What Do You Want?

After pondering for a while I opened my mouth to speak.

"It will be a team of four… I will go… I'll also take Marcus, Jacob, and… Jill." Are any of you against this? Since you have only just joined me, I will not force you to come if you don't want to."

"Don't bring Jill, She'd scold their ears off."

Jill glared at Bruce but said nothing.

Besides him, Everybody looked a bit apprehensive but no one seemed to disagree… I was going to continue when Jacob asked a question…

"You're coming with us?"

I expected it.. That question…. My appearance doesn't really seem all that friendly after all.

Nodding, I affirmed Jacob's question, He seemed confused.

"As I said before, Not only the group but I as well will at some point in the future encounter others again… This will most likely happen regularly. I can't avoid others forever, and I don't want to… What's more, if I did try to hide and they found out about my presence at a later date, While they may not necessarily become hostile, positively interacting with them will become much more difficult. So, I won't do it...."

"Y-yeah but…. What about Snow, wouldn't they become…. I mean, wouldn't it be the same for her as well. If they found out we were hiding her?

Carly asked the obvious question… I already knew this one was coming so I was about to give my response, but someone beat me to it…. Tommy

"Yeah that could happen, But it would be easier for them to accept it right? If Bal softens the blow first, then they may not feel as cornered when they meet Snow later. Whether they accidentally discover her existence or we take the initiative to introduce her to them. They'll still be concerned for sure, but they won't be as distrusting. And that's 'if' they meet…. Am I right?"

He looked over towards me for confirmation and I responded by giving them a nod.

'He understood well.'

"Yes, that's right, but I have no plans on lying to them. If they are accommodating enough, I'll tell them Mother isn't too far from here… But that's all I will tell them…"

"Now Marcus"

I turned to look back at the Ex-soldier.

"You should put your Power Armor on. Although it'll probably make them feel threatened. That may actually play in our favor… It would be different from Mine and Mother's presence… To them, we'd probably just be untrustworthy monsters, but you on the other hand, would be another Ghoul… Someone, they would feel more comfortable speaking to…. Even if your armor is intimidating.… Unlike with me, where they'd most likely assume I'm some kind of savage Devil and fight me to the death, they'd be much more reluctant to engage in a fight with a powerful figure they think could be reasoned with."

"That's a good plan… But I have a question."

I gestured for him to continue.

"Wouldn't it be better for just me, Jacob, and Jill to go in, get friendly with them, and then introduce you later?"

Everyone besides Tommy and Jacob seemed confused when Marcus posed the question… To them, Marcus's plan sounded simpler and better.

I nodded in agreement but there was one thing he was forgetting.

"Yes that's right, that would be better. But you automatically assume they're good people… I'm a lot more durable than you ghouls… These people are survivors just like you, so they should know their way around a weapon… If they turn out to be enemies, all it would take is a single well-placed bullet for Jacob or Jill to die."

"That's…. Right, It's been so long since We've met others that I didn't assume they could potentially be dangerous."

"It's alright, You're assuming the best in people…. It's both a good and bad trait. Just make sure to be more cautious…"

Nodding, both he and the others were in deep thought.

"If they're hostile, they'll most likely shoot me before anyone else. If that happens, Jacob and Jill should get to cover or even retreat if they feel threatened.. Marcus and I will deal with them if a fight breaks out. Is that clear?"

"Y-you'll cover for us?"

The question came from Bruce.. He sounded surprised… The others, after hearing that, looked at me in a daze… they were stunned…. 

They didn't think they'd hear the little devil say something like that. Bert on the other hand had a strange look on his face. He looked to the others then back to Bal before nodding his head like he understood something… 

"Yes… Now, are we good?"

The others, still a bit surprised, agreed with the plan…

"That settles it then… If there are any problems I'll contact you with the Mind Link… Don't stray too far. I have a limited range. Jacob, Jill you two stay in the far rear, Now, we should get going. It'll be dark in another hour or two."

With that everyone started preparing themselves.

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"Boss!"

"Boss!"

The shabby scrap door leading to a bedroom suddenly slammed open. The ghoul sleeping on the bed shot up in a panic.

"Who!? Wha!?! What the hell is going on!?

Frantically his eyes darted around the room. He was confused, where the hell was he!? His sights stopped on the frantic skinless man that woke him up.

Slowly his mind cleared and memories poured into his head…

"Ohh Yeah… The apocalypse."

Raising his arm, he scratched where his beard used to be.

"What the hell are you shouting for!?"

He grabbed hold of a cane near his bed and raised it threateningly.

The other ghoul seeing the man's reaction flinched a bit, but the urgency in his voice did not disappear.

"Uh uh uh, T-There's an uh. A mon uh"

"Spit it out!"

"M-monster!"

"Huh? The hell? We being attacked?"

The ghoul rapidly shook his head in denial but still, he looked very nervous.

"You gonna start making sense!?"

The man forced himself to calm down before looking at the old ghoul in a panic.

"T-there are people outside!"

"P-people?"

The old man's eyes widened in surprise. Now he could understand why the younger ghoul was so frantic. They haven't seen any other survivors in years..

"How many!? Are they dangerous!?"

