When I open my eyes we are in front of a decrepit, brick building. A red, white, and blue piece of fabric hangs from the roof in a decorative fashion. "Where are we?" I look at the woman beside me. "Is this what they called "the Commonwealth"?"

"Yep. Welcome to the surface." She smiles and looks down at me with glittering green eyes. "They will get you dressed in something other than that jumpsuit." The sunlight made her golden hair sparkle and shine. I couldn't help but to become speechless. "Come on, follow me." She walks up to the white door and opens it, causing paint flakes to fall off to reveal the hard wood below it. "And please hurry, before we are seen."

"R-right." I run after her into the church, which is dimly lit by sunlight beaming in through holes in the roof.

Pews, both standing and broken, sit in the middle of a large room. A wide row separating two sections of pews leads up to a stage where a large cross lays broken on the floor. Above us is a balcony where more red, white, and blue decorations hang. Blade quietly leads me to the right side of the building, only to open another door. We begin descending down the creaking stairs, darkness engulfing us once the door is closed. There is green light just at the end of the stairs, omitted by a small cluster of mushrooms.

"Why are those mushrooms glowing..?" I give the woman saving me a confused look as we stop by them. "That's not normal."

"It is now." She grabs a handful and lets her giant computer-watch scan them, only to make them vanish into thin air. "They are a radioactive fungus. Very common out here in the commonwealth. If you eat them you can recover from injuries faster, however, sometimes it's not a good idea to be taking in even more radiation. Now follow me. The Railroad is at the end of these catacombs." She leads me along the pathways, following white symbols painted on the brick walls. A think layer of water has formed on the floor, causing our footsteps to echo the slashing. As if our walking isn't already loud enough. "I have a companion here too. You'll like him I think." She mentions as we stroll along the halls. "His name is Dogmeat."

"Who gave him that name?"

"I did. I found him wandering alone at a gas station and decided to take him alone. He's a great dog. He loves anyone who pets him." Blade smiles when she hears barking. "Sounds like he heard us coming. Dogmeat! Come here boy!"

A little further along a german shepherd dog bounds over to us, barking at his owner. Right off the bat he comes up to me, sniffing me as though to make sure I'm no threat. "H-hi, Dogmeat." I shakily hold out a hand to let him smell me. "Good, good boy.." I close my eyes only open them again when the dog licks my fingers.

"Awe! He likes ya!" Blade chuckles. "Go on, pet him. He won't bite!"

I hesitate but then carefully put my hand on the dog's head. As I drag my hand on his soft fur I can't help but smile. Something about petting this dog was so familiar, but the memories are hazy at best.

"See, told ya you would like him. Now come on, you've got more people to meet."

"How many of you guys are there?"

"Let's just say a lot. That's a question for Des."

I follow her and Dogmeat along again until we read a large room. Tables and shelves line the walls, covered in random stuff. People are scurrying around the room busily but in the center is a woman standing next to a round counter. Her bright orange hair makes her stand out in the dark room. "I'm guessing that's Des."

"Yup. I need to go talk to someone first. Come meet Tom." Blade walks past the center round-table and over to a messy corner. "Hey Tom. I need you to sharpen up my weapon."

"Well hey Blade how'd the Courser hunt go?" The thin-limbed man turns to us and smiles. "I'm guess as good as the last ones." When he sees me he pauses and runs up to me. "Well hello, you must be a friend of Blade's! If Blade trusts you I'll sure as hell trust you too!" He holds out his bony hand for my to shake.

I blankly stare at him for a moment. The helmet on his hair has been added onto so much it barely looked as though it could provide any protection. It also appeared much too big for his head, too heavy for his skinny neck to hold up. "Uhh… Thanks..?"

"Certainly a shy one. But I don't blame you for being hesitant to trust someone." Tom chuckled and looked back to Blade. "Now what did you need?"

"Sharpen my sword." The blond woman takes a long, serrated sword from her holster. The blade of the weapon is a solid three feet long, splattered with thick blood both fresh and dried. "We have a lot to do so ya better hurry."

