Having a strange map that changed based on your location was quite useful, especially when there was a chance that it involved dangerous mutants. It had been awhile since Artyom traveled alone. The last time he could recall was when he left the road of Goodsprings with his guns on his person. Anybody would have criticized him for going alone, but he was not like most people. After all, he had the help of the Dark Ones. Now that he thought about them, they were mysteriously silent after all of these days. They should have kept in contact with him, but he couldn't blame such creatures to remain out of sight.
The stalker brought out his map again, only to find himself in a network of valleys that lead towards and elevated position nearby. Perhaps he could have a better viewpoint if he went there instead of getting lost. Artyom continued trekking through the land with his Tihar drawn. However, he was led into an area where a massive crater resided. As he walked towards the edge, the young man looked below to find the horrors of radiation.
There were several horrible-looking creatures that crawled in the epicenter of where a massive bomb had fallen. He couldn't describe what made these humans be deformed into these mere beasts and their mutations terrified him. Bones etched out of their bodies as multiple hands extended out and acted as legs. Massive tumors were displayed on their backs as what remained of the human mouth was replaced with these tentacle appendages that writhed in the air. Besides these abominations were several bodies of what appeared to be their victims.
Then one of the creatures turned it's gaze upon him and started crawling up the crater's slope. "Shit!" Artyom cried out in terror as he pumped his Tihar's air pressure to the maximum. Then he aimed at the monster and fired his first shot into the creature's head. The ball-bearing struck it's head before it succumbed to the blood loss and slumped back alongside it's kin. Yet, the rest of the pack recognized his presence.
Unlike the fallen creature, these radioactive freaks of nature vomited a strange substance at him. He took several steps back, only to watch their range attacks litter the ground with acid.
To his surprise, seven black shadows brushed past him and descended into the crater. He looked back into the depression to find the Dark Ones arrive and raise their hands against them. The mutated and deformed humans had begun to writhe on the ground against their power. Soon after, their tentacles lashed against one-another - striking their fellow kin without hesitation. Some were unable to fight as if they were too weak to even stand up against the Dark Ones.
When these horrors were finally put down, a Dark One appeared and stood beside him. 'Centaurs…' It began. 'His evil… creations…'
Artyom turned his head towards the dark-skinned creature and noticed the hands clenched into fists. "You know what these things are?"
Then it turned towards him and released the tension with its fingers. 'Yes… your mother… knew them well…' It replied.
"How?"
'We will show you… not now… evil creatures are up there… only one of them… good…'
He looked up at the mountain above and noticed the antennas in disrepair. "There are more of these things?"
'No… they are different… much like us… but twisted… by design… Will explain… later…" With that said, the Dark One disappeared as the stalker steered away from the edges of the cliff.
When he continued onward, he found a gate in the way. Artyom quickly lockpicked the entrance open as he found himself on a broken road that appeared to be making its way to the top of the mountain. North of his position, he could see the bright city of New Vegas, shining in the distance. One could admire its beauty from this location, but after being there himself there was little he could admire. On the outside, it was merely an alluring sight for those naive enough to go there.
This little distraction had cost him the awareness of his surroundings when he heard a pair of heavy footsteps make their way towards him. He tightly grasped his pneumatic weapon and looked for the source of the noise, but he was answered with this height overshadowing him with mass and muscles. The green-skinned humanoid looked down upon him while he wore only ripped pants and a frankenstein collection of metal pieces for armor. There was only one other creature he faced, but that was before his departure to the Sierra Madre. "I'm surprised that there is a human walking around these parts. Black Mountain doesn't get those kinds of visitors, but those who do are usually sensible enough to find civilization." The stranger spoke in clear english.
Artyom remained stiff as he looked at the being that spoke to him. "You're somewhat new."
He smiled. "My apologies, my name is Marcus. I am trying to keep travelers from going up the mountain."
"I have seen your kind before, but he was blue. Are you two related?" He asked.
