I love the way you did that "two days later" part.

Jeez, milton has NOT had a very full life has he?

Hi everyone, it's your old pal Wasteland Scholar_4. I haven't posted anything new for The Crusader in forever because of the following:

• I've been depressed :sadvaultboy: (not the hang myself kind, just the I don't feel like getting out of bed kind)
  
• Not sure what to do with my life.
  
• Tried and failed to find a job.
  
• Flunked out of two semesters of college.
  
• And I'm seeing the therapist I never thought I would have to go back to.

I'm still in a slump, but I feel like I've made the first steps out of it. One of those is returning to the things you loved to do. Now the plants in the garden aren't so dead anymore and a new chapter is written and ready to go in my book bag.

I can't say if my updates will be in a very consistent pace, but after the next chapter there wont be many mundane chapters for a while. Stick around for chapter 21 tomorrow.

P.S. I've edited all my previous chapters, and fixed all the broken or otherwise glitchy links.

Ch.21: Moving Forward

Rivet City, July 19th 2275 (Four months after Bentley's Funeral)

Milton was sitting at a table in Gary's Galley with some newly arrived visitors to Rivet City on their way to a high-risk bounty in the ruins. He had only recently recovered from the loss of Bentley and felt he needed a new direction for his life. Even if it was something as base as revenge. The kind of people who took his only friend from him deserved to be hunted like animals, and there was only one group of people who made it their business to make that happen. The Regulators.

"So you want to join our fight to dispense justice onto the wicked, as our wonderful leader would put it. Why?", asked the squad's leader as he lit a cigarette.

"I read in a book once that evil prevails when good people fail to act. If my life experience has taught me anything, it's that evil is prevailing. And I here you guys are some of the only people acting.", said Milton. Hoping that claiming a more noble cause would increase his chances of being accepted.

The seemingly unimpressed leader took a long drag from his centuries old cigarette. Briefly shrouding his face behind a puff of smoke as he exhaled.

"Alright you can join up.", said the grey haired Regulator. "Neil, you're going to stay behind and ask around about this guys history. Make sure we're not inviting some serial killer into our ranks.If he checks out, take him to HQ."

"No way in hell! You know how badly I want part in this bounty. It's personal!", protested the youngest of the Regulator squad.

"Like hell it is! With you every bounty is "personal", its getting old. You don't even do the job right anyway. We don't need someone like you when we're going after someone like Ahzrukhal.", barked one of the veteran Regulators.

"That's enough out of all of you!", said the groups leader who quieted all of them despite his calm tone of voice. "You have a job here Neil. The rest of you gear up, we're leaving."

"Now?", complained the Regulator who insulted Neil.

"Yes, now. And leave the food. We bring only cans with us. Otherwise the ghouls will sniff it out in the tunnels."

The young Regulator sat still at his seat with his hands shaking in anger. After his comrades left, he violently knocked half the food off the table and stormed away without a word. He got the attention of everyone else in the galley. It was rare to see an advlt throw away that much precious food like a child. Which to was probably a good indication of just how angry he was.

Milton quietly gathered as many leftovers as he could into his small backpack. There was very little else to do in preparation of his departure. It was always easy to pack when you didn't own anything. Everything else he would need: a gun, ammo, stimpacks; he had already stolen. It wasn't honest, but honesty had only caused him problems so far. Besides, it wasn't his fault no one in security checks inventory.

"Hey Flak. Mind if I sit on your sofa while I wait?"

"Sure, you can sit. All you have to do is buy something."

"Okay...Put me down for one bullet. 10mm please. And I feel generous today, take my life savings."

Milton dropped the very last cap he had to his name onto the table and flopped on the sofa, ignoring Flak's pissed off face. Shrapnel only stood in the back chuckling.

It was safe to say that after the whole Tenpenny Tower fiasco, Flak and Shrapnel were the only Rivet City natives who Milton was on good terms with. Considering how they were both once raiders and slavers, Milton failing his mission didn't seem that big of a deal. Plus they owed him for covering up there weapons smuggling. If Harkness knew there weapons cache was three times the size of the armory, they'd have their whole inventory confiscated before they could blink.

"So you leaving for good this time?", asked Flak as he put Milton's bottle cap in the toolbox they used to keep their money.

"Yeah. I should have left this place a long time ago."

"With a 10mm pistol and a grimy Red Racer Jumpsuit?", teased Shrapnel.

"Don't forget my sunglasses. If I wait any longer, I'll have even less than that. In hindsight, I should have asked for more bribe money instead of favors from you guys. Then maybe I...*yawn*...could afford better gear than this."

Milton rested his head on the edge of the sofa and closed his tired eyes. Flak and Shrapnel left him alone after that. Milton's reputation of insomnia was legendary on the ship, so everyone knew any sort of rest was much needed for him. Everyone but the Regulator that is.

"Hey! Get up! Get the [censored] up man!", yelled Neil.

Milton shot up from the sofa, shocked by the rude awakening. Flak and Shrapnel weren't manning the store for some reason, and the only people around were Neil and Mei Wong at his side.

"I talked to the people around here about you. They had a lot of bad things to say, but this woman says you saved her life. Other people were able to back up her. But I found it strange that no one else mentioned this about you until I brought up the subject myself."

"Well...You know. People like to focus on your failures. Makes them feel better about themselves.", replied Milton. Who was clearly upset about the reactions Neil got from the rest of the ship's citizens.

"You're hardly an ideal recruit, but you'll do. We'll be leaving in an hour to head to our HQ. Oh, and the names Neil Teller."

Even though this was exactly what he wanted to hear, Milton was distracted by Mei Wong. It was a real surprise that she talked about what happened at Tenpenny Tower. Her personality had completely changed since then. Where was once a strong and stoic women, there is now a broken shell of her former self. Crippled by crushing fear and sadness.

As far as Milton could imagine, she had forced all her pain deep inside herself during those years of enslavement. And facing the death of her husband for a second time only shattered what was left of her will. Now finally free, she has allowed herself to cry the years worth of tears she's held back. Milton only hopes that as time goes on, she will regain a semblance of her former self. Mei had certainly suffered enough.

"Ms. Wong...We haven't...Spoken in a while. How have you been?", asked Milton after Neil had left.

"I...I've been better. B-But are you becoming a Regulator?"

"Yes. Barker was a great inspiration for me. I didn't think heroes existed until I saw him run into that tower and come back out with you. I want to be a man like that someday."

"Don't be. You'd be dead then.", she said coldly.

"Live in peace Ms. Wong...Live in peace.", he responded with a slight bow and his hands behind his back.

"Oh yeah! And what will you live in!?"

"Hate, Ms. Wong.", Milton said with an eerie smile. "I think I'll live in hate for now."

Walking out onto the drawbridge felt especially good for Milton today. He never wanted to come back to his rusting boat again, unless it was on his terms. Now Milton wasn't much of a smoker, his lungs were the only part of his body that seemed to work right and he wanted to keep it that way. But today was a special occasion.

