Receiving an earful from Garvey about being irresponsible, although Mason did get the cure, he pulled him away to tell him something he wanted to hear.
"Gather some recruits... and go to the castle," Mason commanded. "Make sure they're seventeen at the minimum. Give me three weeks, tops, and I'll be there." Looking surprised when Mason told him that, it didn't stop Mason from putting his arm over his shoulder. "We're reclaiming the castle, and I'm getting the biggest kill anyone in my family has ever gotten," Mason remarked, grinning from ear to ear.
"Of course, General," Garvey responded, excited to be taking back the Castle, a smile a mile wide.
Garvey left their separate ways to get a squad, while Mason went to get Curie, running into Tina before he did.
"Can I help?" Mason questioned, his head cocked to one side.
She explained how since everything with Austin had happened, Bobby was using jet even more than before and wanted him to help.
"Any idea how I can convince the foutre dans la merde," Mason questioned, having never run into this type of problem before.
"You gotta convince him to go see Rachel. She's got some treatment drug that'll help him get clean. It's either get clean or get dead at this point, and that bastard better get his priorities straight," she urged, clearly upset as Mason backed away. Finding Bobby in his room, Mason saw him try to hide Jet until Mason rushed and grabbed it from his hands.
"Give that-"
"I'm here about your habit," Mason told him, giving him a chance to admit to it.
"My habit? No habits here, man."
Oh boy, he was definitely high. He got caught red handed, and he still tried to lie. "You need help, Bobby. Look, Rachel has medicine that can help you," Mason told him, crushing the jet in his hand. He hoped Bobby would take the chance since Mason did not want to deal with a crying woman or dead body after what he went through.
"She, she can? I never realized there were drugs to treat... drugs...," Bobby said, thinking it over, "If it's that easy, I'll do it. I'll go see her right now."
Making sure Bobby got to the medical clinic, Mason preventing him from backing out, he got him to Rachel. Leaving Bobby with her, Mason went to the generator room, finding Tina working on a generator.
"Did you talk to Bobby?" she asked, backing up a bit as Mason approached her. He didn't know how to handle people he barely knew. "How'd it go?"
"Nervous, but made the right decision in the end," Mason informed her. "Made sure he went to see Rachel."
"Thank god," she sighed in relief. "That's it. No more drugs, no more dealing. We're starting over. Maybe now I can get him to leave this can."
"If you really want out of here, you can come work for me on a settlement," Mason offered, knowing she likely wouldn't last a day alone.
"Y'know, as far as new beginnings go, that sounds pretty good. Count me in."
"Alright, let me see the Pip-Boy real quick so I can mark the route," Mason told her, and after marking it, handed her some road leathers. "These should keep you warm until you get there. If anyone asks, tell them the General sent ya."
When she was done changing into the road leathers, something she was oddly comfortable doing in front of Mason, though he turned away, finding it awkward. Patting her on the back as she left, Mason told her to say bye to her brother before she left. She could see him again one day. Not something Mason could control, but the last words between siblings didn't need to be hateful. Finding Curie, Mason grabbed Heather and Dogmeat as they left the vault, Mason carrying Heather due to the stunt he pulled. He still found her light for a full-grown woman.
Getting outside, Mason turned the radio on his Pip-Boy on to Diamond City and sang along to the lyrics. Putting Heather down as they found an old relay tower Oberland. Ignoring the new radio stations, Mason pulled out his pistol as he walked across the bridge to the other side of the river. Due to the trucks on it, they had to be careful, forcing them to be as they walked, Mason keeping an ear out for undesirables.
"Smells like a putain de benne à ordures," Mason yelled, shooting a ghoul as it came out from under a truck, then fired a round into one in front of it. Looking at Curie, Mason couldn't tell if she was surprised by his language. However, her optical receptors did widen more, which was enough for him. Shooting the oil on the ground in front of them, Mason took out three ghouls that had been charging towards them, burning them to crisps.
"Why are they ânes stupides?" Mason questioned before remembering their brains were rotted. "Nevermind, stupid question."
As they were walking, a ghoul came running out of a trailer, charging right for Mason. Before anyone had time to think, Mason grabbed his pistol by the barrel, then slammed the grip into the head, leaving bits of ghoul on his armor.
"That's disgusting," Mason muttered, wiping the blood on a rag Dogmeat had, and when he was done, pointed to the left. "Ah, screw it. There's an interchange area that way, gonna get close enough to mark it on my Pip-Boy."
"There are Gunners over there," Heather informed Mason with a grin.
"Never said I was gonna kill anyone. Definitely can't do that right now," Mason pointed out. "But I can get close enough to mark it without getting caught. If I do, I'll run like a crazy ex is chasing me." Though that was Mason's brother that had to worry about that. The guy slept around in high school, Mason remembering his brother had managed to get some teachers as well. Wasn't something he supported. "You three hold position."
