Hey! Guess who's back? I am(: Thank you everyone who's wished me well during my recovery! It really means a lot!

When I was in the hospital, I watched tons of tv, movies, and played hours of video games. Then...this story was born.

This is based off of FALLOUT 3/New Vegas. Which are both video games. But you don't have to know the game to get the story! Its a fic about the apocalypse. The nuclear apocalypse. And it is a slash.

And PLEASE bear with me. The beginning of this fic felt like writing a ** history paper. It gets better, though. I promise! I just needed to set the stage:P

Enjoy!

War. War never changes. Since the dawn of human kind, when our ancestors first discovered the killing power of rock and bone, blood has been spilled in the name of everything, from God to justice to simple psychotic rage.

The Romans waged war to gather slaves and wealth. Spain built an empire in it's lust for gold and territory. Hitler shaped Germany into an economic superpower. But war never changes.

World War III. The great war. It wasn't fought over religions, money, or even power. It was fought over simple resources. Recourses that were slowly dwindling.

The spoils of the war, though, were also it's weapons. Petroleum and uranium. China invaded Alaska. The US cut off Canada. The European common wealth dissolved into quarreling bickering nation states bent on controlling the last remaining resources on earth.

Anyone who could get they're hands on nuclear weapons did. In two hours, the entire planet was reduced to cinders.

The Great Wars outcome changed most of the planet into a radioactive wasteland. Those who didn't die in the initial nuclear weapons exchange (less than half the worlds population) lived in darkness or radioactive misery while much of the earths plant and animal life died off from lack of food, sunlight, and the persistently high levels of radiation.

Only a few thousand people made it to safe zones, underground vaults made by the government. Humanity, at least in the US, was preserved. Those outside the vaults were either killed or survived with the painful effects of mutation. New species were created almost overnight.

More people could've been saved, though. There were so many false alarms in the months before the actual attack, few people took the final one seriously. Most people were trapped outside by the closing vault doors. Some of the others, the ones who made it inside, were also unfortunate. Most of the vaults had an alternative function. They were used for experiments, the inhabitants their test subjects.

I remember leaving the massive vault, wading through piles of bone and ash. I was 16, venturing out into the vast wasteland that was once southern California. Alone. Searching for some form of civilization. Both of my parents were dead. Vault #101 wasn't as glamourous as it was said to be when you were an orphan. I wanted to explore.

The outcome of the war was not as most had predicted. The end of the world. The apocalypse was simply the prologue to another bloody chapter of human history. Man had succeeded in ending the world, but war never changes.

Even after most of the world had been turned to ash, even after the world governments had crumbled and the social infrastructure decayed into anarchy, even when, after the greatest and most horrible war of all, the human race had every reason to band together in an effort to save one another from total annihilation- they didn't. Some people tried to act with common decency in a world utterly lacking it, and were subsequently tortured and exiled for their troubles. So, I applaud them for their efforts, but they're fighting for a lost cause.

"Don't you deserve a future free of war and fear and terrible uncertainty? Of course you do!" a voice shouted from outside. I was sitting in an old, rundown bar, a bottle full of dirty water clutched in my hands. Clean water was so hard to come by these days. As long as it wasn't radioactive, I'd drink it.

"Another one?" the ghoul behind the bar rasped out, resting against the splintering counter. "Thats twice this week,"

Ghouls were the product of nuclear radiation and mutations. They were some the unfortunate people left outside of vaults. If anything, they look like zombies, their flesh peeling in places.

There are two types of ghouls. Normal ghouls, like the one behind the bar, basically a normal human with a disfigured appearance, and feral ghouls. Ghouls who have lost their minds and are driven on pure savage instinct, attacking everything except other ghouls.

Discrimination is huge against them. Mostly everyone alive has had a run in with a feral ghoul. Many people believe that it's only a matter of time before civil ghouls turn feral. It wasn't uncommon for ghouls and humans to hate each other. I was surprised to see a ghoul running the bar when I first got here, but he was extremely normal. We complained daily about the horrible radio reception and dirty water together. He was my friend.

