Butch barely recognized her when she first walked in.
It started when he heard two pairs of footsteps, the thud of heavy boots breaking the hallway's silence. As they came further up the stairs, Butch could make out differing sets of combat armor. One was spray painted black, welding itself to the darkness, while the other was standard army green.
Finally, they appeared in their entirety. The first thing he noticed, the first thing anybody would notice, was the weaponry. Both were carrying assault rifles on their back, with the one in green also sporting a shotgun. They each had a sidearm as well, the one in green spotting a revolver, the man in black sporting a standard 10mm pistol.
The next thing was that they were caked head to toe in dirt and grime. The one in green, a women Butch was sure, had her hair matted by the dirt. As they journeyed closer towards him, he could make out the litany of scars and scabs that dotted their faces and arms.
Butch mustered what courage he could and then made his way towards him, quickly brandishing his switchblade. You could never be too careful after all.
The man immediately pulled out his sidearm and moved to level it at him, before the woman caught his arm.
"Easy Jericho, I know this guy," She said, "Nice toothpick Butch, did it come with a steak dinner?"
Butch started at that voice. 'No fucking way.'
"Esther? That really you? Damn, look who came waltzing back into the Vault."
"Yep, Esther the Molester back in action," she said, and Butch had the grace to act a little ashamed at the reminder of his childhood bullying. "I got Amata's message and I'm here to help."
"Yeah, we're real knights in shining armor." Jericho grumbles next to her
"Right. Butch, this is Jericho, meanest son of a bitch this side of the Potomac. Jericho, this is Butch, he's the leader of the fiercest gang in Vault 101, The Tunnel Snakes."
"Is that right? You're the big swinging dick around here?"
Butch gave a toothy grin "That's right man, I'm with the Tunnel Snakes. We rule!"
Jericho sends a sharp glare towards Esther that she pointedly ignores.
"So, you want to take us to Amata?" she prompts.
"For sure. Hell, you get us out of this, and I'll never bother you again. Tunnel Snake's honor."
Butch leads them a little way down the hall, towards what Esther recognizes as the old medical clinic. Inside a wave of nostalgia washes over her, as she sees many faces thought long lost. At the far end, looking over a small wound on Suzie Mack's arm, sits Amata.
Many eyes swiftly look towards the front door, Amata leaps up when she spots Esther, quickly making her way over to her, and wraps her up in a tight hug.
"Oh my God, you're back! You got my message and came back!" She stops for a second as her nose crinkles. "Oh my god, you reek. When's the last time you took a shower?"
"They didn't have lavender breeze at the hotel. I figured, why even bother?"
Amata gave a quiet snort, though her expression began to shift as she got a better look at Esther and her companion.
"Uh, hi. Are you a friend of Esther?"
"Nope."
Esther gave a sharp look towards Jericho that he pointedly ignored. "Amata, this is Jericho. Don't let the look fool you, he's a big softie. Jericho, this is Amata, she's my best friend."
They exchange a fleeting greeting with each other as Amata drags Esther over to a couple chairs in the corner to catch up. Meanwhile, Butch made his way back to his position up the hall and Jericho plopped himself in an office chair and proceeded to take a gulp from his flask.
"I'm glad you could make it. Things have been crazy since you left. Wally's dad became the new Overseer and he's gone mad with power! He won't let any of us leave, and he's threatened to shoot anybody who tries."
"I know, I had to stop Taylor from killing Freddie on my way in."
"Oh God, really? You didn't hurt him, did you?"
"Nah, he's not hurt." Esther placated. 'Can't be hurt if you're dead.'
"Well anyway, the worst part is I found that the vault wasn't always open. My father let you and your dad in when we were infants, and there were other excursions even before then! For whatever reason they shut the doors and refuse to try again, hypocrites!" Amata yelled before kicking a loose can on the ground.
"I mean, the Wasteland is chock full of shit set out to kill you. Tiptoeing through the tulips out there is a quick way to become Deathclaw Chow."
"Deathclaw?" Amata asked.
