Gate: Thus the Brotherhood of Steel Lyon's Pride Fought in Their Land

Chapter Twenty - Six - Rory Mercury

Very little was far more dangerous than boredom. This was a fact that Rory knew all too well. Boredom often led to bad decisions, and more often than not led to a life being snuffed out far too early. She had come to Alnus Hill because she had been interested in the individuals there. More to the point, the one that everyone called the Lone Wanderer, which she was uncertain of why had that title since he usually traveled with others, gained her attention. He was a decent person, determined to help others, and he was a capable fighter.

She would dare say that he was a warrior, perhaps one that was just beginning his journey, but a warrior nonetheless. The fact that he was claimed, and had recently claimed two others, did slightly perturb her. Still he was interesting enough to remain close to, and while she was semi certain that a physical relationship wouldn't blossom from their interaction she enjoyed his company.

So, when he explained that there was a mission he had to go on, one that would be leading to possibly more fighting, she wanted in. They would be traveling to some place called Nuka World, but on their way they would be stopping at another place that had once been called Boston but had since been renamed the Commonwealth. The idea of the travel was simple enough. They would travel back through the gate, head toward the direction they were supposed to go, and once there they would investigate a few places of interest the Brotherhood of Steel wanted to look at.

They would be using a Vertibird once on the other side, and honestly she was ready for it. The last few skirmishes had been lackluster for her. The fight against the bandits at Italica had held her interest far better, and she so desperately wanted to do something like that again. A large-scale attack, full of opposing enemies, all gathered to give her the enjoyment of slaughter. The feeling of losing herself to battle, of completely allowing the euphoria of bloodshed fill her was something beyond true explanation.

Oh, there was something else she wanted as well. One doesn't live for nearly a full thousand years without gaining a thorough knowledge of how to enjoy the flesh. In truth, she had her eyes set on the one she believed would be fun, but at the same time she respected the warrior he was with. Not that she wouldn't mind to enjoy her as well. But that enjoyment was secondary to fulfilling her mission as a waystation for the souls of the slain.

"Okay," the raspy voice of Sentinel Reeder said, "We're heading through. Those assigned to the exploration group fall in."

She moved, and she could tell that the old soldier was watching her. He was another one that interested her. He was older than most of the others here, but far younger than herself. Still, he carried himself like a soldier and not a warrior. He fought because it was something that had to be done. She noticed that his thoughts were shared, but he did what was expected of him. There was an entire collection of ideas that she had about him, and all of them pointed the same thing. He was someone worth knowing. He never exited his power armor, and of course she did wonder why. The others would step from theirs, but then she had noticed that it seemed as if his power armor had fused together.

The realization that he couldn't leave it had hit her. He was trapped inside of it. He was forever part of something designed for war, and while it was sad she could think of no greater tribute to Emroy. He was forever a part of war, a part of something designed to march out and ensure the complete destruction of enemies. He was a true tribute, and she respected him for it. She also respected the fact that he seemed to see more than a single side of things.

It didn't stop him from doing what he believed was right. That was something else she felt made him an interesting individual. Most other soldiers would simply follow orders without attempting to see them in a way that alined with their morality. What she had seen of him showed that he had no problem following orders, but doing so in a way that allowed him to live with himself. He didn't shy back from killing, but instead he seemed to be quick about it.

He didn't humiliate or decimate the enemy. He simply put a bullet through them and walked on. He was effective, but his approach was almost merciful. The one time that he had done differently she had missed. She heard how he handled the soldiers at Italica upon Prince Zorzal's trip there. While he did put a bullet through them he didn't kill all of them instantly. She heard that he allowed it to linger. That some of them took minutes to die instead of it being instant.

He allowed them to hurt, and he allowed it because of what had happened to one of their own. She looked toward Knight Prophet who was sitting at a table, and she could see how broken the woman was. She followed orders, but there was something truly broken inside of her. Beside her sat a beast woman that had befriended her. The two of them were practically inseparable, and she knew that it would likely change as time went on.

She looked to see Lelei and Tulk who were both going. She walked with them through the gate, and once on the other side she saw the figure that had fought her to a standstill before. The massive figure of Frank Horrigan stood there waiting for them. Beside them was a small group of individuals in power armor. Unlike the Brotherhood of Steel they had their power armor painted in red and white stripes, a small blue triangle sat on the front, and in the middle of it was a collection of stars.

"Ghoul," he said, his mechanical sounding voice sounded irritated, "What are you doing back here?"

"Horrigan," a muffled voice said from inside of the power armor, "Stow that remark."

The large figure nodded, "Very well," he replied, "Orders ma'am?"

She could see the person in the strangely painted power armor relax a little, "Actually, we've been asked to cross the gate. Apparently there are some creatures on the other side that seem to be like Behemoths. They want us to help take care of them. Apparently they're being used to harass our potential allies."

