Again, this chapter has been revisited and revised. Hope you like the changes.


Neal, the Lone Wanderer laid in a heap on the floor of a dark room. He could scarcely move, every inch of his body screamed in pain. Neal couldn't remember much of the past few days, everything was such a blur. He could, however, recall the pain and anguish he had felt, the desperation and pure survival instincts.

Neal scanned his wounds: broken ribs, lacerations and scratches everywhere, broken fingers and toes, and a concussion… at least. The dingy, torn clothes that scantily covered his body were streaked with dirt and blood, and dark stubble grew on his face. His mind screamed for him to get up and do something. Anything. But his body wouldn't respond. Neal was much too exhausted to do anything but sit there and try and make sense of where he was and what the hell he was going to do. As the gears in his mind worked, his eyes scanned the room, plotting. His head hurt so much he couldn't think, not while the pounding of a sledgehammer headache wracked his brain. Neal closed his eyes and tried to silence the pain, but it was of no avail.


The highest-ranking Brotherhood members gathered into the Solar and took their seats. One seat remained empty, like a huge Yao Guai in the corner. Though the Lone Wanderer wasn't at these meetings regularly, it was unsettling. Everyone tried their best to ignore it, knowing that this meeting was much different than numerous others.

Elder Lyons, sitting at the end of the table, cleared his throat, serving as a cue to get everyone's attention.

"So," Elder Lyons said, looking at Scribe Rothchild expectantly.

Rothchild straightened up in his seat and began to go over the routine, boring part of the meeting. Everyone hunkered down to get through it.

"So, now we will discuss the matter at hand," Elder Lyons said carefully.

Everyone sat up and snapped out of la-la land. This was what they came to discuss.

"As you all know, rumors have been spreading across the Wastes about the Lone Wanderer's whereabouts," Elder Lyons started. He felt everyone's eyes on him. He closed his eyes and swallowed down the stone of dread in his throat.

"Many of these rumors are false, but I am afraid we have no leads," his eyes darted around the room purposely skipping his daughter's face.

"But," he paused, "We must discuss our plan of action. As Neal is a member of our Brotherhood, we must decide what to do about his disappearance." Elder Lyons sat awaiting suggestions.

"We should investigate," Paladin Vargas stated.

"And where do you suggest we start, Vargas?" Rothchild said, his tone sarcastic. "We shouldn't treat this MIA case any different than any other missing knight."

"And why not?" Paladin Vargas said, clearly irritated by Rothchild's blatant apathy.

"We gave that outsider enough privilege as it is, scouring the Wastes for him just adds to it. It's unfair to the rest of the Brotherhood," Rothchild argued.

Many cringed at Rothchild's statement, though much of it rang true. Sentinel Lyons clenched her fist as hard as she could to prevent her from lashing out. She wasn't the only one pissed about that statement.

"I don't agree with Rothchild, but I do think that with our resources stretched thin, we can hardly afford to send a search party," Paladin Kodiak said, "And we all know he is more than capable of defending himself."

"So you're saying he's dead?" Knight Captain Dusk asked, adding herself to the discussion.

"No, I'm saying he's done this before. Pittsburg and Baltimore are two prime examples," Kodiak responded.

"He has a point. But he would always at least drop a hint that he was going to 'look into' things," Paladin Glade added.

Sarah had to admit, Glade had a point. Something didn't sit well; he wouldn't just leave without telling someone.

"I know don't even want to entertain the idea, but we have to consider something has happened to him. Whether he left on his own power or another or has perished…" Rothchild said, his voice showing he didn't want to be the one to bring up the unfortunate possibility. He continued to play with the pencil that was attached to the clipboard by a crusty strong of yarn.

Elder Lyons glanced back at Cross. His bodyguard returned a weighted glance. Sarah could see something in it, but what she had no idea. As much as she hated to admit, Sarah was no more informed of her father's plans than any other Brotherhood soldier. Sarah saw Cross look at her. Their eyes met, Cross giving Sarah a nonverbal nudge in the direction of self control.

Cross could see Sarah was on the verge of losing it. The majority of frustration was towards everyone else, they had to know something. The remainder of her anger was toward herself. Why couldn't she couldn't find the words to convince them of her suspicions.

This meeting wasn't going the way she had hoped, and she debated whether she should speak up with her opinion or remain silent. Sarah knew that if she did speak up everyone's suspicions would be confirmed. Part of her didn't care, but the other half, the rational Sentinel Lyons, told her to keep her cool.

After all the things he's done for the Brotherhood and the Wastes, we can't even send someone to check up on him and see if the Lone Wanderer is okay?

"I don't see why sending one person to look around is asking too much," Knight Captain Gallows said. "I could do it."

Thank you, Gallows. Thought Sarah wanted to be the one investigating, she knew of his incredible abilities best of anyone there.

"I don't like sending anyone out there blind. We need more information before we can launch a search," Elder Lyons said "I'm not risking losing anyone by sending them on a blind search."

"The last contact we had with the Wanderer, he expressed his desire to return to Megaton. He didn't specify as to why that was, but I assume that's where the investigation would start."

Elder Lyons frowned, "If Megaton were his destination, we would have heard back from him by now. I'll need more details if I'm going to approve a full-scale investigation. We simply don't have enough season vets to throw at it. There are too many recruits in need of training. Until then, dismissed."

Sarah's eyes widened. They would've all been destroyed if not for Neal's efforts. Sarah realized then just how quickly the Wasteland could turn its back on you. They all seemed to assume that Neal was out saving someone's ass; they may be right, but Sarah's gut told her otherwise. She had only been wrong once before. Ironically enough, it was when she first met Neal. When she first met him, she guessed he would last maybe two weeks. Damn was she wrong.

Time for plan B. Sarah headed after her father as the room dispersed.


Neal opened his eyes at the sound of footsteps. His ears were ringing, but he could still feel a presence approaching. Neal's senses were fined tuned from their years in the Wastes. The softest sounds, faintest vibrations, tiniest scents, and slightest movements were all vital to survival. From the lightness of the steps it was either a female or a child. Neal had to guess it was female… He opened his eyes as a blurry female form came from the darkness of a vault... or a metro station. He was in a metro station.

The woman gasped at the sight of him, "Oh my god! Neal!"

Neal's vision was blurry, but he could match the voice with the familiar figure. It's her… Why is she here? Neal's face contorted in anger.

The woman crouched next to him, "What did they do you?"


"Elder," Sarah called after Elder Lyons.

Elder Lyons turned and looked at her, "Yes?" He hid his approval for Sarah's initiative well. This was exactly as he had hoped. He took great care not to look at Cross.

"I request leave to pursue a personal matter," Sarah said, keeping her tone professional.

Elder Lyons sighed. He knew she would do this. He didn't want her out there alone, but she of all people could handle herself. His daughter was an adult, capable of making her own decisions.

"Accepted," Elder Lyons responded, "Be careful, Sarah."

"I will," Sarah responded sternly. She had expected him to argue, but this was much easier. She saw the understanding in his eyes. This was something she needed to do. Sarah headed off briskly to gather her equipment.

Hang on, Neal.


Please read and review, I'd like to hear what you think of the changes.