While they were scouting out Corvega, Mason found a pipe that would lead to the bottom level.
"Careful," Mason remarked as they walked through the pipe, pulling his pistol out. "We know raiders are here, but I could've sworn I saw something else enter the pipes."
Mason saw something move ahead as they walked through the pipe and raised his weapon before it walked around a corner. He was about to lower it until he heard the sound of a turret firing. At first, he thought the turret had sensed them until he heard the sound of something hitting the turret. As bullets flew through the air, the bullets cracking with each shot, whatever was hitting it kept grunting.
Looking around the corner, Mason saw the turret explode and two walking dead people. Before the two creatures saw him, he aimed his weapon at the head of the nearest one. Pulling the trigger, the bullet pierced the creature's skull, alerting the other one of Mason's presence. Running forward, Mason didn't bother aiming as he slammed the grip of the weapon into its head, hitting it into a wall, the skull destroyed. Then, turning to Codsworth, he had him move somewhere out of place.
"Imma need you to stay here," Mason told Codsworth. "We don't have any repair kits. Don't want you falling apart while we're here."
"But sir, I believe I should come with you."
"I wouldn't fight well knowing I'd have to worry about you," Mason remarked, making Codsworth sigh in defeat.
"If you say, sir."
"Don't worry too much, Cods," Mason grinned, rubbing Codsworth's middle eye. "I got Casdin here watching my back."
Looking around, there were two raiders on the ground, their stomachs torn open by the creatures. After finding some ammunition on them, he stood up, took a deep breath, then turned to the hall. "Casdin, Dogmeat, let's get moving."
As they walked down the hall, Mason put his gun away as he smelled gasoline, pulling out a Molotov and lighter. Putting his back to the wall, he looked around the corner leading to a hallway with stairs, noting the gas on the ground. Guess they liked a dirty place. He was about to put the Molotov away until he heard a few people talking, and since they didn't sound bound or scared, could assume they were raiders. Lighting the rag, Mason threw the Molotov around the corner, igniting the gasoline.
"Fuck!" one of the raiders yelled as they burned. Mason walks forward, going past the hall going to a room with three raiders and a turret.
"Sayonara, taches de merde," Mason yelled as he threw a Molotov at the turret, hitting and lighting it on fire.
"Putain d'enfer!" Mason yelled as the turret began to fire. Getting behind a pipe, Mason pulls out his pistol, getting ready to fire. As soon as the turret stops firing, he turns around the corner and shoots the turret, making it explode.
"Why do turrets keep exploding!" Mason yelled as he shot a raider in the head before pulling out his switchblade and throwing it into the throat of another. He goes to fire at the last raider before seeing her head had been turned to ash.
"Because we keep blowing them up," Heather remarked, which made him chuckle.
"That's fair enough," Mason remarked as he collected the ammunition of the raiders. While searching the raider near the fridge, Mason hears growling.
"Ferals!" Heather yelled as she began to fire her rifle. Turning around, Mason has his pistol ready and goes to pull the trigger when Heather kills the last feral.
"Is that what those are called," Mason asks as he puts his weapon away. "I guess some still have working minds then."
Receiving a questioning look from Heather, Mason shrugs and walks out of the room through the set of double doors. Looking ahead, he saw a few raiders and crouched to move silently. As he walked up the stairs that led to the entrance, he put his pistol away and pulled out a rifle. After making sure it was loaded, he stood up and walked through a door, standing in front of a raider sitting at a desk.
"Hey, visage de merde," Mason remarked as he aimed the rifle.
"What the-" the raider said before getting a bullet to the face.
"What the hell was that?" A raider yelled as Mason looked into the next room.
"Your friendly neighborhood raider exterminator. Prepare to die, chiennes," Mason said, firing a round into her leg, then another into her head. "Make better choices in your next life, if you believe in that stuff."
"Die, asshole," a raider yelled as he tried to hit Mason with a tire iron. Stepping forward, the raider misses and hits Mason on the shoulder. Slamming the stock into the man's jaw, Mason frowns.
"Being stealthy would help more than yelling," Mason said. Before letting the raider recover, Mason punches him in his jowls before grabbing his face and twisting his head violently, snapping the man's neck. Walking into the hall, some bullets hit Mason's helmet and armor.
The raider had no idea what was going on, just that he heard yelling and gunshots, before seeing a red giant step into the hall. What was this thing?
