They helped each other get dressed in silence, both covering their faces before gathering their things. Rex was waiting for them on the other side of the door, wagging his tail.

"He can't come with us…"

"Just try leaving him. It won't happen," Charon scoffed, patting the dog's head.

Carol, Tulip, and Butch were waiting at the entrance for them.

Giving them each one last hug, Carol passed Charon several lunchboxes, "For the trip."

"I'm sorry…for thinking so poorly of you for all these years, Charon."

Tulip nodded, passing Percy all the spare ammo, bobby pins, and duct tape she had.

Butch passed her a straight razor and a pair of freshly sharpened scissors. "Fix that mop next chance you get, Springtime." He laughed nervously. The statement hung in the air before he held out his hand.

Percy smiled, giving it a strong shake. "Only if you promise to go easy on the hair gel; how do you even wear a helmet over that?"

Cross was waiting for them outside, looking calm despite the turmoil shaking her entire being.

"Shouldn't you leave the dog here?"

Shrugging, Percy set a strong pace for the north east. "Apparently that's impossible. Are you coming?"

"Of course…"

"Are you sure this is the spot?" Cross asked doubtfully.

The White House plaza was completely empty aside from the usual rusted car or barricade, hinting at an impromptu battleground of two hundred years prior.

"Well, the White House was bombed to hell, and the sewer system here leads to the private subway. Seems to be hidden in plain sight, but we should still look out for some security," Percy replied, showing a scan of the nearby area to the paladin.

Charon caught Rex as he jumped down to follow them. To call it a sewer would have been incredibly misleading as they soon found out. It maintained the illusion for all of about twenty feet before they found a door leading through several concrete walls lined with wires and tubes. All they could do in the eerily quiet halls was follow the tiny glowing tick mark on Percy's map. Tightening the grip on his shotgun Charon kept his eyes peeled for the glow of an Enclave helmet.

It was too quiet…

They came to an unmarked door, not even at the end of a hall, but simply there, off to the side.

"I'll scout ahead; if there's Enclave on the other side, we should take them out quietly, or find a way to sneak past."

"Be careful," Cross warned, but was met with a raised eyebrow. Choosing not to say anything to that, Percy activated a stealth-boy, wincing as she jammed it into her hip.

The rooms behind that door were far fancier than any subway checkpoint Percy had seen before, with bronze statues of forefathers and polished wood floors.

'Nearly completely untouched…' Percy hugged the walls, peaking around the corner. Robots stomped about, chattering about a breach in security, but she was sure they weren't referring to her.

'Too many to deactivate...maybe there's a terminal.'

After many close calls with the sentry bots patrolling the tunnels, Percy came to a small room lined with computers. She rubbed the dust off the center console. A gold plaque read, 'M.A. .T' in black bolded letters. The exit on the other side of the room was locked. Shutting the door she had come through, Percy felt the stealth-boy fade out and all the cameras immediately turned to her.

"Hello."

A female voice came through the foam and mesh speaker at the top of the center console.

Hesitantly, Percy stepped up to the intercom looking microphone sticking out of the counter of the console. Pressing the talk button, she said, "Um…hello? May I ask who this is?"

"I'm sorry," the voice took on a tired tone, but it was clearly A.I and not a person on the other end, "but due to a major breach in security, unauthorized personnel are not allowed past this point. Prepare for a security check."

Percy felt something vibrate across her skin while the computer made a low humming noise.

"Identification of local access user failed. Please identify yourself."

The console didn't look familiar, but she recognized a few keys on the interface that matched ones on the vault overseer's personal terminal. Tapping two and holding three others down in rapid succession before speaking again into the intercom, Percy leaned closer to the microphone.

"Override security parameters," she stated clearly. "Assign current user highest clearance."

"Stand by…Override accepted. Clearance assigned. How may I assist you?"

Percy sighed in relief. "What's this about a security breach? Are there Enclave soldiers on the other side of that door?"

"Term: 'Enclave' not found in my memory array associated with any Commonwealth or world power faction."

"Then what is causing the security breach?"

"Numerous unidentified persons in the southeast tunnels area have destroyed metro equipment and have refused dialogue with security. Anti-riot statute A567-slash-B has authorized the use of deadly force to neutralize."

"I need more information on these persons," Percy said, growing tired. She hated robots, and A.I. made her uneasy.

"Apologies, my equipment must be defective. My sensors indicate high levels of radiation and inordinate amounts of body heat. Would you like to fill out a work order?"

"Negative. Is the line to Adams Air Force base still clear? Does the subway still work?"

"One of the unidentified persons has ripped out a main fuse line, and the tunnel has been sealed for safety until power can be restored. Until the security breach is resolved, I strongly advise against repairing or turning the breaker box back on."

