Knight in Power Armor

Chapter 11: Dr. James…

A/N: Happy New Year! No I don't care that it's been 2 weeks, I'm saying it now. So, um, there. :P

cally777: Knight went to Rivet City hoping to catch James before he left for 112, thinking that jumping over GNR was enough of a boost. It wasn't, but his theory was sound. You may have missed it, but in chapter 8 Knight reveals to Kess that his is from another world, and explains it well enough that Kess doesn't not believe him. As to romance, well, we'll see, won't we. And that halo holds me up, not the other way around, so no, it's not getting heavy. Stimpacks and med-x are there, they just haven't been injured enough to use them yet. Being in combat and writing about it are two different things, and I am working on the dialogue.

I think that answers all your questions and concerns, so, on to the story.

1234567890

Kess's pod opened up, and she stepped out. She stumbled, forcing me to catch her before she hit the floor.

"Hey, you alright?" I asked.

"I just killed half a dozen people. No I'm not alright!" She replied, both sad and angry. She pushed away from me and sat down by the pod. I kneeled down to be at her eye level.

"It wasn't your fault. You had no alternative other than torture. Don't think of it as you killing them, think of it as freeing them."

"You think that helps me!" Kess asked, her anger focusing on me. I thought about that for a second.

"No, I don't. Just like it didn't help me." I sat down, looking at the floor.

"What?" Her voice lost some of its edge.

"Killing is always hard for good people. The first time I killed someone, I was pretty badly messed up. I had thought it was as easy as pulling a trigger, how wrong I was. The only thing that kept me together was my fellow soldiers. They talked to me, told me that it wasn't my fault, they would've killed me and my friends if I hadn't. It's not pretty, it's not fun, and it never gets easier, but all evil needs to win, is for good men to do nothing." I looked back up at her.

"Am I making any sense?"

"If not to her, you've convinced me." That voice. I stood and turned, and looking into a face I had only seen on a T.V. screen.

"I'm glad that my daughter has found a friend so capable, in more ways than one." James said. I was dumb struck. I knew it in my head, but to hear Liam Neeson's voice in person was still just, wow.

"Father!" Kess pushed past me and hugged James tightly.

"I'm happy to see you to, dear, but what are you doing outside of Vault 101? I told you to stay put."

"I'm not a little girl any more, Father." Kess said, breaking the hug to speak. She explained everything that had happened after James left 101. I stayed quiet, not wanting to interrupt her time with her dad. Lord knows what I'd do if I ever saw my dad again. When Kess got to the part about me being from another world, I tensed up.

"What nonsense have you been telling my daughter, young man?" James asked, an edge in his voice.

"Father!" Kess exclaimed, confused.

"Kess please, let me explain myself." Oh boy, here we go. "Right, um, I am from another world, one where this is just a video game. My proof is what the situation was when Kess was born. You checked if she was a boy or a girl, told your wife the results, Kathrin commented on her beauty, you named her Kess, checked the gene projection, she was going to look a lot like you, you held her up so Kathrin could see, started talking about Kess's future, then Kathrin went into cardiac arrest. She didn't survive. I'm sorry if that brought up a painful memory, but the only other proof I have is of when Kess was a toddler in 101." I opened my eyes, thankful of the helmet that covered my face, and saw the shocked expression on James's face.

"H-how do you know about that?" He asked, the edge gone from his voice.

"I told you, it's in the game. The very start of it in fact. If you don't believe me I can say more."

"No, no that's fine. I'm just having trouble grasping all this."

I laughed. "Just think what I went through. BAM! Nuclear holocaust and wasteland adventure from a video game, right in my face. Let's let Kess finish her story, and then we can talk about what happens next."

Kess brought James up to date, leaving out the part about the council, and they both turned to me.

"First, introductions." I held my hand out to James. "My name is Knight. Pleasure to meet you in person Dr…"

"What? You don't know my name?" He asked with a smile.

"I know your first name is James, and that you're a doctor, but the game never mentions a last name. Leaves it for the player to create."

"Dr. James Mason." He said, taking my hand. I bit my tongue on the implications of that particular name. "Now, if you have all the answers, what's our next order of business?"

"We go back to Rivet City and round up your old team, then get Project Purity back up and running. First, though, I have to tell you something." James and Kess both looked like they weren't going to like what I had to say. I didn't blame them.

"In the game, just after you get the lab back up and running, the Enclave swoop in to take it for themselves. You irradiate the main room to keep it out of their control, but are trapped in the same room. You… don't survive." Kess gasped, and James sighed.

"But there is hope." I added quickly. "I'm not in the game. Kess is what the player would be, weird as that sounds. With my superior armor, weapons, and foreknowledge I hope to change the outcome in the game."

"How is your armor any better than the Enclaves?" James asked. "Aren't they technologically superior?"

"Uh, yeah. Though I don't know how you'd know that."

"You're not the only one with tricks up their sleeves." James said with a smirk.

"Right, anyway, the same people that sent me here also gave me this armor, they said that it's impenetrable. Also," I primed my laser and held it out to the side. "Wrist mounted laser, more powerful than its rifle counterpart. Neither the armor nor laser will run out of power, though they didn't tell me how. With this, and knowing that the Enclave's coming we should do much better."

"Then it's settled!" Kess said, excited to get back to shooting bad guys. "We get Project Purity up to speed and kick the Enclaves ass out of town! Let's go!" And with that, we started our journey back to the Jefferson Memorial.

1234567890

The air behind the Knight and his companions shimmered as she fallowed. You're not the only one not in the game, Knight. Shinobi will be the only one that wins.

A/N: Uh, oh.