"This doesn't look good."
She straightened her back, clearing her throat loud enough to drown her Geiger counter's furious ticking while biting the side of her cheek. She tore away her stare from the sickly green screen with a heavy sigh, meeting her companion's sagging optics over the whirr of ancient machinery.
"We've been through worse." She remarked, trying hard to keep a straight face, somewhat anxious to continue work on the terminal. She couldn't help but painstakingly notice Codsworth's nervous glance taking in the decayed room with worry.
She could only imagine his butler sensors firing rapidly in his mind, as though insulted by the sheer mess of the room.
She let out a little huff of air…feeling pretty rotten inside. She couldn't help but rub at her eyes and yawn even while the feeling clawed at her insides. Eventually giving in to popping her tired back against the backside of the rusting chair she'd pulled up next to someone's long-gone terminal; she gave Codsworth a weary smile.
He didn't buy it. Choosing to turn away and gaze out the office glass at the dilapidated interior of the lab.
…And to believe all of this was because she'd played along with some little demented robot they'd stumbled upon inside the old research center while trying to locate a nearby settlement.
It was, as per usual, her fault.
She'd been curious and hungry for caps as of late…After having gotten a good look at the place from the outside…she'd figured searching the place under the "permission" of Molly (the keeper of the place) would prevent any hitch during their search…However, as it seemed, they'd run right into a hiccup right away.
Molly had locked them up; they'd walked right into a trap.
"I don't know, mum. These places tend to hide horrible secrets. If I could hazard a guess, a place like this must have been the cradle of the end of the world." He remarked thoughtfully.
She shrugged. It had been quiet thus far but one never knew. Codsworth was probably right.
"When will we inspect the rest of the lab, mum?" Codsworth added.
She looked up from her terminal giving him an agreeing nod.
"As soon as I got a grip on who Erika was and why she was locked in here too." She replied tiredly.
"And if it's information of no use and we're wasting our time?" He asked quizzically, restless to get moving instead of holding such meaningful interest over reading people's logs that'd been long forgotten.
She couldn't help but grin.
"Wise people learn from the mistakes they've made and smart people learn to avoid said mistakes." She replied confidently.
"Is that right?" Codsworth chuckled, one optic leaning forward teasingly. "Remind me if this is the third or fourth time you've fallen weak for caps and ended up sitting over a powder keg."
She shook her head tiredly, trying to fake a smile but she wasn't feeling all too chirpy right now.
"Codsworth, mind helping me." She muttered back quietly.
She understood his frustration. She'd be dead in the next hours, if not taking in the effects of the radiation at full and turning into something completely ghastly. It would be cruel to allow Codsworth to watch that, much less have him take her out of her misery once everything that made her, "her", disappeared and left nothing but a feral shell of her former self.
"Where can I be of use?" He asked, perking up at the utterance of "help." welcoming any task that could push them closer to escaping.
She grinned, giving him an approving nod.
"Want to start by checking the central room? Might be something of use there…"
He nodded, his three optics bobbing in excitement.
"Of course Mum, I'm getting anxious just standing here and watching you read! Not that it isn't helpful but I think it'd be best if I got a headstart on our search."
She leaned her head over her arm, feeling overwhelmed by her geiger's shallow clicking. She pressed her lips together in a faint appreciative smile.
"Get a move on then."
Seeing her so bent on weakness, Codsworth hustled forward placing his pincher over her forehead in a panic. Brushing loose locks of hair out of her eyes.
"Miss Nora," He muttered, clearly agitated. "Mum, I —"
She stood up, gently to push his pincher away. She didn't want to scare him, the lost look in his optics sending a shiver down her spine. He'd lost her once and she would not allow herself to be swept away a second time, at least not so soon.
"I think, I think I'll join you." She replied, ignoring her throbbing headache and adjusting her pipe pistol on her waistband. "It's too quiet down here."
He gently glanced her up and down, the sight of her standing seemingly comforting him that she wasn't gone yet.
"Mum, and if we find some rad away? I might even let you get away with using some radx!" He dared with a little clink of his arms.
