Radiance

Chapter 53: Breaking the Chain.

"OK I think that's got it, let's test this thing," Shauna said leaning back on her stool and looking at the modified burst transmitter that Gregory and Tim had built and she'd spent the last five hours fine-tuning.

"No offence that doesn't look much like a weapon, it kinda looks like a car battery with antennas bolted onto it," Shepherd said leaning back on the couch that she and Spectre were sitting on playing cards with Ven, they'd spent the last couple of hours teaching the big claw boy how to play poker and were now regretting it as he had one hell of a poker face and was beating them both senseless.

Shauna chuckled and nodded, "Yeah I agree but if this works the way we hope it will this little car battery will be a serious force for good, though thanks to the materials we have the range are kinda limited," she said gently running one of the large whip like arieals that was sticking out of of the side of it.

"Alright, it's powered up let's see if it works," Gregory said checking over the helmet as Tim turned one last screw and the tesla coils began to crackle with energy.

"Why is the helmet jammed on a pumpkin?" Spectre asked looking over her shoulder at the work they were doing.

"We need a biological test subject so we can test the effect of the jammer so we can fine-tune it unless you think you can convince Ven to update his wardrobe somewhat?" Tim said and both Ven and Gregory both growled and scowled at him at the same time.

"Try it let's see how that goes for you," Gregory said and Tim chuckled to himself.

"Thought as much," he said and with that, he gave Shauna a nod and she began flipping switches on the large transmitter making a soft hum spring up as it began to power up.

"Ok here we go, let's see what this fucker can do," Shauna said and she set it to broadcast.

Both Gregory and Tim watched the helmet closely and nothing happened.

"Ok try adjusting the output frequency," Timothy said.

Shauna began gently adjusting the output dial and as she did the helmet began to hum, "There we go I think we're getting somewhere, crank it up up a bit" Tim said.

Shauna began turning the dials and as she did the helmet got louder and louder until there was a sharp crackle from the tesla coils before the hum got so loud that all of them put their hands over their ears and the pumpkin exploded sending a shower of slightly toasted pumpkin flesh and seeds all over both Gregory and Tim who both jumped and looked at the still crackling helmet.

'Shut it down" Tim sighed heavily and Shauna flipped the switches off and the hum ceased immediately.

Shauna walked over to Tim and lifted a large cooked piece of pumpkin flesh from his head and she ate it, "Hmmm not bad, think we're gonna need to make some fine adjustments" she said giving Tim a soft smile and he lifted an eyebrow at her.

"Yeah ya think?" he said and she chuckled softly.

"Yeah I really don't think blowing up Claws is going to win us any friends, blowing Claws maybe but blowing them up not so much," Gregory said wiping the pumpkin flesh from his head.

"Oh yeah, that'll get you some claw boyfriends alright, blowing them up, yeah not going to make happy claws that way," Ven said helping Gregory with cleaning the pumpkin off himself.

"Alright let's get another pumpkin and try this again," Shauna said and the others nodded.

It took the team four hours worth of tinkering and fine-tuning to get it right but eventually, they cracked the code and now when pulsed the helmet simply shut down completely and as long as the pulser was on and in range it was impossible to bypass which would allow the helmets to be removed from the poor claws they were bolted onto.

"So this is it? We can free the Claws with this?" Seven asked leaning over the counter and examining the pulser closely.

"Yup, plus we've also come up with a secondary idea that we can use to permanently disable the helmets once they are shielded from the command units by the pulser but it's more for you than anyone else and maybe possibly Wisp as you two would be the only two able to get close enough to the confused and angry claws without getting hurt by the backlash, well at least until they calm down anyway," Shauna said and Seven glanced up at her.

"Trust me Seven those claws are gonna be pretty fucking pissed when they get snapped out of their controlled state, even a pretty boy human like you is gonna have a hell of a job getting close to them until they calm down, but we gotta make sure they don't run out of range of the pulser before we can get the helmets of them and truly freeing them," Visa said leaning on her human's shoulders and looking at the pulser sat on the table.

