"Elder, the Lone Wanderer would like to speak with you".
"Send him in", replied Elder Lyons, briefly considering what the Lone Wanderer wanted this time. All had been quiet throughout the Capital Wasteland for months. The Enclave had all but disappeared after their defeat at Adams Air Force Base, and the lack of FEV virus floating around had led to diminished numbers of super mutants throughout the Capitol. There were even reports of slavers vanishing from Paradise Falls.
The Lone Wanderer, barely in his twenties, trudged into the room and announced, "I'm leaving". He proceeded to turn around, and started walking back out the door.
Lyons was stunned for a brief instant, and proceeded to limp after him. "Wait! What do you mean, leaving?" he asked in a dumbfounded expression.
The Lone Wanderer paused, staring into the wall, as if he could see the Capitol Building from where he stood. He slowly answered "The Capitol Wasteland is safe now. There's nothing for me here now." He stared at Elder Lyons. "It's time for me to move on."
Elder Lyons was in shock. "I know the Capitol's been the safest it's ever been, but that doesn't mean it will stay that way!" He sputtered, trying to see the reasoning behind his decision.
The Lone Wanderer glanced out a nearby window, to where the sun was setting in the West. "The slavers have moved on. They've gotten tired of fighting over whatever scraps they can find here. They think there's something for them far to the West. I'm going to follow them; find what it is."
Elder Lyons sat down, going over the long trek his Brotherhood Chapter took to arrive in the Capitol. He looked up at the Lone Wanderer, and quietly spoke, "the fastest way West is the I-40. It goes all the way the sea. There will be raiders, but nothing that you can't handle." He slowly took in The Lone Wanderer's appearance. "I see you're leaving right away. You won't be homesick?"
The Lone Wanderer quickly replied, "This was never my home; only the beginning of my journey."
He turned to Elder Lyons, smiled, and said, "Don't break Liberty Prime any time soon, I just got the final pieces for it last week." Without waiting for an answer, he walked out the door, and never looked back.
-3 months later-
If his Pip-Boy was still functioning correctly, he was somewhere near Pre-War Colorado. He'd trekked past dozens of villages, but the slavers burned everything and everyone they could get to. They were growing in numbers every day, and he still hadn't managed to catch up the main group. A couple more months, and he wouldn't be to stop them. He stopped staring into his Pip-Boy when he heard an unusual sound, and looked up to the image of a super sledge flying towards him.
When he opened his eyes, he found himself lying on a bed, inside a bombed-out building. He slowly got up, and turned to a crashing sound beside him. He made eye contact with a person he assumed was a doctor. He had long dreadlocks and a surgeon's outfit.
"Well hello there. You alright? You took a mighty big bump to the noggin' from that raider", the doctor slowly told him, looking for understanding. "Your other clothes were completely wrecked so I scavenged you these Pre-War clothes. Funny, you see they've got the old flag attached to the back, like a cape."
"...Where ...am I?" He asked.
"Easy there. You're with the Twisted Hairs. We're near Dry Wells. Doesn't ring a bell?"
He slowly shook his head no.
"Well, you could say we're in Arizona, right now. You had a lot Pre-war stuff on you, so I think you might recognize that easier. Do you remember your name? Where your home is?"
He contemplated the question, and came up with, "I... think I never had a home to begin with... I always... wandered... the road." He quietly let his words sink in.
The doctor nodded sympathetically. "I know what that's like. How 'bout your name?"
"... No" He replied eventually.
The doctor thought for a few minutes and exclaimed "Well I've always liked Pre-War stuff. I picked up a couple stories in my time and I reckon this would fit you pretty well. I'll call you Ulysses. You look like courier material to me!"
Ulysses nodded his head in agreement. "Thanks for the help doc." He stared back towards the east, trying to remember his history, and his purpose.
And so one road ended, and another began.