I remember first meeting Gob. I walked in, sat down, and ordered a drink. He looked at me and smiled. "Well, now that's a surprise!" his deep, scratchy voice rang out as he turned to get my order. "I'm used to every smoothskin in this town giving me shit 'cause I look like a corpse,"

He told me his story, about how he set out into the wasteland to find fortune and was caught by slavers. The owner of the bar, Colin Moriarty, bought him and made him a bar tender. Not a bad job to get as a slave, but still. He's a slave.

I rolled my eyes, back to the present. "They're digging their own grave. Let them,"

The Enclave, our makeshift government, wasn't very popular. People tried and tried again to form a resistance, but the Enclave just took them out. War? Yeah, it never changes.

"We should go watch," Gob said, walking out from behind the counter. He looked at me over my shoulder. "You coming, smoothskin?"

I raised my eyebrow. "I have a name, zombie,"

Gob scowled at me. "I'm not a zombie, wanderer,"

I smirked, sliding off of my stool. I made sure to pour my water into the canteen at my hip, not spilling it. Wanderer wasn't my name, but it was probably the best thing I'd get from Gob. People started calling me wanderer the day I showed up in this small city. Why? Because I was an adventurer. I traveled around the wasteland, sometimes facing death, because I simply felt like it. I had nothing to lose. This desolate world had nothing to offer me when I left the vault. Now it gives me places to go, people to help.

When I say the city is small, I mean small. Basically, it's a clump of buildings. A huge steel fence separated it from the barren wasteland that was modern day America.

From the second story balcony we were standing on, I could see everything. A boy was standing in the middle of the small city square, small crowd forming around him. "Were living in an age of poverty, greed, violence...destruction," the boy drifted off, swallowing harshly before continuing. "You're simply existing! Postponing death for a day or two! Don't you want this country to live again, without all this?" he exclaimed, motioning around.

I scowled. He looked around my age, wearing mismatched armor that slightly resembled mine. A black bandana was wrapped around his head, covered by his blonde hair. A vicious looking assault rifle was strapped to his back, ammo slung across his chest. To put it simply, he looked like a bad ass. Why he was giving a political speech, I'd never know.

Out of the corner of my eye, I could see an Enclave officer walking down the street. I felt the sudden urge to help this boy. Sure, he was fighting a good, illegal fight, but he was about to be killed. Maybe worse.

I shoved passed Gob, walking quickly down the stairs. The officer was still coming, but was out of sight now. If he saw me assisting a rebel, they'd kill me too.

"The government shouldn't be guided by temporary excitement, but by sober second thought!" the blonde preached, oblivious to the immanent danger. I walked quickly up to him, grabbing him by his ammo belt and shoving him backwards, into the now heavy crowd.

"Hey- what are you doing?" he exclaimed, struggling against me. I kept pushing him backwards towards a makeshift alley, avoiding his accusing eyes.

"Oh, nothing. Saving your ungrateful ass? What the hell were you doing?" I questioned, shoving him against the side of a building. Yeah, I was pissed.

"Fighting for the greater good? Why'd you stop me?" he shoved me off of him.

"Are you fucking kidding me?" I threw my arms out in frustration. "You were getting yourself killed, that's what you were doing!" I exclaimed.

The blonde stranger frowned. "So what if I was? What's it to you?"

My eyebrows came together. He was...trying to get himself killed? What? "Maybe because you remind me of myself?" I started. He looked confused. "You're a kid, all alone in this hellish wasteland. Just like me. You look like you don't take shit, either,"

He nodded. "That's because I don't. And I'm not a kid, I'm 18," he scowled.

"So am I. But I'm not suicidal. Why the hell would you want to die?"

