"Hey Honey, I'm home!" I said, dropping my bag on the floor as I walked through the door.

"James!" Natalie said, surprised. She let go of the wooden spoon and ran into my open arms, her beautiful Red Hair flowing behind her.

"I missed you so much!" She muttered into my shoulder.

"Me too! But it's finally done. I'm home for good."

"But at what cost?" She pulled away from the hug, and kissed me, clutching both my hands.

"Don't worry, it looks like the real thing," I said once the kiss ended, holding up my hand, showing it to her.

Tiny, near silent servo motors buzzed as I wiggled my fingers.

She only sighed.

"Ah, Sir. You're home, and without any other substantial injury." Said Codsworth, emerging from the corridor connecting the other rooms to the main body of the house.

"Hey, Codsworth!"

"Mum! Young Shaun has finally gone to sleep."

Crying came from one of the rooms.

"Or maybe not..."

"Don't worry Codsworth, maybe he just needs a little fatherly love," I said.

The last time I saw him was when he was born. Two days later I was called back into the army, as a Rearguard stationed in Anchorage.

I walked into Shaun's room. There, in his crib, was my crying little baby boy. I tickled his stomach. Natalie and Codsworth came in after me.

"Hey there, Big Guy!" I muttered.

He stopped crying and started giggling, grabbing one of my fingers.

"See Codsworth, he only needed me."

"Jolly Good, Sir! Off to do the Laundry!" And he floated away.

Natalie smiled.

"Hon, frankly, I'm surprised you arrived so soon. Come, eat some dinner."

"What did you cook?"

"Some noodles."

"Better than MREs that's for sure."

I followed my beautiful wife to the dining table, where she quickly placed a player in front of me with noodles on it.

"Before I forget Hon." I said, "I know you won't like it, but I have to go to the Veteran's Hall tomorrow night. There they'll perform my ceremonial discharge. I don't care what happens afterward, I'm done with the military."

"Fine, if it means an end to you and the war. I want my husband to remain at least fifty percent human."

"After this, I might get a normal job. I might open a shop or something."

"That's a very good idea. I like it." Natalie smiled.

She sat down next to me and looked into my eyes.

"Half a year." She muttered.

"Yeah, but thankfully much more peaceful."

She smiled sadly, before holding one of my hands with both of hers. Very soon, I had finished dinner, better than anything I had eaten while on duty.

A long shower, and I was ready to drop.

Before I did so, I walked into Shaun's room and kissed him goodnight, before walking into our own bedroom and laying into bed next to Natalie.

"Goodnight Dear." I kissed her on the forehead.

"I can't believe you're home," Natalie muttered.

"I can't either."

Then I was asleep.

In what seemed like a second, I was opening my eyes, only I wasn't in my bed anymore, instead, I was at camp. The United States Forward Operations Camp, built in the Philippines, on the Island of Luzon.

"Captain James! Sir! We're moving in Twenty minutes."

"Where are we going, Soldier?"

"To the Front, of Course."

"This must be a nightmare," I muttered.

I got up, and quickly dressed up in my uniform, not quite out of my own free will. The soldier was still standing at the tent opening.

"Also the Chief Engineer is calling for you, Sir!" He said once I got dressed.

"Thank you, Soldier. Dismissed."

He nodded and walked away.

I too walked outside, and after surveying the camp I thought I'd never return to. Yet here I was.

I saw Chief Engineer Adams waving at me from a distance, and I ran over to him.

"We're getting you ready, Sir. It's the newest version of Power Armor, fresh from the Factories. T-60." He told me when I got there.

"Sounds like a good choice." I smiled.

"Those Commies won't know what's coming. Two thousand of our Hellcats will assault that beach today." He beamed.

I stepped into the Power Armor, and it closed around me. The Engineer made a few adjustments, before slapping me on the shoulder, signaling that I'm good to go.

"Is everything okay?" He shouted.

"Yep," I told him.

"Good."

