After emptying the junk from his bag the next day, taking care of Heathers and Codsworth's as well, putting it away by the workbench they had, he walked up to Katherine's husband, who was tending to some crops.

"Can I help you," the man said as Mason walked up to him.

"Not me necessarily," Mason answered, holding some armor for the man. "I got you some armor, but I need you to be the… the provisioner, between here and Sanctuary."

"Look, I understand that you helped us, but I need to stay here to keep my wife safe."

"I recognize your concern, but how are you going to keep her safe without more people? I'm not asking you to do it permanently, just until you get more people. Until you've got more, I need you to do this so communications are open," Mason informed him. "Without someone to inform us if you need help with something, we can't do it. And without communication, neither you nor your wife will be safe."

The man rubbed his fingers over his mouth, thinking it over for a minute. "I don't like the idea of leaving her here alone. But I do see reason behind what you're saying." As he mulled over it, he turned to Mason. "So once we have more people, I can have someone else do this… provisioner job?'

"Of course. I wouldn't want to keep someone away from their spouse for too long."

"Alright," the man said, collecting the armor and clothing from Mason. "I'll go let my wife

know. I assume you'll be showing me the way?"

"Of course," Mason responded. "I have to go talk to Garvey, so after you get ready, we'll head out."

"Thank you," the man said and walked over to the shed where Katherine was. As the man talked to her, Heather spoke up.

"That was good. Most would hurt someone for questioning them."

"He lives to keep what he cares about safe," Mason remarked. "Reminds me of a quote my squad and I would live by, say before every battle. 'The true soldier, fights not because he hates what's in front of him, but because he loves what's behind him.'"

"Deep. Where'd you learn that from?"

"When I joined the regiment. Never heard of it before then," Mason remarked, a faraway look in his eyes. While he was staring, he felt something pat his shoulder and saw Heather's hand.

"Hey, you okay?" She questioned as the man came back, armor put on.

"Yeah," Mason responded before turning to the man. "You ready to go?"

"Yeah. I let her know I'd be gone for a few days," the man told him.

"Alright, let's get moving," Mason said, shouldering his bag as he put his helmet on. As they walked down the hill, They saw a two-headed cow, and after checking the name, Mason turned to Heather.

"You know who Ol' Girl belongs to, Casdin?" Mason questioned as he looked at the creature.

"Lucas Miller. He mostly trades armor pieces, saying it saves 'many a wastelander. He's up at Tenpines Bluff."

"Can you take her up there? We'll wait for you by the road."

"On it."

Once Heather was out of earshot, and the man turned to Mason and spoke up.

"She's a nice woman. It's understandable why she follows you.""

"Because she's looking for something," Mason remarked. "We don't know each other all that well. Just met her two days ago."

"Really? Just figured she was waiting for you while you were talking to Katherine about the raiders."

"Don;t know many people. Just came out of a vault a few days ago," Mason remarked, remembering seeing the world for the first time. "Me being a former vault dweller doesn't mean merde. Don't forget that."

"Considering you took out those raiders, it'd be dumb of me to assume you're incompetent."

While standing, a molerat tried to attack them, though Dogmeat took care of it by ripping out its throat. When Heather got there, they started walking. While they were going through Concord, they stopped by a speakeasy. While searching, Mason found a few things, including some clothing and a Concord Lagner recipe. There were a few odd sights, like a skeleton hugging a mannequin and another in a tub surrounded by three mannequins. Those had made Mason chuckle. It was strange but funny. When he was done collecting everything they could use, they left to walk to Sanctuary. While they were walking, they stopped by Red Rocket to collect some parts, some crystals and circuitry for beacons. Mason wasn't sure if Sanctuary had them, but the rest of the materials needed for a beacon was there.

"Taking a trip down memory lane?" Codsworth asked as Mason stuffed the parts into his bag.

"Parts for beacons," Mason answered. When he was done, he put the bag back on and continued walking. Before entering Sanctuary, Mason noticed the walls were built and a suitcase by the dead man's body. Looking in the suitcase, he found five pieces of paper with writing and materials written on them. These could come in handy. After pocketing the shipments, he walked through the gates of Sanctuary.

"Hey, Buff Man!" Mason yelled, catching Sturges's attention.

"Hey, Super Mutant. What's up?"

"Firstly, don't know what that is, though I know I might find out soon. Second, is it alright if this settler takes that cow?" Mason asked, referring to one eating grass by the workbench." He's going to work as a provisioner between here and Tenpines."

"The brahmin? Sure. We have another near the end of the road."

"Alright. Hey, what'd you do with those plans?"

"Put em in the workbench. Made sure they were put in a sealed container so they didn't get water damage."