"Thank you for the information. I can resolve the issue, but I need your security units to not turn hostile against me and my party. They include another woman, a dog, and one man similar to the unidentified persons. He is very tall and has lower levels of radiation. Can you do that?"

"Affirmative. You have been marked as friendly and any persons travelling with you shall not be met with hostility. Please bring them here so I can confirm them in my systems."

Charon let out a sigh of relief when Percy finally stepped through the door. Images of her being taken away by the Enclave again had intruded into his thoughts ever since she had gone ahead to scout.

"Good news, no Enclave, and the security systems will let us through. The bad news is that the Subway system is down, thanks to some ferals. We need to clear them out before I can take a look at the damage, but I might be able to get the car up and running and save us a lot of time."

Cross felt more than a little uneasy that she would have to fight ghouls without her power armor. She didn't buy into the idea that ghouls could turn people with a bite like many other Brotherhood members did, but there was always that fear itching at the back of her head of 'what if?'

A pack of ferals was an understatement; there were three reavers and two glowing ones, and no amount of Rad-X could take away the nausea as Cross collapsed against the wall, watching Percy work on the subway's breaker box as she felt the Radaway burn in her veins. Charon and Rex had gone off to pick off the last of the ghouls and blast closed the openings they had come through.

Her thoughts were drawn to Sarah as she tried to keep from vomiting. "I hope she's okay…"

"Even if she is, do you really think she's safe in the Brotherhood if she wakes up? From what I've heard, they aren't too keen on couples who can't procreate," Percy said bitterly. "You should be thankful that you can actually go home—if we even survive this. Charon, Rex and I can never go home. We didn't even get to say goodbye to most of our friends. We can't even return to Megaton for keepsakes or extra clothes."

Her muscles tensed and her jaw grew tight as she continued, the words poured out of her mouth and Percy couldn't stop them.

"I have no idea if the Enclave attacked my vault. I can't even visit the place where my father died—I haven't seen the Purifier since Charon started it! I've lost every home I've ever known, and it's your fault!"

A flash of pain squeezed at her heart, and Cross's face grew flushed with anger.

"How can you possibly blame me for the Elder's decision? I was sent on this suicide mission too!"

"I finished my father's work, I owe you nothing! You could have just let us leave. You could have gone back saying we died, then maybe they would have sent you with proper backup. I thought I lost everything because of the Enclave, then your people took what little else I had."

"At least you have Charon, do you think I'll ever get to see Sarah after this? After all these years my paladin-ship means nothing." She sighed, trying to calm herself. "Elder Lyons will do everything in his power to keep us apart. If this mission doesn't kill me, another one will."

"Then why stay?" they both jumped as Charon spoke up. Aside from being covered in blood and dust, he and Rex were unharmed.

"I told you the Brotherhood would hunt you down if you tried to run from this mission; the same goes for me. And…I can't leave Sarah—I won't. Even if they try to keep me away from her," she said with determination.

"Then here's a proposition." Charon's voice grew dangerously low. "If we survive the mission, you will let us go."

"I told you, I can't."

Charon kneeled before her. "You can, if you ever want to see Sarah again. Make no mistake: if it comes down to your life, or our freedom…I will never be a slave again. Nor will I allow that to happen to Percy."

Her blood ran cold. He wasn't lying. He was completely serious. She looked to Percy, but she had turned away, focusing on the breaker which had just sparked to life, lighting up the tunnel and powering the subway car.

They said nothing on the ride, despite how exhilarating it was for all of them. Neither Cross nor Percy had ever experienced something so fast in their lives, and Charon hadn't in centuries.

If the subway station in Washington was clean, then the one in Adams was pristine.

Charon put his ear against the door at the far end of the hall. Two soldiers and an officer by the sound of it. He motioned for the others to activate their stealth-boys. Rex stiffened as Percy pressed one into his side, rubbing him reassuringly.

"Who's a good boy? Yeah…good boy…" she whispered.

Cross and Charon snuck up behind the two soldiers, waiting for Percy's signal.

Fluidly, she wrapped her arm around the officer's neck, holding her gun up to the woman's head. "Now!"

The three flicked back into the visual plane, Charon and Cross wrenching the cores out of the power armor, immobilizing the people inside.

"What the hell?!" the officer exclaimed before being thrown against the wall.

"Take off your clothes—now!" Percy commanded, cocking her hammer when they hesitated.

As she did this, the other two pulled the soldiers' helmets off, slitting their throats before pulling them out of the power armor.

