The Courier awoke to a field of grass, surrounded with flowers as he sat up. A distant figure awaited him in the distance; and his breath hitched as he scrambled to his feet, running to finally meet her once more. She caught him in her arms, as he sobbed, glad to finally be gone of the nightmare-
"Soon; Not yet." She whispered, as the fields disappeared, replaced with crumbling ruin as he howled.
He was doomed to survive, to forever be gone from her reach; to live a existence to save and kill.
But she still waited for him.
So he would continue her dream.
He jerked aside as a spear blew past him, Sequoia blasting a hole in the insolent man's chest.
"Retreat!" The ripper came to life as he began his murderous rampage, bisecting men left and right as cries of terror filled the air.
"Don't worry Sarah." the Sequoia bucked as it found another target, an centurion busy rallying his cohort.
"I'll avenge you."
Capital Wasteland, A.D. 2262
"AMBUSH!" Lasers scorched concrete as the knights fired at the mercenaries, who fired back with automatic weapon fire.
"Push forward!" Sarah ordered, as she pushed on much to the Wanderer's ire.
"Sarah, you're armor doesn't make you invincible!" He fired a burst with his assault rifle, swearing as a bullet pinged off his combat helmet.
"I'll be fine!" She promised, striding out of cover as she fired upon them with las-fire.
"Kill that Sentinel!" A man ordered, and the Wanderer realized it too late.
"SARAH!" the missile impacted the Sentinel directly on the chest, sending her tumbling to the ground.
"For the Brotherhood!" The Knights pushed forward, covering the fallen Sentinel as the Wanderer pulled her into cover.
"Damnit, don't die on me now!" He injected a stimpak, as Sarah Lyons coughed up blood. She grabbed his hands in her gauntlets, as she looked at him in the eyes.
"Can you make me a promise?" The Wanderer nodded.
"You can make all the promises you want. Just stay with me, okay?" Her armor was beginning to stain crimson.
"Promise… Promise me that you'll save everyone that I couldn't protect." He nodded.
"Alright. I'll do it." Her eyes began to fog.
"Thank you…" Her gauntlets clattered to the floor, as the Sentinel of the Brotherhood of Steel died in his arms.
Capital Wasteland, A.D. 2264
"Look at what we got here, boys! Another one. This one's pretty, too." The raider leered as the settler squirmed, face full of terror.
"We're gonna have fun tonight boys!" The other five grinned.
"Come on, Let's go get-" He choked, as a serrated combat knife lodged in his throat.
"What the-?!" A muffled gunshot, and another lost his brains in a visceral explosion of gore.
"It's a damn ambush! Hit the ground!" The raiders scattered behind cover, as they peered around in paranoia.
"Come on, I haven't got all day!" One of them shouted, and he promptly choked as something dragged him away into the shadows.
"Damnit! We lost one!"
"Six men walked in the dark, an innocent in tow. Six men talked of sin. Three were struck down by the wrath of God, as three remained-" the muffled crack of a gunshot, as a raider fell, his throat torn apart.
"And another was struck down, in his name."
"Cut the shit! Who is it?"
"Your demise." another shot rang out, purging another of his existence.
"Shit! Fuck this, I'm out!" he dropped the hostage and attempted to flee-
A single shot tore apart both of his legs, as he squealed in agony.
"And so God called upon his wrath, to avenge the innocents slain-" the raider frantically crawled away, as his fingers grew raw from the chunks of concrete and soil.
"And thus I answered, in his name." a knife scraped against it's scabbard, as the raider gurgled from the seven inch knife twisting in his throat. He cut the bindings free from the settler, watching as she fled back in terror. Saving the innocent felt rewarding; he felt confident in his actions for the first time, no longer unsure of what to do.
Capital Wasteland, A.D. 2274
He focused through the scope, watching as the tribal leader sat upon his throne.
They had been raiding caravans and nearby settlements; the Wanderer was to ensure that they were no longer harassed.
The explosives had been set several hours ago; Now, all he had to do was pull the trigger.
Then why couldn't he fire?
"You've already done this before. Do it." He muttered to himself, as he refocused his aim. A child ran into his view, and he swore. The child, a young girl sat upon the tribal leader's leg. The man's eyes softened; and he patted her on the head as he she giggled.
He fired.
The scream that came afterwards was forever in his mind; as well as the broken landscape after he triggered the detonator.
Was it right?
To save a few thousand, at the cost of a hundred innocent lives?
"Why?" He cursed.
"I'm still slaying the innocent. I'm no worse than-"
The truth shocked him in the core.
To save the someone, another had to die.
In order to keep the Wanderer and the knights safe, Sarah had to die.
In order to ensure that everyone in the Vault survived, he had to be exiled.
In order for him to save the entire Capital Wasteland, he had to exterminate the Enclave.
In order for others to live, free of sin, the Wanderer had to take their sins.
