#falloutbang

A release of adrenaline flooded through her body as she pushed herself up and leaned out the window, an angel’s name on her tongue. “Christine!” She pulled back her scribe hood, wanting her to see all of her, to help the other woman remember. “Christine!”

It happened so slowly, like sand falling through an hourglass. Christine turned, grabbing her rifle out of habit, her gaze immediately picking up where her voice carried from. The ghost people nearby also turned their frightening gaze towards her, already scrambling towards the building she was in. 

“Ronnie?” It was barely loud enough to echo down the street and into Veronica’s ear, a croaky haziness to her voice that she didn’t remember. “Ronnie!” This time louder, with an urgency that displayed plainly on her face. 

“I could use a little help!” Relief swept through Veronica as she watched Christine sprint towards the door of the two-story building she was in, ripping it open before the ghost people could get a chance. They remained where they stood, unsure of what they should do when their hologram goddess came to the aid of an outsider.

Veronica could follow the clomping of her boots as she sprinted up the stairs, rounding the corner of the hallway, and there she was. Christine. A little older than she remembered, an interesting set of scars lined her face now that definitely weren’t there before, but she was still the girl she grew up with in the bunker and the woman she let walk away.

Veronica never felt anything like this before. Such an intense feeling of relief, at finding Christine alive and hoping that maybe they could start again mixed with doubt and fear that she was wrong, that they were different people now, and staying separated would be for the best. The emotions stayed there at the back of her throat, wanting to be released, to cry and smile and ask Christine so many questions but she settled on pulling her into a hug instead. She felt her flinch at the contact and Veronica tried to pull away to remedy the situation but Christine held her there after a moment, her chin on her shoulder, her cheek pressed to her cheek.

“What are you doing here?” she asked finally, pulling away to look at Veronica again, her eyes sweeping up and down, looking for signs of injury.

Veronica felt her cheeks hear, suddenly feeling embarrassed. “I’m here to see you.” It didn’t feel like the grandiose expression of love she had been imagining on the long journey here, but she was getting used to the fact that the world didn’t quite work the way her mind painted it. “But here specifically? I’m hiding from the ghost people. They aren’t really as friendly as the brochures made them out to be.”

Christine smiled and shook her head, “No, they’re not.” She took one last long look at Veronica before turning and beckoning her towards the stairs. “The ghost people won’t bother you if I’m with you. I’ll take us somewhere safe.”

---

"This is home, huh?"

"I wouldn't call it home. But it's not a prison either."

Christine lay tentatively next to her on the giant bed, surrounded by a giant room, inside a giant hotel. The Sierra Madre. Veronica felt smaller than she ever had, suddenly unsure of her place next to Christine. Why was she here? Did she come here expecting to rescue Christine from a solitary life amongst a forgotten era? Did she come here expecting Christine to return to the Mojave with her?

She swallowed her questions. It didn’t matter. She was with Christine now and whatever happened, happened. After all they’d been through, after what Christine had told her on the way back to the Sierra Madre, they were lucky to be here, they were lucky to be reunited. 

“So no one bothers you here?” she continued, pushing her anxious thoughts away.

“I make sure no one bothers this place. After following Elijah here, there’s too much at stake to leave it unprotected.” Christine turned her head to look at her, the scars lining her face crinkled in concern. “You look tired. You can rest and we can talk more later.”

Veronica nodded, her arm sliding across the gap between them to squeeze the other woman’s hand. “Okay.”

So Veronica closed her eyes, feeling the softness of the bed beneath her and the warmth of Christine's hand in hers. Fear and vigilance had exhausted her. But it was the minute and tenuous feeling of safety that helped her to fall into sleep.

---

She awoke to darkness. It shouldn't have scared her like it did but maybe being topside for so long scarred her, changed her, altered her. She stayed still for as long as she could possibly manage, slowly watching the pieces of furniture come into view, the slight glow from the windows illuminating what little they could, leaving Veronica to invent the rest. 

Breathe in, breathe out. Breathe in, breathe out. Something Arcade had taught her when the world would start closing in on her. Things were always a little harder after HELIOS One.

Slowly her heartbeat settled, her jaw still clamped shut but she could feel the tension and start to let it go. Breathe in, breathe out. One problem at a time. 

