Hi! Thanks so much for your reviews and favorites, holy crap! Seriously, every time I get an email about it, I get all giddy. As always, I hope you enjoy this chapter! (Also, whoa! Didn't even know about A03!)
Betty slept for almost two days straight after burying Nate at long last. Preston and Mama Murphy, concerned for their newly appointed General of the Minutemen, both visited Betty twice a day. After getting some much needed rest, Hancock busied himself by lending his hand wherever he was needed in Sanctuary, even going over financial aspects of the settlements with Garvey. The Minuteman was surprised to learn that the junkie mayor of Goodneighbor was pretty decent with numbers and there was a method to his madness of running a town of the lawless.
Now, nearly a week later, Betty and her Minutemen were ready to take back the Castle. Preston and a handful of soldiers had gone ahead to secure the perimeter, and to give Betty and Hancock a couple of extra days to recuperate from the ordeal within the vault. She and Hancock were about an hour away from Preston and his group, the morning chilly but beautiful.
"Feels nice to be out of bed," Betty said.
"Could've fooled us," Hancock teased. "You sure you're up to this? Garvey said we could've waited a few more days if you needed it."
"I already put my being General at risk with my behavior. I don't know what the hell got into me, taking so much Med-X like that, but it's never happening again," she said with a frown. "...You didn't have to go clean for me."
"It's just for a little while and it's good to sober up every so often. Chems don't hit ghouls as hard to begin with, and it gives 'em some of their punch back when I do start up again," Hancock explained.
A part of him regretted being so over-zealous about going clean for a few weeks, especially as his temper and hand tremors became more frequent, but he couldn't risk Betty doing something so stupid again, even if she assured him over and over that it was not an intentional overdose. That, coupled with the guilt he felt for not telling her the full truth about himself made for one very sullen ghoul.
"You could barely hold a cup of coffee this morning, John."
"The shakes will be done within a few more days. When we get to the Castle, adrenaline'll kick in and I'll be golden. Come on, Preston and his boys should be just down this road here, if I remember."
The buildings began to thin out as the sound of waves grew louder. Betty's heart began to pump with each step closer to the Castle. She still hadn't seen the ocean since leaving the vault and wasn't sure what she'd find. Would it still be blue or perhaps something more sinister? What creatures, if any, swam within its depths?
"There it is, up ahead," said Hancock with a satisfied grin. He nudged Betty with his elbow and added, "Thought we got turned around back there. Ever since Marcy fixed up Kellogg's threads for ya, I've been a little...distracted."
Betty chuckled at his honesty and looped her arm through his. "After doing what you've done for me, feel free to gawk all you want."
"With pleasure, love," Hancock whispered into her ear as he slid his hand down her back and over her hip, sending a rush up Betty's spine.
As much as he wanted to savor the feeling of digging his fingers into her flesh, guilt reared its ugly head and shoved desire aside to take its place at the very front of Hancock's mind. He had to say something to her, and though he knew she wouldn't shoot him in the head or anything like that, there was the chance that the trust he worked so hard to gain from her would be shattered the moment he confesses. All Hancock could do was hope that she'd listen to his reason for the lie before turning her back on him forever.
A sliver of ocean came into view and it took everything in Betty to not tear off her boots and run into the surf. The water was smooth, with a dark blue hue that was familiar and beautiful all at once. Waves lapped at the shoreline with an almost gentle caress. Maybe after they cleared the Castle of whatever monstrosities it held, Hancock would join her for a walk along the coastline.
Preston stepped out from a run-down truck stop, with a wave of his hat. He saluted both Betty and Hancock as he said, "Great to see you both out and about, General. Everyone's here...and there it is. Pretty impressive, huh? Its real name is Fort Independence, but the Minutemen always just called it the Castle. Now you can see why I wanted to take it back."
Betty nodded and replied, "Definitely. For over 600 years old, it's in pretty good shape!"
"And the bits that ain't, just slap on some tape..maybe a little glue, and you're set," Hancock chimed in.
Preston beamed with pride and explained, "That's right. They don't make 'em like they used to. If we take this place back, people'll know we mean business."
