Off to Arefu

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

The door opens on the inside of Ellen's Megaton house. "Fawkes is outside with the cattle at the moment," she notes. "He'll be going with you to Arefu. Alan had to leave a while ago- he's the vampire from Arefu who came to tell me about Joseph, and he only travels at night. The sun's coming up soon- you don't want to have to cross the Wasteland in the dark if you can avoid it."

Comments

[basic_powers]

"Believe me, I remember the last time I stayed here overnight." Moon Shadow replies, looking up at Ellen and then to Voodoo.

"Koh?" This is the place with the abundance of delicious targets, isn't it?

"Winston, heel."

"kffff."

[boston_bruiser]

Voodoo looks to Winston. (The whole biomechanical raptor thing is still somewhat new to him.)

Then to Ellen. "What's the plan if we have to stay overnight?"

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

"Evan King's in charge in Arefu, and he owes me," Ellen says. "If you have to stay overnight, he'll put you up in the old West place. Nobody lives there any more since Ian moved out. It's the last house in Arefu before the break in the highway- the whole place is on the high part of an elevated highway- but there's about ten yards of road before the break, so it's still pretty safe."

[basic_powers]

Just don't look Winston in the eye, and everything should be fine. The purple, black and gold beast just growls softly at getting the glance.

"If we hurry, we might be able to make it there today.." He's reasonably certain that Little Lamplight is one heck of a walk from here.

[boston_bruiser]

Voodoo checks his gear for the fiftieth time. It's all there. Then he racks back his machine gun's bolt, producing a very satisfying cha-CHIK.

"Ready when you are."

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

Ellen nods. "I'd come if I could, I swear," she says, ushering them out the door and making sure it's locked behind them. Dawn light is starting to creep up the sky above the eastern Megaton wall. "I'm cutting it pretty close as it is. Fawkes will get you there, though. He promised."

The big green fellow is waiting just past Deputy Weld outside the city gates, dressed in the outfit Rarity provided for him, sans greatcoat. "Good to see you!" he calls out as he hands Ellen the reins to Shiphrah and Puah's bridles. "It's been some time."

[basic_powers]

"You're looking really good Fawkes!" Tyler's just going to jog up to the big dang articulate green stack of muscles in good clothes. He's got three guesses on where he's gonna end up riding when his legs prove to be too tired, and the first two ain't counting.

Winston for his part just grumbles, stalking out at his boy's heels.

[boston_bruiser]

Voodoo nods by way of greeting as he walks over. "Hey, Fawkes. You about loaded up?"

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

Fawkes turns just enough to show the Gatling laser slung over his back in the manner a human might carry a rifle, and the supersledge beside it. "I have provisions on my person," he rumbles, "so I believe the phrase is, 'I'm as ready as I'll ever be'."

He glances over at Ellen, who's swung up into the Brahmin's saddle. "Be careful," he says, "and good luck in your mission."

"Thank you, Fawkes," Ellen says gravely. To Moon Shadow and Voodoo she says, "I can't thank you enough for this. I'll come to see what's going on as soon as I can."

[basic_powers]

"I'll try and handle Mayor Buttface for you, okay?"

[boston_bruiser]

"'Mayor Buttface'?"

[basic_powers]

"The 'mayor' of Little Lamplight, he's a jerk and has a face like a butt."

[boston_bruiser]

"Okay."

Well, it can't be faulted for logic.

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

Ellen smiles. "Just make sure Joseph knows I'll be keeping him in my thoughts," she says. "Goodbye, all of you."

She waves, and then she kicks the cow hard with both heels. Puah, the left head, lets out an indignant moo before starting a bone-jarring southward trot. Fawkes watches her go, and then turns to the two humans.

"Shall we move? Arefu isn't getting any nearer."

[basic_powers]

"Let's, we've got miles t'cover."

And probably lots of very stupid or crazy things happening along the way.

"Lead the way Fawkes, right behind ya."

Because the giant green man knows at least Arefu's general direction right?

[boston_bruiser]

"Yeah," Voodoo says, "on your six."

True, Fawkes knows the landscape better than - well, any of them, really.

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

Fawkes nods and sets out at what, for someone nine feet tall and proportionately limbed, is a slow jog. "We'll be passing through Springvale until we reach the remains of the river," he notes. "Then we follow the river northward. Arefu is positioned directly above part of the old river bed."

[basic_powers]

Fawkes slow jog is Moon Shadow quick jogging pace.

Springvale...Springvale, why does that name sound familiar..

"...that's the place with the giant fire-breathing ants, right?"

[boston_bruiser]

Voodoo looks to Fawkes - Ellen mentioned a lot of things in the brief, but fire-breathing ants was not one of them.

Then again, it is Ellen's world.

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

"No, that was Grayditch," says Fawkes. "And the fire ants have been wiped out for some time now. The colony outside Springvale is ordinary giant ants. Most of them are quite loyal to someone you might remember, Moon Shadow. Do you recall Canterbury Commons?"

[basic_powers]

"Pbbbbhhhhht!"

Yes, he remembers, oh goodness does he ever remember. much as sometimes he wishes he didn't.

"I knew the AntAgonizer was living somewhere with giant ants, but I got the plain ones mixed up with the fire-breathing ones."

[boston_bruiser]

...now this Voodoo has to hear.

He keeps one ear open as he walks backward, his eyes scanning the terrain to their rear.

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

They're passing through the ruins of a prewar town. Voodoo may well recognize it; they passed through here before on his first visit, and a raider ambush ended badly, between him and Ellen and Stockholm the Megaton sniper.

Fawkes nods as they pass a somewhat more intact house than the others. "My friend," he says, "convinced the AntAgonizer that there was hope for her among humans after all. When the AntAgonizer gave up her costumed trappings, and returned to using the name her parents gave her, my friend directed her here. There would be fewer temptations here, and an ant colony with which she could feel more comfortable. She lives in that house, now, with another woman, and directs her ants to patrol the area for safety's sake."

[basic_powers]

"Canterbury Commons was a town where the Antagonizer used to live, and for a while, she was the town's source of entertainment." Yes, he did manage to make the word entertainment sound like a particularly nasty case of creeping foot rot. "That was until she destroyed the town mechanic's favorite robot, and he decided he had to put a bucket on his head and call himself the Mechanist, and bring her to justice. They kept blowing each other and good parts of the town square up everyday, and it was driving away the caravans, so I had to talk him down."

"I'm not even kidding on the bucket part."

[boston_bruiser]

"...okay, stupid question," Voodoo says, "but was there something in the water there? Like, there, specifically?"

Beat.

"'Antagonizer'. 'Mechanist'. Jeezus. You'd think living in this place for two centuries would get people's shit together. They didn't have any superpowers, did they?"

In this place? A valid enough question.