DANGER LURKS AT EVERY TURN

Dawn went back outside and decided to walk towards Killian's office. Then, at the far end of the street, she thought she saw a familiar face. She walked closer and realized who it was. Maddie had made her way into Junktown. She still had her messenger bag and red and black outfit on but was not wearing face paint. Her katanas were still strapped to her back and her hair was in a ponytail. She looked at Dawn with the biggest smile on her face.

"Well, you're easy to find," Maddie sarcastically greeted with a smirk.

They hugged.

"How did…why are you…?" Dawn tried to say.

"I broke out. I had to. You remember Selene, right? She sent her Legion after me."

"Selene?"

"Don't worry about her, she's dead now."

"Maddie, I'm so glad you're here. I missed you so much, but you need to be in there."

"No, it's okay. I'm better now," Maddie claimed.

"Says who?" Dawn snapped back.

"Says me."

Dawn laughed. They walked down the sidewalk.

"So, what brought you to Junktown?" Maddie wondered.

"Ah you know, got a whole gang of mercenaries wanting to kill me. Nothing new," Dawn sarcastically stated.

"I know about the Outcasts; I heard from someone back at Primm. I've been so worried about you. I saw the trail of bodies you left back there. Beautiful."

"I didn't do it alone. I met someone who's been helping me."

"About that. Who is he?" Maddie seemed envious of her newfound friend.

"Just a friend," Dawn answered, "Without him, I never would have made it. I want you to meet him."

"Fine. But you should know that the Outcasts are headed this way."

"Don't worry, this town is full of soldiers. Look, I'm going to Killian's office to discuss this."

Killian's office was located next to his store. The guards outside recognized Dawn and let her through along with Maddie. Killian sat at his desk. Dawn and Maddie sat across from him.

"The Outcasts will definitely be here soon," Killian stated.

"I assume the NCR will do nothing," Dawn noted.

"We're not on their territory which mean we don't pay the taxes, so it's safe to assume we are on our own."

"We can leave, myself, Maddie, Damon, we can lure them elsewhere. Like I said before, I don't want to bring this upon you."

"They're coming even if you did leave. We will fight back against them. The monster was created and the monster will be destroyed."

"We'll do it," Dawn said while taking a deep breath.

"They were the same assholes that took Primm hostage," Maddie added, "They want that Damon kid."

"And we will protect him," Killian confirmed.

"Speaking of him, we should go look for him," Dawn advised.

"All right but be prepared."

Dawn and Maddie were outside an abandoned car dealership. There were Corvegas, Pick-R-Ups, station wagons, and vans. Most of them were rusted and damaged. The window in the dealership had been smashed.

"Maddie," Dawn said, "There's something you should know about Damon."

Maddie turned to face her.

"This whole town is a synth refuge," she continued, "I know how you feel about synths."

"He's one of them?" Maddie assumed.

"Yes. He told me a few days ago."

Maddie remained silent.

"Do you trust him?" Maddie asked.

"Of course, he helped me and we must help him."

"He must be from the Institute."

"He's a gen 3, an advanced human replica. The Outcasts want to use him to get to the Institute. We can't allow that."

"If you trust him, I'll help you protect him. If he goes haywire, I'll kill him."

Later that evening, Dawn sat on the porch dressed in olive drab and silver combat armor. She had an assault rifle, her .45, a 9mm machine gun, and her knife, Slayer. Maddie was on the lawn practicing throwing knives into a dead tree. She wore her half red and half black outfit but no face paint. Maddie had told her what happened at the asylum. There was a sense of relief that Selene had perished, but there remained another threat. Then, Dawn heard a noise which sounded like lightning. She looked back into the house and saw a flash of blue light. A few seconds later, Damon walked out to the front porch.

"What was that?" Dawn asked.

"I had something I needed to take care of," he answered.

"I've been looking all over for you. Should've told me."

Damon saw Maddie staring at him with a mean look.

"Is that…?" He started.

"Damon, meet Maddie," Dawn introduced them as she stood up, "And Maddie, this is Damon."

"Nice to meet you."

Maddie just stared at him.

"So, you've been helping Dawn?" Maddie asked with a sense of jealousy.

"That's right, and she's been helping me."

Maddie walked to the porch and extended her hand. Damon shook it.

"It's a pleasure to meet you," Maddie said with a half smile.

"I heard so many great things about you."

"Well, I'm glad we are acquainted," Dawn added.

"Hey Dawn, can I speak with you alone out back?" Damon requested.

"Yeah sure," she answered. "Maddie, I'll be right back."

Damon led her outside where the large device was.

"So where did you go?" Dawn asked.

