"You think I can make the jump?" I asked staring across the void.

Christine looked at me like I had a screw loose.

"Just a joke." I said "I'm good, but not 'long jump thirty feet' good."

Which was the rough distance between our end of the broken walkway, and the other.

Getting people into position was proving to be more of a hassle than I'd thought it was going to be. Which said something, because I knew who I was working with. Dog/God had a series of switches they needed to throw, and I had to take steps to make sure they actually did it. God seemed willing enough, with some nudging, but I had to take extra steps to make sure Dog complied if he got loose. Domino was more of a pain in the ass, wanted some assurances the Ghost-People weren't going to swarm him. Assumed I didn't give a flip about whether or not he survived. To be fair, I was getting tired of his bullcrap. It was easy enough to forget when we were being civil, but he was a whiny bastard. Wandering around the Madre had given me a chance to learn a bit more about its history. The hand Domino had played in it as well. I didn't have the full picture, but it was coming into focus. As if that hadn't been enough, there were also the Madre's hazards. The Ghost People and Cloud were denser in the areas of the Villa that Domino and Dog/God needed to be. It made every step we had took a tense one, every fight a heartbeat away from disaster. Couldn't encounter one Ghost Person without five more dropping down on top of you.

It also had the unfortunate effect of validating Domino's concerns, which blew.

I managed to set him up with some holograms for security, and he was convinced to hang around. Long enough to do his job, at least. After that, I could bet good money he'd probably hightail it to the casino.

Which then left Christine and me to get her to the switching station. Whatever work she needed to do apparently required more technical know-how than Domino and Dog/God could manage. Getting in hadn't been so hard, just mess with a few wires and blast a few speakers. As we went, we even noticed signs that someone had been here before us. Something I'd picked up on at some of the previous 'positions' Elijah had us manning. Small notes and directions, but signs that definitely weren't from before the bombs.

Not long after we'd gotten into the switching station however, we ran into our first real obstacle. We had to cross a transfer room, that'd had the ventilation shut off for the past two-plus centuries. Naturally, the Cloud had collected in the room. Luckily, there were walkways that were made to take workers over the room quickly.

Not so luckily, they were also two-plus centuries old, and hadn't held up either.

Leaving a thirty-foot span in the air that there was no jumping over, plus the fifty-foot drop to the concrete and Cloud below. The fall probably wouldn't kill, but I'd probably wish it had.

Off to my right, further along the walkway, was a staircase descending into the Cloud. I could see it reached the floor below, and at the other side of the room was another staircase leading back up. So it wasn't that we couldn't carry on. But we'd need to get through the cloud first. Making matters worse, the Cloud was dense enough that I couldn't make out how to get through it. The transformers and machinery snaked around everywhere. If I stepped wrong, I could wind up stuck in the Cloud longer. I'd gotten myself caught in it enough times to know how dangerous it was.

But the only way forward was through it.

So I motioned towards the stairs, and started walking.

Christine looked at me like I'd lost my mind.

"No choice." I said "We try to jump across we'll both wind up dead. The Cloud will kill us if we hang around in it too long but Elijah'll kill us if we don't move. If you got any better ideas, I'd love to hear them."

Christine gave me a decidedly sour look.

"… Poor phrasing." I conceded, scanning the walkway along the opposite side of the room. I could just barely make out the dark scratching of more markers. Clearly someone else had been through before us.

There were also more speakers mounted on the walls. The kind with re-enforced housings.

"We can clearly get through." I said, motioning to the markers "Those speakers'll be a problem but I think…" My eyes track the walkway deeper into the room. It led to a raised, overseer's station. I could see a terminal poking through the window. "-That's probably the kill-switch over there." I said "Assuming we get to it fast enough we shouldn't have a problem."

Christine fixed me with a flat look.

"… Okay, I know I'm making a lot of assumptions, but it's that or death." I reminded, looking down into the crimson fog below us. Odds were, if there were markers on the walkways, they'd need them in the Cloud too. I glanced back to Christine. "Look, I'll go first, that way if something goes wrong, you'll know it ahead of time. Just be ready to jump in after me in case I need help. I'd very much like to not die today either."

Christine continued to give me a flat look, but eventually relented. There wasn't any getting around it, and she knew that. The two of us walked to the stairs and went down about half-way together. Right to the point we were hovering above the Cloud. Had me wishing I had some of the grease Domino carried around. He'd slather it on himself before we stepped into the Cloud. Didn't stop it completely, but slowed it down long enough for us to get through it unharmed. He'd been willing to share small amounts of it when we were going through the Villa.

Key word being small.

I wasn't going to get that cover this time.

"Wish me luck." I said, starting down the stairs into the Cloud.

I could feel the Cloud climb its way over me as I descended, slowly gnawing at my skin. Like walking into the waters of some caustic lake. I held my breath as I went under much the same. I couldn't hold it for long, but the less of the stuff I sucked in, the better my long-term prognosis seemed.

As I walked down, I noticed a body, off in the corner of the room, wearing one of Elijah's jumpsuits. I'd have paused to look at it a little longer, but waiting in the cloud wasn't a good idea.

It did begin to confirm something important though. Elijah had said he'd had people working before us. He'd never said how far any of them had gotten before they'd bit the dust. Something I took note of.

Passing down onto the ground floor, I felt the cloud immediately start eating at my soft tissues. Tickling at the sinuses of my nose, collecting in the stagnant air there, needling at my eyes. The assassin suit did good to keep it from pushing through to most of my skin, including my groin, which was good. I could only imagine how much that would've hurt. I stepped away from the stairs and out onto the floor. Following the memory of where I saw the stairs on the other side. All I had to do was weave my way amongst the debris and machinery. A few steps through the Cloud, it started to really sink its teeth in. It wasn't as debilitating as the first time I'd encountered the Cloud. I'd gotten used to it in my own way.

A few steps away from the stairs, as I'd guessed, I found a marker on the supports from the machinery. Pointing through a space between them. Toward the other side of the room. Naturally though, I didn't just charge recklessly into it. Even as my lungs began to burn for fresh oxygen, and I could hear my heart in my ears. I'd run into enough stupidly obvious booby-traps in the Madre to know to expect something.

So I wasn't surprised, when the tight space came equipped with a bear trap. Which I easily stepped over.

Right into the three bear traps set behind it. I was used to seeing multiple bear traps set in series. But they were normally set in pairs.

Whoever had been through there last, must've been a vindictive little shit.

My foot came down on the second bear trap, and it snapped shut on my leg. My assassin suit braced against its teeth but it still caught my foot, tripped me.

I faulted forward, threw a hand out to catch myself. My right hand met the ground, and my left slammed into the third bear trap. The jaws snapped shut, connecting with the steel housing of my pip-boy and trapping my arm. I face planted just short of the fourth one, but it must've been wound tight because it snapped shut anyway.

"Motherfucker!" I shouted, pain shooting up my leg.

I regretted those words, as I suddenly began inhaling the Cloud. Panic set in, as I began struggling, trapped in the steel jaws. My hand flew to my side and pulled a cosmic knife as my lungs began to ache. Immediately I set to trying to free my arm. Harried though I was, I knew having both hands would make it easier to free my leg.

As I felt my lungs beginning to liquefy, I slid my knife between the pip-boy and trap. Using the silvery knife as a bar, I used the extra leverage to begin pressing down the jaw springs. I felt nails being slowly pushed into my lungs, as I slid my hand out from the trap. It crashed shut with a metallic twang, and I hurriedly flipped over, bending towards the trap at my feet.

As I did, Christine darted out of the Cloud and stopped at my feet. Her eyes widened, as the cloud began to eat at her too. The scar tissue on her face started turning raw, more crimson in color. The whites of her eyes grew bloodshot, and tears began rolling from them. Her mouth curled in a grimace, as her breathing began to grow coarse.

Without missing a beat, she knelt down to the trap as well and began applying pressure. Trying to spread the jaws apart. In a display of surprising strength, she moved them enough for me to slide my leg free all on her own. Unfortunately, as I did she collapsed on herself, the Cloud instantly taking its toll.

"Fuck." I coughed, pulling myself to my feet. I slid my knife back and grabbed Christine by the arm. My mouth tasted like copper and solvents, as I dragged Christine the rest of the way through the Cloud. The way was clear after that, thankfully. I guess whatever asshole thought setting up four bear traps in a row was a good idea also thought it'd be enough.

He wasn't wrong, but still an asshole.

We squeezed out of the area between the machines and bolted for the stairs. Well, I bolted, Christine was led. She stumbled up the first few stairs, but managed to climb the first two flights back to the breathable air. We left the Cloud hacking, sputtering, and leaking crimson snot.

It took us both a minute before we could even begin formulating words again.

I blew a crimson rocket out of my nose. "Ick- Thanks, Christine." I gagged "You got good reflexes, were- Augh- on me right quick."

