Capítulo 7: A Little Light

As I stared Vance down, I can feel his will give under my own. I can almost see the fear manifest itself in his eyes. While not something I would normally revel in, it brings me joy all the same, to bring a man who thought himself untouchable down to his knees.

When the bombs dropped the laws of the old world went up in flames. Cast aside by those that were bathed in nuclear hellfire. The law of the land took dominance once more. Might makes right, and I'll be as strong as I need to be to continue forward. For only the strong have the right to show mercy

Keeping my arms out I stare down each member of the Family. "Then I welcome you and your kin to the town of Arefu. Although I believe you're quite familiar with the town and its residents already." Vance stares back at me before dialing back the hostility in his eyes.

I couldn't care less about his stare and the stares of the others. I lower my arms and turn around, walking behind the line of dimmed flood lights. I sit down at a table I'd prepared for in advance, and motion Vance to sit in the chair opposite me. I pop off my helmet and sit it in between us. I sweep my hair backward and rest against the back of the chair letting the rain fall without concern. Crossing my leg over the other I gesture my hand at Vance. "So Vance, here's the deal. I know about you and your Family and honestly if you'd like to keep them alive, then I suggest you listen to what I have to say very closely, understood?"

I feel him rage at the blatant threat I imply towards The Family. Vance clenches his fist and huffs while staring me down with red eyes. Through gritted teeth he answers me. "Alright human." He practically spits out, clenching the back of the chair. "State your deal before I lose my temper." Vance makes it sound like we're equals. How quaint.

I chuckle at the thought of Vance trying something. I might have liked the group when I played the game, but I could easily kill them then just like I can easily kill them now. The only thing stopping me from doing so is the fact Vance can understand that he was wrong and changed. Let's hope he's as smart as his game counterpart.

"Sit Vance." I command. "I know what you've been doing to the families of Arefu. I know what you are, what your Family is. You follow the traditions of the Vampire. Mythological undead beings that fed on blood to sate their hunger. However before that, every single one of you partook in the consumption of another human." At this point Vances' rage turns to confusion. He tries to open his mouth to speak, but I raise my hand stopping him.

"If I had my way I'd lop off all of your heads for the transaction of devouring another intelligent life. However I have a young man here who has been afflicted with the same genetic mutation that you have. What I would like you to do is teach him how to harness the essence of blood so that way he does not fall victim to his own primitive nature."

Vance stares at me with his mouth agape and his eyes wide open. "You will also be protecting the people of Arefu and in return I will have them donate Blood Packs to you and The Family. If you dare take another human life that isn't trying to take yours. I will track you down, incapacitate you, and offer you up as a sacrifice to a Mutant Behemoth just so you can know what it feels like to be eaten." As I say this I glare hard at Vance and the ones behind him. Vance and the rest of The Family have different reactions towards my words. Most being some form of uncomfort.

Vance looks back at The Family before turning to face me. He stands up and extendeds a shaky hand. In an oddly steady voice he says. "On behalf of myself and The Family, I accept the conditions you have given. We shall return back to our home to gather our belongings before returning here once more to take up residency. You have my word Cross." Vance is acting rather well behaved all of the sudden.

*Ping* "Your standing with "The Family" has increased. New standing is "Respectfully Feared". Congratulations, you have unlocked Reputation. Player can now see their standing with Factions both large and small."

*Ping* "Achievement acquired. Meet the locals. Become more than acquainted with 10 local groups.

"Reputation" (New)

Ant Colony: Friend of The First (Friendly)

Arefu: Helpful Stranger (Friendly)

Big Town: Badass Wanderer (Respected)

Brotherhood of Steel: Barely remembered (Neutral)

Megaton: Exemplary Resident (Friendly)

Super Mutants: Fast Food (Hated)

The Family: Dangerous One (Respectively Feared)

The Talon Company: Next Mark (Hated)

Raider: Plaything (Unknown)

Rivet City: Catherines Baby (Neutral)

Vault 101: Runaway (Mixed)

"Congratulations Jacob, You are now a well known individual in the Capital Wasteland. Keep it up Chief and soon everyone will know about you. Whether it's a good thing or not is up to you in the future."

