Head south!

Save puppies!

We... just came from there.

You fail at voting.

Also: I'm pretty sure I have a good way to do the police station without compromising Lucy's current personality, so don't worry about that in so much as your voting goes.

Just what you'd rather see next.

Edit: P.S. Voting is currently tied. Six and Six for north and west (Germantown and then Scrapyard and Arefu, respectively). Next update will be on Monday or Tuesday (my days off this week). If it remains tied, my own vote will be for Germantown/North. I only count my vote if it's a tie breaker, though.

I quote diablo 2 and the village people: Go west.

Diablo 2 was about going East. I therefore conclude that you are voting to stay where we are now!

North! Because, well... I have an idea why Krylo wants that.

Voting North as well. Hopefully that throws it over.

Wesssssssst.

I say west to Arefu, it'll work with the story better. Also having her meet that drug making ghoul would be a nice believable start for her down the evil path if we're going that way.

North! Just because she encounters a horde of mutants doesn't mean she has to engage and slaughter them all. Maybe they'll want to play chess. :D

I fail at quoting.

To the west, there might be cowboys there!

I say west, too. Mutant-fighting sounds unlike her.

I'm actually a big fan of Lucy being mostly neutral with slightly evil tendencies, as she has now. I don't really want her to turn into a psychotic maniac, Krylo is too talented of a storyteller to use a cliche fully evil character. I am rather enjoying reading her as she is now.

And I think I would enjoy seeing how she, as she is now, handles the super mutants.

Yeah, I vote that she goes North. Maybe she'll spy on the Super mutants to see just what they are? That's what I thought to do when I first played anyway, so it's how I would justify her going there.

That's what I'm sayin'. its no fun to only have her encounter things she can handle easily.

Anyway, I actually played through it earlier and am putting together the post.

I am tired as el fucko, though, so it might not be finished until tomorrow.

We went to the cop shop.

But that doesn't justify not getting the fuck out as soon as you see one. I did something different for that.

Oh, I know. I thought maybe she'd be seen, and then she'd have to fight or die to escape, and it would go from there. I dunno how she would be goaded into actually entering the building, but I figured you'd think of something better then that idea anyway.

Do you really get thrown in a cell if you get your ass kicked by a super mutant there?

No. You die.

I had to use console to turn off clipping and sneak into the jail cell in order to pull all that off. There were other difficulties as well, which resulted in multiple reloads. Namely that the mutants really enjoyed wandering into the prison and killing Red for no reason. It wasn't until later that I realized I could have just used the console to revive her.



Oh, yeah, by the way:


Arefu or Scrapyard, or someplace entirely different, next?

Obviously I'll go back to Big Town first, but I don't think that's going to be a full post.

Also: Stick around to help with the midnight attack or get out of town asap.

I'm just going to keep voting Arefu until we actually get there. =)

Krylo, reading that passage made my hand hurt.

Stick around, and then head to the junkyard.

Dogmeat. Best videogame animal companion ever? Discuss.

arefu for me,

and stay the attack comes at midnight? when I played it took place almost immediately after I got back, though that might just be timing. Incidently if you do stay toss down some frag mines on the bridge. Something satisfying about watching the mutants run over them

Vote to stay and help the town since we're kind of running on zero allies at the moment. I don't care where else we go.

Also Lucy's a badass.

Stay. Loot for bottlecaps!

Stay and fight off the Mutie attack on Big Town, then head to Paradise Falls. I guess stopping by Arefu wouldn't hurt either.

Wow I was reading that and was like, wait, what? That totally doesn't happen.

Made for good storytelling.

Made for an interesting play, killing two super mutants with one bar of health left, too... after killing one with my bare hands.

Surprisingly worked really well, considering I had figured A - you would have died instantly and B - the only way I saw you take two Super Muties yourself was with some pretty crazy tactics.

Either you told the story really carefully or berserking unarmed fits Lucy well. Maybe both.

