“We should get moving, something is bound to have heard that,” Adam said quickly.

“Do not worry, I will be more than happy to assist you against any of my kin that attempt to impede us,” Fawkes replied.

“Sounds like you’re about to get your chance,” Applejack growled as the sound of heavy footfalls echoed down the corridor.

Fawkes just nodded and stomped towards the corner the noise was coming from. Just before he reached it, a pair of Super Mutants thundered around the corner, almost blundering into him. They barely had time to register that Fawkes wasn’t just another one of them before he caved in the first one’s skull, then decapitated the second one with his backswing.

“Whoa.” Applejack tilted her hat back and looked up at Fawkes in surprise. “You really do hate those fella’s. Ah’m sorry Ah ever doubted you.”

“I do not blame you for being suspicious, I am just grateful that you gave me the benefit of the doubt.” Fawkes nudged the corpses aside with his boot and gestured for the others to follow. “Come, the G.E.C.K. is this way.”

The rest of the group were content to walk along in his wake as he lumbered through the corridors, keeping an eye out to make sure nothing attacked them from behind.

“So, uh... if we’re going to work together, you should probably know our names,” Adam said brightly. “I’m Adam, and these are Applejack, Rarity and Twilight.”

“Howdy.”

“Hello, darling.”

“Hi.”

“It is a pleasure to meet you.” Fawkes glanced over his shoulder and nodded to them once before turning his attention back to the path ahead. “If you don't mind my asking, are you also a form of Meta Human?”

“Not exactly,” Twilight replied. “As Adam said, it’s kinda a long story. I suppose the short version would be that we’re from an alternate reality to this one.”

Fawkes stopped in his tracks and turned to look at them in wide-eyed amazement. Adam smirked and shrugged. “Yeah, it gave me a funny turn the first time I heard about it, too. The really funky part is that their world and our world have different versions of the same people living in them.”

“Sunset and me have actually met this world’s version of ourselves already,” Twilight supplied. She tilted her head to the side as she thought. “Though, I’d say the strangest thing about us is probably our magic.”

Fawkes opened and closed his mouth a few times, as if he couldn’t quite think of what to say. Finally he just sighed and shook his head before resuming walking. “It seems I have missed much during my imprisonment. I don’t think I’d ever believe a word you were saying if I hadn’t witnessed the power you displayed back there. Do all humans have such strength where you come from?”

“Nah, just me,” Applejack replied. “Most folks don’t have any magic at all. Those of us that do, well, we all have different powers.”

“Incredible! I would like to see what each of you is-” Fawkes stopped talking abruptly as he opened a door and almost walked right into another mutant.

Fawkes reacted first, bodily shoving the mutant back and storming through the door after it with Adam charging in after. There were shouts and roars of alarm from within the room, followed by the unmistakable sounds of battle. The girls looked through the doorway cautiously to see a small chamber with several Super Mutants inside. Two were down already, but the last was backed into a corner struggling to wrestle Fawkes’ hammer away from him.

Seeing that the others couldn’t get a clear shot, Twilight held out a hand to grab the mutant’s knee in her magic, then she snapped it with a brutal twist of her wrist. The Super Mutant’s bellow of agony was cut short with an awful crunch as Fawkes brought his hammer down.

With the fight over, Applejack hurried over to the far side of the chamber to keep watch at the only other door while Adam set to searching the bodies for anything useful. Fawkes kept looking from his hammer, to the mutant at his feet, then to the girls, as if he couldn’t figure out what had just happened. Before he could ask, Twilight used her magic to levitate one of the mutants’ fallen weapons as a demonstration. The sight of his eyes practically popping out of his skull in wonder and surprise was more than a little gratifying.

“Er... Fawkes?” Rarity called out suddenly. The others turned to see her standing in a corner hunched over with her arms wrapped around herself and staring blankly at the dead mutants. “Do… do you think there might be others? Others like you, I mean… intelligent mu- Meta Humans?”

Fawkes hummed as he thought. “I heard a rumour that there was another like me; one who successfully fled the Vault. There is also one more Meta Human who managed to retain their intellect that I know of, but they are more cruel and sadistic than any of the rest of my fellows; a true monster if ever there was one.”

Rarity looked up at him with a pleading look in her eyes. “Isn’t there some way to reason or bargain with them? They were human once, just as you were. Surely there must be some way of getting through to them peacefully? Or, maybe even a cure can be found?”

