//------------------------------// // Chapter 69 // Story: Fallout New Vegas: Unexpected Friends // by Sleepyted //------------------------------//  “I haven’t had fresh meat in so long, would she notice if I took off a leg?” A torn up voice said as Twilight regained consciousness, her head feeling heavy and throbbing. “You know she would rip out your throat if you disobey her orders, just remember what happened to Johnny.” Another just as shredded voice said, Twilight slowly starting to open her eyes. The light was dim but her robotic eye easily adjusted within a moment while the natural one had a bit of trouble. She was hung upside down over a rough concrete floor by a rope that was tightly tired around her hind legs and she spotted her robotic wing in a heap to the side. “She’s waking up.” The first voice said, the princess feeling a hard jab to her ribs. “I’ll go let the boss know…” the second said as footsteps could be heard leaving. “W-what happened?” Twilight asked with a groan, her hooves going to her sore head. “You dun got caught.” The voice said, a marked man making his way in front of the pony and bending over to look her in the eye. He was wearing what was once an NCR uniform but it had been torn and repaired so many times it was barely recognizable as such. “I didn see your type out west, wonder what you taste like…” Twilight rolled her eyes, her horn starting to glow brightly as she used her magic to easily slice through the thin rope and drop her to the ground. The man stumbled back in surprise by this and fumbled for a rusty and broken 9mm pistol on his hip but by the time he pulled it out and cocked it the gun was yanked out of his grip and spun around quickly, not even getting a moment to register it as it went off right into his face. After shaking the blood from the gun she untied her hind hooves from the mess of rope and stretched her back, blood moving back down into her hooves again.  Pulling the magazine from the pistol she was surprised to find that the spring that would push the bullets up to be used was jammed and only the one bullet could be used at a time and a quick check on the ghoul found no more bullets, only a chipped and blunt machete. She went over to her gear and quickly started to put it back onto herself, picking up her wing and getting ready to slot it back into her back. After a white blinding pain she got to her hooves again, stretching out the prosthetic limb and slid the machete through a strap on her barding. Dropping the pistol to the side it broke into the different chinks, it was lucky it fired at all in the first place without exploding! She looked around the room she was held in and from first glances it appeared to be a woodworking room, with band saws and carpentry tables lining the walls and a sliced rope tied around the duty rafters where she was tied up. Twilight made her way to the only door she could see, slowly peeking it open and looking around. It lead into a hallway with faded and torn inspirational posters lining the walls, Twilight knew a school when she saw it. It was run down, the shattered windows hastily boarded up with scrap wood with the sandstorm billowing on outside. She could see only guard, a marked man wearing legion scraps with a machete made from an old lawnmower blade. Taking a few moments she yanks out her weapon and charged up her horn, and with a flash she appeared right behind the man. The flash caused him to spin around in fright but didn’t get a word out before a blunt blade was crammed right into his chest before snapping from the force, the gagging body slumping to the ground with a clatter. Letting go of the broken weapon she grabbed the lawnmower blade, feeling a bit heavier and more of a bludgeon than a blade. She made her way forward, makeshift weapon at the ready as she peeked through doors she passed, seeing a few classrooms with tables and chairs smashed and bent while some were obviously used such as one that had a room remade using beds taped together as beds, which Twilight could say from experience could be comfortable if it was supported on a mattress of learning but she doubted they cared. She quickly but quietly made her way past that seeing quite a few sleeping men. One room that did get her to stop was when she saw a familiar figure sat next to a table, arm outstretched and crushed in a metal vice. The non-metal arm was nowhere to be seen and her flesh one wasn’t looking that good. And she didn’t look good at all to be honest, she was slumped down forward, her armor all removed with only a tank top left on her body and that was stained with blood and sweat, the pants just the cargo pants she had before but blood had dripped down onto them. Twilight slid the door open, stepping inside before shutting it closed behind her. The room looked like a metalworks room, much like the room she woke up in but with heavier duty things to get through the tougher material. “Anne? Are you okay?” Twilight asked in worry, quickly going over to the woman and sitting her up in the wooden chair she was tied into. She didn’t make a sound, blood dripping from her bloodied mouth as she was sat back, one eye swollen shut while the other was shut by itself. “Come on, wake up, let’s get out of here.” She whispered urgently. “Knew that when you weren’t in your cell you’d come after her.” A voice said, straggly normal compared to others she heard. Whipping around to face the newcomer she saw a youngish looking woman leaning against the doorway, a dozen marked men, each with nasty looking guns and weapons all trained on the pony and Anne. The woman was wearing a trench coat, what once might have been a crisp suit if not for years of wear and tear underneath. A holster was along her waist and holding a very large revolver, bigger than a 44. and with gold detailing along its white glossy surface. Her face was of quite a lot of note, half the skin torn away