"Hurry the fuck up!" Percy screamed at the blubbering officer, who was shivering in her underwear. She kicked the clothes Percy's way, turning white when she looked over to her dead guards.

"Now, if you want to get out of here alive, tell me what's ahead of us."

"Why should I tell you?" she screamed incredulously.

Percy smirked, flourishing her gun as she struck a pose.

"Don't you recognize me? Paragon of the wastes, Persephone Carter, at your service. Surely you saw me at Raven Rock?"

The woman grew nervous. "…So? What's your point?"

Percy strode closer, the others climbing into the now emptied armor. These sets were far more advanced than the Brotherhood issue. The limbs and torso were adjustable so Charon was able to fit in his without a problem.

"My point is, that I was tortured by Colonel Autumn for a long time. In many and creative ways, I might add. And I took some notes. Want me to show you what I learned? Or would you like to get out of here the way we came? All you have to do is betray your people; not so hard, right?"

"The Enclave base is covered in soldiers, and vertibirds scout the sky," she said hurriedly. "The Mobile Base Crawler is where we keep the deathclaw labs, and above that is the control hub of all the Enclave's operations."

"Surely it wouldn't be so easy to access such an important place. Come on, don't lie."

"I—I'm not lying."

"What's your name?" Percy asked, moving even closer.

"J—Jennifer. Jennifer Johnson."

Percy struck her across the face with the butt of her gun, and the officer fell to the ground with a shriek. Cross looked away, not having the stomach for torture.

"Come on, Jennifer, don't lie to me..." Her voice didn't even waver as Percy looked down at her with contempt. "Tell me the truth."

"The Convo tower!" she screamed, as Percy raised her gun again for another blow. "You need to get up there to lower the ramp!"

"And what about the satellite uplink terminal; is it in the Base Crawler?"

Realization dawned on Jennifer's face. "You…you don't mean?"

"That shouldn't matter to an ex-pat like you, huh?"

She gulped. "Yes…it's there at the very top."

Percy's face relaxed but her eyes didn't. "Thanks, Jenn'. One more thing: could you move over to that wall over there?" She motioned with her gun.

"Why?" she asked, but obeyed.

"So your blood doesn't get on my new uniform." And she pulled the trigger.

Cross was on red alert as they walked through the base in plain, if not well disguised, sight. She was thoroughly shaken by Percy's actions, and doubted now more than ever that Percy might even try to stop Charon from fulfilling his promise against her mortality. The Enclave members surrounding and passing them gave barely a look to the three, not seeing the dog who crept quietly behind them, cloaked in stealth. What looks they were given were mostly due to the choppy hair stuffed into Percy's hat.

"Make sure to flank me, don't get too close," she muttered under her breath, mostly to Charon.

As they neared the Convo tower, someone shouted at Percy, "Officer! What the hell are you doing?"

Percy stiffened, turning to the man striding toward her. He looked at her nametag, then down at his clipboard.

"Officer…Johnson. Your shift isn't due to end for another hour, what are you doing away from your post?"

"I've been feeling under the weather, sir," she said, thinking fast and coughing into her arm. She saw out of the corner of her eye, the glimmer of Rex creeping behind him. "I was able to get the next guy to cover the last bit of my shift."

"Oh? And what was this kind hearted officer's name? And why were your guards allowed to end their shifts with you?"

Percy began to panic, until she felt Rex's nose tap against the back of her thigh…in a very distinct pattern.

.- .- -.-. - -... ...

"Ummm…I don't know him personally, but I think his name was Jacobs? And I was feeling faint, sir. My guards here offered to walk me to my room. Surely the turrets can handle things while they are gone?"

The higher-up seemed content with her answer, but looked to Charon and Cross for confirmation.

"That's correct, sir," Cross said, keeping her voice steady. Charon nodded.

"…Everything seems to be in order. Get some rest, soldier." And he walked away.

It took all of ten minutes to hack the tower's computer. Charon huffed in quiet relief as he saw the ramp lower, just as Jennifer had said. "We should hurry before someone detains us again," he said.

"Rushing will make us look even more suspicious," Percy reminded him.

When they got in, Cross noticed force field barriers, but luckily none of them were up.

'They weren't even expecting us…'

She took a good look at the scientists and workers they passed. They were all haggard, with deep circles under their eyes. Hair unkempt, uniforms wrinkled from over use with stains in the armpits. These people were beaten and broken, and yet continued to fight.

'Fighting to their death.'

She suppressed a shiver, and her fingertips grew cold.

Percy was more focused on the insignia on each uniform. The control tower would likely be reserved only for high clearance members. She spied an older woman with five stripes on her arm—the highest number Percy had seen in this place. She motioned Charon, Rex, and Cross to hold back.