Fawkes shook his head sadly. “I wish it were so. Believe me, I have spent decades trying to appeal to their better nature, but there is nothing human left in their minds whatsoever.” He sighed and lumbered over to her, then got down on one knee and placed a giant hand gently on her shoulder. “You have a good heart. I do not like this any more than you do. They are my fellow Meta Humans, after all, but there is nothing we can do."

“A cure would take years to create, yet every single day they go out and capture more pure humans to expose to the FEV, making more of themselves and perpetuating the cycle. My brethren must be stopped. They have my pity, but they cannot have our mercy.”

“If anything, I’d say that putting them out of their misery is a kind of mercy,” Adam put in.

Fawkes nodded in agreement. Rarity stared into Fawkes’s eyes for several long moments, as if searching for any trace of falsehood, but finally she relented and nodded as well. “I understand. I’m sorry, everyone.” She sighed and straightened her shoulders, a determined expression on her face. “I’ll pull my weight from now on.”

“Don’t sweat it, sugarcube, you’ve done more than me on this trip,” Applejack replied with a wry smile. “All Ah’ve done so far is punch a door.”

“It’s better than nothing.” Adam stood up from checking the last corpse and tossed her a box of ammunition, then stretched his neck and hefted his plasma rifle once more. “We should probably lay off the conversation while we’re searching. The stealthier we are, the better.”

“I fear that stealth is beyond my capabilities,” Fawkes said apologetically.

Twilight shook her head. “It’s fine, if anything, it’s a good thing that the other mutants…” she winced at the look Fawkes gave her, “er, I mean, other Meta Humans can hear you coming. As long as they don’t hear us talking they’ll just think you’re another one of them until they get close enough to recognise you.”

“And then we smack ‘em before they get a chance to do anything about it!” Applejack added.

Fawkes huffed a laugh. “A fair point. Alright, let’s go.”

Leaving the bodies of the dead Super Mutants behind, the ragtag group continued on their way. The Vault was even more of a maze than Vault 101 had been, but Twilight made sure to make a mental note of each and every turn they took, just in case. They did cross paths with several more small groups of super mutants, but between the five of them they managed to subdue their opponents without any serious incidents save a very near miss with a bullet that left an angry burn across Applejack’s thigh.

Eventually the group came to a series of small interlinked rooms, each with windows that allowed the occupants to look into an adjoining corridor. Sickly green light emanated from the corridor and bathed the rooms in an eerie glow that filled the girls with anxiety.

“That doesn’t look too friendly,” Applejack muttered.

Fawkes nodded. “Indeed. That is the path to the G.E.C.K. chamber, but it is heavily flooded with radiation.”

“Aw, nuts.” Applejack stepped up to a window to get a better look at the radioactive goo on the floor, checking her Pip-Boy to make sure the radiation wasn’t coming through cracks in the walls to irradiate them. “How the heck are we supposed to get through that?”

“That is where I come in,” Fawkes replied. “Like my brethren, I have inherited an incredible resistance to radiation. Wait here, I shall fetch the G.E.C.K. and bring it to you.”

Adam eyed the window warily. “Are you sure about this? That’s gotta be a huge amount of radiation.”

Fawkes glanced at him, his expression softening. “I am grateful beyond words for your concern, but you need not worry. Not even the vast levels of radiation at the Vault’s main entrance are enough to trouble myself or my brethren. I shall return shortly.”

Adam and the girls watched as Fawkes stomped through a nearby open doorway. Moments later, he waved to them through the window as he lumbered past.

Twilight watched until he disappeared from sight. “I suppose that explains how the super mutants are able to get out of the Vault without going through Little Lamplight. I wonder how they manage to bring their captives in alive, though?”

“You could always try asking one of them.” Applejack sighed and leaned against the wall. “Right now, Ah reckon we should decide what we’re doing next. Should we try and find one of them SDT things, or should we just go and get the other girls and hightail it out of here?”

“If it’s all the same with you, I’d prefer if we could leave this wretched place as swiftly as humanly possible,” Rarity replied. Twilight and Adam nodded their agreement.

“That settles that, then,” Applejack said in response.

“What exactly is this SDT thing you’re talking about?” Adam asked.

Applejack and Rarity kept watch at the doors while Twilight gave Adam a quick rundown of the device. The revelation that his father had been indirectly responsible for bringing the Rainbooms to his world hit Adam hard, no matter how much the others tried to say that it wasn’t the fault of either of them. In the end, in an attempt to dissuade him from heading off to search the entire Vault by himself, the girls agreed to ask Fawkes if he’d seen anything like the SDT when he got back. They didn’t have to wait long as they saw him only moments later through the window carrying a small case in his arms.

