None of this felt right, travelling with Rayne on Kyu's back instead of taking her to the nearest settlement but Durga wouldn't budge and neither would Arthur.
'Time sensitive' they said. In truth, he got the impression that they wanted her to die.
"You doing okay Rayne?" Hardin asked, getting a bleary look from his comrade.
"H-Hurts..."
"I know... Just... Hang in there. The Soldiers at the camp will look after you."
"They better." Kyu scoffed, glaring down at Arthur.
"For a lot of sakes."
"Don't presume to threaten me, beast. Circumstance might force us to travel together but you are far from in charge here."
"I'm the most important part of your plan, otherwise, you and your helmet brained buddies are running into a bottleneck."
"You're a means to an end and when we have that end, you will only get to leave our camp, because you helped our cause. If you prove to be a problem, you'll be incinerated."
"Pfft, do you jackasses even need those helmets? Your skulls are so damn hard, I see them as a weaker outer layer."
"Silence!" Durga snapped, growing tired of the bickering.
"We're not far away from Lamplight Caverns. The Outcasts should be here by now."
Hardin looked up to the rock face, noticing a light glistening as a scout signalled them, he gave them a wave.
"Found 'em."
"Good, didn't want to be stuck here, with our asses hanging out..." Kyu grumbled, not in the best of moods after their little exchange.
Hardin had been watching these knights jerk eachother off for some time now. Not literally, of course. Were that the case, he probably couldn't stomach much of it but it felt like these guys lived for eachother's praise and it was kind of sad, to be honest.
The camp was set up well. Tents scattered around, each one at equal distance. Lots of military equipment had been rolled out, weapons stocked up and power armour was being well tuned and maintained. The Brotherhood Outcasts and the Brotherhood themselves were efficient, if nothing else.
He, Kyu and Jynx had kept to themselves, not finding it in them to make the mistake of trusting these pseudo knightly morons. Literally nobody gave them a drip of authority, yet they plodded around this camp, like they were divine law.
Hardin hated it, hated it as much as he hated Hamilton and his lot.
"Sherriff Simms?" A Paladin called over, an older, wizened soldier, with a rather impressive scar, going through his left brow and down the left cheek.
"We're about to commence the assault, we would like you and your friends to accompany us."
"Not sure what we can do, that a bunch of guys in Power Armour can't but... we'll help how we can." Hardin assured them.
"Good. We have negotiated with the settlers in the cavern to let us through. We'll be going for an assault on their main door, meanwhile, the second team will also be invading undernearth, through Lamplight Caverns. If all goes to plan, we will trap them on both sides. They will be forced to retreat, deeper and deeper into the Vault, allowing us to eradicate the scum, once and for all.
"I'm to open the door, I take it." Kyu grumbled, already feeling like he was betraying his entire race by doing this.
"Yes, these two will be your prisoners. By the time they get a hold of them and put them in cells, you'll be able to have the door open and we'll be able to get inside. Then they won't know what hit 'em."
"What if they see through my disguise?" Kyu asked, not entirely sure what that would mean.
"Then you fight your way to the front door. We will give you an item to wear, so that our soldiers do not shoot you by accident. I recommend standing back, regardless. With all due respect, a lot of you mutants look the same and mistakes could be made."
"Well, that's not fuckin' racist." Kyu grumbled as an initiate handed him the item, it was a red bandanna.
"My people will be looking out for that, wear it on your head or face, if you can."
"Mrgh, okay..." Kyu grumbled, stuffing it into his back pocket.
"We will commence within the hour, so be prepared. Wrap up any business, that you have left over."
"I'm ready now, I'll take the little sheriff into the caverns. The girl will have to wait here, she's in no state to enter the cavern."
"The girl shouldn't even be here, she's a ticking time bomb, just waiting to go off." Durga countered, getting a glare from Hardin.
"You're just saying that, because you want an excuse to pick some of us off early. Can't believe I'm saying this but... I think she'll be safer with us." The Sheriff grumbled, glancing over to his ex girlfriend, who lay slumped over Kyu's shoulder.
"He can say that he knocked her out or something."