After a few minutes, I was ready to get onto a UTAC. An Unmanned Transport AirCraft. A Prototype. This was the turning point of this war, and the United States wasn't sparing any expenses for this operation. We were storming the beaches of China.

The UTAC lifted up, and after only what felt like a few seconds, the Light turned green, and we were jumping out from Five Thousand Meters high. While the Suit had good shock absorbers, they aren't reliable, therefore each suit was fitted with a Parachute to slow our descent.

Landing on the First Line of Chinese Defense, the Hellcats went to work. Armed with Gatling Lasers and Fifty Calibre Machine Guns, the Job was easy, and the Chinese were routing soon enough.

"FORWARD TO THE NEXT POSITION." Roared the Commanding officer.

Nearly a thousand Power Armored Soldiers started moving towards the second line of defense before the bombs started falling.

Chinese 'Groundpounders', firing One kiloton Bombs at us.

"TAKE COVER!" I roared. Pushing one of my soldiers to the ground.

At that moment, a Bomb crashed near us, sending shrapnel everywhere, shredding my armor, damaging my Right arm beyond recognition, and knocking me unconscious.

The next moment I was in a field hospital, getting tended to by the orderlies.

"He's losing too much blood!"

"Give me that scalpel!"

I then black out again.

"Check if he's awake." Someone hissed.

"Looks like he's not."

"Good, quickly take everything you can see. Then we leave."

The Floorboards Creaked, spreading away further.

I opened one of my eyes to see the actual world I lived in. A man was standing right in front of me. Before he even had time to scream out, I had jumped up, driving a knife into his throat, clamping a hand around his mouth.

"Did you hear that?" Asked the other voice I had heard when waking from my slumber.

"Probably just Finn fucking around."

"If he doesn't keep quiet, the Ghost will wake up."

The Ghost. A name I had adopted when I realized what my surroundings had become. Not part of the present, a thing of the past.

I lay Finn down onto the ground as silently as possible.

Grabbing my gun from its holster strapped to my inner thigh, I walked into the nearest room I had heard one of the voices from. A man was looking through my cabinet, his back turned to me.

A floorboard creaked.

"What is-" His words died in his mouth as a bullet pierced his head.

"Grate? What was that?"

"That was a mistake," I called out.

"Oh shit!"

I walked back into my bedroom, only for the final person to collide into me.

Instantly, he was on his knees begging. My Reputation was big here.

"Oh god, don't hurt me. Please don't hurt me." He whimpered, slowly crawling backward. I smelt the acidic tang of Urine.

"You shouldn't have come here," I growled.

"If you kill me, my gang will come for you." He said as I raised my pistol to his head. His eyes widened.

"Let them come," I whispered, pulling the trigger.

4 hours later

"Please take these items to this location, Judy," I told her, pointing at a map.

"As you wish, Ghost."

"Thank you." I smiled.

Judy was one of the few people I could call a friend in this wasteland.

She was a Ghoul from my time, so she understood my situation well enough.

"If I can ask, what will you do?"

"I can't stay here. The Black-Hand Raiders number in the hundreds. It'd be suicide. Even for me."

"But why the Commonwealth? There isn't a lot there. Been there a few times."

"I haven't been that way for a long time, it's time I finally go home."

Judy said no more, and instead, she muttered a goodbye, before starting her journey.

"Home..." I sighed, lighting a cigarette, and taking a massive draw from it. "Here I come."

I flicked it into the building I called home for ten years. The wooden planks drenched in gasoline lit up immediately.

"But first, I have some catching up to do," I muttered, staring at the hungry flames, devouring the building.

2 weeks later

"So what is this Brotherhood of Steel?"

"Where have you been for the last few years, huh?" Slurred back a drunken mercenary.

"That's not important," I growled.

"Wow, sheesh. No need to be so grumpy. I'll tell you." He took a swig of a bottle of bear. "The brotherhood is a faction of militaristic jerks who are against technology. DC, they're in. I think." He scratched his ass.

