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76.72% Steel Waste / Chapter 544: Hostage Stitch

Chapter 544: Hostage Stitch

Luckily, Afton quickly located the rest of his companions, Veronica seemed to be trying to 'subtly' pry a Hologram emitter off of the wall while Christine took care of Anja nearby. The girls were lucky that Afton had taken control of the local security otherwise the Holograms would be trying to disintegrate them for the destruction of property...

Veronica finally tears the emitter from the wall and stumbles backwards with it still sparking in her hands, "Finally!"

"You sure that's a good idea?" Afton abruptly asks from behind her with crossed arms, causing her to jump in surprise, almost dropping the emitter in the process.

"Eeep!... Afton! Don't you surprise me like that! I almost punched you in the face!" she exclaims.

Afton shakes his head, his expression turning dire as he cuts to the chase, "Dean has been captured, and Elijah is threatening to execute him if we don't show up in an hour... Ten minutes of which has already passed." he states, causing the group to go silent.

"W-what should we do?... I mean, I like Dean but... Is he worth risking everyone else? We barely even know him..." Veronica cautiously says, feeling ashamed for even considering it.

"We will get Dean, I don't know what Elijah had planned, but I'd rather walk into a trap than continue searching for him... It might take months to finally pin him down, and even then he might be able to escape somehow..." Afton admits, wishing to use this opportunity to finally get Elijah. There was also the fact that if he let Dean die, he'd essentially admitted that he was willing to sacrifice friends to achieve his goals... Something that would basically put him on the same level as Elijah...

Christine steps forwards and nods at Afton, sending a challenging look sideways at Veronica. Despite them making up slightly, Christine still held a deep resentment against Elijah, and it wouldn't surprise him if she was willing to sacrifice herself to end the old bastard.

Afton taps his foot anxiously as he looks at Anja, "He wants all of us to come... But I'm worried about taking Anja, I know you don't want to hear it, but you are vulnerable right now." he says.

Anja frowns but accepts it nonetheless, she knew her current limitations, her lack of vision made her almost completely useless in a fight... "I will come, he might do something if I am not there..." she states with determination, wanting to rescue her fellow ghoul.

Afton nods, "Alright... Leave the emitter, we can scavenge for shit once Elijah is dealt with... Let's go." he says while beginning to lead the group to the VIP rooms, all while fully armed and ready to fire upon anything that moves.

Twenty minutes later :

The group eventually reach the VIP rooms and walk into the long desolate hallway. At the end of it, they could see Elijah holding a heavily injured Dean... He seems to have cut off the Ghouls arms to prevent him from attempting an escape... The group can only grit their teeth at the sight, as Elijah presses some kind of makeshift pistol against Dean's temple.

Dean miserably looks up and spots the group, faintly smiling at the fact they actually came for him... Such loyalty certainly wasn't common before the apocalypse, and he doubted that'd changed after it.

"So, you've finally come." Elijah states, pressing his weapon against Dean's head harder, making the Ghoul grimace.

Honestly, Elijah almost looked at bad as Dean... His thin white hair was patchy in places, with red, bleeding skin visible all over his scalp... His beard was thick and untrimmed, dirty and likely crawling with lice.

His clothes were in a similar situation, he still wore the Brotherhood of Steel Elder robes that he used to... Considering how many years it'd been since Helios One, Afton was surprised they were still usable.

They were torn and stitched up in many places, covered in blood, dust, and oil stains, while the bottom robes were very frayed as if they'd been caught in a wood chipper for a second. Still, Afton's eyes were drawn towards the many gadgets attached to his clothing, the pulsing glows of grenades, and other unidentified technology made him wary, giving him an unconscious sense of dread.

"What do you want with us, Elijah?" Afton demands, Anti-Material rifle ready to be used at any sight of hostility.

The elder gives a choking laugh, coughing and beginning to splutter halfway through, "Right now, I want you all to begin walking towards me." he states.

...

They don't move for a moment, but Elijah 'encourages' them via shooting a strange holographic projectile from his peculiar-looking gun. It skims the Ghouls skull and hit the wall beside him, thankfully leaving Dean with his head intact.

Afton grits his teeth and leads the group by a few meters, hoping to take the brunt of whatever trap Elijah had laid... Strangely, there didn't seem to be any though.

Elijah commands them to stop while the group is standing outside of a familiar room... Vera Keyes room to be specific. "My dear Christine... I need you to go inside the room, and enter the Auto-Doc." he states.

Christine scowls and raises her gun in a rage, but is stopped as Afton places a hand over the pistol, preventing her from pointing it at Elijah. "We will deal with him soon! Just do as he says for now... Please." Afton quickly whispers.

Christine silently growls, fuming that Afton had stopped her but nodding after a moment anyway... She knew that Afton wasn't stupid, nor would he be willing to let Elijah live, so she decides to place her trust in him for now...

Afton nods and glances to Veronica, "Head inside with her, she might need some encouragement to get back inside another Auto-Doc."

Veronica purses her lips under her helmet but nods regardless, she'd be looking at the Auto-Doc's configurations before she let Christine inside it. She remembers what Afton had said when speaking about it, but she'd double check regardless.


CREATORS' THOUGHTS
Niggross Niggross

Hope you bois liked the chap, if I missed anything please let me know. Thanks!

