Radiance

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.

"We used to have a hive of our own, we all lived in peace under our amazing queen, she was a wonderful beautiful female who wanted nothing more than for us to live in peace with our human neighbours, she envisioned a future where humans and Cazadors would live, work and maybe even love side by side, where we would be friends and more, but then the raiders came and they burned our hive and everyone inside it alive, only me and my brother Varrel here survived that atrocity, then they captured us and took us as slaves until we saw a chance to free ourselves, we had heard of the humans who were fighting back with non-humans stood proudly at their sides so we took a chance and sought them out, they welcomed us with open arms and now we stand as proud part of their hive and we will die to defend it and all that it stands for, never will evil take our hive again, we will die first!!" Vizzy said with a proud and defiant buzz in her wings.

Seven clapped her on the shoulder and nodded.

"Well said Vizzy," he said nodding approvingly.

"Think you'll have room for me in your ranks, after all the evil that the Enclave had me do I think I'm really gonna need to bank up some serious karma points if I want to make things good with the universe," Judy said her voice sounding kinda forlorn.

Seven stepped up to her and placed both hands on her shoulders forcing her to look up into her brother's handsome face.

"I've never turned away a stranger who wished to join us, so there is no way in hell that I'd turn away my own flesh and blood, and besides I do believe me and you have a hell of a lot of catching up to do, don't you?' he said causing a grateful smile to break out on Judy's face before she threw her arms around her brother's chest.

"Thank you, Arthur," she said.

"Wait just a fucking minute, Arthur!? As in King fucking Arthur!? That's your real name!!?" Timothy yelled and Seven shot him a look that said 'Oh fuck.'

"Oh, this is just too perfect! Now all we need is to find you a round table and get you some knights, oh and a sword that we found jammed in some rock," Timothy said with a grin while Shauna and Eve laughed.

Both Vess and Visa looked confused, "Why would he need a round table or knights and why use a sword when he can use a gun or his abilities to far greater effect?" Vess asked.

"It's a human thing but don't worry I'm sure your niece will adapt to her new name of Guinevere soon enough," Timothy said making the others laugh even harder to the point where even Judy seemed to be sniggering behind her hand.

But Seven being Seven simply took it in his stride while simply chuckling and shaking his head.

"Oh I get the feeling I am so gonna regret sharing that little nugget with you guys aren't I?" he said causing Timothy and Eve to shoot him a set of devious grins.

"Oh yeah and how, plus we are so decorating your power armour up to be fit for a king now, some nice shiny outer plates and oh maybe a crown to go on the helmet....." Timothy said making Eve and Judy laugh even harder.

"I am NOT changing my name to Gunivere! I'll have you know that Visa is a noble Claw name!" Visa snarled whipping her tail about as she glared at the sniggering humans around her.

"So what you saying is you either a lady or a princess?" Timothy said causing Visa to turn and glare at him.

"Well I suppose one could look at it that way given that I was high in the hierarchy of our noble pack," she said and Timothy's grin grew so wide it looked like it might just wrap around his entire head.

"Now you've done it," he said glancing at his beloved Claw girl who was blatantly confused by all of this.

"Done what?" she asked.

Timothy, Shauna, Eve, Chris and even Judy all pulled off their best mock bows, "All hail the noble king Arthur and his royal lady the Princess Visa of Claw," Timothy said before the four of them simply fell about laughing.

"That," Seven said shooting his confused Claw a sympathetic smile as she looked at all the rolling humans with a look of total loss plastered on her pretty features.

"Will someone for the love of the eternal pack explain what the hell it is you bloody humans find so amusing?" Vess demanded and once Chris had managed to dry his eyes and pull himself up off the floor he pulled his big Alpha Matriarch Claw to one side and whispered in her ear.

Pretty soon the same smile that all of them were sharing now spread to Vess's face and she showed off all of her large fangs as she turned to glance at Visa who was starting to look like steam might behind pouring out from under her scales.

"Oh come on not you as well," Visa grumped and Seven decided to put his beloved Claw girl out of her misery by pulling her to one side and explaining to the legend of King Arthur and his knights of the Round Table as well as the legend of the sword in the stone to her.

"So you are named for a noble and beloved King?" she said and Seven simply shrugged.

"It was a common name back in olden times apparently but yeah I kinda guess so in a way," he said.

Visa looked at him with an almost star-struck expression on her regal face, "And by that logic given I am your chosen lifemate that would make me your queen would it not?" she said and Seven laughed.

"Don't let it go to your horned head dear I already treat you like a queen, I doubt people are going to be bowing at our feet and throwing roses in our path any time soon, not that I'd want them to in any case," he said.

"Agreed but Queen Visa does have a nice ring to it," she said making him chuckle.

"I haven't even decided if I want to use it yet if I'm honest, I mean everyone knows me as Seven and I feel like I've made it my own, I don't even know if I'll be comfortable as Arthur, it kinda feels like it's a totally separate person from myself, one that I don't even know or understand," he said making Visa's expression soften as she realised the turmoil that must be going through her male's mind right now.