With a howl of rage and anguish, the Lone Wanderer of the Capital Wasteland cursed his very existence, his expression one of indescribable anger.
Capital Wasteland, A.D. 2275
"Wow there, Let's be calm-" Commander Belfron of the Talon mercenary company took a step back, as the ghost of the Wasteland took a step towards him, silenced pistol in hand.
"You targeted Sarah. I need to know why." The commander tripped and fell down, the pistol locked on his face.
"I can't, it's confidential-" the receiver was pulled back with an ominous clack.
"Alright, alright! I'll spill!" Belfron crumbled, as he began frantically explained his contact; a man, who had contacted him all the way from the East Coast, wishing to end the Brotherhood.
"Thank you for your cooperation." the pistol barked, and Belfron crumbled, blood pooling on his vest.
The Ghost exited the office room, strolling past the corpses that lined the halls. Their faces were frozen in varying degrees of fear and agony; lasfire and plasma decorated the walls, as well as stains of blood from various victims.
Somewhere, a bell chimed.
Where, the Ghost cared not.
Mojave Wastelands, A.D. 2279
It had taken the Ghost four grueling years to traverse what remained of the Old World.
He had passed the former state of Texas, where he met a unknown sect of the Brotherhood; learning that he was a Paladin of the East Coast, they welcomed him with open arms and taught him their trade of arms.
He left shortly thereafter, departing on his mission of repentance as he continued his journey across the deserts.
He met an entire nation, it's people referring to themselves as Soviets- Explaining to him that they were formerly of an Old World country known as the Soviet Union, and had traveled all the way to rebuild their country.
They had wished him luck with his quest, gifting him with a weapon named Spasitel; a word, they claimed, to describe him; Savior.
He continued traveling; carving a path wrought with blood, his very existence the antithesis of his ideals.
He eventually made his way to a city called Primm, and took a job as a Courier; a simple task of sending letters to various people across what was called the Mojave wasteland.
But his tale with the NCR all began, with a bullet to the head.
The ripper roared, cleanly bisecting a man in half as he swung, a scream escaping from his lips.
The Sequoia found it's new target; an extensively ornate soldier, the crest on his helmet indicating that he was a General.
A single shot sent him tumbling, the General slumping against his chariot. The Courier appeared through a veil of smoke and fire, ripper dripping with blood as he fired again, the round piercing another centurion as he made his way out of the destruction.
"Courier, do you read? Courier!" He eviscerated another legionnaire, as the remaining men after the bombardment began to flee.
"Copy. Loud and Clear." He materialized a frag, chucking it into a group of legionnaires attempting to stick together.
The resulting explosion was satisfying.
"OH GOD! MY LEGS!" someone screamed, and the Courier fired without bothering to turn, ending him of his misery as he strolled his way out of the remains of the senate house.
His next stop; the Imperial Palace.
A formation of well armored legionnaires stood before the palace doors, shields locked in formation as a man stepped forward.
"Halt! I, Tribune Tiberius challenge you to a duel!" The Courier nodded, materializing Jingwei's sword as he took a stance.
"You have slain many today. But I shall end your slaughter!" He gave a bitter laugh.
"Believe me, many have tried." He ducked under a swing, leg lashing out as his knee smashed against the Tribune's chin. The sword flashed, twirling as he thrusted forward, the blade piercing straight through the chest of the former great General.
"and they all failed."
He pulled the sword out, the man gasping as he was decapitated.
"Pila! Fire!" various spears came forward, flying towards him at rapid speed;
The flamer burst to life, incinerating the offending wooden sticks as they burnt to a crisp.
"Pathetic." the flamer torched the formation alive, as they screamed and attempted to be rid of the flames. He stepped over the crisp bodies, wrenching the doors open with his hands. The throne was vacant except for one; many advisers stood near him and looked shocked at his presence.
"How dare you enter the throne of Emperor Zoral El Caesar?!" he thundered, as the Courier stared at him evenly.
"For the crimes you have committed against the NCR and it's people, your punishment is execution." Movement was all he had as a warning as he shifted to the side, a massive mace even larger than him smashing into the tiles. A massive ogre loomed before him, roaring a challenge as it attempting to swing it's mace again, the Courier ducking aside as the Emperor laughed.
"None can stand before the Empire's might!" The Courier materialized his .50 cal rifle, rolling out of the way and pulling back the bolt.
A single .50 incendiary round penetrated the ogre's helmet, tearing through it's skull and setting it's brain alight. The Ogre clutched it's head and promptly crumpled, much to the shock of the others in the room.
"You are to be brought before the Supreme Court, where you will be judged for your crimes against the people of the NCR."
Several miles away, Forward Headquarters
"General! We've captured the battlements!" Oliver grinned.
"Good! All units! Push forward to the Imperial Palace! Give that Caesar son of a bitch a warm welcome!"
