War Never Changes, It Only Get's Worse Chapter 8. New Friends And Enemies

A/N: This took way longer to finish then it should have, and I would've been done sooner if my computer (and my brain for that matter) were suffering technical difficulties.

Let's begin.

Chapter Start.

Vault 114.

Most of the vault was working rather quietly, aside from the hum of the nuclear reactor and the turbines of the water purification centre. An overseer had still yet to be elected but there were already parties forming in multiple areas of the vault. Alexander having been the only ranking officer in the vault was given the title chief of security shortly after checking the vault job monitor in the main computer room, Shizuka had obviously been named one of the 4 doctors in the vault. She was still able to perform her job despite the restricted movement the unborn twins gave her. Those who were rather scientifically adept were given roles in either the medical or chemical science wings in the lower levels of the vault. Engineers had been tasked with monitoring and maintaining the purification and reactor rooms as well as disassembling the cryo pods and equipment for more practical use. Eventually when the vault residents mapped out the entire vault they discovered it had an ordered array of the 7 sub levels. Sub level 1 consisted mostly of the main entrance, security rooms, and an armoury at the very back. Sub level 2 was responsible for the living quarters, main gathering area, and overseer's quarters and office. Sub level 3 dedicated itself to being the vaults S.P.E.C.I.A.L improvements level complete with libraries, gyms, leisure centres, and a large bar. Sub level 4 turned out to be one giant storage level, this place also became the most heavily guarded as determined by Alexander. Sub level 5 was the main science and medical level of the vault and for the reason became one of the most overly sanitised and monitored levels in the whole vault. Sub level 6 prioritized the essentials for the vaults survival, clean air, purified water, and fresh greenhouse food, which thanks to genetic modifications grew extremely fast. Lastly Sub level 7 was dedicated to being a series of power stations and one giant nuclear reactor. Even after a small portion of their ridiculously large population left the vault things were rather lively, the residents of the vault had gotten into its daily rhythm rather quickly and security was usually not necessary aside from the occasional storage thief who tried to take more then their fair share of food and water rations. Rationing was required for a time because of certain issues dealing with the greenhouse and water purifier plant. Now things seemed completely silent but there was the odd radroach here and there.

Alexander had just finished his latest rounds of the residential area and re-entered the security office when he noticed most of his off duty security had gathered around a holotape stereo.

"Someone explain to me what you are all doing here"? One of the officers stood up when they heard the chief's voice and placed a set of holotapes on the table and responded.

"Sorry sir, but it's extremely boring just sitting around waiting for something. There's no complaints, no requests for assistance, and nearly no patrols for us as other more experienced residents have taken those positions. So before you rocked up late to the job yesterday I assume because you were spending some time with your wife, I decided to bring some entertainment to the off duty boys. So I ducked down back to my quarters and came back with the holotape set of Jeff Wayne's "War Of The Worlds", most of us heard the first episode yesterday so I'm just setting up the second episode now". Alexander just huffed and gave in to the men before taking a seat with them.

"Well I've got nothing better to do for the day, get it going". The officer went through the required steps and started the tape.

Play track: Jeff Wayne. Horsell Common And The Heat Ray.

They were about ¾ of the way through the episode when the entrance door slid open to reveal two scientists, a greenhouse attendee, and a water purifier worker.

"Chief Alexander, you need to follow us. It's urgent".

"So much for a slow day. Marcus, you're back in charge until I return".

"Yes sir". The officer saluted and Alexander left following the rather uneasy group. As they got into the elevator one of the scientists opened her mouth to speak.

"Sir we may have uncovered something highly disturbing".

"In what way are we talking about"? At this time the purifier worker responded.

"Well sir, it's just when we started up the water purifiers I checked the schematics and noticed there were some tanks that did not show up, however they were bolted to the ground and connected to the main pipeline. Most of the crew didn't take much notice to them, but when I spoke with the greenhouse worker you see here. She told me they had the same tank setup; it was at this point that I became suspicious of these tanks". The elevator came to a halt and the five headed toward the greenhouse.

"Was there anything dangerous about these tanks"? Both scientists shook their heads but the greenhouse worker spoke up.

