A.N) hi, so... I have never done anything like this before, I ask that criticism is constructive and not an attempt at trolling, 'cause I really wont care. without further ado, welcome to my mind...
My survival guide to the wasteland,
Cara's fingers drummed against the steering wheel with the beat as she drove towards the coffee shop, the air around her was relaxed and calm as usual. She made a turn and smirked at the luck of getting a parking spot directly outside of the coffee shop.
She walked in contently, ordered a chocolate milkshake and flirted a little with the girl behind the counter before she felt her phone vibrate. She shared an amused smile with the girl as she pulled out her phone to check the text, already knowing what would be there.
'are you done flirting yet?' Cara rolled her eyes with a fond smile before turning her attention back to the beauty behind the counter
"can you take a break? Our friends are getting annoyed" the blond raised an amused eyebrow
"are zey now? Well, we cannot 'ave zat now, can we?" the French woman purred seductively
"definitely not, shall we Raven?" Cara offered her arm to the still apron clad waitress who gave an amused smirk before taking the offered arm.
Raven allowed herself to be led towards the table of 5 with two spare seats next to each other that was filled by 4 computer screens and various beverages
"what's up weirdos, Amy, Wolfie?" Cara greets with a smile, Amy rolls her eyes at the amendment with a small fond smirk while {Paulette, commonly known as Wolfie}, smiles and greats her with a cheerful "morning"
"Cara" Jack greets with a nod, as both Mike and Michelle stand to hug the woman, Cara sits beside Amy and greets her with a kiss to the cheek while Raven took the last free seat in between Cara and Paulette.
"so, why are we here?" Cara asks, her playful mask gone and replaced with her more curious nature
"um, here's the thing, we're in a question quest" Jack stutters, unsure how Cara will react
"we're in a what?!" Cara demands
"a question quest, you know… like fallout or Skyrim where the path leads to alternative endings" Jack responds
"how did ya manage that then?" with just a hint of an Irish accent Amy asks ending her silence
"we found a book…" Jack begins hesitantly
"what book? Where? Raven questions, intrigued more than annoyed
"it was lying on the Living-room table when we got home from college, Jack opened it then all of a sudden we're in this world, and they existed" Mike answers pointing towards Raven, Amy and Michelle
"so, you found, a book" Cara drawls skeptically, the twins nod cautiously
"how do we get out; my parents will freak out if they notice I'm missing" Wolfie questions worriedly
"it's ok mon amie, we will get you out of 'ere" Raven assures her
"if we can figure out why we're in here in the first place, ya mean" Amy drawls
"well, maybe I can help" a voice interrupts the animate table, all turn to find a man dressed in expensive clothing sporting a condescending smirk who had appeared seemingly from thin air
"you see my name is Maximilian and I have brought you here"
"why?" Cara demands, her voice cold
"well you see, I was bored and due to your own question quest game, I decided you may appreciate this"
"what are we supposed to do?"
"what about our parents?"
"how do we get back?" those questions and more flew from the mouths of those gathered much to Maximilian's amusement, the… clones? Remained silent, Michelle being a smarter version of Michael while Raven and Amelia were lighter and darker versions of Cara, respectively, found nothing to contribute to this discussion, and so they lent their support to a worried Wolfie and concerned Cara, having been programmed to care for their original and who she cares for seeing as Jack and Mike had each other for comfort, and Michelle for that matter.
"enough!" Cara bursts, making everyone fall silent
"now, Mr. Maximilian, why are we here and how do we leave?"
"why would you ever want to leave a world of your own creation?" he returns, Cara's glare turns icy
"because we have responsibilities and families who will worry about us, we have lives"
"but think about how much fun it would be to become immortal or be able to travel the wasteland, I know you of all would like that very much Miss Evans" Cara's jaw clenches
"maybe so, but I have a mother who needs me because she's lost, and a father who's an idiot, I need to be there for my family"
"shame" is all he mutters, unfortunately the condescending smirk that graces his face elevates Cara's alarm far more then alleviates it
"we're not getting out of here until we participate, are we?" came the defeated sigh
"nope"
"then what do we do?"
"you play my game, in exchange you win your freedom, now I think its time for your counterparts to, disappear" before their eyes, Raven, Amelia and Michelle vanish, Mike and Cara topple over in pain, their forms ripple as though they aren't completely material before solidifying, finally Mike returns to his sitting position while Cara's form ripples again and she cries out in pain, worrying her friends until she too straightens, but her forehead is covered in sweat and she looked exhausted
"son of a mother fucking cock sucking bitch, that fucking hurt!" she growls, making Jack and Mike brake out in nervous laughter while Wolfie hovers worriedly near the woman
"you son of a bitch!" Jack then proceeds to attempt to punch Maximilian but fails and stumbles because it seems that Maximilian is a hologram, lovely, Jack glowers, his rage mounting a new
"now you listen to me you self-centered mother fucker, if we don't get out of here, I will personally rip this universe and…"
"and what Jack, annoy him to death?" Cara interjects
"I was trying to be intimidating!" Jack snaps, she smirks
"trying, being the operative word, how would you have got out of here to rip the universe apart if we can't get out of here in the first place?"
