“OPA!”

The war cry startles Dolly and Game Girl as Atara Raven bursts from the underbrush in a worn-down Vault-Tec jumpsuit showing scandalous skin. Dolly grabs at her heart as Game Girl’s screen is stuck in a state of shock. Atara gives a manic giggle as she crawls out of the brush and joins the pair by the campfire. Raven’s hair is bedraggled, holding a nest of twigs and dirt. Her face boasts a wide smile with smeared red lipstick and her eyes dart between GG and Dolly as they look back at the beauty carved by marble but buried under a layer of rubble. Waters thumbs her revolver but GG holds her arm back as she peers at Atara. A gasp of a giddy laugh exits her.

“You’re Atara Raven!”

Atara blushes slightly, brushing a cockroach off her face.

“The one and only!”

Dolly’s lip upturns as she keeps her revolver holstered, eyeing Atara up and down.

“Shouldn’t you be dead?”

Atara rolls her eyes and places the cockroach on a sharp stick, holding it over the fire.

“Do we truly need to get into the semantics, dove? Let’s get to the real issue at hand.” Atara flashes her eyelashes and her doe eyes land on the two. “A missing reactor core and some trouble with snakes?”

Atara plucks the roach with her teeth. Dolly turns fully to face Atara.

“You eavesdropping on us?”

Raven gulps down the bug and politely dabs her puckered lips.

“In my defense you were speaking awfully loud.”

“Since you heard all about it, Mrs. Raven-”

Atara quickly cuts GG off.

“Ew, just Atara, please.”

“Oh, I apologize! Miss Atara, ma’am. Since you know our situation, any chance you’re willing to lend your fellow Vault-Tec-ians a hand?”

Game Girl claps her hands together in a hopeful plea towards Atty who looks bored between the two, with a shrug she speaks.

“Sure.”

:D

“On one condition!”

:ᗡ

“I want a warm bath, a private bedroom AND! A highly-choreographed performance welcoming me to your vault.”

Dolly hangs her head, hiding a snort as GG ponders.

“Sure! Our current residents are either heavily overweight or feeble but I bet they’ll start toe-tapping when they see Vault-Tec’s best poster gal!”

“θαυμάσιος!! ... Who are you by the way?”

“Game Girl!” She throws out a hand as Dolly tips her hat. “And this is Dolly.”

Atara gives a “hmm” before pinching GG’s finger with a slight shake.

“Charmed.”

“This is all well and good that we’re all cozy now, but don’t you think it's time we mosey on out of here?”

GG pats her knees and stands up.

“Absolutely! I’m trying my best to be cheery but I am quite distraught!”

“Attagirl!” Atara says with a spin. “My old agent always said, hide the sadness behind a vault door! No one wants to see a pretty girl cry!”

“Sounds like a real peach.”

Dolly takes her cowboy hat off and dusts her pants with the brim as she joins the other two. Atara looks at her with wide eyes and an unsteady nod.

“He tasted like one too!”

Game Girl gives a soft “hmm” with an enthusiastic nod at this piece of information moments before her head is knocked clean off her shoulders. Dolly draws her revolver, sticking the barrel in the face of the attacker as Atara throws her hands up and chases after GG’s screen tumbling over the ground.

“That’s for sticking me in the freezer, you stupid tin can!”

Dolly kicks the hammer back on the revolver as she aims at a pissed Erik Holland. Game Girl calls from Atara’s arm, her body turning to Dolly shielding Erik, although his head is still very exposed.

“Dolly wait! He’s a resident of 98!”

“GG, you keep stopping me from shooting people today and this asshole’s mean-mugging me right now and my finger’s gettin’ itchy.”

“HAH! Shoot me! I’ll bite the bullet and spit it back at you, Bitch Cassidy.”

“Ya got a smart mouth, let’s see how well you speak when your jaws detached from your thick skull.”

Atara smiles looking at the two, her shoulders shimmying. Game Girl’s eyebrows turn up as she pleads.

“Dolly, don’t please! Erik, it’s lovely to see you again and I hope you’ve gotten that anger out of your system… Also is your hand okay?”

Erik looks at his knuckles briefly before looking back to Dolly.

“Oh yeah, all out my system, I’m a real Buddha right now.”

The sarcasm leaving Erik pours into Dolly who cracks a smirk.

“That is great news! I’m happy your cryo-stasis… Chilled you out!”

She gives some wanting “ahs” as her body lightly elbows Erik and Dolly. Waters lifts the revolver back and spins it back into the holster.

