The REALLY Wild Wasteland. (The Fallout RP!)

[FalloutJack]

[OOC: Greetings and fabulations. Today's mini-update will include Megaton, Dr. Evil's underground lair, and Isaac Black. You're welcome. ^_^]

Liberty Minor: Scan complete. No sign of communist infection.

Isaac: That's great, but that isn't what I asked you.

Down by a beach, somewhere east of the BoS Citadel, Isaac Black sat on a rock while talking to the small-scale Liberty Prime.

LM: You appear to be living, radiation count high.

Isaac: Any sign of ghoulification? Am I going to have skin falling off in droves?

LM: No cellular degeneration detected.

Isaac: Well, that's a relief. Wonder if there's any other good news today.

And with that, the robot tuned into Galaxy News Radio!

-Good mornin', children! Or whatever time a'day it is! This is Three Dog with the news! Today, we have ANOTHER claim to have sighted a flying saucer in the sky, followed by more harsh weather as the day continues, according to a doctor over at Project Purity who is also a walrus and part of a water-worshipping cult. I tell you, we get ALL kinds on this channel, but I'll shout it out 'cause it's way better than static. The Enclave just sent a message stating that they've executed the leader of the giant mutant brigade - their creator - but unfortunately the Brotherhood of Steel reports that their psycho bigass robot is still on the loose. Hold onto your butts and keep out of its way!-​

Isaac glared at Liberty now with shock. They deployed the MGB? Holy shit...

-Our sister station, New Vegas Radio, reports that among other kill-sat activity instigated by a single Courier, a rogue organization has totally WASTED the Sunset Sarsparella Factory and HQ. Sorry, cap hunters. The place is a damn crater now. In other news, the population of those Gary clones has been reduced to almost nothin', but those damn blue-haired chicks are all over the place! They may or may not be crazy, and they can DEFINITELY be dangerous. Exercise caution around 'em. And that's the news! Time for a little music.-​

Isaac: I'm sorry, but...what the fuck?

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

It's funny that, during this attack on their persons from Dr. Evil's henchmen, Chester would take a moment to take a gander down that grate they just broke open. Even funnier, there was suddenly a man in a suit with a fez on and sunglasses (Mustafa) pulling out a curved knife and shouting at the top of his lungs, leaping right at the ghoul!

Meanwhile...

Whoops! The antenna was still active! It sparked a bit and contacted the moonbase, where there were robots of...some kind...in charge. Wait, hold on. Looks like one of them is opening communications. It's...oh my...


Wheatley: Hello, Dr. Evil! You're looking good today, and...less bald. Yes, definitely a good look for you, no doubt about it. I've run all of the checks you asked me to and everything is green. I'm not getting much communication from the maintenance bots, but I talked to them and...they're working...and...yeah. So, who else are we obliterating today?

Could it really be this easy? Probably not...

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Well, there appeared to be a bit of a commotion and confusion for the young Lieutenant as Charlotte was injured, Lucy was injured, Jonathan McKenna was here, and so was the local Doc. In the middle of all this, Natsuki held up her hand, saying "One second!" as her vectors went out and held everyone here in place, save for Rufio, as she worked her Pip-Boy and got all her information on-screen.

Natsuki: Okay... Charlotte, we're taking you back to base on the next available vertibird in...five minutes. I made the call before I walked in here. Doc, you're discharging her for that purpose. Lucy? Just what is it with you losing eyes? Didn't dad pull strings to fix you up or something? And Mr. McKenna...

She looked at Jonathan with a little confusion now.

Natsuki: Aren't you retired? And why do you smell like cheese? And what's with the 'Bob' stuff? You know FalloutBob'll take it personally if he hears about it.

It looks like you can't keep much from Natsuki, at least not while she has your file from the Enclave database RIGHT THERE.

 

[Generic NPC 22]

The Wild Wastelands | Megaton | Doc Church's Clinic
Back and Forth​

There was an obvious flinch that came from Enclave Intelligence Specialist #411's corner of the ring at the mention of her coup plans, though thankfully there was no mention of who the coup would be against. Thinking on her toes was her specialty but since "BOB" had played the nuclear option, #411 was left scrambling. On a side note, that Natsuki Manriki, Lieutenant and ranking officer of the Enclave, had given orders and that Lucy Black, #411's original choice for leading the coup, had started moving around was left unacknowledged by the retorting Enclave Intelligence Operative as her need to get the last word in took over.

~Think think think think think BING!!~

"If there WAS mention of a coup, it was only for the benefits of any enemy ears listening nearby. Let us not forget that I, rather than filing your names and faces with the Enclave Department of Justice, opted to recruit you. Despite the skills that you and your cohort have displayed, do you think that you could withstand the full might of Enclave Justice being brought down upon you? Do you think that your previous compatriot will go quietly and quickly after her little display?" Enclave Intelligence Specialist #411 retorted. Informed. Threatened. Despite the fact that Natsuki had ignored the little jab at #411's allegiance, the recorders built into her power armor would not and #411 already had an idea that there would be a less than friendly interrogation waiting for her when she arrived at the Enclave Vault.

"You've been out of the Enclave for quite some time so I'll forgive you if you don't remember how much of a tight knit group the Enclave Heavy Weapons Specialists were. I'm the only thing that will be keeping them from turning you and Kristin Blamco into a glowing green smear against the wall for some Raider to defecate against. I hope that you'll remember that the next time you decide to address me like that." As if she was doing Jonathan and Kristin some BIG FAVOR, "Remember if next time you're talking with your little damsel and every time that you look into those big doe eyes of her's."

There was a slight smirk on Enclave Intelligence Specialist #411's face and a manner that stated that she was toying with Jonathan, playing upon what she had perceived during their little jaunt from Lucy Black's house to Megaton. Though there might have been something else that had been present in her vocal tone.

An awkward silence fell over the room as if whatever venom had caused this little outburst been purged from #411's system. Enclave Intelligence Specialist #411... Charlotte Sorrowfeld's cheek flushed when she realized that she had been ignoring military decorum.

"I apologize for my outburst, Lieutenant Manriki. I will prepare myself for the journey back to the Vault. I hope that we'll have rendezvous with Constance." Charlotte said as she attempted to sit up, her head regretting the decision immediately as the room did a barrel roll. The woman, undeterred by her injuries, however, sat up and turned when she heard a voice behind her.

"I have a visitor." Lucy Black voice croaked. If she was patient and a good girl, she'd be having a few more in a days time, provided stuff didn't happen. Enclave Intelligence Specialist #411 was aware that Thomas "Shifty" McGee had shifted direction towards Megaton. It would be an important piece of information to share in order to maintain her leverage over the 1EGG. Charlotte's voice didn't reflect this sort of thinking however when she addressed Lucy.

"There are more on their way. For some reason, your friend, The Undertaker, is on his way here." Charlotte said in a reassuring tone with a slight smile upon her face. It was kindly, almost motherly but coming from the woman that had used this piece of information as a bargaining chip earlier, it was utterly creepy. What did it matter, however, the important piece of information was that Thomas was on his way.

"I suspect that he'll be making a stop at your home. If I am able to see her, I will order Constance to inform your wayward friend that you are located here."

 

[Random Fella]

"You're welcome your worshipfulness."

#209 tossed Trixie the lazer pistol, she found the weapon quite foreign, but it still fired almost the same as a normal pistol.

She attempted to ignore #209's retorts, still trying to properly adjust herself while reacting to the barrage of fire, though her mind reminded her that even without the power armor, he was still a member of the enclave that probably wouldn't need a weapon to break her like a toothpick.

Probably best to not tick him off... She thought to herself during the distraction of lazer 'pews'.

"So how about that way?"

"Beats staying here" Trixie commented as she watched Chester jump toward the hole after a bit of question to it's safety.

Taking advantage of the covering fire from #209, she followed suit, firing off some shots so he could follow the pair.

Suddenly a man in a fez leaped from behind Chester wielding a knife, she aimed for his head and pulled the trigger.
But nothing happened.
She'd ran out of cells in her pistol, being unaware to the capacity of the weapon.

In panic she chucked the weapon, hitting him square in the head, causing a clumsy stagger.
I should really use explosives...

 

[Neuromancer]

From the agent's expression, it was clear to Jonathan that she was left dumbstruck at the mention of the coup. Cold sweat rolled down her forehead as she desperately searched for a good retort to salvage the situation. He would see to it that she would fail miserably. Unlikein Lucy Black's house, this time Jonathan was the one on the offensive, unplagued by guilt or phantoms eating away his thoughts. His attention lay entirely on #411, his goal to make her life miserable. Given how much more she stood to lose here than him, all signs indicated that his objective wouldn't be too difficult to complete.

"If there WAS mention of a coup..."

Oh, ho ho, yes. He hit a nerve alright. He held back a smile as he saw that the best retort she could come up with consisted of hollow threats. Well, not quite hollow; his life expectancy would very likely go down a couple dozen years if she were to convince her superiors that he was a threat that needed to be eliminated, but she would not, because for her plan to work she needed him. "All bark and no bite" described her retort quite well, and Jonathan planned to continue unfettered, though he did raise an eyebrow on her calliing Kristin "little damsel". Before he could reply, though, he felt a wierd, tingling sensation in his head, and it took a considerable amount of effort for him to move.

