Chapter Eleven: Kiddie Kingdom
"What do you know about this 'Kiddie Kingdom', Gage?" MacCready asked the raider as they sat at the bar inside Fizztrop Grille. On the other side of the now mostly empty space the Overboss was making some final adjustments to her power armor.
"For starters, its been overrun entirely by ghouls. When the raiders first took Nuka World, we had a crew head in to try and clear them out. Seemed simple enough, but it didn`t work out that way."
"Pump enough bullets in to any monster and it`ll die eventually." The ex-gunner commented. He frowned when Gage shook his head in disagreement.
"See, that`s what we thought too. But there`s another kind of ghoul in there that glows from the inside out. Whenever we dropped the others ghouls thinking they were done for, he`d let out some kind of rad wave and the rest would get back up to attack again."
"I`ve never seen anything like that before, and I`ve killed plenty of ghouls."
"I have." The Overboss stated as she came over and washed the grease off her hands in the sink behind the bar. Apparently she was done tweaking her armor. "There`s a large radioactive crater back in what used to be Cambridge. The first Glowing One I had the misfortune to cross paths with crawled out of that pit."
"The first one? As in you`ve seen more than one?" Gage questioned her uneasily. He`d never liked ghouls, and generally made a point to avoid them. Frost explained;
"Yes. They`re more dangerous than normal ones, and not just because they give off high enough levels of rads to heal the others. Glowing ghouls carry more diseases than your typical walking corpse." It became clear to Gage from the Boss`s words and tone that she held no fondness or pity for the feral creatures that had once been human.
"Great. One more thing to look forward to." MacCready input sarcastically.
"You mean aside from the sprinklers that`re gonna douse us in radioactive mist, and the booby traps waiting all over the place for us when we go in?" Gage scoffed, he was equally unhappy about the situation.
"Oh, joy. Remind me, why do we need to clear this place out so badly? Wouldn`t it be safer to just board the whole freakshow up and not grow extra limbs?" RJ was liking the sound of this idea less and less the more they talked about it.
"Safer? Ha. If you think a large number of raiders living so close they trip over each other, and are at each others` throats on a daily basis is any kind of safe, you`re dumber than I thought." Gage responded.
"Settle down, boys. The two of you to do exactly as I say, and we all make it out of this alive." Frost cut in calmly. She tossed the rag she`d been using to dry her hands on the counter between the two men. Gage looked up from where he`d been cleaning his pistol and listened. MacCready, on the other hand, had one more wise crack to make;
"Alive and with no extra arms or legs, right?"
"You`re about to have a broken arm if you don`t shut your cake hole, MacCready." The Overboss warned him with a dark half smile. She`d woken up on the wrong side of the bed this morning.
"Easy, now. What`s the plan, Boss?" Gage tried to keep them on track.
"The plan is, we`re going to be smart about this. Everyone takes some Rad-X before we go in, and makes sure to keep using it as need be. It`s going to dehydrate us, so bring the extra supplies I prepped for you. Gage, you`ll be going in in my power armor. It`s a closed environment inside the suit, so that should negate most of the radiation..."
"Whoa, hold up. What about you?" The raider risked interrupting her. When she`d asked him if he knew how to move in power armor, he hadn`t anticipated this.
"I`m going to be wearing a hazmat suit, with my underarmor. It won`t slow me down like it would for someone not used to wearing one, and your armor of choice won`t fit underneath it. MacCready, I want you to find a sniper`s post near the entrance when we get there. You won`t be exposed to as much radiation if you`re not on the ground with the sprayers and the ghouls, so your standard gear should be fine."
"You worried I won`t be able to keep up with the two of you?" RJ wondered, a bit put off by the idea.
"Not at all. I only have the one hazmat suit, and if things get too hairy in there, I need the path to the exit to stay clear. I trust you to make sure that happens."
"Copy that, loud and clear."
"Gage?"
"Yes ma`am?"
"Don`t call me that. Any other questions?"
"Nope."
"Good. Let`s go take out the trash."
Less than a half hour later the trio stood outside the entrance to Kiddie Kingdom, ready for war. Gage had spent enough time working with Colter`s power armor and testing it that even after Frost had removed the previous mods and installed new ones, it didn`t feel too unfamiliar. She`d made him practice walking around in it on the way here anyways, just in case. Porter felt like a behemoth towering over the other two.
To the left at the front of their group, MacCready was using his rifle scope to scout the area before they braved the park itself. HIs one-armed duster stirred in a faint, chill breeze that had begun to kick up. They sky overhead had been gray all morning and was growing darker. It looked like Nuka World would be hit by a thunderstorm before the day was through. The sniper was hoping the rain would hold off a while longer, until the party was done clearing out Kiddie Kingdom.
Frost was surveying the map she`d brought with her. It had originally been a pamphlet designed for visitors to Nuka World, and she was making good use of it. A deadly looking laser rifle was slung over her back instead of her usual favorite. When asked about this she had explained it was because she wanted to keep the ghouls at a distance to prevent damge to her hazmat suit. If the suit was breached it wouldn`t do her much good. The laser rifle had less piercing power than her other gun, but it had a wider spread with the attached beam splitter, and reloaded faster than a shotgun. She also admitted that watching it disintegrate her enermies was mildly amusing.
