"The looks on your faces say it all."

Miyuki and Konata were greeted by a dark skinned man wearing sunglasses and a headwrap as they ascended the stairs into the broadcast studio.

"You're wondering who the heck this guy is and why you should care. Well, prepare to be enlightened." The man took a bow. "I am Three Dog – jockey of discs and teller of truths. Lord and master over the finest radio station to grace the Wastes – Galaxy News Radio." Three Dog pointed at Miyuki. "And you, I know who you are. Heard about you leavin' that Vault, travelin' the unknown. Just like dear old Mom, hm?"

"So, you're the guy from the radio," Konata said.

"Yep! Guilty as charged!" Three Dog chuckled. "You know, I don't usually get exposure to the public like this. It's nice to know someone's listening. Makes carrying on the Good Fight that much easier."

Miyuki tilted her head. "The Good Fight? What do you mean by that?"

"Imagine a picture, okay?" Three Dog started, "A picture of the Capitol Wasteland. All that brick and rock. A whole lot of nothing, right? There's people out there trying to just barely make it by from day to day. Fighting to stay alive and make something out of what they got. But then you've got all kinds of shit... super mutants, raiders, slavers... They all want a slice of the pie too, and they aim to take it by force."

"So?" Konata asked. "People fight back."

"People like you, sure. Those kind of people are on the front lines of the Good Fight. But not everyone is cut out for bigger and better things. Most people just can't go up against those kind of enemies. They're forced to run away and hide or they stay and die. It just ain't right. So that's where I enter the picture. I fight the Good Fight with GNR as my gun. The truth goes out across the Capitol Wasteland and with it, the word about the Good Fight."

"I see," Miyuki said. "You use your radio station to keep the people informed and rally them to your cause."

"Exactly right. You're a bright kid; you catch on quick. Now we need to find out how you two fit into the Good Fight. You see, Galaxy News has hit a bit of a snag. I need your help getting her back up to speed."

"What kind of help would you need from us?" Konata looked around at the equipment panels lining the walls. "You seem to have everything you need here."

"I have the name and the talent, but what I don't have are people to run out and do the stuff I need." Three Dog shrugged. "Sure, the Brotherhood watches over the place, yeah! But that's all they can spare. Galaxy News needs a doer. Someone who can go out there into that wild world and get shit done. You want to find your mom, and it just so happens her location is known to yours truly. So, you game?"

"How did you know I was looking for my mother?" Miyuki asked, a bit surprised.

"Oh, come on," Three Dog replied. "You're a spitting image of the gal. She's been here before, and now you're here. Doesn't take a genius to figure it out. But if you want to know more, you're going to have to contribute to the Good Fight."

Miyuki nodded. "Very well. To find my Mother, I'm ready for anything."

"Good, 'cause this isn't going to be easy. Galaxy News Radio is my baby. I love it, I feed it, I keep it changed. But there's one problem. No one outside of D.C. can hear her cry. You see, some brainless super mutant thought it would be funny to shoot at the shiny round thing on the Washington Monument."

"And that was something necessary to keep Galaxy News functional?"

"Yep. That shiny thing was our broadcast relay. Now it's swiss cheese. Without it, our broadcast range is quite limited. Sure, you tune in from down the street and you'll hear me just fine. But get past the walls of D.C., and all you get is static."

"Now that you mention it," Konata said, finger on her chin. "We stopped getting Galaxy News on our radio back in Megaton a while back."

"Right, and to fix that, we need another dish. Of course, the factory that made the relay dishes is long gone. Leveled. As in, we're never gonna scavenge that part again."

"I get the feeling that replacing that part is going to be risky," Konata said.

"It IS risky. I would never lie to you." Three Dog looked at Miyuki. "But there's something behind those eyes of yours that screams 'I'm the one that can get shit done!' Your mom had that same look in her eyes too. That's why Three Dog's helping you."

Miyuki nodded. "All right. How can we help?"

"One of the Brotherhood guys that passed through here mentioned seeing a dish in one of D.C.'s old museums. It's the dish off the old Virgo II Lunar Lander in the Museum of Technology. I want you to get it and bring it to the Washington Monument to replace the bad one. That's it."

Konata grinned. "That doesn't sound too bad. You've got yourself a deal, right Yuki-chan?"

Miyuki nodded. "Agreed. We will repair your broadcast relay."

A big smile spread across Three Dog's face. "I sure know how to pick 'em! You're going to be the best thing that ever happened to Galaxy News in a long time. To get to the museum, just head out the back door of GNR and take the collapsed car tunnel to the other side of Dupont. Then take the metro tunnels until you're there. Be careful though. The place is swarming with super mutants."

