"Dustyn, you might want to come around the side or the back if you're going to fire that," Riley says nervously as he tries to inch away while still keeping hold of Blake. If Dustyn fires, that bullet is tearing through Blake's skull and making a one-way journey into Riley's crotch. Getting shot in the dick is such a low blow, literally. Dustyn just looks at Riley for all of two seconds then returns his focus to Blake, scowling at him down the barrel. "Or you could stay there...that's...that's fine..." Riley stutters, not wanting to provoke an angry Irishman with a shotgun. He takes a deep breath and decides it's in his own best interest to let Blake go. Riley steps aside and quickly pushes Blake down onto the ground by his shoulders. Luckily, Blake doesn't try to make a run for it. He's done. He just lays there as Dustyn looms over him.

Billy takes in the scene, equally as excited as he is scared. He finds it beautifully ironic how Dustyn now towers over Blake, making him feel insignificant and powerless after all the years of Blake looming over Dustyn. He knows how this will go down after the trigger is pulled. Dustyn will either become a wreck instantaneously and regret his actions or it'll ignite a blood lust within. "As soon as the shot is fired, be there for him," he says quietly to Dallas. Regardless of the outcome, Dustyn having his boyfriend around is bound to improve the situation.

"Dustyn, I-" Blake begins as tears silently stroll down his cheeks, looking up at his ex. He raises a hand up in front of the barrel as if it'll do any good.

"Shut the fuck up, cunt!!" Dustyn barks, kicking Blake while simultaneously whacking his hand away with the gun. Billy and Riley have known Dustyn since they were all teenagers and have never seem him this exasperated. Yes, he's lost his temper and had arguments with and around them but this? This is beyond. Little Dustyn is about to murder someone in broad daylight. "As you said, I've slept around. I've slept with a LOT of guys, Blake. You've always been a special one though. Out of the MOUNTAINS of men that I've climbed, you will always, always be the one...with the smallest dick. I think we've found your real problem, Blake!"

"I had a feeling that was the case," Billy says to those around him, trying to hold in his laughter at such a serious moment. He'd be lying if he said he wasn't enjoying the berating of Blake. Lord knows the man had it come.

"Dust-" Blake starts, trying to scramble back up onto his feet.

"We're done here," Dustyn says flatly before pulling the trigger without hesitation. Spatters of blood and flesh travel through the air akin to how poor Joshua went. Aside from the severe ringing in everyone's ears, a deadly silence falls over the group. Blake's corpse lays flat on the ground with pretty much half of his skull gone and a lot of gruesome stuff spilling out onto the concrete. Dustyn looks down at the body of his tormentor and appears to be calm and somewhat detached at first but a few seconds later, he drops the gun as he starts to shake while his chest frantically rises and falls.

"Go, go!" Billy says to Dallas, giving him a little push forward. He can see that Dustyn is on the verge of bawling and as much as he wishes to comfort his friend himself, he knows that Dallas should be the one. He looks at Blake's body for a moment before moving his attention to the other survivors standing across from him. "So.......how small do you think it was?" he asks in his usual crude and immature way but Billy senses that the situation calls for it otherwise they'd all just be standing around and watching Dustyn breakdown after shooting his ex-boyfriend's head off.

Dustyn collapses into Dallas' arms and begins to bawl, totally breaking down and immediately regretting his actions. Billy had expected this from Dustyn as he knows just how good of soul he really is. The YEARS of pent up frustration and anger finally took its toll on Dustyn and he snapped in the moment. Now that it's over, the reality is setting back in for him. "I'M...I'M SORRY!!! I'M SO SORRY!!! I-I-I-...I DIDN'T MEAN...." Dustyn cries out, soaking his boyfriend in his tears. He isn't even sure what he's apologising for as Blake got what was coming to him. It's all just so overwhelming for him. Dustyn has just blown his ex-boyfriend's head off with a shotgun. No matter how justified, the action is extreme and something you hear about happening to "other people" on the local news. Dustyn had never seen himself as being one of those guys.

Billy is already on it, patting down Blake's body for anything of value. He pulls out the irradiated dagger that Blake flaunted earlier before he switched to the harpoon when things intensified. Billy holds the weapon up and examines the seemingly glowing veins of radiated material running throughout the blade. "You think this was what was driving him mad? He had it close to him all the fucking time." Billy throws it onto the ground, not really interested in keeping it for himself. It's not wise to carry rads around in ones back pocket plus it'd just be a painful reminder of Blake. He reaches into another pocket and grabs a handful of caps. "Looks about 20 caps here," he says while counting them in his hand. Billy then does a double-take of Blake's crotch, contemplating unzipping him for a laugh. "Am I really going to stoop this low?"