The pair followed Preston inside the truck stop, where the other Minutemen were busy gathering ammo and checking their guns before the fight. Garvey pointed to a suit of incomplete T-60 power armor and grabbed a small box of fusion cores off the dirty counter. "Remember how to use one of these, General? It may not be whole, but it'll protect you just the same."
Hancock rapped his knuckles against the metal helmet and said, "Nice find, Garvey! She'll get the missing pieces eventually...god knows how much crap she finds everywhere we go."
Betty shook her head with a smile and looked back at Preston. "That's wonderful, thank you. What's the plan? I'm new at this whole, General thing so forgive me if I don't get all the protocol right at first."
"No worries. Our primary objective is to clear the courtyard. That's where we'll see the most opposition. The wall on this side is the most exposed, but if we circle around south, we could also reach the main gate," Preston explained.
"Who or...what are we facing in there?" Betty asked as she sat on a stool beside Hancock.
"Mirelurk infestation," said Preston with a scowl. "...Hate those things."
Hancock broke the relative quiet with a burst of laughter as he asked, "That's all? Betty needs power armor for a few god damn mirelurks?"
A Minuteman nodded his head in agreement and shouted, "Yeah, what're we waiting for? Let's just get in there and shoot those lobsters!"
"No, if we split up, we can flank them on both sides," another Minuteman insisted. "It'll be like shooting fish in a barrel."
The third, youngest Minuteman shrugged his shoulders and added, "Why not let them come to us? We set up a firing line on this side and someone could draw them out."
The three Minutemen glanced at Hancock and the ghoul snarled, "The fuck you lookin' at me for? I ain't bait."
"What do you think, General? It's your call," said Preston.
Betty looked at the three young Minutemen who were busy laughing to themselves over Hancock's reaction and said, "I'll be the bait and draw them out...since everyone thinks it's such a keen idea."
Hancock stood up and snapped, "The hell you will-"
"-Not your call, Hancock," said Preston with a hand on the ghoul's shoulder. He dropped his voice to barely a whisper and added, "She'll be fine."
"They're just mirelurks, aren't they, John?" Betty said with a smirk.
Hancock looked away with a frustrated sigh and nodded his head. Garvey was right, and so was Betty.
Preston clapped his hands together with an excited grin and said, "All right, we'll form a firing line and General, just give us a signal when you're ready to rush in. People, you heard her. Let's move out!"
As the Minutemen gathered their weapons, Hancock tugged on Betty's wrist and said, "Birdie, what the hell are ya doing?"
She smiled and replied, "Being the kind of General I'd follow into battle."
Hancock couldn't help but be proud of his partner. "Fair enough. Where do ya want me?"
"By Preston and the others, if you can. I want to show them I can do this on my own. I mean, if I can't survive a couple of mirelurks, why the hell would they keep me as General?" Betty answered before taking the box of fusion cores and loading them into the suit of power armor. She turned the wheel and the suit opened with a hiss as she climbed in. Hancock moved to follow Preston and the others outside when Betty pulled off her helmet and said, "Where the hell are you going?"
"Out with the others, like ya asked?"
She crossed her arms and said, "You expect me to walk into the fire without any luck?"
Hancock laughed and grabbed a firm hold of her armor, pulling her close enough for the ghoul to plant a kiss on the corner of her lip. "Come back to me in one piece...General Parker."
"Always."
"Need any more luck? Can give ya a day's worth in less than ten."
"After two centuries, I'm gonna need more than ten minutes, but we have a Castle to take back."
"Business first," said Hancock before he winked and joined the other Minutemen outside the truck stop.
"..Pleasure later," Betty said under her breath as she picked up a few extra magazines.
"Heard that!" her partner shouted from outside.
She shook with laughter and thought, Charming bastard.
"Heard that, too!"
"How the...shut up and...keep rank out there!"
Hancock and the Minutemen burst into laughter as Betty held back her own. She gathered herself and took a moment to check her assault rifle and stepped out into the sun once more. She walked among the ranks and found Hancock on Preston' right, stifling his grin.
"Ready?" she asked the firing squad, the helmet giving her voice a metallic ring.
