"Wake up! Wake up! Come on, you have to wake up!"

Miyuki shielded her eyes from Vault 101's harsh fluorescent lights as she sat up in bed. "Amata?" she asked drowsily, "What's wrong?"

"You've got to get out of here," Amata replied, sounding on the verge of panic. "Your mom is gone and my father's men are looking for you!"

"Gone? What do you mean gone?"

"She's left the Vault! I don't know how, but she's gone, and my father... I've never seen him so angry. He ordered the guards to beat Jonas..." Amata hesitated and averted her eyes. "To death."

Miyuki's eyes bulged. "Wh-What? Jonas is dead?"

Amata nodded, still avoiding Miyuki's eyes. "My father's men think Jonas helped your mom escape. They caught him and brought him to my dad's office and... they beat him... they just wouldn't stop..."

Miyuki felt tears gathering at the corners of her eyes. She had known Jonas for as long as she could remember. She tried to not dwell on the fact that he was gone. "Are you okay, Amata?"

Amata wiped a tear from her own eye. "Yeah. Don't worry about me. I'm just sorry you had to find out like this. I know Jonas was your friend." Her tone shifted to one of urgency. "But we've got to go now. My father's men will be here any minute, and if they find you, they'll kill you too!"

Miyuki gulped. "You're right." She rose to her feet from the bed. "I can't stay here. But where do I go?"

"Well," Amata started, "I think you'll have to follow your mom. You have to escape from the Vault."

Miyuki sighed. "I guess I don't have a choice, do I?"

"I'm afraid not, it's your only chance."

"But how do we leave the Vault? We can't just walk up to the door and open it."

"Don't worry," Amata said as she retrieved Miyuki's backpack from her dresser. "I have a plan to help you escape." She pulled the drawer out from the desk and dumped the contents into the backpack before handing it to Miyuki. "There's a secret tunnel that leads directly from my father's office to the exit. You'll have to hack the computer in his office to open it."

Miyuki nodded as she tucked her BB gun and her baseball bat into the straps of her backpack. "Alright. I'll find a way to reach your father's office."

"Oh, one more thing," Amata said as she pulled a 10mm pistol out from her pocket. "I stole my father's pistol. I hope you won't need it, but you'd better take it just in case."

Miyuki hesitantly took the weapon. "Thank you, Amata. I'll only use it as a last resort. I promise."

Amata nodded. "Okay. I'll try to meet you at the exit," Amata said as she made her way to the door. "Watch out for security. Good luck."

Miyuki watched Amata leave before looking down at the pistol in her hand and tucking it into her pocket. I hope I never have to use this. Miyuki cautiously left her quarters and began to make her way down the hallway. As she neared the end of the hall, Security Officer Kendall rounded the corner and spotted her.

"There you are! Hold it right there!"

Miyuki froze as he drew his police baton, but something else soon caught their attention. A trio of radroaches broke out from a ventilation duct and began attacking Kendall. "Criminey, more roaches!" he shouted as he tried batting them away with his baton. He managed to killed one, but the others proved relentless. Before long, they had knocked him down and started tearing through his skin with their sharp mandibles.

Once Kendall stopped moving, the roaches turned their attention towards Miyuki, who had been too afraid to move up until now. She quickly backed away once the roaches started toward her, fumbling for her baseball bat. The first roach lunged forward at her, but she managed to bring her bat up in a block, bunting the roach to the ground. She quickly stomped down on the pest, crushing it under her boot. The second roach lunged for her, but she was ready. She swung her bat, sending the roach flying and splattering guts on the wall.

Miyuki sighed with relief before rushing to Kendall. The roaches had chewed through his jumpsuit in several places, though the armor pads on his torso were unscathed. Unfortunately, one of the roaches had managed to bite through the artery in his neck. Miyuki didn't need her years of medical experience to determine that he was dead.

This is really happening. People are dying. I could die. Is this really all because of my mother? Miyuki pushed her thoughts aside; she had to keep moving. As she continued, a loudspeaker mounted on the wall buzzed to life.

"This is the Overseer. All residents of Vault 101 are hereby confined to their quarters. The radroach infestation is under control. Do not interfere with Vault Security personnel. Any resident found outside his or her quarters will be dealt with. Severely. That is all."

Miyuki frowned as the loudspeaker went silent. She moved on, making a mental note to avoid any more members of security. She had nearly reached the end of the apartment block when she heard movement down the hall to her left. Miyuki tensed and readied her bat; to her her surprise, however, the person turned out to be Butch.

"You gotta help me!" Butch said when he saw her, "My mom's trapped in there with the radroaches!"

Miyuki frowned; as cruel as Butch had been over the years, she didn't want anyone else to die if she could help it. But she couldn't afford to be sidetracked, not with the guards looking for her. "I-I'm sorry, Butch, but I have to keep moving."

"Please! I know I've always been a jerk towards you. I know it! But you can't walk away and let her die, just because I was an asshole! Please... I'm begging you!"

Miyuki thought for a moment; she wasn't any more qualified to fight than Butch was, but there had to be some way she could help. "Here, take this." Miyuki retrieved her BB gun and handed it to Butch. "You can use it to kill the roaches."

"Wow, where'd you get this?" Butch asked as he examined the gun. "Okay, okay. Maybe I can do this. Alright, I'm gonna go back in there and kill those damn roaches. Thanks!"

Miyuki sighed as Butch ran off; she was going to miss her BB gun, though truthfully she wasn't going to need it anymore. She continued through the Vault, passing by the diner and her mother's clinic before reaching the entrance to the atrium. From the side corridor, Miyuki could see Tom and Mary Holden standing in the atrium.

"We should just go back to our quarters." Mary said nervously.