Walking over there, Mason turned off the radio, planning on turning it back on when he got back to them. Taking about ten minutes, running into two brahmins on the way, Mason got it marked, almost got caught, and when he was sure they weren't looking for him, ran back to the others, running like a little merde does from law enforcement.
"I'm back!" Mason yelled, thankful he wasn't caught. He was confident they had an assaultron, though thankfully it was up to, so he got away before they caught him. "Before we continue, we need to eat." Getting some food from Heather, Mason poured some water for Dogmeat and gave him some food before eating himself. When he was done, he made sure his and Heather's guns were loaded, and they started walking towards the partly sunken neighborhood.
"Probably ghouls there," Mason muttered. "If not, then bloatflies. Either way, something uglier that that Marcy woman in Sanctuary." Hearing Heather laugh, Mason smiled at her, wondering why she turned when she saw him looking. Probably nothing. Seeing something wading in the water, Mason grinned as he pulled out his pistol.
"Heather, it's full of ghouls," Mason informed her, and she readied her rifle.
"Let's do it."
"You get high, I get low," Mason told her, pointing to the ramps leading to the roof. Running into the water, Mason shot the first ghoul in the head before putting his pistol away, pulling out his rifle.
"One down, who knows how many to go!" Mason yelled, firing a round into one down the flooded street. Moving forward, Mason jumped back at one point as a body fell.
"Could've been worse," Mason noted, wading through the streets. "Also could've been better."
Wading through the streets, Mason kept his rifle up, firing at the head of anything he saw moving, having to be careful as it neared sunset. It was completely dark by the time they finished, but luckily they found an area people had tried to set up, finding two sleeping bags there.
"That was fun," Mason told Heather, sitting down on one of the bags. "Anything you need while we're here?"
"Can you grab some mutated fern," she asked. "I set up shop in the one place of the Commonwealth it doesn't grow."
"Got some right here," Mason told her, handing her the fern he had. "Found it when I got onto the roof. They looked interesting. Figured you could use 'em for somethin'." Staring off, Mason zoned out for a minute before continuing. "Well, got a long day tomorrow, so rest. I need some rest."
With that, Mason laid back, getting some much-needed sleep as he closed his eyes.
Waking up, Mason felt something wet on his hand and saw Dogmeat licking it. Did he forget to clean his hands after eating molerat chunks?
Checking the time on his Pip-Boy, Mason was surprised to see it was almost six. Did he sleep for that long? Fortunately, Heather was already up, and Curie was like Codsworth in that she didn't rest. Guessed that was useful as a Miss Nanny. Eating breakfast, they shouldered their bags, kept their rifle ready, and headed north towards an old trailer park. Taking about six hours to get there, a ghoul ran from the park as they neared it, Mason shooting it in the head before it got too close.
"Why are we putting up with this stuff this early," Mason yelled, shooting a ghoul charging at Curie from behind.
"It's eleven, monsieur," Curie informed, hitting a ghoul with her buzzsaw.
"Morning for me," Mason sighed, checking the place out. While clearing it, they had to take care of a ghoul that glowed red like the Super Mutant the other day.
"Why do enemies keep glowing red?" Mason muttered as he shot its legs off. "It's harmless, but odd."
As they finished clearing the place of ghoul, Mason remembered staring off for a minute, not remembering what he was thinking about, before searching the place for any goodies. Finding a key to a trailer, Mason opened the door, closed it, then had Heather punch him, so he was sure he was awake. Opening the door again, Mason began laughing, seeing a suit of Power Armor, though the frame was too small for his body. Didn't matter though, as it would fit Heather. Mason grinned as he found a combat shotgun, letting her have the armor. All he needed was some shells, and he'd be good to go. Finding a magazine in one of the trailers, Mason puts it away. Sitting by the pool, they stopped to rest for an hour, Mason's feet killing him.
"There's an old fort not too far from here," Mason told the others, grinning. "Not goin' into the fort, but there's a chance for good stuff in the area. Especially the blood clinic nearby. There might be blood that can be used for stimpaks."
Looking at Mason for a moment, Curie asked, "Those are the hands of an inventor, yes?"
Pausing to think, Mason had never thought of himself as an inventor. Heck, he just followed instructions. He could produce stuff but not invent. Except for when it came to tactics.
"Nah, just make and upgrade things," Mason informed her. "Inventing ain't my style. But I don't mind showing you some tricks." Despite the lack of facial features, Mason could see the excitement in her receptors. Those were all he needed to read her personality since she was like Codsworth with her own personality. "Anyway, about a two-hour walk to get there climbing through the mountain, so let's not waste daylight."
"You ever stop and take a break?" Heather asked, Mason understanding what she was getting at. The fact he hadn't really taken a break since waking up, working a lot to improve the lives of others, though that wasn't really working to Mason, more like a hobby.
"Well, once we're done exploring the zone, it's going to take about two days to get back ," Mason explained. "Got some stuff I want to upgrade, including my armor. But also got a lot of stuff I don't want to use or leave behind. And I can find a use for everything. Besides burnt magazines. There is no use for them!"