Konata waved her hand. "Ha, super mutants are no problem for us! Did you see that fight we just had?"

"Don't get too cocky," Three Dog cautioned. "You won't have the Brotherhood to back you up, and I hear that the Mall has more mutants than anywhere else in D.C. The place is a warzone. Just get that dish fixed and get out."

"Don't worry, we'll be careful," Miyuki assured him.

The two walked back down the stairs to the lobby, where Tsukasa and Kagami were waiting.

"So, how did it go?" Kagami asked.

"Three dog has asked us to replace the broadcast relay atop the Washington Monument in exchange for the location of my mother," Miyuki informed them.

"We have to go to the Museum of Technology first to get a replacement," Konata added. "You two are coming along, right?" The question sounded more like a statement.

"Sure," Tsukasa replied. "I've got the report from Sentinel Lyons, so I can keep traveling with you guys."

"As long as you return to the Citadel relatively soon," Kagami reminded her. "But yes, we can both go with you. The rest of my squad was killed during the battle, so Sentinel Lyons said I can escort Tsukasa back to the Citadel, where I'll be reassigned."

"Alright! We've got a full party now!" Konata exclaimed as they made their way to the back door. "I'm the Rogue, Miyuki's the Archer, Kagami's the Warrior, and Tsukasa..." She stared at Tsukasa. "Well, she's weak like a Wizard, but she doesn't have their strong attacks... Maybe she can be our Bard?"

Kagami sighed. "Why do you always relate things to those ancient games? It makes you sound like..."

"An otaku?" Konata guessed.

"A nerd."

Konata frowned. "Kagami, why must you say such hurtful things?" She threw herself onto the initiate. "Don't you care about me?"

"Get off!" Kagami shouted.

"Should we say something?" Miyuki asked Tsukasa as they trailed behind the other two.

"No, they're always like this. It actually means they're getting along, in a weird way."

The girls passed through the back door and found themselves in a collapsed wing of the building. Below them was the road leading to the car tunnel.

"Come on guys," Konata said as she dropped down to the next floor. "We'll have that dish in no time."


"I cannot believe you two! You are a disgrace to the Enclave!"

Akira and Minoru were standing outside of Arlington, where they had the misfortune of stumbling across an Enclave Eyebot. The floating spherical robot was now being used by Colonel Autumn to communicate with them directly.

"I'm sorry sir," Minoru said nervously. "We should be getting close to finding this girl."

"I don't want excuses! I want results!" The Eyebot's speaker crackled as Autumn shouted through it.

"But sir," Akira started, wearing her cutest pout. "We've got a really good lead now! A really really good one!"

"You had better hope so, Kogami!" Autumn was fuming. "You are in deep water as it is. Flying during the day, losing a Vertibird and its crew, unauthorized use of plasma weaponry, slaughtering locals... If you don't bring this girl in, it'll be your heads! Do I make myself clear?"

Akira and Minoru cringed. "Yes sir."

"Good. Now get to it!"

The Eyebot suddenly began playing the National Anthem before resuming its usual wandering, playing Enclave Radio for whoever it could find.

"Akira-sama," Minoru asked as they started walking. "What do you think will happen to us if we don't catch this girl?"

Akira shrugged. "I don't know. I would probably get reassigned to some tiny outpost in the middle of nowhere. You, on the other hand, would probably be used as a test subject in the Deathclaw experiments."

"Y-You don't mean that, right?"

"Oh yeah, you'd definitely be Deathclaw food. But it's a moot point, because we are going to catch this Miyuki girl." Akira clenched her fists. "This is personal now. That girl has caused me too much trouble. I'm not stopping until we catch her."


"Look out, here's another one!" Kagami shouted as a feral ghoul came running down from the platform. She finished her current target with burst from her assault rifle before turning to the new one.

"Guys, help!" Tsukasa called as a ghoul charged her while she replaced the energy cell in her laser pistol. Konata spun back and stabbed the charging ghoul's face with her knife while simultaneously parrying her own target with her sword. "Thanks!" Tsukasa called as she continued firing.

"No problem," Konata called back, finishing her target with a slash to the neck.

Miyuki picked off a ghoul with her rifle before noticing another getting too close. She ducked away from its slash, drawing her sawed-off shotgun and blasting it. "These creatures are quite relentless," she remarked as she resumed her long range attacks.

