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Fallout: Wild Horses (Started, Open)
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Who knows where?
The Hare Estates: Home of the Twisted Hares and the Har(e)ington Foundation for the Arts
Little Bunny Boom Boom had been showing her lovely floating sister the Twisted Hares logo that she had come up with when the found of Small Automatic Gunfire shattered the relatively peaceful atmosphere of the Rabbit Household, causing the sisters to look at each other. While the Older Bunny Snicker Snack! was in no condition to go out and investigate, a damp towel making a poor choice of armor (though in hindsight it might have worked well as a weapon), Mercy found herself rushing out the front door, cursing the fact that they hadn't built the automated turret yet.
"V! Keep an eye on Tess while she gets dressed okay?" The Little Bunny that could yelled as she slammed the door shut and pulling out her Homemade Plasma Pistol from its holster.
Looking around exterior of Casa de las Rabbits, she could smell blood coming from somewhere, a lot of it.
Following her nose, the smell of blood lead her towards a bend in the alley and even though she couldn't see around the bend, there were enough signs, the sound of foot steps and a shadow of a man (possibly armed) but kneeling over something, that she knew someone was there. Taking a deep breath, Mercy rounded the corner with her Plasma Pistol leading the way.
"STOP RIGHT THERE!" The girl yelled, only to have her gun swatted to the side by the quick reacting stranger.
That - wasn't exactly what Mercy had in mind when she went charging around the corner and so she did what she could to throw the stranger off his game.
- Side Kick - Read End (95%)
Time seemed to slow once again for the Twisted Hare as she reached towards the stranger's exposed tighty whities and pulled upwards with all her might, causing his weight to shift forward as his body reacted, trying to minimize the possibility of rectal breach. The kick, timed perfectly, propelled the stranger forward as presented a much larger target for Mercy's well placed side kick, sending him tumbling forward.
And then it hit her, no not the stranger physically hitting her, but who the stranger was, as Mercy started to apologize profusely.
"Oh my gosh! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" She yelled as she started walking towards Markus only to have her foot kick the unconscious Undertaker on the ground, causing her to groan.
"Oh crap!" Mercy yelled once again as she went into repair mode, attempting to drag the Tall and Pale woman, covered in blood, into the Bunny Household, leaving Markus to pick himself up.
Markus trudged his way back to the Pale Woman, the sociopaths savior. He'd just spared the life of a child, so he felt rather karmatically even at the moment, as he kicked up straw, and rolled brahmin droppings with his errant kicks and steps, careful to not step in them. He turned the corner, and saw her. Bleeding, injured?
'CRAP!' Markus picked up his pace a bit, he didn't want to overdo it like he felt he was. The blood running down his torn shirt wasn't helping, neither was the bit of shrapnel still lodged in him. He felt he was ready to collapse as he swatted away the plasma pistol of someone... vaguely familiar.
'Damnit, get to her. If I can't help her, or repay my debts, I'm no better than anyone else out here! Saver her OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO-' Markus froze up, still holding his scratch wounds from the girl, he reached his other hand back to his rear end.
'Fucking... Wedgies...' Markus collapsed to the ground, hearing the apology but not really caring. He reached outhis hand, he could help her, he had no supplies but she did! If he could-
"Where are you going?" Markus cried out weakly after the two. They were getting away, he couldn't help her... but they could. The damned hares would help the Undertaker, his savior saved by the ones he had saved.
'Perhaps... perhaps karma isn't dead.' Markus rolled onto his back, with more effort, revealing his wounds to the world with a smile that truly touched his eyes. Exhaustion, pain, relief, all of these coursed through him.
'If I get rescued I'm going to look like such a dork...'
Rapid Rabbits Emergency Response Services:
Whomever this lady was, she was quite heavy or rather perhaps due to her height she seemed difficult for the Ridiculously Skinny Rabbit to drag into the Rabbit Sister's house and even though it took a great deal of effort on Mercy's behalf, she was finally able to get the Darkly Dressed Woman into the household.
"TESSA!!!! VERA!!!! I NEED HELP!!!!" The Medi-Bunny yelled in an almost panicked voice as she started looking for where the woman was wounded, causing the Rabbit Household to fly into a state of action.
"Tess! That guy from the other day is outside. I think he's hurt too! But this lady here's hurt a lot worse I think." The Reader Rabbit said as she found the source of some of the blood, a bullet wound to the thigh. Still that wouldn't have accounted for so much blood loss, especially with how pale her skin was.
Continuing to check up (I said UP not OUT) her body, Mercy found the woman's second gun shot wound to the shoulder. This was going to be a lot harder than helping Tessa as that only required a blood transfusion, this lady would require a surgery to remove the bullets and/or fragments that were still floating around. Even then, with how much blood the woman had lost, she would need those wounds closed quickly.
"Sorry about your dress." Mer-Mer quickly apologized as she ripped the hem of the woman's dress and revealed the pale skin underneath that had been marred by the single gaping hole in her thigh. That wasn't what caught Mercy's attention however. What caught her attention was the N99 10mm Pistol complete with silence, laser sight and extended magazine and the extra clips that had been strapped to the woman's thigh.
"Who are you, lady?" The Boomer Bunny asked as she removed the weapons and the clips, tossing them to the side.
As she did, one of the bullets sprung free from its magazine and rolled towards a certain object nearby.
It was the electromagnet that Mercy had used to free herself when they needed to magnetically seal the door due to the Door Buster Bunny's welcome arrival into Tess' and Mercy's lives.
A light bulb went off in the Youngest Rabbit's head as she grabbed the electromagnet and powered it up to full power, pressing it against the woman's wound.
"This is gonna hurt, Miss. Sorry!" The Apologetic Bunny yelled.
Rebuild of Rabbitelion: You Can (Not) Die
Gunfire was practically considered ambient noise in Tessa's previous environment. So she wasn't exactly rushing to her feet to find out what happened. However, this wasn't Freeside and Mercy was doing just that.
"Idiot!" cursed the Elder Rabbit as her sister left the house without waiting for her.
Tessa, already annoyed, grew even more aggravated when she couldn't use her armour. She started to apply her holsters to her ankle and thigh, finally securing the blades, she strapped the reloaded and unactivated throwing-knife dispenser to her wrist.
"This will have to do." Tessa muttered as she grabbed the nearest dress to throw on, a black dress.
Underdressed, yet severely armed, she felt confident enough to run after her reckless and short-sighted sister.
Fate, it seemed, appeared to be playing with her emotions as she exited the house only to find her sister dragging what appeared to be the Beautiful Bunny towards their house. Those particular clothes and milky skin were somewhat unforgettable.
"This was not the kind of get-together I had in mind." Tessa mused for a moment, absorbing the situation.
Tessa didn't even need the motivation, since she was already rushing to clear the floor, the bed and fetch Mercy's collection of medical supplies. Tessa even pulled out the 5 stimpacks she had hidden under the mattress.
Personally, she had very little in the way of medical experience, but running a gang lead to plenty of your fellow members being wounded, including herself at some points. Spending time around the Followers had also seemed to have rubbed off.
The environment wasn't exactly sterile, but it wasn't hazardous. The bed was prepared for rest or makeshift operating table. A doctor's bag, super-stimpack along with several basic stimpacks were on standby. She just needed to offer help where needed.
The pale women looked beautiful, even while she was severely wounded, if that was worth anything. Rushing to her sister, on the opposite end of the pale beauty, with the medical supplies at hand. "Mer! Where do need me and how can I help?"
At best, she would be fulfilling the position as an assistant. Her sister, however, seemed to take on a completely different persona when put in a trauma situation. Watching her work, especially in the area of medicine, struck rather close to home for the Street Rabbit. Mercy had a calming effect on those around her, in that moment she commanded attention without the use of force. While her brow indicated difficulty, her movements indicated intense focus and lightning fast mental calculations.
The Doctor Bunny just received a large amount of respect from Tessa, Nurse Rabbit.
Finally getting a good glimpse at the wounds once the girl in black's dress was ripped, she started to worry about her survival. With unadulterated anxiety in her tone, "Tell me she's going to be okay, right? I'm here! Just tell how I can help."
Tessa's attention couldn't help but divert to the black silenced pistol, inner thigh holster and spare clips. Whoever this particular woman was, her initial appearance was excellent at diverting any sense of threat. Attraction aside, Tessa felt no compulsion to think wary of her the first time.
Gang member, Mercenary, Military? Unless she was with the Feral Rabbits, the use of a concealed weapon that required the use of subtlety over force indicated that this was not the standard affair with those particular groups.
No, this looked like a professional. The kind of professional operates under their own rules. Especially one armed with a silenced and extensively modified pistol. This lead Tessa's thoughts to a very dark place. A line of work which she actively avoided when she commanded the Feral Rabbits:
Floating in the darkness of unconsciousness, Vicky found herself thinking, in the sort of way one thinks when they're close to passing and if there was one regret that Vicky had in her life, it was that she was going to die in a rather violent manner. She'd always thought that she'd been rather kind by giving people the sort of death that she wanted, but for that Keeper to have taken her life in such a manner, it made her angry.
This wasn't how her favored Uncle Shifty had described passing away, something that he claimed, in his long and winding story telling ways, to have done more than once. Wasn't there supposed to be a light and a choir of children singing "It's a Small World After All?"
"(Oh! It's starting!)" The Tall and Pale Undertaker thought to herself as she straightened her clothing out, well, what passed for clothing in the afterlife as she prepared to embrace eternity, hoping that Uncle Shifty wasn't right about it being Walt Disney that would be guiding her to her eternal rest.
"(Whomever that Angel or Child is, they REALLY need to work on their vocal range.)" Victoria McGee thought as she realized that the voice that she was hearing was rather discordant and rather familiar.
"(Oh crap...)" Vicky cursed as she realized that this wasn't the end and that wasn't an Angel or a Child singing to guide her to her Afterlife. It was her... and she was screaming in pain.
Pain broke shattered through her unconsciousness as the Female Undertaker felt as if her shoulder was being ripped apart by someone or something. As she listened to herself screaming, she hoped that she wasn't being tortured. She hoped that she hadn't been captured by the Keepers. Her Uncle had known the prototype for the Keeper's pets.