Christine waved me off, rubbing at her eyes. As she cleared them, she gave me a dogged smile. Guess it was repayment of some fashion. I'd helped her out, now she helped me. At least, that's what I thought it was. After we finished recovering though, we had to deal with the speakers on the next floor. We bolted up the stairs to them, and she took point. Christine sprinted down the walkway to the overseer's office and disappeared as I heard my collar begin to beep. She'd had figured out how to dampen the interference by daisy chaining our collars through my pip-boy. It worked both ways, and helped bypass the speakers when we couldn't break them.

However, instead of having me be the one to disable them this time, she'd taken it upon herself.

Before my collar really had a chance to start chiming, the speakers shut down. A minute or two after that, Christine rushed back.

"Thanks again." I said "You're officially the most proactive person I've worked with today."

Christine rolled her eyes. Then she motioned back to the office. Her hands moved up and down for a moment, motioning to her body. She then crossed both hands over her throat and made a face like she'd croaked.

"… There's a dead body in there?" I guessed.

Christine nodded.

"… That makes two." I said, motioning back down into the Cloud "You saw that one near the stairs, right?"

Christine nodded again.

"Means we're not the first people Elijah's had get this far." I said, leading the way down the walkway my pip-boy was pointing "… I'm starting to think I've got an idea on where he's at."

Christine quirked an eyebrow at me, as she kept pace.

"I think he might already be inside the Madre." I said "Think about it: the four of us have been bumming around the Madre for weeks, but we've only ever seen the hologram. He hasn't approached any of us physically despite the explosive leash. On top of that, with all of the dead bodies, caches, and notes lying around there's no telling how many people he's gone through. Clearly he's gotten this far before too."

Christine nodded, then opened the door for me, and we stepped into the room across from the broken walkway. A combination maintenance and break room.

"I think he's already inside the Madre." I said again "It just… I don't know, something about it tracks. We're not the first team he's shackled like this, so he has to have succeeded before us. So then the question becomes, why the fuck are we here?"

We passed through the room and Christine pondered the question. Ultimately, as we passed into the next room, another break room but with lockers, she shrugged. It was a mystery to her too.

"That's part of the trouble then." I said "I know why I'm here, same for Dog and God. I can guess why Domino's here easy enough, he's not a hard one to read."

Christine paused then pointed at me, curious.

"… I was curious and decided to take a look." I answered.

Christine's mouth fell open.

I ticked off the reasons. "Dog's here to serve and God wants to be free of Elijah. Domino wants what's in the Madre, nothing but greed in him. And I… got curious and went sticking my nose in places I shouldn't have."

Christine… well, she couldn't laugh, but not for lack of trying. It looked good on her, made the scars seems smaller and softer.

"What about you?" I asked, pausing near the door that led back out "You mimed that you were here because of the old man. What's the story there?"

As I asked the question, Christine's face darkened. It wasn't an immediate thing, but a gradual one. It started with a fading smile, ended with a grimace. But it wasn't a look of particularly dark emotions. There was anger for sure, maybe even hate, but not as I'd seen it in on others. She looked more like she was in pain.

She gave me a sad look. Whatever the story was, even if she'd wanted to tell it, she couldn't.

"I know you came here to kill him." I said "We covered that part... I'm probably going to come across as an ass for asking- but why?"

Christine gave me a pointed look. Reminding me she couldn't answer in any detail.

"Right… Yes or no: personal reason?" I asked.

Christine paused a moment, then nodded. Personal.

"Ok, that's getting somewhere." I said, looking her over, and focusing on her scars "Is he responsible for those?"

Christine pursed her lips, then rocked her hand back and forth: Sorta.

"Sorta." I vocalized "Ok, so that's only part of it?"

She nodded.

"Ok, so he hurt you, but also did something else to you." I said, my mind immediately going to a place I didn't want it to. "Did he… assault you?" I asked.

Her gaze narrowed for a moment, before she caught what I was saying. She almost seemed to laugh at the idea. I took it seriously, but she seemed to know something I didn't.

"Ok, just making sure." I said "Next guess is: he took something from you?"

She paused, then made the 'sorta' gesture again. She then motioned to herself.

"… He stole you?" I asked "… you weren't a slave, right?"

Christine gave me a dry look then motioned to me instead.

"… I already know he stole me." I said, now more confused "And he's definitely trying to make a slave out of me, tell you what."

Christine ran a hand over her face, then motioned back and forth between the two of us.

"… us?"

No.

"People?"

Sorta

"… Person?"

With an exasperated look on her face, Christine nodded.

"He stole someone from you?" I offered.

A resounding 'Yes!'.

I paused a moment, making sure I got the facts right. "… So he hurt you, and he took someone away from you?"

Another 'Yes!'.

"… Alright, yeah, I'mma help you kill him." I said.

Christine blinked, and looked at me in confusion.

"Out of everyone here you're easily the only one whose company I actually enjoy." I admitted "Domino's a self-entitled asshole, and while I pity Dog and God's situation, I know neither would hesitate to kill me. Or eat me for that matter. You're the only one who's even remotely civil in this group." I held my arms up in a shrug "So yeah, if I can help you settle accounts with Elijah, no bones about it, I'll help."

It was a bit hard to tell with the scarring, but Christine's expression seemed to soften a little. She seemed almost touched by the thought of someone helping her commit murder. It couldn't be happening to a better person either. I didn't even care if he could hear me at that point. He had a problem with it, then he'd have to gamble waiting for the next team. When he was already so close to whatever he was trying to do this time.

"First thing's first though, we gotta get the Gala going." I continued, opening the door so we could press on "If he is inside the Madre, then we'll never be able to reach him without getting it open-"

As the pneumatic rattled into the floor, two things happened at once.

One: my collar started beeping.

Two: a Mk. II Automated Turret that'd been trained on the door opened fire on me.

Of the two of them, I took much more immediate note of the latter. A trio of bolts nailing me in the arm, chest, and groin. The assassin Suit tanked the hits again, but that was just rude. I dipped behind the doorframe and grasped at where I'd been shot. Surprised at the minimal damage I'd taken.

Then I got mad, and pulled my Automatic Rifle from over my shoulder.

"Oh fuck you, ya fuckin' machine!" I shouted "We were having a moment!"

I flung myself back around the corner again, took aim, and squeezed off a small burst.

The turret erupted in a shower of sparks as the bullets tore through it. Electronic smoke billowed up from the chassis.

"Sorry about that." I apologized, stepping back into the room enough to silence my collar. I looked out the door, and took note of a speaker just outside the doorway. Plus more across the massive room it led to. It was similar to the one we'd just walked through, only now there didn't seem to be a way to descend to the floor below. The space of which was consumed by more of the Cloud and machinery. More walkways spanned the massive gaps. Broken in many places, but more easily traversable than the last one. They ran to the far side of the room, connecting to the Switch station's main office, our destination. "… Shouldn't be much more trouble than before." I said, motioning across the way

Christine fixed me with a smirk, and we started across the room. I was a lot less afraid of the collars with her around. Or maybe I was finally just numb to their existence. The knowledge that something could blow my head off for standing in the wrong place lost its impact after a while. Probably because it was preferable, compared to the rest of the Madre. At least it would be quick.

The two of us ambled our way across the walkways, carefully passing through the ranges of the speakers. We found a terminal with some entries on it along the way, plus access to the speaker control, which made the whole thing moot.

Inside, the switching station looked like it'd been flipped over a few times. There were a couple of desks and filing cabinets, plus a few more terminals besides all of which looked like they'd been ransacked. Our priority was an elevator at one end of the room, with a terminal wired to it nearby. The elevator descended into the junction room Christine was expected to operate. Except, the closer we got to it the more apprehensive she got. Even from the distance we were, I could hear the sharp clicks and whirs of the elevator. Sounding like it was just barely holding together. While Christine wasn't willing to chance being near it, I took it down to the level she needed to be at.

It was dark, and cramped as a coffin. The auto-doc I found Christine in would've been a penthouse suite by comparison.

I came back up to the office and found her leaning against one of the desks, trying to breathe evenly.

"Bad memories?" I asked.

She nodded.

"Figures…" I looked to the desk wired to the elevator. I'd noticed them running down to the floor below on my trip. "That must be a remote access terminal. It's easier to work from that than from below."

Christine nodded, looking to me hopefully. As I approached the terminal, she joined me.

Naturally though, it was locked. Last guy to come through probably hadn't been claustrophobic.

"Alright, let's see." I said, running my fingers over the keys. "I've got a decent enough understanding of Termlink, plus a trick or two from a friend. Let's see if we can't crack her open."

I punched open diagnostics with Christine watching over my shoulder. The start-up scrolled by, and opened into the shell. Lines of centuries old code and command lines streamed over the screen. Most of it was gibberish. Bits of scrap code and uncompiled errors. Most of it was useless. However, some of it wasn't, if you could find the right pieces to put together. It was easy to encrypt a password if you broke it up and changed it enough times. Even more when you stashed it amongst a dozen similar sounding ones, or enough to lead you off track.