"It's our only chance, don't you see?" Tom replied. "We're getting out of here, just like the doctor. I'm not going to let anyone stop us." With that, Tom ran out into the open, headed towards the door to the main entrance chamber. "It's me! Tom Holden! Just let me through!"

"Tom! Be careful!" Mary called after him, but it was too late. Officer Richards and Officer O'Brian fired their pistols at Tom, gunning him down as he approached. "Tom! No!"

Miyuki could only watch in horror as Mary charged out into the open, meeting the same fate as Tom. This is terrible! I knew they were searching for me, but I never imagined the guards would kill the other residents!

Miyuki felt like crying, but she held back her tears; now was not the time to lose her head. She carefully sneaked out into the atrium, making sure to stay out of the guards' sight. She skirted the large roomuntil she came to the door to the atrium's upper level. She ascended the stairs, squashing a pair of roaches with her bat on her way before continuing along the balcony towards the systems room.

"You!"

Miyuki jumped and turned to face the voice, finding Allen Mack shouting at her through the window of his apartment.

"This is all your fault! You and your stupid mother! She had to go and leave, didn't she? She had to mess things up for everybody!"

Miyuki decided to keep moving, trying to ignore the hurtful words; getting into an argument with Wally's father wouldn't do her any good. She arrived in the systems room, finding a group of radroaches feeding on the corpse of maintenance technician Floyd Lewis. She quickly attacked the insects, managing to dispatch them before they could react. Miyuki stepped back and sighed at the scene. The sight of death was becoming disturbingly commonplace for her.

Suddenly, Miyuki felt a sharp, painful strike on her back, causing her to stumble forward. She quickly spun around to find Security Chief Hannon standing behind her, wielding a police baton. "I knew you'd turn up sooner or later!" he said as he slowly approached her. He suddenly lunged forward, hitting Miyuki in the arm with his police baton. Miyuki flinched and quickly backed away. "Please stop it! I don't want anyone to get hurt!" Hannon ignored her and swung again. Miyuki's bat was ready this time, however. She blocked the blow and continued backing away. Unfortunately, she was soon backed into a wall of large servers. Hannon repeatedly swung his baton until Miyuki reluctantly launched a counter attack. Miyuki struck Hannon in the side of his head, knocking his security helmet to the ground. He angrily swung his baton, but Miyuki ducked to the side and swung at his legs. As Hannon stumbled from the blow, Miyuki swung her bat up in an uppercut, sending Hannon to the ground.

Miyuki frantically rushed down to his side to check his pulse. A sigh of relief escaped her lips when she confirmed that he was merely unconscious. There had been far too much death that day; the last thing Miyuki wanted was to add to it. She left the systems room and entered administration. As she walked down the hallway, Miyuki stopped when she heard Amata's voice.

"I told you, I don't know anything!" The voice was coming from the security office up ahead. Miyuki hurried towards it and cautiously looked in the window. Amata was seated inside the office, with the Overseer and Officer Steve Mack standing over her.

"Be reasonable, Amata," the Overseer said, "Officer Mack may enjoy this, but I don't. Just tell us where to find your friend so we can talk to her."

"She's my friend. I was worried about her. What does she have to do with any of this anyway?"

"Probably nothing, which is why you need to tell me where she is so I can talk to her." He turned to Officer Mack. "Go ahead, officer."

Mack grinned as he raised his police baton in the air. "You'd better talk, girlie!" He brought the baton down in a savage strike, causing Amata to cry out in pain.

"That's enough, officer," the Overseer said. "Now then, are you ready to tell me where your friend has gone? There's no need for any more of this."

Amata glared up at her father. "I'm not telling you anything! And don't pretend you aren't enjoying this, Daddy. You're sick!"

The Overseer shook his head. "Amata, darling. Why must you be so stubborn? The last thing I want is to see you hurt, but my duty to the Vault comes first. Again."

Miyuki couldn't watch anymore of this. She quickly opened the door and stepped inside. "Please stop! We can talk about this! There's no reason for anyone to get hurt!"

"Miyuki? What are you doing here? Run!" Amata cried.

"N-No! I'm not just going to leave you here, Amata!"

The Overseer scowled. "She's not going anywhere with the likes of you! You're a traitor to Vault 101. Officer Mack, show her how we deal with traitors."

Mack sneered at Miyuki. "With pleasure!"

The security officer lunged at Miyuki, delivering a harsh blow with his baton. Miyuki managed to block with her bat, but the blow knocked her off balance. Mack pounced on this opportunity, delivering a flurry of vicious blows. Before long, Miyuki's bat was knocked out of her hands, leaving her vulnerable. Mack rammed into her with his shoulder, throwing her down to the floor.

"This is too easy!" he laughed as he stood over her. "I'm amazed you made it this far!" Officer Mack began repeatedly beating Miyuki, leaving dark bruises wherever his baton struck her.

"Please, stop it!" Miyuki cried out tearfully. But it was no use; she was helpless beneath his onslaught.

"Get off of her!" Amata cried as she grabbed Mack's arm and tried to pull him away from Miyuki. Mack wouldn't budge, however. Instead, he elbowed Amata square in the chin, sending her recoiling back. He turned back to Miyuki and found himself facing down a 10mm pistol. The barrel flashed several times before Mack dropped to the ground, dead.

Miyuki slowly rose to her feet, tears streaming down her cheeks. She pointed her pistol at the Overseer as she spoke. "Why are you doing all this? How could you beat your own daughter?"

"I place the good of the Vault above everything, even my own paternal feelings," The Overseer replied. "We must not allow sentiment to cloud our judgment! If you really care about Amata, you will see how dangerous your mother's actions were. Hand over your weapons, and put an end to this dangerous situation."