Yeah, there's definitely a level of skill entailed in beating up those muties at Level 2 that I simply seriously lack. I know it wasn't until around Level Six that I began to find muties remotely manageable with guns. Then again, I played a small guns character with next to no explosives, unarmed or melee skills.

though if you know the truth about the super mutants it makes sense

*claps* Wow, you did a good job with that one.

I'd say with Lucy's leaning towards evilness, she should probably just get the fuck out of there after that experience. Aerfu seems like an alright idea, its more west than north from Big Town.

If I had just been on the verge of being possibly eaten by mutants, I'd savour the chance to rest in a "safe" place. Now if that safe place is assaulted by mutants, then, what are you gonna do?

Stay and fight, then head towards Arefu I suppose.

Going to Arefu leads to a quest you can't actually complete without first speaking to the other Lucy in Megaton, because the whole quest to save Arefu is directly linked to saving her brother, so there's no point heading there yet. Even if we can do the quest, it's all talk and no action, which is boring.

I still say Scrapyard first; we can pick up Dogmeat and then wander north into Minefield and be accosted by a deranged sniper. Good times will be had by all.

Also heading that way brings us ever closer to stumbling over the crashed alien ship....

Actually, I think you can complete Arefu with a high enough speech skill. Not 100% certain you don't need the letter first, but you don't actually have to mention the letter to complete it.

The letter only sends you to Arefu, Lucy West almost has nothing to do with the quest. You don't even have to return to her for experience if I'm not mistaken.

If I am not mistaken, you can give the letter to her brother and tell her you delivered it though. You can't tell her her parents are dead though.

Incidentally, she doesn't pay you what she said she would.

You can tell her her parents are dead if you start the quest in Arefu. I did on my second go, but couldn't gain access to the Families inner sanctum without first returning to her and getting the letter (well, I could, but everyone except the guard tried to kill me. It was only by saying I had a letter from the guys sister that I was allowed inside).

Not sure if high speech can overcome this though.

well when I went there I used lady killer to get the password. Ultimately I think you just need to speek with the boy, but you might be able to get around that too, not sure, haven't been there

So, next chapter?

Gatling FeverWell, let's get the hell out of here then, shall we?

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The trek through the wastelands is mostly quiet. I can hear Red and Shorty talking between each other, but I don't really pay that much attention to it. I just keep my eyes on the wastes. I've yet to walk through them without SOMETHING going wrong, and with two more people traveling alongside, I doubt I'll have better luck this time.

But, the travels ARE quiet. Nothing seems to go wrong. That is until I reach the bridge from before.

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I remember the people camped down there so I turn and signal Red and shorty to keep down and quiet.

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We move across the bridge carefully and silently, hoping to avoid trouble.

Gunfire.

I turn around.

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Where are they?

I hop down off the bridge to see the gunman aiming up at the bridge. I take careful aim and...

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I love this gun.

I rush toward the encampment. I know I saw more than one before, and his friends must have heard the commotion.

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As they see me they pull up their weapons.

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I return fire.

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My bullet tears his head clean off, decapitating him. Yesterday that would have probably made me ill. Now, however, I just smile lovingly at my gun.


I walk back to the corpses and free them of any valuables they might be carrying. Ammo, weapons. Whatever.

Rummage through the camp, as well.

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Turns out I was wrong about the boat, by the by. It doesn't work anymore.

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Either way, I head back to Red and Shorty, and we head toward Big Town together. It's not much further.

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Home Sweet Home.

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"Yeah, hey, they said you were a doctor, you think you could patch me up a little?"

Her eyes widen a bit, and she nods quickly, "Oh... oh yeah. You got pretty beaten up, didn't you? I'm sorry, I was so scared I didn't really even think of it..."

"Yeah. It's fine. Just... take care of it, would you?"

She nods and brings me to her clinic, pulling out some bandages and painkillers, wrapping, and drugging, me up. I'm starting to feel better when she suggests I go and lay down at the common house across the street.

As I walk in I'm accosted by a young girl. Looks to be in her late teens, maybe. Probably about my age.

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I answer her civilly enough, trying to maybe make a new ally. "Hi. I'm Lucy."