"Ok yeah I see that, so what are you thinking Shauna?" Seven asked.

"Well actually it was Tim here that figured it out," Shauna said smiling at the beautiful human standing next to her and feeling a warmth washing throughout her as he smiled back at her because there was such a warmth and joy to it as he got praised.

"It's simple really, the whole system has a flaw and while it is a small thing it's astronomically bad for the design because the whole system cannot run without it," Tim said with a smile.

Seven nodded, "Ok so what am I looking for?" he asked and Tim pulled out a small little glass tube with what looked like filament wire running through it.

"A fucking fuse?" Seven exclaimed taking it from him and turning it over in his hand and Tim smiled and nodded.

"Yup, fucking crazy right? They put a fucking fuse in this thing and if you pop it fucks up the whole thing by shutting it down cold" Tim said proudly.

A sly smile crossed over Seven's face before a cautious note flashed through his intense eyes, "Is there any risk to the Claw if I pop this thing?" he asked and Tim shook his head.

"Nope I volt tested the system, if it pops the whole thing shuts down instantly and cannot be switched back on, so my recommendation would be to jam the system with the pulser then either you or Wisp target these little fuckers and boom, free Claws and there's fuck all the Enclave can do about it," Tim said and both Visa and Ven growled in unison.

"Sounds like a perfect recipe for very healthy Claw justice don't you sister?" Ven said and Visa growled and gave him a toothy and very dark grin.

"Oh I do brother dear I do indeed," she said.

Shauna watched happily as Timothy explained to both Seven and the now freshly summoned Wisp who had towed Malakai along who was shooting concerned glances at both Shauna and Tim obviously looking for any signs of problems or tension but he seemed to relax when he saw Tim place his hand on her large forearm which sent a flurry of tingles right up her arm and into her heart making it flutter like the wings of a bird caught in her chest.

"Alright, so we got the how, now we need the where, get Faith in here I want to know what her people have found out," Seven said and Shauna felt her heart crank up a few beats and she looked immediately at Tim to judge his reaction and while obviously looked nervous he was trying to stay strong so Shauna couldn't help but reach out and place a large hand on his shoulder, he immediately turned to look at her and took a deep breath before moving so that her arm slipped around his shoulders and he held her hand against his chest after gently kissing the back of it.

As Faith entered the room her eyes went instantly to Tim and then to Shauna and both of them didn't break her gaze for a moment and Shauna made sure she gently squeezed Tim to reinforce his strength and it seemed to work as instead of him dropping his gaze, she dropped hers and looked at the floor in front of her looking at her feet and Shauna felt pride swelling for him.

"Before we start can I say something?" Faith asked and Seven looked at her and he nodded.

Faith took a deep breath and took a large step toward Timothy causing Shauna to straighten up and puff herself up protectively of him and it was not a display that was missed by Faith and she faltered slightly but calmed herself and focused on Timothy.

"Timothy I want to tell you how sorry I am for what I did to you, I am not going to make any excuses or blame it on anything like what I have suffered from humans because what I did was completely unprovoked, I let my anger get the better of me and I saw an easy target to vent my rage upon and I took it, it was stupid, childish and a low unbecoming thing to do to an innocent person, I revelled in your misery and embarrassment and I tormented you before I attacked you and tried to make you feel ashamed in your own skin, I did the very thing that humans have been doing to Ghouls this entire time if you hate me and think me a monster I understand because I deserve it, but I want you to know how incredibly sorry I am for what I did to you, it was cowardly and unbecoming of me or any Ghoul," she said and to her surprise, Shauna heard very genuine remorse and sorrow in her voice.

Timothy listened and watched her hard and then just nodded, "I thank you for the words Faith but what you did I cannot forgive easily, if you truly want me to forgive you then you are going to have to earn it, you hurt me both in my pride and physically for no good reason, I did nothing to you and you hurt me, badly and while the physical damage will heal fairly quickly the psychological will take much longer and cut much much deeper, so if you really want me to forgive you then prove it" Tim said and Faith just sighed and nodded.

