Unexpected Detour (Prompt)
I’M LATE I’M LATE I’M LATE. I KNOW. But here (ps, the italics worked on this one???):
~
“This is an automated distress message from Vault-Tec: Vault 101. Message begins: It feels like you left home a long time ago, but I know you're still out there. I just hope you're still alive to hear this. Things got worse after you left. The new Overseer is insane. If you can hear this, please stop looking for your dad and help save us. I changed the door password to my name. If you're hearing this, and you still care enough to help me, you should remember it. Message repeats.”
Rapunzel listened to the emergency frequency one last time before switching it off. She sat on a boulder just outside Megaton, gazing in the distance to where she knew Vault-101 lay. She couldn’t go back… Not after how she’d left things.
Not after she’d…
Please stop looking for your dad and help us. Merida’s voice replaced the empty sounds of Wasteland wildlife around her. Rapunzel and Merida had been best friends ever since she and her parents arrived at the Vault. Rapunzel hadn’t remembered much of anything from her childhood in the Wasteland. They were the first outsiders to their knowledge knew to enter a sealed Vault, and the only reason they were even let in in the first place was because the Overseer had been so desperate for a doctor, and her dad was the best of the best. She’d learned that no one left or entered any of the Commonwealth Vaults, because the outside world was much too dangerous—and it was, what with the raiders, and the enclave, and the mutations running freely about. But it was far from being uninhabitable as they’d made it seem in class. Megaton itself proved just that.
“Welcome. To. Megaton,” she heard the protectron say over the wind. “Friendliest. Town. Around.”
Rapunzel whipped her head back to see a caravan had approached the entrance. She’d come down from Galaxy News Radio for news, and a quick supply hunt at the Super Duper Mart on the way. She had a mission to do. But what if this was a bigger story than Tenpenny Tower’s failed attempt to detonate Megaton’s notorious bomb? Heck, maybe Tadashi, Vault-101’s scientist, might know how to finally diffuse it, making Three Dog’s original news source essentially worthless compared to this.
But despite all of the rational excuses Rapunzel found to follow Merida’s distress signal, she knew the underlying reason she wanted to go so badly was because she was curious to see how the people she’d grown up with had made out after her departure. She hadn’t even meant to leave that dreary morning. She’d expected to spend her life following Vault-101’s motto, we are born in the vault, we live in the vault, and we die in the vault. If dad hadn’t upped and run away without a word, that might very well have been her life. Though, she supposed the motto and she hadn’t exactly been on the brightest of terms when her mother gave birth to her in the Wasteland.
She’d met Three Dog, the anchor of Galaxy News Radio and one of her dads old friends, about a week after she’d run away from the Vault. He knew a lot about her past, something he let her know quite quickly. He knew she, her parents, and aunt Gothel had been born out here, in the Wasteland themselves. But he also knew it had been in a faraway place called Boston. He also confessed that he’d seen her dad pass by not too long after she showed up. After spending an entire day running around DC as him and his radio’s personal scavenger, he finally told her what mission her dad had been so set on.
And the truth scared Rapunzel to bits.
She shook her head for a few seconds, running a hand through her ponytail while she stared at the Pip-Boy on her other wrist. The caravan rolled past her on the dirt road. Rapunzel gazed at the two-headed brahmin with the heaps of luggage strapped to its back. They were most likely heading toward Springvale, the wreckage of a town just outside the Vault.
Rapunzel stood, shaking the dirt off of her pants. Merida was asking her to help. Her. Thing’s must’ve gotten pretty bad in the Vault after she’d escaped, then, if she was willing to reach out to her so easily. She looked back at Megaton with a sigh. Three Dog would understand that she couldn’t just walk away.
She never could.