Skimming through the New function and messages I turn my attention back to Vance. I'll hash out the finer details with Evan in the morning. Now as a good host I must see my guest out. Getting up out of my seat I pick up my helmet and put it back on. Vance looks like he's reassuring The Family. I wait till he's done before proceeding. "Vance, I'll walk you guys out. This way please." Gesturing down the ramp, they get a move on. Soundwave keeps his optics on them all the way down till they pass him. Walking up to the Cold machine I pat his armor. I watch as they blend back into the night and hightail it back to their base. Letting out a sigh of relief I walk back up the ramp.

Storing away Soundwave I reposition the Floodlights and have the newest addition (Give me some names for the Eye-bot) patrol.

After giving everything a once over I move towards the West's residence. I knock on the door and wait. Soon enough I hear Davis. "Who is it?" He asks. "It's me, I dealt with The Family. It's safe to open up." I soon hear the locks turn in place and the door open.

Davis stands to the side and I walk in. Melinda and Ian are asleep with Melinda cuddling Ian. I store my Armor and slip on some Casual wear. Davis gesture's over to the small table and we both sit down. He pulls out a bottle of Pre-War Whiskey and some small cups. He pours a glass for both of us and we sit in silence and drink.

He asks "Did everything go to plan?". I nod my head and he keeps drinking. Soon enough we go through the first bottle and Davis grabs another. This repeats for most of the night until Davis stands up wobbly and collapses on the main bed. I get comfy in my chair and let sleep take me to the promised lands. While I don't need to sleep anymore it's a habit I enjoy keeping.

F.L.

Morning comes around and Ian is the only one awake. He's sitting on the edge of his bed and is staring at me. To be honest, I'm a little creeped out having someone watch me in my sleep. He stares before asking, "Why, why are you helping us. I don't mean to sound ungrateful, but people of the Waste just don't do things like that, it's not in their nature."

I sigh at the notion that everyone is only out for themselves, but that's the truth. I look at Ian before leaning back in my chair and stare at the roof. "It's simple really, your sister hired me to do a job. It just so happened that I saw people in need of help. You said earlier that it's not in people of the Wastes nature to help out and I agree. Most are content to just keep to themselves and let everything else be damned. I am not, and will never be, such a person. I had the power to help so I did. I won't let people get hurt just because of my own negligence, that's not the person I want to be or be remembered as. I wish to change this broken world Ian. One step at a time, it'll be a long and grueling process, but that's the path I'm willing to walk."

I look back at Ian and it looks like he's in thought. After a few moments pass he nods his head and lays back down with his mom. I stand up and switch back to my Armor. Then I head outside to find Evan.

After closing the door I see Evan back at his position looking over the ramp. I walk over and he turns to look at me. "Well considering you're not dead I suppose you took care of those Family fellas huh?" Right to the point I see.

"Sure did old-timer, and guess what? I did it without firing a single shot." Evan looks at me in disbelief before laughing. "Now that's a story I wouldn't mind hearing." Over the next hour I told him about the deal, what I knew of The Family, and how I made their leader see sense. Evan shakes his head and chuckles. We stop our chat when we spot movement.

About five minutes go by and The Family is standing at the bottom of the ramp with all their gear. I wave them up and soon Evan and Vance meet for the first time. The finer details of the deal are hashed out and The Family take up residence in the house at the bottom of the ramp.

Time slows to a halt and I get a pop up screen.

*Ping* Congratulations, Blood Ties quest complete. You have obtained the knowledge on how to induce Lesser Vampirism on others. (Lesser Vampires have a slight increase in all physical attributes. No weakness to sunlight, and the ability to obtain all needed nutrients from just blood alone. Please use responsibly Player.) Recipe on how to make Deathclaw dusters. A 20% increase to all current resources. Perk: Hematophage, Blood packs now heal for 40 HP. A Pip-Boy customization kit, and a radiation suit that protects against the Red Cloud.