He took a crumbled pack of cigarettes out from his backpack and pulled out the last cigarette. The people of the old world must have been obsessive smokers if two hundred years after the last tobacco plant was scorched from the Earth, there are still cigarettes to be found. Ironically, what's harder to find is a good match to light the damn things.

"Good you're still here.", said Flak holding what looked like a long pipe or stick completely wrapped in dirty rags.

"Yeah, you almost missed me. I'm leaving as soon as the Regulator guy comes out. What's all this?"

"Well, the new guy in the force that covers up our smuggling is a real ass! He bleeds us pretty good and it really reminds us how good you were to us. This is from me and Shrapnel. You know...Just so you can't say we never did anything for you."

Milton carefully unwrapped the slender object to reveal the finest hunting rifle he had ever seen. Its wood casing was intact instead of rotting off the gun, there was no tape or wire holding it together, and it even had a scope!

"Where in the hell did you get something like this!"

"It's a relic from my old life. Shrapnel added the extra .32 ammo for you. I just hope you use it for something better than what I did with it."

"What did you use this for?", asked Milton reluctantly.

"Runaway slaves..."

Milton looked at the rifle he was holding and imagined how many helpless people were murdered by the man standing in front of him with this very same gun. Yet here he was, accepting that same tool of murder as a gift. It made Milton wonder if he would inevitably have to kill people like Flak on the path he's chosen. It was an unpleasant prospect to say the least.

"Alright we're out of here.", declared Niel as he walked past Milton on the drawbridge. Completely interrupting Milton's train of thought.

After hastily thanking Flak for the new rifle, Milton ran across the bridge to catch up to Niel who showed no intention of waiting up for him. Which, little did Milton know, would be the trend of the their entire journey to the Regulator HQ.

As the drawbridge of Rivet City separated from the platform on the D.c, side a chapter of Milton's life had ended. Yet with the wind at his back, http://www.fallout3nexus.com/imageshare/images/1966498-1282737946.jpg

Man, I have created an account on these forums just so I can post in this topic to encourage you to continue writing. In fact, I am so impressed with your work, I think you should make this a novel, and publish it! In one of your posts you were saying you couldnt find a job (Sorry) but, in all honesty, I think you should become a writer! I'm looking forward to your next chapters, and I keep reading the other chapters over again! I can even say I teared up multiple times in some of the chapters.

Good luck,
SS

How did I miss this all this time?

Seriously. I wanted to spend maybe 10 minutes reading a story and ended up spending an hour on this.

Very well done, consider me subscribed.

Thank you for the kind words. Whenever I get in one of my fouler moods and want to quit writing the story, stuff like that always help me back into it. I would have replied sooner, but I figured it would be best to save up my posts and thank you when I was ready with the next chapter. I hope you guys keep reading my story as I keep trying to improve it.

New Vegas is coming out today!!!!!!! :fallout: So if there aren't any new updates from me again after this post, it's because I've died of eye cancer from watching the TV screen for 14 hours of non-stop gameplay. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KZlDxPsJp7I&feature

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Ch.22: Perfect Storm

The Irradiated Western Plains, December 29th 2275

For several weeks, a natural phenomenon known as a http://www.fallout3nexus.com/imageshare/images/1265248-1284587011.jpg can ravage the Capital Wasteland. Also referred to as a "Holiday" by the ghouls, it is a massive cloud of radioactive dust and other irradiated particles that lasts for weeks and always comes from the north in 5-15 year intervals. No one, not even the Brotherhood, understands why this happens despite its fundamental role in shaping the Capital Wasteland.

The years immediatly before a radiation storm are marked by the first signs of http://www.fallout3nexus.com/imageshare/images/144823-1287328046.jpg, with new plant growth and falling levels of radioactive contamination. The storm's arrival brings a time of great hardship that scars the land deeply. All plant life is obliterated, a dieoff of all the wasteland's animals occurs, drinkable water by even our standards becomes virtually non-existant, all pregnant women exposed to the radiation suffer a miscarriage, and overall human fertillity seems to decline for years even after the storm. Without radiation protection or chems to deal with radiation poisoning, chances of survival are slim. Stay in or near a settlement that can produce enough chems to keep you alive. That or get real chummy with a druggie with his own lab, heh heh.

Its as if something were deliberatly poisoning the land. Slowly steering natural selection to a single outcome: Embrace mutation, or perish. I don't know if this is unique to our region, but-

"OH MY GOD! The boy is [censored] eight! Why are you recording that for him? Even I don't understand half the crap you're talking about.", ranted Dennis in the background.

"He's going to be older someday you know!", protested Sted. "I want him to learn as much as he can."

"Of all the people to raise a kid with, I get a [censored] school teacher!" *static*

Milton turned off his http://www.martelelectronics.com/graphics/00000001/PMD201545555.jpg as the recording ended. Gently hugging the device as if it were his fathers. A new radiation storm had come over the Capital Wasteland, and even though the holotapes proved not to be as useful as he hoped, hearing their voices again brought him so much peace. Even as radiation sores covered his body, and tufts of his hair blew away with every gust of wind.

Milton had gone home one day into the Tepid Sewers. Some molerats had gotten in despite all the locks, but there were only a few. Hardly anything that would become an infestation one day. He took everything he could that reminded him of his family. Holotapes, photos, books, childhood drawings, Sted and Dennis's tools, so many treasures and memories that he was ashamed it took this long to reclaim them.

The last five months have been very difficult for Milton. After barely passing his Regulator initiation, Milton was given a list of their most important bounties and sent away with only a hat and a duster added to his measly inventory. When asking where he was most needed, they sent him west into Super Mutant territory. Now it seems like they sent him to die.

Milton found himself out of his element in the open wasteland. Accustomed to hiding in the shadows and scowering ruins, he was unprepared for being almost completely exposed in the open with the sun beating down his neck. It didn't take long for him to be more concerned about his survival than dispensing justice.

Resting inside the http://fc08.deviantart.net/fs26/f/2008/107/b/d/Weathered_Barn_by_FoxStox.jpg he set up camp, Milton watched the horizon like a zombie. He had been without anything to drink for three days, and the stagnent pools in the area were hoplessly irradiated. The only water that would be remotely drinkable is what other wastelanders would be carrying around. In such a desperate situation, Milton would have to think creativly to survive. If he couldn't go to water, water would go to him.

Milton rummaged through his backpack and took out a particularly rare relic his fathers found on one of their scaving trips: A working flare gun. Milton fired a single illumination round into the air that exploded with a flash of red light and a cloud of white smoke that would remain in the air for several minutes. The flare stood out well against the grey backdrop of the dust filled sky, and would be easily visable from even great distcances. With his lure set, Milton loaded his special hunting rifle and waited for what would be coming. He just hoped he could handle it when the time came.

Three Groups Would See His Flare...

Wandering aimlessly through the storm a Little Lamplight scavenger crew was taking their time heading back home. Unlike everyone else, the children of Little Lamplight were actually thriving in the wake of this radiation storm. The cave fungus that their community relied on, lived off of two things: radiation and rotting flesh. Both of which are in extreme abundance. Most scav teams were now spending their time just dragging in dead carcasses of animals and people that succumbed to the radiation. And all they had to do to avoid radiation sickness themselves was eat a little extra fungus. Unfortunately for the Little Lamplighters who were too short sighted to see it, they would find themselves struggling to keep their precious fungus fed once all the animals and people died or moved on. But that wasn't going to be a problem for this particular group.