Miyuki scowled. "Is that what you said to Jonas before you killed him?"

"A regrettable incident. But will killing me bring back your friend? Think a moment. If you really care about your fellow citizens, killing me is the worst thing you could do. Without an Overseer, the Vault would be plunged into chaos and disaster. Surely you can see that as well as I. Come now, turn yourself in and we can resolve this whole thing peacefully. Just because your mother betrayed us doesn't mean you have to."

"My mother never betrayed anyone! You're the one who started killing people!" Miyuki shouted.

"Save your sanctimony. The world is a dangerous place and I make no apologies for doing whatever it takes to keep the vault safe. Besides, you're one to talk about murderers."

"That's not fair, Dad," Amata cut in. "If she didn't shoot Officer Mack, then she'd be dead. We're better off without that psycho anyway."

The Overseer snorted. "If there's anyone we're better off without, it's this traitorous misfit right here."

"Why do you hate me so much?" Miyuki cried. "I've never done anything to hurt anyone!"

"I have my reasons, and I don't have to explain them to you. I will say that I knew you and your mother would be trouble the moment you came into my vault." The Overseer crossed his arms. "Now, if you're going to shoot me, then do it. Otherwise, quit waving that pistol around like someone important."

Miyuki glared at the Overseer, her finger twitching. Suddenly, she threw the pistol to the ground and ran from the room.

"That's right, run! Just like your mother!"

"Miyuki, wait!" Amata called as she retrieved Miyuki's bat. "Let her go, Amata. She's just a worthless coward."

Amata turned and pointed the bat at her father threateningly. "You be quiet! Miyuki is my friend; I'm going to help her escape the Vault, and you're not going to stop me." With that, she left the security office, sealing the door behind her. She ran down the hallway to the administration lobby, again sealing the door behind her. Inside she found Miyuki crouched beside Jonas' body, crying freely.

"Hey," Amata said as she crouched down next to Miyuki, "You feeling okay?"

Miyuki shook her head. "I killed Officer Mack. I'm a murderer!" she sobbed.

"It's okay," Amata said as she placed a hand on Miyuki's back. "You're not a murderer. If you were, then you would have killed my father."

"But I wanted to! I almost did!"

"But you didn't. That's what matters. Thank you, by the way. I don't know what my father might have done to me if you hadn't come along. Here." Amata pulled a stimpak from her pocket and slid the needle into Miyuki's wrist. The bruises on her cheek and forehead started to fade as the medicine took effect.

"I never wanted any of this," Miyuki said, looking Amata in the eyes. "I didn't want anyone to die."

"None of us did. But what's done is done. We can't stop now. We have to get you out of here."

Miyuki nodded and stood up, wiping tears from her eyes. "You're right. The only way we can fix everything is if I find my mother."

Amata opened the door to her father's office and led Miyuki to the terminal on the back wall. "Here it is. You know more about this stuff then I do."

Miyuki booted the computer and entered debug mode. "It seems your father never expected anyone to access his terminal," Miyuki commented after a few minutes of scrolling through code. "The encryption is very weak." She typed the word "STARS" into the command bar, revealing the password to be "Amata." She rebooted the terminal, entered the password, and selected the command "Open Overseer's Tunnel."

The large circular desk behind them lifted off the floor, revealing the tunnel beneath it. They descended the stairs, activating a switch on the wall at the bottom and resealing the tunnel over them. They continued through two manual maintenance hatches before reaching a second switch. The switch opened a secret door leading into Vault 101's entrance chamber.

"Wow," Amata said, gazing at the bulkhead. "I've never been in here before. I can't believe we're going to open the Vault."

"Neither can I," Miyuki replied. She approached the control pad and pulled the main lever. An alarm klaxon sounded as the ancient machinery hissed to life. A mechanical arm swung down from the ceiling, it's hinges creaking from years of neglect. The arm attached itself to a special port built into the door before pulling the whole thing back, causing a deafening metal screech. Fresh air rushed in along the edges of the door, filling the room with an earthy scent. When it had been pulled from the doorway completely, the cog-shaped door rolled to the side on a special track, revealing a long cave leading to a gate outside.

"You actually opened it..." Amata murmured as she stared outside. "You opened the door! My God, I almost didn't believe it was possible."

Miyuki gave Amata a smile. "I couldn't have done it without your help, Amata."

Amata shook her head. "No, you didn't need me. If anyone can survive out there, it's you."

Miyuki thought for a moment "Why don't you come with me?" she offered.

"It's tempting, but... my place is here. The Vault needs me more than you do. I'm the only one who has a chance to talk some sense into my father."

Miyuki nodded. "I understand."

"Here," Amata handed Miyuki her bat. "I get the feeling you're going to need this. Listen, if you do catch up with your mother, tell her I'm sorry. For... you know, Jonas and my father and everything. Goodbye."

"Goodbye, Amata."

Miyuki turned to leave, when the door behind them was thrown open, allowing several security officers to enter the chamber.

"There she is! Don't let her get away!" Two of the officers began firing their pistols, while one ran to the control pad and flipped the switch. The door began to roll back into place, prompting Miyuki to sprint for the opening. 10mm rounds slammed into the ground at her feet as she dove through the door into an intense light, nearly being crushed as the door slid back into place.


Miyuki shot straight up into a sitting position as she woke up, sweating and breathing heavily.

"Whoa, watch it!" Konata shouted as she jumped back. "You nearly headbutted me!"

"Oh, I'm sorry. Um, were you watching me sleep?" Miyuki asked.

"Yeah. You looked like you were having one heck of a nightmare."

Miyuki looked down at the ground. "It was nothing. I'm fine."

