Prelude: The Rise of the Institute

A/N: This story takes place after the main quests of Fallout 4 and will coincide with the events that take place in Nuka World. This will contain spoilers of the DLC, but will be different from the actual events that happen, as this story follows an original character.

As this story focuses mainly on raiders, there may be some events that will be more graphic or mature then others. I will warn of anything in these author notes when applicable. Enjoy.

"Lizzie. Run!" Lizzie's father shouted to her as a hail of energy blasts crashed against the outside of their home. "Get your motha' and get to our safe point. Rememba'? By the beach!" The man with peppered hair grabbed his gun and returned fire at the enemy from the window.

Lizzie grabbed her 10mm pistol and ran out the back door of their home; a prewar house that was long since abandoned. She ran to their small plot of farmland just beyond the backyard, where her mother was just standing from her crouched position, curious about the gunfire. She looked terrified and picked Lizzie's little sister up as she saw stray shots from an energy pistol fly around their house.

"Ma! Hold on to Lilly! We gotta go!" Lizzie shouted as she ran to her mother.

"Where is your father?" The shaken woman asked.

"He said he'll meet us at the safe point. Come on! We don't have time to wait." She said and grabbed her mother's arm, continuing to run.

Looking over her shoulder, she saw the synths walking around the sides of the house… and out the back door. "No…." She whispered. She knew her father was as good as dead. Rage built up inside of her and she wanted to rush back, wipe out all of those damn freaks. But she knew she would be killed to. She didn't tell her mother what she saw as she led the three to safety away from their home.

Once at the safe point, an old enclosed dock on the beach not far from their home, Lizzie collapsed into a chair, her head in her hands. "Why the hell would the Institute attack us?" She asked her mother, who was trying to calm her crying little sister.

"I… I have no idea…" Her mother replied, tears in her eyes. "We… We just have to wait for your father." She said, her heart aching. She knew that her husband was dead, but she didn't believe it… couldn't believe it. Not yet.

Lizzie looked at her mother and sighed. She would tell her mother the truth after they rested for a few minutes. Her thoughts drifted back to her question. The Institute had been far too active lately. Settlements were hounded for supplies and spare tech, often being attacked without warning or the ability to appease the synths before they started to shoot. It all started when that… vault dweller from Vault 111 woke up. The rumor was that he was searching for his son, which led him to the Institute. Once he went down there, things were never the same.

The railroad was wiped out first. Lizzie didn't even know they existed. For all she knew, they were a fairytale… a myth. But when a bloodbath was found inside that Old North church, the truth came out. Next was the Brotherhood of Steel. Lizzie was impressed and excited to see an airship fly into the Commonwealth. When she was old enough, she planned on joining their ranks. They were strong, capable, and had really cool Power Armor. Even they didn't stand a chance against the onslaught of synths that overwhelmed their forces at the airport. Their airship exploded and crashed into the bay.

The last group to face off against the Institute was the Minutemen. She was sure that they would stop those synths. After all, the ending of any good story is the good guys, defenders of the Commonwealth, would save the day! This story, however, ended with the fall of the militia. The fires from the battle are still burning at the Castle, and there has been no sign of any of the Minutemen.

With no one to stand up to them, the Institute didn't waste any time letting the people of the Commonwealth know that they were officially under their control. Diamond City has synths guarding the town now. Even Goodneighbor's Mayor Hancock is under house arrest and runs the city through synth agents that carry out "his" orders. Everyone knows that he is just as much a prisoner as any of the rest.

But none of that answered the burning question: why was Lizzie's family targeted? They were simple farmers, not part of any settlement, and the most tech they had was a busted radio that her dad had to fix once a week.

"How… how long should we wait for your father?" Her mother asked, breaking Lizzie away from her thoughts.

Lizzie tried to smile. Though she was only 17, she knew that she and her father were the strong ones in the family. "We can probably spend the night here. I… I think we should leave the Commonwealth if he isn't back by morning. We aren't safe here."

"Not without your father." Her mother said, tears streaming down her face.

"Get some rest, mom. We'll figure it out in the morning." Lizzie replied gently. Her mother lay on a sleeping bag with Lilly, and they fell into an uneasy sleep. Lizzie leaned back in her chair, her pistol on her lap. She tried to stay awake, tried to defend her family, but she was just as exhausted as the others and fell asleep after just an hour.

"Phill!" A woman shouted, brining Lizzie up from her sleep. She was groggy and sat up, trying to clear her head when she heard the voice again. It was her mother calling her father's name as loud as she could. She was bringing a lot of attention to herself, and Lizzie knew that would only end in disaster.

"Phill! Come on! The girls and I are worried sick about you!" Her mother yelled again as Lizzie rushed out of the safe house and down the beach where her mother, with Lilly in her arms, was pacing in the sand.