"What about the Enclave?"

"What about them?" He murmured, "Gone. Destroyed. Poof. Maybe some still remain, but they're largely gone."

"Okay, thanks for the info," I said, dropping two dozen bottlecaps in front of him, before getting up and walking out of the bar.

My best option for settling down in the Commonwealth would have been the enclave. This brotherhood was a bad replacement. I had already heard plans of them moving to the Commonwealth.

Sadly, few mercenaries actually traveled there.

The Drunk mercenary called back to me.

"Where are you going, sir?" He said, hiccoughing.

"The Commonwealth."

"Me too. Let our journies meet again. Search for... Macready." He said.

"Will do." I smiled, before walking outside.

5 weeks later

One thing I had forgotten about was the Massive Nuclear Wasteland that separated me from home. It was more radioactive when I first traversed it, but there weren't any creatures living in it then. Even from the hilltop, I could see Radscorpions and deathclaws patrolling the area.

Raiders and Mercenaries are one thing.

Wasteland Creatures are on another level though. There's nothing logical about them, they're just primal instinct.

With a sigh, I shouldered my bag, and continued on my new journey, circling the Glowing Sea.

12 days later

Lexington. The dead husks of the houses were overshadowed by the massive building of the Corvega Assembly Plant.

It was probably filled with ferals if they weren't already cleared out. Most big cities were nowadays.

Thankfully, I wasn't taking that route. I had no business in Boston. Not yet, anyway. I had heard tales of Diamond City, but that was for another day.

Turning around to face Concord, I continued my journey, so close to the end.

I had just one problem. Since I forgot about the radioactive wastes, my food and water supplies were running short. My destination probably didn't have much of those either, so I was hoping for a Trader in Concord.

"This can go two ways, Trudy."

The voice instantly made me go on high alert.

"I'm not giving you Chem pushing assholes anything."

"Fine, I'll give you two minutes to change your mind. Then we won't have a choice."

Drug Peddlers, all too common. I caught a glimpse of the standoff and noticed a Trading post, from where the woman was pointing a shotgun at the two raiders standing in front of her.

I needed the supplies this woman could give. They are too important for me for it to be taken by Raiders.

Grabbing my trusty rifle off of my back, I laid down onto the damp ground and aimed the scope at the head of the nearest raider.

"Come on Trudy. Don't make this a blood-"

I pulled the trigger, and a second later my target collapsed sideways onto the other raider, a puff of blood coming from her head.

"What the fuck?" He exclaimed, pulling his pistol from the holster.

"Put the gun down now, or you'll end up like your friend," I shouted towards them.

"Who the hell are you?"

"That's not important!"

He shot randomly in my direction.

"Don't try that again, or you'll get a bullet between your eyes."

"Fine." He said, dropping his gun and holding his hands up.

"Now run back to your boss, before I change my mind."

"You'll pay for this." He told me, before running off towards Lexington.

I got up from the ground, and, after holstering my gun, I walked over to the Trader, taking a glance at the dead raider.

"Thank you, stranger. I probably wouldn't have been able to fight them alone. Come, my shop is open now." The Old woman said. I noticed a young man sitting at a table of the diner, a haunted look on his face.

I Remembered the last time I had come here, with Natalie- No. I can't think of the past. It'll just bring pain.

She put her shotgun down and walked behind a counter.

"Your welcome."

"So what'll you be having dear?"

"Food and water."

"Radstag good?"

"Yeah."

She grabbed a box from underneath the counter and took a fistful of Radstag jerky from it.

After that, she took two bottles of purified water from the shelf behind her and placed these in front of me.

"That'll be 120 caps."

That came as a surprise. From where I came from, these supplies went for much higher, not that I was going to argue.

"There you go," I said, dropping the cash onto the counter.

"Anything else?"

"Yes, actually. How much would it cost for you to send supplies to Sanctuary Hills?"

"Not a lot. Why?"

"Good, then I'll be back later to discuss what I'd like to order."

She smiled.