But those little errors and scraps were like sign markers. Find the right ones to snip, and you crossed off the misleading choices. Robco had to be given credit for including a failsafe though. If it became apparent you were trying to brute-force the password, it would automatically lock-down. Requiring the 'administrator' for the server to step in and bring it back online.

Veronica had taught me how to bypass the lock-down. Funny how a few innocuous keystrokes are meant to act as a deterrent. There were only a handful of them per terminal. With them, the whole system basically fell apart.

After a couple of tries, I got the system to unlock.

"Thank you, Veronica." I said, stepping back from the terminal. The command prompt blinked onto its screen, displaying options and readouts.

I motioned for Christine to step into place, and she looked at me, surprised. Then she looked down at the terminal a moment, brow furrowing. Before I could begin to move out, she motioned for me to move towards the terminal again. Her fingers began to move over the keys

You know Termlink?

"Enough of it." I said "Had some knowledge of it floating around in my head, and I had a friend of mine teach me more of it. Comes in handy from time to time."

Christine looked at me pensively a moment, then cleared the line and begin typing again.

Strange, not many people know it. Not many outsi- She backspaced quickly. Take the time to study it, terminals aren't common.

"They're common enough." I shrugged "Definitely helps that Veronica is part of a clandestine group."

Christine paused noticeably for a moment, her lips pursing. The she started typing again. Is that her name, Veronica? Then she rubbed her temples. Christine had trouble with physical communication. It was part of the reason she didn't just write things down. Something about what happened to her left her somewhat dyslexic, or close to it. That's what it seemed to do anyway, it seemed to take a lot of effort on her part just to use the terminal properly.

I nodded "Yeah, sweet girl with a penchant for old-world fashion and boxing."

Christine stilled like I'd just run ice down her back. She turned to me with wide, almost begging eyes. Her hands started to tremble slightly.

"… you ok?" I asked.

Christine looked back to the terminal again and focused on it. With great and decidedly concerted effort, she set back to the keys again.

Is her last name Sa- Christine paused a moment, looking to be in almost physical pain. Whatever it was that had been done to her had very clearly wrecked unmistakable havoc. –ntangelo?

I didn't immediately answer her, just let the question hang in the air for the moment. Veronica was a member of the Brotherhood. While I didn't have much care for them, from everything I'd heard they were assholes, Veronica was one of them. If I said something out of turn here, I didn't want it to somehow come back around to her.

As the silence hung in the air, Christine turned to look at me, that same pleading look in her eyes. But I held my ground against it. Now I had a question of my own.

"Christine." I said "Who are you?"

Christine's gaze narrowed at me for a moment, the pleading disappearing. What was left was hard, calculating. The kind of look you'd expect from lone operators and trained soldiers.

Old World Soldiers.

Christine turned back to the Terminal. Her use of the keys slowing considerably with each tap. Christine Royce, Knight of the Brotherhood of Steel. Circle of Steel.

My blood chilled a little bit.

Veronica had only talked about the Circle of Steel a little bit, once. They were the closest thing the brotherhood had to an Internal Affairs. Closer to an Inquisition, more like. They'd dispatch people to take out brotherhood members that went sufficiently rogue. If the Brotherhood was a monster that'd kick down your door, then the Circle was the boogeyman you'd send after the monster.

Like Elijah.

A lot of pieces started to fall into place in my head.

But it wasn't for the obvious. I could've easily latched onto the Circle part and forgotten about it. If she was going to put Veronica in danger, my mouth was staying shut.

But there was another side to things.

"You're her." I said, a little breathless "You're that Christine, aren't you?"

Christine looked at me pained. She went to begin typing again, but I grabbed her hands instead and turned her towards me.

"Yes or no." I said, making it easy "Are you Veronica Santangelo's girlfriend?"

She didn't answer.

Her eyes simply widened at the question. A look of disbelief washed over her like cold water from Lake Mead. Her breathing hitched, then began to increase in speed, becoming frantic. Her eyes began to grow watery, and her mouth pinched upward.

Then she nodded.

"… I don't believe it." I said, in disbelief "Of all the shit I could stumble into, what are the odds-"

Christine ripped her hand away from me and slammed them onto the keyboard one more time.

Alive?

"Ali- yes, yes of course she is!" I answered, trying not to laugh at the absurdity of it all "She's still back in the Mojave- You're her!"

At my words, Christine's hand began to tremble again. Then the rest of her began to follow suit, shaking like a tumbleweed in the wind. She leaned forward, against the terminal, shaking as her breathing began to strain.

She began to cry, silently. But she had the happiest smile I'd ever seen on someone so sad.

Christine Royce. The girl Veronica courted. The one she loved. Ripped away from her by Elijah.

Found by some jackass lost in the middle of hell.

Even as she shook, and swiped at the tears in her eyes she tried to keep typing. Thought died Helios

"You mean that mess Elijah caused?" I asked "No, she managed to escape but was forced into hiding with the rest of the chapter. They've been operating out of a bunker in Hidden Valley."

Christine, through teary eyes, looked at me curiously.

"They have her acting as a gofer." I explained "That's how I know the Brotherhood, relax, I'm vetted."

Christine nodded, and I took her hand.

"We're going to get out of here, understand?" I said "I know how much you mean to Veronica, and I know beyond a shadow of doubt it'd light up her whole world to see you well."

Christine began blushing quite vibrantly at that. It was almost cute.

"There's no time to talk about it, not here, not now." I said "But you have to make it through this, understand? If not for yourself, then for her."

She looked at me for a moment, taking calming breaths. Then she rubbed the tears from her eyes, and smiled brilliantly. Determinedly.

"Good." I nodded "Now, let's go rob a casino."

…

I jolted awake at the edge of the building. Narrowly stopping myself from involuntarily vaulting off of it. Which would have been both embarrassing and lethal, given I was a couple stories above the ground. I stepped back away from the ledge and looked out, across the way. I didn't have much of an understanding as to how infrastructure worked. But if it worked anything like I understood, which it probably didn't, then it was a power substation. A fresh brick building, as fresh as brick ever looked anyway, with power lines leading out from it. The lights were dim, and it was all but abandoned.

Or at least it should have been. The number of White Fang buzzing around it in the dark kept it from that. The lights were all out, even the few they'd need running for safety compliance, if such a thing existed in Vale. Probably helped that the Fang didn't need lights. At least most of them probably didn't. Perk of having naturally occurring night vision. Made it so that you didn't have to make your presence obvious the way others did. People probably would've noticed the place being lit up in the middle of the night, in the pitch-black industrial zone.

Of course, it was also the industrial zone. At night. Most people with a normal life and sleep schedule stayed away from it. Things that never applied to me.

The night had started with a bang. No sooner had I gotten off the airship than my Scroll went off. The White Fang had tried to make a move on one of the listed Vale P.O.I.s, forcing me to intervene. The only problem, was that they were halfway across the city. I'd gotten faster, with all my roof running and aura training. But I wasn't that fast, not yet. Another couple months and maybe.

By the time I'd gotten there, they'd already moved them to a second location.

They gave enough information for me to find most of the way, and a little prodding gave me the spot. It was a pretty subtle place, assuming it wasn't one of their official safe houses. I couldn't imagine it staying hidden for long if it was. Logic dictated it was just a temporary hideout. At least until they could take their hostage elsewhere.

However, as I stayed on the rooftop, observing everything an old inkling began to chime in.

This looked a lot more like a trap than just a simple kidnapping.

Remote location, hypothetical terrain advantage, an indeterminate number of enemies laying in wait. Most importantly: bait that couldn't be ignored.

My skills and paranoia might've been rusty, but even I could tell when something was off. The White Fang had started picking up on the fact that I was an active problem. It wasn't outside the realm of possibility that, if I was making a big enough mess, they'd try to bump me off. They weren't the first assholes to try, and I wouldn't let them be the last either. I was going to approach with an extra degree of caution and stealth, until I had a better understanding of what was going on. They overplayed their hand; something was wrong and now I knew to look for it.

I shook the sleep out of my system, then took a few steps away from the ledge. I gauged the distance from my vantage point to the rooftops across the street. They were adjoining to the substation, so that was an easy enough way in. I could slip through one of the upper windows and at least perform recon before making any moves. But I wasn't simply going to be able to cross the street and call it good. Faunus had better senses than most normal humans, and certainly better than me ninety percent of the time. Sharper hearing and smell, plus their natural night vision. Just trying to rush across the street was a good way to wind up getting shot. Though they probably wouldn't expect it, and it would catch at least someone off guard. Probably.

Getting to the opposite rooftops wasn't easy, but I'd had a lot of practice recently.