Walking up to the general, Percy gave a weak smile, hunching her shoulders and looking sheepish.

"Ma'am? I need your help with a terminal? It's denying me clearance and I think the keyboard is broken or something."

She looked Percy up and down, and Percy caught something in the woman's eyes and formed a new idea.

"Shouldn't you be asking maintenance for that?"

Percy forced herself to blush, looking at the floor as she stepped closer, her voice taking on a sultry tone. "Actually…I was hoping you could help me…" She threaded her fingers in an act of nervousness. "I know you probably don't know me…but I've always admired you…"

The general's breath caught but Percy felt her hand wander along her inner thigh, creeping up slowly to where her legs met.

"Storage closet. Now."

Percy gasped as she was pushed roughly against shelves by the older woman. She wasn't much shorter than the general, but she was urgent and excited for the pretty little officer who had so boldly propositioned her. She crushed her lips against Percy's, tongue invading her mouth as a knee forced her legs open. Percy moaned despite herself—this one knew how to get a woman going! But her hands fumbled against the shelves, searching for a clean and quiet way to dispose of her. Percy smiled against the kiss as her hand closed around a familiar syringe. Getting louder with her gasps and groans, the woman's fingers rubbed fervently against her clit through her underwear.

"Oh Mara!..." she keened, having read her nametag earlier. Shrieking in one last bit of distraction, Percy jabbed the Med-X into her neck, and the general collapsed. Percy pulled five more from the shelf, injecting them into the woman's heart, and for the first time during this mission, wincing at what had to be done. She would have died soon, anyway.

"I'm sorry…" she choked out before clearing her throat and fixing her hair. Finding the pass card in the general's pocket was quick work, and Percy exited the closet to immediately run into a soldier in full power armor on the other side.

"Did you get what you wanted?" Charon asked in a clipped tone, his voice muffled and metallic but still ghoulishly rough.

She held up the card. "You done? Because if you are, we have a nation to murder."

Cross shushed them, "Enough, we need to finish this already." But she was beginning to feel more like their hostage than their back-up.

"She's right," Charon said through gritted teeth, trying to remind himself that Percy was an extremely convincing actress, and that's all there was to it.

After climbing up several flights of stairs, they arrived at the door at the very top of the satellite control tower. Percy readied two pulse grenades. They had activated more stealth-boys for this one. Even with their disguises, this was too conspicuous.

"Time to give them a taste of their own medicine. I need y'all to slam this door shut as soon as the grenades are through."

Charon and Cross nodded, getting to position on either side of the door. Percy knocked on it, hoping that whoever was inside might move closer into range. The door slid open and she threw the grenades into a room of five surprised officers.

"Close it close it!" she hissed, backing away despite herself. The door slammed closed and they could hear the pulse grenades go off with a muffled flash. Cross looked around, but there had been no one nearby to notice. Reopening the door and stepping through, Charon went to check for cameras while Cross looked over the bodies and moved them to a corner. Percy cursed; the grenades had reset the entire system; they were locked out and the encryption was complicated.

"Charon, barricade the doors!" Sirens went off in the distance as Percy tried to hack the terminal.

'Civilization? No…extemporized?'

Charon got to work on the door with a laser rifle, Cross went to check on Percy's progress just as she managed to break through. Her fingers hovered over the ENTER key.

Turning to Cross, she asked, "This is genocide. Are you sure you want me to do this?"

Cross could hear Enclave soldiers in the distance. "We can't hesitate, Percy! War is hell, but the wasteland can only heal after the Enclave is destroyed! Besides…orders are orders."

At this, Percy backed away. "Fine…you do it then. If the Brotherhood wants to destroy thousands of people in an instant, than a Brotherhood member should be the one to do it. Besides, I'm done doing your dirty work."

Cross grew still. The blinking lights of the computer taunting her, daring her. But she shook her head. This was no time for hesitation.

Adams AFB Platform targeted. Fire payload.

She knew this was right…that this needed to happen, but that didn't stop the sick feeling in the pit of her stomach.

"We have one minute to clear out of here. Let's go!"

The only other door led out to the Vertibird landing pad, but it's not like they had any options.

Instinct took over as Charon heard explosions on the other side of the door. Grabbing Rex and Percy around the waist, he made for the only exit they had. Cross followed after them, her entire body vibrating as the fight or flight instincts warred inside her.

They were met with Enclave soldiers surrounding the door, weapons raised. Rex whimpered, struggling free of Charon's hold. Clattering to the ground, he bared his teeth, snarling viciously at those who would endanger his family.

They were out gunned and outmatched. They couldn't fight their way out and escape the barrage of nukes headed towards them in time. Percy wiggled in Charon's arms until she could wrap her arms around his neck.