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She... just keeps talking about fashion and how everyone thinks she's silly and how she likes the word like, so on and so forth. I'm about to deck her when I hear something outside and use it to excuse myself.

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You know, I said I'd be happy if I never saw another one of these things again, but I'm actually feeling pretty good about this. Sure it might knock me unconscious drag me back to its lair, and eat me alive in the most gruesome manner imaginable, but at least it's not going to talk to me about lipstick.

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I fire the sawed off shotgun right into the thing's head, turning it's face into a red goo, but it doesn't even slow down. I fall backwards, out of the way of it's swing as gun fire rings out around me.

I roll up onto my feet and come around behind it as it prepares to attack a bystander

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Firing another shot into the back of its head finishs its life and it slumps to the ground, more slowly than I would like.

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Ejecting the shells from the chamber I spin around to another mutant preparing to charge. I quickly slam a few more shells in and flip my wrist snapping the shotgun closed as it comes at me with a sledge hammer.

It pulls back for the strike and I pull my trigger. Shotgun versus hammer. The way nature intended.

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Shotgun wins.

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I look back at the town, the mutant corpses littering the ground and decide to get the hell out. To hell with resting, and to hell with being these people's hero. I've done nothing but nearly die ever since I've been to this godforsaken hole in the ground. I'm out.

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That looks like a good direction, why not?

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Fuck.

FUCK FUCK FUCK!

I'm taking aim before I even know what I'm doing, the cool lacquer of the shotgun's pommel against my sweaty palms.

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The gun flies from his blasted hands, and I feel a momentary elation, but he's not done yet. I pump my other chamber into him.

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Shit, it didn't even slow him down.

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I backpeddle away firing at his legs hoping to slow him down, but it doesn't seem to phase him as he continues his charge. It becomes apparent that he's going to catch me and tear me apart, and I stop running, taking aim as he charges for one last shot. Either he dies, or I become lunch.

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Yes!

Super mutants--Zero. Lucy--honestly I've lost count. God, I hate those things.

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...But not too much. He was even nice enough to leave me a box of ammo. Now I just gotta find something to try this thing out on.

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...Where's a one of those murdering assholes when you need one?

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Oh, there they are.

Gotta get a little closer to really get a feel for this, though.

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HAHA! FUCK YEAH!

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Oooh, that looks like it hurt.


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Hey, he had a friend.

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It would have been insensitive of me to let him die alone, don't you think?

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...Well that was fun.

And I feel pretty good about ridding the world of those two... though I'm a little worried by my lack of reaction to this. I know I should feel ill, disgusted... angry maybe, but I just can't help feeling anything but justified in killing those two.

Whatever. It's not as bad as the mutants, anyway. I'm getting out of here.

Still don't know where I'm going but not here sounds better than here.

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Then again...

I head up the bridge right next to the slaughtered... creatures. Whatever they are.

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"Fuck!" I shield my eyes from the debris, screaming in shock, and a little bit of anger.

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...Great. More crazies.

----

So we're at Arefu. I'm going to guess you people want me to help out and go hunt down The Family, but once I find them... then what?

Kill them? Ally with them? Marry Vance and have his babies*?

*Last option not really an option.

"Kill the family, take the shiskebab, and utilize it as an awesome weapon" is my preferred option, and Lucy could well be justified in slaying cannibals. I see it is an ideal potential "neutral-turning-evil" option for her as she could still justify it as a morally acceptable solution insofar as she views The Family as inhuman.

But I suspect others will want Lucy to be nice and learn the dark arts of the Family. Either's better than siding with Arefu, negotiating with the family and not indulging in some vampirism.

Hungry enough that she sides with cannibals? But yeah I vote leave the family alive. You could also justify it by them being the only group that hasn't shot at her or asked her to save them from super mutants so far.

Well okay no, not at this stage in Lucy's character development. But if she allies with them instead of killing them it's then a possibility left open for later down the road if forumites vote that way.

To be honest, food's not actually hard to find. It's all over the wasteland. Like ALL over. To the point where you stop picking it up because you already have too much.

There was pork and beans on one of those shelves that I looted earlier, and probably some other food, too.

