Upon arriving back at sanctuary hills you check your pip boy. The corpses located were in concord, then the hills northwest of red rocket and beyond. It would be best to start at one end and walk a line through them. You sigh disappointed at the likelihood that this meant raiders had reoccupied the areas and it was time to deal with it like cleaning up a herpes outbreak.
You were torn whether you wanted to go for speed and mobility by traveling without the power armor, or if you wanted to go for the shock and awe approach of being the unstoppable juggernaut? You flip a quarter you keep for such moments, speed it is. At least you wonât need to detail your power armor and buff out the dings later.
Probably not a particularly serious threat, do I go in standard combat attire, or do I do something silly like wear my silver shroud costume and ham up the dialogue? You flip your coin, standard. âGlad I donât have to waste good ham on unknowns.â The lone survivor chuckles to themselves.
Continuing down the road in your Ballistic weave fatigues with unique trophy armor pieces over the exterior. Your Ballistic Fedora affixed, patrolman glassed leveled and your camo green bandana covering your face as you stood at the top of the hill past the red rocket gas station.
âTime to sweep.â You mutter walking down the hill.
After plinking a few bugs with your silenced weaponry who had gathered about a brahmin corpse you make your way towards the T intersection when you see the bright yellow remnants of the fluffies corpse (1). You slow your pace and and begin to stealth scanning the area to make sure it wasnât an ambush first before examining the fluffy. The fluffy had been bisected by a jaw trap, likely laid out here to try and cripple a pack brahmin for opportunist raiders.
You pause for a moment and look to your right towards the remnants of the old park, as the cutest most child friendly place in the area it felt like a good place to start. As you pace into the unhealthy grass you notice a poop pile at the edge of the big tree (2). This was the work of more then one fluffy, you hoped anyway. You watched where you walked carefully for both traps and poop as you neared the metal flying saucer play place. You peak in the port hole and the inside had been lined with fabric and objects, signs of nesting. So fluffies were here at one point, probably before the raiders showed up.
You skulk to the alleyway of concord saving and loan and peak the main street leading to the museum of freedom (3). âProbably basing primarily out of the museum and hardware store.â You mutter to yourself seeing a few raiders mill about down the street.
You duck back and make your way through the park to the end of the street to ensure you wont be attacked from multiple sides (4). As you come around the corner you go from a slow walk to a hurry across the street to take cover. There was a man in leathers smoking a cigarette outside the Walden Drug. Youâd thoroughly scavenged it but sometimes people would leave things behind in places that were labeled as a reminder to themselves next time they were passing through. Or repurpose a particular fitting building rather then building new.
As they leant in to say something to someone inside you rounded the front of the corner building and approached them from behind. The argument grew a tad heated as the individual went into the Walden drug. You scan your left to ensure no one was nearby in that direction before proceeding to press your back next to the entryway of the drug store in preparation (5). After a calming breath you pulled around the corner and saw the two arguing over the counter at each other. You aimed for the one behind the counter first as they could get to cover quicker and would likely see you when they took their eyes off the person in front of them.
âYou know what, Iâve had it up to here~ with. . .â The one behind the counter adds and as they raise their hand to emphasize a silenced bullet flies through their neck and sends their head careening into the ceiling. Sometimes you wondered how physics worked like this in combat but you usually put aside such thoughts because you were in a fight and didnât think about the subject when you werenât fighting.
âHell of a way to make a pointâŚâ The second adds but before they can hold up their hands to surrender you had already proceeded to double tap them in the back as they fell slumped over the counter. After checking to make sure no reinforcements were on the way you began to scavenge.
You pocketed a few chems worth taking that wouldnât slow you down. Their equipment wasnât worth carrying but with a settlement so close youâd drag it back when you were done assuming you werenât in a hurry when it was over and made a salvage pile behind the counter.
You proceed out the building readying a few mines as you lay them about the street leading to the museum of freedom and partially obscure them with trash before doubling back towards walden drug. Every alley or space between a building a raider could come at you from your right got a mine placed in it. A short street length around the corner from the hardware store you put another small mine field before doubling back to the alleyway leading to the main street.
You ready a pair of synth relay grenades and toss them past the mine field towards the Hardware store to serve as a distraction. The bright flashes and thuds draw the attention of the ones in the hardware store that begin to ready themselves as you head down the alleyway.
After a bit of chirping and beeping from the gen 1âs their sensors finally lock on the first humanoid coming out of a building and they start firing. As the sound of battle draws attention the few milling around the main street have their attention drawn. All but one are heading towards the museum of freedom to skirmish while the one closest to the alley decided to cut through and behind. They nearly bump into you and their eyes go wide when they get a jab to the gut with the end of the silencer before a pair of shots finished them. The ones heading down the street didnât notice and you and you gave chase forgoing stealth in lieu of chaos.