"Well sure!" Tom takes the weapon in hand and walks over a sharpening wheel beside his desk.

Blade looks down at me with her dazzling green eyes and smiles. "While he's doing that, let's go to Des. I have to report everything to her." She takes my hand and leads me towards the door we came in through. The thickly built woman with vibrant orange hair looks up when we walk over. "Des, I'm back from the Institute."

"How did it go?"

"Smoothly. Everything is going according to plan. Saun knows I have had contact with you though... "

"Is it going to cause any problems?" Des gives Blade a concerned look. "And not just with the plans, but, with you personally? I'm worried about the synths but I gotta worry about you too."

"I'm okay. He doesn't realize I'm working with you currently." Blade smiled. "But thank you for the concern. I risk my life every day, I have no time to worry about something like that right now. Especially now." I feel Blade's strong arm wrap around my shoulders. "Anyways. I ended up bringing her with me. She was only just activated earlier today."

"Blade are you crazy? That's an extremely dangerous thing to do! You're risking the whole plan!" Des scowls and then sighs, looking to me with hazel eyes that look worn out. Tired and stressed from sleepless nights. "What is your name?"

I hesitate and look away a little. "X3-54." I glance at Blade. "What exactly are your plans..?"

"To rescue as many synths as possible…" She looks down at me, much more serious this time. "And destroy the Institute." The armored woman beside me adds.

"But what about your son?" Des asks.

"He's running it. I have no chance of ever changing his mind." I can see tears forming in the corners of her eyes. "They corrupted him…"

"I-I'm sorry to hear that." The Railroad leader stutters amidst her shock. "I never thought that would be the answer you find.. I really am sorry."

"It's okay. We have plans to follow though with. I agreed to this after I found out, so obviously it's not bothering me." Blade sighed softly. "We have synths to save. Not to mention the entire commonwealth to free of their fear."

"You're right. We must keep going. You've been doing a great job, Blade. Keep doing what you're doing."

Without a verbal response, Blade nods and leaves. I look at Des quietly. Blade's son is the director of the Institute? Then what is her role there? Why would she be willing to make such a sacrifice to end that place? Is it really that bad there?

"Now then. What did you say your name is?"

I shake my head a little. "Uh. X3-54."

"Alright. Don't worry about remembering that silly name. You'll get a real one soon enough. For now, we need to get you out of here."

"Where am I supposed to go?"

"Well first we need to get you out of the Commonwealth. From there you will get a new face, name, and memories."

Hesitant and nervous, I rub my arms. "I don't really like the sound of that…"

Des seems surprised by my response. "What do you mean? You want to keep your memories of the Institute?" She thinks quietly for a moment. "I will see what I can do. You're not the first to request such things, but usually we go through with it anyways since they won't remember anything."

"Isn't that a bit much?"

"No, no. You want to be free, don't you? Many are willing to do anything to gain control of their lives."

"I don't want to lose what little I have. I barely know what's going on, just let me keep the memories I have. I don't what you guys digging in my head or reprogramming me."

"Well I'm not an expert. I'll send a note with you and the people who actually perform the procedure can talk to you about it. Just know that you might have to go through with it whether you like it or not."

"Des, I think you've scared her enough now." Blade says as she walks over with a freshly-sharpened sword in her hand. "I'll get her on her way. You have plenty of other things to worry about."

"You're right. Thank you for the help, Blade." Des walks away to another part of the room with dust chalkboards and a small group of people in metal armor.

"Do you want me to call you by your synth name or would you like to pick some kind of real name?" The blond-haired woman looks down at me and smiles. "Who knows, maybe I'll tell you my real name."

I blink a few times and look away a little. "I can't think of any right now.."

"That's okay. We have plenty of time for you to think of a name." She slides her sword into it's holster before offering me her hand. "You ready to go? We have a few stops to make along the way."

"I have no idea where we are going, so lead the way." I set my hand in hers.