Crawl Out Through The Fallout (Fo4 Fanfic)

One Wastelander to Another

     "I'm confused." "I know." Fiona and Issac sat across from each other. Backs against either wall down a narrow hall. "Fiona, I need you to know the truth. The real truth of the Institute. I know you want to believe Father, and I know it isn't my place to say- but, you have to get out of here." Get out? How could he say that? She just got Shaun back. "What? Sorry but I'm not into the whole abandoning little brother thing." Fiona picked at the end of her shoe lace. She didn't mean for that specifically to be a jab at him, it just came out that way.
      "It's not like I had a choice... I didn't want this." Isaac leaned his head back into the wall. "What do you mean?" Fiona crossed her arms over her knees. "I never wanted to leave Erin. The Institute sought me out. They wanted me to work with Synths, I was a natural when it came to engineering. They promised safety, survival, a future for the commonwealth. They also threatened to kill me, since I already knew too much. I was 14. Of course I thought that meant I could give my brother a chance at life. Little did I know I couldn't go back. Not a day goes by where I don't think about him. I always wondered if he made it out of that mess we called a family... What is he like, Fiona? Does he have a good life?" The man looked like he was about to break down. Fionas knuckles were paper white. "Well. Erin is really good at killing things. He's not much of a talker and he has a short temper, really aggressive. You wouldn't know it at first glance but he's really smart, tactically at least, he did punch a gen 1 synth once though. He's funny too, it's sarcastic dark humor, and mostly at the wrong times... But anyway; he's kind of mean, but he wouldn't hesitate to take a bullet for someone. Even multiple actually... He's a bullet sponge." Fiona found herself rambling. Issac smiled at her. "You two are close?" "Mhm, we're like... Partners!" Fiona chirped, finding the word. "Oh, like... Partners or partners?" He shot her a playful smile. "No! Like a team! Nothing like that! We're friends!" She defended. "Haha, I'm joking. He's not here, is he?" "Oh no. I used a one time signal interceptor to get here... Oh no, everyone's been waiting for hours. I hope they aren't worried." Fiona nervously mumbled. "Then I'll make this quick. I know far too much, if anyone else knew I'd be killed for sure... Fiona, the Institute doesn't want you for anything other than to push their own agenda. They want to use you, you'll only become a new Kellogg. You do their dirty work above ground. The Institute is not out to help humanity... They want to change humanity. Do you know what they do? Have you heard of University Point?" Fiona was simply shocked. None of that had crossed her mind before. "No, I haven't. What happened?" She inquired. "Gen 1's and 2's wiped the settlement off the map. Slaughtered everyone. Only to get some data on energy the settlement didn't even have at the time." He explained. Fiona intently listened. She was horrified.
       "You already know they kill and replace people with synths. To the Institute synths are nothing more than robotic slaves. Generation 1 and 2, that's all they really are, but Gen 3's... They're as good as human. They have free will, feelings, all of it. The SRB is cruel and secretive, not a lot of people know what goes on down there. But I do. Even if they are robots, they don't deserve that."  Fiona didn't want to believe Isaac. But he, an Institute engineer himself, confirmed the fears if the Commonwealth. She wished she was more to Shaun than a new Kellogg. But sadly it all made too much sense. The fights not over yet, it seems.
        "I would've left a long time ago if I could. I'd simply be hunted down by Kellogg, just like another escaped scientist. His name was Virgil, he was working on something pretty important from what I've heard. Though, I've also heard you single handedly destroyed him. That's remarkable." Isaac trailed off, with a soft smile. This was the first time she was praised for the killing of Kellogg. "It was really messy, I'm not proud of it." Her eyes darted to the side where she picked at her shoe lace. "Kellogg was a ruthless man. You're very brave." She felt butterflies dance through her stomach. Praise from anyone made her nervous. It didn't happen often, anytime it did she'd never forget.
        "Issac. Thank you for all this information, it means the world to me. I'll be back with my friends. I'll come back for you, and we'll put an end to whatever is going on down here-" "Emergency alert. Unexpected Hostile." Fiona and Isaac were caught off guard by the deep robotic voice. A gen 1 synth stood at the end of the hall, lazer pistol drawn. Out of pure instinct Fiona shot the synth through the forehead. The recoil of the shotgun was shocking. It was enough to knock the breath from her lungs. Goddamn how does Erin do this?! The sound alerted more synths in the area, she could hear them already on their way. She looked to Issac, he was just as shocked as she. "Get out. Get out! Use the relay! They will kill you!" He instructed, knowing of the chip in her Pipboy. She frantically clicked through the device. After several failed relay attempts it was confirmed that the chip was deactivated. "Ok... I'll get you to the emergency relay." Issac collected himself.
      The two sprinted for the elevator. Synths shot at Fiona, she narrowly missed the burning beams as she ran closely behind Issac. They scrambled into the elevator punching the button before the synths got too close. This isn't good. Not at all. "I'm sorry. I didn't know what else to do." She apologized, looking over the few robots shed shot. They sparked and convulsed on the ground. At least it wasn't any gen 3s, Issac wouldn't have been happy about that. "I can't blame you. I would've done the same." She was impressed at how calm this man was. He seemed so collected, a polar opposite of Erin who was always on edge.  At this point she was itching to see him again. 
       "One more thing, Fiona. I'd like you to not mention me when you return to the Commonwealth. It would only complicate things." "Oh, ok. Yeah, you're probably right." "Ill meet my brother one day. But now isn't the time." Fiona understood. Erin would probably flip out if he knew.