"You heard the man! Forward!" troopers emerged from trenches, bayonets fixed on their rifles as they stormed past the gates, defenders either gone or deserted.
Tanks rolled past destroying buildings, as the civilian population cowered inside of what remained of their houses.
"Six O'Clock! Hostiles!" A squad of legionnaires cowered inside a building, as the sherman fired, burying them and anyone else inside alive.
"REMEMBER FREESIDE!" a trooper ducked under a frantic sword swing and plunged his bayonet forward, burying the blade hilt deep before firing inside the man's chest.
"Take that, you damned legion bastard!" the man grasped the wound, gasping for breath as gurgled on his own blood. Private Hucks, now Corporal Hucks, tugged his rifle out of the legionnaire's corpse as he spotted the flash of a blade. Training taking over, he ducked and fired center mass, pausing only when he realized who it was.
A kid. It was a damned kid.
One of the locals screamed as the kid collapsed, even as the trooper dropped his rifle in shock.
"Fuck, fuck man." Staff Sergeant Brooks came running by, and paused.
"Damnit." The Corporal stared at the Staff Sergeant.
"Why did this happen? How the fuck did I just…"
"War doesn't discriminate against the innocent, Corporal. You saw a blade, and you reacted. He's another casualty like the hundreds of others from the artillery barrage earlier." The Corporal continued to stare at the corpse.
"But he was-" the Sergeant snapped.
"Damnit, I know Hucks! We don't have a choice! Now get moving!" He smacked the trooper lightly on the head, clanging against his helmet as he pushed on.
Hucks stayed frozen, kneeling over the dead boy as rain began to fall from above.
The Courier was in a standstill; legionnaires surrounded him and the apparent Emperor, the previous one apparently being assassinated.
"You're still outnumbered! Surrender, or die like the mongrel you are." Zorzal declared, pride still etched on his face. The Courier scowled.
"I know that face. I've seen it on many men, more destructive or terrifying than you are." A weapon began to materialize, as the Legionnaires tensed.
"And they're all dead men." Several smoke grenades began bellowing smoke throughout the entire chamber, filling it with a thick cloud as the Legionnaires coughed and looked around.
They're last moments were of a terrifying red glare, and the hiss of something as something sharp penetrated their throats and skulls, ending them in an instant.
"Find him, and kill him!" A scream cut him off, as the man that had been next to him died an excruciating death.
"I am Wrath incarnate, made and shaped to punish the unfaithful and the unworthy-" Another slice, and another man gurgled as blood drenched his arm.
"And you have been found wanting."
Crown Prince and Emperor Zorzal of the Saderan Empire struggled to breathe, as the red eyed demon clutched his throat with one arm.
"Repent sinner, or die." Zorzal scrabbled at the plated gauntlet holding his throat, gasping in desperation as it slowly closed, cybernetic enhancements cracking the bone and spine as the prince gave a look of resignation, and snarled.
"Never! I am the Emperor-" The hand curled into a fist, crushing Zorzal's windpipe as he gurgled.
"How low the mighty have fallen." the Courier dropped Zorzal's corpse on the stairs to the throne, as he glared at the apparition in the smoke.
"Is this what you are now, Wanderer? Nothing but a glorified murderer, killing others to achieve your dream?" Colonel Autumn gazed back at him, arms crossed as he frowned.
He fired his Sequoia in rage, as the bullet simply went through with no effect.
"Killing indiscriminately just like your rampage through Enclave controlled bases and outposts?" The Colonel gave a manic grin.
"What would Sarah Lyons think?" the Courier drew his combat knife and rushed towards the apparition, swinging only to go through smoke as he looked around him.
"To see the love of her life throw himself away; damning himself into a path of betrayal as her beautiful dream gets warped into a nightmare." The Courier screamed in frustration, as the Colonel appeared from the smoke once more.
"Or what would your father think? His dream of saving the people of the wasteland, ruined by his own child-" the figure disappeared as it was replaced by a stumbling legionnaire, the Courier gutting him with the knife and then decapitating him.
"You know nothing!" the knife was flung, as it embedded itself into the marble column the Colonel stood in front of.
"Futile. You can't kill what's dead." The smoke disappeared, the Colonel now gone as the Courier looked around at the carnage around him; his blind firing had killed several innocent civilians, and those that had been in the smoke were now missing innards and entrails.
A flash, as the civilians were replaced with Brotherhood knights, who had fired upon him believing him to be the murderer of their fallen Sentinel-
"No." The illusions faded away, as the Courier turned to look at the broken glass panes, the sun making it's way over the horizon.
"Even if this isn't my dream; even if I stumble and fall-" he was bathed in sunlight, as warmth filled the room.
"This isn't wrong." the doors burst open, as the first elements of the NCR entered the scene of a massacre, a broken window and the Courier nowhere to be seen.