"What the hell?" he yelled as he began firing bullets. Before he knew what happened, the giant started moving surprisingly fast for a creature of that size. The giant slammed their shoulder into his stomach, lifting him into the air, knocking the air out of his stomach. Before he could try to breathe in, he got slammed into the ground, making breathing hard. He could swear some bones were broken, and he couldn't breathe out.
"What... are... you...." the raider gasped as the creature raised his own weapon at him. How did it get it?
"Your death sentence," Mason said, answering the dying man's last question before firing a bullet into his head. "Why are raiders bad shots?"
"They don't receive any training," Heather said bluntly, smiling.
"Fair enough. Well, let's get to searching the bodies. Keep half the ammunition and stimpaks for yourself. I have enough to last until we're done here. Don't forget armor. Raider, forget it. Leather and metal though, grab it."
"On it," Heather said with a smile, oddly cheerful for some reason. They searched the bodies and area for five minutes, and after trading equipment, sat down on a couch. Then, pulling out some food, Mason turned to Heather.
"You got two options: Molerat Chunks or Mutt Chops. Neither taste particularly good, but they're better than nothing."
"Mutt Chops," Heather said quickly. "It does taste good, you just gotta get used to it."
"Fair enough," Mason said as he passed the mutt chops to her. "But I'm used to food that tastes like crap."
"So, what's on your mind?"
"Great! We make a good team. Better than I expected," She told him honestly. "So much better you deserve a bigger discount. You've earned it. And this is the key to my place. It's a small bunker near Covenant, not that far from where you found me. I'd like to go there if we get a chance. Sound good to you?"
"Sure, once we've finished helping the settlers though," Mason told her.
"No worries. Whenever," Heather smiled. After sitting for a while to regain their energy, Mason stands up and grabs his helmet.
"Ready?"
"Yep," Heather says, feeling energetic. Odds Mason out a bit.
Pulling out his pistol as they move, Mason reloads and puts the empty magazine away. Could put more ammunition in it later.
"Who's there?" A raider yelled as Mason backed against a corner. Grabbing a small rock off the ground, he tossed it in the opposite direction, the noise gaining the raider's attention. When their backs were turned, Mason moved, and when he neared them, he grabbed the closest one by the head. Slamming them face-first into the wall, Mason pressed his gun to the other one's temple and pulled the trigger.
"That's these two taken care of," Mason remarked as he shot the other one, hearing more raiders moving behind a set of double doors. "From what I can tell, at the least there are two people in the room ahead, possibly more."
"Well, how do you wanna handle it?"
After thinking, Mason looked to Heather. "Wait here a minute, I'm gonna kick the door open. They'll likely try to fire at what comes through, and I can get back by the wall fast enough that they won't hit me. When they're done firing, move in. Dogmeat, stay by Casdin for a minute."
Patting Dogmeat's head, Mason walked up to the door and made sure it was stuck in a slightly open state. Taking a deep breath, Mason released the air he was holding, then kicked the door open, backing into the wall as soon as his foot hit the door. As expected, the raiders began firing, the bullets going by as Mason was behind the wall. When the gunfire died down, Mason could hear them reloading and stepped out. Aiming his weapon, he fired a shot, shooting a raider on the walkway in the head. Turning, Mason saw another under a manager's office and fired a round into their neck, making them grab their neck. Before he could turn. Three bullets hit him, two bouncing off his armor, one going through his side. Looking down, the bullet had gone clean through.
Bleeding, he got back behind the wall, grabbing some wrap and gauze from his bag. If he didn't stop or slow down the bleeding, he'd die, and he couldn't do that yet. After finishing the quick wrap, Mason held his pistol in one hand, keeping pressure on his wound in the other.
"Des morceaux de merde," Mason growled as he stepped out, Heather ahead of him and firing at the raiders. Looking up, he saw two people on the walkway and aimed his weapon. "Die connard."
Pulling the trigger, the bullet pierced the raider, going through the woman's eye. The one beside her didn't let her fall and held her in front of him as Heather fired, the lasers hitting the dead woman.
"Not even caring about her? You're definitely a bastard, I'll give you that."
"Shut up, fucker!" the raider yelled as he fired his pistol at Mason, the bullets hitting the top of his helmet as he crouched in cover. As the shots stopped, Mason heard a magazine hit the ground, and he aimed his weapon. Pulling the trigger, he hit the man in the leg, making the man fall to the ground as his knee was shattered. About to walk out, Mason heard the sounds of a turret barrel startup, and he grabbed and pulled Heather back as it started firing, two bullets hitting her.
