Douglas Murphy sat in the front of the caravan being pulled by two Brahmin. He was trying to transport a load of ammo and water to the nearby Vault 18. He took a long drink of water, and winced as he heard a bang. At first he thought it was a gunshot, before he realized one of the wheels had cracked off. He climbed out of the caravan and went to look at him. He started to take it off until he heard a voice.

"Look what we have here! Fresh meat."

Douglas turned, and saw three men approach him. One wore power armour painted and a hockey mask, another wore a Pint-Sized Slasher mask and a tattered suit and the third wore a waste-hound helmet and combat armour painted black. They must be Exiles. Douglas drew his bowie knife and charged forward. He slashed his knife multiple times, slitting the Waste-Hound's throat. The Pint-Sized Slasher ran towards him with two long knives, and Douglas turned and dived inside the caravan and shut the door closed. He barred it shut and grabbed his caravan shotgun and aimed it at the door.

"I don't have anything worth stealing. I got hit by a raider squad a few miles out of town." He shouted.

The Exiles tried to push the door in, but failed. Douglas smiled, before a crashing fist came through the side of the wagon and grabbed his throat. He was yanked through the very caravan walls and thrown to the ground.

"I'm the Dark Knight. You just killed my friend."

Douglas swung his knife, but the Dark Knight twisted his hand until it broke, before grabbing his head and pressing his thumbs into his eyes. Douglas screamed as his head was crushed. His screams were mercifully short as his brain was crushed. The Dark Knight rose and let out a deep laugh.

"That one was loud. Start packing the supplies, we need to leave. God, it's good to be alive."

He smiled, and laughed again. Life was fun.

OOO

The Lone Wanderer stood at the top of a skyscraper, looking across a large gap. Dogmeat was standing on the other side, next to Bishop.

"Just jump. Stop being such a baby."

"I don't like heights. I grew up underground. Also, the jumps pretty hard in power armour, even with the helmet off"

Bishop rolled his eyes. The Lone Wanderer frowned, and took a few steps back. He ran as fast as he could forward and jumped as high as he could. He landed several metres in front of where he was aiming, and crumpled to the ground. Bishop clapped slowly.

"That was amazing. Spectacular. You jumped a distance a dog did. Let's go."

Bishop grinned, and turned and headed to the stairs.

"It's locked." He said, and dropped to a knee and started to pick the lock. The door opened, and Bishop walked inside and headed down the stairs. Several floors down, he opened the door and headed into a small office building, where several desks were piled around in a makeshift wall.

"Annabelle! You there?"

The Lone Wanderer froze as he felt the barrel of a gun touch the back of his head. He shouldn't have taken off his helmet.

"How's it feel knowing one shot could finish everything you've accomplished?" She said.

"Annabelle, stop scaring my client. He has a proposition for Alan." Bishop said.

"I know. Tyson stalked a few paladins, said that they're trying to join up with the local tribes from what they said on the radio. You shouldn't be coming here, Max. It's dangerous for a kid like you."

"I am not a kid. I'm fifteen, nearly sixteen."

"Why's the Steel here?"

"I'm from Washington." The Lone Wanderer said. "The Brotherhood is trying to annex the city, and we need your support to do so. We have supplies for you, and caps to pay…"

"Save your spiel for Alan, Steel."

"Where's Alan?"

"Here." A Voice said.

The Lone Wanderer turned and saw a man crouching on a bookshelf to his right.

"You're sneaky people. I could use that."

"You're fighting the bots, right? I was wondering who sent them. Enclave?"

"No, it's a soldier from New Vegas known as the Courier."

"Oh, I've heard of him. I had a contract on his head, but the payer got himself blown up before I even left the city."

"Well, I need your help. I'll pay you goods caps."

"All caps are good. We want five thousand up front."

The Lone Wanderer flinched, but took out ten bags of five hundred caps each and gave them to him.

"Thanks. You can meet your men if you want. There's only four of us here. The rest are back at the vault. There's me, Annabelle, Kentucky and Drake. A word of advice: Don't talk to Drake. Never even mention him."

