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Fallout Wasteland	By : Samson Category: +A through F > Fallout (Series) > Fallout (Series) Views: 28950 -:- Recommendations : 1 -:- Currently Reading : 1
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Finally Achieving Rest.

Fallout: Life In The Wasteland

Part 8 - "Echoes of the Past"

By: Jesse Racine AKA Samson

Original Date Written: December 19, 2010

Harlot Brimstone and Cain Beastly had just came back to The Den after a successful slave run, the both of them having brought in twenty slaves total; Cain had gotten twelve, and Harlot had gotten the other eight. They had made a deal before they had started their run, Harlot saying she wanted a full-body massage if she won, Cain crudely yet unabashedly saying that he wanted to fuck her face if he ended up winning. They both agreed to the other's terms, and by the time Cain had had his fill of Harlot's mouth, he had left her to rest in their motel room for the night. It being some time in the early morning, Cain sat around a flaming oil barrel by several other slavers, all of them sitting on old wooden chairs. Everyone had some sort of alcoholic beverage with them, usually a regular bottle of beer, sometimes whiskey, other times something more exotic and powerful like Rot Gut or Roentgen rum. Some of the other slavers were smoking cigarettes, but Cain wasn't a smoker. He had his sunglasses resting on his right thigh, taking a swig from his bottle of booze.
A few of the slavers in the circle were rapping, three of them rather skilfully providing a background song and beat as two of the slavers took turns speaking, one of them spitting out dark lyrics about the dangers of being a slaver as well as facing off against a slaver, along with the shitty life facing those on the business end of a raider's weapon. The second, when his turn would come, would rap with a little more optimism, singing about how tough life was in general, about how messed up the wasteland was for everyone, about how every single person needed to make a living and that there just happened to be a market for slaves. Cain never took part in the singing, but none of the men around the flaming oil barrel had a radio, so making their own music was the best entertainment they could get. He didn't take part in the singing, but he got a kick out of listening to the others go at it. It was some time around three in the morning then, everyone mellowed out but not tired enough to call it a night. Cain suddenly heard footsteps behind him. "Cain! Let's go!" Cain raised an eyebrow curiously, the rappers being interrupted, everyone except for Cain himself looking over.
The footsteps came closer. "Cain, it's my turn for some fun. Let's go." Cain slowly turned to the side, looking over his shoulder. He saw Harlot to be dressed in her sheer nightgown-like shirt, her jeans pulled on and zipped but not buttoned, leaving them just a little bit loose. Cain saw some sort of strange bulge in the front of Harlot's jeans, right over her crotch, and if he didn't know better, he might've assumed she was some sort of ultra-feminine transvestite. She walked over in just her sheer shirt and jeans, coming up behind Cain's chair, bending over low and throwing her arms around his shoulders, holding her hands together over his chest, putting her head by the right side of his. He could faintly smell alcohol on her breath. "Looks like your woman needs company." One of the slavers said, a few chuckles rising among those around the barrel. Cain muttered "Her face just had my attention not an hour ago." Those that had heard him let out more chuckles. Harlot clicked her tongue at him and said "That's over and done with. My jaw is sore as hell, I'm not in the mood for any more of that shit. No, I want something else, get up and let's go."
One of the slavers said "Harlot, I think the man's having enough fun as it is. Why don't you try and find a temporary replacement?..." A few chuckles arose among those around the barrel, Cain remaining quiet. Harlot stood back up, her right hand pushing down into the front of her jeans, flying back up a moment later. In her hand she held a pistol. The bulge in her pants had been a weapon. She cocked back the hammer and smiled devilishly at the one who had suggested she find a replacement for Cain, Harlot pointing her weapon at the man while saying "Be careful what you wish for, I'm rough with my playmates." A few chortles came up, everyone expecting the man that had previously spoken to offer a rebuttal. The man slowly said "...So are deathclaws, and I suppose I wouldn't want to fuck one of 'em. Alright, Harlot. You win." Harlot kept smiling, uncocking her weapon before twirling it around on her index finger for a moment, pushing it back down into the front of her jeans after a few spins around her digit. "C'mon, Cain. Let's go, upsey-daisy. I didn't pick "Harlot" as my name for nothin', you know." She began to pull on Cain's right arm almost childishly, making Cain grab his sunglasses from his thigh, pushing them up on his face.
He grabbed his flamethrower, which had been sitting by the side of his chair, and got up. "Looks like that's it for me, fellas. Not a total loss, though; sounds like she's in one of those "foxy" moods." Chuckles arose from the slavers around the barrel. Harlot grabbed him by his left arm with both of her own, a smile on her face as they headed for the door to their motel room. "Thought I was just gonna let you get away with fucking my mouth, huh? Oh no. Before the night is through, I'm cumming, too." Cain raised an eyebrow and said "What do you mean, "get away with"? It was part of our deal!" Harlot rolled her eyes and said "Shut up, Cain." She pulled him into their motel room, slamming the door shut behind herself. Cain walked near the bed, resting his large and bulky weapon down by the bed's side carefully. He spotted two bottles of beer by the bed's side, both empty. "I thought I smelled alcohol on your breath. You drunk?" Cain asked, turning around and looking at her. She reached into her pants and grabbed her pistol, tossing it off to the side by his flamethrower. "Not drunk. Tipsy maybe, but not drunk." She said, grinning like some sort of predator that had it's prey trapped as she marched over to him.
When she reached him, she reached up and threw her arms around his neck, closing her eyes and planting a deep kiss to his lips, her chest pushing into his slightly as she moved herself close. Cain put up no struggle, closing his eyes while reaching around her and feeling his hands along the small of her back, reaching under her shirt and rubbing along her smooth skin. She pushed her tongue into his mouth hungrily, Cain reaching his own out and meeting with her's, rubbing his moist mouth muscle along her's. He squeezed her in his muscular arms, feeling her almost melt into him in reaction. She pulled her head back a few moments later, saying "God, I'm already hot...Let's get this show on the road...Get out of these clothes, huh?..." Cain smiled, the two of them helping one another undress for a few seconds before falling on to the bed together, an early morning of passion following their actions.
"Well, it's been a while since I first saw you, but it looks like all of your old strength has come back, Tansy." The woman named Tansy stood within a building of Illust, dressed just in a white bra and matching panties, having gotten up from a bed and started getting dressed. She had just woken up, her head still a little cloudy with sleep. "Your old wounds are finally healed up. Whatever that green stuff was, it was some volatile crap. Any clue what it was?" As Tansy pulled on a dark blue t-shirt and a pair of green jeans, she said "Already told you, I don't remember what the stuff was, only that it got injected into me at Vault 17." As she began to dress in her combat armour, the nearby elderly man said "Are you planning on heading back there to...Hurt those that hurt you?" Tansy was, by then, dressed in her combat armour's torso bit, flipping her long dark hair up from within the armour's neckhole, letting it rest down over her back. "That's the plan." She said calmly, masking the deep vengeful rage seething within her. The old man walked over towards her bed from the shadows, the room relatively dark. "Here, then. Take these supplies with my blessing."
