Another Unoriginal Oneshot Book

Tik Tik Boom

AN: This chapter was written by my friend TheRealDeadpool! It triggered a hiatus due to the complexity of teamwork on a writing project, but I've finally gotten it finished. You may find the style or storyline a little bit different, but I think TheRealDeadpool really added something.

I promised to summarize Ensnared, The Way Forward, and I Can't Help Falling in Love With You. Skip down to the chapter if you've read them already.

Ensnared: Sixteen-year-old Gabriel and the legionary Cassius are taken captive by Fiends. Cassius saves his own skin by signing the contract over to the sadistic leader, Qavrok. Qavrok puts Gabriel in charge of his captives. Back in 2283, Sage finds out from Motor Runner that the former captive Alexandra "Xan" Oleastro may have information about Gabriel. Alexandra refuses to give the information because Sage killed the Fiend leader Violet, but sends her to find David "Avi" Martin, last seen in New Canaan.

The Way Forward: Gabriel cares for Qavrok's captives, disillusioned by the horrors of the Fiends. He grows protective over the prisoners, and is especially close with the teenaged Audrey, nicknamed Butterfly. Badly wounded by Qavrok, Butterfly kisses Gabriel and dies in his arms. Months after her death, a mercenary named Meg Taggart seduces Qavrok out of the contract and murders him, becoming Gabriel's employer. Flash forward, Sage discovers that Hope witnessed David being captured during the raid on New Canaan, but had been too traumatized to tell anyone. Sage, Arcade, and Ulysses visit the White Legs and find out from a former New Canaanite named Letty that the White Legs have been staving off their sustainability problems using slave labor. Ulysses and Letty ally together to convince the tribe that farming isn't dishonorable, hopefully freeing the slaves peacefully without starving the tribe. They plan to enlist the Followers of the Apocalypse to teach. David agrees to help find Gabriel.

I Can't Help Falling in Love With You: Gabriel, now eighteen, works successfully with Meg and her mercenary company, leading to a romantic relationship with his new employer. Meg orders him to marry her. Though he has genuine feelings for her, he is confused and hurt by his lack of agency in the matter. The Fiends attack to avenge Qavrok, prompting the company to flee east. Meg decides that she wants the two of them to have a baby, both for personal reasons and to have a next-of-kin for the contract. They eventually end up in Philadelphia, where some ill-advised gambling delivers all the company's assets, up to and including Gabriel's contract, into the hands of a raider boss named Badaboom. Back in the present day, David tells Sage about his history with the Fiends and gives her a lead on finding Meg. They return to New Vegas and report. Abraham volunteers to help make peace with the White Legs; Joshua is enraged, and made all the more angry by Sage mentioning Ulysses. Sage storms out. A few weeks later, Alexandra helps lead Sage to one of Meg's mercenaries, who sends them east to find Meg, who tells them to find Gabriel and take revenge on Badaboom.

And that's what you missed.

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The Capital Wasteland, 2274.

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The miles that separated Gabriel from his wife stretched dispassionately behind him. She never came for him.

When they'd arrived at the Jackalope base to collect the rest of Badaboom's winnings, she hadn't been there. The others had. He'd been forced to fight them, and Frag had been badly injured trying to protect her grenades. He never found out if she was alright.

Gabriel knew Badaboom would never return the contract to Meg, not unless he had a substantial expectation of gain for it. He also knew that there was no saving him by force — even if Meg managed to kill Badaboom, the terms of the contract required him to avenge a dead employer. Meg had no way to fulfill her promise, but the knowledge only intensified Gabriel's feelings of betrayal.