"Are you sure? This seems like a risk to her health..." The General murmured, prompting Hardin to give him the same glare.
"I trust her with them more than you right now. Frankly, I think she's fucked either way but I want to give her a chance."
"Leave her at the camp." Arthur spoke.
"As the heir of Maxson, I demand that she is given medical attention, the kind that any Brotherhood soldier or ally would receive."
Hardin... Didn't expect that, not from this jumped up soldier boy.
"Of course, I had planned to do no other." The General murmured, finding himself to be at a loss as to why this child would be anything but nursed back to health.
"What is wrong with her?"
"She was injected with an experimental military serum, that makes people go feral. It's the serum that Thomas Hamilton was injected with, hence my hesitance to have her in the camp. She could wake up and attack us all, any moment." Durga was quick to explain before anyone sugar coated it.
"Except Hamilton and those other freaks in the Vault were capable of reason. We don't know what her condition will be yet, do we?" Hardin pointed out.
"If there's a risk, we can always cuff her to her bed. If she wakes up with the munchies, she won't get far." Kyu added, figuring it was a good compromise.
"Yes, the mutant..." The General almost seemed physically pained by those words.
"He speaks sense. We'll have her restrained until she can demonstrate that she is safe." The General agreed as Kyu handed her over to an initiate, who stumbled under her weight. He must be incredibly weak, given her small stature.
"In the mean time, you have a mission to carry out. You taking the boy as your prisoner?"
"Take me as well." Arthur suggested, getting a surprised look from his Brotherhood companions, even Hardin seemed baffled by that.
"I'm not as strong or powerful as the other soldiers and having me on the inside would be a tactical advantage. Not to mention, it would help Kyu's cover story, if he's captured me, instead of just a regular civilian."
"You are the last heir of Roger Maxson, if something were to happen..." The General began, getting an eyeroll in response.
"What use is that, if it makes me completely useless? I'm no different to you, for good or ill. Maxson wouldn't have tolerated that and neither will I. I'm going in as Kyu's prisoner, from the inside, I can assist in doing as much damage as possible. Or were you sending Hardin here into this hell, doubting his chance of survival?"
The Outcasts remained silent, reluctantly giving his ultimatum a nod. They didn't rally have the time to argue...
"I'll go with them both." Durga offered.
"We've been travelling together for a long time. It wouldn't be too hard to make our story believable, given that it's the truth and having a trained soldier would be ideal for them both."
"Course." The General nodded, with a sigh. His reaction suggested to Hardin that Arthur was right, that Hardin and even Kyu were sacrificial playing pieces to this asshole.
"Get yourselves to a cell as soon as you can and hold position, we'll get you out as soon as we are able. This shouldn't be long."
"Understood General, Ad Victorium!"
"Ad Victorium Arthur. I'd call you 'Squire Maxson' but I believe you've long since surpassed that title."
Arthur gave a light bow as he finished speaking, doing his best to keep his pride under wraps.
"You honour me with your words, General. Thank you."
By this point, both Hardin and Kyu had begun the walk to Lamplight Caverns, neither of them looked particularly happy about this situation.
"Do you trust those assholes?" Hardin finally asked, breaking the silence.
"Like you said, I trust the mutants more." Kyu uttered, glancing back over his shoulder.
"But we ain't doing it for them. We're doing it for Jynx and Megaton, right?"
"R-Right... If we don't save The Capital Wasteland, nobody else will."
"Not anymore at least..." Hardin sighed, not wanting to admit to anything. He knew, it was a thought that haunted him, that banishing Denis would result in a situation like this, one day. A situation, where they had no one to defend them from any other threats. At the time, he felt this land was ready to police itself... now he wasn't sure. In fact, now he was almost certain that the Brotherhood needed someone or something to keep them in check, otherwise DC would become a police state, ran by a bunch of zealous, psychotic dickbags.
Still... He couldn't admit that he made a mistake. It was a victory that he wasn't willing to give.
There was a certain awkwardness for Arthur as they approached Lamplight Caverns. These children lived in such baffling conditions. Not poor conditions but… far from orthodox.