She might not have chosen how she would die, but who could? She might not go home, or see Gob or Nova or Carol or Greta or Butch or anyone else again, but…She could control one last thing before she died. She didn't want some stranger to be the last person she kissed.

Her lips crashed against Charon's, and he pulled her close, brow furrowed in concentration on this last sensation.

He loved her, oh God, he loved her. She was the reason he breathed and fought and survived. To hell with the Brotherhood and the Enclave, the Great War, and the woman who made him this way. It was the woman there in his arms who had remade and reformed him—who made him fight to be better, and strive to be worth her affection. If he had to die, he could think of worse ways.

One being that he could die without her.

He closed his eyes, and waited for the Bombs to take them.

"Stand back! I'm warning you!" Wielding the Tesla cannon that had been useless up to this point, Paladin Cross stood her ground. She refused to give up, not after all this.

The shriek of a laser streaked through the air, and Percy braced for it…but nothing happened. She opened her eyes to find herself and Charon covered in ash. Only their mouths and some cheek was left clean.

Her head whipped around to find ash three inches thick around them and whipping up with the wind. On her knees, Cross stared in shock and relief at a Vertibird with the Brotherhood insignia land before them.

"What are you waiting for? Come on!" Sarah Lyons, awake and anxiously waving, called to them. "Hurry, before those nukes get us, too!"

"Sorry I'm late…It was a full day after I woke up that my father even told me you left." Sarah said over the rumble of the Vertibirds blades. "I was told you were sent on a stealth mission, but I knew you would need a way out so…here I am." She turned to Cross by her side.

"And…I was worried…I wish you were there when I woke up."

Cross warmed, tension leaving her body as the blond pressed a kiss into her neck.

"I wanted to stay, believe me I did..."

"But orders are orders." Sarah finished for her, understanding.

Looking to Charon, Percy, and Rex, who was stretching to curl around both their legs, Sarah smiled wearily but wasn't sure what to say to them; they didn't look at her, both staring out at the base as nukes rained from space.

"It's a shame…Cross tells me that those were the last nukes available on the satellite. Unless we find a way to fly into space, it looks like the Brotherhood can't utilize the craft as a weapon against future enemies." Percy stiffened, gripping Charon's arm tightly as she tried to ignore Sarah.

"But at least it's technically still under Brotherhood control, even if we can't use it. I would hate for it to be in the wrong hands." Sarah continued.

"Put us down here."

"What? We barely cleared the base."

"Put us down now!" Percy screamed angrily.

Sarah pulled a cord by her head, signaling to the pilot.

Percy jumped out of the Vertibird as soon as it landed, Sarah hot on her tail.

"What the hell is going on? My Father wants us back by morning—there is so much more to be done, the Brotherhood needs you!"

Cross tried to hold her back, but Sarah was still in power armor, and didn't even feel the resistance. Charon wordlessly grabbed their packs and what little provisions available in the vertibird while the rest were distracted.

"Why?! Why does the Brotherhood need me? I've fought and killed for you! My father died for you —I died for you!" Percy threw up her hands in rage, stalking back towards Sarah.

"What are you talking about?" she asked, angry but confused.

Percy looked down, clenching her fists in frustration. "Ask your dad. We are leaving."

When she turned, Sarah couldn't help but make one last comment.

"I can't believe you're abandoning the Brotherhood when we need you the most—"

Without a helmet, there was nothing to stop her face from being forced to the side by Percy's slap, the sound ringing in the air.

"I owe you nothing. Goodbye, Sarah."

Cross kept Sarah from pursuing them further, and after a few minutes, Charon heard them fly back to the Capital.

After an hour of travelling in fuming silence, Percy stopped at the top of a hill, waiting for Charon and Rex to join her as she squinting into the sunset. It didn't seem quite real; everything had happened so fast…

The sky was no different, the plains of charred earth and dead trees were the same. The sun was unconcerned with the struggles of the people of the wasteland, neither was the moon or the stars. Everything was the same out there.

Charon noticed the tears streaming down her otherwise composed face. He pointed in the distance to a house covered in raider graffiti.

"I imagine they cleared out long ago when the Enclave came. They won't need whatever they left behind."

He headed in that direction without another word, knowing Percy would follow him eventually.

A nation. They had destroyed a nation with barely a thought.

Percy shook her head in disbelief, and for the first time since she left the vault, the excommunicated chaplain crossed herself.

The redeemed exile sighed as the wind cooled the sweat on her brow.

The dead paragon followed after her pre-war warrior, and her post-war dog.

And Percy left the Capital Wasteland. Forever.