XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX;
Inside the maintenance hatch of the antennae dish for the mobile base crawler sat Ino, as she held her chest. It was scorched through her armor, and she was having difficulty breathing. "Fucking… Bitch… Ghnnn!" As she sat in her space, she called down to Iruka. "Sorry, sir. I failed."
"What happened? I'm getting readings that we lost the westside forward position, all Vertibirds gone from Section 1."
"No surprise. The bird that came in was Brotherhood, they dropped something by the entrance there so I took it out." Hissing aloud as her chest was slowly bleeding out a little, she tried to inject herself with a stimpak. It didn't do much against the burns, but she wasn't bleeding. Though it hurt in ways she thought impossible. "AHHHH! SHIT! GHAAAAHAWWW!"
The mic picked that up, giving Iruka a start. "Ino! Report, what happened?!"
On the ground in a heap of pain, Ino tried to finish her report. "They have the cannon. HNSSS! Our air force is doomed, and the main force is marching in the south. She fucking got me. My gun exploded on me, my chest is fucked up. Bitch shot the ammo cartridge during charge-up. I'm not going to be much help."
"Stay right where you are. I'll get you out of there!"
Holding back the tears of pain, Ino couldn't move her body much for fear of feeling like her chest was ripping open. "We both know I'm gone. If they capture me alive, I'll just die in their custody. Then again, they will probably blow the base."
Iruka was trying to get her to understand she needed to survive, but he couldn't. "Can't you get to safety? Even if the Enclave dies, you can still live."
"Wake up, sir." Groaning aloud from the pain of sitting up, she took her boot off and grabbed a picture. "We're already dead. We're just hanging onto any breath we can. Survival underground, fighting with brutal rage? We are a force that can't stop being beaten by Vault dwellers who we wrong in some way. The oil refinery, the purifier, and now this? Can't seem to win. At least I'll meet him again when I'm gone…The one Naruto killed."
Looking at the picture, Ino saw her and Shikamaru having a party as kids. She had the bright idea of kissing his cheek during the flash, and he hadn't stopped rubbing that cheek every time she made him nervous or flattered. Smiling at it, she looked out the hatch to the darkening sky. "I couldn't kill the bastard that killed you. Sorry, Shika."
What she heard next rocked her world. "Ino, Shikamaru wasn't killed by Naruto. He was murdered by the Hellfire squadron. Autumn ordered it when he went against the president. Sasuke told you it was Naruto so you'd be driven enough to take Naruto in alive for punishment." The constant explosions outside and the bright flashes of said explosions were paling in comparison to the inner torment that was now boiling inside the scarred heart of the woman. Iruka gave her the truth, and it was shocking. "Shikamaru was tasked by Eden to bring the Vault girl to him for questioning, and Shikamaru always believed in the Eden Project. But because he followed Eden, Autumn considered him a traitor. I saw what happened with Naruto, he let Shikamaru live to get the girl out of the base. Shikamaru let them leave for Eden to protect them from Autumn's insane plans."
Almost dull was the pain in her chest now, as her world turned around. Slipping the picture in her sleeve, she yelled out from the pain of moving as she stood. Calling in, she wasn't done until she got her closure. "I'm heading down. Don't you dare try and stop me. Sasuke brought this on us, his survival isn't worth this! Before I die, he's going to!" With that she went down the ladder, crying out every so often from the pain, ignoring it as best she could until she got to the top platform.
At his console, the scarred man could only regret the turn of events. "Lienas, you're the last remnant of the Enclave alive. Survive…" Punching in the codes, the satellite was up and ready, finally. But he knew this wasn't the way. Locking it under a new password, he set the code in a holotape on the desk and walked to the locker beside him. "My last stand. Whoever wins, my hope is that the world thrives once more." Rifle in hand, helmet on, the Hellfire armor whirring into motion as he sped to the lower levels to lead the fight against the Brotherhood, all as the ramp was opening up.
XxX xxx XxX
Charging up the ramp, the Pride were firing their laser weapons into the enemy force ahead, with some off the side of the ramp taking out more from the opening and some even firing at the top platform heavy weapon users. Leading, Naruto screamed out their advance. "Three by three, Kodiak takes team B! I want every stairwell and way up covered! No one gets the jump from behind!"
"What about me, sir?!" Tristan called out from the rear.
"You mop up! Take half the force through the area, collect anything that has value, and take whoever surrenders prisoner! The other half sticks here until the signal gets sent out for an all-clear! Move with a purpose!" As his orders were made final, he led the two teams up behind him, TenTen at his back.
Clinging to the wall, TenTen jumped in front to peer around the corner. Inside was an architecture she had never seen prior. It was still an enemy base so she made sure no one was immediately gunning them down. Shotgun and pistol in hand, she turned to Naruto. "Not seeing anyone. They could be behind corners, the base has many of them. And there's that blue light thing that stops us from going forward."