Arthur could have been one of these children, were he unfortunate enough. It was a sobering thought. Inferior training to learn to live as an animal, fighting off for self-preservation and nothing else. No concept of honour or duty or true comradery. A purgatory if he'd ever seen one.
"Hey, shitheads!" A shrill voice echoed. It would seem that some of the kids in authority would learn to let the acoustics carry their voice. At the end of the initial pathway stood a very defiant wooden barricade. Ten foot tall and pretty solid, this was enough to keep a lot of basic threats out. It wouldn't keep the Brotherhood out, not for long at least.
Atop this gateway was a small boy in an army flack jacket, with a comedically oversized helmet on his head. He put on a little frown, to show that he was serious. Arthur already didn't like him.
"Pick up the fuckin' pace, I agreed to let you get through here, to get to Murder Pass. I'm not opening a resort for Mungos!"
Hardin didn't take too kindly to him either, though didn't dislike him as much as Arthur. He was in charge, that meant being the bad guy at times and a lot of being in charge came down to theatrics. Sometimes the power and authority that you have truly comes from your delivery, rather than your words.
"This is a military operation, Mr Mayor. It's gonna take way more than a few minutes to pull it off." Durga sighed, swallowing the words that she really wanted to throw at him.
"Well, I'm having to keep my people in one place, to make sure they don't get spooked by your giant green freakish friend." MacReady clarified, getting a glare from Kyu.
"My heart bleeds for them."
"Not yet it don't. Move!"
Vault 87 or whatever remained of it, was not the kind of place that a healthy mind would visit. Nor is it the kind of place that a healthy mind would stay healthy in. The place had an air of misery, the walls were rustic, the remains of those who had come before were packed up in large sacks, like the haul from a fishing trip and strewn about among the corridors. The place reeked of several rancid scents, which were unrecognizable, due to a lack of reference.
Suffering lingered in the air, seeping into the soul. The pain of others was like humidity and every step was a burden. Even Kyu, a man who was born here, found this place to be distasteful. He longed for his old gear, for his old surroundings. This place was cursed and its stain will remain on this land forever.
Hardin tried not to think about the evil of this place, he tried not to look the mutants in the eye. Kyu had barely convinced the ones that he spoke to not kill and eat them on the spot, all he could do was follow the giant's lead.
Arthur was the opposite. He hated this place. He wanted to come back here, with a flame thrower and correct past mistakes with fire and fury. He felt a fire inside him, that felt good, a hatred that burned his heart of fear or worse, compassion.
Finally, there was Durga. Her mind was focussed on what was ahead. The synapses in her brain went into overdrive. She looked for every advantage, every possible exit and unfortunately, found little.
There was an odd feeling to this place, that all three of them noticed. The Mutants were far more militaristic than before, a mix of tribal identity and organized military prowess. It was an odd bit of hybridization, that someone like Denis Callaghan would spend hours, musing over.
They were lead, deeper into the Vault, finally reaching the Atrium and it was there that they found the largest gathering of mutants. Dozens of severed heads decorated the hallways, mutants feasted like warriors of old at large tables, banners with simple designs hung from the walls and small fires burned to give the place warmth and atmosphere.
It was odd to see these creatures, once purely savages, were now far more advanced. In their own way. It was at the far end of the journey that they were brought before the throne of the feast del a resistance. The Commander, Chieftain and Messiah to these beasts, masquerading as savages.
Sat on a throne of twisted iron and rebar, adorned with dozens of severed heads, speared to be held in place was the one that they called 'Shephard.'
Boiled leather from a large creature, painted with chalk, adorned with small feathers, his body was well protected. His grey skin bore a number of distinct markings, scarring from the looks of it but a few burns and other flaws could be seen as well. His upper lip was parted with leather straps, that sank into the top half of his face, keeping it in a permanent snarl and by his side was a hammer, capable of breaking the earth open, like an egg.
Well, it certainly looked like it could.
Kyu shoved them to their knees, landing them before Shephard, who eyed them, meaningfully. He grabbed his hammer and rose up, staring down at them.
