Once you are able to kill mentally, the physical part will be easy. The difficult part... is learning how to turn it off.

- L.T

Hunted

Knight Fitts wheezed as he took the Tribal in with a body check in his power armor, plastering his body into the hole in the wall. It took more effort than he expected, being in full power armor, and the tribal's face did not even seem to register pain, just a numbing calm even as his arm was snapped back unnaturally. Either they were doped on a battle stimulant like Psycho or he just felt no pain.

More bullets slapped into the walls and doorways next to Fitts, and he glanced to his side to see a group of Tribals rushing towards them, armed with axes, knives and antiquated pistols and assault rifles.

The Knight was still focused on his opponent, who clawed vainly at the power armor that Fitt's sported, his fingers already soaking with bloody as he mangled them against the metal. He heard heavy footsteps from behind, it had to be Colt, who was already rounding the corner in the hallway.

"Initiate, lay out the covering fire." Fitts breathed into his helmet radio, smashing the face of the tribal in with the butt of his assault rifle even as the Brotherhood trooper behind him started winding up the minigun.

With a mechanical whir, Colt whipped around the corner, laying a swath of killing fire down the hallway. The chain gun ripped through the ancient woodwork and plaster, scything through furniture, doors and the approaching group. Blood misted into the air as the first tribals fell back, limbs were torn apart, while some simply disintegrated into bloody clumps of flesh. No matter how good hallucinogens were, they did nothing against charging face first into the storm of bullets.

Fitts reloaded his rifle just as colt finished clearing the hallway, and the two Brotherhood troopers instinctively cleared the rooms in the wing. Kicking down the doors and mowing down any poor dumb tribals that managed to breach the perimeter. More gunfire and screams were heard on the other side of the house, and Fitts knew that Lyons and Kodiak were proceeding just fine clearing out their side of the mansion, few things could stand against four powered armored Brotherhood soldiers.

"Good work Initiate." Fitts said flatly just as they reached the end of the hallway, leaving a pile of bodies and spent shell casings behind them.

"All in a days work sir." The initiate nodded as he finished loading another chain of bullets into the minigun.

Another crash resounded upstairs, and both soldiers knew that a breach had been made.

"No use loafing around here Initiate, we're moving."

"Sir!"

Sarah swore as the fusion cell of her laser rifle died in mid-burst, the last tribal she disintegrated barely had time to fall onto the ground when another rushed her, one of the smashing the visor of her helmet with an inhuman strength that caught her off guard. The tribal, sporting a grimy face and a mohawk, shouted triumphantly as he hit her helmet again, the metal denting as the shovel hit the glass.

These freaks are as strong as super mutants! What are they on?

With a feral snarl, the man dropped the shovel, unsheathing a ceremonial ritual knife and raised it in the air, intending to slam it in between Sarah's throat.

"You will feed the Punga!" The tribal shouted triumphantly as he straddled Sarah. A quick jolt of pain went through the Brotherhood Knight before her instincts kicked in. Just as the tribal thrusted the knife downward, she quickly gripped the man's hand, intercepting his stab. A quick twist snapped the tribal's wrist but he showed no pain. It did not matter, as she sent a power armored fist into the man's temple, cracking his skull and sending him plastering into the wall next to him.

Sarah shook her head, struggling to remove the dented helmet as she turned to face her next assailant, a woman rushing her with a fire axe.

The Tribal barely had time to swing before her headed into a mass of blood and brain matter, covering Sarah's visor in a grim red.

Kodiak, his rifle still smoking, offered a hand to Sarah.

"You alright there Knight Captain?" The initiate offered.

"Yeah." Sarah said sternly, before finally taking off the crumpled T45d helmet, revealing her murky blonde hair and grimy face. Inwardly, she cursed herself at being so careless against a normal tribal, as Paladin Casdin said, she still had a lot of work to do before earning her Paladin rank. She would work twice as hard to show him, she swore.

"Fitts, should be done by now." Knight Lyons nodded quietly as she noticed the last dying gasps of the tribal attack whittle away in the other wing of the house. The bodies of a dozen tribals lying broken on the floor. "Let's go."

"Your will Knight captain." Initiate Kodiak said with his usual professionalism.