"I wouldn't say they are dangerous exactly, but they have created some unforseen changes in our crops". Alexander glanced over to her to see she was offering a clipboard with technical data, he continued to flip each page over as they entered the Greenhouse. His eyes were glued to the information jotted down on the many pages; something seemed wildly inconsistent in the results. It explained that some crops would not grow outright, while others were growing too fast and producing its respective product at quantities far greater then should even be possible. He was finally snapped out of his entranced study when the greenhouse worker snapped her fingers in front of him.

"Sir, are you even paying attention"? Alexander only responded shaking his head.

"Well sir, the scientists here would like to take a few samples in order to see the full effects of this chemical. As for us, I'd like to see if we could gain access to the overseer's office. Maybe there's something that could shed some light on the current conundrum". Alexander took into account all the angles of the situation, but eventually relented and nodded.

"Luckily I always have my access card on me". Getting back into the elevator he swiped the card across the restricted area panel. The elevator came to a halt a minute later on the floor containing the overseer's quarters.

"Knowing how this works, we'll need multiple access cards or the overseer's override in order to enter the quarters". Only that wasn't the case when they came to the main door. It was open, someone was already there.

"Something's not right here, why are the doors open we don't have an overseer yet". The greenhouse worker was right to be suspicious about the developing situation, Alexander continued his way into the quarters and instantly saw a lot of things very out of place. There were holotapes on the overseer's desk, personal belongings scattered throughout the chambers, and the personal room had been used recently thanks to the obvious ruffled bed sheets and the slightly fogged over bathroom mirror. Moving back to the overseer's desk the three noticed the terminal had been recently accessed. None of them had their pip boy's on them so see no other alternative Alexander inserted the holotapes, from the oldest to the latest.

July 3rd 2074: "This is chief construction observer Marraline Terry. We are currently on the 2nd week on construction for Vault 114 above the near complete Serenity lane. So far nothing to report, but Vault-tec does seem to be interested in my previous works and current capabilities. They've requested an interview with me in the next few weeks to discuss the details of the vault". The holotape clicked off signalling the end of the recording.

"Well this doesn't help us, put the next one in".

November 25th 2074: "Chief construction observer Marraline here, I might be doing this on an occasional basis. As for the current report, we've suffered a bit of a setback. Apparently someone has been providing us with black market imported Chinese steel, as we just discovered this morning when the supporting structure for the 5th sub level buckled causing the floor to collapse and kill 10 good workers. I'll be making a recommendation to the higher-ups at Vault-tec to thoroughly check their trade partners when I next meet with them, which unfortunately will be early next year". The holotape came to a halt, without wasting time Alexander slid the next one in.

March 15th 2075: "Marraline here, this is my third or fourth entry, I don't quite know. What I do know however is that Vault-tec has given us some rather suspicious crates, some containing what look like advanced decontamination pods, and others are heavily reinforced titanium tanks containing some strange liquid in them. I've been informed as to where the tanks go but not the pods, I'll find out sooner or later. I still don't know the full scale of this vault or why it has all this advanced equipment going into it, I at first thought this was all secret machinery and every vault would have them. Fortunately or unfortunately depending on how you view it, no the other vaults aren't receiving all this. Surprisingly enough, most of the other vaults living quarters don't even remotely seem as big as this one, nor any of their floors. Some don't even seem to have more then 3 sub levels, what makes this one so special"? Again the holotape cut out and the next was inserted.

"September 30th 2075: "Oh boy do I have a story to get off my chest. Get this, the pods that we had finished installing on the second sub-level weren't even meant to be in this vault. How does someone fuck up a shipment so badly, Vault-tec has immediately requested a return to sender but how are we meant to do that. It would mean we have to deconstruct the last two floors we've nearly finished building in order to remove them, and even then that won't be possible as they've already been wired and locked in place. I mean come on; you'd think everything would've been accounted for. (Sighs) I'll leave this here for now". The next holotape was inserted quickly.

April 22nd 2076: "Here we go again with the mishaps, there are apparently two vault 114's. I'm not even going to bother questioning the level of stupidity one has to have to miscount the number of vaults being built! In other news, Vault-tec is finally going to be letting me in on whats in the tanks in our next meeting. I can't be more exited if I tried. Signing off". This holotape was rather short compared to others but they didn't dwell on it and put yet another holotape in.

