[HEADING=2]Well, What Do We Have Here?[/HEADING]
It's a collab from Jack and Rip!
Lucy would hear the sounds of motorcycles on approach. It was a bit dusty to see who it was, at first, but then there would be this moment of shock, an image that she would not be able to blink away or shake from her head. Once the cycles came to a stop, she would see a man disembark from them - along with William Knight, Dudley Sullivan, and Scribe Ramsey of the BoS - who was the very spitting image of her
father on the day he died. The look on his face was shocked as well, and yet somehow...relieved. Isaac Black had been gone - dead - for years, and now he was able to see his baby girl all grown up. He finally found his voice.
Isaac: It...it IS you, isn't it?
Isn't that what
she should be asking? For a girl that was struggling with her grip on reality, this particular scene was going to be rather difficult. Turning to face the sounds of motorcycles, undeniably loud and attention-worthy, a trio of riders were fast approaching Megaton. Perhaps it was the sunlight that obscured her vision or maybe her intrusive memories had now become full-blown hallucinations, because she could have sworn that the most heavily-armored of men had resembled her father, Isaac Black.
"I can
see him now.", The eyepatched & scarred female murmured, a hint to anyone nearby about why she was in such a dismal place emotionally, repeating the phrase with every step she had unconsciously taken towards the figure that was now exclusively approaching her. "This can't be real. This is all in my head..." Then he spoke. Or more accurately,
he spoke, Isaac Black. His daughter's remaining eye widened in disbelief, her mouth slightly agape in shock. She recognised that voice.
Oh how she missed that voice. For a few moments she had brought a hand up to reach out to him, pulling away instead and bringing the hand to her mouth when he blinked.
Biting her lip in a vain attempt to quell the welling up of tears, Lucy finally answered her Father, "I should be asking you the same thing.", her voice cracked slightly, "T-this isn't all in my head,
is it?"
Reaching out to lay a hand on the very real shoulder of her previously known to be dead Father, the daughter who had seen hell had dropped all pretenses of aggressive authority or cold cunning. No,
right now, a simple daughter had wrapped her arms around her much missed father's waist and buried her head in his chest.
"...Hi Dad..."
The moments of disbelief and shock slowly melted away into confusion and questioning of one's own sanity, and then that finally ebbed away. For Isaac, it was a question of 'How long have I been away?' and 'What happened to her?'. When she moved to hug him, he followed suit, holding her tight against his chest as he was overcome with emotion.
Isaac: I'm so sorry I left you, Lucy... I'm sorry for everything. I know it was my fault. I'm sorry...
Time had moved faster for Isaac than Lucy during the years he was dead. He was not aware of anything between his death and his renewed life, so seeing all of this was a shock to his system, without a doubt.
[HEADING=1]Ladies and gentlemen, we are back in black![/HEADING]
[HEADING=1]It's the wild wasteland third anniversary special![/HEADING]
Lucy pawed at her face, wiping the tears of shock and greater happiness away, "You're here now, that's all that matters!", she smiled happily, truly happy, before her head tilted in confusion when she had spotted William as one of the trio of newcomers, "How - how are you here? And why is William with you?
What is going on? How many strings has #411 attached to you?"
Confusion, in Lucy's case, was a breeding ground for paranoia and subsequent aggression that followed as a response. Lately, one could describe Lucy as exhausted and dispassionate, yet as of this moment she was ready to launch herself headfirst into any opposition for the safekeeping of her father. And if these were the machinations of the Enclave, she was feeling ready to correct her previous mistake in the following Round 2.
"Point me in the right direction and we will tear them apart!", stated what was once a sweet girl.
Isaac put his hands on her shoulders to get her to pay attention to him for a moment.
Isaac: Lucy, calm down. They're not with the Enclave. In fact, I know for a fact that the one on the end with the glasses is a Scribe from the Brotherhood. This isn't a plot, except perhaps of the BoS to give me my life back. Let me explain what I know.
He told her the moment he became alive again, and what he knew from that, in that it seemed to involve a radioactive coffin and a bunch of armored ghouls, somehow. He didn't understand the process or reasoning of it himself, but he was alive because of this and had some sort of mutation that gave him an affinity for radiation.
Isaac: Really hoping I don't go ghoul because of it, but at least that would be better than dying again.
He continued, explaining how he had to beat the last ghoul standing to death because he wasn't - for whatever reason - Frank Rose. Frank was a Brotherhood man. He'd heard of the Roses before he died, so if he was switched with this man Frank, then they had
wanted him alive instead of Frank. While he was explaining this, someone took William and company quietly around the wall perimeter of Megaton. Isaac finished his tale and asked her...
