Chapter 19: Fall of the Institute

The BioScience wing was starting to wind down for the day. It was now late afternoon, almost quitting time. A few checked the readings on their new synthetic Gorilla's, a few others checked on the hydroponics and plant life they were cultivating. Clayton Holdren, the man in charge of the area, stood from the terminal he was working on and stretched. He looked around with a smile on his face. He enjoyed his work, and saw his team was busy doing the same. Couldn't ask for much more out of life.

Just as he was about to sit back down to finish his work, he heard something heavy in the other room, behind a door that lead towards a section of the lab that was no longer used. He focused hard at it, trying to figure out what it was before-

The locked door opened and out walked a person in bright blue Power Armor. Behind her was another in a suit made from rusted metal. Clayton gasped and stumbled backwards over his chair. This was either a sick joke, or the outside world finally got in.

Liz turned her head to see a dozen or so scientist staring at them, along with half a dozen synths patrolling. "Alright boys! Let's get this started! Remember, if they ain't shootin' at us, don't waste the ammo if ya don't have to." She ordered. It was a sounds strategy and it would cut down on casualties, but she didn't care if the raiders just cut them to ribbons either. They were the bastards that sat idly by while their organization caused so much pain on the surface.

Mason howled with delight and lead the Pack spilling from the door way. Dozens of brightly colored miscreants rushed into the room. The scientists panicked and ran for the door to the atrium, but were cut down by the knives and machetes of the Pack. The Operators entered as well, taking their aim at the synths that fired back. Using the Power Armored Overboss as a bunker at first, they strategically made their way into the lab.

As Mason and his boys laughed and frolicked among the slaughter, he stopped before the Gorilla pen. His eyes grew wide with excitement. He saw a big red button to the side of the glass encasing and pressed it. The glass slid down, freeing his gorilla brothers. The massive animals let out loud roars and rushed into the lab. One approached Mason, sizing him up. Mason beamed with pride at having released the animals. The Gorilla grunted and turned to attack the men in white coats. They were the true enemies. This brightly colored ape was clearly an ally to them.

Liz and the gangs made quick work of the synths inside the BioScience lab, and most of the scientists too. Clayton was hiding under his work station, cowering from the attacks as the raiders regrouped in the center of the lab. "Operators! Group up!" She said, causing the well-dressed gang to join her. The Pack was cleaning up any of the scientists that were still in the lab. The scientist that helped them get to the BioScience wing was still being guarded by an Operator. He was dragged along when Liz called for them.

"Alright. Time to split up a bit. Mags, take a few of your Operators and our new friend…" She looked at the Scientist in their custody. "Name?"

"H-Hank…" He croaked out, his throat tight as he shook in place.

"Hank. Take Hank to wherever the hell this place stores it's reactor, or generator, or whatever they use to power this shithole." Liz said. "You can do that, right Hank?" Hank nodded quickly. "Alright. The rest of us will keep this place distracted. Once you are at the reactor, you know what to do Mags."

Mags nodded. "Got it all rigged up. Once we set it, we high tail it to the teleporter and start getting our gang out of there. Gunna take us to a building far enough away so we can see the fireworks first hand." She said with a smile.

"F-Fireworks?!" Hank blurted out. They were going to blow up his home, his friends and family… everything he had ever known!

Liz turned to Hank and towered over him. "Ya got a problem with that, Hank?" She asked. Hang shook his head quickly. He didn't like the Institute that much anyway. Liz nodded. "Alright. Let's go, Nuka World Raiders!"

The doors to the BioScience wing opened and the Pack, half the Operators, and the two raiders in Power Armor rushed out. Without hesitation, the group opened fire on anything that moved. The Operators and Liz and Gage focused their fire on the Coursers and synths that rushed to defend the scientists, the Pack backed by two gorillas charged in and took out anyone unlucky to be targeted by them. The Atrium erupted in a fire fight. Bullets whizzed by in all directions, scientists panicked and ran from the ensuing madness. They had never seen a battle before. This violence was an absolute shock to them.

Liz took it all in stride, protecting her gangs and Gage while taking her rage out on anything that she spotted. Her eyes scanned for the asshole in white Power Armor, but to her surprise, he never showed. Was he gone? Was this all for nothing?! Her eyes wandered up to the many balconies leading to individual homes for each scientist until she saw him. A man looked down at her, his eyes cold and piercing. The head of the Institute himself. She glared and rushed towards the hallway that would lead to the staircase to his office.

As she approached the stairs, she saw a little girl cowering next to a computer terminal. Liz stopped for a moment and looked at her. She took off her helmet and approached the little girl with black hair. "Hi there." She said to the little girl. The child cowered away from her. "It's ok… I'm not going to hurt you." Liz took a knee in front of her.

"Go away!" The girl shouted at Liz, tears streaming down her cheeks. "You are a bad lady."

