//------------------------------// // Chapter 10 // Story: The Stranger With a Big Iron on Her Hip // by Omega_code //------------------------------// Thanks to ProtheanBrony for proofreading. _____________________________________________________________________ “Well…that’s new.” Scarlet observed the floating rocks, then at Beta who was waiting for her to say those magic words of his. “I hate tell you this, but you think this is going to make me to surrender, by flinging rocks at me?” Scarlet let out an unamused laugh. “Oh, I’m quaking in my boots.” Scarlet’s laughter grew as she shook her head now in amusement. “Out of all of the threats throughout my life, getting rocks thrown at me is lowest of the low.” Suddenly three rocks were slammed into the ground near Scarlet, making her to cease laughing. “I assure you, this is no small threat.” Three other rocks were cover in the green glow and join the others in the air. “Now, put down your weapon or I’ll…” “Or you’ll what, kill me? You can’t, otherwise you would’ve done it already. Your master wants me alive, so you’re limited on your moves. Me on the other hand, well I could kill you with my bare hands. Lucky for you I don’t feel like killing today, so I’ll let you live.” Scarlet turned around and started to walk away. “What….you…why,” Beta said in a furious tone. Enraged he lifted his front talons and slammed them into the ground. A wall of green fire erupted a few feet in front of Scarlet, blocking her path. “I WILL NOT LET YOU LEAVE!” Scarlet didn’t turn around, but instead looked at her Pip-Boy. It was clicking, showing the wall of fire was emitted around 2 rad/sec of radiation. She then glanced behind her and saw Beta position the rocks trying to entrap her between them and the fire. “Now,” Beta continued, “how about you give up like a good little female and I'll make sure I won’t make the metal brace so tight.” Scarlet closed her eyes and took in a deep breath. “You are so dead.” In mere seconds Scarlet fully turned around while she took out her Anti-material rifle and entered into V.A.T.S. Beta was far away enough for her Pip-Boy to tell her she had a 70% with the head and an 80% with the torso. Not wanting to try her luck, she took her one chance with the torso. She fired and the bullet traveled through the air. Now Scarlet likes V.A.T.S., for it gave her a good edge in her fights. There was only one down side of using V.A.T.S., it only targets the spot the target is standing in when it is calculating percent chances and doesn’t fully calculate the movement of the target. So when Scarlet fired her rifle, Beta was moving in a way just enough that the bullet didn’t hit mid-center of Beta’s chest, but through his left wing. There was small burst of red as Beta’s wing was almost torn off from his body, and blood curling scream of pain filled the desert’s sky. Beta held a talon to his wing and blood oozed from a gaping wound. The green aura around Beta intensified and his wound was starting to heal. “Shit.” Scarlet reloaded her rifle and was about to fire again when she see something from the comer of her eye. She quickly side stepped back and a rock slammed into the ground in front of her. “I’m going to make you wish you didn't do that.” Beta’s voice ranged out as if it was being amplified. “I may not be able to kill you, but that doesn’t stop me from breaking your bones.” Scarlet smiled, “I’d like to see you try.” Scarlet then broke into a run towards Beta. She could hear rocks slamming into the ground closing following her. Normally she would’ve switched from her rifle to one of her machine guns; however, she stupidity left both of them at Braeburn’s house. Quickly Scarlet ejected both the rifle’s magazine and the loaded round, letting them both fall to the ground and quickly loaded the explosive round clip from her belt. She braced the rifle’s stock to her shoulder and aimed without using the scope. She was about to fire but a rock slammed into her causing her to fire a wild round into the air. Scarlet about to recover from the blow but more rocks slammed into her. Soon a small tornado of hand sized rocks flew around Scarlet, every other rock hitting her as they spun around. Dust got in Scarlet’s eyes and mixed with the air she breathed. Lucky, she had lots of experience of moments like this in the Divide and soon adapted. She brought the rifle’s scope to her face and looked through all of the dust and ignored the rocks plumbing her. She could see Beta through her scope, and even with everything going around her, she could see a smile on his face as if he won. She pulled the trigger and the rifle unleashed the explosive round. The area Beta was standing soon went up in smoke. The small tornado suddenly died and the rocks fall to the ground. “Well that was easy.” Scarlet looked at the Beta’s beaten body while she took out the magazine and put it back on her belt. “But still strange.” The green fire was starting to die down and the clicking from her Pip-Boy stopped. She then checked the ground, looking for the mag she dropped earlier. Spotting it a few feet from her she walked up to it and reached down for it. Sudden she felt as if something grabbed her as a green glow wrapped around the metal arm guard on her right arm. The green glow caused her Pip-Boy to started clicking rapidly telling her whatever was on her arm, it was radioactive. Her arm was then violently jerked down to the ground and was dragged across it. Scarlet’s body twisted and turned and her arm strained as the unknown force pulled her across the desert floor. Then the force pulled her up high in the air, making her shoulder scream in pain. Then Beta’s voice filled the air. “You fought well human.” Scarlet looked ahead a saw Beta limping up to her. He was missing his left talon, part of his wing and had a blood red eye and who know how many internal injuries. “Surprised that I’m still alive?” He let out an unsettling chuckle. “When griffons are gifted with the power magic, apparently we are granted with a high tolerance to injuries. So in a way, we can never be defeated.” The grip around Scarlet’s arm got tighter and she felt some pressure on her shoulder. “You however,” her arm was violent move back while her shoulder was pushed hard forward, dislodging her arm, “are not.” Beta let go of Scarlet making her fall to the ground to add to the new alit pain in her arm. Scarlet landed with a hard thud and now her whole body was screaming in pain. She let out hard grunts of pain and was breathing heavily. “Now do you surrender or do I have to break every bone in your body?” Scarlet could hear Beta walking up to her with his three limbs. “I would rather be mauled by a Deathclaw than surrender.” Carefully she pulled out Maria concealing it from Beta’s view. “Bone breaking it is then.” Before Beta could do anything Scarlet rolled over her right arm and held Maria out and once again went into V.A.T.S. She spent all of her AP on Beta’s head and unleashed a volley of bullets. Since she wasn’t good firing with her left hand some bullets missed, but enough went into his skull. Beta had a blank look to his face, as if he didn’t knew what happen to him, and his body plummet to the ground. But that wasn’t good enough for Scarlet. She discarded Maria and pulled out her gladius and started hacking the body to pieces (which I won’t go into detail). After doing the final satisfying slash, she looked at the ruined body. Blood was everywhere and Scarlet was panting in exhaustion and in pain. “I think I won.” _____________________________________________________________________ Fallout New Vegas is copyrighted Obsidian Entertainment and Bethesda Softworks. MLP: Friendship is Magic is copyright to Hasbro. All characters that belong to their companies are rightfully theirs. This writing is for fun and nothing else.