Chapter 1: How Lucky Can One Guy Be?
The New Vegas Strip, home of fortune and debauchery, pleasure and corruption. In the wake of the second attack upon Hoover Dam, many wastelanders wondered at the time, among all the explosions and thousands of bullets, blood and gore who had won? What kind of life could be expected under the regime of the winner? However what they all should of been asking is who had survived. The answer? A single man. A man who was backed up by hundreds upon hundreds of upgraded securitron robots.
The same man now sat at his desk in the presidential sweet of the Lucky 38. His fingers tapped slowly as he read what felt like his hundredth document on the state of the Mojave Wasteland in the aftermath of the battle between factions. Just as he finished, another file was directly uploaded through his scouting securitrons, this time from Ulysses. The courier gave a small smile in satisfaction, despite the extra reading.
"Finally starting to cooperate Ulysses? I knew you'd come around" he muttered to himself.
It had been a difficult task to send his upgraded machines into the Divide, and that was only half the battle. From what he recalled Ulysses was a man of history, a patriot to the old world and their clash was whispered about far beyond the boundaries of the Mojave Wasteland. The president of the strip didn't remember the events fondly.
Howling, tearing wind made it hard to even breath. He took cover behind the shattered wall of what used to be a building. Peaking out barely around his cover, Courier Six tried to find his target. Then, a flash from an old hotel complex that had literally flipped on its side. Less than a second later, a bullet pierced his cover and penetrated his shoulder.
"Ahh, Shit!" The Courier immediately pulled back and brought his other arm up to the injury.
He inspected the damage with his one good eye. The sensors on the right side of the helmet had been destroyed, leaving only the left eye functional. He didn't dare take of his helmet to try and attempt a repair, fearing the effects of the wind and of the watchful eye of the man who had lured him here.
The wound wasn't serious when compared to what he had already been through, but that didn't make it hurt any less. Blood began pooling and made the fabric of his armor stick to his skin. The experience wasn't anything new.
"Stupid piece of shit riot armor. Elite my ass. What are you even good for!"
The courier flicked through his Pipboy and materialized a stimpack. He stabbed it into his thigh and pushed the dropper down. Within a few moments the pain began to subside and his breathing became less labored. One day he swore that he would find out how they actually work but there was no time for that now. He yelled out to his attacker, knowing full well that the gusts would never allow his words to be heard.
"I'm still alive you son of a bitch! I'm coming for you!"
Of course in retrospect, Ulysses never wanted to kill Six during the journey. It was all about the endgame. Still, the Courier liked to believe that Ulysses was really our for his life the whole time and that he had survived through shear tenacity. It made the legend sound much more...mythical.
Either way, by the end of that very long and arduous trip, Ulysses and the Courier had come to a tense but diplomatic agreement. After all, the Courier didn't want destruction, he wanted reformation.
To be honest, the most difficult part of the whole ordeal was killing Mr. House. The man had a goal and had gone to such great lengths to achieve it. He was truly remarkable, and someone that was to be respected as far as the Courier was concerned. House's vision was grand and if he was still alive, his goals surely would have been accomplished.
But for Courier Six, there was still a problem. Mr. House was a legend but in the end he was a face on a screen, and for the majority of the people of the Mojave, he was even less. The civilization of today needed something physical to grasp onto, they needed a person to look toward for answers, someone who had walked among them, not a reclusive genius. And so, Courier Six had done something that not even the nuclear warheads could do, he killed a legend.
The leader of the Mojave Wasteland rubbed his eyes. It was getting late and he had been staring at a screen all day. It had been a months since he had roamed the desert, in search of adventure and riches. The responsibilities of his new role forced him to remain close to the small metropolis at all times.
The Courier stood up from his desk and stretched his muscles before walking out into the hallway. The suite was quiet without the constant chatter of his traveling companions. Although they didn't always see eye to eye, they would all agree that sitting down for a meal together was comforting in such a harsh time. Now, each of them, at least the ones who were still alive, had moved on to their own duties, and far away from the man who had betrayed them. All except one. A faithful canine who would protect him no matter what he did, and the only friend Six had left. Rex sat obediently at the foot of the bed, looking towards his owner with inquisitive eyes.