"Who are they, that you throw them at my feet?" The Nightkin asked, in a voice that had all eyes turn on him. He didn't yell or snarl, like the rest of his brethren. His voice was actually a lot softer than one would expect. He sounded very sure, very confident and Kyu could see why. He was standing, toe to toe with a Warrior. This mutant was akin to Ghengis Khan, a warrior, a leader and a hero of no equal.
"The Boy, the... white one. He's a prisoner of great importa- he's a good catch!" Kyu didn't want to give himself away by using 'big words.' But honestly, it was going to be hard, when the rest of his comrades were too dumb to count to three and he knew two languages.
"He is the Soul of Steel!"
Shephard gave this 'soul of steel' a glare, noticing his eyes were a lot softer than they were, when he had been brought in. He actually hadn't been looking right past him for some time, looking to his throne.
Blonde hair, tied into a bun. Thickness gone but it was still preserved in some shape or form. Pale skin, clammier and more greyish but still recognizable. Sea blue eyes, that had seen so much war but remained so strong. One of them was missing and the other was faded from being open and dead for so long.
No, there was no mistaking it, it was the face that he dreamt of as a boy. The lips he wanted to kiss lay ever so parted on a slacked jaw and all of that fire, beauty and life was gone. It was inescapable but it was the conclusion he was on a collision course with.
"Sarah..."
It wasn't just Sarah but the other members of Lyon's pride adorned the throne, they were scattered, some more preserved than others but all of them were used as trophies and decoration for this abomination's mantle.
This fucking freak, this loathsome product of arrogance and hubris had taken it upon himself to not only rid the world of what little good it had but to reduce its meaning to a joke. He took proud warriors and heroes and kept their remains as trinkets.
Arthur was seeing red, blood sloshed in his ears and his throat, nerves and synapses burned. His eyes darted to the nearest sharp object, like they were locked on through automation. He sprung for the nearest table and grabbed a mutant's ripper from it, a device that was seemingly used as some sort of automatic carver by these abrasions.
With an animalistic screech, Arthur went for Shephard, not caring if the mutants had reacted or anyone or anything else. He wanted to see the life leave this beast's eyes, regardless of the cost. Regardless of what would follow after.
Both Durga and Hardin were surprised to see that Shephard was anticipating this and had raised his hand to order his brethren to not interfere. As Arthur charged for him, he merely readied himself, a plan for interception had already formed in his mind.
The Soul of Steel drove the blade down on Shephard, though quickly found his bear-like hand wrapped around his throat. The Nightkin lifted him, lightly crushing him as he did so.
"Commendable but not good enough. Now, why are you here? Answer quickly, the boy will be your timer." He turned to the others, barely reacting to Arthur's gasps and light kicks from asphyxiation.
"Stealth mission, we were looking for Lyon's pride." Durga insisted.
"Me and the boy were trusted to handle it. It was a simple recognisance mission."
"The other boy? He's not Brotherhood. Wrong clothes. Wrong aura." Shephard commented, tossing Arthur to the ground.
"Why are you here? Their failed ambush never needed you!"
"They needed a guide across the wastes." Hardin shrugged, deeming that to be an adequate half truth.
"They are soldiers. Why do they need a civilian to guide them?" Shephard found himself staring Hardin down, noticing his badge.
"Sheriff... Megaton. I see. Lawman. Conscripted? Likely..."
"Something like that, yeah. You attacked my town, afterall."
"Your...?" Shephard paused, considering it.
"No. Not my orders. I was planning on conquering Megaton eventually but on different terms. My new Unity doesn't siege cities to get what it wants, to do so is an abomination of warfare."
"But those were your mutants." Hardin countered, Shephard didn't sound like he was lying but what had happened didn't match this.
"Were. Yes. They lost my guidance, the moment that they rejected it. Embracing their inner impulses to attack cities, like their forbearers. My people are conquerors, not raiders or ravages."
Arthur coughed, quite loudly, the tinny acoustics bristled because of it.
"You slaughtered our elder... Her squad... You..."
"They invaded our home with the intention of exterminating us, like vermin. Would you have not done the same, were we to invade the Citadel?"
