Fallout 3 is property of Bethesda.
One shot that transitions from 1st person to third person. Definitely Alternate Universe. Bad female vault dweller from Fallout 3 with Jericho and Defender Morrill. Seriously, I have no idea what the hell I was thinking writing this but figured I'd share.
Aiding Defender Morrill
I stood atop a cliff side of gray, jagged rock. A wafting breeze caresses me ever so gently, tickling my cheek and the nape of my neck. Above me, the azure skies are peaceful, endless and clear. There's an intoxicating calmness about it. Below, the land is a symphony of discord. This expanse is a more somber composition of umber and slate - an arid ocean of short dead grass peppered with charred trees and crumbling buildings and highways. So distinctly separate this war torn land is from it's peaceful celestial companion above. Yet, in the distance upon a cracked patch of irradiated earth I glimpse a small cloud of cinnamon colored dust dancing with my in-virtuous breeze. Amidst this existence of chaos and calm, of yin and yang, heaven and hell has managed to embrace. Welcome to the Capital Wasteland.
"What the fuck, lady...I've been standing here forever."
I turn to see my hired gunman, Jericho, glaring at me. We stand equal in height. His clothing is all dark leather, covered with dust. Short dark hair, smells like he was born in hell's trashcan. But he's an ex raider - and knows these lands like the back of his hand. But the incessant whining tries even my patience.
I look past him to see the ransacked bodies of five raiders riddled with bullet wounds laying strewn a short distance away. For a thousand caps, Jericho does his job well - except I don't take orders from assholes, especially when I'm paying. I throw him a pack of cigarettes, and return to my view. "Are you done shopping yet? Might want to check them again - looks like you forgot to take their boxers this time."
His irritation becomes more apparent. "Hey - caps is caps, man. These clothes and weapons come in handy with the traders. You know that. But we need to keep moving - not a good idea to hang around."
I turn away and raise my face to view the heavens again. Wastelanders will never appreciate how unique it is to gaze into the face of infinity. Only a vault dweller with a life time of ceilings and florescent lighting can.
I draw in a good breath of air, savoring the unfiltered taint of it. Vault air was never this earthy. I slowly exhale, still facing away. "Do you remember our first trip to Ten Penny Tower, Jericho? When we watched Megaton transform into a magnificent mushroom cloud, instantly vaporizing every person and everything in that rad roach hole of a town?"
He gives me an incredulous look. "Yeah, what about it?"
"*I* activated that bomb. I alone chose who lived and who died in that town... And of everyone there, of everyone I could have picked to live - I had to choose an ex-raider with a fetish for used underwear."
Jericho sneers."You know what - forget about it." He walks away indignantly, kicking at a few rocks before venting his anger on the bodies of the raiders by urinating on them. But I know what he speaks is true - we need to keep moving. But I don't care. The Scourge of Humanity calls the shots in this group, not him.
My momentary commune is interrupted yet again - but this time by an all too familiar chirping. My pipboy has found a new signal. Good old pipboy, another reminder of what life was - a wrist computer to some, a vault dweller's shackle to others. I'd have smashed the bastard years ago if it wasn't so damn useful. I flip the audio on to see what's so fucking important.
Interesting - it's an Outcast distress signal.
"This is Defender Morrill, any Outcasts listening on this frequency report to sector 7-B, Bailey's Crossroads. This is a high-priority message, backup is needed at our location. Any personnel listening on this frequency please report at once."
I let the signal replay a few more times, just enough to see irritation flash across Jericho's face once again. God, I love to torment that man. But this message though...Bailey's Crossroads, eh?
"HEY JERICHO...do you know where Bailey's Crossing is?"
Jericho perks up. "Yeah, been there once or twice. You're not thinking about helping those outcast brotherhood assholes out are ya? I didn't sign up for no humanitarian mission."
I smirk, "Oh yeah...we're going to help. Help ourselves that is. Grab you gear - it's time to go."
[One Week Later]
The young defender's mind is groggy as he slowly comes to. He's sitting upright in a chair in the middle of a pitch black room. He looks up at the solitary light that's dangling above him. He tries to shield his eyes from the blinding light...but he can't move his hand. He realizes he has no power armor on, stripped down to t-shirt and boxers and is tied to the chair he's sitting in. He struggles to get free when he hears a voice from the darkness.
"Do you know where you are, defender?"
He squints his eyes to see who's addressed him and replies angrily, "Why am I tied up! Who are you! Come out so I can see you!"
"There were so many super mutants that day. Almost took your unit out. Almost...until my friend and I flanked them, helped you kill them. And then...you proceeded to call me an idiot...but then saw my pip-boy, saw me for what you could get out of me. Who am I? Why, I'm the little girl with the wrist computer."
"I don't remember any of that!"
A shadow walks out from the darkness and approaches him. The vault dweller in her blue and yellow jumpsuit with '101' stitched on the chest stands in front of him and smirks. "Of course you don't. That's a side effect of my friendly little mesmertron. I had no intention of using it...until you insulted me. All I wanted was a little gratitude...and some caps for coming to your rescue. But no...my friend was right. Outcasts are all assholes. So I zapped you...gave you a small metal collar as a souvenir and you ran here, to Paradise Falls, before it exploded."