"For the finest fuckin' seafood boil the Commonwealth has to offer," Hancock answered, his face serious, and the men around him cheered.
The soldiers all took aim for the break in the Castle wall and waited with bated breath on their General's command.
Betty nodded and faced the ruins of the Castle. She walked past the wall and counted at least ten mirelurks scuttling about the center of the fort. Nests filled with unhatched eggs peppered the ground and she took a deep breath before taking aim at the largest mirelurk before firing off an entire clip. Two razorclaws fell and the others turned towards the source of bullets.
"Over here, assholes!" Betty shouted, shooting a few more rounds. "Right this way if you please!
She waited until she the mirelurks were almost upon her before she turned on her heel and ran to the break in the fort wall. A mirelurk that managed to sneak behind her snapped its pincers at her head and she knocked it onto its back with her arm before taking a blind shot.
"There's the General!" Preston shouted. "Remember, aim for their eyes!
"What's the signal?" a Minuteman asked.
"Who fuckin' cares! Shoot, god damn it!" shouted Hancock and the squad began to fire.
The nest of eggs closest to the broken wall hatched all at once and a group of mirelurk hatchlings crawled out and followed Betty until they found an unaware Minuteman who'd broken away from the firing squad. He was overwhelmed by the sheer number of them and screamed as they began to burrow into his skin and eat him alive.
By the time Betty reached the Minuteman and pulled him up by the collar of his shirt, he was dead and a hatchling crawled out of his mouth. She dropped the soldier to the ground with horror and shouted, "We lost him, keep firing!"
"Garvey, duck!" Hancock bellowed and Preston dropped down just in time for the ghoul to fire a blast at the mirelurk that loomed behind the Minuteman, killing it instantly.
"We need all shotguns up front, come on!" Betty shouted. The few soldiers carrying shotguns reluctantly moved forward and took aim once more.
It felt like eternity but the fight against the mirelurks didn't last long. At the end of it, everyone was gasping for breath, not expecting such a fight from some overgrown lobsters. Preston, Hancock, and the others followed Betty into the Castle center, some of the men stomping their boots into nests that have yet to hatch.
"Damn, looks like they've been nesting. We're gonna have to take out these eggs or they'll be back before we know it," said Preston.
"'Lurks like to hole up inside old buildings, so the walls are probably full of 'em," Hancock added.
Preston nodded and replied, "Sure looks that way. Here's how we're going to play this: Everyone hold here in the courtyard and take care of any eggs you find. The General and I can clear the walls."
The Minuteman beckoned Betty to follow him into the Castle itself, and she marveled at how well the fort held up after six centuries. One day, it would be swallowed whole by the vengeful sea, but the fort would survive at least another two hundred years if they were lucky.
Preston and Betty dispatched the nests they found within the walls together in silence, until Garvey spoke up, his voice low and filled with concern for his friend.
"Betty...I have to ask. What happened at Sanctuary that had Hancock banging his fist on my door at 1am for medicine?" he asked.
Betty could hardly look Preston in the eye when she admitted, "I...went to see my late husband back at the vault. I was still pretty beat up from the fight at Fort Hagen so I took some Med-X. Realized I didn't feel much on it, and when I saw him again...it was a lot to process. I was such a mess, I didn't even notice how many I took. John found me, brought me back from the brink, and sold all his chems the next day to Trashcan Carla when she was in town. Said he wanted to go clean for a few weeks."
"Sounds like he's worried you'd pull a stunt like that again...I am, too."
Betty groaned before she answered, "I had a feeling that was his motive, but I promised him so I'll promise you, too: There's nothing for either of you to worry about. Chems were never my thing, even when I was young and wild."
Preston chuckled and said, "You were wild before the war, too?"
"Didn't think I was wild at all compared to anyone in post-apocalyptia."
"Mayor Hancock brings it out of you. You're a bit grittier and more fiery since you left us."
"Had to be to survive out here."
"You know, I didn't think I'd like him much-"
"-But he grew on you?" said Betty. "That seems to be the case with most of the people he's met since leaving Goodneighbor. He tells people a good story, one that paints him in a good light of course, buys them a drink, and then they realize he's pretty awesome to be around."