"One second!"

The lieutenant finally spoke, and Jonathan was left bedazzled. She did that? He was right to be afraid of her, then, for he shuddered to think what else the cherry blossom coloured lieutenant could do. Lucky for him, Manriki addressed the harlot that was apparently named Charlotte first, which gave Jonathan some respite, and by the time her attention was back to him Jonathan had recovered from the shock and collected his thoughts. She briefly read something in her Pip-boy and turned to eye him, puzzlingly.

"Aren't you retired?"

Wait. What.

Retired?

What did that mean?

"And why do you smell like cheese? And what's with the 'Bob' stuff? You know FalloutBob'll take it personally if he hears about it."

Jonathan was left quite confused at the lieutenant's tone and inquiries. He half expected her to acuse him of treason and have him taken in for trial, but she acted as though nothing of that sort was expecting him back at base. Indeed, if he guessed right and it was his file that the lieutenant was reading on her Pip-Boy, it would seem that his desertion was taken rather lightly by the brash, if "retired" was how he was classified. He smirked; Natsuki had just handed him a trump card.

"I'll have to apologise to him, then." he shrugged, "But the name was randomly chosen in a pitch without much thought put into it. Besides, out of the loop as I am, the only Fallout person I know is FalloutJack. He sounds like a rather praiseworthy individual, given Charlotte's expression and tone when she talks about him," he threw a sideglance at #411, smirking, "And yes, technically I am retired. But, I still believe in the cause, and I could hardly refuse helping #411, especially considering how much she clearly needs my help." he made sure to emphasise the last part.

He threw a heavy sigh, "And you can see how she repays my altruism. First by almost exposing me and then with threats over some abstract example." he turned to face the agent, who was attempting to get up, "That's hardly a proper way to treat your partner, Agent. I reprimanded you for putting me at risk, but you had no cause to throw those threats at me. Primarily since I volunteered to help in the first place, and especially since you forced my hand with your abomidable display and abuse of power at Miss Black's house."

And now, he thought, for the coup de grâce. As he turned to the lieutenant, though, he was met with the cold, hateful gaze of the now-awakened Lucy Black. Staring back shocked, he took a step back, as he felt guilt piercing the back of his head like a thousand tiny needles. Just as he was dumbstruck at Natsuki's abilities, he was likewise stunned by Lucy's hateful glare. He should have expected that; he was one of the reasons she pulled her eye out in the first place. Clearing her throat and getting the attention of everyone else in the room, Lucy Black gave an even more harrowing stare at Charlotte before returning her gaze to Jonathan, this time looking at him more relaxed.

"I have a visitor." she said weakly, and for the first time since his talk with Kristin Jonathan was at a loss for words. His guilt was eating away at his head, and he couldn't quite think of a way to approach this. Lucky for him, #411 was the first one to reply to the recently awakened one-eyed victim of his legacy.

"There are more on their way. For some reason, your friend, The Undertaker, is on his way here."

That was some news, indeed, and Jonathan, trying to pull himself out from the abyss devouring his head, thought of how he could use that information later. He would have to discuss this with Kristin and proceed from there. But, something was pissing him off...

"I suspect that he'll be making a stop at your home. If I am able to see her, I will order Constance to inform your wayward friend that you are located here."

...And it was how kindly and caring Charlotte the Harlot was acting towards Lucy. After everything she did, this was like throwing salt at a festering wound and rubbing it. He couldn't put up with it.

"You can drop the act, #411." he said bluntly as he rubbed his face, having placed his bowl on the nearby table, "Dazzled though the girl is, I'm pretty sure she has enough wits about her not to buy into your pretence of caring. Especially since you're responsible for the loss of her eye."

After casually dropping that bomb that would hopefully cause Charlotte a whole lotta trouble, he turned to Natsuki.

"Lieutenant. I kindly request that you help Agent #411 up and be on your way. There's much tension between the two, the reason for which I expect to be evident, and I would much rather not have another bomb to defuse tonight."

Still adressing Natsuki, he turned to face Lucy, "...I will also have to fill Lucy in on the events of the day, and that is better done in private, I think."

 

[Rip Van Rabbit]

Lucy Black - Megaton: Clinic
"..."​

"Fuck this.", Lucy Black flatly stated, unsteadily getting back onto her feet. "I'm going to Moira's."

Running a hand through her hair in an exasperated motion, the One-Eyed Former-Gauss-Girl shook off her black eyepatch that was being soaked in disinfectant on the bedside table. "How much do I owe you, Doc?", Lucy muttered impatiently, eager to get away from what was a room full of Enclave affiliates.

"Your, uh, debt has been paid. In double actually by the gentleman over there and that BlamCo Priestess. So technically, I owe you. And since I hate owing anything to anybody, I'm going to give you some supplies.", Doc Church looked more annoyed than usual as he handed over a fully-stocked first-aid kit. "Now leave...all of you. This isn't a charity."

Lucy stuffed the first-aid kit under her arm in a hurry. It looked new. "Thanks."
Promptly, she turned to walk to the door but chose to stop and regard #411 for a moment. "Constance. The Catgirl, right? Cute kid, she looked well the last time I saw her."

One might expect that to sound like a veiled threat, in fact, Lucy was merely mirroring #411's sudden burst of hollow compassion. The fact that Lucy could switch gears so quickly was eerie in its own right. This was more of a 'I-know-about-someone-you-value' kind of thing. Lucy now had her own leverage if any of her people were going to be used as a bargaining chip again.

Using the walls to balance herself, Lucy cautiously walked past the Lieutenant and stopped in the doorway to look blankly at Jonathan. "You have a lot of explaining to do.", her voice was distinctly devoid of any strong emotions. Whether that was concerning, threatening or understandable given her current condition was left to recipient's interpretation.

Once Lucy had shut the door behind her, she dropped all pretense only to stumble onto the nearby railings. Her balance was off and she felt ill, whatever combination of medication that was coursing through her system was not agreeing with her at all. Leaning over the edge in case she had to vomit, Lucy closed her eyes and tried to focus on what was important.

She needed a weapon. Protection. That's all.
She needed to feel some semblance of protection.

And although she was hellbent on getting to Moira's, to an outsider, all they could see was a haggard eyepatched female clawing her way up the railings.

If things couldn't get any worse, she was beginning to doubt her grip on reality. Why?
Well, you know that crude 'Church of the Children of Atom' sign near the Megaton bomb in the center of the town?

Something about 'The Children of BlamCo' in deep purple seemed a little off...

Now she needed an explanation above all else. What the hell had happened in just one day?!

 

[Generic NPC 22]

The Wild Wastelands | Megaton | The Clinic of Doc Church
Shit Lists and Shopping Lists​

If it was Jonathan McKenna's life goal to rise to the top of Enclave Intelligence Specialist #411's shit list, he fast becoming its rising star. The list's top positions were not usually reserved for those who had spoken ill of her or done her wrong, that was a different list entirely, one that involved convoluted machinations that ended up with their life a shambles. The shit list was reserved for those who made her look poor in front of a superior officer and most important of all, those who attempted to ingratiate themselves with FalloutJack. Jonathan was attempting to do so using Natsuki Manriki as a proxy, an equally unforgivable sin in #411's eyes. As Jonathan spoke, the Enclave Intelligence Operative felt her jaw tightening ever so slowly, her teeth grinding and gnashing as she attempted to exert some control over herself and her desire to launch herself upon the man and rip out his throat with her bare hands. The simple fact that she needed him to assist in the training of the Sylphy Clone Army was all that stood in her way and it was more than enough to keep her from driving a power armored glove through his skull with a power assisted punch. Waiting for a moment, the red haze that threatened to consume her cleared as she smiled at the former Enclave Enlisted Soldier.

"Lieutenant. I apologize for my subordinate's insubordinate tone. Yes, he is a retired from the Enclave and as such he has forgotten some of our ways having been exposed to the corruption of the Wastes for so long. I shall prepare myself for the journey to the rendezvous point. If you will give me a moment with Mister McKenna, I will follow you shortly. If you could ensure that my discharge instructions are in order, I am afraid that in my current condition, I might forget some of those instructions."

Doc Church nodded and pulled Natsuki aside, instructing her on which chems were to be administered when and what to look for in the event that Enclave Intelligence Specialist #411's condition worsened.

