"Let me go you maniac!" The girl shook the bar violently in the cell that held her, it was rusty, and smelt of old dead steel. The scent, the odor of ancient death.

"Calm yourself, Veronica," the old voice said, "I do not wish to hurt you, but if this persists then I will have no choice."

"Wait the minute," she paused, "how did you know my name?"

The old man laughed:

"My, my, Veronica, has it been that long? Have you forgotten me already? Am I nothing but a fragment of an old memory that's waiting to rot away in your mind? Am I just a man so old that his children are practically counting the days before I die? If so then I must say, I am very disappointed in you Veronica."

She squinted her eyes through the metal bars to see this figure, only to realize immediately what she saw. She nearly squealed:

"Elijah? Is that you?"

"AH! Praise the heavens and the Lord above, you finally remember me." Elijah raised him hands in the air, "although I doubt that there is actually a heaven or a Lord. If there was a Lord, then we wouldn't even be in this mess to begin with. Bah, but it doesn't matter now that you're here."

Veronica stared at the Old man, she gaped in disbelief. She could hardly recognize this man. The man… the man who meant so much to her…

Back in the old days of the Brotherhood of Steel, Elijah was everything to Veronica. She didn't have a family, her dad was a Paladin and her mom was a scribe. They died a long time ago during a mission. She never remembered what the mission was about, maybe she was too young to remember. But none of that really ever mattered. Because Elijah was there, and he was all she had left.

He had taught her everything he knew, and she looked up to him for that. He was a technical wizard. His mind was a kingdom of iron and gears, all filled with tesla coils and circuits that could give life to any machine he touched.

Veronica never had many friends growing up, she remembered Melissa. But they were actually rivals more than anything else, so she didn't count. Most people thought Veronica was a strange child, she was never the type that followed orders. Skipping classes, disobeying her superiors and being completely reckless on missions were all done on a daily basis. The Brotherhood valued discipline and honor, she never did fit in with these kinds of code. But it didn't matter, because she had Elijah.

He was always there whenever she got into trouble. He was never angry at her for disrupting the lectures from Head Scribe Taggart, nor would he be mad whenever she fired off an unstable plasma rifle prototype into the wall – God knows how long they spent repairing that hole in the wall – the point was that… he was the only family she ever had. And now?

When she looked at him… she saw something… grim. It was like looking at a power armor that had been broken for years and only now had it been found. They dug the armor up, tried to fix it, but the system inside went berserk and killed off a few of the mechanics, some burnt by the faulty wiring. Others were killed while they were doing a test run, with the armor collapsing on top of them. And after a long time, the rust got into the joints, and scent of old dead metal started to rise and nobody bothered to fix the damn thing anymore, he was too far gone.

"Elijah, what happened to you?" She said, looking at the man, "I… I thought you died… that day…"

"Hush child, we must not disturb the moment, this is very important."

"What are you talking about?" Veronica looked around, she noticed she was in a strange room all by herself, "Where did you take my friends, Elijah? Please, I'm begging you, please tell me what is going on? Where on earth am I? Why are you not dead? Wh…"

"Now is not the time Veronica," Elijah cut her off, "look here, the main event's about to start."

"What do you mean?"

"Let's just say," Elijah stared into the blurry computer screen in front of him, "it's payback time."

Sol's head was spinning, the air was different, and there wasn't any Cloud around like in the Villa. Maybe there was still some broken vents around here somewhere with leaking Clouds here and there, but nothing compared to the Villa.

There it was, standing in the floor and walls of the city of ancient myth. These grounds – they smelt of burnt asphalt, or maybe it was the scent of something else, he wasn't entirely sure. But they were old, very old. The walls all around him howled of old images, reflection of the men and women of the Old World, receptionists by the counter. Butlers going around with martini on their silver trays.

Sol could see the dust left behind from footprints – shoes, high heels alike. A layer of old grey dust, they were telling old stories, stories of the people that had walked the floor of the City of Gold.

Here we could see a gentleman who devoted his entire life in acquiring all the riches and wealth there were in the Old World. An ambitious man indeed, but a very foolish one at that. He never stopped seeking money and wealth. Gold, jewelry, diamonds, rubies could never fully satisfy him, and he had never stopped these foolish desires. Not when he had heard of the legend of the City of Gold, he couldn't help himself.

