[A/N: This a detailed recapturing of my (numerous) playthroughs of Fallout 4, so spoilers ahead if you haven't played the game. I transformed it into a coherent story, that wasn't just flat CYOA dialogue (There will also be some changes on how things play out in the story, just so things don't get all confusing and tangled. It is an open world, RPG so there are so many things that you could do, and that makes it hard to write into a story sometimes). I'll be following what I consider, the one true ending of Fallout 4; What would that be? Read more to find out. Anyway as it needs to be said, I don't own the characters or any plot elements in this story. Just transforming my playthrough, into a readable narrative. Thank you for choosing this story to read, it means the world to me! Hope you ENJOY!]
War. War never changes.
In the year 1945, my great-great-grandfather, serving in the army, wondered when he'd get to go home to his wife and his newly born son he'd never seen. He got his wish when the U.S. ended World War II by dropping atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The world awaited Armageddon. Instead of hellfire and annihilation, something miraculous emerged from all the bloodshed. Atomic energy, we began to use it not as a weapon, but as a nearly limitless source of power. People enjoyed luxuries once thought of as the realm of science fiction. Domestic robots, fusion-powered cars, portable computers, everything that could be imagined was brought to life. As time went on, however, in the 21st century, people awoke from the American dream and saw the result of all this advancement. Years of consumption led to shortages of every major resource. The entire world unraveled. Peace became a distant memory. We stand on the brink of total war, fighting for human survival and I am afraid. Not just for myself, for my wife, for my infant son. Because if my time in the army taught me one thing...it's that war, war never changes."
"War never changes..." Nathan whispers to himself in the mirror, the steamy hot water from the sink fogging up his reflection.
"Who are you talking to?" Asked Nora, coming from behind Nathan.
"Oh nobody just, thinking about my speech."
"Well, I'm sure it's going to knock them dead at the Veterans Hall tonight hon."
"You think?"
"I know, now get ready and stop hogging the mirror."
"I'm done with it, I wouldn't want to stop my beautiful wife from making herself much more beautiful."
"Good answer." Nora smiles
Nathan chuckles and turns around, kisses his spouse before exiting the bathroom. Walking down the hall to his dining room, music lightly played in the background. Making his coffee was their spherical rocket-fueled robot butler, Codsworth.
"Aw! Good morning, sir! Your coffee. 173.5 degrees Fahrenheit. Brewed to Perfection." Codsworth announced enthusiastically, in a very thick English accent.
He takes a sip and shakes his head in satisfaction, toasting to Codsworth.
"And today's newspaper, just delivered!" Codsworth adds.
Nathan opened up the newspaper, skimming through it, "More of the same...thanks Codsworth."
"Newspaper? Finally, I want to see if any new salons are opening up nearby. I need to find a new stylist, ever since my old one left." Nora says, walking up and taking the paper out of Nathan's hands, looking through it herself.
Suddenly from the other side of the house was the sound of a baby crying, before Nathan or Nora could go over to check the commotion. Codsworth swooped in front, going to the baby's room.
"It sounds like someone made a stinky! I shall attend to young Shaun."
Nora chuckles, "You know, I was nervous at first but, Codsworth is good with Shaun."
"Interesting way to say, I was right about investing in a Mr. Handy bot." Nathan teased.
Nora began giggling, "Don't get too ahead of yourself hotshot, let's just see how long he last before saying who was right and who was wrong."
"Whatever you say." Nathan takes a sip of coffee.
The doorbell rings, Nora rolls her eyes looking up through the window to see who it is.
"It's that Vault-Tec guy again, he's been coming around here every week to see if you were home. Can you answer that, please?"
Nathan sat his coffee down and went to the door, opening it to see a man in a beige trench coat suit and tie with a matching hat. He held a clipboard, with a sort of fake smile. He stepped up to the door, took his hat off, and tipped it.
"Good morning! Vault-Tec calling!" The Vault-Tec guy greeted, to the phony amusement of Nathan.
"Good morning."
"Isn't it, just look at that sky out there and the weather is so nice and warm!"
"Are you the weatherman? I can just...watch that on my TV."
"No, no, no!" The Vault-Tec guy clears his throat, "You can't begin to know how glad I am to finally speak with you, I have been trying for weeks. It's a matter of utmost urgency, I can ensure you."
"If this is about a Nuka Cola fundraiser, I'm not interested but good luck with raising money." Nathan goes to close the door, getting blocked by the arm of the man.
"Look, I know you're a busy man so I won't take up most of your time I promise. Time is a very precious commodity. I'm here to tell you because of your family's service to our country, you have been selected to enter our local Vault...Vault 111." He hands Nathan an invite, showing part of the "Vault boy" spending time with a bunch of other happy people sharing a Nuka Cola.
"Vault 111?" Nate inquired.
"State of the art, underground, fallout shelter that will shield you and your family from a pending...total, atomic annihilation. I just need to verify some information, that's all.
