Ulysses, his golden flag pole in one hand, stood there at the entrance of the Divide, the sky a dark orange, the dust and wind of the Divide howling before him, the faded lights of the towering ruined buildings flickering in the storm.
I am Banner Calen. I am Ulysses. This, is the Divide.
This land is one I protected. I deemed the right place for an end to things. It was to make someone pay for delivering a package. One that ended this land's hope. I bore witness to that end, and sought another to bring it full circle.
My world has been consumed by fire of the old world. Over 200 years ago. The stories say they fought over supplies, territory. They burned too bright, used too much. The world was being killed by them.
Then someone decided to take the step. To unleash an ending to it.
From it's remains a new world came. This place had that taken from it.
The dust taken by the wind. Howling and brutal. The Divide remains a constant echo of a raging world. Torn apart by the bombs brought upon it twice over.
I never looked beyond into the depths. Never had a reason. The courier was my concern.
We fought. In the Divide. At the base filled with the missiles. And he had stood victorious. Richard Chandos. Courier Six.
At his mercy, he chose to spare me. Helped me on my feet and together, we drove the power of the Divide back. The Marked Men.
Soon he returned to the Mojave, to finish his own road. To create the land of independence he sought...
Hope again was brought back.
Ulysses and the image of him standing at the entrance overlooking the place soon turned white...and now we see Ulysses on one of the many ruined highways of the Divide, in the same stance, looking ahead towards a towering building. The missile base he once called home.
The sky was a dark purple. The sun had vanished. The storm settled. In the sky above was Vertibirds flying with their white blinding lights scanning the ground below, the ruined buildings around Ulysses has been transformed. Now upgraded and restored, running with computers and machines, forever active factories that never stopped, black fumes flying out from the top of their pipes, expelling waste. Lights littered the land across the dead roads and streets of before.
...That was five years ago.
The base I used that held those missiles I once threatened this land with was taken over. Hopeville has been conquered. The Marked Men ceased to exist.
As the courier won the battle for Hoover Dam, the land changed. Technology that warped the atmosphere had been used, like those hinted within the Big Empty. Zion transformed into a dangerous, exotic paradise that was filled with living plants. Sierra Madre burned in an endless fire, magma rose from the depths of the earth. The Big Empty was swallowed by a sudden influx of water. The north of the Mojave was turned into a sudden ice covered land, whilst the south was consumed by endless heat and storms like the divide.
And the Divide was restored. Alive again. Just in time for those who had hidden themselves in the depths for so long to surface and conquer.
The courier never returned. Never tried to save people. He vanished. In doing so the NCR, New California Republic, attempted a desperate hostile takeover of New Vegas as the cold settled in. Yes Man, the machine behind the courier, had fallen silent. The robots the courier gambled on no longer worked. With no protection, Vegas and the land around it was in freefall.
And now New Vegas was still. Over three years I have heard nothing of it. No one has been there, no one has returned to it.
In the Divide, the Enclave had taken over. Alive once again with their flag proudly flying.
The Mojave was desperate. Lives were pushed to the brink by the change, by the sudden power shift and the arrival of the Enclave.
Marching up behind Ulysses, were a large ragtag group of people. Ghouls, humans, even a few Super Mutants. Some from the Legion, many from the NCR, others were tribal, the Sorrows, the Dead Horses, The Brotherhood of Steel, The Great Khans. A few stood out, once close allies to the courier who no longer was around. A trooper known as Boone, the doctor known as Arcade Gannon, The blue skinned giant super mutant known as Lily, and the ghoul known as Raul.
Standing with me was an army of people who were willing to stand together to protect their precious land, to find a way to change things...to have one last chance at the dice.
But these dice were loaded. We were heading to certain doom, outplayed and outmanoeuvred.
Soon, the image of Ulysses and the others faded...before it now showed Ulysses standing within his old base at the main control room of the missiles, staff in hand as he came face to face with an aged man who was in a neatly ironed dark black suit, with a red tie, white shirt with short cut white hair, beard and moustache and piercing blue eyes. One hand near his chest...an evil smirk on his lips. Around him were a dozen monitors that showed images of the world they were on, places where the Enclave existed. The missiles were gone. Where the one Ulysses had used to place the old world flag was now a pillar of machinery, a super computer. The lights of the place were a dim blue, showing only the metal grated ground between Ulysses and the seemingly normal human.
I had managed to enter the silo base. Come face to face with the one who was controlling the Enclave. President John Henry Eden. He said he was not human, but a higher being...one I cannot defeat. Whilst those I had brought here were fighting the battle outside this place, I was ready to end Eden and free us from the grasp of the Enclave.
In a flash, the scene changed to now Ulysses on the floor, his staff knocked away. Battered and bleeding. The lights had changed into a fiery red, and now before a laughing Eden were two hulking monstrous figures of men. One that wore the armor of the Enclave, with a giant wrist attached blade on one hand, and a wrist mounted plasma cannon that was glowing at the tip on the other. Frank Horrigan, his helmet visor eyes were glowing a blood red.
The other was far, far more machine then man. His body was completely robotic, black metal plating all over with only his pale head and upper part of his face visible still holding flesh, clearly just placed over more machinery beneath, his jaw and mouth metal. His eyes replaced by red cyber optics, a multiple rocket launcher attached to his shoulder and built in laser cannons into his wrists. Adam Smasher.
I was defeated. His most loyal servants held strength unmatched. I was unable to end the struggle, but instead of death...Eden chose to make me a trophy for a time. To remind him of the 'simpletons' of this world trying to push back against something 'they never fully understood.'.