***
M-E-R-I-D-A. Access granted, the keypad flashed before a hiss of air sounded and the now-familiar alarm started beeping. Oh so slowly, the gear-shaped door of Vault-101 pulled backwards and rolled itself open. Rapunzel wasted no time running inside before anyone could seal it back up but, to her utter surprise, there was no one in sight when she made it in. She hurried up the metal stairs and closed the door back up herself. She knew keeping it open was smarter in regards to keeping a quick escape route available if she found herself unwelcome, but she refused to risk another radroach infestation like her dad did when he left—or worse.
Rapunzel gripped the pistol at her hip as she slowly walked toward the door she knew would lead to her old home. Something felt off. It was too quiet.
Suddenly, the door slid open before her. Rapunzel gasped, yanking out her pistol for fire.
“Stop right there!” Officer Haddock exclaimed, crumbs still stuck to his chin. “How did you get in—? Wait,” he looked Rapunzel up and down in bewilderment. “It’s you. The Overseer ordered me to bring you to her if you ever came back.”
“Her?” Rapunzel questioned, Merida’s distress signal running through her head. “It’s nice to see you again, Officer Haddock, but could you tell me who, exactly, was chosen as Overseer after Dunbroch…” died. The word hung loosely in the air, too horrible to speak aloud.
Officer Haddock hiccupped a laugh. “Chosen really isn’t the word I’d use here.” He shifted the grip on his gun, glancing behind him. “Listen, Punzel,” he whispered. “I know who you are—sweet as doll, just like your parents were. But I’ll be honest, not a lot of people like you in the Vault no more. I’ll do you the same favour I did your dad—leave the Vault quietly and don’t get trapped inside our mess. No one’s gonna know you stopped by but me.”
It was a good offer, but Rapunzel shook her head. “I heard Merida’s distress signal. She was my best friend, I can’t just ignore her.”
Officer Haddock lowered his head as if this was exactly the answer he’d expected. “Your heart’s too big, kid. But go see her. And please, for the sake of me keeping my limbs—don’t let the Overseer see I let you through without bringing you to her, okay?”
“I won’t let her hurt you,” Rapunzel promised. Even though she and Hiccup Haddock had never been close friends, she could never bear the thought of him losing his father to her, too. Officer Haddock opened the door to the hall for her. The first thing she noticed when she reached the second floor were the barricades. The second, was how incredibly unorganized and unclean the Vault had become.
What in the world had happened here?
“And if it isn’t my little blondie.” A voice suddenly said. “Never thought I’d see the day.”
Rapunzel whipped around to see a familiar Tunnel Snake leaning against a makeshift wall behind her. She scowled, despite the heat rushing to her cheeks, and crossed her arms. “I’m not yours, Jack.”
“Never said you were.” Jack lifted a dark brow. “But I gotta say, the Vault hasn’t been the same without you to play with.”
“You’re really calling you and your gang bullying my best friend playing?” Rapunzel exclaimed, an anger she only ever felt around him boiling through her heart. “You’re absolutely ridiculous, Jack DeLoria. You know that, right?”
Jack smirked. “Don’t take it too personally when I say the rest of the Vault doesn’t exactly share your opinion. Well, other than your crazy—”
“That’s because the rest of the Vault is scared of you!” Rapunzel interrupted with a sharp exhale. “I don’t understand why. You’re nothing but a terrified momma’s boy.”
Jack flinched slightly at her words, something she only slightly relished in. Rapunzel had saved her from getting chewed up by radroaches just before her escape. Jack himself had been the one to beg for her help, given his phobia of the giant critters. If she’d have stayed any longer, she might have been able to use it against him the next time he tried harassing she and Merida.
“How is she, by the way?”
“Fine.” Jack quickly shot out.
“Really?” Rapunzel questioned.
Jack suddenly couldn’t meet her eyes, almost making Rapunzel feel bad for pushing. “Let’s just say she decided she liked getting drunk a bit too much. Not someone I like being around.” He brightened, suddenly, as much as the leader of the Tunnel Snakes could. “Besides, I have other things to worry about. A lot of us here wanna get out of this hell hole. So, tell me, blondie, how’d you manage to get past Officer Haddock?”