"Mom, Stop! Shh!" Lizzie hissed, trying to quiet her mom down, but it was too late. As she reached her mother, she heard the familiar *Zzzt* of the teleporter that the Institute used to send their synths. Lizzie spun around to see three synths, and two men. One wore a courser jacket, pants, boots and a pair of sunglasses. He had dark skin and a short haircut. The other was in a suit of power armor, painted pearl white. The helmet was the only thing missing from the suit. Lizzie looked into the eyes of the man who was running the Institute.

"Sir… Target seems to have been found." The courser said in a monotone voice. "The PAM unit described the young one as the main target." He pointed right at Lizzie.

"That's right, X6. That damn robot that the Railroad was using seems to not be completely useless. Though I can't see how this teenager would be a threat to me." The man in Power Armor said, a smile on his face.

Lizzie stood in front of her mother and little sister, her pistol ready to shoot the group. "Don't worry mom… I'll protect you." She whispered behind her. Her mother, on the other hand, took off running, Lilly in her arms.

"Shall we eliminate the witnesses?" The courser asked. The man in Power Armor nodded and the synths opened fire, reducing Lizzie's mother and sister to piles of glowing dust before she could even fire a shot to stop them.

"No! You bastards!" Lizzie cried and unloaded her pistol on the Power Armor. The bullets ricocheted off of the plating. The man chuckled, pulled out a rifle, and shot Lizzie in the shoulder. She cried out in pain, but continued to shoot at him with her other hand. The bullets were wildly inaccurate, but that didn't stop the rage-filled teen from trying to enact her revenge.

A synth off to the left of the man took a bullet to the head, dropping it instantly. The man fired another around into her other shoulder and then one into her stomach. Lizzie dropped her pistol and fell to her knees, holding her stomach wound. Her tears hit the ground in front of her as she sobbed, sad that she wouldn't be able to get her revenge.

The man in armor walked to the young girl and kneeled in front of her. "Does it hurt? I'm sorry that I had to do all of this. But know that it was for the good of the Commonwealth that you and your family had to die."

"I'm going to… kill… you." Lizzie hissed at him through gritted teeth, looking right into his eyes. "I promise…"

The man chuckled and nodded. "PAM was right. It was too dangerous to let you live. You could have done some real damage if we didn't wipe you out." He patted her head with his metal clad hand, raised his gun, and fired one more round into her chest.

Lizzie sprawled on her back, bleeding from all of her wounds. Her breath was shallow as the man in the armor returned to his synth entourage. "Let's go. We have more work to do." He said.

"Should we put one more in her to make sure she is dead?" X6 asked.

"No… She's done. Let her have a few more minutes to think about her family before she is gone." He said. "After all… it's her fault that they all died." He looked at the almost lifeless body of Lizzie and smiled. With another *Crack*, the Institute hit squad disappeared.

Lizzie laid there, thinking about what had happened. She thought about what the man had said, how she had been the one that was destined to stop the Institute, according to some PAM bitch. How she was the reason her family had died. And now, she would join them. She closed her eyes, tears running down her face. She felt herself slipping into the abyss before a pair of rough hands grabbed the shoulders of her shirt and start to dragg her down the beach.

"Looky what the Institute left alive!" The deep voice of a raider kept her connected to the world of the living. She looked up into his face, the face of a monster in mismatched armor. "Don't worry, beautiful. You won't be going anywhere just yet. Don't want to waste good merchandise."

4 Years Later

Colter was sitting at the bar in his den in Fizz Top Mountain. Three scantily clad woman with slave collars worked at tidying up his home. One served him a drink and he wrapped an arm around her waist, pulling her towards him. Before he could plant a kiss on her, Gage walked in through the back door.

"Boss… Someone new's arriving on the monorail. I think it'd be a good time to put on a show for the gangs." Gage said with crossed arms. He was Colter's right hand man and the only one the big oaf trusted. Gage stood about six feet tall, with a muscular build. He wore a metal cage like armor piece on his torso, and black pants and boots. He shifted his eyepatch over his left eye and waited for his boss's response.

"That's a good idea! The last two didn't even make it out of the first room. Think this one will make it all the way to the Cola Cars?" Colter said, getting to his feet and stretching.

"Yeah. This one has a special kinda look to her. She even saw through our little bait's lie about his family and came to Nuka World anyway. Should be a good show." Gage replied.

"Alright! Let's get me into my armor then. Rally the gangs!" Colter said, pushed the slave woman away from him and stomped towards the elevator to get to the arena before the contender did. Gage followed behind, but he scowled after his boss. He needed this newcomer to be the one. He couldn't waste any more time.