Now we see Ulysses, disarmed with also his mask and his duster missing, trapped in a dark steel cell, with the light only coming from the blue forcefield that hummed nearby. Around him were all empty cells. No one else was here. He sat against one wall, head slumped down with one knee up for his arm to rest on. Eyes closed.
The battle was soon over. I do not know of there were other survivors, if they escaped to fight another day. All slaughtered for their attempts, or they too had been captured and taken elsewhere. I never knew the silo had a place like this. It seemed much of it had been sealed away from my time here, and they, the Enclave had unlocked it all.
The last thing I heard of was the fact I was soon to be 'processed' by the Enclave. The troopers mention the fact Eden doesn't keep trophies for long before he wants to use them. The first day I had tried to escape, looking for any possible weakness. I soon discovered there wasn't. There was no escaping this hell.
I had failed everyone. Those of my past and present.
I am alone.
Where did you go, Courier Six?
What should I do now? At the end of my road?
Ulysses tried to rest. A hole in the corner for the excuse of a toilet was all he was provided. There was no bed to find comfort in. Sleep took him...but with it came nightmares.
Of people he didn't recognize.
Names he never knew of before.
Of the other part of the Divide.
Of a sword that seemed to be cursed.
And a feeling of being trapped. Unable to escape a fate set before him, as hollow unknown faces stared at him.
He woke up only after a couple of hours. It wasn't the first time his seen these nightmares. His had them numerous times in his life. Hard to forget. Ever since he first met the courier in the Divide. His face alone seemed to trigger them.
He looked over to the blue glow of the force field.
All was quiet in the silo besides that same humming sound.
He honestly hoped with the lack of people in this prison it meant the others got away. They might reorganize and fight again. By the time they do he'll probably be dealt with by the Enclave, but at least the answer to their problems might be found. It had to be. It can't be mere chance that the moment the land changes that the Enclave suddenly marched.
He looked to the wall opposite him.
"Oh this is just sad. Was that all of your effort?"
Ulysses' head darted to the side, noticing that someone was now in the cell, opposite of the force field. Taller than a human and certainly didn't look like one of the normal variants of Super Mutants...and with it's black metal armor and red skirt-like attachment on it's lower half of it's armor, it seemed...very alien.
Alarak's eyes looked down at the prisoner. "I expected you to at least hurt Horrigan of the two. Not get knocked around like one of your mutant bears getting slapped by a Deathclaw. What happened to that skill you showed five years ago?"
Ulysses just stared at it.
Alarak just stared back for a time, before moving towards Ulysses. "I asked you a question, human."
The man quickly got himself up off the floor, backing away a little. "What the hell are you?"
"I'm a Protoss. One of the more powerful ones to exist. One who has ascended into the realms of the deities...I'm sure you have no idea what one of those are."
"Nor what a Protoss is."
Alarak sighed a little. "Of course. I shall give you an introduction. I am the risen one Alarak, god of the Tal'darim. A faction of the Protoss in your narrow view of things. We're another race from among the stars. Deities are gods, the most powerful creatures bar a few that I won't bother mentioning. If I tried to explain each one you would feel very, very small in the scheme of the Multiverse."
Ulysses' eyes narrowed. "You have a low opinion of me."
"Of your species, Ulysses. Fragile, primitive and get everywhere like insects. It's disgusting and offensive to the rest of us. I only taken notice of you because you want to fight the looming force that is beginning to make some dangerous plays. The Enclave." His eyes glowed a little more on mentioning that name.
The wastelander shook his head. "Only to this world."
"Oh no. They are far larger then you think. You know what 'god' is, don't you? Pray tell me you humans of this planet at least have some religion."
"I know of that word, yes. A being that watches over us."
"Well this 'god' has us deities work for him, and this Enclave? Our workforce in the shadows. The absolute maintainers of order. Purity and loyalty with surgical machine-like precision. It's disgusting to witness their crimes against life. To them freedom and chaos is dangerous and must be stamped out."
"...They've been around my world for some time."
Alarak chuckled a little. "They've made several plays for your world, for some time. But now things are changing, the larger game is moving forward and they want this world as a foothold for their next move...And I want you to stop them from doing so."
Ulysses seemed a little confused at that. "They are your workforce."
"Let me clarify. Azrael or 'god', labelled them as such. They don't HAVE to follow our orders if the results do not match their primary goal of absolute command. And lately they've been only listening to a select few. John Eden, who you've met. Procurator, well, reborn as Agent Smith, a deity who was once a right hand to Azrael, now stuck in our rank and file, something he dearly hates. And finally G-Man, loves to use mortals and trick them to do his work rather then play out their actual roles. Those are the three who are strongly tied to the Enclave and have them run around for their work."
Alarak then moved by Ulysses, looking at the energy barrier. "There are other deities working with the Enclave, but they try to avoid association, using them for brief moments then wash their hands with the affair to avoid being tarred with the same brush as those three."
With that, from his left wrist appeared a red glowing energy blade that he suddenly plunged into the energy barrier, causing it to briefly go red before blowing apart. The emitters that created it frying and sparking as a loud, whirring alarm went off in the base, the lights on the ceiling of the corridor Ulysses' prison cell was in went a deep orange.
Whilst Ulysses had gotten to his feet, stunned at what Alarak had just done, the Protoss simply walked out of the cell in a slow, calm manner as the metal doors down the end of the corridor furthest from them parted open, two Enclave power armor wearing troopers stormed in laser rifles in hand, rushing to where the cell was. They only halted when they spotted Alarak. "What in the hell is that!?" One of them managed to say.
