There and Back Again

I don't own fallout.

"So… Bloatfly sized Deathclaw? Or Deathclaw-sized bloatfly?" Jack asked lazily as the morning sun revealed a procession of protectrons in the distance.

"Deathclaw-sized bloatfly… they're squishy no matter how big they are. Plus I'd like to see them dodge bullets at that size."

"Really? Don't want to kick around a tiny Deathclaw, also have you had trouble hitting-"

"Are you two really having this conversation right now?" Casey asked, lying on her back above them on the tunnel entrance and watching the two skeptically with Masha and Satsuki. They lied down behind the hill above the tunnel where they couldn't be seen, and when the protectrons came close enough they'd shoot down on them from above.

"-Bloatflies?" Jack finished unperturbed, checking both of his revolvers.

"No." Swat added as she frowned at them.

"No to the conversation or no to Jack?" Casey asked, tapping the assault rifle laid across her buoyant chest.

"A bit of both really." Swat replied, lining a small shelf behind the sandbags with the six frag grenades they had managed to scrounge up together.

"Well, why don't you do something useful like taking potshots at the protectrons?"

"Because we want them close together. He's matching them all uniform at us." Swat replied, waving at the procession of robots coming ever closer towards them." If we start firing into the crowd he might have them spread out."

"Or it might speed them up." Jack replied with a shrug, "Or as fast as Protectrons will go. He does have an advantage if he gets them into face squeezing distance." He then leveled his Winchester at eye-level, aiming down the barrel with his good eye. "…He's pretty protected himself… them pretty girls he's got though not so much. You're right brat he's using them as a shield… and that's a real nasty protectron."

"Yep." Swat replied pulling out his sequoia. "Just get ready old man."

"…Betcha I get more than you do with one grenade."

"Alright." Swat added, taking one of the grenades.

…Soon the sounds of mechanical feet clomped rhythmically in the air as the protectrons in three lines of nine stomped to the end of the tunnel. At the back, Rodney was being protected by the big protectron and another protectron, specifically #34. The three slave girls were positioned around Rodney, with the redhead in the center. Rodney took a remote device from #34's back, and spoke with the protectron amplifying his voice... like a protectron

"Well now… you're braver than I expected." He said, pointedly hiding behind his slaves. "…If you surrender my women now. I will order my men to make it quick."

Swat and Jack eyed each other, Rodney frowned. He didn't recognize the ghoul… and he also didn't see where Swat's big white dog was. It wasn't like he would be hard to miss... jokes on him. Raid is surprisingly stealthy.

Swat cleared his throat, stood up, and delivered their collective rebuttal. "Fuck off!" before firing his sequoia into a protectron's head as the glass shattered everywhere and it crumpled into a metal heap, making Rodney jump in surprise.

"Kill him!" Roared Rodney dramatically as Swat ducked down, random mostly inaccurate laser fire from the protectrons rapidly slapping against the sandbags.

"You first?" Swat asked as the collection of robots stomped menacingly forward.

"Go." Jack replied seriously as Swat stood up, and tossed the grenade. It clattered against a protectron it seemed to contemplate the grenade now rolling on the ground.

"Did you… throw a grenade without pull the pin?!" laughed Rodney, but he was quickly silenced once the protectrons walked over it Jack stood up and fired his rifle. Right at the grenade. Half a dozen protectrons slammed into the walls and roof of the tunnel, along with several of the other protectrons like oversized shrapnel sending them onto the ground as they struggled to get up.

"Go for it, Brat." Jack replied, tossing another grenade into the crowd as Swat repeated the process. Half the protectrons were down once the grenades ran out. And the other half were severely damaged. The combination of well timed explosives in a small space was devastating to Rodney's forces as he shrieked obscenities. Several damaged protectrons stumbled out of the tunnel, closing in on Swat and Jack only to be pepped by assault rifle and laser fire from the girls, soon joined by Swat and Jack the protectrons were silenced.

"YOU FUCKING METAL THINGS! WORTHLESS THE LOT OF YOU!" he shrieked, striking the slave girls in his fury. "Kill! THEM! ALL!" he shrieked to the armored protectron, slapping its back as Swat watched.