I ran at the edge of the roof and launched myself off it, aiming for the nearest street lamp on my side. I sailed through the air a short distance and contacted it. My boots ringing hollowly through the metal structure. There was a tense moment, where I watched the White Fang, waiting to see what they would do. If their sharper senses had picked up on my landing. But if they did, they didn't show it. Taking that as a sign, I trotted down the arm of the lamp and did it a second time. I hopped to the lamp hanging out over the opposing side of the street. Its arm bowed more under my landing, a matter of physics, but held, and I ran down it, before launching back up the rooftops. Now safely across the street and, if a moment's investigation proved true, undetected.

Aura. I was starting to understand why people said the soul was such an important thing.

Certainly helped by the fact that most animals don't think to look up when searching for danger. Nobody thinks it's going to drop onto them like a ton of bricks. Humans and Faunus were no exception to that. I'd had it happen more than a few times in the Mojave. So few predators bother to use it, you don't even think to account for it most of the time.

Then a cazador comes skittering over the ridge and nails you in the sternum.

Good times for everyone involved.

I surveyed the roof of the substation, making sure there wasn't anyone stationed on it. There wasn't, thankfully. The roofs were slanted and tiered anyway, so it would have been a hazard for most people to try and walk around on, especially in the dark. With a small bound, I crossed over to it. Angling and bending so my weight would be leaning into the slope and I wouldn't fall off. I landed smoothly, though skidded downwards a little bit before friction pulled me to a halt. There was a moment, where I worried that landing as I did would've echoed into the substation. There was plenty of open space inside the building for reverb. It could just as easily become a lot more noticeable as not. With the way my luck tended to go, noticeable was always the more likely option.

But after a few moments, waiting, I heard nothing. No movement from inside the building, hard as that would've been to hear, or the ground below. If they heard me, there was a better chance they'd played it off as the building settling, or the wind.

Secure in the fact I hadn't been immediately discovered, I toddled my way carefully up the roof. There were a series of skylights, inlaid into the gap of the roof tiers. Further towards the back, I could spy a hatch leading into the building proper. Roof access, for maintenance naturally. But otherwise the roof was empty. It would've helped them to keep people on the roof. The fact they left it open showed either arrogance or carelessness. Or re-enforced what I already pegged it for: a trap. Provide an entryway that seemed unguarded to funnel your target where you want them.

I loomed against the upper windows and stared into the darkness below. There were very few lights in the space below. The White Fang didn't need them. They were likely just emergency lights built into the shell around the substation. A safety precaution. They didn't do much to help me get a good look of the place. Most of the substation was still bathed in shadow, and the night vision in my helmet only went so far.

But even without a clear view or numbers, I could tell there were a lot of them. Way more than I'd normally run into while running the streets. I was almost flattered they thought they needed that many people for li'l ol' me. But really, it more showed how seriously they were taking the issue. Even without a real number to account for, the effort and manpower they were putting towards this was noticeable. I'd put a lot of effort into pissing in their Sugarbombs, but something was off. The White Fang had proven itself overconfident in their forces in the past, sending small numbers of people out to handle more complicated jobs. It'd worked until I started intervening. Only this time they'd sent a more appropriate force.

Had I actually been hitting them hard enough to teach them a lesson? The wrong one at that?

In the gloom below I could see a raised, walled off section of the substation. Dim light was coming from it, and I could just barely make out the control panels and switch boards inside. Among them, I could make out three figures. Their features a bit hard to discern at the distance, but notable. At least two of them were White Fang, with one of them being particularly large. Scale was hard to judge from the distance and angle, but noticeably larger than the guy beside him. The third was sitting in a chair, noticeably smaller than the both of them. The purported kidnapping victim, I had to assume.

I observed the ladder leading down to the substation floor a moment longer. There didn't seem to be anyone actively observing it, but they didn't really need to be. Their sharpened senses could potentially make the difference, if they'd been informed of where to look in the first place. Which was assuming they hadn't booby-trapped the ladder in the first place.

So rather than take the sane route into the building, I took the less conventional approach. If there was something I'd started to learn, that was the appropriate approach around those parts.

I jimmied Blood-Nap into the seam of the window and pried it open. Wasn't particularly sure if they were ever intended to open in the first place, but they seemed to hinge upward with some prying. They weren't particularly quiet, but probably more so than the ladder would've been. Again, most people don't look up.

Just beneath the window, ran a series of steel support beams. Crisscrossed along the ceiling and spanning back to the floor below. I shimmied my way through the window and planted my feet onto the support beam. Disturbing dust that'd probably been gathering there for years. My eyes flashed to the ground below. Watching the gloom writhe with the motion of all the White Fang prowling the dim light and long shadows. I crept calmly and smoothly through the dark above them, keeping balanced on the thick steel beams. Once or twice, I froze, paying mind to the ground below me. Thinking I heard someone pay mind to some motion in the darkness above. But, when the bullets didn't start flying, I knew I was good to keep going.

I managed to keep it going, right up to the back wall, near the raised office. Before I got moving, I cast a glance towards the ladder, not far from the office. My eyes tracked it back up to the ceiling, and saw that the hatch hadn't been booby-trapped, at least. While it was possibly still being observed, it at least meant the physical route wasn't blocked. If I could retrieve the hostage undetected, I could lead her back out through there under the White Fang's noses. Trying to accomplish the same acrobatics that got me up there in the first place would be more of a challenge, but I felt I could do it. Even with my growing fatigue, I would have to. Once we were out, I could take her to the nearest police station. Then I could figure out what to do with the gathered White Fang. Assuming they didn't notice their hostage had been taken from under their noses and start panicking.

It was a plan. Not a good one, but a plan.

I slung myself down from the crossbeam, planting my boots into the rib of the vertical beam. The toe of my boot planted into the interior face, as my gloved hands gripped the opposite. Gingerly, but calmly, I began to slide down the column at a controlled descent. Watching the ground below me carefully, to see if I'd drop in on anyone unannounced.

About half-way down the column, the door to the office swung open, and the larger White Fang I'd seen before stepped out.

Immediately, I pressed my feet into the column, halting my descent.

Now that I was closer to the office, I could get a better look of him. That particular White Fang was a large one. I'd stand him toe-to-toe with Yatsuhashi or Lanius and say he was comparable. He wasn't as thick with muscle, like I'd seen on supermutants or a previous White Fang, Waylon I think his name was. But muscle was deceptive with aura involved. His uniform eschewed the usual fare of the White Fang. His robes lacked any form of sleeves, revealing long arms inked with black, snaking tattoos. His hood and half mask traded for a full, bone-white one instead, eyes clawed with red. His head open to the world with a cropped, dark haircut. Fingerless gloves ran up his forearms, covered by steel bracers. Black cargo pants on his legs, steel braced boots on his feet.

A massive chainsaw slung over his back.

It was one that hadn't been plucked from a hardware store either. It had a smaller motor, the handles and grips modified to work easier as a weapon. Like a ripper on steroids. Maybe even FEV.

I decided right then that I did not want to test how actually effective it was as a weapon. By and large it looked like a bad bunch of business.

The large White Fang looked around, as he descended the stairs away from the office. He reached into a pocket of his uniform and produced a scroll. With a deft movement he opened it and began communicating with someone. I couldn't pick-up what was said, but it diverted his attention away from me. After a moment waiting for him to pass, I resumed my descent, being mindful of any other passing Fang. Once I was maybe ten feet from the ground, I leapt off the girder, towards the office. I landed just soft enough to avoid notice of a passing pair of Fang. Which was almost a miracle unto itself. Without missing a beat, I crept up the stairs to the office and kept low, just outside of view. I leaned past the door frame enough to see the room beyond. The young girl they'd taken hostage was seated in a chair towards one side of the room, facing out towards the substation. The sole remaining White Fang left in the room, likely to watch her, was leaning against the rear wall. He had a submachine gun crossed in front of him, and was looking blankly ahead.

I pulled out my cattle prod and flicked to maximum output. The White Fang's head twitched a little, as I shifted my weight.

As he began to turn towards the door, I launched at his side. My hand clamped over his mouth and jammed the electrode into the side of his head. His body tensed as the current flowed through him. A startled scream struggled against my hand for escape. But I kept the current to him until I knew he was too out of it to defend himself. Then I bounced his head off the floor to make sure he stayed out of it.

The sound of him hitting the floor clearly caught the girl's attention, as she turned part-way around in the chair.

She was a small girl, tied to a steel folding chair. It was hard to place how old she actually was, but her size said she couldn't have been much older than ten. Maybe just barely passing the threshold into her teenage years. Her skin was exceedingly pale and creamy, and her hair was a chocolate brown, tied back into a pair of braids. She wore a rather upper-class style of dress, black and stuffy looking in the summer night's heat. A white collar ringed the neck of it, cinched at the front by a black bow. Her features were small, soft, but her eyes were big and brown. They looked at me, curiously and perhaps just a hint afraid. There was a thick roll of cloth gagged into her mouth.

This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

Pre-empting a potential scream, I raised a finger to the front of my mask, and tapped it in a shushing gesture. If she started freaking out, screaming, she'd draw everyone down on top of us.