Eating some food before they left, Mason filled some bottles up with dirty water before heading west. When he had been talking about how long it'd take to get to the area, he had been including how long it'd take to get around the fence, not having anything to cut it. Nearing a filling station, they ran into a group of people, Heather informing Mason they were Gunners and Children of Atom. Having heard how they would force people to join them sometimes, Mason didn't really have an opinion of them yet due to them not attacking any settlements at the moment.
Getting pulled into the fight when they saw Curie, Mason pulled out his rifle, shooting the last gunner in the head when he peeked his head from around a corner. Firing a round, Mason shot a Child in the head, sending them to Atom or whatever they believed. Shooting the other two in the head, Mason sighed in relief, catching his breath.
Looting the bodies, Mason collected a combat rifle and a few combat armor pieces, picking up a helmet off one of the Gunners. Searching the Children, he found some gamma guns and two Nuka-Grenades. Storing the grenades in a safe place, they continued walking, coming by the fort.
"Who's tryin' to keep someone out?" Mason questioned, noticing sandbags and boards at the front as they walked by the fort.
"Bet you Gunners are there," Heather responded, Mason not taking the bet. Not only did he not feel like kicking through the boards or moving the sandbags to fight some mercenaries, he had a bad feeling about the place.
Putting his rifle away, Mason pulled out his pistol as they neared the blood clinic, seeing bloatflies ahead.
"We're here!" Mason yelled to Heather, aiming his pistol. "Now... we get to fight giant insects."
"Is that the worst thing we've fought today?" Heather questioned.
"Not really," Mason said, grabbing a bloatfly that shot him in the shoulder. "Far from it." Shooting the bloatfly in the head, Mason finished, "Today's one of the better days."
"Is everything alright, monsieur?" Curie asked, finishing a blood bug with Dogmeat.
"Yeah, just bored," Mason admitted, sighing as they finished the last blood bug. "Who knows, may run into some synths soon."
"That would be awesome," Heather said, Mason understanding why since she wanted to kill fifty and they had only managed to kill twenty so far.
"Time to search for supplies," Mason commanded, walking up the stairs in the blood clinic. Finding a terminal, Mason put in 'grass' for the password, surprised it was that simple. Walking into the room, Mason found some ammunition and stimpaks but was excited by what he saw. A magazine on the table.
"Massachusetts Surgical," Mason sang aloud, holding the magazine for all to see.
"First time I've seen this," Heather informed Curie. "It's kind of adorable."
Hearing Curie agree with her, Mason fell through a hole leading to an area Mason couldn't unlock before. Assuring them he was okay, Mason pulled out his pistol, having to fight more insects. Throwing a Nuka-Grenade into a room with two bloodbugs, and slammed the door behind him. Walking back in, one of the buggers was still alive, annoying Mason.
"Va te faire foutre," Mason muttered, slamming the grip of his pistol in it. Finishing that, Mason walked through the area, finding a button to open a door. Grinning as he walked into the room, Mason was happy with what he saw. "Blood packs," Mason muttered. "Good for stimpaks and temporary healing. Need to see what I can do about getting paks to heal more." When Curie came up behind Mason, he turned to her. "Maybe you can help me with that, Curie."
Searching the room, Mason collected a total of twenty-one blood packs and stuck them into a cooler. Couldn't risk busting them in his back. Strapping the cooler to one of Curie's, Mason checked the time, and after grabbing the others, began heading towards an old mayoral shelter to the west. Luckily, they didn't run into any ghouls or insects, which was good. Unlocking the door from a terminal in a tower, Mason turned to Heather.
"You're gonna need to leave the Power Armor," Mason told Heather as he took the cooler off Curie, planning to leave it there with the Power Armor to avoid potentially breaking the packs. "Gonna have limited space inside, and the armor's gonna take up too much space."
"Okay," Heather smiled, Mason turning to walk through the place. Knowing it was a decent-sized bunker, Mason knew it was because politicians always have everything they don't need. For another, he'd had a wife and child, so the mayor would've made sure they have crap too. Walking through the first part of the tunnel, Mason found where the shelter started, jumping back to avoid a turret firing. Pulling out his rifle as it stopped, Mason fired, hitting the door in front of it before hitting the barrel, blowing it up.
"Unexpected, but there's probably more ahead," Mason warned, walking through the door of the gate the first turret was behind. Ducking behind a pillar, Mason grunted as a bullet grazed his helmet.
"Merde! More turrets!" Mason yelled, a bullet grazing his leg. "Va te faire foutre aussi, minigun sous-alimenté."
As they stopped firing, Mason aimed around the corner like Heather does in a firefight, firing three rounds into the nearest one. Getting back in cover, Mason caught his breath, the bullets going over his head. Mason rolled onto his stomach when the turret finished firing, firing three rounds into the last turret. Standing up, Mason breathed heavily, checking the turrets for ammunition; Mason found bullets for his rifle, making him sigh in relief.
