Author's Notes: I have a feeling that some people are probably getting tired of reading Fallout 3 stories that are pseudo-novelizations even though credit has to be given that a lot of them are definitely interesting with their own tweaks and modifications to the original story. I hope to do something similar with this story of mine, especially considering that it was a combination of mods that gave me the inspiration for this story. The two main mods in question being the Fallout 3 Wanderer's Edition overhaul mod and the Brisa Almodovar companion mod. Oh, and one other thing: at this time, I will not be posting info for each character at the beginning of each chapter to reflect the changes in equipment, perks, karma, etc, that'll inevitably happen throughout each chapter, but I will do it if anyone asks for it in a review. Anyway, enough talking. Actions speak louder than words after all, so here's the story.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything here that is from any of the Fallout games…which is too bad because I would love to own the design for the Pip-Boy.

FALLOUT:

18-Karat Run of Bad Luck – Part 1

(The Only Oasis)

Introduction:

"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."

"In the year 2077, after millennia of armed conflict, the destructive nature of man could sustain itself no longer. The world was plunged into an abyss of nuclear fire and radiation. However, it was not, as some had predicted, the end of the world. Instead, the apocalypse was simply the prologue to another bloody chapter of human history. For man had succeeded in destroying the world – but war, war never changes."

"In the early days, thousands were spared the horrors of the holocaust by taking refuge in enormous underground shelters, known as vaults. However when they emerged, they had only the hell of the wastes to greet them – all except those in Vault 101. For on the fateful day, when fire rained from the sky, the giant steel door of Vault 101 slid closed…and never reopened. It was here you were born. It is here you will die. Because, in Vault 101: no one ever enters and no one ever leaves."

Chapter 01: Vault 101

"Listen kiddo, I know you don't like it when daddy leaves you alone, but you need to take care of yourself for a while."

She said that of all the things that her dad had told her over the years that was the one thing that always seemed to stand out…mainly because of the look in his eyes when he had said it. Personally though, I wonder if maybe he knew that he would leave the vault one day and choose to leave her behind.

Considering what had happened in the vault just a few months ago, I didn't know what to think of her dad anymore. Maybe he had left her behind believing that the Overseer would see to it that Kaitlyn would be taken care of so that she wouldn't have to brave the Wasteland? Maybe he had just felt like he could do whatever it was that he needed to do better without her tagging along?

I glanced around at the small shack that we had taken refuge in for the night and glanced out the window at the small pulsating red lights near the shack. At least if anybody decided to try to attack us, they'd get a nasty surprise. With that, I glanced back down at my companion and shifted a little so that she'd be more comfortable as I decided that I could let her sleep a little longer before having her take over as look-out. As my eyes stayed on her though, I couldn't help but think back to that fateful day in the vault when our world came crashing down all around us.

###

"Wake up, Nathan! Wake up, damn it!"

I groaned a little and slowly opened my eyes to see one of my childhood friends looking down at me, the long red hair giving her away easily.

"Oh, hi Kaitlyn…what time is it?"

For some reason she glared at me when I said that. I yawned a little and climbed out of bed after a moment before I began to change into my normal outfit–a simple Vault 101 jumpsuit. As I finished shrugging the jumpsuit on, I ran a quick diagnostics check on my Pip-Boy to make sure that everything was still okay.

"So, is something wrong, Kaitlyn? I don't normally see you when I first wake up in the morning."

"It's…"

It was at about that time that I glanced over my shoulder and realized that her cheeks were streaked with tears and her eyes were red and puffy.

"Kaitlyn, what's wrong? What happened?"

For as long as I knew her, I could never remember her ever crying over anything.

"It's…it's my dad…he…"

Her dad? I took a few more steps towards her and softly placed my hands on her shoulders.

"What did your dad do?"

"He…he opened the vault door."

I froze at that. Her dad actually opened the door? But why? We had always been told that there was nothing left outside of the vaults and what could have been left was just a barren, inhospitable land. Why would he do that and leave the vault? Moreover, why would he leave his only daughter behind?