"I'm guessing the plans aren't needed then?"

"Not anymore. A few others along with myself have gotten the hang of it. If someone else needs them, they can use it."

"Alright," Turning to the man from Tenpines, Mason addressed him. "I haven't made the plans for the beacons yet, but come back in three days, and you'll have them. For the time being, you'll have the ones for helping with walls and towers."

"Alright," the man said. "If it helps."

"It will," Mason stated.

"Once walls are done, raiders can only come in through a few spots, where you can pick 'em off as they try to get through."

After passing the plans to the provisioner, Mason walked to his house and dug through his bag before finding something. The 'Hi Honey!' holotape Nora had made before the bombs fell. Before all this… crap happened. After sitting on the couch, he took off his helmet, loaded the tape into his Pip-Boy, and hit play.

"*Feedback sound.* Oopsie. Ha ha ha. No, no, no. Little fingers away. There we go. Just say it. Right there. Right there. Go ahead. *baby giggles* Ha ha! Yay! Hi honey! Listen…"

When he heard Nora's voice, Mason couldn't help but tear up. He knew that, to him, it had only been a few weeks since he'd heard her voice, but it felt like it had been years.

"I don't think Shaun and I need to tell you how great of a father you are... but we're going to anyway. You are kind and loving, (Shaun laughs)... and funny! Ha ha. That's right. And patient. So patient. Patience of a saint, my mom used to say."

"I didn't think she liked me," Mason thought out loud. "Never complimented me."

"Look, with Shaun and us all being at home together... It's been an amazing year. But even so, I know our best days are yet to come. There will be changes, sure. Things we'll need to adjust to. You'll rejoin the civilian workforce, I'll shake the dust off my law degree… But everything we do, no matter how hard... we do it for our family."

He laughed, knowing how right she was.

Now say goodbye, Shaun... Bye-bye? Say bye-bye? *baby giggles* Bye honey! We love you!"

When Mason heard the click as it ended, he was about to cry before taking deep breaths. He had to find… Shaun first, before he could properly mourn her. While he didn't know how long that would take, it was what she would want. She had always put herself last, putting others before her. Something that had annoyed him at first but grew on him over time. Ejecting the holotape, he stuck it in the front pocket of his shirt before standing and walking over to the counter.

While working on the plans for beacons, he couldn't get Shaun off his mind. He hoped he was okay, but somehow, he wouldn't cross off being in a bad place with the way everything was. Once he finishes them, he places them under a cooler on the counter and walks out to Garvey, who smiles when he sees him.

"That settlement you sent me to help decided to join the Minutemen," Mason told him, a grin on his face.

"That's great news," Garvey remarked, beaming at Mason. "I knew you were the right one for the job. By the way, you should have one of these flare guns. You can use it to signal for help from any nearby Minutemen. Not much use yet, but once we have more allied settlements, you'll have help whenever you need it." After that, his tone became somber. "I don't think I ever told you what happened to the Minutemen. How I ended up as the last one."

"I figured you'd tell me when you were ready."

"Have you heard of the Quincy Massacre?"

From what Mason remembered, they came from there. "Your group came from Quincy, didn't you?"

"That's right. Mama Murphy, Sturges, the Longs… they were all from Quincy. I was with Colonel Hollis group. A mercenary group called the Gunners was attacking Quincy; the people there called for the Minutemen to help. We were the only ones that came. The other groups… they just turned their backs. On us, and the folks in Quincy. Only a few of us got out alive. Colonel Hollis was dead. So I ended up in charge of the survivors. We never found a safe place to settle. One disaster after another… you saw how it ended, in Concord."

Now Mason understood why they were so beat. But, after what happened, he couldn't blame them. "As long as you don't give up, the Minutemen will survive."

"I'm not about to give up," Garvey said. "But I can't protect the Commonwealth all by myself. Hell, I could barely protect these people. That's why I'm talking to you. I can't rebuild the Minutemen… but I think you can."

"That means a lot coming from you, Garvey," Mason told him, though he wasn't sure himself.

"I appreciate that. Does that mean you'll do it?"

After thinking about it, Mason sighed and said, "Okay. I'll do it."

"That's the spirit, sir!" Codsworth said happily. "And one giant step in the right direction for the Commonwealth."

"Good. Good!" Preston exclaimed proudly. "Welcome aboard. I feel like this is a whole new start for the Minutemen, and the Commonwealth, too. Don't worry, I'll be beside you all the way… General."

Mason scoffed and said, "I'm no 'General'."