Congratulations, you have leveled up. You currently have 38 Skill Points.

"I'll put 12 in Lockpicking which will bring it to 100. 19 in Sneak for another 100 and 7 in Explosives to bring it to 90."

*Ping* Confirm changes? "Yes" With the confirmation I can feel my body change and the knowledge on those subjects increase.

Time starts back up and I flex my hands a few times getting used to the new muscle memory now ingrained within. I say my goodbyes with everyone and store my Eye-bot before leaving Arefu.

I take a moment to consider what I should do next. I could go for the G.E.C.K. now or I could fuck with Braun. Go to Underworld and start Reilly's quest and get the rangers. Go to the Pitt, Point Lookout, or even Spaceship Zeta. So many choices.

Fuck it, I'm gonna start on New Springvale. After that I'll go to Paradise Falls, raze it to the ground and then get the G.E.C.K. Then I'll fuck with Braun and take all the research he did on V.R. before going insane. Hopefully by the time I'm done, what I have in mind will be built.

I pop Soundwave out and we get on our way. We make it back to Springvale in about 30 minutes due to the roads being cleared, Hehehe. I call out my builder bots and get to work. I start with them tearing everything down.

I'll make the city into a MegaBlock you can find in Cyberpunk. The first few floors will be converted into a Gaurd post with a shit load of automated turrets and automatons with the controles being slaved to multiple terminals so no one can change the designation easily. The next 10 floors after will be residency for everyone plus shops and vendors. The higher floors will be for farming crops. Then the underground floors will be for manufacturing and robotic repairs, along with research and development. That'll do for now, I can always expand out later if I want to. Though I might let Antony know so we don't mess with the hive.

After getting everything sorted out I make my way north. Along the way I kill a few more Raiders who are dumb enough to stick their heads out from their hidey holes. Moving past Big Town I see all the people waving at me so I wave back. Going through German town there's nothing left since I deconstructed everything and It kinda feels weird not seeing the old ravaged buildings. I hope to experience this feeling more.

Making my way Northwest I run into some Super mutants and Raiders which are easily wiped out by me and Soundwave. Paradise is within sight so I stop the big guy and hop off. I take the lead and eventually come in contact with the slavers. Grouse is standing guard with about 8 other guys. He stops me… with guns pointed my way.

"Hold it right there. Nobody's allowed into Paradise Falls except on slaver business. And I get to decide what qualifies as slaver business." Grouse finishes with a smirk.

'Once more into the breach men.' I hope at some point I meet people who don't point their weapons at me…. Who am I kidding that'll never happen, and if it does, well I'm a great judge of character. Right so, do I go full murder hobo, or do I act more civil.

"Hey, didn't you hear me! Fuck it, turn that bitch to shreds. Been awhile since anything fun happened."

Murder sequence it is. I whip out my dual pistols and start at both ends putting one bullet in each person's head. Guys on the left get a bullet in their right eyes. Guys on the right get one through their left eye. And Grouse gets them in both. God I love my skills, they are a godsend. And since they couldn't get a shot off the Slavers don't know I'm here.

I strip the guards of everything and get the Mesmetron too. Walking forward I see a slave run towards me. I remember that he gets his head popped so I graze his leg with a bullet and get him to tumble down to the ground. Sammy's hiding behind a junked car watching. He stares out in fear. Forty is right behind him holding a device of some kind. He has his thumb hovering over a button ready to press it.

Well no point in dragging things out. I pop Forty in the head and take everything he has. Which is a nice little cap stash, some shitty armor, a gun and the device, which does in fact send a signal to slave collars.

I walk over to the slave I shot and injected a stim in his leg. I drag him over to the car where Sammy's at and tell the kid to look after him. Walking through the doors I spot about 13 Guards fucking off. I see Carolina, Ymir, Jotun, and a very dead Frank.

Keeping a steady pace I start placing bullets where they shouldn't be… subjectively. Downing 9 of the Guards and Carolina, I see Jotun start running at me with a Super Sludge. Why doesn't anyone wear a fucking helmet.