Isaac: Now look, what've the Enclave been doing? I've heard some strange things, some worrying things, and I found a helmet and alot of blood at the house. I'd thought for sure something had happened. In fact, judging from your eye, I guess something
did happen. Tell me, Lucy, please...
There were few people that could effectively calm Lucy down when she was about to fly off the handle, then again, there was only one of Isaac Black. Tapping his arms to let him know she was okay, a hand ran through her hair while she took everything in.
"So it's safe to assume that Frank Rose is dead? That's surprising. Can't say I'll miss him, but still, surprising."
Lucy paused to touch on her eyepatch, something which she was growing accustomed to. How was she possibly going to explain this? Might as well start from the beginning. "Look, Dad, the Gauss Rifle Plus..."
Lucy glossed over the details of how she attempted to start a new life in Megaton for a few years before meeting Frank Rose and Vikki the mini-mutant on a small excursion one day. Mentioning her battles alongside the Brotherhood, Lucy revealed the nature of Brotherhood's current standing and the subsequent force of the Enclave attacks headed by two members of the Fallout Sector. What followed was Lucy's short-sighted descent into cunning manipulation and opportunistic goals: Using her standing as unwilling Enclave Asset to accompany FalloutBob to the Vault, the truth revealed with FalloutJack and the final test by Number One. The military might of the current Enclave. Lucy's betrayal to save others over that of her vendetta. The final confrontation with FalloutJack and surrendering of the Gauss Rifle Plus in exchange for a fresh start.
"Things seemed to be looking up from there...I met Kristin, Kristin Blamco, Princess to New Vegas BlamCo itself. She helped me get back home. Not long after that, a longtime friend of yours arrived to find you: Jonathan McKenna."
Lucy then delved into the explanation of the events that followed his arrival. The untimely interruption of #411, her plan to unsuccessfully goad Lucy into another betrayal and ultimately the plan to blackmail her with further deception and use of a presumed-dead Thomas McGee as leverage. Suicidally intent on protecting someone else from getting stuck under the Enclave's thumb, Lucy tried in vain to use personal harm to frame and blackmail #411, hence the loss of an eye, even after the initial replacement. Failing to protect Jonathan's cover identity and causing a mess in the process: Jonathan McKenna & Kristin BlamCo had stepped in to fight against #411's leverage.
"But I think someone else can explain that last part more clearly. Still trying to wrap my head around all of it -- and this.", Lucy nodded over to a shocked Jonathan McKenna not too far off. And again to the Valkyrie that killed armored soldiers with her unique blade. "Jonathan has been waiting a long time to see you as well. He needs some good news - today has been hell for a lot of people."
The mere mention of Jonathan had set Isaac looking around, trying to spot him. When he did...yeah, the man looked like he'd been through what he himself had woken up from: Death. Isaac patted the shoulder of his little girl and stepped on over to Jonathan MCKenna, his old friend.
Isaac: Jon? I'm sorry for being dead. I didn't plan it that way, but I'm here now. What I can do for you?
Given the wayJon's been going, probably a while lot, but would he be able to accept this situation as well as Lucy has? We shall see!
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A collab between Jack and Harkinator now!
Let us take this over to the perspective of those good-deed-doers off to the side now... The three of them - Evan Ramsey, Dudley Sullivan, and William Knight - witnessed a heartwarming moment: A father re-united with his daughter after spending years...well...dead. It brings a tingle to one's own heart. Wait... Hearts don't tingle like that, but all three of their own most certainly
are. A Mysterious Stranger in a wide-brimmed hat with a sniper rifle on her back walks by, speaking low.
"If you gentlemen do anything other than follow me, I'll crush them where you stand."
She starts walking around the Megaton perimeter wall. William recognizes the voice. It was FalloutJack's girl, Natsuki Manriki!
Oh crap. Oh crap. Oh crap.
The Three Musketeers knew at once if they didn't want to turn the touching little scene they'd just witnessed into a tragedy they'd follow Natsuki. At least to distract her for the time being. They turned almost in unison and began to follow. William looked at Evan and Dudley, mouthing "Hang back" at both of them and motioning for them to slow down. He was sure it was him Natsuki had singled out. They'd encountered one another before at the Enclave base, though William had been disguised as an Enclave trooper at the time. It wasn't impossible that she'd found out who he was afterwards. William's hands brushed his weapons, seeking reassurance from their presence. This could get nasty. Dudley and Evan did as they were told, dropping back a little so they could make a break for it if they had to, but couldn't be accused of disappearing. By this time the little gathering at the gates was out of their sight as the Three Musketeers made their way round the Megaton wall. Each tensed up with apprehension, something about Natsuki told them she was one of the most dangerous people they'd ever encountered. The other two had indeed hung back, but they could not do so that far. A tingle in their chests got a bit intense for a second and they knew that something was wrong. That something was Natsuki. They were now around the side of the walled city, far enough away that the gates were out of earshot.