"You'll have to get used to it," Garvey told him. "The leader of the Minutemen has always held the rank of General. Our last leader was General Becker. After he died back in '82, nobody could agree on who should take his place. The one good thing about being the last Minutemen is there's no one to argue with me when I say you're the new General. Now it's your job to make it more than an empty title."

So they hadn't had a leader in 5 years. While the man could keep them together, based on how they fell, he wasn't a proper leader, though. Couldn't completely quell the in-fighting.

Preston then paused for a minute before saying, "Got a strange message. From a robot. Said it was someplace called Graygarden. I couldn't figure out exactly what it wanted, but, well… may as well check it out. You never know."

Mason made sure to note that for when he was down south. For the time being, though, he had other things to worry about.

"Anything else," Garvey asked as Mason finished putting in the note.

"How are you feeling?" Mason questioned, wanting him to be alright.

"I'm glad to have a chance to return the favor, after all the help you gave me. Just let me know if there's anything else you need."

"I need to stand guard at one of the towers built," Mason remarked before turning to him. "Are there any new settlers that have experience with… leading?"

"There's only two new people, and one works as a go between for here and Red Rocket. The other though… Kynigan. He works as one of the guards. He's a good guy, but you can tell by his scars that he's been in a firefight or two. Not sure whether he knows how to lead though."

"Alright, Imma go talk with him."

When Mason walked up to the man that Garvey had been talking about, he took a step back.

"You're tall. And strong," the man said as he looked up at him.

"I'm aware," Mason remarked. Sure, he didn't have to like it, but when he carried stuff all the time, along with carrying his father's genes, it wasn't that surprising for his family to have tall men. "Are you Mr. Kynigan?"

"May I ask who's asking?"

Holding his hand out, Mason introduced himself. "Mason Black. I'm the one who set up the beacon."

Shaking his hand, the man spoke. "Well, shit. Is there anything you need me to do? I figured I'd work as a guard, but if there's anything you'd rather I do, please let me know."

"Do you have experience leading people?" Mason questioned, already liking the man. He was neither cowardly nor confrontational from what he saw.

"A bit," Kynigan said. "Didn't last. Good thing though. I was running with a bad crowd then."

Mason wondered whether he should be wary of the man, though he supposed that he was trustworthy if he admitted to it. Could've been doing it to gain his trust, but the man didn't really have a reason to do that.

"In that case, I need you to be the leader of this place," Mason told him.

"I doubt I'm the best person for the job," Kynigan told him. "There's a reason it didn't last."

"Well, the Buff Man isn't cut out for leading a settlement, the old lady is too cryptic, the other woman is more likely to annoy everyone, and Jun… I don't think I need to explain why he's not cut out for leading people."

"I guess that's fair," Kynigan stated. "Well, if I'm going to be leading these people, I suppose I should introduce myself. Tyler Kynigan, and I guess you can say Sanctuary's leader. Gonna have to talk to the others about that."

"Alright, well Imma go talk to Sturges. Then I'll see if I can find any clothing befitting that… title."

As he walked up to Sturges, he turned and shook Mason's hand, greeting the man.

"Well it's been a while. How ya doin', Mason?"

"Well enough, Buff Man," Mason stated as he slapped him on the shoulder. "I assume Sanctuary's been doing well."

"Yeah, crops started growing. And about what you said about crops not liking touch, I guess its true cause crops have never started growing so soon before. Now do you need help with anything?"

"Yeah, when that guy who left a while ago comes back in a few days, I need you to give him the plans for a beacon. I have the plans on my counter under a cooler."

"I see. Not staying for too long then?"

"Gonna be gone for about a week," Mason informed him as he pulled up the map on his Pip-Boy. "The way I see it, the Commonwealth can be split into seven sections, with the middle part able to split in two with Boston and Cambridge."

After trying to understand it, Sturges sighed. "Well, that's a bit more than I can wrap my head around, but if it works for you, it works. How long you gonna be gone for this time?"

"A little over a week, probably?" Mason stated before pulling out the papers from the suitcase. "By the way, do you know what these are for?"

"Shipments?" Sturges questioned. It was surprising he didn't know what these were. "Give one to a trader and they'll get you the supplies on there."

"Imma hold on to a few of these. Use this when a trader comes through," Mason stated as he handed one to Sturges. "It'll help with building settlements."

Going back into the house, Mason sorted the weapons in his bag, putting them in separate containers. Shaun's room was going to fill up fast with these weapons. Gonna have to make a building for storing these. He had kept four weapons in the bag when all was said and done, while the rest had been sorted into four different containers. While he was putting away stuff that wouldn't be useful as junk, he had stored away two flags. While they would be useful for cloth, even though the government wasn't a thing anymore, it felt wrong to him to destroy a flag for scrap. Also made him realize he'd have to make a design for a flag for the Minutemen. Sorting the food took a bit longer since there were five things: meat, drinks, plants, chems, and pre-war packaged food. While it took a while, he made sure to put some of it into a container with the exception of chems. Mostly due to him needing a safe way to dispose of them. After putting away the clothing and cooking some food, Mason grabbed his bag and took them to the weapon workbench to modify them.

