Chapter 72: Batch Job

Chapter 72 - Batch Job

As Six's team retreated through the dimly lit corridors of the REPCONN basement, the sound of scraping steel and the thunderous stomps of Nightkin boots echoed behind them. The mutants had them pinned, relentless in their pursuit. ED-E floated above the chaos, frantically pinging warnings as it scanned for more ambushes.

The team had severely underestimated the Nightkin's numbers. Cassidy's face twisted in pain as blood spurted from her severed arm, her shotgun slipping from her remaining hand. Boone dragged her toward the exit, grimacing from the impact dents on his damaged Knightmare power armor.

Rebecca, though bleeding from the bumper sword wound lodged deep in her shoulder, fought to remain upright, but her strength waned.

"Come on, babe! I'm not leaving without you!"

She snarled as Raul pulled her away, practically dragging her toward safety.

"Don't make me knock you out, chica!"

Raul growled through clenched teeth, hauling her out of the fray.

Meanwhile, Six stood at the forefront, the weight of his severely damaged Knightmare armor bearing down on him like a ton of bricks. Plasma scorch marks and bullet dents marred the once-imposing suit. His breathing was ragged, each inhale amplified by the damaged filtration system. Yet he held the line.

"Keep moving!"

Six roared over the comms, slamming a fresh mag into his rifle.

"Get Rebecca to the War Bus—NOW!"

Rebecca resisted, her fiery spirit intact despite her injury.

"You better not die, Six! I swear, I'll come back and kill you myself!"

"You'll have to wait in line."

He shot back with a smirk, then turned to the advancing mutants.

As Rebecca and the others disappeared into the corridor with their landspinners, Six reloaded and faced the approaching horde. A Nightkin carrying a bumper sword twice the size of a man barreled toward him. With a sharp, metallicclink, Six deployed his Power Fist module, which hissed to life with hydraulic force.

BAM!The Power Fist connected with the mutant's skull, sending a sickening crunch through the hallway as the Nightkin's head imploded.

But more kept coming—hulking figures shimmering with stealth field effects, their heavy footsteps barely masked by their active camo. Bullets ricocheted off the walls as minigun fire filled the air. Six felt every impact against his armor as if it were a sledgehammer blow.

Switching tactics, Six grabbed a pulse grenade from his storage container.

"Let's even the odds."

He muttered, lobbing it toward the charging Nightkin.

The explosion tore through their stealth fields, sending arcs of blue electricity through the mutants. A half-dozen Nightkin collapsed in spasms, but those still standing roared in fury, unfazed by their fallen comrades.

As he fought to keep the Nightkin at bay, Boone and Raul managed to get Rebecca and Cassidy outside, loading them into the War Bus.

"Get this thing started!"

Boone barked at Chris, who zipped into the driver's seat, activating the ignition.

Rebecca barely conscious, winced from the pain as Raul worked to stabilize her wound.

"Where the hell is my HUSBAND?!"

She demanded through gritted teeth.

"He's buyin' us time."

Boone muttered grimly, scanning the entrance for any sign of their leader. His armor groaned under the strain of the damage it had sustained in the ambush.

"Like hell he is!"

Rebecca snapped. Despite her injuries, she tried to push herself up, but Raul held her down firmly.

"Calm down, chica, or you'll bleed out before you get the chance to yell at him again!"

Raul grunted, taking her out of the power armor as best he could, to put her in the War bus's Auto-Doc.

Back in the building, Six was running on fumes. His Power Armor hydraulics and landspinners groaned under the strain of overuse, and his rifle's barrel glowed red-hot from continuous fire. He had lost count of the bodies around him—at least two dozen Nightkin lay scattered across the floor, but more kept coming.

A minigun-wielding mutant opened fire from the shadows, sending a torrent of bullets his way. Six dove behind a pile of debris, but not before several rounds tore into his side, puncturing the armor plates.

"That... all you got?"

Six growled, coughing up blood inside his helmet.

His vision blurred, but he forced himself back to his feet. If this was the end, he'd make damn sure these mutants remembered his name. With a roar, he raised his rifle one last time.

Just as the Nightkin closed in, the distant rumble of the War Bus's engine echoed through the tunnels. Chris buzzed excitedly over the comms.

"Hold tight, Boss—I'm coming in hot!"

The War Bus burst through the entrance in a cloud of dust and debris, its turrets blazing. Rebecca, still bleeding but manning her Punisher, opened fire with a wild grin.

"Come on, you ugly bastards!"

She shouted as the minigun fire shredded through the Nightkin ranks.

"Get in!"

Boone yelled from the driver's seat as the bus skidded to a halt beside Six.

Six didn't need to be told twice. With his last ounce of strength, he sprinted toward the War Bus, diving through the side hatch just as the remaining Nightkin regrouped for one final push.

"Punch it, Boone!"

Raul shouted.

The War Bus roared to life, tires screeching as it peeled away from the collapsing tunnel entrance. Chris fired off a missile behind them, causing the entrance to cave in, sealing the mutants inside.

Inside the bus, Six collapsed onto a bench, his armor hissing as it powered down. Blood leaked from the cracks in his armor, and every muscle in his body screamed in agony. Rebecca staggered over to him, her shoulder hastily bandaged.

"You... you idiot."

She whispered, tears welling in her eyes as she knelt beside him.

"Don't youeverdo that again."

Six gave her a tired grin.

"Had to make sure you made it out, babe."

Rebecca leaned in, resting her forehead against his.