Tansy paused her movements, looking over as the man rested a large pre-war bag down on the bed. She quickly got dressed in the rest of her armour, stepping closer to the bag as the man said "Enough food and drink to last you maybe a week out there, week and a bit if you ration properly. That takes up most of the space. A pistol with a clip inside, two spares going with it. Also threw in a submachine gun for you with the same deal; a clip already in, two extras on hand." Tansy nodded. "That'll do me fine until I get into the vault, then I can use any guns the guards drop." The man turned to her. With a completely bald head, he stood with a bit of a hunch, dressed in an old tuxedo. His wrinkled face was creased into a smile. "And here, one more thing...Got it with just you in mind. Hope you like it." He reached his right hand into a pocket, pulling out some sort of white object, holding it up for Tansy to inspect. Tansy's eyes widened as she said "Oh!" in almost a gasp. The man was holding up a white leather eyepatch, some sort of deep blue rock of sorts embedded into the front of the patch, looking rather pretty.
Tansy's bottom lip quivered as she reached up and took the item, pulling it on over her empty socket, covering where her right eye used to be. The old man grinned. "Looks good on you, Tansy." Tansy let out a deep breath, almost like a short chuckle, looking downward with a smile. "Thanks." She said softly. The two of them were quiet for a few moments before Tansy looked back up to his eyes, saying "Look...I'm not really all that great with goodbyes, so..." The man nodded sagely, saying "I understand completely." He nodded at her before saying "See you later, Tansy." Tansy nodded, grabbing the bag of supplies, slinging it over a shoulder as she headed for the nearby door to the room. Those at Vault 17 would soon feel her vengeance.
Hiro and Felicity stood within an empty street of New Reno, the NCR soldiers having already left. The two of them had been almost starved by the time they reached the city, so the very first thing they did was find sustenance. Once they had had their fill, they had gone out searching. Innumerable corpses littered the streets. Many belonged to old denizens of New Reno, their corpses by then entering the initial stages of decomposition. Neither of the two had run into anybody else during their so-far short span of time there. Hiro held a cigarette to his mouth, taking a drag from it as Felicity stood close by his side. As Hiro exhaled the smoke filling his lungs through his mouth, he said "Christ, this place is gonna need a lot of work to get back up on it's feet." Felicity nodded, raising her eyebrows. "Hopefully soon. These bodies are gonna start to smell soon." Hiro chuckled slightly, taking another drag off his cigarette, the lit tip slowly pulling back and burning a little more of the cigarette along with the substance within.
"Dominique is gone...She left us to go back to Rister. I don't need to write down all the details as to why she left, if I need to think about that, I can look at her letter on the last page of this book. Ever since she left yesterday, I've wanted her back. She doesn't realize how much I care about her, she doesn't realize how special she is to me. But...I guess I never really understood how badly she wanted me to care about her even more than I already did. She wanted me to love her like Dawn, and...At one time I thought I might've. Just before we went down into Vault 17, after we made love in the Highwayman...I felt closer to her then than I ever did before, and it's never happened again since then. Ever since then, how close we were started slipping away. I think she might've noticed it too, and it might've made her think that she was losing me, but I still cared about her, I still wanted her close.
After Dawn and the others take care of Judas and Marylin with me, I want to go visit Dom. I haven't talked to Dawn about it yet, but I will soon. Speaking of Dawn, she and Libby have mentioned a few times that I look depressed, and they've both been doing stuff to try to cheer me up. Dawn rubbed my back just a little while ago, and we cuddled for a bit after...Libby wanted to cuddle with me for a bit too, Dawn letting her do so while she went and started cooking some food for our lunch. I admit, the back rub and cuddling was great, any other time and I would've felt awesome, but...I keep thinking about Dominique. I miss her so badly, if only she could read what I'm writing and know what I'm thinking."
Kid sat in the Highwayman alone, closing his book just as Libitina reached the car, the girl having been walking over. She quickly got in the backseat, leaving the passenger's side door open, playfully saying "C'mon Kid, get in the backseat, forget about your writing for a minute!" Kid smiled a little, letting out a soft exhale through his nose, Libitina grinning as she leaned forward towards the back of his chair. "C'mon, let's cuddle a little, you're acting so mopey!" Kid lost his smile for a moment, but it gently came back as he said "Yeah, yeah..." He rested his book up on the dashboard of the car, getting out through the opening beside him. He got in the backseat, closing the door behind himself. Libitina scooched over so he could get in properly, but once the door was closed, she was all over him. She grabbed him in her arms, pulling him close, bringing the left side of his head down on her right shoulder, bringing his face near the side of her neck. She rested the side of her head down atop his, her arms around his shoulders as she kept him close, turning towards him in her seat. Kid felt like saying something, but he knew Libitina just wanted him to feel better, so he closed his eyes and reached over, gently resting his hands on her hips.
Her natural scent drifted around him lightly, like some sort of delicate desert flower, her soft fiery hair touching his face lightly. Kid had to admit, having her soft skin on his face was, indeed, comforting. For a few brief yet very welcome moments, his pain seemed to evaporate. He felt Libitina affectionately rub along his upper back, Kid taking in a deep breath before slowly exhaling. When she spoke, Kid was suddenly reminded about Dominique, but he didn't blame her for it. "Kid...I'm nervous about going back there..." Kid instantly knew she was talking about Vault 17. Kid slowly tried sitting up, but Libitina gently pulled him back closer to herself, Kid realizing that she wanted to talk while still cuddling. Kid softly admitted "...Me too..." Libitina quietly said "Isn't it enough that we got away?...I know I've said that before, but...Isn't it, though?..." Kid shook his head a little, nuzzling his face into the side of her neck. "No...It won't be enough until those two can't hurt anyone else...That's when it'll be enough." Libitina took in a deep breath, letting it out shakily. "...I'm scared about what's gonna happen if I get my hands on one of them..." Kid was curious over her words, but he kept his silence.
Libitina slowly spoke, genuine fear in her voice. "Kid, you don't know what I was like before...Before, when I was just out of the vault and was on my own, I was...Different. I was a lot more...Mean....I...I hurt people, a lot of the time for no reason..." Kid thought he could begin to feel her jaw vibrate, realizing that her chin and bottom lip were probably quivering. When he slowly began to release her, she didn't struggle to keep him close. He slowly pulled away, smoothing his hands over to her thighs, looking over to her eyes. She released him fully, lowering her hands to his, resting her hands over his own. She seemed to be avoiding his gaze, almost as if with guilt or shame, her bottom lip and chin shaking as tears welled up in her eyes. "I...I was a murderer! I was insane!" Her voice began to slowly rise in intensity and emotion. "I tortured people, I made them suffer, and a-and and...I..." Tears began to roll down her cheeks, glistening against her light skin. She continued to avoid his eyes, but her words kept tumbling out of her mouth with rising speed and feeling.