"Thanks for the bullets, morceaux de merde," Mason muttered, sitting down as Heather came up to wrap his leg. "Thanks," Mason told her. "What's on your mind?"
"You know, my parents were Brotherhood. They were from California, originally. Traveled to the Capital Wasteland under Elder Lyons," Heather informed Mason, something he could see coming, though he didn't want to admit it at first. You don't see that many good shots that weren't trained, and she knew how to take cover in a fight; something raiders and Super Mutants didn't. "At some point they fought with Lyons and left. Dad said they abandoned Lyons and his bad ideas, not the Brotherhood. I always had the feeling they wanted to go back to California. But they came here instead. Closer, you know, less dangerous trip."
"Not a bad call, being cautious."
"Cautious, not a bad call."
"My mom was a Paladin. She's the one that trained me with weapons. She wasn't going to have a kid that couldn't handle herself. She died a long time ago. My dad's a scribe."
"Did something happen to him?"
"He left us years ago."
"I'd never leave anyone behind," Mason told her. "Most importantly you and my friends."
"I love that about you. Your sense of duty. I guess he didn't have that."
"Well, I had a military man for a dad and grandfather. I guess it's just in my blood," Mason responded. "In one world I could be the world's biggest piece of merde." Standing up, Mason patted her on the back. "Anyway, let's get going. There's bound to be something good here."
Walking through the halls, Dogmeat started whimpering, indicating a fight was about to go down. Mason was ready for a fight, pulling out his rifle, Heather doing the same behind him. Reaching a gym-looking area, Mason saw and heard nothing, finding it odd. Listening out of place for anything, he suddenly froze.
"Wait here," Mason commanded, Heather and Curie stopping where they were, Dogmeat sitting by them. Walking to part of the wall that had collapsed, Mason moved his Nuka-Grenade somewhere he could quickly grab it and kept his rifle in front of him, aimed forward. Mason almost approached a dead brahmin in the tunnel beyond the wall before a shadow appeared. Jumping back, Mason froze, seeing a deathclaw hit the ground.
"Fils de pute!" Mason yelled, firing three rounds into its stomach, making it step back. Grabbing the Nuka-Grenade, Mason ran forward, jammed the grenade into the Deathclaws throat before kicking off its jaw, landing on his feet as he ran. The deathclaw began chasing Mason, the grenade going off as they reached the gym, the brains, and skin covering Mason, though that wasn't his main concern as he grabbed the sides of his helmet.
"Should've... ran faster," Mason grunted, ears feeling like they were bleeding. "Gotta make sure I'm not in range of grenades when indoors, or have ear plugs when I use them."
Heather and Curie came up, asking Mason something he couldn't hear.
"Can't hear anything!" Mason yelled, not realizing how loud he was at the time." Gotta give me a minute for my hearing to come back!" Sitting on the ground waiting for his senses to return, Mason now had a significant headache he'd have to sleep off.
"Alright, everything's good now," Mason said, standing up. "Had to kill a deathclaw, but that's nothin' new." Walking by Heather and Curie, they tried to stop Mason as he walked up to a pipe that he'd seen when walking into the room, noticing Dogmeat was still whimpering. Pulling out his knife, Mason pushed the button to open the pipe, ducking as a synth tried to hit him with a baton.
"Va te faire foutre aussi, bâtard!" Mason yelled, stabbing it in the head, lifting it by the throat as another tried to shoot him, hitting the body in front of Mason. Running at it when it stopped to reload, Mason lifted it off the ground, grabbing its head before slamming into the pipe. He was not trusting his hearing at the moment. Smelling something close to artificial skin, Mason began walking down the pipe, keeping his knife ready for any synth. Reaching the end of the pipe, Mason came out to the room where they first shot down some turrets, seeing three synths in the room.
"Come at me, baiseurs de mère!" Mason yelled, annoyed they actually had to fight synths. Running to the nearest one, he rammed it into the wall before stabbing it in the head, kicking another into a third. Grabbing them both by the heads before they got up, Mason slammed them together, unable to tell who's parts were whose.
Mason was tired from running and breaking their heads to pieces, breathing deeply. Coming up behind him, Heather was surprised by the damage in the room, Curie and Dogmeat following closely. Knowing they had to have come down the way they did, they took the elevator back up.
Stepping out of the elevator, Mason felt a laser hit his shoulder, thankful for his armor. Heather and Curie stepped out and began firing, Mason grinning when he saw how many there were.
Seven synths. Not the most number of enemies he fought but would be interesting. Running towards them, Mason slammed the head of one into the wall, then grabbed its body, holding it in front of him. Slamming it into one as they stopped firing, Mason stomped its skull in, looking at the remaining synths.
"Imma give ya a demon," Mason growled, referring to a name his squad mates had given him. Running to the nearest one, Mason quickly maneuvered around it, wrapping both arms around its head. Twisting, Mason tore the head clean off before throwing it at another and kicked the body into a third. Having gotten three so far, Curie got the one Mason had kicked, and Heather had gotten two. Kicking the legs out from under the last one, Mason slammed its head into the ground, breaking it to pieces.