Konata shrugged. "If you say so. Anyway, you'd better get dressed; we head down to D.C. today." Konata tossed Miyuki's clothes to her. "By the way, Sheriff Simms wants to talk to you. I'll meet up with you by the gate when you're ready." Konata paused at the door. "Don't take too long, though. Your mom has a big head start on us. We gotta hurry if we want to catch her!"

After Konata left, Miyuki picked up her backpack and dumped it's contents onto the bed. There really hadn't been much in Miyuki's desk drawer when she left; a tin of BB's for a gift she no longer owned, a worn baseball and mitt to accompany her trusty bat, a brittle comic book passed down from the man who tried to kill her, and a Vault-Tec bobblehead given by her mother as a birthday present. She picked up the bobblehead and read the inscription on the base: "The smart man knows a bandage only hides his wounds." She absentmindedly glanced at Konata's shelf. I wonder if any of Konata's things hold any memories for her...

Miyuki carefully repacked her things and got dressed. On her way down the stairs, she was greeted by Sojiro. "Good morning Miyuki-san. You haven't changed your mind about going to D.C., have you?"

"I'm afraid not. Thank you for allowing me to stay here. I apologize for any trouble I may have caused." Miyuki replied with a bow.

"It was no trouble at all. And you're always welcome back any time. In fact, please do come back, if only for a visit! I'm going to miss you!"

Miyuki sweatdropped. "Very well, I'll come to visit every now and then. Now, if you'll excuse me, Sheriff Simms is waiting to speak to me. Farewell, Sojiro-san."

"Goodbye," Sojiro called after her as she left. "Be careful in the ruins!"

Miyuki stepped out onto the platform supporting the saloon and looked out over Megaton. Upon spotting Lucas Simms in the central plaza, she began to make her way down the assorted ramps and catwalks to meet him.

"I'll be damned!" Simms said as she approached him. "You did it, didn't you? You disarmed that thing! Konata even told me about that contraption you rigged up to bypass the circuits."

Miyuki sweatdropped. "I was happy to help. Everyone here has been so kind to me, it was the least I could do."

"And all without asking for pay, too." Simms paused for a moment. "You know what, why don't you move in? Here's the key and deed to an empty house. Now you'll have your own place to stay in when you and Konata get back from your trip."

"Really? Are you certain?" Miuyki asked.

"Absolutely! The house is up by the gate, over the Brass Lantern. Consider yourself a Megaton citizen!"

"Oh my! I don't know what to say!" Miyuki said excitedly. "Thank you very much!"

Miyuki said goodbye to the sheriff and made her way toward the town gate, where Konata was waiting for her.

"You look like you're in a good mood," Konata commented as Miyuki bounded up the hill towards her.

Miyuki held up the key Simms had given her. "Sheriff Simms gave me my own house to live in!"

"Wow, you're real lucky. It's really hard to get your hands on what little real estate there is around here. Maybe when we get back, I can help you decorate!"

"That sounds like fun! So, have you completed our preparations?"

Konata nodded. "Yep! I didn't sell all the loot this morning, but I sold enough to make almost four hundred caps! Here's your cut." Konata handed Miyuki a drawstring bag filled with bottle caps. "There's about two hundred caps in there. I also packed a bunch of food and water in my bag, along with anything else useful that we looted. And check this out!"

Konata pulled her Chinese officer's sword from her belt. "I picked this up from Moira today! She did a good job fixing it up; I can't wait to try it out!" Konata performed some quick slashes before returning the sword to her belt. "We can head out whenever you're ready."

Miyuki nodded. "Let's leave now, then. I'm eager to find my mother."

"Alright then," Konata said as she opened the gate and led the way out. "By the way, I also talked to Moira about my next two research assignments. We need to make stops at the Arlington Library and Rivet City."

Konata grabbed Miyuki's arm and examined her Pip-Boy. "You said this thing can make maps?" Konata asked as she poked at the machine's buttons.

"Yes, it uses a combination of radar and sonar to create geographical maps of the surrounding area within many miles."

"Really?" Konata looked thoughtful. "Why would you need huge maps like that if you were never supposed to leave the Vault?"

"Hm... That's an excellent question..." Miyuki put a finger to her chin, trying to come up with an answer. "Um... I'm afraid I don't know. I'm sorry."

Konata shrugged. "I guess it doesn't matter. Anyway, the place Moira showed me on her pre-war map was around... here!" She pointed to a spot southeast of Megaton on Miyuki's map. "Arlington Library should be around there. I have to bring back the card catalog, and the complete library archive, if I can find it. You don't mind stopping there, right?"

"Of course not. It might be a good opportunity to find some intact books from before the war," Miyuki replied cheerfully.

"Alright then, we're off to the library!" Konata declared. "Maybe they'll have a comic section, or even some manga!"


"That's the Arlington Library up ahead." Paladin Hoss pointed at the building ahead.

"Great, now we get to walk all the way back to the Citadel," Pek groaned. "What a boring assignment! When do we get to see some action?"

"Don't go getting cocky just because you're in the Brotherhood now," Hoss scolded. "You're still just an initiate." The Paladin turned back to face their ward. "You okay? You've barely spoken since we left the Citadel."

"I'm fine," the young girl replied. "I just get nervous out here in the ruins..."

"Well, you've got nothing to worry about. This is just a simple pick-up assignment, and this area is fairly clear of hostiles."

The small group reached the front doors of the library. "Go on in. We'll wait out here for you to pick up the books."

"Right," the girl said with a nod before entering the building. The girl looked around the dimly lit lobby. Brotherhood guards stood in the corners of the room, and a woman wearing red robes sat at the desk, working on the computer.