Jotun goes down with a bullet and the guards are returning fire. Cutter runs out to see what's happening and I drop her. 3 more guards follow her and Ymir's just staring at Jotun. *Pop* Now he's on the ground beside him with an identical hole in his head. The last gurds is running towards Eulogy's pad and when he opens the door get his head blasted by a shotgun.

Out comes Crimson and Clover with Eulogy between them. He makes an attempt to speak, but finds he can't, due to a well placed round in the forehead. I pull out the control device for the Collars and the two women slowly put down their guns.

I whip around and put a round through Prontos head as he tried to leave. I take a moment and store everything in my inventory. I walk out the gate and gesture Sammy and the Slave over.

As they pass through the gate they take in the carnage I created. Not very messy, but there are a lot of bodies. Using the key from Forty, I open up The Box and let Rory out. Then I open both Slave pens and have everyone group up.

Sammy's the first to speak. "Look Mungo, I don't know who you are but, thanks for helping me and my friends. We had a plan, but… It looks like we don't need it anymore. If you don't mind, me and my friends want to go back home now." After saying his peace he tries looking me in the eyes, but the bodies surrounding us make it hard for him to keep it up for long. He soon looks away and I sigh… I've been doing that a lot lately.

"What's your name kid?" I ask Sammy. It would be weird if I knew his name without him telling me. "It's Sammy, Mungo. And that's Squirrel and Penny. We're from Little Lamplight." I nod my head. In the game it makes sense that a bunch of kids can track half the waste and live, but real life is different.

"I don't mind helping you get home but first there are a few things I need to do. First off, I need to find a place for all of you guys. Does anyone here have somewhere they can go back to?"

They all look around at each other, but no one speaks up. I think I could take them to the Union building where the freed slaves are. Won't be too bad a trek. Then after that get to Lamplight with the kids and grab the G.E.C.K.

Maybe I could stop by Big Town first to show the kids how their older friends are living.

"Okay since no one has a place to go, I know of somewhere free slaves gather together for protection and community. You can follow me there or you can buzz off for all I care. Your lives are your own now."

With that I pull out the last Building drone from inventory and tell it to start breaking things down. Just because I killed everyone doesn't mean it can't be reused as a Slavers hub.

Checking over my loot I'm not all that surprised at my gains. Low-Tier weapons and armor, Eulogy's suit and hat, the supplies in Prontos and Cutters shop. Not much of anything, except the bobblehead. I'm a collector and a hoarder, best of both worlds. I give those that want them some guns and supplies.

Not like I'll ever use the crap.

After making sure all is good, I step out for a moment to tell Soundwave to scout ahead and take out all hostiles. Did I specify what a hostile is, no. Do I care… also no.

With Soundwave clearing the way we get to the Union building in about 2 hours of walking. Soundwave is nowhere in sight, but I'm sure he's around.

I march at the front of the group making my way downward.

I stop when a well placed round hits the ground in front of me. I look up from the shot to the shooter. I see Simone on top of the Temple of The Union with a sniper pointed right at me. I put my hands on my hips and sigh. One, just ONE group that doesn't point their guns at me, is that too much to ask for.

Shaking my head I walk over to the intercom they have set up outside. Pressing the only button on it I hear static for a moment before an angry voice responds.

"The fuck you want dip-shit?" The voice yells. Gathering my immense patience I press the button. "Hello there, my name is Jacob Cross. I've just freed some slaves from Paradise Fall and they have no where to go. I heard about you guys from the traveling traders of Canterbury Commons and thought this was the best place to bring them."

All I hear is a loud "GOD FUCKING DAMNIT!" from the top of the roof. About 20 seconds go by and the angry voice is back. "Look, I'd just tell you to fuck off but that ain't my call to make. I'm opening the gate. Once you're inside, go talk to Hannibal. He's the one that makes the decisions around here, but step out of line a fucking inch and I'll give our walls some abstract art to admire." The line goes dead and a click is heard from the door.