"...Alright, let's do it."
"Splendid! Let's get started; So let's start with the easy questions first, your name is..."
"Nathan Scott but friends call me Nate."
"Ok, just checking. Ok, I'm going to ask a series of questions, I need honest answers from you. All these questions will be rated by you, one through ten. Ten being the highest, one being the lowest."
Nathan nods.
"How strong do you believe you're to be?"
"About an eight, I did a lot of heavy lifting in the military."
"How well can you see?"
"Say about three, my vision hasn't been the same ever since I got caught with a flashbang."
"I see...you see what I did there?" He chuckled.
"No, because my vision is pretty bad." Nathan jested back.
The Vault-Tec guy laughs, "Alright, alright, how's your Endurance?"
"Honestly, since retiring I have not ran at all. So my stamina isn't all that good, so I'd say about a three."
"Ok, how about Charisma?"
"Oh, well I had to be very enduring to attract my wife so I'd say about an eight."
"The first time we went out on a date, you tripped over in front of me and got up to say, "I think I fell in love with you." I'd confidently say that your Charisma is two." Nora added with a laugh
"Should I say how that night ended?" Nate smiles at Nora.
"Whatever, finish the survey."
"Moving on, how smart are you?"
"I'm pretty smart, I got good grades in High School and College, so about a five."
"How flexible are you?"
"Not at all, I bent over one time and sprain my back, definitely a one."
"How lucky do you think you are?"
"I'm very lucky to be happy with my wife and son, any other time I'm not that lucky...if anything, I always find myself in situations that seem to have the exact goal of being the worst moment of my life."
"So, I'll mark that as one and that's everything, I'll run over to the Vault. Congratulations on being prepared for the future!"
"Thanks...again," Nathan says, closing his door slowly.
"Vault 111? So that was the thing they were building up the hill since we moved in. Let's hope to God that we don't have to use it." Nora says, slowly embracing Nathan from behind.
"I wouldn't want to count out the possibility, as long as you and Shaun are safe no precaution is too far to take."
"Hm, Maybe you are an eight with words afterall." She joked.
"I have my moments."
Shaun began to cry, Codsworth came out of his room and into the living room, "Sir. Nathan, Miss. Nora, Shaun has been changed but he refuses to calm down. I think he needs some parental affection, you could give to him."
"I'll be right there," Nora replied, walking towards Shaun's room grabbing Nathan's hand to pull him along with her.
In the room, Shaun goes from bawling his eyes out to slowly giggling when seeing his two parents entering the room. Nora goes over to his crib and scoops him up in a cradling position, rocking him slowly looking into his bright eyes. Nathan closes the door, as to not let the noise from the outside disturb their peace.
"How's my little guy, feeling much better now, huh?" She says comforting Shaun, she then looks up at Nathan, "I can't believe I'm a mother, I can't believe we are a family...with everything going on, I always had doubts that we could settle down and have a peaceful life like this." Nora said, a tear rolling down her cheek.
Nate walks over and hugs Nora, "Well here we are, a young baby boy, a...robot butler, together with the love of our lives. Nothing will come between us and living a long, happy life together until death do us part."
"Promise?"
"I pro-"
"Sir? Miss? You should come and seen this!" Codsworth interrupted with as much worry he could make in his robotic voice.
"Codsworth? What's wrong?" Nora replied, slowly walking out of the room with Nathan and Shaun still in her arms.
The mood shifted, a once lively house was tense and silent when they slowly approached their TV screen. The news reporter was noticeably in grief.
"What did he say? Codsworth turn it up." Nathan commanded, Codsworth doing so helping them better hear the fear in the reporters' voice.
"Followed by...yes followed by flashes, blinding flashes, sounds of explosions, we're trying to get confirmation. We seem to have lost contact with our other stations. We have coming in...that it's um...confirmed reports, repeat confirmed reports of...nuclear detonation. In New York and...Pennsylvania. My god..." The news feeds suddenly cut out.
"We need to get to the Vault, NOW!" Nathan shouted.
"I got Shaun, Let's go!" Nora responded in a panic, running out the door Nathan just opened.
"I'm sorry Codsworth. Stay safe buddy." Nathan would say before closing the door and running to catch up with his wife.
Nathan could feel his heartbeat increasing so much that he felt it in his back, the sweat pouring from his forehead and his calves burning from the friction. He looked around him, the military rolling in, trying to instruct people where to go. There was mass hysteria all around Nathan, though that wasn't his main focus. He had to catch up with his son and wife, he had to make sure that they were safe.
"Nora!" Nathan yelled in a gasp, stopping right beside them as they went up the hill that had a crowd of people begging to come into the Vault.
"What do you mean I can't get in! I'm a member of Vault-Tec!" The guy who was signing Nathan and his family up to enter the Vault protested.