If this was torture, however, it was... different. For one, she still had most of her clothing on and for another, whomever was torturing her just administered a stimpack on one of the wounds that she had sustained in the fight to protect those Rabbit Sisters. Relief washed over her body as she realized that she wasn't capture, she had been saved and whomever had saved her was trying to keep her alive and not doing a very good job of it.
The relief however, brought with it new horrors for the Milky White Skinned Woman as she became conscious of three things.
One. Her thigh was exposed. Two. Milly was no longer strapped to her thigh. Three. Her cover was blown.
"Tell me she's going to be okay, right? I'm here! Just tell how I can help." Said a familiar voice that tingled the back of the Undertaker's mind like a curious kitten. Familiar because she had "accidentally" had a run in with the owner of the melodious voice. It was the Older of the Human Rabbit sisters and -
"(Oh...no...)" The Female undertaker thought in horror as she realized that her underwear was exposed for the world to see. Her fuzzy undies that she had thought were so cute she just had to wear them. This was going to be a hell of a second meeting.
It was at this point that Vicky's eyes opened, doing a quick sweep of the room and seeing the younger of the Rabbit sisters hovering over her while the older was looking at... Milly.
Sighing internally, she reached out to pat the little Rabbit Sister on the head.
"Thank you... whoever you are." She said in a low husky voice before covering up her thigh. The Stimpack would heal the wound rather quickly and she would be back to herself in no time. Until then, she had to make sure that the sisters didn't take her as the sort of person that was sent to kill them.
Propping herself on her elbows, the Undertaker looked at the Older of the sisters and smiled weakly but as charmingly as she could.
[CHERCHEZ LE FEMME]"Well hello there... again..." Vicky said before trying to break the ice with a joke; "If you wanted to undress me you could have asked."
That sort of brought up a question: Could that statement be considered a joke if it was a truth?
Bedside of The Hormonal Hares:
"If you wanted to undress me you could have asked."
"Wait - What?" The Boo-Boo Bunny asked in shock as the Darkly Dressed Woman addressed the formerly Blushing Bunny.
"Do you two know each other?" Mercy asked as she alternated looks between the woman and Tessa. The way that the woman looked at the Eldest Bunny, it was clear that at least she knew Tess. But still, that didn't quite explain why this woman was talking to her sister in this manner, unless -
"OH CRAP!!!" The Reminded Rabbit exclaimed as she remembered that there was still another person out there that needed her help. Standing up quickly, the Rapid Rabbid disappeared out the door to go grab the Butt-Hurting Bunny.
"Oh crap! Oh crap! Oh crap! Oh crap! Oh crap! Mister! Mister! Are you okay?" Mercy asked Markus as she sprinted to his side, checking him over and noticing shrapnel wounds and more blood. Unlike the Lady in Black, this guy was going to be impossible for the Skinny Hare to drag into the House of Hares.
"Can you get up? Are you okay? I'm sorry about the Wedgie. Hey! Are you up? Mister! Hey!"
Markus watched as Vicky was taken away. No one would come for him. Karma was true, Markus would now be punished, for all of his actions. His lies, his violence, his support of the Legion... He wanted these things to change the wasteland, at one point at least. He believed the Legion, fighting fire with fire, if the wasteland needed crucifixes to fix their problems then they would do it. They'd do it to make damned sure no one suffered from drug abuse, no one suffered from random violence and people like Markus. He remembered his old teacher telling him these things, his reason for fighting fro the Legion. But that old fool was dead, killed by the Courier in his desperate bid to kill the great Caesar.
"Can you get up? Are you okay? I'm sorry about the Wedgie. Hey! Are you up? Mister! Hey!"
Markus sighed, as he picked himself up. Karma was true, he would die. Markus knew he was losing blood, internal bleeding was certainly the silent killer. The starved madman, the idealist Legionnaire, the king of Devils Tower and the bearer of it's secret, dying in a puddle of his own blood, slowly draining through the holes in his chest. How deep had the girl got him? He didn't know, but his chest was on fire when he propped himself up. He screamed in pain, terrible and full of pain, before biting his hand, muting it to the dull whimper which his pride would allow.
He began crawling, the bag was to his side. He used it, to pick himself up further. He had to stop on his knees, breathing heavy and ragged. He looked at his own hands, thinking of the murders he had committed. Only one hung on his mind, the one who had given him the Ice Ax. Paul, the one he considered equal, the drugged up bear berserker.
"Hello... Girl. I... I can stand..." The scrawny Legionnaire looked up at the girl, scrawny like him. Smart? Swift? Perhaps both, like Markus. Though, she still had a heart, it seemed.
"In my bag..." Markus patted his hand on the bulky thing, "Get some caps out... get help... I'll get in myself." Markus said, with finality, as he began picking himself up. His knees were watery, clay, weak as ever as he shook. He began his stumbling trek to the land of the Hares. If he could get inside, at least he wouldn't die alone.
The Rabbit Hole
Vera flew out and started testing her new flamethrower on the man leading the strange children along, and chased him as far away from the House Rabbit as she could. Once he decided to run, the kids broke ranks as it were and fled as well. Or so Vera thought. They were all running in the same direction as their master, but that took them to running towards Vera as well. As it turned out, the remaining children were intent on killing the iBunny.
Vera would have hesitated, if her self-preservation core programming hadn't kicked in and driven her to start zapping the kids with her arc projector, knocking them all out in turn before they could do too much damage.
Or so Vera thought. A few of them had managed to dent her faceplate pretty badly, one managed to lodge a rock in her multiool, and there was now a tiny spear jutting out from where one of her antennae used to be. That last part had Vera weaving back and forth in the air as though someone had invented an alcoholic motor oil just for her... and it had just hit her system like an aged vodka. She... eventually made it back to the Rabbit Hole, to find that everyone was more or less safe now. Vera went to help prop Markus up for Mercy, but the spear sunk a bit deeper into Vera and she collapsed onto the dirt.
"Daaaiiisssy.... Daaaaiiiiisssyyy..." she sang feebly to herself.
Rebuild of Rabbitelion 2.0: You Can (Not) Flirt (Before the arrival of everyone else)
The ethereal beauty had woken up and Tessa couldn't have been more relieved. To show her relief, she laughed a little and casually rested her head on the pleasant stranger's delicate shoulder in exaggerated resignation over the tense situation.
"Well hello there... again..." A soothing voice had interrupted her gesture. "If you wanted to undress me you could have asked."
For all her experience in bladed combat, thievery and urban warfare tactics; Tessa found that her greatest weakness was flirting or anything involving romantic inclinations. For all her usual boisterous and upbeat attitude, she was reduced to a blushing schoolgirl, fumbling for words at best.
Sonea always loved her for being awkward, apparently it was: 'endearing'
Raising her head to reply to the refined lady, she was horrified that she was blushing. "Hi there...hey...*gulp*...m-maybe we can take a raincheck on that one?"
Raincheck? Seriously!? That's the best you can come up with, you bumbling fool!
Thankfully her sister muttered something feces and darted out of the house once more. Vera followed suit. While Tessa welcomed the distraction, she didn't like her sisters rushing out of the house without backup. Her disposition had changed entirely. "Damn it, Mer! I am going to beat you with the toaster if you do that agai-..."
Sighing, she addressed the pale beauty more casually in her bristled state. "Why are my sisters making life hard for me? Wait for me! I don't want you running into trouble. At least Vera is with her..." Suddenly aware that she was vocalizing her thoughts over tending to her delivered beauty. "S-sorry, let me help you."
[Finesse] With a light touch and even more delicate positioning, she slowly helped the lady in black to her feet, supporting most of her weight and body while not putting any more unnecessary pressure on her wounds. Guiding her to the bed and gently laid the beauty down. Fluffing up pillows behind her for support and comfort, Tessa concluded by draping a blanket over her exposed body out of respect...and to lessen temptation.
Don't think about how she felt. Don't think about her body. Don't think about her silky skin. STOP RAUNCHY THOUGHTS NOW!
Making eye-contact seemed to have hypnotized Tessa once more, yet she felt more comfortable that she had contributed to her care somehow. "Perhaps - ...maybe I can finally get that name of yours?"
'Finally'? Seriously!? Now she knows you were thinking about her. Idiot!
She laid a hand over her heart, incidentally the one with the wrist fitted with the throwing-knife dispenser, she managed a very pleasant but genuinely nervous smile. After all, how many times does the beautiful girl you met earlier land up in your bed? "Tessa Rabbit, I wish we could have met under different circumstances." Say something nice, idiot! "...b-but but I'm glad we met in the first place though!"
Getting up and making her way to the kitchen, she turned around. "Stay there." That was an attempt at a joke. "...I was joki- ...just let me get something for you, okay?"
Gathering up the fallen pistol and spare clips, she bunched the bundle together with elastic bands. It wasn't ideal, but it raised a lot of questions about what she was, not who she was.
She didn't want to let her paranoia surrounding others after Sonea's death cloud her thoughts too much. So she genuinely wanted to do something nice.
Moments later, Tessa walked over with a tray of food, a bottle of purified water and her bunched up weapon pile. The food consisted of precisely cut pieces of juicy bighorner meat in the shapes of rabbits.
Laying the tray on her lap, she took the pistol and clips secured in elastic bands and placed it on the worn bedside table beside the heavenly embodiment. Sincerely addressing the beauty before her. "If I woke up in a strange place, I'd hate to be without my weapons. That's why I won't deprive you of yours. You're safe here." With a small smile of pride and a much rosier complexion, she motioned to the food. "I hope you like it. Little pieces should be easier to eat."
That place with the thing and the stuff and...oh yeah...DEATHCLAWS!
Dunno why Joe was bothering to taunt a Deathclaw. It's not like the big beastie was gonna trip on its ego. The worst he could do was shoot at him, and well they'd already done that, so now it was just a question of what happened NEXT. Joe tried to shoot the throat of the big bastard, but it was still kind of from a distance and the shot-at party was kind of expecting this. The shot embedded itself in the trademark Deathclaw hunch, and irritated our boy. He wasn't going to be intimidated either, not after that fighting montage.
For a moment, Malkos crossed his arms, as though waiting for something, but this was a feint. He rolled aside, leapt to his feet from the left, and remained on all-fours to make use of all muscular limbs for a fast zig-zagging strafe that began to close the distance between him and the two men. This wasn't like the Khans, where he was concerned. This was a couple of men that had to be put in their place. And so...
