Disclaimer – I don't own Fallout 3 or any of its extensive insane or confusing content.
Chapter 11
"Oh, Michael." She whispered. "What are you doing here?"
Kylar knew who this 'Michael' guy was, but not how he got here. Michael was an old friend of Marisa's, and during her recounting of her years in the Vault, she told him of his odd behavior.
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Marisa yawned tiredly. They had been in the Ninth Circle for almost an hour, and she had just reached her life at Michael's behavior around her..
"Well, Michael was my best guy friend. Amata was definitely first, but Micheal was always more comforting. He was always there when I got into a fight with my Father, or with Amata. He always knew how to cheer me up, and how to make me smile." She smiled bitterly after that.
"He reminds me of you, only he's not as, well, morbid, cynical, or combat ready. But I'm not comparing the two of you!" She said quickly. "No! Anyways, I think he liked me more than I liked him. He always asked me to the Vault Dances, and after we took the G.O.A.T, he asked me if I'd consider him as a husband."
Kylar didn't know it then, but the odd feeling he felt was raw jealousy. Marisa continued. "I didn't know what to think then. I always liked him more than a friend, and we'd dated once or twice, but I never thought of him like that. I told him with a smile I would, and I did, but I never answered."
"He approached me once or twice and I answered honestly. I didn't, and don't, know if I liked him that way, and wasn't sure if this was the best. The first time I said that he got upset. He thought there was another man, but I assured him that all of the other boys in the Vault were too immature. Which they were. And probably are."
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But Kylar wasn't an idiot. If you were an idiot, you died, most likely slowly and painfully. Michael didn't like, he worshipped, Marisa. Instantly at hearing his name, arrows of jealousy ripped through Kylar.
He wrestled down these feelings, and took a deep breath. "Marisa." He said. She was still worrying over Michael. "Marisa, we have to go."
She looked up at him in horror. "What!?" She almost shrieked. "We have to go. Night in the Wasteland is just as dangerous as an afternoon Downtown. We have to leave. C'mon." He said hurriedly.
"But, but Kylar! We can't just leave him here!" She wailed. "He'll die here. Alone, and in the cold…." She stared down at his body miserably.
Kylar held his breath, though he wasn't aware of it. "Damn my soft heard." He cursed. "Help me carry him. Take an arm." Marisa's eyes light up, and took an arm eagerly. "Where are we going from here?"
"I saw a fire about a mile back." Kylar said slowly. "They're not raiders, because they covered the fire when we passed by. We'll go there."
"How do we know they won't be hostile?" Marisa asked.
"Do you want to save Michael or not?" Kylar snapped. "Now come on. We have to move fast."
And they did. It took them around five minutes to cover the half mile, and when they neared the fire, they heard the cocking of a gun.
"Freeze smoothskin." Came a gravelly voice.
"Relax." Kylar said quickly. "We're not looking for trouble. Our…friend, you could say, is unconscious. Can we spend the time here? Until he wakes up, I mean."
Three ghouls came out of the darkness. "How can we trust you?" One of the said. This one was missing an ear, and one of his hands.
"I'm Kylar Whitlock. That's how." The three ghouls' eyes widened. One of them just dropped his gun, and sat down. The second nodded to him, and sat besides the first. The third greeted him with a handshake, which Kylar returned.
The two obviously knew each other, and they were engaged in a conversation before the second was up. "Uh, Kylar?" Marisa asked slowly. "Michael?"
Kylar looked up. "Him? Oh, yes, yes. Him." He sighed, and ran a hand through his hair. "Damn. This isn't going to be pretty." He took out his Tanto, and handed a stimpack to Marisa. "Get this ready." He said.
"Inject it into his neck on my mark. Got it?" Marisa nodded. Kylar flipped the knife a few times, and then sliced across Michael's jugular in one deft motion.
Marisa cried out, and started to administer to her wounded friend. But instead of saving his life, Kylar's hand shot out and grabbed her wrist. "Don't." He said with authority.
"But he's dying!" She protested. She tried again to plunge the stim into him, but Kylar held fast. "No, he's not." Kylar said calmly. "The sedative is deep in his bloodstream. The only way he'll wake up within the hour is if we bleed him. I'll get some more plasma in his bloodstream when I get home."
The blood poured out for several more seconds, when Kylar released Marisa. "Mark." He didn't have to. Marisa had already plunged the healing agent into him, and wound closed almost immediately.
Micheal moaned softly, and was visibly more pale. "Micheal." Marisa breathed in relief. "He's going to be okay?" Marisa asked eagerly. "Much to my eternal regret, yes." Kylar said bitterly.
Marisa was taken aback. "Kylar!" She exclaimed. "What is wrong with you!" Kylar laughed. "I've another idiot vaultie on my hands. Would you be happy?" Marisa's mouth dropped slightly. "Thought not. See the pistol he's holding?" He asked.
She picked it up, and inspected it thoroughly. "What about it?" Kylar shook his head. "It has no spread. None, whatso-fucking-ever. If he'd aimed at me, since we weren't that far apart, he could've hit me easily."
"But, he aimed to the sides, and missed us completely. He knows less than shit." Kylar finished. Marisa bit her lip, and glanced back down at him. Kylar sighed, and he knew what he had to say. "But, in the end, this was the right thing to do. He might be able to help us somehow on the way to Rivet, and from then on."
Marisa glanced up at Kylar, and started to mouth a question. Kylar snorted, and shook his head. "I'm expecting that you'll want to bring him with us. You being my employer means I have to listen to you. That's why I tranqued him, actually."
Marisa was going to respond with some witty comeback, but it died in her throat. All she could manage was a heart-felt smile, and a hoarse "Thank you."