These Lamplighters were a bit taller than usual, but that was because Pappy, Flash, Red, Kimba, and Bittercup were getting close to the age of expulsion. They've had plenty of good years together living in Little Lamplight, but this was going to be their last scaving trip. Soon they would be leaving their cave for the last time too. It was just there bad luck that the radiation storm had made their last trip boring and uneventful. Thinking about it made them pretty sad, but at least they had Big Town to look forward too.

"Pappy, do you think will be happy in Big Town?", asked Bittercup as she hugged his arm tightly.

"Things are going to be great there! No more kids to make fun of us for being "Mungo's" , plenty of food, plus we get to go on a huge adventure just to get there!", said Pappy in the optimistic tone he's always had in Little Lamplight.

"Hmph! You better not be lying!", said Bittercup.

"Hell I don't care what Big Town is like! With this new sweet gun I just found, I'm going to blow away every mutie out there. Just wait till I get bullets for this bad boy.", declared Flash.

"I'm just glad Mayor MacCready is letting us stay until Shorty turns 16, so we can all leave together. That was nice of him.", said Kimba. "Don't you think Red? Red?"

"What is that?", said Red as she wiped the dust from her glasses.

The whole group looked in the same direction as Red, and noticed the faint glow of Milton's flare shining through the dust. It was pretty far away, but this was the only thing interesting to happen the whole trip. So why not check it out?

Elsewhere, a super mutant hunting party had yet to find a single human to add to the collective super mutant horde. Though they were immune to the 20+ rads/sec that currently blanketed the Capital Wasteland, the same could not be said for their prey. Without anything to kill, the super mutants were becoming increasingly aggitated, which was never a good thing. And when Milton's flare went up, they had finally found something. The Overlord with them was overjoyed.

"OH GOD NO!!! AHHHHH-", the man's scream ended in a torrent of buulets.

Gypsy Village was the only settlement in the west plains of any merit, and had often relied on the Talon Company for protection. The relationship worked for years. Giving Talon Company a steady stream of protection money, and keeping the super mutants away from Gypsy Village. Sadly, things soured when the town accepted the Brotherhood's offer of free protection. Now four Talon kill squads were burning everything to the ground under the supervision of one Sergeant Ket "Crying Man" Louis.

Sergeant Ket sat on a chair in the middle of the burning settlement as if nothing was going on. Like everyone around him, his skin was riddled with radiation sores, but what set him apart was his hideously blood shot eyes. He held a tiny plastic bottle with a clear liquid inside close to his face and squeezed out several drops onto each of his eyes.

"OH GOD YES! [censored] YES!!! THAT BURNS SO GOOD!!!", hollered the sergeant as he jumped out of the chair with a new found energy.

"Sarge! Uh...Sorry to interupt your eyedrops, but some of the men have spotted somethi-"

"IS EVERYBODY DEAD!?", Ket asked in an aggitated voice."

"What?"

"IS EVERYONE IN THIS [censored] TOWN WHO'S NOT US, DEAD!!!!"

"Gah! Uh...Yes sir! P-Pretty much!", responded the terrified trooper.

"WHO'S LEFT!!!!"

"It's Shiv, sir! He's having some f-fun w-with one of the townswomen and her daughter. All the other residents are dead with their bodies moved to the shack you pointed out to us, sir. Once Shiv and some of the others were done with them, the two women would have been killed soon enough."

"IF THEY ARE NOT HERE IN THIRTY SECONDS, YOU AND YOUR WHOLE SQUAD DIE!!!!"

The subordinate ran with such much terror, you would have thought he soiled himself. It wasn't that the men under Sergeant Ket were cowards. Most normal people would be intimidated by a man whose http://fc07.deviantart.net/fs70/f/2010/004/b/c/Cry_for_me__by_Blaze_ForeverPhoenix.jpg That was half the reason they called him "Crying Man" after all. Ket put on his favorite pair of sunglasses, and with the burning sensation in his eyes subsiding, he could start talking normally again.

Shiv was brought in front of Sergeant Ket along with the mother and daughter who he was violating. The mother was completely naked and horribly beaten, while her daughter sobbed uncontrollably. Shiv made her watch as he ravaged her mother. And she would have been next if he hadn't been interrupted.

Ket paced back and forth in front of the three in complete silence. His reputation preceding him, all the squads gathered around the group to see what was going to happen. Without warning of any kind, Ket drew his .44 magnum and put a bullet dead center into Shiv's forehead. Ignoring the women's screams, Ket turned around to address all the men.

"Now I remember giving you all a direct order to kill every single person in this town. I did not say you could [censored] anyone! That seems counter-productive to what we're trying to do here. I mean that's how you make more people, am I right? It's the opposite of killing!"

All the Talon mercs nodded and laughed at his reasoning. Expecting nothing less from their infamous leader. Ket almost always executed someone out in the field, and he usually had an interesting reason for doing it. If you weren't the one being executed, you'd probably find it all really funny.

"You can go now.", he told the mother and daughter with a laugh.

The mother held her daughter close, not willing to believe such an unpredictable man. But he only continued to wave them off. When it was clear they were too afraid of what he might do to them to leave, Ket sighed and started wiping his tears of blood from his pocket.

"Look, what Shiv did to you was wrong. What we're doing is wrong. But I wanted you all to die with dignity. Shiv took that from you. I am so sorry, and that is why I want you to live. Live, and get your dignity back. And if you hate me forever, I understand.", said Ket with such powerful sincerity.

The mother looked at the strange man in front of her and thanked him. Holding eachother's hand with an iron grip, they fled into the wastes. Never looking back. Never daring to see their home burn.

Ket started biting his nails as he took a close look at the flare that was still hovering in the air. He had seen a few of them before, salvaged from Fort Bannister's armory. Not many people had access to military-grade illumination rounds. Making him consider that it was a Brotherhood trap. There abscence was suspicious and dissapointing considering they came prepared for the Brotherhood. So he figured if they already burned the town, why not burn the town watch too!

"Alright boys! Lets march out! We're heading towards that light in the sky. Gear up! We might actually still get to fight today!", Ket announced followed by the cheers of his men.

"Sir? Are we really letting those two women go? Commander Jabsco wanted us to kill everyone.", asked the nervous subordinate from before.

"You worry too much. Hey trooper! You with the sniper rifle!"

"Yes sir?"

"Do you see those two fine young women running away in the distance there? They don't leave here alive. Understand?"

"Yes, sir!", saluted the mercenary with a smile.

"Good man." The sergeant then moved forward to lead the men with the sound of two .308 rounds going off behind him.

Milton finished putting the last of his precious possesions in the safe he kept at the bottom floor of the barn, and returned to his chair on the second floor. He checked all the wires connected to the mines he buried and his detenators. Milton expected confrontation at this point and had made all the preparations he could think of using all of his skills and whatever was available. He couldn't fight hard, but with the killzone he constructed all around the barn, maybe he could fight smart.