Over by the corner were footprints of a woman, a woman in love, for each night she entered dream realm to dream of endless moonlight shining on the vast sand of the sea shore. She saw footprints on the sand. It was a sign of a man, a kind and loving man. He was the most heroic of them all, and his heart was as golden as King Midas himself. She dreamed of this man, her man, his lustrous eyes, the sparkling golden locks and his powerful physique. She could not stop thinking of him, and she searched endlessly for the man. She had never seen him in person, but she believed that if she could find the ancient stories of myth – myth of Gold, then she'd certainly be able to find this man of her, the man lost in myth. She couldn't help herself.

There was another man, a scientist, perhaps. He was an odd man – pragmatic. His footprints were clean, the dust had never settled into his marks. He seemed calm and cautious. Each footsteps were as light as paper, barely visible. He was a man of facts and truth, he spoke in the ways of science and the methods of logic. His logic had never been defied, his facts had never been proven false, he walked a straight path. It was this very path that led him to this City. He had never believed the City to be of Myth, he didn't believe in myths, everything to him were facts… but he could never had predicted the confusion, the madness that scrambled his mind when he arrived. There were feelings deep down that he never thought existed. He told himself he'd got rid of those emotions long ago, and yet what was it that was haunting his sanity? Greed? Desire? Whatever it was, he came here seeking something, on impulse perhaps. Because he couldn't help himself.

Sol touched the floor of the structure, he felt something rumbling beneath him. Something was wrong, the building, it was howling. Elijah spoke through the radio on the Pip-Boy, he said that the others had already entered the building but the security system had separated them onto different floors. He had to find them, and fast.

Sol tracked his way through the Casino main floor and made his way through the main lobby, into the back area. There was a couple of holograms patrolling the area but Sol managed to sneak pass them, it was difficult but he pulled it off. Dean did say that the holograms were basically invincible, so no point trying to shoot them. He eventually found a key in one of the rooms in the back, this key should be able to unlock the door and lead Sol into the kitchen, that was where Elijah said God was.

However, Sol was starting to get more worried by the minute, especially when he overheard Dog's voice behind the door moaning through God's head. The two voices were getting more unstable by the minute, they were fighting each other, trying to overpower one another for control.

Sol also smelled a slight scent of gas leaking through the door. Not good, whatever Dog was planning to do it won't end well for any of them.

He decided to enter the door into the kitchen, he could hear his growling growing slowly. He was in pain, the kind of pain that was immaterial, it was a scream that the Sierra Madre will immortalize in these poisonous walls forever.

"Dog?" Sol called as he walked through the hall in the kitchen, the smell of gas was overwhelming, more than any regular gas leak could've ever done.

"Don't come…" Dog yelled, "… not… good for you…"

"Dog please… I… I can help…"

"Help? You?" the Mutant's voice suddenly changed, "How could you of all people help me? I don't want your help, I don't need it. You get out of here now otherwise we'll all be burnt to a crisp. At least if you make it out of here alive you'd get to live the rest of your life alone as the heartless bastard you are… ugh… argh… h… uman… human, leave now! Not safe for you… other voice is angry… other voice not like you… other voice will hurt you…"

"Dog!" Sol said, "Please, let me help you, I… I can help you…"

"Hah!" God said, "You couldn't even help yourself, how could you help anybody?"

"I… I…"

"You're a fool, you wandered into this Casino like an ignoramus going after money, women. A thirsty, greedy fool who Life has already forsaken. You can't help anybody… ugh…" his voice changed once more, "… please, human… leave this place… it's dangerous… DOG! Back in the cage now… ugh… NO!"

Dog was clawing at his own head, his heart throbbing. Sol could feel it, the heart beat pumping through the walls. He walked into the room to find the Mutant all scarred up. There were bruises all over his body and burn marks on his torso and back. He'd been hurting himself again, just like he did with the bear trap on his arm. He howled like an animal, blood dripping from his own head, he must have banged it against a wall.

When Sol locked eyes with the beast what he saw was… sadness. This monstrosity of a creature, stronger than most monsters, bigger than most creatures and yet… he was crying…

"… Human… save yourself… you die if you stay here… Dog… Dog is happy… Dog gets to serve… Master and you… Dog never forget… you rescued Dog…"

Sol didn't see it when he first came in but Dog was holding a grenade in his hand, and he was about to pull the pin.

Dog said:

"Dog… will never forget human… but… but… other voice… other voice angry at Dog… it hurts… other voice hurts Dog… tells Dog to go back in Cage… always trying to stop Dog… always mad… always shout at Dog…"

Dog then had one last look at Sol, he grinned… just a bit.

"Dog is happy to serve… you and Master… you let Dog eat… Dog knows Dog always hungry… Dog knows Dog cause trouble when hungry… Dog sorry… this… is goodbye… Master."