Natsuki: I didn't want to spoil that scene back there. I honestly like the Blacks, despite the whole 'trying to betray us to the outside world' thing. And Isaac is alive... I don't even know how to react to that. Seeing you three here, though...
That's a no-brainer.
She turned and pulled off her hat, revealing to them the pink-haired young lady with the horns that William, at least, had seen. The other two didn't really know much of anything about her. She looked angry with them, a thus-far controlled military kind of anger that the breaking of discipline from that would surely end in a dangerous situation.
Natsuki: Let me be blunt. We found George's body, we joined the dots, and we know that you - Mr. Knight - infiltrated our base by cutting down a good man. Soldiers may die in battle, but he wasn't even in uniform or
armed! You killed him during his
coffee break and stuffed him into a vent shaft like he was garbage. Let me tell you something, Knight. I
liked George. Good friend, family man, trying really hard to make it into the Fallout Sector. We could've had a FalloutGeorge. I'm not simply pissed because you killed one of our men. I'm within an inch of
imploding your heart because of how it happened...!
And before either of the other two could say anything, she gave them a sharp look.
Natsuki: Incidentally, Enclave Asset #1 ratted you two out. We know who you are and we saw what you did. I could probably see my way to killing you as well.
"The other two have done nothing against you, it's me you-" William tried to say before being interrupted by Dudley, who slapped William's arm with the back of his hand.
"Y'aint pulling that one William. No way do we leave ya alone on this. One fer all an' all fer one." He said, puffing out his chest before addressing Natsuki,
"Listen Miss Pink Power Ranger, ya gotta problem with one of us, ya mess with all of us."
William and Evan both rolled their eyes at the "Miss Pink Power Ranger" bit. Tact never was Dudley's strong suit.
"I know there's no point trying to make excuses or justify me killing your friend. It was him or me in that moment, and I'm sure he was as nice as you say." Said William, resting his hands on his waist, next to but not quite on his weapons.
"You might think you know everything about us, but you underestimate how dangerous we are. It's three against one, you're outnumbered."
None of the Musketeers could see a clean way out of this. If they ran Natsuki would kill the recently reunited Black family. If they tried to hide they'd spend the rest of their lives on the run from the Enclave. What could they do but fight? Something in their chests tingled, this entire situation felt wrong.
Natsuki: I don't think you understand what's going on here, so let me make them more visible.
A little bit of concentration and that tingle got a bit more obvious...because it was partially based in a sonic vibration that was going on. There were these transparent limbs that...oh. William had seen these before, thanks to the powersuit that he'd been in back at the base. Alice had warned him that Natsuki was dangerous. Evan was shocked, as he had noticed that three of these things were leading into their chests.
Evan: That was you? Who are you? No,
what are you? I thought the Enclave didn't like mutants.
Natsuki: I'm a Diclonius, a divergent form human being. And my name is Lieutenant Natsuki Manriki, Enclave army, and I literally hold your lives in my hand. You three have most-definitely taken wanton action against the Enclave, my personal feelings aside. Give me one good reason why I shouldn't kill you all.
Neither William nor Evan could think of a reason. Natsuki literally held their lives in her hands, and they couldn't think of a good reason for her to let them live. She had every reason to kill Willam, and she might as well kill Evan and Dudley while she was at it. To their surprise, it was Dudley who spoke.
"Because I'm holdin' a live grenade here missy."
"What?!"
"What?!"
Dudley extended his arm forwards to show he was indeed holding a grenade tightly in his hand, the pin was at his feet.
"I've taken the pin outta this, and if ya kill me or any of the others this goes off with ya in the blast radius. You kill us, we kill you." For once in his life Dudley looked deadly serious. He was seriously pissed off, and when he got pissed of he got dangerous.
"Ya might be thinkin' ya'll survive the blast, but that merry band out by the gates'll hear it an' come runnin' ta find ya stumblin' around with half a body worth of shrapnel. They'll finish you off good." Dudley's arm shook slightly, and he could almost feel the pressure around his heart tighten.
"We all leave now, go our separate ways. Nobody shoots nobody as they's walkin' away and we all make it outta this alive."