"I say we burn his fucking corpse or throw him to the mirelurks. He's had more lives than a Buddhist cat." Billy is sort of riding a little wave of blood lust and revenge, getting a natural high from it. Focusing on being extremely cruel to Blake is helping him keep his mind off of his brothers. He doesn't know officially that they're dead but at the back of his mind, he KNOWS. He's just prolonging things until he actually has to find out for real and face the ugly truth. Billy bends down and finally begins to nurse his gunshot wound courtesy of the turrets. He opens up his little bag and takes out some bandages and a pair of rusted and unsanitary looking tweezers but you have to make do in the wasteland. "Anyone feel like pulling a bullet out of my arm?" he asks while looking over at the others. Billy secretly hopes Erich volunteers as he seems like he'd have the softest touch. He can't picture Nina being very tender to a wound.

Riley has spent the last few moments standing over Blake's body as if he's standing guard in the off chance that he springs back to life. He plays out the last God knows how many years in his head, briefly reliving all the shit Blake put everyone through from his explosive relationship with Dustyn back in 2012 all the way up to his murderous rampage. Blake had this coming. It's just surreal that it actually happened. Justice is very rarely served. He takes it in, embracing the silence that has finally fallen over today. "Shit..." he says as a look of worry grows on his face. Riley slowly crouches down, looking over at Dustyn to make sure he's not witnessing it.

"What's wrong, Ri?" Billy asks, holding his bleeding arm but Riley doesn't respond. He's in his own little bubble and focusing on Blake's corpse.

"Forgive me for this..." Riley says quietly as if talking to God or some higher being. He grimaces and screws up his face as he bends down and leans closer to the mush that was once Blake's head. Billy watches in horror as Riley places his hand into Blake's blown out brains. Just what they need, another madman. Riley turns his head, not wanting to actively look at it as he takes hold of what he wants. "Groddy..." he says, shaking off bits of blood and flesh from his hand and what appears to be a synth component. Riley sighs and shows it to Nina, Erica, Billy and Erich. It opens up another can of worms. Two Blakes? One good, one evil? Is the original Blake still alive? Who else from the old world has The Institute replicated?

A little while has passed and the group are now making their way to the elusive vault. After the carnage of the last 48 hours, a somber silence has fallen over everyone. Dustyn is still rather withdrawn after the ordeal with Blake, Riley is secretly carrying the synth component on his person waiting for the right moment to bring it up to Dallas, and Billy learned the fate of his brothers. Rather than leading the pack, Billy has fallen behind while Dallas and Riley have moved to the front. He hasn't fully broken down but it's hit Billy hard. The fact that he can't even remember the last words he said to Deneil and Sayyid is cutting him deep. Billy hasn't said a word in over an hour.

Riley leads at the front with Dallas. With Billy falling behind, it was only natural that these two take over as leaders. The group is smaller in numbers and many members are extremely tired and somewhat wounded. They need two big strapping men up front. Ever since leaving Blake's corpse behind, the discovery of him being as synth has been preying on his mind. He has refrained from telling Dallas and Dustyn as the news could throw Dusty over the edge. Blake being a synth opens up a lot of new questions for the group. "Dallas..." Riley begins, keeping his voice as low as possible. He places a hand on his pocket, feeling the component. "When we get to the vault...can I speak to you...in private?" He tries to make eye contact with Dallas to express the seriousness of the situation.

Dustyn's stomach rumbles violently as he clutches onto it. He upchucked everything he had in his stomach earlier and is feeling empty. "So...what are you hoping for with Karoliena?" Dustyn asks quietly, clearly not that interested but just making conversation. He doesn't want anyone to pander to him and ask how he's doing.

"Oh...that, I had forgotten about that," Riley says as he goes suddenly shy and nervous. It wasn't on his mind until Dallas referenced it. He was far too caught up in the murdering and the synth discovery to be thinking about threesome fun. He's glad that the topic has been thrown out there though as it allows time for Riley to prolong things and gather his thoughts. "I actually want to talk about that too. I...I've never done...that before. It's all new to me. A couple...two...two guys...I...I don't know the rules..." Riley blushes and stutters, clearly worried about saying the wrong thing. It's all new to him and the fact that Dallas and Dustyn already have a strong and established bond makes him worry that he might be stepping on toes. He clears his throat and pats his pocket, double checking that the component is still in place. "I'll talk to you about the other thing when we're alone," Riley says while looking over his shoulder at Dustyn. Riley feels it's best that Dallas be the one who either informs Dustyn or decides against it. "It's...quite something, mate."

Dustyn kicks stones and other debris on the road, making no bones about how down and sluggish he feels. If not for initiating conversation with Erich, Dustyn would be as withdrawn as Billy and he doesn't want that. Dustyn can't be alone with his own thoughts like Billy. He'll just breakdown again. He needs a distraction. "I hope she's still the same as the old world version. I hope the vault dwellers are nice too. Just blew my ex-boyfriend's head off, I don't want to slaughter an entire vault today," Dustyn says flatly with no usual hint of humour in his voice. He's being serious. If Dustyn has to fire another bullet today he'll lose his mind. "Are you sure you want to stay in a vault? It seems kinda...isolated. Diamond City isn't that bad."