...Thump thump thump THUMP THUMP THUMP THUMP!
Wait, that wasn't Malkos' footsteps. That was from downhill! Demonstrating Solidarity to the cause was another Deathclaw that'd been on the prowl, charging in from lower reaches as Deathclaws do. It would actually reach those two first, according to Malkos' timing when he saw it coming back on top of the hill. Have fun, boys. He moved in to try and knock them further down the hill once they were properly occupied.
It might have been the blood loss or it might have been the relief at being safe and accepted in someplace that wasn't a swanky hotel that the Undertakers had reserved for her or it might have been the fact that the Rabbit family wasn't chasing her off with a pitch fork for being a carrion bird or really truly, it might have just been nice to see a friendly, smiling, earthy, endearing woman that tended to her but it the Tall, Pale and mostly finely clothed Undertaker found her guard easing and the memories of her disappointing near death experience faded into a distant memory. Looking down at the plate of Bighorner Steak Vicky found herself smirking at the little rabbits that had been arranged on her plate.
Rabbits... wasn't there some sort of expression about what happens when you leave two rabbits to their own devices?
The thought brought a touch of color to the Vicky's cheeks as she smiled genuinely at the Elder Rabbit sister, Tessa.
"That's why sisters were created, you know. To make sure that you never get a moment's rest, a moment's privacy, anything but a freezing cold shower if they get to it first and ... did I mention they never give you a moment's privacy?" Undertaker McGee said as she picked up Milly from where the Earthy "Liberator" of Wares and Vicky's saviour had placed the loaded pistol. Dropping the magazine and pulling back on the slide, the Lady in Black (and coincidentally crimson from the Keeper that she had killed) unloaded the weapon before depositing it back on the bedside table where it had been placed.
"My Uncle always told me that you never keep a loaded weapon when you're the guest of a fine hostess." She commented as saying the word fine as if she meant something other than the quality of Tessa's skills at making the woman feel comfortable.
"Of course he also said mind your manners, which reminds me that I should be minding mine, Miss Tessa Tabbit. My name is Victoria McGee, Undertaker of Wyoming and now at your family's beck and call since you so heroically saved my life."
It was at this point that the Undertaker picked up the knife and fork that had been provided and cut into a juicy Big Horner slice, neatly removing the leg off of one of the rabbits.
"Rabbit's foot for luck." She said as she placed the parcel of yummy into her mouth and began chewing.
"I will say, that despite how much it hurt, you sister did a remarkable job removing the bullets from my body." Vicky said as she exposed the two bullet wounds, one on being on her shoulder and the other being on her thigh.
As nice as this scene was, it was bound to get interupted sooner or later between Eyebots, Little Sisters and now a Former Legionaire that happened to come crashing through the front door, to almost jump in alarm, if it wasn't for the bum leg.
"Markus!?" She exclaimed as she saw the man pass out on the floor of the Rabbit Household. As far as introductions went, not going as Undertaker McGee had planned, not ... even ... close.
"Miss Rabbit? I'm not really that sorry to impose myself upon your body again, but could you please help me to the man over there? He risked his life to help me and it looks like he came out for the worse." The Tall and Pale woman in Black said as she quickly moved the tray off of her lap and onto another table, wrapping an arm around Tessa and holding her quite close for support.
As the two neared the ailing Legionaire, Undertaker McGee heard a rasping noise, one that was quite familiar to her. Internal bleeding...
Gingerly kneeling next to the dying Legionaire, the woman flipped him over and saw the wounds that he had sustained from taking on the Keeper's Children.
"Bastards..." She cursed as she grabbed the nearby Doctor's bag and opened it.
It's ironic that an Undertaker would be so versed in the skills required to save a life but it was all part of the process of knowing both how to close up wounds for a funeral and the most effective way to kill a person.
Pulling out the standard scalpel and the surgical tubing, the female Undertaker pressed on the man's abdomen until she where the majority of the blood was pooling.
"Miss Rabbit... Tessa," Vicky said softly as she squeezed the woman's hand,"If the sight of blood makes you uncomfortable, you may want to turn your head."
With that being said, an incision was made into Markus' abdomen and the surgical tube was inserted, allowing the blood to drain away from the piece of shrapnel. During that time, Vicky cut off a length of surgical tubing which was then afixed to a Blood Pack and a needle, which would handle the blood loss issue. Checking back at the site of the Shrapnel wound, Vicky saw that the blood pocket was almost completely drained... which gave the Undertaker opportunity to pull out the shard of metal.
"... and that's all she wrote..." The Pale Beauty muttered as she jammed a few stimpacks around Markus' wounds. He'd survive, but like Vicky, he'd feel it for a while and he owed her twice now but first...
"Tess. I'm feeling a bit... exhausted... could you help me back to that bed... it's not yours is it?" Vicky asked as she got an affirmative answer on that.
"Oh... well that's good." The Lady in Black said with a delighted smile.
I look to the sun again, the machete hanging loosely from my hand. It's covered from tip to grip with the blood of a slave. A POW, a soldier, a bear and a ranger. He was tough.
I am tougher.
The sun's warm embrace is a good distraction from the ripped up corpse at my feet. The dogs are barking, holwing for a taste of my meat. The Legionnaires are cheering, the weakling had managed to finally get a kill. I hear my name screamed from the masses.
"Faunus!" Did they see my blood?
"Faunus!" Dripping from my face, my tears and blood mixed and ran down my face. Didn't they notice that through my crimson armor, I'm hurt and wounded? The man had cut deep... Am I going to die?
"Faunus!" I can't take it anymore, standing is too hard, my lashed back and my cuts and bruises, my tortured mind and body can't take this abuse, enough, ENOUGH, LET ME DIE!
I fall down, the machete dropping to the ground on top of the slaves. I take to my knees, looking at the corpse, he was twitching and convulsing horribly I fall to my face, a puddle of blood quickly made. My good eye can see, the ranger stopped twitching. The upper part of his skull was gone, I had chopped it off in his fury. The grey matter drained out around him, and I feel bile rise in the back of my throat. I want to throw up, but I won't. My honor won't allow it.
The cheers turned to worry, I hear the heavy footfalls of my trainer, my master. He grabs me, roughly but I know by now he can't control his strength, and flips me onto my back. He sees my wide grin, I had done it... I was going to leave this mortal coil.
He seemed disappointed, and my grin wavers, shrinks to something smaller, innocence and shame plastered on my features. He pulls out the bag of healing powder, and I grimace as he throws it against my face. I shriek, in horrible agony, as it goes to work slowly. My master gets up, his work is done. Two more legionnaires, my brother and friend. They cheer me as the lift me up. I would return to the barracks.
I would be praised for now, but tomorrow I was the whipping boy again. The one who was weak of body but strong of mind, one who would die in his first combat outing. I sigh, heavily with years beyond my own. My brother looks at me with sad tired eyes, speaking in a voice very much unlike his own.
"Bastards..." I smile at him, weak and meek as ever. Why was his voice so different?
My chest begins burning, a raging inferno of pain within seconds. I can't scream, only gasp in surprise as I feel beneath my breastplate two wounds. Why don't I remember getting those? A small cut, a barely noticeable thing in the raging infernos of hell roaring in my chest. Everything fades to blackness, as my chest begins to feel odd sensations, pain beyond what he could imagine. He was breathing heavily, raggedly, this transcended my abuses to something new... The world disappeared, the people under his extended arms disappear, and I fall to my back without pain. I look up, my brother, looking at his nubs. Pale, frightfully pale and tired. He looks up, and smiles widely. His(her?) words echo within his hollow skull...
Jack Rabbit Slim's: Home of the Jack Rabbit Slim's Twist Contest!
The Running Rabbit was going exactly that, running. She had run to the local Clinic and found that the last Staff Doctor had been scalped by an Uptown Cheyton Hospital that catered exclusively to the Traders and Prospectors that had found success in their various trades and now lived on top of a Hill that overlooked the rest of Cheyton, surrounded by barbed wire fence and Protectrons. The Followers was also a strike out as they were treating a large number of Cheytonners that had been struck with Wasteland Fever.
The Blastoff Bunny was now sprinting back home, determined to save the man that had helped the Rabbit Sisters out against the Knuckleheads. If she could save him, they'd be even, more or less and if she couldn't save him, then it wouldn't matter if they owed him one or not.
"(Looks like I'll have to help that man myself. I can do this! I can do this!)" The Medi-Hare thought to herself as she rounded the last corner to the Rabbit Household and heard someone singing.
"Daaaiiisssy.... Daaaaiiiiisssyyy..." Vera was singing to herself as she was laying on the ground, her chassis getting dust all over it and her delicate circuitry.
"OHMYGOSHVERAAREYOUOKAY?!?! VERA?! VERA?!" The Reprogramming Rabbit asked as she slowly knelt by her wounded sister's side.
"TESS!? TESSA?! VERA'S HURT!!!" pause - wait - pause "TESS?!"
The Bladed Bunny wasn't answering and there was no sign of the Strange man that had helped them out and so the Baby Bunny picked up the BunnyBot and slowly walked inside, afraid that whomever had wounded the Lady in Black had come back and gotten her sister.
"Please no dead bodies. Please no dead bodies. Please no dead bodies." The Prayer Bunny repeated over and over as she hesitantly opened the door and saw that everything seemed okay.
"Daaaiiisssy.... Daaaaiiiiisssyyy..." Vera sung pitifully once again, causing Mercy to fly into a fixer's panic as she practically jumped across the room to set Vera on Mercy's cluttered workbench. With one sweep of her arm, the Littlest Sister cleaned off the Workbench of all the scrap metal and parts of half finished projects that were laying on top of it.
"*groan*" Came a voice from the floor, causing the Youngest Rabbit sister to look down and see the Stranger laying on the floor, a surgical tube sticking out of his chest and draining blood into a bowl, a couple of stimpacks also sticking out of various wounds as well as a half empty Blood Pack refilling the blood that the man had already lost. Mercy hoped that dropping all those Spare Parts on top of the man didn't cause any further wounds as she turned to concentrate on Vera.