They both laughed as they cleared out what used to be the General's quarters when the entire Castle foundation shook with great force. Betty and Preston stared at one another before rushing out into the courtyard to find a grand titan of a mirelurk emerging from what was left of a fort wall.
"Christ, a Queen," Preston whispered. He marched out into the courtyard and shouted, "GET INSIDE THE CASTLE WALLS!"
It was absolute chaos within the courtyard as the Minutemen gave the Mirelurk Queen all the possible hellfire they could muster. Only a few soldiers managed to escaped into the protective walls of the fort, but the rest remained pinned by the Queen, Hancock at the head of the group.
"Keep firin'!" Hancock shouted. "Give that bitch all ya got!"
The Mirelurk Queen spewed out a wave of burning, green acid, searing any exposed flesh of those unfortunate enough to be in her path before she jabbed out one of her claws, skewering a Minuteman. She lifted him to her massive maw and bit him clean in half before tossing the rest of the body across the courtyard.
Betty dashed out into the center of the courtyard and fired off her assault rifle to give the group of soldiers a fighting chance to run. The Mirelurk Queen turned and Betty swore if she wasn't wearing power armor at that moment, her legs would've given out from sheer fright.
"Birdie!" Hancock shouted as he pushed several soldiers into the safety of the Castle's walls. "Birdie, lead her away from here!"
"And then what?" she shouted back as she stumbled over a ruined nest.
"Keep shootin'!"
Betty rolled out of the way as another wave of green acid spewed from the Queen Mirelurk. She stabbed at Betty several times before the vault girl managed to scramble to her feet. She took aim at the Queen's face and prayed that whatever Hancock had up his sleeve was enough.
The moment Betty took the Mirelurk Queen's full attention, Hancock made a run and wild leap for the Queen's armored back. He climbed until he was at eye level with her, a full twenty feet above the ground.
"What the fuck are you doing?!" Betty shouted.
"Kinda wingin' it!" Hancock shouted back.
He glanced down and saw Betty get to her feet and pull the trigger of her assault rifle as bullets whizzed by his head. The ghoul ducked down behind the Queen's armored head, keeping a firm hold on her shell as he dug through his pockets for the last of his grenades, one of which, much to his surprise, was a Nuka grenade.
"Well, he-llo!" he said to himself with a smirk.
The Queen spit out acid once again, melting away some of the metal on Betty's power armor before the she shouted, "God damn it, John, hurry!"
"Stop shootin' and run! Get away from her!" Hancock shouted to Betty before he muttered to himself, "Man, this is gonna fuckin' suck."
"Over here, General!" Preston shouted, waving Betty over to a small alcove.
Hancock climbed down to the Queen's shoulder and pulled the pin of the Nuka grenade before he shoved it into the Queen's gaping mouth, the other grenades soon joining it. Now, the ghoul had a choice: either jump down twenty feet or climb down, both of which didn't have a great outcome for him. He made a leap for a swinging claw as the Queen lowered it and the grenades went off in quick succession before his boots touched the ground.
The Queen screeched with her dying breath as Betty ran out into the courtyard, Preston close at her heels. "John! JOHN, ANSWER ME!"
The other Minutemen followed as Betty rammed her shoulder beneath the Queen's armored shell and pushed with all her strength, still shouting Hancock's name. A group of Minutemen lifted the heavy left claw and found the ghoul unconscious beneath it. Betty ripped off her helmet, throwing it aside and fell to her knees beside him, checking for a pulse. It was weak, but still present.
"General, does he have a pulse?" Preston asked warily.
"Barely," Betty whispered, her voice choking up. Not again, not again, to lose him now was soul-crushing pain. "Jesus...don't leave me now, John. We were just getting started.."
Preston grabbed her shoulder with a firm hand and said, "Focus, General. He's got a pulse, he's got a chance."
The last thing Hancock remembered was stuffing a live Nuka grenade down the Queen's throat...maybe adding the four frags to it was a bit of overkill. Everything, absolutely every part of his broken body was either aching, sore, or on fire. Even opening his dark eyes took effort, but at least he wasn't dead. His lucky streak since meeting Betty had not come to a fiery end.