The Lone Wanderer nodded, and Alan led him into an office where several sleeping bags were scattered around, and two snipers lay down aiming down their scopes. One of them stood up, a large Asian man wearing a leather jacket and jeans.

"I am Ling Zu. I have been trained in the ancient Chinese martial arts, and can kill you with a single finger…"

"He paid up front. You don't need to impress him." Alan said.

"Oh. Then I'm Ben. People call me Kentucky, because that's where I'm from. Sorry to have a much more disappointing backstory."

The other sniper stood and gripped the Lone Wanderer's hand.

"My name's Drake. It's a pleasure." He said.

He paused, and his eyes widened.

"I know you. They call you the Lone Wanderer. I shadowed you for a while in Washington. I was hunting my brother because he stole my caps, and you killed him, so I stalked you. He worked for Talon Company. I don't mind, he was a little shit. Let me tell you what I found out. You grew up in Vault 101, getting every privilege known to man, came out and decided you were better than everyone else, tracked down your dad, got him killed by not laying traps or scouting the perimeter of the place you were at, relied on the Brotherhood to save you, finished a tiny bit of work and got the credit for everyone else's work in the Project you were working on just because you survived a radiation spike. And let's not forget the massacre at Tenpenny Towers you caused after convincing the humans they were save around ghouls, wiped out the last trees ever, stole your armor from a ghoul and allowed slavery to continue in the Pitt. You're a sick person."

Drake sneered, before breaking into a grin.

"Just kidding. You seem alright. Well, except for the stuff I just mentioned and wiping out the super-mutant traders camp even though they were peaceful, and… You know what? It doesn't matter."

Drake grinned wider, and walked off into the bathroom.

"Don't mind him. He likes to try to get under people's skin." Annabelle said.

"I don't try to get under people's skin. I succeed." Drake said from another room.

"So, we hunt down the robots and get paid?"

"One of the Paladins reported the local ghouls and super-mutants are working for them as well, so hunt them all."

"Done. This is going to be a profitable agreement." Kentucky said.

OOO

The Courier winced as the packs of dogs ran around him, barking and yelping. There were about fifty or sixty dogs, and they wouldn't shut up. It was just him, Rex, Roxie and Blaze. He was in the basement of a building, surrounded by dogs. Three vault 5 dwellers lay on the ground, dead.

"Stop! Bad dogs! Bad dogs!"

The dogs stopped, looking at him. The Courier had attempted to make an agreement with the vault dwellers, but they tried to eat them so he killed them all. After about an hour of barking and biting, Blaze had asserted himself as the pack leader, and the dogs were now under the Courier's command. But, they were still dogs and they were still making noises and crapping, so the Courier wanted to leave quickly. The Courier got Blaze and the largest dogs in front of him. The Courier put a communications link on Blaze's back so he could give the pack orders, and put on some leather armour on the largest dogs that he had made on the drive over here from raider's armor.

"Blaze, you have new orders. You are the pack leader of the dogs, and I need you to hunt down any Brothers of Steel you can find. Ambush and hunt to get meat to survive, but primarily just hunt down our enemies. Understood?"

Blaze barked happily, and the Courier smiled. He had the super-mutants, the ghouls, the Securitrons, the clones, the junkyard robots, the surrendering Chinese Soldiers and the dogs. This army would serve him well. New York would soon be his.

OOO

Four Paladins strolled out of the subway and along an alleyway in New York.

"We'll swing around the side-streets and head back to camp. Understood?"

"I need a smoke." A Paladin said, removing his power armour helmet and sticking a cigarette in his mouth. "Anyone have a light?"

Another Paladin lit the cigarette carefully with the incinerator, and the smoker took in a deep breath.

"That's good…" The Paladin said, before his head exploded.

The other paladins dropped to their knees and looked around aiming their guns.

"There's a sniper across the street!"