Before Alarak raised his hand towards them both and whilst one had his laser rifle suddenly explode in his hands damaging his armor and causing him to reel back in surprise, the other had his rifle fly out of his hands and launch over towards the call where Ulysses was standing.
"Scan in progress!" The one who had his rifle taken from him yelled out as he focused on Alarak, his two eye-like visors turning a dark green.
"I don't think so." Alarak then vanished in a white flash and arrived behind the two, his energy blade impaling through the back of the helmet of the one that tried to scan him before his other wrist produced another blade and went straight into the torso of the remaining trooper, who could be heard gasping and choking as Alarak lifted both from the ground on his weapons slightly. Sure they were dead now, he shook both off to the floor easily coming off the energy blades.
Ulysses by now had grabbed the laser rifle, a standard weapon on his world as he recognized the design and left his cell looking to Alarak. The Protoss disabled his energy blades and motioned Ulysses to follow as he went over to the door the troopers had come through. "The Enclave won't swarm us yet. This is merely a caution alert. In about five minutes the lack of response from those two will trigger a red alert state. Beyond here is a lift they used. Take it all the way to the bottom and you'll find how they moved those missiles away from here."
The doors parted once again, indeed showing a platform that was able to head up or down with only a guard rail around it to protect the passengers and a control panel on one side that showed several small buttons with numbers. From 2 to – 5. the '-1' was glowing a faint blue hue compared to the over blue buttons which weren't lit.
Ulysses made his way on the platform with Alarak following. Soon Ulysses pressed '-5', with the door shutting on them, and the platform beginning it's descent. "Here. You might want these."
The wastelander looked to Alarak, who was now holding out in one hand the golden flag pole he once so proudly carried that had the duster wrapped around it, and in the other hand was a Pip-Boy and hanging off one of his fingers, the mask. "Where, where did you just-"
"Deities have ways beyond your small understanding. But for your survival these should prove adequate. I assume you understand the wrist mounted device and what it can do?"
"VATS. Vault-Tec Assisted Targeting System. Unusual and often appears to aid their users. I've seen it in action." Ulysses mentioned as he placed his duster on, his mask and then placed the pip-boy on his arm and turning it on. "It's almost like the user seems to speed up, like the world is too slow for them. What would take several seconds to do take mere moments for them to perform. But it appears to exhaust the person soon enough."
"Vault-Tec worked with the Enclave. This technology is based from tech beyond your world. Your senses and body are heightened when you activate VATS. And indeed, the world is slower, to you. Granting you time to pick your targets and take aim, or quickly close the gap between you and your foe, or even vice versa. The elites of the Enclave have the pleasure of using it."
"...And my weapon?" Ulysses motioned to the pole staff as he placed on his back in it's old hoister, as the platform reached it's destination and the metal slab-looking doors that had painted in yellow '-5' on them began to open.
"I simply felt you needed something you're used to."
As soon as the doors fully opened, Alarak disappeared in a white light and starting causing chaos in what appeared to be a large tram station, filled with steel black crates painted with golden stars and 'E' for the enclave. Overhead was a huge cylinder shaped tram, two carriages long and attached at the back were two huge couplings, designed to carry crates...or as Ulysses could guess by the look of them, the missiles.
The Enclave here, some power armor users, others were humans in black leather looking uniforms and military hats with a white 'E' on, were quickly losing their lives to the alien that sprung on them. The first to go were the ones inside the area that controlled the tram system, their blood splattered the windows. Then the guards who held the major firepower here were put down, heads rolled spraying black blood on the metal ground.
By the time they started reacting, most of those here were dead, some of the troopers remained and tried to get a lock on Alarak but Ulysses joined the attack and burned holes through those the Protoss didn't bother targetting at the time, whilst others Ulysses was about to aim for found energy blade plunged into them.
Alarak was certainly amused by the time they finished killing. "Oh Enclave, you always show your hand at the frontlines but within your so vulnerable." Before he motioned Ulysses to follow him up the steel stairs to the tram itself. Once the automated doors leading into the brightly lit carriage which was all a clear white with steel chairs opened and Ulysses entered, he turned to look at Alarak expecting him to step on.
"Well now Ulysses. This part is all up to you."
"What?"
"They're about to go into red alert. This place will be swarmed and the last thing I need at the moment is them pursuing you. I'll make them regret coming down here for a time. You'll arrive at sector 7. You need to go to sector 4, find the missile control terminal which should be stationed just above the ceiling, observing the missile launching area."
"Missiles?" Ulysses wondered what the Enclave were planning.
"I can see it in your eyes...You want to know. They intend to launch the missiles there against several vital worlds within the stars...I want you to aim them back to this world."
"Destroy my own world!? You are inhuman!"
"No. I just choose the many over the few. This world is falling into the Enclave's hands, there are only so little left to oppose them it won't be enough. Better to terminate it and stall them then allow them to use it."
"…" Ulysses was deeply unsure about this. But time was against him. Alarak stepped back to allow the doors to close then motioned his hand over to the control room of the tram, which activated it and made it begin to move as the lights in the tram station turned red and the alarm had set off once more.
The last he saw of that Protoss was as it turned around and went back down the stairs.
Ulysses could only now see the odd light that skimmed by inside the tunnel as it headed towards it's next destination. He made sure the laser rifle was ready...He was alone again.
The nightmare showed he would be alone in the end...that he would lose everyone. He just didn't expect it to mean those who marched with him.
All the hope he had now, was that Alarak was right. This was the only option left to them at the darkest moment of his life.
Sector 7.