"Good to see you're still holding down the fort boy." He scratched the dog's muzzle as he strode by and began undressing. The scars from his hundreds of conflicts and left their mark on his body. The Courier looked himself over in the mirror.
"Let's see, radscorpion, Deathclaw, bullet, bullet...heh, molerat. That one was embarrassing."
Unfortunately these injuries did not come without consequence. Pain was a constant. Aching, stinging, throbbing, he had all of it. The only thing that curbed the worst of it was a constant supply of med-x.
A small tray held several syringes filled with the pain killer. Rex just watched him as he lifted one of them and released the contents into his arm. He took a deep breath and waited for it to take effect. After a moment he reached for another syringe.
Rex whimpered.
The Courier looked back and saw Rex staring at him. The dog trotted forward and began nuzzling and licking his hand.
"I know boy, I know. But just one more. It isn't working like it used to." He continued his gesture and once more inserted the syringe into his arm and injected the fluid inside. A satisfactory amount of comfort was finally achieved. The courier turned off the lamp on his side table and tried to fall asleep.
Nightmares. If you lived in this post apocalyptic world you had them. Probably from some kind of PTSD which, once again, almost everyone had. It would probably be harder to find someone without it. Last night, the Courier was treated to deathclaws inside the brotherhood of steel bunker. Naturally he was unarmed while he hid from the terrifying predators. It was a new combination of enemy and location, so that was interesting at least.
Another round of med-x was the first thing on the agenda as the courier rose from his bed. The suite was still silent except for the soft panting of his canine companion.
"Alright. Let's get to work boy. I'm sure Yes Man is on the edge of his seat, waiting to tell me all about the things that need my attention."
*Bark*Bark* Rex happily replied as the two marched into the elevator and rode it to the penthouse.
When man and dog reached their destination they were greeted with securitrons on either side of the doorway. The Courier was a cautious man, maybe even bordering on paranoid. If there was one thing he learned from Mr. House, it was that trust was a fickle thing and when taken advantage of, incredibly dangerous. Courier Six made his way down the stairs and over to the supercomputer that now held Yes Man's persona. As always, the picture was smiling down at him.
"Good morning Mr. Six! Things are going just dandy today. There are one hundred and three less incident reports when compared to yesterday."
"Oh that's just wonderful. So what does that make it then? Seventy three? Seventy eight?"
"Don't worry boss! Nintey eight point six seven percent of these issues can be resolved with your upgraded securitrons. I'll get them on it right away."
"Okay great. So what about that last...whatever percent?"
"That's where you come in boss. It's actually really important and if ignored, may cause catastrophic damage."
"...Good to know I guess. What's the problem?"
"I'm so glad you asked! You see, Mr. House had many, many plans in case nuclear war broke out. Some of them failed, some succeeded, and in the end had over a thousand possible solutions. One of them is inside this very facility."
"What? Why haven't you told me earlier if this was such an issue?"
"Well, there were things of much more urgent attention. It is important to first deal with the dangers the populous can see before saving them from unseen dangers. And let me tell you, your approval ratings are through the roof!"
The Courier was starting to remember why he liked getting all his reports sent to his personal terminal. Even with all the painkillers in Six's system, he could feel a headache coming on. Yes Man always had trouble getting to the point.
"Anyway, deep in this facility you will find what looks like a personal vault. Records indicate that for multiple periods huge portions of power had been diverted to this area of the Lucky 38. The door was sealed after an incident report was filed by Mr. House himself!"
Alright, definitely an interesting lead.
"Sounds good so far, but what makes it so dangerous?"
"That would be the contents of the report."
...
...
...
"Are you going to tell me or what?"
"Okay! Its pretty long but I'll see if I can sum it up for you! Basically, all other reports on this solution have been deleted and it only mentions that a creature of some kind "emerged" from solution 1563. It also says that the scientists were locked inside with whatever it was, so they probably aren't alive anymore!"
"It's also been like two hundred years..."