"You must be Yearling!" the girl said as she approached the desk. Yearling looked up from her work. "That's Senior Scribe Yearling to you."

"Y-Yes, Senior Scribe Yearling. I'm sorry."

Yearling looked over the girl. Like herself, she wore the plain red robes of a Brotherhood of Steel Scribe. A bright yellow ribbon ran through her short lilac hair, and she stared back at Yearling with timid indigo eyes.

"I take it you're here to pick up the books. What's your name?" Yearling asked as she reached under the desk.

"Tsukasa Hiiragi," the girl replied.

Yearling eyed her. "Another of you? You've got a big family, kid." She lifted a pile of books onto the desk. "These are all the intact books we've gathered over the past month." Yearling turned back to her computer. "Take them back to the Citadel so they can be transcribed to the archives."

"Yes ma'am!" Tsukasa carefully packed the books into her messenger's bag before leaving.

"All set?" Hoss asked as Tsukasa exited the building.

Tsukasa nodded. "Yes, I have the books."

"Alright, now it's just a short walk back to the Citadel. Nothing to worry about."


"I'm impressed with these raiders," Konata said as she sifted through the items on a shelf. "They had quite a stash going!" She pulled a half empty box of shotgun shells from an ammo box and held it out to Miyuki. "Here. A little extra for your sidearm there." Miyuki walked over and took the box, careful to step around a dead raider as she did. She emptied the box into her satchel with her other ammunition before setting it neatly back on the shelf.

The two were standing in a sizable raider camp perched above a congested highway. The raiders had fired on them as they were walking down the highway on their way to the library, and Konata had insisted on looking for loot once they were dead.

"Have you found everything you were looking for, Konata-san?"

"Yeah, I guess that's it. Not a bad haul. We got some first aid supplies, some ammo, a couple frag mines, some chems, and I found this book."

Konata gave Miyuki a book entitled Pugilism Illustrated. It appeared to be a hand-to-hand fighting manual.

"Here you go, Yuki-chan. More required reading."

"Thank you. I will read it once I finish the issue of Tumblers Today that you gave me."

The two made their way back out of the camp, dropping back down onto the road and continuing to their destination. "That must be the place," Konata said as they climbed up onto a pile of rubble from a collapsed overpass. The library stood out among a small group of generic buildings. "Just down the road."

They climbed down from the rubble and continued down the street to the library. Konata threw open the double doors and marched in as if she owned the place, with Miyuki trailing behind her.

"Hold it!"

The girls stopped dead in their tracks as a pair of soldiers in heavy armor pointed their weapons at them. Miyuki eyed the troopers fearfully. Their weapons had the distinct rectangular shape of laser rifles; Miyuki was not eager to experience a burn from such powerful weapons.

A woman in red robes approached them. "This area is under the authority of the Brotherhood of Steel. Leave immediately."

"Okay, just calm down," Konata said. "We were just exploring. No need to get trigger happy."

The woman seemed to relax a bit. "You two are awfully brave to be wandering around down here. Are you scavenging the ruins?"

"Yeah, we were hoping to find records from the library."

The woman smiled. "It seems that we have similar goals in mind. It's rare to meet someone who has proper priorities."

The troopers lowered their weapons, much to the girls' relief.

"I am Senior Scribe Yearling, Order of the Quill. My task here is to collect the written works of those who came before in order to supplement the Brotherhood Archives at the Citadel. We have set up this area as a forward operations center for our project. The books we collect can be recorded with the computer systems here. We then ship them under escort back to the Citadel for transcribing into the archives there."

"My," Miyuki said with a smile, "That's just wonderful! I never expected to find anyone preserving pre-war books! I would very much like the opportunity to read some of them."

"Perhaps," Yearling replied. "Though it's likely that they'll be locked away in storage."

"That's understandable. They have to be preserved, after all."

"So," Konata chimed in, "Can you help us access the library's archives?"

"Sure, why not?" Yearling replied. "The front desk computer has access to the card catalogs, but it appears that it's lost the connection to the main archives. Here's the password. Now, you might be able to find the central computer further in the library, but I'm afraid you'll have to do that without me. This place used to be infested with raiders, and there have been reports that some are still hiding in there. I'm a scholar, not a fighter."

"That's fine, raiders are no problem for us," Konata boasted as she went to the computer. "Right, Yuki-chan?"

"Um, r-right..." Despite her growing skill with her rifle, Miyuki still got nervous whenever raiders were involved.

"Hey, Yuki-chan," Konata said after examining the options on the computer screen. "Let me see your arm for a sec."

Miyuki held out her left arm, allowing Konata to plug a cable into her Pip-Boy and download the card catalog to it.

"Objective complete," Konata said. "Now we go in deeper to find the archive computer." She led the way down the hallway at the back of the lobby. Miyuki nervously followed, gripping her rifle as they passed by a skeleton sitting in a cage.


"Hurry! Get in here!" Pek shouted from the doorway. Tsukasa frantically ran into the closet and crouched in the corner. Pek closed the door and crouched beside her.

"I can't believe it!" he said in a hushed voice. "How are we supposed to fight those things?" Tsukasa felt like crying. "We can't. We're going to die in here!"

"Don't say that. Paladin Hoss will save us, I just know it!"

"But there were so many of them!"

Pek reloaded his 10mm pistol. "Well, whatever we do, we can't give up. If they do find us, I'm going down fighting."

"Where are you!"

The two went silent as they were interrupted by a loud, angry voice. "Come out! We find you sooner or later!"

Tsukasa hugged her knees as she struggled to hold back tears. I wish Sis were here!


"Mission accomplished," Konata proclaimed as she and Miyuki left the library.

