good to go."
"I could get you some of our Devil Armour, finest modified suit in the core region. That, combined with a Super Sledge…"
"That will do, just fine. I'll collect them on my way out." Cheyenne assured her.
"Give me a few days and I'll have them returned, good as new."
"Right… Well, we don't have the power armour here, it would have to be acquisitioned and recorded with the armoury before it's dispatched. You will receive it in two or three days." Elder Woolf explained, Cheyenne didn't seem like a woman very familiar with procedure, protocol or anything that had a waiting time.
"Erm… Yeah, in two or three days? Sulik will be a stain on the carpet! I need to get to Carbon!"
"I could have it sent up to the road, instead." Elder Woolf shrugged.
"I can't just have supplies going missing, especially ones as important as these."
"Sure you can! Have you ever seen NCR? It's a like a circus but more sad than funny!" The Tribal shrugged, folding her arms.
"Can't you say it fell off a truck or something?"
"Of course, it fell of a truck and ended up in an outsider's hands." Elder Woolf shrugged.
"That'll look marvellous on a report."
"Point… Taken." Cheyenne sighed, rubbing the back of her neck.
"Might I also add that I do not… approve of you taking Kurisu. She isn't as worldly as you or her Brother…"
"Well, this'll be a great learning experience." Cheyenne shrugged, indifferently.
"Better than staying here and being perved on by an old woman all day."
This got Woolf to flinch a little, furrowing her brow in frustration.
"I… Have always been subtle, when it came to my desires."
"You're about as subtle as a clown, with his cock out." Cheyenne snapped, she'd respect her more if she admitted it.
"I mean, yeah, Kurisu is a nicely shaped, busty lady but her tits aren't going anywhere. They'll be there if you take your eyes off them for a few minutes."
Woolf scowled, not wanting to create a scene, it was this sort of thing that made an Elder look weak.
"I do not like what you are implying… There are many who would take such allegations quite seriously."
"Not as seriously as you, I mean, Jesus Christ…" Cheyenne sighed in disgust, glancing away.
"Enough! As…" Woolf sighed, trying to think of a way to say what she wanted to say without swearing or saying anything unbecoming of an Elder.
"Trying as your methods have been… I understand your point and your intent. I… have been cooped up in here for a long time and Kurisu is… well, a distraction, that indulge in a little too often. I had no idea that it was noticeable, the fact that it is… Well, it's somewhat embarrassing." Woolf stood up, sighing heavily as she stepped around her desk.
"Take the girl… Know that she is not to be harmed, she is under my personal protection, whether the two of you want her to be or not and if anything happens to her… Well, it would be you, I look to for answers."
"Sure… Answers aren't really my thing but I can give it a whirl. Does that mean that we can go?"
Woolf nodded, turning her attentions back to her desk and taking a seat at the terminal.
"Wish Kurisu the best on my behalf… I hope to see her again."
"Yeah… Bet you do." Cheyenne muttered under her breath as she stepped back out of the Elder's office, shaking her head in disgust.