Thank you Lupus7, you did talk to me all night about how to figure a plotline out. And in the middle of uploading, I remembered you asked me to put you in a chapter. So I did. So stop angrily texting me. Meanie.
(Charon)
Anchorage was different. It was not how I remembered it. It was a glorified reality to unlock the technology. I did not fail, but it was not difficult, either. Jing-Wei was not a difficult enemy. Though while in the simulation, I was distracted. Concerned with what would happen to me as soon as I finished. I suppose I will find out, because things are beginning to fade around me. The virtual reality is over. Either I will wake to Dezbe, or my enemy.
Opening my eyes, I see blue lights surround the chamber. Though it extends a bit off of the platform, it is still a cage. A form of electric current. It bears a shocking resemblance to the energy that came from the baton at the Talon base so many years ago.
"We owe you deep thanks for unlocking the technology for us."
An older man's voice echoes. He steps into the light, wearing an outfit reminding me of Roman Gladiators. Caesar. Old, frail, he has people to do his work for him. I should have known the NCR was smart enough to stay away from the Capital Wasteland, but not Legion. They will take whatever they can get.
"Silent type, are you? Well, I shouldn't be surprised. We read all about you in your file. I assume you know that the Brotherhood has a rather large base in the Mojave? Nobody takes them seriously there anymore, but the base exists."
I stare at him, at the people around me. They all wear armor, of slight varying differences. They watch me, some walk around with clipboards, writing things down. From across the room, I see Jasper. Our eyes meet, and she looks down and away. She knows what she has done, and I am not surprised to see her.
"Now the question is…what to do with you…"
Dezbe will be coming here shortly, and I hope she brought Cain and Zack. She cannot get in here alone.
"Oh, and I wouldn't worry about that little wife of yours…we've taken care of that issue."
Narrowing my eyes, I watch Caesar as he smiles at me. What did he do? Was it a mistake to let Dezbe return to Megaton? No, she would keep the children safe. Which makes me wonder, if Caesar knows about my daughter.
"Watch. It's about to happen."
One of his understudies wheels in a small, pre-war television. They are only used now for communication. I say nothing, and stare between the electric bars, careful to not touch them. If it is the same technology as the baton from the Talons, the pain they will cause is immeasurable. I remember that quite clearly, and also remember inflicting such harm upon Dezbe.
"You see, my organization has a lot of pull back in New Vegas. I hear you've only been once. Shame. You'd do well as a bouncer there."
I remember the Ninth Circle, and my jaw clenches.
"But, regardless, we have connections. You've never heard of the Boomers, but they inhabit a base. Closed off from the rest of the Mojave, they've stockpiled weapons of varying degrees. Some, quite dangers. We were able to obtain one of these bombs from them, in trade for supplies that they were severely lacking."
Bombs? Caesar has obtained a nuclear weapon? I know it is nuclear, because before the Great War, politicians and war machines were only creating nuclear weapons, in defense and offence.
"Ah! Here! See, we came to the understanding that there is not only rare technology, but a…how can I say…flourish of pre-war assets here. Grass and soil being one of them."
"You intend to destroy what you are after?"
I ask him, and he is shocked by my voice.
"No. The vaults on the West Coast have run out of G.E. . Either they have been used and failed, or they simply no longer exist. Here, there is an abundance of them. Or so we think. Regardless, the G.E.C.K will be able to restore whatever we destroy. Only in a bigger way. We're not worried about losing resources, they're gained back easily. As long as we can keep the medical advancements your…Dr. Barrows has made, we are content."
"You intend to drop a nuclear bomb on Megaton. Is that what you are saying?"
Caesar looks at me, smiling.
"Watch."
He points to the screen. I can feel my heart racing in my chest, faster and faster. What I see on the screen is a black and white image, tinted green, of Megaton. The screen glitches out, and returns fuzzy and static.
"I do not believe you. You cannot get a camera that close, whomever is filming would be killed by the blast."
"A small sacrifice, for the greater good."
A countdown starts, and as they reach one, I hold my breath. Staring at the screen, I know Dezbe wouldn't be returning yet. I know she and Dizzy would be home, and unaware of the danger coming to them. They would receive no warning, no way of leaving, nothing. Fear strikes, the fear of losing them, and it is a form of fear I've never felt before.
"Stop! I'll tell you everything!"
I yell, getting as close to the bars as possible. Caesar looks at me, smirking.
"I can't, it's too late."
