Two worlds, one Sandra.
It began in DC, when the girl fled from Vault 101. She faced death numerous times on the treacherous road west, and in Dog City Denver, she met the greatest of Caesar's frumentarii for the first time; Vulpes Inculta.
After their encounter, Sandra took up work as a simple courier, broken by the war with the Enclave and determined to start fresh, paying her traumatic past no mind. But storm clouds gathered in the Mojave Wasteland, and Sandra became swept up in the chaos; she met a young junkie named Niner, and soon after, she met the Followers doctor, Arcade Gannon, as well as Raul Tejada, Craig Boone, and many others.
After a long-winded struggle and a plethora of complicated situations, Sandra and Arcade agreed to take a certain banished frumentarius under their wing, Arcade reluctant to do so. With Vulpes as an unlikely ally and with many bridges of comradery to build before the next war, Sandra and the others begin their journey to rescue the Mojave Wasteland... and as she does, she can't help but notice that this sensation of oncoming danger, of war on the horizon, feels a bit too familiar.
But enough of that. If you've come this far, you're in all the way; let's skip the recap and get this show on the road. Ring-a-ding-ding, baby.
Unlike the rest of the Capital Wasteland, Megaton was positively thriving.
Fawkes the supermutant still maintained his position as the town's protector, and Mr. Burke - even now, five years down the road - was still looking after the town as its new mayor, just as the lone wanderer had asked him to. The irony never slipped his mind; each and every day, when he'd make his morning coffee, greet the newcomers to the town, and talk to Gob at the saloon, he'd remember the first day he set foot in Megaton with the intention of destroying it. It was astonishing that he somehow became the town's protector. He, of all people...
Still, it did become a bit lonely after a while. Gob was always busy, and Fawkes wasn't much for conversation. Bryan Wilks had visited a few times, but he spent most of his time at the Citadel with Sarah Lyons. Bryan had recently risen in rank. He was no longer an initiate; he'd become a Brotherhood Knight under Sarah's wing. Mr. Burke remembered receiving his letter two weeks ago, grinning weakly as he read Bryan's chicken-scratch handwriting as he sipped on a bowl of molerat soup.
He thought of Bryan when he awoke earlier in the day. Mr. Burke's day had started late, as the previous night was spent drinking at the bar and making hearty conversation with some out-of-towners. He didn't think to question why Megaton was obtaining so many new citizens and tourists. He thought the Capital must've been thriving outside of Megaton's walls; Aqua Pura was being distributed all over, and people arriving to the town seemed healthier, happier, and even cleaner. He didn't imagine anything being wrong in the Capital Wasteland, not since the Enclave was eradicated.
He was wrong.
He sat alone at the kitchen table downstairs around noon, eating a leftover bowl of noodles and reading the newspaper. Three-Dog was on the radio, and Wadsworth was hovering around dusting the wanderer's old paintings and belongings. Mr. Burke's eyes trailed after the robot, watching as Wadsworth ran his feather duster over a folded set of clothes on the nearby shelf. It was a vault suit, one that had been modified into an armored traveler's outfit. How long had it been since she left, he wondered...?
"Five years tomorrow, I think," he murmured aloud.
"Is something the matter, Sir?" Wadsworth asked.
"Nothing, Wadsworth," Mr. Burke replied. "Thank you for asking."
He went silent again, flipping the page and skimming over an article regarding Brotherhood politics. It was captioned with bold letters, reading; BROTHERHOOD TURNING OVER A NEW LEAF? LYONS TO STEP DOWN?
"The Lyons' Pride," Mr. Burke muttered. "They're the only part of the Brotherhood that's even remotely humane to the rest of the world. If they step down, all hell will break loose..."
Knock, knock.
Mr. Burke blinked, glimpsing up at the front door. He wasn't expecting any visitors today. Perhaps he'd left his wallet at the saloon again, and Gob was here to return it to him...
He stood and opened the front door, but he was surprised to see neither Gob nor Fawkes outside. Before him stood two silvery, power-armored individuals; a blonde woman and a sixteen-year-old boy, both of whom he recognized.
"You're both a long way from home," Mr. Burke said, stepping aside. "Please, come in. To what do I owe this unexpected visit?"
Sarah Lyons and Bryan Wilks maneuvered into the house, careful not to let their power armor scrape against the doorframe. Bryan deactivated his suit and stepped out of it, but Sarah kept hers on.
"Good to see you," Bryan smiled.
"And you," Mr. Burke replied. "My, you've grown."
"That's what happens when you feed 'em," Sarah chuckled. "How have you been, Mr. Burke?"
"Oh, same old," Mr. Burke said. "Nothing exciting. I rather like this peaceful lifestyle... though, it does get a bit dull at times..."