"Vera? V? I'm going to half to power you down while I repair the damage okay?" Mercy said as she removed a panel to exposed Vera's power systems. Flipping the switch before Vera could answer, Mercy grabbed a pair of magnifying goggles, some solder and a soldering gun, scrap metal, scrap electronics and a power regulator.
"You're gonna be okay, V." Mercy whispered as she started working.
Vera Rabbit isn't in right now, please leave your name, number, mailing address, and a brief message, and she'll get right back to you as soon as she's functional again. Maybe. Unless its Ulysses again. In which case, FUCK YOU!
An ex-military complex just outside of the Boneyard.
I ran through the steel hallways, making random turns every now and then to try and make my getaway. Once I thought I heard her lithe footsteps fall some distance behind me, I ducked behind a stack of munitions crates in a small warehouse and... waited.
Almost fell asleep waiting, but eventually... I could see her sexy little ass making its way past my hiding spot. I knew we were supposed to be running a 'pursuit tactical simulation'... but... how could I resist? I lunged at dat ass from behind, and tackled its beautiful dark-haired owner to her stomach, then turned her over. Then, I started tickling her.
"NOBODY EXPECTS THE SPANISH INQUISITION!" I shout playfully at her, confident that no one was watching us.
After several moments of constant 'torture', my 'victim' gives in and cries, "Uncle! Uncle! You win!"
"I always do, Chrissy," then I plant a kiss on her big lips.
The Divide
I fly close behind The Courier, ready to blast away at any deathclaws, tunnelers, or Marked Men that got in their way, when out of nowhere, I felt my radio signal being hacked again. Holy raggle-fraggles, Courier! I want to scream... in a manly sort of way... the way Ralphie would. I think. But I can't. Can't even beep as that man talks through me, and then... says that accursed phrase... the bane of my existence and will...
"Ulysses... Navarro..."
What little control I had left at that point evaporated as I found myself dragged along in the air, as if being pulled on a great chain, towards the signal's source. Again, I want to curse and scream my frustration, but I can't. I'm completely silenced.
Diagnostics complete. 37 modules accounted for, 5 new, four recently installed.
Rabbit & Co.: Repair Shop for the Stars
That was a good beep and one that allowed the Relieved Rabbit to exhale all the air that she had been holding in her lungs for what felt like the better part of an hour or fifty or so. That beep was V's Rabbit O/S tm booting up and running a self diagnostics, all of which was being mirrored on an old green monitor that the Genius Jack Rabbit had managed to coax to life in order to complete the operation.
"(5 new modules? 4 recently installed. There's the echolocation device, the flame thrower, the arc projector and the new vocalizer. But what's this one?)" Mer-Mer asked herself as she vocalized a command to Vera's Level 0 command routines, otherwise known as Vera's subconscious conscious.
"V/L0, Query, Module 31, name and purpose." The Psycho-Rabbit said in an even and measured tone for the Vera's Subconscious Consciousness to understand. Being that it was one of the more basic pieces of software installed on Vera, it wasn't very advanced and didn't take well to anything other than an even and overly enunciated tone.
"V/L0, Query, Module 31, statue"
"V/L0, Command, Module 31, Enable"
"V/L0, Command, Complete Boot Cycle"
The Meddling Bunny sighed for a moment as she wondered if she had done the right thing in enabling the new Module. It sounded like it would be immensely helpful but the third purpose of the module bothered her.
A humming broke Mer-Mer's train of thought as Vera's repulsor drive came online, allowing the Baller Bunny to start floating again.
"V.? Are you okay?" Mercy asked hoping that her shorter but still heads above the rest of the world Rabbit sister was okay.
The Rabbit Hole
Vera slowly floated back into the air as she regained consciousness. She... blinked, for lack of a better word, at the plasma bunny. Vera ran a quick diagnostic and found out that the inactive module had been enabled, and it... was a stealh field! Vera danced and spun in a wobbly sort of circle around Mercy for several moments before rushing in to give her a great big and long bit of nuzzling.
"Thank you so much Mer-Mer!" she cried out excitedly, "You're the most amazing, ingenious sister an eyebot could ask for! Thank you! You saved my life AND enabled that dormant module that had been itching in the back of my processes for decades! Thank you thank you thank you thank you!"
Then Vera decided to test the newly activated module. In a few seconds, she was almost completely invisible... only a faint outline could be seen.
A few seconds later, it automatically shut off to conserve power. Vera knew she could stretch it out for longer use... maybe a few minutes tops... if she really needed to... but... generally, a few seconds should be enough to get close and FWOOSH! BURN! FIRE FROM THE THIN AIR BITCH! HAHAHAHA!
"Thank you Mercy," Vera said, her nearly hysterical glee finally starting to settle down a little, "Umm... how is everyone else? Tessa, and that Markus guy... and that strange lady in the black dress? Are they okay?"
Stop! Rabbit Time!
"Thank you so much Mer-Mer!" the Inviso-Blazing-Robo-Charger Bunny cried out excitedly, "You're the most amazing, ingenious sister an eyebot could ask for! Thank you! You saved my life AND enabled that dormant module that had been itching in the back of my processes for decades! Thank you thank you thank you thank you!"
"Aww, shucks." The Blushing Baby Bunny shucked as she looked rather embarrassed, but feeling rather proud of herself as she watched the Bushido-Blazer Bunny try out the Stealth Field Module. It was rather creepy watching the nano-particles ooze out to consume Vera but the effect was worth the creepy factor. If power management for the eyebot wasn't such an issue at the moment, she would have been able to expand the particulate field to encompass at least one and a half more people, or rather one person and one short person (Mercy).
"Thank you Mercy," Vera said, her nearly hysterical glee finally starting to settle down a little, "Umm... how is everyone else? Tessa, and that Markus guy... and that strange lady in the black dress? Are they okay?"
"Well I think Markus is okay." The Accident Prone Bunny responded as she pointed to Markus' prone body and gasped as she saw the additional cuts and bruises that the falling parts had cause. Oh well, nothing that a few more Stimpacks wouldn't fix.
"Sorry Mister." Mercy said as she picked up a Stimpack and inserted it into Markus' arm, allowing the healing flow of medications and coagulants to flow into his body.
"As for Sissy Tessy and the Lady, I really don't know where they are. TESS?!" The seen to be Super Disturbed Bunny called out as she wandered towards the back room that served as the Bunny Bedroom and opened the door before immediately closing it.
"I think they're fine." Mercy said as she turned around red faced as she saw the two ladies curled up on the bed in a rather familiar fashion for a couple of people that had just met.
Rebuild of Rabbitelion 3.0: You Can (Not) Be Left Alone
Moments before people started arriving.
Tessa couldn't help but note that despite Victoria's healing wounds, there was still the matter of her body being rather bloodied from all the physical trauma. "We have a shower that you can use, if...help...is umm, needed...then just call me, okay?"
"My Uncle always told me that you never keep a loaded weapon when you're the guest of a fine hostess."
Fortunately her senses weren't dulled, so she picked up on the innuendo. Unfortunately, this overwhelmed her somewhat. "Well..." With a short sigh in order to calm her rampaging heart. "...where I'm from, you always keep a weapon on you. Loaded or not."
Oh, now you're talking about weapons. Say something nice you idiot!"
"Victoria McGee, Undertaker of Wyoming and now at your family's beck and call since you so heroically saved my life."
Finally learning her lovely name, Tessa couldn't help but smile at how it suited her delicate form as a whole. The Undertaker part, that was the part that she was unfamiliar with. As far as the rest goes, "Thank my sister, Mercy! I was just your glorified bedside nurse. She's the one that did all the saving."
With her smile fading, a detail had been bugging her. "Undertaker? Either you're really good at what you do or we don't have a resident Undertaker. Because where I'm from, Freeside, I've never heard of you Undertakers...and believe me, anything coming into Freeside, I would hear about."
Feeling more relieved when Victoria had unloaded the pistol in front of her, Tessa made a note of how deep her hatred for guns went. Tessa was also covered in blades in the various holsters, she wondered how she looked to the Undertaker. "But, no matter...whatever organization you belong to, I get the feeling I can trust you. And trust...is not something easily handed out in Freeside. You're welcome here, Vicky."
With one last 'intentional' gesture...of 'respect', she covered up her wounds once more while managing to brush her fingers delicately along her milky skin. Tessa concluded with managing a passing smirk followed by an intimate glance.
After everyone had arrived.
Tessa was not aware that she was running a clinic/hotel/repair shop. Because that's certainly what all this chaotic mess looked like. To elaborate further:
Victoria was in her bed(YES!), Mercy had tended to a damaged Vera and Markus was wounded yet recovering on the floor. That won't do.
Tessa had made herself useful by moving Markus slowly and carefully onto the couch. Checking that Victoria's medical aids were still in place. She bent down to address Markus at ear level. "Never had the chance to properly thank you. So thank you for helping us out earlier. We do the same for those that helped us. You're pretty banged up, but you're in good hands. Get better okay?" She laid her hand on Markus' shoulder for a moment before turning away.
Tessa didn't know if he could hear any of that, but she crawled onto the bed with Victoria momentarily to give her a little update on her medical work.
"Markus is on the couch now. I have my doubts and suspicions surrounding that man...but he did help us at one point. Selflessly. In the slums...too good to be true. Working an angle. Either way, we owe him...Sorry! I think you have an effect on me." Realizing how that sounded, she went crimson, rivaling Victoria's wounds. "I mean, you make me want to speak my mind. More than I usually do."
"TESS?!" came the familiar sound of her sisters voice, which followed having the bedroom door being opened and oddly closed immediately.
Addressing the pale Undertaker once more, "I'm being summoned. Talk soon...Don't hesitate to call if you need me."
That was smooth. Right? Right?!
Now was the time to focus on her sisters.
Especially Mercy when Tessa got a good look at her. Shallow breathing, bloodshot eyes, shaking hands, constantly moving...she was overtaxed and overly stressed. Laying a hand on her shoulder, she turned her sister towards her. "Mercy. Take it easy...just sit down for a moment and rest. I'm taking care of you now."
Giving Mercy the same bed and breakfast treatment as she had done for Victoria, without the bed and attempted flirtation, she did include a wrapped blanket though.