"We may be supermutants, but I think you are referring to the nightkin - those who like to use stealthboys." Marcus answered in a calm and well-mannered tone. "I must say, you're not from around here, are you?"
It was difficult to ease the tension when the young man was confronted by someone who could rip his head off. "No, I come from Moscow. Accidentally came to this place by complete accident."
He nodded his head. "A very strange turn of events. Don't worry about me, I'm not here to hurt you. In fact, I was about to deal with the nightkin and the supermutants atop the mountain due to their nature around humans. Could you help me deal with them?"
"How?" The stalker asked as he was unable to remove his finger from the trigger. "I'm just only one person."
"You see, I used to be the leader of the super mutants atop of Black Mountain." Marcus began. "I have managed to get my supporters out of there and live in Jacobstown, but I'm quite worried about what could happen up there."
"What do you mean? Do you think they're up to something terrible?" Artyom wondered.
"In a way. Most of my kin up there are not too intelligent and some of them want to return to the old ways when there used to be an army of us." A deep sigh was all he could offer. "Even though I missed them as well, the last thing I want is the NCR to hunt us down like animals and the one in charge might give them the excuse they need. Besides, one person is all I need to stir up trouble and get someone out of their prison cell."
He crossed his arms with skepticism. "That's if I don't get killed in the process."
The super mutant chuckled. "I watched from the mountain when you killed those centaurs. I know they are helping you and close by." He said. "I'm sure they'll be helpful in dealing with my kin." Then he turned his back and walked up the mountain.
"Hey, where are you going?"
"To the top of the mountain. You will need my help by the time you get to the village."
"Great, what did I get myself into?" He wondered to himself as he switched his weapon for Bourbon's Kalashnikov. As the young man pressed up the road, he was quickly surprised to find a checkpoint made up of super mutants just like Marcus.
His initial impression of the creatures had made him scared on the inside, but he was not alone in this endeavor to get to the top. The Dark Ones intervened on his behalf. 'We shall help…' One of their strange kind had appeared amidst the crowd of muscles and unleashed chaos. It all began with a surprise on the super mutants, but then the situation changed when they began to attack each other. Fires burned from fuels of a flamethrower as gunfire erupted from a strange multi barrel gun, causing the fuel tank to unleash an explosive reaction and catching the entire checkpoint in fire. Marcus was not wrong when he said he had help.
Artyom cautiously approached the area as he noticed the burned creatures lying on the ground. What remained of them was now scorched in fire while he tried to salvage whatever he could find. Unlike the pipe bombs of the Metro, he was able to loot their unexploded grenades off their body. Some even appearing to be green in color. Whatever they were, their potential firepower had belonged to him.
The road to the mountain was long. There was only one time he had to hike up such locations, but it didn't matter as much when he noticed two choices that lay before him. He could take his sweet time following the road or he could go up a small trail on his right. "That's convenient." He commented, but there was a discrepancy that caught his eye. A body of an NCR trooper was lying on the ground, but it appeared that something crushed him by sheer weight alone. Perhaps it was better not to go up that trail; however, he saw two giant figures at the top of the trail pushing a boulder near the edge. "Shit."
He quickly rushed to the side of the trail as the boulder rolled down the trail and flew past him. The damn beasts knew a thing or two about how to give a vicious fight. Something he was familiar in the Metro. With their trap sprung, Artyom moved up the trail with his weapon raised. The perpetrators had something coming if they remained where they were.
When he reached the top of the trail, he looked down below and realised how much extra hiking was spared because he went through this route. Then he looked forward, only to find where the road had led - a bombed out town. Just like the crater at the base of the bomb, there was a larger one at the center of the ruins. Yet, this place was filled with super mutants and they were all staring at him. Most of them carried blunt weapons and some with these rusty old rifles, but it was clear that they were waiting for him. "It's the human Marcus told us about!" One of them shouted. "Kill him!"
Once more, the Dark Ones assisted him, but in another way. 'You see… and bring death…' Artyom's vision began to change, but he was able to detect and identify the dozens of super mutants charging at him. They were all in red, except for one.