Rapunzel shook her head, unable to believe how quickly he’d changed the topic. Was he really so detached from his emotions he couldn’t even talk about what happened with his own mom? Last Rapunzel had checked, Mrs. Deloria was the complete opposite of her son—kind, and warm. So what made her shift her dependence from constantly being around people to alcohol?
Suddenly, the rest of what Jack said registered to Rapunzel’s head. “You want to leave? Why?”
It was Jack’s turn now to cross his arms. He took a step closer. “And here I thought you weren’t as brain-dead as the others. We’ve always wanted to leave, the Tunnel Snakes and I. Now that the Vault’s in shambles, it’s our time to shine.”
“If you can get past Officer Haddock.” Rapunzel argued. “I’m guessing he doesn’t want his little boy wandering out into the dangerous Wasteland, huh?”
Jack shifted closer. “Ah, and there’s the smarts I know.”
“Shut it, Deloria.”
“So harsh!” Jack lay his hand flat against his chest. “You break my heart.”
Rapunzel cocked her head. “I wasn’t aware you had one. Good to know.”
A slow smirk found itself to Jack’s lips again, warning he was about to say something particularly irritable. “And why’s that? Punzel’s got the hot’s for Jack-y?”
Rapunzel groaned in annoyance, forcing herself to hold her stance even when she noticed how close Jack had gotten. “Where’s Merida?” She demanded, forcing the conversation back to the point. “I’m sure you’d know, considering you know everything.”
“Right I do.” Jack walked backwards, pulling the tension from Rapunzel’s stomach away with him. He waved her to the side. “Follow me.”
Jack led her inside the classroom, where the rest of the Snakes and Merida stood. “Look who I found wandering around,” Jack announced.
Merida’s piercing blue eyes shot to Rapunzel’s, filled with a thousand knives. Understandably, Rapunzel thought. She hadn’t meant for her father to die. “You got my message,” she said. “Good. About time you showed up, too. Gotta say, I thought you’d be too busy with your freedom to remember us, so believe me when I say I’m glad to see you.”
“I think you have my ego levels mixed up with Jack’s,” Rapunzel commented.
“Yeah?” Merida cocked her head. “Then prove it. Help us take down the Overseer, and leave this damned Vault. I still haven’t forgiven you for murdering my father, but I might consider it if you help us.”
“Mer,” Rapunzel tried. “You know it was an accident, right? Please, you know I would never—"
“Alright,” Jack interrupted. “Enough with the heart to hearts. Let’s go, yeah? Blondie, you come with me.”
“What?” Rapunzel shot. “I’m not going anywhere with you, thank you very much.”
“Oh, but you’re gonna like this,” Jack smiled dangerously, dangling a piece of rope in the air. “You get to tie me up and pull my gorgeous hair.”
Rapunzel scowled, glancing at the others to see if he was joking. “What are you going on about?”
“Your aunt wants the Tunnel Snakes taken down, and she wants you even more,” Merida explained, somewhat impatiently. She put a finger to her bright red hair, which was pulled tightly into a low bun. “You’re going to bring her to him, and put a bullet in her crazed head.”
Rapunzel flinched away from the group, astounded by the absurd demand. “Excuse me?” She said. Aunt Dame would never do such a thing to Vault-101. She’d not once expressed a desire to become the Overseer either—that position was to be Merida’s father’s until his old age.
“I don’t know why she’s so obsessed,” Merida said. “But I’m not leaving the Vault with her in charge.”
“Dame’s been nothing but kind!”
“A nice façade,” Hiccup said from behind Merida. “Fooled all of us.”
Rapunzel couldn’t believe it—wouldn’t until she saw it with her own eyes. So she grabbed the rope out of Jack’s fingers, spun him around, and wrapped his wrists up tight.
“The Wasteland’s done you good,” there was a hint of veiled humour in Jack’s tone as she let him go. He tested the rope’s hold, but it didn’t give. “If I would’ve known you were this feisty—”
Rapunzel grabbed a heap of chocolate brown hair and yanked him out of the room with her.