"Alright. Jackie, you and I are going in with TenTen covering us. Kodiak, you get ready to follow us in. Let's go." Storming in, Naruto had his weapon up and the revolving barrels spinning. Seeing nothing but the barrier, he tried his sensors for any indication of hiding enemies. The soldier with him put his weapon down to check the nearby terminal. "Can you get this barrier down?"
With a few presses of a button, the barrier dropped, answering his question. Moving forward, Naruto took to checking his surroundings. Behind him was TenTen, who was using him as a bit of a shield given their enemy. "The floor seems empty…"
"Not yet, it isn't…" As Kodiak's team stormed in, Naruto gestured to them to the left as he started on the right. "Jackie, TenTen. On me." Leading them to what was claimed as a repair station, he motioned Jackie to the left as he went right. It was interesting to see the stations, they were for automatons and armor frames alike.
Jackie called out. "Found one! On your feet, Scum!"
"Please! Don't hurt me, I just work here!"
Coming around the other side, the blonde saw the jumpsuit-wearing engineer. "Jackie, hold! Finger on the trigger, but don't fire!" Walking to the side of the man, he started questioning. "Name and affiliation, now."
"Stiggs, sir! Stiggs from a settlement to the north. These armored guys came and rounded my entire family up. Since I had technical knowledge they had me work the robots for my family's safety." His fear was genuine, though Jackie was not about to believe it.
TenTen stepped in, though. "Is your family here?"
"No. My mom and pops were sent to some camp they said, I haven't seen them in weeks. To tell the truth, I doubt they kept their word…" He looked pretty downtrodden. "The main dude of this bunch of psychos ripped the head off a former friend of mine who knew a thing or two about weapons. I saw him do it and toss him in with Deathclaws upstairs. I'm one of the only ones left from my home."
A little after that was said, the group heard some fighting from the other side of the floor, which meant their other team found hostiles. "Alright. I gave the order that anyone who surrenders gets taken in. Head outside and surrender and we'll see if you're telling the truth. If you are, we'll find you a new home, ok?"
"You'll let me go?"
"We're letting you outside to be caught until proven you aren't Enclave. If you aren't, then yeah. We'll let you go and give you a new home. Now head out. If we see you soon with a weapon in hand, you'll wish you did as you were asked." Even as he threatened the man, Naruto tried to keep it gentle. They couldn't afford to take too long questioning someone.
"I promise, I ain't one of them! Hell, I'll even give you some information for letting me live! The second floor is the Deathclaw facility, they might still have a few on standby. There's also a robotics mainframe that controls the gutsy's and handies, as well as all the supped-up firearm types. Get into the mainframe with the password Helium2 and you can control them or whatever you want!"
The sound of fighting was still going, so Naruto gestured for him to get back. "Get behind us, and get out when we move up. Let's give Kodiak some assistance!" He ran for the other side of the floor, where the three-man team was behind walls with several Enclave trying to take them out. Firing his rapid-fire laser rifle into the fray, the beams were being absorbed by the armor of the Enclave soldiers, not as effective against the suits that bore the features of the Hellfire models.
Rifle in hand behind him, TenTen judged where the armor's weak spots were. Only to realize they weren't standard suits, not like what everyone else was wearing. She knew this kind, the 'Pilot' style exoskeleton. "These guys have the suits you jump into!"
"Noticed!" Taking a few plasma bolts, the lead of the squad tossed a grenade out. "BLINK!" Not sure what he meant, not knowing that kind of command from him, TenTen and the mechanic were confused until the thing exploded and a bright flash was made. It blinded everyone whose eyes were wide open to see the brightness, even hurting the vault woman's new perceptive eye-sight.
When she was finally able to get her vision back, she saw she was uncovered by her partner, who had walked forward. "Naruto!"
"DOWN!" That one she knew, and grabbed the mechanic to dive behind whatever she could find for them. Just in time, because a massive explosion rocked the floor slightly. Looking around the wall, she saw the team kicking around a bit. Turning to them, Naruto waved her over. "Clear! Stiggs, you get out of the base or we're shooting you in ten seconds!"
He didn't need another warning, he got up and found the front exit, getting out to surrender and be caught for later. Walking up to the blonde leader, the bun-haired marksman saw the scorched markings all around the wall and the charred armor smoking still. "What happened?"
"I tossed a flashbang, sensory overload to anyone around. Thankfully, only your hearing gets disorientated if you close your eyes really tight and look away." He turned to see her rub her eyes a bit. "You didn't, though… I said blink, you know."
"Right, and I was supposed to know beforehand? I get it now, but I haven't gotten all your commands down. Ass." She could still hear a ringing in her ears but it was minor, and she could still hear everything around her.
"Noted. Sorry, we'll cover everything when we aren't in a massive battle situation." Turning to the team, he gave his orders. "Whatever weapons work from these corpses, use them instead. These suits are highly resistant to energy weapons like our laser rifles. We take the second floor, and fast. Deathclaws and robots are waiting, we need to take them out before we can get to the command center. Understood?"