At the back of the group, Billy falls behind and leans against a burnt out Corvega. He's clearly not feeling too well. After a few moments, a loud banging of metal is heard as Billy collapses against the vehicle before hitting the floor.

"I'm sure it'll be fun though. I mean, it's hardly a chore. Once we figure out what we're actually doing...it could be quite something," Riley says, looking over at Dallas with a smirk. He tries to remain optimistic and not stress out too much about the situation. It could lead to stage fright at an important moment. That's no use to anyone. Riley's stomach churns when he sees the area that they're heading towards. Parkview Apartments. They're inching closer to Vault 81 but have to cut through this hell hole if they wish to proceed further. "Guns ready, Dallas. We'll be on the defensive through here" Riley warns in a low voice. This is raider territory. When he hears the clunking of Billy, however, his attention sways and he doubles back to aid his friend.

"BILLY!" Dustyn yelps, springing into action and immediately becoming more lively than he's been in hours. His love for his best friend far outweighs Dustyn's need to wallow around feeling sorry for himself. His natural paternal instinct kicks in and he rushes over to tend to his friend. "Billy, are you OK?" he asks in a soft and concerned voice while bending down beside him. "When did you last eat something?".

Billy just lays propped against the vehicle, breathing heavily while appearing very tired and sluggish. He's too weak to even respond to a simple question and his forehead is glazed with sweat. "I..I..hav-I..." Billy mumbles pathetically as his left hand starts to tremor. With all the travelling, running, fighting and dodging bullets over the last 48 hours, Billy's not been keeping an eye on his sugar levels. He might be a great leader and top wasteland warrior but Billy is still diabetic and needs to take more care.

"Does anyone have anything sweet?? Cinnamon roll? Gum drops?" Dustyn asks, looking around at the group while holding Billy.

Riley frowns, shaking his head slowly and feeling hopelessly helpless. "Shit, I don't have anything like th-". Riley is cut off as a bullet pings off of the frame of the car, narrowly missing Dustyn's back. A group of raiders stand on the rooftop of an old apartment across the way and the have the group in sight.

"Stay with him!" Dustyn commands Erica as he takes a rifle from Dallas' back and goes charging towards the apartments. He didn't plan on killing anyone else today but his group is being targeted by a bunch of scum and his best friend needs some of their loot before he slips into a coma. Dustyn is on it. He doesn't particularly want to kill anyone but it's either these raiders or his friends. So be it.

"DUSTYN, NO!!" Riley yells after him as he sees little Dustyn charging into the apartments on his own. He quickly follows but Dustyn is already inside the decaying buildings. Riley cringes as he hears gunshots from inside, hoping that none of them were fatal to his friend. "Someone deal with the snipers!" Riley calls back to the others. The place is going to be swarming with raiders. The ones up on the roof are the least of Riley's worries. Upon entering, he's surprised to see Dustyn looting a fresh corpse of a raider, grabbing a packet of gum drops, some caps and pistol ammo. The gunshot must have been Dustyn killing the guy. Riley crouches down and places a hand on Dustyn's back. "Those sweets will be enough for Billy. We have to get out of here, Dusty..."

"No," Dustyn states bluntly, getting back up onto his feet and reloading. "I'm tired of these fuckers. They'd only put a bullet in our heads if we don't do it to them first." While the statement is true, it's not a usual one for Dustyn. Maybe a little blood lust has been unleashed after all. He storms upstairs, making sure to slip away before Riley has a chance to grab him.

"Dusty!!" Riley chases after him, more focused on keeping him safe than tackling any sort of threat. Dustyn isn't the strongest fighter but God he's fast and nimble. He moves like one of his beloved cats, making it hard for Riley to get to him.

Riley runs throughout the building, trying to track down Dustyn. He can hear rapid footsteps on the stairwell so assumes Dustyn is making not pit stops and heading straight for the roof. Every so often, Riley trembles as loud gunshots go off, fearing that each one of them ended Dustyn's life but as he continues up the stairs, Riley often has to jump over the bodies of freshly murdered raiders courtesy of Dusty. He's on a rampage. "Dustyn, slow down!!" Riley calls out, fighting the tight feeling growing in his chest. Like Billy's diabetes, Riley's breathing issues haven't magically vanished. Luckily for him he is extremely fit and active so can push through it. "Dustyn...please!!". Riley is alerted when he hears footsteps behind him, he swirls his gun around and is about to pull the trigger when he sees it's Dallas. "Dallas! He's heading to the roof!!"