"I shall have to remind you, Mister McKenna, that as a retired member of the Enclave, you carry none of the benefits that your former rank may have entitled you. While any respect that you garner from other field units may be a matter of ceremony, as your Asset field supervisor, I am not bound to display such nostalgia. If you require me to hold your hands in a such a manner, it might be time that I reconsider our arrangements and rescind any offers that I may have forwarded on my behalf." Meaning that she do whatever it took to make Jonathan and Kristin Enclave Enemy #2 (Just behind the Brotherhood of Steel), "Might I also remind the former Enclave soldier that were he the sort of man that was officer material, he would have made the realization that the Enclave would question the motives of a retired soldier showing up on the door step of a girl that had recently also left our loving fold. Were you the sort of intelligent man who wanted to ensure that nothing happened to the daughter of Isaac Black, you would have kept your distance and perhaps sent a postcard. You of all people should be aware that the Enclave has eyes everywhere and we do not take kindly to those who would plot against us and given the state of the world, there are many that plot against the Enclave. Were you a kind man, you would see that it was through your own act that you brought me, a member of the Enclave Intelligence Wing, knocking on Miss Black's door. You might seek to forget your past but the past does not forget you and sooner or later, it has a way of catching up to you."

With that said, Charlotte Sorrowfeld returned her attention to the wounded One Eyed Gauss Girl, who was now standing nearby, apparently keen on blowing this Popsicle stand before anything else untoward occurred, she did only have one eye remaining. Pausing for a moment to collect her thoughts and calm herself from the infuriating Mister McKenna, Lucy words came first.

"Constance. The Catgirl, right? Cute kid, she looked well the last time I saw her." Lucy Black stated, inferred, threatened in her own right.

Eyeing Lucy Black for a moment, there was a part within the woman that remembered Lucy's comments regarding FalloutJack and their close personal relation. A gloved hand tightened slightly and the sound of leather rubbing upon leather could be heard in the nearly quiet room. While #411 wanted to threaten and berate the woman as she had, Charlotte understood that Lucy's words were born of desperation and anger at what the Enclave Intelligence Agent and done to her and her friend. This however, was entirely different. The mother in Constance Sorrowfeld wanted to reach out and snap that slim little neck that kept the pretty little head of Lucy Black's vertical. The conniving ***** in Enclave Intelligence Officer #411 knew that to show a reaction would give the girl ammunition that could be used later.

The ***** shrugged as if it were just another piece of information in regards to another pawn on the chess board. A forced smile made its way to the woman's face as she addressed Lucy once again.

"This is not an act. Lucy. I want to apologize for my recent actions. There are things that I hold higher than even my life and the lives of others and that is the ideals that the Enclave strives to bring to the Wastelands as well as the embodiment of those ideals, FalloutJack. I need for you to understand my commitment to protecting these things. Approaching you in the manner that I did was a mistake." There was a pause. A search for more words to convey the thoughts rambling within the head of Charlotte Sorrowfeld. Reaching behind her, Charlotte produced the visualizer that showed Thomas "Shifty" McGee prominently, the man clutching his face is if he had been struck there several times recently. #411 placed the unit on Lucy's chest before stating, "Don't make me regret this act of kindness or you will regret it."

Well, perhaps a little more practice in the kindness department is in order Enclave Intelligence Specialist #411. You started pretty well there but ending the conversation on a vague threatening note... eh... well. Whatever. Watching Lucy leave, Charlotte turned her attention to whatever was left, mainly the getting the hell out of this crater shaped hellhole.

By the time Constance Sorrowfeld/Enclave Intelligence Specialist #411 was finished with the conversation, Doc Church had finished instructing Natsuki and loading her up on chems that he "claimed" #411 would require in her recovery, none of which was entirely cheap. The Enclave was ready to move out.

[hr]

The Wild Wastelands | Doctor Evil's Vault of Evil | A Evil Minion Break Room​

"So, you're saying they found what?" Evil Minion Fenwick asked, his voice tinged slightly with disbelief at what he had just heard.

"Did I stutter? They found a whole stash of candy in that garbage chute. Apparently Scotty's been rehearsing being an Evil heir and what's the first thing they teach you at Evil University?" Evil Minion Wrigley responded with a smile on his face.

"Stealing candy from a baby?"

"Bingo! Apparently Little Scotty Evil's been stealing lots and lots of candy from the kids around the DC Wastes. I mean enough to fill an entire garbage chute. Man. I thought the kid was a little puss but man that takes some balls." Evil Minion Wrigley said slowly, his smile suggesting that he would have liked to be a fly on Scotty's shoulder when it happened.

"What you mean it takes balls?"

"I mean, have you ever done it? Have you ever taken candy from a baby?"

"Fuck no, man. That's mean."

"See? You've gotta overcome that instinct of not doing it. You've gotta be able to look that kid in the eyes and take that piece of candy right out of his mouth. Then when he's crying, you've gotta run like hell. Most people think that you've done something to the kid that's a lot worse than taking his candy and they'll beat the shit outta you. So between feeling like a guilty shit and running from the mob of people that'll be on your ass, it takes balls."

"So, what about the others? Didn't Mustafa get his hands on one of them?" Evil Minion Fenwick asked curiously.

"Naw, he got fucked up himself. Seems that someone impaled his neck on the broken bits of grate. I think it was the big naked guy." Evil Minion Wrigley said

"Fuck you, it's gotta be that chick dude. I heard she opened that cell door with nothing but her bare hands." Evil Minion Fenwick said.

"I bet you a week's pay that it was the naked dude."

"You're on, *****."

"I'm not the *****, *****."

Evil Minions Fenwick and Wrigley were suddenly interrupted by the sound of the door opening, revealing Evil Minion Second Class Mustafa on the other side, his neck bandaged from ear to ear. It was either through supreme luck or good writing that the grating had not severed the major arteries in his neck, only his vocal chords. It was rather unfortunate since he was currently the Number One contender to take the title of Evil Idol.

"

What the hell are you two talking about?

" Asked Evil Minion Second Class Mustafa Hawking.

"Uhhh... nothing man. Nothing."

 

[Texas Joker 52]

Arizona

The Wild Wasteland | Conjoined Paths | Temporary Camp​

The Ex-Undertaker's reaction to her teasing didn't disappoint, since it looked like he was panicking internally and looking for a place to run. If he was screaming internally too, she wouldn't have been surprised. As much as the idea amused her, it was also rather exasperating. After all, just because she looked like a zombie didn't mean she was dead. She had needs too! Not that she could actually sate them.

She was interrupted from watching Thomas desperately think of an escape plan when Sylph started to slur and wobble like a champion drunk, and she wasn't sure she wanted to know how she got that way. But the Ghoul was pretty sure it had something to do with the Med-X she offered Thomas, and he promptly declined.

Wonderful. Looks like she's not only a psycho, but a chem-fiend, she thought with a sigh.

Thankfully, Thomas seemed to know what he was doing, and prompted her into talking to a nearby boulder. The fact that it worked only made Arizona shake her head.

"She should be busy for a while but before we move on, could you please... please... PLEEEEEASE not humor her in her quest to find herself a new mother?"

She opened her mouth to reply to that, but he seemed to launch himself into a great impression of someone digging themselves a nice, deep hole. All the while, she stared at him blandly with her single eye and fought against a smirk. When he realized what he was doing, he did a mental one-eighty and got back on-track, with her nodding sagely.

"Sorry. I know that you're joking with Sylphee and I understand that bonding with her might seem like the ideal thing to do but I think that it would be in our best interest to leave her in Megaton. She's dangerous. You saw what she did to that building. She'll more than likely kill us before whatever lies within the confines of the Dunwich Building does."

"Ha! I wasn't planning on bonding with her at all, that isn't what I do. Teasing you is fun though, and in the Wastes, you have to make your own entertainment." she said with a small smile, before she nodded and lowered her voice, "But you're right. I'm not sure I'd trust her with a pistol, much less explosives and a goddamned Anti-Materiel Rifle. You want to leave her in Megaton, I won't argue. The problem is getting her to stay."

She leaned back and crossed her arms.

"I want to get to Megaton as soon as possible, then move on to Dunwich, maybe stopping at Tenpenny Tower along the way if we need to. Worst case, we stay at Megaton a few days, relax before shit hits the fan at Dunwich. But not much longer. I want to get this job over and done with, and I'm sure you'd rather travel with someone that's nicer to look at." she added with a small, knowing smirk, "Though if you want to stick around with me, I wouldn't argue about that either."

 

[Neuromancer]

If it was Charlotte's life goal to rise to the top of one of Enclave R&D's chief ex-scientists' shit list, well she needn't have continued trying because she landed the position a while ago. It wasn't a difficult feat; the shit list mostly consisted of probably-and-hopefully dead individuals that made his life miserable back before Raven Rock went boom boom, like for example James Ronald Tiberius Drummond, who got his position because high ranking father, and was a bright, shining example of the Dunning?Kruger effect doing its work, or that Clearwater MIV or whomvever-of-his-name he was, who was a mixture of mad scientist-slash-Don Quixote-slash-pseudogentleman (but only for the ladies, the lust-driven virgin hypocrite lunatic of a bastard). Truly, compared to what he had to put up with in his earlier years, the agent's rage-fuelled idle threats and empty promises were like he was being commented for his brilliant disco dancing skills despite the fact he had no idea what the drowning fuck a Disco was! No, it was not the agent's shallow attempts at intimidation that riled him so; rather, it was her actions back at the Miss Black's house that landed her on the top of the people-I-want-to-make-most-miserable list, and he expected to spend many a night thinking of all the wonderful ways her head could melt from lazer rifle shots, or plasma, or tesla coils, or lava. Maybe boiling water. It would be like a MKX fatality showcase, except what the flippity dildos is MKX anyway?

