Sunset watched Adam and Fluttershy go with mixed feelings. She understood that having everyone barge into the Overseer’s office wasn’t exactly the most diplomatic move, but at the same time, she couldn’t help but wish that she could punch the smarmy asshole in the face. Then again, if the security team tried anything funny, she would settle for giving them a sharp lesson in interpersonal relations. In the meantime, there was work to do.

“How many rebels are there altogether?” Sunset asked.

“Huh?” Amata blinked dumbly, tearing her gaze away from the door. “Oh, uh, this is most of us. There’s a couple of us holed up in the classroom around the corner, and Stanley and Andy are downstairs doing maintenance, but that’s about it.”

Rainbow raised an eyebrow. “Uh, is it really a good idea to have them both down there instead of up here?”

“Don’t worry, Stanley and Andy are essential to keeping the Vault functioning; the security team won’t risk hurting them,” Amata replied.

“I doubt that very much,” Sunset muttered. “Besides, I think what Rainbow means is that Andy is your biggest and best line of defense. Can you really risk not having him up here protecting all of you?”

Amata hesitated before shaking her head. “It’s fine. We’ve got Butch on lookout, and we have all of this stuff we salvaged from the security team’s last attack.” She gestured at the piles of armor and equipment around the clinic. “If anyone comes, Butch can hold them off long enough for us to get ready and help, then all we have to do is get someone through to get the word to Stanley and Andy.”

The sheer amount of flaws in that plan almost made Sunset’s head spin. It appeared that the rebels only had the barest minimum of tactical awareness between them.

“Do you have some sort of secret tunnel out of here?” Pinkie asked, looking around at the walls eagerly.

Amata just gave her a blank look. “I don’t think there are any secret tunnels in the Vault, other than the one that goes from the Overseer’s office to the entrance.”

“So there’s only one way in or out?” Pinkie frowned and put her hands on her hips. “Couldn’t you have built one of the barricades so you can open it easily from this side? That way you’d at least have somewhere to run if everything went wrong.”

“And another thing, if Butch is your sentry, why isn’t he wearing any of this security armor?” Rarity put in. “I for one understand just how drab it is, but safety first, darling.”

“He-he said he didn’t need it,” Amata said weakly.

Applejack sighed and rubbed her temples. “Let me get this straight. You’re sayin’ that you’ve only got one person on watch, all of this gear but none of you are actually wearing it just in case, and you’ve got no backup plan in case everything goes tits-up.” Amata bit her lip nervously. “On top of that, you’re up against assholes who are armed, armored, motivated with a grudge against all of y’all, they’ve all had basic self defense trainin’ at the very least, and the only way y’all can contact the only thing capable of stoppin’ them is to try and break through when they attack?”

Amata rubbed her neck awkwardly. “This is why I called for help. We’re not natural fighters like Adam or born wasteland survivors like you girls. We can’t do this on our own.”

“For the record, we’re not from the wasteland, either,” Sunset pointed out. “I’d tell you where we’re really from, but I’ll leave blowing your mind until after we’ve sorted this mess out. In the meantime…” She glanced at the others. “Rarity, AJ, I want you two to give give Butch some backup. Take one of those security outfits for him to wear. If he refuses, just punch him in the dick until he either puts it on or comes crawling back in here.”

“Gladly,” Applejack said with a grin.

“If the security team does attack, seal the corridor and give us a shout,” Sunset continued. “If it comes to a worst case scenario, just shoot the fuckers. The rest of us will stick here and try to tidy this place up a bit.”

Amata watched as Applejack and Rarity dutifully grabbed a suit of security armor and headed back out of the clinic. “The outside really has changed all of you, hasn’t it? I mean, you practically seized up the first time I swore, and you’re just…”

“Yeah, it’s a bad habit we’ve picked up recently.” Sunset absently placed a hand on her Nova Pistol as various memories of the last couple of months floated through her brain. “One of several.”

Amata glanced wistfully at the door, curling a stray hair around one of her fingers. “Adam looks more determined than ever. Has he changed much?”