Not ten minutes after he finished going through his mental checklist for the second time, did he spot the silhouettes of super mutants marching through the dust. Judging by his binoculars, they were about four hundred yards. Directly under the light of his flare that was just now fading. His barn was the only structure around, and the obvious place to check first. Even the mutants knew that. And as he picked his hunting rifle up off the floor, a strange thought came to him.

"Today was a good day to die."

Excellent chapter! Impressed again! I like all the suspense, it really keeps me wondering what will happen next.

Hey Scolar...

DON'T EVER STOP WRITING!!!

If you get in a bad mood or whatever, for whatever reason.., PM me, and I'll motivate you

Sorry that it took so long to post this chapter. I've had an infinite number of delays and this chapter was rather long, but I want to start posting with more consistency from now on. And one last thing, despite what is written in some parts of this chapter I DO NOT want you kill yourself!!!! Please! I don't need e-mails from people screaming I killed their son because I made death sound so good! I will explain Milton's darker moods in the next chapter, I promise. Now read the damn chapter! I worked too hard on it for it not to get read by at least 10,000 people! Its 5:00am where I am right now for the love of god!

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Ch.23: Bomb Threat

Three super mutants, he could handle that. Probably. If he wasn't so [censored] nervous. He had his crosshairs on the back of the head of the closest mutant. So many nervous thoughts ran through his head. Making pulling the damn trigger next to impossible.

His arms tensed up so much, Milton thought they were going to explode. Nausea was setting in with all the stress, to the point where he thought he might throw up all over his rifle. As he felt his instincts to flee and hide begin to eat away at the last of his courage, Milton somehow managed to whisper a phrase that spontaniously appeared in his mind to give him the finesse he needed to make the finest shot of his life.

"Fly, baby fly!"

The bullet pierced through the cloud of dust that shrowded the mutants, and found its exact mark. Death came so quickly for the super mutant that it never realized it had died in the first place. Leaving its two super mutant brothers in shock as they were covered with his brains.

After making the first shot, everything in Milton's brain started to click. All the fear went away as the adrenaline kicked in. Every shot came naturally. One, two, three, four, another super mutant fell to the ground dead. The final super mutant charged towards the barn, finally relizing where the shots were coming from.

Milton moved away from the barn window and backed up against the wall as he loaded a new magazine into the rifle. Waiting for the signal that it was all over. As the super mutant made it's first step into the thicket of dead brush surrounding the barn, Milton heard it. The barn's first line of defense was a perimeter of surface frag mines laid out directly behind the brush line. The mutant had both of it's legs blown off in an instant. Leaving it crawling on the ground as it wailed in pain.

Before Milton could have the satisfaction of putting it down himself, the super mutant witlessly crawled towards the next mine and blew it's own face off. Some things die with a roar, some a wimper, but that particular mutant died with a gurgle. A death worthy of such a pointless and cruel abomination.

"Do you see anything?", whispered Red.

"No, but something sure got those muties good!", cheered Flash.

"So who's going down there?", asked Bittercup.

"Down there!? Are you crazy? Ah who am I kidding, of course you're crazy.", teased Flash.

Pappy hit Flash on the head and gave him some nasty looks. He was getting sick and tired of everyone making fun of him and Bittercup. It wasn't their fault they were the first boy and girl of Little Lamplight to have these weird and icky feeling for eachother.

"Maybe we should go.", said Kimba sheepishly.

"Why?", asked Pappy.

"More people are coming.", she said pointing towards the 15 figures appearing out of the dust.

Sergeant Ket immediately took notice of the dead super mutants from his elevated position on the hill. In his mind, this couldn't be anything but a trap. And unwilling to be at the laser end of a paladin's wrath, he split up a squad to check both the dead mutants and the barn at the same time. If they sprung the trap on them, he would still have three squads to use. Everyone was expendable.

Milton scanned the area as best he could with his binoculars, but the dust was making it too difficult. He coughed as a large gust of wind pushed in more dust through the barn window. His throat felt like he swallowed broken glass, and every cough brought unbearable pain.

When Milton took his hand away from his mouth, he found a thick and goey spot of blood on his finger. He rubbed it between his fingers in fascination. Watching as dust stuck to it and svcked out every drop of moisture until it was nothing but a stain on Milton's hand. Bit by bit, Milton was becoming the dust that floated all around him.

"Can I just [censored] die and skip this crap!", cursed Milton.

Suddenly a mine had exploded, taking Milton completely by surprise. He had been watching the whole time, but he hadn't seen anything. When the screams of a man broke through the howl of the wind, Milton panicked. People were here!

Realizing the explosion came from another side of the barn, Milton rushed to each of the viewholes he made throughout the building. Hoping to God he didn't kill the only people he's found since the radiation storm began. When he got to the viewhole on the west facing side of the barn, he saw two men obscured in the dust. Or to be more accurate, he saw one and a half men.

"O-Oh G-GOD! D-Da f-fa *gurgle* AHHHHH!!! H-Help me! *cough* *gurgle*", sounded the Talon mercenary before his throat clogged with blood. Ironically, it was his combat armor that doomed him to die so painfully. The three mines he detonated at the same time would have killed him instantly if his torso wasn't so well protected. Instead, he got to watch as his intestines spilled out of his non-existant pelvis. His partner at least had the decency to shoot him in the head.

"Don't move! There are bombs everywhere! Is your friend alright? I can't see very well through the storm. I have food, medicine, I can h-"

"[censored] YOU!!!", screamed the other merc before opening fire on the barn with his R91 assault rifle.

"Do you see that, sir?", asked Ket's subordinate peering through binoculars. "Contact at the barn."

Ket had set down on the ground moments before, and was massaging the temples of his head. He had more important things to worry about. He was starting to come down.

Milton retreated to the corner again as bullets tore apart the wall. Splinters were flying everywhere. The air seemed unbreathable. Panic was setting in. Then nothing...The bastard was reloading his gun.

Taking his chance, Milton kicked out a plank of rotten wood from the wall. He now had an opening to shoot from, and trained his scope on the attacker's head. Without hesitation, Milton pulled the trigger...and missed. Milton's scope was configured for long distances, not short range shootouts. And Milton's lack of skill with two-handed guns made him hoplessly reliant on the rifle's scope for any amount of accuracy. Unfortunately, the Talon mercenary did not share Milton's lack of proficency with firearms. Making sure he regretted missing that shot.

Milton moved back away from the wall and fell on his back with a bullet in his chest. Wood splinters flew everywhere again, but this time most of them landed on Milton. With the next pause from shooting, Milton got back up coughing as he kicked up more dust. Blood oozed from his mouth as the violent coughing finally burst a blood vessel in his throat. The pain was too much and forced Milton to retreat to his detonaters instead of facing the merc again.

"Come out you piece of [censored]! I'm not stupid enough to walk into your [censored] minefield! Show some balls like-", taunted the mercenary before being blown into paste.