He motioned around us. "I imagine you've seen outside this city. The world doesn't exist anymore,"

I pondered that for a moment. "I have, I'm from a vault. But something tells me that's not why. It's deeper than that. And pretty big too. You just said you don't take shit, and I believe you."

He frowned. "Maybe it is. Maybe it isn't. But if your so interested in my life, why don't you just come with me?"

My eyebrows shot up. "Excuse me?"

He motioned to the old repeater slung across my back. "I'm gonna go out on a limb here and say you actually know how to use that thing. An extra shot is always handy. Plus, it's lonely out there. It'd be nice to talk to someone,"

"You're inviting a stranger with a gun to go venturing with you- across the wasteland?" I asked, shocked.

He nodded. "I figured you can't be that bad if you risked your own life to save mine. And we're both from vaults. Vault dwellers are pretty trustworthy people,"

"You don't know that. Maybe it's just a good day for me. I did feel pretty charitable this morning,"

The blonde laughed, flashing his surprisingly white teeth. He stuck out his hand. "I'm Kendall,"

I gripped his hand and shook it, smiling. "James,"

"Well then, James. You up for a quest?"

I shrugged. "Eh, I've been here for a few weeks. I was thinking bout leaving soon anyway,"

His smile widened. "Good. We leave tomorrow. Gather supplies and meet me at the gate at dawn,"

I blinked as he turned down the alley, running. Was I seriously going out into the wasteland for reasons unknown with this...suicidal stranger? Hell yeah.

The sun hovered lazily over the horizon as I walked through the dusty streets. It was dawn, I was going to meet Kendall. A few water bottled were stashed in a bag hanging on my back, along with some food. My canteen was full against my hip. An ammo belt, similar to Kendall's, was strapped against my armor covered chest. My armor wasn't anything fancy, made mostly of leather and steel, but it'd do it's job. My repeater felt heavy against it on my back.

Before meeting up with the stranger, I decided to stop at the general store first. I slowly opened the door, walking inside. The floor creaked with every footstep.

"Well hello there, James," Moira Brown, the shop keeper said. She was sitting in the corner on an old chair, journal clutched in her old hands. "My books coming along well, thanks to you. What's next?"

I sighed, walking over to her. She was writing a book about the wasteland, documenting what was happening to all of us. She hasn't been outside the gates for years now, so I've been filling her in. Stories of bravery and death were filling my head. If she wrote it all down on paper it's no longer inside of me, threatening my sanity. Seeing what I've seen...it's rough.

"I can't help you out today, Moira. I'm actually leaving town,"

Moira nodded, a frown on her lips. "Then I assume you're here to get supplies, right?" I nodded.

She walked slowly behind the counter, lifting up an old wooden crate. "This belonged to my husband, Nate. Look through it and take what you need, no charge,"

I paused, watching Moira as she retreated back to her chair. She was the sweetest old lady I'd ever met. It was almost sad to leave.

In the box was an old pistol and some rounds, a sketched map of the wasteland, and a stitched mask that looked like-

"Is this supposed to be a ghoul mask?"

Moira nodded, smiling. "Feral ghouls don't attack other ghouls. It'll help you, take it,"

I smirked, slipping the loot into my bag.

"Are you sure this is all free? I'd feel horrible taking this all away from you."

"Oh goodness, no. Your stories and acts of kindness are worth all the money in the world to me."

I looked back at Moira, reading the words scrawled in her journal. I slipped some bottle caps onto the counter, turning to leave. Even though she said it was free, I wasn't going to take her husbands things without paying something.

"Take care, James," Moira called as I walked out the door. "It's a big wasteland, but you know that better than me, right?"

A figure was leaning casually against the main gate, looking small compared to its massive size. I wouldn't have been surprised if it was an enclave guard. They liked to monitor the city, keeping track of everyone who was entering and leaving.