As you approached the one in the rear they started to turn with their drum fed shotgun towards you but no sooner had they caught you in their side profiled had the first round whizzed past them. They sprawled backwards in concern while trying to face to level their weapon but most of the remaining clip found its target as they fell over. âStealth is out the window for the moment.â You add holstering your weapon after a reload and snatching up the shotgun.
You walked up to the next raider who was using the corner of the hardware store as cover and firing towards the combat around the building. They hadnât overheard you due to the weapon fire and it was a simple process to pain the walls with their brains with this shotgun. As you took their place you saw that one synth was down and the other was missing an arm and would soon go down as well.
They had managed to disintegrate two raiders though so at least it was a wash. There were three you could see that werenât in buildings. As one busied themselves sinking their combat knife into the remaining synth you swept the legs out from under the one in the rear with a blast of the shotgun. As they fell into the cone of death that you were aiming at you fired a second shell and splattered their head. As the two-remaining turned around to face you the one with its knife in the synth was surprised when it abandoned its pistol to grip them by the neck and its legs wrapped around their body as the synths internal components began to glow. âNot like t~â A small blast from the self destructing destructing synth had only left the raiders legs behind.
The one in front of you had a pool que and just looked at you with a âcome on man~â kind of look as if insinuating how unfair it was that you had a shotgun on him and he had to get even closer to attack you back. You chuckled and dropped the shotgun on the corpse. âFine.â The lone survivor adds squaring up with their fists.
The raider lunged in with a sweep of the pool que that you blocked with your forearm bracer and proceeded to snap it off as it lodged itself in the hooked side blades. They look a little disappointed but shifted their grip turning their spear into a club as you stepped in slammed your foot down in a stomp onto their foot and double palm striking them in the chest sending them falling back while standing in place as you made sure they couldnât move their foot.
You lost yourself for a minute before you realized you were mounted on the raiders chest and were beating hamburger covered cement. You stabilize your breathing and sigh. As the quiet returned you could hear some activity inside the museum for sure, likely preparing to defend but another sound caught your attention from the Hardware store.
âHuuu Huu~â
You grab a carton of what you assumed was dirty water and poured it over your bloody hands as you entered. (8)
âPwease no mowe huwties. Mummah no know whaâ do wong!â A peach coated mare with a leafy green mane and tale added. Well what was left of their coat, tail and mane respectively. The raiders had been clearly tormenting the fluffy by taking their fur a little at a time or putting out cigarettes and the like. The worst injury though would have to be the missing front legs. A dirty pan and some bones in the trash gave you the impression they had been eaten.
âNot here to hurt you little momma.â You add stopping when you donât notice any foals nearby. âWas it just you and your special friend, or were there more fluffies?â
âMowe den hoofies~â The mare adds before becoming sad as they meant more than 4 and not the two she has left.
âI understand, take your time.â You add walking behind the counter and pulling up a chair and you begin to slowly try and comfort them in uninjured spots when gentle pets.
With a gentle sob of thanks they proceed. âMost wun when meanies come. Speciaw fwiend stay cause babbehs too wittwe to move buh take fowebah sweepies. Meanies find nestie and gib bad upsies to babbehs and mummah. Meanies take mummah thwee and thwee babbehs to big pwace.â They add gesturing with their nose to the museum.
You sigh. âNever simple.â
âIâll get your babbehs back but I cant leave you alone.â You decide this wasnât the time for them to decide if they wanted to go back to the institute or not. You scoop up the fluffy as gentle as you can and double back through concord and towards red rocket gas station. While time was a concern you werenât about to pass a traumatized fluffy off to a random settler and have them take them back to sanctuary for you. So you jogged back to sanctuary and proceeded through the first and second gates.
âOkay here we are.â You add attempting to comfort the fluffy in your arms as the fluffies playing ball while the foals napped in the nest stopped their game and rushed over to you.
âDaddeh back!?â âWho dat daddeh?â âNyu fwiend?â a series of voices began mewling around your legs.
âCant stay long, need to save some babies. Can I ask you to be good fluffies and help out Peach here~â As you said this you had meant as a visual identifier but of course fluffies were fluffies. âshe has lots of hurties and needs rest.â
âPhanes wook after Mummah Peach fow daddeh.â Phanes adds attentively wagging his tail.
âDaisy hab uda mummah to tawk too and babbehs soon hab fwiends~â Daisy adds excitedly as she turns around to make her way to the nest as if preparing for a house guest.
âWe be fine daddeh, sabe does babbehs.â Durum adds giving him a pat on the shin as if saying âyou can do this.â
As you set her down you say. âIf you need help moving her just ask nanny or Isaac.â Before placing her on the grass nearby and jogging back to concord. You stop at the yellow fluffies body and stretch for a bit before deploying another relay grenade.
âPlease return this synths body to retention.â You add before making your way towards the museum for a showdown.