"I believe... that makes... thirty-five..." Mason beamed to Heather, tired from the day's events. Falling to his knees, Heather and Dogmeat came rushing to him before falling face-first into the ground, having exerted himself that day more than before since waking up.
Waking up, Mason noticed he was in a tank-top, his flannel folded on the table beside his Pip-Boy. Noticing Heather laying on his chest, Mason tried to move, immediately regretting it. Grabbing his shoulder in pain, he guessed the laser did more damage than he initially thought. When he tried to get up again, Mason was careful to A) not wake up Heather and B) not damage his shoulder any further. Finding his Pip-Boy turned to Diamond City Radio, Mason sighed as he listened to the song, The Wanderer. For some reason, the title seemed familiar, though he didn't know why.
"You alright, bud," Mason asked Dogmeat as he sat on the bed, Dogmeat sitting in front of Mason. Barking happily in response, Dogmeat walked around to lay by Heather while Mason stood up, finding his bag by a safe. Giving Dogmeat some food and water, Mason sat back down on the bed, grabbing two water bottles and a stimpak. Injecting the stimpak directly into his shoulder, Mason grunted in pain, feeling the wound healing. Patching it up to heal over, Mason drank both water bottles, preferring to avoid dehydration. Putting the folded flannel away, Mason pulled out the Hot Rodder t-shirt they'd found. A bit small, but it'd do. Leaving Heather lying in bed, Mason found Curie waiting outside the door.
"Is everything alright, monsieur?" Curie asked, Mason finding it odd before realizing he never told her his name.
"Ya know you can call me Mason, right? There's no need to call me monsieur," Mason told her, explaining he didn't like to use titles or honorifics.
"I see. Then will your wound inhibit your combat abilities?" she asked curiously.
"Nah, I'm ambidextrous. As long as I have a one-handed weapon until my shoulder is fine, I'll be fine," Mason explained, remembering his training.
"That is uncommon, isn't it?"
"Wasn't born that way," Mason admitted." It's only due to how much I trained using both hands. Otherwise I'd be right-handed. Then we'd have a problem with the wound and'd be stuck here until it healed."
Thinking about that for a minute, Curie's eyes lit up as she remembered something. "I believe Miss Casdin made a temporary sling for your arm. It should be in the Pip-Boy on the table."
Mason found it odd that she said it was in the Pip-Boy, but knew she meant in the arm sleeve. After putting his armor on, Mason put his arm in the sling Heather made, then sat down to read the surgical journal as he waited for Heather to wake up, keeping the blanket over her to keep her warm.
When she woke up, it was nearing seven, and she looked like she had something to say.
"Everything alright?" Mason asked. "I didn't mean to make you worry. I'm... sorry. I didn't to pass out like that."
"It's not that," She told Mason, surprising him. "I just want to know, what was life like before the war? Were you happy then? I hear the donuts were to die for."
Sighing, Mason answered, "The world before... it was nothing but petty governments going to war, dragging us into... shooting whoever refused to clean up the mess." That was part of the reason he was part of the army. He'd been drafted when he reached seventeen. He'd wanted to do something in engineering, but then the war came.
"So not all that different from now. Think you could ever be happy here?"
That was... surprising, to say the least. It had been a while since someone had asked Mason if he could be happy in the world the way it is now. Honestly, he hadn't put much thought into it since waking up in the vault.
"I... don't know," Mason admitted. "Never put much into it."
"It isn't all bad here. Who knows, maybe you'll meet a nice girl and fall in love."
Maybe, but chances were slim. He doubted there were many options in this line of work, and even less that would follow his morals and ideals.
"Maybe, but that's a conversation for another day. Let's get ready to head out. A satellite array is near, a radio not far from it. Gonna be about an hour walk at most, and I need to mark them before we head to the Lonely Chapel," Mason told her.
"Why are we headed there?"
"There's a hatch there that leads to the Federal Rations Stockpile," Mason explained. "Either that, or it just has a large bunker under it."
"Gotcha."
As she got ready, Mason moved his pistol to his left, needing to be there so he could pull it out if necessary. Leaving the place, Mason followed behind with Curie in the front, Heather behind, and Dogmeat beside him.
"Looks like we'll have company," Mason warned the others as they neared the array, pulling out his pistol. He'd noticed the walls surrounding the place, getting a feeling nothing good was there. "Get ready for a fight."
A Mr. Handy missing two of its eyes with protectron arms replacing them, Mason realized these raiders weren't complete idiots and got a bit excited. Rolling back as the Mr. Handy tried to hit Mason with a buzzsaw and hammer arm, he fired two rounds into the thruster, immobilizing it.
"What the hell?" A Rust Devil yelled, seeing the machines start to head to the gates, a few Rust Devils following. "What the fuck is going on?"