“Here,” Fawkes called out as he stomped back into the room with the humans shortly after. “The G.E.C.K., as promised.”

Adam slung his plasma rifle and carefully took the G.E.C.K, cradling it in his arms. “Thanks, Fawkes.”

Fawkes shook his head. “Do not mention it. It was a small price to pay for my freedom.”

Twilight smiled nervously. “Um... actually, we were hoping you could help us with something else. We’re looking for another small device; the Enclave call them SDT-1’s. You wouldn’t know if there were any in the Vault, would you?”

Fawkes frowned and hummed as he thought. “I have never heard of such a thing. What does it look like?” He listened as Twilight described the SDT, but shook his head sadly when she was done. “I am sorry, but to my knowledge there is no such object in this Vault.”

Applejack shrugged. “Don’t worry about it, we figured it was a long shot. What are you going to do now, Fawkes?”

“I have one more thing to do, and then I shall find my way out of this Vault,” Fawkes replied.

“Do you want us to come with you?” Adam asked.

“I appreciate the offer, but I must decline.” Fawkes hefted his hammer, staring meaningfully at the bloodied head. “This is something I must do alone.”

Applejack raised a curious eyebrow. “You sure?” Fawkes just nodded. “Well, alright then. Come on, y’all, let's find the others and get back to Little Lamplight.”

“Others?” Fawkes asked as he followed the others back through the rooms away from the G.E.C.K. chamber.

“We came here with four others, we split into two groups to make searching the Vault easier,” Twilight explained.

“I see.” Fawkes sighed as they reached an intersection. “This is where we part ways. If I see your friends, I shall inform them that you are returning to Little Lamplight.”

“We’d appreciate that,” Applejack said. “Their names are Sunset, Fluttershy, Pinkie, and Rainbow. They’re just like us, you can’t miss them.” She tipped her hat respectfully. “You look after yourself, Fawkes.”

“I believe I shall. I hope to see you again, someday.” Fawkes bowed his head to them. “Farewell, friends.”

The rest of the group said their goodbyes before heading down one corridor, leaving Fawkes to head down another other, alone. “Ah sure hope he’s gonna be okay,” Applejack said quietly.

“Me too,” Adam replied, glancing back over his shoulder.

The four made their way through the Vault in a somber silence. Twilight felt that she wasn’t the only one feeling more than a little melancholic. Despite knowing him for barely any time at all, she still found that she missed Fawkes. It didn’t feel right to her leaving him to wander the halls of his erstwhile prison on his own.

Following behind the others, Twilight paused on the threshold of a large empty room. She was about to suggest that maybe they should go back for him when she saw something clatter to the floor in the middle of the room, beeping and giving off a bright blue glow.

The team didn’t have time to react before the grenade detonated.

Instead of heat and shrapnel, the grenade released a cloud of super-cooled air and chemicals that froze everything it touched. Twilight cried out in shock and pain as she was enveloped in the cloud. Ice crystals instantly formed across the lenses of her glasses, effectively blinding her. She tried to take them off, but she was so cold that she couldn’t even lift her arms.

Her breath coming out of her in freezing puffs, Twilight collapsed to the ground, the impact sending waves of agony lancing through her body. Unable to see or move, she could only listen as heavy footfalls stomped closer and several dark figures loomed over her prone form.

“Objectives are secured, Sir,” a voice called out.

“Good work, soldier,” an authoritative male voice replied. “Make sure the G.E.C.K. is secured aboard my Vertibird.”

Vague panic gripped Twilight as her addled mind slowly realised that the Enclave had somehow caught up with them once again. She tried to talk, to attempt to reason with the soldiers or whoever was leading them, but nothing came out. A faint jumble of voices was the last thing Twilight heard before her vision went dark and she slipped into unconsciousness.

Here we go again!

Apologies for the shortness of this chapter. I was originally planning for it to be a bit longer, but I had a last-minute idea to change my plan for what happens next chapter, and I couldn't quite find a decent cut-off point without spending another week extending the chapter, so I figured I'd go with the lesser of two evils.

Next time: Conflict, and a brief glimpse of the true danger of the magic now loose int he wasteland...

Also a quick note, according to the lore in Fallout 3, the 87 Strain of the FEV usually takes around 2 weeks to fully take effect. That is, if someone is infected...