Making a quick salvage of the plasma weapons, being just two in working order, the Brotherhood squad started running up the stairs to the next floor.
XxX xxx XxX
On the top floor, Sasuke was heading the final elites into formation. "This is it! We destroy every last Brotherhood soldier who dares to stop us from ultimate victory! Clear them from the base and get our base moving out! When we're clear of their soldiers, we launch our missiles! And I want whoever is leading the force within our base alive!"
With a dozen soldiers in full pilot exoskeleton Hellfire suits, he ordered their mobilization. As they left, he saw Iruka coming in. "Is the satellite ready?"
"It is. Just in time to fire."
"Good. Then fire on their precious Citadel."
"If we get clear of their forces, it'll be done."
Turns out the raven-haired super-soldier didn't like that answer. "Is it able to fire this second?" Getting a yes he turned to Iruka. "Then fire. Now!"
"No, sir." Bracing himself, the tactical mind of Iruka knew he'd probably be hit for his disobedience.
Marching up and coming face to face with the subordinate, Sasuke growled. "I said, fire the orbital cannons… If you won't, I'll find someone who will."
"Kill me if you must, but making sure no one wins is not a strategy. If we lose, what honor do you have for killing those who beat you?" And there it was, the moment he stopped talking the punch came and the loud clang of metal armor rang out in an echo.
"I don't give a molerat's crappy whisker about the 'honor of loss'! They've taken everything already, we are NOT letting them take a single inch more! If we die, they die! Punishment for having the gall to challenge us!"
"Be that as it may…" Standing back at attention, braced again, Iruka kept his stance on the matter. "The only way the satellite fires is with a passcode. I'm the only one with it, so killing me will cause months of work to undo my security measures. If we get out of here, and our base is operationally mobile so our plan from the beginning is complete? I'll fire the moment we're out of their clutches. If you want the orbital strike to activate today at all, you'll fulfill your promise as the leader of the Enclave."
The growling leader could only shake in rage at this situation. A huff and a screaming answer were all he could manage without tearing the other man's head clean off. "Then get in formation! You're guarding the door in this room! If they get this far, gun them down and fast!"
"Yes, Sir!" Iruka saluted and then went to the door to stand guard. He hoped this would end before Ino got herself killed. "Come on, Naruto… We're waiting for you."
XxX xxx XxX
The assault was going well, thanks to the area being mostly scientists and officers, being very much unarmored so anyone who tried firing at the several armored soldiers gunning them down in the halls met with a swift end. Another split of two teams had Kodiak leading east and the commanding Paladin of the group going west. Moving up and into the second floor of the area, which was giant with floating pods on the second level, Naruto led them up to Maintenance. As they killed another officer, they came into the security room.
Handling the computer, TenTen got in and started hacking. "I'll be a second. What's the plan?"
"We get in, make sure the robots are offline, and then destroy the servers. No automated defenses will make things easier on that front, all that would be left is the Deathclaws, wherever they are." The door opened to a robot, which he suspected from the sounds behind the door anyway so as soon as it opened he fired, the lasers heating through the chest and core power cell. Reloading the weapon's micro fusion cell, he stormed in and took out the scientist guarding the mainframe. "Clear!"
Pouring in behind him the entire team made to keep the floor secure as their new initiate ran for the mainframe. Hacking in, she got the system open thanks to the password given by the engineer. "We're in. He was right, telling the truth so far. Shutting everything down."
"Alright everyone, when we break these things down, I want you all to activate the signal for your helmet transmitters!" That got TenTen's attention. When he saw her look at him, Naruto explained the rest to everyone. "When this signal is released, any Deathclaw in the area that's being controlled will consider you a friend. Vaillancourt guarantees this will work, after our test in Old Olney. If you see a headset on one, point them towards your target and it'll help you out."
Finishing the takedown of the robots, TenTen booted the system down. "Ready to destroy."
Ordering everyone out of the way, the blonde leader planted a bomb and walked to a safe distance, firing on the thing and causing the mainframe to explode. With the robots taken care of, the team went in search of their next target. As they came back through near the cafeteria, they were suddenly attacked on two sides by the Hellfire squad.
The combined fire from three or four of them coming from the two doorways had taken one of the three Brotherhood soldiers down. Grabbing him and dragging him back, Naruto got his team to cover. "Gatling lasers up front, and plasma rifles in the back! We're facing their elite!"
The doorways were getting heated by the constant fire, so much so they were melting the walls to kill the soldiers now. Getting the downed soldier out of the way and pushing the other armored soldier out, Naruto got his special weapon ready. "Alright, everyone! Stay behind me!"
SLipping a single cartridge into the experimental gun, he quickly rounded the door corner and fired, the electrical discharge itself shorted much of the lighting in the cafeteria, but it caused such destructive damage to the Enclave, who were melted in their armor and their guns destroyed by the overload of the electrical output. Holstering the weapon and getting back behind cover, Naruto got ready.