July 4th 2076: "Happy Fourth of July, okay now down to business. I've not just been told what the tanks are but I've also been shown how the substance works, and boy is this promising. The chemical in the tanks affects the growth of living organisms; in terms of plant life it will either stunt its growth or cause an accelerated growth and cause an increase to its productive capabilities. They recently began testing it on animals and discovered some very peculiar situations; either the female or male mammal is completely sterilized or and this only affects females, their sexual organs become hyper-reproductive causing them to bear and bore somewhere between 3-5 times the normal amount of children. This is amazing to say the least; the eggheads say these statistics are probably the same for humans. Chances of being sterilized are 20%, 40% chance of not being affected at all, 25% chance of a 3x multiplier, and 15% chance of a 5x multiplier. The only thing I can say is where do I sign up, as a young woman in my 20s who's sterile, how can I loose. This is going to be awesome, I can finally be a mother". The three shared a puzzled look before the purifier observer responded.

"Well that is unexpected, but now we know what the chemical does".

"Yeah, it messes around with my reproductive organs the most. Now I'm uncertain if I'll have any kids at all or too many at once".

"Everyone, we need to stick to the topic at hand. There are still two more holotapes; maybe one of these can shed some light on things". Sticking the second to last holotape in and pressing play the trio were greeted with some interesting dialogue.

August 6th 2077: "Oh you mother fuckers, I am more then FUCKING PISSED OFF RIGHT NOW! 4 years I've devoted my work to their cause, 4 years I've kept their secrets, 4 fucking years I've made sure no one knows whats really going on with project safe house and this is how YOU FUCKERS REPAY ME! I finally have my big break, to finally have a chance at experiencing the joys of motherhood and what do I get, a letter. 'Thank you for your service to Vault-tec, as a reward for your services we'd like to formally submit you for entry into vault 76, IN APALACHIA WEST VIRGINIA'! Are you lot really fucking kidding me? Why would I want to go there? Oh no, I'm not going to let you corporate donkey jerkoffs take my dream from me. Mark my words, this won't be the last time this vault hears my voice"! The last holotape was inserted and revealed quite a lot for their very current position.

"HA HA HA, yes! I fucking did it I fucking did it, I snuck on to one of the vault elevators through a little secret entrance I made in the back of the chain-link fence. Half an hour later I found out what those pods were for as we were all put on ice with a very ominous but barely noticeable purple shade. While we were sleeping, our bodies were absorbing the chemical through the cryo systems pumping into our pods. We thawed out a day ago and quickly went about developing routines for the vault although some did leave but that won't change the fact that they've already been affected by the chemical, luckily I managed to snag the overseer's master key before we went under. So now I inadvertently live in the overseer's quarters, but I have to be careful not to have the lights on so I use my pip boy light on a dim setting. We may soon be having a vote on who becomes overseer and I'm putting my name down, when I tell people I oversaw construction of the vault and know areas and things about this place no one else does then I'm a shoe-in to win. Aha it's good to win". The three looked between each other before Alexander responded.

"It would appear we have a mischievous little Minx running through the vault. We'll need to find this Marraline Terry and have a few words with her". The three left the overseer's quarters; Alexander would later order as many security officers to search for the woman.

Things were a different story on the surface, in sanctuary hills two teams had returned from their missions, Delta had already made it back to sanctuary and were followed by Charlie 15mins later.

"So, how'd you do with your target"? Kawamoto shook her head in response.

"He blew himself up with mini nukes hoping he'd take us with him, you"? Yuuki motioned over to Saeko who was staring out over the bridge. A bolt of green lightening cracked overhead, reminding them of the current predicament but also creating an ominous atmosphere around Saeko's posture.

"The bunker won't hold all of us, might as well take these". Preston held out a bottle of Rad X tablets, the two groups each picked one out of the bottle and gulped them down only to discover how powdery it tasted.

"What are these pills made of"? Taniuchi didn't take long to give the answer.

"It would most likely be a concentrated formula of stabilised blue iodine".

"Isn't that dangerous to our bodies though"?

"No but don't take too many of them at once, the waste they turn into has to go somewhere and its not exactly going to be a good experience with the lack of sanitary bathrooms in the wasteland". The rest of the group expressed a 'too much information' look and proceeded to down their individual pills before returning their attention to Preston.

