Disclaimer – I don't own Fallout 3 or any of its extensive, insane or confusing content.

Chapter 16

Kylar dashed down the hall, and around the corner to find Marisa talking with some other girl. He stopped running, leaned on the wall, and panted in relief. Once he'd caught his breath, he walked up to Marisa. Surprisingly, he'd remained unnoticed. He grabbed her by a shoulder and turned her around. She was surprised, and started to jerk away, but he held her still. Pointing at her, he spoke slowly and seriously. "Never. Do that. Again. Understand?"

Marisa looked into Kylar's eyes, and was shocked to see that he'd just gone through panic, fear, and anger in the last ten minutes. Then, looking at the fact that she was his charge and he was entirely responsible for her, in a somewhat hostile environment, she'd worried him. "Okay." She said apologetically. "Okay." Kylar said. He released her, and turned to find a gun at his head.

He looked past the pistol to it's wielder. The girl Marisa was talking to was pointing a gun shakily at him. Marisa was about to intervene, but Kylar held up a hand. Do all of them have to learn the hard way? Kylar just stared into her eyes, unyielding, and fearless. Moments passed and she lowered the gun. The second it dropped away from his head, Kylar disarmed the girl in a deft maneuver. She reached for it, but Kylar grabbed her hand. "Are you going to try to shoot me again?" He asked. "Give me that!" She complained angrily, still reaching against Kylar's hand. "Yes, or no?" After a few more attempts, she gave up. "No."

Kylar handed her the gun. "Kylar Whitlock." He said, pumping the gun, and in turn her hand. "Marisa's bodyguard, escort, and guide. Nice to meet you." He released the gun, and the girl holstered it. "Amata Almodovar. Marisa's best friend, and lifelong companion. How do you two know each other?" Kylar was going to answer, but Marisa took this opportunity to speak. "I saved his life a few weeks back, and this is his way of repaying me." "And you trust him not to," Amata was going to say rape, but at Kylar's glare she chose another word. "Harm, you?"

Marisa nodded. "Yes, I do. He's never lead me astray, and has protected me from the moment we met. Well, after those first few moments." "Ah-ah-ah! Might I add that you never saved my life." Kylar said, nodding confidently. Marisa frowned, and rolled her eyes. "Please. That behemoth would've crushed you like an ant." "Nonsense. I was in the superior position." "You call on your back with a broken foot a superior position?" Marisa challenged. Kylar frowned. "Hmm. Let's see. I was…" Kylar trailed off there, rubbing his chin while trying to think of something to say. "Distracting him. Yes. That's it! If not for me, you never would've gotten that shot off." He said happily, nodding again.

They kept arguing like that for the next fifteen minutes, drawing the attention of everyone in the room. If not for the fact that they hadn't been together for just a few weeks, Amata could've sworn they had known each other and had been good friends for the better part of their lives. Through the conversation, the residents of Vault 101, excluding Marisa, as she already knew this, and Micheal, because he wasn't there, found that Kylar was a relatively good person. Relatively.

When they had finished the argument, settling on that they had used telepathy to confer with each other of what to do before Kylar had broken his foot, Marisa turned to Amata. "So, what's the problem? I know that your Father wants to keep the Vault closed, and you want to leave." Amata rolled her eyes. "No. We want the Vault opened, but we want to still live in the Vault." "That is the stupidest thing I've ever heard." Kylar said. Amata and the rest of the Vaulties' heads swiveled towards Kylar. "Oh?" Amata asked, irked. "And why is that, Mister, High-And-Mighty Wastelander?" "Firstly, I am high and mighty. I could outlast any of you vaulties in the Wasteland, and that's why opening the Vault is a bad idea. Think. You've got raiders, Super Mutants, your various wasteland wildlife, and Slavers. The best you guys are armed with is, what, a .32 rifle? You'd be massacred."

Kylar stopped there, and turned to Marisa. "All of this depends on one thing; Are you going to keep the door opened permanently, or are you going to close it when it's not in use?" Amata considered this for a moment. "We were going to keep the door opened permanently, but given your advice, I'd think we should keep it, like you said, closed when not in use." Amata looked around the room. "Any objections?" She asked loudly. Nobody said anything, asides from mutterings of agreement, and the nodding of heads.

"It's all academic if we can't get your Father to step down though." Marisa said quietly. "Ah, I wanted to talk to you about that." Amata said in a matching tone. "My Father is driving this Vault into the ground, and we can't stop him. If you can, I want you to talk him out of the job." "Right." Marisa said. She started to walk away, when Amata spoke out again. "Please, don't hurt him. He's still my dad." Marisa stopped, and hesitated. "Alright."