and leaving a familiar red muscle and flesh that was a staple of the Marked Men. And finally there was a dark fedora perched atop her head. “Wasn’t much of a cell.” Twilight stated, blade hovering next to her at the ready but she didn’t like the look of this. “I’ll give you that.” She said with a chuckle as she looked to the others. “Lower your weapons, if she tried anything she’d be dead anyway.” The ghouls all lowered their guns but looked twitchy, as if Twilight moved too fast she would get filled with holes. Walking over to a desk the woman grabbed a pair of chairs and brought them to the middle of the room, placing them to look at each other. “Seen you following her, let’s have a chat, you and I.” She stated taking a seat and lounging back in the chair. “Who are you?” Twilight asked slowly, looking at the guards as she took a seat, looking for anyway to take them down but it didn’t look like it right now. “Anne.” She stated simply, smiling gently. “That’s her.” Twilight said in confusion, pointing at the woman trapped with her broken arm in a vice with her hoof. “Nah, that’s Michelle.” ‘Anne’ stated. “I think you have the wrong person here…” Twilight said. “I think I would recognize my own sister.” She said with a chuckle. “Sister…?” “Well, ex-sister, if that’s even possible.” The woman said pulling out her revolver, spinning the cylinder. “I’m lost here.” Twilight stated. “You think that idiot could have made her way throughout anywhere on her own?” The woman asked before laughing, whipping up the gun and firing a shot right at the woman in the vice, blood exploding from her flesh knee. ‘Anne’ woke up with a yell, both legs jerking about as she pulled at the restraints in agony. “Glad you joined us, was starting to worry that we made you brain dead.” The woman stated shoving the pistol back to her hip. Twilight went to get up to help her friend but a dozen guns cocking themselves made her stop. “N-not my fault…” Anne groaned, blood leaking from her mouth as she cringed in pain, head not able to stay up as it rocked around. “Don’t start with that crap again.” The woman stated rubbing her eyes with her hand. “WHAT IS GOING ON HERE?!” Twilight yelled in anger and confusion, she did not like having no clue about what was happening. “Want the quick version or the long?” “Just tell me!” “Well. She and I used to grow up on the streets of The Boneyard. We were born twelve minutes apart and cause our mother was just a wench she couldn’t support us and left us once we turned old enough. We lived as scavengers till we were old enough to get taken seriously and became bodyguards for a while but eventually we became curriers. After a few years and a lot of caps we went along The Divide and we liked what we saw. We helped start a community here and even took this school as a place to call our own. But Michelle wanted to make a bit more money and brought something from the West. She’s the reason we’re all like this.” She said, ending with it by pointing to all the guards in the room. “She didn’t mean to do it, it was an accident-“ Twilight was saying but before she could finish it her mouth was shoved open as a revolver was suddenly jabbed into her muzzle, the princess too frightened to so much as breathe. “Didn’t mean to do it? WELL that’s all okay then! Should just let both of you go now to fuck around with that asshole Ulises?” She asked sarcastically. “She still did it! She killed everyone! And when she realized she fucked up you know what she did? She didn’t look for survivors, or go after her sister, she just left!” “D-didn’t know…” Michelle groaned in her seat. “You shut up before I bring out the bolt cutters again!” The real Anne yelled. “Bad enough you have the nerve to use my name!” “When I met her she just got shot in the head… She couldn’t remember anything besides a name I guess…” Twilight said once the gun was removed from her mouth. “Bound to happen knowing her.” Anne said with a shrug. “Shame that she had to survive…” “If she’s your sister you should want to help her, find her again to be together again!” Twilight yelled. “You want to know what kept me alive as I lay bloodied and scorched in a puddle of radiation? It wasn’t anything like hope for my sister’s help. It was hate. Pure and utter hate for that woman over there.” She stated pointing over at Michelle with her pistol. “But you don’t know how heartless she really is I guess. So I’ll give you a little show of how I see her.” She stated smugly looking over at one of the guards and giving a nod. The guard grunted and left the room, returning after a few moments with a very large and very heavy box rolled on a trolley and put it in the middle of the room. “There’s enough C four in that box to maybe blow an arm off. But what makes it need such a big box is the napalm filling it to the brim.” She stated as she pulled out another pistol from behind her, a smaller, low caliber revolver. A very familiar revolver. “This was yours? Pretty nice…” She stated as she flicked out the cylinder and loaded in only one .32 bullet. “Here’s what’s going to happen. One of you can take the bullet and die instantly, but condemns the other to die painfully in an inferno.” She explained, the guards leaving with her soon following. “You guys can pick.” She stated, throwing the gun to the tile floor with a clatter. When the door slammed shut she quickly made her way to Michelle/Anne, or whatever the hell her name was! “I deserve to burn…” the woman groaned as Twilight loosed the vice and carefully pulled her arm out of the grip. The bone was pretty much gone inside and Twilight spotted that the slimmest finger and middle finger had been cut off. “Neither of us are going to die here.” Twilight stated, trying to move Michelle onto her back with a grunt. “Save yourself… The pain.” “We’re not dying here today because you forget one thing.” Twilight stated with a grin. “I can teleport!” ‘POP’