"Why? Why'd he leave like that? He knows as well as the rest of us that there's nothing out there!"

I hadn't realized it right then, but my voice had been growing louder until I was nearly yelling.

She shook her head.

"I don't know! He–he just opened the door and left…"

I decided to stay quiet as she continued.

"That's not all though…Jonas…Jonas is dead. He was leaving with dad when the Overseer's guards murdered him and nearly got dad before he managed to get out."

I couldn't believe it…Justin was dead?

"Kaitlyn, how'd you find out about all this anyway?"

"From…from Nicole. She told me about everything. She said that she overheard it from her father and the guards. She also said that…that the Overseer had ordered his guards to find me and…"

I felt my brain stop for just a moment as the realization dawned on me about what was happening.

"And that's why you're here telling me all this, isn't it? He thinks that you know why your father left, doesn't he?"

She nodded and I felt a small growl at the back of my throat. I couldn't believe that Nicole's father had all but issued a hit on Kaitlyn.

"Will you help me, Nathan?"

Even though I expected the question, I still hesitated before giving my answer. If I sided with her, I'd be considered a traitor to the entire vault for going against the Overseer and probably either killed or banished to the outside world. If I sided against her, I'd–I'd never be able to forgive myself. I gave one small sigh followed by a smile as I made my decision, somehow knowing that the rest of my life would be decided with just one word.

"Yes."

"You really will?"

I nodded once. I knew why she was asking me if I really would help her even without her voicing the real reason. She didn't just need someone to help her with the guards…she needed someone that would be willing to leave with her and go out into the outside world to find her dad.

"Thank you, Nathan!"

My body froze up a little as I felt her hug my neck before I finally managed to return the hug.

"Don't thank me yet, Kaitlyn. We've still got to get out of here and…shit. They'll be guards posted at the vault entrance by now so we won't be able to get out without a massive fight."

She nodded and began talking as if she was reciting from memory.

"Nicole told me that there was a secret passageway that led to the vault door hidden underneath her father's office and that the guards were currently posted in the hallway leading to the entrance and not in the actual room."

I sighed in relief even though I knew that we'd still have to find some way of getting a hold of the Overseer's office key and terminal password.

"That's one less issue thank goodness. Now, what about equipment and supplies?"

She pointed towards the edge of my bed and I nearly felt like smacking myself in the face as I realized that there was a small backpack there.

"I managed to grab five Stimpaks and two shots of Med-X before I left my dad's quarters. As for weapons, well this is all I've got, sorry–"

While saying that, she softly patted the 10mm pistol that was holstered against her thigh that I had somehow completely overlooked.

"–Nicole left it with me earlier saying that it wasn't much but that it was all she could afford to help me out with right now."

I nodded my sympathy as I walked over to a nearby drawer and took out a .32 pistol along with some rounds for it. As I turned back around to face her, I noticed the look of surprise on her face. After all, most of the Vault inhabitants didn't have any kind of weapons to defend themselves with considering the Overseer's tolerance for them.

"What? I'd rather have something at least to defend myself with instead of relying on the guards…after all; you never can know when something might be useful like right now."

As I tried to chamber five of the rounds though, I felt my hands begin to shake and remembered when I had first found the pistol. I remembered screams, Butch, the heat of the incinerator, Nicole, Kaitlyn–I shook my head. Focus on the present, Nathan. I chambered the final round and placed the rest in a small pouch that was sewn onto the strap of the holster for the .32 pistol so that I didn't have to worry about having problems accessing my ammo while in the middle of something. After making sure that the holster was strapped on good, I bent down and grabbed my backpack along with my baseball bat–placing the bat inside the backpack but leaving the handle exposed so that I'd be able to easily grab it and start swinging if need be.

"Ready, Nathan?"

I nodded as I turned around to see her already waiting at the door. I walked up beside her and pressed the button on the wall panel.