Across the street in a crater inside a shop was a ghoul with a hunting rifle. A Paladin fired his minigun, but the ghoul disappeared into the building. Two Paladins went after him, holding plasma rifles.

"No! It's an ambush!" The Gunner with the minigun yelled, but the paladins disappeared into the building.

One of the paladins stumbled on a tripwire and a cluster of grenades went off, blowing him to bits. The second slowed down, narrowly avoiding another tripwire. He followed the ghoul, avoiding another tripwire, catching up with the ghoul. A Super-Mutant burst out of a clothes rack next to the paladin, and was knocked to the ground by a super-sledge. The Mutant roared and smashed the paladin over the head until he was nothing but cracked power armour and flesh.

"Nice one." The Ghoul said.

"Where's the fourth one?"

The remaining paladin peered through his binoculars to see the super-mutants. He swore, and turned to retreat. The Ghoul took several pot-shots at him, but the paladin quickly retreated back into the subway.

"We should get out of here before he gets reinforcements." The Ghoul said.

The Super-Mutant nodded, and grunted his approval. The pair turned, and headed out of the area.

OOO

The Lone Wanderer knocked on the gates to Uptown Heights. A Security bot appeared, and aimed at him.

"Welcome. Please wait here for our greeter." The Bot said.

The Courier waited, and a man in a suit with a tie and top hat appeared, brandishing a cane.

"Welcome! We've been expecting you."

"Really?"

"Yes, yes. We have access to a range of security cameras that are still maintained all over the city. Do you represent the Brotherhood of Steel, or the NVM?"

"What's the NVM?"

"Then you must be Brotherhood. NVM, or New Vegas Military. They're made up of Mr House's army of Securitron defence robots reinforced by the local subway "monsters", Chinese Marines and, if I'm correct, feral dogs they've taken in. They're an impressive force. I am Mr Peckin, spelt P-E-C-K-I-N. Please, if you would enter."

The Security Gate opened, and the Lone Wanderer entered, followed by Dogmeat and Fawkes.

"If you don't mind, could your dog and… friend wait in the lobby?"

"Of course." The Lone Wanderer said.

Mr Peckin led him to the elevator, and they headed up to a penthouse. He called several people over an intercom, and within minutes several men and women in suits were sitting around a table. A Mister Handsy brought over a tray of Scotch and Fancy Lad Snack Cakes. The Lone Wanderer grabbed a snack cake and bit into it, tasting the chocolate cream burst out of cake as he chewed. The Lone Wanderer took a glass, and took a sip.

"It's good, isn't it? So many raiders just drink to get drunk. Not us. We drink for enjoyment. Now, tell me what the Brotherhood has to offer."

"We can provide protection in exchange for use of your security bots, and the security cameras you mentioned, if you weren't lying."

"Respectfully, I don't lie. I take offence at the accusation."

"OK, I apologize then."

"Now, the NVM also has a large army that could protect us. Why would we join with you?"

"We're… similar. Both the Brotherhood of Steel and Uptown Heights appreciate the Old World. We appreciate the tech and you appreciate the luxuries. Surely we can come to some sort of arrangement. Should we find any luxury items, we'll give them to you as payment for the use of your security cameras."

"I have a counter-offer. You give us any luxury items and pre-war tech found in New York that does not have anything to do with war or fighting. Are these terms acceptable?"

"Yes."

"Perfect, then. You can stay here for the night if you want. We have a large supply of alcohol and food here, and several… ladies of the night we have taken in. Of course, there's a few men and robots that could please any requests you have."

"No, I need to head back to my camp. I need to look over the new Paladins that arrived, and go through a defence plans. We've had Securitrons use their missiles to attack our trucks."

"Of course. We can give you several security bots, and we can download the video feed from cameras to your Pip-Boy. I don't suppose I could trade you for the Pip-Boy?"

"No, it's too useful to me. Let's download the feed, and I'll leave."

"Of course."

OOO

Two Ex-Chinese Soldiers led by a Securitron moved quickly through the streets.

