"Why the Bear?"
That was the question that was asked of me a few weeks after The Second Battle of Hoover Dam. And honestly, it was a loaded question with a complicated answer.
I don't know if it was a coincidence, or if this God that Joshua Graham and Daniel worships had a plan that I was a huge part of, but I came into The Mojave a simple courier making what should have been a simple delivery and ended up having huge hand in transforming the Mojave with the help of the most ragtag group of people I'd ever call friends. And along the way, I had a chance to put the Mojave on the roads to different fates.
I could have made it a region that was completely independent, but that didn't appeal to me too much. I got shot in the head twice and probably would have been dead if Victor hadn't dug me out. And during my time in New Vegas, I've seen a lot of people who wouldn't have had justice in or against their favor had my crew and I haven't been around to help. I couldn't guarantee we'd be there to catch every bad guy if they became completely independent. I know a few people from Primm and Goodsprings felt a bit sour because they had to move due to the high taxes, but considering the former had its sheriff was killed in his sleep and been taken over by convicts and the latter probably would have been overrun by Cobb and his crew had I not been there, the taxes were a small price to pay for the protection.
Caesar's Legion? If I had it my way, they'd all be burning at the stakes with Joshua Graham lighting the fire. I never did like slavers. Plus, Boone was my right hand – I helped him put a bullet through the brain of the woman that sold his pregnant wife to Legion slavers. How could I look him the eye and explain why I'm rolling with The Bull? There was more to it, like their treatment of women and their annoying habit of popping up and trying to kill me at random times – which prompted me to take Boone with me to the Fort and lay waste to almost everyone there, Caesar included. But the whole slaver thing would have turned me off completely by itself.
As for Mr. House… I wonder what would have happened if I was able to make that credit check when I was at the gate. Perhaps I wouldn't have spent a good chunk of time in Freeside. Maybe I wouldn't have done work for The Kings and see the type of work they do for the area. Maybe I wouldn't have stopped by The Old Mormon Fort and spoke with Beatrix, who told me how Freeside became Freeside. And maybe I wouldn't have FULLY grasped how horrible things were when a couple of kids thanked me as they fed on a corpse of a giant rat that I put down with a bullet.
Ugh.
Needless to say, I didn't feel the least bit sorry for Mr. House when I left him in his pod, no longer able to control things as he slowly died out over a year.
All was left was The New California Republic. They weren't perfect. Even to this day, I still wondered if, at the time, they were a true force for good or the least of four evils. Maybe it was a mix of both – the NCR had a lot of good people in it, like James Hsu and Elizabeth Kieran, just not enough in the right areas as far as ranks went. Either way, though, they weren't exactly closed off to change. After the battle at Hoover Dam, they accepted The Followers of The Apocalypse after years of considering them bomb-throwing anarchists, and after years of conflict, they could actually stand and work with members of The Brotherhood of Steel without the two sides shooting at each other.
So as I stood at the top floor of the Lucky 38, looking down at the strip, I wasn't quite sure if I made the right decision. But there was nothing I could do now. I already came this far. And much like how I did so during my time as a courier, I was going to see things through to the end and finish what I started.
"Henry?" a voice yelled out. I looked over my shoulder to see Cass standing some feet behind me, dressed in nothing but one of my business shirts. She gave me a stern look as she tilted her head.
"Yes Cass?" I said.
"We're not wandering the wasteland anymore. Go to bed."
"In a minute, my rose."
She kept on glaring at me for a few moments before sighing and turning around. "Okay, but if I have to come out here again, you won't like it." I watched her as she retreated to our room. I smiled before looking out of the window again. I then looked down at the small table that was situated to my right. I reached down and grabbed a bottle of Sunset Sarsaparilla off of it. I twisted the cap off of it before holding the bottle out towards the town.
"To the future, and The Bear being the guardian we need."