"don't put logic to my threats" he sulks
"so…" Mike takes over, annoyed by the banter while he was literally freaking out "where are we going?" desperation leaked into his voice
"you'll see, goodbye for now, oh and do put on a good show, I'll be watching" the light faded and the four felt like they were floating, all they could hear was their own panic, and somehow, they had linked hands desperate for some form of contact.
Ominous music, western in tune begins to play, the sound of dirt scraping against metal, they were all kneeling face down on the ground, Cara is the first to regain some mental capacity and reaches out a cold hand for one of her friends, only to find herself alone, her panic mounts, again and she attempts to call out only to find herself gagged
"you got what you were after, so pay up" a gruff voice demands, Cara looks down at her hands to find them bound by a long piece of rope, and twists trying to break them
"you're crying in the rain paly" a suave voice catches her attention
"guess who's waking up over here" she looks up to find three men, two waring gang outfits look like they have more buff then brains while the last is clad in a checked suit with grease backed hair and is smoking a cigarette, she recognises the man but can't place him
"time to cash out" he drops his cigarette, steps on it and walks towards the girl with a smug smirk on his features
"would you get it over with!" one of the thugs pipes up but the checked man silences him with a wave of his hand
"maybe Khans kill people without looking them in the face but I ain't a fink, dig?" the man looks at Cara as he reaches into his jacket
"you've made your last delivery kid" he produced a platinum poker chip before returning it to the pocket in his jacket
"I'm sorry you got twisted up in this scene" he now has a gun, a very distinctive hand gun that had Cara not been fearing for her life, she would appreciate such a gun
"from where you're kneeling it must seem like an 18kt run of bad luck" he points it at her head
"the truth is… the game was rigged from the start" 'fuck, I'm in Fallout' she realizes as he fires.
Straining, she opens her eyes, to see the blurry form of a ceiling fan
"you're awake, how about that" a tired, weathered voice sounds from beside her, she rolls over and sits up clumsily, one thing you don't realize is how nauseous the whole ordeal makes the character, she felt like vomiting only to realize that she had an empty stomach. The room spins as she moves, and hands reach out to steady her
"whoa, easy there, easy" the man implores, he was Caucasian, bald and had a white mustache
"you've been out cold a couple of days, why don't you just relax a second, get your bearings" he straightens in his seat and begins to mutter to himself as Cara zones out
"hey? I asked if you have a name" he pats her cheek to gain her attention
"it's Raven" she answers not without difficulty
"well, that's not what I'd have picked but if that's your name… I'm Dc Mitchell, welcome to Goodsprings…" Raven zones out again only to be handed a Pip-boy with a mans face on it, so character customization was still a thing it seemed, finished and happy with her appearance she ignores the Doctor for the most part, skipping through the S.P.E.C.I.A.L and skill tests until she is happy with the overall stats, she loots his house to come away with an assortment of food, weapons, stimpacks, bottle caps and assorted junk.
She follows the Doctor to the door and is given her old inventory, a vault suit that is quickly thrown over her underwear, uncomfortable being so under-dressed in front of the stranger and a Pib-Boy that is equipped to her arm as the Doctor talks about his life, and wife
"well, thanks for patching me up Doc"
"don't mention it, your politer then some of the others I'll give you that"
"others?"
"yup, two girls and a death claw, don't know how or why they tamed it, but it showed up looking for the brunette, Michelle I think, thing nearly killed us, but she managed to calm it down, the folks here tolerate it but they're not happy about it"
"where can I find them?" she demands
"they're held up in the old saloon, while you're there you might want to talk to Sunny Smiles, she can help you learn to fend for yourself in the desert, some of the other folks in the saloon might be able to help you out, too. And that metal fella, Victor, who pulled you lot out of your graves. Anyway, if you get hurt again just come on over to me and I'll patch you up, now try not to get killed anymore." Giving a cheeky little salute the woman jumps when a notification appears in front of her, but the Doctor has no reaction, hardcore mode, hardcore mode has been switched on and cannot be changed.
"fuck"
"huh?" the man replies
"thank you again Doc" she quickly escapes the small home.
Before anything else Raven activated her Pip-Boy, it had three buttons, not quite as high tech as Fallout 4's Pip-Boy but it got the job done she figured, after going through all the stats, finding some glasses in her inventory and equipping them and finding the radio station to have some music, she faced the little town of Goodsprings with a confidant step but heavy heart.