He looked over the edge of his cot, broken ribs straining against the tight bandages and saw an empty bedroll. Betty's now scarred power armor stood in the corner, almost as if it were keeping a watchful eye on him, but all he wanted to see was his girl, her lovely blue eyes, and confess the lie that had been churning in the pit of his stomach for the past week.
Betty walked into the General's quarters, holding a large bowl of mirelurk stew one of the Minutemen prepared and screamed as she saw Hancock attempt a smile, the bowl shattering at her boots. She leapt over the mess and crouched beside the bed, taking his hand in hers.
"John," she whispered, eyes welling up with tears. "I thought I lost you.."
"W-what the hell happened?" Hancock asked as he wiped Betty's cheek with a wince of pain. "Didn't think you'd cry over me much. No reason to..."
Betty bent and kissed his cheek several times before she said, "Say that again and I'll kick your ass the second you can stand up. As for what happened, one of the grenades went off early and set off the others. You killed the Queen, but she almost took you with her."
"God..ugh!" Hancock shouted as he tried to sit up. "Damn you, Cricket! Birdie, I need ya to kick her ass for me."
"Done.
"He chuckled and asked, "How bad is the damage? Me and the Castle both."
"You should be just fine, the Castle as well, but I'd like for you to rest a little longer. I was thinking maybe you'd walk some of the coast with me before we go see Detective Valentine. I missed the ocean."
"Good, good...didn't want to kick the bucket without tellin' you something first."
Hancock tried to get up once more but Betty pressed a gentle, firm hand against his chest and shook her head. "You have to lay down, please-"
"-I lied to you, Birdie!" Hancock managed to spit out.
She stiffened at his words and sat back with hard eyes. "About what? How bad of a lie are we talking here? Bad as in, 'I ate the last snack cake when I was high and blamed it on Dogmeat' bad or more, 'I have a secret family that I left for dead' bad?"
Hancock shook his head and took her hand in his before he explained, "It's...tricky, what I'm about to say, so lemme get it all out before you decide how pissed off you wanna be. It's just...being out here with you, it's made me realize that most of my life up to this point, I've been running out on the good things I got. Skipped out on my family and my life in Diamond City. Took up with you to get the hell outta of Goodneighbor. Hell, running from myself is what made me into...into a god damn ghoul."
He took a deep breath, ignoring the stabbing pain beneath his ribs before he continued.
"But being here, with you, is the first time in my life things felt...right. And running is the furthest thing from my mind, I can promise you that. Can't stand the thought of leavin' ya, to be honest. Whether it's fate, destiny, or just god damn coincidence, I ended up with you. As long as ya want me, I'm there until the end. I turned one of the nastiest settlements in the entire Commonwealth into a refuge for the lost. I thought I'd done somethin' I could hang my hat on. Now, after you became General and we took back this place I realize how small time I'd been thinkin' and maybe, just maybe, all that runnin' I did wasn't such a bad thing in the end."
"I'm not sure I understand," she said. "What do you mean, 'running from yourself'?"
"That's...what I lied about. Not even Fahrenheit knows the truth but...that chem that turned me ghoul? I...I knew it would. Wouldn't even get me high but I knew that, too. All I hoped for was that it would hurt like all hell and it fuckin' did. Like...being swallowed whole by fire for hours. I thought I was gonna croak, but...I just couldn't stand looking at that fuckin' bastard I saw in the mirror anymore. The coward who'd let all those ghouls from Diamond City die. Who was too scared to protect his fellow drifters from Vic and his boys."
"Oh, John.." Betty whispered, and she squeezed his hand tight. She crawled into the bed beside him and kissed his cheek before she said, "I'm so sorry."
"I thought if I took it," he continued, trying his best not to choke up at the memory, "I'd never have to look at him again. I could put that all behind me. I'd be free. Didn't seem like a choice at all. Turns out it was just me runnin' from somethin' else in my life because every night...I still see him when I close my eyes."
"And the memory den? Don't tell me you actually-"
"-That was the only bit of truth. Every few months, I pay a visit and remind myself how it was. How I used to be."
"You don't have to punish yourself anymore. You're a great man, one of the greatest I've ever met."