With the silence, both he and TenTen stormed the room to check the damage. Several of the squad were on the ground, smoking and dead without question. Counting them, they counted about eight or nine. "Alright, everyone get ready! We're heading the way they came from!"
Leading the team to the top floor of a room they passed, they saw the last three near the door. Being seen themselves, they took cover from the incoming fire. "Three more at the door! Get back!" Gesturing the team back, he defended them in his own way, keeping guard as the downed soldier was being carried by Jackie.
Before they could funnel fire the Enclave, they heard laser fire and a couple of explosions. The silence stayed for a moment before they heard a call. "Clear!" It was Kodiak.
"Kodiak! Report?" Slowly coming to the doorway, the leader kept ready in case of anything off.
"That you sir? We're clear here. At ease, everyone. All three of these bastards are down." With that said, Naruto came around the door and Kodiak offered a salute. "We heard some fighting this way after finding Deathclaws. Only two were alive, and they killed each other. Glad I thought to circle back."
"Come on guys! It's clear!" With his team coming to follow, he reported to his second in command. "We got one wounded, Jackie's going to take them downstairs. I need you to come with me, full frontal to the top. We clear the platform and find whoever is left."
"Yes sir."
Turning to his team, the whiskered soldier nodded. "Jackie, you get him out of here. We'll handle the rest. TenTen, you can go with them if you want."
"I'm all in, Sir. Besides, who knows what you'll face up there." With pistol and shotgun in hand, the smiling dark-haired woman presented herself ready.
"Then fall in. Everyone, let's go!" Leading the storming troops through the door into the outside of the base, he turned and started up the stairs. Before he made it fully up, the stairs in front of him were shot at.
Holding, the team looked above at the railing. They heard someone talking. "To the Brotherhood! You've almost won this day. I applaud you for your tenacity and your quick work countering our every move. You've only got me and the last leader of this Enclave left. Check under you."
They did but saw not much. Or at least, all but TenTen, who could see the lights under the metal flooring. "He's rigged this thing to blow!"
"Good eyes. Ino was right about you, TenTen was it? Listen. If you want to claim your victory, all but Naruto will return to the ground level."
"And why would we do that?" Kodiak challenged.
Iruka held down a signal trigger, which had the bombs under them blinking and now beeping. "Because if you don't, you all die anyway. Besides, if you do manage to win? You'll want to be away from this base as soon as possible. I'm giving you the chance to outrun the blast."
"He has to be bluffing." One of the Knights said. Another wasn't so optimistic, though. As they argued a little, Naruto looked at the floor.
The leader made his decision. "You'll get me, but I'm bringing two others with me. Everyone else goes. Deal?"
A short pause was held, but then the beeping stopped. Their answer was clear. "Alright… Kodiak, you are with me. Everyone else, evacuate the entire base of any surrendered enemy, any of our soldiers, and anything you can carry. That's an order, got it?"
"You heard the man! Get going! We'll take it from here!" His second in command helped order as well. With the soldiers walking back through the door and out, the three slowly started up. Naruto was the first to get up the stairs and aim his rifle at the man holding the detonator.
Iruka nodded. "Follow me." He walked backward, perfectly so. As he did the three started following, weapons ready to attack.
TenTen was a curious sort, though, so she started asking questions. "Who is Ino?"
"She was the marksman causing you trouble in Olney. The Gauss rifle specialist."
"So the one who nearly killed us several times was using a Gauss rifle after all. Interesting."
Nodding, Iruka had them further to the tower. "You nearly killed her, as I heard from her. Whatever you did, she's near lethally injured. If she hasn't escaped after I ordered her to, she's probably either dead by your hands or waiting ahead. She won't be attacking you, though."
"And why is that? She seemed eager to kill us before." TenTen frowned as she mentioned that.
"She wanted you dead because Sasuke lied to her, telling her that Naruto killed the one she loved. After hearing the truth, she may very well be waiting to kill Sasuke as we speak."
"I see… And what is Sasuke doing at the moment?"
"Waiting on you. Of course." Of course, he was, but Iruka wasn't about to interfere after he delivered the final confrontation.
It wasn't an ideal situation, but TenTen had to know. "Why is Sasuke so fixated on Naruto?"
"It's simple. Naruto's DNA holds the key to saving his life."
"Basically, he took a cocktail of failed FEV variants and has been injecting himself with counter-agents to stay alive this long. The only way to bond to the virus now is to have a blood sample that has done so successfully. Mine." Naruto explained. "My blood is O, he has to be AB. He'll need me alive for transfusions until the bonding is complete, though."
"Exactly. If you lose to him, he takes you away to get what he wants. If you win, you get to live knowing you finished the Enclave's remaining forces in all of America." Iruka stopped them at the door leading to the tower. "This is it. The final obstacle. On a desk near the platform terminal at the very top of the stairs, a holotape rests. Win, and that will unlock the terminal. You have one hour to lock in a target before it fires on the CItadel. The thing fires regardless, but if you want the Citadel to still be standing you'll use the system to target this base instead. That is your only path to saving the Brotherhood."