"I remember knocking out a woman that had bumped into me in the street! We had both come around a corner at the same time, and we bumped into each other...She just walked on like nothing had happened, saying nothing. I kept burning in my head, thinking about how I had wanted an apology, thinking about the face the woman had had when she had walked on. I ran up behind her, knocked her out, and dragged her into an alley. I...I hurt her. I pretty much turned her inside-out. I injected her with some medicine to keep her alive for about an hour." At this, she clenched her teeth a little, her eyes getting red from her tears. She was crying so much that her face paint was beginning to run a little. Kid was surprised. Her words had begun to sound like a confession of sorts. "I...I've done bad stuff, Kid. I've done fuckin' evil stuff, and for no damn reason. B-But, when I found you, I not only found the boy from my dreams; I also found someone that understood me, someone I had something in common with! It...It calmed me down I think, i-it made me less violent. Judas and Marylin deserve all of the pain I've given to other people, and...I'm scared that if I get my hands on one of them, I'll give in and go crazy again!"
Her eyes were wide now as she finally looked up to meet Kid's gaze. She grabbed his hands tight over her thighs, squeezing his hands so hard it almost hurt him. "Wh-What if I go completely insane?! What if I stay violent after, what if being near you doesn't help anymore? I liked hurting people, but they didn't deserve it, they were innocent!!" She shut her eyes tight, lowering her head once more. She gritted her teeth for a few moments before letting out a light sob. "I'm so fucked up...I hurt people over stupid reasons...Why did I have to like it?...God damn it...I...I'm a fucking psychopath...Wha..." She let out a few words that sounded more like whimpers than anything else, crying more as she slowly began to sob. Kid felt tears well up in his eyes.
Libitina simply sat and cried for a second before her grip on Kid's hands began to weaken. Kid slowly slipped his hands out from under her's, bringing his arms up and around her shoulders. He slowly brought her closer to him, feeling her back rise and fall quickly as she took sobbing breaths. She didn't move for nearly a minute, but eventually, Kid slowly felt her arms rise and loop around his waist, Libitina bringing her body a little closer to his, returning his embrace. They simply sat in the Highwayman and held one another, Dawn coming over at one point to tell them that the lunch was ready, but when she noticed that Libitina was crying, she simply left without letting either of them notice her presence.
It took several minutes for Libitina to calm down. When she did so, she moved back from him slightly, her hands resting on his hips, his hands resting on her shoulders, near the sides of her neck. "S-Sorry for suddenly breaking down like this, I kn-know you don't need any more crap after what happened with Dom..." She looked down from his eyes again, as if with shame over her outburst. Kid said "It's not crap...Look at you, your face paint is all messed up from you crying...Anything that can make you cry that much is something serious..." Libitina's mouth wobbled into a bit of a smile for a moment before she let out a quick breath like a sob, her smile dying. More tears ran down her face as she said "I'm scared of what's going to happen when I see Judas and Marylin...I have to see them, but...I'm af-fraid of what's going to happen when I d-do..." Kid seriously said "If you went hardcore on them, I wouldn't hold it against you...I'd understand. And I'd try to be there for you, even if you went crazy." Libitina looked up to Kid's eyes then, a few more tears running down her cheeks. The two of them were silent for a few seconds.
Eventually, a slight smile came to Libitina's face. "God, Kid...I love you..." She moved a little closer to him, resting her forehead down on his right shoulder, smoothing her hands around him to his lower back. She brought her face near the side of his neck, feeling him move his arms around her shoulders more as she came closer. They were quiet for a second or two before Kid said "...You've said that a few times before...Do you really?..." Libitina nodded slightly, a soft smile on her face. Kid listened as she mumbled out to him. "I really do...But don't worry...Whenever I s-say it, I'm not expecting you to say it back...I'm not hurt when you don't...I figure you save those w-words for Dawn, and that's okay..." Kid kissed down on Libitina's head, kissing her near her right ear. He felt her press a soft kiss to his throat a moment later. "Can we stay like this for a bit?..." He heard her ask. "I need to calm down...I don't want the others to kn-know I've been crying...And I gotta put on a new face..." Kid soothingly rubbed along her back, saying "Yeah, we can stay like this...It's alright..." The two of them fell into silence once more, their silence lasting several minutes, finally being broken by an audible growl from Kid's stomach.
Libitina, by then having stopped crying entirely, let out a short chuckle. "Hungry?" She asked. Kid smiled slightly, the left corner of his mouth coming up in a bit of a half-smile. "Yeah, but...No need to get up right away...Food's probably ready by now, but..." Libitina grinned and said "Don't let me stop you..." She slowly began to pull away, speaking as the two of them gently released one another. Gazing into his eyes with a happy smile, she said "You can go on and eat, I'm gonna put on a new face. It's about time I had a change, anyway. When I'm done, I'll join you guys for some food, too." Kid nodded, turning around and opening the vehicle's passenger side door. "Thanks for listening to me...I'm sorry for pushing all that on you, though..." He heard Libitina say softly. He turned to her again, smiling, saying "Any time. We're friends, you can talk to me. I'd talk to you if I had a problem." Libitina raised an eyebrow gently, coyly saying "Wouldn't you talk to Dawn if you had a problem?" Kid nodded and said "Of course, but that doesn't mean I couldn't talk to you, too."
Libitina smiled more, looking downwards for a moment before looking back up to Kid's eyes. "Thank you. I appreciate you saying that." She almost whispered her words, gazing into Kid's face. Kid smiled more and said "C'mon, let's go." He got out of the car, Libitina following after him not a moment later. When she stepped out of the car, he felt her grab his right hand. He looked over, seeing her to be smiling, a faint hint of blush in her cheeks. She stood close to his side, holding his hand with her left. She gave his hand an affectionate squeeze before releasing, walking behind the Highwayman, Kid watched as she pulled a rag out of the stomach pocket in her robe-armour, beginning to wipe at her face to clear away her face paint. Kid's smile wasn't fading; he didn't know why, but something about Libitina holding his hand before the two parted made him feel a little better inside.