"My daughter is there!"
He looks at me, smiling like a sadistic clown. A large flash emits from the television. Smoke and debris ruins the camera. Soon, the entire underground base vibrates and shakes from the shock of the bomb. I stare, at the blank screen, falling to my knees. My family…
"Oh, you'll be fine, men trained as you are trained prefer to work alone, right?"
He begins to laugh at me. Mock me. Something inside clicks, something worse than anger and despair. It's loss. Loss, and humanity. A pain that I've never felt, and never intended to. I can reach through the bars, I can grab him. Caesar is too confident. His outfit, easily grabbed, and his body too close. Standing up, I push my arm through the bars, ignoring the slight electrical stings.
"Watch out!"
Jasper yells, appearing from beside the television. She pushes Caesar out of the way, and I grab her by the neck. I feel every muscle in my body as a separate being. I feel every tendon in her neck, pressing against the veins in my fingers. Slowly, as I rise from my knees, tears fall from my eyes. Images of Dizzy laughing, of Dezbe's childish antics flood my mind without any mercy or care. It works with the pain of the loss. It enhances it, builds it, and flows into the fingertips that hold tight to Jasper's throat. The woman who caused this. My home, my family, to fall to a weapon I thought no longer existed. Did the world not learn the first time? Is humanity so blind and stupid that it is willing to repeat its own history time and time again while still recovering from its past mistakes? Can we not give the world a chance to recover before destroying it? Can…my enemies not give me a full life of happiness, before ripping it from my arms, because they want the skills cursed upon me? The answer is no. Simply, no.
"Please…"
Jasper gasps, and behind her Caesar appears.
"Emotions? Didn't know they taught that at the Pentagon. Or, rather, Citadel."
"You took my family."
I say to Jasper, ignoring Caesar.
"You killed the man you claimed to love…"
I'm not sure, if the tears in her eyes are from the grip I have on her, or from the realization of her actions. She kicks, and shakes her head, coughing.
"I want you to live, knowing I will always find you. You will live in fear, in terror, unknowing of when I will kill you. I promise I will, but not today. Today, you are going to sit, and think of what you have just done, to a person you did not want as your enemy."
I whisper to her, Caesar unaffected by her near-death. She, like the rest of his team, are expendable. He gets a sick amusement from watching his people burn and die. There is a thin line that parts us humans from animals. Caesar never learned conviction. He, is weak.
"I have the power, Charon, remember that."
He tells me, as I drop Jasper to the ground. She lands, coughing, gasping, sobbing. Through her long black hair, Jasper looks at Caesar. For comfort, for reassurance, for something. He offers nothing, and gives nothing, before turning and leaving. She watches the door, for only a moment, before her eyes fall on me. When they do, I look at her, and fall to the floor.
Pounding the steel floor, I let the pain out. Caesar can no longer see me, and Jasper will see the full extent. She will see how it is to bring a man like me down, and fear what'll happen. The only emotion I'll have next time we see one another is anger. And she is at the core of it. I cry, remembering the night Dizzy was born, and how a family was created. How after everything Dezbe and I have done, it ends like this. With my town demolished, my friends dead, my family, gone. All of it, gone. Reduced to nothing more than mere rubble and trash, adding to the Wasteland. I was stupid to think anyone could change the world. To think that Dezbe and her G.E.C.K could make even an ounce of difference, or that Dr. Barrows' medical research could lead us to a time of peace and prosperity. I sob, harder than I have in my life, harder than I ever thought possible. I cry, like a man who has lost everything, and has nothing left. There is nothing more they could take from me, or use against me. And they should be terrified.
"…I'm sorry."
I look up at Jasper. My family, reduced to two words. Two simple words, and one should be forgiven? I look her in the eyes, and she backs away. She turns to a frightened mouse, a deep bruise forming where I held her.
"Get. Out."
Wisely, she listens. I will find a way out of this. And I will kill them. Each and every one. I will not use my gun. I will use the training not even Dezbe is aware of. A form of killing, meant only for dire situations. Meant for situations just like this. When there is nothing left to lose, and the world is already over. A form of killing, that nobody today even remembers. But they will remember this. One by one, they will see their fellow men fall, and they, for their short lives, will not forget it. I will find them. I will travel to New Vegas, and rip every Legion I find, from nape to navel. They underestimate me. Don't they understand now, I am free? I have nobody to worry about when I get out of here. My attention is on them. And they should be very, very proud of themselves.