"Y-yeah there's three of them. One's in Power Armor!"

"P-Power Armor!? You mean one of those pre-war super suits!?"

"Mmm!"

The ghoul furiously nodded his head.

"T-That's not good…. If they have bad intentions we can't do anything to stop them… What were you saying about a monst- Cough, Cough!?"

Stopping mid-sentence the older ghoul covered his mouth and erupted into a fit of coughing… It took a bit before his throat was cleared.

"What about some monster?"

"T-they have a monster with them! It looked like some kind of tiny Devil!"

The old ghoul arched his brow in confusion… Was this guy serious? Maybe he was finally going feral…. But that wouldn't be right…. This area doesn't have enough radiation to turn a ghoul feral so suddenly… Guy also seemed fine just yesterday.

"A-And it spoke! Ron told me to come and get you…"

'Speaking monster?'

"I swear…. If you're pulling my leg, I'll bury this stick so far up your ass you'll become a fucking unicorn."

"No Boss it's true! Come on!"

With that, they left towards the entrance.

...….

...….

...….

What is this feeling? Walter completely ignored the figure in power armor as well as the other ghouls that accompanied the individual. His sights stared into what could only be described as the eyes of Satan. He felt the grip he had on his cane loosen. It was a surprisingly humanoid figure. But it was not human and could never be mistaken as such.

It was small, Only coming up to the stomach of a normal man, But it wouldn't fool anyone. This thing in front of them was much stronger than its size would make it seem. He could feel it.

Gray skin that reminded him of ash, Black spikes jutting out from the top of its head forming some type of twisted crown, The two large horns that grew out from its skull only adding to its monstrous features, Unnaturally sharp teeth that didn't belong to any normal animal, And a boney tail that looked like it was covered in barbed wire…

The thing that absorbed his attention the most though was its eyes. He felt like he was looking into the eyes of exploding fire. Even with the distance between them, Staring into those eyes, he felt his heart beat in fear. Like he was about to combust. He knew it was his imagination. Just his mind playing tricks on him, But the illusion was still there…. Finally, The demon made direct eye contact with him. Feeling his knees grow weak and he stumbled. A woozy sensation overcame him and he knew that if he didn't control that feeling he'd pass out. Raising his cane he lowered it onto his foot and pressed down hard. It was painful, but it helped him regain his sense of balance.

He tore his eyes away from the small devil to inspect the other people standing outside.

There truly was a man in power armor… He wasn't sure what the model was but he understood that both he and the Demon alone were enough to completely wipe them out. Mustering up his courage he asked the power-armored figure the question in everyone's mind.

"What do you want?"

Then there was silence…. He gripped his cane as the others tightened the hold they had on their guns. Everyone was anxiously awaiting an answer… A few moments passed when they finally received one.

"We… Would like some information."

'It was speaking!'

Some of the surrounding men jumped when the tiny Devil opened its mouth, They already knew it spoke… But the sight of it doing so still made them shiver.

"H-Huh?"

The small demon released a sigh and motioned to his companion.

"Go ahead, Marcus. You will ask them."

The two looked at each other having a seemingly silent conversation, after a few moments, the man in armor nodded and began to move.

The metal clunked as he cautiously approached. It seemed that he was trying to be less intimidating, but everyone still felt distressed.

"No further now!"

One of Walter's men held up a pistol and aimed it at the demon. He was a bit too aggressive, but if his shaking was anything to go by it was probably just the fear directing him…

The stranger didn't seem to mind as he stopped in front of everyone.

"We've been traveling through the wasteland for a couple of weeks now… And we're looking for some information. As long as you're not belligerent we will not be a threat to you."

Not knowing how to respond, the ghouls looked at each other in both fear and confusion before turning to their leader for an answer.

Walter felt an invisible sweat pour down his head. Though being a ghoul he couldn't actually sweat. But he could still imagine it.…

His decision could get them all killed. Should he agree to answer a question? Should he ask his own questions? How have they survived? Where did they come from? Are they alone? Or are there more of them? What's that thing next to them? Is it an actual demon? The feeling of dread and uncertainty at the back of his mind was great.

He looked towards his followers. It had been so long since they set up here. When the bombs came they and a few others worked at an old junkyard… Fire was raining down from the sky and everyone was panicking… As the owner of the place he took the initiative and got most of the people to safety. Unfortunately, while the junkyard had many places people could hide, it wasn't enough to protect them from the radiation. It killed most of them and the rest turned into ghouls. Back then they still had a decent amount of people… Enough to build up this little place… But sadly, over time more and more died, Until eventually, only a few remained…

The war inside of him was waging. To comply or not to comply… That was the question. But in the end…. There is really only one answer…

Walter felt himself gulp in nervousness… Raising his cane, he used it to tap the arm of the ghoul who was pointing his pistol at the evil-looking creature.

The fearful ghoul turned to see the old man shaking his head, signaling him to lower the weapon. Reluctantly, he complied, shakily holstering his pistol… But everyone made a note to keep a firm grip on their guns just in case things turned south.

Turning back to their visitors… Walter addressed them politely.

"W-what is it? What do you want to know?"

End of chapter.