"Is that the best you got?" the Rust Devil heard someone yell as an eyebot got destroyed, the body being sent flying back. Grabbing his rifle, he ran out to join them, seeing a woman in Power Armor, a dog, and Miss Nanny come through the gates.
"Die, bitch," one of the Devils yelled before the woman's laser hit her in the face.
"Fuck!" the Devil yelled, shooting at the Miss Nanny. Unloading the drum of his rifle, the Devil grunted as the woman shot him in the leg, making him fall as he reloaded his weapon. Hearing the drum click in place, the Devil aimed at the woman and pulled the trigger, the bullets hitting the armor or missing.
"Damn it," the Devil grunted, seeing a laser before darkness.
Walking into the place after the firing faded away, Mason put his pistol away. "You guys alright?"
"Great," Heather replied. "Fighting those robots and Rust Devils was fun."
"I guess you are," Mason responded, turning to Curie. "How about you? You alright?"
"Yes," She responded before adding, "Though I prefer to observe and not fight."
"Don't fight then," Mason told her. "If it makes you uncomfortable, stick by my side."
"Really, monsieur?"
"Yes. And please work on the monsieur thing," Mason told her, turning to the radio tower. "Now onward my compatriots! Onto bigger and greater things!"
Moving forward, Mason walked like soldiers in a school play. So in a really sarcastic manner. Reaching the tower, it was nearing eight, and Mason received three new transmissions on his Pip-Boy. Deciding to listen to them later, they decided to walk to the chapel, running into two mirelurks at one point.
"Oh, va te faire foutre aussi!" Mason yelled, shooting the furthest one in the face as Heather took care of the nearest one. "You bâtards ennuyeux need to stop popping out of the ground!"
Reaching the chapel, Mason found another helmet like Preston's with a mask. Putting it in his bag, Mason made sure everyone was ready before opening the hatch, climbing down into raider territory.
Sneaking through the halls, Mason ended up giving Heather the mask from the chapel to filter the dust, making sure his helmet was secure so it didn't shake around. Unfortunately, Mason had worse allergies than a molerats teeth.
Reaching a large room, Mason looked in, seeing two turrets and a raider. Someone Mason assumed was the boss was sitting in a raised room. Pulling out a grenade, Mason pulled the pin and threw it toward the closest turret. When the grenade blew up, the raider and boss came running to see what it was; before the raider got shot in the head, the boss receiving a bullet between the eyes.
Heather said something about how Mason did good killing this person, and her name was Red Tourette? Deciding against blowing up the last turret, Mason used the turret hacking program he got from a magazine to override the targeting system.
"Yes!" Mason smiled, holding in his excitement. "U.S. Covert Operations. Saving the happy dance for later. For the time being, stay behind me."
Walking out of the room, they found a catwalk, a raider saying, "Where is the fucker?"
Walking around the corner, Mason held up his pistol. "Right here, dear," he said, pulling the trigger, the raider's head exploding to bits. Another raider was eating and went to move. "Sweetie, it's rude to play with your food," Mason told her before shooting her in the head. Sighing, Mason said, "raiders are a boring bunch."
Nodding in agreement, Heather followed him into another room before watching him kick a raider into a turret.
"Here you go," Mason said, pulling a mine out and activating it. Tossing it onto the turret, Mason pulled Heather to the ground, the mine destroying the turret and man. Running into another room, Mason found a woman with a lot of food on shelves. Rushing her as she turned, Mason kicked her in the crotch, making her stagger back as she grabbed it in pain. Using his foot, Mason pulled her leg out from under her, placing a foot on her chest when she fell. Sticking his gun to her head, he pulled the trigger, blood splattering onto him. They went through two more rooms and took care of two more raiders before running into a small problem.
"Heather, can you take care of the turret?" Mason urgently asked. "Can't fight two guys and a turret at the same time."
"On it," she said, running out and firing at the turret. A raider tried to hit Mason with a tire iron. Pushing the arm away as they swung, Mason backhanded the man, making him stagger back. Punching him in the stomach, the raider dropped the tire iron, which Mason grabbed. Holding it at the end, Mason brought the iron down, slamming the driver into the skull. Mason pulled the iron out and threw it at the last raider, knocking him off balance. Rushing towards him, Mason punched the man across the face, making him stagger back before he tried to attack Mason again. Stepping towards the man got into his guard before grabbing him by the head. Pulling down, Mason slammed his knee into the man's face, breaking his nose. Picking up the iron, Mason took a rag and began wiping the blood, leaving the raider to bleed out.
"You're a badass," Heather said as Mason cleaned the iron.
"Just military training," Mason reminded her. "Compared to trained people, they're nothing."
"Doesn't make you any less of a badass."
Laughing, Mason reminded her, "Well, we still have the outside to clear. Eh, should be fun. Going to need you on the front line while Curie stays by me."
"Of course, Mason," Cure said; Mason glad she was using his name.