"Good point! Anyway, the location of the vault does not allow outside signals to penetrate its walls. I can take you to the correct portion of the building if you take an elevator in the area Mr. House use to reside in."
"I don't get it, its been so long. How could something still be alive after all this time?"
"I'm not quite sure! But none the less, my sensors indicate faint noises periodically emanating from that zone."
"Looks like we're going in armed and dangerous eh boy?" It had been a while since the two of them had done something adventurous together. It would be just like old times. He turned back to Yes Man before speaking again.
"How heavy should I go in? Any indication of what level of threat we are talking here?"
"I don't know! There are no indications of attempting to combat the creature in the report. Good luck though! I'm sure you can do it."
Courier rolled his eyes as he began his trudge back toward the main elevator.
"Thanks for the updates Yes Man. You've been oh so helpful."
"Your welcome. That's how I've been programmed after all!"
The sarcasm lost on the machine, Courier Six traveled back up to his suite and began sorting through his supplies with his dog.
"What do you think? Power Armor?"
*Bark*
"Yeah, too clunky. It gives me a rash in all the joints too. How about heavy, but versatile" Six asked indicating the Elite Riot Gear. The edges of the coat had begun to wither and fray from its long use. It had always been his favorite armor, and it showed.
*Bark*Bark*
I smiled.
"I thought so too buddy." The courier donned the armor piece by piece. It felt familiar, like a second skin and made him feel safer than any of his robots did. The HUD from the helmet was simple, displaying the V.A.T.S percentages on possible targets when prompted. As he finished dressing himself he tested the multiple visions and zooming capabilities of the helmet. After everything was settled, he felt a building ache in his shoulder.
"Damnit. Already? I took two and a half doses this morning" Six breathed.
Six was starting to fear that his medicine would stop working. He had relied on it ever since he took up Mr. House's mantle. A man cannot lead a his people if he can barely stand on his own two feet. Look what happened to Caesar. He made sure Rex was distracted, growling at some hats in his wardrobe before opening up a small case that was underneath the bed. It contained two dozen doses of pain killers, what is suppose to be a months worth. Six dumped all of them into his pipboy. He felt silly, trying to hide his reliance on the medication from his dog, but Rex was smart and the Courier didn't want him to worry.
Six cleared his throat and clapped his hand together to get Rex's attention.
"Alright, time to look at weapons. It'll most likely be close quarters so shotguns, are a must. Let's go with...the riot shotgun. Fitting right? Riot gear, riot shotgun...you get it. Okay what else, what else..." The man perused through his stash. Hundreds of weapons had been accumulated over the course of his travels. It was quite difficult to only pick a few, but a man can only carry so much weight.
"You know what? Lets just go over the basics. Physical? Nothing a pair of power fists can't handle. Then we have shotguns for short range. Medium range...let's go with the light machine gun, always been one of my favorites really. Okay for distance fighting, Gauss rifle has never gone wrong. And as always, all the ammo I can carry. Everything's set then."
*Bark*
"I know we aren't even going outside the building."
*Bark*Bark*
"I'm not trying to play anything up and I'd rather be safe than sorry."
*Bark*
"Of course you want me to bring the flamer. You just want cooked meat so that you can eat it."
*Bark*Bark*Bark*
"Well are you gonna carry it then?"
*Whimper*
"I didn't think so."
With the argument ending in the Courier's favor, they headed down back to Yes Man who had opened the room where Mr. House had kept his body. Off to the side the wall had been torn down and a cargo elevator that looked like it hadn't been used in, well, hundreds of years awaited with open doors.
Six used his radio to communicate with Yes Man.
"Are you sure this thing still works?"
A loud reply resounded throughout the helmet.
"Sure!"
"...Usually a question like that is answered with a yes or no..."
"There is an eighty three percent chance you will make it down the shaft safely."
Courier Six pondered for a moment. Before looking down to his canine companion.
"Decent if you ask me."
*Bark*
The two entered and the door closed behind them. On the way down static was heard from the speakers. Seconds later we heard a voice.
How lucky can one guy be? I kissed her and she kissed me.