Thinking about her outburst in the car, he thought he may have felt a little comforted on the inside knowing that he wasn't the only one hurting over something, which he felt was wrong and selfish of him. He began to feel bad, thinking that his optimism may have been brought on by Libitina's suffering. No, that wasn't right; he didn't enjoy things like that, and he cared about her. No, it was the cuddling, that was it. His smile strengthened a little more as he looked to Dawn, seeing her to be waving him over with a happy smile, holding up a plate of food for him to feast upon. Walking over, he did just that, falling into the happy conversation surrounding the fire Dawn had made earlier.
Tansy sat upon a rock, having already began to make her way to Vault 17. Just like Kid and the rest, she had begun to eat lunch, feasting upon a sandwich of whole wheat bread and brahmin meat, sipping from a bottle of Nuka-Cola every now and then. A light wind was blowing across the wasteland, the wind playing with her hair, causing her bangs to shake along her forehead, the rest of her hair shaking along her shoulders and back. She suddenly heard a scurrying of sorts over on her right side, her head turning as she looked over, still chewing on a mouthful of her sandwich. She spotted a pig rat to be racing towards her from the side. She quickly put her sandwich in her left hand, grabbing her pistol with her now-free right hand, the pistol having been resting on her right thigh. She pointed it off to the side, took a second to carefully aim, and fired a single shot. The pig rat collapsed to the ground, blood exploding from under it's chin, a bullet hole appearing on the top of it's head. She nonchalantly rested the pistol back down on her thigh, gulping down the bit of sandwich in her mouth, quickly replacing it with another hungrily-bitten piece of her sandwich.
"Dawn...When we're done at the vault...I want to see Dominique at Rister." Kid said. Everyone, as soon as they had finished eating lunch, got back in the Highwayman and resumed driving. Dawn had fuelled up the car before they went on their way, saying that the car could do with a good juicing. Dawn nodded, saying "That's fine. I'd like to see what Julian's been up to since we helped him with Curtis, anyway." Kid fell silent once more. A funky classic from an era before the Great War was drifting through the car's radio, softly filling the interior of the vehicle. Kid looked out through the window by his side. He saw a pack of wolves to be racing after the vehicle, not being able to keep up with it, slowly lagging behind. Kid watched as the world flew by, relaxing peacefully, resting the hours away...
"We've been driving for...Three days now. This is the third day. Dawn says we should make it to the vault in just an hour or two. I'm beginning to wonder if Judas and Marylin are still even down there. I mean, it's been a while since Dawn came with Ronald and got us out, and a lot of the guards were killed by everyone before we got captured, plus Dawn and Ronald killed some more when they got back...Would those two hang around after that? For all I know, they could've left just an hour later...But then again, for all I know, they could still be down there. I guess there's only one way to find out."
Tansy was a few hours away from the vault still. She had, at first, thought she could simply follow her trail of blood and green drippings, but she soon realized that the winds of the wasteland had long swept away any easy path for her to identify. So, instead, she decided to walk out for a bit, turn around and look in the direction of Illust, get down low to the ground, and see if the scenery seemed familiar. Using that method, she made her way closer and closer to the vault, Tansy heading on a collision course with Kid and the rest.
Within an hour's time, the group was riding alongside the long cliff that had an opening down to Vault 17. Everyone knew that it was time to get serious, and it showed on their faces. Eventually, they found the cave opening that would lead down to the vault. Dawn said "Alright, let's get ready. Everyone, out of the car." Dawn and Kid exited the vehicle first, quickly followed by Libitina and Stitch, and lastly Ice. Ice was already armed with her assault rifle, and Stitch had a shotgun with him. Dawn had her Gauss rifle as well as a Beretta, which she kept in a pocket on her trenchcoat. She rummaged about in one of the several bags on the floor of the car between the front and back seats, pulling out Ace's last acid grenade, pushing it into a pocket on her trenchcoat, just like her Beretta. She grabbed one of the several City-Killer combat shotguns the group had, handing it to Libitina, asking "You know how to handle one of those?" Libitina took the shotgun, nodding confidently. "I've used one before, yeah."
Dawn grabbed another combat shotgun, passing it to Kid, Dawn knowing that Kid had used one before and thus had a little bit of experience with how to handle it. Stitch and Ice were already loaded up with several bits of spare ammo, but Libitina and Kid weren't, so Dawn searched around for some spare shotgun shells the two could use if they ran dry. She found several spare shells, dividing them equally among the two of them. Stitch grabbed several stimpacks and other assorted medical items from a bag in the back of Dawn's car, holding on to them in case anybody needed them. Dawn said "Alright, well...Suppose we're ready." She reached into the front of the car, turning the key in the ignition, shutting the Highwayman down. She pulled the key out and slipped it into a pocket on her pants, grabbing her helmet before closing the driver's side door a moment later, Kid closing the one on the passenger's side. She pulled her helmet on, the lenses lighting up faintly with a blue glow, the glow barely visible in the day's sunlight. Her voice came out from the crisp and clear speaker of her helmet. "Let's go." Libitina's eyes showed that she was worried, but she was trying her best not to show it on her face.
As the group walked towards the cave opening, Kid looked over to Libitina, doing a double take when he noticed the downcast look her face gently radiated. She had a new face on, her new face looking fairly attractive to Kid, he liked what she had done. She had done a rather detailed job. Her lips were coated in white face paint, looking fairly exotic. White bones had been done over her cheeks, the bones crossed and forming an "X" along both sides of her face. All around her left eye was blackness, her eyebrow covered in the dark face paint as well. Reaching down around her temple to her cheek, there was a sharp black point, reaching down and pointing towards the crossbones on her left cheek. All around her right eye was nothing but redness, her eyebrow swallowed up by the red, just like how her other had been covered by the black face paint. A sharp red point went from the corner of her eye to her temple, bending slightly and going up on to her forehead, nearly reaching the middle of her forehead. At the very end of her point, right in the middle of her forehead, was a blue star. Her nose was covered in pink face paint. Other than those designs, her face was bare, her skin visible.
Kid softly said "Hey...Remember...Things are going to be okay..." Libitina looked over to him, her eyes unsure, confliction visible within them. Kid sympathetically said "Remember what I said before?...I'll personally make sure you're okay...We'll be fine, Judas and Marylin are gonna get what's coming to them..." Libitina gulped softly, nodding gently, the group fully entering the cave. "A-Alright, Kid...I trust you...I'm just worried, that's all..." Kid rubbed along her back for a moment, gently saying "No need to be scared....You can do this, Libby." Libitina's eyes slowly showed a bit more strength. "Yeah, alright...I can do this. Alright...Thanks." Kid simply smiled. Stitch looked over and asked "Why she so worried?" Before Kid could react, Libitina politefully said "Personal stuff."
Stitch shrugged without another word, looking forwards once more. Dawn would have liked to have Kid at the front of the group with her, wanting to hold his hand, but she knew by then that the reason why Libitina had cried in the Highwayman before was because she had been worried about going back to the vault. Knowing that the two of them had gone through similar experiences, she understood why Libitina would want comfort from Kid. She said nothing about Kid coming up to the front to be by her, letting him stay at the back with Libitina, letting him keep her cool and calm.