Giving it a tug it pulls right open. I'm greeted with the sight of a brahmin being milked and kids kicking some tin cans between them. Oh also forgot to mention the ludicrous amount of guns pointed my way, no idea how I missed those. Just once man. Sighing, I put my hands up in the air. Someone I don't recognize pats me down and finds nothing on me except a normal 10mm. Inventory for the win! After taking my gun, they lead me up the stairs where a man stands in front of the dismembered head of our great 16th president, Abraham Lincoln, JK it's just his stone head.

The man turns around and looks me over. "I've never quite seen an armor like yours before Wanderer, and I've seen quite a lot of things during my short time on earth. Tell me, where are you from?" Okay, first time someone's asked about the armor, thank god it doesn't have any insignias on it. Also if I remember right you're not asked about your background but instead forced to swear you won't rat the ex-slaves out, huh something new, Sweet! "Hello, my name's Jacob and actually I'm from around here, Vault 101 to be more specific. As for the armor, well I found this beauty in a crashed Vertibird. Locked in a case leaving it in pristine condition."

The man, who I believe to be Hannibal, nods his head. "Well then Vault Dweller I've got a mission for you. The stone head you see in front of you was made in the image of a once great man that rose up against the tyranny of slavery. His name was Abraham Lincoln the Emancipator. How his head ended up here I haven't the foggiest idea, however I believe it is a sign for us Ex-Slaves to rally behind and rise against our oppressors. What I want of you is to clear out the Lincoln monument of Slavers and Super Mutants."

Oh no problem, do you want me to go ahead and just make the brotherhood relinquish their views on technology as well. Oh, how about I invite all the Supermutans to a fucking tea party. I sigh and pinch the bridge of my helmet's nose. "Look, whoever you're, I'm not interested in doing this job for free. You want me to infiltrate deep into a battlefield between the Brotherhood and the Supermutans, kill all said Supermutans along the way and take over a probably highly fortified location. Unless I get something out of this deal then just a nice feeling in my gut, I won't help you. Look, I'm still in the middle of an escort mission at the moment but I'll come back tomorrow and we can hash out more details. Cause what you're asking me to do is almost suicidal without any reward in return."

Hannibal shakes his head in disappointment. "Alright Jacob, if you are able to make it back here tomorrow we can go over some form of compensation. If not, well the Waste takes."

Taking that as my que to leave, I head back outside to the group. "Okay people, to those that want to, you can head on inside and you'll be taken care of by the people in there. To those that don't, nothing more I can do for you. Alright, lamplighters with me. Let's roll out."

The kids follow after me and when I see everything going alright with the ex-slave group we start to leave. As we walk through the underpass Soundwave drops from the underside of the highway. Righting himself in midair and landing.

My robot is such a showoff. The kids are kinda scared of it at first before getting used to him. Soon enough Soundwave has children ornaments hanging off of him. We make good time on our way towards Big Town. We arrive without issue and red is there to great us. She runs straight up to Penny and hugs her while twirling her around in her arms.

"Penny! What are you doing out here, you're not a Mungo yet are you?" Red teases her.

Penny giggles in response. "No, I'm gonna be a kid forever!" She declared. Red ruffles Penny's hair before she walks over to me.

"Hey there Jacob, not to sound like an ass, but what are you doing with a group of lamplighters?"

I shake my head then gesture at the kids. "Somehow these three were caught by some slavers and held up at Paradise." I chuckle to myself before continuing. "I was in the area and decided that I didn't care much for slavers so I killed them all and freed the rest. All the adults that were slaves are now joined up with the Union and I'm on my way to Lamplight to drop off these trouble makers."

Red looks down at Penny with a bit of fear in her eyes. She looks back up at me. "Thank you, Jacob. Who knows what could have happened to these guys if you hadn't stepped in." Red hugs Penny closer to her. "If there is anything Big Town and I can do, let us know."

This sparks an idea in my head. I mean sure I already gave them an awesome base, but… "You know Red there might just be something you can help me with." Red gives me a questioning look. "You see, I'm building a fully functional town in the ruins of Springvale. However I need people to make it an actual town. So Red, Leader of Big Town, would you be interested in settling in my town of New Springvale? You can take your time and think it through with the other, however I'd just like to point out that it'll be even more advanced than what I made here."