She laughed.
"Definitely, a priority, yes." She agreed, giving Codsworth a light pat on one of his arms.
She blinked in surprise when he scooped her arm in return, pulling her gingerly toward the door in a gentleman-like manner.
"Under normal circumstances, I'd say 'After you!' But allow me." He warmly explained, fondly brushing her behind him as they approached the door.
She nodded, unable to protest over the logic. Her head growing a fire, as it seemed, inside. Hazing some of her thoughts and making her knees ache. Best she not be at the front lines in these conditions.
She dared not show it though, keeping any signs of bad news to herself.
She scooped up her weapon and hastily checked the number of rounds ready to fire.
"Ready?" She muttered under her breath, satisfied with her stored firepower, trying to collect her energy, dare any threats materialize on the other side.
Codsworth nodded one of his optics, before swinging the door open and quickly hustling into the open high-ceiling hallway.
She hurried behind him, ready to defend his backside.
"This way, mum." He motioned toward the rooms just across the open hall, mindful of the huge puddle that was collecting in the center of the hall.
She nodded, keeping at his heels.
And then she met the floor with a loud thunk! Live rounds flew just overhead as two wall-mounted turrets were alerted of danger. Fortunately, she wasn't the target but rather a victim.
Her assailant had snatched her leg from right under her. Their long bony fingers wrapped over her ankle, making her topple forward. She hardly had time to catch herself, but opted to stay down as Codsworth's buzzsaw whooshed overhead in harmony with the firing turrets. It found its target fairly easily and after what seemed like an eternity he scooped her onto her feet. She'd hardly registered any of the fight, finding herself in a daze.
"Mum, are you alright?" Codsworth asked examining her hands and then her ankles before running his pincher over her head for any damage.
"I'm alright, what happened?" She asked, turning around to find the remains of the fight. Her stomach turned. "Never mind." She coughed.
Codsworth cleared his "throat", helpfully pulling her attention back to him.
"where there is one —"
" — There are more." She answered in a hush, running her hand over her exposed neck with worry. If her assailant had any mind too, she'd been dead on the spot.
Codsworth nodded before circling her and hurrying her to a storage room. He blocked the door's entrance, keeping a close "eye" on both the outside and inside of the storage room.
All the while she searched for a good cause. Didn't take a long while before she had good pickings and very good news.
She brushed the rough material with pleasure before unfolding it and fighting her way to pull it over herself.
Codsworth nearly died of relief at the door. His arms flung upward in excitement.
"A hazard suit!" He exclaimed. "Oh, we've hit the jackpot this time, mum."
She nodded, sliding the helmet over her head and connecting it to the rest of the suit. They'd been granted the luxury of time, she just hoped it wouldn't be at the expense of something worse to come.
She searched the room a little longer, finding a few doses worth of rad-away and stim packs, storing those carefully in her gunny sack for later. Even though she was anxious to dose herself already she'd have to wait a little longer. She'd need to use it wisely or when the clicking got worse.
Losing interest fairly quickly in the other rubbish in the room, her eyes settled over a strange canister just above a silent radio under a shelf. She was cautious to run a hand over its sleek surface, rubbing hard dust away to reveal bright letters stamped across. She pulled her hand away, taking the warning seriously and choosing to leave it behind.
She finally turned to Codsworth, he gave her a restless cock of his optics before snapping them upright in amusement. His apertures widened, taking her comical show.
She gingerly gave him a little playful curtsy in her suit, finding the action somewhat difficult but doable.
"Will the gentlemen lead the way?" She asked, offering Codsworth her arm.
"Why of course." Codsworth took her arm in his. The two exited the storage room, rounding a corner and entering the one adjacent to it.
Didn't take long for them to unlock their arms and pounced forward in a united attack over an unsuspecting assailant. The ghastly form had just barely gotten up on a crouch, brushing loose sheets off of its wrinkled and battered form, giving them a final intimidating growl when it was struck down permanently.
Nora quickly collected herself the moment it became still, running past the form, choosing not to inspect it. Her heart was racing in her chest and she nearly slammed into a wall the moment any reason came forth from her throbbing mind.