Not to mention the literally hundreds of stimpaks everywhere. But I don't even use food or stimpaks; I live on a diet of purified water, bloodpacks and cannabalism. I haven't touched another form of health restorer in well over 10 hours.

On this matter though I'm split; on the one hand, shishkebab (we absolutely must aquire this at all costs) so we could just kill them and steal it, but on the other, we can gain shish schematics from helping them anyway and we can also learn the hemophage (sp?) perk.

Also judging from how Krylo's been playing Lucy I doubt she'd really want to side with vampires anyway, or do anything that risks her life again, but she certainly may enjoy the ruthless killing that can ensue.

Meh, as long as we get a shish, schematics or otherwise, I'll be happy with whatever we do.

If you let the Family live, though, don't you almost automatically gain positive karma?

I'm still of the impression that it would be awesome to have a paranoid, cannibal-hatin' Lucy dispatch some not-so-friendly "justice" on The Family the moment she realizes who they are and what they've done in the past. But my perspective is very much influenced by the necessity that Lucy use a shishkebab immediately. Also, don't we have enough Let's Plays going on starring neutral-leaning-evil women who drink blood? ;)

You get the schematics AND the weapon for killing them. You also get a unique sword that's not the shishkebab. Looks like a chinese sword, but has a cooler name.

I really can't guarantee I'll use the shishkebab a lot, though, either way. It'll be used sure, but it's probably not going to be the go to weapon.

Honestly Lucy sounds like she's turning neutral and enjoying combat, not exactly 'evil.'

Leave the town alive and help them out for a return payment of caps. If they can't, fuck em.

Yeah but the Vampires Edge is crap. Shish is by far the best melee weapon in the game (yes, even better than the Deathclaw Gauntlet).

I'm torn. I'd kill for Vance's Jacket alone.

But the perk for talking things out is a good arguement too.

you know we can negotiate now, kill later. Lucy doesn't seem like the type to make enemies needlessly. Keep in mind from her perspective every place has been under constant threat. I doubt she'd want to kill the non-violent owners of the first safe place she has found outside the vault.

You do realize that Arefu is not run by The Family, right Aero?

Arefu is under attack by The Family.

So yeah, not exactly non-violent. And their place ain't exactly safe, either. What with the being full of cannibal mutants who are so crazed as to murder and devour their own parents.

Jus' sayin'.

Did they shoot at you when they first saw you? Did Arefu? I mean non-violent to you

Yes. Both of them.

Thought the only cannibal mutant in Arefu was Lucy's little bro, the guy you're supposed to 'rescue' from the Family. Lucy should kill off the Family, since they're vampires and they're 'attacking' Arefu - at least, to her point of view.
And the massacre of the Family and the resulting bad karma could lead Lucy further down the path of the dark side, so eventually she'll get a Regulator ambush.

Kill the Family.

No real reason. I just hate the fucks.

I'm on my stretch, which means no day off until probably monday. I don't know, I haven't checked.

Point is, I'll probably try to update before then, as that it's kind of a long time to wait. I may or may not succeed, but I will be working on it. This means further votes may or may not be counted, depending on how far in I am.

By my count killing is ahead, barely. So I'll be doing that, probably.

I'd say... talk to them.. get the perk, because 20 HP per bloodpack is awesome, and then kill them all and let god sort them out. Then you get the schematics, a brand new shish AND Vance's sweet sweet jacket.

Now, I don't know about anyone else but I went down there and tried killing them all and releasing the boy, but some glitch cause it that after I killed enough Family members the people of Arefu became hostile to me! So I had to go to a previous save and try the "Talking" tactic. Which actually worked out since this character is a good guy.

But yeah... talk to them, get the boy out then slaughter the lot of them after you get the sweet perk. Then you can raid their supply stores too! Although... I think even it they're all dead it's still considered stealing so you'll rack up negative Karma... but hey, who knows. Go for it!!!

I still think we should have one Let's Play going on here where the woman isn't drinking anyone's blood anytime soon. =)

This is exactly what I did. I APPROVE OF THIS PLAN!! With the added side of also killing off all of Arefu.