Kylar followed Marisa's lead, allowing her to lead him around the Vault. "So what's the plan?" He asked. "Well, I want to stay on good terms with Amata. But, if push comes to shove, we'll force Alphonse down." Marisa said determinedly. "I always have loved politics." Marisa looked at Kylar. "What?" "I love politics." Kylar said again. "The scheming, undermining, and scandals." He wiped an imaginary tear from his eyes. "It's even better in the wastes when you can always shoot the competition."

Marisa just shook her head. "I'm going to pretend I didn't hear that." They walked on, and upon rounding a corner, Marisa ran into a familiar face. "Well hey there, Issa!" Butch said happily. "It's good to see you back from the Other side. What's it like?" Marisa glared at Butch. "Marisa. Not Issa. Out of my way."

Butch stepped in front of her. Marisa moved to the other side of the hallway, and Butch stepped in her way again. She could see where this was going. Butch was stronger than your average Vaultie, and he pinned her against the wall. "Missed you pretty girl." She tried to fight him off, and was happy to see that she didn't have to. Kylar had grabbed him off of her, and had him against the wall. He was furious, and had picked up a random piece of metal from the floor.

"She didn't." He growled. He rammed the metal rod into Butch stomach, then slammed it upwards, clicking his mouth shut. Leaving Butch in agony, he dropped the pipe and walked along with Marisa. He noticed that Marisa was muttering under her breath about something, and Kylar bowed his head. "Sorry."

Marisa's head bolted upright. "For what?" She asked. "For hurting Butch." Kylar said sullenly. Marisa's brow creased, and then she laughed in understanding. "No, no. I'm happy you did what you did. I'm just upset I couldn't do it." Kylar laughed with her, and they walked through the vault. They turned down through the hallways of the Vault, and after the happy mood had passed, they walked in an eerie silence.

"This is it." Marisa said quietly. They walked up a stairway, and through a doorway. A living room. They walked into the next room, and found Alphonse Almodovar. "Overseer." Marisa called out. He started, and turned. He looked at Marisa, and then recognized her. The disgust on his face was amplified when he was that she had brought a Wastelander into his vault. "You have a lot of nerve showing up with this scum Young Lady."

Kylar arched an eyebrow. "That was uncalled for." He said. The Overseer turned to him, and glared. "Are you actually speaking to me?" He asked, appalled. "How, dare you. Hold your tongue you genetically inferior mutant!" Kylar just watched the Overseer, while Marisa stared, wide-eyed. "Let's be clear." Kylar said. "I," He pointed to himself. "Am a genetically inferior scummy mutant." The Overseer nodded. "And you," He said, pointing to the Overseer, "are the epitome of Human life." The Overseer nodded, happy that the mutant got his point.

Kylar sat, and just stared at the Overseer. After a few minutes, he grew uncomfortable. He was about to speak, when Kylar clapped his hands together. "Got it." He jumped to his feet, and walked over to Marisa. "Knife please." She handed him the combat knife that she'd taken from a raider, and he walked over to the Overseer. He shrank back, and Kylar unsheathed his sword, and held it out to the Overseer. "This means a lot to me, and if you chip it, you will wish you had killed yourself with it." He walked to the other side of the room, and slid the head wrap over his eyes.

"What is this?" The Overseer asked suspiciously. "To see who would survive longer in the Wasteland, and who is more suited to lead an open Vault." He said, nodding. "A Scummy mutant, or the Epitome of Humanity." He gestured for the Overseer to attack him. "That is, if you're feeling lucky." He smiled crazily, and held the knife in a limp grip at his sides. The Overseer walked forwards, and eyed the blade in his hands. "Very well." He lunged forwards, and Kylar stepped to the side, dodging his untrained attack. "Very sloppy. No control." Kylar remarked.

The Overseer frowned, and tried an overhand chop. Kylar turned his head to the side, and the blade slid past his hear, and was too short to reach his torso. "Too slow." He said, still grinning. Anger etched it's way across the Overseer's face, and he started to swing in faster succession. Kylar began to use the knife to block and slide past some of the swings, and minutes passed in a comfortable rhythm. Block. Step. Twist. Step. Block. Dodge. Step. Step. Block. Step.

Time passed, and Kylar decided that enough was enough. With the Overseer's next swing, he slid the blade away, twisted the Overseer's arm, and forced him to his knees, one of Kylar's arms holding the Overseer's behind his back, the other holding a knife to his throat. "Touché." He whispered. He let the Overseer to his feet, removed his blindfold, tossed the knife back to Marisa, and resheathed his blade. "Now. Who was inferior to who?" He asked innocently.

"It doesn't matter! I am the Overseer, and the Vault will never open again! I would die before it would, and I would stop at nothing to keep it closed." The Overseer continued like this, and Kylar sighed. "Fanatical. He won't accept any other view than his own. Plan B?" He asked.