Before the war, Calvert mansion might have been similar to one of the luxurious southern plantation homes, the guilded halls, marble columns and fine woodwork lending an air of majesty and dignity to the area. Now, the lobby resembled a scene from a battlefield. Bullet riddled sandbag barricades, spent ammunition casings, bloodied bodies littered the otherwise gilded hallways.

Four heavily armed power armored Brotherhood Knights completed the picture, and they stood silently as their host assessed the damage.

"That's the last of 'em," Desmond whistled appreciatively at the killing power of four Brotherhood Knights.

"You're all pretty good shots…for Smoothskins that is. Maybe all those self-righteous and holy pronouncements on the Brotherhood of Steel weren't completely bullshit."

Sarah stepped forward testily, annoyed that they had spent the last hour clearing the building for this stranger without even a word of thanks.

"If that's what you have to say to the group that just saved your ass, then we'll be happy to leave the next time they show up."

To their surprise, Desmond just laugh derisively.

"You think you're all fucking heroes? I had them well in hand. Even if I didn't, I have the Failsafe if worse came to worse"

"Failsafe?" Fitts asked inquisitively.

"The type that kills everything within a four hundred foot radius, except for my safehouse." Desmond grunted. "Glad i didn't have to use it though, so there, you have my thanks."

"About the bunker..." Sarah said impatiently, getting straight to business.

"Yes about that. I lied, not a fucking clue where it is." Desmond gave a slight smirk.

Colt and Kodiak quickly levelled their rifles at the Ghoul, just as pissed off as Sarah and Fitts were, but they were cut short as Desmond produced a holodisk for the pair.

"The fuck is this supposed to be?" Fitts growled as he watched the Ghoul, the pair of dogs, seeing their master threatened, gave a low growl.

Fitts raised an eyebrow at that. "How the fuck would you know that?"

"I deal in Information." Desmond rasped. "Most reliable currency. I wasn't lying when i said these tribals are guarding a bunker, but I'm still in the dark as to where it is. Best place i could think of is the Arc and Dove Cathedral two miles north of here, the Tribals seem to be using it as a base."

"And the Holodisk?" Sarah demanded.

The Ghoul smirked again. "Call it, a gift. I left a few codes that you should find useful back in D.C, important installations and what not."

"Seems awfully generous of you." Fitts said suspiciously, just as he took the holodisk from the Ghoul.

In fact, Desmond knew, it wasn't, the codes were for installations that would no doubt have been plundered long ago, but if it took the Brotherhood off his back, it was worth every cap.

"Now, that should help you when you get back, but if you're interested in some more local technology, i can only point you towards the Cathedral and the tribals."

The Brotherhood Knights turned to each other for a second, Sarah saying what was already on everyone's mind.

"Let someone else be your lap dog. As far as we're concerned, we're done here."

Fitts nodded. "Yeah, let's not waste any more of our time."

"Then get the fuck out of home." Desmond said gruffly, before turning back to start cleaning up the debris in the mansion.

"Happy to oblige."

Fitts and Sarah turned, and the two initiates followed.

"Nice hair by the way Sarah." Even filtered through the helmet, it did little to hide the Knight's sarcasm.

"Shut up Fitts." Sarah grumbled, she didn't like it when she lost a piece of her equipment, it left her vulnerable.

They had made camp later that day, just outside the swamp. Fitts and Sarah made sure to re-establish contact with Casdin and Cross as they set up a perimeter around the camp. No campfires were lit, not wanting to draw attention from the local population as they worked.

"Any luck on your end?" Casdin's voice said firmly through the radio.

"We've managed to obtain a piece of pre-war intel on D.C installations." Sarah replied back. "can't verify it with our equipment, but I'll give it to the scribes to double check."

A slight pause on the other end before Casdin replied again. "Good work Knight-Captain, much more than what Cross and I found on our end. Meet back at the Pier tomorrow, I'll signal the ferry to pick us up. Until then, stay alert."

"As always Paladin Casdin, Lyon's Pride out." Sarah replied, just as she turned off the radio.

"Lyon's Pride?" Fitts asked curiously as he watched Sarah reply with a smirk on her face.

"Figured our squad would have to be called something."

