The days rolled on after the whole train car incident and the thought of another wander probably in the future was running through my head when at the top of the tower I can hear a shout, followed by another one responding somewhere off in the distance. As I turn to look I can see a small convoy consisting of what appears to be three people and a brahmin. Two of them were in the usual doctor's coats of the Followers and one, looking a bit rougher than the rest must have been the guard. The brahmin itself wasn't loaded much either as it seemed like it only carried the essentials for the trip and another bag or two. This wasn't the usual restocking convoy as usually they would be lined up the road with food and medicines as instead this one...

The crunch of sand alerts me that someone is close to me, I try to turn and seem them with only a flash of golden scales before it disappears beside me and a voice speaks up. "Luorca? Are you up?" I give a nod "I am, doctor. What's going on?" I say as i'm sure i'm not scheduled for any tests or weighing for the next few days. "Good, good." The golden gecko Follower says as I hear her move again somewhere beside me. "I wanted to tell you that soon, we'll have a experiment that I want you to participate in. And don't worry, it's not anymore exercise." Thank the matriarch for that... "Today, my organization might have made a breakthrough with the serum that you came in afflicted with so long ago." "You mean..." Before I could really get the thought out I feel a pat onto my belly as she speaks up again. "I'm sorry, Luorca. While it won't get you back to your normal size, what we have may make it much, much easier for you to get around with. With hopes slightly crushed, I ask the only thing I can. "And... what is that?"


As they unloaded the brahmin and the scientists caught up with each other, the gecko soon came over to me with the nightstalker guard in tow. A low, whistling chirp can be heard from him as he looks up to me. "Big fella..." he says before the gecko starts, "Indeed, and if things go well today, a mobile fellow too... though bigger as well" This bit of news catches my attention as I quickly ask "Doc? What do you have in mind with that experiment today?" with clear apprehension growing in my voice. "Now, now, don't worry luorca. Today the experiment will be with the serum that made you this way today like I said, but this one is modified. We have found a way to make it instead of affecting the adipose of a target, to use them as a way to draw in, filter, then store lighter than air gasses and air together to make you much, much more mobile. Well, in your case anyway. The purpose of it generally is to help immobilize, capture, and then relocate deathclaws of a more hostile nature and you get to be the one to test it for us!" To draw in... air? Like, a airtank or the like? "The serum and applicator we have with us today is both much more concentrated to account for your weight and will have both monitoring systems inside of it along with a way for you to use it when you need too so your "outtings" don't take months of travel time." Was this really something that could do that? I mean, a few years ago I didn' think that there was something out there that could fatten me up to the size of a train and look at me now. Maybe this could work.

"Now, as we get everything ready... " She says as she nods towards the nightstalker and he walks off, "... I want you to start heading over to the weighing station just down the way. Me and my colleagues have a bit of prep work to do but we should be ready by the time you reach the station." And with that, she heads back to the tower. Well, better start walking. As I make my way over, I can't help but think about what this whole thing might do to me. I mean, to make me a living air tank? Would this be permanent, like the other one? Would this really help or would I just float off into the sky? Might not even work at all since this apparently is all new to everyone. Either way I don' t have much of a choice with anything else helping me and the Followers have seemed to have the best for me so I owe them that trial at least.