"Please." Swat mumbled rolling his eyes as he pulled up his reloaded sequoia and fired… the bullet clanked and ricocheted off the protectrons head and he blinked. "…Huh." The armor around the protectrons legs suddenly dropped to the ground in a clatter, they didn't look like protectron legs they were more like an assaultron. It began to heat up, its heavily armored body turning bright red as it suddenly emitted a heavy cloud of black smog, and its head glowed red.

It then charged with blinding speed towards Jack and Swat.

"OH FUCK!" the two men shouted together, sounding remarkably similar, as it quickly close the distance. Swat had just enough time to shove the old ghoul out of the way as the monstrous robot slammed through the sandbags, it swung a clawed hand into Swat and he flew several feet away, rolling in the dirt as the girls opened fire on the thing, Casey's bullets clattering loudly against its armor and the bullets ricocheted to the ground. The laser fire did little to the heated chassis as more black smog erupted from it.

"Kill that man! Kill him!" shouted Rodney pointing at Swat, cheering happily behind his meat shields as the monster approached Swat quickly grabbing his leg as Swat put his sequoia flush to the 'glass' dome of the protectron's head and fired rapidly.

"Brat!" Jack shouted unloading his pistols into the thing as it swung Swat into the dirt wall. Swat screamed in pain as he hit the ground hard. He looked up just in time to see the thing raising its mechanical hands, bringing it down onto him. He raised his arm up and screamed as he felt the bones snap under the blow.

"Swat!" the girls shrieked.

"Run!" He managed to scream, rolling away and managing to pull his shotgun. "Run for it! RUN!" he clenched his jaw, his arm limp as he raised his gun and blasted the thing and point blank. It stumbled briefly, "Fucking!" BANG "THING!!!" he blasted again, the heated chassis slightly weakened, opening a hole in the thing's armor. "Fucking! THING!" he repeated again firing rapidly as thick smoke erupted into his eyes.

…Click.

Swat blinked at his shotgun in horror… and cursed under his breath as Jack's rifle bullets echoed uselessly against the machine. He frowned and stared in acceptance as its mechanical claw gripped his face.

"Boy!" Jack shouted desperately, tossing his rifle aside and drawing a sharp (but admittedly useless in this situation) hunting knife. More than ready to jump the thing in one, valiant, last-ditch effort to protect Gladys' son… their son.

Then suddenly a faint shimmer appeared next to the Monster Protectron.

"Action is eloquence." Said a voice as a rebar club slammed into the protectron with unrivaled force. Swat was tossed aside with a broken protectron arm still attached to his face as the towering form of Shakespeare appeared, shimmering as a stealthboy ran out. Gripping the rebar hammer with both hands as it came down again and again on the protectron.

"We know what we are! But know not what we may be!" he roared as the machine was pulped under his blows. Finally. Panting for breath he stopped as Rodney's mechanical dragon released more thick smoke… and then went silent. Its chest was little more than a collapsed pancake. "…My. That was… Most cathartic." Shakespeare said softly, a little surprised at himself.

Several things happened in moments… seeing the machine destroyed caused Rodney to stare in complete and utter disbelief, unaware of the awed looks his slave girls were making to each other. Another moment of awed silence, before The blonde, his favorite, raised her arm contemptuously and rammed her elbow into his large stomach he stumbled back with a gasp as #34, the sole surviving protectron reached out to grab her and the other two who darted forwards away from Rodney.

#34 'died' in an instant. Jack held Swat's smoking sequoia as he spun it on his finger with an expert flourish.

Rodney: defenseless, slaveless, and metaphorically gutless, he still had plenty of actual gut. Took one look at the ominously angry ghoul like he was the one-eyed angel of death. Before he turned and ran… for about 5 yards before slowing down and gasping for breath. He wasn't exactly in shape… but before he caught his breath. Something sleek, white, and ANGRY charged at him from Novac. He managed one pitiful whimper as Raid lunged snarling toward him.

Ignoring Rodney's scream the girls and Jack immediately went to tend to Swat. Sticking him with stimpaks and bandaging his clearly broken arm they carefully lay him down on a sleeping bag as Satsuki and Masha were embraced by the three recently released slaves.

Swat, through the pain and the drugs, blinked at the towering Shakespeare. "…I'm… not going to complain." He flinched slightly, "…But why did you help?"