And so, he payed little attention to her, quite frankly, laughable attempts at asserting her dominance, his attention wholly occupied by the recently awakened Miss Black getting up and stumbling around in a vain attempt to look strong. A mixture of delibitating anxiety and guilt kept him from acting -indeed, he could scarcely keep a straight face-, and he really couldn't find words to expressing himself. Hells, as he were right now, he wasn't sure what he wanted to say. The girl threw a glare at him, as though examing him to see what had changed over the course of a few hours, before speaking up

"You have a lot of explaining to do." she stated flatly, and Jonathan found himself gulping anxiously. He wasn't sure of her tone, but what he was certain of, given the fact that she had woken up to him talking to the very same agent he was pointing his gun at along with an Enclave officer, she had painted a very, very wrong picture.

That thought terrified him, and Jonathan found himself at a panic, desperately wondering just what it was she was thinking of him. He could have easily stood there for a good few minutes, but a certain unwanted collaborateur decided to sprout more bullshit again.

"This is not an act. Lucy." And the Enclave cared for the wasteland. And Charlotte didn't have a crush on FalloutJack. And Jonathan had pancakes for breakfast.

Why did she even bother? She was the one that decided interrogating the poor girl in her house just as she was left off the hook for what looked like petty grudges and paranoia And suddenly she cared? Please, Jonathan could come up with a forbidden love story between Enclave officer and Super Mutant Behemoth and still make it more plausable than #411's words. He was content to leave her insultingly fake show uncommented, prioritising helping Lucy around over throwing petty insult, but of course the Agent had to play macho, didn't she?

"Don't make me regret this act of kindness or you will regret it."

"You sure have a really fucking wierd way of showing you're sorry, don't you?" Jonathan said as he turned to face her, his eyes throwing a piercing glare, before hunching towards her, his head barely a few paces away from hers.

"You can threaten me all you like, Charlotte" he started, his voice barely above a whisper, "But lest you forget, you're the one that started this mess in the first place by announcing my fucking name, to a fucking Enclave officer. You're the one that blew my fucking cover, it's not my fucking problem if in order to save my arse from your fuckup I have to make your life miserable. Clean your own mess."

"I'm guessing this Constance is my contact." he said in a calmer manner as he backed away, noticing Natsuki come back with the doctor and that Lucy had disappeared during his little outburst. Thinking he overstayed his welcome and eager to catch up with his barely-standing acquaintance, Jonathan grabbed his bowl and faced Church, "Doctor, I would like you to deal with the radiation of the clothing I have in the backpack outside. Don't worry, I will pay, extra if it's done quickly. And Agent..." he said as he turned to look at her again with a grin, "I look forward to working with you." he said mischievously, before opening the door and leaving.

* * *​

She hadn't strayed too far, as expected of a person that couldn't quite stand on their own two feet. He was quick to catch up to her, though words still escaped him. As he slowly approached her, he grew even more panicky over what to say, made evident by the sweat running down his cheek and nervous shaking of his hands.

Snap out of it!

"Moira, uh, closed not too long ago for the night..." he started awkwardly as he got next to her, occupied as she were staring at a sign labeled 'The Children of BlamCo'. The Princess sure left quite the first impresiion, it seemed.

"You hungry...? I brought some food... eeeh, it's quite delicious?!" he continued in a similar manner, extending the bowl towards her before sighing and getting more serious.

"Look, I know how this looks like... but I swear that I can explain." he threw nervous glances left and right before looking back at her meekly "But not here. Please, come with me to my room at Moriarty's Saloon, Miss Kristin's there too. I promise I'll go over everything that happened today there. "

 

[Generic NPC 22]

The Wild Wastelands | Conjoined Paths | Temporary Camp
What a F**KING start...​

"Though if you want to stick around with me, I wouldn't argue about that either." The Old One, Arizona said with a smirk on her face. Her teasing had risen to such a degree that it had caused the Former Undertaker's cheek to burn red as she toyed with him. Though the exercise had left Thomas' dignity in tatters, it did signal the fact that Arizona seemed much more approachable than she did when he had first met her in Rivet City.

"Well, you don't need to argue, Arizona. You did recruit me to guide you to Dunwich and I'm not about to let you wander off in the Wastelands without a guide, regardless of what could potentially be waiting for me in Megaton. I may not be an Undertaker any longer, but I'm still a man of my word." Thomas said in an almost comically valiant sort of way. Despite his training and preparation, Thomas had found himself ill equipped to handle the Wastelands. In fact the last time he'd gone on an adventure of this magnitude, he'd ended up cryogenically frozen by the Enclave. Even with this particular fact gnawing at the back of the man's brain, Thomas "Shifty" McGee had made up his mind in regards to accompanying his friend to the Dunwich building.

"No! I lost again!!! No fair Mister Boulder! You're cheating!" Sylphee yelled in the background as she had apparently lost another hand of Caravan to the boulder that she was talking to. How she even found a Caravan Deck this far East was beyond the already mentally exhausted man.

"Sylphee! Say goodbye to your friend. We're leaving!" Thomas called out as he started packing his gear, eyeing the blue haired junky for a moment to ensure that she heard him.

"Okie dokie daddy!" Sylphee called out as she started packing up her Caravan card, sticking her tongue out at Mister Boulder. No one liked a cheater.

"Arizona. I really, really, really appreciate you doing this for me," Thomas said with a smile that did a rather piss poor job of hiding his excitement. Though if there was any doubt that the Friendly Former Undertaker was excited, it was dispelled with the hug that he gave the ghoul.

"DAW! So cuuuuute!" Sylphee called out from where she sat, her bags already packed and ready to go, her rifle, which she had retrieved from Arizona was slung over her shoulders.

 

[Texas Joker 52]

Arizona

The Wild Wastelands | The Dunwich Party | Path to Megaton​

The fact that Thomas' face turned an entertaining shade of red only made Arizona smirk a little wider. Really, the fact that he still blushed that easily was a little surprising, though he did mention that he wasn't quite... Experienced when it came to women.

"Well, you don't need to argue, Arizona. You did recruit me to guide you to Dunwich and I'm not about to let you wander off in the Wastelands without a guide, regardless of what could potentially be waiting for me in Megaton. I may not be an Undertaker any longer, but I'm still a man of my word."

"Glad to hear, especially since I don't have the slightest idea of where the hell the Dunwich Building even is from here, so I'm relying on you to get me there." she told him easily.

The fact that she was starting to like the idea of company on the journey there was something she kept to herself. The Wastes were boring enough as it was on her own, and having someone to talk to was nice. Even if it was two someones who she could already tell would drive her up the metaphorical wall quicker than it would take for a snowball to melt in hell.

But she hadn't been prepared for his hug. After she had gathered her own things, he mentioned that he appreciated what she was doing for him, and wrapped his arms around her in a tight embrace. She blinked even as her face pressed against his chest, and the short Ghoul awkwardly returned the hug with a small smile.

"It's no problem, Tommy boy. Now that's enough. I'm getting soft enough as it is." she said as she quickly pushed herself out of his clutches and gave him a mock glare.

She ignored Sylph entirely as she called out how adorable the two of them were. At the same time, she wondered where Charlie had gone off to, but realized that he knew what they were planning on doing. If the boy had any brains in his head, he'd be following behind them in short order.

"Well then, let's get to Megaton. I can hear that nuke calling to me even now." she said brightly as she started to walk.

The Wild Wastelands | The Dunwich Party | Gates of Megaton​

I'm going to shoot her. I'm going to shoot her. I'm going to shoot her, Arizona repeated to herself as a mantra, I'm going to shoot her right fucking now, I swear to Good Christ Almighty.

As they stood outside of the metal gates of Megaton, all the old Ghoul could think about was taking Lester and putting a bullet in Sylphee's head, due in no small part to the trip there and the resulting migraine. From their temporary camp, it had taken them from early morning to late evening to get there, and while it was only around half-a-day's trip, Sylphee made it feel like it had taken several agonizing weeks. She could easily see why Thomas wanted to dump her irritating little ass in Megaton and leave her there. It was only due to her uncharacteristically phenomenal patience that she hadn't shot the blue-haired little shit.

Looking up with a bloodshot eye at the sentry above the gate, she called out.

"Hey! You gonna let us in, or what? We've got caps to spend, and don't plan on causing any trouble." she shouted up wearily.

She only hoped that neither Thomas or Sylph had managed to get a reputation here. But given what Thomas had implied in earlier conversations, she was almost certain they had.

 

[Rip Van Rabbit]

Lucy Black - Megaton
"..."​

"Don't make me regret this act of kindness or you will regret it."​

An apology intertwined with a threat. No doubt, Lucy's offhand comment about Constance had ruffled some feathers. Not enough to make #411 fly off the handle and implicate herself any further in front of the Enclave Lieutenant, but it was enough to keep in mind for the future. Which reminded her, #411 had given her something cylindrical and thin with a few buttons on it. Some kind of remote?