The tram stopped and no one was there waiting. It appeared they didn't expect it to come anytime soon. He kept low and moved, seeking signs that would point him in the right direction. The lights in this new place were dim, yellow, hanging overhead.
Finding stairs in the darkened corridors painted black with golden lines and neon blue lights beneath the walkways, he finally saw which way to turn. Heading away from what was labelled on the wall as the experimental labs and heading to sector 6, recycling and disposal.
There were troopers around as he proceeded, but they were idle, talking amongst themselves;
"Temple Nova's got some issues just now, ya hear it over the radio?"
"Mm. A deity assault of all things. Dunno if it's from Chaotic Space or not. Hope so, seems aggravating when it's one of our own. Don't they fucking know we're on their side?"
"Isn't Adam and Frank stationed there?"
"After that group of wastelanders that tried to raid the place I think they got moved by Eden straight after. Probably felt it was a waste of their talent fighting mere locals."
"Think we all feel like that. This world is a dump but we got posted here."
"Gotta do whatever we need to for the cause my man. Anyway we should keep focus incase Megatron does a surprise check up."
"Isn't he suppose to be relocated in a week?"
"Who knows. All I know is that he hates small talk and 'organics'."
"Good thing we got upgraded then."
Soon before Ulysses were the furnaces. The heat from them warming the entire sector up as several seemed to be melting down metal and processing it, whilst others were burning plenty of other materials, a lot as Ulysses noticed was flesh, rotten and new. Corpses of ghouls and super mutants, animals from within the wasteland...anything and everything he knew of seemed to be discarded for the fire.
Climbing out of that sector he found himself in sector 5.
Which contained...all he could describe them as, were deathclaws. Two limbed deathclaws with wings. Metal sheen on their scales, neon wiring through their bodies and wings, glowing into their eyes.
Roboticized deathclaws? A new breed enslaved by the Enclave? He didn't know, but they were about four times the size of the standard deathclaws and were clearly, at the moment, put in a standby state like most robots he encountered over time in the wastes. They didn't register him arriving into the massive hall they were contained within, nor when he moved through and around them as he headed to the other side of the sector. There was about a dozen of them.
As he got to the door leading out, with it sliding aside automatically on detecting a presence...he didn't expect there to be a trooper standing right there with it's back turned guarding the doorway when it felt Ulysses bump into them. "Hey, what the fu-" a female voice responded with as it turned around and soon found the laser rifle pointing right dead center of it's helmet.
One shot later, she was down.
But that shot did something. A trigger.
As Ulysses soon noticed several eyes of the flying deathclaws were now looking at him, their heads turned towards him. One roared a metallic screeching sound, and the lights all went a dark red with an alarm going off as well as a female machine-toned voice speaking overhead. "WARNING! WARNING! Leviathan activation has occurred without correct clearance! Units in sector 3 to 7 please move to Sector 5 and shut down Leviathans! All remaining units enter standby phase for Leviathan assault!"
Ulysses fled into sector 4 just as all the so-called 'Leviathans' began to move and roar at one another, whilst one fired out a powerful stream of blue flame at the doorway the wastelander was once at melting the walls. He soon found himself having to hang over one of walkways within this new sector to him...which contained black cased towering missiles, the lights of this area focused on them as dozens of troopers rushed by where he was without checking as they were off to contain the issue in sector 5.
Climbing back, he looked around more carefully, knowing he was looking for any path that led upwards, at least one had to lead to the missile control area.
Soon enough, he saw what he was after. In the middle of this place there was pale white faint light from outside coming in, beaming down the winding steel stairs leading up like some kind of holy beacon. He quickly ran over and made his way up not wanting to wait, not wanting to give these bastards a chance to stop him now they were distracted. once he walked up the stairs, and reached the computers of the control tower, he fell silent of the view.
Outside, the sky was glittered with stars. A small golden ribbon of light was seen waving across them, slowly becoming larger and larger, something most unusual his never seen before. A full moon was visible above through the glass ceiling this small control tower had. In the distance the Vertibirds were on patrol around this place, the faint outlines of a duststorm surrounded this place.
There were several computers within this steel room, all directions the walls were glass to let those here to check everywhere. One computer though was active. That was the one he went to without question. As he typed into it though...it asked for a password.
It wasn't his first terminal to hack. He quickly inputted the required system coding to find the password, seeing several mixed in with junk data as any one of them could be the password…
Lucky 38.
It flashed in his mind as he checked the words. That was from his dreams. He looked carefully and lo and behold, there it was. He typed it in and was given access.
As he began to access the system, he could whispers. It made him pause for a moment as he got into the missle launching targetting system, but soon tried to keep focus on that.
And he did try.
"You walked down a road you don't even understand Ulysses."
"But, was the chase just because of him…or was it because you was being chased yourself?"
"Your world requires your presence."
"Ulysses…listen, while you're in there…Look out for Richard, The Gamemaster, alright?"
"That depends if your willing to reach out to those effected. Look to Terra, to Sephiroth, to those who came with you…You brought them together. How much further can you make it go?"
"I no longer need to wear them…What they marked for me…is over."
He finished re-targetting the missiles and the whispers died. Once he pressed enter on the keyboard before him, a question appeared on the green system screen.
Begin launch sequence for new target 'FO-W'?
Y/N
He gave his answer.
There were hatches on this rooftop, heavy vault-like ones that began to open.
"SILO DOORS ARE NOW OPENING! SILO DOORS ARE NOW OPENING!" The tannoy system called out within the control room.
Ulysses slowly raised his head and looked outside.
He looked back down at the monitor.
Missile units online.