"Looks like Yes Man patched the radio through for us eh buddy?
Rex just scratched his ear and laid down. Apparently it was going to be a long ride. After a couple moments of silence, Six had something important to say.
"Listen I don't want any heroics out there alright? Quick and clean, in and out. We don't need another fiasco like what happened at the fiend base."
*Bark*
"I know you earned a medal from the NCR. You're just lucky I was able to pull your ass out of the fire that time."
*Whimper*
Six smiled and knelt down next to his faithful dog. He wrapped his arms around the animal and squeezed.
"I know boy. We're partners, I'll always be there for you." Six felt his eyes began to water. Who knew how much longer Rex had? The repairs on him had gone well but he was already on his last legs. So much had been asked of the poor pup. Six sniffled and shook his head while he stood up. "Alright let's cut the waterworks, put on your game face."
True companionship was a hard thing to come by when one was the leader of civilization for miles around. Could they be trusted? Could anyone be trusted? There were few who could be put into that category. Before the final fight and before he chose this path, Courier Six had eight friends that could be placed in this category. Well one was a robot but still. But that number dwindled. Dwindled with each decision made until there was only one left. Just a man and his dog.
The elevator lurched to a stop and the doors opened. A dark hallway stretched before them. Six activated night vision and saw a vault door a little larger than the average man. A control panel sat next to it.
"It's go time buddy. Turn up the heat."
Rex had begun to prowl around the area sniffing the air for any foreign scents. The Courier pulled out his shotgun and walked over to the console. A hand lever was the most prominent feature. Without much thought Six pulled it downward.
At first, nothing, then a grinding, groaning sound as the vault began to pry itself open. Six took up position behind Rex who was ready to pounce on anything that came through. The first view he saw through his night vision was a group of skeletons laying on the ground just inside the vault, seven or so.
"Most likely the scientists" Six whispered. They had congregated at the exit, trying in vain to escape whatever monster House had locked them inside with. "Never even had a chance."
The duo stepped inside carefully, examining the first room of the vault as they did.
"Let's see. Power...looking for power."
From Six's experience so far, most of the vaults opened directly into a maintenance hall of some kind. He scanned in the darkness for some kind of doorway or terminal.
"I wish they just had a light switch. It would make this a lot easier..."
After searching for a little while, Six found the an alcove that contained the main breakers to the vault. A few quick flips of a switch and the lights began to glow, albeit dimly.
Six exited the small offshoot and returned to where Rex was still sniffing. Suddenly he began to growl.
"You got something boy?"
*Bark*Bark*
"Alright! Let's round it up and take it down."
Rex led Six through the hallways, passing different testing rooms and laboratories. No signs of an overseer's office, or bedrooms, or a cafeteria. It was becoming clear that this vault was never created with the intent for people to live inside of. The questions running through the Courier's mind only increased as they made their way further inside. Finally they ended up in a room with dozens upon dozens of generators, more than enough to power all of New Vegas for months. The room itself was massive and had plenty of dark corners for whatever was down here to hide. The lines from the generators all hooked up to an archway of some kind at the far end of the room. A larger control panel was on an elevated platform where Six and Rex had entered. The Courier walked over to it and examined the various dials and knobs. After fiddling with a few, a green button illuminated itself. Six looked down at Rex, who had began to investigate the ground floor, and pressed the button.
A tearing sound, unlike Six had ever heard radiated throughout the chamber. In the middle of the archway a black slit had formed, seemingly in the air. It grew larger and larger until the whole arch was engulfed in inky blackness. The pair of them stared at the anomaly as it finished expanding.
"Well we are gonna stay the fuck away from that..."
A bark of agreement came from Rex and Six started trying to shut it down. In the midst of doing so he heard a thud. The kind of sound that reminded him of two bodies colliding with each other. Six looked down toward the ground level.
Rex was nowhere to be seen.
"Shit! Rex?! Speak up buddy!"
No response.
Six jumped down, forgetting his previous mission and desperately scanned the aisles for his missing dog.
"Listen whatever the fuck you are, I swear I will murder your entire species if you hurt my dog!"