Everything outside the barn was just gone after Milton detonated his entire network of buried explosives. Two feet of earth in every direction had been blasted into the sky. Forming a black cloud over the barn before being lost in the storm like the rest of the dust. The whole spectacle was the definition of overkill, but Milton wasn't exactly winning the fight before.

"You're [censored] with me! Ha Ha Ha!", laughed Ket.

"Jesus! We can't handle this if the Brotherhood has this kind of firepower! And to think we just declared war on them!", ranted Ket's subordinate.

"Relax...This isn't the Brotherhood", remarked Ket lighting a cigarette with violently shaking hands.

"What?"

"This isn't their style. We should be seeing Knights and Paladin's in power armor, charging at us with honor and glory and all that crap. What we have here...is a failure to communicate.", said an amused Ket before taking another drag.

"Are you feeling okay sir?"

"Not in the slightest. Thank you for asking though. Send everyone in on that barn. You, me, and the sniper are going to hold up the rear in case he trys to run. He just used his best stuff like a [censored] idiot."

For the first minute after activating the detonaters, Milton couldn't see anything. The world was a haze of brown and grey dust. He couldn't even see his hands in front of his face. Every breath felt like fire in his chest as his lungs filled with radioactive dust. Staggering blindly to the wall, he ignored the pain to his knuckles and smashed a hole through the rotten wood in a desperate attempt to get fresher air. Yet the outside air was just as bad and provided no escape. The explosion simply kicked up too much dirt.

When the dust had finally thinned, Milton was wheezing on the floor, and ten Talon Company mercs were approaching the barn. Unaware of the mercenaries, Milton's priority was the dust in his throat. He got up off the floor and stumbled to his first-aid box. Every surface was caked in so much dust he only recognized it from the size of the box. Inside was his pathetic supply of "medicine" which amounted to a dirty rag, a single dose of psycho, and an unopened bottle of whiskey Milton intended to sell later.

Desperate for anything to clear his throat, Milton gulped down some whiskey despite the fact it was just going to dehydrate him more. The sheer amount of pain he felt as he swallowed took him completely by suprise. His throat felt like it caught fire. Whiskey spilled on the floor and soaked through the wood while Milton grabbed his throat again, but this time grasping it so hard he was nearly choking himself. It was then, as he knelt there in agony, that an incredible relization came to mind. He was going to die.

That one thought was like sweet water on his lips. Deliverance from pain. An end of struggle. The final liberation. Father Clifford used these words to describe Heaven. Others used those same words to describe death. Death and Heaven were one and the same.

Milton didn't understand why...He just did. And it was to make his final moment of being alive at least a little pleasant that he picked up the syringe of psycho and rammed into his heart. The chem flowed through his body, and took away all the aches and pain from his arms and legs. Filling him with vigor for the first time in so long. Purging his fear and desperation. He didn't care anymore, and he liked it.

The barn doors burst open as two Talon Company mercs rushed inside. They were the two men sent to investigate the dead super mutants, but apparently Milton's explosions seemed more interesting to them. With a head start over the others, these two would have Milton all to themselves for about three minutes. Plenty of time to shoot his head off and collect it for a trophy.

"Check for a basemant. I'm going upstairs.", said the merc wielding a combat shotgun.

The dust covered stairs cricked and moaned with every step the man made. Near the top, he heard the faint sound of labored breathing. In front of him he saw a trail of Milton's blood smeared on the floor. His gunshot wound had been bleeding the whole time, and was still untreated as he lay on the floor motionless with the psycho syringe thrown away to the corner of the room. Finding his prey in such a state, the mercenary slung his shotgun over his shoulder and pulled out a combat knife to slit Milton's throat. Leaning in on Milton, the mercenary was surprised by his companion suddenly calling out to him from below.

"Hey! I found something down here!"

"Shut up you idiot! I have the guy up here! He's dead already. Just- Gah!", screamed the man as Milton smashed the metal first-aid box against his head.

Again and again, Milton pounded the mercs head with the metal box screaming in horror as the high of the psycho wore off and its true function took effect. While at the same time the merc swung his knife wildly, cutting into Milton through his unarmored Regulator duster. Yet despite everything the psyco kept him from backing off. Below them the other mercenary shuddered as he heard two very different kinds of screams coming from those two men. One was of muderous rage. The other was of desperate horror. Two of the most primal emotions in all of creation, and difficult to say which is the more powerful of the two when defending ones life.

The two men's struggle was interrupted when bullets blasted through the floor, hitting both of them. The merc below was shooting his R91 upwards with total disregard for his comrade's safety, wanting to kill Milton before he himself was put in danger. When blood started dripping through the bullet holes followed by silence, the merc assumed his kill was made and catiously moved out from under the second floor of the barn.

Inching forward, he heard a faint click and froze where he stood. He couldn't see the source of the noise until three frag grenades rolled off the platform and rested at his feet. Given no time to even scream, he was killed instantly by the blast which splattered his blood all over the barn. Finished, Milton got up with the death of his last attacker. His whole body shaking from the psycho and his fresh bullet wounds.

Outside the other Talon Company mercs were calling for the two men Milton had just killed, threatening to shoot if someone didn't come out. Looking at himself covered in blood, Milton knew it was over. Prehaps a better man could do it, but he simply wasn't that man. Milton suprised himself as he started laughing. He had come to accept and even welcome death in his time on this world, yet he never expected himself to be so excited by its arrival. It must have been the psycho...

"Heh Heh! I guess I wont have to save it anymore.", resolved Milton as he limped down the stairs.

After waiting for a few more moments, the Talon mercenaries outside assumed their men were dead and opened fired on the barn. Despite what Ket said, most of them still believed they were fighting the Brotherhood. Which may have explained why they felt it was necessary to shoot at the barn until they used up two magazines each and turned the barn into a shot up piece of [censored]. Confident that everyone inside was dead, three men were sent inside to check for bodies while the other five surrounded the barn to prevent any escape.

Inside the barn the three men came in advancing on high alert. Visibility was low inside the barn as the dust cloud hung inside, which served Milton's plan well. The men stopped dead in their tracks at the sound of slow beeping. Looking down at their feet, they saw the last of Milton's frag mines all connected with wires that led to a single mini-nuke standing ominously in the middle of blood stain that was the Talon merc Milton had just killed. Written on it was the last thing any of those men would every read. A quaint message written in red.

S%#T YOUR PANTS!!!

The barn blew apart as it was replaced with a small mushroom cloud. The three Talon mercs inside were reduced to charred meat, while those outside were mangled by the wooden shrapnel in the blastwave. As the radiation settled onto the ground, no evidence of the barn ever existing remain on the surface. The land had been blasted away to bare rock with a small brush fire setting the last of the dead shrubbery that was around the barn ablaze. Its only remaining feature was the remarkably blast-proof safe that rested in the same spot it always had. Completely unaffected by the mini-nuke's detonation.

Walking past his dead men without so much as a second glance, Ket and his last two subordinates inspected the site.

"Uh...It looks like we've lost everyone in that last explosion, sir.", said Ket's subordinate making a concious effort to avoid stepping on anyone's body parts.

"Yeah..", mumbled Ket before taking his used up cigarette out of his mouth and flicking it away. "That was cool wasn't it."