Preparation for launch complete.
Launch countdown sequence activated.
Please input new command line if required. (If no input is made by completion of launch program, missiles will assume 'SEEK_AND_DESTROY_FO-W' and move to chosen targets)
1. ABORT - Silo doors will close. Missiles shut down. They will be stored and checked for damage.
2. ABORT_TRANSFER - Silo doors will close. Missiles shut down. You will then be required to input the number of missiles you wish to transfer to secondary base 'TEMPLE NOVA'. ((ALERT! 'TEMPLE NOVA' Is currently in critical alert state. Unable to establish contact at this time.))
3. ABORT_TERMINATE - Silo doors will close. Missiles shut down. Omega Molecules in missiles will be purged and Thalaron Radiation purified. ((WARNING! Terminating missiles has been noted within the Enclave archives as a non-acceptable loss.))
4. SILO_CLOSE - Silo doors will close. ((ALERT! Missiles are in launch sequence, they will not be shut down with this command line. Please make sure all units are readily evacuated from this base, and The Enclave Council has granted confirmation for termination of this base.))
Omega Molecules? Thalaron Radiation? "What the…?" He focused on the computer and quickly looked at the details of the weapons here now whilst the tannoy system gave him a warning;
"5 MINUTES UNTIL MISSILE LAUNCH!"
But he hit a snag.
It wouldn't let him have access. It needed a new password for detailed information such as that.
He quickly typed in the command lines to brute force the password again, hoping his luck would continue like the first time.
To his dismay, nothing popped out, nothing made him point to it. He tried three different words and each one was denied. On the fourth failure he just typed in…
The computer locked him out.
TOTAL SYSTEM LOCKDOWN ACTIVATED!
Message has been sent to central command.
Once lockdown is lifted missile options will be accessible.
Please wait for further assistance.
He knew it meant those here would know now of where he was. He readied the laser rifle, sighing deeply.
"4 MINUTES UNTIL MISSILE LAUNCH!"
"...I have to hold out. Take them out until the missiles launch. There is nothing else I can do." He said to himself. He knew his fate was sealed anyway. No where to hide when these fired. This place was no doubt going to take the hit too.
He turned to head to the stairway leading back down, preparing to ambush the Enclave that were going to head this way.
He just didn't expect to see...himself, standing there looking at him. The difference was the purple eyes, the veins on his face, the lack of a mask and his torn, shredded duster he wore. His arms were folded, looking straight at Ulysses.
"What in the hell…?"
The other Ulysses. Who had his arms folded, chuckled a little. The masked Ulysses had noticed the golden pole flag that he carried, the one this Ulysses had was damaged, lacked the golden eagle on top. And there was another weapon on his back. A blade of somesort. "Not the way I had ended this part of the road. Avoided a good part of it. But still ended up here."
"The road? What road?"
"You walked one already. You deemed it finished with him. The courier. This is a new road. Short, but different to you. Maybe you'll make it last, maybe it's going to end, here. Older then what I was when I reached here. No experience for it though."
"...Who exactly are you?"
"I am. One. Who made a wrong turn on his road." With that, this other Ulysses seemed to go completely pitch black, his outline being the only thing showing who he was, before he crumbled into ash which should've scattered across the floor but never made it. It was simply gone.
"3 MINUTES UNTIL MISSILE LAUNCH! PLEASE ACCESS MISSILE COMMAND CONSOLE IF SEQUENCE ALTERATION IS REQUIRED!"
Ulysses shook his head blinking as he did. What the hell was that about? He was sure he hadn't touched any chems before the attack on the Enclave. He focused himself and moved towards the stairs, only now noticing the sound of weapons fire and quickly ducking down to the side of said stairs, behind the railing thinking it was weapons being fired at him.
He could hear laser and plasma rifles being fired...as well as a different weapon. The sound it made was unique, like a that of the 5.66mm range of pistols on his world, powerful and impactful but it echoed with the lingering sound of an energy shot. He could hear the yells of the troopers, some of them even saying about...an assailant?
"Holy fuck it's him! Take him down no—UAGH!"
"We've got another deity! I repeat we have another assault in-"
"Gun him down! Eden has a bounty on his head!"
"Please! Please don't-"
One more shot from the strange weapon, then silence for a while, before someone was walking up the stairway towards Ulysses, who quickly got into position in front of the stairs and aimed the laser rifle.
"2 MINUTES UNTIL MISSILE LAUNCH! PLEASE ENSURE ALL UNITS ARE MOVED AWAY FROM SECTOR 4!"
"Fuck me do the Enclave really need to have this shit system tell you when? They all got internal clocks jammed in their eyes so what's the point for these fucking machines?!"
It...wasn't what Ulysses expected.
It was man with black shoulder length hair, dark rose tinted sunglasses, a very advance looking machine-made arm, nowhere near the chunkiness or roughly done robot parts of his world, silver and sleek. A black finely trimmed goatee dressed his face, black sleeveless body armor covered his torso, dark brown leather tight pants covered his lower half with a silver metal belt across the middle and black leather shoes on his feet. He had tattoos on his right arm, two on his shoulder and one across his wrist as he came into view. In a holster on his waist was the weapon Ulysses had heard, which appeared to be pretty much an energy hand cannon.
"Get the fuck out of my way!" He ordered Ulysses without slowing down, causing the wastelander who was still trying to take in who he was seeing to not fire and get shoved aside as the man marched over to the computer quickly typing something in...which Ulysses could barely see was a set of ones and zeros.
01000101 01101110 01100011 01101100 01100001 01110110 01100101
Loading...