"Right, with the jobs completed I'm sure you'll require your payments". Preston removed several bags and handed them to the groups, some of them were puzzles to find the bags full of caps of all things.

"Is this some kind of joke? Why are we being paid in these useless bottle-caps"! As usual it would be Tsunoda who flew off the handle for a response.

"There is a perfectly good explanation as to why that is, but the story behind it is rather long. Someone will likely tell you that story later down the line". Imamura was quick to pick up on things and unveiled a satchel full of caps from his own jacket.

"I was wondering why all those raiders carried around these bottle-caps. I'm guessing because of how durable they are and how hard it is to replicate them, it makes the perfect currency". Preston gave a slight nod to the boy's response.

"That's simplifying half the story, but yes it's a viable currency". Tsunoda's face turned from anger to visible shock as something just occurred to him.

"You've got to be fucking kidding me, there were multiple filing cabinets with bottle-caps all throughout them. Probably a few hundred at least". Imamura slammed his palm on his temples with a slap loud enough to be heard all over Sanctuary Hills.

"And you being the thick skull moron you are decided that there could be no possible importance as to why they were there. And people said I was the clueless one". Imamura left the rest of his team and pulled out a half used pack of cigarettes and a gold plated flip lighter he 'acquired' from the assembly plant, taking a long drag he blew it into the radioactive wind. After a minute he saw figure approaching the bridge, and when he pulled out a pair of binoculars he could make out the appearances of Morita and Hisashi first followed shortly by Rei and Nate. Crossing the crooked bridge Morita flicked the cigarette out of Imamura's mouth.

"C'mon man, there's enough cancer causing elements in the air. You don't need to add to it". Imamura waited from the group to leave and pulled another cigarette out except he just looked at it for a few seconds, then the pack. Placing the cig back in the pack he scrunched the whole thing up and tossed the mangled pack into the river and quietly muttered to himself.

"Ah fuck it, now's as good a time as any to give up. Who knows, might find something more interesting". He didn't leave the bridge however, instead choosing to wait for the remaining group to finally appear.

Alpha had been taking their time due to not being able to see because of the thickness of the Radstorm, communicating was also very difficult at this point in time because of the masks they were all wearing to avoid breathing in isotopes. All the dust and dirt being picked up by the wind whipping away at them were quickly scratching their goggles.

"Do you know where you're going"? Takashi despite shouting through his mask was still muffled and barely audible, however Saya could make out what he was saying.

"How am I meant to know, I can barely see 10ft in front of me"! Continuing to walk aimlessly until Saya saw the outlining of a fence, just then a sign on the fence tore off and flew toward them but landed just behind her. When she turned around, she finally noticed Kohta and Toshimi were missing. Even Takashi was barely visible with how much damage her mask had taken.

"TAKASHI, WHERE ARE KOHTA AND TOSHIMI"?

"I THOUGHT THEY WERE RIGHT BEHIND US, YOU DON'T THINK THEY TOOK A WRONG TURN SOMEWHERE".

"I'M BEGINNING TO BELIEVE WE MAY HAVE TAKEN THE WRONG TURN. THIS SIGN SAYS WE'RE AT THE ROBOTICS DISPOSAL GROUND"! Another large gust of wind pulled some of the grounds scrap metal into the air, Takashi saw this as his goggles were still semi usable and ran toward Saya, using himself as a shield he felt the brunt of multiple sheets of metal bump against him then suddenly a few shards of glass from a shattered protection head pierced their way into his back causing him to hunch over in pain. Saya at this point was able to see the shards in his back and tried to control herself from freaking out; in the near distance of her damaged mask she could see the outline of a building.

"Hold on Takashi, there's shelter not too far from us". Wrapping one of his arms around her shoulder the two dragged each other to the building. Entering the place wasn't too difficult, getting the door closed was the tough part as the wind kept pushing back against Saya's attempts. Takashi lifted himself back up long enough to slam into the door closing it for good, and slumped down onto the ground trying to hold back yelling in pain. Taking notice of this Saya began franticly searching through her inventory for anything that could help the situation, taking note of Med-X, a Stimpack, some Buffout, and some bandages. Takashi couldn't supress his discomfort when she began to remove some of the larger shards.