Marisa's shoulders dropped, and she took a deep breath. "Plan B." Kylar walked up to the Overseer, took out his pistol, and shot him. He sighed, and closed the now dead Overseer's eyes. "Sileo in Pacis." He whispered. The Overseer fell to the floor, and Kylar dropped a card onto his chest. He let Marisa lead the way. He was unusually quiet, and Marisa wanted to strike up a conversation. "What did you say to him?" She asked. "It was Latin. I learned it in the Vault. Father of most languages. What I said translated roughly into Rest in Peace."

They walked in silence for an equally long period of time, and they hadn't yet reached Amata. "Why didn't you say that to the Raiders that we killed?" She asked bluntly. "We had no choice." He said shortly. "I don't kill when I don't have to." Marisa thought on that for a moment. "But we had to kill the Overseer. Like you said, he wouldn't step down." Kylar was silent, and then he responded. "If….If I hadn't aggravated him, made him angry, then maybe he would still be alive." He said thoughtfully. Marisa patted his shoulder. "No. Even before I left the Vault, he was a fanatic. There was no other choice."

"I'll face the music." Kylar said. Marisa turned to him. "What?" "I'll take the blame. You didn't kill him, I did. So, Amata's fury comes out on me." This was a statement, not an argument, and Marisa knew that. Desperate the change the subject, Marisa searched her mind for something to talk about. "Where'd you learn how to do that?"

"Do what?"

"The bit with the blindfolded knife fight. It was impressive."

"Ah. A mini-nuke went off near me once. I didn't die, or turn into a ghoul obviously, but the rads were hell on my eyes. A client I was traveling with was a doctor, and he fixed me up. He told me that my eyes would be back in business in about a fortnight. Two weeks. So, I traveled to Megaton from there. I managed to fight off some Mole Rats, and a Radscorpion. When I got there, I practiced all I could, and I learned to judge where you are by your footsteps, your breathing, and whatnot. Usually, people hold their breath when when they swing a knife, so I got pretty good at it."

Marisa nodded slowly. "The last two sentences would've been just fine, you know."

"I know."

"Okay."

The two arrived back at the clinic, and Marisa felt the butterfiels in her stomach. She took a deep breath, and walked inside. "Marisa!" Amata ran to her friend's side. "How'd it go? Did he step down?" She was going to respond when she caught herself. Best to let Kylar explain this.

"Yes. He stepped down." Kylar said slowly. He got a sad, and faraway look in his eyes. "But he couldn't live with what he was allowing you to do, or the shame he'd brought upon himself." He walked up to Amata, and put an arm around her shoulder. "I'm sorry, Amata. He was undoubtedly a good man, and a great leader. He did what he thought best for the Vault." He took his arm off of Amata. "I'm sorry."

Amata stared at Kylar, then Marisa. "Is….is that….." She choked on the words. Marisa nodded solemly. "Yes. I'm sorry Amata. He shot himself." She reached for her friend, and Amata cried on Marisa's shoulder. "He-I-Why would he-but-" She stammered her protests, but to Kylar's amazement, she pulled herself together. "Alright." She dried her eyes. "This is not time for hysterics. What's done is done, and that's that." She walked into Marisa's dad's old office. "Excuse me. I have to think for a moment." Marisa stalked up to Kylar.

"What do you think you're doing!?" Kylar looked at her, and she saw the guild in his eyes. "I feel terribly about what I'm doing, but trust me, If she knew the truth, we would never come back here again. And not by our own choice."

Marisa was about to argue with him when Amata came back. "Marisa. Thank you. I don't know what role you had in making my Father step down, but whatever you did, I'm glad you did it. Kylar. Again, the same thing. I can't say I trust you completely, but you haven't proved yourself a savage, and I think that you never will."

Kylar raised an eyebrow, and he winked. "I wouldn't count on that." He said ominously. He nodded towards Amata, and gave a two fingered salute, you know, when you take two fingers to your forehead, and flick them away, and walked out of the room. "C'mon Marisa. We'd best be going. Caused enough disturbance as is, and I doubt that Vault 101's going to remain passive about us being here much longer."

"I have to agree with Kylar Amata. We should go." She walked up to her friend and gave her a big hug. "I missed you. It was great seeing you again. If you ever need anything, just call."

And with that Marisa walked for the Vault door for the second time. The difference this time was she was leaving voluntarily, and was happily doing it. She had a Father out there, and a promise to keep. Not to mention a certain someone waiting for her.

After thinking this, Marisa frowned and wondered who she meant.

She couldn't figure out who she was talking about.

News, people! I'm putting up a pole on my profile, over who if anyone at all should leave the Vault with Marisa and Kylar. Please respond. I'm not going to be able to write another chapter without your vote.

JohnLink – Your reviews leave me smiling and appreciated. Thank you.

ApathyNinja – I'm glad that I straightened things out, and that you are continuing reading my fic. Props to you, from sticking with it from the beginning.

Peace.

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Frost