Lucy couldn't quite place where she had seen it, her recollection of recent events were shaky at best. So she merely focused on fiddling with the power button and lo and behold, a slim screen flipped out and displayed footage of Thomas "Shifty" McGee. Lucy's heart did not leap into her throat, which was highly unexpected at the sight of her very-much-alive Undertaker. Biting her lip to elicit some sort of positive reaction, the girl who had her world turned upside down from recent events couldn't convince herself that he was truly safe unless she could protect him. She had to be his shield.

Lucy wasn't 'alive' unless she was fighting something or protecting someone. There was no normal life after the Enclave Vault, not to mention those that she had met, betrayed, fought alongside, lead and used as support along her journey. Outcast to both the Brotherhood of Steel and the Enclave, it also meant that she had more enemies than friends and she no longer had a prototype Gauss Rifle to protect herself.

Perhaps she could strike a deal with Moira, although she wondered whether the quirky woman would accept a house of all things...

"Moira, uh, closed not too long ago for the night..."

"Wonderful.", Lucy sarcastically replied, turning around a little too fast to catch sight of Jonathan McKenna standing not too far away. Judging by his panicked expression, he was most likely here to check on her. A sentiment that she appreciated, but not one that could fully vocalise while her head was spinning.

"You hungry...? I brought some food... eeeh, it's quite delicious?!", he continued in an enthusiastic fashion, extending the bowl towards her. As hungry as she was, she wasn't quite sure she could trust her stomach to remain settled until they had found someplace comfortable to rest. Waving off the offering of food with a grimace, she couldn't help but wonder if The Children of BlamCo and Jonathan's sudden enthusiasm for the food that had almost killed him were intertwined somehow. Her refusal was met with an audible sigh. Oh?

"Look, I know how this looks like... but I swear that I can explain."

Yeah! It looks like you are cleaning up my mess. Your cover is blown. Me losing an eye will go down in history as one of my most monumentally stupid last-ditch-efforts to save a screwed up plan. Kristin, using her blade before her brain, just painted an enormous target on her back by killing two Enclave soldiers in her home...despite how impressive that was.

You shouldn't have saved me. I would have found a way out! Hell, I had a face-to-face with Number One himself!

"But not here. Please, come with me to my room at Moriarty's Saloon, Miss Kristin's there too. I promise I'll go over everything that happened today there."

If there was one thing that would always distress Lucy; it was being left out of the loop and lacking information.

Now Lucy wanted to blurt all of this out, but the audacity in his previous statement begged more immediate questions that wouldn't give her any headaches. Nightmares, maybe.

"Whoa whoa whoa!", Lucy swayed a little and tumbled safely into Jonathan's outstretched arm. The two started walking together once Lucy had her arm around his shoulder for extra support. She was beginning to recognise that someone had administered Med-X into her system. Surely not Doc Church? He was well aware of her aversion to the substance. "Wait a minute.", Lucy raised an eyebrow and slowly turned her head to face Jonathan.

"Moriarty's? You two?", closing her eyes to shut the mental image from her mind, Lucy continued, curious as ever it seemed. "'Miss Kristin', you two are on speaking terms - no - polite terms where you aren't cursing her existence? I mean, I get it.", Lucy narrowed her eyes to give him a sly look, "So what did she put in that food anyway? Or was it your turn to fill her - OW!", Lucy yelped as her head collided with the doorframe to the entrance of Moriarty's Saloon.

Med-X was a terrible thing.

Fortunately, the knock to the head had made her lose that particular train of thought. More somberly, her face fell and her voice had lost any drunken charm while they struggled up the stairs together. It was a terribly slow process, but it gave her enough time to go back to her primary thought. "You shouldn't have saved me. Look at the mess you're in, my mess."

Drunken words were sometimes thought to be honest ramblings. In Lucy's case, that truly was how she felt.
After what felt like a pause in their walking, Lucy untangled herself from Jonathan, feeling a little bit safer that she was inside. Now, to open the door and be greeted by Headache Princess...

Sure enough, Lucy entered the room by pre-emptively putting up her hand for silence. She was savvy enough to silence the Princess before her headache had gotten any worse. Her only greeting however...was silence. Opening her eye, Lucy found someone asleep in a bed for two. Sounds innocent enough, right? Dead wrong. Lucy remembered an armored warrior Princess, not a blonde-haired whore half dressed as a schoolgirl whose chest was ready to burst from a shirt 3 sizes too small.

Turning on her heel, Lucy was prepared to walk out. She would rather proposition #411 for a cup of tea than deal with Jonathan's sexual exploits.

"Okay, seriously? Where's Kristin?", Lucy replied with a hand to her forehead, "Couldn't you pay your entertainment first, so she could leave, before you came to visit me?"

Med-X was a terrible terrible thing.

 

[Generic NPC 22]

The Wild Wastelands | Megaton | The Gates
///Ignorance is (not) an excuse///​

They say that Ignorance is no excuse. Ignorance of the law, ignorance of society, ignorance of culture. It's never an excuse. However, in the case of Thomas "Shifty" McGee, the Former Friendly Neighborhood Undertaker, Arizona, a Ghoul with a Machine Gun and a Mission and Sylphee, ... ummm... well... it's Sylphee, an exception should be made when it came to the current events unfolding in the Wastelands. Thomas had spent a number of weeks spooning a bottle of the ole Shroomshine under a rock somewhere in Rivet City, his mind blasted on the 150 Proof alcohol. Arizona was new to the Wastelands, having migrated there from the West. And Sylphee... ummm... well... it's Sylphee. Had any of them been aware of the ongoing war between the Sylphys and the Garys as well as the mass jettisoning of Raiders from the American Enclave Scouts of America's transport, they might have been prepared for the reception that they received at the gate... namely this:

"Hey! You gonna let us in, or what? We've got caps to spend, and don't plan on causing any trouble." The Old One shouted up to the sentry, her eyes bloodshot and her head pounding from the cranial pounding Sylphee's voice had been inducing the past few hours.

The answer wasn't so much an answer as it was a flurry of Machine gun fire aimed at the small trio of travelers. The staccato of gun fire followed the flurry of bullets that impacted the ground around the three, kicking up a rather large cloud of dust blocking the trio's view of the gate. Though, it should have been noted that it also blocked the sentry's view of the trio that immediately ran for cover.

Crouched behind a small bathtub, Thomas could hear the guard, Timmy calling down his partner, located just behind the gate and looking through a peep hole.

"'Ey Jimmy! It think I popped one of them there Sylphys in the face man! Chu wanna go out there and take a look fer me?" Timmy the Sentry called down to Jimmy who was apparently the brains of the operation since there was a flurry of muffled words that soon followed.

"Others? Oh! They musta been some slavers man! No one would dress up in clothes like and dress his sex slaves in clothes like that unless he was a slaver. I think one of them wuz a zombie, man. That's gross! He's a ghoul fucker and a slaver!" Jimmy answered loudly as he besmirched the good name of Thomas "Shifty" McGee.

Another muffled response came from Timmy down stairs.

"No, I didn' ask fer no names!"

"What in WALT'S NAME is going on?! Why in WALT'S NAME would you shoot at us?!" The Irate Former Undertaker yelled from behind the tub, his voice reflecting the sheer offended nature of his being at having been mistaken for a slaver.

"Oh! Looks like one of them's still alive!" Timmy said as he raised the machine gun again, taking aim towards where he though the voice was coming from, popping off a salad sized salvo of lead in Thomas' general direction.

"HEY! HEEEEEEY! Please, stop shooting at us. I'm Thomas "Shifty" McGee. I'm an Undertaker with the Union! I'm here on business! My companions are Arizona and Sylphee!" Thomas yelled, taking on his old title and hoping that it would at least assist in settling the matter without having to resort to bloodshed. Even the Warner Brothers weren't going to keep Thomas from getting through that gate.

"'Ey Jimmy! One of them says that's he's an Undertaker by the name of Shitty!" Timmy said, not shooting this time and instead waiting for further instructions from Jimmy the Brains, "Says that he's here on bidness."

More muffled responses.

"'Ey you Undertaker. Why're you travelin' with one of them there Sylphys?!" Timmy asked.

"Sylphys? No I'm traveling with just Sylphee!"

"Sylphy!"

"What?!" Thomas asked, his voice clearly sounding quite annoyed by the guard and his mouth.

"Sylphy! That's what they're called, not Sylphee!"

"I don't hear a difference! I said Sylphee! Sylphee! Sylphee! Sylphee!"

"Sylphy! Sylphy! Sylphy! Can't you hear the difference?!"

"No! Walt damn it! No I don't hear a Walt Damn difference!"

"Well, regardless of that, Mister Shitty or whatever you wanna call yerself. You ain't gettin' pass this gate with one of them Sylphys in tow so I suggess you march off!" Timmy said, putting his foot down on the matter.

"What if we just leave her at the gate?"

The question had an obvious effect on the Blue Haired Happy Go Lucky Psychopath, Sylphee the Crimson menace as she hopped out in the open to yell at her Daddy.