She was with Christine. That she could definitely recall in all its vivid detail. She brought her here, so confident and sure. "Sit down, Ronnie." "Drink some water, Ronnie." "You can rest now, Ronnie." Ronnie. So she did as she was told. Veronica sat, she sipped, and she dozed until she fell into a deep abyss of sleep. 

But now she was awake and alone and when her blood stopped rushing through her ears, she could hear the faint sound of music. 

"Christine?" Her voice was so petite against the darkness.

No answer.

Nothing moved her body and soul like Christine did, her desire to find her again was overwhelming. She couldn't be far, this was her room, her things, her life. 

So she crawled out of the bed and tiptoed into the living room area. The double doors were ajar, the windows were filled with a midnight sky, occasionally pierced with an unending spotlight, bathing the room in a soft glow for only a moment but it was all Veronica needed to see the letter sitting atop a black dress with red accents. 

She couldn't remember ever seeing something so pretty before. So feminine. So perfect for her, it made her giddy. She picked it up and held it close to her figure, watching how it fell, wondering if it would fit. Wondering if Christine would think she was pretty too, as pretty as this dress. 

She turned her attention to the later, maybe it would help her find Christine in this labyrinth of a building. She unfolded the paper revealing the insignia of the Sierra Madre declared boldly at the top and beneath it was Christine's pointed handwriting: meet me in the lobby. follow the music to the elevators, ground floor. wear the dress.

---

Veronica wasn't particularly fond of elevators and this one was no exception. It felt like years passed as she waited for floors to pass her by to reach the cold, hard ground. It gave her too much time to think, to look down at herself in the extravagant black dress, to smooth it out and wonder if she looked okay, to run her hand through her hair in an attempt to keep it set in some sort of style. Her feet felt pinched in the matching black heels, different from the kitten heels from a bygone era she had tried on before. But god damn if she didn't feel like a princess.

And as she shifted her weight from foot to foot, the elevator dinged to signal her arrival. She stepped out, her attire giving her the power and confidence she needed, ready to meet Christine, ready to behold her in her vision, and be with her.

Christine was there ready and waiting at the bottom of the lobby staircase, wearing a set of crisp pants and a white buttoned shirt, a shy smile on her face. "Ronnie, you're awake."

"Am I?" She laughed, butterflies filling her stomach as she watched the other woman walk up the steps to approach her, her hand outstretched. "This is too good to be true."

"Don't we deserve a little fun?" Christine's eyes sparkled, taking Veronica's hand and gently leading her down the steps. 

She was overwhelmed, constantly torn between watching her wobbly feet as she descended the stairs or watching Christine and memorizing her eyes, her mouth, her nose, her skin because it had been so long and they were both so different now, but this still felt like coming home. "Oh, we deserve it."

“You look beautiful, Ronnie.” 

It had been so long since someone had said that to her. People called her pretty and cute all the time, but it was different coming from someone she had loved and maybe, probably still loved. Veronica couldn’t help but let out a giggle, a big smile still plastered to her face. “Thanks. You’re not too bad-looking yourself.” Before she knew it, they were standing close together at the bottom of the staircase, Christine still had her hand tucked neatly into hers, fitting into each other like puzzle pieces.

“You better tell your girlfriend to watch out,” Veronica continued, pulling the other woman with her toward the open floor. “Because I’ve still got eyes for you.” She turned and moved her free hand to Christine’s waist, pulling her close. 

“Vera?” Christine rolled her eyes but played along anyway, a fondness to her tone. “She’s just my roommate. I’m all yours.”

She missed this. The talking, the teasing, the flirting, how easy it was to just be herself with Christine. Perhaps this wasn’t the reunion she imagined, but the real thing was better than anything she could dream up. But there was still one thing left that she wanted to do. “Can we dance now?”

A hooded figure at the side of the road caught his attention as the car shot past, too fast for the stranger to have really appreciated his beloved car. So Theo braked and reversed it to meet back up with them, rolling down his window and keeping his car going at a crawl to match the hunched stranger’s shuffling pace.

“Beautiful day today!” Theo called out cheerfully. The stranger lifted their head, but Theo couldn’t spot their face through the cloak.

“Ideal weather for a stroll,” the stranger agreed, an unusual tone to his voice that Theo couldn’t quite place. Theo scrunched up his face; sure, at this time of year the desert was somewhat cooler, but an aimless stroll in this heat was never a good idea, and who went strolling this far away from civilisation?