Sunset kept her expression neutral. “I’m sure he’ll tell you, if you ask him. Or his girlfriend will.” Amata whipped her head around, her mouth dropping open in surprise. “Either way, instead of standing around chatting, let’s do something useful. Gather everyone you’ve got who’s willing and able to fight. We’ll fit the armor for you and see if we can teach you all how to use a weapon without accidentally killing each other.”

It was plain that Amata wanted to discuss Adam some more, but Sunset and the others managed to divert her focus to getting the armor and weapons divvied up. To Sunset’s annoyance, Amata herself refused to take any armor until it was pointed out that, as the face of the Vault’s little rebellion, anyone who wanted to quash it would be gunning for her head.

Just as Amata was reluctantly putting her armor on, Butch stumbled into the clinic, groaning and clutching at his groin. “Applejack punched you in the little tunnel snake, huh?” Pinkie said with a smirk.

“Pff, as if his little snake has ever been near anyone’s tunnel,” Rainbow shot.

“Well, you never know,” Twilight pointed out as she adjusted her glasses. “Don’t forget, he does like to surround himself with leather-clad young men.”

Sunset barely managed to keep herself from giggling, an endeavor not helped by Butch’s angry glare. “You should have just put the armor on,” she managed to say in a relatively even tone. “Go sit down until you can walk properly, then you can join in with the rest of us.”

Turning away from the bruised bully, Sunset and the others set about giving the rebels some very basic self defence training. It didn’t take long for the girls to realize that such training was even more needed than they had expected; most of the rebels had never so much as thrown a punch in their lives, and it clearly showed. Old Lady Palmer walked into the clinic shortly after they started and, in a surprising twist, joined in with the teaching. She was far too old and worn to actually fight, but proved to have an impressive grasp of the finer details of bare-knuckle brawling.

Only a few minutes later, the clatter of gunfire echoed through the corridors. “Hey, y’all, we got assholes out here!” Applejack shouted out.

“That didn’t sound like a pistol,” Sunset mused as she snatched up her plasma rifle. “More like an assault rifle or something.”

The rebels all blanched in fear, but the Rainbooms just readied their weapons and calmly made their way out to the choke points. As Sunset expected, Applejack and Rarity were safely ensconced behind one of the choke points, while the corridor just beyond was completely blocked off by a wall of shimmering crystal. Muffled shouts could be heard from behind it. “What’s going on?” Sunset asked.

“Allen Mack and a few security officers, here to cause trouble,” Applejack replied.

“That wretched brute apparently managed to get his filthy paws on an assault rifle,” Rarity grumbled, confirming Sunset’s suspicion. “I know it’s not quite what you ordered, but I took the opportunity to lock our assailants in crystal shackles before I put this wall up. I do hope that’s alright, darling.”

Sunset nodded. She had been a Knight-Captain for a little while now, but it still sometimes felt odd having her friends treat her like a superior. “It’s fine. Good thinking.”

“Whoa…” The girls turned to see Amata staring wide-eyed at the crystal wall. “What on earth is that?”

“A defensive measure,” Sunset replied evasively. She didn’t have time to go over the details of magic or the Rainbooms’ true provenance at the moment. Turning back to Rarity, she took a deep breath and raised her plasma rifle. “Okay, open up.”

The others readied themselves as Rarity waved a hand. The crystal wall vanished instantly. Just as she had said, Allen Mack was standing on the other side along with five security officers, each of them with their feet and upper bodies encased in crystal. All of them were squirming as they tried to free themselves.

Sunset glared at Allen. He was wearing the standard Vault jumpsuit, with a tattered old baseball cap covering his close-cropped brown hair, and he had the aforementioned assault rifle clutched awkwardly in his crystal-covered arms. He looked up when he realized that the wall had disappeared, his features twisted by fear and anger. “You! What the hell have you done to us?!”

“Restrained you.” Sunset slung her plasma rifle over her shoulder and calmly strode over to him, ignoring his threats and protests as she yanked the assault rifle out of his immobilised hands. She wasn’t particularly good at completely field stripping an assault rifle, but she knew how to remove enough components to render it unusable, letting the pieces clatter to the floor as she finished with them.

As the other Rainbooms relieved the security officers of their weapons, Amata stepped up alongside Sunset. “Why did you break it? We could have kept it away from and stored it in case we needed it.”