"You owe me a damn Dinosaur statue after this."

She whispered, her voice cracking.

"Deal."

Six murmured, closing his eyes as exhaustion finally overtook him.

Boone glanced over his shoulder from the driver's seat, his face grim but relieved.

"We'll patch up once we're far. You earned that rest, Six."

The War Bus roared along the cracked roads of the Mojave, dust billowing in its wake. Inside, the team sat in grim silence, too exhausted to speak. They had narrowly escaped the basement filled with Nightkin, but at a steep cost.

"We made it."

Rebecca whispered leaning heavily against Six, her skin pale from blood loss, her breathing shallow. Six shifted slightly, grunting from the stiffness in his battered body. His armor was scratched, scorched, and dented, but he was alive—and so was Rebecca. That was all that mattered.

"Yeah. We did."

He murmured, pulling her close.

"Barely."

Raul sat across from them, finishing the last of the sutures on Cassidy's severed stump. The whiskey he'd given her earlier was wearing off, and she grimaced with every tug of the needle.

"Wish you'd cut off my other arm, too."

Cassidy joked through clenched teeth, trying to mask the pain.

"At least I wouldn't have to deal with your ugly face no more, Raul."

Raul chuckled, giving the sutures a final tug.

"Don't tempt me, chica. You just lost an arm, not your sense of humor."

Boone himself remained silent, his face hard as stone as he kept an eye on the road ahead, one hand resting gingerly on his ribs, feeling the deep bruises beneath his cracked armor.

"Gonna have to rebuild this suit."

He muttered under his breath, scanning the road ahead with the same stoic focus he gave to every situation.

Six clenched his jaw, forcing himself to think through the pain radiating from his battered body. Their armors were heavily damaged, their spirits frayed, and they needed medical attention fast. The War Bus screeched to a halt near the rusted bridge just outside the REPCONN facility.

"We can't wait."

Six muttered under his breath. He staggered to his feet, activating a handheld teleporter device—an invention from his Engineer template. It hummed to life, crackling with energy, and Six slammed it into the ground.

"Everyone, get in the damn beam! Now!"

He barked.

Raul hoisted Rebecca off the seat with a grunt, carrying her limp form. Boone and Chris supported Cassidy as she stumbled forward, her face twisted in agony. The swirling blue light engulfed them all as the teleporter began to spin and hum louder.

With a flash of light and a rush of air, the team vanished from the desolate wasteland.

In an instant, the group reappeared in the heart of Goodsprings. The town was a stark contrast to the chaos they'd left behind—calm, fortified, and vibrant with life. Viktor, Six's father, was already rushing toward them, alarm spreading across his face as he saw their condition.

"Get them inside, now!"

Viktor shouted, waving over some engineers and medics.

Rebecca moaned weakly, blood soaking her shoulder where the bumper sword had pierced her armor. Raul carefully handed her off to a medic, who hurriedly applied stimpaks and started transfusing blood.

Cassidy's arm stump was still bleeding, and the old ghoul was doing his best to keep her steady.

"Looks like I'm gonna need some upgrades."

She joked weakly, though the pain in her eyes was unmistakable.

"Prosthetics. We'll get you set up."

Viktor assured her, his tone brisk but calm.

"Might even make it better than the original."

Boone leaned heavily against the wall, his armor riddled with dents and bullet holes. He waved off the medics, insisting.

"I'll live. Help the others."

Six stood in the middle of it all, the weight of leadership pressing down on him. Rebecca's life hung in the balance, and Cassidy needed a new arm. They'd survived, but at what cost?

Inside a hospital-turned-secure building, Rebecca lay unconscious on a steel table as Doctor Penelope worked furiously to stabilize her. The puncture wound was deep, but the immediate care and transfusion had staved off the worst. She injected a steady flow of Med-X to numb her pain and muttered to herself as she worked.

"Damn it, Six, you're fortunate the baby wasn't injured. She will need a week or two to recover."

Doctor Penelope remarked.

"Without Rebecca's unique blood, she might have succumbed to the infection from the metal shards we extracted from her shoulder. They were contaminating her bloodstream. Inform that reckless girl she must either cease her adventures or stop having children."

She continued as she signed off on the medical report.

In the next room, engineers swarmed around Cassidy, preparing to fit her with a cybernetic arm. Raul stood by her side, giving her a reassuring smile.

"Guess you'll be half-machine now, chica. We'll make you unstoppable."

Cassidy grinned despite herself.

"Better make it shotgun-compatible."

Meanwhile, Six sat outside on the porch, his broken armor discarded in a heap beside him. He rested his head in his hands, exhaustion hitting him all at once. Boone sat next to him, silent as always, the two sharing a quiet moment of reflection.

"She's strong."

Boone said finally, glancing toward the room where Rebecca was being treated.

"She'll pull through."

Six nodded slowly, though his heart still weighed heavily.

"Yeah. She better."

Level: 18

NAME: Six XI

GENDER: MALE

STRENGTH: 10

PERCEPTION: 10

ENDURANCE: 10

CHARISMA: 10

INTELLIGENCE: 10

AGILITY: 10

LUCK: 10

BARTER: 100

ENERGY WEAPONS: 36

EXPLOSIVES: 36

GUNS: 100

LOCKPICK: 39

MEDICINE: 100

MELEE WEAPONS: 39

REPAIR: 100

SCIENCE: 100

SNEAK: 39

SPEECH: 68

SURVIVAL: 39

UNARMED: 39