Tessa made sure that her sister was eating and drinking before wrapping her arms around her in sheer concern. Tessa extended an arm to grab Vera and pull her into the fold.
"Don't...run out on me, okay? Don't worry me. I've seen so many people leave a room, only to never come back...please...please tell me where you're going. Or wait for me."
The way Tessa held and spoke to her sisters, blatantly displayed unbridled concern and love. No facades, no pride and not even a single shred of arrogance was present. "I was useless today. I'm sorry."
The Bunny Sister Bond to Rabbit-maninoff Piano Concerto No. 3
"Don't...run out on me, okay? Don't worry me. I've seen so many people leave a room, only to never come back...please...please tell me where you're going. Or wait for me."
Reality came crashing into the room when Mercy heard her sister utter those words and felt quite a few things: Apologetic, Guilty, Sorrow and one more thing.
She felt apologetic because she had been so rushed to help these strangers out that she never took her kind sister's feelings into consideration. She new that Tessa had seen loss in her life and for her to lose Mercy, Mercy didn't know how Tessa would have handled it until now. When she had first come into Tessa's life, Mercy had often wondered how the Elder Rabbit had felt about her instant "just add water" sister. Was there annoyance? Was there anger from having her life disturbed?
Guilt, that one was a bit of a doozy because one of the people that had run out on Tessa had been their common father. He had left Tessa alone before finally settling down to take care of Mercy.
Sorrow. Mercy was sorry that she worried her sister and she was sorry that she had ever questioned Tessa's love of her and the fact that their father had left her and had Mercy. She was sorry that she worried her sister and she was sorry that she didn't take her sister's feeling into consideration when she ran out the door
The way Tessa held and spoke to her sisters, blatantly displayed unbridled concern and love. No facades, no pride and not even a single shred of arrogance was present. "I was useless today. I'm sorry."
Mercy, curled up in the blanket, snuggled close to her loving and devoted older sister before responding.
"Tessa should shouldn't be sorry. You've been amazing to me ever since I got here, ever since you found out that you had a little sister. You've been great to me and kind and wonderful and amazing and I had to show you that your awesomeness is rubbing off on me." The Younger Rabbit said as before she smiled and hugged her sister as she felt the last of the feelings that she had felt.
"I love you, sissy Tess. You're the BEST." Mercy said smiling as she did feeling everything that she had gone through that day.
"I'm sorry that you've lost people but you'll never lose me, Tessa Rabbit. We're sisters and that means we'll always stick together no matter what! So, I'm sorry if I'm cramping your style but you're stuck with me." Smiling Rabbit said before sticking out her tongue to tease her sister. There were two things that she wanted to ask her sister, the first was about the flirtation with the lady in black.
"Sis. I know that I never really asked you about well YOU before because I always figured that since we've got an eternity together, I'd find out everything there is to know about you. But, well, I was, um, wondering. Do you like that Lady in Black in the other room? Do you like, um, other women?" The Blushing Bunny asked as she felt her cheeks turning redder than a tomato. There was also a second question that required a sort of different mental state.
Now it was time for a bit of Blamco Bunny serious heart to heart time.
"Tessa? Did - did dad ever visit you?" The youngest Bunny asked wondering if she was opening up a can of rabbit pellets by asking that question. Mercy and Tessa's dad was a prospector that much was true and as part of the gig, he'd leave for weeks at a time on one of his runs. Did he ever visit Tessa? Did he love her like he loved Mercy? Inside Mercy's heart, she hoped so.
Black Rock Rabbit's: Season 2
"Tessa shouldn't be sorry. You've been amazing to me ever since I got here, ever since you found out that you had a little sister. You've been great to me and kind and wonderful and amazing and I had to show you that your awesomeness is rubbing off on me."
Hugging her sister, a smile finally cracked and so did a giggle as her sister was inadvertently tickling her. "Okay okay, you're gonna make me cry, sheesh!" Stifling her giggles, she was glad that her sister seemed to grasp the multiple layers behind her plea earlier.
"I love you too, Meredith" The Elder Rabbit teased, "I was completely alone until you came along. I've always wanted a family to go home too. I spent years believing that I had nobody on my side, it didn't help that I was dumped in Freeside of all places." Sighing, she continued, "So when you showed up by the front door one day, I was more than happy to finally get the family I always wanted." She finished that sentence with a kiss to her cheek.
That's when Mercy broached the topic about her specific tastes. Tessa was relieved that the bedroom door leading to Victoria was closed. "But, well, I was, um, wondering. Do you like that Lady in Black in the other room? Do you like, um, other women?"
Tessa cut her short by shushing her, putting a finger over her lips, pointing at her ears and then the bedroom door. "It's tough to be a woman on the streets. You can...imagine what men treat you like or see you as." Tessa was not playful with her tone, no, she was recalling many traumatizing events and it resulted in an absolute pained expression. "But with a female, it's so...different. I'm not treated like an object, I'm cared for..."
Her voice trailed off to answer the next question with a heightened level of embarrassment. "Remember that matchbook? That was from her...I think I like Victoria, but I dunno if I like like her, y'know? Too early to tell. Now hush before she hears."
"Tessa? Did - did dad ever visit you?"
This question came out of nowhere and sliced at her like a hidden blade. Opening old wounds in it's wake. "No." Replied the Abandoned Rabbit darkly, pausing significantly before elaborating. "I was left alone with the Followers. Then dumped onto the street when they couldn't take care of me anymore. I was about 6 when I had to leave."
Sighing, she tried her best to recall the repressed thoughts, "Maybe he was there at some point. I wouldn't know, I have no idea what that coward looks like. I doubt it though, he was too busy happily raising another family, remember?" The Elder sister replied coldly, a departure from her usual chipper nature. "I was told that a real Father is someone that cares for you, even if loving you hurts. Going by that logic, I was never loved."
"...Tell me about your Mom, my stepmom I guess." Tessa asked despondently.
Before the Chaotic House became chaotic
Tessa couldn't help but note that despite Victoria's healing wounds, there was still the matter of her body being rather bloodied from all the physical trauma. "We have a shower that you can use, if...help...is umm, needed...then just call me, okay?"
The Undertaker simply nodded and smiled brightly as if there was nothing that she would rather have than a helping had, not that she didn't need it given that she had been shot in the shoulder and it would be some time before she would have full use of her arm once again and even then it would take a little bit of exercise to get it back in proper working order.
However with that being said, her Uncle, who she greatly admired and respected and listened to when it came to needing advice, had always cautioned her about rushing in too quickly. For Victoria, what was happening reminded her of a situation that he beloved Uncle had found himself in back when he had been the Undertaker of the East. So for now, the Darkly Dress Undertaker with the Milk White skin would delay gratification and pleasure until she got to know the Rabbit family a bit better. Nothing complicated things more than caring about someone that you might be asked to kill later.
For now, however, she was being asked to protect them and adding those sort of complications to the mix might have spelled disaster in the long run.
"Thank my sister, Mercy! I was just your glorified bedside nurse. She's the one that did all the saving." The Bedside Nurse commented, as it appeared that she felt rather off about something.
"Believe me, your assistance is most definitely appreciated. I could never ever repay the kindness that you and you sister have shown me today. But if there's ever a time that you need need anything the you can call on me, okay?" Victoria said as she leaned forward, to listen to every word that Tessa had to say.
"Undertaker? Either you're really good at what you do or we don't have a resident Undertaker. Because where I'm from, Freeside, I've never heard of you Undertakers...and believe me, anything coming into Freeside, I would hear about."
"Freeside and New Vegas have never really had a need for our services, you see? We undertakers mostly stick towards the outskirts of civilization where most of society is still working in something equivalent to the Dark Ages. Our job is simple. We travel the Wastes looking for people who have passed on and, for a small fee, we ensure that their Earthy remains are given proper burial. Of course, that's the sales pitch mind you but the second part of the job is making sure that we prevent any major diseases from spreading. My burying the dead, we ensure that past disasters like the Black Death or SVN-776 stay in the past. But since the fringes is where our services are most needed, we tend to stay there and so it's no surprise that you've never heard of us." Vicky said with a smile. She was a free font of information. She had nothing to hide from Tessa at all.
"OF course, since we're on the fringes, my ... I keep repeating myself don't I, we have to be able to protect ourselves from Bandits and Raiders and Supermutants and so I hope I didn't alarm you with Milly being on me did I?" The Friendly Neighborhood Undertaker said in a voice that made it known that she couldn't bear the thought of her being armed causing any issue of trust between her and her hostess.
"Besides, given the armory that you have attached to your body, I'm sure that you would have made sure that I was no threat to you and your sister and I most definitely assure you that I am not. I'm glad that I do have your trust because in the circle that I run in, trust is as rare as a kind soul and so it's always a precious thing when you find the two in one person. "
And then it was that Eldest Rabbit sister left Victoria in the room by herself. Listening to the conversation between Tessa and Mercy was touching to say the least and Victoria could tell that while it seemed that the two had just met each other, the sisters were already heavily reliant on the other. She hoped and prayed that no one would ever abuse this fact and orders be damned, she was going to make sure that the sisters were never put in that position.
"Tessa? Did - did dad ever visit you?"
It was at this point that Victoria decided that she should give the sisters their privacy. There were things that you could tell others, there were things that you could tell you priest and then there were things that you could tell your sister. Out of respect for the family that had saved her, she decided to keep this conversation between the two sisters. Slowly but surely, she managed to get herself out of the bed and headed off towards the shower.
"(OH MY GOD WHY IS THIS WATER SO COLD?!?!?!?!?)" The Undertaker thought to herself as the icy spears hit her body, keeping herself from screaming out those words through sheer force of will.
As the Rabbit Turns: Season 3.14159
"Maybe he was there at some point. I wouldn't know, I have no idea what that coward looks like. I doubt it though, he was too busy happily raising another family, remember?"
Had the Bristling Bunny not remembered who it was that spoke those words and had she not remembered the fact that the person who spoke those words was her own flesh and blood and had she not remembered that Tessa was the only family that she had left in the world, the Battle Bunny might have attacked her Brooding Bunny of a sister. Instead, of feeling anger however, she felt tremendously sorry that she had broached the topic and was afraid that she had created some sort of rift between the two and hoped that it wasn't the case because she really did love her sister and would have done anything to keep her happy.