"I'm doing what I can with what is here, but I don't have any medical training so give me a break". Choosing not to waste anymore time Saya jammed the syringe of Med-X in his arm and continued removing the shards she could find. After a few more minutes of work she applied the bandages as best she could and jammed a Stimpack in the same arm. Takashi took a deep breath in relief but some of the pain was still there meaning some smaller shards remained in his back. The wind continued to pound at the door but the storm itself was starting to recede and disappear.

Sanctuary was also noticing the sky's beginning to clear and reveal the setting sun and stars slowly appearing in the rising night. Morita had taken a seat on the left pillar overlooking the bridge with a bowl of Radstag stew and a bottle of purified water sitting next to him, popping a Rad-X he cautiously began to eat when he saw two figures on the other side of the bridge. Pulling out a pipe rifle he held it ready for a fight when the figures removed their masks revealing themselves as Kohta and Toshimi Hirano.

"Where the hell have you been"?

"Lost, speaking of which we lost Saya and Takashi along the way".

"They're … dead? How did that happen"?

"They aren't dead Morita, we got separated on the way here. The storm was far too dense to see where we were properly going, we only discovered half way here that we were separated". Toshimi looked back over the bridge hoping to see the other half of their group, after seeing nothing but the subsiding storm she left the bridge when her stomach growled.

"Go, I'll keep an eye out for when they return. You know where the canteen area is". Morita motioned for the pair to move on and slumped back down on the concrete support. 'Where the hell are you man'?

The pair in question had remained in the shelter listening to the storm slowly dissipate and eventually die out.

"Think its safe for us out there"?

"I don't know Takashi, you better take it easy. I'm not too certain about the quality of the job I did for your bandages". Saya kept up and creaked open the door slightly ajar and saw only darkness. Fiddling with her pip-boy a little gave her some light but not much, it was however enough to illuminate the nearest piles of wasted machinery. Forcing the door further open she swung her arm all the way out to brighten up more of the area and happened upon something interesting, standing in the middle of the disposal ground was an offline Sentry-Bot. peering back inside she finally took notice of the terminal sitting on the desk beside Takashi, she didn't even hesitate to dart over to the terminal and activate it. Luckily there was no need for a password.

"Saya, what are you doing"?

"I'm going to try and reactivate an old Sentry-Bot that's sitting out there, if it still works than it would be quite handy on our future travels".

"I'm not sure Fransworth would appreciate that very much". Saya let her head dip slightly before responding.

"I know that, maybe if I can find the parts then I will be able to retrofit Fransworth to be more combat viable. Until then, he'll still be our faithful Mr handy". Glancing at an instruction manual and then back at the terminal she carefully followed each step in reactivating the Sentry-Bot and programming it, after a few minutes of trial and error she finally found the access tapes.

"Remote Sentry Mrk IV prototype, now this is interesting. Why would they chuck you away unless you had any problems". Typing a few more keys in she found the activation option, and without a second though pressed activate. Getting all the warning description with it.

"Yeah yeah I know this already, just turn on". Hit the yes option they were greeted with the combat Sentry's activation sequence.

Powering up, all systems online. Current objective, patrol immediate area and neutralize all hostile elements. Suddenly a whole bunch of thuds sounded, like mounds of dirt being blown open. Looking outside the door, the pair was surprised to see a group of mutant moles heading for the Sentry, which didn't take too long to dispatch them. The sentry took notice of the pair and rolled up to their position.

"Hey Saya, you do know what you're doing right"?

"Hang on a minute". Ejecting the holotape Saya approached the machine as it stopped in front of the door.

"Overwrite core function, code command 3392F6". The Sentry lowered its weaponised arms and stared at the pair.

Overwrite accepted, awaiting commands ma'am.

"See, I told you I got this. Sentry, begin escort protocols".

Command accepted, awaiting coordinates.

"You're scary sometimes, you know that right".

"I know Takashi I know, Sentry escort us to Sanctuary Hills".

Coordinates accepted, beginning path-finding procedure. And with that the Sentry slowly rolled out of the disposal ground, Saya and Takashi behind it with Takashi using Saya as support for a time until he could move more effortlessly on his own. After another 45 minutes they finally past the red rocket near the bridge.

