The woman at the abandoned bar sat, watching the door for someone. He'd been all over the former United States, saving the Wastelands from various plots to control or destroy it's people. She couldn't be sure if he'd show up or why, but something was telling her that today he would appear.
The bar had been abandoned year ago, yet had managed to be untouched by Raiders. Perhaps that was because of the rumours of the ghost that haunted this building or, those who had explored and never returned, she mused. She hated resorting to intimidation or physical violence, but that was a harsh reality of the new world that she'd had to get used to.
She heard the click of a dog's claws, and the soft cocking of a pistol. "I wouldn't do that, Courrier Six."
The owner of the gun pressed it against the back of her head. She adjusted her brown hat and sighed at him. "Won't help you with a gun pressed to my head." He stopped, an after a few seconds put the gun away. Had he recognized her beige trench coat, or her, she wondered. She'd appeared to him a number of times, to steady his aim, as something his companions called the Mysterious Stranger. "Sit down, mon ami."
He hesitated, then obeyed. He was so obedient now. She smiled a little sadly at the fact, and twirled her beer bottle a little bit. "Why did you come in here…?"
He pointed to her, which caused her to chuckle. "You came in here looking for a ghost?"
He poked her twice, and made the motions of an X with his arms, then dragged a thumb across his throat. "You're right." She said. "I'm not dead… So, was this for a Quest, or just out of curiosity?"
The Courier held up one finger.
"Ah, A quest then. Wasn't to kill me, was it?" In case, she pulled out her own gun, a .44 magnum, and lay it on the counter. The Courier watched it carefully. She'd shown him how the gun could kill with one shot. Despite his companions, he wouldn't last a minute in a firefight with her.
He shook his head, and pointed to her throat.
"Okay, mon ami, you'll have to be much more specific with that. That can mean any number of things… ."
After a moment of confusion, the Courier 's blue eyes widened and he shook his head. He reached into his bag and pulled out a pencil and a clip board. He scribbled on the paper for a second, before showing it to her. It read, I meant I was supposed to just have you talk! I was asked by two guys to listen to your story- or part of it at least….
"Who were they?"
Francis and Arthur… They seemed really worried about you. Are you related to them in any way?
"You could say that." She smiled, "So, what do you want to talk about?"
He gave her a shrug, which she took as anything.
"How about you get to know my name?"
The Courier nodded, and gave her his full attention.
"It's Matthew Williams."
Wait…you're a girl though!
"My Dads didn't know that. They also called me Mattieu, but usually used Mattie. Granted, there are other names…"
Like…?
Mattie looked him over. He'd seemed cool with his Mysterious Stranger being a woman, but for the next part… "North America, and I used to be called Canada."
Wait… Canada as in the country?
"Yes…Francis, Arthur and I are all 'Nations'- personifications of countries. I took over after…" She let herself trail off. How could she have forgotten…? Alfred…
…After the United States for their collective asses kicked?
She tightened her grip on the glass bottle, but only slightly. She had a lot of strength now -she found she could easily send a supermutant behemoth flying- so she had to be careful "Alfred always made mistakes. But mon Etats-Unis…He died when the vaults were closed, Courier. I've been North America since then."
The Courier placed a hand on her shoulder, and wrote, I know what it's like to lose a family, Matthew. My Dad… he died a long time ago.
The young Nation blinked in slight surprise, "You believe me?"
Yes. You don't look like you'd be faking something like this.
Well that was true enough. She wasn't. She could feel all of her Brother's people, slaving hard under the hot sun, while her own people were freezing in their harsher than usual winter. It made her feel strange, like a fire was consuming her lower half, and her top was coated in ice. It wasn't natural for a Nation to be as imbalanced as she was.
The pencil tapped her shoulder, and drew her out of her thoughts. "Hm? Oh, sorry, Courier. I kinda zoned out for a sec…"
She returned her gaze to the piece of paper in front of her. So, let me get this straight. You're the representation of North America, and the rep of the United States died when the war began?
"Yes. But we called him America… Only I and my big brother actually called him Etats-Unis"
What does that mean?
"Oh, sorry… I forgot, you don't know French… using it is an old habit from being Canada, I suppose. Etats-Unis means United States."
Ah. So… Matthew…
"Mattie, please. I already dress like a guy," She said, referring to the uniform of the Mysterious Stranger, which comprised of a beige trench coat, white dress shirt, a black tie, and a dark brown hat. It was better than most of the armour that the Raiders wore- which was the easiest to get one's hands on in the Capital Wasteland. Here, depending on your side, it was Powder Gangers, Legion or NCR armour- all of which seemed flashy or bulky to her. She preferred what she was wearing now- it got the job done, and was pretty good at keeping her bullet free.
Okay… Mattie…Why have you been helping me?
Ah, the interesting question. "Simple, Courier. You remind me of my twin."
How…?
". Sometimes it's the hair… the eyes. But it's not just that, Courier. Even in your past lives, you've always been some form of hero."
…past lives?
"Yup. You were the Vault Dweller. Then The Chosen One. Now the Lone Wanderer and- after your encounter with Maria- Courier Six. Time and time again you've emerged from darkness and saved everyone. You didn't blow up Megaton, when the Caps were probably pretty good looking at that time. You fixed Rex's brain… you've saved the Wastelands countless times. That's something Al would've done."
