#piratesstolemymagicbeans

[piratesstolemymagicbeans]

Beyond the Vault’s New Cover!

Super super excited to be able to show this to y’all! 

I love how this cover turned out and I’m so glad I was given permission to use this piece for the cover.

Here’s a link back to the original piece, and the original artist’s tumblr is linked at the top of the cover.

[piratesstolemymagicbeans]

Beyond the Vault: Chapter 7 Preview

Since chapter 6 is posted on Ao3 and FFN and I’ve just set this tumblr up, I figure I should give a preview of what’s to come in the next chapter!

This might be tweaked before it’s up, because I’m always editing, but enjoy!

“We’re almost there,” MacCready mumbled.

She nodded and stepped up next to him. She’d been trailing behind him and giving him his space, letting him lead the way up until this point. She opened her mouth to speak, but paused, then realized she didn’t even know what to say. She settled for giving his arm a gentle squeeze and, “We’ll find a way to help him.”

MacCready jerked his arm away and continued walking in silence. Margo let him, and she followed him up a road until he turned down an old driveway lined with pear trees on one side, and apples on the other; she could also see mutfruit in the distance, along with tatos, carrots, corn, and melons. Despite MacCready’s absence, the plants were in good condition, meaning his friend had been tending the farm in addition to caring for Duncan.

The two entered the home quietly, and MacCready tossed his bag on a couch in the living room. “There’s an empty room down the hall,” he said. “It’s the second to last door. Go make yourself comfortable. I’m going to go find Missy and let her know we’re here.”

She nodded, and quietly padded down the hall. The room he’d sent her to was a decent size, with a large bed, two nightstands, a dresser, and a desk. It was clean, and there was a bathroom attached that opened into another bedroom - presumably MacCready’s. Margo let out a sigh and set her bag down, then removed her soiled duster and flopped onto the bed.

The door opened moments after she’d laid down, and clinging to the doorframe was a boy. Margo sat up ,and her eyes widened when she saw the condition he was in. Pale, sweaty, dark circles under his eyes, blue boils on his skin. The fact that he was clinging to the doorway made it obvious that he was struggling to stay on his feet, and tears were building in his eyes.

“Duncan?” Margo guessed. She got to her feet and made her way over to him - but paused when she saw him tense. “Hey, it’s okay. I’m not gonna hurt you. I just wanna help you back to bed; you look like you’re about to collapse.”

Duncan eyed her for a moment. While he remained silent, he didn’t stop her when she moved in to pick him up. He allowed her to carry him back to his bedroom, which he directed her to since she didn’t know the house, and turned his back to her once he was in his own bed again. “Aren’t you worried about getting sick?” He asked. “Missy says it’s contagious.”

Margo shook her head and pulled a nearby chair over so she could sit next to the bed. “No, sweetheart. I’ve had it before. I’m not going to get sick like that again.”

The boy stayed silent.

“You thought I was your dad, didn’t you?”

He hesitated, then nodded. “He’s the only one who ever comes here. Are you one of his friends?”

It was Margo’s turn to hesitate. Were they still friends, or was MacCready simply sticking around to finish his job? She let out a sigh, and settled for, “I came here with your dad. He’s out looking for Missy.”

“Missy never comes inside this time of day,” he replied. “She’s not supposed to check on me for another hour.” He paused again, then turned to face Margo. He moved slowly, as if he were sore. “You said my dad’s here?”

Margo offered him a smile. She knew exactly how bad he was hurting; flu-like symptoms were one of the tell-tale signs of the disease, and the general aches were made worse by the frequent vomiting and the boils. “He is, but he’ll probably want you to stay in bed until he gets back.”

“I wanna see him,” Duncan stated as he moved to sit up again.

“Hey, easy,” Margo muttered, putting a hand on the boy’s chest. He winced, which meant she’d touched a boil, so she pulled back. “Look, I know you’re excited, but you don’t need to push yourself. He’ll be here in a minute, okay?”

He deflated, much in the same way MacCready had when she pointed out that Med-Tek’s cure may not be there, but the boy relented and laid back down. “What’s your name, miss?”

“Margo,” MacCready said from the doorway, a scowl plastered on his face. “What are you doing?”

She hesitated, then turned to face him. “He thought I was you and followed me to the bedroom. He looked like he was about to collapse, so I brought him back here and made him wait for you.”

The mercenary watched her for a moment before jerking his thumb toward the hallway. “You should leave,” he said coldly. “We’ll talk later.”

[piratesstolemymagicbeans]

Beyond the Vault: Chapter 11

It’s here! Read it on FFN! Sorry for the delay - but the next several chapters are mostly done, so they should come out at a decent pace for now.

Also, I’ve gotten in touch with my beta - and we’re working through and improving older chapters. The new and improved versions are gonna be on Ao3 and y’all should definitely go read them :) 

[piratesstolemymagicbeans]

Beyond the Vault: Chapter 9

The next chapter is up! As usual, you can find it on Ao3 and FFN!

Also, below is a preview for one of the upcoming scenes!

“And Margo’s in what kind of trouble?” The man asked.

“Who are you to care, exactly?” MacCready asked, crossing his arms.

The man bristled and took a step toward him, but Prim huffed and put an arm out to stop him. Her gaze settled on MacCready. “This is James,” she said. “He’s from Vault 75. You can trust him.”

He blinked in surprise. Rather than questioning him further, however, he took a seat on a nearby stool. “If you say so, Prim.”

James crossed his arms as he glowered at MacCready. “Can we get on to whatever’s going on?”

MacCready nodded slowly. “Prim already knows some of this, but Margo hired me to help her hunt down your Overseer.”

“Hayes?” He breathed a sigh, squeezing the bridge of his nose. “She’s been set on getting revenge ever since the revolt. Nobody can talk her out of it.”

“Can you blame her?” He crossed his arms as well, and his eyes flicked to Prim as she took a seat on another stool. “Anyways, when we found out he’d gone to D.C., Margo offered to help me get a cure from Med-Tek for my son. It was destroyed on the way back to my farm, so we took a few days to regroup and we decided to see if Hayes had any F19 once we found him.”

“Are you sure that’s a good idea?” Prim asked, glancing between the two men. “Isn’t that going to make him like Margo and James?”

“It will,” James confirmed. “But if he’s that sick, it might give his immune system the boost it needs to help him fight off whatever disease it is he’s got.”

“And it’s the only option we have,” MacCready added. “We found out Hayes has holed up with some Enclave remnants, so we were planning on posing as recruits to get in, but Coursers showed up.”

“Coursers?” He echoed, his eyes widening. “The Institute took her?”

He sighed and rubbed the back of his neck again. “Yeah, they did. Do you know why? Cause, she didn’t tell me anything before she went.”

James sighed as well and closed his eyes. “They think the vault’s research can give them better Coursers, and they aren’t wrong. As far as we know, the F19 should affect synths just like it does humans.”

“Do they have anything so far?”

“They know some of what it does, I think, otherwise they wouldn’t be so interested in getting it. They also know who the F19 subjects are, so they know who to target.”  He paused to drag a hand across his face. “If she’s been taken, that means she’s being experimented on again. I don’t know if she can handle it.”

MacCready shook his head. “She’s strong. She’ll manage.”

“She’s not as strong as she likes to act,” James replied. “She was a wreck after the revolt, and she gets jittery around doctors in lab coats; how do you think the Institute’s experiments are going to affect her?”