Trouble on the Homefront

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

The door opens into the dusty, metal-smelling interior of a house built from the parts of long-ago airplanes. Light leaks into the room through the greased-paper covering over a few windows, and through the chinks in the metal walls. Ahead, a set of dented lockers takes up one wall. An alcove in the back seems to hold dishes and possibly an ancient refrigerator. There's a workbench off to the left, and stairs leading upward off to the right. "Well," Ellen says, "this is it. Home sweet home."

"Welcome back, mistress!" comes a tinny, mechanical voice from upstairs. "You weren't gone long at all that time..."

Comments

[basic_powers]

...Tyler's never seen the inside of her home before. It's...kind of weird.

...And this is coming from a kid who grew up on a moonbase.

"...who's that?"

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

"That's Wadsworth, my butler," Ellen says, even as the robot hovers his way down the stairs. "He came with the house. Wadsworth, we have a guest."

"Hallo, young master!" the robot cheerfully exclaims. "Is there anything I can do for you? A drink, perhaps? Something to eat? Jokes, maybe?"

[basic_powers]

The first two selections aren't even options in Tyler's mind. He still thinks that there's something in the water in this world that makes everyone, save for Ellen, completely nuts.

"Jokes please?"

There is a grunt and a growl from floor level.

"Winston, no biting."

"Krah."

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

"Two atoms are sitting in a bar. One says to the other, "I think I've lost an electron." The other asks "Are you sure?" To which the first replies, "I'm positive.""

"They're all like that," Ellen murmurs.

[basic_powers]

"I'll have to pass that one on to Ray." Tyler grins. Honestly, they're not that bad.

"I can wait while you get what you need here."

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

"It won't be long," Ellen promises, and heads over to the lockers. "I'm leaving the alien guns here, since I don't want anyone getting the wrong ideas, but my laser pistol's coming with me, and... okay, I have one Stealth Boy in case I need it."

"Might I suggest you consider your new suit of armor, madam?" Wadsworth comments.

"No, Wadsworth. I'm going back to Vault 101. I don't want them thinking I'm an invader- they're already in a bad enough situation as it is."

"All the more reason to dress properly, madame."

"This is properly," Ellen points out. "Moira reinforced this herself, and whatever else anyone thinks about her, she does good work."

"I suppose," says Wadsworth gloomily. "Do pack along a few extra stimpaks, though, won't you?"

[basic_powers]

"I'm packing a full first aid kit," And you think he's not wearing his armor down there you got another think coming. "If that's any consolation."

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

"Very much so," says Wadsworth. "Thank you, young master."

"All right," says Ellen. "We'd better get going."

"Do take care, the both of you."

The door opens onto a rusty metal walkway that affords an excellent view of the town. "Um, you should be aware," Ellen notes. "There's still an unexploded bomb in the middle of town, but it's been disarmed. There's nobody who can move it and that one place with the big model of an atom sticking out of the roof is kind of a church for people who worship the bomb, so moving it would be a problem even if we could. I just thought I should let you know."

[basic_powers]

...Tyler did not need another reason to NOT DRINK THE WATER HERE. Really, Canterbury Commons was more than enough an abject lesson in avoiding the stuff making people crazy.

"...I think your world has bigger problems than moving the bomb if people are worshipping it."

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

"Oh, I know," says Ellen. "Believe me, I know. Come on, let's get moving."

The crater in which Megaton was built is steep-sided, but there are steps leading upward, and Stockholm the gate guard on the upper walkway waves cheerfully before pulling his lever. As the gates grind upwards and apart, Ellen squares her shoulders and takes a deep breath. "Okay," she says. "See that rock formation in the distance, off to the left, past the remains of the raised road? That's where we're headed."

Dogmeat, who has been following silently all this time, butts his head against Ellen's leg and gets an absent scratch between the ears for his pains.

[basic_powers]

...The mini-cyberraptor/tiny deathclaw is seeing this new area before him as one thing.

New Territory.

Tyler's getting an affectionate hand-nuzzle as a way of the little monster's way of saying 'thank you'.

"I see it."

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

As they start walking, Ellen nods towards the huddle of ruins that used to be houses off to the right. "That's Springvale," she says. "That's where I set up Tanya, after Canterbury Commons. She's living in one of the houses near the school now. It turns out there's a woman there who used to work for Mr. Moriarty- Silver doesn't want to live in Megaton any more. It's easier for them to manage and stay safe in the same house, Tanya says."

[basic_powers]

"It's good to hear Tanya's doing better now," She made only so-so as a villianess. "Did she like the starter pack for a new life?"

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

"It kind of startled her," Ellen says. "She wasn't really used to the idea of people giving her gifts."

[basic_powers]

"...well...that's a good start at least."

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

Ellen nods. "She appreciated it, though. I can tell you that much, at least."

[basic_powers]

Tyler just grins at that and kicks the dirt a bit, he wasn't thinking about her liking it...just that she might need something nice for once.

"...have you heard anything else about Canterbury Commons?"

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

"The caravans are stopping there again," Ellen says. "Agatha, the lady I gave the violin to? She said that if the caravans had dropped Canterbury altogether, they probably would've dropped her too. Oh, and she asked about you, since Crazy Wolfgang the junk dealer told her it was 'the girl from Vault 101 and a kid' who put things right."

[basic_powers]

"Actually, Three Dog put that announcement on the radio as well." Tyler says after a moment of thought. "He wasn't that bad to talk to over my communicator."

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

"He's a pretty decent guy," Ellen agrees. "A little intense sometimes, but decent overall."

They've come a fair distance; she glances up at the rock formation.

"Almost there. This is the path up; there's a wooden door up at the top, into the tunnel that leads straight to the Vault."

[basic_powers]

"Okay," The gauntlet's getting armed just now. "Anything I should really worry about in there, aside from the security guys?"

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

"There was a radroach infestation when I left," Ellen says. "I wouldn't be surprised if they're still having a problem. I don't know if they'd have activated the warehouse Protectrons as security, but keep an eye out for the robots, just in case."

[basic_powers]

Radroaches and robots.

Well. He could help fix the robots after busting them up, right?

"I'll try to just disable the robots without busting them up."

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

"Thank you," says Ellen, and leads the way up into the tunnel.

It's a relatively short, wide run. The tunnel was originally built to let quite a lot of people in, after all. It's shadowy, though; Ellen turns on her Pip-Boy light, which plays over the bones of the dead she passed on her way out... it seems like a lifetime ago.

Up ahead, beyond the signs reading LET US IN YOU ASSHOLES and WE'RE DYING OUT HERE, there looms a door.

[basic_powers]

...If the min-raptor is sticking any closer to his person's legs, it's really of no notice.

Tyler's already got his flashlight in the gauntlet hand...and the training saber in the other, unlit.