Disclaimer: I own nothing, except Cassandra. Bethesda owns the rest!

xx.

Cass eyed the girl in front of her wearily. Something seemed . . . off. And usually when Cass thought something was off, she got the hell outta there right away.

This was different though. She needed to find her dad, and that's what she was gonna do.

"What kind of game?" Cass asked slowly, her brain searching for every possible solution to her question.

"A fun game, silly. It's easy!" Betty replied in that creepy happy voice.

"What would I have to do?" Cass still kept her distance; about three feet away from Betty, but said girl didn't seem to mind.

"Just go make Timmy Neusbaum cry."

Easy enough, Cass thought. If I make this person cry, hopefully Betty will tell me where I can find Doctor Braun and then find Dad.

Cass nodded to Betty, accepting her mission. But before she carried out her task, Cass asked a few questions. "How exactly do you want me to make him cry?"

Betty turned back to Cass and replied, "In a creative way. Use words and persuasion, make him think what you're saying is really true. And don't wimp out on me!"

"Wait, I'm not done with my—"

"Silence!" Betty barked out, the command sounded odd in her childish, high voice. The dog behind me let out a low growl.

Clearing her throat, Betty turned back to the other girl. "Find Timmy and make him cry. Don't fail me."

Flexing her small slender fingers, Cass turned away from Betty and headed towards the first person she saw.

The farther away she got from Betty, the more her muscles started to relax. Of course, nothing in this simulation seemed "safe", but nevertheless Cass felt calm and easy.

Standing in the middle of the unoccupied street, Cass glances both left and right, trying to find someone who can give her information about Timmy Neusbaum. When she saw no one, she began to walk in front of the houses.

As Cass surveyed the houses, she couldn't help feeling at home, even though she technically grew up in a Vault, which looked nothing like the Pre-war houses she stood in front of now. Perhaps if the Vault looked a little more similar—

Cass collided with an unmoving object, and the result was Cass landing on her backside.

"Whoa there, sweetie!" A male voice called out. When Cass looked up, she saw an older man with laugh lines and a chipper expression on his face. "Are you alright?"

Cass took his outstretched hand and replied, "Never better. Sorry Mister, I wasn't looking where I was going and—"

"Nonsense sport! It was my mistake." The man smiled at Cass, and she smiled back hesitantly, not quite used to friendly interaction.

The man turned to leave, when Cass remembered her quest. "Hey wait! Do you think you can help me with something?"

"Sure thing, kiddo!"

"I'm looking for the Neusbaum house, can you show me where it is?"

"My house? Why would you wanna go there? Looking for Timmy?"

"Yessir. Are you Mr. Neusbaum?"

"Aw, so polite! Why yes, yes I am. But you can call me George."

"Okay. Can you point me in the direction of your house?"

George nodded quickly, as if he just remembered something he forgot to do. "Right over there, sweetie. Timmy has his lemonade stand out front, you can't miss it." He rushed off to an unknown destination, and, with a shrug, Cass started towards the Neusbaum house.

Cass felt her stomach growl. When was the last time she had eaten anything? Wondering what time it was, Cass lifted her arm to check her Pip-boy. With a gasp, the young girl did a double-take. Where was her Pip-boy? How did she not notice its absence before?

Glancing around, Cass saw some people giving her odd looks, so she brushed off her questions and continued walking. It is a simulation, after all.

Arriving at her objective, Cass took in her surroundings. In front of the house stood a lemonade stand, but no Timmy. Lady Luck is smiling down on me, Cass remarked.

She headed inside the house, not bothering to knock. As she stepped into the home, she heard a commotion coming from underneath the staircase. Deciding to sneak her way around the house, she crouches and begins going up the stairs. The first room she reaches has a single bed and some toys, clearly a child's.

Sneaking to the room next to it, she finds a double bed, desk, and a few wardrobes. This must be Mr. and Mrs. Neusbaum's room. She crouches over to the desk, searching the drawers for something she can use. Finding nothing but miscellaneous things, Cass turns to head back downstairs when a something catches her eye. Coming closer to the object, she can see it's a book of some sort. Picking it up, she reads the cover: Join the Military Today! Cass smiles, glad she found something of use.

Stuffing the brochure into her dress's pocket, she stands and heads toward the stairs. Just before she can turn the corner, however, she hears someone coming up the stairs, right to her.

After months of fighting for survival, Cass knows the first thing to do is to stay calm. The footsteps sound, and the person is making a light humming sound. Slowly backing away, Cass turned and darted into the first room she saw. It was Timmy's room. Hopefully Timmy didn't come up here—

"Hi! What are you doing here?" So much for that plan.

"Hey, um. . . I wanted to tell you something Timmy," Cass said as she fidgeted in the middle of the small room.

"Okay!" Timmy nodded eagerly, and Cass was thankful the boy wasn't very curious.

"Well. . . It's about you parents, sort of."

Looking into the boy's big round eyes, Cass wanted to hug him and apologize listening to Betty. But she couldn't! She had to find her father. He might be tied up somewhere, being tortured!

"You see, Timmy, your parents— they don't like you anymore. They want to get rid of you." She showed him the pamphlet. "So they're sending you away."

Timmy took one look at the evidence Cass handed him, and not a moment later, his eyes watered up, sending tears of betrayal and sadness down his freckled face.

"Don't they love me? I'm a good boy!"

Cass took a small step forward, ready to comfort the poor child, but hesitated when Timmy put his hand up.

"Just go! I don't want anybody else to see me like this!"

Cass nodded, her eyes downcast. As she brushed passed the sobbing boy she added, "I'm so sorry, it'll all be over soon."

Timmy didn't respond, so Cass continued walking. She kept walking, walking passed houses and cheerful people, passed the dog on the playground, and only when Betty came in view did she stop.

Betty's head turned to her, their eyes meeting. Cass nodded. "It's done."