Keeping low, I moved over to the girl. There was something off about her I couldn't put my finger on, but her eyes tracked me as I got closer.

"Trivia Vanille?" I asked, keeping my voice normal since I was dealing with a child.

The girl blinked, waited a moment, then nodded.

I exhaled evenly, and pulled Blood-Nap back out of my boot "You picked a bad time to get lost girl. Bet your mom and dad are worried sick about you."

She didn't panic, or try to pull away from me. Just calmly sat in the seat as I began to slice the ropes binding her hands and legs. Maybe it was shock, or exhaustion from the situation. When fight or flight don't work, placation sets in. Whatever mechanism stands a chance of actually seeing you safely through the danger.

Poor girl would've been through an ordeal for someone her age. Or any age for that matter.

I finished freeing her hands and feet, and she sprang up from her chair, stretching slightly. Her hands rose up to the cloth gag in her mouth, and untied it. She moved her mouth with a circular motion, then stuck her tongue out, likely to get rid of the taste of rag.

"You alright?" I questioned, peering out through the office windows to the darkened substation, then turning back to her.

Only to immediately catch a kick under my chin.

With surprising force I left the ground, sent backwards, through the glass of the windows. I tumbled through the air, taken by surprise as I collided loudly with the concrete on the opposite side. With a second's reaction, I rolled to my side and scrambled to my feet, hand flying to my jaw. I was glad I did, as a moment later, a figure sailed out of the officer after me. Landing right where I would've been.

It was the girl, Trivia. Except then it wasn't. With the sound of shattering glass, the image of her broke away in a flurry of pink fragments. Leaving behind someone, still roughly her size, but not at all her. She wore a white and pink high cropped jacket over a brown leotard. Black pants with white buttoned boots. Her hair still pink and brown, divided along the part of her hair, flecks of white in the pink. Her eyes a heterochromatic pink and brown.

Stabbed into the concrete I'd just rolled away from, a parasol. With a very sharp point.

I scrambled to my feet as the pink-eyesore herself drew her weapon from the ground. We'd met in passing, and it took me a moment to remember her. She was with Torchwick at the Docks, and got into a close shave with me and Yang.

Neo was her name.

As I recovered, I could hear motion echoing throughout the substation. Mingled with shouts of excitement and aggression. The White Fang fell on us in a tidal wave of black and white. Weapons drawn, machine guns and rifles to swords and axes. There numbers massive. Must have been about sixty or seventy of them, all told. Not counting Neo, or the big guy. But I had less time to worry about counting all of them than would've been needed.

Neo picked herself up, the blade at the tip of her parasol retracting back into the body of it. A sinister, positively sadistic smirk curled her lips.

On my feet, I heard the whine of a chainsaw motor.

Steps thundered to my left. I had the barest sense to dodge out of the way, diving away from the office. The massive chainsaw blade arc through the air where I'd been standing, teeth gnashing. It carried through its swing as it contacted the support of the office, teeth digging into it, burying the blade.

Gripping the weapon by the throttle, was the Big Fang. His body poised, making him look bigger than he already was.

"Finally got you to come out." The Fang growled "I was expecting… more."

I didn't say anything in response. They'd already blindsided me; it was better to not let them pick-up on how badly.

I did my best to keep Neo, The Big Fang, and the sixty some-odd grunts in my line of sight. Unfortunately that was easier said than done. Neo was circling me, but so was the Big Fang, after pulling his chainsword from the wall. The Grunts may have been stationary, but my eyes wanted to track what was moving in front of me rather than waiting in the background. Gave me a minimum of three different vectors to watch for attacks from. Not breaking down each angle the Grunts had individually.

It sank in very quickly that I'd made a massive misstep somewhere.

"What's the matter, nothing to say?" The Big Fang growled.

Again, I stayed silent. Words would be wasted, and I needed the brain space elsewhere. I was acutely aware of the fact that the only reason the Grunts hadn't attacked yet was because of him. Friendly fire was something the Fang seemed to struggle with. The Big Fang had out-ed himself as somewhat important. Bad idea to shoot the boss-man in the back. He should've just stepped back and let his boys handle me. I don't know who to thank for giving people that vindictive little trait for theatrical retribution. But I almost wanted to find them and buy them a drink.

The Big Fang gave a throaty growl. "Very well." He hefted his sword.

There was a rush of motion behind me, and I spun to the side.

Neo spun through the empty space I'd been standing. Her heels whipped through the air like a turbine. Her parasol shot towards me as she went, and it narrowly skated off of my armor. Any deeper and it would've affected what was left of my aura. Her strike to my chin has gotten through already by dint of surprise.

Then the Big Fang followed in after her from the other side, chainsword coming around in another sweeping swing. Again I was forced to backpedal, narrowly avoiding the tip of it as it chewed and screeched at the concrete floor. But immediately he continued to press in, offhand gripping the improvised guard as a handle, and swung it in reverse. I couldn't backpedal fast enough to get out of range, and forced myself to leap over it instead.

Neo took the chance to dive at me once more, bladed tip extended from her parasol. She planted both feet into my chest in a kick, and angled the blade to my chest. The momentum of her connection threw us back, away from the Big Fang.

As we flew, I brought both hands up, narrowly catching her parasol. Kept her from making a stab at my armor. We tumbled back and hit the ground with enough force that, if I hadn't, she'd have managed some damage. But the impact of our landing caused her to sail off of me, somersaulting across the floor to her feet. Leaving me on the ground for the Big Fang to make another pass at.

Despite the work they were doing I didn't consider either of them the real problem. I'd fought big opponents, and small. Faster and stronger, smarter and more enduring. Even fighting them together as Neo and the Big Fang were wasn't an issue.

The issue always came in quantity.

Even if I held my ground against those two, there were dozens more. All ready and waiting to send me out in a blaze of gunfire. Survival meant changing that.

I flashed open VATs to buy myself a moment to breathe, then closed it. I rolled out of the way as the Big Fang's sword swung down into the concrete. Carbide teeth hissed against the floor in a flurry of sparks and stone dust. Immediately as I sprang to my feet, I drew my flare gun, a flash round chambered into it. I pointed it in the vague direction of the crowd and fired, no sense or time for aiming. The vibrant ball of light sailed through the air as Neo began to push towards me again. She and the Big guy prepared to lunge for me again, and I moved to dodge both of them. Then I shut my eyes and steeled my ears.

The flash round was deafening inside the confines of the substation. The light searing bright even through my eyelids. There was little I could do to prepare against the sound that followed, but I tried all the same. The world died away in a thunderclap, fading into a whine of tinnitus and damaged nerves.

As the light faded from my vision, I turned towards the crowd of Fang and charged towards them. All of them, with their heightened senses were incapacitated. Each clawed at their ears and eyes desperately. Trying to get the blinding light or deafening scream out of their ears. Some of them had even lost control of their weapons, firing blindly.

I waded into the crowd without hesitation, forcing my way through their line. My window was small, and if I didn't take it, I'd only be dooming myself. The only thought on my mind at that moment was to find cover and regroup. Get out of sight long enough to assess everything. If I'd been thinking a bit more clearly, I'd probably have tried making sure Neo and Big Fang were completely incapacitated. Even if it was just to buy myself a few more seconds. Neo, at least, didn't suffer from the Faunus's enhanced senses. But I'd also seen what these things did to people without them, and they'd still proven effective.

Shoving my way through about three, maybe four White Fang I came out the other side. I broke into a dead sprint while they were still recovering. Knowing that at any time they could recover and my odds of survival would drop like a stone.

At first, I ran straight, towards the front of the substation and its entrance. After about fifteen feet though, I cut a hard left. Diving among the circuit breakers and transformers. Tried to make sure that I wasn't giving them a clear and easy path to trace. Bad enough fighting an uphill battle, didn't want them to turn it into a gecko shoot. Assuming I actually had a reason to stick around and fight.

Which I got the distinct impression I did not.

In the distance ahead, at the front wall, I saw a shift in the lighting. Whatever White Fang were outside decided to come inside and see what the fuss was.

Without thinking about the consequences of it, I clambered up onto one of the transformers. They were tall enough that, laid flat, it'd be hard to be seen even with the White Fang's night vision. So I put myself down flat against it, and waited for them to pass. As they did, my hearing started to come back. Enough that I could tell that the gunfire and panic had stopped. People were still shouting, disorganized. But a voice boomed over them.

"Quiet!" The Big Fang roared.

The White Fang complied.

A moment passed, before he issued his next edict. "Don't let him leave this place. Find. Him."

With those words, I knew my small window for immediate escape had closed. I heard the White Fang begin rushing around the building, searching. It'd only be a matter of time before they thought to look on top of the equipment. I was going to need to think of something, fast.