"Ready. Be careful and watch yourself."

The door opened and just as we both stepped out into the sterile hallway, we caught sight of the guard at the opposite end.

"Hey, you there! Hold it!"

Oh…shit.

I saw him draw his baton before charging towards us. I grabbed the collar of Kaitlyn's jumpsuit and pulled her back as I ducked back into my room and swapped over to my baseball bat as I heard him come closer. I glanced over at Kaitlyn and saw her gripping her pistol tightly, but also watching me. Even without saying it, we both understood exactly what our plan was. I tightened my grip on the bat and the moment that I saw him pass through the door, I swung. I swung with everything I had and connected with the back of his helmet. I heard a crack and watched as he hit the floor before I swung again. This time the back of the helmet shattered and I could hear the crunch as my bat came into contact with the back of his skull.

I felt my hands loosen after a moment and heard the bat as it clattered to the floor followed by me falling to my knees as I realized exactly what I'd just done. I'd just killed a human being. Not a radroach. Not someone like Butch, but someone who was just following orders.

Pull yourself together, Nathan. Remember Kaitlyn? You promised to help get her out of here. I forced myself back to my feet before I thought of something. I bent down next to…next to the officer's body and began to unstrap the padded vest from him.

"Nathan, what are you–"

"We need every advantage that we can get," I said slowly as I eventually managed to get the padded vest from his body. Following that, it took a few tries but eventually I managed to get the padded vest strapped over my own jumpsuit as we continued our way down the hallway–passing by the diner and heading up into the Atrium.

"Look, the doctor's already left! That proves that there's got to be something out there beyond the vault."

"Darling, I understand that, but–"

By the time that we'd reached the top of the staircase leading into the Atrium, we were too late to stop what happened next. I saw the two people that we had heard talking begin running towards the far hallway where the front entrance to the vault door–which was currently being guarded by two guards. As I saw the guards raise their guns, I wanted to shout–shout anything to warn the two people to stop running towards the door…but I couldn't. I couldn't let the guards know that we were there. Instead, I grabbed Kaitlyn's hand and all but forced her to follow me off into a side entrance that led up to the second floor just as the couple were gunned down by the two guards.

As we made our way onto the second floor though, I could feel Kaitlyn's hand grip mine tighter as I heard yells from behind a glass screen directed at her.

"It's all your fault! Yours and your dad's! Why'd you have to go and do this!?"

"Just ignore them, Kaitlyn. It's neither your fault nor your dad's fault. The Overseer's gotten out of control. It's all his fault."

"Nathan, I know that."

Sadly, I could tell from her voice that she didn't believe what she was saying, but we didn't have time to waste right now.

"All right. As long as you know."

A moment later though, I stopped in my tracks as I turned to glance at the glass screen of the room that we were at now and realized that it was the security office. I slowly switched over to my pistol and tightened my grip on it as I saw one guard in there along with the Overseer himself.

"Kaitlyn, I need you to focus on the guard and keep pulling the trigger until he goes down…can you do that for me?"

A simple nod was all I needed as I nodded my thanks back to her and pressed the button on the wall panel, bringing my pistol to bear even before the door had completely opened.

"Wha–guard, get them!"

Before the guard could even draw his weapon, he went down–multiple rounds impacting his padded vest, neck, unprotected face, and his arms. I watched as the Overseer realized what had just happened and was about to run, but there was no way in hell that I was going to let that happen. I swung my leg out as fast as I could and caught him just as he began to run. He hit the metal floor face first and I waited to see if he moved. I could tell that he was still breathing though, but…I guess that he hit his head hard enough to knock himself out. I bent down next to him and began to rummage around in his pockets. After a moment, I found a second magazine for Kaitlyn's pistol as well as an office key and a note that simply said: 'the password is Nicole'.

With that done, I glanced over my shoulder to see Kaitlyn grabbing the damaged vest from the dead guard and strapping it over her jumpsuit. I noticed how shaky her hands were and couldn't help but wonder if we would be able to survive long enough to track down her dad. I shook my head after a moment and approached her, handing over the magazine before we began to make our way out of the security office and towards the Overseer's quarters.

