'Things are looking up, for ole Frankie Winter.' I thought cheerfully as I exited ArcJet.
*ding*
My quest completed and I recieved some more XP and caps.
'But the real treasure is the friends I made along the way.' I thought sarcastically thinking of my new robots.
Upon exiting ArcJet, I was greeted by a swarm of robots and a gleeful child going from bot to bot giving them different names.
"You'll be Ronald! And you can be Sparky..."
"Brat." He finally noticed my return and jumped like a cat.
"I... was, er..."
"Chill. Here, take these." I threw some bottled water and a can of stew to him which he barely caught and nearly fumbled.
While the boy dug into the can of stew like he was starving hyena, I began uploading the coordinates to my vault into each of the bots.
That way the kid and I can move more freely. If theres danger I can just grab the kid and flee.
I gave the bots some of my haul to lighten my burden and I watched as the parade of bots began marching away.
The kid had devoured the can of stew and was now sipping on the bottle water with a delighted smile on his face.
'If I remember correctly there was that thing nearby. The boy deserves a treat for what he had been through, after all.'
"Joshua, let's go. I have one more place to go before we head back."
He brushed himself off after standing up and smiled before following along after me.
I had already slipped back into my combat armor set before leaving.
Dont get me wrong I love the stealth armor but it kind of chafes me in areas if I wear it for too long.
Pretty uncomfortable feeling that I'm sure other men could sympathize with.
The wetsuit and heavy combat armor combo was what I found had the most comfortable fit with plenty of protection for general threats.
And being able to keep moisture off yourself is a godsend because the apocalypse is very... moist.
For lack of a better term.
Most structures can no longer keep rainwater from entering which leads to them being flooded and then smelling like mildew and rotting wood.
Not to mention the amount of blood and guts you get on yourself during combat.
The first row is a splash zone, as they say.
So yeah I feel like the wetsuit is a necessity. To keep the ick off me.
We walked down the broken roads and I kept my senses on high alert for danger.
It took about ten minutes of walking but we found it.
A little spot south of Greygarden, on a platform near the road, surrounded by Pulowski Preservation Shelters, was a Port-A-Diner.
And inside, a Perfectly Preserved Pie.
This specific little pie dispenser gave me hell on several occasions in game.
'But this ain't no game anymore.' I thought with a devilish grin on my face.
"Kid, just hang tight. I'll get something tasty for you." I said as I materialized a bat wrapped in chains from my inventory.
I stood in front of the glass that surrounded the inside contents, and pressed the bat against the bottom where I intended to strike so I didnt get glass onto the pie.
I pulled my arms back and took a few test swings began cocking back and driving the bat straight through the glass.
*shatter*
The glass broke inward missing the pie but leaving an opening for me to reach in and grab it.
"Here, eat this and enjoy." I handed the pie to the confused child but seeing the pie his curiosity got the better of him and he picked it up and chomped down on it.
"Tell me what it tastes like. Does it taste like revenge?" I urged him to tell me which caused him to raise an eyebrow but it didnt stop the rest of his face from lighting up.
"Its good! It's really sweet and also kinda sour."
I nodded my head and was about to comment when I heard footsteps approaching us.
'Shit. What is it this time...'
I pushed the kid behind me and pulled both my pistols out and aimed at the newcomers.
"See dick, told you he wouldn't get far." One voice said.
"Yeah, but it looks like he found some sap."
I furrowed my brows as a crew of six arrived in front of us.
'From the attire, I would assume they are raiders. Could they be the ones that killed the kid's parents?'
One of the men, who wore a tattered cloth with leather armor over it led the group and stopped in front of us.
The leader had patchy hair and stubble that gave him that irradiated wastelander look.
He stepped forward and then spoke.
"Boy, did you really think you could run away? Come along nicely and we wont kill your new friend."
Joshua trembled while hiding behind me. But it also occurred to me there might be more to the story than the boy had told intially me.
I met the raider leaders eyes with mine with unwavering conviction. "He ain't going with you. Piss off." I adjusted one of my pistols so that it was aimed at the leaders head.
The leader seemed to twitch in anger. "Man, you're a real moron. That boy belongs to us. That collar around his neck says so. We're already being nice not making it explode and robbing your stinking corpses. He's lucky he still has something what we want."
'A slave collar?' I looked over at the boy and caught a glimpse of metal under the boys scarf.
'Fuck. So then that means one of these guys could detonate it remotely and kill the kid.'
I stayed composed and asked, "What does the kid have that you want. I'll give it to you if you remove the collar and give the kid up."
I first try diplomacy, and if this doesn't work then...
"Hmph! I ain't gonna tell no wannabe Dogooder our business. I'm only gonna say it once more boy, come with us or things are gonna get messy."
Joshua seemed to lose hope in his eyes as he stepped past me.
I grabbed his shoulder to stop him but he brushed me off and then looked at me with eyes devoid of light.
"Thanks, mister. But you helped me enough. I'll go with them now... Mace, I'll take you guys to the stash. You won't hurt him, right?"
'Is this brat serious? What kind of crappy movie trope is this? Stupid child, do you think I need your help? I'm the motherfucking adult.'
I gritted my teeth as the boy approached the gang of raiders. If I made a move, would they blow the kid's head off his shoulders before I could kill them all?
I didn't know and didn't have time to think.
The leader smirked and turned his back on me with the kid following behind them.
All the others seemed to be giving me a mocking glance as if they had won.
'No... I can't let this slide...'
But just as I was about to act rashly and take the chance start killing them, I heard a notification that stopped me from losing my reason.
*ding*
The group were walking away and the kid gave me one last glance before I could no longer see them in the distance going west.
Instead of standing there feeling humiliated, I walked slowly towards my vault as I opened the system.
[Side Quest- Rescue Joshua from the slavers. Optional: Kill all the slavers. Optional: Rescue all the slaves. Reward: 20,000xp, 14,000 caps, Settlement Contruction Module.]
The new quest that was generated was exactly what I wanted right now. But the last reward threw me off.
'A Settlement Contruction Module? Is that what I think it is? If so, then I have even more reason to do this...'
I decided to do this quest and make it a priority. Not just for the boy's sake, now I have some real skin in the game.
"Stupid bastards don't know who they just fucked with..."
I could go and get the robots back to help me but I didn't think I would need them. And I also needed more actual combat experience without outside help.
I began treading west in order to catch up and follow the slavers back to thier base before deciding how to handle them.
'The quest hinted at there being more slaves wherever they are going. So there is likely also more slavers... More free XP for me...'
I thought with a smirk.
<><><><><><>
Status
Frank Winter, 18 (+50)
Lvl: 30
S-7
P-5>6
E-7
C-9
I-17
A-10
L-7
Perks: Swift Learner, Hard Bargain, Educated, Lady Killer, Advanced Science, Advanced Robotics, Advanced Chemist, Adamantium Skeleton, Action Boy, Advanced Gunslinger, Field Medic, Advanced Hacker, Rad Resistance, Gun Nut, Rad Child, Sneak, Dodgy, Advanced Nuclear Physicist,
Perk Points: 3
Mutations: Healing Factor, Speed Demon, Marsupial, Timeless, Rad-ical,
Equipment: 12.7mm pistol x1, Explosive☆ 12.7mm pistol (The Fuckbringer), T-45 Power Armor, Chinese Stealth Armor,
Augments: "PHOENIX" Monocyte Breeder Implant,
Caps: 16,087
[A/N: This concludes the first half of the March chapters. Thanks for your support. I will be adding a cover picture later on today and the second half of this months chapters can be expected in about two weeks.]