"You know how to use your hands," Garvey said as Mason put his weapons away.

"Helps with women," Mason remarked before realizing what he said, then scoffed. "Sorry about that. Slipped out"

"Didn't expect that, General."

"Well I don't normally say stuff like that. That's the first time I've said something like that in years."

"Well, I'll let you get back to it."

Stepping onto the road from his driveway, Mason turned to Codsworth, waiting by his door.

"Hey Cods! You ready?" Mason yelled to him as he shouldered his bag, seeing Casdin come out of the house.

"I shall follow you wherever you go, sir," Codsworth remarked, which made Mason chuckle.

"Alright then. How about you, Casdin?"

"Ready when you are."

"Let'g get moving then. Let's go, Dogmeat."

They walk alongside the river as they leave Sanctuary, finding a military APC on a small island with three bloodbugs nearby. Making short work of them, with Mason taking care of one and Heather taking care of the other, Mason quickly searched the vehicle, grabbing the First-Aid Kit and helmet, and steps up to Heather.

"Here," Mason says, setting the helmet on Heather's head. "Need protection for your head."

"Thanks. What about yours?"

"I may be looking for my son, but I ain't having anyone die because of me."

"Okay."

Heading south, Mason led them to a ranger cabin nearby, where some bloatflies were, something he learned from Heather when she yelled it. While he was looking through the cabin, he found a skeleton and a briefcase with a holotape. Putting the holotape into his Pip-Boy, he hit play, hoping to shed some light on the skeleton.

"October 22, 2077. I finally told them tonight, and it was bad. Real bad. Dad was shouting, telling me I should be ashamed, that I had to get out of the house. Mom just cried, and somehow that hurt worse than anything else. She didn't say a word, not even when I packed my things. I can't go to John- he doesn't even know yet. Maybe he'll never know. If it weren't for the cabin I wouldn't have a place to sleep. Just need some time to think. Last time I was here, I was just a little girl playing clubhouse in this old cabin. Now I'm really scared. Will anything ever be right again?"

"No it won't, kid," Mason said, his voice low and soft. Codsworth noticed something was wrong and decided not to say anything, while Dogmeat whimpered a bit.

"You alright?" Heather asked, concerned about the look on Mason's face.

"I will be. Eventually," Mason answered, grabbing a magazine off the table and putting it away in his bag, hon questioned as Heather fired a laser into one of them.

"Keeps them from coming back," Heather stated, which confused him. They just stayed down after dying, didn't they?

While searching the building, Mason found a Grognak Comic and a key for Wicked Shipping trailers.

"Hey, we found a comic," Mason remarked as he picked it up. Putting it away, he pocketed the keys, making sure to keep them in a spot he could find them easily. While they're searching the place, Mason noticed a building in the distance he was sure wasn't there when the bombs fell. Mason decided it'd be a good idea to check it out and started walking that way. While they were, they came upon a small shack with two bloatflies near it.

"These things are annoying," Mason grunted as he stabbed one in the stomach before grabbing the other by a wing. Then, swinging up, he tore the wing off as it got hit back, the fly landing on the ground.

Shooting the fly before it could shoot its larvae, Heather spoke up. "They're not easy for most. Pretty hard if you don't know what you're doing."

"I suppose so," Mason remarked as they headed up the hill. As they neared the building, Mason realized the place was a farm, though he didn't understand why it was as tall as it was.

Looking around, he noticed three people, two older and one younger. Probably a family. Approaching the younger one, Mason put his weapons away and put his hands by his side.

"Excuse me," Mason said as he approached her.

"Here for work? We could use some help picking melons if you've got some spare time. I'll give you caps for any you can bring me." When she said that, Mason thought he had heard wrong. Pay him in bottlecaps? Why would he need those?

"What are you paying?" He inquired, deciding to be sure of what she said.

"Yeah, like bottlecaps? And because it's money? At least it is here in the Commonwealth."

Why would they use bottlecaps? It didn't make any sort of sense. "You guys pay for things in bottle caps? What happened to dollars and cents?"

"That old stuff? Not too useful these days, unless you're looking to stock up your outhouse."

Well, guess that means he can use a Mr. Franklin to wipe his cul. "You look like you have a pretty successful farm here."

"We'd like to think so. Having Clarabell helps. 'Free Fertilizer' as daddy would say. Whatever saves caps."