“You hit her again, being a popsicle will be a dream compared to what I’ll do to you.”

Erik gives an impressed chuckle.

“Noted. Now-” Erik looks at Atara and Game Girl. “Why the hell am I awake, overseer?”[white]

“Reactor blew, thanks to a group known as the Tunnel Snakes. We’re going to track them down if you’re willing to direct those fists at some people who deserve it for once.”

Atara lifts GG’s head and reattaches it to the body with a twirl. Holland nods.

[white] “Tunnel Snakes? Sure, overseer! I’ll help you if you help me.”

“What is it you’re after?”

“I’ll let you know when we’re done.”

“Ooh, our ménage à trois has turned into a κόμμα!”

“Quite speaking tongues and let’s get the hell out of here, nearest town is Haven, they should know where these snake bastards went.”

GG gives a nod.

“Okie dokie! Let’s hit the road!”

Haven tUnNeL sNaKeZ rUlE

The sun hangs low, painting the wastelands in hues of amber and crimson as the party trudge toward Haven. The journey had been uneventful save for Atty’s off-key rendition of a Vault-Tec jingle, and Erik’s occasional grumbles about “waking up too damn early for this apocalypse.”

Just ahead, the settlement emerges like a ghost from the dust and soot- there’s burnt-out buildings, all leaning precariously against one another, skeletal remains of market stalls littering the dirt streets, and graffiti that screams “tUnNeL sNaKeZ rUlE” on every avaialble surface.

Game girl stopped short, her screen flickering with a :O shocked emoji.

“Oh no… not another town…”

Dolly adjusts the revolver at her hip.

“This ain’t a town, my friend. It’s a graveyard.”

As they cross into Haven’s center, a tall, gaunt figure steps out from the largest remaining structure- a rusted metal building with a faded “Haven General Store” sign.

Maddeus Nuke stands before them, dressed in a tattered Vault-Tec blazer adorned with makeshift medals made from bottle caps.

MN: “Welcome, travelers!” he exclaims, throwing his arms open as though greeting old friends.MN: “Welcome to Haven- the last bastion of… well, me.”

Dolly exchanges a wary glance with Game Girl before stepping forward,

“You Maddeus Nuke?”

MN: “The one and only!”

he replies, bowing with an exaggerated flair.

MN: “And you are- OH, WAIT! Let me guess. You’re here because of those charming Tunnel Snakes. They draw quite the following! Everybody loves them.”

“Charmin?!”

Erik grumbles.

“They trashed this place and took your core, didn’t they?”

Maddeus chuckles nervously, wringing his hands.

MN: “Well, yes, but they were so… persuasive! So… cool! I couldn’t say no. They said it was a ‘necessary evil,’ you know, for the greater good. If VAULT 101 is great, the world will be great!”

Dolly snorts,

“Sounds like you got played, pal.”

Maddeus’ face twitches, but quickly he covers it with a nervous laugh, his grin widening into something toothy and insincere,

MN: Played? Oh no, no! I’m not a fool. I’m a… facilitator! I have them what they needed- our reactor core, supplies, some… manpower. In return, they promised to, uh, ‘make Haven great again’.” He gestures around the ruins as if they were a bustling metropolis.

The group stares in disbelief as Maddeus puffs out his chest, his voice lowering conspiratorially,

MN: And besides, they’re my friends… my BEST friends. And that Lucy? His grin turns awkwardly smug as he straightens his tie, leaning closer like he was sharing a well-kept secret MN: She’s even my GIRLFRIEND now.

Atara leans into Game Girl, whispering,

“He’s got the charisma of a wet radroach.”

“Radroach with a god complex,” Dolly mutters under her breath.

Game Girl steps forward, her voice unusually firm.

“Maddeus, do you even realize what you’ve done? That core wasn’t yours to give. It belonged to the people of Haven. The people who built this place. Same for the core that was stolen from Goodacre and subsequently blew our vault's power. Those cores are the lifeblood of our people, not handouts for whoever strokes your ego!”

Maddeus waves a dismissive hand.

MN: “Details, details. I mean, really, what’s a vault, or a town compared to the survival of the entire wasteland? Sacrifices must be made, Overseer!”

Erik’s fists tighten, the leather of his gloves audibly cracking around his knuckles.

“Sacrifices? Like the people you let die here?”

Maddeus flinches but quickly rebounds, his smile faltering,

MN: “Now, now, let’s not dwell on the past! The Sankes… well, they’ve moved onto greener pastures. Vault 99, I believe.”

“Vault 99?”