She stepped up to him and wrapped both her long arms and her tail around him to draw him into a deep and protective hug that pressed his head right into her chest.

"Know this, to me it doesn't matter if you are Arthur or Seven, you are the male I love with my entire heart, mind, body and soul, you and the essence of you are everything that I love and want, to me it does not matter what you choose to call yourself because I love you either way," she said making him smile into her chest as she returned her embrace.

"Thank you Visa, you have no idea how much that means to me," he said.

"Hopefully somewhere close to how much you mean to me my love," she said with a smile as she ruffled his hair playfully.

That's when the pair turned and realised that Judy was watching them with some interest and while the pair broke from their hug they did not fully release one another by still holding hands.

"Come on Judy let's all go and sit down shall we, I think we have quite a bit of catching up to do don't you?" he said and she nodded taking hold of his other hand as he led the pair of them to the tree house.

After grabbing the three of them a coffee and handing them out Seven sat himself at the table with both Judy and Visa and looked at the pair of them.

"This feels kinda surreal I will admit," he said and Judy nodded in agreement.

"Until Zixxy kicked in the walls of my memories like a little gree wrecking ball I thought my entire life was figured out, I was on the fast track to becoming one of the highest ranking Spectres and I was willing to do anything and everything necessary to serve the Enclave and my country," Judy said taking a sip from her hot black coffee while looking at Seven over the rim of the cup.

He nodded in understanding, "Yeah I do believe they were trying something similar with me back in the place they were holding me, but rather than manage to program me all they seem to have managed to do is to wipe out any memories I had of the time before I was there," he said.

"What happened to you after they took you, Arthur?" Judy asked and Seven's expression darkened quite considerably.

"You ever wonder if there's a hell?" he asked and she looked at him curiously but simply shrugged in response as if she didn't know what to say or even how to answer that.

"Well I don't because I've seen it and lived it first hand, they wanted to test my abilities to the limits, Dr Chalmers wanted to see exactly how far she could push me and exactly what my survival instincts would protect me from, now bare in mind this was back in the early days of my abilities starting to blossom, so they were absolute torture to push, like pushing a muscle beyond its tearing point and then continuing to work it as if it hasn't just been torn to shreds, I spent pretty much every single day with a migraine that made me feel like I had a head full of broken glass and rusty nails, not to mention the injuries that I sustained during the 'training,'" he said.

Judy looked horrified at this and Visa reached out and took his hands in her to strengthen his soul with her own which made him smile at her softly.

"But I suppose it was worth all the pain in the end because not only did they give me the means to help and protect people as well as the ones I love but they gave me the will to push through what I see as limits, to break them down and push myself further than I ever thought possible, hence why I can fly now, how I can bring down an entire building on top of our enemies or I can catch bullets fired at our allies in mid-air and throw them back," Seven said with a fire steadily growing in his voice.

"How did you escape and where were they holding you?" Judy asked.

"In an airship that doubled as a mobile lab for some of the Enclave's most top secret experiments, supposed to be both infiltration and escape proof as it was thousands of feet in the air, but they didn't bet on Wisp being able to jack one of their robots and to use that body to not only open all the cages on the ship which released all those like my beloved Visa here and gave them a fighting chance to either escape or to dole out some payback for all they had suffered too, then we found our way to the escape pods in the belly of the ship and ejected ourselves and fortunately so did Visa and her brother Ven," Seven said.

Judy looked at Visa in surprise, "You have a brother and you were both on the ship with Arthur too?" she exclaimed and Visa nodded her handsome features showing the strain of the memories of that place all too well.

"Yeah, it was a true hell in the sky just as my beloved male describes it to be, they were trying to domesticate both Claws and all other manners of wasteland creatures in order to turn us into docile slave labour and attack dogs for their army, they experimented on us ruthlessly to see what things like pain tolerances were and what were resistant too as well as not so resistant to," Visa said and again Judy looked horrified.

"So how did you manage to escape them?" she asked directing the question at Visa who now gave a grin.

"When the cages popped open and the riot began I wished to stay and fight, to punish those that had hurt us and killed our beloved pack mates, but my brother bless his horns pulled me away, he had seen some of the plans of the ship when the humans had taken him for experimentation and he had committed them to memory, so together we cut through the ship until we as Seven and Wisp did we reached the escape pods and ejected ourselves int othe night sky," she said.

Judy looked truly amazed now and she glanced between the pair who were still holding hands and the love between them not to mention the mutual respect was glaringly obvious to anyone with the blessing of sight.

"So how did you meet and how come you didn't you know kill one another on sight given what had happened?" Judy asked.

"Well, we kinda bumped into one another in a train tunnel after our escape, both Visa and Ven had the same idea as us to use the train tunnels to hinder the hunting teams and to stand the best chance of gaining some distance, well we kinda ended up in a Mexican standoff until a load of feral Ghouls decided to crash the party," Seven said.