Jacobstown…

The Next Day…

Miles and Clover were in Jacobstown, seeing how the Nightkin Schizophrenia cure was coming along. They approached the lodge, Miles gazing at the snow-covered peak.

"I've never seen snow before..." Miles mused.

"Oh, trust me hon, this 'ain't nothing like the winters they get in Zion." Clover said. She and Miles then noticed that there were some new super mutants in town. They looked like recent arrivals. One of them, who she saw entering the lodge, had the remains of a vault suit on him as clothing. The upper portion was in tatters, but the lower portion was in tact. From what she could make out, the numbers on the back looked like they read "87."

"Ah, good to see you, Clover." Marcus said, walking up.

"Likewise, Marcus." Clover replied. "Looks like you've got some new arrivals."

"Yeah." Marcus said. "They've come a long way. Their leader, Fawkes, claims they came all the way from the Capital Wasteland, DC. They want to settle here, become part of the community."
Miles froze. He had a rush of bad nostalgia come back to him, memories of days gone by. All those steps he took through DC's wasteland, all the memories from Vault 101…

All the memories of Dad…

"Miles?" Clover asked. "Is something wrong?"

"...It's okay. Just a bad flashback, don't worry about me." Miles said, shaking it off.

"Are you sure?" Clover tilted her head, concerned. "If you want to wait inside the lodge, you can."

"...All right." Miles said. "I'll wait for you inside the lodge."

"Just remember: Don't stare at the Nightkin." Marcus politely reminded.

"Don't worry. I'll look the other way if I see any." Miles said.

# # # # # #

Fawkes took off his pack, sitting down on one of the old couches in the lodge near the fireplace as a fire roared in the hearth, getting out one of the newly discovered pre-war books he managed to scavenge on his journey to Jacobstown. He was careful not to disturb the GECK in his pack, and started to read. Reading helped keep his mind sharp, and was a good way to kill some time anyway. He wondered if any of the other Super Mutants in town would be interested in learning anything? Maybe he could teach here in one of the bungalows. After all, he did teach his Super Mutant Tribe from Vault 87 after overthrowing and killing the last leader there. Part of him still regretted it having it come down to that, but he kept reminding himself that Grundy, as he called himself, deserved it.

Fawkes then heard the door to the lodge open. A lone human walked in. He was the one with the lady known as "The Courier." He had heard the one called Keene and a lot of good things from Grandma Lily Bowen about this Courier lady. Clover was her name. She was from the nearby city of New Vegas. Worked for the Proprietor of the Strip, Mr. House. Not much was known about this other human though. The man at least had a name though. Miles. What was more interesting, though, was that some of the local mutants he had talked to said Miles was from DC, just like he was. Also, his appearance was strikingly similar to this "Lone wanderer" The single individual who had tried to change so much in the capital for the better; helping people when they needed it, and doing so many random acts of kindness. He had heard that radio host on GNR, Three-Dog, talk about so much. The DC Brotherhood of Steel was looking for him. So was the Enclave. Could this man be the Lone Wanderer that dissipeared from DC nearly a decade ago?

Fawkes put away his book in his pack as Miles walked over and sat on one of the chairs.

"Vault 101… You've come a long way, human." Fawkes said.

Fawkes saw the human look at him, an expression of surprise on his face. "You… know about Vault 101?"

Fawkes paused for a moment, wondering how he should approach this. If this really was the Lone Wanderer, Fawkes knew he would need to be careful with his explanation of what happened.

"Yes… I hear it has changed much since the Lone Wanderer left DC. I heard from my journeys before I led my tribe here that there is a heart to that place now. A… warmth, where there used to be nothing but cold."

Miles' face formed a sad frown, his eyes going up to the ceiling. "Not surprised there."

"Tell me human… What is your name? How did you find your way here?" Fawkes asked.

"That's… Kind of a personal question to be asking right off the bat, don't you think?" Miles said politely, trying to dodge the question.

"I don't see any particular harm in it." Fawkes replied. "We're simply having a conversation. Perhaps if you tell me a bit about yourself, I could tell you about myself in return..."

Miles sighed. Fawkes could tell he was getting a little moody with the subject. "Well… Alright, I guess. My name is Miles, and I'm from DC. I grew up in Vault 101, where it was a kind of a mix between dystopia and utopia, but I guess nothing is supposed to be perfect in this world, unless you grew up on the New Vegas strip. I had a fairly decent life down there, until my dad, James left me and the Vault behind, which caused much chaos, and me to go after him. He never said goodbye, and I never got over it… Eventually, after talking to a lot of people, and doing a favor for GNR, I found him in another Vault ran by an insane Vault-Tec scientist, Dr. Brawn. I freed dear old dad from that Vault, and he told me the truth of my birth. That we were not born in the Vault like I was led to believe. Though I knew that already from a bartender named Moriarty who ran a saloon in Megaton. Eventually, dad told why he left. It was for a dream project of my mother's. She was a scientist at Rivet City with dad and her best friend, Madison Li. A project that never got the see the light of day. He found out what they had been missing. So I decided to see if I could help him get it running. Then he had to die on me." Miles finished in a bitter tone. "What was my Mom's dream, you ask? Fresh, clean water for everyone. It was based on her favorite bible passage, what was it… Revelation, 21:6?"

" 'Revelation 21:6. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the Water of Life freely.' " Fawkes recited the passage from memory. Of all the books he had with him, one of them was an old-world Holy Bible that he dove into a lot. "I think I can see why your mother would love such a passage out of the Bible. If I'm not mistaken, you must be the Lone Wanderer so many have spoken of. He would often recite that passage.".

He saw Miles look at him, his expression a mix of surprise and horror on his face. "You… You must have me confused with someone else." Miles blabbered out, trying to explain the circumstance away.

Fawkes sighed. "Maybe. Maybe not. All I know is that we all lose faith some times, but then we always find a way to gain it back."

Fawkes saw Miles look at him with scorn. Eventually, it faded away somewhat as Miles turned to look at the fire.

"Perhaps that's true..." Miles spoke. "Perhaps. I, myself, find it hard to believe though."

"You've lost much dear to you. I understand." Fawkes said, empathizing. "But it isn't the end of the world. Otherwise, the bombs would have destroyed the vaults too, when they dropped. Take the time you need to if you need to grieve for your father. Just don't give up. You've come too far to quit now… The Wanderer will rise again, and you and the Courier will always have Vegas in your hearts."

Fawkes then got up and went into another room, leaving Miles with these thoughts.