She somehow made it to the floor, sitting down and letting a few tears roll off her cheeks. She was feeling terrible, not like her usual self. She tended to keep herself together, rarely was it for her to crumble to the pressure. The radiation was probably starting to take its toll.
Codsworth followed a little after, finding his way to her side and hastily throwing at her all sorts of questions meant to gauge any injuries. She ignored him for a little as she quickly self-medicated with some Radaway. She hadn't any other complaint really, other than the growing head pain she finally decided to admit too now that she had a possible means to rid herself of it.
It startled Codsworth at best.
"Stay here." He finally grumbled.
"I'm not staying here," she muttered, scrambling to her feet, tossing the empty radaway package to her feet. She was far more fearful of letting him search the place on his own and leaving her by her wits to slowly fall to madness with so many of those "creatures" stalking her relentlessly.
"Mum, I think —"
She brushed past him, her eyes shimmering in hopefulness as she noticed, for the first time, a terminal mounted to the opposite wall overlooking some sort of containment room of sorts shielded by glass.
Codsworth followed her gaze.
"What is it?" He asked, letting that clever mind of hers slowly turn gears.
"I'm not sure," she remarked skeptically. She pressed a few keys examining the terminal quietly. She stepped away from it once her eyes had grasped the severity of what this place beheld.
"Let's get moving." She motioned for Codsworth to follow, dismissing the terminal entirely.
He nodded, matching her stride as they made it back to the main hall. They were cautious to inspect the remains of the upper levels. All the while Nora collected a few loose bottle caps here and there. She even managed to get a better understanding of what had happened here after bypassing secured terminals and reading up on emails.
This slow-going progression was getting on Codsworth's nerves, obviously, but he did not attempt to hurry her along. Wanting to let that wonderful mind of hers connect the dots as she always did.
They'd finally approached one of the last rooms with the hope of breaching through a passageway the old conscious tenants had made to get the drop on an old traitor that had sealed away the last hopes of escape.
"I must admit, I pity them," Codsworth remarked out loud as they cautioned their way through a dim crawl space. "They did try to finish this project. The director was foolish, how could one simply leave a loved one to perish like this? Granted he thought he was doing the right thing, with the bombs and all that but it was quite cruel."
Nora nodded, raising a fist to silence him as they approached the source of furious gurgling. She was already bracing her legs for the death drop into the enclosed room where the "traitor" had spent a few centuries worth with his last reminiscence of life when Codsworth pulled forward.
"Allow me." He cheerfully announced.
She welcomed his selfless nature with a fond smile and gave his pincher a tight squeeze.
"Be careful." She muttered, softly. Trying to hide the shake of her voice.
Codsworth nodded his optics, his aperture shrinking to pinpricks bracing for a fight.
"I do pride myself in always going by "The rules"." He teasingly replied.
She burst into a smile.
"Well don't waste your time and give this guy a sermon on said rules, because even after two centuries I doubt he'll follow them." She teased back.
Codsworth chuckled, cutting her short by plunging into the lit room down below.
Nora grasped her firearm close, her palms sweating furiously while she listened to Codsworth's taunts and humorous lines shouted over the racket of the fight before his warm voice invited her toward him as the silence settled once more.
"All clear, mum."
She smiled to herself.
Finally, they were free, they'd just have to wrap up a few loose ends first.
"Is the canister there?" She shouted back, planning her jump carefully.
"Secured, mum." Codsworth happily revealed. "I'm relieved we won't have to fight Molly. Poor thing."
If Codsworth's sheer strengths were anything to go by, Nora couldn't agree more.
She couldn't be more than grateful to have him by her side when they'd find themselves praying they'd never stumbled upon this place.
As there was one more secret of ghastly proportions, lingering dormant and ready to fight under the glimmering glows of bright greens.
But what of it?
It, rather than them, had most certainly stumbled upon a reckless force not to reckon with.
A duo you'd cautioned to encounter in the commonwealth wasteland. The place they now call home.
Fin.