Loading…
Override code accepted. Access Granted.
"Jesus Alarak you promised me someone who looks like he can handle shit…" The figure looked back to Ulysses. "Get your ass up. The Enclave will send others shortly." Before focusing back to the computer system typing in something else.
"Who, who are you?" Ulysses got himself to his feet picking up the laser rifle.
"ABORT! ABORT! LAUNCH SEQUENCE DEACTIVATED! SILO DOORS CLOSING! BEGINNING TERMINATION PROGRAM! OMEGA MOLECULE PURGE IN PROGRESS IN ALL MISSILES!" was echoed out across the tannoy system.
The man with the machine arm stepped away from the computer to look over to Ulysses again. "The guy who just saved your fucking ass from Alaraks little last minute change of plans. Guess he thought total genocide of this planet was the best idea after those locals couldn't handle the Enclave here." The man seemed to stare at him for a moment. "..And you're one of them. Shit. Well no offense but was 'rushing headlong into firing lines' the best tactic you people had?"
"You know the one who freed me?"
"He fucking planned for us to stop the missiles. I told him we should just kick the damn door down and get it over with but he wanted to give you guys a chance at stopping the Enclave. Told him to disable and not fire them. The damage they'll do is far beyond this piss planet in the long run and we really don't need to disrupt the Nexus as it's heading this way. Best to let that shit run its course. Now focus on the stairs those assholes are coming." He moved over close to Ulysses and was looking out the windows up at the golden ribbon which was getting larger slowly but surely. "Gotta be about another ten minutes before arrival."
Ulysses could now see the tattoos clearly in the moonlight as the man's right arm was closest to him.
The upper most tattoo on his shoulder held the name 'Cosmos' with two white inked angelic wings, one on each side of it.
The lower one on his shoulder had two teal with pink outline inked butterflies, again one on each side of the name 'Iris'.
Then around his wrist was the name 'Celia', with an inked angel wing one side of the name, and another inked butterfly on the other.
Ulysses then focused on the stairs, going down to one knee and aiming his rifle.
"Johnny Silverhand."
"Hm?" Ulysses looked behind him at the man.
"That's my name. You?"
"...Ulysses."
"Nice meeting ya Ulysses. We'll talk to Alarak once we get out of this mess. See if we can send you home."
"This place, the Divide. It is my home."
"...Great. He knows how to pick'em, that's for sure." Johnny cursed loudly to himself. "Fuck me…"
The quickening metal footsteps heading their way made Ulysses keep a firm focus on what's before him as the glowing eyes of the Enclave power armour began to appear in the shadows below. Firing streaks of bright red light, he brought them down one by one, green glowing plasma energy shots mixed with their own red energy blasts launching back at him, their heat being felt on his shoulders and arms as they just barely missed him in retaliation.
It felt strange being here. In this place. He knew his mind should be on what's ahead as the last of this small wave of troopers fell down back the stairs lifeless. But something in his mind was telling him...it was the same? Nothing changed?
He wasn't sure why he felt that, but it was slipping his concentration. Time was drifting, the place felt fuzzy to him and his fingers were going numb. He saw a flash in his eyes, a vision. Brief but clear as day.
Two bodies, one with a crushed head. A man? Silver hair. The light of the furnaces in sector 6 shining upon it along with the crush torso of a woman. Both of their clothing were unusual. No tribes that he knows of have worn such gear. He tried to keep a firm focus on the image so not to just let it slip away.
Receiving a few plasma shots straight in the chest and making him hit the floor in a heap, breathing heavily as it burned deep into his torso.
Johnny was whip-fast with the response of blasting the trooper that managed to get the shot in whilst moving other towards Ulysses and bending down to him. Clearly annoyed. "Hey! I told you to focus! I know you wanted to accept the suicidal option but I at least expect you to have somesort of survival instinct kick in when there's a chance!"
Ulysses couldn't respond, the damage to his chest and the pain was too great. He didn't have any stimpaks to ease it, and it was clear Johnny wasn't going to have any himself.
Yet he quickly placed his hand over where the shots hit. "Stay the fuck still. I'll ease it. Just don't move and let me handle things."
There was a weak green glow coming from his human hand, strands of that light reaching down to Ulysses. Everything began to feel numb. The world in his eyes began to spin and darken.
Until it all stopped in darkness, and one voice spoke to him once more.
"You're not who I was. But perhaps this is for the best. Your road will begin anew."
"You let him get hit."
"The fuck I did. He got himself shot when he lost his focus."
"How?"
"Hell if I know. All there was were the damn troopers and myself. Megatron didn't bother showing himself and those missiles got dealt with. So hey, at least one issue with the Enclave is over."
"A small opening. We won't have much time. But at least I suppose this world gets it's extra chance."
"What do you suggest next then?"
"We rally the locals. Get them to handle this the Enclave again. If they fail...well, we can always run to the Galactic Federation."
"Forget it."
"It's a backup plan."
Ulysses felt...cold.
The air was cold around him. The spot he was laying was cold. He felt his body come to life slowly but surely, opening his eyes and noticing he was inside somewhere...icicles, dozens upon dozens of them covered it, the lamps that hung from it were completely frozen over. To his left and right, a few feet from the as he now noticed bed he was on, were bookcases, the books frozen over and ruined beyond any chance of knowing what they before.
He sat himself up, feeling his chest and noticing that the damage the plasma had done was clearly gone, the clothing showing no sign of it ever happening. Looking to the floor the carpet around this bed looked glistening, ice coated it, and the tiled marble floor beyond as there were stairs close by that led down to another floor. A large computer screen could be seen, shattered and destroyed.
