Epilogue

Lucy and Milo sat amidst the marketplace in downtown Megaton, in the sweltering heat, sharing some ice-cold cocktails. It was a busy day, and for the first time in a while Lucy actually felt as if she was somewhere close to home. The temperature was shooting up dramatically, especially during the day. Although it was still far more humid than she preferred. She glanced at her PIP-Boy.

June 20th, 2285, it read. It was barely visible against the glare of the sun high above. Several months had passed since the end of the main fighting in the Compact-Brotherhood War, and since Lucy and Milo's reunion.

She was silent as she sipped from her glass, ruminating on everything that had happened and all the injuries she'd dealt with. She couldn't walk correctly, anymore. She doubted the Mojave Brotherhood would welcome her back with open arms after her desertion, as well.

Oh well.

She took another long sip, relishing its icy bite against her throat.

Milo was clueless.

When Lucy arrived back in Megaton, looking ragged and far worse for wear, it had been amongst an evacuation. That was when she learned that Milo was clueless. She had had no idea that Milo had become the Compact's leader – maybe if she had paid more attention. But on the other side of the coin, Milo had no idea what she was up to, either.

Just as well.

He was sticking closer to her side than he ever had. She stared off into the distance and recalled their reunion. She had lashed out at him. Tore into his very being, called him worthless, useless; degraded and denigrated him until he looked as if he had just relived his revival all those years ago. Charged him with not caring for her. He just… stood there. Gawking. Soaking up her words and clearly believing that she meant what she said.

Lucy stormed up to the taller man, in her fury, gesticulating with as much emotion as she could muster. And then she broke. She slipped, fell, latched onto Milo. And then all of her anger, all of that grief, was channeled up and out her eyes, and right into Milo's chest. He didn't fight, didn't push her away. He didn't even seem to get angry. The man had the patience of a saint and she had spent a half an hour berating him out of anger at herself for being so stupid.

She was done trying to search out the Enclave. In truth, she felt like she needed a break from travelling so far in general, and Miles agreed. And, Milo still had obligations to the people of the Capitol, so for the moment Lucy was content to hang around and help as best she could.

Because she felt she owed it to the best friend who had her back so often.

A procession began. For days the people of Megaton had been preparing for the official proclamation of victory against the Brotherhood, following the surrender of the remaining holdout groups. A great stage loomed over the market, with a speaker-system having been hooked up in most of the public spaces.

Amongst the people heading to the stage were well-known figures. Lucas Simms and his son, Amata Almodovar, and the leaders of the Sword of Columbia – including the man Lucy recognized as the soldier she had captured months before.

He didn't seem to recognize her, and if he did he wasn't saying anything.

And that's just as well.

Soon Milo would join those on stage.

Lucy stayed behind, and would watch from a distance.

The hubbub of the last week had started to wear on Riley's nerves. He had been trying to settle into Rockville after the end of the war, after the Sword of Columbia had been reformed as the formal militia force of the city. And then Lukas called on him to make a statement on behalf of the people of Rockville. So he had to freshen up, spend days getting cleaned and finding new dress clothes, and rehearsing the entire damnable event in secret.

He knew that Lukas planned to make his own statement, so he kept it as brief as possible.

The People of Rockville extend their most gracious regards to all of our allies in the Columbia Compact. He ran through each line in his head over and over again. And then Lucas Simms stepped up to the podium.

He tapped the microphone several times as Riley and the other people assembled took their seats behind him. He cleared his throat.

"My friends," he said as a crowd began to coalesce. People had been coming from all over the Capitol Wasteland to see this. "I stand here today to say something which I hope I will only ever say once. The war is over."

He droned on for several excruciating minutes. It wasn't that his speech was bad. Simms was just such a dry person. He put no emotion into his words. He finally stepped down from the podium, to a cacophony of applause. Lukas elbowed Riley and the elder man stood, drawing his own short speech from his pocket.

There was a moment where Riley stopped and just stared at the massive crowd of people. Their eyes expectant. He glanced back at Lukas, whose face betrayed nothing. Riley turned back and sighed while his jaw worked.

"Hello, everybody," he began. He cleared his throat and glanced down at the points on his paper. He was not a public speaker, not at all, and he managed to suffer through the very brief speech. Only the applause he received as he stepped away made him feel somewhat better.

And then Lukas stood. Despite being his elder, Riley admired the way he held himself. He was exactly the kind of person who was meant to be an officer. Proud, unrelenting; he presented himself as best he could, as if he believed he was a reflection of the people who had empowered him. In better days, he would have been. By comparison, Riley was a mess. He was by the book, and clever in his own way, but just seeing the way the young officer held himself nearly made him jealous.

Nearly.

"Friends," Lukas began. "Brothers and sisters. People of the Capitol Wasteland. Two centuries ago, the world as we knew it died. In its ashes, the worst of humanity came to the fore: violence, lawlessness, famine, plague, and all manner of vice." He paused, scanning the crowd. He took a deep breath. "But so too has it brought out the best in humanity. Selflessness, self-sacrifice, and the indomitable human will which drives us yet onward. A will to create a new and better world for those we love. I am proud to say that, in the past few months, I have borne witness to more examples of the human will displayed by those alongside whom I fought. The road was long, and it was bloody. Many of you have suffered dearly for this victory over an enemy which, at the outset, many believed was undefeatable." He took a moment to sip from a bottle of water at the podium. The crowd had hushed even more than it had been when the delegates had first arrived.

"Through the sheer power of the human will, we triumphed over our foes. Vanquished them from the Capitol Wasteland, and for the first time in these long few centuries, instilled what will hopefully be a final peace to the region. We now stand on the precipice of a new era. An era of mercy, of reconstruction, and of reconciliation." He paused again. "We must stand ever vigilant in this vulnerable time. In the coming weeks and months, the assembled delegation will begin laying down the framework for a tighter, more permanent union between the Municipalities to prevent a foe like the Brotherhood of Steel from ever rearing its head again, and to foster the spirit of mercy. I hope that you will all join us in forging our new future, together." He took one last deep breath, placing his notes down on the podium before looking directly at the crowd. "Thank you." The crowd erupted at once, a deluge of cheering the likes of which Riley had not heard in decades.

A world of mercy? That sounded just fine to Riley.

An epilogue to tie up the last few loose ends and finally finish the story.

Fallout2281: Yes, it is going to be a sequel, set immediately after Retaliation. It won't be a war story like this, though, it'll be a lot more like a traditional Fallout fanfic with a heavy emphasis on adventure and worldbuilding.