"Wouldn't put you on display... Fuckin' animal..." Arthur choked.
"Not in your culture. You'd boast about it. Chronicle it. Were you to win this war, my name would be little more than a footnote on a terminal, found in your territories. My legacy for two hundred years of existence. It's just as demeaning."
"Why're you doing this? What do you want?" Hardin finally asked, getting the Nightkin's attention. Such a queer question, honest, yet ignorant.
"Want is irrelevant. I need purpose. I came here as a bodyguard for a dying old man. I found these mutants, living like animals. They needed a leader, who could give them a victory. To move them out of the stone age and help them build their first empire.
I had a Master, Centuries ago. He had a dream and a vision but died for it. Your... Boy of steel's ancestor played a part in that." He looked to Arthur with scorn before turning his attentions back to Hardin.
"These Mutants have no Master. They are wolves, with no guidance. I aim to lead them, to be the leader that they so desperately need. When we conquer the Capital Wasteland, there can be control, peace. Humans can live under us, provided that they live under our rules and accept their place in the food chain. Under this new Unity, the Capital Wasteland can evolve, like the West."
"How do a bunch of savages evolve the region? You don't even make your own things, you just steal ours!" Durga scoffed.
"No different to your Brotherhood. No different to those who came before, who lived in ancient buildings and just expanded on what came before. It's time for you to stop living in the picked out carcass of the past and become a part of a new future or die in the hollow bones of a failed world."
"You're why that world failed." Arthur furiously grunted and pulled at the Nightkin's grip.
"Arrogance, ignorance... It all lead to this..."
"Which means that you are no longer qualified to lead us." Shephard 'agreed' as he grabbed his arm, with his free hand and applied pressure. It didn't take much but there was a series of cracks, like one would hear from their knuckles after pulling them back. Arthur trembled with each and every one, finding himself in a state of shock.
"Let him go!" Durga snapped, trying to get in-between them. She took the knife from Arthur's limp hand and drove it into Shephard's arm, sinking it in and resulting in him grunting.
Shephard just took one look to the arm and took the knife, tossing it to one side.
Durga, Arthur and Hardin expected some serious retaliation but were left disappointed.
"Take them to one of the test subject cells, separate them. They may prove useful in the long run."
Kyu took Hardin's shoulders, lightly and the Sheriff played along. They weren't here to win this fight, they were here to be taken prisoner. That was something that Arthur had likely forgotten in his grief.
"Arthur needs medical attention!" Durga insisted, immediately getting grabbed for her troubles from behind.
"Agreed but we have nothing close to a doctor here." Shephard said, indifferently.
"I know enough to keep him alive. Just put me in the cell with him."
"No."
"But he could die."
"Natural selection."
"Bastard..." She seethed, finding the grip on her tighten.
Shephard paused for a moment, considering something as he did so, eventually looking back at the boy.
"There was a time." He said, as if beginning something.
"The Old Man... The Girl... They are little more than memories but their voices are so loud to me. So demanding. So... compelling."
"What the fuck... Are you babbling about?" Arthur shuddered, meeting the mutant's gaze and seeing something that he almost thought he'd mistook until it lingered for a few moments. His expression softened, as if remembering or feeling something.
"No. I should... Their ways should be honoured." He concluded, pulling Arthur up to his feet, by the scruff of his neck.
"Put them together. A single ounce of foolishness? Exterminate them both."
"Erm... Yes, Master." The mutant snorted, almost snivelling before him.
"Shephard. I am your Shephard, not your Master."
"Y-Yesh master." He snorted again, pulling Durga away, like an animal being lead to market. They could only see Shephard's disappointment, the details of which faded with distance.
They just hoped that this wouldn't bite them too hard in the ass.
The Cells were like something from a nightmare. The aesthetic of rustic old boilers, with an air that was stifling to breathe. It was hard to tell why that was the case. The rotting prisoners in the unused cells, the FEV rejects, the FEV gasses or the mutants? Who was the say? Perhaps it was the perfect combination of the three.
All Hardin knew was that escaping this place wasn't a likely possibility. If Kyu failed, there wasn't likely a point in trying to formulate a plan B.