"Hey! Hey! Hey! Daddy, you're not leaving me here! I wanna go inside with you. Please take me with you! I wanna go inside Mister Megaton. Please please please please please PLEAAAAAASE!!!!!" Sylphee complained as she hopped up and down, her voice getting louder and louder and louder and louder. At least until she lost her footing, "Oops!"

BAH-BOOOM! Went the Anti Materiel Rifle as it struck the ground and discharged, sending a bullet through the gate. A scream of pain echoed out the hole the bullet had made and was soon followed yelling.

"Man are you sure, Jimmy?"

More muffled yelling.

"Alright! Jimmy says I should let chu in, if you take that there rifle away from that there Sylphy." The guard said, a smirk crossing his face. He never liked Jimmy, not since he learned that Jimmy had been bedding his wife while the guard was on guard duty.

"That's Sylphee!" Sylphee called out, offended that the guard would get her name wrong.

"I still don't hear a difference and I still don't know what in the hell is going on here." Thomas muttered to himself, his voice muffled by the roar of the airplane engine that opened up the gates. Shouldering the Sylphee's rifle, Thomas entered Megaton, relieved that they'd been allowed inside. Since night was fast approaching, Thomas guessed that they'd better go to Moriarty's to get a room before he ran out and in the morning, he'd go check Lucy's house to see if he could find her.

"Let's go get some rooms." The Friendly Former Neighborhood Undertaker stated simply as he walked towards the Saloon whose sign glowed in the distance. The sooner he slept, the sooner morning would come.

[hr]

The Wild Wastelands | Moriarty's Saloon​

It appeared that little had changed since the last time Thomas the Former Undertaker was in Moriarty's Saloon. The drinks still smelled stale and the patrons smelled even worse and yet, despite the obvious lack of anyone taking points in an Interior Design Skill, Shifty McGee felt right at home in the dilapidated building. Entering the Saloon's main room, Thomas noted the uneasy stares that he was receiving as well as Sylphee was receiving.

"Hey there handsome. Been a while." A silky voice said from the corner of the bar, "I was starting to think you forgot about lil' ole me."

Turning to face the voice, Thomas suddenly became nervous as he saw Nova sitting at the bar, cocktail in front of her and a look in her eyes that said "Give me your Caps and I'll give you a great time."

"N... Nova. Yeah... well... has it been that long?" Thomas responded, keenly and uncomfortably aware of the eyes that were looking at him, the eyes that belonged to a certain Crimson Menace, the only one to follow him up to the Saloon since Arizona had complained about a headache and the need for something to quell said headache. "N... Nice seeing you. Ummm... I'm just here for a room."

"You don't want me to come up later? Thomas. I thought we had an understanding." Nova pouted, dipping her chin down to her ample and soft...

"Daddy! I'm tired. Can we get a room yet?" Sylphee whined, thankfully interrupting Nova's game of twist Thomas around her fingers.

"Right... sure... whew." Thomas muttered as he motioned for Moriarty.

"Well if it isn't good ole... WHAT IN THE FUCK IS SHE DOING HERE?!" Moriarty exclaimed as he ducked behind the bar, putting something solid between himself and his previous assailant.

Looking over the bar, the usually wordy Former Undertaker noted that Moriarty was in the duck and cover position, as some sort of Act of God was about to descend upon him and rip his world apart.

"Ummm... rooms? Please?" Thomas said awkwardly as dropped some caps on the bar, the sound of currency bringing the Saloon's proprietor out of his shell, "Three of them."

"This is only enough for 2." Moriarty said, "and to cover the stitches your pal behind you gave me when she sliced me shoulder open like a fish."

"But.. I." Thomas stammered, he was unaware of the fact that Sylphee had been to Moriarty's previously and had in fact impaled the man's shoulder with her wrist blade during her hunt for the Sharply Dressed Man. The realization that something had happened came soon after as Thomas wheeled on the Blue Haired Ditz, "What did you do, young lady?"

"I 'unno." Sylphee responded with a shrug, her smile never leaving her face.

"Fine. Whatever." Thomas said, defeated as he headed up the stairs to one of the rooms, closing it behind him and sitting down on a chair within.

"Bouncy! Bouncy! Bouncy! Bouncy!" Sylphee exclaimed as she found the room's bed and started jumping on it. This was going to be a long night, made even worse by the thinness of the walls.

"Okay, seriously? Where's Kristin?", A feminine voice said, "Couldn't you pay your entertainment first, so she could leave, before you came to visit me?"

 

[Texas Joker 52]

Arizona

The Wild Wastelands | The Dunwich Party | Megaton Gates​

The answer she got from the gate guards was a flurry of gunfire. She swore under her breath and followed Thomas behind a bathtub. She grimly realized only a few moments late that it probably wouldn't stand up to machine gun bullets.

It wasn't long before she heard the guards start wondering just what they had shot at, and two things immediately jumped out at her: First, that there was apparently more than one Sylph out in the wastes. That, in and of itself, was a nightmare she didn't want to accept just yet, especially so soon after their... Road trip. And second, that they thought they were slavers, and that she was male.

"I'M A CHICK YOU DUMB FUCK! THESE TITS AREN'T FOR SHOW, AND IF YOU DON'T LET US IN, SO HELP ME GOD..." she started to roar out at them, before Thomas decided to pull out the charm.

Or at least, what anyone could pass for charm in a situation like that.

As he explained the situation to them, she rubbed her temples with both hands and audibly ground her teeth next to Thomas. It took a few minutes, and when it seemed like they were going to be turned away from Megaton entirely, Sylph managed to pull an "Oopsie" and shot the guard through the gate with her Anti-Materiel Rifle. Purely by accident, of course.

But the muffled screams made her lips spread in a small, cruel smile and a rough chuckle rumble from her throat.

"Serve's the shithead right." she murmured as she grabbed her things and followed Thomas inside.

"Let's go get some rooms."

She turned to him and nodded.

"Good idea. I'm going to head by whoever happens to be the doctor around here and get something for my migraine. If I don't, I can't be held accountable for my actions." she said, her tone taking an edge as she leveled a glare at Sylph.

"I'll meet you at the bar... Shifty." she added with a small smile.

The Wild Wastelands | The Dunwich Party | Moriarty's Saloon​

As it turned out, Doc Church, the man who passed for a doctor in that godforsaken town, was almost as much of a raider as she was if his price gouging was any indication. The price she paid for three syringes of Med-X was tantamount to highway robbery, even with haggling, but she paid it and had immediately took one. So by the time she had gotten up to the building marked as Moriarty's Saloon, she was beginning to feel sweet relief from the migraine.

At least, until she stepped inside and saw the bartender recoil from the sight of Sylph.

"Well if it isn't good ole... WHAT IN THE FUCK IS SHE DOING HERE?!"

Her single eye narrowed on the girl and she shook her head, asking, "Is there anywhere in the Capital Wasteland that you haven't caused trouble in?"

"Ummm... rooms? Please? Three of them."

When Thomas put down a handful of caps onto the bar, the bartender took the chance to come out from behind his cover to take it.

"This is only enough for 2. and to cover the stitches your pal behind you gave me when she sliced me shoulder open like a fish."

At that, Arizona growled low, but she reached into her duffel, pulled out some caps and shoved them across the bar to the man.

"Here. That should be enough for three, and a drink. Gimme a scotch." she snapped.

She glanced back as Thomas and Sylph made their way up to the rooms. When the bartender shoved a dirty bottle in her direction, she snatched it up before promptly following in her companion's wake. All while hoping that Med-X kicked in a little faster.

 

[Neuromancer]

There comes a time in a person's life that, after a series of stressful events and sudden, turbulent changes they gbelieve that they finally get some time to relax, contemplate on what they went through, catch a break.

And then, as things are going well and dandy, as it seems that the situation isn't as bad as it seems, life arrives on the scene with truimphant horns and dancing barely-clothed exotic beauties, takes a look at said person, lets out a cheeky laugh, and slaps them back to reality.

That's how Jonathan felt right now, minus the dancing beauties, because his life was too shit to have that kind of fanservice.

Just as he had left his room bursting with energy, as though a spring of possitivity had manifested within him, so too had it now been devoured by an endless void of negativity, gluttonously devouring whatever last vestiges of liveliness was left within him. His encounter with #411 was the start of a downward spiral of a steadily increasing in intensity guilt trip, culminating with his interaction with the broken, barely-standing Lucy Black.

And so, Jonathan did what he always did when he was on the verge of despair; withdraw to himself. Had he not left his glasses and hat back at the room -and despite the fact that he'd pretty much be blind wearing them in the middle of the night-, he would, as though hardwired to, put on his mask.

"Moriarty's? You two?" stated Lucy inquisitively as she turned to look at him, only for Jonathan to avert his gaze, barely paying attention and staring an unfocused stare at the ground, letting out a weak, submissive "I can explain." before hearing a thump on entrance and a squeal of pain.


"Stop being so self-absorbed!"