Liz chuckled a little. "The worst. But you can't stay here, little muffin. Where is your mommy?"

The little girl cried more and shook her head. "I don't know… I want my mommy and daddy…" She sobbed.

Liz reached her metal hand towards her. "Let's go find them." He said. The girl looked at the hand and then at Liz who had a gentle smile on her face. She reached out and took Liz's hand, who pulled her gently to her feet. She picked her up in her metal arms and carried her to protect her. The girl couldn't help but smile as she was picked off the ground.

"This is just like my daddy's armor. Except his is white." The little girl said. Liz froze… The little girl in her arms was the daughter of the man she was there to kill. She looked at her and smiled.

"Well, let's go find him, hm?" She said and walked towards the stairs. She only made it a few steps up before she heard a woman yell.

"No! Please…" A raven haired woman in a red jacket and news cap approached Liz and the little girl. Piper had kept her old Wasteland outfit and meant to use it to fit in on the surface with her daughter. Seeing her little girl in the arms of a raider almost made her heart stop.

Liz turned to look at Piper and smiled. "This little muffin yours? So that means you got a thing going with the monster upstairs." She said.

Piper nodded and put her hands up to show she wasn't armed. "Please… she isn't a part of this. Whatever you have against Nate… his daughter shouldn't pay for it." She said, admitting that this was, in fact, Nate's daughter. Liz looked to the little girl.

"Your man should have realized the danger he put you two in when he killed my family, and terrorized the Commonwealth while you sat comfortably in this place." Liz replied to Piper with venom in her words.

Piper seemed legitimately shocked at the accusation but didn't argue with it. A raider would lie and say anything to hurt others and be a victim. "I'm sorry for whatever he did. Please… please let my little girl go." She begged.

Liz looked into the little girl's eyes and sighed. She saw her little sister when she looked at her. Too young for all of this. She set the girl down and knelt on the step so she was close to her. "Now, you take care of your mommy, ok? She said. She looked over at the battle in the atrium and caught sight of Gage. She whistled loudly, catching his attention over the gunfire. He walked over to her quickly. The little girl looked scared of him as he approached.

"This here is Gage. He's my best friend in the whole world. He is going to take you and your mommy to the teleporter. He will make sure no one hurts you." Liz said this loud enough for Gage and Piper to hear. Gage looked confused.

"Ya sure that what ya want?" Gage asked. He didn't want to leave the gangs behind to fight the battle without him, but the Institute's numbers were dwindling fast, and it was only a matter of time before the whole place was prepped for destruction.

"Take these two to the teleporter and get them out. Wait for me there, alright?" She said. She secretly wanted to get Gage to a safe place too, so this was a good excuse. Gage sighed but nodded. Liz stood and the little girl ran to her mommy. Piper picked her up and walked with Gage towards the exit. The little girl looked over her mom's shoulder and waved to Liz. Liz smiled a little before she put her helmet back on and proceeded up the stairs to the Head office. To Nate.

The doors to the Head Office opened and Liz walked inside, her heavy boots striking the metal floor with each step. Inside, she saw the man she dreamed of killing for years. He was in an Institute lab coat, grey pants, and a blue sweater. His back was turned to her. He stood next to an empty hospital style bed, looking at it as if someone was lying in it. Since he was not in his power armor, Liz got out of hers. Even though he didn't play fair when he killed her family, she was better than he is. She stood next to her power armor as he let out a soft chuckle.

"Looks like P.A.M was right after all this time." He said and shook his head. "Even after I took you out

all those years ago… she always said the possibility that you would be the one to finish me off was always there. Stopped listening to her after a few years. Guess I should have taken her more seriously." Nate turned around and looked at her. "Stubborn as a fucking mule, you are."

Liz had dreamed of this day for years. The man she had hunted was standing before her, with no visible weapon, no power armor… just him. He was older than she remembered, but had the same piercing eyes. In her dreams, she would say something snarky, something sarcastic, and then blow his head off. But now, standing in ragged armor and clothes, all she could do was ask, "Why?"

Nate looked at the bed again. "It was right here that my family died. My son. My reason for living and fighting and killing. He died of cancer… right here. He was the head of the Institute, and his dying wish was for me to take it over. To lead it into the future. I made a promise. So when P.A.M made the prediction that you could be the one to kill me, I knew you had to die. Your family was just collateral damage. You see?" He looked at Liz again, who was shaking in rage. "You were nothing more than a way for me to keep my promise."

Liz glared and raised her gun at him. She smiled a little. "Funny… isn't it?"

Nate smiled back and nodded. "It is." He said. He reached into his jacket to grab his pistol. As he pulled it out, Liz squeezed the trigger, planting a bullet right in between his eyes. Nate stood for a moment, before dropping his gun and falling to the floor. Blood pooled from his head wound. He lay dead at her feet. Liz lowered her gun and stared at the body. The burning rage she felt melted away into a new feeling. Hollowness.

