Hey guys and gals! Glad to see me? I am. Well, that doesn't make much sense but….shut up. It's nice to be writing. Here's chapter Two!

Chapter Two

Nukes, Contracts, and Pancakes

Crack. Kylar grimaced. I think I broke my foot. Still on the ground, he rolled away, and the mutant roared it's anger at him. It raised the hydrant, and world went black and blue.

Kylar didn't know what to expect, really. The wonderful world good people went to after you die, according to Catholicism. The hell you went to if you were bad. Nothingness? A new conscious?

But none of those happened, to Kylar's surprise. He blinked a few times, and stood up. Why am I still alive? He thought. He glanced around, and his question was answered.

The Behemoth was lying in pieces all around him, and the idiot without any armor had a Fat Man on the ground next to her.

Kylar grinned. I suppose I owe Idiot One a thank you. He walked over to her, and took the time to really look at her. She had black hair, of a medium length. A hunting rifle in hand, and by the way she held it, was probably an above average marksman. Not an expert, though. She was skinny, but Kylar could see the muscle hidden under the surface.

Kylar walked up to the girl,and stuck out his hand to her. "I owe you a thanks. Weren't for you, I'd be a pancake. Maybe a bloody pancake, but a pancake, nevertheless."

Tall eyed him suspiciously, but took his hand. "You're welcome." Kylar turned to walk away, but after a few steps, stopped. He couldn't in good conscience leave this idiot to fend for himself. He sighed, and turned back to her.

Tall was staring at him with a kind of hostility Kylar'd seen before. Suspiscoun. Tall probably thought Kylar'd stab her in the back, maybe rape her, when she turned around. Whichs he did think, actually.

"I'm not usually a curious person. Being a busybody gets you killed in the Wastes. But I have to ask." Kylar stopped, and chuckled. "Why the hell are you out wandering Downtown D.C, with nothing but the clothes on your back?"

Tall didn't say anything, she just narrowed her eyes. "None of your business." She growled.

Kylar shrugged. "Fair enough." He turned and walked inside the GNR building, walked past a knight, and up the stairs to the Studio.

"…strangle you with it. This is Three Dog, bringing' you the truth! No matter how bad it hurts. And now, for some music." Three Dog said into the microphone. He started a disc, saw me, and walked out of the recording room.

"Hello, Kylar! Been a while hasn't it?" He asked, in his damn sing-song tone. In truth, the guy pissed Kylar off. The Brotherhood was just as biased as the Enclave, if not more so. "What brings you back to the Source of Truth?"

Kylar pulled a small package out of a pocket. "Contract. Whatever it is, I don't care. I fought a Behemoth to get it here, and I expect to be paid. Not weapons. Not information. Cash."

Three Dog sighed. "Alright, alright. No need to tear a hole in the wall. How much was the contract supposed to pay?"

"Thousand caps." Kylar heard the door open, and got an idea. Damn my soft heart. "I want a bonus for the Behemoth. Five hundred." He haggled.

"Fair's fair. You saved my baby, and that's worth something." Three Dog pulled out two bags, one with 1,000 on it, one with 500 on it.

"Bye." Kylar said. He headed for the door to the main building, and outside it, he ran into Tall eyes a-blaze. "I. Killed the the Behemoth. Not you. Me." She seethed.

Kylar rolled his eyes. "I know that. That's what this is." He stated. He shoved the Five hundred cap bag into the kid's arms. She opened it, and grabbed Kylar's shoulder, bringing him around to face her.

"The hell is this?" She asked, gesturing towards the bag.

Kylar sighed. "You're green as grass huh? Caps are the cash in the Wasteland. Should get you a fair amount of food, maybe a better gun or two." Kylar nodded towards Tall. "I'd spend night here. Rest, gear up, so on. Night."

He walked towards a Knight. "Any place I can trade here?"

The Knight nodded. "Yeah. Talk to Paladin Errik, he's the guy you want." Kylar thanked him, and walked over to the high ranking man.

"You want something?" Errik asked.

"Yeah." Kylar began. "What've you got? I need to get rid of some stuff I picked up, and I was told to talk to you."

A few minutes later, Kylar walked away, having sold seventy-odd energy cells, a laser pistol, and a fission battery. Kylar walked over to an empty bed, sat down, and started cleaning and checking his guns.

His .22mm Mp5 had gotten nicked when he'd slid into the behemoth, but was otherwise alright. He made sure the belt-brace holster he invented keeping it to his left hip was still tight.

The Tranquilizer Pistol he carried between his back and duster, muzzle facing to the left at a downwards slant, was in a little worse condition. It'd taken a big scratch along the side, but after checking it over a few times, Kylar decided it was in alright condition. He re-arranged the holster so that it was on his right hip.