While the creatures closed the distance, he fired his assault rifle in short bursts. Unlike the normal people he fought, it took more bullets to kill these creatures. The blessing was that they didn't wear as much armor like Marcus did. When his assault rifle became empty, Artyom reached for his holster and drew his .45 auto pistol and continued firing. Compared to the assault rifle, he was quick good at reloading pistols as he replaced the magazine for a new one.
He looked past his assailants and saw Marcus walking towards him with one of those miniguns in hand. As he spun the weapon's barrels, the stalker froze in place that he was just about to be killed a single moment. Then he thought for a moment. Why would he do that if his kin was in the way? To his surprise, the gunfire teared through the supermants in quick succession as the weapon's barrels were red hot. "Sorry about that." The super mutant apologized.
Filled with anger, Artyom's outburst was displayed. "Sorry? You could have killed me! I am just lucky one of your bullets didn't have my name on it!"
"Again, I am truly sorry about that. I needed to be a bit convincing I was on their side." Then Marcus looked over his shoulder to a large shack built into the side of the mountain. "We can discuss your disagreement with my methods after I draw the rest from the radio antenna. Then, you can free the ghoul who was imprisoned against his will."
It was strange he could trust something like him, but he would ponder that thought as he grabbed his emptied magazines and rushed toward his designated position. While he reloaded his weapon quietly as he could, the stalker could see Marcus leave him as his geiger counter began to scramble to life. There was some radiation around, hopefully it wouldn't have to stay long to earn a mutation.
A moment later, Marcus walked past the shack where he hid, but there were was nobody following behind him… or so it seemed. His eyes scanned the area, but he could see a shimmer in the light move past him. However, he was able to outline the shimmers and recognize that they were somehow invisible. Artyom patiently waited until the invisible creatures were gone, but the only confirmation was the comforting voice of a Dark One - strange as that may be. 'He has led the astray away…' Odd how they knew so much about these creatures, leaving more questions than he wanted.
Upon leaving the ruins behind, Artyom made his way towards the top of the tower as Marcus had recommended. When he walked closer to what appeared to be a radio station, he found himself shocked when he saw a single sentry waiting for him, but it was carrying a crude device upon its shoulders. "Die human!" The stalker soon learned that there was more to the weapon as it catapulted a small bomb after him. As it whistled through the air, Artyom fell to the ground and watched the explosive make its way further down the road. A small flashing light erupted when the explosion resembled a small mushroom cloud forced him to close his eyes.
When the danger was out of the way, Artyom brought his assault rifle to bear and fired while prone. The 5.45 rounds pinging the metal railing the sentry stood on. Yet, one of his rounds resulted with the base of the antenna to erupt in a fiery explosion, causing the structure to weakly creak at its weakness before falling down the mountain and crashing it's essential signal into the road. "What kind of bomb was that?" He wondered to himself as he approached the two signal buildings that remained intact.
After storming into a building with one floor, the young man quickly explored the place and started looking for a ghoul. The room was dead silent save for the flickering lights of a terminal. When he approached the device, he began to explore the several entries between someone called Tabitha and Raul. Despite their initial relations after fixing the radar system that he just destroyed with that explosion, Raul was imprisoned due to his capabilities of repairing old equipment. However, she was dissatisfied that he was not able to fix someone who went by the name of Ronda. So this is what Marcus needed him for, to rescue a ghoul from slavery. It was quite a noble goal then if he wanted him to be the one to rescue him.
Oddly enough, the terminal just so happened to have the option to unlock the door's mechanism that led into the other room. It shouldn't have been this easy to rescue a single person, but perhaps that was why Marcus needed to draw the others away. To ensure that he had a chance to leave the mountain alive.