"Isn't this supposed to be the route the Brotherhood takes between the Mall and Galaxy News?" Konata asked as she drove her sword through another ghoul. "Shouldn't they do a better job keeping it clear?"

"Oh, I'm sorry," Kagami said sarcastically as she beat down a ghoul with the butt of her rifle. "We were too busy killing super mutants to hunt down every ghoul and raider in the metros!"

The girls tensely scanned through the shadows, searching for more hostiles.

"Hey, I think that was the last of them!" Tsukasa said after several moments.

"This is getting ridiculous," Kagami sighed as she lowered her rifle. "Three metro stations and a car tunnel full of ghouls, and three camps of raiders in the maintenance tunnels."

"Yeah, definitely not fun grinding so many low level NPCs," Konata agreed. "But Yuki-chan did a good job with those raiders in the cave, hacking that security turret to take them out for us."

"Oh, that was nothing, really," Miyuki replied.

"Hey, guys," Tsukasa said, "I think there's something wrong with my laser pistol. I was stating to get better with it, but then my shots started going where I wasn't pointing."

"Here, let me see it," Kagami said. She examined the weapon after Tsukasa handed it to her. "I think I found the problem." The initiate held the pistol out for the others to see. "See this? The focusing lens is cracked. You'll have to find a new one from another pistol." She handed the weapon back to Tsukasa. "It also sounds like there are pieces rattling loose inside the casing. You should look into getting that thing fixed."

"Wow, I hadn't thought about needing to keep it all fixed up," Tsukasa admitted.

"One of the first things they taught me when I became an initiate was to always keep your weapon maintained," Kagami explained. "I'm no expert on energy weapons, but I've heard that if they get damaged, they get much weaker than a normal gun would."

"Now that you mention it," Miyuki said, "My rifle hasn't been causing as much damage as it used to, and I've just noticed that the barrel is coming loose."

"That makes sense," Kagami replied. "If the barrel is loose, then more energy from each shot is going to be absorbed by the gun rather then your target."

"Oh! I've got something for your gun, Miyuki," Konata said, reaching into her bag. She pulled out a roll of duct tape and wrapped the barrel to the body of the gun.

"Well, I suppose that will help a little," Kagami said. "But like I said before, your weapon needs to be properly maintained to ensure its effectiveness."

"I guess I'll look up how to repair weapons when I get back to the Citadel," Tsukasa said as they started up the stairs to the platform.

"That's really something you should have learned by now," Kagami said. "As a scribe, your job is maintaining the Brotherhood's technology. Have you been neglecting your studies again?"

"Well, I always try to study after working on my assignments," Tsukasa said, sounding a bit embarrassed. "But then I start to get real tired, so I listen to the radio to help keep me awake. Then Three Dog puts on a song I really like, so I can't help but sing along, you know?"

"Oh, I know how that is," Konata said, "One time when I was cooking some noodles, I started singing along with a song on the radio, and when I went back to my noodles, they were all soggy and over irradiated from sitting in the water too long."

"Don't encourage her," Kagami said to Konata. "Tsukasa, you really need work on not getting distracted so easily."

"I know, Sis. I'll try..."

"Hey, I think we finally found the right station!" Konata exclaimed, pointing at another Brotherhood sign. "Come on! We can go out to the surface here!"

"Thank goodness!" Tsukasa sighed as they followed Konata up the tunnel to the surface. "No more tunnels!"

Konata burst through the chain link gate out into the sunlight. "Whoa," Konata said as she surveyed the landscape of the Mall. "Talk about a warzone..."

A massive network of trenches, at least eight feet deep and all reinforced with strong planks of wood or slabs of concrete, had been dug out in front of the girls. Steel girders and barbed wire made up several barricades dotting the uneven land above the trenches. The trenches led to the Capitol Building in the east, the characteristic dome of which had caved in on one side.

"To think," Kagami said as the girls started walking, "This was the seat of government before the war... And now look at it." Konata suddenly stopped, causing Kagami to bump into her. "Hey," Kagami said, "What's wrong-"

"Shh!" Konata pointed ahead at the trench. Inside were several super mutants, their backs turned. "Come on, we'll go around," Konata whispered. "Stay quiet."

They started south down a broken road that cut across the Mall, weapons ready. Before they had taken three steps, however, the clatter of an assault rifle rang out behind them. Kagami cringed as three rounds slammed into the back of her armor. "Go! Run for it!" The firing attracted the attention of the other mutants; within seconds, the girls were being peppered with .32 rounds from the trench.