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Kingsprovince

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Nazlican Erdem

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Chapter 545: Swapping out

Veronica leads Christine through Vera Keyes apartment, going through the first room and into the second where the Auto-Doc was standing ominously... At least, that's what it looked like to Christine. As far as she was concerned, these things were worse than any boogieman, scarecrow, or monster you could think of.

It was already activated, lit up in a dull blue light to signify that it was 'ready' for use. The faint whirring sound it gave off made Christine want to drop her gun and flee in the other direction...

Veronica rests an armoured hand on her shoulder, "Are you sure you're okay doing this? I mean, I could probably punch through the wall and smack the shit out of Elijah before he knew what was happening..." she jokes semi-sarcastically.

Christine just bites her lip and slowly shakes her head before walking over and beginning to access the subroutines of the Auto-Doc, Veronica hovered over her shoulder as they checked that everything was okay and not likely to cut Christine's face off.

It's only now that they finally understand why Elijah wants Christine to get inside this thing... The Auto-Doc would rebuild Christine's destroyed vocal cords in the image of Vera Keyes, essentially granting Christine the former-starlets voice. Sure, many pre-war people would be willing to sell their souls for such an opportunity, but having a nice singing voice wasn't worth much after the apocalypse... Plus, it'd probably sound pretty jarring to suddenly start speaking with a completely different voice from your own.

The Auto-Doc's doors slowly open while releasing a sound similar to doors you'd see in Starwars or Startrek. A small amount of smoke and dust billows out from the machine, only making it all the more ominous...

Veronica notices the wary glances Christine was occasionally sending her way, "Don't worry, I'll keep an eye from out here. If anything even seems like it's going wrong I'll tear you outta there in no time... Trust me. I lost you once, I am not losing you again."

Christine releases a long sigh before nodding. She takes one last breath before stepping inside the machine and closing her eyes, her hands trembling as she awaits the painful sensation of unanesthetized dissection.

*Clunk!*

The doors shut, leaving Veronica standing there with a frown on her face as the machine bursts into action, the sound of saw blades, knives, the cutting of flesh, and faint dripping of blood fills the room. There's nothing she can do but wait, watch, and listen.

Outside, Afton was still facing off with Elijah, Anja standing timidly behind him like a lost lamb. They'd stood here in almost complete silence for ten minutes now, everyone waiting for Veronica and Christine to return...

Elijah had begun to get a little antsy, occasionally loosening his grip around Dean's neck to scratch his scalp, tearing more skin and hair away, leaving bloody trails in his jagged fingernails wake. The man didn't seem to take any notice of it at all, which disturbed Afton more than he'd like to admit... Trying to negotiate with a madman was like trying to sell a hairbrush to a bald guy... Health insurance to a skeleton... A fleshlight to a woman? You get the picture, it just doesn't make sense.

If Afton hazards to guess, he'd say Elijah's age combined with the large amounts of radiation he'd likely encountered, plus the effects long term exposure the Cloud has on people were the cause of his current condition. It had radiation poisoning written all over it, from his paper-thin skin and obvious sickness, to his mental instability.

"How do you think this is actually going to end Elijah? You think I'll let you go after all you've done? I doubt whatever treasure is hidden here will be enough." he threatens, his many intimidation Perks working to make an incredibly unnerving show.

Elijah doesn't seem to notice it all though, instead rolling the wrist holding the make-shift weapon with a grin, "Such hubris! None of us even have a clue what's stored down there, you've already seen the technology this place has... I've already bet my life on it."

Afton gives a low chuckle, "I get it, Casino, bet, at least you still have some humour left." he says, trying to throw him off of his game but obviously not expecting much from such a peculiar angle.

"What? O-oh... No, I wasn't joking. I really have staked my life on this." Elijah states in a moment of lucidity. His age clearly showing on his face.

*Click*

The door to Vera Keye's room opens up, silencing the budding conversation as Veronica steps out with Christine, fresh red, recently stitched up scars now displayed on her neck... She ignores Elijah for a moment and turns her head towards Afton.

"Hello..." she quietly says, sounding as if it was her first time speaking... Which it probably felt like considering the recent operation.

Afton's features soften under his helmet momentarily, but harden again as Elijah begins speaking. "Haha! You are just what I need! Ah, but before we can go any further..." he jabs his weapon in Afton and Veronica's direction, "You both need to get out of that armour..."

...

"I think you're mad." Afton spits.

Veronica nods, "What next? You want us to strip naked as well?" she asks incredulously.

Elijah scratches drags his nails over his scalp obsessively, "I WON'T SAY IT TWICE! TAKE. IT. OFF!"

...

"Fine." says as the sound of rapidly escaping air occurs as his armour unseals itself. The back opening up to allow Afton to step out of it. Veronica does the same, leaving her in just her recon armour...

Afton was a little better off due to the presence of Nyx and all his other Perks, but still not as protected as he'd like.


CREATORS' THOUGHTS
Niggross Niggross

Hope you bois liked the chap, if I missed anything please let me know. Thanks!

Also, thanks to my patrons for their support :

ShinAmazake

Chris Lindsey

Kingsprovince

Michael Jarrett

Nazlican Erdem

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