"That's understandable and I thank you for at least listening to me, I will make it right or at least as right as I can, I will prove to you and all of you that I am worthy of the second chance I have been given, in this world it would have been easy for you to seek revenge and I am very grateful that you have not I will show you that it is not misplaced," Faith said first focusing on Tim but then turning to look at all the others gathered and Seven nodded approvingly.

"Alright well have your intel people checked in?" Seven asked and Faith turned back to face him and nodded.

"Yeah about half an hour ago, two of our scav teams spotted a couple of teams moving through the city, they were dropped off by Vertibird and they seem to be advancing on the position from two different directions and they seem to have brought more claws with them this time each team is made up of four humans and four claws" Faith said and Seven nodded.

"Alright then no time to waste, if we let them get entrenched they will be far harder to dig out, we gotta hit them in the open, any word on the Brotherhood?" Seven asked.

Faith shook her head, "Nope all quiet on their end, either they don't realise their team is toast or they are planning something else, but either way no movement from their outpost yet" she said.

"Alright people time to mount up and move out, we got claws to free and Enclave asses to kick so let's get moving," he said and everyone quickly scrambled to get armed and ready.

Faith showed them on the map the last known positions of the Enclave soldiers and between them, they quickly figured out their most likely route through the city, they sent out both Runs and Riss to head to the two most likely spots so they could pick their trail and it didn't take long for Riss to come back to them.

"Blue one to blue leader, come in blue leader" Riss's voice crackled through the radio, they'd now opted for using call signs over the radio just in case the Enclave was listening in, they did not want them to have a chance to report who was in the area to the higher-ups or they would probably drop the whole fucking Enclave down on their heads.

"Go ahead blue one," Seven said from his hiding spot in an upstairs room of a bombed-out building along the suspected route of one of the teams.

"They are right where we thought they would be, count four humans and four clawssss over," Riss said.

"Roger that Blue one stay with them but stay hidden when it pops off you are weapons free but stay out of range of the claws they are gonna be pretty pissed, blue leader over and out," Seven said then he turned to the rest of the group.

"Alright people get ready shit's about to get real," he said then he turned to a window across the street and using a small mirror he flashed a signal to get Wisp's attention and to tell her it was on, she flashed back recognition and now all they had to do was wait.

It didn't take long for the group to come into view, they were set up in a two-four two formation with two claws in the front and the four humans in the middle and the other two claws bringing up the rear, Seven gave Shauna a finger count starting at five and closing one metal finger until his fist closed and Shauna hit the button on the pulser.

The device cracked and hummed to life and the effect was almost instantaneous, all four claws began to at their heads, from below them the voices of the human soldier could be clearly heard, "What the hell is that? What's going on?" the soldier in the front who was obviously the officer being the only one not wearing power armour said.

"I don't know sir they aren't responding, I can't get them to respond to any commands!!" one of the soldiers exclaimed jabbing a series of buttons on a small control box he was holding.

"Get these fucking animals back under control!!" the officer yelled as the claws fought against the control of the helmets.

"Seven now!" Timothy exclaimed as he watched the readouts on the pulser.

Seven nodded and he reached out with his mind and like the gentle caress of a lover, he ran his invisible hands right up the back of the claw's heads until they were able to slip into their helmets and with a quick flick of telekinetic energy he destroyed the components that Timothy had shown him.

For a moment all four claws looked like someone had simply unplugged them, they stopped scrambling against their helmets and simply stood there frozen in place, Timothy moved to the window and as he watch their eyes went from glassy to clear as their senses were returned to their control.

The first thing was a look of confusion on the four claws' faces which were made up of three large females and one male, but those looks instantly switched to looks of pure rage and all four turned to glare at the four humans now caught in the middle of them.

"Oh, shit the helmets have failed!! Put these fucking things down!!" the officer yelled scrambling to raise his plasma pistol on the nearest claw to him but that's when Seven showed off that supremely dark side of his that both impressed and scared Tim in equal measure, the dude was genuinely scary as all hell when he wanted to be.