As I approached the figure, blonde reflected in the new sun. It had to be Kendall. No enclave guard takes off their cruel looking steel helmets. They have gas masks built into them, as if they need clean air more then the rest of us. Quite frankly, it was probably a good thing it was Kendall. I might've snapped at an officer. You don't come back from doing something like that without a few broken bones, maybe even waging on death.

More ammo and bags covered him than yesterday. The wasteland was a bad place, you needed your supplies. I almost felt bad for him. Almost.

I smirked, walking up to him. "Need any help carrying your junk?"

Kendall frowned. "Yeah yeah yeah, pretty boy. You won't be mocking my 'junk' when you run out of food and guns,"

"Who says I'll run out?" I challenged, slightly offended.

"We both will, eventually. I'll just be the one who lasts longer," he smirked, using his weight to turn a large wheel, the trigger that released the gate. The massive doors slid open, revealing the nuclear wasteland we've all grown to know. "Shall we?"

I smirked, adjusting the load I was carrying and walking out the gates. Land spread out in miles, nothing in sight but ruins and ash. This was the first time I was leaving with someone by my side, even if he was a stranger. So far, I trusted him.

"Yeah, why not."

"So, why are we doing this?" I questioned as we walked across the rugged terrain. We'd been walking for hours, making small talk and fighting off the occasional mutant.

The world was pretty empty. There was debris, but most of it was spread out. Houses and buildings were long gone. Most of the wasteland was empty, scraps of old memories scattered across it. It was almost a shame how much people lost.

Kendall laughed. "Your not one for safety, are you?"

"What," I snorted. "Just because I didn't know why we were doing this doesn't mean I'm not prepared."

"I'm not doubting that you're...prepared," Kendall motioned to my gritty armor. "I just find it funny that you trusted me enough to follow me outside of Megaton. I could be a slaver for all you know."

"You're not a slaver."

"I could get a shit load of caps for a pretty face like yours."

"Kendall, shut up."

"And you're strong. People love strong slaves."

"Stop."

"And-"

"Will you shut up?" I yelled at him, clenching my fists by my sides. He froze, taking in my stance.

"...it was a joke." He said slowly, cautiously. I got where he was coming from, making a joke to lighten the mood, but this was one joke I wouldn't let slide.

"I know a ton of decent people who's lives were ruined by slavers. It's not something you go around mocking. There's a reason it was banned before the wars."

Kendall frowned, turning to look straight ahead again. "Sorry."

We continued walking for a while in an awkward silence. Kendall kept glancing around us, watching for danger while I casually sipped out of my canteen. He groaned. "You're gonna run out of water faster than I thought."

"What?" I shrugged. "You have to stay hydrated."

"This is a wasteland. You do what you can to survive. How long have you been out here anyway? I thought you were experienced."

I frowned. "Two years."

He nodded, reaching into one of his bags and pulling out his canteen. "I've been out here for six."

My jaw dropped. "But that would mean-"

"That I've been out here since I was twelve, yeah. And before you ask, I've been alone for most of that time. That's one of the reasons why you're with me right now. It's a lonely wasteland."

"One of the reasons?"

"Yeah, you're not that bad to look at either." he smirked, still looking straight ahead. He took a swig out of his canteen, a small piece of paper falling from it to the ground. I quickly picked it up.

"What's this?" I asked, opening the folded paper.

Kendall sighed, rubbing the back of his head. "Revelation 2:16. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely." he recited perfectly, not even looking at the paper in my hands.

My eyebrows came together. "Why do you have it?"

He swallowed, glancing around us again. "It sounded interesting, that's all."

I nodded, not pushing it. "It's getting late. We should find somewhere to sleep." I pulled out the hand drawn map Moira gave me.

Kendall smirked. "I mapped this out before the trip. I hate blindly searching." he reached down to his arm, poking at a bulky device at his wrist.

"What the hell is that thing?" I asked, watching him pull up a virtual map.

His eyebrows came together. "It's a Pipboy 3000. Didn't you say you came from a vault?"