“It can be put back together,” Sunset assured her. “Besides, from what I’ve seen, your rebels are barely able to hold a basic pistol without accidentally shooting themselves, I’m not letting them have a fully automatic weapon until I’m well out of range.” With her piece said, she crossed her arms and stared down Allen. “Now, do you have any kind of excuse for the shit you just tried to pull, or are you just going to be a brazen asshole about it?”

Allen snarled at her. “You freaks don’t belong here! We never should have let you, that damned doctor, or his little brat stay here, and you should never have come back! What goes on in this Vault is none of your fucking business!”

“Brazen asshole, got it.” Sunset rolled her eyes. “Let me guess, seeing all of us come back armed to the teeth spooked you, so one of your cronies spotted Adam and Fluttershy going to speak to the Overseer, you decided to take the initiative and attack while the big bad Lone Wanderer was busy.” Allen spewed more insults and threats, so Sunset just talked over him. “Since Andy kicked your asses last time, I assume you have someone keeping an eye on him and Stanley or you never would have dared try this again. Either that or you’re a complete moron.” She glanced at Rainbow. “Hey, Dash? Do you mind heading down to the reactor level and checking on Andy and Stanley?”

“On it!” Rainbow disappeared in a multicolored blur, leaving Amata and the security officers she was standing in front of gaping in shock.

Allen, still unable to move, hadn’t seen her speed off. “What do you think’s going to happen now? You think you just get to waltz in and out of our Vault whenever you damn well please?”

“Yes,” Sunset replied bluntly. “I also know that you and your little posse are going to hand over all of your weapons and armor, and then you’re going to go back to your quarters and sit still like good little children.”

“Who the hell do you think you are, trying to give us orders?” Allen snapped. “We’re not doing a single damn-”

“No, you see, this is not a negotiation,” Sunset cut in. “This is the part where you shut the fuck up and do as you’re told while Adam and Fluttershy negotiate with the Overseer. You know, your boss.”

Allen scoffed loudly. “You think that old fool is going to be the Overseer for much longer? I am the one with the power down here.”

A blazing lance of orange light flashed over his head, turning the dim corridors as bright as day for a split second before it bored a hole through the metal ceiling of the Vault. Allen and the security officers cowered as much as they could in their glittering restraints. Sunset lowered her Nova pistol, replaced the smouldering ammunition crystal, and slipped it back into its holster. “You think you have power? You’re nothing more than a thug with a superiority complex. Your options here are simple. You either do as you’re told, here and now, and we’ll leave peacefully once we’ve finished talking around the Overseer.” She leaned in close to his face, lowering her tone dangerously, “Or you keep pissing me off, and I show you what real power looks like.”

The blood drained from Allen’s face in an instant. His jaw worked as he tried to muster up some courage, but a few seconds later he just nodded fearfully.

“Smart move,” Sunset growled.

There was a flash of color as Rainbow suddenly reappeared, making all of the Vault dwellers flinch. “Andy and Stanley are fine, some security officers had just locked the doors to the room they were working in. They let the pair out pretty quick when I showed them Flashburn.” She glanced around, taking in the looks of abject terror on the security teams’ faces. “What did I miss?”

---

The Overseer’s office was just as clean and tidy as Fluttershy remembered it. Compared to how the rest of the Vault was faring, it was actually a little galling to see. The Overseer himself was still standing at the window that overlooked the atrium, his hands clasped behind his back, watching impassively over the Vault.

“So, you’ve returned,” he said quietly.

“We were asked to come back,” Adam replied as Gomez closed the door behind them. “Certain residents happen to think that this place is in chaos.”

The Overseer didn’t so much as blink. “They aren’t wrong. Things have been… difficult, since you left. Not that I suppose either of you care.”

Adam crossed his arms and glared at him. “If we didn’t care, we wouldn’t be back here.”

The Overseer snorted. “And why are you back here? Hm? Come to kill me? Or have you brought Fluttershy to try and talk me down?”

“Little bit of column A, little bit of column B,” Adam admitted. “Depends on how much of an arrogant asshole you want to try and be given that the Vault has pretty much collapsed under your leadership”

“It only collapsed after all of you left,” the Overseer huffed.