"Looks like the bastard offed himself to get at us, but who has that kind of firepower?", mentioned the Talon sniper.

"Someone...Very clever. Clever enough to find a way out of that situation alive. Like hiding in a safe maybe?", said Ket.

"You can't be seri-"

"CHECK THE [censored] SAFE!!!", screamed an impatient Ket.

The other man reluctantly moved towards the safe while the sniper took aim and Ket watched. The safe's locking mechanism was still intact and for all its durability, the safe had a suprisingly easy lock to pick with bobby pins. As the lock clicked and became undone, the talon merc backed away. Afraid that someone might actually be inside.

With everyone's full attention on the safe, Milton burst out of the barn's basemant door behind the mercs that laid flat on the ground unnoticed by them. With his last gun, a 10mm pistol, Milton opened fire on the sniper standing next to Ket. His first shot managed to knock the sniper down; as he continued to advance, he shot until his pistol clicked empty. By that time the sniper was dead, and the mother and daughter from Gypsy Village were avenged. Tossing his gun away, Milton pulled out the combat knife he took from his previous kill and charged at Sergeant Ket.

A thunder clap sounded from the barrel of Ket's magnum revolver, and Milton fell on his back to the ground helpless. The magnum round went through Milton's leather duster like it was paper and gave him the last bullet wound his body could endure. Psycho or no psycho.

"Naturally, its a [censored] Regulator. To think that I'm suprised.", said Ket as he walked over to Milton's twitching body. "Now how did a scrawny piece of crap like you leave me with just one man? Huh?"

Milton's breathing was very rapid as his body dealt with the shock of his last wound. This time it felt like something important had been hit. His body was broken. More broken than it had ever been before in his life, and the pain Milton felt reflected this. Everything in every way was wrong. He was starved, sleeped deprived, barely able to breath, possessing an unfathomable thirst, and defeated. And as his killer looked down upon him with intrige. Milton struggled to say his final words.

"P-P-Please...End me...I...I'm tired...", forced out Milton.

Milton's plea svcked out all of the enjoyment from Ket's expression, which had suddenly turned somber. Crouching down closer to Milton, Ket gave his response.

"I see now...That's what happened. *sigh*Dieing men make good confidantes. Your not the only one who wants to die you know. I'm waiting for someone to kill me too. But the world is cruel that way. Its by design you know. Those who want to live can only die, and those who wish die can only live. I will probably remember you...And it is because I remember is why I will cry for you.", whispered Ket before walking away from Milton. Leaving him to suffer.

"Uh...Sir? We're just leaving now? What about that guy? What will you tell Commander Jabsco, sir?", asked Ket's subordinate as he followed his sergeant.

"What's your name?"

"Sir?"

"I want to know your name, and I also want to know why you have been the only one talking to me this whole trip, soldier."

"My name is Tilt, sir. And I've been the one talking to you and asking the questions because I drew the short straw...sir.", confessed Tilt nervously.

"And you think telling me the truth is the smart thing to do, Tilt?"

"Smarter than lieing to you, sir!"

"Heh Heh Heh Heh...How would you like to be my new Corporal, Tilt?"

"I'm already your Corporal, sir."

"Oh...Then how about being on my Do Not Kill List?"

"That's good, sir."

"This is the start of something very interesting, Tilt.", remarked Ket as the two of them disappeared into the radiation storm.

Milton was shocked by the departure of Ket, as it proved to be his final act of cruelty towards his victims today. He found himself dieing alone, in the middle of this wretched storm that brought forth agony upon the whole of the Capital Wasteland. It was in this regard that Milton found himself very similar to land he called home. Despite all the mutants, all the radiation, all the famine, and all the murder, life lingered on in the Capital Wasteland. Just like life lingered on in Milton. No matter the anguish it brought with it.

After what could have been only a few minutes, but seemed like an eternity, a new noise came out of the howling wind of the storm. And Milton found himself in the company of several young people who seemed very concerned for him, though at the moment he couldn't imagine why.

"Red! Red! Co-........ieing here...Can you help hi-.......", Milton heard one of them say. He was begining to have trouble hearing things, but he didn't really care anymore.

"....shot several times. We need to......"

"Lamplight wont hel-........where can we......-edicine?"

For some reason, Milton wasn't being allowed to lose conciousness by the intervention of some part of his brain or body. He remembers thinking how frustrated that made him. It seemed like Milton's body was simply in every way the bane of his existence. Always doing the opposite of what he wanted it to do. It wasn't even letting him die right.

"If only that bastard killed me like any other [censored] would have dont in his position. The man must really be an evil genius.", thought Milton.

It was then that a mysterious figure dressed in strange blue clothing pushed the teenagers aside and examined Milton. They all seemed as suprised as Milton was when he showed. Even more so when he seemed finished with his examination and promptly stomped on Milton face with his boot. And then everything finally went black.....

Dude. Epic. I'm hoping there is more or was that the final resting place of Milton? Only time will tell.

I know now that I am obviously missing out on a great story, and I do hope you feel better, and I also hope you don't give up writing. I've been there myself. Besides my first -- and best Fan-Fiction Wastelander Named Marcus, it feels like everything else has no importance to the readers and little importance to me. I'm trying to decide weather to continue with part of of Wastelander Named Marcus or keep y current fan-fictions going. Either way, I'll read these and hope you don't give up, because I won't.

man this story is great!

Thank you all for your kind words. They help keep me from doubting myself as I write. I've started on the next chapter already and I hope to get it posted by next saturday or sunday.

Epic!!!!!!!!

I just spent one hour and one half reading the entire thread. Your a really good writer dude.

SIDE NOTE
When you posted the special stats you put his Endurance at 4, but this guys has been through hell and back 3 times, Im just sayin.

But its really awesome.

^^^ yes good point, if I were to redo his specials i'd put endurance AND luck higher.

I stand by my S.P.E.C.I.A.L. for Milton. In the last chapter most of Milton's gunshot wounds didn't hit any organs or anything important like that. It was Ket's magnum shot that hit his organs. Think of it as Milton being in hardcoe Mode, and he's had almost life-long status ailments of hunger and thirst. He's going to get stronger much later in the story, trust me.

On to a different topic now. My chapter might take a few days longer than I said it would. I came up with a whole new direction for my chapter which made it about twice as long, but I'm going to write my ass off this weekend. I also have to change my promise to reveal the reasons behind Milton's quasi-suicidal (is that an appropriate usage of "quasi"?) behavior. It will have to be explained in chapter 25 instead.

Thanks. :thumbsup:

Ok cool. And take your time on the chapter, if more time is needed to make a better chapter then ok! Lol and about the gunshot wounds... maybe it was his luck that made it where he didn't get shot in any major places.. just sayin..

Ch.24: A New Year For War

MDPL Mass Relay Station, December 31st 2275:

"Initiate! Get behind some cover you fool!", ordered Knight Ianelli in vain. The initiate was gunned down just seconds later by a super mutant's minigun.