Lucy's words, echo though they were, stung like daggers in the back. Her hitting her head on the floor served as a rude wake-up call for him, the girl could hardly walk, and all he was doing was sulk around like a teenager. Getting better hold of her, he hurried through the saloon and up the stairs, certain that the faster he got her a place to sit and rest the better. Carefully placing the bowl of food on the railing behind them, Jonathan reached for his pocket to get the key. As he placed it into the keyhole, however...

"You shouldn't have saved me. Look at the mess you're in, my mess."

He sighed and shook his head as he unlocked the door, before turning to face her, on his face a disapproving, tired look further emphasised by his half-closed eyes.

"A mess that I started to begin with." he stated flatly, motioning her to enter the room with his hand as he turned to grab the bowl. He was too exhausted to play the blame game. His one-eyed companion was quick to free herself of his grip, opening the door and entering the room, only to abruptly take a 180 degree turn, ready to walk out.

"Okay, seriously? Where's Kristin?" she protested, "Couldn't you pay your entertainment first, so she could leave, before you came to visit me?"

"What?" retorted Jonathan sheepishly, alternating glances between Kristin and Lucy, "But... What? Entertain- what? Huh? Eh?"

It took him a few seconds to get the picture. His face looked as one would expect.

"Oh. Oooooooh. No, no, you don't understand. That is Kristin."

He gave the one-eyed girl a few seconds to stomach that.

"As I said, I will explain everything." he said as he sit on the same chair as Kristin, placing the bowl on the nearby table, "Please, take a seat." he finished as he motioned to Lucy to sit on the bed opposite of him.

"So..." he started hesitantly, reluctant to reminisce on today's events, "After you passed out, we-"

Sounds started coming from wall behind him, stopping him in his tracks. They were loud and were as though... as though...

Sounds like someone's having the night of his life.

"Anyway, as I was saying..." he started again with a sigh and shrug, annoyed, "After you passed-" only to be interrupted again as the sounds grew more frequent and louder.

"Ok, that's it. That does it." Jonathan shouted angrily as he got up and headed for the door, "I've had fucking enough for one day. I'm not going to put up with having to listen to some sexually frustrated whoremonger get it on. Not fucking tonight. I've had too fucking much for one fucking day and this is the cherry on the fucking cake." He grabbed the door handle and flung the door open... "This asswipe is either shutting up or-" ... only to hit something with it.

"Oh?"

He heard something crashing down with force, probably from some altitude. Opening the door more causiously, taking studied glances left and right, Jonathan proceeded to look down the railing, where a person had landed on a table.

"Sorry about that!" he shouted, awkwardly scratching the back of his head, "I didn't expect anyone standing- Wait."

He took a better look at the individual that he had just thrown down the railing.

"I... I know you!" he yelled, shocked and surprised at the same time. Though Jonathan was not one to remember names lest the person left an impression, he never forgot faces. And he knew exactly where he saw that face; a certain video feed, at a certain house...

"You're..." he said as he pointed at the man in disbelief, "You're Thomas McGee!"

 

[Generic NPC 22]

The Wild Wastelands | Megaton | Moriarty's Saloon
Then came the darkness...​

Sylphee:

WHAM!!! Went the sound of Mister Door slamming against Daddy and sending him flying over Mister Railing down onto Mister Table before a man, Mister Meanie Man to be exact, looked down at Daddy and pointed at him.

You're... You're Thomas McGee Mister Meanie Man declared loudly and if The Crimson Menace had her way, it would be the last declaration Mister Meanie Man made.

"HEY! HEY! HEY!" Sylphee yelled loudly as she charged the Mister Meanie Man, distracting him from hurting Daddy any further before she jumped up and used the door frame of the room's entrance to swing herself up into the air, landing on Mister Meanie Man's shoulders and locking herself into place.

From Mister Meanie Man's perspective, the world went dark as his face was filled with... something... something warm that had been clad in cotton. He would have felt the long legs of the assailant lock her legs around his head and the sensation of a pleated crimson cotton, the sort of thing that would have been all the rage were there school uniforms still around, wrapped around his head. The sensation of two firm yet soft mounds resting upon his head might have been comforting were it not for the fact that whatever his assailant was doing was blocking his airways even as she attempted to ram her fist through his skull.

And then there was the machine gun that had been loaded with words.

"I-dunno-who-the-hell-you-think-you-are-Mister-Meanie-Man-but-no-one-hits-my-daddy-with-a-door-and-lives. Ow! Why-is-your-head-so-hard-Mister-Meanie-Man?! You're-a-big-meanie-a-big-big-big-big-big-big-big-big-big-big-meanie! I'm-gonna-make-sure-you-never-do-this-to-daddy-again! Ow! Ow! Ow! You're-head-is-super-hard! I'm-gonna-keep-pounding-it-with-my-fist-until-it-lets-me-in!" Sylphee machine gunned her words as she continued her valiant assault on Daddy's assailant, Mister Meanie Man, "He-might-be-mean-to-me-but-he-didn't-do-anything-to-you-Mister-Meanie-Man! So-you-better-say-you're-sorry-or-else-I'm-going-to-keep-fisting-this-until-it-breaks!!"

The assault was relentless as the smothering continued as well as the fisting. What was Mister Meanie Man going to do?!

[hr]

Thomas "Shifty" McGee

The world was darkness, at least for the first few moments after the Undertaker had landed right on top of where Arizona had set her filthy bottle of alcohol. Luckily for Thomas, he had avoided landing directly on top of the bottle and avoided a meeting with Doc Church, who wasn't too gentle with a pair of forceps when fishing broken glass out of someone. Unluckily for Arizona, her traveling companion had landed on the edge of table, breaking one side and turning it into a bottle-pult. The liquor took a high arc in the air, the liquid inside bending the light of the room into little rainbows as it spun. It was to also be an unlucky moment for the Saloon's proprietor as he watched the arcing bottle sail high into the air, never bothering to move, never bothering to make an estimation as to where the bottle would land.

CLUNK!! The bottle landed, the impact of the landing lessened by the fact that it had landed on Moriarty's skull before taking another bouncing tumble back towards its owner, like some sort of demented and fermented boomerang.

CLUNK!! The bottle landed once again, this time on the chest of the ailing Undertaker, knocking what little air he had left completely out of his lungs.

"Ssss... Ssssssss... Sssssssssssss." Thomas attempted to say to Arizona as he pointed a wavering finger in the direction of where he heard the machine gunning of words and thocking of fist against skull, "Sssssss... sto... sto... stop... h...he....her."

Apparently, he was asking Arizona to stop Sylphee from murdering yet another person. But there remained the fact that he was just assaulted by Sylphee's assaultee. Why would the Breathless Blue Eyed Undertaker want to show mercy to a man that had not only almost killed him, but almost committed the cardinal sin of wasting alcohol?

"He... heeeee... he...know...m..m...my...name."

 

[Texas Joker 52]

Arizona

The Wild Wasteland | The Dunwich Party | Moriarty's Saloon​

Med-X was a wonderful drug. It relieved almost any kind of physical pain in such a way that, even though you technically still felt it, as far as you're concerned, it was happening to someone else and there was no reason to give a damn. At least, that was how it was supposed to work, when the person who took it didn't have an intense migraine due to a little blue-haired maniac. And it certainly didn't help when that person was a Ghoul, and Ghouls were pretty notoriously resistant to most forms of drugs, which was part of why Ultrajet was created, or so some said.

As such, Arizona's head pounding started to intensify as she watched Thomas get knocked back by a flung-open door and land on the very table she had momentarily set her Scotch onto. Her single eye tracked the filthy bottle as it sailed through the air and knocked the bartender over the head, all without somehow breaking in the process, before twirling back towards her.

She smartly stepped back, when it landed on Thomas's chest, making him wheeze out what breath he had. All the while, Sylph had decided to latch onto the face of the man who was responsible for Thomas's fall and was trying to beat his skull in. To top it all off, her mouth was running a mile a minute.

Ignoring the spectacle, she leaned forward and loomed over Thomas with as much of a sympathetic expression as she could manage in her current mood.

"Do you ever have any good luck?" she asked dryly.

"Sssssss... sto... sto... stop... h...he....her... He... heeeee... he...know...m..m...my...name."

She blinked for a moment, then slowly looked up at the scene and sighed.

"Oh good Christ..." she murmured before striding over, grabbing a chair along the way.

She set the chair up so she could stand atop it and grabbed Sylph from behind, wrapping her arms up and around Sylph's.

"Sylph, stop beating on him, and Miss Arizona will give you a treat. Does that sound good?" she asked wearily, all the while trying to tug the girl off of the poor man.

 

[The Harkinator]

The Three Musketeers - A morning of varying comfort.

*THUNK*

Exactly what sound Dudley Sullivan made as he tried to shift in the child sized bed, cracked the timbers, and went crashing to the floor was up for debate. But *THUNK* is close enough for now. In an instant, Evan and William were in his room brandishing weapons, scanning the area with their eyes for the attacker. In unison they both looked down and saw Dudley lying on the ground in the middle of a broken bed.