Fluttershy raised an eyebrow. “So you can’t keep the Vault together without all of us here? We know damn well that James didn’t let the radroaches in, he just took advantage of the chaos they caused, so don’t try and pin that on him, and you can hardly blame us girls for leaving when you tried to use us as babymakers.”

As if surprised to hear her talking like that, the Overseer finally turned to face the pair, then reeled in shock at the sight of Fluttershy’s vampiric form. “What the hell- what are you?!”

Fluttershy smirked at him. “Oh? Haven’t you heard of vampires before?”

“Vamp…” The Overseer looked as if he was about to keel over from sheer fright.

“It’s caused by FEV, a virus we encountered in another Vault,” Adam explained quickly, deciding that giving the Overseer a heart attack probably wouldn’t help with diplomacy. “Don’t worry, the infection can only be transmitted through blood, so the Vault is safe.” The Overseer’s eyes flicked to the blood still dripping from Fluttershy’s fingers. “That’s not hers.”

“Is that supposed to make me feel better?” The Overseer hissed.

Fluttershy idly inspected her fingers. “Well, it’s Officer Mack’s, meaning your daughter is a little safer than she was earlier, so I would say yes.” She tilted her head as a thought occurred to her. The Overseer seemed to shrink in on himself as she gave him a furious glare. “Weren’t you the one who had Mack beat her when we all left the Vault?”

“I didn’t want to do that, but I had to protect the Vault!” The Overseer insisted.

“That’s funny, because you were having her beaten to try and find out where I was, or did that slip your memory?” Adam said acidly. “I wasn’t a threat to the Vault-”

“You attacked the security team!” The Overseer snapped.

“Because they attacked me first!” Adam retorted. “So either you’re bullshitting, or the security team hasn’t had any respect for your authority from day one.” He scowled and shook his head. “Either way, that’s old news. We need to discuss what’s going to happen from here on out.”

The Overseer stared at the two, looking from one to the other worriedly, then finally walked back to his desk and sat down. “Fine. I assume you want to open the Vault up? Expose all of us to all kinds of different dangers that the Vault is designed to protect us from?”

“You know as well as I do that the Vault’s were designed as experiments, not sanctuaries,” Adam reminded him. “This one was never intended to open, but the people who decided that were twisted and evil.”

The Overseer nodded. “Yes, the Enclave, I’m aware. They actually contacted us shortly after you left.” Fluttershy blinked in surprise. “We were offered supplies, lodgings, and protection, in exchange for opening the Vault up to them. Naturally, I refused, as I don’t trust them any more than I trust you. At that point their leader, one Colonel Autumn, tried to demand that we allow the Enclave access to the Vault, and threatened retribution if we didn’t. Do you still want to tell me that it is even remotely safe to open the Vault door?”

“Colonel Autumn isn’t actually with the Enclave any more,” Fluttershy put in. “He was deposed along with President Eden. The Brotherhood of Steel actually have him in custody at the moment.”

“So another person is in charge, I fail to see how that changes things,” the Overseer countered.

Adam rolled his eyes. “It changes things because the new leaders aren’t assholes. You did the right thing not opening the Vault for Autumn, the guy was a dick, but the new President is actually a decent person. She’s interested in rebuilding the wasteland, not conquering it.”

The Overseer frowned thoughtfully, so Fluttershy gave him another little push. “Besides, you’re going to have to open the Vault soon no matter what you do. You just don’t have a big enough population to remain genetically viable for more than another generation or two.”

“That wouldn’t have been an issue if you had stayed,” the Overseer griped.

“You know that’s a fallacy, so don’t bother playing that card,” Adam shot. “Even if the Rainbooms had somehow decided to stay, and even agreed to your gross little idea for breeding, that would only have bought you another generation or two at most. Face it, Alphonse, the Vault is doomed unless you start interacting with the outside world.”

The Overseer’s eyebrows twitched at the use of his first name, but he didn’t retort. Fluttershy wasn’t sure that there even was anything for him to counter with. Still, he hadn’t given up yet either, and even if he did, there was no guarantee that he would stick to it. “I think it’s time you passed your title on to someone else.”

