Chapter 128: Family Ties.
As Seven cut through the air with both Judy and Visa in tow his mind was moving even faster than they were.
He simply couldn't believe what was happening right now, he not only had a sister but two of them he actually had a family to call his own and with that, he had a name to boot, he was Arthur.
"I still can't believe this!! You can fly!!!" Judy whooped as Seven dove through a cloud bank at supersonic speed and banked fast as they began their final approach towards Nuka World where the rest of the team was waiting for them after they'd taken the call from Lia.
"That's the least of what your brother can do Judy, he has built something wonderful and beautiful beyond measure with nothing more than his will, determination and a bit of Claw power," Visa said glancing up lovingly at him and causing him to smile down at her.
"More than just a little Claw power sugar tail," he said making her grin widen up enough to show off her fangs.
"Yeah I couldn't believe how much reverence everyone had for you and then you just dropped out of the sky like a superhero out of one of those cheesy prewar comics but Zixxy showed me some of the things you had done and I still can't believe it, my little brother the uniter of people and hero," Judy said smiling down towards the ground.
Seven launched to himself and shook his head.
"Not a hero, just a guy who wants to stand up and do the right thing as he sees it, nothing more," he said.
"To most people that notion alone makes you a hero little brother, you might not see it but I see the way those people look at you and the way they speak about you, to them you are every bit the hero you claim not to be, you are an example to them to aspire to," Judy said and truly Seven didn't exactly know what to say to that so he didn't say anything.
Eventually, they reached Dry Rock Gulch and Seven set them all down in the centre of the town, as he did people came out to see them, especially those from his direct team and they instantly crowded around Judy to welcome her, the only person that was missing was Thundertail but then that wasn't surprising she hadn't left the bedside of that freed human slave she'd take a liking to and was currently intent on nursing back to health, though whether nurse Thundertail was a help or a hindrance towards a healthy recovery was still up for debate.
"So you must be Judy, I'd say Seven's told us all about you but given the look on his face when Lia made that call to us I'm pretty much certain he was more stunned than any of us," Timothy said sticking out his hand for her to shake.
"He wasn't the only one, when Zixxy smashed her way through the blocks in my memory like a little green wreaking ball I didn't know what the hell to think, I mean fuck, I just found out my entire life was not only a lie but a digitally created one at that, where the hell do you even begin with something like that?" Judy said and Timothy and Shauna nodded in agreement.
"Well don't you worry Judy, you're among real friends now, as ex-Enclave myself I can attest to how good these people are, they helped me, took care of me, welcomed me with open arms and hell even sorted me out with my own big beautiful Claw lady," Chris said gesturing playfully up to Vess who towered over him and looked down at her human with a raised eyebrow.
"If you were not so gracious in your compliments my human I do believe I would have to put you over my shoulder and take you somewhere quiet to 'discuss' the ramifications of teasing you Alpha Matriarch Claw," Vess said playfully swatting Chris with her massive tail.
"As the Claws around here do much in the way of intellectual discussing when they get left alone with humans, lots of words get said yes but half of them don't make sense and the other half are yes," Vizzy said playfully as she stepped up to shake Judy's hand and it was hard to know who was blushing more brightly, Judy or Chris while both Visa and Vess simply looked smug.
"I keep saying never doubt the clean and pure passions of a healthy Claw my dear and you keep scoffing at me," Vess said playfully.
"Wow is your group always this open-minded and frank?" Judy stammered slightly as she glanced around at them all.
"Dear from my short time with them this is positively tame but you get used to it and you swiftly realise it is all in good nature and fun, and dare I say it now we are like a large unique family and those bonds carry across into every aspect of our lives,' Eve said stepping up to take her turn welcoming Seven's older sister into the fold.
"Well said Eve and she is right and yes Eve you are most certainly part of this dysfunctional pack we call a family, but as it's Alpha Matriarch Claw I would not have it any other way, it makes me proud to stand tall and true next to my male as we stride continually towards the better and brighter future that we aim to make together for everyone," Visa said proudly as she wrapped her massive arms around Seven from behind, pressing her ample chest swells into his back.
"Stick around long enough and I'm sure there's going to be a non-human eyeing you up too just you wait, though I do believe there's a line or a ticket system or something, Thundertail got a bit irate when my brother managed to jump it but then she found herself a former slave boy and we haven't seen her since other than to fetch the big bowls of soup she insists on spoon feeding to him," Vissy said playfully.
"Thundertail?" Judy asked in confusion.
"She's one of the friendly Gatorclaws we found when we arrived here, she was following me around with the hope of catching my eye as she has a bit of a thing for humans until she realised I'm a one Claw man and we kinda promised to help her find a human of her own to love, seems fate smiled on that big lovable Gatorclaw girl as she plucked this sickly slave boy out of the rubble of the last town we freed and he thought she was a scaley angel come to save him, she hasn't let him out of her sight since," Seven said with a chuckle as he pointed up to one of the windows of the tree house where Thudertail's room was located.
"Wow, this all seems just so complex, humans and non-humans all working and existing together, how the hell do you manage all of this?" Judy said looking around.
"It's actually surprisingly easy, we kinda just lead by example, people look at us and the way we conduct our lives and they just kinda fall in step with it as they realise that there's another way to the way they've been taught, we never force anyone or anything onto them, it's up to them to either choose to embrace our way of life or not, but the reason the group exists in the first place is to give them that choice and to protect them if they choose to make it, at our core we believe one single thing, everyone is born free and no-one has the right to take that freedom from you, freedom to choose, to love, to live, we fight and die to protect that freedom everywhere we go, hence why we are here in the first place," Seven said and Judy looked at him curiously.
"The whole place is run by Raider clans who have turned slaver, the place used to be inhabited by simple farmers and traders but then the raiders came and took over the whole show, they enslaved the populace and now run it like a series of mini slave empires, trading in suffering and misery and not just human suffering and misery either," Timothy said his voice going very dark towards the end which caused Shauna to place a comforting arm around her man's shoulders.
Judy looked at him curiously to prompt him to continue but it was Varrel and Vizzy that picked up the thread.