"And why tell us this?"
Iruka looked down as he put away his transmitting explosive device. "Because what Sasuke and Autumn have done to the Enclave is horrible, and I don't support it. You forced them to create measures that led to this, and now that we are here. I know I'll die either way. I would rather die giving the Wasteland a chance to thrive again. Let's go, Sasuke awaits."
Turning and opening the door, Kodiak got ready to fire. But Naruto stopped him. "Let's follow for now… Keep the finger ready on the trigger, but don't fire until fired upon."
"We're going to trust this Enclave trash?"
TenTen knew what Naruto was thinking. "We're not trusting him. We won't risk that he may be telling the truth. Let's find out, sir."
They followed Iruka in, and found inside the tower's control room stood Sasuke in his armor. As Iruka made to step aside, the armored Enclave leader fired his rather impressive-looking rifle and it tore right through the neck of the armor and killed Iruka right there.
Quickly firing, Sasuke took Kodiak down as well, injuring him as the man in power armor dropped. He was about to fire again when Naruto took his helmet off and got in front of his friend and second in command. TenTen was also behind him. Sasuke chuckled. "Well, nice to see you again. No running off this time, you piece of shit."
"You need me alive, right? Too bad. I'd rather die than help you survive to terrorize the wasteland like some tyrant." His eyes slit, anger causing his whiskers to become bold. His Mutant powers activated, and TenTen could tell. Something inside her felt it activate like they were connected.
"Nice of you to think so, but you'll find I'll just wound you and make sure you stay alive. Maybe I torture Kodiak when you're gone, maybe I make that girl behind you suffer. If you die, they will know true pain before I breathe my last."
"You are sick, as always…"
The laugh was haunting to the bun-haired marksman. As the man got ready to fire, he gave one last ultimatum. "Turn yourself over to me, alive… And I let one of them walk out of here. The other will be a prisoner until I'm all better, and then… We'll see. Depends on my mood, and how well you manage to behave."
"Not on your life. You'll die before you can do any harm to them. Even if I die making sure of it."
"You're not throwing your life away to save me! I already made that clear at the purifier! We'll just all get out of here alive, got it?"
"The girl has spunk. But it's futile. Make your choice, death, and your friends suffer, or come with me alive with a prisoner to let the other one go?" Sasuke grinned as he readied his weapon.
Before he could fire, though, the weapon was destroyed by a sudden blast, and as he recoiled, his helmet was stripped off and a gun pressed to his head. The chaos was fast and intense, and the two meta-humans of the Brotherhood looked to see a blonde woman attached to the back of the armored raven-haired man with a gun to his head.
"Ino!? What the hell are you doing!? What is this!?"
"You know damn well what this is! You murdered SHikamaru! And blamed HIM! So I would OBEY you! Asshole! Say your goodbyes!"
Sasuke scoffed aloud before suddenly dropping on his back, crushing her with full force before she could fire the weapon. As she died from the flattening of her entire body, her organs ruptured and bones splintered out of her body in a gruesome and horrific manner, Sasuke was about to stand up. But was forced down by the armored foot of the man he sought to capture, and the gun barrel of the revolver. "You won't-"
And his head was then split open by all six rounds from the revolver before he could finish his sentence. With the fight done, Naruto huffed aloud and holstered. Getting the corpse of the bastard off of the woman who gave them a shot at winning, he said a prayer. "In the name of the Holy Father, the Son, the Holy Spirit, may your soul find peace and your bonds with those you loved help bring you to the kingdom of heaven. May you find warmth and happiness, and find salvation. Amen."
TenTen checked on Kodiak. "Are you alright?"
"I will be. Just my arm." He stood, hissing as he shouldered his weapon with the help of the woman. "Thanks."
"Anytime." Smiling, she made sure he was ready to go before the trio went up to find the final terminal, the one that controlled the satellite uplink. At the very top, they found a very obvious terminal on a server that went into the roof. "Has to be it." Checking it, she noticed it was acting for a keycard only, not even letting the system go into safety recovery mode or any way to hack in. "He was right… We need something to open this terminal."
"And it's right here." Finding the holotape, he put it in and the system booted. Before it let them, though, there was a message.
Playing it, they listened to Iruka's voice. "You have a choice if you got this far. I know this might sound strange to either of you, but this is it. Sasuke, if you won and got your precious blood sample donor, just walk away. The system will take care of the rest. There is an elevator on the side of the platform near the storage area, with a working vehicle. You can go north and finally have your wish. Naruto, if you're the one who got this far, then congrats. The system is set to the Citadel, if there is no input in a certain amount of time then the bombing will run as scheduled. In order to stop the Citadel from blowing sky-high? All you need to do is confirm the second set of coordinates that launch the missiles here instead. No matter what happens, the missiles will launch and an entire base will be up in flames. Whoever got this far, your victory is in the hands of what you do next. May my last chance to give you time to change this order be redemption enough… Even if I know it won't be. Signing off, for the last time."