“Amata isn’t ready,” the Overseer said immediately.

Fluttershy was relieved that he had instantly thought of Amata, rather than Allen Mack, but Adam just snorted. “She’s organising the rebels, isn’t she? She has the respect of at least half of the Vault, and she already has experience with leadership. Plus, she’s tough enough that she won’t take any crap from any wastelanders who do try to pull one over on her.”

The Overseer ran a hand through his hair and grimaced. “Be that as it may, convincing some of the residents to accept her as a leader won’t be easy. Allen in particular will almost certainly work to undermine her and, as much as I hate to admit it, he has a considerable amount of influence over certain members of the security team.”

“She can handle Allen,” Adam assured him. “Worst case scenario, just kick the asshole out of the Vault, if he hasn’t already gotten himself killed.” The Overseer gave him a suspicious look, prompting him to shrug. “We heard a bunch of people heading across the atrium towards the lower levels. We’re pretty sure it’s the security team trying to launch another attack.”

“What?! Why didn’t you say anything sooner?!” The Overseer surged to his feet, panic etched across his features. “I have to put a stop to this! They’re going to-”

Adam held his hands up. “It’s fine, the girls can handle anything this Vault can throw at them, they won’t let Amata get hurt,” he said quickly.

“You can’t be sure of that!” The Overseer spat.

Adam just gave him an amused look. “Trust me, you have no idea what the Rainbooms are capable of.”

The Overseer glanced at Fluttershy, then slowly shifted his gaze to a certain fist-sized dent in his desk. “I think maybe I do.” He dropped back into his seat with a heavy sigh and rested his head on his hands. “A second attack against my orders. Have I really failed so badly as an Overseer?” He sighed again, then said quietly, “You win. I’ll step down as Overseer and have Amata take my place.”

---

Luna almost jumped out of her skin as the cafeteria door slammed open. Whipping her head around, she saw a soldier outside, wearing what looked like a smaller version of Horrigan’s armor.

“What’s going on?” Sienna asked quickly, rising to her feet.

“There’s been a development,” the soldier replied. “The President is being evacuated, and she’s ordered that the visitors are to be evacuated with her. I can’t give you any more information than that at this time.”

Sienna swore under her breath. “This had better be just a precaution because of Turner or I’m going to slap someone.” She turned to the three visitors in question. “You’d better get moving. If they’re evacuating the President then they won’t want to be waiting around.”

Luna gave a curt nod and stood up. “You heard her, girls, let’s go.”

Trixie and Sonata both looked confused and, in Trixie’s case, a little scared, but both obediently got to their feet and followed Luna out of the room. The soldier turned without a word and led the trio quickly through the corridors.

“Is this a precaution because of Turner?” Luna asked quietly.

The soldier shook his head. “I’m sorry, Miss, but I can’t discuss it here. The President will fill you in when we get upstairs.”

Faint suspicion bloomed in Luna’s mind, but she kept quiet for the moment. The possibility that they were about to see the outside world filled Luna with both anticipation and dread. Anticipation because she was looking forward to getting outside and seeing the sky, rather than being cooped up in subterranean tunnels, and dread because, if the President had been telling the truth, then the group was about to see exactly what a post-apocalyptic wasteland looked like.

Emerging back into the hangar with the magical pillar, the soldier turned and led the group away from both the pillar and the door to the next hangar. It took Luna a moment to realize that he was heading towards a small elevator. The doors opened as soon as he pressed the button, and the soldier waved the trio in before getting in himself. The sheer size of his armor left very little space for any of the three to stand in once the doors had closed.

“Sorry about the tight fit, but we’re in a hurry,” the soldier said apologetically as the elevator started moving.

Luna felt her heart rate rise at first, but as the seconds ticked over into minutes, and the elevator kept on moving with no sign of stopping, she felt herself starting to calm down. After a while, with no sound other than the rumbling of the elevator itself, she was surprised to find herself becoming bored. “Just how far beneath the surface are we?”

“I haven’t got a clue, to be honest,” the soldier replied.

“It’s just like being down in the Deeps again,” Sonata mumbled. “Much brighter here, though.”