And yeah, you still get neg karma if you steal a dead persons stuff.

Also the perk is ridiculous from a story telling point of view.

"I'm going to teach you how to heal yourself by drinking blood!"

...Wait... what?

So yeah, probably not gonna get the perk, regardless of the killingness of vampires.

Well then... get in nice with the fam, so it's easier to get the boy out. Then when she listens to their "Laws" and realizes what they are, she can go ape shit on them and slaughter them wholesale! That way you get the schematics and the shish and the sweet trench! Everyone's happy!

They'd have to actually do something to her to make her want to kill them. Unless she's a serial killer, but I don't think anything has pointed to that.

I don't know, after listening to [spoilers], and understanding what they do because of them... I'm not really sure how much I want to say for the benefit of those whom haven't seen it firsthand, but I feel it's entirely possible.

The thought certainly occurred to my (wholly good) character multiple times, even though she didn't follow through in the end.

this also depends abit on diolog. You will notice that many conversation trees, they dont say exactly why they were isolated. Initially I didn't even realize they were cannibals

Yeah I didn't find out what made them outcasts til I talked to the shopkeeper. He made it pretty obvious what was wrong with them.

Spending the Holidays with the Family Pt. 2http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...eenShot470.png

SHIT! He must've h... wait, he's not shooting?

I need to get in there... see if the kid's there... find out about the murder, but he's got that gun trained on my head, and I don't want to start shooting yet. I don't know how many there are... though I find it hard to believe the people who did... what I saw... I can't believe they're not murdering me.

"It's, well, I'm looking for something really important, please, you've gotta let me by!" Shit, that's never gonna work.

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What the shit? It worked?

He continues, "If I were you, I'd speak to Vance. He's our leader. Likes to hang out on the Mezzanine watching over the common area. He can probably help you find whatever it is you're looking for."

I nod simply. "Thanks a lot... hey, who's The Family, anyway?" I ask, trying to sound innocent.

"We are a badass gang and we don't take shit from nobody. Don't like too many questions either, get in there before I change my mind."

I just nod quickly holstering my gun and raising my hands. "Right... thanks again! I'll be going now."

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As he goes to open the gate, though, I think that there was something odd the way he said 'badass gang'. I believe the part about not asking questions... but... something seems off, here.

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This place is nicer than Evan's place, really... and he wasn't kidding about the ordinance, Judging by the assault rifle on that box. They've definately got guns.

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Well, let's meet the leader. I take a deep breath and open the door.

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I walk down the 'hallway' as calmly as possible, trying not to look like I'm here to kill everyone or whatever.

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...They don't look like crazed killers. What the hell is going on here?

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A woman approaches me, got the same hair cut I do. Cute.

"If you got the money I got the time"

"...What?"

She smiles a bit... oddly. "Well, well. I'm surprised you don't know me. I'm Brianna... I... take care of the men around here. Well, unmarried ones anyway."

Well, they've got their official gang whore, anyway. I try not to look too disgusted, but I think she picks up on it.

I just thank god she doesn't say anything.

"So... taken care of any new guys lately? Maybe by the name of Ian?"

She thinks for a minute, "Oh yeah... Ian. He hasn't really joined our little family, so I haven't had time to... sink my teeth into him." Her smile is strange. Predatory, but not in a purely sexual way. It sends shivers down my spine, and she catches on again, letting out a laugh at my reaction. "Don't be such a stick in the mud, cutie... you gotta have fun out in the wasteland..."

"Um... yeah..." it wasn't the sex that bothered me, "But... about Ian?"

"Oh yeah, he your boyfriend or somethin'? You must be into some fun stuff to be datin' that kid." She gives me a once over, licking her lips one more time and sending another shiver down my spine, elliciting another lilting laugh from her. Thankfully, the sexuality leaves her voice when she finally answers my question, "Anyway, Vance has got him in lock down for the time being. We all had to do it. Let's us think on ourselves, you know... decide if we really wanna be part of this. No one's forced." She actually sounds somewhat... loving? But not in a sexual way. Like talking about a parent someone deeply respects. "You're going to have to talk to Vance if you want to see him."