"Hey, dull is good," Sarah told him. "It's a lot better than running from mutants trying to blow your face off all the time."
Mr. Burke nodded. "That's true enough. Although... I suspect you didn't come here to exchange casual conversation. Is something the matter?"
Sarah's smile faded. She traded serious looks with Bryan.
"It's... a long story," Sarah began. "But... I thought you should know. I'm not sure what you can do, but since you're the mayor now... maybe you can..."
"What's going on?" Mr. Burke inquired.
Sarah took in a deep breath. "It's... the Brotherhood. Elder Lyons isn't in control anymore. Some people are saying he hasn't been in control for a while now. His new adviser is running the show... in fact... he's sort of taken over. He's barely older than Bryan, and he's trying to rule the Brotherhood with an iron fist. It's not looking good."
"Who is it?" Mr. Burke wondered.
"Well... he demanded that we hold an election," Sarah replied. "Apparently, a lot of Brotherhood members agree with him. He thinks that Elder Lyons is wasting time and resources on civilians rather than the original goals in the Codex. A lot of people agree with him, too. It's the Outcasts all over again... only this time, they're winning. They're taking over the Brotherhood, talking about expanding, taking over settlements and branching out to Boston..."
"But who is it?" Mr. Burke asked again. "Who's taking Elder Lyons' place?"
"Elder Maxson," Sarah said grimly. "He won the election. The Brotherhood are preparing for expeditions, packing up to leave the Citadel."
"And go where?" Mr. Burke questioned.
Sarah and Bryan swapped severe expressions again.
"Here?" Mr. Burke said.
Sarah slowly nodded.
"Why would they come here?" Mr. Burke asked her. "What do they want with Megaton? What did Megaton ever do to them?"
"Nothing," Sarah said. "It's not about being provoked... it's about taking over. I know the Brotherhood, and I know Maxson. If they come here... they're gonna take over the whole town. They'll relieve you of your power, and if anyone shows even the slightest hint of resistance, the Brotherhood will wipe them out."
"That's insane," Mr. Burke protested. "No one in this town's done anything to warrant an invasion."
"That's why I'm telling you," Sarah stated. "I was thinking... if I warned you, then maybe you could prepare an evacuation. Warn everyone. Tell them to get out of town. Or, maybe... if you have enough people, and enough guns... you might be able to beat the Brotherhood. Either way, Megaton wouldn't have stood a chance if they got hit without warning. Now, you can make a plan. Decide if you're gonna fight or evacuate."
"We couldn't take all of them on," Mr. Burke groused. "No, we... we aren't soldiers. We don't have power armor. We're outnumbered. There are too many disadvantages... we couldn't win..."
"Then run," Sarah pleaded. "You've got to run. You've got to get out of the Capital Wasteland. Maxson won't stop until every town is under a Brotherhood flag. Maxson is a bloodthirsty bastard. He's a tyrant. It's better if you run. Living under his dictatorship... I wouldn't wish that on anyone."
"Why are you telling me all this?" Mr. Burke asked. "You're Brotherhood."
"I know," Sarah sighed. "I know... and it's treason. If anyone found out that I came here to tip you off, they'd execute me in front of everyone. But I had to. You've got to do something. We all put too much work into the Capital to let everyone die at Maxson's hand."
"What do you propose I do?" Mr. Burke said, growing irritated at the whole situation. "They won't believe that the Brotherhood is preparing an invasion force. The Brotherhood have been helping the citizens of the wasteland for over five years. They have a good reputation with the citizens."
"Then gather whoever you can and run like hell," Sarah replied flatly. "That's all you can do."
"And go where?" Mr. Burke asked. "I've got nowhere else to go. None of us do."
"Well... we had an idea," Bryan chimed in. "Sarah says that there are lost chapters of the Brotherhood all over the country. We might find some help if we travel west. Sarah knows how to track them. She knows what to look for."
"How would you make a journey like that?" Mr. Burke said.
"Vertibird," Sarah told him. "I might've borrowed a vertibird from the Citadel, so... we can fly where ever we want."
"We couldn't fly everyone," Mr. Burke replied. "There's not nearly enough room in the vertibird for everyone in Megaton, much less the rest of the Capital Wasteland."
"Well... if you can't put together an evacuation, then you could come with us," Sarah suggested. "There are other branches of the Brotherhood who were exiled for the same reasons that Elder Lyons lost his position of power. We'll find more Brotherhood chapters who believe in helping people. We'll find help... and when we do, we can organize a new Brotherhood. We can fight off the Maxson branch, and maybe reclaim the Capital after he takes over. If nothing else... at least you'll be away from this place. The Capital is about to fall. There's no stopping it."
"Preposterous..." Mr. Burke grumbled. "After all we've been though... after the war... after..."