As he set her down, a bullet had hit her leg and stomach, and he snarled. Giving her a stimpak, he pulled out two molotovs and lit one of them before rolling behind a column as he threw one at the turret, and it started firing again. Before he could throw the other one, he waited for the turret to stop firing. He took deep breaths, the bullets hitting the column and ground by his feet. Taking deep breaths, Mason came out of cover when the turret stopped firing and threw the Molotov at the turret, running to the ramp by the turret. When it didn't explode, he got annoyed.
"Bon sang!" Mason snarled as he turned around the corner, grabbing the turret by the body, using one hand to grab the barrel. It began to try to turn, the gears straining as Mason turned it in the opposite direction. Straining as he turned it, Mason bit his tongue as pain from his wound began to flare. He began pulling back on the barrel, feeling the heat through his gloves. As the turret tried to turn, the barrel snapped. Instead of letting the turret go even though it couldn't fire anymore, Mason began to jam the barrel into the front of it. Scrambling the circuitry, the turret began to spiral out of control before exploding, throwing Mason back.
When he woke up, he felt a stimpak in his ribs and looked down to see Heather with his helmet beside her.
"Wh-what just happened?" Mason questioned, a bit confused by where he was. This wasn't Sanctuary.
"You got knocked out. Had to use three stimpaks to heal you."
Mason opened his mouth before grunting as he grabbed the back of his head, pain flaring up.
"Careful. May be wearing a helmet, but you still hit your head hard."
"I'll remember that," Mason said as he looked down at his ribs. "You said you used three stimpaks?"
"Yep. Had to force water down your throat so you didn't dehydrate. Still, you should drink more."
"Noted," Mason said, looking around. "How long was I out for?"
"You were out for a while. I'd have to say... three hours."
"Merde," Mason muttered. "Lost valuable time." Slowly standing, Mason grabbed his helmet from Heather and put it on. "Thanks for patching me up."
"No problem. Where'd you learn emergency first aid though? Not a lot of people know how."
"Was part of the military. Infantry Regiment. Had a few close calls."
Heather looked confused, but Mason didn't notice. Grabbing a water bottle, he saw a closed gate and wondered if that key he got off that raider would work. It was one for this place, so it might.
Digging in his pockets, Mason pulled out the key and inserted it into the keyhole. Hearing the click as he turned the key, he knew it was open and pulled the door. Collecting some ammunition and weapons, Mason gave Heather some of the bullets, holding the guns in his bag.
"The walkways got to lead to another area," Mason remarked as he looked up. "Not to Jared, he'd be somewhere easy to get in and out of. But there will be more raiders in that area."
Looking at the wound from earlier, it had closed up for the most part with the help of the stimpaks but was going to leave scarring. No amount of medicine could fix that.
"Should've saved the stimpaks," Mason said as they climbed the stairs of the place. "They're hard to find. Would've had to change tactics a bit, but we could've cleared the place without using them."
"True, but you could've also died."
"Fair enough," Mason remarked with a grimace. "Need to be more careful."
Most would've assumed he was talking about them, but Heather could tell he meant himself.
While clearing the area, they took care of three raiders, which were pretty easy to kill since they were found in an area with three sleeping bags near each other. As they get back to the area with the stairs leading up, Mason turns to Heather.
"Head on up and scout the area," Mason said. "Take Dogmeat with you while I go grab Codsworth."
After grabbing Codsworth and heading back up, Heather tells Mason the people in the area.
"There are three raiders and the big guy himself. They have two turrets, but they'll be easy to take care of."
Mason knew the turrets could pose a problem, and he noticed they were on the roof of the two places, so it'd be hard to hit them. While he was looking through, he saw a powered-down protectron and got an idea. Crawling to the terminal for it, he looked at how long the password was, seeing a bunch of symbols and letters on the screen. Trying to figure out the password, he clicked two that were wrong before clicking on the one that said 'thief,' unlocking the terminal. Changing the personality subroutines to those of law enforcement, he hit the power button and backed away.
"Powering up. Protectron on duty," the machine said as it came to life. Stepping out, it sensed the raiders and turrets and turned to fire at them. The raiders immediately noticed and began firing with the turrets. One of the turrets explodes, and a few of the raiders go down.