"James, we have to stay inside." a familiar voice whispered in my ear. "A bad man is out there. He stole from us. He left the vault."

I blinked, coming back to the present. "Uh, yeah. I did. I've just...it's been a while since I've seen one of those."

His eyes searched mine for a moment before he stopped to look down at his map again. "There should be an old town over these hills. Just a few buildings, nothing that noticeable. We should be safe for the night."

My eyes widened. "Intact? Do you think there will be any salvage? Canned food and stuff?"

"Surprising, I know. But I doubt it. It may not be noticeable, but people pass through here a lot. Anything useful would be long gone." I nodded, following him over a small hill.

A sigh escaped my lips.

The town, as Kendall said before, wasn't anything special. Three, four houses remaining, tops. Ranch houses, walls and ceilings collapsing in. A small store sat in the middle, abandoned like everything else.

Before the apocalypse, it's the kind of place I could imagine myself living in. Green grass, friendly neighbors, and a crisp blue sky. Now, though, it was horrible. The sky and ground were both the same shade of gray.

"Come on," Kendall reached out, grabbing my wrist and pulling me along with him. "We need to find a basement."

I raised my eyebrow, letting him pull me along. "Why can't we just sleep in one if the normal houses?"

He started laughing hysterically. When I didn't start laughing with him, he turned to look at me. "...Oh. Uh, you see, most people that come through these parts are thinking 'hmm, how can I survive today?' and then it hits them. 'Oh hey! Maybe if I check those houses over there, I'll find someone I can slaughter in their sleep so I can have their stuff!'"

I frowned. "I know about raiders. I'm not stupid. I just thought that maybe it would be nice to sleep on a mattress, that's all."

His hand fell from my wrist. "I didn't mean to-"

I shook my head and smirked. "It's nothing, really. You're not the first to assume that I am anyway. It's all good. Let's just find a nice basement to settle into, shall we?"

Kendall tilted his head. "Okay, but then well look for some mattresses. I haven't slept on one in ages."

I smiled at him. "Let's go."

"Shit!" I shouted, dropping my end of a mattress I was carrying with Kendall. We found a basement not completely flooded with radioactive water or trashed by raiders after a few minutes of searching.

The thing was, I could hear hungry moans.

"Shit, feral ghouls?" Kendall dropped his half and passed me, gazing out of a window by the open front door. I walked up next to him, quickly shutting it and putting a chair under the knob.

Kendall smirked, still examining the landscape. "I'm sure that'll stop a horde of angry zombies, James. But whatever helps you sleep at night."

It was a few minutes before we saw the first ones. They traveled in small groups, attacking anything and everything that was living. Except, strangly, other ghouls.

I crouched to the ground with Kendall, watching the ghouls scower the landscape. The sun was quickly setting, casting a strange shade of red over everything. It looked sinister, adding to the horror of the ghouls. Some of them devoured small creatures running around while the others feasted on corpses left behind by others.

One of them stood completely still, turning to stare directly at me through the dirty window.

"Shit."

I glanced at Kendall from the corner of my eye, terrified to move. "What do we do?"

He slowly backed away from the window. "Stay here. Don't move. I'll barricade the basement." And he was gone.

I sat completely still, not moving a muscle. The ghoul just stood there, watching. He slowly made his way over to the door, out if my sight. I crawled away from the window, hoping desperately that they wouldn't notice me.

The door handle jiggled.

I made it to the wall at the other side of the room, repeater clutched in my handsets door continued to jiggle, chair keeping it from turning all the way. After a minute of so, it stopped.

Kendall's head appeared around the corner. "James, come on, it's safe-"

The door slammed open.

I quickly pulled my gun up, aimed, and put a bullet between it's lifeless eyes.

Kendall stood there, speechless. I jumped to my feet, pulling him along with me to the basement. "Hurry! There's more out there!"