The Courier nodded slowly, but wrote nothing. Looking at him, she could see a lot of her brother- some of his expressions were the same as Al's towards the end. Brooding, pained… "Listen to me… Sorry about that… it's just hard. I watched my brother die in my goddamn arms- and for all that I am, I couldn't help him. That's why I'm helping you, I guess. You remind me of him… how I screwed up. I did wrong by him, and I don't want to be done wrong by you too…"
The blonde rested a hand on her shoulder, and sighed at her. It's all right. I understand… Kinda like Dogmeat and Rex, right? I feel obligated to help them out because the Vault Dweller had the first Dogmeat…
"That's… right. Exactly right. How did you know..?"
He gave her another of his America-like grins, I remember bits and pieces. Like Vault Thirtee-
A dog barking cut him off, and laser shots rang out. "What's ED-E and Rex…" Then she heard it. A slow solid thud against the ground. No way- a Giant Yao Guai here? In Vegas?
The beast crashed through the wall of the bar, and snarled at the pair. The Courier held his pistol out, though it was shaking in his hand. Mattie sighed, and asked, "I'm going to guess you don't have the Animal Friend perk?"
Courier Six shook his head no.
"Of course you don't… how bad is your Karma, to have this happen?" She muttered to herself, before calmly finishing her drink. The Giant Yao Guai growled and launched himself at the Courier. Mattie pulled him out of the way, and let the mutated bear sail past.
He ran into the other wall, sending stone and wood flying as it smashed. "nikaapiyiu." She said, which attracted the Yao Guai's attention. "kimîyosinaw."
The Yao Guai stared at her, surprised. The Courier, too, was shocked at her. She smiled to herself and switched back to English. "We aren't going to hurt you. I know you came looking for food, but there is none here. In Zion, there is. You should head there."
After a second of hesitation, the bear nodded, and left. She was startled by the loud crash behind her, spinning to see the Courier had dropped his gun. "What?"
He darted back to his clipboard, and wrote You SPOKE to it! Convinced it to leave! Those things are MONSTERS- how did you manage…?
"That's like calling Rex soulless because he's part machine." She said, moving over to check over the dog in question, "They are angry at humans. They hurt them, destroyed their home in a war they had no part in. Why do you think Radscorpions and Geckos attack? They were changed too, and are also angry…you humans kill things without thinking- always have, almost all ways will. Stopping and thinking…you'd realize how much damage you're doing."
The dog seemed all right, and wagged his tail at her. "Good to see you too, Rex… You see Courier… everything has a soul, everything has a life and a name. Not many people realised this before the Great War, and certainly won't now… I'm preaching again." A faint smile graced her lips. He would always bug her about how she'd go on about it, like a priest at a sermon…With that thought, the smile faded. "You have enough for your Quest to be complete?"
The blonde nodded, and motioned for Rex to follow him. The dog whimpered, but obeyed. After a second, the Courier dug through his pockets and pulled out a familiar hand gun. He tossed it to her, and saluted before leaving.
The gus was a 9 mm pistol, with a nickle finish. All over it, there were little floral and ivy details engraved into the metal. On the pearl coloured grip was a painted image of Our Lady of Guadalupe.
The Mysterious Stranger ran her hands over the gun, tracing the intricate designs. He had tossed her the gun that had made him what he was now. Maria. A lot of death had been caused by this gun.
She spun to survey the damage done to the bar, and wondered if it was worth trying to fix. That question sort of answered itself- it wan't. She'd take what she could, and leave it for whatever happened to pass by. She moved towards the counter and picked up her own gun. On the counter, the Courier had left his clipboard. He probably had a lot more, being mute and all… couldn't hurt to give it back to him next time he opened VATS though. She picked it up, and noticed that he'd changed pages. There were a few lines he'd written before he'd left.
Ulysess is following me. Be careful.
She'd barely finished the line, when cold metal pressed into her back. "This is a dangerous path, Flag-Bearer." She said.
"What did you tell him?" He asked, his voice altered by the mask he wore.
"About my brother. Ulysses…"
"You told…"
"You both fight for his flag… You have to work together, or America will never awaken."
The gold eagle was taken away from where it was pressing into her back, and she could hear Ulysses walk away.
"There will be a battle, Ulysses." She said to his retreating form. " A battle between the two couriers, beneath the torn skies and the Old World flag... each bearing a message for the other…"
She sighed, as she heard the door close behind him. He wasn't hopeless, she knew. But sometimes it was like talking to a brick wall. He just needed the right person to speak half forgotten truths… he needed Courier Six, as much as he didn't want to admit it.
She holstered her gun and put the clipboard away. In her pocket, she still had a holotape- maybe now would be a good time to use it. She managed to turn it on, and whispered, "Kaskeyihtam. You will have to follow him down that road…Be careful, Vault Dweller…I won't always be around to protect you… Mortal as you are, you're still my brother. My Alfred, my America. Remember, you are, and always have been the Hero."
Nikaapiyiu- Stop.
kimîyosinaw- We are good people.
kaskeyihtam – He is lonesome.