The group eventually reached the vault door, which was, oddly enough, still open. "That's weird." Ice said softly. Dawn glanced along the huge open doorway, wondering if some sort of trap had been set. Stitch slowly walked through the doorway, looking around. "Why would they just leave it open?" He pondered aloud. Dawn slowly headed through the open vault door, looking around. All of the vault's lights were still functional and alight, lighting up the hallway down to the door up ahead. Feeling thoroughly suspicious, Dawn began to walk deeper into the vault, everyone else following behind her. She reached the door up ahead, the door sliding upwards and into the ceiling automatically. Looking left and right, she walked into the very small opening room. Both doorways on either side of her were open, but there was no movement beyond. The place was completely empty, there wasn't a body or speck of blood to be seen. "I killed a man the last time I was here." Dawn said softly. "I killed him right here..." She raised a hand and pointed her index and middle fingers towards the doorway on her left, to the room that had the elevator.
"...And Ronald killed another one in there. But where are the bodies, where's the blood? That stuff doesn't just disappear on it's own, we haven't been gone that long." As Dawn lowered her arm, Stitch said "Someone musta cleaned up." Dawn walked over to the room to her right, leaning through the doorway, looking left and right for a few seconds. "Nobody's here...Let's use the elevator. This "Judas" and "Marylin" could be anywhere." The group headed into the room on Dawn's left, Libitina raising a hand and pressing a button by the large steel doors, causing them to slide open. They all stepped into the elevator, Dawn raising a hand and pressing the button marked "3". The elevator slowly closed it's doors beginning to rumble downwards, taking them deeper and deeper under the ground and towards the depths of the labyrinth known as "Vault 17".
Reaching the third floor, the doors slid open once again. The group walked through the doorway and into the hallway beyond. Up ahead, Dawn could see that the long window on the right side of the hallway was still shattered, but that none of the broken glass could be seen anywhere anymore. No bodies or blood was visible anywhere. Nobody said anything as Dawn led the group deeper into the vault, holding her Gauss rifle up in case an enemy made itself apparent. When she reached the T-junction at the end of the hall, she looked left and right, not seeing anything suspicious. She headed to the left, the door at the end of the hall sliding open once she reached it. Looking around, she saw nobody. The place was eerily empty, it lacked any and all signs of life. The place seemed entirely abandoned. "I was afraid of this..." Kid said softly. Everyone turned and looked at him. He said "I was wondering if they'd even be here...I guess they weren't..."
Dawn said "We've still got one more floor to check. If they're here, we'll find them." Kid nodded slightly in understanding. Dawn led the group down a nearby hallway, finding the elevator at the end. When she pressed the button beside it to open it's doors, they could all hear the rumbling of the elevator as it began to make it's way from the fourth to the third floor. She took a step back and raised her Gauss rifle, Stitch and Ice raising their weapons, Kid and Libitina following suit. A few seconds ticked by, the elevator's rumbling growing louder as it came closer. The doors slid open a few seconds later. It was empty. Dawn lowered her rifle, getting into the elevator. Libitina looked up and said "Hey, there's a panel of the ceiling missing." Everyone looked up curiously. A panel of the elevator's ceiling was, indeed, missing. Darkness was all that was visible beyond the opening, but Dawn, thanks to her helmet and it's lit-up lenses, could see that nothing but empty elevator shaft was above them. "Hmm. Weird." She said. Looking back downwards, she pressed a button by the elevator's open doorway, the button marked "4".
The doors closed, and the metal box began to slowly slide deeper down into the earth. When it stopped again, Dawn quickly raised her rifle, but when the doors slid open, nothing could be seen beyond. Ice said "We killed plenty of de vault guards here. But there's nothing here..." Dawn said nothing, lowering her rifle, slowly walking through the open doorway. Stitch walked through, looking around. "...No bodies, no blood...No spent ammo casings...Not even bullet holes in the walls or anything..." Libitina narrowed her eyes. "Almost as if someone was trying to rebuild the place and make it perfect, like before." Dawn said "That's a grim thought. Come on, let's keep going." The group headed down the hallway, looking around for any signs of trouble. When they reached the first corner, Dawn suddenly heard something that sounded like running footsteps, turning and looking down the other hallway. There was nothing at all, just the long empty hallway beyond, several openings to other hallways visible. When Kid reached the corner, a flicker of fear passed over him as he looked down the long hallway. At the very end was the room he had seen in almost every one of his nightmares, the room in which he would see Judas hold up the glowing syringe.
Libitina walked down the hall, looking down the first entrance to another hallway, looking down the hall to the infirmary. Libitina's eyes were starting to grow dark and dangerous. "What was that sound?" She asked. Dawn said "I don't know, but I heard it, too." Kid looked at Dawn curiously. Dawn noticed his look, saying "Footsteps. Sounded like someone was running. It came from down the hall." Kid said "...Let's check it out. Might be one of those two." The group headed down the hall, someone looking down every hallway that they came across. Nobody was to be seen anywhere. When they reached the end of the hall, they took a right, another door facing them from the end of the hall. "That's where we were captured last time." Kid said. The group had their weapons raised as they slowly approached the door. When they reached it, it slid open on it's own, and...The group faced another empty room. Kid narrowed his eyes in confusion as he took a few steps into the room. Several large computers stood on either side of the expansive room, and another door was on the other side of the room, but other than that, the room was empty.
"Hmmm..." Dawn mumbled softly. "This is starting to look bad. We might be walking into a trap." She said. Stitch said "So...What do we do, then?" Dawn let out a light sigh. "Guess we're just gonna have to do it. Come on, let's go." The group headed across the room, reaching the other door. Dawn raised her rifle when the door slid open. They were facing an office of some kind, looking very sophisticated and pre-war in nature. The floor had a dark brown carpeting to it, rather than the usual gray metal of the rest of the vault. The walls, instead of the steel shade of the vault, had been painted light blue. Bookshelves lined one side of the room while computer lined the other. On the left side of the room was one final door. In the middle of the room was a dark wooden desk, several papers strewn over it along with a smaller desktop computer. A lamp was on the left corner of the desk, turned on and illuminating the desk along with the ceiling lights. A large black leather chair stood behind the desk, and everyone was surprised to finally see a living person, a figure sitting at the desk. It was Marylin.