"Let's get goin'," Mason commanded, leading them out the front. After clearing the yard of raiders, blowing up a guy in Power Armor after short-circuiting the fusion core, Mason looked up at the sky and sighed.
"Let's go to Sunshine for the night," Mason told them, turning north. "Should be an hour walk, and the nearest unmarked place is two hours away. By the time we'd get back, it'd be twenty-three hundred."
Spending the next fifty-five minutes walking, they had to help the provisioner between there and Abernathy take care of a Super Mutant on the bridge, Mason kicking it off, which he found satisfying.
Sitting down at one of the kitchen tables built in the dining hall, they ate dinner for the night. When they were done, after taking their armor off, they headed to one of the bunkhouses and rested for the night.
Waking up that morning, Mason was annoyed. Why'd it have to be dark outside? Getting out of bed, Mason was thankful his shoulder was fine now, having done nothing for a day. Checking the terminal for new people, he noticed they had six new people; Two men, a woman, and three teenagers. Assigning the adults to guard duty, the teenagers were assigned to farming, all being sixteen or under. Leaving corn seeds for the teenagers, Mason went around to check out the walls, glad to find it built to the letter; no holes, a hundred spots for guard towers, and room for residential buildings.
Heading to the dining hall, one of the teenagers approached Mason, which confused him due to how early it was. Looking her in the face, Mason was surprised by the damage done, looking like some had taken a knife and carved into it for a sick game.
"Want to thank you for the opportunity. Would've been better if I was on guard duty though," she revealed, explaining why she was up so early.
"So, you'd rather be fighting raiders, Gunners, and creatures that may attack this place? Would that extend to all places or just this one?" Mason questioned.
"Anywhere there's a fight. If there's a fight I want to join!" she told Mason enthusiastically, amusing him.
"How old are you?" Mason asked her. If she was seventeen, then he'd consider recruiting her for the Minutemen. Sixteen and under was a no-go.
"I turn seventeen next month," she told Mason, making him sigh.
"Well, I'll be back next month. Still too young to recruit you. But by the time you're done training, you'll be able to go toe to toe with Gunners easily. For now, work on your shooting when you're not working. And don't slack off on your job either," M informed her. "Otherwise I wouldn't be able to trust you with small jobs either."
She smiled and thanked Mason again for the opportunity and went and got the seeds she had to plant. Mason was about to check on the people's guns when Heather came up behind him.
"Already awake?" Mason asked in surprise. He knew she didn't sleep much, but he didn't expect her to wake up this soon.
"Of course, partner."
"Alright," Mason said. "Let's get ready then."
Putting on his armor, Mason found his gaze going towards Heather more than once before remembering what he needed.
"Hey," Mason said, holding his helmet in his hand, bag over his shoulder. "I forgot to say it, but I do need my ring back."
"Here," Heather said, frowning a bit as she handed the ring back. Putting it back on his necklace, Mason wondered what the look was for. After grabbing the others, they began walking. With the combination of his bad eyesight and how dark it was, what should've been a two-hour trip ended up taking FIVE hours. Combined with the Yao Guai that would've killed Mason if not for his sense of smell, Mason was having a pretty lousy morning by the time they reached Rocky Narrows.
"Va te faire foutre," Mason yelled, pulling out his pistol and shooting it in the head. Dodging it when it tried to hit Mason, he grunted when the first shot didn't kill it. Firing three more rounds, the creature went down, finally passing. Mason hadn't wanted to kill it, but it tried to kill Mason, so he didn't have a choice.
"Starting to hate the creatures in the area," Mason complained, heading east again. "We'll be going to Zone 2 soon. Almost done mapping the area."
Knowing he'd have to name the places something else when they were done mapping the areas, it'd be confusing for some people. Used to name certain items with a funny or weird name, confusing people who tried to ask for something Mason knew they didn't need.
Heading to Mass Gravel and Sand, they ran into a Minuteman recruit. However, Mason would have to give him an official rank after taking the Castle. Helping the recruit take out the raider, they continued walking, reaching the gravel operation. Taking out two raiders and a few molerats, Mason found it annoying but worth it. People needed food, and fruits and vegetables got bland after a while.
Eating some molerat chunks, they headed towards the electronics store. After marking it, Mason heard something that sounded like... railroad spikes being shot? Now Mason had to see what it was and ran to see it. Seeing a bunch of robots, Mason got excited; the last time they fought robots, his arm was in a sling.
"Come on, cupcakes!" Mason yelled, pulling out his pistol. Dodging a spike a robot shot, Mason grabbed its shoulder, put the gun to its head, and pulled the trigger. When a robot hit Mason from behind, he staggered forward and grinned. Now, this was a fight! Putting the pistol away and pulling out his rifle, Mason bashed the stock into the one that hit him, then shot another one's head.
"Two down!" Mason cheered, counting the rest. "Seven to go!" Ducking under another as it tried to hit him, Mason bashed his rifle into it, then unloaded a few bullets into its chest. "Got another, leaving six!"