Game Girl’s screen lights up with a question mark.

MN: “Yes, yes. They said something about creating a new hub of civilization.” his face glows, his voice dripping with sycophantic admiration. [thad]MN: You should see them work- they’re like a well oiled machine! So efficient, so organized! Truly the best of the business. Bringing order and strength to the wastelands.”

“They’re parasites” Dolly shoots back, her eyes narrowing. “And yer’ too dumb to see it.”

Maddeus gasps, clutching at his chest.

MN: “How rude! I was trying to help!”

Atara rolls her eyes,

“Help? Darling, you handed them the keys to the kingdom and watched them burn it to the ground.”

“Sounds like the same hypocritical garbage their leader Sebastian spews. Best in the business.” she spits on the ground “All it means is they’ll take what they want and leave the rest of us to clean up the mess.”

Game Girl places a hand on Dolly’s shoulder, her voice softening

“We can’t fix Haven, but we can stop them from doing this again.”

Dolly nods.

“Vault 99 it is.”

Erik steps forward, looming over Maddeus,

“If you ever see those snakes again, you tell them this: Vault 98 is coming for what’s ours.”

The group disappears into the wasteland, their silhouettes framed against the setting sun.

War never changes

Not even a mile outside of Haven, the crew ventures through the scorched and desolate wastelands. The terrain is littered with the remnants of settlements crushed under the reckless opportunism of the Tunnel Snakes. Burned-out husks of homes sit like tombstones for lives lost. Once-thriving villages have been picked clean, their ruins defiled by more Tunnel Snakes graffiti.

The crew walks in silence, the weight of the devastation around them pressing down like the sleepless sun overhead. Each of them wrestling with their own thoughts about the battle ahead, their interpretations as fractured as the world they’re trying to save.

Erik’s boots crunch against the brittle dirt. His gaze shifted over the ruins. He spits into the dust, his lip curling into a snarl.

[white] “They don’t deserve mercy” he growls, flexing his fists. “Look at this place. They didn’t just take what they needed… they wiped everything out! Burned it all down just to feed their egos.”

He picks up a charred wooden plank, its edges blackened and jagged. More Tunnel Snakes graffiti scrawled in soot across its surface. He tosses it to the side with disgust.

“This isn’t survival. It’s tyranny. The only way to end this is to break them, to smash them so hard they never get back up.”

Atara pauses, the old Symbol of Vault Tec, it’s Idealism… her hand brushes against the flinty husk of what was once a metal sign. She wipes away the grime to reveal a faded Vault-Tec branding. Her eyes widen, the blue of her gaze reflecting the ghost of what once was.

“This was an outreach station,” she murmurs ”I remember the posters, the recruitment drives…”

She takes a slow step back, her gaze sweeping over the ruins.

“These bastards tore down my legacy!”

“Fuck your legacy! They're dishonorable punks that need to learn a lesson.”

Atara looks to the earth and brushes dirt off a stained metal poster she picks it up; an old promotional Vault Tec poster from the dirt, that show’s Atty in the fashion of Rosie the Riveter

“...that’s me.”

Atara reminisces, her finger tracing over the image.

"I know things are bleak, but we need to have some hope... Maybe there's a reason for all this?"

“Wait.”

Dolly raises her hand to halt the others, while spotting something in the distance.

The rest follow as she crouches beside two lifeless forms lying in the dirt. Two corpses lay on the ground in blue and gold jumpsuits. Their bodies are battered and burned, their faces frozen in terror.

Dolly’s lips press into a thin line as she rises, turning back to the group,

“Hope?.”

she scoffs, her voice bitter and cynical,

“There’s no hope with people like this running the show. I’ve dealt with megalomaniacs like their leader Sebastian before. You think they care about humanity? About survival?”

She gestures toward the corpses, her voice rising.

“This is what they care about- power, recognition. And they’ll kill anyone who doesn’t bow down to them. You really think they’re going to listen to reason?”

She looks each of them in the eye before muttering under her breath.

“There’s no humanity in people like Sebastian and his snakes. You either worship the ground they walk upon, or yer’ not worthy to live.”

Game Girl kneels beside the bodies. Her screen flickers, the cheerful expressions glitching into something more somber. She gently reaches out, closing their lifeless eyes as if to grant them some final dignity.

“They deserved better.” GGl plants a hand on one of the corpse’s chests, her thumb gently stroking the faded 98 jumpsuit. “The vaults… They were meant to symbolize hope for the future, survival. To carry the torch of mankind forward into the unknown…”

She folds the arms of the corpse and looks deeply at the other with a head tilt. A moment of silence hangs in the air interrupted when Holland kicks a piece of rubble over the rocky earth.