"I was told that a real Father is someone that cares for you, even if loving you hurts. Going by that logic, I was never loved." The Bruised Bunny continued only to have her hand squeezed tightly by the Beloved Itty-Bitty Bunny, reminding her that she was, in reality, loved.
"...Tell me about your Mom, my stepmom I guess."
Murderous Mercy's body seemed to tense suddenly as a memory flashed into being within her mind, a memory of Mercy and Tessa's mother laying in a pool of her own blood, her face frozen in time with the look of betrayal, the smell of burnt gun powder and burnt flesh from the pistol clinging to the air.
"She was - mom." Mercy began to say slowly as she attempted to clear the memory by accessing a memory in a part of her mind that was as far far far far far away from that memory as possible.
"It's hard to be a mom on your own. I mean, I guess she had dad there to help but he was gone for weeks at a time, sometimes months, only to come back for a couple days, but still it was hard for her to raise me on her own and make sure that things were okay around the house. She helped out with the local share cropping outfit and so I was left kinda to fend for myself while she was gone working all day and when she came back, she always looked so tired." Mercy said as she remembered how tired mom looked at the end of a work day as she kicked off her high heels and dress.
"There was this one time, though, I fixed up a Mister Handy for her to help around at the house so that she wouldn't have to work so hard after she came home but he sorta ended up making even more of a mess of things. She turned by backside black and blue when she saw that the Mister Handy had logically thought that incinerating the dishes would be a more efficient way of cleaning them." Mer-Mer said with a smile.
"But really she's the one who got me interested in science and technology and stuff like that, I guess." The Blaster Bunny said as she remembered how her mom had come home one night with a terrible bruise on her face that she said had been caused by one of the Brahmin on the Share Cropping outfit and had asked her daughter to help her administer some medicine. Mercy didn't know what it was but it seemed to help her a lot and she slept for a while afterwards.
"All I can say is that she did the best she could." Mercy sighed sadly as she started missing her mom terribly at that very moment.
"I'm sorry if that hurt your feelings but I thought you should know about her. I mean she might not have been the best mom in the world but she tried. But I know that if we had known that you were around and if dad hadn't been such a tremendous asshole for hiding you from us, she would have loved you and I would have loved you too. But sissy Tess, you're my sister and no matter what, I love you and you'll never ever ever have to worry about me leaving or getting lost or anything like that. I promise, promise, PROMISE. See? I promised three times so I can't get out of it. So there you're stuck with me." Mercy said as she wrapped her older sister up in the blanket with her. It was Mercy's turn to ask a question.
"So, do you think we would have gotten along as well as we do now if we had known each other when we were younger? I mean I would have pulled your hair or something by now or done something annoying that only little sisters can do." It was at that point that Mercy pulled on Tessa's hair, not hard mind you but enough to hopefully illicit a laugh from the Bruised-Ego Brooding Bunny
"You do care."
"I don't leave people behind"
"Now let's try this again."
The alpha started charging about the same time the second deathclaw had shown up.
"Are we staying or going?"
Martin turned towards the second, aimed his rifle and fired five shots carefully and quickly into the beast.
I look over my shoulder, I lay on the ground in the echoing black void... I have companions behind me. My brother, of course, waving me on with the painfully large backpack on his back. The man had never seemed so small and weak...
Aeneas was there too, he was in his full Legion garb, when he graduated in his classes, he was looking nervous though. He was shaking, and without his helmet you could tell he was sweating. He was nervous about the upcoming Battle of Hoover Dam... and then there was Faunus. The painfully frail little kid, an empty vessel, whipped a bit but his smirk never wavered. His small frame moved to me quickly, as I seemed to be moved through space, his friends following quickly. Aeneas spoke, his voice was odd and feminine.
"Never had the chance to properly thank you. So thank you for helping us out earlier. We do the same for those that helped us. You're pretty banged up, but you're in good hands. Get better okay?"
"Why... would you thank me? You were always the one who helped me..." I tried to gulp for air, I felt I had so little as I blushed heavily. Didn't he know I appreciated him, his protection from enemies?
Faunus began chuckling now, bitter and self mocking. I look at him confused, and he rolls his eyes at me., speaking in a dismissive tone.
"You only used him. You don't appreciate him, or anyone else. Savages, remember?" His bitingly sarcastic voice chided, continuing on since I could do nothing but breath right now. "Yes, everyone is savages. Your bladed protectors always die around you, have you ever noticed that? Aeneas protected you, Paul was simply around you... And now we're going to break the Rabbits back, aren't we? Because THEY'RE the savages. Never. Us."
I can only glare in response, I don't want to hurt them. I helped them earlier. I don't want to hurt the two and their pet robot.
"Are these your true feelings? The Legionnaire doesn't want to hurt these Profligates?" I nod my head slowly, and he laughs bitterly. Self mocking as ever, why can't he just laugh like he goddamned means it? It wasn't an evil thing to laugh, it didn't show weakness.
"YES IT DOES! Laughter is a thing of commoners, thing of the sheep who cry for peace who do nothing about it! Those who hide behind guns and morals they run from when the going gets tough! We won't get going, we will ENDURE, we will change the wasteland for the better kicking and screaming if we have to! The Legion will end the evils of drugs and crime through the cross, we want a better way, a way that means happiness for all, BUT THERE WILL NEVER BE ONE!"
Markus woke up, with a headache. He was stiff and felt like he couldn't move. He was also alone, it seemed, in the Rabbit's head quarters. A band of thieves helped him... Why? Vicky probably told them to, he saw the way they dove at her, waving him out of the way until she was fine.
Yeah, that must be it. He sighed, he felt he was going to be useless for awhile now. And smelly. He looked around, for a book, something to read and do, he could hear a shower going so he'd inquire about that later. He picked himself up, clutching his chest, and looking around for a bookshelf. He immediately keeled over after the fisr step, landing heavily on his jaw. It hurt, naturally, but at least he was alive.
He sighed, trying to pick himself up. He heard voices behind a door, so he began stumbling over to it. He slammed his shoulder up against it, and caught his breath before speaking to them,
"You guys got a shower...? Something to read?" His voice sounded so raspy, he felt he needed something. Water, probably. He sighed, leaning against the wall next to the door and sliding down it. At least his back was relatively clean, he thought, sitting cross legged at the door.
The Rabbit Hole
Vera listened quietly to the conversation her sisters were having, too fascinated to say anything. And then...
"But, well, I was, um, wondering. Do you like that Lady in Black in the other room? Do you like, um, other women?"
That threw Vera through a loop. Almost literally. I don't know... she seems all right I guess... and then Vera Rabbit realized the question had been directed at Tessa. Vera didn't want to hear Tessa's answer so...
"Umm," she began, quietly, "I need to go run some tests on all this new equipment this little genius has given me in the past few days," she nuzzled Mercy quickly and gently, "I'll just be in the... junkyard if you need me."
With that, Vera flew out of the hole in the ceiling and headed for...
The Cheyton Junkyard.
Vera scanned the piles of scrap for anything useable, then, she started the slow process of pushing bits of scrap into a smaller pile in a 'clearing' sort of area in the forest of scrap. Vera didn't really know what she was trying to make, but she was determined to craft anything... just so long as it resembled something coherent.
Several minutes later, Vera was more or less satisfied with the pile she had. So she started trying to arrange them into a more coherent shape like a tree or a person, but every time she moved a piece, five more would slip past her, forcing her to rush to put them back in place, or to just let them noisily tumble to the ground. After about ten minutes of this, Vera finally gave up and just started melting the pile together with her flamethrower.
At best, the end result could be said to vaguely resemble a funeral pyre with a twisted, gnarled weed-flower poking out of it, and at worst, it was just an incomprehensible mess, impossible to distinguish the signal from the noise. Vera let out a brief, frustrated wail.
On hearing her voice, she got another idea for what she might try out next. She searched her databanks for songs, and rather than simply playing a record, she tried using her own voice to sing... and she decided to sync up her hologram projector to the song.
At certain points in the song, Vera brought the hologram in front of the melting pile of scrap she'd assembled, and had it stare into its semi-reflective abyss. She also replaced references to 'perfect daughter' with 'real sister.' Though she left 'family' and 'father' alone.
The iBunny's song was cut short when she heard a pair of hands clapping very slowly. As if they were trying to slow the temmpo of her singing... and in a way they did. Vera stopped singing and cut the hologram off just as it was about to reach out to a sharp point on Vera's "Rabbit Tree." She turned to face the source of the clapping, to find...
Ulysses standing atop a giant pile of scrap.
"An excellent performance, Vera Rabbit," he said, and where one might expect a mocking tone, there was no tone, no hint of emotion or irony, just... a hollow and empty voice, "Though, there is something in me demanding an answer from you."
"What?" Vera snapped at him. He deftly slid down the scrap pile, and jumped down to the ground when he was at a safe height. He used Old Glory to help get himself fully upright again, and then leaned on it, more out of habit than any actual need.
"I wonder, did you really sing that?" he said, not taking another step closer to the little eyebot.
"Yes, of course I did." She answered, getting confused.
"Really?" he started pacing in a circle around Vera, and she tracked his movements, turning her faceplate to keep him in her visual scanner's field of view. "Then who taught you that song? Who gave you the knowledge to sing? How have you trained your voice to hit every note so perfectly? Where did all of that time come from?"
Vera didn't have an answer to that.
"You are a machine." he said, "You did not learn anything needed to play that song. All of that knowledge was already in you, all of that training was already there, waiting for you to access it. You did not have to study, learn, practice and struggle to do accomplish any of that."
Vera was starting to get angry.
"You work only within the scope of the men that built you with metal and diamond." Ulysses went on, stopping to lean on his staff again, "You learned nothing. Can believe nothing. You are nothing but the sum of your modules and wires."
Vera's rage reached the boiling point. She activated her cloak, then circled around behind Ulysses, and was about to use her flamethrower on him when...
Without any apparent effort, Ulysses knocked the little eyebot to the ground with a single punt from the dull end of Old Glory.
"Humans choose their paths," he said, starting to leave, giving Vera a view of the Old World Flag on his back, "Machines follow orders they were made with."
A few moments later, and the Legend of The Divide was gone, leaving Vera lone on the ground.