"Maybe I'll help you out later."

"That's all right. If you ever do feel like earning extra caps, the offer's always there."

When he was done talking to her, he walked up to the older man tending to some tomatoes. As he did, Mason cleared his throat.

"That's close enough, stranger. We're a peaceful farm and we don't want any trouble," the man said, aiming a gun at Mason. Where did that come from?

"It's okay," Mason said as he held up his hands. "I'm friendly. Not looking to cause any trouble."

He looked skeptical for a minute before putting his gun down. "If you say so, but be warned, we're armed here. So don't try anything. Let me tell ya, farmin' ain't easy. Out in the field, all day, every day? And every minute of it… spent watching your back."

"Farming's hard work," Mason remarked, having worked with gardening when he was younger due to his mother. Had occasionally helped some of his aunts and uncles on their farms in the summer.

"Won't argue with that," the man said with a smile. "Blake Abernathy. You new to the Commonwealth?"

"Mason Black, and… yeah, you could say that," he told him as he introduced himself. He wasn't completely lying. He'd grown comfortable with the area before the bombs fell, so he was familiar with it, just not the time.

"Good to see a new face. How 'bout you. Ever think about working the land?"

"I'm sure I'll give it a try someday," Mason said, knowing he'd have to stop fighting eventually.

"Well, good luck to you then. Maybe I'll see you at the Diamond City Market someday an' we'll do a swap. Word of advice though. If you do start up a farm, be ready to deal with the raiders. Why do all the hard work when you can just take what you want at gunpoint?"

Mason guessed the man didn't know how to fight raiders. Not that he blamed the man, he was a farmer. Was more surprised they didn't have walls built around the place.

"What about the Minutemen?" Mason questioned. "If you join up, we all can help each other against raiders."

"You don't say? I thought the Minutemen were all gone. Last time those raiders hit us, my daughter Mary tried to stand up to 'em. Now she's buried out back of the house. Only twenty-one years old, and they shot her down without a thought. So you can understand why I'm glad the Minutemen are back. Although a bit too late for my Mary." At the end, his expression became saddened, which Mason understood.

"There's nothing worse than losing a child. Believe me, I know," Mason told him, a frown on his face.

"All too well I'm afraid. My sympathies are with you both," Codsworth added.

"I'm sorry to hear you say so. I don't have much to offer, but… Those raiders that killed Mary, they took her locket too. It's been in Connie's family for generations. If you could get it back, it'd mean a lot to us."

Well, he couldn't exactly fight them without a location. These are probably just typical run-of-the-mill raiders. Gonna be easy as… making a sandwich. He still didn't understand why people say easy as pie. That's a freaking hard thing to make. "Do you know where they're coming from?"

"Yeah, pretty sure I do. One of them mentioned Olivia while they were here. My guess is they're holed up in that old USAF station."

"I'll get that locket back for you. No problem," Mason told him with a grin.

"That means a lot. By the way, Connie will sell you any supplies needed for the road."

After that, Mason realized it was getting dark and asked, "Do you have a spare bed?"

"Yeah," Mr. Abernathy told him. "Go inside, immediately take a left. It's just around the corner in the house."

"Thanks," Mason told him, putting my hand on his shoulder. "I'll head out to get the locket tomorrow. It's too dark to head out right now."

"I understand. Commonwealth is dangerous enough during the day."

"And even more so at night."

Mason then headed into the building and sat down in a red chair they had, and set his bag on the ground in front of me. Pulling out a noodle cup, he grabbed a fork and started eating. It was all he needed for the night. When he was done, Mason stuck the fork back in his bag. Walking over to a knocked-over trash can, he set it by the door so others could use it and threw the trash into it. After he was done, Mason grabbed his bag and went to sit back in the chair. He stuck the bag by the chair before sitting down, grabbed the rolled-up blanket he brought, and sat down before closing his eyes for the night.

Waking up the next morning, Mason checked to make sure no one was awake. Seeing Heather asleep in the spare bed, he walked out where Codsworth was, who was wide awake. After eating, Mason grabbed his and Heather's bags and walked out of the building, letting her and the Abernathy's sleep.

"Cods, Come here," Mason whispered, making sure to not wake anyone.

"How may I be of service, sir?" Codsworth asked, making Mason chuckle.

"You'll be carrying these for a while," Mason told him, pulling some bungee cords out of his bag.

"Of course, sir," Codsworth said, making Mason laugh as he adjusted the bags. When he finished, he walked inside to get Heather. Instead of waking her, he opted to carry her, letting her get the much needed sleep she deserved. Instead of doing what most would do and put her on his back, he picked her up bridal style.