“What do you mean, a stroll? You’re days of walking from anywhere, mate,” Theo pointed out. The stranger seemed to shrug under his cloak.

“Oh, don’t worry about me. I’m heading to NCR, but I may have gotten lost on the way,” the stranger gave an odd sort of laugh. Theo bit his lip; this stranger barely looked able to walk properly, never mind fight off any threats out here.

“Uh, you know there’s rumours about deathclaws roaming around these parts, right?” Theo asked. “Big, sharp fellows, could rip a super mutant apart in a jiffy?”

“Oh yes. Perfectly agreeable fellows, always keen for a reasonable debate,” the stranger replied, his tone so solemn that it was difficult to tell if it was a joke or not. Lenny shot a look of concern at Theo; who would want to debate a deathclaw?

“M-maybe he’s been out in the sun too long?” Lenny suggested quietly, to which Theo sighed. Of course he’d run into someone needing help out here, didn’t he always? Curse his good nature.

“Hey, we’re running some errands first, but we’ll be heading to NCR after. Want a lift?” Theo asked. The stranger paused, peering into the car, where Marcus waved back.

“It seems crowded in there already. I wouldn’t want to be a bother.”

“Nonsense. Lenny, jump in the back, will ya?”

Theo stopped the car, giving Lenny time to squeeze in between Sulik and Marcus while the stranger settled into the empty front seat. His cloak sat strangely around his body, hanging too long at the arms, and the bottoms were scruffed up from dragging along the floor. The stranger took a moment to get comfortable, as if they weren’t used to sitting in seats. Well, car seats anyway. Theo held out his hand.

“Call me Theo. What do I call you?”

“My name is Goris, I’m a travelling scholar,” Goris nodded slightly, but didn’t shake Theo’s hand, “Forgive the robe, but genetics hasn’t been kind to me. I tend to scare people.”

“Well, you’re in good company here,” Theo laughed, shifting the car into gear. “Hold onto your hood Goris, this baby’s got speed.”

The car sped across the desert like a bullet, Goris desperately holding down his hood while the wind roaring through the open windows tried to blow it off. Marcus offered him a bottle of water at one point, but Goris declined it, seemingly too enraptured by the speed they were travelling at.

The drive was peaceful; they didn’t run into any further trouble on the way. Goris was keen to talk to all of them, asking about each of the towns they came from and grilling them for questions on their histories. Soon they came across the spot that Tandi had marked out for them, the squatter camp located just outside the Vault that was stopping NCR from gaining access. Theo offered to let Goris stay in the car, but the draw of possibly learning the history of the squatter camp pulled him from it.

The Squat, as Tandi had referred to the camp, was a squalid little shanty town bordered by trees, made up of tents and inhabited by nervous looking locals. The tents were weather beaten and worn, the tears spoke of years of being dragged down in a hurry, with patches sloppily sewn into place where the tears had become holes. The greyed out colour of what could possibly be the original fabric was mostly covered by the patches, the only hint it had once covered the whole tent being it’s unusual material and how often it was seen on separate tents. But mostly, the tents looked old, as if they’d been standing when the bombs, and still stood out of sheer determination. At the far side stood a more permanent building than the tents, still crumbling and falling apart. The roof was more of an old umbrella than something to keep out all weather. It was bordered by a rough forest gnarled trees, with a guard patrolling them.

The squatters, dressed in clothes only slightly younger than the tents themselves, watched them closely as they made their way to the permanent building, keeping a distance from the strangers. Theo waved at a child staring slack jawed, only for their mother to whisk them away.

“Don’t you just love a warm welcome, boss?” Vic deadpanned under his breath.

The only permanent building in the camp seemed like the best place to try and find someone who was in charge. Theo knocked on the door, and let himself in, only to narrowly dodge a rock that flew at him.

“Oh no, not dealing with you NCR lot today. Out!” a man on the other side of the door yelled at them. Theo picked up the rock and glared back.

“Hey arsehole, your rock nearly hit my head,” he called out, “Learn to aim, dipshit!”

“I told you to leave. We don’t want your kind around here,” the man insisted Theo tossed the rock back to Marcus, who crushed it between his hands while the man watched, slack jawed and terrified.