Before anyone could ask Sonata what she meant, the elevator finally stopped. The doors opened slowly, revealing brightly-lit concrete corridors.

“This way.” The soldier stepped out of the elevator and led the way down one of the corridors. Turning a corner at the end, Luna was dismayed to see another elevator waiting for them. “This will take us up to the roof. Don’t worry, it’s a much shorter trip.”

“Thank goodness,” Luna mumbled under her breath.

True to his word, the trip in the second elevator was much shorter than the previous one, and only a minute or two later it jolted to a stop. Luna shivered as the doors opened and chill air wafted into the elevator. The soldier immediately stepped out and moved out of the way for the trio to exit, offering them their first glimpse of the outside world.

Luna was surprised to see that it was snowing heavily. Squinting to see through the flurries, she could see that the roof was covered in snow thick enough to reach her thighs, save for a few trenches that were being dutifully shovelled clear by more soldiers in powered armor. Beyond them, Luna could just about make out large concrete buildings surrounding the one they were on. Clearly they were in the middle of some sort of urban environment. Her heart sank as she realized that almost all of the buildings were severely damaged in some way, with many of them having gaping holes that revealed the snow-covered interiors. The Enclave had been telling the truth.

“Over here!” Luna looked around and spotted someone waving to them. Some sort of tiltrotor aircraft was sitting behind them, a ramp at the rear sitting open and waiting. “Come on, let’s go!”

Luna glanced back at Sonata and Trixie. Trixie had pulled her cloak around herself and was shivering violently, but Sonata, surprisingly, was just looking up at the snow with an expression of mild amusement. “Come on, girls. Quickly.”

The three hurried along one the shovelled trenches towards the aircraft, eager to get out of the cold. It turned out that the person waving them in was Agent Drops, who guided the trio up the ramp before following them in, slapping a button to close the ramp the instant she was up.

Seats lined the sides of the aircraft’s interior. President Shoichet was sitting on one furthest away from the ramp, and gestured for the new arrivals to take the seats opposite. Agent Drops helped three get settled and put on their safety harnesses, then took the seat next to the President and shouted to the pilot, “Everything’s secure, take us up!”

A high-pitched whine filled the air, swiftly building to a dull roar as the rotors kicked in. Trixie and Sonata both gripped their harnesses as the aircraft slowly rose into the air, juddering slightly, then shifted and started moving forwards.

“We’re away, Madam President,” the pilot called through an intercom.

The President visibly relaxed, then looked up at Luna and the girls. “I’m sorry about this. Something came up and we’re having to put that facility on lockdown as a precaution. We’re going to head to the Enclave’s main base of operations; it’s safer there, and we’ll be able to coordinate things from there a little easier.”

“What happened?” Luna asked.

The President shared a look with Agent Drops, then shrugged and turned back to Luna. “I contacted the Citadel, the base of the Brotherhood of Steel, and requested that they send the Rainbooms to us as quickly as physically possible.” Seeing the look of concern on Luna’s face, she quickly added, “They agreed, and they’ve already sent a squad out to fetch them, don’t worry. The problem is, when I contacted them a second time to discuss another matter, they suddenly cut the connection off halfway through the conversation, and we haven’t been able to contact them since.”

“That doesn’t sound good,” Trixie noted.

“No, and worse, we lost contact with one of our other outposts, a place called Raven Rock, a short while ago,” the President continued. “Contact was reestablished less than half an hour ago, but none of the personnel at the outpost can remember what they were doing during the intervening time. A handful of them have died, and no-one has any idea why.”

Luna grimaced. “That’s appalling, but what does that have to do with the portal facility?”

The President sighed heavily. “One of our recon teams spotted some sort of army on the march. The description matches that of creatures we’ve encountered at the Raven Rock outpost, and some of the members are recognisable as former Enclave personnel. They aren’t heading towards any Enclave facilities, but we can’t take any chances.”

A lead weight dropped in Luna’s stomach. “Where are they heading?” She asked, though something told her she already knew.

Scowling, the President confirmed her fears, “The Citadel.”

Next Chapter: Chapter 129 - Unity Estimated time remaining: 14 Hours, 43 Minutes