Dog forcefully yanked the pin out of the grenade, raising his hand up above his head and was about to throw the grenade right down to the ground. The halls will be lit, the fire will burn…

… But…

Dog couldn't lower his arm down, he was about to throw but his arm was stopped. The clutch of his palm kept the grenade from going off… he was being pushed upwards… by Sol…

It was a surge of strength that Sol never thought he had in him any longer. He was always angrier, more aggressive whenever he became the Red Eye. He could move faster, he became stronger but he had not been the Red Eye for years. He was old now, his days of ruthless murdering were long gone. He had never felt the strength of the Red spark in years. And yet… he held up the Mutant's arm like a column, Dog was dumbfounded by his amazing strength. An old man in his sixties and yet was as strong as a Super Mutant.

Sol was shaking since Dog was so strong, and yet he managed a smile:

"Dog… God… I… I'm so sorry… but… but… I'M NOT GOING TO LET YOU DIE, NOT HERE, NOT NOW…"

Dog was about to drop the grenade but Sol's grasp on Dog's fist was so tight he couldn't even let go. What kind of monstrosity was this man, Dog wondered.

"I'm sorry God, I'm sorry for what I've done to you. I led you around like an obedient animal, tortured you mentally with your hunger… when all you ever wanted… was to keep Dog safe… I'm sorry, I shouldn't have treated you like an object, an animal… it took me a long time but I've learned now… through my travels… I was a foolish man. I killed people whenever I was in trouble… I was running away from my problems for so long, and I resorted to killing, coercing others into doing my bidding whenever it got difficult. Funny thing… I don't even remember what it was that's troubling me so much. It's been so long, but now I know that… taking the easy way won't get you anywhere. Do you know why? Because I… I have my friends now, they remind me that they will always be there to help me, be with me through tough times. It took me a long time to realize that I've been killing so many people that I have never stopped to consider the consequences. I nearly killed a family of a young girl. She… she seemed to have forgiven me… but… I haven't forgiven myself, every day I live on just so I could repay for my sins. You're using the easy way out, Dog, and the easy way will never work out in the end."

Sol picked up the pin on the ground, he took the grenade from his hand and then secured the pin back on so that it won't go off. Dog had become a little bit more cooperative now.

"I… I… never…" God stuttered, "I never told anyone? How did you know?"

"Let's just say that… I had a br… ah… an old friend… long ago. I also wanted to protect him, but ended up hurting him."

Sol was just a few seconds away from forgetting to turn off the gas valve. He twisted the wheel on the pipes, it hissed for a few seconds before it died down. The gas should be leaving through the vents now.

"Dog… Dog doesn't want to go to Cage… Dog scared of Cage."

"Then don't go back in the Cage… look, Dog. God doesn't want to hurt you. How could he? He's you!"

"It's no use, clever one… even… even if Dog understands, he will still be hungry. His hunger cannot be quelled, he will go the distance… just to calm his hunger…"

"You need to realize now that if you accept each other… accept the two voices… as one then the pain will go away."

"Accept the two voices? You mean… as in… merging the two of us? But how?"

Sol smirked at God:

"Don't fret, I'm a doctor… well, used to anyway. But it doesn't matter, what matters is that for you to understand. Look deep inside, when you hear the voice, you hear your own voice. When you look at the animal, you see your own reflection. You are nothing but a single drop on a clear surface of water, currently in a rippled state, unstable and chaotic. All you have to do is to calm the water. Don't you see? Dog IS God. You're one and the same. Just let me help you."

"But… what will happen to Dog… and other voices… when you… help us?"

"I'm not sure… the brains of a Nightkin still require much research to fully understand. But as far as I can tell, the pain will go away forever… it's, um, complicated."

"Don't lie to me human…" God said, "tell me the truth… the pain… the pain will be… forgotten… right? Along with… everything else… all will be forgotten?"

Sol didn't want to look at him in the eyes, he simply nodded slightly.

"But… but… Dog doesn't want to unremember you… Dog doesn't want… Dog afraid… Dog might forget you… you were nice to Dog, you fed Dog… you helped me and Dog to be free of the cage, free of the psychotic old man and helped us avoid the fire of this hell… you saved us… I… we want to repay you… but how?"

Sol shook his head:

"Don't have to… never have, never will."

The Mutant looked at him, and smirked:

"You lied to us, you're not a bastard… you're not."

"Maybe I'm not… doesn't matter. Now, there's a cosmic knife on the table there, this will only take a minute. It might sting a little bit, but you'll be fine, I promise."