"She's light," Mason remarked as they walked down the road. "How you holding up, Cods?"

"Doing fine, sir. I do believe I sense some hostiles nearby."

Looking around, Mason noticed something moving by a cabin in the distance, though he couldn't tell what.

"Codsworth, take Dogmeat with you and check out the cabin down there," Mason said, a pointed look in the direction of the cabin. "I'll stay near, but I'll have to hold Casdin while she sleeps."

"Of course, sir," Codsworth said as Dogmeat followed him, with Mason following a bit further back. While Codsworth and Dogmeat were taking care of the ferals, Mason realized his arms were tiring from holding Heather, though he probably shouldn't mention that to her. He may be blunt, but he wasn't stupid. After another five minutes, Codsworth came to Mason and let him know the ferals were dealt with.

"Alright," Mason remarked as he walked towards the cabin. "Let's see if there's anything useful."

Finding a mattress on the ground, he set Heather down and looked outside. Looked like a snowstorm would be blowing through soon. It'd help with moving since most couldn't, but he didn't know if Heather would be able to travel. Going into the root cellar of the place, he ran into a ghoul in a room in the back but took care of it rather easily. He had taken out the legs first, but that was due to him being left with an uneasy feeling if it had both. When he was done searching the place, picking up a magazine from the room, he got out of the cellar and sat on the ground by a chemistry station. What it was doing here, he had no idea but didn't really care. While reading the Grognak comic, the Survival Guide, just giving him directions to Diamond City, Heather woke up, possibly from the cold.

"About time you woke up," Mason remarked without looking up. "Been travelling for a little over two hours now. Began to think you were dead or something."

"At least you didn't leave me behind. That's good," she replied. Mason then walked over to Codsworth and took his and Heather's bags off him.

"Here," he said as he handed her the two bags she was carrying. "Now Codsworth won't have to carry your supplies. Be ready to head out in fifteen minutes."

"In this sort of weather?" she asked, surprised at the situation.

"A little bit of snow like this won't affect how we travel," Mason told her. "If you can't travel because of it, I'll have to send you to Red Rocket."

"I'll be fine," she told him. "Just surprised is all."

Mason guessed most couldn't handle these even growing up with the stuff. During the fifteen minutes, Mason finished reading the comic and made sure his weapons were all loaded. Then, putting on his armor, he strapped the helmet on to see better in the weather. As they moved through the storm, Mason kept making sure Heather was near, able to keep track of Codsworth due to him being in front and Dogmeat being by his side. When they got to the satellite station, Mason knew the raiders wouldn't see well and would likely avoid fighting unless they had to, which made this a bit harder for Mason. That was fine with him though, because he never backed down from a challenge.

He was about to walk up when some molerats popped up. One tried to bite him before he grabbed it by its head and slammed it into its brother. Codsworth and Heather quickly got rid of them as Mason grabbed a third and stomped its head in. Mason almost stops to breathe before hearing a gunshot. Before he can turn, he falls to the ground feeling the bullet hit the top of the helmet.

"Never been more glad to be wearing a helmet," Mason remarked as he got back up, and without giving the raider time to realize his mistake, pulled out his rifle and shot him, making the man fall as he clutched his leg. Mason rushed forward before he could raise his weapon, then kicked the man in the head, hitting his head on the concrete building. Knowing he kicked the man hard enough to break his skull, Mason turned to the satellite, seeing a raider aiming his rifle down at him. As Mason runs up the walkway, he understands the raider is a lousy shot as bullets fly over him. As he runs up, a mutt tries to bite him before he grabs it by its throat and throws it over the rails, sending it to its death as it hits the ground with a crunch. Before the raider knows what happens, Mason rushes him, grabs him by the throat, and puts his pistol to the man's chest. Then, firing two rounds, both going into the chest, he releases the raider, letting the body drop as it bleeds out.

"When's the next time we'll get a decent breakfast?" Mason questioned as they collected what they could off the bodies.

"Don't know. Couldn't tell you," Heather remarked, making Mason sigh.

"Fair enough. Though that was more rhetorical than anything else."

When they headed inside, Codsworth almost triggered a laser tripwire before Mason grabbed one of his arms.

"Careful. Don't need to set off traps," Mason remarked as he disarmed it, then collected the fusion cells off the trap on the ceiling.

As they walked through the first room, Codsworth questioned, "Does no one believe in proper lighting anymore?"

"Quiet," Mason whispered to him. "We're in raider territory. Don't attract them yet." He walked over to the window and looked out over it. He saw a raider and dog on the walkway, but instead of firing at them, he pulled his head down and took a deep breath. He then covered his eyes and listened. There's another raider in the bathroom of this place and another in the room the stairs lead to. He knew there were more, but they were too far away for him to know how many.