Kyu marched down the corridors, doing his best to remember what being a supermutant was like. One would liken it to trying to remember your childhood mindset as an adult. You might remember what you did or how you felt but how many can truly remember going back to that period of ignorance? How many can relive it, at the flick of a mental switch.
The clothes on his back felt wrong, like he was wearing another's shell. The dust on the floor kicked up, the rust groaned under his step. This place really was a fuckdump.
He remembered the way, somehow... instinct? Did he actually come this way, at some point, in his past? He honestly couldn't remember or tell.
The others paid him no mind, he thought he'd stick out more but so long as he looked the part, the other mutants didn't give him a second glance. He was sure that he wasn't exactly selling it either, as far as the acting went.
He entered Vault 87's main entrance, the far side of the gates of hell. There was a surreal quality to it, like going to a place that you've only ever seen from afar. None of this felt or seemed right and somehow he was in the middle of it, somehow he was the epicenter of an all out war.
He approached the controls and observed the set up, the password had been disabled and all that it required was a single press of a button. Made sense as folk who can't read can't use a password... Just push the button and open sesame.
He was incredibly quick to do so, knowing that hesitation meant death for his comrades outside. The button clicked, the doors sirens began to sound off, creating that loud and irritating sound as the door creaked and groaned into place.
With an earth shattering screech it began to open, bringing in a gust of wind, dirt and an unholy amount of radiation. Even Kyu could feel it, burning through the cracks.
The mutant was quick to put on the item that he had been given, hoping that they'd heed its polite request to not gun him down on sight. He wouldn't put it past them though...
As the doors opened, the silhouettes of the knights remained with their backs against the sun, the unnatural lighting eventually allowing Kyu to see their features.
"Inside, move!" One of the more senior knights called out, charging inside with a laser rifle at the ready.
The others joined, each one like a slave door, opening and closing to the other one's cue. They dashed inside, scanning the room and hoping that there was a sign of betrayal, so they'd have an excuse to shoot Kyu.
"Kyu?" The Lead Knight asked, meeting him eye to... visor.
"What's going on, deeper inside? What're we up against?"
"Lot of mutants. Twenty or thirty in the atrium and some just randomly scattered around the halls. The one you need to look out for is their master, the one that they call 'Shephard.'"
"What, is he one of the Overlords?" One of the greener soldiers at the back asked.
"No, he's a grey... purple sorta colour. He doesn't look like any mutant I've ever seen. Looks skilled, has amazing reflexes, smart... philosophical."
"So he's a... discoloured Super Mutant?" The Leader asked, already downplaying it, much to Kyu's chagrin.
"He isn't just a different colour. His skin's different. He looks different. Straps hold his face in place, he's slightly shorter but he looks mean as hell. It's like a different breed."
"Nightkin..." The leader blurted, considering it.
"He's Nightkin, that matches so closely to our databanks on them. I encountered a nightkin, as a Captain, back in the day. They're ruthless stealth warriors..."
"A knife in the dark's worth a thousand swords at dawn..." Kyu mused, thinking about it some more.
"Whatever, we're wasting time. You need to save that boy, the Nightwarrior broke his arm and the others are waiting to be eaten."
"Right! Just stay back, don't want to shoot you by mistake." The Senior Knight insisted, stepping deeper in.
"Roll out!"
There were doubts as to whether or not this was going to work. That much was obvious. Hardin had no faith in the Brotherhood of Steel and they somehow had less faith in him. He wasn't one of them and he wasn't under the delusion that they'd value his life, should push come to shove.
The Brotherhood weren't known for their charity. At least, not anymore.
Given how chummy Calaghan Was with them, perhaps they were always scummy and it took a new leader to show it? It was a tough call to make, one that he didn't especially care to make right now as he was studying the mutants, carefully.
Escape was unlikely but that doesn't mean that trying was out of the question. It just meant that it was closer to fruitless than anything else.
The mutants are dumb, slow and clumsy. The biggest worry was Shephard. He was supposedly the strongest, smartest and scariest of them all. If he could command respect of an entire army of supermutants, he must be a force to be reckoned with on his own.