Something Natsuki and the others did not know that Dudley did: The grenade was a dud. There was no real way for any of them to put that to the test without chancing the explosion. Only Dudley knew that it would never come, but he put on an excellent act like he was worried too. Actually, he
was worried, but of being discovered maybe... Natsuki blinked at this act of his, but then smirked.
Natsuki: Blowing yourselves up to save yourselves? Hmmm, guess I should've restrained you.
Evan: Well, what's it going to be? I don't like the idea of blowing up either, but if we have to die...
Yes, the Brotherhood may not have been
comfortable with self-sacrifice, but they were willing to... She appeared to give this some thought.
Natsuki: I have a counter proposal. The truth is, I could probably reduce you all to giblets and indeed survive the explosion, but I'm gonna take a page from dad's handbook and anty-up. If you walk away from me now, I'm gonna make the Brotherhood
hurt. If you want to prevent
that from happening, I suggest you go west and look after the Blacks. Those are your conditions now. Go west or test your luck now.
"Then we go west, and we all make it out of this alive." Said Evan, stepping back while keeping his eyes on Natsuki. There was no way he would do anything to endanger the Brotherhood of Steel.
"Yeah, an' you get outta here now too." Said Dudley, taking a step back himself and waving the grenade as if it were a lit torch he was using to fend off the encroaching darkness.
All Three Musketeers backed off, edging their way around the walls of Megaton. In unison they breathed a sigh of relief once they could not see Natsuki, though they did not simply turn around and walk normally. Was that it? Were they in the clear? No. The Enclave knew who they were, recognised them by appearance. That would never be the end of it. For now they'd have to bide their time, look after the Blacks as they'd agreed to do. Another opportunity to strike at the Enclave would present itself in time. Natsuki, meanwhile, headed around the back of Megaton, and made use of the radio in her Pip-Boy.
Natsuki: Dad, are you there? Listen, I have something to tell you, something important...
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On the other end, FalloutJack had heard the news. He was shocked - Shocked! -
to hear that gambling was going on in this establishment to hear that Isaac was somehow
alive!. He had to tell Number One about this. And...maybe NOT Bob. Jack operated a secret control in his suit and activated the Secret Inter-Vault Transportational Tube...which only he and Number One ever used. Slipping down, he set it for the secret corridor leading to the secret back door into Number One's room. Once down, Jack exited the tube and walked down the hallway.
He stopped, seeing another guy pop in from
yet another doorway!
FalloutJack: #86, what are you doing here? This is an unlisted hall.
#86: I just wanted to pop in and see the Chief about my mission.
FalloutJack: What mission?
#86: Well, that's just it. I haven't got one.
FalloutJack: Well look, not now, alright? I have to talk to him over some serious matters. Say, how
are you and #99 doing?
#86: Pretty good, apart from the headaches.
FalloutJack: I
told you not to boobytrap your quarters.
#86: Just maintaining the element of surprise.
FalloutJack: Well look, I'll get you a mission and it'll be just
brimming with danger. You'll be surrounded by enemies trying to kill you every moment of the day.
#86: And...loving it.
FalloutJack: Now, get out of here. Nobody's suppose to know about this thing.
#86: Are you kidding? The Maintenance Brothers - and the Maintenance Sister - know about this! And if they know...
everyone knows.
FalloutJack: Except Bob.
#86: Except Bob.
FalloutJack: See ya, #86.
Jack moved on and entered the domicile of Number One. #86 eventually found the secret panel again and let himself out.
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Meanwhile, at a collab between Jack and Eagle...
Questions? Well... After a few moments of silence from Talion as they walked, he said "A few, Soldier. What is your Name? your Rank? and your Serial Number?" Through his helmet it would come off as practiced and forceful, like the tone of an officer. David stopped and looked at him for a moment.
FalloutDavid: Oh, that's wonderful. We're on my base and
I'm the one being interrogated.
He sighed, shrugging as he walked along and other soldiers came in a little closer.
FalloutDavid: Alright... We do things a little differently now. I'm David Davidson, Fallout Sector, and I don't have a number anymore. You see, everyone else is a number and I'm one of the exceptionals. It's just that my armor is currently in the shop and I'm doing the casual bit for a while.
He smirked now.
FalloutDavid: How about you, then? It's only fair.
Talion continued walking as he replied "Vague responses for vague responses. Talion Richardson, Marine, and it's been some time since I've bothered to remember my number." He coughed through his helmet before continuing "And you asked if I had questions, I wouldn't have the gall to interrogate you in front of that thing behind us."
FalloutDavid: Too true.
