ooc: 2 months later? better late than never,right?
erich takes a drink of one of the numerous bottles of whisky that litter the wasteland. seriously,it was like a distillery exploded and threw the shit everywhere. "seems to be a popular past time these days. real jobs are for squares even more now,right?" he states,nodding in approval of the destruction. he could appreciate what scott was laying down. he didnt see anyone he knew other than scott here. so it was safe to assume he lost people too. hopefully it was like erich and it was out of sight,out of mind. erich doesnt say anything when it comes to the exchange between scott and oscar, he was firmly of scott's point of view. the world had gone to hell,why try to go back? it was akin to playing pretend while the house burned down around you. he wanted to think like oscar,but even in his short time here...he saw how the world worked. if a world could turn erica,of all people,into a murderous maniac..it wasnt worth saving. become a beast and get rid of the pain of being a man.
"safe? lets hope not,love." nina grins at reuben. there was a certain thrill to be had when it came to putting yourself up against someone in a life or death situation. it really made one feel alive. nina loved it. it was even more fun than gunning down the unarmed. sure,it was nice knowing the power you had over people. it must be what being god would feel like. your will was all that mattered,vengeful wrath or mercy? but coming across a situation where your candle could be just as easily snuffed out? that is what is was all about.
erica puts her finger to her lips and readies her tommy gun. it was probably just a wasteland merchant behind this door. given the bunker was in scott's town,they probably shouldnt shoot them. but who's to say the merchant didnt try to pull a gun on them? figuring two women and a deaf man were easy pickings? she takes a deep breath. the air was sweet. as it always was when about to fling open an uknown door. that breath could easily be your last. erica flings open the door and shouts. "what are you doing in....here?" her tone drops in ferocity when the woman inside the bunker turns around in surprise.
inside the bunker is rather cozy.the dangling light bulb bathes everything in a warm yellow light. there is a desk and some bunk beds.a young woman sits at the desk with a smirk on her face. the woman was ready for the intruders and had a gatling laser leveled at the door. "holy...fuck." she says,dropping the gun.its mariko! but when she stands to greet erica and nina,its clear that mariko is not herself. she is far taller than mariko should be,she is nearly 6 feet tall. her voice is also....off. she has a distinctly southern accent to it.
erica drops her gun and tries to back out of the room,but is blocked by nina and rueben. "mariko! no...you're dead..i saw it. quincy..i saw it." erica stammers. it was surreal and almost nightmarish to her. there was no question mariko was dead. an assaultron impaled her with its sword hands before melting her with its eyebeam.
"oh,sugar. im a synth based off mariko.a defect,as you can see." mariko says with a shrug. "the institute just doesnt take kindly to faulty hardware,so i had to make a run for it." she had memories of her raiding days with erica. but they were like a lsd hallucination. she knew they werent real and were just overlays over reality. she was slated to be recycled in the institute but had enough of mariko in her to make an escape. a very bloody escape. the institute had crafted mariko with the intent to be a courser. which combined with the real mariko's mentality..made for quite a handful. it was rare that a synth would be made of someone and not actually replace said person,but the institute wanted to sow dissent. they wanted people to question who was real and who was a synth.
it was a lot for erica to process. the face was mariko. but the voice wasnt. erica wanted to pick up her gun and destroy this mockery. but..it looked like mariko. how could she? "how...how much of mariko are you?" erica asks. her voice drips with the hope of the impossible. a second chance to have her sister! did that mean there was a gretchen and a takara out there?! what if there was? she had become a monster after their deaths. could she even face them? she killed hundreds,many just for fun.
mariko smiles and looks to nina and rueben before speaking. " i remember everything. there is a small gap after the time we did that job for hancock. you remember the one." mariko says slyly,looking at reueben. she remembered him now. he was a diamond city guard. the job in question wasnt exactly bad. but certainly not smiled upon by diamond city authorities.
erica was convinced. she wanted to be convinced. this person was her sister. erica walks up and hugs her sister tightly. she cried for the first time in a long time while embracing this...machine..no,person. she didnt care who saw or who heard. the height and voice were wrong,but it FELT like mariko when embracing her. erica knew she didnt have to speak,mariko would come with them. "here. ive been keeping it warm for you." she tells mariko before handing her the sword and scabbard she had tucked in her belt. mariko takes the katana and bounces it in her hand,testing the heft. it was just as she remembered.
nina watched this all with a small smile. she and erica never had anything against synths,unless they were the robot looking ones. nick valentine was cool enough. he never really gave nina any shit,so he was ok in her book. "um..dont say anything to dallas.right,love?" nina quips to reuben. there was no way this synth wasnt joining them. unless erica and herself were killed. for all intents and purposes,that was mariko. joshua would probably cream his drawers having a real synth whos rights he could fight for.
dallas looks over the landscape as well.but he doesnt see it as dustyn does. he sees it as chaos at that aches for the brotherhood's firm grasp. he exits his power armor and sits his laser rifle against the wall. "yeah...i understand. but you cant save everyone,dust. its tough,but sometimes you just have to look away and either let nature take it's course. or do what you have to do." dallas says to dustyn almost dogmatically. the brotherhood certainly bred a certain aloofness in its soldiers. he didnt like .."appropriating" supplies from innocent folks,but it had to be done. there were no easy choices now. even dustyn living semi comfortably in diamond city came from people making hard decisions. there were no ghouls in diamond city,right? some people thought ghouls were actual people.
"hmm?" erich says,snapped out of his whisky stupor by billy. while he certainly would have rather spent the night with erica,as far as....THAT went. it would be dishonest with himself to say billy wasnt someone deserving to share a bed with. he certainly wasnt sexually attracted to billy. but emotionally? well,that was another ball of wax. a connection was a connection in this sick and sad world. the fact they may not have the exact kind of genitals you want to play with is a non point."it'd be an dick move to refuse you,billy." erich laughs to his...friend. yeah,billy was his friend now. he kinda was before as well. but now..time was fleeting. there was no reason not to express how one feels. one may not be there tomorrow. " lets find someplace comfy and get some well deserved shut eye...and talk about how we hate joshua grimmie." he adds with a laugh.