"At least they'll have a hard time hitting us from down there!" Konata shouted. As if to spite her, an armored brute appeared atop the ridge to their left, wielding a minigun. The weapon's six barrels started spinning before spewing down a hail of bullets. Kagami rushed forward to put herself between the gun and her friends. "Keep moving!" she shouted as she took several more hits.

Despite the weapon's horrible accuracy, a 5mm round tore through Tsukasa's robe and grazed her leg. She cried out and stumbled, sending herself down into the trench below. "Tsukasa!" Kagami turned her assault rifle away from the brute and down towards the mutants in the trench, keeping their attention off her sister.

Miyuki fired off her rifle at the brute; she missed its head, but the round slammed into the minigun instead. The spinning barrels ground to a halt, and the mutant struggled to unjam the weapon.

"Good thinking, Miyuki!" Konata called back. "I'll finish him, you take point and help Kagami lead Tsukasa out of the trench!" Konata pointed down a side path running parallel to the trench.

"Right!" Miyuki replied with a nod. "Kagami-san, this way!" she shouted as she started down the path.

Konata dashed further down the road as the minigun started firing again. 5mm rounds trailed behind her as she sprinted across the broken pavement. She found the ramp up to the ridge and charged the mutant, taking a few rounds before reaching it. She leaped on top of the minigun as the mutant struggled to track her, springboarding up and grabbing onto the mutant's shoulder armor.

"You muties think you're so tough with your big guns," Konata taunted as she slashed its face. "But all it takes to kill you is a sharp knife and a spring in your step!" She plunged the knife into the mutant's neck, ending its struggle to dislodge her.

"Keep moving, you're doing fine!" Kagami called down to Tsukasa as she attacked another mutant. Tsukasa moved through the trench as fast as she could; Kagami and Miyuki made sure to keep the pressure off of the scribe, allowing her to slip past the mutants.

Suddenly, Kagami heard a loud whoosh! coming from behind her and Miyuki; she turned in time to see a missile spiraling towards them. "Look out!" Kagmai tackled Miyuki to the ground, allowing the missile to sail over them and into the trench. The resulting explosion killed three super mutants at once.

Somewhat confused and frightened by the explosion, Tsukasa started to move forward, but a mutant wielding a sledgehammer appeared from around the corner ahead. Tsukasa looked up to the ridge, but Kagami and Miyuki were no where in sight. Her eyes widened as she turned back to the charging mutant. "Sis? Where'd you go?" she called out as she fired her laser pistol.

The mutant reloaded its missile launcher as Kagami rose to her knees. The initiate sent off a volley of rounds from her assault rifle as the explosive took flight. One round managed to break the missile's casing, detonating the projectile. The mutant growled as it loaded its last missile. Kagami's assault rifle ran empty as the missile was launched; she and Miyuki braced for the impact.

The missile flew wide, flying into the ground several feet away from the girls. Kagami cringed as a wave of heat slammed into her back, slightly burning her. She looked up to see the mutant charging down the hill at them, ready to fight hand to hand. Miyuki fired twice, but only managed to strike its shoulder. Kagami started to reload, but her rifle was wretched from her grasp by a powerful punch. The initiate took a fighting stance as Miyuki moved behind her.

Tsukasa's laser pistol managed to deal several grazing hits before the mutant had reached her; the scribe barely managed to side step the incoming blow. She ran past the mutant as it recovered from its lunge, firing her pistol behind her. The mutant charged towards her, delivering a blow to Tsukasa's arm as it caught up to her, throwing her to the ground. Panicking, she fired off the last shots in her laser pistol, miraculously striking the mutant's face three times. The mutant clutched at its scorched face before glaring down at its helpless victim. It stomped down on Tsukasa, pinning her down before raising its sledgehammer.

Kagami tried to engage the brute hand to hand, to no avail. The mutant shrugged off her blows, delivering a punch that sent her stumbling back. Kagami launched a pair of punches, but the brute caught both and grasped her fists in its meaty hands. The mutant started pushing the initiate down to the ground; Kagami fought back, her T-45d Power Armor augmenting her own strength. It proved to be too little, however; the mutant steadily pushed her down to one knee, threatening to dislocate her shoulders.

Miyuki finished loading a fresh clip into her hunting rifle and took aim at the mutant before hearing a cry for help. She turned back to the trench and saw Tsukasa pinned by a super mutant. The vault dweller vaguely noticed a prick in her wrist as she tried to decide who to help. Time seemed to slow as the mutant brought down its sledgehammer. Miyuki took aim as Kagami started to cry out for help, firing her rifle one handed as she drew her shotgun. She turned back to the brute as her first target's head exploded, firing both shells point blank into its face. The brute recoiled in surprise, allowing Kagami to gain the advantage. The servo motors in her power armor whined and sputtered as she struggled to lift the mutant into the air.