"Thanks." I disengage myself from her as quickly as possible. I can feel her smile boring into my back. Jesus Christ, she was looking at me like she wanted to... EAT me.

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I hope Vance isn't as goddamn creepy.

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That must be the man.

"Welcome to Mersetti, Human."

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I really don't like the way he said 'Human'. What... are these people?

"My people call me Vance. I lead this group of weary travelers and outcasts who need a home. And... to what do I owe the pleasure of your visit?"

"What... is this place?"

"What you see before you is the last bastion for the down trodden and..." I tune him out as he goes on and on about how wonderful this place is, beneath the sun-baked wastes blah blah... wait... what was that?

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...Holy shit. Guess this explains the traps on the way in... sure lead people to your doorstep but kill them before they get there. It's like ordering take out! But better because you don't have to actually order anything! Fuck.

My skin goes pale and it takes an act of will not to reach for my gun. They haven't gotten violent yet... but there's no doubt these are the people who killed Ian's family. Fuck, no wonder they were so mutilated. Fucking eaten alive, probably.

"Wh.. what?" I ask, stuttering slightly, hoping that I misheard. Misunderstood. Something.

"Humans call for our extermination or reform. Reforming implies something is wrong with us..."

Goddamn right there's something wrong with you. You fucking eat people. Fuck.

He's still talking, though. Still talking. Must not be hungry. Shit this explains the way that woman was looking at me, too. She DID want to eat me.

"I see my teachings as an improvement. A way to transcend our cannibalism."

"...Transcend?" I ask, my voice wavering a little bit.

"You are more accepting than most of your kind." Not really. I'm just scared shitless because you out number me and the only working weapon I've got is a goddamn pea shooter. "But, yes, transcend. You see, we no longer eat the flesh of humans. We merely drink their blood. What would that make us in your eyes."

Great. They just rip out people's throats and drink their blood! THAT'S A LOT BETTER, VANCE! WAY TO REASSURE ME YOU AREN'T PSYCHO KILLERS OR ANYTHING!

Fuck fuck fuck.

"I... don't know?"

"Then that is a mystery you will have to solve on your own. In ceremony..." He talks more. Lots more. I don't care. Something about each member having to recite some stupid laws. He wants me to go find out what they are or something. Fucking why? Is he goddamn toying with me?

I must look like a goddamn juicebox to these people and now he wants me to go find out about their laws? Fucking my head, that's all.

He walks away after his shpiel.

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And his wife walks in. She seems like an alright sort. Maybe...

"You know Ian?" I ask, testing the waters.

She smiles a bit, "Yeah. Vance has him in meditation. Sorry, but he's gotta stay locked up."

I put on my best sad face before speaking, trying to make it as believable as possible. "Hey... I uh... I was his girlfriend," I decide to go with the lie Brianna thought up, "We were pretty serious before he disappeared, and I'd like to at least see him, you know? Make sure he's ok... make sure WE'RE still ok..." I sound so good I almost convince myself.

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...And I convinced her too.

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Guess it's time to meet Ian... don't know how the hell to get out of here though.

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He's an alright looking kid. Wouldn't have minded if the girlfriend thing hadn't been a lie.

"Eh? What do you want?" he asks as I enter.

"Evan sent me to find you..." I don't say 'after I found your parents brutally killed by the people out there.

He smiles a little bit at that. "Guess I shouldn't be surprised. I'm sure he's pretty pissed right now."

I shake my head. "More worried than anything, really. You alright? They hurt you?"

"Hurt me? ...No... they haven't. They've been protecting me. They're even going to let me join their family if I want once I finish this meditation." He doesn't sound scared of them at all. Actually a little worshipful. Like they're his heroes or something.

"Ian they..." He looks up at me questioningly. "They killed your family Ian... I saw 'The Family' written in blood over their corpses."

Ian looks down shaking his head. "No... they didn't."

"But I..."