"Trust me, you don't want to know."
Amata slinks down further into her chair. "God Esther, I'm sorry. Here I am complaining while you were out in literal Hell on Earth for months. What happened out there? Did you find your dad?"
Esther's expression turned grim "I did, it wasn't the best reunion. I punched him in the face actually" she grimaced.
"Holy shit, really? Damn…how'd it feel?"
"Amazing."
The friends shared a quick laugh with each other.
"Yeah, I'll bet. Can't tell you how many times I wanted to sock my dad…" Amata grew quiet after that.
Esther's expression soured along with the conversation. "Amata, look I'm.."
Amata held up her hands. "No, it's …fine. You were acting in self-defense, I get it. That also brings us to our current issue. After my dad passed, Mack managed to secure himself as the new Overseer. He's not willing to listen to us. Hell, none of the old guards are. They're too wrapped up in this delusion that we'll just quit and everything will go back to normal."
"Will you?" Esther challenged.
"No, we've come too far now. Too many have died, it must be for something. Look, you've been out there Esther, you know the Wastes better than anybody else here."
Jericho loudly cleared his throat from across the room.
"If anybody can get Mack to see sense, it's you. You know what it's like out there, you know what it was like for us in here. You're the best person for the job, you're the only person for the job. So will you please help us?"
Esther seems to think it over for a second before speaking. "I don't know. I could stand to hear a bit more of you kissing my ass."
Amata grins despite herself. "Thank you, Esther. Really. I just want us all to move forward, ya know?"
"I get it Amata, really, I do, "Esther says before turning to Jericho. "Showtime, baby J."
"First off, don't ever fucking call me that again. Secondly, I call dibs at first crack at the loot once we blow this bastard sky high." Jericho states as he rises from his chair and begins to limber up.
Amata's eyes widened at that as she moves to stand in front of the two mercs. "Hold on! You are not killing anybody. Enough blood has been spilt already, it's time to talk this out like adults."
"What you want me to walk in and start sucking his dick?"
"Jericho" Esther reprimands before turning to Amata. "Look I'll do my best, but if he isn't willing to talk, the regime change might have to get a bit bloody."
Amata's expression turns downcast as she says "Just…promise me you'll at least try to keep him alive?"
"I'll try"
With that, Esther and Jericho make their way out of the clinic. They pass by Butch with a quick goodbye and make their way down the stairs to the atrium. It's at this point, away from prying eyes, that Jericho speaks.
"So, what's the plan for real? Cause I'll be damned if I try to sing Kumbaya with some Vault asshole."
"Relax Jericho, I got a plan. Though we aren't killing him."
"Then what the fuck are we gonna do?"
"Check this out…"
Allen Mack was having one hell of a day.
If it wasn't already enough with the rebels, mechanical issues, and lack of any real medical professionals, suddenly that fucking bitch who turns his world upside down came crawling back out of the wasteland.
He knew she'd come for him eventually, that much was obvious once he spotted her heading towards the clinic where those rebels had set up shop. Soon, she'd drag her Wasteland boyfriend up here and they'd probably start shooting up the place. Psychos. Thankfully, the extra patrol he had here on the upper floors should do well enough to deter them, let's see how they handle the very best of Vault 101.
His door then opens to reveal Esther and Jericho.
His face peeled back into a toothy grin as he spoke to them "Well look at who came crawling back home."
"Hey Mack, long time no see. I love what you've done with the place. Tyrannical rulers are so in right now."
He continued undeterred "So what happened? Did you get homesick? Wastelands not everything it's cracked up to be or was it just that Daddy didn't want you anymore?"
At this last barb, Esther's expression soured as stared down Mack. "Easy there, Allen. Why don't we just keep this civil."
"Civil? Really? From what I recall, last time you tried to keep it 'civil' with an Overseer, he ended up swallowing a couple of pistol rounds."
"Care to repeat history?" Jericho bit out.
"Not now Jericho!" Esther said.