"I went back to the Institute. But I didn't mean to leave you, so I want you to do me a favor, see this right here?"

"Yeah and what is it?"

"It's a teleporter. It's how to get into the Institute. I want you to step on that platform and I'll send you there."

Dawn was stunned by Damon's request.

"Why? I want to stay here," Dawn insisted.

"This isn't your fight. It's mine. I told them about you and they want you to join them."

"This is crazy."

"Please, Dawn, I don't want to endanger your life or Maddie's. There's a whole life in the Commonwealth for you."

"No, Damon. I want to help you. I'm not leaving you here."

Damon took a deep breath. He stared up at the sky and then looked at Dawn.

"Dawn, I haven't been completely honest about who I am. Who I really am and what I really do."

Dawn had a look of confusion.

"I knew it," she confirmed her suspicions and then asked, "What have you been hiding from me?"

"Now, I am a synth and I am from the Institute. You and me, we've traveled together and I consider you to be a true friend. If I tell you what I do-"

"Hey, you can tell me, you better tell me," Dawn told him with a slight chuckle.

"This is hard, but I'm actually-"

Before Damon could finish, a large cargo plane flew over them.

"Shit, they're here," Damon said.

"I'm staying here," Dawn reiterated.

She went back through the house. Damon stood still and then followed her. Out in the streets, the residents got their weapons ready and ran towards the entrance. Dawn saw that Maddie was not there. She decided to head towards the entrance. Killian and the rest of the residents were gathered near the front. Dawn looked around the crowd for Maddie. Then, Kalnor walked up to Killian and said something to him. Soon after, Rowan, Ivy, and a few other of the Outcasts walked through the gate. Dawn looked to her side and saw that Damon had disappeared. She moved closer to hear the conversation between Killian and Rowan.

"I know about this place, Killian," Rowan warned, "I know it's a sanctuary for synths and that somewhere amongst this paradise of junk he is here. Just hand him over and we'll leave."

"I'm not handing him over," Killian disputed, "I advise you to just turn around and leave the kid alone."

"You would risk the lives of everyone here to save one synth?"

"They're ready, willing, and able to fight. If they were truly afraid of the Outcasts, Damon would be right here in front of you."

"All right, you made your point."

Rowan signaled for his crew to walk out of Junktown. Killian looked back at the crowd.

"Take your positions, that ain't the last of them," he instructed.

Everyone ran for cover except for Dawn. Killian walked up to her.

"You ready for this?" He asked.

"Yeah."

"Damon told you to leave, right?"

"Wait, that was your idea?"

"It was, but I should've known you would never back down."

"I'm fighting for you and this town. Synths or anybody else should have a place to escape from the dangers of the wasteland."

"Right, and you should get ready, I have a feeling these assholes will bust in here."

Killian took his position alongside Kalnor behind a barricade made of sandbags in front of an abandoned building. The residents scattered around, looking for cover. Dawn looked at the rooftops and saw no one. She figured it was too late to change the plan, so she climbed the ladder. Then, a loud explosion was heard near the entrance. The Outcasts ran in and climbed over the walls with grappling hooks. Ivy walked through the blown-out wall with a missile launcher. A full-scale war had broken loose. Dawn tried to find Killian down below, but smoke had covered the area. More of the Outcasts climbed the wall and she gunned them down. Then, Maddie, now wearing her face paint, appeared and stabbed a mercenary. She dragged him behind a building, leaving Dawn to imagine what torturous method she would use. Then, an explosion occurred near her. The blast nearly knocked her off the roof. Dawn decided to climb down. She shot any Outcasts she could find as she ran out into the street. The residents also returned fire. Then, Ivy aimed her missile launcher. As the missile came out, a bullet struck the missile. The blast blew Ivy against the wall. Damon was behind Dawn, holding a sniper rifle.

"Nice shot," she told him.

More residents ran down the street. Maddie joined them.

"Follow me," Damon instructed, "More of them are coming from the back and attacking the buildings."

"Let's move," Dawn replied.

They jogged towards the back of Junktown, passing stores, houses, and the arcade while listening to the echo of gunfire.

"Thanks for staying, Dawn," Damon said, "I knew you weren't leaving."

"I would never leave you behind. But you and me need to have a serious talk once this is over."

"It's hard to believe you're a synth," Maddie added, "The ones I met tried to kill me."

"Don't worry about me, I've been programed by the Institute to accomplish any tasks I've been assigned."

"What do you mean by that?" Dawn asked.

"I'll tell you when we have that serious talk."

"What if they program you differently?" Maddie inquired.

"Let's hope they don't," he answered.