Red gives me a thoughtful nod and looks back at the new walls of Big Town, She turns back my way. "I'll talk with the others. Most will probably be okay with it, after all you're the Savior of our town. How about you take Penny and the rest back to Lamplight and by the time you return here we should have an answer for you."

I give Red a nod in return. "Sounds like a deal." I look down at the kids. "Alright kiddos let's get you back home." Penny hugs Red once more than scampers up onto Soundwave. Squirrel and Sammy get back on as well after looking at Big Town and all the other Mungo's they knew.

I wave at Red then set off to Lamplight caverns. The journey there is easy enough with only a few wild dogs coming up to me and me giving them some food to eat.

The dogs follow behind for a while before breaking away and disappearing. Soon after we hear some gun shots ring out in front of us. I move forward at a fast pace to see what happened.

Soon enough I saw what made the commotion. The dogs from before fought a group of raiders and caught them by surprise. However it looks like both groups took each other out. While moving around looting the corpses I hear a whimper come from the truck trailer. Looking inside I see one of the dogs in front of a crate. It's already dead but inside the crate are a bunch of puppies.

They look healthy enough considering, and honestly who can say no to puppies. I loot everything else and get some caps. I then pull out a metal box and fill it with some toys and a cover at the bottom. I pick the pups out of the crate and transfer them to the metal box. Making sure the pups are good I move back to where Soundwave is.

The kids spot me and wave, but keep quiet. They show interest in the box in my arms though and soon crowd me. I laugh and set the box down and take off the improvised top. Penny squeals in joy and picks up one of the puppies. " So cute! Look Sammy doesn't she look super cute!" I laugh again and say. "Actually Penny, that's a boy. The rest are girls though." Penny looks at me then back at the puppy. She lifts it higher and says. "Oh, doesn't matter, he's still super cute."

I shake my head with a light chuckle. "Ok Penny, put the pup back. We still have about twenty minutes until we're at Lamplight." Penny sulks but puts the puppy back. I pick up the crate and tie it down to Soundwaves' seat.

Twenty something minutes later and we're at Lamplight's entrance. The kids are really excited to be back home and drag Soundwave and me to the front gate. Bad news is that Soundwave won't fit so I take the puppies off him and put him in guard duty mode.

Soundwave turns around and starts climbing the cliff to get a better position. Sammy leads the way and soon we're walking through the main tunnel.

The walk doesn't take long before we round the final bend. In front of us is a makeshift wall/barricade. I have the trio walk in front of me as we move forward. Once we make it halfway a preteen pops their head over the wall with a, dun da da dah, a gun pointed our way. However it's soon lowered once the preteen recognizes Sammy and the others.

"Well I'll be a Mungo's left butt cheek, it's you three idiots. Finally had enough of the Mango world did ya? No matter, as your handsome and gracious Mayor I'll allow you back in. But first I wanna know why you got a Mungo behind you." The preteen raises his gun and takes aim at me.

Sammy jumps forward and yells. "Wait, MacCready! He's a good Mungo. He shot the ones responsible for taking us. Plus he's friends with the Big Towner's. Also he has puppies, you wouldn't shoot a guy holding puppies would you?"

The now named MacCready lowers his gun once more. "I don't know, never had a chance to do so. However if he makes one wrong move, that's the last move he'll make. Puppies or no puppies, you got me Sammy!" Sammy salutes and shouts, "Sir, yes sir!" MacCready nods and does something behind the barricade which makes the gate open up. "Welcome to Little Lamplight Mungo. Fuck with anyone and you'll pay the price."

I smirk under my helmet. "You won't have any problems out of me, in fact I'm here to help solve one of yours." MacCready huffs before talking. "And what problem is that?" My smirk grows into a smile. "Why your mutie problem of course. They've got something I want and they need to die for me to get it. What a coincidence, one I hope to solve with maximum violence."