“I don’t want more people to die.”

She stands as the others look at her.

“Are you kiddin’ me? You’ve seen what they’ve done!”

Erik storms over getting in GG’s face.

“Animals like them don’t deserve pity! They deserve to be put in the ground.”

GG’s face glitches, her eyes sharply looking at Erik and back to the bodies. Atara places a hand on her shoulder.

“They’re right, my dear. They need to see the consequences of their actions.”

A deep sigh exits GG as she pats Atara’s hand before looking at the group.

“They will! But if we kill them, then how are we any better? All of us agree what they do is wrong and primitive, so what separates us from them?”

There’s a beat of silence as Game Girl looks at each member.

“All I ask is that you allow me to talk to them first… After that, be what may.”

The group nods solemnly before turning back to the corpses.

“We need to be what the Tunnel Snakes are not.”

The scene fades to black and we come back to two graves at the site, our heroes moving on. The devastation around them is a haunting reminder of what’s at stake. Their silence is heavier now, each carrying the burden of their beliefs as the shadow of Vault 99 looms just ahead.

Vault-Tec Calling!

The crew stands before the imposing metal doors of Vault 99. A long cable linked between Game Girl’s head and the electronic mainframe of the door’s locking mechanism. The entrance is framed by crude scaffolding and towering floodlights.

A long series of binary code comes to an abrupt finish on Game Girl’s face before the words :OVERRIDE COMPLETE: flash. Her pixelated screen flickers back into an expression of solemn determination.

“This is it. Let’s show them what Vault 98 stands for.”

Dolly grunts, adjusting her revolver.

“Hope it’s more than a damn light show, GG. These snakes don’t care about nothin’ but themselves.”

The door grinds open, revealing a world that couldn’t be more different from the desolation outside. Vault 99 is a hedonistic paradise. Neon lights pulse along the steel corridors, leading to a cavernous atrium that’s been transformed into a grotesque caricature of prosperity. Piles of hoarded supplies tower like monuments to greed. Music blares, and scantily clad Vault residents- gaunt and malnourished- serve drinks to the Tunnel Snakes lounging on stolen furniture.

At the center, a throne of scavenged tech looms, occupied by the self-proclaimed “king” of Vault 99, and ruler of the Tunnel Snakes… Sebastian. Draped in his old leather jacket that’s been upgraded with gold plates, he exudes smug confidence, his arms spread wide as if welcoming old friends.

Sebastian: “Well, well! If it isn’t Vault 98’s finest. Come to marvel what true leadership looks like… Overseer?”

Before Game Girl can even react, Erik’s rage has taken center stage. His fists clenched, his entire body vibrating, just teetering away from restraint.

“True leadership?! This ain’t leadership… it’s a goddamn circus! You’re just a parasite sitting on a pile of stolen junk!”

Sebastian chuckles, gesturing grandly to the chaos around him.

Sebastian: “Oh, Erik, always so dramatic. This isn’t junk- it’s survival. Vault 99 was weak, just like Goodacre, just like Haven and every other one horse town I’ve been too. They needed someone strong enough to make the tough choices. And here I am, saving them, saving the world from itself.”

“Saving them, Dove?”

Atara steps forward, her voice cutting through the noise like a whip.

“You’ve turned this place into a nightmare. Vault-Tec wasn’t about hoarding power- it was about giving people hope. You’ve destroyed everything we stood for.”

Sebastian smirks, leaning back in his throne,

Sebastian: “Hope doesn’t keep you alive like some ghoul feasting off of her dying image. Power does. I’ve made the calls to ensure humanity’s survival. Something Vault-Tec clearly couldn’t do.”

“You don’t know the first thing about survival, Sebastian”

Dolly’s voice is low and biting as steps forward, pointing a finger at him.

“You talk about strength, but all you’ve done is take from people who couldn’t fight back. Yer’ not a leader… yer’ a scavenger with a messiah complex. And yer’ too blind to see it’ll all come crashing down”

Sebastian’s smirk falters, but Lucy, stead at his side, leaps to his defense.

Lucy: “The vaults failed because they were soft. They couldn’t adapt to the world as it is. We’re the future- strong, united, and unstoppable. If you can’t see that, maybe you’re just not cut out for this brave new world.”

Erik steps forward, towering over her,

“You mean a world where you bleed people dry and call it progress? You’re nothing but cowards hiding behind your stolen riches, and idiots like Maddeus Nuke who’ve aided your ascent. And I’m ready to make you pay.”