Pulling out his rifle, Mason aimed it at the dog and shot it in its chest. Turning to its owner, he pulled the trigger again and shot him in the head.

"What the fuck was that?" A raider whisper yelled, one in the bathroom.

Pulling out his switchblade, he started running towards the corner where the raider was, and as he came around the corner, kicked off the wall.

"Raider exterminator, open for business," Mason remarked as he punched the man across the face. Staggering back, the raider went to raise his weapon before finding a blade in his throat.

"Ass… hole," The raider grunted before falling back.

"May your god have mercy on your soul," Mason muttered as he stabbed him in the head, putting the raider out of misery.

Turning back around, Mason went down the stairs leading to two rooms, crouching to hide from the raiders.

"Keep your eyes open!" one of the raiders yelled. "I think the bastard's using a stealth boy."

'Just crouching down,' Mason thought as he moved around. 'Who taught these guys how to raid? Not very smart despite having a fortified base.'

He walked up to a room, and a raider walked by. He saw Mason, but before he could pull out his gum, he stood and grabbed his head before pulling it down and kneed him in the face. Before he had time to recover, Mason pulled out his blade and slit the man's throat.

"Mother fucker! I'll tear you limb from limb!" Mason heard a female say. While it is true that he's a mother fucker, it was him who made the lady a mother. But she was still a little wrong. She wouldn't get to tear his limbs off.

Looking down the hall, Mason saw someone with a minigun.

Ack-Ack started firing her minigun when she saw a silver helmet. That wasn't one of her's! This gun was trying to push into her territory!

"Die, asshole!" she yelled as the creature hid behind the dresser. She began peppering it with holes from her minigun, noticing a woman and robot further back, and saw them make quick work of the two with her. Turning her weapon on them, she had to stop to reload. Before she knew what happened, she dropped her weapon as the dresser came surging forward, taking her to the back. When she tried to reload her gun, she dropped it in pain due to her hand being broken. "Bastard!" she yelled as she looked at the people there before freezing. From the way she had moved before, she had assumed the creature was small and fast. However, not only was it large, it was as large as a Super Mutant!

"I'm gonna kill you!" she yelled as she grabbed a tire iron off the ground and ran forward. The creature walked forward, and when she swung the iron, it turned to the side, like it was expecting her to swing. When she tried to swing to the right, it caught her by the arm. Without missing a beat, it twisted her arm in a way that made her drop the weapon, then used its free hand to break her arm.

"Ahh!" she yelled. "You bast-" she began before being lifted off the ground, the things hand on her throat.

"You killed a farmer's daughter," it said, making her realize it was a man under the helmet. "Now you're the target of the farmer's retribution."

Before she could question what he was talking about, she felt a piercing pain in her stomach. Unable to scream, she struggled as he stabbed her twice before thrusting up, stabbing her through a cheek.

"She was a crazy bitch," Heather said as Mason dropped the woman's body. "You did good."

"People like her deserve worse," Mason remarked and looking around for anything useful. Picking up the minigun, Mason saw a name scratched into the side of it. Ack-Ack.

"Found out the chiennes name. Ack-Ack," Mason said as he set the weapon down. He'd have to pick it up when they left. Wasn't going to leave it there for more raiders to find. Looking around for the locket, Mason couldn't find it on any of the raiders before finding it in a toolbox at the back. When he looked at it, he saw a picture of the Abernathy's and sighed.

"Guess they change the picture every time you get passed on, don't they?" Mason questioned as he pocketed the locket. "Ain't much different from the one I wear."

While clearing the back room, which had a fairly easy lock, they took care of five roaches, one of which was larger than Mason's leg. That one had been under a skeleton before he took care of it. Grabbing a key from the toolbox, he figured it was for the room by the first room with a door.

"Guess this is for the room upstairs," Mason thought out loud. That was the only room that needed a key to open it, considering the other doors requiring keys were either opened or unlocked. Looking around for anything useful, all he found was some rad-x and a stimpak in a medkit.

"Check the raiders for anything useful," Mason told Heather and Codsworth. Searching the place, he pulled the fusion core from the generator, causing it to flash a bit before turning off. Searching the room with the locked door, he found quite a bit of munitions certain people would like to get their hands on. He'd have to keep them in a secure location, so no one used them when it wasn't necessary. He found a magazine on one of the tables, a U.S. Covert Operations Manual. Deciding to read it later, he stuck it in his bag. Sticking the mini-nuke that was by it in his bag, he left the room and locked the door behind him.