“You know, blondie,” Jack struggled. “You don’t actually have to pull my hair until we get to the Overseer’s office.”
“I know.”
Jack chuckled. “Can’t wait for you to tell me all about the Wasteland when we get outta here. I bet it’s good stuff.”
Rapunzel froze briefly. Did he honestly think she’d bring him back to Galaxy News Radio? Not a chance. If Jack wanted out so bad, he was going alone, with his precious Tunnel Snakes. “In your dreams.” She said.
“I don’t have dreams. Just reality.”
“Reality has a track record of getting awfully boring,” Rapunzel said. “Maybe that’s why you’re as horrible as you are.”
Suddenly, Rapunzel’s feet were swept right out from under her. She fell back into a room with Jack landing, (somewhat painfully), right on top of her. “You don’t really think that, do you, blondie?” His breath was so warm against her lips it sent shivers down her spine.
“I…” Was all she could manage before he started talking again.
“Because that would break my heart.” Rapunzel just had time to catch something dancing in his crystal blue eyes before his lips were upon hers. It was disgusting and wet the first few seconds, but then she found herself swimming in his kiss. He still couldn’t move his hands, so Rapunzel did it for him. She cupped his jaw, pulling the Snake closer and closer until everything disappeared but him.
She didn’t know why her body felt so compelled to ruin the moment.
“I’m resistant to the radiation!” She blurted out, shoving a hand to her lips. No one but her dad and Three Dog new that about her. It was why her dad had left in the first place—to study her. Though… Rumour had been going around lately about her situation, something that the radio had been trying hard to avoid talking about. The Saint. The ghoul that looks and talks like a human, but can’t possibly be.
Jack frowned, licking his lips. “And?”
“And,” Rapunzel continued, “that means I’m mutated. That I get to live longer than the average human. I’m a monster, even if I don’t look it like the other Ghouls. If the Wasteland knew it was me they’ve been hearing talk about…”
Jack rolled off of her, suddenly, something clicking in his eyes. “Of course!” He said. “That’s why Dame wants you so bad. She wants to know how you did it.”
Rapunzel sat up, sickness roiling through her body. “But she’s never known I was like this.”
Jack was shaking his head even before she started speaking. “Remember when she got put under lockdown? You were four, maybe.” How could she forget? “You visited her every day after class.”
Rapunzel nodded. “You made fun of me for it.”
“Yeah. Well, I read a paper in her files when you asked me to go steal yours. Said she’d gotten her well-deserved time out for sending a signal out to her sister and reading the ones that were coming in from the outside behind The Overseer’s back. She heard all of the stories about you. You and your parents showed up knocking at the door not too long after, and they actually let you in.”
Rapunzel nodded again. It was all she seemed to be able to do now. “You read the files about me.”
Jack shrugged. “Obviously.”
Rapunzel pushed his chest, furious. “I didn’t even read them! Dame just told me it was dangerous information that needed to be burnt away!”
“That didn’t make you wanna read em’ even more?”
“No!” Rapunzel closed her eyes. “I mean, yes, but she said it was safer for me if I didn’t know.”
Jack laughed. “Bull. Complete bull.” With a restrained swing, he pulled himself to standing. Rapunzel was quick to follow suit. Almost immediately, he nudged her shoulder with his own and pushed her against the steel wall, holding her with his hips. His kiss wasn’t nearly long enough. He completely pulled away, suddenly, and tipped his chin down with a smirk.
“Let’s go.”
Rapunzel slowly pushed her fingers through his hair and gripped. It only took a few words from Rapunzel to find out every suspicion Jack and his gang had about her aunt were true. It only took a carefully-placed bullet to the thigh to stop her from attacking her own niece. And it only took an inch of convincing for the dwellers to get the Wasteland freedom they’ve always deserved.
Though their fates were now irreversibly ripped to the open, Rapunzel knew one thing for certain:
Galaxy News Radio was in for one hell of a story.