GG holds out a hand, stopping Erik before he can charge. Her voice is calm, but carries the weight of everything they’ve seen.

“This isn’t just about us, Erik. It’s about survival… survival for everyone. And that includes Vault 99.”

She turns her pixelated gaze to Sebastian, her screen flickering with a determined glow.

“You’re not breaking down walls, Sebastian. You’re building them higher, making sure only you stand on the top. But humanity can’t survive like this. We need unity, not division. I’m giving you a chance to start over, you and everyone here is welcome to Vault 98. We have defenses, plenty of food, water and room. All I need is a working reactor core.”

Sebastian scoffs looking at his cronies with a raucous laugh as the others join in.

Sebastian: “Is this a joke!? A trash compactor, Cunt Eastwood, a Z-lister and the world’s angriest coal miner come in here and try making demands!? Threats!? HA! And you think Vault 98 is safe? That you clowns can lead us?”

Dolly steps beside GG, her voice steady and cutting,

“It ain’t about leading. It’s about doing what’s right. And you wouldn’t know that if it hit you in the face.”

Atara joins them, her voice rising with conviction,

“You hate Vault-Tec, but without it, you’re nothing. You’ve built your empire on the backs of people you claim to despise. People you claim you’re better than. And when it falls apart - and it will- you’ll be left with nothing but your arrogance.”

Sebastian narrows his eyes and snaps his fingers. The tension explodes into a chaotic melee as the Tunnel Snakes’ guards converge. Erik charges, fists flying as he barrels into Sebastian’s guards. Atara uses her agility to disarm attackers, her movements a blend of grace and ferocity. Dolly’s revolver cracks, taking out targets with pinpoint accuracy. Game Girl stays at the center, directing the group while protecting the innocent residents caught in the crossfire.

The clash is brutal. A physical manifestation of the ideological war between selfish glory and collective survival. And just as it seems that Vault Tec’s victory is within reach… something changes. Game Girl spots the frightened faces of Vault 99’s residents, huddling together in the shadows. GG’s screen screws into a look of anger as she rushes a nearby terminal, removing the tip of one of her fingers exposing a cable and plugging into the terminal. A loud booming voice blasts through the PA.

“ENOUGH!”

Sentry guns drop from the ceiling, red lasers taking aim on each Tunnel Snake. The fighting stops suddenly as the snakes raise their hands. Game Girl takes a moment.

“There’s access tunnels leading from here back to Vault 98… I’ve just opened them.” She turns her head to Sebastian, a look of confusion on his face. “Fighting, bloodshed, carnage… It’s futile. The only way we can be better is if we evolve together, 98 and 99 joined.”

Game Girl snaps around, her cable falling from the terminal as the sentry guns retract.

“You all have a choice, you can stay here or you can join us. I won’t force your hand.”

Game Girl walks to a nearby door and forces it to open before looking back. Dolly holsters her revolver looking around the room before sniffing up and walking over, her spurs dancing with each step. Atara follows with a blow of a kiss to Sebastian who seethes watching them, then Erik who shakes his head throwing off the rage. Soon, residents join the party. Survivors from towns, men and women in Tunnel Snakes jackets pour away into the tunnels as Sebastian fumbles to his feet shouting after them.

Sebastian: “No-NO! You know how much I sacrificed to build this place!? You can’t just leave! It’s not supposed to work this way!”

As each person leaves, Game Girl hangs back holding her hand on the door frame, with a sincere smile she speaks.

“Enjoy your kingdom, Sebastian. Just remember… it’s hard to rule when people see the truth.”

The Vault Tec crew leaves Sebastian and the Tunnel Snakes behind. The graffiti on the walls seem less mocking now, a reminder of what they’ve lost… and what they’ve gained.

As the group lead their new residents back home Game Girl gives a smile to her comrades who smile back in turn. Dolly clasps a hand over GG’s shoulder as Atara gives a wink. Erik lets out a loud sigh.

“I figured out what I want in exchange for helping you out, overseer.”

“Oh… And what’s that?”

Holland sniffs up and spits out a missing tooth from the brawl.

“A fucking cold beer and a warm cot.”

“Oh that sounds so good right now!”

GG gives a laugh as Atara “oohs” in delight.

“And with all these new residents, you’re gonna have a great welcoming party for me!”

Game Girl smiles nodding her head as we pan through the masses of people following and slowly fade to black.



OOC: Wordcount: 4060




















































Also Sebastian got pink eye and died lol