She was dressed in a sharp business jacket, buttoned over her chest. Underneath she jacket, it could be seen that she was wearing a white dress shirt along with a tie. Her tie was black with thin diagonal lines of silver going across it. Her long black hair had been tied into a bun over the back of her head, the frames of her glasses as black as her jacket, the lenses being even darker. She was wearing a skirt to go with her fancy shirt and jacket, the skirt going down to near knees, where it stopped. Her legs were given an additional shade of darkness from the nylon stockings she wore. She was wearing black high heels, looking like stilletos. Her skin was a deep, luscious tan, and her fingernails were long and painted red. She looked up at them, her face showing that she wasn't surprised to see them, the curly locks hanging down on either side of her face swaying as she moved. "I see you've found your way into the lion's den." She said, almost without a care. Kid stepped forward and raised his shotgun towards her, forcefully saying "Where's Judas?" Marylin nodded her head towards the door to her right. "He's through there. He'll be with us in just a second. He wants to talk to you and Vanessa."
Kid remembered from his time as a prisoner in the vault that "Vanessa" was the name they had for Libitina, as well as "Albert" for himself. Libitina's eyes went a little wide as she raised up her gun. "Don't call me that. That's not my name." She muttered darkly. Marylin raised her eyebrows, looking downwards without actually tilting her head. "Well, actually...Whatever name you have now isn't your name. Your name is Vanessa, it's the name your parents gave you when you were born." Libitina muttered out "No, that part of my life is gone, I can't even remember it thanks to you and Judas!" Marylin looked up to Libitina and smiled a cruel snarl, leaning back in her chair. "Aww, that's too bad." She said sarcastically, mocking Libitina. Libitina's left eye twitched for a moment before she suddenly ran around the desk, Marylin watching her calmly. Libitina smashed the butt of her shotgun into the side of Marylin's face, breaking her sunglasses, blood quickly trickling from Marylin's right nostril as her head swung to the side. Marylin let out a slight cry of pain. Libitina took a step back and raised a foot, ramming it into the side of the chair and forcing it to flip over, knocking Marylin to the ground.
Kid saw that Libitina's eyes were wide, Libitina's mouth open slightly, showing her to be gritting her teeth. He said "Stop Libby, wait! I want some answers!" Libitina blinked, seeming to snap out of her anger, taking a few steps backwards, blinking rapidly. Just then, the door beside everyone slid open, everyone looking over as a figure appeared in the doorway. It was Judas. He was a tall man, dressed in a trenchcoat much like Dawn's own. His head was covered entirely by a gasmask, the gasmask reminding Kid of Dominique. The gasmask looked almost exactly like Dominique's, only Judas' was entirely intact while Dominique had pulled out the lenses of her's. He wore black leather gloves on his hands, a dark shirt visible under his jacket. His pants were entirely black, and the shoes on his feet were black, as well. When he spoke, his gasmask made his voice sound just a bit muffled, but it was still very clear. "Ah, Albert. A pleasure to see you again. And you, Vanessa...I see you've come back, too. And also caught up with Marylin. How wonderful." Kid raised his gun towards Judas, saying "I want answers. Explain." Judas chuckled. "Answers to what?" He questioned.
Kid narrowed his eyes. "Everything." Judas said "Very well..." He slowly raised his hands to his head, grabbing his gasmask, slowly pulling it from himself. Everyone looked at his face once it was visible. He had short blonde hair and blue eyes, his skin light and pale. Dawn's eyes widened as she said "You look like...Kid..." Kid's eyes widened. Judas smiled. "I'm Albert's uncle. Half-uncle, actually." Kid gritted his teeth and narrowed his eyes, saying "That doesn't mean anything. Explain." Judas quickly took off his trenchcoat, dropping it to the floor. "I might as well tell you what you want, I bet you're not going to let me go after...And I'm getting tired of keeping up this charade just for the sake of the Enclave." Everyone listened curiously, watching as Judas pulled off his gloves, dropping them to the floor. He turned his back to them, showing them all that a large "17" was on his back in large yellow numbers. He reached for a book on shelf nearby, pulling out a book.
Once he had it in his hands, he opened it up to a page near the back, a small, flat keycard resting on the page he turned to. He grabbed it and replaced the book on the shelf, turning to Kid and approaching him with the keycard held out. "Here. This activates the computer in the next room. It's the Overseer's computer...All the answers are there, every single one." Dawn stepped forward and took the keycard. Marylin glared up at Libitina as she kept her against the ground with her shotgun. Dawn said "Stitch, Ice, Libitina...Watch these two. Kid and I are going to check out this computer to see what it says." Stitch and Ice voiced their understanding, Libitina simply nodding. Kid and Dawn approached the nearby doorway, stepping through it.
The room ahead was filled with massive tanks on either side of the room, all standing up. Each looked like it could hold gallons upon gallons of fluid. On the very far end of the room, there stood a computer terminal. The two walked across the room, approaching the computer. It's large screen was dark as night. By it's built-in keyboard, there was a slot for the keycard in Dawn's hand, Dawn pushing the keycard in. Instantly, the screen of the computer flickered into life, green text visible right away for the two of them to read. Dawn pulled off her helmet and rested it on top of the computer before looking to the screen.
"A Letter to the Overseer from Dr. Stanislaus Braun:
If you are reading this, emergency Vault internment procedures have been initiated and you and your control group have been sealed into your Vault. Congratulations! You are now a vital part of the most ambitious program ever undertaken by Vault-Tec.
If you have not yet read your sealed orders, do so now. They will outline the experimental protocols assigned to your control group. Please remember that deviation from these protocols in any way will jeopardize the success of the program, and may be considered grounds for termination by Vault-Tec Corporation (as outlined in your Employment Agreement).
Your Vault may or may not have been selected to receive a G.E.C.K. module. Please see Attachment A for details.
Doctor Stanislaus Braun

Director, Societal Preservation Program

Vault-Tec Corporation"
Dawn read the words aloud so Kid wouldn't have to bother with it. Kid didn't know what to say. The letter on the computer only seemed to confuse him more, it didn't tell him exactly what Judas and Marylin had been doing down there. Dawn pressed a few keys on the computer's keyboard, and the letter vanished, a small menu of sorts appearing. Three items were visible; "Letter From Doctor Stanislaus Braun", "Attachment A", and "Vault-Tec Scientific Entry: The G.E.C.K.". Dawn pressed a button on the keyboard, making the "Attachment A" option light up. She pressed another button, the menu disappearing and filling with more text, like the previous letter.
"Vault 17 will be equipped with the standard two (2) G.E.C.K.s to be used when the program is completed and the environment beyond the vault door is within acceptable conditions."
Dawn softly said "The G.E.C.K.s are mine, too bad, so sad." She pressed another key on the computer, seeing the menu of three items again. She went down to the option labelled "Vault-Tec Scientific Entry: The G.E.C.K.", pressing another key and selecting it. Another short letter filled the screen, the green text easy for Dawn to read over the black background.