Miyuki stared awestruck; Kagami was holding a being twice her size over her head. Exerting the last of her strength, the initiate threw the mutant down into the trench. The brute landed some eight feet down with a massive thud; Kagami soon followed. She delivered a punch straight down into its face, breaking its jaw and cheekbone. Still, the mutant refused to give up; with some effort it managed to shove the initiate off of itself. Kagami turned and saw Tsukasa on her knees, holding her stomach. "Tsukasa! Toss me that!" She pointed at the sledgehammer. Tsukasa picked up the sledge and threw it to Kagami. The initiate turned and swung the sledgehammer as the mutant was rising to its knees. The heavy end of the weapon smashed through the mutant's face, caving in the entire front of its skull.

Kagami ran back to Tsukasa, kneeling down beside her sister. "Are you okay?"

"I don't know, it feels like something is broken," Tsukasa replied.

A hunting rifle shot rang out. "Kagami-san! More of them are coming towards you!" Miyuki called down as she sent another shot further down the trench.

"Come on," Kagami said as she injected Tsukasa with a stimpak. "We've got to move." She pulled Tsukasa to her feet and lead her down the trench; Miyuki covered them from the ridge.

"There is a ramp further ahead!" she called down. "You need to hurry, before the mutants cut you off!"

The twins rounded a corner and kept running forward, careful not to trip over exposed sewer pipes. As they approached the ramp, another mutant came into sight. It fired a .32 round past them before Kagami threw an off-hand swing at its head. The blow briefly stunned the mutant, allowing them to make it up and out of the trench.

"Where do we go?" Miyuki asked as she rejoined them, firing her rifle into the group of mutants climbing out of the trench.

"Anywhere but here!" Kagami called back. "Wait," Tsuaksa shouted, "Where's Kona-chan?"

"That's a very good question," Kagami replied.

"Kagami-sama!"

The three looked up to see Konata standing on a dirt mound ahead of them.

"Look what I got for you!" The rogue slid down the slope and ran alongside the others, lugging the minigun behind her. "Here, you wanna take this? It's getting a little heavy."

Kagami took the heavy weapon, though she was able to lift it with relative ease. "Wow, thanks Konata. I've always wanted to use one of these." The initiate paused as she noticed a dozen super mutants on the other side of the mound Konata had come from. "Konata, would you care to explain where all those mutants came from?" she shouted as the mutants started firing.

"Oh yeah, those guys saw me kill their buddy, and they weren't too happy about it."

"Honestly, Konata," Kagami said as she spun up the barrels of her minigun. "Did you have to attract every mutant in the Mall to us?"

"Well, I wouldn't want to make it too easy on us!"

The minigun started spewing out 5mm rounds at the mob of mutants. Kagami hadn't expected the amount of recoil the gun was putting out, but it hardly mattered thanks to the sheer number of targets.

"There's way too many of them!" Kagami shouted as the mutants from the trenches merged with the mob.

"There's a building up ahead!" Konata called back, "Just keep running!"

The girls passed into a long courtyard leading up to a building with decorative marble pillars on its front. A pair of mutants stood between them and the building; Konata lunged forward and impaled the first while Miyuki downed the other with a pair of headshots. Dozens of bullets flew towards them from behind as they dashed up the steps. They burst through the doors to the buildings and slammed them shut as more bullets came flying through.

Kagami looked over her friends; they had each taken several bullet wounds, though most were grazing shots. "How many stimpaks do we have?" she asked as they locked the doors. "I know I've got two."

"I'm afraid I am not carrying any," Miyuki replied.

"Me either," Tsukasa added.

"I've got four," Konata said.

"Great," Kagami said, "Only six between us. I'll be amazed if we make it out of this."

"Come on," Konata moved through the lobby towards some double doors. "Lets try to find a better spot to defend."

The rogue threw open the doors and found herself in a large rotunda; she also found a frag mine beneath her foot. "Uh oh," she muttered as it started beeping. Konata dove away as it exploded, but she landed in between three more, setting off their proximity sensors. She was forced to dive over one as it exploded, shredding through her leg with shards of shrapnel. "Dang it!" she cursed as she jammed a stimpak into her leg. "It's Minefield all over again!"

"Are you alright?" Miyuki asked as she caught up to the otaku.