As well as Alarak and Johnny standing at the top of the stairs looking over at Ulysses as soon as he woke up.
"Well look, the human wakes." Alarak said to the courier.
"Welcome to New Vegas' Lucky 38." Johnny added as Ulysses got to his feet now.
Ulysses knew of it. Never saw it himself but he remembered the courier saying about a Lucky 38, how it was his 'home away from home'.
A tower that resided in a completely frozen wasteland. The streets below were silent, the skeletal remains littered long stripped of their flesh with only fragments of clothing remaining. Securitrons long fallen, rusted with age and exposed wiring consumed by the cold. The lights that once lit up this bastion in the midst of the Mojave, now consumed by the darkness of the night. A shimmering blue blanketed it all, shining in the light of the moon.
A fallen city, twice over.
Ulysses walked down the stairs, past the computer that was where Mr House once resided in, the once leader of this city existed. He remembered the description of it all that the courier gave. And looking at it all...it was all gone.
He leaned with his arm against the glass that was circling across this level of the tower, letting those up here see across the waste for themselves.
He heard the steps of Johnny walk up beside him. "The weather modifier prototype really did a number to the wasteland around here didn't it?"
Ulysses nodded soberly. "Never saw it myself. But I walked the wasteland before. The only time I saw snow or ice was within the mountain tops...to see the damage the others whispered about before all was silent...The land of north frozen, the south almost constantly burning...It is, tragic, after all the hope he saw in it."
The metal footsteps coming up next were Alaraks. "Hope in a world nuked to death? Hilarious."
Ulysses glared at Alarak as Johnny leaned beside the wastelander on the glass speaking to Alarak. "Letting it burn again would've been a mistake."
"Yes well, I had assumed that the little group they managed to bring against the Enclave was all they had. Perhaps this time it'll be different."
Ulysses sighed in agitation over this. "What do you want?"
"I want you to try again." Alarak faced him.
"You told me there was little left to oppose the Enclave on this world."
"A little motivation for you to mull over whilst heading to the missiles. A lie, if you fail to grasp my meaning. You failed your world once. You get another go. You need to find allies from elsewhere."
"I had allies in the Mojave."
"If you think those corpses the Enclave have turned into mush are of any use to you. Your last people are now fuel for their forces, let's hope that doesn't happen twice in a row, hmm?"
Ulysses didn't understand, and Johnny must've guessed such as he explained. "The Enclave killed everyone after you were taken down. Those with intact bodies got converted. Those without were liquidised and made into a paste usable by the troopers."
"Converted?"
Alarak chuckled. "The troopers you face are humans. Brainwashed, mutilated and upgraded so to speak. They adjust your annoying kind and all that you bring. That's what awaited you when Eden got bored of keeping you. Aren't you lucky."
Ulysses looked at them both. "But they can be saved, right?"
"No chance." Johnny adjusted his sunglasses whilst focusing elsewhere within the penthouse floor of the Lucky 38. "The damage is done. Effectively your pals are dead already. Just their corpses are walking. Trust me. I know."
"…" Ulysses moved away from the glass, heading over to another part of the penthouse, a dining table now in ruins with a few chairs left intact as he sat down, leaning forward with his hands together, clearly thinking.
Alarak clearly didn't give a damn, and headed elsewhere whilst Johnny made his way over to Ulysses, grabbing one of chairs, shoving close to the wastelander and sitting down, leaning back and legs apart, sighing in annoyance. "Listen you want your world to stop the Enclave, right?"
"...Can it be done?"
"Yeah it can. Years ago the east coast of this country of yours took out a major base of operations, over here in the west coast your people took down another far longer back. Only stalling the assholes but it shows it can be done. Those temples are their last biggest operations they got fucking going on your planet. You take'em, it's done for."
"Then...tell me. How?"
"Can't."
"Why?"
"Because I don't have the finer damn points sorted out yet. Gotta locate what I'm after. Trying to but Alarak mentioned he sent the 'potential one' on a suicide run at the Enclave so that's why I saved your ass. Whilst I sort it out, you should get out there and grab some allies."
"From where?" Ulysses now asked.
"Anywhere but this dead shithole, how's that for a start?" He got as a sarcastic answer. "The best person to ask is Alarak. He's been watching events around here more often. Probably hanging by the lift right now."
The courier slowly himself up from the chair he was on and was about to look around, when he stopped to ask Johnny one last question. "Tell me. What are you then?"
"Excuse me?"
"Are you what Alarak is?"
"If you mean a deity?...Yeah. I am. A rebel one. For a long ass time."
Ulysses left him alone now as he went to find Alarak, who was indeed waiting by double door that had old damaged lift buttons next to it. "Johnny said-"
"To seek me out? Of course. I'm the one who's been working on this world on my days off. Shouldn't need to but I have my reasons. He also suggested you look for some pitiful amount of help. Am I correct?"
The man nodded, though not too happy with how it was put.
"Fine. I'll take you to places I know that could provide some assistance to you. Though both have been directly affected by the Nexus hours ago so if those who can help are still here, I have no idea."
"The Nexus...Johnny said that name before…"
"The golden ribbon you no doubt saw as you got to the missile control point. In the sky. That's the Nexus. It's a gateway to a realm of paradise, to other universes, even time itself, and a way for your mortal fools to live forever. If it weren't for the obvious falsehood the paradise is made from and thus you learning none of it will satisfy you, you mortals would beg to live there." Alarak seemed to chuckle a little. "It's quite sad that so many of you fall prey to it."
"Why did it come to my world? Where is it now?"