I started by reloading my flare gun. Normal flare, you can only take people by surprise so many times. Then I followed it by assessing the situation I'd found myself in. That this had been a trap was something I'd known going in. What I hadn't counted on, was that they'd baited me with a second trap I hadn't expected. Trivia Vanille, whoever she was, must not have existed or was safely somewhere else. But they'd known to use the Scrolls to get my attention. Which meant they'd finally realized they'd been compromised and figured out how. Exactly how they'd gone about that, I wasn't sure. But that they knew to use the scroll messages to lure me in meant they'd figured out that much.

Meaning my one active lead for the Fang had finally dried up. Swell.

But it didn't explain the heavy-handed reception. The White Fang had a tendency to overestimate themselves. I knew for a fact that learning wasn't their strong suit either. Joking about them being there in force was one thing, having to face it was another. I was missing a piece of the puzzle.

Unfortunately, before I could dismount the transformer and continue running, the Grunts fanned out. Quickly and almost methodically tracing through the substation in a wave. Funny what a little direction and instruction can do. If I was going to move, I was going to need to wait until I had most of their backs to me. I couldn't see the Big Fang or Neo with them, but safe assumption said they were around. I needed to figure out the best exit route, and get to it. There was no sense in staying to fight when that was exactly what they were hoping I would do.

As I lay there, mulling the options available to me, I heard a pair of footsteps stop beside my transformer. Unconsciously, I stilled my breathing and waited. Ready to jump from the transformer if it came to that.

"… Seems clear here." A grunt said, shuffling around the transformer. "Damn, the fuck did he go?"

"He's gotta be here somewhere." A second said "Bane's gonna have our heads if we can't clip him."

I recognized the name from a few of the messages I'd seen go around, Bane. He was one of the higher-ups. I'd yet to meet the guy, but it appeared he was the one to thank for that surprise party.

"I dunno man, there's- what- sixty-eight of us here?" the first said again "How do you lose Sixty pairs of eyes?"

"Sixty-seven actually, Thornburg caught the flu." The second answered.

"Man, fuck off." The first said, irritated "… Still, something doesn't add up. Wasn't there supposed to be six people we were supposed to handle here tonight?"

"Beats me, maybe they sent him in to try and scope things out?" The second said "I want to know how he managed to get past all of us and make it to the office."

The two continued to converse beside the transformer. Either content in being unable to see me, or still searching diligently from their 'post'.

But I immediately keyed into what they'd said. They were here for people.

Six.

Myself, my teammates, and Sun. They miscounted, we'd had a seventh with us that night, but Penny had vanished without a trace. Reasonable they'd have neglected to account for her. But they knew to account for us.

Somehow, they'd managed to rub their two functioning brain cells together, and puzzle things out. They had an idea of who was responsible, and sicced what they thought an appropriate number of people on them. Made sense, Torchwick was in bed with them, he'd been at the docks. If they were able to piece together somebody was screwing with them, why wouldn't it be us? The people who'd shown up, out of the blue, and started hurling wrenches at everything.

The only silver-lining, if it could be called that, was that all the grunt work had been done by me so far. They acted on the assumption we were all involved, and had to overplay themselves to counter it. Odds were good that the rest of Vale was safe, at least for tonight.

It pissed me off, but was reason enough to call it a night. I just had to get out of there. There was no point hanging around to settle a fight that'd been set up to kill multiple people. I knew a losing situation when I saw one.

But that still didn't answer the question of how to get out.

The front door was the most obvious path, but that would be the one they'd be watching. The alternative was going back towards the office, then take the ladder to the roof. Both of those, however, would require me to try and sneak past the White Fang. The latter involved going back where the Big Fang and Neo had been. Even if they weren't there anymore, knowing my luck, I'd run into them on the way. Which meant the obvious routes were out.

But then, I hadn't come in through the obvious way, had I?

It was going to be tricky, but getting back out was still entirely feasible. If I could move quick enough.

Warily observing my surroundings, I slid off the side of the transformer opposite the two lingering grunts. The wave of Grunts would likely continue their sweep until they hit the far wall. I had until they turned around for the second sweep to get back out of sight. The transformers and breakers were placed in fairly uniform fashion. Made it easier to move between them, but made for less effective cover overall. The only mercy was that I didn't have to go far. Just to the nearest support beam.

After narrowly avoiding a trio of Grunts, I reached one and braced a foot on its interior. Climbing girders is actually surprisingly simple. A little practice, you can shimmy up them easily. Made even easier with the addition of aura. Much like climbing anything you just need to move one side at a time, be smooth and a steady.

Steady and smooth weren't really an option when I was maybe five seconds from getting spotted. So I had to rely on aura giving me the necessary boost. Which it did, for the first ten or so feet. Then it began to flare, the way it does whenever being overextended or damaged. I felt fatigue begin to ebb into me and almost lost it right there. But I caught it in time, and slowed down. Took the pressure back off my aura. My constant pushing was now coming back to bite me, at the worst time.

I wound up hanging there, about fifteen feet off the ground, trying to catch my breath. Which was when the Fang made another sweep beneath me. By what must have been the last miracle of the night, they didn't see me. It helped that they were coming from the opposite direction. People don't look up. Normally.

Stubbornly, I pushed on. There was no turning back the other way unless I wanted to get caught. If I was struggling to just climb the beam, I didn't want to know how much of a fight I could handle.

With a barely audible hiss of effort, I climbed the rest of the way up the girder. I pulled myself onto the cross member, and looked around. The window I came in through was on the opposite side of the substation, and a little further towards the front.

Briefly, my gaze fell to the distant floor. Watching the White Fang coursing around the darkened substation. They searched in knots three and four, unimpeded in the murky shadows of the building. It was scary to think about, in a way. They had a natural advantage in their senses. Were some normal person to get caught up by them, there was little they could do. They'd need an external light to see, and would otherwise be running blind against an enemy that saw everything. I had a few tricks to level the field, but someone who didn't would've been slaughtered.

Smoothly, I began to creep along the cross member. Then cut across another to begin creeping towards the other side of the building, walking the width of it. All I had to do was move smoothly and quietly. Even the Grunt's sharpened senses wouldn't be able to pick up movement at that distance.

Unfortunately, they weren't the only ones I had to worry about.

Halfway across the beam, I heard a footfall impact the metal behind me.

Fluidly, I spun on my heel, keeping balanced and facing the unexpected noise.

In time to catch the blade aimed at my stomach. What would've been the small of my back. Instead it skated harmlessly off my armor.

Neo stood peerlessly poised on the girder, her parasol thrust at me once more. I didn't have time to question how she got there, or realized that I was there. My only guess: she was a thief. She had some ideas of how to get into and out of places.

She smirked, even as her weapon skated off me.

Then she ducked, an exact duplicate of her leapt through the air, spinning into a kick. Immediately I back stepped, keeping my balance as the clone sailed through where I'd stood. As the clone lost momentum, I grabbed it by the leg and gave it a yank to the side. The clone tumbled over the edge and fell, dissipating into a shower of glowing pink embers. At least it wouldn't need to be a mess for the coroner to cleanup.

Neo continued to press in, thrusting her blade at me. Just as easily, I continued to step back, keeping the distance between me and her. I had no reason to engage.

As I continued to try and back away from her however, I noticed the lighting around us changed. A brief glow of pink light flashed behind me. Reflexively, I ducked my head. A copy of Neo weapon swung through the empty space like a club. My head now at stabbing level, Neo rushed forward again. My head whipped to the side of the blade, and I brought my arm up and wrapped it around the weapon. Trapping it and giving me a point to grapple Neo from.

Unfortunately, it occurred to me too late that grappling while trying to balance was a bad idea. Almost as quickly as I grabbed Neo's weapon, I released it. My hand moved out to balance me, the same motion swatting Neo's weapon away, and causing her to stagger. If I had to fight for balance, so did she.

Then her clone slammed her parasol down on me, and I felt my knees buckle. I gripped the weapon and mule kicked, nailing the clone in what had to be her lower body. The clone snapped downward and hit the beam with a satisfying *gong*, then fell off the beam. Again disappearing into a shower of pink embers.

Grasping that I wasn't going to be able to get away from her without a fight, I pulled into a stance. Narrow enough I could balance on the beam. I flipped out my cattle prod and lunged at Neo, output at max. She parried the electrode off the body of her parasol, fabric insulating against the electricity. The blade of her weapon sung towards my chest, and I twisted to let it past. As I slipped the blade, I swung my cattle prod upward, connecting with the underside of Neo's chin. The pink eye-sore stumbled, going rigid with the current. But she regained herself, barely, and retreated two steps.

Another pink flash behind me, and this time I wasn't surprised. I spun a heel kick without looking and caught another clone in the head, immediately sending them over the edge again. As my foot swung back to the beam I began to move in on Neo. I swung my cattle prod at her, and she slipped out of the way. With a twist of my wrist I turned it into a thrust, and she brought her parasol up into a parry. As my cattle prod rebounded off of her parasol, turned the moment into a punch at her open flank. The cover of her Parasol expanded to its full size; my fist rebounded off it like armor plating.

As it did, the image of Neo's boot in my face flashed through my head.