Now only two men were left guarding the entrance of the Brotherhood's most distant outpost. The dust from the radiation storm kept the super mutants true numbers secret and blocked all radio distress calls. When the attacks started two days ago, eleven people were stationed here. Now only four men defended it from seemingly unending assaults.

"Ianelli! I need another MF cell!", screamed Knight Casserly.

"Get back inside! I'll cover you! We need Paladin Fade out here now! [censored]!". Knight Ianelli barely ducked in time to avoid the barrage of 5mm bullets that pounded against the knight's sandbag barricade. It was the same super mutant that killed the initiate, and it was advancing quickly as its minigun roared at full strength.

"DIE BUCKET HEAD! DIE", screamed the defiant mutant. It was just upon the two exhausted defenders when a bullet pierced its skull and sent its dead mass onto the muddy ground.

"God bless Colvin, that magnificent bastard!", cheered Knight Casserly as he came out of cover.

Some distance from the outpost, Knight Colvin ejected the empty round from his sniper rifle. Watching over the outpost from his sniper's nest, he had just saved the defenders for the sixth time since the two-day siege began. Even in the dust storm his aim was true, but this was dragging out too long. He lost the luxury of killing every super mutant in range some time ago as his ammo supply depleted itself. Forcing him to cherry pick his targets. Leaving more than his fair share of super mutants up to the others to deal with. His every decision saving one comrade and dooming another.

"Great Creator, save the retched souls I send to you with my holy rifle and laser. May you purge them of mutation and deliver them from suffering, for they walk this earth in agony not knowing what they do. Cast your protection onto my brothers, who fight in a most noble struggle and lead them through the darkness. As for me, I have always been your servant. I need little more than that honor. Amen.", whispered Knight Colvin inside his power armor as he peered through the rifle's scope.

The two knights defending the outpost were given only a moments rest before hearing the battle crys of more super mutants coming out from the dust storm. They had both heard this pattern before many times in their countless encounters with their dreaded enemy. A battle charge was about to trample over their shoddy defensive position.

"[censored]! Mutant Charge! I need that MF Cell Ianelli! Now!", screamed a panicked Knight Casserly.

"I only have one spare! We shoot the same target together.", instructed Ianelli as he threw the micro fusion cell to Casserly. "We strike as one my brother!", declared Ianelli as the first super mutant came out from the dust.

The red laser bolts burned deep into the yellow flesh of the super mutant. Forming charred crater into the mutant's torso before it fell to the ground. Behind it three more came out charging with melee weapons, one armed with a super sledge, and rushed their position. Together the knights were able to kill one of the super mutants before they were both pitted in one-on-one combat against their enemy.

Casserly saw the super mutant in front of him about to jump over the sandbags and strike him with a nail board. Trusting his instincts, Casserly turned his back to the mutant and curled up into the fetal position waiting for the impact. The super mutant swung with all its strength, and as Casserly expected, shattered its nail board against the back of his power armor. What he didn't expect was how much the impact hurt despite the protection provided by his power armor.

Working through the pain, Casserly elbowed the super mutant right in the gut. The hydraulics of the power armor giving the blow that extra kick that even a super mutant would feel. As the mutant was knocked back, Casserly spun around and aimed his laser rifle right at its face. At point blank the laser blast literally burned off the mutant's face from its head, killing it instantly.

No sooner had he confirmed the death of his mutant, that Casserly heard the roar of the other to his right. When he turned to look a super sledge made contact with his helmet and smashed it in like a hammer to a tin can. Casserly was killed before his brain even processed what he saw.

Knight Ianelli watched in horror as the super mutant master started prying open Casserly's armor and eat him like canned meat. Ianelli was against the wall bleeding out under his power armor as he lifted his laser rifle with the one arm still attached to his body. He was too weak to get up, and the HUD on his power armor helmet was barely working. He never felt more helpless in his life than when he pulled the trigger and nothing happened.

"Hey [censored]...", said a voice behind the super mutant. "Burn." Paladin Fade ignited his flamer and showered fire all over the disgusting thing in front of him.

http://www.newvegasnexus.com/imageshare/images/439707-1293739282.jpg as he watched the super mutant flail around in a fire ball was the mark of a true veteran. He had been in combat for so long that emotion of any kind was not welcome on the battlefield. No matter how much satisfaction he felt seeing mutants die, or how much hate he had of the world that trapped him in this crucible of war.

"Paladin Fade?" *cough* "Where were you?", asked a wounded Ianelli.

"Are you the only one left?"

"Yes. We needed your help!" *cough* *cough* *cough* "Look at my [censored] arm!"

"Don't worry about it. The sacrifice was worth it. With Scribe Felos dead, it's pretty tricky getting the transmitter to broadcast my message. Not exactly my specialty."

"But...We were already broadcasting a distress signal?"

"I didn't say it was a distress signal. I tried everything to turn that damn thing off. Couldn't, but I doubt the Brotherhood will respond very quickly even after they receive it when the storm passes. By then they would have dug in and seized this place for themselves."

"They?"

"The Outcasts. My greatest mistake was not joining the day they left. I had faith in the Brotherhood, but what did it get me? A dead wife, dead friends, and a dead daughter. All so that an old man can make our brothers die to bring him false glory before his dried husk of a body finally fails. I wont do it any longer. I have no ties left. All I have is a duty to uphold the Codex despite the interference of traitors!"

"You made your brothers die for nothing! MY ARM IS ON THE GROUND!!!", roared Ianelli

"They wouldn't take me in until I proved my loyalty!", screamed Paladin Fade. "We could have left this outpost at any time to escape the mutants, but I wouldn't be able to justify abandoning this place to you and the men. And the Outcasts don't have the soldiers to seize a major super mutant camp. You repel the mutants, you get wiped out, and the Outcasts gain a forward base of operations without a single casualty! I'm sorry my brother. Though you died for a false cause, you lived in honor."

"YOU...ARE...NOT...MY...BROTHER.", declared Knight Ianelli before Paladin Fade gave him a mercy killing with his flamer.

Knight Ianelli did not scream or make a noise of any kind as he was consumed by the fire. Paladin Fade stepped back and started moving away from the Mass Relay Station. Stopping for a moment to look at all the carnage he caused. A brief feeling of guilt came over him as he saw his men lay dead next to their mutant killers, but he held it inside and grabbed the helmet of a fallen brother. As he began his walk to the rendezvous point, a bullet ruptured his flamer's fuel tank which exploded and set Paladin Fade on fire. But unlike Ianelli, he screamed, for so long.

Knight Colvin ejected the round from his sniper rifle as he saw Paladin Fade burn. Ianelli had forgotten to mention that Colvin was alive, who then witnessed Fade killing his own men and abandoning his post without even collecting their holotags. Colvin didn't hear their conversation, nor did he understand the whole situation. He just knew one thing. He used his last bullet to kill a coward and a traitor. With no ammo left and a lull in the fighting, Colvin came down from his sniper's nest and started doing his duty as the outpost's lone defender.