"Been tryin' to convince myself of that for a long time, but hearing that comin' from someone like you...I...I don't know if you understand what that means to me."
Betty lay her head on Hancock's chest and he pulled her close before he lit a cigarette.
"So lemme get to the point. Throwing in with you is the best decision I've ever made. It's like I found a part of myself I never realized was missing...which happens sometimes when you're a ghoul, but don't worry, all the exciting parts are still there. If I hadn't taken up with you, I'd probably be in a gutter somewhere, gettin' gnawed on by radroaches. You've been one hell of friend."
"Friend, huh?" she said with a smirk.
"That bit ain't up to me now, Birdie."
There was a heavy knock on the door before it opened a crack and Preston asked, "I hope to god you're both decent in there."
"Yeah, she already sat on my face, don't worry," Hancock answered. Preston groaned as he walked in and Betty glanced up at her partner with questioning eyes. "Don't tell me you don't know what that means," the ghoul said with a chuckle.
"Maybe we called it something else before the war?"
Hancock's smile a bit devious, he beckoned Betty closer and whispered a rather descriptive explanation. She sat up with a gasp and swatted at his shoulder. He tried to squirm out of the way but the ghoul's injuries proved too serious and he shouted out, "Ugh, my fuckin' ribs!"
"And even if I did let you do that, you'd just...announce it to anyone walking by?" whispered Betty, her face flushed.
"Not everybody!" Hancock replied with a pained laughed. "Look at you and look at me, no one would believe me anyway!"
Preston bent down and picked up the forgotten, broken bowl with a laugh and said, "General, there's a woman here to see you, Ronnie Shaw."
Betty nodded and leaned over to give Hancock a peck on his gaunt cheek before she took to her feet. "Duty calls, I guess. You want something to eat before I go?"
"Stew smelled pretty damn good but I don't wanna keep ya, General," he replied with a wink.
"I'll bring him some, you can meet with Shaw," said Preston.
Betty left her quarters and stepped out to find the day just as beautiful as the last. She and the Minutemen harvested as much meat the previous night as they could before dragging the broken shells and mirelurk remains out to the truck stop to dispose of later.
An elderly woman, wearing military fatigues and an old beret stood beside the Radio Freedom tower, having a chat with one of the Minutemen. Betty waved and walked over to introduce herself.
"There you are! Finally! I've been waiting to talk to you," said Shaw as they shook hands.
"Here I am," Betty replied. "What did you need?"
"I'm Ronnie Shaw, Commonwealth Minutemen. At least I was, back before Joe Becker got himself killed and the idiots took over," said Shaw.
"Who's Joe Becker?"
"I heard you're new at all this, so I'm gonna give you a pass for that one. General Becker used to run the Minutemen, the last real leader we ever had. After he died, there wasn't anybody left with the guts and brains to pull things together. Then, I heard you were trying to get the Minutemen back on their feet. Thought I'd come see the new General for myself. So what's your story? What makes you think anybody even wants the Minutemen back?" asked Shaw.
"At least we're trying to help people. We have more than ten settlements now, more if you include the ones that are still empty for the time being. Can you say the same?" Betty answered coolly.
"Don't give me any attitude, girl. I've been a Minuteman longer than you've been alive," said Shaw. "But, I've heard good things about what you've been doing. Wouldn't be here otherwise."
Betty chuckled and asked, "Are you offering to rejoin?"
"Guess I am, but first things first. I'm probably the only one who still remembers this, but the Castle's armory was located in the west bastion," Shaw explained as she pointed to the door built into what was left of that side of the fort. "All our best equipment was stored in there. Weapons, ammo, schematics, you name it."
"Do you know some way to open this door?"
"No. And even if we could blast it open, we'd destroy what's inside while we're at it. So if we can't go through, we'll go around. Let's have a look at your quarters."
Betty followed Ronnie and she asked, "What's in my quarters?"
"Another way into the armory."
Ronnie Shaw walked through the door without a knock and barely even gave Hancock a glance as she examined the pile of rubble and debris beside the doorway.
"Uh...you ain't my softskin," Hancock said. "So who the fuck are ya?"