"Let's head out," Mason said as he Saw Codsworth and Heather waiting for him. Leaving the place, as they walked down the road, he checked the time, realizing it was only one. They'd only been traveling for seven hours? He'd say they'd be back at Sanctuary in less than a week but knew he'd find a way to fill in the time for the most part.

Seeing a crashed vertibird in the Distance, Mason started to head that way as Heather made a comment about whether they could use a satellite dish to communicate with aliens. Taking care of three rad stags, Mason collects the meat off them before going over to the vertibird before grinning.

"YYEEAAHH!" Mason yelled in glee, making Heather jump and Dogmeat bark. "T-51, baby! Woo hoo!"

"Sir, is everything alright?" Codsworth asked, probably confused by Mason's excitement.

"He's right, Mason. In the bit of time I've known you, you haven't gotten this excited or loud once," Heather remarked, making Mason turn to them in bewilderment.

"It's T-51 power armor," Mason stated before continuing. "While missing an arm and leg, it's better than T-60, but harder to maintain. Uses more aluminum than steel. It's why military switched to T-60 before the bombs fell."

Walking over to Codsworth, Mason dug through his bags before grinning. Pulling out the Fusion core from Covenant, Mason brought it over to the power armor and put it in, noticing the armor was larger than most, likely to accommodate someone larger than average. Opening the back, he stepped in, taking a minute to get accustomed to it. They begin walking forward, Mason knowing there's a scrapyard ahead that Heather wanted to visit. When they get there, Mason finds a holotape in the building labeled 'Combat Sentry Proto MKIV Holotape,' likely for the attached one outside.

'At least it ain't active,' Mason thought as he put the holotape in. Knew it'd be a pain to reprogram the targeting parameters. Grabbing a magazine that included a paint job for power armor, making Mason grin. Walking out to the Sentry Bot, Mason put the holotape into the player installed on the armor. Activation it, he turned the machine on and had it patrol the yard. While it was, a nest of molerats began to pop up. Mason didn't bother with getting ready to fight them. Sentry Bots were made for things that hit harder than a rat. When it finished, Mason left it to patrol the area, reading in the holotape that the thing had some programming errors. When he looked at the map in the corner of his vision, he decided to head to Red Rocket because while he could head straight to Abernathy Farm, Mason figured they could drop off anything that the settlers there, if any, could be trusted with. While walking to Concord, they run into three raiders and their dog.

"What the hell!" one of the raiders yelled as he saw someone in a suit of power armor ram into one of his friends. Who the hell was this guy? The raider went to aim his weapon before recoiling in pain as a laser hit him in the arm. Turning, the raider sees a woman with a laser rifle and a Mr. Handy coming for him with a buzzsaw.

"Die!" he yelled before feeling something biting on his leg. Looking down, he saw a dog biting his leg and got pissed. Going to shoot the dog, the Mr. Handy reached him and slammed its saw into his arm.

"Aggh!" the raider yelled before a laser hit him in the head.

"Wonder what they were doing out here," Mason said as Heather and Codsworth searched the bodies.

"Probably haven't heard of you yet," Heather said. "Not surprising, hasn't been long since you took care of the raiders in Corvega." After Heather had put what they collected into the bags, they continued heading to Red Rocket, with Mason in front of them. When they got there, the sun was starting to set, and Mason stepped out of the power armor, leaving it at the workstation, and looked around the place. Seeing three people there, he noticed Sturges had sent a beacon that the settlers had set up. Nice of him to do that. After cooking some molerat meat at the cooking station, Mason sat down after finding a bed and started eating. When he was done, he threw away the trash, laid down, and got some rest for the night.

While he was working on the settlers' weapons the following day, he had also fixed up the minigun he got from the raider boss, leaving it for one of the settlers when he got up. It had taken him three hours to fix the weapons, but it was better than leaving them with the bare minimum. He knew he'd have to give them better weapons in the future, but he didn't have the resources to do so. Leaving a note for the settlers, Mason grabbed his bag, made sure Heather was awake, then grabbed Dogmeat before heading to the farm. Would've taken longer had there been resistance, but there was none. As he approached the farm, he saw Mr. Abernathy tending to crops and came up to him.

"Any luck finding that locket?" he asked. He knew the locket was nice, but that's the first thing he says? No hello?

"I've got that locket back for you," Mason told him, deciding not to start an argument.

"You serious? That's great news! Connie's gonna be speechless." Blake sighed happily. "Whatever the Minutemen need, you can count on us. We got a decent workshop here, and Connie's sure to go leaner on her prices after what you've done."

That was nice to know. Since it was getting dark out, Mason walked inside, sat in the chair, and grabbed his blanket before falling asleep.