Something bothered Hardin though… what the mutant said about the raid on Megaton. He'd never believed anyone before, this much, in his life. This mutant had literally no reason to lie about that, that the mutant invaders, who attacked Megaton were a… fringe group? Mutants too mad and crazy to belong to these beasts?
Hardin wasn't sure how he felt about them, were this true. Were these mutants as bad as he was initially led to believe? Could Shephards' work benefit the Capital Wasteland in some fashion?
Well, besides his talk of 'unity' and 'our time' of course.
It sounded strange, even inside Hardin's head but these mutants weren't any less trustworthy than the brotherhood to him. Hell, they were more open and less stuck up about everything. He didn't want to work with either of them of course but it was a thought that distracted him a little as the mutants paced around.
Arthur was in a crippling amount of pain as one could guess. He'd been injured before but this series of fractures were some of the worst bouts of pain he'd ever been subjected to.
"S-Sarah…" Arthur muttered, almost delirious as the only feeling he had in him was the copious amounts of pain and Durga's treatment.
"Arthur. We knew Sarah was dead coming in here, I need you to focus!"
Durga was almost callous in her response to his grief but she spoke sense. Sarah had been dead for some kind, the desecration of her body changed nothing, it wasn't a new thing but it haunted him… Arthur always saw himself having Sarah around, maybe even being with her. If he were not told so himself, he would assume that she was the soul forged in eternal steel.
As he lingered on that thought, he noticed an increase in the pain in his arm as it was forced into a single position, Durga was trying to put it in a splint.
"I've seen worse…" Durga mused as she tied off the makeshift splint she'd made.
"A few bones in the arm are cracked, it should heal completely someday."
"I need to kill him, now." Arthur seethed, on his back.
"You need to do your part and not go rogue." Durga insisted.
"Everything I care about is riding on this, I'm not letting you throw it away, because you aren't thinking clearly!"
Arthur paused, considering it, he found it difficult to care about anything right now. He wanted to kill that mutant more than anything else. He'd nuke the citadel with the beast inside it, if that made it happen.
He had to control himself. He was a warrior, a soldier. He wasn't a savage, like them!
As he shakily breathed out, he was quickly startled by the flashing red lights and the churning of sirens.
An alert had been triggered!
"M-Master!" One of the mutants called, running past the cells, with a purpose. He faded around the corner, sputtering some form of warning as he did so.
Shephard didn't seem to react, at least not loudly. He was very calm and collected, calculating almost. He wasn't one to react brashly.
Both Arthur and Durga wouldn't be surprised if he didn't react at all or at least didn't retaliate with more than a few mutants.
What did manage to surprise them was the emergence of Shephard himself. He stepped around the corner, clutching his monstrous hammer. On closer inspection, the hammer's hilt was a long staff with a curled head, a rustic nail protruding out of the top of the curled head's tip. The base of the staff, which was usually just a flat or pointed bottom, had been fused to a large hammer head. This weapon had seemingly been custom designed to pull in necks and squash heads. It was inelegant, savage, crude but monstrously effective.
Much like the one that held it.
The brotherhood Knights that forced their way through to the front had mowed down dozens of the attacking Supermutants but their short term flurry of peons and brutes seemed to come close to an end. Three Masters and an Overlord pushed their way through from the back, brandishing tri-beam laser rifles and grenade launchers.
Though their power armour protected them from serious harm, the attacks slowed them down significantly as they were blasted with stronger and stronger projectiles. More Brotherhood Knights were emerging from the back, providing support for the vanguard and allowing them to push forward. It was a desperate push but it was the only chance they had against such a stronghold.
By now, Kyu had thrown on his preferred attire of his Gi. He cared little for the fact that he might have exposed himself to a few Bucketheads to get his gear on. Hell, it was probably the best thing they'd seen all day.
Adjusting the tape around his wrists, Kyu clenched his fists and focussed on his breathing. Hand to hand combat was suicide against these chumps, which was why he wouldn't even bother. He was going to go straight to the King Piece.
Shephard…