I shook it off. Her parasol fell, and she swung her leg in a counter-kick. I pulled my head back and watched as the sole of her boot passed my face. I immediately returned the favor with a scribe counter, but she was ready for it. She moved close to my arm, grappled, and clamped down onto it as she tried to pull me down to her level. Parallel with her, she snapped her leg up in a vertical split-kick. My head craned to the side, narrowly avoiding the strike.

As her leg sank, and she tried to make more use of our grapple, I turned it on her. My trapped arm grabbed onto her white jacket, and something soft, and clamped tight. I swung my cattle prod over myself, thrusting the end of it into her face. Her eyes snapped open as the electrode connected between them. Her grip spasmed, tensing and relaxing erratically. Enough for me to slip my arm from her grasp and push her back.

Vaguely, beneath us, there was beginning to be a stir of commotion. We were getting noticed.

Neo lost her balance and tumbled back onto the beam, before rolling off the side of it. By what had to have been sheer luck, she flipped her parasol around and swung it out. The handle hooked onto the lip of the girder. She held on, dangling in the air by her weapon. Before I could kick her weapon off the cross-member, there was another flash of pink behind me. Knowing what would follow, I wheeled around and kicked at the space her clone's head would've been in. Instead, I saw the small flourish of them cascading into existence, then disappearing.

At the same time, they reappeared behind me again, as I was mid-kick. My back to Neo.

The crook of a parasol handle hooked around my ankle and pulled. My foot came out from underneath me, and I fell, narrowly landing on the cross-member. My arms instantly locked onto it. Unfortunately, I could still feel the crook of the clone's weapon around my ankle.

Which then plummeted over the side of the girder, dragging me with it.

My body wrenched over the side as my arms clasped tight to the girder. My grip catching the extra weight.

By that point, I could definitely pick out the voice beneath us. The grunts had realized what was going on.

Neo then sprang back onto the girder, as I tried to get a better grip on it. Before I had a chance to even consider a way to improve my situation, she was looming over me. I had half a second to see the gleeful smile on her face.

Then she kicked me in mine. Again.

I lost my grip on the girder and began to fall, cattle prod escaping my grasp as I began to tumble through the air. Gravity has a surprisingly fast acceleration quotient. Under most circumstance it goes unnoticed. Because most people try not to jump from excessively high places. Most people won't consider dropping from anything over five feet, without something to stabilize anyway. A drop like that is over in a second, less than that.

My fall was from about thirty feet in the air. You get an appreciation for how quick gravity is then.

I had maybe three seconds to try and summon my aura, focus it around me. Brace myself for impact.

The first part of me to touch down was my back, followed swiftly by the rest of me. The impact was dull but powerful, knocked the air out of me. My aura broke instantly on contact with the ground, as my weight carried into it. Blunted pain whipped through me as my head snapped against the ground. Without my aura, I'm almost certain the impact would've knocked me unconscious, if not crippled me. As it stood, it left me sucking air and trying to keep the room from spinning.

But I could hear footstep racing towards me.

I staggered to my feet, swiping my cattle prod off the floor nearby. Immediately I returned it to my side, and drew That Gun.

A trio of Grunts came racing from around a breaker bank. Weapons drawn, a submachine gun in the hands of the nearest. They moved without coordination, simply rushing to close distance. The muzzle of their guns slowly levering towards me.

I took a breath, focused. Fire and thunder leapt from my pistol as I fired, thrice. The grunt with the submachine gun jerked back, a spray of bullets rattling against the roof. I put the last two rounds into his two over confident friends, who continued to charge at me. The hits were enough to slow them down, take chunk from their aura. The three shots were enough to break the aura of the machine gunner. He immediately began to pull back, while his other two friends carried on towards me. I didn't have time to reload, so I slapped That Gun back into its holster and drew my lever-action. Right as one of them got within striking distance, I planted a magnum shell of 3/0 buckshot into his chest. The shot instantly canceled out his momentum, and he grunted in surprise. I slammed forward, throwing him off his feet. The action of my gun cycled, and fired a second shell at his friend, who'd suddenly realized his own error. He stumbled and jerked to the ground as I charge the next shell, slamming my boot into the first's head. The charged forward and kicked the second in the crotch, then kept running. Quickly rounding the corner before the machine gunner had a chance to center himself. I found him with his arms flared out, fumbling with his weapon. It wouldn't have been hard to take him out of the fight permanently there. But my habit towards less lethal means forced itself to the front of my mind then. Can't explain why it did. Worst time it could have.

My hand swung away from my shotgun and pulled my cattle prod. I stabbed it, jammed the electrode into his throat. He hit the ground jerking and shaking.

Then the rest were on me.

The grunts began to swarm out of the darkness, and gunfire filled the air. Without a moment to really think about what I was doing, or where I was going, I ran, diving between another bank of transformers. I could hear bullets rattle against it as I did, spatter around me. There was no sense in trying to keep track of them at that point. If they weren't chasing me, they were going to be in front of me. The only thing I could do was try and focus on my surroundings. Try to pick up where they were going to be coming from over the ring of my ears.

I dove out of the bank of monitors and right into another knot of four of them. It caught them as off guard as it did me. One with a shotgun, two with swords, another with an smg. I recovered with the help of VATs, stealing the initiative. I dove for the one with the shotgun, stabbing him with the cattle prod, off hand swiping across. It connected with his shotgun, pushed the muzzle aside, towards one of the swordsmen. His muscles contracted; the shotgun went off.

One less swordsman.

I spun around the shotgunner, catching his throat in the crook of my arm. With a jerking motion I wrenched him in front of me as the machine gunner opened fire. Belatedly realizing I'd acquired a meat shield. A hail of bullets rattled my direction, before abruptly cutting off. My shield howled in pain at the impacts, and the remaining swords man began to close distance. I kicked my shield towards him and they collided. Tumbling over each other as I turned tail and rain again. Used them as a short-lived barrier between me and the machine gunner.

Only for more grunts to begin trying to squeeze themselves through the breakers beside me.

With a haphazard swipe, I hit the first to begin working her way through, causing her to tense. Bought myself a few seconds as people tried to struggle past her. I ran several steps, then leapt on to the nearest transformer, trying to break line of sight with as many of them as I could again. But it didn't do any good. There were too many of them. Immediately, I found myself between two more groups, one of three, one of five. I didn't wait for them to react, I just kept trying to move, put more distance between us.

Neo narrowly missed landing on me, instead touching down in front of me. She drifted down on her parasol, using it like a parachute. Immediately she spun into a kick, and I pulled my cattle prod up in a guard. Her mistake, her leg contacted the electrode and she tensed.

I pushed Neo aside and started running-

A spray of bullets rattled in our direction.

They impacted my armor, tore at my coat.

My off-hand fell to my flare gun and I turned. VATs opened for a heartbeat, closed.

A ball of fire flew through the air, coruscated against my assailant in brilliant red flames. Stole the rest of their attention. I kept running. Weaving through another bank of breakers. There wasn't enough cover to work with. Too much open ground.

Out the other side of the breakers, I found myself alone. But it would be a momentary thing. Until someone weaved along after me. I turned and charged ahead, trying to orient myself, I must have been running to the back again.

Then the chainsaw roared.

Metal teeth whirred past my head as I dove away. They chewed their way through the breaker beside me like it was plywood, scattering sparks of hot metal and electricity from it. A small alarm kicked up from it, indicating something was wrong.

I turned to look at the Big Fang, as he pulled his chainsword from the breakers.

"Hold still." He growled, moving in for the back stroke.

I declined, slapping my flare gun back to my hip again as I backpedaled. There weren't as many places I could run then, I could go back the way I'd come, and chance the running into the people already chasing me, or hope it took them a minute to catch up. Both guaranteed a bad outcome, but one rushed me quicker to it.

The Big Fang big to charge towards me, and I whipped out my lever-action again. I dove towards him, ducking the chainsaw teeth as the nipped at me. The shotgun jerked in my hands, as I dumped a magnum shell into him at point blank. Without missing a beat, one of Big Fang's arms lashed out at me. Clawing at the fringes of my coat. I dipped to the side, cycling the action of my shotgun and fired again. This time practically jamming the muzzle into his ribs.

Big Fang returned his grip to his chainsword and spun. The weapon chewing through another transformer as he torqued it around to me.

I threw myself back, firing another shell into him.

If it bothered him, he didn't show it. He took the full force of three magnum shells, where most were done after one.

Fighting him had already been low on my priority list, and was dropping like a lead lined stone.

I hit the ground, rolled, turned, and bolted. Preparing to put as much space between us as I could. Immediately he bellowed, and gave chase. I could hear his footsteps easy enough. That, and his chainsaw as it clipped and nipped everything it so much as grazed.

Half a dozen grunts wormed their way between some of the breakers. Heads swiveled towards their boss, bellowing after me. I turned and launched myself over another bank of them. Aiming to by myself room. They weren't going to give me room to breathe, to think. I needed to get out, the odds against me weren't worth fighting. Too much risk for little reward.