“You don’t want to make an enemy of us, old man,” Theo warned. The old man staggered backwards, “good thing we don’t want a fight you. We’ll come back later when you’re in a more agreeable mood,” Theo slammed the door behind him, taking a step back before yelling. “Arseholes! This wasteland has two types of people in it; arseholes, and people who want something from me!”

“What does that make us, boss?” Vic asked in mock offence. Theo rolled his eyes.

“Oh don’t get me started. You needed to be rescued from slavers. You,” Theo pointed at Sulik, “needed a debt paid off. You,” Theo pointed at Marcus, “Needed a murder solving and your mine fixing. You,” Theo pointed at Goris, then faltered. Technically, Goris hadn’t asked for his help at all, “Well, I’m sure you’re just here for the car ride. And Lenny,” Theo turned to point at Lenny, only to find him missing. “Wait, where’s Lenny?”

Everyone else looked around in bewilderment; none of them had noticed him leaving at all, and there were no signs of Lenny anywhere. With a resigned sigh, Theo started to wander between the tents, lifting heavy flaps and yelling Lenny’s name under each one, much to the ire of the squatters within. He eventually found Lenny quietly talking with an older lady, who looked terrified.

“Oh Lenny, did you round a corner too quickly and scare people again?” Theo asked with a mock tone of concern to his voice.

“Her d-daughter’s m-missing, possibly kidnapped.” Lenny stated. All mirth drained from Theo’s face in an instant, as his hand went to his gun. Hero time.

“Your daughter, do you have any idea where she might be?” Theo asked. The lady glanced between Lenny and Theo, biting her lip.

“There’s people in the vault, just East of here. Chrissy’s too adventurous for her own good, I was always catching her trying to sneak out there. The people don’t want us going anywhere near there, so maybe they--”

“Hang on,” Theo interrupted her, quietly stepping back towards the tent flap, dragging it away just in time to see someone rush away from the tent.

“Were they listening?” The woman asked in horror. Theo gave chase as Lenny tried to reassure her but had lost track of the person by the time Theo rounded the tent corner. Instead Theo ran up to the rest of his crew.

“Did someone just run past?”

“Someone just passed that guard over there,” Vic pointed to a guard stood by the edge of the trees, “why?”

Without answering, Theo turned and lead the way towards the forest. The guard, patrolling the outskirts, caught up with them, stopping Theo in his tracks.

“You might want to turn around stranger, there’s nothing to see here.” She said.

“What are you guarding?” Theo asked, standing up on his tip toes to try and see over the guard’s shoulder. She stood up taller to block him again.

“I’m not guarding anything, just making sure no-one wanders off this way.”

“Then why not guard the way into the desert that way?” Theo pointed to the far side of the Squat.

“Why do you care anyway?”

“A young girl has been kidnapped. D-did you see someone pass by here?” Lenny asked. The guard stopped for a minute, looking torn.

“…Yes, they did. Do you think they’re linked to it?”

“Almost definitely.”

The guard sighed, running a hand through her hair and looking back through the trees, before finally coming to a conclusion. “Look, I don’t want any trouble. They hired me to stop anyone passing through after they had troubles with the girl snooping, I’m not with the people that took her, honest. You can go through. Just, don’t tell them I let you in, and save Chrissy, okay?”

Theo gave her a wink and took the lead through the copse of trees, more dense than any forest in a desert had a right to be. But the branches looked gnarled and dead, as if whatever had let them grow in the first place had run its magic and left them to suffer alone. At some point, this place must have been verdant, but now it was as worn down and withered as the Squat itself, a fitting nest for the camp. Theo ran a hand down the bark out of curiosity, pulling away large chunks effortlessly.

The trees thinned out again, marking the edge of the small forest, and bringing into view a shack  that stood in a clearing near a wall of rocks that boasted a poorly hidden metal door. Another guard, this time wearing armour unlike any Theo had ever seen, leant against the shack wall, smoking a cigarette. He stared at the crowd, removed the cigarette and rubbed it out against the wall behind him as Theo marched closer, laser pistol in hand.

“The fuck do you want?” The man snarled.

“We’re looking for a missing girl, do you know anything about that?” Theo asked. The man eyed up Theo with a look of disdain.

“Maybe we do? What are you gonna do about it?” He taunted.

“You’re looking at a crew with a supermutant and asking what we’ll do about it? I’ll give you three fucking guesses. Where’s Chrissy?” Theo demanded, gripping his laser pistol tighter.