The nine inch Tanto he carried was strapped to his back as well, the the tip of the sheath pointing upwards and to the left, and he could draw it and disembowel a man in one swift movement. It had happened before.

Neither the sheath nor blade was harmed, so Kylar allowed himself to drift into a deep sleep.

********

He was wandering around. He didn't know where he was. "Farell." He panted. "Where are ya buddy?"

~I'm here.~ Came a panting voice.

"Good." The figure stumbled. "I-I…don't know..what….to do..Farell."

~How do you mean?~

The man fell down. "She's dead. Other she's dead. He's dead. Dad. Killed. By me. But not Fell. That wasn't me."

The darker figure stumbled, and sat down. ~I know. But what're you gonna do about it? She's….dead! You killed your pops in a horrible fashion. Got revenge, though. They aren't a threat anymore. Or shouldn't be.~

He walked over to the man on the ground, who was sobbing. ~Hey. Be strong, and get up. We've got to get somewhere safe.~

With that, he helped the Crying Man up, and clapped his shoulder. ~Come. Maybe…we should go to Ri-

CRACK!!

A gunshot rang out, and the Crying Man started, and checked himself over for wounds. To his relief, there were none. He turned to face the shooter, and almost doubled over in shock.

The Dark Man, Farell, had a bullet-hole through his chest, and by the looks of it, through the heart. He looked at Kylar, and mouthed a word before he fell to the ground. ~Run.~

********

Kylar woke with a start, and drew his tanto. Sweating and panting, he realized when and where he was, and relaxed. He stood, pulled the duster on, and stretched. He hadn't bothered to replace the hood or shades after his capture.

The Kevlar, he had re-sown in, but the aforementioned objects marked him for who he was. And Kylar wasn't Shift anymore. He was Kylar.

He dug into a pocked, and pulled out some Punga fruit. Kylar took a bite, and allowed the acceptable flavor to wash over his tongue. Of all the food in the Wasteland, Punga was the least dangerous.

He chewed some more, and lost himself to his thoughts. Then again, Punga fruit's from Point Lookout. Not the Wasteland. He chuckled to himself, finished eating, and walked towards the door.

Where now? Not Megaton. Just came from there. I've expanded considerably, and I'm much more known then the last time I visited Rivet City. Kylar thought this over, and decided that it was a good plan.

Kylar walked outside, destination in mind, cash in his pocket, when he saw something a little shocking.

Tall was waiting on the steps, and upon seeing him, she walked up to him. "You're experienced out here. Right?" Tall asked.

Kylar nodded. "Yes." He knew what kind of talk this was, and this was business talk. Saying 'Yes', instead of 'Yeah', or 'Yup', could make you seem more professional.*

Tall sighed, and ran a hand through her black hair. "Look. I…I'm not very experienced. Out here, I mean." She gestured around us.

Kylar smirked. "Obviously. How you handled the Fat Man was impressive though."

She nodded. "Thanks. But you see, I'm not going to survive out here on my own."

"And your point being…?" Kylar asked.

"Well," Tall began. "I want to, um, hire you. I mean, you're obviously a gun for hire, and you're a good marksman, so…" She trailed off there. "You are a bodyguard, right?"

Kylar cocked his head. She needed some educating.

"First off, I'm not a bodyguard. I'm a mercenary. Get it straight. And second? Most hired mercs just listen to you, protect you from gunfire, until the contract's over. I'm not like that. I'm that and more." Kylar explained. "I'm not bragging, but it's true. But if I do accept, I'd need more details first."

Tall knitted her eyebrows together. "Like what?" She couldn't understand why the merc couldn't just protect her.

"Right. Where are you headed from here?"

"Musuem of Technology." She said. She was looking distractedly over her shoulder, probably anxious to get on the road.

"Alright. Why?" Kylar asked bluntly.

She was about to answer, but stopped. "Why do you care?" She asked, taken aback.

Kylar sighed. Damn kids. "I'm not taking the contract until I know more. Why you're going, what your name is, and how much I'm getting paid."

She cracked her neck. "I'm Marisa. And fine, I'll tell you." Kylar had seen this act before. You crack your neck, mabye your fingers, reload, something tough, anything really, when you're telling somebody something you don't want them to know.

"I'm tracking my dad down, and Three Dog knows where he is. He won't tell me until I fix a radio dish at the Washington Memorial. Says there's one in the Museum of Technology, so that's where I'm going. I'll pay you four hundred caps."

Kylar brooded over this. Four hundred caps to crawl to the Museum of Technology, get a satellite, bring it to the Washington Memorial, hook it up, then back here….but the girl did save my life. Damn my conscience.

"Fine, fine. I'll do it." Kylar sighed.

Chapter Two, and a Vault Dweller for your pleasure! I'm trying to write in the storyline, and by ear no less. Vita est ferreus, tunc vos intereo! Peace!

--

Th. Mint