Then from the far end of the room, scuffling, and growling were heard.
Six immediately recognized the growls of his companion and began to sprint to where it was heard.
"Kick it's ass Rex I'm coming!"
The sound brought Six almost in front of the archway but right before he could make it all the way, what could only be described as a pitch black monstrosity blocked his path. It was down on all fours but would be several meters tall if it decided to stand up. Its fur was pitch black and it had what looked like bone sticking out of its limbs. More bone covered the creatures head, which held a snarling muzzle in his direction. It looked like some kind of non-lizard deathclaw.
Six took too long to recover from the sudden appearance of the creature and it lept onto him, bringing his body to the ground. Six lifted his arm to bait the beast's jaws. Better his arm than anywhere vital. The tactic worked and the creatures maw latched on to his armored gauntlet. Luckily it didn't manage to pierce skin. Not so luckily, it was now shaking its head wildly trying to tear his arm off.
"Gah! Shit" Six exclaimed as the monster began to take control of the situation. Just as things were beginning to look bleak, the Courier's best friend jumped from the top of a generator and landed on the creature's back. Rex's own jaw clenched down on the thing's neck and refused to let go.
The creature released Six's arm and began thrashing erratically, trying to shove Rex off. It darted left and right, trying anything to remove the hanger-on. Six crawled over to his shotgun lying a few feet away, turned and began firing.
The beast was quick, and its movements didn't make much sense. V.A.T.S was having a hard time tracking the monster. It desperately wanted freedom from Rex but its wish would not be granted. Finally it went up on its hind legs reaching back for Rex. It began to teeter backwards with the extra weight and started to fall...right into the archway.
Six blinked inside his helmet and then they were gone.
Silence reigned throughout the vault. He just stared at the doorway where his best friend had been just a moment ago. His mouth caught up with his mind a second later.
"FUCK! REX! I told you not to be a hero!"
Six dropped his shotgun and held his hands to his head. He needed to think. Rex could still be alive. It was definitely possibility. That...creature was unlike any of the wasteland creatures so it might have come through this doorway.
"What do I do...Rex needs help but I don't even know what the fuck this thing is..."
The options weighed heavily on Six. What if the archway just disintegrates anything that goes through? What if it sends him somewhere he cannot return from? What if...
A sudden moment of clarity hit Six and he stood up, taking his shotgun as he did so.
"What the hell am I talking about? If my partner needs help then I'm gonna send in the cavalry!"
Six de-materialized the shotgun and pulled out the LMG.
"Hang on Rex! I'm bringing the pain!"
With the most determination Six had felt in months since he had taken control of Vegas, he charged into the portal.
You just don't hurt a man's dog and get away with it.
Professor Ozpin sat at his desk reading the latest reports of how the students were fairing in the first few days of classes. The night had been a long one and was now edging into early morning for him, but that was why he always had coffee on hand.
As he just finished one report, a sensor in the forest pinged a concerning anomaly. He took a break from his notes and looked at his scroll. A breath later, a second anomaly a few miles distant from the first made itself known.
"Interesting...very interesting."
He called made a call on his scroll to his most trusted professor.
"Ozpin? Is there something wrong" A blonde woman answered.
"I am not quite sure myself Glynda. I know tomorrow, ahem I mean today is the start of the weekend but please ask Teams Cardinal and Ruby to investigate the following coordinates. They are not that far from the school." He sent the grids in which the strange event occurred and corresponding anomaly information to his subordinate.
The woman on the other end of the line studied the readings.
"This is an extremely concerning report Professor. Are you sure you don't want to send one of the more experienced teams?"
"We will be ready to assist should any issues arise. It will be good practice for next semester."
"Yes Professor. And do try to attain a proper amount of sleep every night" Glynda chided.
A small chuckle came from the headmaster.
"I'll be sure to try. I apologize for the early call and thank you."
He ended the feed and turned his chair from his desk. His full attention now diverted from the reports as he began to pace back and forth in the office.
"Just what is going on out there" he whispered. A new type of Grimm? Some kind of volatile dust reaction? He would know soon enough.