“As if I’d give her over that easily to a little punk like you. Nah, we can have some fun with her yet.” The guard teased.

“Up yours and eat a bullet breakfast, arsehole.” Theo snapped, getting a lucky quick shot that hit the man straight in his eye. His body slumped against the wall as footsteps from inside the house rushed towards the door, unlocking it.

“What’s--” The woman that appeared didn’t even get a chance to finish her sentence as Marcus aimed his minigun at her, tearing her apart in a flurry of guts. Once the gun stopped spinning, Theo rushed over to the body, searching for the keys and pulling them out with triumph. Meanwhile, Vic and Sulik rushed into the house, weapons at the ready, checking each room was empty.

“There’s a locked door at the back!” Vic called out. Theo rushed to meet up with him, quickly unlocking the door, only for it to fly open in his face as a teenage girl rushed out, kicking Vic in the groin and making for the front door, to find it inadvertently blocked by Marcus and Goris.

“Chrissy, I presume?” Theo called after her, holding his bleeding nose. “Your mom sent us.”

///////////////////

“The mayor’s quite nice when he’s not throwing rocks at me, isn’t he?” Theo snickered, spinning the key card in his fingers as they headed back to the shack. Chrissy’s mother had been overjoyed that she’d been returned safely and convinced the man in charge to let Theo’s crew deal with the raiders in the vault on their behalf. The ones that had taken Chrissy were just the surface crew, and had been paying the squatters in ill-gotten gains to keep the NCR away, but if he could get rid of the raiders, who called themselves ‘New Khans’, then maybe they’d deal with the NCR again. Well, at least he was getting into the vault now. Even if it was to help someone else again, “why is the name ‘New Khans’ so familiar anyway?”

It was mostly a rhetorical question, but the rest of his group looked baffled by it. Clearly it wasn’t for them.

“I think I’ve heard locals speak of some old rivalry between a raider gang and the NCR, maybe this is the raider gang?” Goris suggested.

“Maybe.” Theo agreed quietly. Maybe another of his grandfather’s adventures involved the Khans, and he was just keeping up with family tradition. “Hey, Goris, you don’t need to come with us, you know. We’re going to wipe out a raider camp, it’ll likely get a little hairy and I can’t promise we can cover for you.”

“Oh, you needn’t worry about that. I can handle myself.” Goris assured him. Theo couldn’t keep the doubt from his face.

“They’ll be armed, and deadly. We can come get you after we clear it if you’re desperate to look around the vault, you know.” Theo tried again.

“Thank you, but I am more than capable of keeping myself safe. I do usually wander the wastes alone. I would like to return your kindness from earlier.” Goris insisted.

“Well, alright. It’s your funeral.” Theo shrugged and swiped the keycard in a slot in the door, stepping back and watching the rusted old door slowly open with an ear piercing creak. Beyond it lay a cave lit by primitive torches. With a small wave to tell them to keep quiet, Theo led the way in, running a hand against the wall to keep on track if the torches went out. The rocks were dark dry, but sturdy, Theo couldn’t pull out any stones with his bare fingers; a sensible choice to build a vault in, he supposed. The deeper they went, the darker it got; the rocks seeming to absorb light, until, more often than not, Theo couldn’t even see his own hand brushing against the walls through the blackness. Very easy for the raiders to hide in.

“Who the fuck are you?” Came a sudden bark from further in the cave, causing Theo to jump, hand reaching for his laser pistol. Damnit, he could barely even see down here, never mind shoot. He needed a different plan.

“Uh, new recruit?” He hazarded.

“Oh, right, yeah. Go on in.” The Khan replied. Barely believing his luck, Theo stepped forward, still holding his pistol ready, but the Khan didn’t react, just waved him and his oddly shaped entourage along. “You’ll want to see Darion, he’s on the bottom level.”

“Darion, got it.” Theo nodded. Past a turn, the cave opened up somewhat, with more torches giving him a better view of it. He recognised the vault door, almost identical in design to the one on Vault 8, except this one lay discarded on the floor, far past repair. Some more Khans stood around in the cave, chatting, paying him little attention. They made their way through the empty doorway and through the halls of the vault. It stank of rust, and the lights didn’t seem to work, the same torches from within the cave illuminating the metal hallways with only marginally more success. This vault had long been abandoned; it didn’t have the crisp, clean, almost sterile look to it like Vault 8 had; this was beyond disrepair, it was a health hazard; a tetanus epidemic just waiting to happen. They tried to avoid touching the walls as much as possible as they headed to the old elevator, barely squeezing everyone in.