Her reason for living laid at her feet. Her reason for fighting, killing, raiding... Instead of feeling peace and a sense of accomplishment, she instead felt utterly alone and afraid. The weight she hoped would be lifted off her shoulders felt heavier than ever. All the people she killed, all the lives she ruined, all the men and women she stepped on to get to this point… they felt like they clung to her body, pulling her down. She was shaking, her face white and pale. As long as Nate lived, she had a purpose. A reason to fight, to survive, a reason why her actions were justified. Now? That was all gone.

With her mind blank, she put her rifle on her back and walked from the dead body. After a few steps, she broke out into a sprint, tears rolling down her cheeks. She needed to get away from what she had done, but no amount of running could take her away from it. She was empty. She was a monster.

Gage waited at the teleporter. He had seen Piper and the little girl off and waited for Liz. The Pack, Mason, William and half of the Operators had taken care of most of the Institute's security forces, and many scientiists. They returned to the Teleporter, their arms full of energy weapons and anything that looked valuable. Gage had sent them back to the surface with the help of one of the scientists in return for their safe passage as well.

"Where is everyone?" Mags asked as she returned to the teleporter, Hank in tow. Her team of Operators was mostly intact, as they faced only small pockets of resistance on their way to installing the explosives on the reactor.

"They left. I'm just waiting for the Overboss. You got the switch?" He said, meaning the button to set off the explosives. He didn't trust it in Mags' hands. He held his metal hand out to take it from her. Mags reluctantly handed it to Gage. "Good. Get yerselves to the surface. I'll wait for the Boss." He motioned for them to leave. Mags, Hank, and the other Operators entered the teleporter and left the Institute as well. Gage stood alone in the almost silent Institute. It was eerie, but he didn't move from his spot.

A few long, quite minutes later, he finally saw Liz approach. He breathed a sigh of relief. He had feared the worst, but now felt a little foolish for doubting her. She was out of her power armor, so he left his as she closed the distance to him.

"All done then?" Gage asked with a smile.

"Yeah. Bastard's dead." She replied. Gage figured she would be happy about it, but she looked… sad?

"Hey… this is a good thing ya did. This is the start of a new day for the gangs, the Commonwealth, hell… the world! This has gotta be a first that a raider gang owned this much territory." He said, trying to make her smile and see the bright side. She sighed heavily and nodded.

"You're right… this is a new day." She said. All at once, her face lightened and she walked to him. She took his hand and walked to the teleporter. "It's a new day for the Commonwealth. It deserves to be a better place than it was before."

"And we can make it that way." Gage reassured her. He wasn't quite sure what she meant by a "better place", but he was ready to make the Commonwealth whatever kind of place she wanted.

Liz smiled at Gage and wrapped her arms around him as they stood in the doorway to the Teleporter. She brought him in to a deep kiss and held him close for a few moments. She broke the kiss and looked into his eyes. "The best kind of place the Commonwealth can be… is one that doesn't have me in it." She whispered to him.

Gage looked confused, but before he could ask for clarification, Liz pushed him away from her, into the teleporter. Gage stumbled and fell onto his back. He saw Liz leap over the control terminal and start to set up the teleporter. "No! Liz!" He shouted just before he disappeared from the Institute in a blue flash.

Once he was on the surface again, he scrambled to his feet. He was on top of a sky scraper in the city, Mags, Mason, and the gangs standing by.

"Where's the boss?" Mason asked, crossing his arms.

Gage looked at them, panic in his eyes. "She's still inside. We need to get to her." He looked at the CIT building, imagining Liz still down there. Her words to him still rang in his ears. He looked at his hand and realized he left the button for the explosions in the hand of his power armor.

Before he could bark orders for them to start their trek to the pipeline to get back into the Institute, a loud explosion shook the ground. He quickly spun around and saw the CIT building engulfed in smoke and flames. Explosions rocked the Commonwealth as the Institute burned and the explosion spread. He fell to his knees on the roof of the building. The Overboss… his Overboss… was gone.

The other gang leaders watched in silence. They knew what this meant. The Overboss was gone and all that was left... was a power vacuum between the remaining raiders. It only took a few minutes for this realization to turn to a power struggle. "Well, with the Overboss out of the picture… looks like the Operators will have to take her place." Mags said to the group on the roof.

"Like hell they will." Mason snapped back. "The Pack was clearly her favorite gang. She took US into the Commonwealth first. We are the ones that should be taking her place."

"The Commonwealth would be dead in a DAY if you assholes took over." William shot back. The Operators and Pack started to sense the tension, raising their weapons and staring at each other. Gage felt it too. He had to get away from both groups. Mags, William, or Mason may see him as a threat to their dominance, and he didn't want to find himself thrown from the building. While they argued, he slipped away, through the door on the roof, and down the stairs.