Steel Waste Chapter 457
Advertisement
Afton sighs and washes his hands off, he'd just finished operating on Caroline and was mildly enraged by what he'd seen. Aside from the initial injuries she had, the bullet wound to the gut, chest, and limbs, he also found numerous older wounds.
Whip marks, deliberate cuttings of flesh, burns, improperly healed bone breaks, and worst of all, genital mutilation. Afton grinds his teeth as he looks over the document he'd just written, it listed all of her injuries, their causes and his speculations on where she'd receive them. He'd be showing it to Karl once he'd recovered... If he recovers. Having your hand and both legs blown off was enough to put any thoughts of fighting from a regular person's mind... Though, Afton doubted Karl would so easily let bygones be bygones.
Of course, Afton had done the best he could to help Caroline, he'd extracted the pieces of bullets in her body but there was little he could do for the older injuries. There wasn't currently a way to create and attach organic body parts, even Afton's plant arm was more based on luck than actual science.
Afton wondered where the Legion had adopted such horrific traditions... He didn't remember the Romans ever practising general mutilation, perhaps it was brought over from the tribes?... Regardless, any guilt he'd have had after killing so many of them quickly faded. Barbaric pieces of shit like that lot deserves to be cleansed. "Glados, inform me once Caroline wakes up."
"Understood... Excuse me, creator? This may seem unusual, but why does the name 'Caroline' seem so familiar to me? I have never encountered this before, and my processors show no sign of abnormalities..."
Afton raises a brow but coughs into his fist, "No idea... Perhaps you just like the name?" he dismisses the query and quickly heads up to the Sink where Karl was currently being operated on.
Advertisement
He's greeted by all the personalities but ignores them as he heads for Meddie who's still apparently operating. "How is he?"
"He, is one tough bastard. Should've died minutes after being injured like this, but he's holdin' on somehow... Add the rather reckless cauterization and the guy's heart should've given out. Even still, it's beaten strong like a drum. Makes me tempted to pull him apart to see how he works..." Meddie trails off.
Afton crosses his arms, "You still haven't answered my question."
The personality chuckles, "He'll live, I'll say that much. Whether or not it will be a comfortable life is hard to say though. For all I know his damaged nerves could start firing constantly, leaving him in a perpetual state of agony."
Afton shrugs, "Yeah, but that's unlikely. A worst-case scenario... Hey, while you're at it, think you can do anything for his back? Old man keeps moaning about it so might as well get it done now."
"Will do... I'll install a cybernetic spine. You shouldn't wait around for him, he's still got hours of surgeries ahead."
Afton slowly nods, "Alright, have Alfred or Glados inform me when he's recovered or awake." he waves as he leaves.
Another thing that required his attention was the new guests in Big Mountain. He trusted most of his companions, but there were limits to what they would be willing to endure for him, he imagined that fighting gained their homeland and people would be one of them... Which is why it was very, very important that the location of this place is kept hidden from them.
Fortunately, doing this isn't all that hard as the only real map of Big Mountain currently resides on his Pipboy. Tamia's Pipboy might've been able to do something had he not already preemptively fixed such functions from finding too much info about Big Mt... The last thing he wanted to happen was for some NCR Vault Dweller to stumble across the place.
Advertisement
He walks to the front of the Think Tank and sits down on the bluegrass surrounding it. He'd been ignoring the notifications he'd received during the battle for long enough, now was perfect since he finally had some free time.
[Quest Complete : Find Caroline Martin]
[Lord Death v4 1869/2000]
[WELCOME TO LEVEL 50!!!!!!]
Afton grins when he sees the notification. 50 was a good number, maybe his favourite now... He quickly puts all points into Lockpicking, raising it up to 94, after that he enthusiastically moves onto the Perks...
[Level 50 Perks] : Perks at this level are derived from gathered Karma until this point. If you have proved to be monstrously evil you will receive Perks to suit this lifestyle, if you have proved to be Good Personified then you will receive options that help with this.
[Positive Karma : 2630]
[Negative Karma : 1223]
[Result] : Well-Meaning Disaster]
[Title acquired : Well-Meaning Disaster]
[Well-Meaning Disaster] : Despite your best efforts, your actions often lead to the deaths of many innocents. This exceedingly reckless method of problem-solving has made you infamous around the Wasteland. +100% Fame or Infamy gain depending on the results of your actions.
[Well-Meaning Disaster Perks] :
[Hero turned Tyrant] : Your attempts at heroism have failed often enough for you to leave such a life behind. +EXP gain when inspiring fear in others, +3 to Strength and Endurance, you become immune to critical hits. You also gain a mutation that increases the length of your canines and allows you to drink blood of your victims to rapidly regenerate health.