Artyom heard the door's mechanisms unlock as he walked to it and pushed it open, leading him into another room. This time, he found a ghoul in a mechanics suit, sitting in a chair writing with a pencil on a single piece of paper. "Hey boss, let me see Ronda again and I'll see if I can fix him up." The stranger looked up from his drawing, only to meet the eyes of the stalker in the room. "Who the hell are you?"
"My name is Artyom, I'm here to rescue you." The Russian answered.
"A Russian?" He started laughing. "You almost remind me of those Reds I watched in a show when I was a kid." The ghoul replied before he ended his enjoyment of his rescue. "I am glad that I managed to get a break. Before we go, how did you manage to get through Tabitha and her people?"
"A super mutant by the name of Marcus led them away, giving me the opportunity to get to you." He replied while loading his weapon.
"Wow. Is that a genuine AK?"
Artyom nodded his head. "Da, it was a gift from a friend."
"Well, we can exchange life stories after we get out of here. First, get me into the other building. I need to do something."
"Like what?"
The ghoul stared at him. "I'm a mechanic, Tabitha will have to keep her end of the deal now that I figured out how to fix a damn robot."
"Hope it is a quick fix."
"Muchacho, if it was, I wouldn't be here. I only read a magazine on how to fix one. It might work, but the wear and tear doesn't look pretty."
The duo walked out of the building and went into the next one. This time, they were both in a storage room filled with dozens of ammunition littered all over the place. "In case you need an extra hand, call me. I'm going to see if there is anything worth stalking."
The ghoul laughed as he walked over to a table of a broken machine laying on its side. "If you find a poster and go into a closet, I wouldn't want to call you."
"Very funny." He said while unzipping his backpack and looking around for anything of value. Over the time he had been in the Mojave, his capacity to carrying many things was beginning to put a strain on him. The Lucky 38 would have been a wonderful place to leave many things behind and have room to obtain more, but his disagreement with House would have left him in bad state. Then he opened his bag further, only to find there was five more cans of cram pressed against his disassembled weapons and ammo. "What's your name?"
"You came all this way to rescue you me, but you don't know my name. Where are your manners?" The ghoul laughed while fixing the robot with his magazine in his hand.
"My apologies, things are different back in Moscow. You can say, cultural differences. My name is Artyom, in case you're wondering." Looking around, he found a note stating that there were missiles hidden away as if someone was making a game out of it. Curious, searched while unscrewing the cap off the Sarsaparilla bottle to quench his thirst.
"No problems jefe, I'm Raul. Before the war, I was a Mexican with a family and now I look like my neighbor's dog. I suppose manners are something of the past."
"I hear you."
He scoffed at his reply. "Really? How do you know anything about surviving bombs? You're a puppy by my standards."
After he grabbed three missiles off the shelf, he looked for more. "The Metro is filled with strange things such as anomalies that brought me from my world of cold tunnels underneath Moscow into the desert of the Mojave."
"Anomalies? Sounds like some superstitious nonsense."
"I would have agreed with you, but it's hard to ignore the hundreds of Russian soldiers running around in the Mojave." Behind a crate, he found more missiles hiding away before he slipped them into his backpack.
Raul bursted out laughing. "Hold up, you're telling me that there are more of your people in America? Either you're loco or I've been stuck in this building for so long."
When the stalker finished scavenging the supply room, he held his backpack by the small hinge for a hook and walked over to the ghoul. "I know this stuff is old, but it's probably better than anything they gave you in that room."
He could see the smile on his face. "Thank you, jefe. I appreciate the decency of a person serving me decent preserved pre-war." Then he was handed a bottle of cold Nuka-Cola. "Well, where did you get this?"
"Found it in the back while I was looking for these missiles." Then Artyom glanced towards the robot. "Why are you fixing the robot when we can leave?"
"Gringo, you're going to appreciate it once I do get it fixed." The mechanic focused his full attention onto the robot as he slipped a strange cylinder-like container into the broken machine. "This should do it." For a moment, the robot lay lifeless on the table without any response while Raul closed it up. "Give it a minute." He said.
