A three-chapter story on when and why the Lone Wanderer left the Capital Wastelands, and where his current location is and how he resolved his problem. I prefer default character look and the name I chose is based on a Bethesda employee (during the pre-release, it's assumed the LW name's Albert). But I like the name John, too. So LW is named Albert John Cole.
Events are tweaked for this story. Enjoy, folks!
The water in the river is slightly muddy but enough to give a good reflection of the person staring at it's surface. The man's Caucasian; with brown hair shorn short with a knife; his serene but hardened face (caused by the harsh weather of the wastelands and hardships in life) has facial hair, making him look just like his father; and his brown eyes. Something's wrong with his eyes. They lack luster.
As he stood, he has a lean and muscular body in a blue jumpsuit with straps of leather armor. And printed on his collar and back is the number 101.
This man is no other than Albert John Cole of Vault 101, the wonder Hero who was nineteen years old at that time who appeared in the Capital Wastelands in 2277, the man known as the Lone Wanderer.
The man who just left all of a sudden.
It's almost eleven years since Albert left the Capital and traveled northeast. It was not a choice of destination, he only lets his feet drag him to whatever road he goes. Reason? He wanted to leave behind painful memories. Yes, there are happy times when he was there, especially those people he helped in making their lives better and made friends in a harsh, cruel world. Yet even when he was in their presence, he hid his sorrows behind his easygoing attitude, making him feel alone. The tragedies happened made him move further away from the people who cared for him: the death of his father, James Cole; his best friend in Vault 101, Amata Almodovar, banished him from the only home he knew; the super mutant, Fawkes, died in the blast when he saved him from dying in the radiation-filled chamber.
And lastly, the most painful of all, losing his friend, Sentinel Sarah Lyons. The blast knocked her off and put her in a coma. When her father learned about her condition, he was devastated. He strictly commanded those who knew Sarah's condition in secrecy and make it sound like she's active on duty. But the sorrow is too much for the Elder. He went to his room and in the next day, he's dead. After his death, the comatose Sarah was appointed Elder. After many weeks of deceit, those who helped on orchestrating the plan decided to declare that Sarah is KIA.
Albert is one of those who helped in the deceit after he woke from his two-week coma. He knew it from others that Sarah's not coming back and the Brotherhood will never be the same again without the two Lyon's leadership. The prediction was true. Even with his help in trying to improve the Brotherhood, it was not enough. After that, Albert left the Citadel. Then left the Wasteland Capital for good. With him, he brought the female dog, Dogmeat. But a dog's life is too short. Nine years later, Dogmeat passed away. In honor of the loyal companion who never left his side through hardships, Albert buried her under a lone tree. It was an emotional farewell and after that, he continued on his way.
And here he is, in another place devastated by pre-War's bombs. What he's called is true. The Lone Wanderer. He lived to wander this broken world all alone...
A girlish laughter interrupts his thoughts. As Albert looks behind him, he spots three people coming towards him. One is a Caucasian girl at the age of thirteen with short, blonde hair, a ponytail tied sideways, and blue eyes, wearing casual clothing with a leather armor; another is a clean-shaven Caucasian man in his late twenties, wearing a pre-War armor and fatigues, combat shotgun and sidearm, blonde but messy hair that reaches his nape, and has green eyes; and last is an Asian man of age mid-thirties with dark hair and eyes, having a mustache and beard, wearing leather armor but wearing a samurai helmet, slung on his back is his samurai armor, on his shoulder is an AK-47, and on his hip is his katana. Their names? Sally, Elliot Tercorien, and Toshiro Kago.
These three persons where alien abductees that he saved three years ago. Three persons from different timelines. There used to be five of them but the two went on their separate ways on wherever they landed in the world, leaving the three inside the Zeta ship. No matter how much he try to harden his heart, he can't just leave the three by themselves, especially when they looked lost and the world is fucked up. Looks like he's not completely an asshole. Though, he told them he'll help them find a place where they could settle before he left them, which they agreed.
"Hey, Albert!" greets Sally. "Got an idea where we are?"
Albert shrugs his shoulders and wanted to give a sarcastic remark but stilled his tongue. Yeah, there's still kindness in him. "We're actually in Concord already. I'm receiving signals from a faction named Minutemen from Sanctuary Hills. By their propaganda, I think they're okay. You look excited. So, what's making you smiling like that?"
Sally grins. "Remember Elliot sharing a story to us about the soldier from his regiment? You know, the guy who's awesome in combat like you! He happens to live in Sanctuary Hills. The Sanctuary Hills where the Minutemen are."
"'Where he used to live'." Elliot corrects Sally. "It's been two hundred years and he's been dead for a long time." He turns to Albert. "Still, would be nice to see the place where my friend used to live." He becomes whimsical. "Really want to see how it looked like now. Probably a real Sanctuary for those who want to live in a place without fear."
Albert understood how Elliot's feeling. To be taken from his timeline and see what happened to the world after two hundred years. "We can go there if you want and see how it is. Maybe you and Sally would like to stay there if it's to your liking." He looks at Toshiro. The Japanese samurai is the one who's been overwhelmed of the changes. Who wouldn't when he came from feudal Japan where advance technology and monsters never existed. "And Toshiro might also decide to stay, too. What do you think, Toshiro?"
Toshiro nods his head. "Good... As. Long as... Japanese present." he answers in halting English. Albert, Sally and Elliot struggled to teach Toshiro on how to speak English so they can communicate well. Toshiro's english has improved over time. They even taught him modern ways, which Toshiro adopted.
Albert smirks. "Alright." He pulled off the cloth hanging on his shoulder, spreads it in the air to reveal it's a tattered, hooded, brown cloak, and wore it. The cloak covers his body from shoulders to his shins. He pulled the cloak's hood to cover his head, shrouding his face in shadows. "Let's go."
Albert leads his three companions towards Sanctuary Hills. They passed through the ruined Concord, seeing skeletal remains of dead people and a Deathclaw. They also passed a building with the name 'Red Rocket'. By the looks of it, it was used as a base before getting abandoned. Nearing their destination, Albert stops his companions and signals them to hide. They could see a tall, metal wall with guards within it, no doubt it's Sanctuary Hill. The turrets and guns shooting down at a large force of raiders.
"Ah! Sanctuary Hills' under attack!" Elliot cries.
Albert observes that the raiders were five times in number compared to the guards of the settlement. He turns towards his companions and readies his weapons. "Looks like the settlement needs help. Let's go!"