"I don't believe we ever had a vote on this." Fitts protested.

"I like it." Initiate Colt said through the radio.

"Shut it Colt. For that, you get first watch." Fitts said in annoyance.

"Watch out Knight Fitts," Sarah said playfully, "Or i may just have to remove your Knight-Sergeant stripes and hand it to the newie."

"Steel preserve us if that ever happens." Fitts frowned.

The Swampfolk came later that night, their presence announced by a huge yelp as several dozen of them bursted through the perimeter. They were different from the tribals, they seemed human, but overall sported a grotesque appearance, possibly poisoned with radiation and generations of inbreeding. Whatever the case, they scared the hell out of initiate colt.

"We got contact!" Colt yelped in panic as the grinning hicks charged him, some armed with axes and shotguns, while others came in with their fists, their arms swelling with lumps of deformed flesh. Kodiak had already started firing his assault rifle, knocking down several of the more eager swamp folk while the skinnier ones fell back, firing buckshots at the Brotherhood knights with their shotguns.

"There they is!" The leader of the pack, a large imposing brute of a man, shouted in excitement as more than a dozen of them emerged from the woods, some so jubilant they fired their shotguns in the air in anticipation.

Fitts turned in surprise as one of the Brawlers slammed him into the ground, the mud soaking into the joints and servos of his power armor. To his surprise, the brute was strong, even with the augmented power armor he was weighing him down. Mutation and inbreeding may not have done wonders for their intellect, but it gifted them in terms of raw strength.

He punched the mutant in the face, but the man laughed incoherentlys, headbutting Fitts to keep him down. Kodiak, occupied with the skinnier swamp folk, signalled to Colt to move.

The Power armored initiate took up his mini gun, whirring it to life as he prepared to scythe down the attackers.

Only to have a swampfolk bury his axe into the minigun's barrels. Before a shot got off, the entire weapon was ruined, the axe wielding mutant already lunging towards Colt, encumbered by the now useless mini gun.

Colt however, was faster, and he dropped the weapon as soon as the axe hit, stepping backwards so the swampfolk swung on empty air.

Unholstering his side arm, a pre-war AEP7, Colt fired it straight at the Swamp folk's face, the man screamed as his flesh sizzled from the shot.

"You Bastard." Colt stepped foward, firing more shots at the brute as he fell backwards. "That. Was. My. Favourite. Gun." Each word ended with another shot into the man's torso, until finally, his body disintegrated into a pile of ash.

"A little help here!" Protector Fitts shouted as the Brute managed to overpower his defense, the joints and mechanical servos of the power armor whinned in protest as the Mutated swampfolk simply overwhelmed him.

"Hey ugly!" a voice sounded from behind, and the swampfolk turn his head just in time to see the sharp blade of an axe take him in the eyes. To Initiate colt's surprise, instead of dying, the man howled in rage, axe still lodged in his eyes as he blindly threw himself at the Brotherhood initiate. The two tumbled down in the mud, just as Fitts reached for Colt's fallen side arm. The initiate, not wanting to waste more time on this swampfolk, punched the axe deeper into the man's brain, the brute gave one last gurgle, before collapsing onto the ground.

Fitts meanwhile, had his own issues as more brawlers charged him, and the Brotherhood Knight fired into the pack, taking each down with a well aimed shot.

Sarah found herself was pinned against a tree, her arms held up by the leader of the pack of swampfolk. She put up a fight, as the empty assault rifle and three corpses around them attested.

Obadiah's eyes lit up as he watched the Brotherhood Knight lustily, his grip tight on her wrists as he almost lifted her off the ground.

"I've had my eye on you for some days missy." The Swampfolk licked his lips in anticipation, almost bringing his face down to get a whiff of Sarah's blonde hair. "You put a gud fight, but now, imma gonna have fun wit you for a long time."

"Sorry, you're not my type." Sarah grunted, managed to lift her leg up and delivering a power armored kick into the man's crouch. The swamp man gave out a high pitched whinny just as he collapsed onto the ground.

Sarah scrambled to the ground, trying to find something, anything she could use as a weapon. in the distance, the assault rifle of Kodiak was still firing, while the shouts and screams of other mutated swamp folk told Sarah she was alone for now.