"I know," Sarah said sadly. "It's a lot of hard work down the drain. But we can fight them. We just have to get out of here first. We have to run... to live to fight another day."
Mr. Burke turned his head, staring at the vault 101 armor on the shelf.
Sarah frowned. "I know... she wouldn't be happy about this. She lost more than anyone when we won Project Purity."
"And all for nothing," Mr. Burke growled. "It was all for nothing."
"No it wasn't," Sarah argued. "We gave the entire wasteland clean water to drink. That was a huge victory."
Mr. Burke didn't seem comforted by this.
"I can't tell them," he mumbled. "The town's people... I'm not really a people person. I don't think they'd believe me..."
"Well, who would they believe?" Sarah asked.
"Her," Mr. Burke said, pointing to the vault armor. "Unfortunately, she isn't here."
"Is there anyone else who could help you convince them?" Sarah questioned. "Anyone?"
"Possibly..." Mr. Burke said. "Let's go. You'll have to come with me. If they see you here, they might believe me. And there's one other person who could help... someone who talks to the town's people much more than I do."
The three of them left the lone wanderer's house and crossed the town, climbing the balcony to Gob's Saloon. Mr. Burke explained the situation to Gob.
"Goddamn..." Gob rasped. "What a load of..."
"I know," Mr. Burke said. "I'll call a town meeting from the balcony. We can talk to them from up here. Help me get the town's people to gather around the bomb. They all need to hear this."
Gob did as Mr. Burke asked. It took a while for Gob, Burke, Bryan, and Sarah to deliver the news to everyone in town. By the time five pm rolled around, the entire town stood in a crowded circle around the Megaton bomb. Mr. Burke stood at the balcony hovering over the town's people, accompanied by Gob and Sarah at either side. Mr. Burke spoke first, explaining the situation tot he town's people best he could, then he allowed Gob to take over. When Gob was finished, Sarah completed the announcement by telling the town's people every detail she knew about the oncoming invasion. When the speech was over, the town's people began whispering amongst each other suspiciously. A few of them were shouting in protest, but most of them simply gossipped with each other.
"If you choose to evacuate, we advise that you head west, further from the tyranny unfolding here in the Capital," Mr. Burke told them. "Fawkes will lead the evacuation if you choose to accompany him. No one is more qualified to protect you than Fawkes."
Fawkes, who stood in the crowd below, gave Mr. Burke a salute.
"And where the fuck are you going?" Jericho shouted out. "You just gonna abandon the town?!"
"I'm going with the remnants of the Lyons' Pride here," Mr. Burke replied, motioning to Sarah. "We're going to travel west as well. We're going to look for assistance from the remaining chapters of the Brotherhood. We have to-"
BANG.
The gates of Megaton ripped apart in a fiery explosion.
The town's people spun around, screaming in anger and panic. Sarah gasped.
Brotherhood Knights marched into the town, guns at the ready, all of them following behind a disgruntled young man in an overcoat. The man stroked his five o'clock shadow, his intense eyes zeroing in on the balcony directly across from him. He glared at Sarah and Bryan.
"I expected such treachery from you," Elder Maxson spat. "You think you can run off with a vertibird - my vertibird - and none of us would notice? How dare you betray my Brotherhood. Sarah Lyons - Bryan Wilks - I hearby sentence you to death. Kill them!"
In no time at all, Megaton erupted in chaos. Citizens were scrambling away or pulling out their guns. Fawkes unleashed a rapid-fire assault from his gatling laser, and the Brotherhood opened fire. Mr. Burke shoved Sarah away from the balcony, forcing her into the saloon. Gob and Bryan followed behind them and slammed the door shut.
"Where do we go?!" Bryan exclaimed. "They'll get up here! They'll get to us! We can't escape from here!"
"Back door," Gob said. "Hurry up. Come on."
Gob led all of them out the back door. The four of them darted off the metal walkway and ran toward the metal wall on Megaton's outskirt. Sarah shoved one of the metal slabs aside with all her might, creating an opening just big enough for all of them to squeeze through. They crawled through the wall and ran away from the town, trying not to listen to the shouts and gunfire behind them.
Thankfully, Sarah thought to park the vertibird behind the town rather than at the front gate. She, Bryan, Burke, and Gob dove into the vertibird. Sarah powered it up and brought it into the air, the vertibird wobbling and finding its balance. Sarah didn't wait until she was at a safe level of elevation before steering forward and propelling the vertibird away from Megaton at once.
Gob and Mr. Burke stuck their heads out of either door, watching as Megaton grew smaller and smaller behind them, until finally, it was out of sight.
They both frowned, seating themselves in the back and putting on their safety belts. Bryan was up front beside Sarah. None of them spoke for a while.
The vertibird coasted across the sky, eventually leaving the Capital behind.
"Well..." Sarah sighed after half an hour of silence. "We tried."