"There!" MacCready got his teammates` attention.
"Picked your spot, then?" The Overboss asked, checking the pack at her belt one final time.
"The ferris wheel. It`s the highest lookout point and the range on my rifle can cover a good distance from just halfway up it. I`ll have to climb, but the ghouls won`t be able to reach me up there, since there aren`t any stairs."
"How`s the access route look?"
"Pretty clear for the moment. I`ll head that way and get in to position. I`ll signal you when I`m in place."
The Overboss nodded and the Gunner took off at a slow jog, his eyes and his gun both trained at the ready. Gage watched the other man leave with a sense of foreboding. The Disciples and the Pack had both attempted to reclaim Kiddie Kingdom already, and failed. Only a few of the people they sent had returned. Of those, all were badly injured, and two had died from illness by the next day. They`d had reliable weapons and plenty of ammunition, and still the raiders had been overwhelmed within minutes. Porter sincerely hoped that wouldn`t be the case this time. Given, he`d seen the new Overboss fight before and respected her skills. MacCready followed whatever orders Frost had coordinated thus far, and the pair seemed to work well together. There was also an advantage in Gage wearing the power armor; he was basically a mobile tank. His doubts about the three of them all making it out of this in one piece remained however. MacCready must have been much stealthier and more agile than Gage had given him credit for; a flashlight and mirror signal gleamed from one of the ferris wheel`s booths only a short time later. He glanced to Frost for confirmation. When she gave him a nod he reluctantly moved with her, and they crossed the threshhold to the park.
As MacCready had informed them, the main path was clear for the moment. To the right were the discolored remains of what had once been a spinning teacup ride. The admissions stand and the other buildings nearby were all decorated to look like giant gingerbread houses. Gage and the Overboss continued past the ferris wheel before a voice crackled to life over the park`s intercom. The oily voice belonged to a male, and it dared the radiers to search Kiddie Kingdom for it`s owner while braving the thick radioactive mist that was now pouring from the sprayers all over the area.
"Head on a swivel, Boss." Gage warned his partner. The tiny invisible hairs on the back of his neck were standing on end. He couldn`t see very far for the radioactive fog, but he could hear things moving within it.
"I hear them too, Gage." Frost responded as she crept towards the Blast Off! ride. The sound of shuffling footsteps was louder in that direction.
As if sensing their approach, several ghouls sprinted from the opaque mist to assault the trespassers. Two of them engaged the Overboss, while three more ran by to attack her second in command. A distinctive red flash burst from the barrel of Frost`s laser rifle and contacted the pair of painted monsters running at her in their torsos. They stumbled but did not stop. Her gun provided a clear visual for backup through MacCready`s scope.
While Gage`s combat shotgun thundered shells in to the ghouls around him a resounding crack rang out. The raider sensed more than heard the bullet pass next to him; the rush of blood and adrenaline in his ears was too loud. Another enemiy he hadn`t been aware of creeping up on him fell to the ground a few feet away. Half of it`s skull was missing, a mass of scarlet gore spattered on the earth.
"MacCready six, raider one." The mercenary smirked as he reloaded. Alone in his elevated perch he knew no one could hear him. Keeping score of his kills was a habit he`d picked up long ago. He watched through his scope as Frost pumped two more rounds in to an incoming ghoul, which disintegrated in to glowing ash. By the time she`d turned to check on Gage, he`d finished off his last opponent. RJ`s smirk grew when the Overboss and Gage both looked at the half headless ghoul he`d taken down. Through the scope he saw her look in his direction at the ferris wheel and nod in approval.
"Don`t mention it." He chuckled quietly, to himself. His teammates began to head for the entrance to the employee tunnels as they had originally planned. MacCready pulled a cigarette from his pocket and lit it, leaned back and scanned the area again. While they were underground he wouldn`t be able to help them, but he`d make sure when they came out that his companions would have less resistance.
The employee tunnels were accessed by a door underneath King Cola`s castle. Unfortunately getting to that door proved to be more challenging than originally anticipated. Frost and Gage had to follow the track for the Nuka Racers ride to get to the door. That wouldn`t have been difficult except the ride still had power. Every few minutes a passenger car would speed down the rails toward the raiders. They had to dodge at the last minute, which was easier said than done in the narrow passage the track followed. At one point three cars had jammed together side by side, making them nearly impossible to evade. Frost swore as Gage shoved her out of the way against a wall. The power armor slowed him down some just because of how heavy it was. A loud shriek of metal on metal sounded and sparks flew as one of the cars clipped him. The resulting sparks illuminated more ghouls charging down the track towards the pair.