"Sir, if you're not on the list then you can't get in. Not my rules, I just enforce them. Now get out of the way, we have to get people that are on the list in the Vault before it's too late" The soldier guarding the entrance responded.
"THIS IS RIDICULOUS!"
"SIR!" A soldier in this hunk of steel armor, almost like he was wearing a tank threatened the Vault-Tec guy by revving his Minigun.
"OK! Fine! I'll be REPORTING YOU!" He ran through the crowd, back down the hill passing Nathan and Nora who approached the gate.
"We're on the list, Nathan Scott and my family!" Nathan said in a hurry.
"Adult male, female, and infant baby? Alright, you can come in."
"Thank you." Nora sighed in relief, running in following another soldier behind, Nathan following behind them.
"Can I ask, what's going to happen to all those people?" Nora asked the leading soldier.
"We have a plan for them, just keep moving to the platform!" The soldier replied with urgency.
Nathan and Nora got on the platform, shaped like a gear. Around them were other families, who were just as scared and confused as they were.
"Do you think everything will be ok?" Nora asked Nathan looking for some sort of answer to put her mind at ease. Before Nathan could answer. Just as sudden as the news broadcast cutting out. The deafening sound of rushing air and then silence. the world stopped for a second. The orange colored cloud filled the sky at the drop of the atomic bomb.
"CAN THIS THING GO FASTER?!" A man yelled on the platform.
"Everyone get down!" Nathan shouted, the shockwave passed overhead as the elevator continued on its tracks
After what felt like eternity, the elevator finally made it down to the floor, they were met with a few sniking Vault-Tec scientists and security guards. Nathan checked on Nora, who was stricken with a combination of shock and sadness. She kept rubbing the few hairs of Shaun, not able to look her husband in the eyes as he held her.
"We made it...we're ok." Nathan tries to comfort.
"Those people...our neighbors, our friends. What...what happened to them? Did they let them die?"
Nathan didn't know how to answer that, thinking it was pretty self-evident. He wasn't thinking about the others or what would happen to them, he just wanted to get his family to the Vault. Besides, what else could he have done, he was just one guy.
"Everyone please step off the elevator and proceed up the stairs in an orderly fashion." The Vault Security Guard asked.
"No worry folks, we'll get everyone situated in their new homes, in Vault 111! A better future, underground!" The Vault-Tec Scientist reassured.
Everyone started to get out of the elevator, doing as they were told and going up the stairs in a formal line. A lot of people, contemplating the what-ifs and what woulds but the scientist made sure that they looked forward to their new lives. Nora followed the group, for the first time looking around when entering the Vault. Concrete walls, wet floors, fluorescent lights, steel, and rusty metal. It wasn't an environment Nora was keen on raising Shaun in, but what choice did she have?
They walked through radiation scanners and proceeded to a table, where they were issued a Vault 111 jumpsuit. Blue, skin-tight with a yellow outline around the waist and collar, down the chest as well. It had "111" in yellow on the back. Nora and Nathan got changed into their suits, then being approached by a doctor.
"Alright you three, follow me and we'll get all set up." The Vault-Tec Doctor instructed.
"This is our new home?" Nora asked, still concerned.
"Yeah, you'll love it here. This is one of our most advanced facilities...not that the other ones aren't great mind you, just...well you'd rather be here than the other places." He explained.
"How long do you think we'll be down here?" Nathan followed up.
"We'll go over all that in orientation, we just need to get through a few medical items."
As they kept following the doctor, they entered a room with a bunch of pods. The other people seemed to have lifted spirits, trying to stay optimistic by complimenting the suit and talking about how safe they were. Nathan turned to the doctor as they stopped next to their pods.
"Just step inside the pod, for decontamination."
Nathan nods but before he did, Shaun began to cry looking around for his father.
Nathan soothed Shaun, rubbing his head.
"It's ok, daddy is right here. See…"
Nathan came up to Shaun, holding his tiny hand.
"Don't worry, I'll be right across there, I won't be far."
Shaun calmed down, Nathan kissed Nora and looked her in the eyes.
"Don't worry Nora, as I said before, we will be together until death does us part...whether that's in a Vault or not," Nathan reassures.
Nora hugs Nathan, walking into her pod with Shaun. Nathan doing the same, straight across from hers. When in position, the doors on the pods closed, the doctor stood in front of Nathan.
"The pod will decontaminate and depressurize you before we head further into the Vault, just relax." The Doctor explained, walking away.
Nathan looks ahead as the computer could be heard echoing around the Vault through the intercom, Nora looked ahead as well, making eye contact with Nathan. She put her hand on the window, so did Nathan. Finally, Nathan laid back and Nora went back to looking at Shaun. A countdown began, starting to get colder, Nathan started to feel frost creeping up his arms and legs. He began to shiver, as the numbers began to echo out…
Five…
Four…
Three…
Two…
Nathan lets out a deep breath, the only thing he could see is white.