"No, my leg is mince meat. Sorry guys, it looks like I'm out of commission for now."

"Well that's just great!" Kagami said as her and Miyuki lifted Konata up. "You should be more careful, if not for your own sake then for ours! This fight would've been hard enough even with your help!"

"Hey!"

The girls turned and saw a girl in thick leather armor pointing a 10mm sub-machine gun at them. She had bright blue eyes and short blond hair.

"Just what do you think you're doing in here? If you're after the Declaration of Independence, then you can forget about it! That reward is mine!" She spoke with a slight Midwestern accent. "Wait a second... Konata? Is that you?"

Konata stared at the girl for a moment before remembering. "Oh! Patty-chan! Long time no see!"

"No time for a reunion," Kagami said as she heard the mutants banging on the door in the lobby. She dragged Konata behind Patty's sandbag barrier. "There's over a dozen super mutants out there, and they want us dead. I'm sure they won't mind shooting you either."

"Super mutants? What'd you bring them here for?"

"We had no choice," Kagami said as she surveyed the room. Patty had set up multiple barriers out of sandbags, desks, and shelves. "At least we'll have cover. Do you have any other weapons?"

"Just this," Patty replied, holding up her SMG.

"Great," Kagami said, "So we have an SMG, a broken laser pistol, a broken hunting rifle," She checked the box magazine hanging off her minigun. "And an almost empty minigun. It was nice knowing you all," she said, deadpan.

"Hey! This isn't just any old SMG!" Patty exclaimed. "It's my completely custom Ultra SMG! I did all the upgrades myself; it's way better than any other SMG in the Capitol Wasteland."

"Don't forget me!" Konata said. "Just because I'm down, that doesn't mean I'm out! I've got four grenades I can use from back here, and I grabbed a spare magazine for your new toy." She handed Kagami the large box magazine. "Not to mention my pistol and Miyuki-chan's shotgun. We've got a bit more firepower than you might think."

"I'm still skeptical," Kagami said as she rested her gun on the sandbags. "But I guess we can hope."

The front door of the building burst open, letting in a wave of angry super mutants. Kagami spun up her minigun's barrels as the mutants flooded into the rotunda. "Well, here goes nothing!"


"See? I told you we could do it!" Konata proclaimed.

Kagami sat down beside her to rest. "I'm still amazed that we did."

The initiate looked out over the carnage; nineteen super mutant corpses were scattered around the rotunda. It had been a difficult battle; Kagami could see the exhaustion in her friends eyes, and the blood slowly seeping from their wounds. "Patricia-san, do you have any stimpaks?"

"Yeah, they're back with my equipment. Hold on a minute."

"So, how many times did you get shot?" Konata asked excitedly. "I took at least fifteen hits!"

"That's not really something to be proud of," Kagami replied. "And if you want to know so badly, than count the dents in my armor. All I know is that I'm sore all over."

Konata faced Miyuki and Tsukasa. "What about you guys?"

"I took nine shots. I believe Kagami-san received the brunt of the attack. She did her best to protect myself and Tsukasa-san."

"I didn't get shot so much," Tsukasa said, "But my stomach is still sore from when that mutant stomped on me."

"Here you go, guys," Patty said as she handed them each a stimpak.

"Hey, Kona-chan," Tsukasa asked as they applied the stimpaks, "How is it that we can get shot so many times without being killed?"

"Well, part of it is what we're wearing. Kagami has her heavy armor, so she can take a lot of hits. As for me and Miyuki, our clothes are actually a lot thicker than you would think, so they block some of the damage." Konata held her chin. "But somehow I don't think that armor alone is what's saving us. It feels like there must be something else."

"I think I might know how to explain it," Miyuki said. "I've been thinking it over for a while now, and I think it has to do with a few different factors." She held up her finger. "First, it may have something to do with the ammunition being used. The propellant used to fire the bullets loses its potency over time. Since all this ammunition is over two hundred years old in most cases, its ballistic energy is likely to be reduced. The second factor may have to do with natural resistance. I'm not an expert on the science surrounding mutations, but it seems likely that the minor background radiation present throughout the Wasteland could cause unnoticeable mutations over generations, perhaps increasing the natural resilience of today's generation over that of two hundred years ago. The third factor seems to be personal injury tolerance. Konata-san, for example, is able to withstand several more direct gunshots than I can simply because she has experienced it more; that is to say, she is used to the pain. Also, when a wound heals on the human body, the affected area is generally strengthened by the healing process. Perhaps repeated stimpak usage amplifies this effect to a degree."