"Yur gonna pay for that." Obadiah snarled as he pummeled Sarah at the side of her head with his fist. The man's strength was unbelieveable and Sarah found her world spinning as she went down onto the ground, weapon dropping at her side. Obadiah smiled as he brought up the Sledgehammer he had been carrying, raising it above his head.

"Maybe if i break one o' yur legs, you'll be more cooperatin'." The swampfolk chuckled.

"Sarah!" Fitts shouted just as he put the Swampfolk he and Colt had been fighting down with a shot, he tried desperately to get a shot off, but by the time he swung around he knew it would be too late.

A shot rang out from the darkness, and within that split second, everything seemed to slow down. Obadiah held the sledgehammer up, before finally dropping it behind him. His arms feeling his chest around the large hole that was blasted through his solar plexus.

Initiate Colt smirked as he fired the second shot of the double barrelled shotgun, this one taking the head off of the ring leader. Obadiah's corpse shuddered a bit, before unceremoniously crumpling to the ground.

"You alright there Knight-Captain?" Initiate Colt asked, just as the firing died down in the distance, the swamp folk retreating with their leader dead.

"Yeah...how did you manage to get another weapon in the confusion?" Sarah asked.

"Got a scent for guns, even in the dark ma'am." The initiate shrugged, but still proud of his work.

One last shot in the distance and another yelp signalled that Kodiak had finished his work with the swampfolk.

"Knight-Captain." Kodiak replied over the radio. "This sector's clear. What's our orders?"

"We're heading out of here." Sarah said firmly. "No more use staying in this useless swamp. We'll find more tech at the Capital, as the ghoul said."

"Your Will, Knight captain. Kodiak reporting back." The Initiate replied back at the other end of the transmission.

As the Brotherhood soldiers began packing up camp, scavenging the corpses for more ammo and weapons, Fitts tapped Colt on the shoulder.

"Colt, forget Lyon's Pride, I'm promoting you to Knight Sergeant of Fitt's Posse."

"Just the demotion I've been waiting for sir..." Initiate Colt smirked trudging off with Fitts to join the rest of the squad.

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"Quite a story." Defender Farsight said in wonder, the Chapter had a deeper and richer history in the Capital Wasteland than she thought. The fire cackled again, and her thoughts were once again grounded back in the ruined city of D.C, far from the lush green swamplands of Point Lookout. hard to believe that there was still some place green and lush around here.

"All in the past now Defender." Fitts said gruffly.

"How does it...feel sir? Knowing that they are now on the other side?" Farsight had only just been promoted when the schism happened, always the lone wolf and never really connected with the other members of the expedition.

"To tell you the truth, it's hard at first, but it gets easier with each day." The Protector sad flatly. Still, is that even supposed to be right?

"They'll see in time." Fitts said, "It won't ever come to that. That makes our mission even more important. And with this." Fitts flashed the holodisk, the same one he had managed to retrieve from Desmond on their first patrol, towards Farsight. "It'll make our job even easier."

"Hope you're right sir." Farsight said softly, she looked towards Fitts, staring blankly into the fire. The Protector was distant, lost in his own thoughts, and Farsight hesitated, wondering whether she should say something.

"We'll talk again in the morning Farsight, get some sleep." Fitts nodded, realizing the long awkward silence, he got up, just as he heard the rustling of dirt as Defender Kesler finished his shift. It was going to be a long night.

In the distance, on the a ruined bridge, another figure, his black armor melting into the night, watched with interest at the squad that took up refuge at the former Super Mutant hide out.

"Well, lookie here boys, I think it's time we give those Outcast bastards a bit of payback, wouldn't you say?"

Sergeant Clifton, his wounds from the battle of Fairfax still fresh on his arm, licked his lips in relish as he watched the three man squad make camp below. Behind him, two dozen members of Talon Company, armed to the teeth, grinned with their commander.

The hunt was on.

Author's note: Sorry for the abrupt ending, but i had writer's block for the longest time with this story. Part of it being that i had absolutely no interest in writing about the Brotherhood's adventure in Point Lookout when this fic has been about the Outcasts. So it's back to the Capital Wasteland, and more stuff with Casdin and the rest of the squad :)