MacCready starts chuckling before it turns into a full out laugh. After taking a moment to get his breath back he looks me up and down before nodding to himself. "Alright Mungo, you got some pretty big balls on ya if you're wanting to tackle the greenies nest, but be my guest. However, you need to do something for me first before I give you the go ahead."

I nod at him. "What I need you to do is to talk to some of my people and help them out. We run a tight ship here, unfortunately time wears on even the greatest of ships. Go talk to Biwwy, Eclair, Joseph, Knock Knock, Lucy, Princess, and Knick Knack. Talk to those seven and help them out with what they need. Then I'll let you through the back gate into Mutie land. Might as well wring all I can from you before you go and die. It'd be a waste of resources if I didn't, and us Lamplighters hate wasting things."

I nod and make my way through the gate. To the left of me I can see a gathering of kids around a teenager. To my right is an old building that looks like it'll blow down with a single huff of air. The gate closes behind me and I take a closer look at the bike mechanism that makes it all work. I'm not sure how they managed to piece it all together, but for a post-apocalypse settlement full of kids it's not half-bad. As I look the contraption over, I can hear the kids talking to Sticky. They're all wishing him happy birthday, but are also telling him he'll have to leave after the party.

Poor guy, I can kinda feel what he's going through. I might've hated living in the Vault, but I loved almost everyone there. I chose to leave my home while Sticky is forced too. He was pretty annoying in the game so let's hope he doesn't take after himself. I'm fairly laid back, but even I have my limits. I stop looking at the machine and walk towards the dispersing group. I can feel how devastated Sticky is feeling having to leave his home behind, but also an undertone of determination. I smile and reach my hand out for a handshake. He in turn shakes my hand with a bit of force with a forced smile.

"Hello," he says."I'm Sticky, can I interest you in being a bodyguard till I reach Big Town. I know the way like the back of my hand, plus there aren't any snot nosed kids running around and demanding stuff from you there. If you want we can go now and get there before dark." Sticky puffs out his chest and holds his head high before thumping his chest with a closed fist. I laugh a little before being straight with him. "No thanks Sticky, I actually just came from Big Town. I'm here on some personal business and if you can wait till i've finished, i'll accept the escort back. Is that acceptable with you?" I ask him.

I see him churn it over in his head before he responds. "Okay, ya got yourself a deal Mungo, I mean fellow adult." I chuckle briefly at his bravado before patting him on his shoulder and walking away. I make my way over to the previously mentioned building and see a sign reading "Essentials" hanging above the door frame. Pushing the door open I enter a mangy hallway that is barely lit with only two doorways and a shelf. I enter the first doorway and see the little classroom they have set up.

It has desks, a teachers table, a revolving blackboard, and some teaching supplies. Right now no one is there, but I can see a sign with some hours on it, 8am to 10am. Taking a look at my Pip-Boy I see it's about 8 o'clock at night. I walk out of the room and into the one beside it. It's full of all sorts of medical gear and supplies, even some ammo crates. Sitting on the counter are two holotapes, I listen to both and I don't gain any new info. It was only a recording of a teacher from before the great war who was stranded here after the bombs dropped.

Nothing else garners my attention and I move back outside where I run into Bumble. She looks up at me with awe. "Woah! You're a really big kid huh! But I've never seen you before. Are you from outside?" I ruffle her hair before responding. "I am indeed from the outside, but I'm an adult or Mango as you call them. I'm here to help out a little and explore Murder Pass." Woah!" she gasps out. " You're one brave Mango then. Sinclair got one of his eyes bitten off by the monsters, but that was from before I could remember real well. Lucy said it was a miracle his eye was the only thing they took."

Bumble takes a thinking position before she exclaims. "I know, if you're going after the monsters maybe you can get Sinclairs eye back. I bet he'd be super happy to have it back. Sometimes I close one of my eyes and pretend I'm him fighting off the monsters, then I beat them and get my eye out of the stomach of one of them and BAM, I've got both my eyes." She jumps around me in excitement punching at imaginary monsters, before she accidentally stumbles and flails her arms, I reach out and grab her.