"Paradise Falls! No, not that slaver camp! Look, I don't remember any of what you're saying. If this is all over an insult, then please except my apology and let me go on my way. I need to get back to my unit. The super mutants will return and take over that part of the city, we need every man we can spare for that fight!"
The young vault dweller smirks, "I don't think you understand your current situation, defender. Do you know who I am?"
"I have no idea, and I don't care. Just let me go already!"
"Everyone knows me, or knows of me. My name is on the lips of every transmission that Three Dog makes. I am the vault dweller from Vault 101, the alpha and the omega,...the Scourge of Humanity."
The outcast defender starts to laugh, "Wow...you really are very self-important, aren't you? Well, I hadn't heard of you. What? Was all of that supposed to impress me or something?"
The vault dweller smirks again. "And again...another insult. Well, I see there is no getting though to you. You want to return to your unit? Fine. Jericho, please hit the lights." Suddenly a blinding light fills the room, and the defender squints his eyes again. When they finally adjust, he looks forward at the row of T-45d power helmets lined up against the wall. He notices the red markings they bear...these are outcast helmets.
He stares at the helmets and hesitantly demands, "Wha...what is this!"
The vault dweller walks over to the first one and says, "These...were really heavy. I have no idea how you manage to wear these. Do you know how long it took me and my friend to bring these back here? The typical T-45d helmet runs around what? Twenty pounds? Multiple that by 10, so 200 pounds total? But wait...I almost forgot." She lifts one of the helmets to expose a severed head underneath. The soldier glares at it as anguish rushes across his face. The vault dweller continues, "It's actually way more than 200 pounds. I forgot to add in the weight of 10 human heads."
The defender cries out and starts to hyperventilate as the vault dweller kicks the head to the side, pulls out a switch blade, and walks toward him. "You see, defender, the day we met you dealt me two insults. The price for the first was the life of your unit, and the price for the second was your freedom. And today you've insulted me once again. How do you plan on paying me now?"
The soldier stares in shock at head of his comrade as he says, "You...didn't have to kill them!"
"But I didn't. You did. You sent out that message, you beckoned *me* to come to *you*. And I simply answered your call."
He glares at her again and yells, "You're insane!"
She replies calmly, "No, I'm just the Scourge of Humanity and this is how things work. And you still didn't answer my question - how do you plan on paying your debt?"
She straddles him and flips open her switch blade. The defender swallows hard as she waves the blade in front of his face and says, "I am not afraid to die, vault dweller! Do what you have to. But I won't be entertaining you anymore today."
She leans in and whispers in his ear, "I think you're wrong about that...This is Defender Morrill, any Outcasts listening on this frequency report to sector 10-L, Paradise Falls. This is a high-priority message, backup is needed at our location. Any personnel listening on this frequency please report at once." She laughs then says, "I'm not going to kill you, Defender Morrill. I could never kill a voice as enchanting as yours."
"What?"
She gets up and walks to a nearby table and lifts up a cloth covering it. She reveals a mic, a radio transmitter, a timer, and a slave collar. She grabs the collar and throws it to Jericho, who punches the defender out then puts it on his neck. The defender comes back to and yells as Jericho slices the Achilles tendon in his right ankle then shoots him with a stimpak to stop the bleeding.
When Morrill finishes yelling, the vault dweller says, "This is my price, Morrill. If you leave this room, your collar will go boom. What my man here has done is permanently removed any ability for you to run away should you figure out how to remove that collar without blowing yourself up. You are healed, but you can not walk much less run. I have left you with one good foot so you can hobble around and have some degree of mobility." She points to the radio and says, "This is my transmitter. You will speak into this and spread your voice across the wasteland. I don't care what you say, as long as you say something for 12 hours a day, everyday. If you do not comply, the men outside...the slavers who love nothing better than to break men with stronger wills than yours...will be allowed to come in here and do whatever they feel like to you for the difference in time you miss. Do you understand?"
The outcast defender stares at her unbelievably as he says, "Why...why are you doing this?"
She yells, "DO YOU UNDERSTAND!"
He breathes nervously as he says, "...yes."
She quickly returns to a calm state and says, "Good." She motions for Jericho to untie him. She turns the time to the 12 hour mark on the timer and says, "Time starts now, Morrill. I can't wait to hear what you have to say." Jericho and the vault dweller exit the room, and one of the slaver guards locks it behind them.
"Why did we just do that again," Jericho asks.
"Caps is caps. And we made a killing selling all that outcast power armor to these gentlemen."
"No, I mean Morrill."
"Oh, him? Our little defender is going to call his friends for help. And they will come...and have to fight slavers wearing power armor that I trained them to use. Whoever comes to aid him will die or be enslaved, and the slavers get to keep their gear...train more slavers how to use it until they break the balance of power in this area in their favor. This is their payment for keeping him alive. For me, I get to keep hearing that lovely voice of his on my pipboy as we travel the wasteland. It's a win-win situation."
Jericho pauses as they look at each other, and he finally says, "You're one sick broad, you know that?"
She smiles at him and says candidly, "That's Scourge of Humanity to you, asshole."