"Good," he replied, "Standing around has made me feel like I'm going soft. Let's go kill some muties."

Rory watched as he left. Part of her wanted the chance to deal with him, but the memory of what had happened last time stayed with her. The fact remained that even with Emory's blessings Horrigan had been every bit as powerful as she was. More to the point, it felt as if Emory's touch was not upon him. Whatever it was that had altered him obviously was a different god. His blessings felt wrong, that was the only way she had to describe it. His blessings were warped and wrong.

She wanted to growl, and she wanted to go and attack him. He was something that managed to prick the ego and honor of Emory and herself. Still, something inside of her warned her that doing so would lead to dozens facing a death they weren't meant for. All mortals died, she knew this, but they all had different times that they would die. Those times changed throughout the course of each day. Choices made often altered the time that one would die.

Yet, she didn't feel that from Horrigan. She didn't feel his death date. She didn't feel the tether that held his life to this existence. It simply seemed that he just was. Honestly, he almost felt more like the strange protectrons that helped build the buildings on Alnus Hill. He felt almost mechanical. Instead she looked ahead, "When we arrive on the other side, where are we going first?" she asked, her voice sounding interested for the first time in a week, "Can we expect some interesting greetings?"

Sentinel Reeder was the one to look toward her, "While we're in the Capital, no," he replied as they began to move toward it, "However, when we get to Boston, I expect we will have far more interesting times that we know what to do with."

She smiled at that, "Good," she said, her voice practically a purr, "I have wanted to see more interesting sights."

She knew that he likely disagreed, but she didn't hold it against him. Again, he was a soldier, one that fought because it was his job to do so. He was intelligent, strong, and a true tribute to Emroy. She hoped that when his time came it was truly in a glorious way. He deserved such for being the individual that he was. She moved with everyone down the ramp, and toward what looked like a collection of others standing there.

Like the others she found herself standing before a collection of power armored individuals. However, it felt that there was something different about some of them. From what she could sense they seemed to be empty. There was nothing inside of them, and instead they truly were just like the strange protectrons that worked tirelessly at Alnus Hill. The suits stood at attention, and once everyone moved with them all of the armored suits began to follow them.

"Sentinel A.I. suits?" Sentinel Reeder asked as they walked, "I heard that the Outcasts had them, and from what I read of the reports they were delivered."

One of the other suits nodded, "Delivered and programmed, Sentinel Reeder, sir."

He seemed to pause, "Knight Morgan?"

She shook her helmeted head, "Paladin Morgan," she replied as they walked, "I was officially given a field commission. I honestly didn't want it."

There was quiet, and then it was Adam that finally spoke up, "Well, if you don't mind my saying so I think that you make a great paladin."

There was another moment of silence, "Thanks," she replied, "I mean it, thanks, but the reason wasn't a good one. I was helping with dealing with the Outcasts, and I had to help stop what they were doing. I never believed that they would have turned like they did."

She breathed out, "They were my brothers, sisters, all of them were people I fought and bled beside, and they turned," she seethed, "They became fucking raiders. Every last one of them. The few of us that were more loyal to the Brotherhood than to them came back to Elder Lyons. I hate that it took something like this for a few of them to realize that it's better to be true to the original mission instead of the updated one."

As they walked Rory listened. These Outcasts had become raiders, which from what she gathered were like the bandits that they had faced. More to the point they were once members of the Brotherhood of Steel. It meant that they had their weapons, their training, and they were just as cunning and intelligent as they were. From what she had gathered they were absolutely the excitement she had been longing for.

"Do we need to postpone the scouting mission?" Sentinel Reeder asked, "If so, we can. We can assist with dealing with the remaining members of the Outcasts."

Rory was hoping that she would say yes, but instead she simply shook her head, "That Mr. House has done a lot toward dealing with them. I don't know how, but he's able to pinpoint where they are. If there's a protectron, a sentry bot, or a brain bot with them he's able to find them. He's also turned their robots against them. He's sent something else, they're called assaultrons, and honestly, they're worse than the sentry bots."

"How so?" Adam asked as they walked, "And why haven't we seen them here?"

There was a pause, "Because most of them apparently were dealing with Chinese insurrectionists," she replied, "The former Enclave officers shared what history they had with us. There were about a hundred assaultrons in the D.C. area, and they were sent in mass toward a single location. Apparently some major brass found out about a potential strike, sent them in as the first wave. Shortly after the bombs struck."

Adam nodded, "I see, they were all destroyed because they were gathered together at the same place," he replied, "I mean I get it, but why send them all?"

"Assurance," Sentinel Reeder replied, "They wanted the insurrectionists dealt with, and they didn't want human emotion to factor into it. So, they sent machines."