Shakespeare fiddled slightly with the oil-covered hammer and shrugged. "Well, my dear boy. I'm not entirely sure myself. I only intended to watch but… I couldn't help myself." He added with a dismissive shrug as Casey, patted his muscled arm.

"…Good." She said with a smile as he returned it.

"Ugh I did not need a broken arm…" Swat grunted as Casey helped his arm into a makeshift sling He held his good hand out to Jack who, after reloading it, handed Swat his sequoia. Although he did look a little disappointed.

"Glad it was just the arm." Jack noted, helping Swat to his feet, "We'll get that looked at more back in town. It might be an irradiated hellhole but at least medical science is damn good.

"Oh God make it stop!" shrieked Rodney as Raid continued his master's vengeance on… generally all of him.

"So what now?" Casey asked as they ignored him.

"Now I get this fixed up." Swat grumbled, flinching as he walked. Casey supported him as the girls continued to celebrate. "…And deal with some shit." Pausing he turned to Shakespeare. "…You want to come?" he asked.

Shakespeare seemed torn for a moment, then smiling slightly he attached his hammer to his back and clapped his hands. "I'll pack my things." He said turning and heading back to the test site.

"Please! Please call him off!" shrieked Rodney as they approached. His body clawed and bitten, his fancy clothes and dignity mostly gone. He was pinned down by a snarling, menacing Raid. Swat had sent him off to surprise Rodney from behind, eventually, and the big dog was not happy at Swat's state upon his entrance: rightfully blaming the fat, slovenly pig before him. Satsuki suddenly approached, pulling her laser rifle and placing it flush against his head.

"No!" Swat suddenly shouted, "Not yet." He said as Satsuki stared at him in fury.

"He deserves to die." She said coldly, "He's a monster."

"And there's a vault FULL of men like him." Swat said coolly as she stared at him in surprise. "And we'll have an easier time dealing with them if he's still alive."

"Y-yes! Yes I can-" he flinched as Raid's teeth got uncomfortably close to Rodney's face. "HELP!" he whimpered like a child, pissing himself as the rest of the girls recoiled in disgust.

"How!? How can he help!?" Satsuki shrieked as Swat sighed.

"He can't. He's just a distraction." Swat said as Jack glared at Rodney in disgust. "The vault will open for him." He said as Satsuki's mind suddenly made several connections. "We need him alive because the vault won't open if it's just us." Swat suddenly reeled his foot back and slammed it into Rodney's fleshy side. He shrieked in pain as Swat whistled, Raid grinned happily as his 'big bro' and leaped off the broken Rodney. "He can be a little bruised though. Just don't kill him."

Rodney whimpered as the five former slave girls towered menacingly over him. Several years of abuse and rage were punched and kicked into him, and when they were finally done they dragged his broken body to Novac to be treated the minimal amount possible.

"So. We're going to Vault 69?" Jack asked as Rodney's cries of pain lessened somewhat as they walked towards Novac.

"We?" Swat asked with a knowing grin. "Didn't know you cared old man."

"If there's a vault of girls that look like them and men like him?" he jerked a wrinkled thumb back towards the collection of beautiful women. "I imagine a gentleman such as myself will be a welcomed sight." He adjusted his coat with a smug look on his ghoulish face. "...Your mother would never forgive me if I let them get their hooks into you."

Swat smirked through the pain, remembering fondly (but not mentioning) how desperate Jack was to save him. Once his Dad, always his Dad. "…I don't doubt it Jack. I don't doubt it."

"I do." Casey noted "I doubt it greatly." Raid yipped happily at her heels, bounding around them as they went straight towards the doctor.

End of Chapter.

Rodney's comeuppance has (sort of) come! And now Swat's heading back to the Salty City and vault 69. And Shakespeare has come back around, I rather liked that, and quoting Shakespeare! I was going to have Raid be more involved but I realized his teeth wouldn't have much of an effect. Besides him ambushing Rodney was much more poetic.

Fun fact, back when I was in highschool I had to translate hamlet for the rest of my class. No joke. I was the only one that understood old English.

I know I tried to keep most of this story in reality... but in Fallout 3 and 4 a few stimpaks and a good nap and your broken arm was fixed. I'm not trying to make an excuse that's just my reasoning.