As soon as I make it onto the scale, the clatter of noise behind me tells me that the others have caught up and soon we'll see just what this experiment brings. I feel something start to climb up my thigh before gaining purchase atop it and soon climbing up over my moob. "Now Luorca, we're sending someone up to help put on the harness there, try and stay as still as you can while he climbs up, ok?" The gecko says as I can catch glances of other Followers around me taking their positions and a few entering the station. "Ok, ma'am." I say just as the nightstalker pops his head up beside my arm and clambers on up to stand on my shoulder. "Alright big guy, the others have told me to tell you how this thing works..." He says as he holds up what appears to be... NCR armor? No, it's armor at first glance but a bit more and the whole things takes on a whole different look. The plate armor was instead for the back as two small tanks were strapped to it, a small metallic panel box beneath them for what I can only assume to be those monitoring systems and the like. The arm bands were thick and segmented with clip on support and one side having a yellow, sunken in button on it. At the front, a bag was sown on looking for more of a utility thing rather than holding anything necessary. The one thing that caught my eye though was the tube coming out the back of it but on the inside. "... When we get this on you, you're gonna feel something push against your back, that's just the applicator going in since this stuff needs to be injected to work." He flips the apparatus around. "These tanks hold 4 doses of the serum and while they can be refilled don't you go and use them all at once, ya hear? The effects should last anywhere from a few days to a week. Now, see this button? "He says as he turns it back around and shows the yellow box I saw before. "This is how you get a dose, hold 5 seconds then release. Made it that way so you don't go swelling up from bumping into anything. Other than that, it's all straightforward. Bag up front for whatever you may need, tracker and monitor so we can see and tell where you're at when you use a dose or are gone too long. And strong clip on bands so you don't go and break it! Got that all?" I give a nod. "Good! Now, let's see here..." He says as he climbs over onto my back and with surprising speed, hooks the harness on. With a small pinching feeling to my back as he climbs on down the experiment begins.

"Press the button Luorca." I take in a deep breath and hold the button down. 5,4,3,2,1, then release. A small hiss can be heard behind me and a light pressure slips between my back ridges and... I wait. It doesn't take long before a familiar gurgle starts to emit from my belly and seemingly all at once, it starts. A high pressure suddenly surges through me and I can only grit my teeth as I inflated at quite the rate with my belly starting by taking the most of it. It jutted off and outward with great speed with the rest of me catching up with it soon after. My legs grew large and wide as I could feel my paws start to slide outward from it, my moobs grew and grew until they were the size of my belly at my heaviest and lofted my rounding arms up with them. Even my tail didn't escape this either as I could feel it start to lighten up as it widened and grew.

More and more I grew and yet, didn't feel as if the weight was matching my size, if anything it felt as if something was different. With a tentative bounce on my now much lighter than normal claws... I was off the ground! Well, most of me was as I managed to just stay on the ground with the tip of my paws as the rest of me gently hovered. It took a bit longer before the pressure started to relent and bit by bit it slowed until the feeling had completely passed.

"Did... did it work?" I say, much too large to even see over myself but excitement slowly growing. A bit of chattering is all that
reaches me to one side before I feel something push against my belly and the talking stops. "It did indeed, Luorca, you're now as light as a normal deathclaw." Oh thank matriarch!"Try and move if you can." I can hear the gecko Follower say, obviously talking about my bloated haunches and arms as they felt more like overinflated balloons rather than mobile extremities. With a slow, and very wobbly start, I put one paw up, carefully bring it forward, then bring it back down, making more progress in that one step than I would in half a hour at my heaviest. "Like that?" I question, trying to keep my excitement down until everything was checked, last thing I wanted to do was celebrate early and float off from tripping or the like. A affirming chirp comes from somewhere next to me, one I recognize as the nightstalker's before the Gecko speaks up. "Just like that Luorca, from that alone we can conclude that it did indeed work so far. Stay on the scale for now as we monitor your size and weight to see how long this lasts and make sure it doesn't leave any latent effects during it's time." That was a hard ask as I felt like I could walk the whole wasteland again! I haven't felt like this since I was hit with that dart so long
ago and the idea of being mobile, though a blimp, was enough for me! "At least he casts enough shade for the entire crew here for the wait" the other says before the quiet chatter starts again between them.

Though thinking about this now that things have calmed down...just how large will I be before I return to the nest? I was already a big deathclaw leaving so long ago and now I doubt I could even enter the cave at the regular, unbloated size I am. Oh matriarch, they always said that i'd be an airship of a deathclaw if I kept going like I did, if only they saw me now...





Deathclaws, Giant rats, Golden geckos, Nightstalkers, and Fallout: New Vegas belong to bethesda. The blimp of a deathclaw is mine.