Metal Gear BOX had mysteriously come up north, for reasons he did not know at this time. It was handy, of course. No man in his right mind - which just proves how crazy Frank Rose was - would attack such a machine
alone. Just then, one of the Enclave soldiers came over, hefting his plasma rifle. It was a newer design to what Talion was use to seeing.
FalloutDavid: Yes, #337, what is it?
#337: Enclave Asset #1 just reported in. They have FalloutScott.
David blinked, staring at him a moment.
FalloutDavid: Well, how did
that happen?
#337: One of the Scribes devised a stun weapon to immobilize powersuits. It must've been pretty good to drop him.
FalloutDavid: Yeah, Scott may spend alot of time drunk, but he's an utter genius.
#337: They have him drunk NOW. They're trying to make him talk.
David snerked.
FalloutDavid: Those poor bastards. Is my replacement suit here?
#337: It's been delivered, yes. Uhh...what do you want done with the prisoner?
FalloutDavid: Him? No idea. He's too strong to chain down. Reminds me of a nicer Horrigan. Although...we could just make it a straight trade, the super cyborg for the super genius. I think we'll wait a while, though, so that Scott has a chance to start singing lymrics.
Talion chuckled slightly "Taking me prisoner and planning to trade me now? I could lie and claim otherwise, but I know nothing of their operations and they know as much about me as you do. I have little value as a prisoner and they have little reason to trade for me."
David chuckled.
FalloutDavid: I think if they've at least met you, they'll help you. And not simply because they're a bunch of nice guys. You're clearly a very-capable person. I'm weighing their ability to recognize that against the fact that Scott will eventually make their lives a living hell. The drunken behavior is only the start. Anyway, I'm sure the Brotherhood will make the right decision. The things we've been leaking to them about situations developing lately should make them far more amicable.
#337: Maybe, maybe not, sir. Scott killed Frank Rose with the MGB. Base came to us with a recording and everything. His own fault, really, but they may not like it.
FalloutDavid: Ah well, we'll just have to see. Ah, you don't mind sitting in view of the MGB, do you, Talion? He's not exactly built for indoors.
"I suppose," Talion replied. "Though if I have to have a gun pointed at my head may I clean my equipment while I wait?"
FalloutDavid: Considering whose guns are doing the pointing? Yeah, sure. Just don't go anywhere. I'm gonna go settle into metal.
He headed off with #337. The MGB continued its eternal stare at the cyborg. It looked somewhat battered, but it was fully-functional and could not be taken down by a single person. They knew this, not only because of common sense, but on the point regarding the death of Frank Rose. Unbeknownst to Talion or anyone else, though, a certain small-scale version of Liberty Prime was traveling north and would find this area soon...
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At the Citadel, they were having a bit of a problem. Scott had begun singing alright, and it was about the Chinese planning to cover the world in their Red Glow. They had to listen, horrible though his carrying on was. And then, suddenly, he had taken the whiskey bottle jumped into a vent!
FalloutScott: Aye, there's nar'ly a beast which kin outrun a greased Scotsman! Well, maybe that Deathclaw lass, but she's a horse of a different color.
They heard him jabbering on throughout the vents, following him until they reached a locked storeroom In calling for the key, they had the unfortunate problem of having having left him alone in there for a time... They had heard
sounds, building sounds! Soon, they opened the door and looked... Scott had jumped back into the vent, and the shelves had nothing on them but little toy RC cars...with grenades!
Toy cars streamed out of there, forcing soldiers to run after them and shoot before they hit something sensitive!
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There comes a time in a man's life where, frankly, he has had enough. First, it was Grendel they had to deal with, then Eddie the bizarre concert-maker, then a frigging ALIEN ESCAPE POD or something flew out of the sky and crashed into the ground! Then another DIFFERENT escape pod crashed into IT! And what do we have now? Grendel, Eddie the Dead, a guy in a pretty bonnet, a naked man, a strange girl, and...is that a little hovering drone nearby?
Joe Slayer: That's it! I'm out! Let's go.
Jonesy: You don't want to figure this out?
Joe Slayer: Does it
look like my problem? Let's go find the way out of this world.
Coyote: Good call.
Speck: Hear, hear.
The Shadowrunners are leaving you to your own devices.
Number Six, however, remains watchful...
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Meanwhile...closer to the Springvale area, overlooking it from the hill in which Vault 101 sat...a nose sniffed the air in disgust.
"I smell...deathclaw meat."
Malkos of the Goris Clan looked among his fellow Deathclaws, the only one of any true intelligence thus far. They were slow to pick things up, but they had at least taken to his lead. What was the right action here? There was an army in that school...and they were eating his kind. This could not be allowed, but...how to handle it?
"Tonight, I will go alone."