I smiled back, then turned around to walk out the door.

"Oh, I forgot to ask. How impolite of me. What's your name?" She said.

"Call me Ghost," I smirked.

"Trudy."

"Well met." I nodded, walking outside to continue my journey.

It didn't take too long before Concord came into view.

Then came the gunshots.

"What the fuck is happening to this place?" I muttered, dropping onto the ground once more today.

Taking my binoculars out of my backpack, I zoomed in onto the location the sound came from.

It was at the memorial building where the fighting was taking place.

A laser beam cut through the air.

"These guys aren't joking," I muttered to myself.

Lasers could only be afforded by the richest traders and mercenaries, but they were worth the cost.

One of the raiders came into view and ran to take cover behind a building, cutting him off from the other assailants.

Not wasting a second, I crept through the bushes until I was right beside him.

"Wha-" I cut him off with a short stab to the neck, letting him drop after I was sure he was dead.

Now to disperse the rest.

Grabbing a grenade from my pack, I crawled a few meters on the ground so I'd be facing the raiders.

There were probably around twenty of them, so this was an all-out assault.

One peaked a corner too soon, and the person with the laser rifle on the balcony took the shot.

Nineteen.

"Give up that old woman Garvey! You can't win."

No reply came.

I pulled the pin on the grenade and chucked it into the middle of the street.

"What was that?" A raider asked.

A brownish-yellow smoke started seeping out of the grenade.

"The fuck?"

He looked at the grenade for a second longer, then started laughing.

"You think a smoke grenade scares us, Minuteman?"

Then the smoke touched him. He started screaming the second those acidic vapors curled over his skin.

"Stay back from that smoke!" A man, most probably the leader, yelled. The man it had touched had stopped writhing and screaming. He was dead in a matter of seconds.

"Don't have to say it twice Gristle."

I took this as my chance to move and rushed into the building.

Right as I closed the door behind me, a bullet whistled past my ear, and reflexes took over.

In a fraction of a second, I had grabbed my gun and shot the raider who had taken a potshot at me.

Noticing other heads turning my way, I quickly ran into a room to the right of me.

Speakers came on.

This was the Museum of Freedom, albeit in shitty shape.

Having been here a multitude of times, I ran through without paying attention, come out across the far side, only to pull back as a bullet crashed into the doorframe.

A few more shots came at me, but by then I knew where they were coming from, and I shot towards those locations.

The gunshots stopped.

Looking outside, I saw that new bodies decorated the upper floors.

Meanwhile, the floor I was on could have done with a bit of repair. The entire thing had collapsed into the basement. I was about to go around, when I noticed a Generator room down there, Fusion Core still inside.

Those things went for a lot, that much I was sure of, and missing out on it would be a sin.

Touching my device to the Computer controlling the Security door, it hacked inside in the blink of an eye, and it was open. I pocketed the Fusion Core, before heading on.

Up ahead, raiders were talking, not realizing the gunfight that had gone down outside. I walked up to them, throwing a Knife at one, shooting the second in the head.

Wiping the blood from the Knife, I kept going. A Raider crashed into me, probably hearing the gunshot, but he didn't have a chance to realize his mistake.

A Final Raider still stood, that much I could hear. He was banging on a door, and all that separated us was a flimsy wooden wall. Nothing a High Calibre Revolver couldn't solve.

The Man was dead before he could smack the door again.

Soon enough, it was me hitting the door.

"Hello?"

"Who are you?" Came a voice from inside.

"A Friend, I hope," I answered.

The door slowly creaked open.

"Welcome to the Last Stand of the Minutemen."

"I hope it doesn't come to that."

He reached out a hand to me.

"Preston Garvey, Commonwealth Minutemen."

A/N Well this is complete, I'm sorry for the wait. The reason for the rewrite was because I realized how the way I originally was writing it had a bunch of Negative sides that affected my Writing. I hope the story still seems exciting in this form. Stay tuned for more :)

-ServantofRagnos