"The G.E.C.K. is, quite simply, the most advanced piece of technology ever developed by Vault-Tec -- a terraforming module capable of creating life from complete lifelessness.
After riding out the storm of nuclear Armageddon in a Vault-Tec patented vault, residents can then activate the G.E.C.K., and create a new Earthen paradise -- craters and dust will give way to rolling grasslands and sparkling clear water. Of course, due to time and monetary constraints, not every vault will be equipped with a G.E.C.K. module."
Dawn raised an eyebrow. "So, the stories were true...That's good to hear. I'd hate to think I grabbed those things for no good reason." Kid said "It doesn't explain what they were doing down here though, it doesn't explain the glowing green fluid I keep seeing in my nightmares! The first letter said something about "sealed instructions"...Where are those?" Dawn said "Judas might have them somewhere...But hang on, let me check the computer some more." She pressed a key, getting out of the letter and showing the menu of three items once more. She pressed the "back" key once more, showing a different menu. The items she had been looking at were within an option named "Vault-Tec Instructions", but there was another option labelled "Experiments History". Dawn selected it, the screen filling with multiple options, the menu having more items to select than the screen could contain, Dawn being able to scroll down with a button and see that there was well over a full hundred options.
The names of the items to select made Kid's blood run cold; all of the options were names and dates, an identifying number beside them. Dawn scrolled on and on, going past two hundred options. Eventually, near the bottom of the long list, Dawn stopped scrolling, one of the options lit up. It said "#233, Albert Lavergne, June 17". Dawn glanced at Kid for a moment before selecting the option, the screen filling up with text in another letter of sorts.
"Albert Lavergne is our two hundred and thirty-third test subject. We will administer the ordinary level of the modified F.E.V., and see if it bonds with him properly.
I must admit, I'm beginning to grow weary of this experiment. Very few people have shown any sort of proper advancement after the F.E.V. entered their system, and all those that did shortly afterwards went insane. I was hesitant when my nephew's name came up to be used next in an experiment, but I think Henry would understand. He knew of the experiment, after all. It has to be done."
Dawn scrolled down a little, more text being revealed. She read the words aloud for Kid.
"Albert didn't come with us easy. We had to drag him along to a medical room before we could inject him with the modified F.E.V., and even then, it was a bitch to strap him down. When we injected him with the modified F.E.V., he instantly underwent a change. The boy isn't very muscular, but the muscles he had were suddenly operating at their full strength. He ripped through his bonds, it was incredible! He seemed to go through the usual "Red Haze", as we call it, going into a very temporary state of berserk insanity. He bolted away from us, making his way to the elevator. We caught him and had him pressed against the door, but the elevator came down and we all fell into it. Things got...Messy."
Dawn scrolled down further, reading on.
"Albert assaulted us with the power of several men. He utterly knocked out Nick, and he battered Tim so hard that he's in a coma. He beat me pretty hard, I must admit; I required stitches after the event. When the elevator opened up once more, he ran free, and by then we were all too badly injured to run after him. Albert was the one! After his attacks in the elevator, I knew it had to be; the modified F.E.V. had mixed with him properly. If his Red Haze hadn't kicked in, he probably would have displayed a much higher intelligence, as well. We need to find him, we need to bring him back for more tests."
Dawn curiously said "F.E.V. turns people into super mutants, it doesn't just make them stronger...And it usually makes them really stupid, too. This F.E.V. Judas had must have been really modified." A few button presses later, and Dawn had more to read.
"It's been about an hour since Albert escaped. We haven't been able to find him anywhere near the vault cave. I'm sending my report to Augustus Autumn at the Enclave, he'll want to see it. I don't know if he's going to do anything about it, though...But since the point of this whole experiment was to find someone with the right DNA that they would match up to our modified F.E.V., I suspect he will. In the meantime, I have nothing more to do except continue my experiments on other vault citizens."
Dawn couldn't scroll down any further, it was the end of the entry. Dawn said "It sounds like this vault had a different type of F.E.V. that didn't turn people into real super mutants, but still made them stronger...And Judas mentions here that he was expecting you to get smarter, too." Kid's face was dark. His name was Albert Lavergne, it seemed. He used to be a denizen of Vault 17, the nephew of Judas, the Overseer of the vault. Kid clenched his hands. The name "Albert Lavergne" held no significance to him; it wasn't his name, not anymore. Dawn looked around the room. "These tanks must hold all the F.E.V. of the vault..." Kid shook his head. "...What was the point of all this, though?...I want to see Judas' sealed instructions..." Dawn looked to him and said "Well...Let's ask him about it." Kid had been about to quickly spin around and head towards the doorway of the room when he felt Dawn touch his left hand. He looked to her face, seeing her eyes to be full of an almost motherly care, a gentle smile on her face. She said nothing, Kid saying nothing in return, holding her hand a second later.
Dawn grabbed her helmet once more with her free hand, pulling it on again. They walked towards the doorway, stepping into the other room quickly, releasing hands as they did so. Kid held up his shotgun and pointed it at Judas, who was still standing by the doorway. "Where are your sealed instructions from the guys at Vault-Tec?" Judas raised an eyebrow, smiling slightly. "Oh, I must have forgotten to hand that over, too. Just a second, I believe I kept it in my desk..." Stitch raised his shotgun and pointed it at Judas, saying "Hold it. I'll check the desk." Judas shrugged carelessly, pushing out his bottom lip a little as if to say "Go ahead, doesn't matter either way". Stitch walked around the desk, standing near Libitina. He saw that there was a drawer of sorts under it, Stitch grabbing it and pulling it open.
He saw a large brown envelope with a torn top resting within, along with a pistol and a spare clip. Stitch glared at Judas for a moment, Judas looking back at Stitch with an almost innocent face. Stitch grabbed the envelope, grabbing the pistol as well, slipping it and it's spare clip into a pocket on his pants. He walked closer to Kid, handing him the envelope. Kid took it, flipping the envelope over. On the front, in big, bold, red letters, it said "RESTRICTED TO ALL OTHER THAN THE OVERSEER". Just beneath that, in smaller black letters, it said "Vault-Tec". Kid opened up the top, reaching inside and grabbing the paper he felt. Pulling it out, he read the words aloud.
"Congratulations, Ashley Dillinger! As the first Overseer of Vault-Tec's illustrious number seventeen, you have the great honour and pleasure of being the first to work as a part of the Societal Preservation Program in your immediate area. We know you'll do us proud! Here are your instructions:
1. Expose at least one (1) vault citizen to an appropriate amount of your supplied Forced Evolutionary Virus (F.E.V.) at least once every three (3) weeks. We recommend you do so with elderly and infirm individuals, those that are near passing on, as this may help keep suspicions low!
