Chapter 516 - I'm Blue.

Dean shrugs and begins listing out the various districts of the town. It takes a while due to him having to explain the various shortcuts and pathways needed to get from one area to another, but eventually they have a clear picture painted out.

The various areas for the town were known as;​​

Puesta del Sol : Most of the construction of the place wasn't even completed, in addition, most of the ground level is completely covered by the Cloud, making it almost unpassable, save a few like Dean. Of course, with all the danger present, there had to be a point of interest, in particular the Switching Station that was vital for gaining access to the Sierra Madre Casino atop the mountain. Though, Dean is reluctant to tell them how, or why.

Residential District : Their current location, the ground floor as per usual is heavy with the Cloud, and the traps Dean had set around the place only made it more perilous to traverse. Add the many, many Ghosts wandering around and few would willingly venture here, though, this makes it a perfect spot for Dean to make his home.

Salida del Sol : A place completely infested by Ghosts, which is ironic due to the fact it's where most religious housing and churches were placed. The infestation is only made worse by the fact that no Holograms were present to kill the Ghosts, the reason for this was due to 'religious mandates or some such' as Dean describes it. Again, explains that another Switching Station is present here, though he'd apparently never seen it since this district is the most dangerous by far.

Medical District : This place formerly held many clinics, hospitals and medical research buildings, but is now patrolled by Ghosts. Dean had explored a good portion of it, but hadn't been there lately due to the speakers that were strategically placed around... These Speakers would apparently detonate the collars if someone was stood within their range for long enough... Now it's no longer an issue of course, but that didn't mean they wanted Elijah to know of their treachery yet.

Villa : This is where Elijah first spoke to the group, and where they landed the Vertibird... They'd probably need to get back to it at some point if they wanted to escape. Afton was all too aware that the Cloud lingering overhead would probably prevent any attempts at teleportation... There's also the fact that if they tried, only half of them would reach their destination.

Villa Police Station : Last and certainly least, was the police station... Apparently, Dean had already looted this place dry, and with what he found made numerous traps, mines, and other explosives with it. He'd scrapped most of the ballistic weaponry there for gunpowder and other metal components, making going there basically pointless.

All of this information was fantastic but still didn't help their efforts in finding Christine all that much... Though, at least now they knew where they were looking, and Dean's help would probably prevent them from walking around in circles.

Afton stands from his seated position and claps his hands together, making a metallic sound ring out, "Alright, we should probably get moving then..." he looks to Dean, "Any idea where we should check first?"

The ghoul shrugs, "I would not know where to start... We're trying to find someone who's likely a captive of 'HIM'... So maybe the Police Station Cells would be a place to start?" he offers.

Afton nods, "Good enough for me."

The group leave Dean's home and begin taking his various shortcuts through the Residential District towards where the Police Station is. Strangely or not, Elijah has yet to trigger any of the Ghost attracting alarms. Afton was pretty sure this was due to the presence of Dean, but he could be wrong...

Something to note while they travelled was the fact that the Cloud was able to corrode most metals... This even included Saturnite Alloy, meaning Afton and Veronica's Power armour wouldn't protect them if they fell into it.

The group had almost reached the Police Station and were currently standing on a rooftop overlooking the street where its entrance lay.

Dean has an odd look on his face as he looks down it however, "I don't remember there being so many Ghosts before... And the Cloud... Looks like someone has pumped it in from another District. Maybe 'HE' doesn't want you to find something inside?" he questions.

Afton nods, "It's starting to look tha-" he starts, but before he can finish his sentence his Danger Sense blares like another sun from behind him.

He turns around in time to dodge the kick aimed at his back, but is too late to stop Anja from being thrown from the roof and towards the street below, the street thick with the Cloud and Ghosts...

"Fuck!" Afton shouts, ignoring the attacker for now as he leaps for Anja, managing to grab her midair as they tumble towards the street. They slam into the wall opposite the rooftop and drop into the Cloud as the other watch.

Veronica turns towards the attacker and gives an enraged shout as she attempts to shoot it in the face with her Gauss Rifle. The Nightkin Super Mutant who'd ambushed them immediately ducks to avoid a shot, and with speed not seen commonly seen from its species, tackles her while managing to knock the rifle from her hands and into the street below.

"Piece of shit!" Veronica shouts as she wrestles with the mutant, their strength somewhat matched, though, after a few traded punches, it was clear she was slightly weaker than it, even with her Power armour.

*Bang! Bang! Bang!*

The Super Mutant is about to slam its fists down on Veronica's head when it stumbles from being shot in the back. Dean glares at the mutant while still pointing his revolver, "You may have just killed my ticket out of here, you will regret it!" he states while unloading the rest of his bullets.