With that done, the menu locked to confirmation of coordinates. TenTen looked to Naruto. "Shall I?"
"Do it. Let it loose and let's get out of here."
Nodding, the woman locked the second set in, the ones for the mobile base. As soon as she confirmed, the countdown began. "Let's go!"
Before they could, the entire base was shaking. "The missiles already launch?!"
"No! They were just confirmed! Outside, fast!" Running out the nearest door, Naruto led the team to a landing pad and found that a Vertibird was passing overhead and bombing the top of the facility. "Where are our forces!? The Vertibirds are attacking!"
"They aren't Enclave!" TenTen magnified her view to see the Brotherhood logo on the flying vehicle. "It's a Brotherhood flying machine!"
The Vertibird rounded back and landed The door opened and out came a familiar face. Naruto looked wide-eyed at the soldier coming forward. "Sarah!"
The daughter Lyons smiled brightly. "Heard you've been busy. Both of you. Sounds like I missed everything, but at least I get to see the end of it all. Is the base cleared?"
"Yes, ma'am." The former Vault wanderer saluted. "We're all done here. The Enclave is finished. But, there was a complication."
"What kind?" Sarah asked with a worried look.
"Nothing big," Naruto answered. "Just the satellite firing on this mobile platform in ten minutes. It was either that, or it fired on the Citadel in an hour. No other options."
"I see." Thinking a moment, Sarah turned to the exiting troops of the Vertibird. "Pack up! Make room, we got three seating with us! The base is going to be bombed!" Turning to the three who fought like hell to get here, she gave her order. "You heard me, get in and seated! Don't want to be standing here when the fireworks fly!"
With that order, the entirety of the group got into the Veritbird, with TenTen standing in the middle of the thing hanging onto the roof of the inside, being packed with armored soldiers otherwise. As the thing wobbled to life to lift off, she had a bit of trouble keeping her balance. "Whoa! Okay… This is a first."
"You usually sit down, but the seats are taken. Hold onto me, alright?" Naruto offered an arm to anchor her and she took it, kneeling beside him. As the flying machine took off, the pilots rounded the base a moment.
Sarah saw out the window a bit and hummed. "Set us by the tower. We need to warn everyone to back off. Might as well stay to see the thing go up in flames, too."
"Roger that, ma'am!" The bird landed and the as it settled, the group filed out.
Grabbing a megaphone, Sarah rushed out to give the order. "Brotherhood Soldiers! This is Sarah Lyons! Clear the area near the platform base! It is going to be destroyed by the orbital strike! I repeat everyone back off NOW!"
The next five minutes were spent making sure everyone was out of the way. As the time went down for the final blast, Sarah saw next to her that TenTen was standing beside Naruto rather closely. And she looked at her Ex-husband and saw the look she admired from the time they were together.
After everything that happened, after finally being told the truth, after getting this far, she felt like her heart may never recover. Still, she knew she had to make amends. Even if she could never have her marriage back. "Naruto."
"Yes, ma'am?"
"Drop the formality." Turning to each other, Sarah smiled sadly. "I heard from my father what really happened. And I heard why you went into exile. I hated you for it, you know? And I think I still do. Abandoning me, our order, as punishment? I was alone, and heartbroken. But maybe I shouldn't have let myself see the worst in you, because it was never there to begin with."
"Sarah…" He walked up in front of her, passing TenTen for a moment. "I knew it was a possibility… Maybe my exile would cause an even bigger rift between us, it probably had and there's no way to regain our former lives or former love. Ask the wasteland if I'm a good person, they have called me many things of prairie for years. I still feel like I am unworthy of it, because I am not able to save everyone, to help everyone, and my failures are still many. Just as I felt my gravest mistake as the Pride's leader made me unworthy of the order, I felt I was not worthy of love. I should have asked you, should have confided in you, but I didn't. And that was the biggest mistake of all. I'm sorry, Sarah."
Holding back the tears welling in her eyes, Sarah coughed under her breath to settle herself. "Well, at least you see the error of your ways… Don't make the same mistake with her, alright? I'm starting to see her as a little sister of sorts."
That got the bun-haired woman to blush a little, and Naruto chuckled with a flustered nervousness. "Sure. Whatever happens, I'll do better. Maybe I'll still make mistakes and cause trouble, but I will learn from my errors to do better, for all those I care for. And yes, that still includes you, if you'll still accept me as a friend." Offering a hand in such, Naruto hoped things would finally settle between them.
And it did, as Sarah shook his hand and nodded. "Of course. Now, let's see the end of our struggle finally come to a head." Not a few seconds later and they heard the strike break the atmosphere, and everyone watched as the bombing happened, the base being blown to hell by several missiles. The cheering heard and made by every soldier was almost deafening but no one cared.