"Well at least someone isn't trying to brown nose. Look, I'll make this simple. You can walk away and let me handle the Vault or I can put you down like a rabid dog. Your choice, kid"
"You sure you wanna go down this road?" Esther asks.
"Fucking try m-OOF" Allen is cut off as Esther, faster than he could even blink, throws a heavy paper weight right at his face. It hits dead on his nose, the heavy brass crunching the cartilage. As Allen reels from the hit, Esther and Jericho are already moving. Esther goes high, quickly grabbing his rifle off his back and throwing across the room. At the same time, Jericho takes out a hammer and gives a mighty swing right to Mack's knee. The sickening crunch is followed by a pained scream.
In a matter of seconds, Esther is already on top of him, producing a pair of handcuffs she locks his arms behind his back. Jericho doing the same to his legs. They then plop him down in his chair, and like that the reign of Allen Mack comes to an end.
"What now? Are you going to kill me? Feed me to your wasteland boyfriend? Come on, do you worst!" Allen shouts, struggling against his bonds all the while.
"First off, ew, Jericho is not my boyfriend."
"Hey, your loss." Jericho retorts
"Secondly, and lucky for you, Amata wants a peaceful transfer of power, so you won't die today," Esther then quickly makes her way towards Allen's computer and eases her way past his security.
"You got it?" Jericho asks. 'Got what?' Allen thinks to himself.
"Yeah, I got it. Let's just hope nothing comes of it." Esther says.
"Hey speak for yourself." Jericho japes.
"I'm all done here." Esther then refocuses on Mack, her face now sporting a nasty grin "However I don't much appreciate you talking to me that way, Mack, I think you need to learn a lesson."
She gives a quick gesture to Jericho, who moves to the hallway and then comes back with 2 large jugs of water and a towel.
"Now, I'd recommend you take a deep breath," Esther states as she flips Mack's chair to the floor, him crashing down with it. "You're going to need it."
The towel is then pulled over Mack's face, and all he knows is darkness.
'They've been gone for too long', Amata can't help but think to herself.
It's been a few hours now, almost evening, and they still haven't heard back from Esther and Jericho. On the one hand, she hasn't heard any gunshots, but on the other, negotiations shouldn't have taken this long.
As she considers throwing caution to the wind and following their trail, Butch comes in with a smile on his face.
"Holy shit, Amata. They got him in cuffs, they've got him chained up like he's on death row!" He shouts ecstatically, and with that the mood within the room becomes near celebratory as reality sinks in. They won. It's over.
However, the mood is dampened a bit when Esther and Jericho finally make their way through with Allen Mack at their heels.
Mack looked terrible, his nose was broken and bruised, as were his wrist from no doubt constant struggling. His hair and face were wet, as if he was drenched in sweat. Most telling though were his eyes, constantly darting around. 'He was scared' Amata didn't want to think about why that may be.
"One former Overseer served sunny side up, just the way you wanted Amata," Esther says, her smug grin belaying an admittedly deserved sense of confidence as she turns toward Mack. "Now Allen, I believe you had something you wanted to say?"
Allen darted his eyes toward Esther, his body tensing as Jericho sets his hand upon Mack's Shoulder. He turns to Amata, grimacing as he begins to speak.
"O-Okay, you win. I, Allen Mack, here by relinquish my position as Overseer. I nominate Amata Almodovar as my successor."
"And?"
"I would also like to personally apologize to each of you for my actions. What I did was wrong and went against the general good of the Vault."
"And?" Esther turns and begins to close in on Mack. Her face inches from his own. Her eyes boring into him. He could feel Jericho squeezing tighter on his shoulder.
"I-I don't know what else you want me to say…" Allen trails off as silence settles over the room. After a moment, Esther pulls back and begins to laugh.
"Ah, I'm just fucking with ya. Okay, Mack, you're free to go." She waves him off, Jericho shoving him aside. Suzie comes up and takes her father to the side, but not before shooting a dark look towards Esther that she pretends not to notice.