Seven simply stretched out his hand and with a flick of his wrist all of the Enclave's weapons flew out of their hands and clattered against the wall of the building opposite them which hid Wisp and the other half of the team, "Not today fuckers, today the claws get even" Seven said quietly.

The biggest of the four females bellowed a roar that seemed to fill the entire street with an unseen mass making Timothy shrink back from the window in fear but Ven placed a reassuring hand on his slender shoulder, "Don't worry Tim we won't let them hurt you, but you are about to see exactly what claw vengeance and justice looks like" he said softly but in a rather dark voice.

As Tim turned his head back he was just in time to see the biggest female lash out with such blinding speed that the officer was barely able to blink before his head was simply cleaved right from his shoulder by her razor-sharp claws, then with a display of incredible speed and agility she snatched his now severed head from his shoulders and while his mouth was still moving and looking like he was trying to say something, pitched it right into the helmeted face of the next closest soldier leaving a massive bloody face print right on the skin of his armour.

It was at that point the other three claws moved and like a well-oiled machine the three of them struck fast and hard, each picking a single armoured target they laid into them, they smashed their claws into their armoured bodies tearing and rending their armour to get at the hidden flesh within the metal suits, claw justice was swift as it was brutal, in mere seconds the four of them cut down the three soldiers and left them in a dismembered heap on the floor.

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"You're up guys, I'll be watching over you," Seven said and both Ven and Visa both nodded before turning and heading for the door.

"Brothers and sisters you are free now" Visa announced loudly as she stepped outside and the four claws whirled and looked at the two newcomers with suspicions and anger at first until they realised that they too were claws.

The large female took a few tentative steps towards the sibling pair and sniffed the air while cocking her large horned head to one side curiously and thoughtfully, the female claw was bigger than both Visa and Ven by about half a foot and had even more muscle, her tail was absolutely massive and it swished about as if she was thinking about something and struggling with it and that's when Seven saw her bright and very vivid electric blue eyes clear and recognition flooded in.

"Visa? Ven?" the female claw spoke in a deep rumbling voice.

"Hello auntie Vess, it is good to see you again," Ven said and before Seven's mouth even had time to fall open in shock the huge female claw shot forwards and threw her massive arms around the pair pulling them both into a singular embrace which they returned both joyful and from what Seven could see tearfully.

"Oh by the graces above, you're alive!! I had never dared to hope that I would see any of my beloved pack that wasn't locked in that hell hole with me ever again, are there any more?" Vess said quickly as the other three claws rushed in and joined in the embrace, it turned out that they were all sentient claws like Visa and Ven and were obviously of their pack.

Ven shook his head, "No, all gone, infact we were convinced you were all dead, we both tried to hope but it's been incredibly hard" Ven said tearfully rubbing his head and nuzzling against his auntie.

"How many of us are left?" Visa asked and Vess looked pretty downcast and shook her head.

"Not that I know of, your cousins here were the only ones in the human lock up with us, the others were feral claws, but they were in just as much pain and loss as us, it was obvious that their packs were destroyed and torn apart as ours was and I felt their pain at not being able to give voice to their grief, I saw hatchlings pining for their lost parents clinging to their little siblings because they were all they had left," Vess said.

"But I don't understand how are we free? What happened to the human technology?" one of the other claws asked and Seven realised it was the male of the group.

"Well you can thank our new friends for that, they have fought hard to not only get us here but helped us every single step of the way to free you, they are the greatest allies that we could ever hope for and then so much more besides," Ven said and Vess looked at him curiously.

"Allies?" she asked.

"Think that's your cue," Shauna said to Seven and he nodded and after taking a few deep breaths to calm his nerves he turned and walked down the stairs and out onto the street.

Unfortunately, he'd kinda forgotten that he was still wearing Enclave power armour so the response from the four newly freed claws was kinda instantaneous as he appeared, Vess let out another bellowing roar and pushed her family behind her, "Look out my beloved ones there is another one!! I will deal with it!!" she yelled and charged forwards towards Seven.