[Hero's Promise] : You have pledged to do your utmost in service of justice and all that's good. +EXP when inspiring hope in others, +3 to Intelligence, Charisma, you become immune to critical hits. Positive Karma grants bonus Health, Negative Karma takes away from this.
[Stay the Path] : You disregard all the deaths you have caused and continue the way you always have, heroes are fools and Villains are needlessly cruel, you are neither, yet both. EXP acquisition does not change, +2 to all stats, you become immune to critical hits. You also gain the ability to see someone's Karma.
Advertisement
- In Serial113 Chapters
Fleabag
In the deepest reaches of the Bone Pits, a canine seemingly like any other woke up in the ruined remains of a wooden box.With knowledge it shouldn't have, fleeting memories it couldn't reach, and the icy grasp of death crawling up its spine with every labored breath, it simply wished to live another day. Yet, in the bowels of a city built on metal corpses, nothing was ever simple. Of course, nobody said change would be simple, nor bloodless.And in the dark corners no one sees, in the shifting clouds of smog that none dare venture through, in the deepest reaches of the Dungeon that none but the mentally deranged dare challenge, the last wolf rakes its claws through steel and howls to a distant sky. Are you tired of fun monster evolution stories where the monster becomes increasingly less monstrous, and eventually they're just a more spicy version of a human and it stops being a monster evolution story?Well, i am.So- insert thanos meme where he says "fine, i'll do it myself"[Participant in the Royal Road Writathon challenge.](The art in the book cover was made by an extremely talented artist named Chloe Bt, and she allowed me permission to use one of her renders as the main ingredient to my book cover, because she's fucking awesome.)
8 329 - In Serial222 Chapters
The Mother of Monsters
Immortality is an illusion. Ianna Kovac’s first moments of a new life after her own uneventful one comes to an end are marked with fear, pain, and yet another death. Faced by the guardian of an ancient tomb she experiences firsthand the horrors of her new home. She will need to find allies; horrors, monsters, demons, warriors, and kings to help her. No solution is out of the question, no means are off the table to survive and make her place in a world terrified of her very existence. Even if that means becoming a monster herself. After all, nothing is immortal in Orum, not even the gods. Normal Release Schedule is 5 Chapters Per Week, Monday - Friday EST [Completed the April 2022 Royal Writeathon Challenge!]
8 192 - In Serial40 Chapters
Forsaken Hope
Alddan Dovin is a noble that found himself fighting a bloody war against other nobles like him to free the common people from their petty games and unfair rule. He is forced into a corner and is about to get killed.But his generals have a plan. They want to teleport him into the future so he can rebuild his forces and fight again.However, something goes wrong and he is summoned as a servant by a girl in Strasnorths Academy, a school for nobles.How will he deal with this unexpected situation? How will he free himself from his status as a servant?-------Many thanks to CONfews for taking the time to PR until chapter 16 of Forsaken Hope.Many thanks to sunwalker (aka TNLEgraphics in Deviantart) for drawing Forsaken Hope cover.
8 82 - In Serial31 Chapters
For My Eyes ONLY
"No," I whispered in pure disbelief, "You can't be Ashton, that can't be." My voice cracked making me feel weaker in his eyes.I stared at the man in front of me, waves of shock lighting through my body. This wasn't Ashton. I always knew there were two sides to him. Everyday I watched him desperately fight to keep this side of him from taking over.Scar.The name rung over and over and over again in my head, piercing my ears, making my insides scream out."Say it!" he yelled slamming my body up against the wall behind me, my head hitting the wall more force then the rest my body, causing me to let out a pathetic cry."Please Ashton, no you can't do this I have a family-" I yelled back, a tear sliding down my cheek.He cut me off with a dark laugh, his stone cold expression glued to my frightened one."This is your family now, Moore Blood Mafia, welcome my sweet Amaretto."
8 141 - In Serial19 Chapters
Leo x Errian
Errian is my own character. I will have more Leo x reader story out soon, but you have to deal with this.Errian is basically a Y/n. Just I didn't really pay any mind to the details of the characterStarted June 21, 2022.Ended July 2, 2022
8 294 - In Serial17 Chapters
Katastrophe Jackson and The World's End
My name is Katastrophe Jackson. I am the younger sister of Percy Jackson, the multiple times over hero and Savior of Olympus. But this isn't my older brother's story. This is my life. My story. My quest.
8 143

