บท 305: Run Away!!

Eventually, Afton manages to 'persuade' Gabe to lie down. The dog continued to quietly whimper due to him being hit in the face by a water-hose, but slightly upset would always be better than headless.

Afton sighs and examines Gabe, their earlier fight had damaged both of them. Afton's entire body was sore from receiving multiple sonic blasts, as well as his arm that'd nearly been chewed through. And if Gabe weren't covered in fur and cybernetics, he'd most definitely be a big bruise at this point.

With this done Afton crushes the water pipe to prevent more from spraying onto the floor, the tiny-spider-bots would be employed to repair this later, so he wasn't worried about it.

Still... Afton focuses on Gabe, the dog panting while lying on the ground, clearly exhausted after all the adrenaline had worn off. He walks over to him and strokes the fur on his head, scratching behind his ear which causes Gabe's tail to wag rapidly. "See? You're not so bad when you aren't trying to eat me..." Afton coos, hoping the dog wouldn't go psycho again.

"Good! You have tamed the 'Borous Beast!', now, command the lawn ruiner to find the Sonic Emitter schematic!" Klein's voice shouts over the intercom.

"We can't do that! Look how exhausted my Gabe is! He can barely stand, let alone sniff and dig out the schematic..." Borous says.

"Look, I'll just do it myself!" Afton growls, not wanting to listen to the scientist annoying voices after the deathmatch he'd just had. He stands and starts walking around the cavern, finding various mounds that look to have been Gabe's digging spots. Unfortunately, Afton is currently lacking a shovel.

Sighing, he grabs a piece of wood from the shattered picket fence and uses that instead, striking at the ground to loosen dirt before kicking it out. The only boon to this situation is the fact that all the mounds were rather shallow, this cavern was artificially created for Gabe to reside in, so it didn't take much digging through the dirt until you hit granite.

After thirty minutes of walking around the places, digging, digging, and digging. Afton finally unearthed the Sonic Emitter schematic. To be honest, it doesn't look all that different from any other holodisk, aside from the label on it stating [Sonic Emitter : Gabe's Bark]. He brushes the stray dirt on it and blows the rest off, shoving it into his deathclaw leather satchel as he turns back towards Gabe. "Now, what to do with-"

"BOOOM!*

The house where he'd entered the cavern from explodes into a fiery mess, sending wood shrapnel everywhere as Robo-Scorpions stream inside. "HAH! Did you really think I would allow you to take the Schematic without a fight!? HARDLY!" Mobius voice shouts, having apparently hacked the intercom system... Again.

"Mobius! You leave Gabe alone!... Mr Parker too!..." Borous says in a harsh tone.

"Forget your dog for now Borous! Lobotomite! The tests are not yet complete, you still have yet to acquire the Sonic Emitter upgrade! FIGHT OFF MOBIUS FORCES AND RETRIEVE IT FOR US!*BBZZTCH*" Klein exclaims before being cut off.

"There'll be none of that, Think Tank! I will destroy your Lobotomite, and rein supreme over BIG MOUNTAIN, WAHAHAHAHAHA!"

While that lot were arguing, Afton had already been in motion, firing his own Sonic Emitter at the Robo-Scorpions streaming in from the entrance... He turned off [Meltdown] of course, otherwise he might just bring down the whole cavern.

[John Wick Style is in effect]

Gabe wasn't idle either, firing sonic barks at the scorpions which throws small groups of them heavily against the cavern wall, disabling some while crippling others. Afton reaches into his satchel and retrieves the black box Dr. 8 had made for him, he presses the button but finds that nothing happens... Of course it wouldn't work, Mobius might be crazy, but he isn't stupid!

Afton tosses the device away and continues firing, taking cover behind some of the pre-war buildings in the cavern. Gabe was taking the brunt of the attack, but he was proving more than durable enough to survive against energy weapon attacks being shot from the scorpions.

They tried to grab Gabe with their pincers, but were instantly torn apart if they got close enough for such a strike... Seems like Gabe was in battle-mode again...

The battle continues for a couple minutes until the number of Robo-Scorpions started to dwindle... Either that, or they had decided to gather outside the test area to unleash a barrage when he steps out.

Soon enough, the cavern was clear, the only thing remaining of the Robo-Scorpions being bits and pieces of their yellow and red chassis, and destroyed machinery. Gabe was exhausted, having not recovered from their previous battle before participating in the next. Afton just pats Gabes head as thanks for his assistance before moving to the exit.

"Nyx, anymore enemies?" he asks the dutiful stealth suit.

"Mmm, many of them are gathering outside the test chamber." she states, and he frowns.

"Well, that's just great then, isn't it." he mutters, walking through the exit while pulling out his Stealthboy. The Robo-Scorpions would obviously be able to detect him, but it should give him enough time to attack without being instantly annihilated.

Honestly, he'd like to just blow all of them to high hell but knew that'd likely destroy any chance of retrieving the Sonic Emitter upgrade, something he wasn't willing to risk. He makes his way through the tunnel that he'd previously travelled to reach the cavern and stops in front of the large metal double doors.

He activates his Stealthboy, causing his body to become invisible and opens the door, immediately using VATS to get enough time to examine the enemies before him. There were as many Robo-Scorpions as you could possibly fit into the room, all with their tail-blasters pointed directly at the door, most already seeming to heat up to fire through the door.

They might not be able to see him, but they'd be able to hit him if he remained where he was...