Then the machine whined to life while it's 'eyes' had started to 'blink' to life. "Oh my, power has been restored." The machine spoke as if it was voiced by an actual person. Soon after, a fiery blast had escaped from a small hole in the machine, forcing the stalker to grab his belongings before it ignited the ammo. Artyom took a step back as the legless machine started to float in the air. "Um, where am I? Also, where is Tabitha?
"She should be outside." Raul answered as he pushed the door open and allowed the machine to fly past him. "Alright muchacho, stay calm and don't start a fight. She should be coming."
When the duo followed the robot out, they were immediately met by a large group of blue-skinned super mutants. "Whatever you're doing, it better save our souls."
The super mutants had made way for one of their kin, who was wearing a blonde wig and some strange glasses. It appeared that this was their leader. "Raul, did you fix Rhonda?"
"Yes, jefe, I did. Can I go now?" He asked.
"You may, my best friend is back!"
Then the robot spoke to her. "Mistress Tabitha, you look worse for wear. You haven't been putting on your makeup."
"Guilty as charged." The super mutant replied. "Everyone, there is no need to remain in the State of Utobitha. Let's go."
One of her subordinates was confused. "Why? I thought this was place for super mutants."
"Look at antenna, it's broken."
"Oh, I didn't see that."
"You never do. That is why I'm leader and you're not." Tabitha stated before returning her full attention towards them - her eyes staring at the Russian. "Even though you trespass on this state, we will let you live and leave."
Artyom nodded his head. "Thank you for this mercy, good Tabitha."
"Let's go people, we have stories to tell to good 'ole Rhonda." With that said, the group of super mutants had begun to walk away down the broken road and continued to continue on with their lives.
"So why didn't you fix that thing earlier?" He asked the Mexican ghoul.
"I just needed that small book earlier, but Tabitha wouldn't have let me take a look at it. She thought I could fix it just like magic." He said. "So should we go our separate ways?"
"After we find a way out of this damn maze."
"Watch out, some of these places are filled with bark scorpions."
Out of the maze that was Black Mountain, Artyom and Raul walked through the desert together. "So tell me, Raul, what's your story beyond getting trapped there?" The stalker began.
The mechanic shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know, muchacho. Not sure if you want to form a campfire and hear a life of some old wasted ghoul."
"You would be surprised how much I'm okay with it." The young man replied.
Before they could continue talking, Artyom heard a clinking behind his back. When they turned around, a squad of Legion soldiers had them in their sights. One of the Legionnaires was a man wearing skin of a wolf with his eyes covered by sunglasses. "Alone at last." He said with an eccentric voice.
"Shit!" He swore to himself.
"I heard what had happened in the profligate city when you confronted your killer. To be truthful, it's quite impressive that you managed to come all this way to find Benny." The stranger with the eccentric voice stated. "Had you been anybody else, we would have killed both of you without question. However, you have earned the attention of my master, who sees your potential regardless of your origins." He reached into his pocket and brought out a small medallion with some strange bull creature on it. "The great Caesar wishes you to come to Cottonwood Cove - there, someone will take you to my lord's camp. Whatever offenses you have against the Legion, they have been washed away. Such an opportunity is not one you should waste."
"Is this why you were sent here?" The stalker wondered.
"No, but you just so happened to be nearby."
"Who are you?"
"I am Vulpes Inculta - on of many Caesar's servants." Then he turned his back on him. "Do not follow us, unless you want a fight."
Meanwhile, Raul leaned closer to him. "Okay jefe, what the hell did you get yourself in?"
As the Legion squad departed from the duo, Artyom reached for his assault rifle and took a step back. "I don't know, but I don't trust him one bit."
Author's Note: While the NCR has made its move, so does the Legion. Due to reasons, my posting cycle is out of whack, but it has encouraged me to try and focus on this story. So I'll be focusing on this now that I'm hyped up by Obsidian's trailer and Bethesda's recent failings.
Aren serathy: That is a recipe for disaster.
Lt. Frostdromeda: Thanks.