Amata moves in closer to Esther and Jericho as the others begin to cheer and crack open bottles of alcohol, the celebratory mood beginning to return.
"I-I can't believe it. You got Mack to back down, and I'm the new Overseer. This is all so sudden."
"Relax, you'll be fine. If I know you, you probably have a half dozen plans already to get this place back on top." Esther placates.
"Oh, I do, believe me. Limited trading, scouting parties, maybe even some scavenging once we get a lay of the land. I'm going to glue this Vault back together with my own two hands if I must. I'm going to build us back up, but to do that, I can't put myself before the Vault. That makes the rest of this so much harder…" Amata trails off.
"Amata?" Esther questions.
"You saved us, and I'll always appreciate that, but people still blame you for what happened. If I'm to put the Vault back together, I can't let you stay. I'm sorry, but you're a hero…and you have to leave." Amata finishes, her arm gesturing towards the door.
Esther just stares at her for a moment in disbelief, her eyes searching for something before they darken. Her face pulls back into a twisted grin as she begins to laugh. Though this isn't the warm, melodic laugh that Amata's heard so many times growing up. No, this is colder, maniacal.
"I should've fucking known. This was never about mending the past, this was about you needing someone to do your dirty work."
"Esther, please- "
"Spare me, Amata. What kind of croc did you just try and feed me? 'People still blame me' are these the same people by chance who elected Mack as their Overseer? Are these the same people that think everyone is this shithole," Esther takes a moment to swing her arms wildly at the rest of the rebels in the clinic. "Should be in jail? It's funny how those wishes were ignored. Of course, when they have an issue with me that's when you decide to cherry pick!"
"That's exactly why you have to go, Esther! We've pushed against them so much already, allowing you to stay would make any attempts at a peaceful resolution moot. I mean, you beat Mack to a pulp, you brought a wastelander into the vault- "
"Hey, wasn't my fucking idea." Jericho interrupts.
"- And you murdered the last Overseer. People aren't going to just breeze right over that." Amata finishes.
"People aren't going to breeze right over that, or just you?" Esther bites out.
"Esther, I've forgiven you for murdering my father. You know that."
"Ah interesting word choice there, Amata. 'Murder'. 'Forgiven'. This implies that I did something wrong, that I was the bad guy. News flash Amata, your dad was a psychopath! He had Jonas murdered; he was going to murder me. Hell, he even locked you in with Hannon, who proceeded to torture you- "
"I know, okay? I know. You had no choice, it was him or you, he went completely off the deep end…" Amata trailed off.
"But?" Esther prompted.
"He was still my dad, Esther. I can't overlook it, no matter how I try, I just can't."
The clinic goes quiet after that, as the gathered rebels wait to see what happens next. Most of them whispering amongst each other, Stanley the only one amongst them with the grace to pretend to tinker with a motherboard while he listens in. Butch twirls his switchblade, keeping a watchful eye on Jericho as Amata and Esther hash it out.
Jericho just wishes he brought along popcorn.
Esther takes a step back, gathering her thoughts. She sends a look towards Jericho, who simply gives a small nod. Butch flicks out his blade, and proceeds to mime combing his hair, while keeping an eye on Jericho's hands.
"Fine," Esther says "You want to be the savior of the Vault? You want me to play the big bad wasteland merc? I'll play the merc. Let's discuss my fee."
"Fee?" Amata questions.
"That's right. A regime change ain't cheap, I had to make my way through an advanced security system, sneak my way past a few guards, and take down Mack. All without spilling a drop of blood. That kind of skillset doesn't come cheap."
"Don't forget travel charges, we had to come a fair way out here to make this thing happen." Jericho adds on.
Esther almost pointed out that they had traveled from Megaton, a 25-minute journey tops. However, she thought better of it and nodded along.
"That too, lot of resources used up to get here."
"Fine, what do you want?"
"Well for starters, we could use some purified water and some preservatives for our efforts. Enough to last me and Jericho for a bit."
"Don't forget some food, I'm fucking starving over here."