She sighs out in relief before standing back on her own. "Thanks mister, one of the monsters tripped me. If you hadn't caught me I'd be a goner." She giggles before she turns away and runs off. I chuckle and make my way to Knick Knacks store. I hope he's still there so I can start on this quest, Speaking of which. 'Cortana, why haven't I received a quest yet?' I ask. 'Sorry Jacob, generating one now.'

*Ding* Quest: To Little, To Lamplighter.

Complete all tasks given to you by the various Lamplighters. (0/7)

Quest Rewards: Increase in Little Lamplight reputation. Access to Vault 87. Partial cure to the FEV Virus. Armor Upgrade Micro thrusters. Pre-War Seeds and farming techniques.

*Whistle* 'Now those are some good quest rewards. Now I've got some incentive on my side.' While I'm staring out into space I feel a hand tug on my coat. I look down to see a kid in a Mole miner outfit. 'I wonder If I can make onesies?' "Hey Mister, do you have any Nuka cola? If you do, I'll give you this weird box I found. I can't open it, but maybe you can. You look strong after all and I bet you can lift a lot. Can you lift a lot? Doesn't matter, you can have the box so long as you give me some of that sweet, sweet Nuka cola. So, do we have a deal? If not I can also toss in a hologame I found for a Pip-Boy. You have a Pip-Boy so I bet you could use it, I don't care what you do with it so long as I can get me some of that goooood Nuka cola."

I raise my hand to stop the kid from talking before I reach into my pocket and pull out three Nuka colas'. I see the kid literally vibrate at the sight of them. I wonder if he's anything like Twig from Fallout Nuka Break, except Nuka cola makes him fast instead of healing him. Let's put that to the test. "As you can see kid, I've got three bottles worth. I'll give you one bottle for the deal you mentioned earlier. The other two are for some info and if you let me draw some blood from you before and after you drink some Nuka, Deal?" I ask while holding out my other hand.

Zip doesn't even hesitate before my arm is being jerked up and down like the mightiest of cultured men. "Okay hold still while I take a blood sample." Zip tries, but can't stop moving. So I grab his left arm and roll up the sleeve to past his elbow. Then I hold his arm steady before taking some blood. I then hand him a Nuka and he chugs it in seconds.

The results are instantaneous, even with my strength I can feel my arms vibrating. Lucky bastard is definitely going to be a lady's man. I then take my second sample carefully. Zip is barely holding himself back and gives me the box and holotape before he starts running around me. Chuckling to myself, I give him an extra Nuka and watch as he zips away.

I put the game in my inventory and look at the box. The box is a simple rectangle which is matte silver, probably due to age, and It doesn't look like it has any lock on it at all. It is sheer faced on all it's sides with no openings. Using my enhanced touch I try to feel where it separates and eventually feel a micro line. I put some strength behind my arms and tried pulling it open, much to my happiness. It fully opened, but the only thing inside were some papers.

While looking through them It appears to be the layout of Big MT and all the resources that were being funneled to it. Plus the future plans for incorporating the technology into the army and eventually civilian use. Huh, you can find the weirdest shit when you're not even looking. I don't have any clue on how this even got here, but it's also been two hundred years so I'mma let it slide. Besides this only gives me some military and civilian applications for MT tech, not the tech itself.

I store the papers away and continue on my way to Knick knacks store. I pass a few more kids that are playing tag before I reach the cavern in which sits the store.

These kids really are something else, two hundred years later and everything is still integrity sound. The wood is old but well taken care of, and there aren't any visible problems with the structures. They made themselves a good base, I guess it'll be harder than I thought to get them to move to New Springvale.

I move up the stairs and enter the shop, there's even a little bell that goes off. Once through the door I see a scrawny kid in some overalls wiping down the counter. He looks up and some surprise enters his eyes before they shift back to normal. "Hello there Mungo, welcome to Knick Knacks emporium of treasures and goodies. I'm Knick Knack, the purveyor of this fine establishment. How may I be of assistance to you today?" He finishes with a smile.

I reach out for a handshake and he in turn does the same. "Hello there, I'm Jacob and I'm here on some business."