Dustyn is then heard screaming out from above them. It's a different kind of yell from his usual fearful one. He's clearly been hurt. Another scream is heard and Riley races up the stairs. No gunshot was heard which confuses and unnerves Riley making him wonder what he's about to discover. As he reaches the summit of the stairs, Riley stops dead in his tracks as he sees a trail of blood leading to Dustyn who is laying face down on the floor. "Dallas, I..." Riley begins, about to console Dallas before Dustyn shows signs of life, surprising and relieving the both of them.

"OWWW!!!!" Dustyn moans, rolling onto his side and holding his hip. His hand is covered in blood and it's evident that he's been stabbed at the waist.

"Dustyn!" Riley runs over to Dustyn's aid, crouching down and getting a look at the wound. "Might hurt like hell but it doesn't seem deep, Dustyn. We can get this cleaned and stitched." Riley catches his breath and wipes sweat from his brow, winding down from the chase and feeling relief knowing that his old friend is still with them. "You're lucky that wasn't a bullet, Dustyn. What the hell were you thinking running in here?"

Before Dustyn can muster up an answer, he screams out and points behind Dallas' shoulder. "Dallas, there he is!!". A raider comes running towards them yielding a bloody knife. It's not a wise move to ambush these guys with only a blade but the raider is clearly high on whatever chemicals he's been huffing.

"There...there are still more further down the way. I heard them," Dustyn says sluggishly as he holds onto his wound and fights the tears. Dustyn has been through a lot of stuff in this life but this is the first time he's been injured by a weapon. A knife wound feels just as painful as he imagined...and maybe even more. An insatiable throb manifests itself deep within him and no amount of pressure seems to ease it. Different waves of intensity wash over him, sometimes feeling a sharp twinge and other times experiencing a stubborn and dull ache in the area. "I'm sorry...I just...I...I don't know. I...I just need to help Billy." Dustyn has come down from his little rampage and is realising that he's bitten off more than he can chew. No matter how good his intentions are and how determined he is, Dustyn isn't made for the rough and tumble of the wasteland. "Get me the fuck out of here," he groans, holding onto his bleeding waist.

Riley had gone off to clear out the other raiders that Dustyn had mentioned. Unlike some of the others, Riley doesn't need to worry about backup. He's a tank in his own right. Multiple shots are heard further down the corridor and, a few moments later, Riley returns to the boys while yielding a duffle bag. "Picked up some goodies," Riley says while patting the bag. The raiders are hardly going to be needing them anymore. "Right...you OK with carrying Dusty for a bit?" he asks Dallas. Dustyn isn't that heavy so it shouldn't be a problem to pick him up and, if need be, take him all the way to the vault as it's not that far.

Billy mumbles and weakly moves his hand in a shooing motion at Erica and Nina as if telling them to piss off. He's pretty out of it but he heard the word "dicks" and not in good context. Nobody is tarnishing his beautiful face with inky foreskin.

Riley comes rushing out of the building, not wanting to waste any more time. Dustyn is wounded and Billy is on the verge of a coma. There's no time to falter here. Riley throws the duffle bag down on the ground and kneels down to tend to Billy. As he rummages for something sweet, Riley looks over at Erich and thinks it's best to inform him about Dustyn's situation before the sight shocks him. "Erich, Dustyn got hurt. He'll be OK but he'll need to be sanitised and stitched up. I know Billy has some bandages in his bag. Can you check to see if he's got anything else of use? If not...we'll have to take our chances and hope that the vault dwellers are kind enough to help." Riley holds the back of Billy's head as he helps him sip on a Nuka Cola Quantum that he found in the apartments. They're rare and valuable but desperate times call for desperate measures. "Drink up, mate," Riley says softly as he keeps hold of Billy while feeding him like his baby.

Billy sips on the glowing concoction and starts to come back around. It's amazing how quickly things can turn around for a diabetic with just a little bit of sugar in the system. "Oh God...I feel like shit..." he mumbles, still sounding a little lethargic but at least he's able to string a sentence together. Billy takes another sip and looks over at the others, feeling a little confused and guilty for holding things up. "I'm sorry, guys. Did I...miss anything?". Hypoglycemia causes a lot of confusion, visual and sonic distortion and even loss of consciousness. Billy was blissfully unaware of the mini battle with the raiders. "SHIT!" he blurts out upon seeing Dallas emerge from the building while carrying a wounded Dustyn.

"Is it gonna hurt when I'm being fixed up?" Dustyn whimpers as he clings onto Dallas. He has a very low tolerance for pain and is on the brink of passing out. The sharp twinges of his torn skin and the dull ache from deep within refuse to subside for so much as second. "Be gentle...be gentle...don't hurt me..." he says in a panic as if Dallas has any control over Dustyn's nervous system.