“We suspect a trap.” Sulik warned.

“Definitely. Hands on guns, everyone, and expect a fight. Got enough ammo, Goris?”

“Don’t worry, I always travel fully armed.” Goris assured him, adjusting his robes but not pulling out a gun.

The lift itself was slow, rickety. It shook and creaked down the levels, and once it stopped the doors crept open. Marcus exited, minigun first, checking the surrounding corridors before signalling everyone else to follow him. It was eerily quiet down here, except for the muffled dull thud of a leak and the gentle crackle of the torches along the walls. Theo headed towards the Overseer’s room, past many closed doors that his companions checked behind him. The door was shut, and when the button was pressed, it opened much faster than it should in a place this ruined.

Beyond the door was pitch black; no torches, no lights, and no sound, as if someone had scared away anything that could make noise. As if the room was holding its breath.

Theo took a step back, ready to leave before the trap was sprung, but his companions hadn’t seen it, and continued walking, knocking him further into the room. The creaky hiss of pistons behind him told him that the door had shut them in, and the torches lit up around the room, highlighting jeering faces and glinting off of weapons. Too many Khans to count surrounded them, each armed to the teeth and ready to shoot. They were surrounded, and outnumbered, and hopelessly outgunned. One khan, an old man, stepped forward, hatred written across his face, sizing Theo up. “You look just like him, that damned Vault Dweller.”

“Yeah, I get that a lot.” Theo shrugged, trying to look for a way out. But the only way other than the locked door was further into the vault, and they didn’t have emergency exits. Damn. “Are you Darion? Wouldn’t want to waste my ammo.”

“The one and only. I have waited eighty years for my revenge against the NCR. Getting to kill a man that looks like their attack dog is the icing on top.”

“Would a distraction help?” Goris asked quietly. Theo had absolutely no idea what the shuffling scholar had in mind, but anything would be better than nothing right now, so he nodded, not straying from Darion’s gaze.

“You couldn’t kill my grandad back then, and I won’t be killed now. Guess you’ll just have to wait a little longer.” Theo bragged. Darion opened his mouth to speak, but his eyes widened and his jaw dropped instead, as he and his two bodyguards stumbled backwards in shock, a scream tearing from their throats. Theo turned to look where they were staring.

Only to see a deathclaw stood next to him.

Theo stumbled back as the deathclaw threw itself towards the nearest Khan, giving an almighty roar that rattled Theo’s skull. It swept its claws across their helmet, sending it scattering across the floor, the second hand following shortly after, leaving deep gashes down the raider’s face that flooded with blood.

The Khans had stopped screaming and were aiming their guns now, some at the deathclaw, some at Theo and his friends. Theo pulled out his own laser pistol and aimed for Darion’s eyes.

Darion collected himself, and in turn faced Theo, narrowly dodging the laser shot and returning with a flash of fire from his flamethrower. Theo jumped back just in time, the searing heat flashing against his face, and firing another laser at Darion, hitting his shoulder.

A burst of bullets behind Darion hit the man with a yell as one of his guards, in blind panic over the approaching deathclaw, accidentally fired at Darion instead.

“Watch where you’re shooting!” Darion yelled back, giving Theo the window to fire again, getting Darion square in the side of his face, knocking him down to the floor.

The deathclaw had thrown the guard to the wall and leapt instead at Darion, landing on the man’s shoulders before swiping his head clean off in one fell swoop.

Theo backpedalled as quick as his legs could take him, but the deathclaw didn’t even look at him, just threw itself horns first at another khan.

Theo hit a second khan in the crotch, felling the man just in time for the deathclaw to catch him across the neck, before turning to where Lenny stood. Theo went to shout out a warning to Lenny, but the deathclaw had already sprung.

And completely missed Lenny, instead taking down a khan stood behind him that was aiming a shot.

Sulik took down one of the raiders guarding the door, the heavy thud of his supersledge against the raider’s skull making Theo wince as Sulik yelled for the rest of them to retreat.

Vic and Lenny did so quickly; Marcus and Theo backed off while aiming at the remaining Khans, who’d all but ignored them in favour of trying to take down the deathclaw, with little hope. It was too fast, too strong.