Frost wanted to go to Gage immediately; he`d been knocked down and wasn`t moving. Lying prone made him vulnerable, even in the heavy steel exoskeleton. She would have to deal with the threat of the walking radiated near-dead first. There were too many enemies to eliminate and not enough time for individual killings. From one of the pouches on her belt the Overboss grabbed a grenade and threw it as far as she could. It bounced off one of the walls and rolled at the ghouls before detonating. The explosion vaporized more than half the incoming horde in a burst of green light. Frost brought the laser rifle to her shoulder and sighted down it`s barrel. A few moments and several flashes of red energy later, the track was littered with withered corpses. Still a pair of the abominations advanced. The Overboss knew she didn`t have time to reload before they would reach her. The cars were rumbling back around again, too. Short on options, Frost charged towards the ghouls. She smashed the first one in the face with the butt of her rifle. Its bony fingers dug in to the front of her gear, reaching. Again the gun crashed in to the ghoul`s skull, spattering blood and puss across the hazmat suit`s mask. Frost let out an angry grunt and continued to beat the creature before her. The last foe sprinted her way, just as Gage regained his senses and sat up.
He saw the scattered remains strewn about the area, saw Frost fending off a bloated, disgusting looking fiend. An enemy charged her position, where she stood between Gage and it. He raised his shotgun without getting to his feet.
"Fucking waste of space, fuck you!" The Overboss roared and dropped her rifle to the ground. Her opponent growled and eagerly went in for the kill. Gage watched in astonishment as the woman viciously kicked the monster in the chest and caused it to land on the track. He blasted the top half of the remaining ghoul away as the motion took Frost out of his line of fire. The oncoming racer car ran the bloated, stunned mutation over. A satisfying splatter of gore spurted from the body as it was crushed.
"You alright there, Boss?" Gage wondered hoarsely as he got to his feet.
"Gage! I`m good, but are you hurt?" The wrath in her expression faded to concern as he slowly walked toward her.
"Banged up, but still in one piece. Gonna be a hell of a bruise later. I don`t think anything`s broken though."
"Do we need to turn back?"
"Quit joking around and let`s finish the job." Gage told her sternly. He would not be the reason they had to go home empty handed. He knew she was trying to look out for him. As thankful as he was, the notion also pissed him off to some degree. Did she really think a bump like that was going to put him down and out? In truth he hurt like hell, but he wasn`t willing to give up just because of a little pain. Instead, he led the way through the employee door while she retrieved and reloaded her gun.
The tunnels didn`t take long to clear; the two of them steamrolled through everything that got in their way. They learned that the ghouls were former Nuka World staff and visitors who had fled here when the bombs went off. Over time the heavy radiation had transformed them in to the monsters they were now. Gage found the valve to shut off the sprinklers outside as well. By the time they had exited the tunnels near the Fun House however, someone had reactivated part of the system. At least the mist was greatly reduced while the Glowing One calling himself Oswald the Outrageous antagionised them.
He blocked their path at every turn, and had MacCready busy fending off his minions outside. Gage suspected that part of the reason Oswald hadn`t been able to fully re-enable the misters was due to MacCready`s efforts. Frost seemed to agree, she muttered something about owing the Gunner a cold drink when Kiddie Kingdom was cleared. She and Gage advanced on the castle, thankfully to find that MacCready had already cleared most of the path there and was working on the courtyard. RJ had changed posts at some point; he was now near the apex of the ferris wheel. The shots from his rifle cracked against the cobblestones and rang off the walls around Gage and the Overboss as they were assailed by more ghouls. When the ground team finally gained access to King Cola`s castle, they could hear the shots continue outside. Oswald kept resurrecting the ghouls in the area as they fell, which meant that he must be nearby.
Upon the stage inside the castle theater, Gage spotted the mastermind himself. He stood next to an elaborately carved throne, dressed in full magician`s garb. His black tailcoat was in surprisingly good condition, along with his suit pants and tall top hat. Oswald himself was hideous. His face had been malformed by the radiation, and looked like melted wax. Large eyes bulged from their sockets, bright with a kind of madness that made even the raiders` skin tingle. Oswald attempted to entice Gage and Charlee with conversation. Gage followed her lead, as she was having none of that bullshit. The laser rifle sent a pulse of red energy in to Oswald`s chest before he could finish his first sentence. Once he realized that tactic wasn`t going to work, the ghoul disappeared in a puff of colored smoke.
"Are you kidding me? I wish this coward would just stay put! Fuck!" Gage snarled in the aftermath of the vanishing act. He`d decided once and for all; he absolutely hated magicians.
"When we nail him, I`m putting his head on a pike." Frost agreed as they were left to fend off another wave of resurrected underlings.
They rode the backstage elevator up to the roof, each injecting additional Rad X`s on their way. At the summit they exited to find a large open area with nuclear waste barrels scattered throughout. The battle was drawn out and arduous; Oswald was able to use the high levels of radiation to heal his wounds. Additionally, he utilized it to revive his fallen 'friends', and repeatedly evaded the raiders` attacks with his little disappearing trick whenever they got close to him. At some point, Frost was able to briefly stun him with a grenade, which gave Gage the opportunity to cripple one of Oswald`s legs. The fight favored them from there, until at last the glowing ghoul collapsed. Gage took the liberty of beheading the creature with his own sword. Frost piked it on one of the roof`s decorative spires before she raised the Pack`s flag over Kiddie Kingdom.