"Wow, you really do have an answer for everything, Yuki-chan!" Tsukasa said.

Miyuki blushed modestly. "Not at all. I'm merely extrapolating based on what I have seen or read. I can't be sure that my theories are entirely accurate, due to the amount of variables involved."

"But in the end," Konata started, "I suppose it all boils down to the fact that we're PCs."

"Life isn't a game," Kagami said flatly. "You should take such things more seriously."

"But isn't life just one big RPG?" Patty said.

"Exactly!" Konata exclaimed.

"Don't encourage her." Kagami said to Patty. "By the way, Konata, you never properly introduced us to your friend."

"Oh, right! Guys, I'd like you to meet Patricia Martin, or Patty-chan for short."

Miykuki bowed to Patty. "It's very nice to meet you Patricia-san. My name is Miyuki Takara."

Patty shot a sly glance at Konata. "So, where did you find this fine specimen?"

Konata grinned. "You like her? I found her out in Springvale. She got herself into some trouble after climbing out of that Vault."

"I see." Patty faced Miyuki. "So you're the vault dweller I've been hearing about," she said as she looked Miyuki over. "Nice legs, perfectly curved figure, beautiful hair, glasses, and breasts bigger than mine! A true embodiment of moe. I'm very pleased to meet you, Miyuki-chan!"

Miyuki sweatdropped. "Um, thank you."

"Ahem," Kagami interrupted, "If we're done talking like dirty old men, then perhaps we could finish introductions."

"Right, sorry about that," Patty apologized. "And you two are?"

"I'm Kagami Hiiragi, and this is my sister Tsukasa."

"Hello," Tsukasa said.

"I thought you two would be related. Nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you too," Kagami replied. "That was some good shooting, by the way. I didn't know you could get an SMG to chew through mutants like that."

"Yep, this little baby's got the works," Patty replied proudly. "Increased damage, rate of fire, and ammo capacity. I could kill muties all day with this thing!"

"Patty-chan is a bit of a gun nut," Konata said. "Even back when we were younger, she was always talking about ways to boost the stats of different guns."

"How do you two know each other, Kona-chan?" Tsukasa asked.

"Patty-chan used to work at my dad's saloon a few years back, a little while after you and Kagami moved out of Megaton," Konata replied. "She was really popular with the customers."

"Especially with that cute waitress outfit your dad had me wear. Your dad was always such a pervert, Konata! But I guess being as cute as I was didn't help."

"Especially with those assets of yours. They've gotten bigger, I see."

"You would definitely be one to notice that, Konata!"

"Changing the subject," Kagami interrupted, sounding irriated. "What were you doing in here, Patricia-san? You mentioned the Declaration of Independence before."

"Well, normally I wouldn't talk about it, but since you're all friends with Konata, I guess I can trust you. I've been hired by Abraham Washington in Rivet City to find the Declaration of Independence. See, this building is actually the National Archive; all kinds of important documents were stored here before the war. Abraham Washington runs an American history museum, so he pays anyone he can find to get historic pre-war relics."

Konata's face lit up. "You think you'll need any help with that? Treasure hunting sounds like fun!"

"You're supposed to be searching for a radio dish," Kagami pointed out.

"Oh, come on, Kagamin," Konata whined. "What's a sidequest or two going to matter? We'll get the dish, we've just gotta find this paper first."

"That's not just some paper; it's the Declaration of Independence. Do you even know what that is?"

"Um... no."

"I'm afraid I don't know either," Tsukasa said timidly.

"You're kidding me. That was definitely covered in your studies!"

Tsukasa blushed. "Well, I must've forgot, or maybe I wasn't paying much attention..."

Kagami turned to Miyuki. "Miyuki-san, please tell me you know what it is," she said desperately.

"Of course," Miyuki replied. "The Declaration of Independence is a statement adopted by the Second Continental Congress on July 4, 1776, announcing that the thirteen American colonies then at war with Great Britain were no longer a part of the British Empire. Written primarily by Thomas Jefferson, the Declaration is a formal explanation of why Congress had voted on July 2 to declare independence from Great Britain, more than a year after the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War. The birthday of the United States of America—Independence Day—is celebrated on July 4, the day the wording of the Declaration was approved by Congress."

"Thank you," Kagami sighed, "At least some one gets it. A document that important shouldn't be tampered with. If anything, it should be brought to the Citadel for safekeeping; as a scribe, Tsukasa, you should at least agree with me on that."