"What the hell? Kill it!" Jared yells. Looking at Heather, Mason gestures for her to take care of the last turret as the Protectron goes down. Rushing towards the walkway, Mason hits the button to extend the walkway, putting his pistol away. Jumping across the gap when they're close enough, he rushed up to Jared, who tried to hit him with his rifle.
Jared had no idea who this guy was, but he had wiped out most of his men! Swinging his rifle, he swung over him as the man ducked below before decking him across the face.
"What the fuck," Jared muttered as he staggered back, the man on his two feet with his hands in front of him. He had been hit in the face plenty of times before, but it felt like he'd been hit by a power fist! Going to kick the man, it was blocked by his leg before getting punched, blood flooding his mouth.
"Bathard!" Jared yelled as he went to shoot the man before it was hit downwards, and the bullet went into his foot.
"Ahh!" Jared yelled before getting kneed in the stomach. He felt something grab him by the back of his throat before a fist came up and met his nose. Reeling back, Jared dropped his rifle as he held his nose, blood flowing, heating his fingers.
"God damn it," Jared yelled, and when he turned back, he froze. Looking at the man, he realized he wasn't getting out of this. The man was too strong, too skilled. But he'd be damned if he died like a coward!
"Mother fucker!" Jared yelled as he tried to punch the man, before getting punched again, before a foot connected with his chin, shattering it. Unable to speak, Jared fell to the ground. Unable to move, Jared couldn't do anything as the man pulled out a pistol and aimed it at him.
"Are the rest taken care of Casdin?" Mason questioned as he put his weapon.
"Yep. Collected the ammunition and guns off them as well. Armor too."
"Good," Mason said as he picked up a magazine off Jared's desk, excited on the inside, and went to check the steamer trunk nearby. Grabbing a piece of metal armor and another flannel, Mason decided to stop grabbing big stuff for the time being, as his bag was getting full. He noticed two bodies he hadn't seen before and raised a brow at Heather as he walked down.
"They came in after you took care of Jared," Heather informed him.
"Guess that means we got more outside," Mason remarked, and after setting his bag down in the room before going outside, and pulled out his pistol.
"Time to kick chienne and chew bubblegum. But I'm outta bubblegum," Mason said before opening the door.
As they sat at the retirement home, Mason thought back to the stuff they had done that day. Taking out raiders and turrets, some ferals, it was all familiar. The ghouls were a bit known, but the fighting... he could never escape it. That always chased him down. The raiders outside had been a bit annoying to deal with, but it was harder for them to hit him with more open space, and he managed to take them out with a few grazes and bruises. Looking at the loot, he grinned at the bobblehead and magazines he had found. They would come in handy. The magazines mostly. The bobbleheads were definitely just decoration. As he took his helmet and armor off to wash his body using water from the home's faucets, and when he looked at a mirror, he noticed something.
"That's going to leave a mark," Mason said as he finished drying his face, sitting beside Heather on a couch. "Guessing the turret did this," Mason grimaced, referring to the new burn mark on his jaw.
"Yep," Heather said a bit quickly. Knew she wouldn't do it though, so she probably just knew what he was going to say. Sighing, Mason pulled out some molerat chunks, and once he was done eating, closed his bag and found a bed to sleep in.
"That's going to become a normal thing," Mason muttered as they climbed the hill leading to a bridge that would get them to Tenpines.
"To be fair, when you try to help people, it's bound to become normal."
"Sir, you really should apply something to that," Codsworth told him, talking about the new burn. "It could become infected."
"Stimpaks were used. It's just scar tissue now," Mason informed him, which made Codsworth sighed, guessing he'd have to get used to it. As they approached the settlers' home, Mason walked up to the one in charge, clearing his throat to get her attention.
"Ahem,"
"You find those raiders?" the woman questioned as Mason walked up to her before noticing the burn on his jaw.
"Yeah, I kicked their culs for you."
"No kidding," the woman said as she handed him bottlecaps, though a bit confused by what he said. "That's the best piece of news we've had around here for a long time. So we've been talking- we decided if you came through for us, we'd join up with the Minutemen again."
"That's great," Mason told her.
"If we want things to get better, we've got to start helping each other. So.. we're in. You can count on us if you need anything down the line. Thanks again, friend."
"Call me Mason. Can I get yours so I know who to talk to when you guys need help?"
"It's Katherine," she told him before heading over to take care of the crops. After taking care of some radroaches in the destroyed house, Mason sat down on the mattress before pulling out some paper, enjoying the feeling of the sunset as it went down.