Amata rolls her eyes and carries on. "Fine, we can spare some food and water. Is that all?"
"No, I want Andy."
Amata starts at that; Stanley, for his part, shoots up and starts talking.
"Andy? Esther, you can't be serious. Andy barely works, he'll never survive out there."
"It's true Ma'am. This dust alone…ghastly" Andy proceeds to preform his closes approximation of a shudder.
"Look Andy was barely working when we were kids, I can't imagine how he is now. I know a guy on the outside who could use the parts. Throw in the bot, we'll leave without a peep." Esther offers.
Amata looks over towards Stanley and Andy, both giving her pleading faces. At least, Stanley is. It's hard to convey human expression with just an aperture.
Amata turns back towards Esther and gives a deep sigh "No, I'm sorry Esther. That's not going to happen."
Esther for her part, glowers a bit "Oh? So, the deals off then? Suppose I'll just return Mack to his office, reactivate the security system, and then let you crazy kids deal with it. How does that all sound?"
Murmuring starts spreading amongst the small crowd, the thought of being dragged all the way back to square one after so much progress…
"Esther, you wouldn't." Amata pleads.
"Try me." Esther retorts. Her hands slowly started moving towards her belt. Jericho has his hands on his holstered pistol, his eyes meeting Butch's in an unspoken challenge.
"Wait," Amata shouts "there must be something else. Is there anything else we can work out?"
The last thing she needs on her first day as Overseer is a massacre in the medical clinic of all places.
Esther thinks over it for a second, her hands moving off her belt as she proceeds to scratch her chin in contemplation.
"Hmm, you know you had a point earlier about us smelling. I know you want us to leave, but it's getting late already. How about you let us use the old Overseer quarters to get a warm meal and a hot shower in? Gives us a chance to clean and maintain our gear too. We'll leave in the early morning, before most of the Vault is out and about. You can see us off and we'll get out of your hair. What do you say?" Esther offers, warmth returning to her voice.
Amata considers it. While it'd be best to get them out as soon as possible, it'd only be fair to let them get a good rest and good food after all they've done today. Besides, she needs some rest herself, she needs some time to process everything.
"Okay, deal." Amata holds her hand out, which Esther gleefully accepts in a firm shake.
The mood of the room relaxes once more, the party vibe returning as Amata breathes a sigh of relief. That had been rough start to her time as Overseer, but she was glad it was done. Now the time for rebuilding can begin in earnest.
Esther and Jericho make their move to head to the upper floors, but they stop as they notice Butch following them.
"Can I help you?" Esther asks.
"I'm taking you to your rooms." Butch says harshly.
"Hey, I know it's been a while, but I've been visiting the Overseer's quarters since I could walk. I don't need a tour guide." Esther says before attempting to leave Butch behind. However, he catches her arm to stop her.
"True, except this isn't going to be a guided tour. It's a guarded one" Butch says.
"Oh, you wanna go pretty boy?" Esther purrs.
"Try me." Butch says.
They proceed to look each other over, both attempting to spot any openings for the first move. Jericho proceeds to take a few steps back, his hand once again clutching his holstered pistol.
"Butch, let them go," Amata says, "They've earned some rest."
Butch turns to Amata, his eyes boring into her, but she holds firm. He turns back towards Esther, who has proceeded to sport a Cheshire grin.
"Whatever." He says, shouldering past Jericho to head further into the clinic.
"Thanks Amata, I'm really tired of that jackass." Esther says, her grin shifting to something warmer as she gazes at Amata.
"Hey, anything for an old friend," Amata says, her hand waving dismissively. "Thanks for coming out, Esther, and for being so accommodating. I really do appreciate this."
"No, Amata. Thank you, I'm excited to be back here. If only for a night." Esther says, her gaze scanning the room and its' inhabitants, all of these people she thought she'd never see again and now probably never will.
Esther gives Amata a quick, but tight hug. She and Jericho head away from the clinic towards the upper halls. Amata turns back into the clinic, the doors shutting behind her. Stanley hands her a flask and gives her a wink as he makes his way back towards Andy. She takes a swig of the whiskey, finding a strange pleasure in the burning sensation.