At this point, our Vaultie Numero Dos decided to wake up. He blinked a few times, and then stared into the unending night sky. It had grown pitch-black, and he was facing away from the fire.
"So this is the afterlife?" He said quietly. Nobody knew who had said it, and while they were all looking at each other, Micheal sighed. "Well, fuck."
Kylar realized first who was talking, and he shook his head. "You're not dead. Not on my watch you're not."
Micheal whipped around to face Kylar, much to his regret, because his head started swimming. He groaned, and held his head in his hands. "What the…who the hell….oooh, my aching head."
Marisa was about to speak, when Kylar silenced her with a glance. He shook his head ever so slightly. Marisa understood. He was probably in shock. Best to let an expert figure it out.
"Micheal, you're friends with one Marisa Trespick, are you not?" Kylar asked softly. Upon hearing this, Micheal froze, and turned, slowly, to stare at the legend.
"What did you say?" He whispered.
"You know, and grew up with, Marisa Trespick, didn't you?" Kylar repeated.
Micheal staggered to his feet, and steadying himself on the burning barrel, he grabbed the front of Kylar's shirt with his other hand.
"I don't know who the fuck you think you are, but if you don't tell me all you know about Marisa, I swear to god I'll kill you." He growled.
Marisa, again, was going to interfere, when another slight shake of the head warned her to be silent.
"Well, Mike! Where shall we begin?" Kylar said cheerfully, nonchalantly grasping the hilt of his nine-inch tanto.
"Where. Is. She." He snarled, half-feral.
"Well, you see Mike-O, we met up a little while ago. She hired me to help her out in the Wastes, and I agreed. Plus, she saved my life, so I felt that I owed her something."
"Not bad to look at either." He added thoughtfully. Micheal's face transformed into a look of pure hate. "What did you to her!?" He half-screamed half-shouted.
"Well, if you want to find her, you might want to turn around." Kylar said, gesturing behind Micheal.
"Nice try, scumbag. I'm going to tear the shit out of you." He raised his other hand, and swung with all of his regained strength. Marisa gasped, but unfortunately, it didn't register to Micheal's brain.
The fist was intercepted by what seemed to him like a steel vice, and was redirected past Kylar's left shoulder. The next second, another blow, an iron block slammed in an uppercut, slamming his jaw shut.
In actuality, Kylar's right hand came up in what Marisa later described as a blur, grabbed Micheal's wrist, pushed it away, and used his elbow to inflict some pain.
Kylar took a step back, and gestured again. "She's really right behind you." He nodded to Marisa, and she rushed to Micheal. "Micheal, it's so good to see you again!" She hugged him from behind, and he whirled to find her clutching him desperately.
"Marisa….you're actually okay!" He grabbed around her torso, and held her tightly. They stood that way for a while, before Marisa released him. Micheal let go reluctantly, and took a step back.
"So who's this guy?" He asked, tilting his head to Kylar.
"Oh, right! Allow me to formally introduce you two." She grabbed Kylar's right arm, and Micheal's left, and dragged the two of them within kissing distance. "Kylar, meet Micheal, my childhood best friend, and amazing comfort. Micheal meet Kylar, my bodyguard and Wasteland L-"
Kylar held his other hand up to her mouth. "That's for me to tell people, not you." He said bitterly. "Now come on. The ghouls left when our big friend," He really was big. Micheal had blond hair, large muscles, and was 6 foot 3.
"woke up. So, seeing as it's night, and we have to travel the outskirts of D.C, we should travel quickly and quietly."
"What's so bad about the Outskirts of D.C, and shouldn't you be doing what Marisa tells you to, not the other way around?" Micheal challenged.
Kylar sighed, and turned to the large man. "Look. D.C is infested with Super Mutants, about three feet taller, and broader, than you. You can't get through without running into a lot of the bastards. I wouldn't take any order from anyone to go through there."
"The outskirts are almost as bad. Super Mutants are always trying to make their way out of D.C, and the only defense is the occasional Raider, and the Brotherhood. I'm sure as hell not going to hand you two over to them, so we have to go now, double time."
"I've taken his advice on everything so far, and I'm still alive. Come on Micheal." Marisa said. He groaned, but started following Kylar, who was now a good twenty yards away from the two.
After around ten minutes of walking, Micheal broke the silence. "Hey! Bodyguard! Who the hell is the Brotherhood!?"
Not fucking again. He turned on his heel, and walked up to him. "Ask Marisa to tell you when we get Home." He growled. "Oi!" Micheal shouted. "You answer to us, got it?" He grabbed Kylar by the lapel of his duster, and pulled Kylar closer to him. "Got it punk?"
Kylar looked boredly down at Micheal's hands, then back up at him. "You have four seconds to let go before I stab you."
Micheal laughed. "Ahuh. And I'll rip you in half if you try." He shook his head. "You path-" He was cut off by a blade slipping into him right below his right hip. "I'm pathetic?" Kylar asked.
"Kylar!! Micheal!! What isare you two doing!?" Marisa shrieked. Kylar looked from Micheal, back to Marisa, and then to Micheal again. "Male bonding?" He suggested with a shrug.
Micheal started to chuckle, but doubled over in pain. Through his breaths, he muttered out some bitter words. "Much as I don't like the guy, he's got one helluva sense of humor."
Kylar walked over to him, and jabbed a stim into his hip. "You need to trust me Mike." He said flatly. "Or you're gonna die."
Christ, I haven't written a chapter in a long damn time. Sorry to be away people, but I'm starting some other stuff, and am happy to be back. I'm starting to work on then next chapter as we speak!
Peace!
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Frost