As the bombing ended, TenTen went and gave Naruto's cheek a quick peck without anyone seeing. As he turned to her blushing, she stood there like it didn't happen, except for the glance she gave before continuing her proud standing at attention. A sly smirk formed on his face before he turned back to the final eruptions of the base. Once things settled, the forces on the ground started their trek home, with Sarah bringing the team she grabbed from the base with her to the Citadel.
XxX Citadel XxX
As the Vertibird landed, the team filed out to see a cheering section of recruits all surrounding them in the courtyard, with the Elder himself clapping proudly. "Well done! Very well done, indeed!"
When the cheering died down, the Sentinel presented the whisker-marked leader and his partner with the buns to her father. "They stand ready for their Commendations, Sir!"
Putting a hand up to calm the crowd, he spoke with intent. "Naruto Uzumaki, your dedication to our Brotherhood has never faltered and has never been more righteous. Even in your self-imposed exile, you worked tirelessly for the people of the wasteland, and our order by protecting our assets and our connections to those who ally with us. Be it the merchants of Rivet City, Reilly's Rangers, or even the outer limits of our posts like those in Megaton. You have always served for the betterment of the Brotherhood and our mission of keeping the wasteland safe. For this, I am promoting you to the highest standing I can offer, as our second Sentinel May you continue to do us proud."
"Sir!" Naruto saluted with vigor and was shocked but proud to be considered for the promotion. "I accept and will continue to fight for our order and it's mission. By the very spirit of Roger Maxon himself, I stand with you, Elder Lyons!"
As the Elder turned to the younger woman, she stood as tall as she could, ready for anything. Lyons put it forward without hesitation. "When you first entered our gates, many would see you as an unclean mercenary, some kind of immoral servant of greed with no compassion. But if the best this Wasteland has to offer saw potential in you, then I was ready to as well. And you did not disappoint. Brothers and Sisters! This woman came from a Vault, unsure of herself, and unproven! But time and commitment to a cause sharpened her into a warrior! And with that time and commitment, she has saved some, and killed others, learning what it is to live and survive in this horrible blighted world! She would falter, but I ask who has not! She has stood up for those in need and stood with us, and for us, when we were silent! She is one of us! And after helping in the victory over the Enclave this day, she has proven she can be trusted, leaned upon, and respected!"
Gesturing to someone nearby, he had a large box opened and it was two different uniforms. As he presented the box, he finished his speech and gave her a choice. "You have proven worthy of your apprenticeship! You are being given your reward for all you have done in service to our order. You may choose your path within our ranks, and start as a squire in either knighthood or scribehood."
Having learned what each was, and knew her path forward, she looked at both. One was red with collaring, which was Scribe robes. The other was a recon suit. It was what others around her wore. She knew it had to be the Knight's uniform. Choosing it, and holding it close to her armored chest, she saluted again. "I wish to be a Knight, and one day a Paladin, Sir!"
"Then you will be a Squire to another who chose the Knight's path. That will be decided at a later date, as you must be tired from your mission. As we await the return of our remaining forces, we will be at ease with our day-to-day assignments. Once our Brotherhood is together again we will celebrate as a family! Steel be with us all!"
"Steel be with us all!" Everyone cheered. And the cheering for Naruto and TenTen in particular was a roaring approval. As they went to the inner walls of the Citadel, they held their heads high.
XxX A Day Later XxX
The returning forces were pouring in by the hour, a steady supply of those who were hurt being carried or those who were tired coming in later, either way, the entirety of the Brotherhood was finally back in one place.
Sitting at the table with the radio on, many were having a good lunch after the more tasteful food supplies were used for a celebratory day. Three-Dog singing praises, after everything that happened. "-And wouldn't you know it, the Enclave is no more thanks to the combined efforts of the Brotherhood and good ol' 101! OW! I told you all, I did! That the 101 family was somethin' special! Turns out our femme fatale of a hero may be stickin' with the good boys and girls in power armor, alongside the one-man army himself who returned to the fold. Guess things finally got sorted out for ya, huh fish cake? Anyway, this has been Three Dog, given' you the best news this entire YEAR! We can see the light, folks! The good fight is being fought, and it is being won! Time for the tunes, and kiddies, enjoy, and make sure you thank your fellow Brotherhood members for their efforts. And if you see our girl at all, buns in her hair and a smile on her face, make sure you give her a very big thanks for her efforts too."
Said bun-haired woman was flustered, hearing how she was the major factor. "I am not the biggest reason we won… All I did was get us in to stop the Vertibirds from taking out the main force. Cross took them down, and the Brothehroods' main force did the rest. I just escorted.
Sensing someone walking up beside her, she looked to find Tristan, the Paladin who was not exactly fond of her. Standing up with a salute, as she knew she should, she hoped he wouldn't bother her too much. "Sir! Welcome back!"