Kendall came to his senses, running into the basement. I quickly followed, the sound of angry ghouls pouring through the doorway behind us. Kendall turned, slamming a steel door behind us and dragging an iron bar across it. "Now that," he said, catching his breath, "is how you block a doorway."

I exhaled a breath I didn't know I was holding, placing my hands behind my neck. "That was...stressful."

Kendall walked down the stairs to the main room. "That shot, though, was amazing. How'd you learn to use a gun like that?"

I shrugged, joining him in our temporary abode. "I had a BB gun as a kid."

He raised his eyebrow. "In a vault? I remember a kid in my vault had one. Everyone was jealous of him, the lucky bastard."

I smirked. "It was pretty cool, I'll admit."

The mattress on the floor caught my eye, along with writing carved into the walls. "We only have one bed...and what's written everywhere?"

Kendall shrugged. "We only managed to grab one. It's a queen, though. I dont mind sharing if it's okay with you. And those are the names of people who've been here."

He was right. Up close I could see each individual name and vault number. There were hundreds of them scratched into the hard surfaces of the basement. Kendall leaned down with me, searching the names. He pointed to two names, smiling. "There I am. It's pretty worn out, though."

Kendall Knigh

Jo Tay

#10

"Who's that?" I asked, pointing to Jo's name.

"Jo Taylor. She was a friend of mine from my vault."

I nodded, lying next to him on the bed. "Where is she now?"

Kendall frowned at the ceiling. "Let's just say the last time I was here, I didn't secure the basement."

"I...I'm so sorry."

He shrugged. "I'm more sorry for her. I...did something that she didn't exactly agree with, so I went back to make it up to her a few years ago. Then that happened...and, well, I ruined everything."

"I'm sorry." I repeated, not knowing what else to say. We sat in silence, arms touching, waiting for sleep to take us.

(Kendall's P.O.V.)

I was just a few years old, standing up from the carpet that was on the cold metal vault floor.

My father, sitting on a chair next to my bed, reached forward and messed with my hair. "Your mother would have been so proud of you, kiddo."

"Come on over here. I want to show you something." He said, walking over to where a framed Bible quote was. "See that? It was your mother's favorite passage. It's from the Bible. "Revelation 2:16. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely." My father recited the passage in a sad tone. "She always loved that...All right. Come on. Let's go see if your little friend Jo wants to play." He said as I followed him out of the room.

My eyes slid open. Another dream? I knew if I went to sleep again, I'd keep having them.

I looked down to my right. James was facing me, eyes closed and breathing deeply. He really wasn't a bad companion to have out here. Smart, crafty, good with a gun. Plus, he had a soul. He got angry with me when I talked about slavers. That was a very good sign.

I looked around the room again. There were many new names scratched into the walls since my last time here. I crawled over to the wall, knife in hand. My last memories here weren't good ones. Why not make them better? With one last glance at James, I began carving.

James Diamond

#?

Kendall Knight

#101

Hey- did anyone see what I did there? Anyone? Heh heh(: I don't know if it's obvious or not...but still.

And btw, Kendall isn't scared of dreaming. He's scared about dreaming of his past.

Anyway- I'll be updating my other stories pretty soon. Plus, I have a few more one shots saved in my notes. So be looking for them(:

Again, thanks everyone for wishing me well! I'm off to a swift recovery(;

Peace(:

P.S. Here are some links to things like Kendall and James's armour, weapons, and other fun and related things! Take out the spaces!(after http and after fallout/)

Kendall & James's armour: (Just the left one) http ./_cb20110529005718/fallout/ images/3/3c/Leather_

Enclave officer: http .nocookie .net/_cb20110709195551/fallout/ images/b/b9/Enclave_power_

James's repeater: http ./_cb20110211031427/fallout/ images/5/55/Lever_

Kendall's assult rifle: http ./_cb20110211025818/fallout/ images/e/e1/Chinese_Assault_

Megaton: http .com/fallout/ images/e/eb/Map_over_