She gazes upon all her friends, so young and full of promise. She looks towards Stanley and Andy, a fountain of wisdom in these trying times. Finally, she takes a look towards Allen Mack and sees the defeat in his eyes, a look she knows will be shared soon by all of the others that doubted her.
For the first time in she didn't know how long, Amata felt hope about tomorrow.
Amata woke to the alarms blaring.
She takes a moment to look at her clock. 4:55 A.M., a part of her is saddened to see that Esther left without saying a word, but considering how things went yesterday, it's not surprising.
As she slowly clambers out of bed, a knock barges at her door. She opens it to find Officer Gomez giving her a grim look.
"Ama-Overseer, we have a problem."
A pit begins to unfurl itself within her stomach, as she drags herself out of bed and quickly pulls on her jumpsuit. Gomez leads her through her apartment, the upper halls, and into her fath-her office. Amata is surprised to see that the Overseer's tunnel has once again been opened, the stairs leading down into the depths of the vault.
'How the hell did she sneak past everybody?' Amata couldn't help but think.
Gomez never loses his stride, as Amata scurries behind him. He leads her through the engineering tunnels, until they arrive at the main entrance of Vault 101, just in time for one of the other guards, 'Tennet' her mind supplies, to be seen resealing the vault door.
Tennet turns, standing straighter at the sight of Amata. It takes a bit of willpower for her not to roll her eyes. Is this what she had to look forward to? People walking on eggshells around her for the rest of her life?
"Any issues, Tennet?" Gomez asks.
"Everything seems to be in order with the door. Though I did find this sir…" Tennet trails off as he hands Gomez something that glints under the UV lights. Gomez turns to show Amata a piece of metal sheet covering, thoroughly worn though of notable quality.
Like the kind that cover Andy.
"GOD DAMMIT!" Amata shouts. She knew she should've put a guard on Esther. She was too blinded by all the rapid shifts. Esther returning, the standoff ending, her becoming Overseer. All of it pulling the wool further over her eyes as Esther moves behind to stab her in the back. She should've never put out that message, she should've just kept her mouth shut. Jesus, could this day get any worse?
"Overseer! We have a problem." Another one of the guards, Adams, comes barreling into the atrium. The sweat across his brow and his heavy breathing indicated a hurried journey.
Amata sighed as she rubes her face with her hands "Yes, Adams. We know about Andy being stolen. Look, I know he's a valued member of the Vault, but we're not in any position to go looking for him."
Adams winced as he continued "I'm afraid this issue is not about Andy, Overseer."
A pregnant pause settles over the room as Amata looks back towards Adams.
"What happened."
The armory was barren.
Well, not quite. It was stripped of anything working. Gun parts littered the floor. Broken springs and twisted firing pins, it's clear Esther and her raider crony didn't leave a stone unturned, and that they spent a great deal of time cobbling together what they could.
'Did they even go to sleep?'
They must've spent hours in here at least, fixing up all the guns, refitting the armor, loading up magazines, and charging up energy cells.
As she stepped further into the room, something caught her eye. A small, crinkled note lay in the center of the table, half-covered by a dented stock. Before she even picked it up, she could already recognize Esther's lazy scrawl.
Overseer,
Pro-tip: Never fuck over the bitch with the armory codes.
Sincerely,
An Old Friend.
Amata crumples the paper, her hands shaking in rage. The past 24 hours go through her mind. The shock, the frustration, the embarrassment, the rage. Then, a single thought enters her mind, one she never thought she'd admit.
Mack was right.
They never should've opened that vault door.
A/N: Once again I've had Esther go through a major encounter her way, this time with the Vault 101 reunion. Here it's a bit different as you can be a real son of a bitch if you want to, but being kicked out, even after being the 'good' guy always stung a bit, so I suppose this was a venting process. Anyway, what did you think? Feel free to lmk! Ciao