"At ease." As she eased up a tad, she saw his look, and it was a soft positive one, smile and all. "I was wrong about you. You were a civilian that was playing soldier, a greenhorn who didn't know how to operate as a team player or as someone who could follow orders. I saw you as some unskilled weakling. Turns out, you were more qualified than I ever gave you credit for. And for that, I apologize. You did great work, and if you need anyone at your back? I've got you covered." He offered a hand to her, a sign of his respect.
With her own smile, TenTen shook it and nodded. "Of course. Same to you, Tristan. Sir."
"Enjoy your meal, Squire. You earned it." He left her to it.
Sitting back down to finish, she was almost done when someone sat in front of her. It was Colvin. "First time I saw you, you were a bruised mess in a bed at GNR. You've surprised everyone here, you know? They already gave you a nickname."
"Huh?" That was the first she ever heard of such a thing. "What's my nickname? Please don't let it be embarrassing…"
"Sorry!" He chuckled a bit before telling her. "The Ballistics Queen. Your work on renewable ballistic ammunition may not be the most praised work there is, but ever since you started the process a few Knights needing ammo have been trying to replicate how you did it. Believe it or not, you've helped supply the Brotherhood with needed munitions."
Groaning at that, she could only hope that her efforts were respected more than her nickname suggested. Still, knowing she was of help was more pride in her heart. "So, how is everyone else in the Pride?"
"Some wounds still, bruises, but we'll pull through. Sarah's back in command, Naruto stepped down."
That was a surprise. "Why is that?"
Colvin looked at her confused. "What, you haven't heard?" A shake of the head was his answer. "He's teaching. You. You will be his Squire in Knighthood."
Her eyes nearly bugged out. "What? He's my Knight trainer?"
"Yeah. He was a Knight before he was a Paladin, and seeing as you two work so well together already, it was obvious. Your next few months are going to be busy." As he ate, he looked to see her processing that information. He smirked a little playfully. "Think of it like this. Better chances to get him to fall in love with you."
The red on her cheeks was almost comical, as she glared at him. But her puffing cheeks only lasted a second before she groaned in embarrassment. "He's already going to let me try. I just need to find a way to prove he should give me that time and chance… Guess this is a good thing, but I don't need you trying to tease me about it."
Even with his teasing, she knew he was sincere and a friend. She finished her meal and went to go work on improving the station for ballistic ammo creation. That was her duty until otherwise given orders by a higher-ranking member of the order.
A day later, she awoke and was getting dressed in her vault suit in the female dressing area. Sarah came to her to get ready to dress for her day, stopping her. "Not that one. You'll be in Recon armor from today forward."
"Huh? Already?"
"Yes. Sorry, you may not wear that Vault Suit for a very long time, only very rarely. You will be training to wear Power Armor, and probably dressed in the Recon uniform whenever you are between missions so if you need to leave for Citadel you can just put the armor on. Your former armor is a personal item, you can store that in your foot locker."
Looking at the suit around her waist now, she frowned. She knew she'd have to give it up here and there but to completely be done with it? "I see."
The hand of the Sentinel grabbed hers, and she looked to see Sarah comforting her. "You will have to partition for use of the armor from now on, but I can at least help make that a simpler task. The combat armor? Have one of the shoulder pieces bear your status as a member of the Brotherhood and it should be alright. I'll request it for you if that's what you want. But you will still see its use drop significantly."
Nodding, and kind of happy to hear that the strong and confident woman leader in front of her would help her with this, TenTen started dropping the suit to get the Recon suit ready. "I understand. Thank you, Sarah. Ma'am."
"Of course. Naruto will be ready for you in the courtyard in an hour, be ready. He's taught a few of our best in the use of Power Armor, it might get intense. Do your best."
"Roger that, ma'am."
Dressed, ready to train, TenTen marched for the start of her training. Finding Naruto in his own Recon uniform, she stood ready with a salute. "Ready to begin my training, Sir!"
"Good. The first thing we do is put the armor on. No power. You'll need to know how every piece works, how every piece attaches, and how every piece moves. By the end of the day, I want you to have dressed up from uniform to armored attention in thirty minutes." She looked a little surprised at his request and tone, but he smiled all the same. "By the end of the week, we'll trim that down to five. And by the end of the month, you'll be better at using Power Armor than most of the full-fledged Knights in the order. Don't think this is harsh training, because I have faith in your skills. Ready to go, Squire TenTen?"
"Sir, yes Sir, Paladin Uzumaki!" She could sense it, see it, he wanted her to succeed, and she would make him proud. "On your mark!" She would prove his faith was well placed. "And when I do, he'll see how much I truly care for him. Just wait, Naruto. I'll win your heart, one day soon."
XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX;
Level Up! (Level 18)
+20 to skills
Speech (70)
Medicine (60)
Explosives (45)
Perk Added- Tag!: Add another Tag Skill, increase Skill by 15 (Speech: 85)
