Vault Dweller
Ch. 56 Oh My Angel Nov. 3rd
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Ch. 56 Oh My Angel Nov. 3rd
"
She shook her head, wiping her eyes and sniffling, but Meathead insisted. "
Gulping, her throat felt dry. Meathead took two paces outside of the cabin door and picked up a yellow plastic jug filled with water, pouring out some into a large mug that Thunderstruck could wrap her hooves around.
In the few seconds it took Meathead to retrieve the water, she took another glance, looking out through the door and seeing the wooden ship interior.
"Thanks." She said, accepting the water. "Why did you do this? Where are we?"
"
Thunderstruck was quietly reserved, but Meathead read her easily. "
"Hundreds? What was that word you said, the Constitution? What is it?"
Meathead gestured all around the room. "<This is the USS Constitution, all of this we're standing in right now is a big sailing ship that Nate and I helped restore. Do you remember an extremely loud noise about two-three days before you flew over Diamond City?"
"Loud...noise? Ah! The noise! That distracted them long enough for us to escape! Oh my gosh! I need to go!" Thunderstruck was already turned towards the railing, taking steps to build momentum and fly away.
"
" A few other pegasi broke free, but we all scattered. I...I don't know where any of them went, but we heard about humans that helped slaves, who help people break free and escape."
"
"That's them!"
""
"Who's Nate?"
"
"A red unicorn? Athena?" She shook her head. "That's her name?"
"
"Her!" Thunderstruck worked her jaw, "I didn't know her name, but yeah! She is extremely violent, but she's a raider for sure...other raiders wouldn't go near her, but was never randomly violent like everybody else, when she attacked someone it was for a good reason. She was one of the ponies I saw who wasn't a slave. I didn't think she would still be alive...I didn't expect to see any other ponies outside of that hell-hole. I don't know which gang she belonged to or what her kind of deal she made, otherwise, I'd steer clear of her."
"
""
"
"Change? What do you mean?"
"
"Huh? Why do you chose to look like a dog?"
"
"Could you change yourself to look like me?"
"
"Do it."
"
Before Meathead could say anything more however, Thunderstruck kissed Meathead, startling him. She pulled away and frowned.
"Hmmm. Didn't think I was that bad."
"
Leaning forward, Meathead primed the emotion of love, letting it flow into Thunderstruck as they kissed again. Passionately locking lips and falling in love with the new image of herself. She felt free and happy, something that she withheld from allowing herself to feel that way in a long time.
When they broke, "
Thunderstruck nodded. "Better."
"
Thunderstruck sat down and nodded again, breathing in and expecting the change.
In another flash, Meathead was Nate, and the first thing Thunderstruck did was tilt her head. "What's that your wearing?"
"<It's a vault suit. It's what Nate wears most of the time. We're from Vault 111, see here on the chest?" Meathead said, pointing to the numbers. Turning around, it was much more obvious.
"Why don't you go around as yourself?" She asked.
"
"Robotic birds?"
"
"They sound terrible."
"
"
\111/
Meathead's tour of the boat first lead Thunderstruck up to the top deck, where the duo were able to make out some of the skyscrapers, but it was the light from the stars and moon that made the early morning visible to them.
The darkness was unsettling, and the patrolling robots didn't do much to quell any fears she had about robots, but after a few assurances from Meathead, and after realizing they wouldn't attack her, she calmed down a little.
""
The word made Thunderstruck cringe at the mention of the place.
"
Meathead's declaration only made Thunderstruck twitch violently and dip her head down.
"
"So he knows about the Gauntlet too?"
"
"The Gauntlet. A death trap that tricks raiders and other people into going into a maze filled with explosions, poison, and every other horror. It kills most of the people who try, but those who make it through get a chance to fight the-" Stretching her neck, the word didn't come out easily. "Overboss. Ever since they built it, the rule is if you kill-" She swallowed "Colter. Then you get to be the new boss."
Meathead stood there...unsure if he heard Thunderstruck correctly, "
"If you kill Colter, then you get to be the new Overboss of that hell-hole. But any person running that would be just as terrible as the people who put it all together. I heard nobody's even been able to put a scratch on Colter. Electric Power Armor or something. It stops people from even being able to touch him."
"
As Meathead went down below, Thunderstruck felt the cool night air put a damper on her flight, but still, she persisted.
Flying off the rail, she flapped her wings and aimed straight for the next skyscraper. Wandering through buildings with blown out windows at the top usually were devoid of desks, cubicles, chairs, and other supplies. Instead, the fierce winds so high up could blow upwards of 70 to 110 knots per hour, ripping most of the interior out. Otherwise, like seaweed on the beach, everything was washed up against one wall.
Thunderstruck kept her exploration to the high towers, yet refraining from exploring the darker floors below, then returned in time to watch Meathead wake up.
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