Which became clear as I leapt over the transformer bank.

A grunt, probably the same one that'd shot me before, was waiting.

His machine gun trained towards the ceiling, probably by complete happenstance.

He saw me.

The weapon roared.

A hail of bullets and fire leapt towards me. I felt them pelt my armor, hammering dull against the material. But they tore hot against the rest of me. I felt them hit my arms, legs. Digging into me and carving channels through my flesh.

Right before I could shout in pain, I opened VATs.

I closed it.

My shotgun went off. My last loaded shell nailing him in the head. The grunt flew back and hit the floor.

My flight turned into a flop and I hit the ground. Rolled across it briefly like a sack of tubers. Then I pushed myself back to my feet, quickly, fighting through the pain ripping through my body. I could feel blood beginning to well from the wounds.

Blood loss would be imminent if I didn't work quickly.

Scrambling, I pulled a stimpack from my pocket and haphazardly stuck myself with it. The effects would work quickly, but there was no time for precision. The healing would be slower for it.

By the time I scrambled back to my feet, more of the grunts were coming, a dozen, maybe double. My hand flew to my pockets again, grabbing shells-

The transformers behind me exploded in a roar of metal.

The Big Fang flew through the shower of machinery and electronics. Chainsword howling like a demonic ghost bear.

My hand left my pocket before I could grab anything. I dove out of the way again, watching as the saw blade came within inches of my chest. I scrambled back, my arms and legs aching and itching. My arm flung back around me, throwing my shotgun back. All my guns were empty. I only had Blood-Nap and my cattle prod left.

I whipped out my cattle prod but immediately tried to turn and keep moving.

Neo reappeared, kicking me in the face.

I couldn't run.

The Big Fang thundered towards me like a turbo-addled supermutant. Chainsword sung through the air.

I raised my cattle prod, instinctively trying to make a guard with it.

The teeth collided with the body of the prod, just over the battery pack.

They chewed through my cattle prod like it wasn't even there. Then carried on towards me none the worse for it.

"FUCK!" I shouted, swinging to the side as the saw teeth scraped against the steel of my helmet. Scraped chips of it free.

Then Neo, and a clone she pulled from the air, spun and heel kicked me in the chest at the same time. I was off balance, and the force was enough to send me sailing backwards. Even as I did, I could see more of the Grunts beginning to fall in around them.

I could see the way things were about to end.

With me, chopped into butcher friendly pieces.

VATs snapped open, as my chest throbbed, the wind beaten from it. The handle of my cattle prod, still clutched in my hand, broken. My body frozen, as it sailed back through the air.

It was the only moment I was going to get to think, and it wouldn't last long.

They weren't looking for a fight, they came prepared for war. In different days, maybe I could've taken them. I'd managed half the number, recently, but that'd been a close thing, and required blind luck I didn't even know I had.

The White Fang weren't going to give me time to react. They were going to keep hammering me until I completely gave out. I couldn't just slam myself with stimpacks and keep soldiering on either. There weren't enough, and blood loss would kick in eventually. I couldn't fight, my guns were all empty, and reloading wasn't going to happen quick enough to matter. Even if I could swap to any of them fast enough. Even If they weren't I didn't have anything with the needed punch to make it matter.

The only chance I had to was to try and run for one of the exits. But the front door likely had people waiting at it, just in case. The ladder back to the roof was out too. Even if I could climb it fast enough, they'd still have ample opportunity to unload on me en masse. The only alternative was to try and make a new one, which wasn't a realistic option.

I was fucked.

The only things I had were a knife, a broken cattle prod, two empty guns, and my flare…

An idea hit me.

Maybe I had a chance yet.

VATs forced itself closed.

I sailed through the air and tumbled to the ground. Scrambling, I shot to my feet, stowing my broken weapon, and drawing Blood-Nap from my boot.

Immediately, Neo and her clone were on me again. The White Fang racing in after her.

She and her mirror, which was which I couldn't tell, thrust in at me with the bladed parasols. I parried one of them off my knife and dove up the length of it. The palm of my off-hand slammed into their chest, a Ranger takedown sending them backward. Toward the Big Fang as the other rounded on me.

Callously, the Big Fang slashed them out of the air with his chainsword. Unfortunately, it turned out to be the clone.

The now identified real Neo crooked her parasol over her arm, trying to club me with it. Close as we were, it didn't work. I batted it aside with my arm, reverse-gripping Blood-Napas I slashed its blade at her throat. She tried to back step, but I felt it brush against her, dulled by her aura. Before she could retreat, I clasped a hand down her shoulder, and stabbed the knife at her chest, twice. She clearly felt the blade hitting her, even if it didn't sink in.

Big Fang closed in on us, and I threw Neo at him. Unlike her clone, the real Neo immediately reacted and tried to defend herself from the chainsword. The last I saw her there; she was raising her parasol.

For the last time, I turned and bolted. Ran in whatever direction wasn't currently being swarmed. But I had a destination in mind, one of the outer walls, any of them.

Gunfire rattled around me as the White Fang tried to close in.

I squeezed through another patch of the transformers, and quickly moved to the side of them. My breathing calmed with a bit of effort. If I panicked, I would die.

Quickly, I pulled my flare gun back out and ejected the shell. I grabbed a fresh round and slapped it in, snapping the barrel shut.

Before I had a chance to fire, The Big Fang steamrolled his way through the transformers. He tore his way to me, and I ran. There wasn't much further I needed to go. My arms ached and itched with every movement as I went, heart hammering in my ears. I used whatever transformers, breakers, and other equipment I could to stand between us, buy me however long I might need. But I could hear him tearing his way through like they were made of tinfoil.

It must've been his semblance, completely ignore whatever you run into.

After what felt like an eternity of running and leaping, I reached a wall, hard brick and mortar.

But Big Fang was right on my tail.

I worked on the fly.

Turning, I faced him as he bore down on me. Chainsword held high and howling for blood. It was a formidable weapon, in his hands. Far better than I'd ever seen it done.

He was on me in a heartbeat.

Chainsword came down.

I stuttered VATs and circled him. Barely moving out of the way. Putting him between me and the wall.

I jammed the flare gun into his ribs.

"Ignore this one." I growled.

I fired.

Purple light leapt from the muzzle in a ring. The gravity shell slammed into the Big Fang and dragged him forward. His feet skidding across the concrete floor, until he was pressed against the wall. He seemed to realize what was happening, and tried to brace himself against the wall and push back against the sudden ball of force crushing into him. First with one hand, then two when he dropped his weapon. The ball didn't move, only glow brighter as he struggled against it.

I could hear the rest of the Fang closing in. My heart thundered. If I'd been thinking, I'd have loaded my shotgun then. Tried to prepare for things to turn into a last stand.

But I didn't.

And I didn't have to.

With a concussive burst of force like standing next to a stick dynamite, the flare exploded. I was launched back once more, colliding with the remnants of a transformer. It crumpled around me, and my flight stopped there.

Big Fang wasn't so lucky.

As the dust cleared, there was a hole in the wall where he used to be. About ten feet across and seven high, leading out into the night beyond. I could see the Big Fang out in it, slowly slumping against an adjacent wall.

Not wasting a moment, I leapt through the hole and out into the night. My feet came down in a kick on Big Fang's head, slamming it back against the wall once more.

I then righted myself, and started running in whatever direction got me away from there the fastest.

…

After about three blocks of back alleys and rooftops, I finally stopped to think about what'd happened. That, and catch my breath.

"… Idiot!" I cursed "You absolute fucking moron!"

I kicked a trashcan of the alley I was hiding in, sending an alley cat yowling into the night. Staying long wasn't an option, but I wasn't going anywhere until I had a chance to process. Which wasn't coming easy, through the pain, exhaustion, and itchiness of the stimpack.

"You knew it was a trap, yet you went in there anyway you… FUCK!" I snarled, trying and failing to collect myself.

Everything had gone tits-up. It didn't scrub everything, but things had taken a turn I hadn't counted on. My line for intel was shot, the White Fang were hunting me, and they knew to be on the lookout for me and my teammates.

How could it possibly get worse?

I discovered how, when I reached up to scratch the itch in my arm.

A hot pain shot through it on contact.

I paused, looking down at the spot I had scratched. There was a new bullet hole in my coat. Not out unexpected, I'd been shot. But I'd already stuck myself with a stimpack.

With a degree of pain, I pulled my coat off and shifted my clothes. The hole went clean through them, naturally. Perhaps I just needed to apply a little extra medicine. But as I removed the sleeve, I saw something more concerning. The wound was already healed over. But my bicep was distorted, swollen slightly, and deepening in color.

Gently, I prodded at it, eliciting further pain and discomfort.

I began to realize what the problem was, and craned my arm around to look at my tricep.

There were no new scars. No exit wounds.

The bullet was still in my arm.

"… Ah shit."