"Who knows? Once it passed by it simply headed off. You learn with the Nexus that it comes to you, never you to it. It lets you know where it is. All it did was grab what it wanted and left behind what it didn't."
Ulysses now thought about something else, folding his arms and looking down to the floor for a moment, before once again at Alarak. "Johnny said you called me the 'potential one'."
"Did I? It's possible. Perhaps you do have a degree of it once I saw you rally those other fools together and of all people they capture, it's you. That means Eden saw something too."
"That's it?"
Alarak moved away a little from Ulysses, looking around at the ruined penthouse. "...No Ulysses. That is not all. A vision came to me. Another me. It said about a human that has the ability to rally those to his cause under his 'flag'. So long as that flag has purpose, he'll do it. I asked him a few questions, what he was exactly. I knew he was no deity. Something about him was, hollow." The protoss' eyes looked to Ulysses. "He didn't answer me. He just told me to look for the man with the pole with an eagle and this world's old flag on his back. That led me to you."
Ulysses knew he didn't know anyone like Alarak before. So how did this other one knew him? It was a question that he had a feeling wouldn't be answered right now...but it made him wonder. Wonder about the other Ulysses his saw.
Those eyes of his...he recalled them clearly. Like that of someone who lost everything.
Alarak noticed he seemed to be thinking about something. "So what did you encounter?"
He explained. He said about this other Ulysses, the mentioning of roads and the whispers he heard before the encounter as he tried to launch the missiles.
"So, we've both met other versions of ourselves. Perhaps our alliance as of this time is fated. For now, we should head out there and find those who can work for us Ulysses. Come. I'll take us to the side of this country that has fared far, far better." He raised his fingers and on clicking them, both he and Ulysses vanished in a white light. Leaving Johnny who watched them vanish.
"...Something isn't right. Gotta keep an eye on this."
Ulysses couldn't believe it at first.
What Alarak did, to move them from one location at the western side of the US to another in the east. It seemed impossible to even consider. Yet here they were.
He wanted to know what kind of technology it was, how this alien could have access to such and use it so freely.
Alarak just scoffed at how Ulysses reacted and in the darkness of the night, advised they head towards a small nearby settlement. He brought them here because he could sense something was amiss. Something was happening on this world that wasn't the Enclave.
They eventually got their answer through the panic cries and weapon fire coming from buildings lit by a small amount of firelight in the distance disturbing the peaceful warm night air.
Alarak was in no rush. He slowly made his way across the dusty wastes to see what was going on whilst Ulysses followed him, originally wishing to rush ahead but Alarak denying him as he felt whatever was causing the ruckus would stop before they get there.
And he was right, as they could see the small shacks and damaged old world buildings more clearly and approaching the outskirts of the settlement there was no more panic, no more weapons fire. Silence for a time.
There was bodies though. Blood surrounding them and lifeless. From what they were Ulysses could guess they were raiders.
Then they heard voices, close to the firelight that was out of view.
"I see humans are no different here than my world. Bandits and 'innocents'."
"The taste of blood...I've never experienced such a delight before. It's, kinda scary thinking about it compared to what I knew before this."
"Each time you feed you'll get stronger. Do not over indulge though. Gluttony can dull your senses and leave you open for killing. Now, you told me we can find a way off this world Gaster."
Alarak seemed to take notice on that name. "A time patroller? Now that's certainly interesting…"
Ulysses looked to him as they made their way over behind one of the old world buildings, out of the light of the fire. "Time partroller?"
"People who watch time. I really don't need to explain it to you. Just know they are off-worlders like me and we'll leave it at that...but still, I can sense the change. Raziel is here too, a child walks with him...the time loop contained on this world is gone. Molag Bal I can sense, but no Hermaeus Mora. Now I'm very interested."
Ulysses had no idea what he was on about, but it was clear that Alarak wouldn't explain further. They looked over to the barrel that contained the fire.
Spotting Asriel, Kain and Gaster.
Gaster was the one who was now speaking "-two places I can guess for us are Diamond City and Megaton. Both are entry points for Time Patrollers. Dressed in rag they blend in just fine while they observe the planet to see what the factions are up to. But Megaton will take days to reach like the Enclave. So our best options-"
Kain interjected. "The Institute and Diamond City. We best move then. While I can tolerate sunlight to a degree, Asriel here has only been recently sired. I do not know if all of my gifts have passed over to him successfully."
Gaster nodded and showed Kain the way towards Diamond City, all three of them walking off into the darkness leaving the abandoned spot behind as Alarak and Ulysses waited for a moment, before coming up to the barrel they were once at.
"...Should we follow him and ask Alarak?"
It was clear Alarak wasn't too pleased with who else was with Gaster. "Don't bother. Kain is being watched by Molag Bal very closely. Dragging that trouble along will cause problems. There is another though that we could target. He might be easier to sway. Hermaeus Mora hasn't got back in contact with him yet, and the child that is with him has no home left. They'll follow us Ulysses."
"Take me to them then."
"And waste your tracking skill? No. I'll take you to where they started from, but from there you need to hunt them. I'm not handing you followers for free, courier."
Alarak raised his hand up and clicked two of his fingers together, both he and Ulysses vanishing in a flash of white light.
1. Alarak, just to confirm, is from Starcraft 2.
2. Frank Horrigan, Ulysses, the Enclave and John Henry Eden are all from the Fallout series, with John Henry Eden's appearance being that of the VA of said character, Malcom McDowell.
3. Adam Smasher and Johnny Silverhand are both from the game Cyberpunk 2077.
-dragonridley