As we reached the Overseer's quarters though, I felt my breath hitch and my body freeze as we caught sight of Jonas' dead body lying on the floor amidst a pile of papers. I heard Kaitlyn give off a small gasp and I felt a burning sensation in the back of my throat but I tried to ignore as I knelt down next to him and began to search through his pockets. I hated myself for doing it but anything that he had that could be useful was something that we needed. All that I found in his pockets though was a single holodisk and four bobby pins–all of which I placed in my backpack. Following that, I took off his lab coat–rolling it up and placing it in my backpack as well before I softly closed his eyes and stood back up. With that done, I glanced over to see Kaitlyn already at the door to the Overseer's office–unwilling to be anywhere near Jonas' corpse. I made my way over to the Overseer's office door and unlocked the door as we made our way inside.

"The password's Nicole," I mentioned as I closed the door behind us and watched Kaitlyn silently make her way towards the Overseer's terminal before typing in the password.

After a moment, the floor beneath the Overseer's desk began to ascend and revealed a secret corridor underneath. I followed Kaitlyn down into the secret passageway, helping her to open the rusted door at the bottom, and stopped as we found ourselves in a large, square room.

"Okay Nathan, if I'm not mistaken, on the other side of this room is the vault door and…"

I waved her words away.

"Kaitlyn, I told you earlier that I would help you. It's not as if I can turn back at this point anyway. So from here on out, whatever we face out there, we'll face together, as a team."

She nodded and I couldn't help but wonder if I would one day regret my actions.

"Partners from here on out?"

I nodded and pointed at the button on a wall panel.

"Partners. Now, let's get out of here."

With that said, I pressed the button on the wall panel and watched as the door opened and followed her into the vault door control room.

I glanced up at the giant steel door that had the number "101" etched into it before I walked over to the control panel and pressed the release button for the mechanical arms that controlled the door and smiled as it slowly opened, although after just a moment–

"You did it!"

I smiled a little as I recognized that voice.

Nicole…

"Kaitlyn, you did it! You opened the door! My god, I almost didn't believe that you would make it all the way here."

I coughed a little as I realized that Nicole hadn't noticed me yet.

"She didn't make it all the way here alone, Nicole. She had some help."

"Nathan! But–but what are you doing here?"

I shrugged my shoulders and tried to play off everything that we had to do to get to this point.

"I got dragged into yet another mess like I always do. But, I told Kaitlyn that I'd get her here safely and I did like I said I would."

"Nicole, why don't you come with us? We could really use your help."

Nicole shook her head sadly.

"I'm sorry, but I can't…not yet at least. I'm going to stay here and see if I can try to patch up things and get everything back to normal. Besides, if anyone can survive out there, it's the two of you. I'm sure of that."

Kaitlyn and I both lowered our heads a little at that statement but we both snapped our heads back up as we heard the sound of security patrols heading for the room.

Shit!

"We've got to get out of here, Nathan!"

I nodded my agreement to Kaitlyn before turning back to Nicole for a moment.

"Thank you Nicole…for everything. You've been a great friend all these years…goodbye."

With that said, the two of us made our way through the door and up into the tunnel that connected to the surface. We stopped for a moment and turned around to see that the main vault door was being closed behind us, sealing our fates forever as outcasts of Vault 101.

We shared a quiet moment there as we watched the door fully seal once again before we pushed past the small wooden door at the top of the tunnel and made our way out into whatever was left of the world–the light suddenly blinding us for a moment.

"Oww!"

As soon as we could see though, I think that the ability to actually say anything worth saying just disappeared from our minds as we saw that there was nothing left but desolation as far as the eye could see…although, at least the air was still breathable. We silently made our way down the small hill that the vault had been built inside of and onto a small outcropping of rocks so that we could get a better view of what was left of the once great United States.