"Ronnie Shaw, Commonwealth Minutemen."
When Betty appeared in the doorway, Hancock tried to sit up with a groan and managed to rest on his elbows. "Birdie, when are you gonna let me get outta bed? I'll go feral over here!"
"Please don't," Betty answered with a laugh. "And you've been awake for less than a half hour."
"You know what Garvey did to me? He put the stew all the way over there on the table and just left me in this bed to starve," said Hancock.
Betty grabbed the still-warm bowl of stew and brought it over to her partner. Whenever he reached for it, she held it just out of reach several times until she burst with laughter when he snatched it out of her hands, spilling a bit on himself.
"God damn it," Hancock muttered. "If I weren't crazy about ya, I'd throw this stew across the room."
"Gonna need to clear this rubble here," said Shaw. "I'll grab us some shovels."
"What's goin' on, General?" Hancock asked Betty.
"Ronnie is a Minuteman from way back when and she told me about an armory here. We're trying to find another way in. Main door is locked," she explained. The ghoul tried to sit up yet again and Betty shook her head. "Don't even think about it. Should I tie you down to the bed or can I trust you to rest?"
"...What're you gonna wear when ya do tie me up?"
Betty leaned in and gave Hancock an eyeful of her chest as she whispered, "If you stay in bed...I'll wear-"
-Ronnie walked back into the room and handed Betty a shovel before they began to dig.
"Wear what?" Hancock pleaded. "Wear what?"
"Now you'll never know," Betty answered with a smirk and the ghoul threw his head back with a sigh.
When the rubble was cleared away, Betty turned to follow Ronnie down the stone steps and into the castle tunnels as Hancock shouted for her to take his .44 magnum just in case.
"Pretty dark down here," Ronnie said over her shoulder. "We'd better watch our step."
Within the tunnels, Betty could hardly see more than a foot in front of her. The darkness was of some help, as it was much easier for her to notice the frag mines strewn about and she managed to disarm any before she or Ronnie came too close.
They passed a room filled with canon balls and bags of concrete before they came across two machine gun turrets that Betty dispatched using Hancock's gun. She made a mental note to thank him later for the reminder.
When they passed a fusion core generator, Ronnie held up her hand and whispered, "The Sarge might still be down here."
"Who's the Sarge?" Betty asked.
An automated voice announced, "Sentrybot designation SARGE powering up..."
"Aw, shit," Betty muttered.
"Don't worry, it's one of ours."
"ERROR! File corruption detected," announced Sarge before he let loose a hail of bullets.
Betty and Ronnie ducked behind a pillar and waited for a break in his firing to take a few shots at the sentrybot.
"If we can get him to overheat, he'll expose his fusion cores and we can disable him!"
"Screw THAT!" Betty shouted. "He'd kill us before we get that far!"
She armed the few frag mines she disarmed from earlier and pulled a shoelace from her boot. She tied the fusion core she pulled from the generator to several of the armed mines and tossed them around the corner at the sentrybot. Sarge ran over the mines and the fusion core exploded with a searing blast that shook the very foundation of the Castle.
Shaw and Betty coughed as the thick smoke dissipated, and Ronnie clapped a hand on the Sole Survivor's shoulder.
"Too bad Sarge went haywire. He's been guarding the Castle since...forever, far as I know, but that was some quick thinking there, General."
Betty gave her a weak smile and said, "My partner's a good teacher."
Up ahead, past a now-destroyed Sarge, was a security door locked up tight and a terminal where Ronnie took a seat and began to type.
"Let's see...I used to know this password. 'One if by land'...no, that's not it. 'For the Commonwealth'...goldurnit..it's been a long time," explained Shaw.
"Unless there's another robot in here trying to kill us, take your time, it's fine."
"Nah, just 'ol Sarge...United we stand?" The security door swung open and Shaw smiled. "Yep, that was it!"
Inside the next room was another terminal and a mummified body of a man wearing a colonial type outfit. Betty almost laughed when she realized it would be something Hancock would wear, given the chance.
Shaw looked at the mummified remains and shrugged her shoulders. "That explains all the landmines. This is, well...was, General McGann. He had your job when I first joined up. Must've gotten trapped down here, but he did manage to keep the armory secure..I'll give him that much. Uniform is yours now, if you want it. This old geezer doesn't need it anymore."