Sanctuary Hills was falling into its sleep state, and so was Morita until a low rumbling sound was heard across the bridge.

"What the hell is that"? Picking up his Pipe-Rifle he saw a tank like robot and was about to warn the rest of the street when he noticed Takashi and Saya behind it. "WELL ITS ABOUT DAMN TIME, WE WERE STARTING TO THINK YOU LOVEBIRDS WERE DEAD"! Saya only rolled her eyes before responding.

"CAN IT YOU PERVERT, IT'LL TAKE A LOT MORE THAN TODAY TO KILL US"! Finally crossing the bridge, although they had to place some extra supports for the Sentry to cross without taking a dive.

"So, what have you got for the base"?

"Aside from this big fucking robot, we did find a few other little knacks in the disposal ground".

"And by that Takashi means these". Saya materialized 2 Mini-Nukes and a Fatman while Takashi pulled a few fusion cores out of his newly acquired duster.

"That's… impressive to say the least, well let's get back, the others have probably missed you". Takashi only whispered in Saya's ear as they continued up the street.

"Emphasis on probably". This elicited a small and quiet giggle from Saya as she put the Fatman back away.

Things were also becoming quieter in vault 114 as most of its residents finally took their well-needed beds. Alexander on the other hand couldn't be more stressed out, as he wasn't able to catch this Marraline woman at all throughout the whole vault. Whoever she was, she was quick on her feet. He wasn't given much time to mope about it when Shizuka slung her arms around his neck and pressed her breasts against the back of his head.

"Ah, I've been on my feet all day. Al dear could you get the bathtub running, I need to relax and by the looks of it, so do you". Choosing not to bother voicing his objection, he left for the bathroom and got the water going. Waiting for about a minute for the water he went to leave only to be blocked when the door opened revealing a completely naked Shizuka, however he noticed a very familiar look across her face. 'Oh no, she's in that mood again'.

"Where do you think your going"? He didn't even have a chance to respond before Shizuka backed him into a wall and pressed herself against him, he did take not that their children were kicking up a fuss likely because they didn't take too kindly to their mother using them as a buffer.

"Shizuka whatever your reason is for being in this mood again, can it wait"?

"No it can't, do you remember the last time I felt like this. The day the bombs dropped, since then I've been welling up this feeling as well as becoming more uncomfortable as each day progresses and I get bigger. No more, now strip and get in the tub". Shizuka proceeded to push herself even tighter against Alexander, he merely obliged with the request more so he could ensure this mood doesn't persist all night. The two were in the complete nude, Alexander scooped Shizuka off her feet and plopped both of themselves in the warm water, and the moment they entered he took a look at a series of bumps appearing around Shizuka's belly. Their children were also trying to adjust to the change in temperature; Shizuka on the other hand took this opportunity to roll herself around so she was facing Alexander and proceeded to capture his lips.

Throughout the rest of the vault, most things were silent aside from the night shift of security making the rounds. Inside the Overseers quarters however, a very keen eye could see a dim light. Said light belonged to the pip-boy of none other than Marraline Terry, the one occupant who didn't truly belong.

"Hah now that's a better shower than I've had in days. To think I would go from instructing the construction of this whole vault to being a mere maintenance worker in its lower levels is an insult. It doesn't matter though, in a weeks time the election for overseer will be held and I with my expertise will be a shoe in to win". Marraline continued to the private quarters dripping wet whilst trying to dry herself down with a towel, as she made her way past the main desk an abnormal sight was caught out of the corner of her eye. Sitting on the desk were her holotapes, but they were crudely stacked rather than the overlapped order she had then in.

"Oh that's the last thing I need right now, to be looking over my back for any suspicious individuals as I go about my daily work. Hopefully my alias can continue working". Slumping her now dry naked self on to the overseer's bed she tossed an I.D card on the bedside table, which read 'Maria Talien' and drifted to her rest.

Unbeknownst to everyone in the vault, she was going to be the only nor the biggest problem the vault had. One of the tanks continued to drip its chemical substance deep into the exposed earth and land in a small body of water among a highway of tunnels.

Chapter end.

A/N: Again I am sorry for this taking so long but I've regained my train of thought, so the next chapter should take as long to produce. Also I've got a few more ideas in the draft stage, and I can't wait to release them.

Seeya's.