Rory listened to it, and it bothered her. War was meant for mortals, not machines. Those that fought died fighting against creations that felt no fear, felt no pain, and were completely stacked against them. She knew that the argument could be made that they were weapons. That the assaultrons were merely tools of war being used, but it didn't make it any better. It still felt like it was a hollow tactic. It was using weapons without a wielder, and it was wrong. Mortals were supposed to fight their own wars.

Still, she kept what she was thinking to herself. She would save judgment until she saw one of these assualtrons for herself, and then she would decide on what her thoughts on them were. She prepared to head out with them when she saw others that she'd seen before. One of them was not a mortal at all. She could sense her divine presence, and she knew that she was a rival goddess.

"Kazuma!" the blue haired goddess complained, "It's so ugly here!"

The one dressed like an adventurer stopped, "Aqua, stop, just stop," he said, his voice sounded exhausted, "We're here because they've got some jobs for us, and since this is close to my previous world I might know a little more about my way around here. Plus, I know that if I leave you alone you're going to cause trouble."

"I won't!" she shouted, stomping her foot, "Why won't you believe me?!"

He breathed out and looked at everyone that just came through, "Hi," he said and then nodded toward everyone, "So, we were asked to help you guys scout around. Since we know our way around dangerous situations, I thought that it wouldn't hurt."

Rory watched as the blue haired one made a face, right up until she looked at her. That's when her eyes narrowed. She watched as the blue haired goddess moved toward her, "You're almost a goddess," she said, her voice eerily calm, "I can sense the divinity on you. Right now you're a demigoddess, aren't you?"

Rory studied her, "I am the apostille of Emroy, and as such I have been given the blessings to raise me up to divinity," she said as she studied her, "And who are you?"

The blue haired goddesses smiled, "Behold, lowly demigoddess, for I am the goddess Aqua, goddess worshiped by the Axis cult!" she proclaimed, her eyes shining, "As the goddess of water I am able to purify all water, and I am able to control all water. Plus, I can do this!"

She pulled out two fans and smirked, "Nature's Beauty!"

Two streams of water shot up from seemingly nowhere and flowed to the ground. For a few moments Rory was sure that everyone was watching to see if there was something else, but no, that was all she was doing. She considered saying something, but it seemed that this goddess was so full of herself that anything she said would likely have simply rolled off of her back and been forgotten.

"Aqua, stop doing party tricks!" Kazuma said as he knocked a fan from her hand, "Seriously, all you really do is party tricks or heal people. That's it!"

"I can do more! I can resurrect people!"

That made Rory stop and study her, "What did you just say?"

Aqua looked at her and smiled that smug grin of hers, "I said that I can resurrect the dead," she proclaimed, "Or well I could in our other world. I don't know about the one we came from or this one. I'm really not in a hurry to find out what kind of gods exist here."

Rory studied her, "Do not resurrect anyone in the world we came from," she said, her voice a soft growl, "Emroy would not enjoy having you rip those that have earned their rest from their resting place."

The blue haired goddess huffed, "As if some low level god is going to scare me."

Rory felt the desire to separate her head from her shoulders. Certainly, she was a goddess, but she was on the mortal plane. That meant that she had undoubtedly taken a mortal form. She could be separated from it. She could ensure that her mortal form was dealt with, and that would be it. Doing so would be insanely easy. It would just require a quick flick of her wrist. She began to move, but to her surprise someone caught her. She turned to see Sentinel Reeder shaking his head.

"I get it," he said, as he held her, "loud mouths have a tendency of getting under everyone's skin, but if you do what it seems like you're gearing up to do then all you're doing is giving her more room to proclaim her superiority."

She didn't want to agree, but she couldn't argue the fact. Instead it seemed that the blue haired goddess understood the jab was directed at her, "Wait, what do you mean loud mouth?!" she shouted, "I'm not a loud mouth! Tell him Kazuma!"

"Aqua," he said, shaking his head, "You're worse than a loud mouth. You're an idiot. You don't understand when someone's ready to kick your ass because you're too busy trying to get people to adore you."

Rory watched as her eyes began to moisten, "You don't have to be so mean!"

With that she began to cry, and Rory watched as he shook his head, "I'm sorry about that," he said, "But like I said, we were asked to help you guys explore. From what I heard we're heading to an amusement park, is that right? I don't mean to sound insulting, but why go to an amusement park of all things?"

"There might be technology that we could use there," Adam replied, "Not to mention more resources that we could use. Right now, every resource that we can muster together is another resource that will help us in the future."

Rory saw him nod, "Okay, that makes sense. Well, if we're going, when are we heading out?"

There were a few moments of quiet before the sound of something in the air caught their attention. All of them looked to see the two Vertibirds that were landing near them. The two stopped their engines after a moment, and from them two pilots stepped out, "Everyone heading to Girdershade before Boston climb aboard."