"Hey bot, there's some water here." A Soldier said.

The Securitron stopped, and turned to see several bottles of Aqua Pure lying around the street. One of the soldiers grabbed a bottle and took a sip, before spitting it out.

"Irradiated." He said.

There was a bang, and he took a shot through the neck, and collapsed in a bloody pool. The Vault 18 Snipers perched in the buildings fired again, cutting through a soldier's knee. A Paladin with a minigun charged forward, firing. He killed the Chinese Soldier, and several bullets thudded into the Securitron. The Securitron turned to leave, and whirred off in an attempt to retreat. Several minigun bullets thudded into it, but overheated before he took out the Securitron. The Sniper bullets weren't powerful enough to finish off the Securitron, which managed to outrun the Paladin and head back to the Super-Mutant's protected subways.

"Shit. It's gone. Set up an ambush point in case they counter-attack."

OOO

The NYPD was set up in a pre-war police station and the surrounding neighbourhood in the suburbs. There was a wall around several large houses, and there was an NYPD Guard outside. The Courier greeted him, and looked him over. He wore bulky black combat armour reinforced with metal plates, and wore a metal helmet painted black and a gasmask.

"Hello, Wastelander. Are you seeking asylum or do you wish to report a crime?"

"I've been sent here to make an alliance between the NYPD and my own personal forces from New Vegas."

"Understood. We request you leave all explosive devices and firearms here. Melee weapons are allowed."

"Why don't you take melee weapons?"

"In case of a raider sneaking in, a creature or bug getting in or an attack. Please put all weapons on the tray, as well as chems."

The Courier put some Med X, his All-American and his dynamite on the tray, but managed to hide his magnum. The Officer knocked three times on the metal door leading in the NYPD Area. Two more soldiers opened the door, and the Courier and Rex entered.

"So, what does NYPD stand for?"

"I don't think it stands for anything, Sir. If it did, we don't know. We were set up here by a few ex-Regulators. It's a good program here. We're self-sufficient, and provide aid and protection to any wastelanders who ask for it. I myself was a chem addict who tried to kill another Officer for his weapon to sell, and he took me in and recruited me. I became a Recruit, then an Officer. Any day now I could become a Lieutenant. Then, if I work hard I could take over after the Captain."

The Officer led him through the streets, past several buildings with wastelanders inside, and farms where the driveways should be, where the tarmac had been removed and replaced with soil. Another, similarly dressed man appeared, except with a blue band around the arm with a star on it, and a similar pattern on the helmet.

"Jail or seeking asylum?" He asked.

"He needs to talk to the Captain, Lieutenant."

"Understood. Thanks, Tucker."

The Officer left, and the Lieutenant led him into a fortified building with a machine gun nest on top.

"So, you need to see Captain Russo?"

"Yeah. I'm the head of the NVM. I want to ally with the NYPD."

"Well, we'd make a good ally. We're strong but kind. We try not to kill unless we're attacked, or they commit rape, two or more murder, or kill an officer. The rest get a sentence in the jail. The Jail's made up of the cells here, in the basement and in the cells we made in the next house. Is that a cyber-dog?"

"It's a cyber-hound, yeah."

"We have a few hear. They were already here when we arrived, and they were quite friendly so we kept them."

The Courier was sent into an office, where a man in a light blue uniform with a police hat sat behind a desk.

"Hello, Wastelander. Can I help you? Is this about the Dark Knight?"

"I'm known as the Courier. I came here from New Vegas to annex New York to prevent a Brotherhood of Steel takeover."

"We've dealt with Brotherhood before. They've assisted us, but our relationship turned sour when we tried to arrest one of their men for raiding a caravan and taking its energy weapons. Are you the owner of the robots who entered?"

"Yes, that's me."

"Thank god. I heard a rumour that the Exiles had bought them to take us out. I'll make a deal with you if you promise not to harm the wastelanders or steal."

"Of course. I'll arrange the deal now."

"Understood. Let's get to the details."