Fort Bannister, January 1st 2276:

The loud banging noise at the hydraulic door echoed through the halls around it, but was left unanswered. Most of the mercs were actually celebrating New Year's this morning ever since Three Dog officially announced it over the radio. Though most wastelanders could care less , mercs, raiders, and parts of the Brotherhood celebrated it nonetheless. While the Brotherhood usually celebrated another year of their order's survival or a new year of possibilities, the bad guys celebrated another year of pillaging and murder.

When a drunken Talon merc finally answered the door, a dust covered Sergeant Ket slammed his head against the metal wall before continuing on. Corporal Tilt sealed the door again and skipped over the unconscious merc to follow Ket. Celebrations could be heard all around as every room had its own little party going on. Despite being an effective fighting force in the Wasteland, Talon Company was more lacking in discipline than one might think.

"Tilt I want you to find the brass and tell them I'm back minus fourteen men. Then you can do whatever you want, I don't care." Before Tilt could even give a response, Ket was already gone. He urgently needed to see Dr. Amber Lynn, the chem supplier for the whole Talon Company.

Despite her role here, Amber Lynn has been a victim most of her life. The child of two scientists, she became proficient in chemistry with the dream of supplying much needed medicine to the wasteland. Instead she gets enslaved and passed around from one group to the next cooking chems for slavers, merc bands, chem runners, and raiders, being violated more than once in each group. Now most recently under the service of the Talon Company after they killed her raider masters, she has been able to broker the most generous arrangement she's ever had: No one [censored]s her without permission and she makes high quality chems without trying to kill herself when left unattended. It's an arrangement that has worked out so far.

Ket reached the door to Amber's lab which had two guards stationed outside her locked room at all times. These were really precautions to keep Amber inside her lab, instead of actually protecting her. Her freedom of movement was limited solely to her lab. The guards immediately unlocked the door for Ket, knowing he only came when he needed more Red Eye from the doctor.

The lab was set up in a vacant storage compartment to provide all the space Dr. Lynn would need. One half of the room was the actual laboratory with all her equipment and chemical agents needed for cooking up chems. The other had her bed, books, radio, water fountain, and table. Ket wasn't too pleased to see Amber curled up in her bed when she was supposed to be in her lab at work.

"Do you have my Red Eye?", asked Ket.

"No. I don't think I'll be making anything else for you either.", said Amber in a trance like voice.

"Why not?", said Ket calmly as the hands at his side clenched into a fist.

"You guys broke the deal. The guards came to get the jet and psycho for your damn party. Next thing I know I got a needle of med-x in my neck and I'm being held down. They both had me at the same time. Made sure the bruises wouldn't show. Said they'd kill me if I talked, but I don't care. Shoot me. I'm tired of whoring my body and talent to every group of [censored]ers who have guns."

"But...The [censored] memories are coming back.", said Ket with a hint of fear.

"Live with it.", responded Amber who was obviously unmoved by Ket's problems.

Outside the lab, the guards stood at attention as the hydraulic door hissed open. Ket walked past the guards before stopping a few feet in front of them. After the door automatically shut, there was an uneasy silence.

"Did you two [censored] her?", asked Ket with his back turned to the guards.

"Excuse me, sir?", said one of the nervous guards.

"Did. You. [censored]. Her."

"Um, sir. N-No we d-didn't do that. We know we're not allowed, s-sir!", replied the guard who was trying not to throw up because he was so nervous.

"Oh...I guess she was lying.", said Ket as if he believed them. "She must be trying to get me paranoid."

The guards were breathing a sigh of relief when without warning and incredible speed, Ket slit the throat of the guard to his right. The other raised his R91 assault rifle to shoot, but Ket wrestled it out of his hands and smashed the butt of the gun against the guard's face.

From inside the lab, Amber heard the screams of the guard as he was being beaten to death. Ket was intentionally dragging out the beating so that he could vent his frustration on the man. And as Amber laid down listening to her attacker suffer, she smiled for a moment. She was used to them always getting away with it, and this was a refreshing change of pace.

After a long silence, Ket opened the door and walked back into the lab carrying the guard's assault rifle. The butt of the gun dripping blood. Ket tossed the gun at Amber's feet and looked her straight in the eye.

"Nobody is going to be doing that [censored] to you again. I guarantee it. Now make me my [censored] Red Eye."

"It'll be done tomorrow.", responded Amber.

Ket stood there for a moment before walking away.It wasn't the answer he wanted, but Ket had to demonstrate an uncharacteristic amount of patience when it came to Dr. Lynn. After all, she was the only person in the wasteland who could make Red Eye. It was her invention. Alone again in her lab, Amber sighed thinking about her situation here. http://www.fallout3nexus.com/imageshare/images/680337-1243973799.jpg


Unknown Location, January 2nd 2276:

"AHHHHHHHHHH!!!", screamed Milton as he woke up in agony.

"Damn he's up. The med-x dispenser must have ran out on the auto-doc! #2 get Vincent NOW! ", said a woman who ran up to Milton's operating table.

Milton looked around to see where he was, but all he could tell was that he was in a metallic room. Next to his bed was an apparatus with machine arms and a variety of sharp surgical tools covered in dried blood. Milton's blood. When he tried to push the woman away, he saw tubes attached to his arm.

"WHERE THE [censored] AM I?", he screamed at the woman.

"Look calm down. Stop your [censored] whining so I can help you!", said the woman before punching Milton in the face.

A man hurried into the room holding a syringe of med-x to find that Milton was already subdued. After injecting the med-x into Milton to ease is pain, he was pretty upset that now they had a broken nose to fix after fixing seemingly every other part of Milton's body. After re-calibrating the auto-doc and refilling its med-x dispenser, Vincent scratched his head as he looked at Milton on the surgery table.

"You know Samia, were doing all this crap and we don't even no his name.", said Vincent.

I like how this chapter has three different plots going on at once, all three are once again, amazing.

Great job, can't wait for the next chapter

I figured I'd add this, but wasteland scholar, do not think just because not many people comment means not many people read it. Please keep posting chapters, as I know I read them, and even have friends who read them that don't have profiles. I'm always looking forward to your next chapters.

Thank you for that. I'll try very hard to keep that in mind in the future.

I used to have really serious confidence problems and I would question virtually every decision I made. It was one of a myriad of problems I had when I was younger. Medication, a couple of years of therapy, and watching Doctor Who helped me to gain a lot of confidence. Mostly Doctor Who really, the first two things were for something else. Every once in a while I do go into a freak out though. I guess you picked up on that.

---

I also want to take this chance to inform my readers that I'm going to start on a new fan-fiction soon. Don't worry, I have every intention to see this story to its completion. It's just that writing The Crusader has been getting a little stale and I have a few new ideas I wanted to start working on. What this means is that after I post the next chapter the story will go on hiatus for about two months. Thank you.

thanks for the update, Scholar. Looking forward to your next fanfic!

Finally found the time to get back to this.

I loved the updates, and however i feel slightly sorry (for myself) that you will put this on Hiatus for a month or two. I'm interested in your next fanfic.

this is one of the most well organized fan fics even with 3 plots

I WANT MOAR.

On a more serious note, this is way too good of a fan-fic to get ignored by the communtiy. Why is it it seems I'm the only one commenting on this? Because I know it still keeps me entertained, at least.