"Who've you got in here then Duds? Where have you hidden her, the toybox?" Asked William in a jovial tone, opening the trunk at the foot of the bed to reveal a few scraps of junk. He tapped the lid back down with his foot.

"Whaddya mean?" muttered the heap of Dudley amidst the broken bed.

"You must have been really enthusiastic to break the damn thing in half." Replied William, lowering him pistol.

"Tell us Dudley, how are you feeling? What were the details?" joked Evan, recalling the last conversation they had. Just as quickly as the words left his mouth Evan did a double take at William, as for the first time he noticed what he was wearing. "William... why are you wearing a blanket, what happened to your shirt?" Inquired Evan, who had slept in his clothes, as he always did. William for his part looked like a huggable cocoon with feet, a head, and one arm sticking out.

"My clothes are back in my room, if you sleep in them too long they start to smell. The main bedroom had a bathtub and some abraxo cleaner in it. If you put some water in the tub and soak your clothes overnight in the abraxo for an hour, they dry clean and fresh. I've been wearing those bloody things for over a week now, they've started to smell quite badly." Explained William, before continuing with, "And there's nothing wrong with the blanket, it's comfortable." William gave a defensive shrug and pulled it tighter around his shoulders.

Evan gave his Pip-Boy a quick check and realised it had gone seven in the morning. Any time they wasted now was precious daylight gone they'd lose for travel. "Guys, we'd better start getting up. There's more travelling to do, and we can't waste time. Pack everything up, we'll have breakfast downstairs at eight. No going back to sleep either, this alarm clock was one use only." Evan indicated to Dudley with a wave of his arm.

"I'm already packed, so I'll go back ta bed if ya don't mind. I trust ya to wake me up in time for breakfast." Said Dudley, before rolling over to face the wall and didn't speak again. William and Evan left the room, and William shuffled back into his room.

"In that case, I'm going back to bed too. I'll spend the next ten minutes pretending the world isn't an irradiated husk of dead rock." He said, somewhat sleepily.

"And you're king of an island of scantily clad women, where there's food and water wherever you want it?" Asked Evan, who would be spending his time recording the latest events of their journeys into his Pip-Boy. Record keeping was an important task, and one day people might want to know how all this had happened.

"Yeah, something like that." Yawned William, as he closed the door behind him. Evan heard an audible *WHUMP* a second later, presumably William had just decided to fall onto the bed.

---Some time later---

The Three Musketeers were getting back on the road about half past eight by Evan's reckoning. Riding towards the rising sun, they carried onwards in their quest to find Isaac Black. He was out there somewhere, and these three were going to find him.

 

[Anti-American Eagle]

Talion - Old Olney

"What, that? They're really not that uncommon anymore. I'm David Davidson, lord of the Empire of Dave. We're a growing thing up north. That mutant was once a crazed Enclave doctor who'd covered the Capital Wastelands in newly-created Behemoth mutants. You can ask anyone. It's true."

Talion thought about it as the man talked. He had heard of the republic of dave and what he knew of them was limited though, he didn't hear anything about them possessing Vertibirds. And then he heard it, in his ears and his minds eye as it came into view the machine sitting on his list as a target for destruction.

Its appearance, what was known of it anyway as it had been described was something that made him wonder now as it opened fire on a deathclaw. So either the man was lying, this was a different machine, or the republic of dave was under enclave control. It was either the first or the third.

"So...lunch?"

What to do? His first thought was to throw the bomb he had prepared earlier at the machine, shoot Dave, and run. But that was something he doubted he would survive, and he doubted simply throwing the bomb would kill it. He thought he would have range to approach it from, but it sitting there what felt like watching him made open hostility difficult at this range.

"Lunch?" was what came out of his mouth unsure of how to act, "Yes. Lunch."

 

[Rip Van Rabbit]

Lucy Black - Megaton

'Unyielding'​

Taking a seat on the bed next to a now-confirmed sleeping Kristin and massaging her temples, Lucy Black tried in vain to soothe the growing headache in the midst of her new environment. Moriarty's Saloon. Packed to the brim with sounds of jovial laughter/shouting/clinking of bottles and the perpetual creaking of bedsprings between the adjacent paper-thin walls, Lucy wondered if it was Jonathan's or Kristin's idea to stay here for the night. Surely the self-proclaimed 'Princess' would have some reservations regarding her surroundings...

"Ok, that's it. That does it." Jonathan shouted angrily, snapping Lucy's wondering mind back to her immediate reality. He seemed upset, unreasonably so and after a certain delay and having Jonathan leaving the room, the One-Eyed Lady got up to go see what the fuss was about. It was a loud crash and a series of shouting from downstairs that first set off the alarm bells in her head.

Feeling somewhat unsteady, Lucy grabbed the nearest object resting on the bedside table to support her weight and ensure that she wasn't hassled along the way.

"You're Thomas McGee!"

What?

Lucy's eye immediately darted to the doorway, catching sight of a crimson flash sweeping Jonathan out of sight with a familiar yelling.

"HEY! HEY! HEY!"

"Sylphee!", Lucy shouted to get her "sister's" attention. No use.

With great effort, Lucy pulled at Kristin's bumper sword - a weapon with the words 'Tempus Neminem Manet' inscribed on one side of the blade - and discovered that she could lift the heavy weapon just enough to rest it on her shoulder. How Kristin carried it so casually was a mystery.

No doubt, the Crimson Catastrophe herself was here: Slylph, or more accurately in her childlike form, Sylphee. Regardless of form, Lucy knew that Jonathan's life was at risk.

Leaving the room and dragging Kristin's sword behind her, the growing sounds of commotion downstairs were dying down as steel agonisingly grinded itself against the metal flooring as if a Deathclaw was given a chalkboard for it's birthday. The sword made a loud thud for each step of the staircase. With each laborious step, Lucy's arrival was slowly being announced.

Reaching the bottom of the stairs and turning the corner, things had become somewhat more clear. A familiar man, known to her as Thomas Shifty McGee was sprawled on the floor, clearly in pain. Glancing to her immediate left, someone was successfully prying Sylph from Jonathan.

Unfortunately, due to the bystander effect, the population of the Salooon crowded around Shifty and Sylph for the sake of free entertainment.

Lucy's temper shattered and the immediate few in her vicinity tripped over one another as Lucy put all her strength into lifting the reinforced bumper sword above her head to send it crashing down into the floor. The metallic crash echoed through the establishment and Lucy was met with silence, glares and unholstered guns in her face.

With her lips curled and teeth bared, the very hostile One-Eyed female hissed, "I fucking dare you. Now move!"

Sure enough, the immediate crowd cleared a path to the man sprawled on the ground. Lucy dragged the blade from the dented floor, dropped it to the floor once she reached Shifty's side and laid a hand to his cheek once she had dropped onto her knees.

"You better not be dead, Thomas...Shifty...McGee.", Lucy's voice softened for him, but that was the only thing that was gentle about the Lucy we know now.

Laying a hand on his chest and another on his neck, Lucy's fingers clawed into his skin as she lustfully kissed him. Ravenously biting his lower lip, Lucy murmured hungrily after her tongue flicked at the source of the metallic taste of blood.

"Get up..."

As terrible as he tasted and smelled, her heart did not care, he was here...and she won't be seperated from him again.

"You have 10 seconds before I stop holding back.", Lucy murmured with a mischievous smile, tracing a finger along his neck in the meantime.

 

[Texas Joker 52]

Arizona

The Wild Wastelands | Splitting Paths | Moriarty's Saloon​

As Arizona tried to pry Sylph off of the suffocating man, a slow grinding noise started to make its way to the growing crowd. A thud punctuated it every second or so as it grew louder. The Ghoul spared a glance from the blue-haired troublemaker to watch as a one-eyed, black haired girl lugging a massive sword behind her that was easily longer than she was tall. The sight was enough to make her pause and watch as she made her way to the crowd of bystanders, then hefted it.

Arizona had to admit that she was impressed that the girl had managed to lift it off of the ground and over her head at all, but then she crashed it down to get everyone's attention. Said attention included quite a few guns coming out of their holsters. She bared her teeth at that and gave them an admirably menacing hiss.

"I fucking dare you. Now move!"

Each bystander moved with the kind of speed that told you that they suddenly had something very important to do somewhere else, and cleared her a path. Straight to Thomas.

When she reached him, she knelt next to him and placed a hand on his cheek, saying something the old Ghoul couldn't quite make out. Not that she needed to. The fierce, lusty kiss that she laid on the man was enough to make even Arizona's blood heat up, but she couldn't help a small smile at the sight. It seemed that Thomas had found his girl, Lucy Black. Not so unlucky after all, she thought to herself before turning back to Sylph and fully pulling her off of the man.

"Come on, Sylph. I'll give you your 'treat' outside once I take care of a few things." she told her, before striding over to the newly reunited couple.

"You have 10 seconds before I stop holding back."

The girl had pulled him to his feet after thoroughly kissing him, and was currently tracing a finger along his neck. So when Arizona reached them, she placed her hands on her hips and smirked at them.

"I take it that's Lucy Black then, huh Thomas?" she asked.