By the time Theo reached the door, no Khans were left standing. Just the deathclaw in the centre of the room, breathing heavily and covered in blood. Marcus raised his minigun, getting it ready to fire, while Theo did a quick head count.

Vic, Sulik, Lenny, Marcus… where was Goris? Had he been injured? Theo quickly glanced around the room, but the only sign of him was his robe, discarded on the floor where Goris had last stood. Beside Theo. Where the deathclaw had--

Theo shoved Marcus’ arm just in time to redirect the bullets away from the deathclaw, who had now turned to face them. Lenny and Vic had their guns trained on it, while Marcus shot Theo a dirty look, having just wasted an entire magazine on the wall.

“I would appreciate it if you didn’t point your guns at me, thank you.” The deathclaw said casually. The shock very nearly caused Vic and Lenny to drop their guns entirely.

“What evil spirit is this that talks to us?” Sulik demanded in horror.

“It’s fine guys, lower your guns.” Theo tried to assure them, barely keeping the quiver from his voice. He stepped forward cautiously, picking up Goris’ robe. “So, uh, why didn’t you tell us you were a deathclaw?”

A gasp behind him told him someone else had figured it out too. “To be fair, you didn’t ask.” Goris pointed out. Theo had never been this close to a deathclaw, nor had he ever wanted to be. Those thick, grey scales almost seemed to glow in the torchlight, giving an ethereal look to Goris, so different to the sandy coloured scales he’d seen on the deathclaws they’d raced away from in the car. And those legendary claws, thick as a radius bone and sharper than a sword, and blood red after the fight; most waste landers thought it was a good life if they’d never seen one at all, nevermind gotten up close and personal with them. Goris didn’t move, just watched Theo with dark red eyes that didn’t blink anywhere near as often as a human’s did. Theo stepped closer still, every instinct screaming to run, not getting close enough to be in Goris’ reach, and held out the robe for Goris to take, glad it covered his wobbling legs. He didn’t have reason to be afraid, did he? This was still Goris, the desert weirdo who thought debating with deathclaws was-- oh wait.

Goris slowly took the robe back from Theo, giving a quick thanks and quickly putting it back on and deftly retying the cord around the waist. Once the hood was up, he looked the same as before, but Theo could spot all the little details that would give him away, now that he knew what to look for. The hood sitting too far forward from his horns, the overlong sleeves hiding his claws, the way it trailed to cover every inch of him.

“Clever disguise.” Theo complimented, feeling a bit more comfortable now that Goris had hidden himself. “Wish I could do that. Where’d you learn to talk and not kill humans on sight, then?”

“Um, the lift is rattling.” Lenny pointed out, bringing Theo back to the vault again. Right, the other Khans would’ve heard the commotion, and were no doubt on their way to find out what had happened. He pushed his way through the doorway, reaching the corner leading to the corridor for the lift and peering around it. No doubt about it, the lift was in motion.

“What’s the plan then?” Theo asked.

“Going in guns blazing isn’t good enough for you this time?” Marcus smirked.

“No, ‘cause we’ve always got the element of surprise on our side now.” Theo grinned back at Goris. He was still keeping his distance, and everyone else keeping their distance from him in turn, still unsettled by the deathclaw in the room.

“There’s a room just inside this corridor, if I hide in there I can jump out behind them too.” Goris suggested.

“Right. We’ll take cover here.” Theo agreed.

“I think I’ll go with Goris. I don’t do ‘hide and shoot’.” Marcus raised his gun for emphasis.

Goris and Marcus hid in the room, Goris’ tail flicking out with every step now he wasn’t shuffling everywhere, while Theo and Lenny hid behind the far wall, Vic and Sulik by the near. The lift stopped with a ‘ding’, the doors slowly creeped open, and footsteps cautiously marched out.

Theo nodded to Vic, pointing their pistols around the corner, hitting the front two raiders blindly. They gasped out, firing back while everyone pushed themselves against the wall, holding their breaths for what they knew was about to come.

Sure enough, with a loud thud against the metal floors and an almighty roar, Goris jumped into the battle, and they leapt out from hiding. The Khans were too busy screaming at the deathclaw behind them to see their attackers in front of them, and they fell quickly to a hail of bullets, lasers, hammers and claws.

But the lift continued to rattle regardless.

“More Khans?” Marcus asked.