Betty pulled the uniform from the body of McGann and folded it before tucking it beneath her arm. Shaw reached down and grabbed the hat, plopping it down on Betty's head.
"Rest in Peace, General. Your fight is done and the Minutemen live on," Shaw said with a salute.
Betty followed suit and said, "I'll make sure he's buried on the Castle grounds."
Ronnie snorted and replied, "No point in getting sentimental over something that happened forty years ago, but you can bury him later if you like. Come one, armory's just through here."
At the top of another set of stone steps, was the impenetrable metal door that led to the Castle courtyard. Betty pressed the button beside it and the door opened with a loud, metallic groan.
Several Minutemen pointed their muskets at Betty until they realized it was their own General, and they quickly saluted.
"There's a body down these steps here," she told her soldiers. "Bury him with care and let me know when it's done."
The Minutemen nodded and a few headed down the steps. Betty followed Shaw into the armory and was impressed with what she found. It wasn't Hancock's strongroom, but it held its own...and enough firepower to deal with any foolish enough to attack.
"Here," said Ronnie as she handed Betty a set of papers. "Schematics to build artillery."
"Like...mortars?" Betty asked with a bit of excitement.
"Kills your enemies from miles away."
"I'll have Preston start building them right away. Thank you, Ronnie. My soldiers could use someone with a little experience showing them how it's done."
"Welcome. I'll get started on some drills, if you'd excuse me, General."
"Of course."
Shaw saluted her General before Betty rushed out into the courtyard and flagged down Preston, who was just about to leave for a supply run. She handed him the schematics without a word and watched as his face contorted from one of confusion to one of absolute joy. He hugged Betty, forgetting that she was a General for a moment and called over several Minutemen to help gather the materials needed to rebuild.
Now that everything seemed to be falling into place for the Minutemen, Betty decided to pay a visit to a ghoul who was probably losing his mind with boredom. She headed for her quarters and found Hancock sitting up in bed, smoking a cigarette and reading an issue of Guns and Bullets.
"The fuck was all that shakin' earlier? Thought another Queen wandered in," said Hancock as he lowered the magazine. "You all right, love?"
"I made a bomb out a fusion core and some frag mines I found down in the tunnels. Blew up a rogue sentrybot," she explained as she sat on the bed beside her ghoul. "It was fucking awesome, you should've seen it."
"Woulda seen it if you let me get out of bed," Hancock grumbled. He nodded towards the hat Betty still wore and asked, "What's with the hat?"
"Oh!" Betty laughed as she tossed the hat on the table. She stood up and unfolded the uniform tucked beneath her arm to show Hancock. "This is the General's uniform. Neat, huh?"
"Very cool."
She smiled as she looked over the General's uniform and began to fold it neatly when Hancock asked, "What the hell are you doin', Birdie?"
"Putting it away?"
"The hell you are, wear it!" He took the uniform from her hands and unfolded it before he said, "You're General of the Minutemen. You, Birdie. And folks out there in the wasteland are gonna be lookin' for the babe in the navy coat. They gotta look up to someone so why not the bad ass who killed Kellogg, the Sole Survivor of Vault 111?"
Betty chuckled and whispered, "You really think I can do it all? Find Shaun, command the Minutemen army, and help the Commonwealth?"
"Every damn day since I've met ya. C'mon, lemme help you with it."
Hancock helped Betty with her coat and turned her to face him as he buttoned it for her.
"Go on, take a look, and maybe you'll finally see what I see," he said as he pointed to a mirror beside the door.
Betty hardly recognized the woman staring back at her. No longer was she a straight edge attorney. Now, she truly was a defender of the people. And damn did she ever look the part.
"I'm a General," she whispered. "Fucking hell."
"And a damn fine one at that!" said Hancock. "Beautiful, too. C'mon and sit. Tell me about this makeshift Nuka grenade you came up with and the armory. I hate missin' all the action."
The ghoul lifted his arm with a wince but managed to make room for his girl as she explained in great detail what happened to her as he was stuck in bed.