"It was well worth the trouble," Miyuki commented as she scrolled through a list of titles on her Pip-Boy. "Konata-san, we have a complete recording of every book ever stored in that library. Do you realize how valuable this is?"

Konata shrugged. "It doesn't mean much to me, but it's what Moira wants. And I imagine it makes you pretty happy."

"Indeed," Miyuki replied with a smile. She returned attention to her Pip-Boy, letting Konata lead the way north while she decided which book to read first.

After walking for several minutes, Konata suddenly stopped. "Wait, do you hear that?"

Miyuki stopped and listened. "No, what is it?"

"Gunfire," Konata replied. "Come on, this way!"

Konata ran in the direction of the sound, and before long Miyuki could hear it as well. They climbed over a pile of debris and dropped down next to an ancient bus half buried with rubble. The gunfire was coming from up ahead, where two armored Brotherhood of Steel soldiers were taking cover by a metro junction.

Konata smirked as she drew her sword and knife. "Let's show these guys how it's done."

"Konata-san, wait! We don't know what's up there!" Miyuki called out as Konata sprinted forward, but the otaku ignored her warning. She rushed past the Brotherhood troops and leaped over a set of metro tracks before seeing the threat.

Coming to a dead stop, Konata stared up at the terrifying hulk before her. The eight foot tall mass of muscle towered over the small girl, its lipless mouth set in a permanent snarl. Konata quickly delivered several slashes with her sword, but she couldn't break its thick, green skin. Realizing her mistake, she quickly backed away from the monstrosity as it fired at her with its hunting rifle. As she returned fire with her silenced 10mm pistol, Konata ducked behind a stone bench with the Brotherhood troops, finding Miyuki there as well.

"You done trying to get yourself killed, Wastelander?" the paladin asked.

"Hey, I didn't know we were up against monsters!" Konata shouted as more rifle fire rang out.

"Just keep your head down, kid," the knight said as he fired his laser rifle. "Wouldn't want the super mutants to splatter you."

"Hey, I'm not a kid!" Konata pouted. "So these are super mutants," she muttered as she peeked out from cover. "They're tougher than I thought..."

Konata noticed Miyuki's eyes widen suddenly. "Konata-san! Behind you!"

Konata spun her head around and saw another mutant charging at her with a sledgehammer. Reflexively kicking off the bench, the small adventurer rolled away from the blow, her weapons ready as she rose to her feet. The knight fired two bolts into the mutant's arm before the beast delivered a blow to the trooper, sending him reeling back.

Miyuki managed to strike the mutant in the head with her hunting rifle, finally slowing it as it clutched at its face. To the meganekko's surprise, however, the monster raised its hammer for another swing, despite its severely bloodied face. The head wound did impair its accuracy, however; it narrowly missed Miyuki, smashing through a portion of the bench instead.

Before the mutant could make another attack, Konata leaped up and pounded her knife into its back. The thick muscle prevented the knife from penetrating completely, but it was enough to give Konata a solid handhold. The otaku pulled herself up and drove her sword towards the mutant's head, aiming for the spot where Miyuki's rifle round had lodged itself. The blade punched through the mutant's weakened skull, gouging through its brain before it toppled over, dead.

Konata retrieved her blades and ducked back behind cover, avoiding rifle fire from the mutant's enraged brethren. "Told you I'm not just some kid!"

"That was impressive for a wastelander," the paladin admitted, "But there's too many of them to take out like that." He pointed to one of the old metro cars that had come off the tracks. "I'm going to take up position by that car. If you can lure the other mutants over to me, I can torch them with my flamer."

Konata eyed the heavy weapon wielded by the paladin; it was essentially an oversized spray nozzle attached to a large fuel tank. The adventurer grinned and twirled her pistol. "Sure thing. I'll round those guys up in no time."

"Good." The paladin turned to the knight. Are you able to provide covering fire, Church?"

"Yeah, the mutie didn't get me too bad. But Hoss, are you sure we can count on these wastelanders?"

"I'm not about to turn away a pair of extra guns. Besides, this girl is fast. She's our best shot for grouping the hostiles together so we can end this fight quickly."

"Um, we had best decide quickly," Miyuki cut in, "They are beginning to advance on us!"

"We'll go with your plan," Konata said to Hoss. "Wait five seconds after I jump out before moving to the metro car. Miyuki, you stay here and help cover me."

Miyuki nodded. "Right. I'll do my best."

"Okay," Konata grinned as she got ready to move. "Time to get cracking."

Konata vaulted over the bench and charged at the mutants, firing her pistol at their heads. The 10mm rounds were barely able to break their skin, leaving light cuts or small bruises at best, but it was certainly enough to draw their attention. The angered mutants were terrible marksmen however, allowing Konata to easily close the distance.

"HOLD STILL! ANNOYING HUMAN!" one of the mutants roared as Konata deftly darted between them, dodging their rifles and delivering quick stabs with her knife.

"What's the matter?" Konata taunted as one received burns from Church's laser rifle. "Can't you guys keep up?" She slid between the legs of one mutant as it swung it's sledgehammer, delivering a slash to the back as she stood. "I thought you guys were supposed to be scary. But I guess you're just big, slow half-wits!" Another mutant took a rifle round to the head; Miyuki and Church were keeping constant pressure on the mutants, but Konata made sure to keep their attention on her.

After doing her best to enrage every mutant in sight, Konata began to run towards the metro car. "You guys want me? Come and get me!" Konata called out as she dashed behind the car. The mob of super mutants charged after her all at once, only to find Hoss' flamer waiting for them. The heavy weapon spewed a stream of flaming napalm at the mutants, quickly dropping them one by one.