He looks back up cutting me off, "I killed them... I ... I've always had the urge. Back when my sister was around she helped me control it, but my parents? They... they never knew about it and I just couldn't help myself. I blacked out... attacked them... I don't know what happened... when I came to Vance had pulled me away from them, and then he and one of the other members drained their blood and wrote that there... don't you get it!? They protected me... protected me from killing my own parents... so that... so I could go back there if I wanted to."

Oh God... this kid... he's... all thoughts of him being cute leave my mind. This place... these people, they're all sick.

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I take a deep breath and walk to the door, mechanically almost. It swings closed, I hope it'll muffle the sounds.

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I say something flirtatious. It takes a few minutes but he smiles and starts walking toward the bed.

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I can only think of what I saw... his family. He's not human. He's a monster. Some kind of monster.

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I pull the pistol free and take aim.

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Ian is no more. The gun shot echoes through the room, though. I'm almost certain they heard it.

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I put down a few mines I liberated earlier in the hallway to Ian's room. Figure I can use it as a fall back point if they heard me.

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They did. Someone's coming. Looks like Holly, Vance's wife.

I reach into my shirt, pulling out one of my grenades. These fuckers deserve nothing less.

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Plant it right at her feet. Should have killed her, but a hail of gunfire from the debris tells me I'm not that lucky.


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I run back to Ian's room, ducking bullets and leaping over my own landmines, before letting the door close. The gun fire stops and there's silence for a few moments.

I hold my breath. The waiting is awful. I know it's probably been under a minute but it feels like days. I'm trapped in this small room. What if they disarmed the landmines? What if she got the others and they're about to bust in?

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Then the blast throws the door open.

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I feel almost bad about it, she seemed like the best person out of all of them. But, she was still a blood drinker and she tried to kill me.

Besides, I can't feel too bad when that's a submachine gun there. My chances of survival just sky rocketed.

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I head back into the hallway, and I hear a sound to my right.

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A grenade slides out of my jumpsuit with ease that feels almost unnatural, as I slide it into the door, while turning my face away for cover.

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I can feel the heat and pressure, though I'm far enough back that it's not painful. A few shards of shrapnel hit the rocks around me, and I make a mental note not to throw them so close anymore.

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I have to backpeddle out, though, drawing Holly's submachine gun, as Lance manages to pounce through the blast, his legs looking like ground beef. I open fire.

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He was a tough son of a bitch, but now he's just more mess on the walls.

I help myself to his flaming sword, though I turn it off and slide the blade into a belt loop.

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Nobody else seems to be coming right away. I slink forward, and find no one else has come up. Maybe they couldn't hear from way down there? Doubtful. . . might be they just figured Vance and Holly were enough.

Either way. . .

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I decide to place a land mine at the top of each stair before looking down.

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They really seem oblivious.

Gives me time to line up a shot.

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He barely even moves as the bullet smashes through his brain pan. If I couldn't see the gray matter across the table I'd think I had missed.

Regardless, bullets start to impact around me and I pull back before I can even see what's going on.

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I hear a blast a few moments before I see a couple injured family members coming around shooting.

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I return fire, but I feel the sting of bullets tearing through my abdomen as I stumble backward, barely holding it together.

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I grit my teeth and draw Vance's sword as I cower around the corner, figuring I can get the drop on them when they come around.

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I see one and come out with a swing. The blade's sharper than it looks and I feel the flesh of his throat give easily, even as I notice another standing next to him ready to fire.

I continue moving my blade along the same line, and it gashes through his arm and into his ribs. I place a foot on his chest and kick him off down the ramp as I roll back into cover, my arm and stomach taking AR fire as he shoots wildly in his death throes.

I smash against the wall and fumble for a stimpak. Blood is running in rivulets down my arm as I inject it into myself. The painkillers calm my nerves, and I pull out my hunting rifle.

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My arms are still shaking. They've got no strength left in them.

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Explains why I only clipped her head instead of killing her flat out, when I roll out to take a shot.

I quickly roll back in to cover however, and drop the rifle, pulling out the SMG again.

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The second she steps past the wall I pull the trigger.

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Not much left of her.

I take a moment to survey my work. Everyone dead, and riddled with bullets.