Mason fired five times into another robot and four into another
"Four now!"
Putting his rifle away, he ran towards Heather, jumping over a robot's shoulders before it could hit her. Grabbing it by the head, Mason pulled it to the ground with him. They can lift a lot but can't stop two hundred fifty pounds suddenly! Grabbing the machine by the head, Mason pulled, tearing the head off, Mason enjoying the sounds of wires tearing. Approaching a machine that wasn't fighting back, Mason realized it was friendly and heard it talk about its friends dying.
"Gonna be okay?" Mason asked, approaching the machine.
She told Mason how it was probably strange that she as a robot was expressing sadness, though he didn't see it that way, and thanked him for helping her.
"Wasn't any trouble," Mason told her, taking his helmet off. "It was fun."
Telling them her name was Ada, she informed them some guy named Jackson had given her upgrades.
"Who's Jackson?" Mason questioned.
"Jackson was the leader of this caravan. He had a great mind for technology. In many ways, he is my creator. He installed all my current upgrades. Unfortunately, they were not enough to protect them from the robots."
Upgraded? Wait, never mind, she has a sentry arm and protectron legs. Mason understood now.
"You're upgraded?"
"Yes, modified using a workbench based on prototype schematics. The workbench allows for a wide array of robot modifications. Perhaps if I had more sentry bot-based defenses, I could have successfully defended my friends against those robots."
That's cool! If he had that, Mason could make machines and have them be provisioners instead of settlers, keeping them safe from harm!
"They must be targeting you for some reason," Mason responded, finding it unusual they were specifically targeted.
"Probability is high that I am part of that reason. Besides myself, Jackson also created Turing, Hurtz, and Porter." After that, she explained how their parts made staying in the Commonwealth a risk and wished they had made the decision to leave.
"You couldn't have known something like this would happen," Mason told her, knowing what survivor's guilt felt like.
She told him how the attack probability was high, and someone named the Mechanist was the leader of the bots, and she would seek justice for them.
"You want revenge, don't you?" Mason asked her since that's what it sounded like, which he would know since that's what he's doing, seeking revenge.
She admitted her goal was two-fold. It both protected the Commonwealth and avenged her group of friends before telling him they last saw a group of her robots at a General Atomics Factory and asked to travel with him.
"Not now," Mason told her. "But I could use the extra help at Sanctuary for now."
"I am familiar with the settlement. I will head there until you need me."
After searching the area for goods, Mason noticed Heather put something in her bag, but due to the size, he ignored it. Heading in the direction of Sanctuary, they followed Ada until reaching Starlight, stopping to rest for the night.
Waking up the following day, they got ready. After Mason grabbed his bag and helmet, they headed out with the others following behind.
Finding a suit of T-51 Power Armor, Mason yelled in excitement. Taking off his armor and helmet. He put it in his bag and strapped it to Curie for the time being with the cooler. Unlocking the terminal was bit tougher than normal, but stepping into the armor was a victory for Mason, the frame actually fitting his height. It was hard enough to find clothing that fit, but Power Armor was a different story. It was challenging to create, and the materials would be hard to find. While unfortunately not a complete set, it was only missing an arm and leg, so it wasn't missing too much.
"Now, T-51 is better than T-60," Mason said, earning a confused look from Heather. "While more effective, it's harder to find aluminum than steel." Once Mason got the left leg loose, they neared Lexington, finding raiders had moved into Corvega again. Knowing he'd have to assign a few squads to Lexington, Mason stored the information away before going through and taking care of raiders in the area, heading back to Starlight when they were done. Mason went to find Alice, stepping out of his Power Armor, while Heather stayed by the suits.
"Would you look at that," Alice remarked as she came down the steps of the guard tower with a limp, though it was clear she was trying to hide it. "You're back exactly a week from when you left."
"Did you fall or something?" Mason questioned, approaching her concerned. "You've got a limp."
"Hit my leg on a chair yesterday," she replied. "It'll be fine after a few days."
"Alright," Mason told her in response, remembering the time he had a limp since he'd ran back to his class to get a workbook, hitting his leg on a desk. That was in fifth grade. "Well, we're gonna rest up here the night, then head out tomorrow."
"Okay," Alice responded. "We've got more beds now, so you won't have to go to that building to sleep tonight."
"That's excellent," Mason smiled. "Well, gonna go get settled in for the night, probably help around, then head to bed."
"Go ahead. Probably haven't slept well in the past week if what I've heard on the radio is true."
Walking down the steps to the workbench, Mason found it weird that people knew what he'd been doing for the past week before remembering his deal with Piper. He needed to get those back when he went through there. Grabbing some materials from the storage, Mason took them to the bar and began doing maintenance on his armor. After taking a lot of hits, Mason knew the damage was expected. While repairing the armor, two settlers came up and gave Mason .45 rounds, thanking him for giving them a place to stay. Finishing the repairs on the armor, Mason put it away in his bag, found a bunk to rest in, and laid down for the night.