Rory moved with the others and began climbing aboard the Vertibirds. She watched as the power armor that felt like the protectrons remained behind. She watched as they began to lift off, and those suits of power armor began to move toward the citadel itself. The moment they were in the air she hung out and looked at the ground that was passing under them. The ride was exhilarating, but there was a lack of enemies to attack.

"Are there no monsters roaming out here?"

There was quiet for a moment, "Well, depending on where you're heading there's still radscorpions, deathclaws, molerats, and yao guai that are still out there," Adam replied as they moved through the air, "But most of the super mutants and raiders have been dealt with. I'm not saying that they're all gone, but the Brotherhood of Steel has worked with a few other organizations to make sure that they're not as prevalent as they were."

"Damn straight," the pilot replied as they flew, "We've hunted down some of the larger raider factions and dealt with them."

She looked at them, "Oh, how many?"

There was a little bit of silence, "Well, the last one was several of the smaller groups that joined together. They basically retook back over Evergreen Mills," he replied as he flew, "I think there were about four thousand. It's not the largest group we've ever dealt with, but it was enough to cause some problems."

There was quiet for a few moments, "Plus the fact that we had to enter into the caverns to fight them made it more interesting. We turned on the head lamps and they had our exact location," he said, "So, most of it was done in as near darkness as we could muster. In a normal battle it would have been easy, but in a place where they could hide and hunt, well it took hours."

Rory grinned, "Everything except for caverns sounds good," she replied, "I do not want to enter into any place that Hardy has domain over. She has declared that she wishes to marry me, and I want no part of her. She is sadistic enough that I believe she would enjoy your world. The things that we've seen here would likely pique her interest."

There was a moment of silence before Adam cleared his throat, "Just to be clear, Hardy is one of the gods from your world?"

There was a nod, "Goddess," she replied as she looked out of the Vertibird, "She is sadistic, and she enjoys watching the suffering of mortals. There are multiple mortals that worship her, but I believe that her views are flawed."

"Yeah, watching mortals suffering gets really old," the blue haired goddess replied from her position in the Vertibird, "I mean, really, who cares about a bunch of people getting ran over, shot, stabbed, or anything else."

There was a moment and she turned to see the adventurer with the blue haired goddess hit her on the head, "Ouch!" she cried, "Why did you hit me Kazuma?!"

"Because you're being a brat," he replied, "First, it's not cool to laugh at people suffering. Help them if you can, feel bad for them if you can't, but don't make fun of them."

She rolled her eyes, "Please, it's not like you haven't died in some of the funniest of ways!"

She was about to say something when what looked like a mage hit her, "Megumin!" she shouted, "Why are you hitting me?!"

There was a moment of quiet, "Because, I don't think that it's funny pointing out how Kazuma has died," she replied, her voice stern, "It could have been any of us, and actually he died once making sure that we could protect the people that worship you, so maybe you can stop being a brat."

The blue haired goddess looked at them both, and Rory watched as she pouted, "It's not fair!" she exclaimed, "I'm the goddess of water! I'm the Lady Aqua, goddess worshipped by the Axis cult! I'm the most power goddess back in our world!"

"Aqua," the knight dressed like an actual knight said, "While I do not share the bond that both Megumin and Kazuma share I do agree that most often you are exceptionally full of yourself. While this often leads to wonderful experiences, such as being attacked by giant toads and attacked by rampaging demons, I find that your attitude sullies your name."

Rory watched as her lips began to quiver, her eyes began to moisten, and then she began to cry in earnest, "It's not fair!" she cried, practically falling on her back and throwing a tantrum like a two year old, "I'm a goddess! I should be worshiped, pampered, given expensive booze to drink, able to eat expensive food, and treated better than a queen! I'm not supposed to be picked on by my own party!"

"Be silent," Rory said after a moment, "This is not your world, you are annoying, and there are gods here that I do not understand. One of them has spoken to me, the other I simply feel."

The blue haired goddess suddenly stopped crying, "Other gods?" she asked as she got up, "What like some dusty old fraile gods? I mean they gotta be if this is their world. There's not really enough survivors to give them much strength."

Rory studied her, "The one that spoke to me feels strong," she replied, "I could feel his power, it was everywhere, and he whispered to me. He wants chaos, madness, and for all of creation to kill one another. He wants everything dead."

There was some silence, "That's insane," the blue haired goddess said, "I mean, really, that's completely insane. If there's no people then he can't exist. We gods and goddesses need our followers' belief in us to stay in existence."

"Wait," Adam said as he caught their attention, "So this thing you sensed before, you said that it was everywhere?"

She nodded, "I feel it everywhere, and like I had said before I believe that it is responsible for the ghouls going feral."

She looked outside for a few moments, "In truth," she said as they traveled, "I still feel him this way, and some of his power feels more powerful. I fear that we may interact with him soon."