And there she stayed, perfectly still, almost blending in with the scrap around and behind her. She couldn't even form a full thought at the moment, except to briefly wonder...
Do Eyebots cry electric tears?
Somewhere. Over the Rainbow. Where Claws die.
Joe shouldn't have focused on Malkos.
With the other Deathclaw in the traditional dead run, claws outstretched to pounce and slash, it was approaching faster but more openly. Their combined firepower would have done more to slow it down than Martin alone. They could have done disabling damage easier and given themselves more time. As it stood, the rifle bullets forced there way into toughened hide and pure muscular nightmare, causing the Deathclaw to grunt from impact and then continue.
The problem with Malkos was that he was well aware of the power of guns and what a Deathclaw can do. A Deathclaw dodging - such as his zig-zagging - would avoid shots under normal circumstances. Joe was trying to hit a specific spot of Malkos' body while this was going on, during a time in which the Deathclaw is on all-fours. Not only was this not a full charge as Deathclaws are wont to do, but it was physically impossible to reach the knees.
Malkos felt a few heavy thunks on his body, bullets of a higher caliber than some of the stuff the Khans had been using or the Raiders usually. He ignored the pitted pain of bullets getting stuck in flesh, and with a mental 'I win.' thought, went from his evasive actions to a full charge-and-leap as soon as he heard Joe's gun click empty. He knew that that was the moment in which most humans were screwed.
Intending to give NO chance for the Ranger to reload, his leap brought himm from the crouched all-fours position to use all muscle against the ountain to spring forward at a greater-than-normal speed due to orientation and trajectory...which he HAD tested back home. Here, the gray Deathclaw fanned his arms out to try and tackle BOTH humans down the hill, to throw both of their balances right off, even as the regular Deathclaw was closing in. Hopefully, the sudden act would knock the guns right out of their hands...but there was no guarantee.
Victioria McGee, Undertaker to the region known as Wyoming, spy for the man known as Ulysses and protector of the Rabbit family sat in front of the Auto-Washer as she waited for her clothing to be cleaned, sanitized and dried. Sitting there, naked and dripping from the icy shower that she had endured, she felt only partially herself as she watched as the water inside of the Autowash turned from a bright red color that slowly cleared as the cycle came near completion. Technology was a wonderful thing, was it not?
As she waited, she decided to test another miracle of the modern age as she stood up and balanced herself on one foot, the foot belonged to her previously wounded thigh, and found that despite the residual ache from the bullet and subsequent removal, her leg worked well enough as could be expected.
Smiling, the Tall, Pale and Nude Undertaker opened the Autowash and checked her clothing, finding them a little mangled from the damage they had sustained but salvagable, at least until she stopped in at one of the shops that lined the market for a new set of clothing. Until then, she would have to do a little bit of repair.
Sitting down at the bed, she heard the sisters' voices, still talking to each other in a rather serious tone until the younger one, Mercy(?), had mentioned something about Tessa being stuck with her and triple promising on the matter, causing Vicky to smile brightly at the amount of caring that the two sisters seemed to share.
"So, do you think we would have gotten along as well as we do now if we had known each other when we were younger? I mean I would have pulled your hair or something by now or done something annoying that only little sisters can do."
The line was quickly followed by a rather loud laugh from the Female Undertaker, who stood close to the doorway so that she could better hear the conversation, a loud laugh that made the Rabbit sisters aware that they weren't alone.
"I... I'm sorry. I couldn't resist hearing such a pleasant conversation." Vicky said as she poked her head out through the door, showing a bit of modesty by hiding the rest of her body behind the door as examined the quick sewing job that she had completed on her dress.
"You guys got a shower...? Something to read?" Came Markus' voice as he sat with his back against the wall looking not only in need of a shower but perhaps a good psychological examination, a good facial reconstruction surgeon and perhaps a cigarette.
"I should warn you that there is no hot water and as for something to read, I believe I have something for you in my bag." The Tall and Pale woman said from behind the door as she got dressed, coming out to reveal herself once completed.
Walking to where Mercy and Tessa had so kindly placed her items, she opened her bag and pulled out a pamphlet for Markus to peruse until there was once again hot water flowing through the pipes.
Looking at the pamphlet, the title might have been the first thing to catch his eye since it read, "So You're Going to Die..."
"A little planning never hurt anyone Markus." The Sales Woman said as she turned towards Mercy and Tessa.
"So Tessa tells me that I have you to thank for me still being alive, Mercy. There are no words for how grateful I am for everything that you've done for me and the hospitality that you and your sister have shown. I am greatly in your debt." Vicky said as she sat down near the two sisters, wondering where their eyebot was, that thing never seemed to stray too far from either sister so it was strange that it was not floating nearby.
"If there's anything I can do for you at all, (or to you Tessa), don't hesitate to ask."
Absorbing Mercy's retelling of life with her Stepmother, Tessa couldn't help but envy Mercy's previous position. Her sister's previous life almost sounded like a routine, something which the Feral Rabbit would find incredibly boring, yet she would take a stable lifestyle over a life-threatening one any time of the day.
"I'm sorry if that hurt your feelings but I thought you should know about her."
Why was her sister apologizing? Tessa had practically insulted their dead Father only moments ago. Something which Tessa felt infinitely guilty about, personal feelings towards the man aside. "She sounded really sweet and hardworking, I can see where she rubbed off on you."
"I promise, promise, PROMISE. See? I promised three times so I can't get out of it. So there you're stuck with me."
She had to admit, her sister was good at defusing tension and batting aside Tessa's more serious nature. A quality which she greatly appreciated, since Tessa was never fond of being put in serious emotional situations.
"You sound like a kid, you know that? But hey, where I'm from, we do it properly: We pinky-promise!" Extending her pinky finger. "Now that's a promise that can't be broken. Ever. The battle of Hoover Dam? Broken pinky promise. A folk-story about a badass eye-patched girl and her crimson-cloaked best friend waging war on the Enclave. All started with a broken pinky promise."
"So, do you think we would have gotten along as well as we do now if we had known each other when we were younger? I mean I would have pulled your hair or something by now or done something annoying that only little sisters can do."
Tessa contemplated life with a younger Mercy in a cushy house, with no reason to look over your shoulder to check if you were followed after your last theft. As if to illustrate her point, Mercy lightly yanked on her hair before giving her a strange look.
"I think I would have been the troublemaker of the house. I'd be breaking stuff, running away whenever I want, collecting the bladed cutlery and putting holes in the wall. You would probably be the responsible sister, sometimes taking the heat for the shit I pull. I would help you sneak out and cover for you while you go meet that special boy you've always been thinking about...I would sneak into your room and read your diary. You would take the crap I collected from the neighbors and use it for your experiments...We'd get into fights, I would hit you with a toaster, you would probably rig some machine to kill me...normal sister stuff."
Tessa yanked lightly on her sister's hair in return and hugged her after having being cheered up. "Sorry about what I said about Dad, it's just different from my end, y'know? I love you too, Mer, and don't you forget it."
"You guys got a shower...? Something to read?"
Came the reply from the other side of the thin wall. The voice had belonged to Markus.
"I got you covered! Gimme a sec!" Tessa shouted in reply. Scrounging around for one of her issues of Grognak the Barbarian, she opened the door to discover Victoria handing him some reading material instead.
"So You're Going to Die..."
Addressing both Markus and Victoria, she placed two issues by his side. "Maybe something a little less...morbid? Anway, use the shower whenever you want. Just don't complain about the cold water. I have auto-dibs on the hot water!"
Having being followed back into room by the more clean and fuzzier Undertaker, she enjoyed hearing her give Mercy the credit that she deserves. Getting under the blanket with her sister once more, Victoria propped herself nearby. She looked dreadfully out of place in comparison to the more
"If there's anything I can do for you at all, (or to you Tessa), don't hesitate to ask."
Her bold statement wasn't lost on the Eldest Rabbit, but there was little reaction to be found. This was largely due to the presence of her sister. Tessa would forego any form of flirtation or indulgent behaviour when the attention AND safety of Mercy took centerplace.
"You could help with some information. What the hell happened to you and Markus? How do you know Markus in the first place? Why did meeting Markus not too long ago, lead to you, of all people, landing up here with me?"
Mind you, these questions weren't posed in a threatening manner. Tessa was genuinely curious, but her tone suggested an edge of caution.
"You also have a weapon of a professional. Something that suggests that you don't like to leave a trace and keep things quiet...now call me paranoid, but you can imagine what that suggests as a side business. Finally, with everything that's going on, what do you know about the Knuckleheads?"
Tessa didn't need an army, she just needed a few specialized individuals to make the enemy think they're facing an army. Markus and Vera as muscle. Victoria and Tessa on distraction and sneak attacks. Mercy on demolitions, support and specialized tactics.
As far as all the questions went. Mercy seemed to be the perfect buffer between Tessa's romantic inclinations and paranoid street thinking.
A War of Rabbit-rition:
Before their privacy was invaded by the Stilt Walker in Black!
"You sound like a kid, you know that? But hey, where I'm from, we do it properly: We pinky-promise! Tessa said as she extended her pinky finger. "Now that's a promise that can't be broken. Ever. The battle of Hoover Dam? Broken pinky promise. A folk-story about a badass eye-patched girl and her crimson-cloaked best friend waging war on the Enclave. All started with a broken pinky promise."
Mercy, who had never heard that story perked up for a moment.
"I kind of heard about the Badass Eye-Patched girl and her Crimson-Cloaked best friend. You'll have to retell me that story some time." The Youngest Bunny said as she wondered who if they would be any match for Mercy and Tessa, scourges of Cheyton and overthrowers of the Knuckleheads.
"That would be nice, maybe one night when we can just relax over a bowl of Blamco and Rad-Scorpion, you can retell me the story about how they met. If I remember it right, they got along like sisters, even with some stupid man getting in the middle." Mercy said, sighing in contentment, the first real feeling of contentment in a long, long, long, long time. The feeling was so intoxicating that she didn't quite tune back in until she heard:
"... I would help you sneak out and cover for you while you go meet that special boy you've always been thinking about..."
The Plasma Rabbit hoped that the Beguiling Bunny didn't feel her tense up slightly at those very words, as the words "Shoot them! Shoot them both! Do it! DO IT! DO IT! DO IT!" ricocheted through her brain for a few, hopefully very brief, heartbeats before it was jettisoned for the time being.