    They reached the relay room. Fiona walked infront of Issac protectively. She held the shotgun out just incase there were more synths in their way. "There shouldn't be anyone in here, you can relax." Issac walked ahead of her to the console. She threw the gun over her shoulder jogging into the relay.
     Standing in the middle of the circular room in silence was anerving to say the least. "Why are you nervous? You've done this before." Issac asked continuing to mess with the console. "only once, I'm not used to teleportation." It was a fear she'd never expect to have. "You're all set. Be safe out there." He looked up at her as a robotic voice began to count down. "We will come back for you." She raised her voice. Suddenly the synthetic voice stopped counting at five.
    "Did you think we would not see what you've done? Did you think I wouldn't know you've betrayed me? After all I've done... The lengths to which I've gone to give you a new home, a new life... For us to be a family... But you have made your choice. From this point on, you are an enemy of the Institute. Should you cross us, we will kill you. Go no, live whatever meaningless life you can." Shaun spat over the intercom. His words laced with hatred. Hot, fat, painful tears rolled down Fiona's cheeks. Why? Why did this have to happen? So soon she found him.  If she had the strength to lift the shotgun... No no, that would only make things worse. That's not an option, right? Don't go thinking about that now Fiona, that's the cheaters way out.  "Relay online and engaged." The synthetic voice returned. Issac looked at her with sad eyes. Straining her eyes she smiled weakly back at him. "See ya."
    The shock ripped through her ears and blinded her once again. Maybe this time she would be lucky to get ripped apart.
    Sadly to her dismay she opened her eyes to the ruins of CIT. Fiona dropped to her knees. She threw Erins shot gun aside, she could barely see through the heavy tears. She couldn't seam to cough out a breath, but she could scream. She screamed, sobbing on her hands an knees. She couldn't form a word or a single thought, she just sobbed.
      She screamed untill her voice went hoarse. She'd never felt so alone. She doubted anyone in the world, past, present, or future would know how she felt, not even herself. She wanted to vomit, go home, or die. But there was no home to go back to, everything had been ripped from her and it wasn't fair.
      Fiona looked up. The sun hung low in the sky. The air felt crisp and cold. She'd never cried like that before. Nothing felt better, but it was clarifying. Her mind wasn't as foggy. Eventually she wobbled to her feet, and grabbed the gun hugging it. She sniffled, whipping her eyes. Opening the map on her Pipboy she saw the time, and how far she had to go to get back to the group.
      Why couldn't Issac have shot her back to Sanctuary instead? She complained in her head as she sprinted. She'd gotten very good at running over her time in the Commonwealth. Her right arm ached around her shoulder from firing Erins shotgun. There was no doubt a massive bruise forming, but that's a problem for later.
        She flew over the bridge connecting Sanctuary to the Red Rocket. Breathing in the cold air ripped up her already sore throat. She felt like her lungs would burst. So close, she was so close. Her heart pounded. She'd ran all the way from CIT to Sanctuary without stopping. The sun had almost completely disappeared, the sky was a beautiful light purple.
     Tears stabbed her eyes once again when the yellow house came into view. She'd never been so happy to see her brooding friend peacefully leaning against the house with a cigarette. He heard her running and quickly pushed himself off the wall. "Fiona!?" He called. Preston and Sturges had shown up as well. Erin took a couple steps before Fiona sprinted straight into him. She jumped into him, wrapping her arms around his neck holding him with every bit of strength she had left. She was glad she's moved Virgil's serum to her pocket, or it probably would've been shattered. She couldn't breath with how tightly Erin held her, though she had no intention of removing herself.
       "You're ok, right? Not hurt?" Erin asked, his voice muffled from his face being buried in her hair. "Mhm, I'm ok." She sighed, tiredly. "You smell really good." "Hah, really? I just ran a couple miles." She laughed breathlessly. Erin gave her one last squeeze before letting her go. "They made me take a shower when I got there, haha." Fiona jokes, tossing the holotape to Sturges. "Everything should be on that. And I got Virgil's serum, so we should plan a trip down to the Glowing Sea soon to bring it to him." Fiona continued. She handed Erin his Shotgun. "That thing hurts." She smiled massaging her shoulder. "You had to shoot?" Preston asked before Erin could say anything. "It's a long story... I need some time. I'll tell you all about to tomorrow." She yawned.  "What about your brother?" "An even longer story..."
         She laid down on the bed she'd built in her old home. Erin sat at the edge beside her. "I'm sorry I kept you waiting for so long." She reached out, taking his hand. She was glad they were at the point where casual touch wasn't so absurd anymore. She was a touchy person by nature, Erin was not, but he'd come to accept her affection over time. "As long as you're safe..." He mumbled. God how badly she wanted to tell him. How would he react to finding out his brother who he'd thought left him is actually alive? She knew him well enough it wouldn't be good. Someday, someday they'll find eachother.
       Fiona sat up, pressing her chest into his back and leaning her chin on his shoulder. "They're making synth Gorillas in the Institute. Can you believe that?" Erin snickered. "Hah, what? That's so stupid." She caught a small smile. "I know right!" She laughed.
      "What was it like down there?" "It was crazy... You won't believe it, but I'm actually a synth replacement. The real Fiona was too interested in fake gorillas to come back." "Well, you feel pretty real to me."