2. If you ever find someone that responds to the F.E.V. with increased levels of physical strength as well as intelligence, do your very best to peacefully restrain them and keep them in a holding cell. You must then prepare a report using the Overseer's terminal, and send it to us right away! Any others who respond with any other symptoms are to have their bodies incinerated in the vault's crematorium.
3. After a sufficient amount of time, the All Clear Signal will be transmitted to you via the Overseer's terminal, and you will then be free to end your experiment. At that point, you will be allowed to open your vault door and colonize the world above with your ingenious Vault-Tec Garden of Eden Creation Kits!
4. You must follow all of the above designated tasks, for doing otherwise will result in the termination of your contract. The folks here at Vault-Tec hate to even consider the idea, but we're just trying to let you know that this is serious to us!
And that's it, Ashley! The years underground can be tedious at times, but we here at Vault-Tec have the utmost faith in you. God bless the vaults, and God bless America!"
Libitina had narrow eyes when Kid finished. "Ashley?...Why did it keep saying "Ashley"? Isn't Judas the Overseer?" Everyone looked to Judas. He smiled. "I am...Ashley Dillinger was the first Overseer. I'm the fifth." Marylin said "We weren't even born here, we just found the place..." "What's she talking about?" Dawn ordered. Judas lost his smile. "...We found this place one day. Marylin and I used to be the leaders of a raider band. We found this place...It was totally empty except for a few super mutants. We killed them and decided to live here. We invited a lot of people from Illust and Modoc, and plenty of travellers came...The vault jumpsuit dispensers still worked, so...Before long, we had nearly a full thousand people here. That's when I closed the doors again." Judas took in a deep breath before slowly exhaling. "I don't know what happened to the people that used to live here, and I don't know why there were super mutants hanging around here when we showed up. All I know is that I became the new Overseer, and one day, while I was checking out this office here, I found the instructions." "And you decided to follow them?!" Kid said, angrily.
Judas looked towards the ground, raising his eyebrows while saying "I was curious...It sounded like I had something that could potentially make some sort of super-warrior. I wanted to see if it would work. After a while, I just sort of got sucked in to it...I kept doing it, even though I had more or less forgotten why. I practically forgot my life as a raider." He smiled and looked upwards. "This is the first time I've thought about it in years...Hm. Memory can be funny sometimes." Kid's eyes grew watery, his throat tightening as he angrily said "Why did you do it?! You didn't have to, but you kept hurting people! How many did you kill in your experiment?!" Judas slowly said "...A little over two hundred. Only ten survived, including you and Veronica...Although, we thought that Veronica had died shortly after taking the injection. The incinerators were down for the day, and one of my lackeys decided to toss her body out of the cave to rot in the sun. I guess she didn't die that day." Libitina darkly said "Unluckily for you." Judas then said "You were the only one it came together with, Albert...It strengthened you, it made you a better person. The others survived for more than two days, but they eventually died. You made it this far, something I'm extremely impressed about. Veronica might have came together with the virus on a smaller level, but who knows, I'd have to run some tests to find out."
Kid darkly said "No. It ends here. The experiments, the killing, it's all over." Judas slowly let out a sigh. "...I can't stop you." He gazed into Kid's eyes. "Do what you came to do, Albert." Kid gritted his teeth slightly. Libitina was darkly staring down at Marylin. Stitch and Ice were both looking at Kid. Dawn had her keen eyes on Judas. Kid angrily said "You have to die, it's the only way to make you stop! It's the only way anybody ever stops!" Judas slowly said "...You're right, of course...I know that personally from my time as a raider. There's no substitute for experience." The ball in Kid's throat pained him greatly, his finger resting on the trigger of his combat shotgun. The darker emotions of his mind were rising up around the edges of his skull like some sort of black flame. The pain of Dominique leaving only fuelled his feelings. Rage, frustration, sorrow, suffering...
A moment later, he gave in.
He squeezed the trigger of his shotgun a quick three times, blasts of pellets flying from the end of his weapon in a deadly storm. Judas took the first blast in the left side of his chest, which might have killed him instantly by hitting his heart, Kid didn't know. The second blast hit him in the very middle of his chest, the third and final shot hitting him in his throat and lower portions of his face. Blood flew out as Judas silently collapsed to the ground. Marylin cried out Judas' name, tears running down her cheeks. Kid dropped his shotgun, tears trickling from his eyes and beginning to creep down his cheeks. Dawn shouldered her rifle, reaching up and pulling off her helmet. Kid came closer to her and buried his face into her chest, gritting his teeth in an attempt to stop himself from sobbing. He had his eyes shut tight, trying to stop his tears. He hadn't just killed Judas; emotionally, he had succumbed to the darkness, something he had tried not to do for so long. He had never wanted to hurt anyone, even though Dawn had tried teaching him that he'd have to in order to survive. Killing Judas made him feel like he had dipped down to somewhere he should never go, and it hurt, it hurt him badly.
Libitina looked to Marylin as she wept. "You're next." Libitina said in a soft yet venomous tone. Kid's hearing grew muffled as Dawn held him protectively in her arms, but he could still make out Marylin screaming and begging for mercy. Libitina, with the help of Stitch and Ice, dragged Marylin to the prison-like holding chambers not far on the fourth floor, Libitina wanting some privacy with the woman. It took Kid several minutes to calm down, but during that entire time, Marylin's screams were audible from down the hall. Everyone waited for Libitina's revenge to be complete. The screams died down after half an hour, but Libitina didn't reappear for another twenty minutes, having been alone with Marylin for nearly an hour. Her face was blank as she returned to the rest. "...She's dead..." She said softly. Stitch took in a deep breath before slowly letting it out. Ice murmured "So it be done, den. Let's go." Kid walked up to Libitina, hugging her tightly. She hugged him back, her face suddenly becoming depressed. She let out a few tears, whispering to him. "I...I hope they end now...I want to sleep...." Everyone heard Kid mumble back to her, saying "I hope so, too...I want some peace..."
Kid's departure from the vault was something he couldn't recall later on. It was a blank slate for him, he couldn't remember a thing after his hug with Libitina. He suddenly found himself in the backseat of the Highwayman beside Libitina, cuddling close to her, the windows to the vehicle dark with night. Libitina was asleep already, and Ice, who was beside him in the backseat, was also asleep. Stitch, in the front passenger's side seat, was also asleep. Dawn was awake, driving the vehicle onwards into the night. Libitina was partially sitting in Kid's lap; her right leg between his, he could feel the right cheek of her backside against his left thigh. She was holding his left hand with her right, their hands resting over her right thigh. Her head was leaning towards him, her eyes closed as she slept on peacefully. Kid, his mind tired of racing with thoughts, closed his eyes, instantly drifting off to a deep slumber...
His night was clear of nightmares, and never again would Vault 17 enter his sleeping mind.
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