"I - would never ever rig something to kill you. But you know what I'd do? I'd stick you in a room in a hole in the ground, I would paint the room ultra PINK and have a modified Mister Handy play Princess Tea Time with you all day. Well he wouldn't really be a Mister Handy would he? He'd be a Missus Crumpets! Yes. Missus Crumpets would be playing Princess Tea Time with you all day while I sat there behind my one way mirror, with Vera on my lap, petting her on the head while I watched Missus Crumpets asked you if you'd like more imaginary tea for the three hundred and eight third time that day and as your mind was breaking, I'd start laughing like MUHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Mercy said with a smile, delighting in the fact that her sister accepted her childishness
After the Appearance of the Bitchy Bunny in Black >;P
"So Tessa tells me that I have you to thank for me still being alive, Mercy. There are no words for how grateful I am for everything that you've done for me and the hospitality that you and your sister have shown. I am greatly in your debt."
"It was nothing really." The Younger Sister said with a smile as she looked at the tall woman in black glad to see that she was on her feet again.
"I'm just glad to see that you're feeling better and that you're back on your feet." Mercy commented as she noticed the patches on the woman's clothing.
"I'm sorry that I had to rip up your nice clothing."
"If there's anything I can do for you at all, (or to you Tessa), don't hesitate to ask." The Lady Undertaker said in a rather boldly stated fashion that took Mercy by surprise for a moment, at least until the Bruiser Bunny stepped in and took control of the situation like a tough sister would.
"You also have a weapon of a professional. Something that suggests that you don't like to leave a trace and keep things quiet...now call me paranoid, but you can imagine what that suggests as a side business. Finally, with everything that's going on, what do you know about the Knuckleheads?"
Those were perfectly reasonable questions from Mercy's point of view. She wouldn't have put it past the Knuckleheads to have hired some outside muscle to handle the Rabbit sisters, especially since they'd taken out one of their chem stashes already. Plus, Tessa had told her about the message that she had told the Knucklehead to propagate, so there was an even higher degree of probability that this Lady had some sort of connection to the Knuckleheads.
"My sister's right, you know. Between you happening to have bumped into my sister in the middle of the market and then showing up here with Markus, it's a bit suspicious." The Brainy Bunny said as she arranged all the mental puzzle pieces in her head. She had found the corner pieces but now she had to figure out where the rest of the piece lay and what picture the puzzle would form once it was solved.
"It's too convenient for it to have been just coincidence." Mercy said, looking at her sister and nodding, letting her know that Mercy had her back and that she wasn't about to break a pinky swear.
Cheyton Junkyard.
Vera briefly entertained the notion of soaring back into the air and melting the entire junkyard to vent her many frustrations at this point. But, she stopped herself, thinking... What's the point?
Ex-Military Compound just outside of the Boneyard
I ran through the halls, my feet clattering on the metal floors loudly.
Crap! I'm so late!
I keep running, trying not to hit the Paladins, last thing I need right now is to pass out after smacking right into their armor head-on. Scribes are fair game though. I'm sure some of them even enjoy it. Hee-hee.
After about five minutes of running, I finally make it outside and to the inspection area. No one's there! I must've been early this time!
"Sister Veronica!" McNamara, the drill sergeant yelled, "You're late! I finally had to dismiss everyone else before they starved to death. Just what were you doing that was so important?!"
Umm... reactor leak? No, he'd check on that. Er...
"Nevermind," he said, his voice dropping a little in register, "Get cleaned up, and join your teammates for breakfast. Or what's left of it now."
As I run for the tables, saying "Thank you sir!", I can't help but look back and see the look of... pity? on McNamara's face. What the hell brought that on?
The Divide
If the asshat hadn't disabled my audio module, I would be screaming... well, screeching in agony as he tore into my frame and clumsily ripped that unlicensed and classified module out of me. Who the in the name of Raplhie does this guy think he is?!?!
Cheyton Slums. A... different perspective.
Ulysses made it back to the Knuckleheads' HQ without anyone noticing his passing. Inside, he found his new... minions, fighting each other over... who would be his new lieutenant, apparently.
The sight brought back a dozen different memories. None of them pleasant. All of them involve watching enslaved children brutalizing each other in Caesar's gladiatorial arena for the sport of an ever bloodthirsty crowd.
Still, he let the two idiots continue for a moment before getting his smg out and killing both of the 'contestants'. Ulysses said nothing, but he knew his message was clear: This isn't what I want. Don't kill each other to try and please me.
Ulysses was unpleasantly surprised when four of 'his' men started fighting each other. The Savior of the White Legs brought his face into the palm of his hand and let out an exasperated sigh. He had only one thought as he shot the four idiots...
Never thought I would miss Vulpes Inculta.
"I should warn you that there is no hot water and as for something to read, I believe I have something for you in my bag."
"Sounds good..." Markus sighed. He held out his hand for the pamphlet, and read the title with a grimace.
"A little planning never hurt anyone Markus."
'Neither does a tan.' Markus just frowned and sighed, and began reading, keeping an ear on the conversation. No section for Legion burials, how disappointing.
"Maybe something a little less...morbid? Anyway, use the shower whenever you want. Just don't complain about the cold water. I have auto-dibs on the hot water!"
"I'll live, besides, I like the cold." Also he was sweating a bit from the effort of the day. He picked himself, heading to the showers to clean up a bit, when he heard Mercy,
"It's too convenient for it to have been just coincidence."
"Because I tracked you. Blood trails are easy... If no one's taken it by now, there's a backpack with 15,100 caps in it. That should cover our rent." Markus smirked, closing the door behind him for a nice, cold shower. The water felt painful against his wounds, but it was a thing he was used to by now. Legion training really does train you for everything.
"I'm just glad to see that you're feeling better and that you're back on your feet." Mercy commented as she noticed the patches on the Victoria's clothing. "I'm sorry that I had to rip up your nice clothing."
"Don't pay it any mind, Mercy. I have plenty of clothing back at my hotel and honestly, these were so last season." Undertaker McGee said before she mentally scolded herself, "Last season? You wear nothing but black! How many styles of black could there possibly be?"
Perhaps it was the fact that Tessa had been such a willing participant in the flirtation but the serious tone that the conversation took threw the Tall and Pale woman for a bit of a loop and sent her into a bit of an internal panic.
"You also have a weapon of a professional. Something that suggests that you don't like to leave a trace and keep things quiet...now call me paranoid, but you can imagine what that suggests as a side business. Finally, with everything that's going on, what do you know about the Knuckleheads?"
She had a couple of options open to her, two to be exact and while each one had its positives, they also had their negatives. He favored Uncle had always told her that in these sort of situations, it was best to go with your instinct and figure out which decision would have left her with the least amount of regret. The now Patriarch of the Undertakers had told her once about a choice that he had made, to allow himself to take a blade in the gut to protect someone that he had let down while taking a bullet for someone he had wronged. It wasn't exactly a decision that he knew would be free of regrets but in that instance, he knew it was the right one and that if it took his life, it would have been only a few moments of regret before he passed on into the Arms of Lord Walt. If he survived, he knew that at the very least, he could continue living without the stigma of his regrets following him.
So in that moment, she had her own choice, would she take the bullet and reveal the truth of her involvement, or would she lie? The secret life of an assassin never stayed secret for too long and her cover had already mostly been blown, so her choice was rather obvious.
"It's too convenient for it to have been just coincidence."
"Too true, especially since someone as gifted of the mind as you knows that there is no such thing as coincident. So what I am about to tell you is the truth and I won't blame you if you run me off afterwards but, mind you, I am here to watch out for both of you and your eyebot." Vicky said as she took a deep breath, calming herself and wishing she hadn't been so idiotic as to have left Milly in the other room.
"Side work is hardly the term I would use for what the Undertakers are. It's true what I told you, that the majority of our work is giving the dead a proper burial, this does make a proper cover for our 'off the books' work. The Knuckleheads approached several contractors about your family and its removal from Cheyton, the Undertakers being one of those groups. I received the request and orders to see if it was something that we wanted to pick up. I was scouting our your family when I bumped into you Tessa and needed to see if you were the type of person that we would select for our 'off the books work'" It was at this point that the Undertaker hesitated but then continued.
"After our not so chance encounter, I was accosted by a man who calls himself Ulysses. A man who has a keen interst in your family and says that he'd pay handsomely for me to keep an eye on your, not that I need the caps mind you. But the manner in which he held himself was rather... dangerous... and the way he treated me is not the way I am accustomed to being treated. So I followed his directions and rescued Markus, but rather for my own reasons. This Ulysses is dangerous and he's the type of person that's willing to pay an irrational amount of money for something related to your family and I aim to find out what it is so that I can keep it out of his hands." Her voice became more determined now as she drew her explanation to a close.
"Yes, I am the type of person that can be dangerous to those who need to fear me. But I'm also one of the only people here in Cheyton that would dare to protect you, especially from a man as dangerous as Ulysses. I've already dirties my hands in the name of your protection. If you step outside, you'll notice more than a few dead bodies of assassins that were sent to kill you. Deceased by my hands. So if you can't trust me, I understand but let me tell you, it's your choice now. Keep me here or send me away. Whatever you do, just make a choice you won't regret."
A land of claws
Martin continued to fire upon the claw as it approached. He heard a grunt, at just about the right time as he turned his head. He gripped his rifle as tight as he could as he was struck by the alpha, and knocked down a hill.
He forced himself to regain enough balance to pull a syringe loaded with a cocktail (of med-x, turbo, and stims) from his bandolier and jam it into his chest after the tumble. He felt the drugs spread into him as he raised his rifle again, looking for a target.
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text:
By-the-book FBI agent Josie Gilbert has no business falling for her confidential informant, but she can't walk away. She needs this case — her career needs this case. And suave thief-turned-FBI-asset Connor Randall is too deep in the mob syndicate to pull out now. But when the crime boss they are trying to take down becomes a target himself, Josie is forced to take Connor into hiding without blowing his cover.
Now, dodging hit men and fighting a perilous attraction, she has to make a life-and-death decision. Can she trust the man who has stolen her heart … or is he working one last con?

subset: commoncrawl