Hoss turned to face Konata. "Stranger, I thank you for your aid. We must press forward, if you are willing to aid us, you are welcome to join us."

"What's happening here?" Miyuki asked as she and Church approached.

"We were escorting a scribe on a pick up mission when we were cut off by the Super Mutants. We saw the scribe and our initiate flee into a building up ahead during the attack, but before we could link up with them, we were pushed back. Now that we've cleared this area, we can press forward and attempt to recover them. I only pray that they are unharmed."

"Well, what are we standing around for?" Konata asked. "Let's go bail out your guys."

Miyuki nodded. "I agree. We will assist however we can."

"Excellent. We will advance forward slowly until we make contact with the mutants, then we will clear the area in front of the building. Once that space is under our control, we will hold position while you two enter and recover the scribe and the initiate."


"You bastards had better answer me! Where is Miyuki Takara?"

"Take a hike, kid," Sheriff Simms called down from above the gate. "You're not getting any information out of us, so beat it before we have to waste bullets on your sorry hides."

Akira ground her teeth together in anger. "You're wasting my time! Tell me before I kill all of you! I'll do it, too!"

"Kill us?" Jericho laughed. "That's just too funny! Your outnumbered and outgunned! Unless you've got some fancy high-tech weapon hidden up those sleeves, I suggest you just turn around and walk away."

The Enclave officer nearly crushed the grip of her hidden plasma pistol. It wasn't that she couldn't kill them; in fact, she could likely kill every resident of Megaton single-handedly. But she was going to be in enough trouble with the higher-ups already. Killing every resident in a tiny town like Andale was one thing, but murdering every person in Megaton would definitely not go unnoticed.

"This isn't over!" Akira shouted as she finally turned to walk away. "I will get back at you someday!" Akira began storming down the path away from Megaton.

"Well, at least they didn't shoot at us," Minoru said a bit nervously once they reached Springvale's main street.

"I wish they had," Akira snorted, "At least then I'd have an excuse for killing them. If I wasn't under strict orders, I'd have murdered that whole damn junkyard!"

"But wouldn't we need someone to tell us where the girl went?"

"That's true..." Akira muttered. "Maybe we can sneak in at night and torture everyone until they tell us..."

"Hey!"

Akira and Minoru turned to face the source of the voice, finding a female raider with her arms crossed. Her head was heavily bandaged.

"What do you want?" Akira snapped.

"This girl you're looking for, what's she look like?"

"Pink hair and glasses." Akira narrowed her eyes. "Why? Have you seen her?"

The raider sneered. "Yeah, her and her little blue haired friend headed out on a trip just this morning. And I can tell you where they're going."


"Watch your step in here," Konata cautioned as they made their way through the office building. "There's a tripwire in that bathroom there."

Miyuki glanced down at the floor as they passed the restroom, but she couldn't see what Konata was talking about. Then again, she could barely see anything in the dim light.

They entered a large room that previously held many office cubicles, though most of them were gone now. Konata stopped and crouched to the floor, motioning for Miyuki to do the same.

"More muties," she whispered, pointing to the center of the room. Three of the hulking mutants were probing the area, turning over rubble and searching the remaining cubicles. One of them was equipped with heavy armor fashioned from scrap metal. "I'll bet that's the leader," Konata said as she pointed at the brute. "I'm going to sneak attack him. You line up on the one closest to him and take the shot when I make my move."

"Alright, then what?"

Konata shrugged. "Beats me. I don't usually think past the first move. I just wing it from there."

Miyuki sweatdropped. "Well, try to be careful then."

"Don't worry," Konata said, "I'll have him down before you know it."

The small girl quickly crept across the floor, sword in hand. Once she was within a few feet of the brute, Konata sprung forward, leaping high and digging her sword into it's back. The mutant roared in anger and tried to reach behind itself, thrashing wildly. Konata gripped her sword tightly, but was soon thrown to the ground as the brute spun. The adventurer rose to her knees, drawing her pistol and knife as the mutant brought it's assault rife to bear on her.

The nearest mutant started to point its hunting rifle at Konata, only to find a .32 round embedded in the side of its head seconds later. The mutant turned to see Miyuki crouched on the other side of the room. Another round slammed into its forehead, causing the mutant to stumble back. Wiping blood from its face, the mutant charged at Miyuki, firing its rifle. The shot missed, and the vault dweller fired another round into the mutant's shoulder and finally another to the face. The round broke through the mutant's skull, sending it to the ground mid-stride.

The brute fired on Konata, sending a stream of lead at her. Konata rolled sideways and jumped behind an overturned desk, taking bullets in her back and thigh. Ignoring the pain, the blue haired rogue fired her pistol over the desk. A few rounds bounced right off the mutant's armor, but several dug into its thick flesh. The brute didn't flinch however; instead it charged into the desk, flipping it away to get at her.

Miyuki took aim at the brute attacking Konata, but before she could fire, the third mutant attacked her with a wooden board. Nails driven through the end of the board cut open her arm, sending her reeling back with pain. She fired off her last round in a panic, hitting the mutant's torso. The mutant lunged forward as Miyuki rushed to draw her sawed-off shotgun. Jumping sideways to dodge, the meganekko fired off both barrels in quick succession, blasting the mutant with buckshot. Backing away quickly, she hurried to reload as the mutant readied another attack.

Konata sprung forward to dodge an assault rifle burst, still firing her pistol as she dashed between the mutant's legs. Holstering her pistol, she again leaped onto the brute's back, using her sword as a handhold. She pulled herself up and attempted to slit the brute's throat with her knife, but she was dismayed to find that its skin was too thick. As the mutant began thrashing to dislodge her, Konata set to work sawing at its neck with the serrated edge of her knife. By the time she broke the skin, however, the mutant managed to grab hold of her and throw her forward to the ground. Landing on her back, Konata hurried to draw her pistol as the brute reloaded. She fired off her remaining three rounds at the cut on the mutant's neck. One round managed to sever its artery, and within seconds the brute collapsed to the ground. Konata got up and, with some effort, retrieved her sword.