Well... except the guard... he might not have heard all that, though. Might be able to get the drop on him.

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I head back out, weapon drawn and ready to go.

Though I fully grasp the importance of stealth, right now. He has to die quickly if I'm going to live.

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He saw me again... opened fire... I opened back. A bullet slices through my cheek. Another rips through my naked stomach... but my aim was more true. I'm holding in my guts as I inject another stimpack.

I head back into the station. There's plenty of first aid here... enough to keep me alive, at least. Even find some, non-human meat, food. Some guns. All kinds of stuff. More stimpaks. As I bandage myself, allowing my wounds to heal I realize that King's not going to be happy with Ian's death.

Whatever. For now... I'm living here.

Lonely weeks pass. I would love to see someone else, but at least it's safe here. More time passes before I start to run out of food, and I realize I'm going to have to leave.

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My wounds have healed... but I don't know where else to go. I just know I'll have to go somewhere, for food, at least. And... some company.


------------------------------

So now where?

Tenpenny Tower. Dealing with Roy and Tenpenny should be fun.

Back to Arefu. You've at least got to try to explain to King about Ian.

But before you go, make sure you grab the assault rifles, swords, ammo, and all of the other stuff.

So by killing Ian, we're hostile with Arefu now too?
Bummer. I as hoping there'd be a way we could stay buddies with the Arefu folks. Strange to think Arefu would shoot you on sight without even knowing what happened to Ian or the Family. (Why not just tell them Ian was an evil son of a bitch? They'd probably believe you.)

Anyway, I still think it's in character for Lucy to return to Arefu first, given it's one place she knows and given that she shouldn't know that Arefu would respond violently to her. I think it'd be a nice wakeup call...have Lucy expect to return to Arefu some sort of heroine for having stopped the cannibals, only to get shot at.

Long-term? Assuming Arefu doesn't take a whole update, that is. There's a fire ant quest involving a young'un in the outskirts of DC that should be easy to take on and actually complete at your current level. I forget the name of the quest, but it's not that difficult and results in you getting a chance to "buff" your character with a permanent boost to a single SPECIAL statistic. I think it's the next place to go. Having done something terribly "evil" just now, Lucy could benefit from a more...positive experience.

EDIT: Actually, I think it's impossible for Ian not no turn hostile the moment you start shooting at The Family unless you have his sister's letter. So we damned ourselves to hostility with Arefu by deciding not to go to Megaton first. At any rate, my first playthrough, I was able to kill all the Family members, set Ian free, and then convince Ian that the Family were evil and that he should return home to Arefu. It required that letter, though. In that case, Arefu remains friendly.

On the bright side, now you have an arsenal of weaponry, which is one of the nicer things about being evil and killing the Family.
The quest is called "Those!" Exclamation is part of the name. I'm actually kind of surprised you didn't remember it with how hilariously silly the name is.

Lucy's lean towards the dark side starts to make sense with this encounter. Though, Krylo, when the Wastelander said 'have some fun' I didn't quite catch what he was referring to until I read it a second time.

I honestly want to see what she's going to say/do in the Megaton quest, so I say go there. Even if you end up killing everyone in Megaton and Tenpenny Tower you can use Miserti Station and The Family's headquarters as a base of ops.

I say head north. I wonder how Lucy will react to Paradice Falls, and assuming she has the caps she can get a companion

Don't forget to grab Vance's coat and shiskebab! Oh.. and all the weapons and ammo their little store had. :D

Paradise Falls sounds like a good place to go from here. Although... something tells me when Lucy finds the slavers that she'll be inclined to murder the lot of them for their horrid practices.

And something tells me she won't take a liking to the Ghouls... She seems more likely to side with Tenpenny and kill the lot of them.

I am perfectly fine with her slaughtering the slavers, I'm guessing right after she finds out about the kids. Of course paradise falls has people with gattling guns. Krylo could probably handle it, but Lucy might think twice.

Also I think she is avoiding stripping the dead for clothing

Crashed spaceship! Go get the alien blaster! Then nothing will stand in our way!