"But Kagami," Konata said. "The United States of America have been gone for two hundred years, just like every other country. Who's going to care if we take it?"

"Besides," Patty added, "Abraham Washington will take good care of it. He loves American history. More importantly, he'll pay us good caps to bring it to him."

"Does that mean we can come with you?" Konata asked eagerly.

"Sure," Patty said, "I guess we can split the reward for finding it."

"Well, neither I nor Tsukasa will be taking any money for finding it." Kagami eyed her sister. "Right, Tsukasa?"

"R-Right, Sis," Tsukasa replied, though she sounded disappointed.

"Furthermore," Kagami continued, "I won't even be accompanying you. I'm going to the Museum of Technology to find what we came for. And I expect you to come with me, Miyuki-san. You're the one who agreed to retrieve the dish for Three Dog."

"Of course," Miyuki replied. "It is my responsibility, after all."

"I'm glad to hear you say that." Kagami turned to her sister. "Are you coming with us, Tsukasa?"

"Actually, I think I'll stay with Kona-chan," Tsukasa replied. "It seems like it'll be safer in here. Besides, I'm no good in a fight, so I'd just slow you down."

"If you say so." Kagami picked up an assault rifle from a fallen mutant. "Come on, Miyuki. Let's check these bodies for ammo, and maybe see if we can find new parts for your rifle. A lot of these mutants carried the same model as yours."

The two left after checking the bodies, leaving Konata, Tsukasa, and Patty in the rotunda.

"Alright," Konata turned to face Patty. "What's the plan?"

"There's a cargo elevator hidden in this rotunda," Patty replied. "It should take us close to the Archives' secure wing. Unfortunately, I haven't been able to unlock the elevator. I set up a terminal in here to try and crack the code, but I've had no luck. That's why I set up for a long stay in here, so I could keep trying." Patty shrugged. "But I'm starting to think its hopeless."

"Is there another way down?" Konata asked.

"Yeah. We could always walk down, but we'd have to go through a lot of sub-basements before reaching the hub, and they're infested with mutants. I was hoping to skip all that."

Konata held her chin. "Hm... Oh! I'll go catch up with Yuki-chan real quick. She's a computer whiz; she'll have it open in no time!"

Konata started toward the doors when the central tile of the floor suddenly lifted up into the air, revealing the elevator.

"Huh?" Konata and Patty turned back to see Tsukasa standing next to the terminal. "Tsukasa? How'd you do that?"

"I always forget the password for my terminal back home, so one of the older scribes taught me how to use the debug mode," Tsukasa replied cheerfully.

"Oh. That's good, I guess." Konata sounded upset. "When Miyuki does something smart, it just seems natural. But when Tsukasa does something smart, it makes me feel dumb."

"Kona-chan! I can use computers too, you know! It's part of my job!"

"Alright, alright," Patty said with a sweatdrop, "The elevator is open, so we can go find the Declaration now, right?"

"I guess," Konata and Tsukasa replied, both sounding annoyed. Patty sighed as they all piled onto the elevator.


Yay! Another step toward the destination that is the final chapter! I hope you guys liked seeing the whole team together in action. The fight scenes were really fun to write just because I got to use the whole team dynamic; that, and it looked really cool in my head. Especially the girls all back to back fighting ghouls in the metro. I can't wait to write some of the other big fights coming up.

I also got the chance to introduce another new character, the ever genki American girl Patricia Martin! Though by merit of being in Fallout, they're all American girls, but you know what I mean. To tell the truth, I actually was planning on revealing her later on, grouped with Hiyori, Yutaka, and Minami. The idea to include the Stealing Independence quest, and replacing Sydney with Patty, only recently occurred to me. As a result, I completely winged this chapter, which is to say I hadn't thought through the events in advance, which is how I do most other scenes. I think it came out strong, and I actually hit my 5000-6000 word count benchmark sooner than I thought.

Random behind the scenes fun fact! Miyuki's rant about the Declaration of Independence was shamelessly copy pasted from the Fallout Wiki's item description of the Declaration. He rant about bullet damage was completely made up by me and may or may not be true in either real physics or Fallout's "SCIENCE!" version of physics.

I always feel like I'm forgetting to say something when I finish these notes, but I guess that's it for now. I need sleep; working from 8pm to 5am the next day, and then staying up until 8am is tiring. I will say that the ride isn't over yet; Luckless Wasteland still has a long way to go, and a lot to live up to, what with the popularity of Tastychainsaws' story. I feel like I've got a lot to prove, and I intend not to disappoint. Here's hoping I see you all next time.