"Konata-san!" Turning her head, Konata saw Miyuki running towards her, a super mutant in pursuit. "Help me!"

Konata grinned and sprung forward, charging past Miyuki. She lunged as the mutant raised its nail board, driving her sword through its buckshot-ridden chest.

"Thank you," Miyuki sighed.

"No problem," Konata replied as the corpse colapsed. "Is your arm okay?"

"It's fine; the wound is not serious. Are you unharmed?"

"I took a couple shots," Konata replied as she poked at her thigh wound. "They're starting to feel sore, but I'll hold off on a stimpak for now. Anyway, I think that was all of them. Lets split up and find those Brotherhood guys." Miyuki nodded and reloaded her weapons as she made her way out of the room.

After checking several small rooms, Miyuki came to a closet at the end of the hall. She tried the door and found it locked. "Hello?" she called. "Is anyone in there?"

After a moment Miyuki heard a quiet voice come from behind the door. "Who are you?"

"I've come to help you," Miyuki replied. "Paladin Hoss sent me."

The door slowly opened, revealing a timid looking girl and a young man in combat armor.

"Oh, thank God." Pek said. "I knew Paladin Hoss wouldn't leave us behind. My name is Pek."

"I'm Tsukasa," the scribe said.

"I'm pleased to meet you, Tsukasa and Pek," Miyuki replied with a smile. "My name is Miyuki Takara. If you'll come with me, I can lead you to safety."

"Oh, thank you!" Tsukasa said. "I was afraid we weren't going to make it!"

"Yeah, I thought those mutants were going to get us." Pek added.

"You are safe now," Miyuki assured them, "My companion and I have eliminated the mutants. Please follow me." Miyuki lead them back through the office building, checking each room she passed for Konata. "That's odd..." Miyuki muttered as they reached the main room. "I wonder where she is..." She squinted to see in the dark room, and was able to see a blue blur on the far side of the room. "Oh! That must be her."

As they started to approach her, Tsukasa's face suddenly brightened and she began to jog ahead. "Kona-chan!" she called. Konata turned to see the scribe running at her before suddenly finding herself wrapped tight in a hug.

"Good to see you too Tsukasa," Konata said. "Um, could you please stop squishing me?"

"Oh, so you two know each other?" Miyuki asked, eyesmiling at the exchange.

"Yeah," Tsukasa said as she turned around. "My family stayed in Megaton several years ago. That was when we first met."

"It's been a while, hasn't it? You've really grown since then."

Tsukasa sweatdropped. "Um, so have you?" Kona-chan still looks like she did when we were kids!

"Say, Konata, what were you doing just now, before we got here?" Tsukasa asked suddenly.

"Hm? Oh, I was just going through the drawers in this desk."

Miyuki tilted her head. "Weren't you searching for Tsukasa and Pek?"

Konata rubbed her head. "Well, I was going to, but don't you just feel an urge to check every container in a building to make sure you don't miss anything valuable?" Konata received blank stares. She turned away and sighed. "Well, I guess that's to be expected. Neither of you have had to scavenge for a living."

"Hey," Pek interrupted, "Shouldn't we get going, before more mutants show up?"

"Oh yeah," Tsukasa said, starting to sound worried. "I want to get back to the Citadel as soon as possible!"

Miyuki nodded. "This way."

"H-Hey, wait!" Konata called out as the others walked away. "We can't leave now! There's a safe in the other room I haven't cracked yet!"


Hello all. I apologize for taking so long, but for some reason I just couldn't focus on writing for the past month. There were nights when I literally wrote a single sentence before getting sidetracked. I hope this is not the start of a trend.

It was nice to finally write Miyuki's escape, but it was also rather tedious. Not writing the story so much, but actually playing through the game to get all the dialog. In fact, almost any scene where a Fallout character has dialog involves me repeatedly reloading saves so I can go through every dialog path for that character in-game and pick the best lines for the story. It definitely keeps the Fallout side of things authentic though, so it's worth it.

Perhaps overshadowing Miyuki's escape, however, has to be the introduction of none other than Tsukasa Hiiragi! I have no doubt that those of you who bothered to read the story this far were happy to see another character introduced, and it's also good news for me. Up until now, the slice of life feel from Lucky Star hasn't been as prominent as I'd like. Granted, this is a fantasy adventure story and not straight slice of life, but I like to try and work in little moments. Unfortunately, that was getting a bit difficult with only the Konata/Miyuki dynamic to work with. Now I have Tsukasa, whose willingness to engage in idle chit-chat with Konata should help bring the Lucky Star feel more to the forefront.

Tsukasa's introduction also signals where the plot picks up. Now that I've finally gotten the girls out of Megaton, the story should progress much more quickly. Major plot points should be showing up more often, and more Lucky Star characters are on the way! I won't reveal them all at once, mind you, but all the main ones will be included before the story's halfway point. Hell, depending on how the pace of the next chapter works out, I might even introduce another character there.

That should be it, I think. (though it always feels like I'm forgetting to say something when I finish these author's notes...) I will work to not take a month and a half with chapter eight. In the meantime, read, enjoy, and let me know what you think! I'll see you all (figuratively, of course) next time!

Update: *epic facepalm* Line breaks. Right. Knew I was forgetting something. Thanks for pointing that out Omega Hugger; guess I was a little too anxious to post this. Fixed.